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Could the cover-up be bigger than the crime?

So it’s of little surprise that few people even realized that Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, appeared in the well of the House chamber and was formally admonished by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., with a resolution of censure Thursday morning.

The House voted 224-198 with two members voting present to censure Green for his antics during President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress Tuesday night.

Per the resolution, Green had to present himself in the well as Johnson read the resolution before the House for his infractions and officially castigated him, with a rap of the gavel.

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The House voted Thursday to censure Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, for interrupting President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress two nights earlier. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)

But you wouldn’t be alone if you missed it.

That’s because a host of Democrats joined Green near the dais. Johnson banged the gavel, imploring Green’s colleagues to stop. They sang “We Shall Overcome,” drowning out Johnson.

But the deed was done. Green was censured – even if few really saw it. That’s because there’s a trend in Congress for colleagues to join the censured individual in the well of the House and make a ruckus, almost diluting the discipline.

This is why Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., argued that the House should now try to expel Green. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is prepping a resolution to strip the dozens of Democrats who joined Green in the well from their committees. There’s also a move to relieve Green of his committee assignments.

It didn’t used to be this way. There’s an issue of debate about “who fired first.” But discipline in the House over censure has disintegrated markedly in recent years. And so has bipartisan comportment of lawmakers when the president of the other party speaks to a joint session of Congress.

Green became the 29th member of the House censured in the institution’s history. But he’s the fourth Democrat censured by the House since 2023. The fifth overall member to be censured if you include the censure of Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., in 2021.

You have to go back to 2010 with former Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., to find a member who was censured. Before that? Try 1983.

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The Rangel censure over abuse of office is significant. Rangel was a towering figure in Congress. A Korean War hero who was left to die on the battlefield. Rangel rose from humble roots in Harlem to become Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. The House voted to censure Rangel in late 2010 after a lengthy investigation. After the vote, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asked the New York Democrat to “present himself in the well.” With the entire House present, Rangel, ambled to the front of the chamber, his head hung low, hands folded in front as though he were about to pray.

No one said a word. Members from both sides sat in rapt silence as Pelosi read the text of the censure resolution in an uncharacteristically meek tone. Pelosi herself seemed stricken, having to censure her friend and such a vaunted colleague. Pelosi tapped the gavel so lightly at the conclusion of the censure exercise that it almost seemed accidental.

The deed was done.

Green’s censure during the Trump speech is far from the only one to be carried out in recent years – in fact, there’s been a recent uptick in censures. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

That’s not how censures roll in the House anymore.

Contrast the censure of Rangel to the 2023 censures of former Rep. and now Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and you’ll find raucous affairs. Yelling. Shouting. Anything to cover up what the Speaker is reading from the dais.

In the case of the 2023 censure of Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the resolution just declared her to be censured but did not require her to appear in the well of the chamber before the full House and the Speaker.

TRUMP BLASTS REP AL GREEN AS ‘AN EMBARRASSMENT’ TO DEMOCRATS, SAYS HE ‘SHOULD BE FORCED TO TAKE AN IQ TEST’

The rate of censures is increasing dramatically. Republicans will argue that Democrats “started it.” The House censured Gosar in 2021 for posting an anime video which showed him using a sword to kill Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and harming former President Biden. The measure also stripped Gosar of his committee assignments. In 2021, Democrats and 11 Republicans voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., from her committees. They argued she trafficked in conspiracy theories and racism which encouraged violence.

But in the case of Al Green, his conduct on the floor reflects a trend of hectoring the president in the House chamber. Taylor Greene and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., certainly jeered and taunted former President Biden during his speeches to Congress. The former president even briefly engaged them on one occasion. This unfolded under three House Speakers: Pelosi, Johnson and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Yet there was never any effort by the Speaker to have anyone removed on those occasions.

That changed when Johnson ordered Green removed on Tuesday.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., faced significant backlash after shouting “you lie” at President Obama during a 2009 speech before a joint session of Congress. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

But when did this all start?

It goes back to September 2009.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shouted “you lie” at President Barack Obama as he delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress about health care reform. Wilson specifically accused the president of lying when he declared it was “false” that persons in the country illegally would qualify for health benefits.

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Bipartisan lawmakers condemned the outburst immediately. Wilson apologized to then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. In a statement, Wilson said he “let my emotions get the best of me.” He characterized the episode as a “town hall moment.” By the weekend, Wilson was fundraising off the incident.

Pelosi didn’t want to go any further with a punishment. But her members pushed against the Speaker – and prevailed.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who at the time served as the House Majority Whip, thought Wilson’s off-stage apology wasn’t enough. Clyburn, and fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus, believed the House needed to do something to assert its rules of decorum. They believed the verbal assault was tinged with race – directed at the first Black president. 

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., was one of many to advocate for strong pushback against Wilson following the Obama-era outburst. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Appearing on CNN, CBC member and Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., argued that if the House didn’t stand up to Wilson, “people with white hoods (would be) running through the countryside again.”

Democrats wanted Wilson to apologize to the entire House. After he refused, Democrats forged ahead with a vote on a “resolution of disapproval” of Wilson’s actions.

A reprimand, censure and expulsion are the three formal modes of discipline in the House. A “resolution of disapproval” is kind of like receiving a Congressional parking ticket.

DEMS THROW HOUSE INTO CHAOS AFTER 10 MODERATES JOIN GOP TO PUNISH AL GREEN

Then-House Minority Leader and future Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called the effort a “political stunt.” Boehner asserted there was “behavior in this chamber that’s more serious than this.”

Former Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., chaired the CBC at the time.

“Today’s resolution is an opportunity for us to come together and reject incivility,” said Lee. “Let’s turn the page.”

They’ve done anything but that.

Then-Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., called the “resolution of disapproval” levied against Wilson “an opportunity for us to come together and reject incivility.” Since then, Congress has done anything but. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The House is now involved in low-grade guerrilla warfare with periodic flare-ups. There’s routine sniping at the president – regardless of who occupies the office – when he comes to speak to a joint session of Congress. The parties battle over tit-for-tat resolutions of censure and committees.

They’re a long way from turning the page, as Barbara Lee suggested 16 years ago.

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And that’s why Mike Johnson must decide next week if he wants to wage another skirmish in this partisan fracas. He must decide whether to mete out more discipline to Green and those who stood by him in the well.

Or turn the page.

Five years after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, the World Health Organization is still reporting deaths from the virus. 

More than 3,000 people died in the last month, adding to the more than 7 million deaths since the pandemic began.

In the fall of 2019, many of the top stories for U.S. news outlets had to do with China.

“I have a good relationship with China. We’ll see what happens, but I’m very happy right now,” President Donald Trump said on Nov. 19, 2019 amid trade negotiations with Beijing. “If we don’t make a deal with China, I’ll just raise the tariffs even higher.”

NEW BAT CORONAVIRUS DISCOVERED IN CHINA SPARKS PANDEMIC CONCERNS

A rapid and sustained increase in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. prompted millions of people to take precautions while in public. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

On the other side of the globe, protesters in Hong Kong were objecting to China’s interference in the region’s government. Trump signed a bill supporting the pro-democracy demonstrations. Back in Washington, the Smithsonian National Zoo’s beloved panda, Bei Bei, was preparing to move to a new habitat in central China, but in the background, a much bigger story was taking place.

Also, in the fall of 2019, scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were studying how mice responded to SARs and MERs-related coronaviruses. A National Intelligence Director report noted the lab maintains one of the world’s largest repositories of bat samples.

It stated, “Teams separately used transgenic mouse models to better understand how the viruses infect humans as well as related vaccine and therapeutics research.”

“This laboratory that worked on bat coronaviruses was undertaking work, which on the face of it was quite important for understanding these viruses, but had some risks,” said Stanford microbiology professor David Relman in January 2020.

During that time, several researchers at the institute fell ill with cold or flu-like symptoms, but none were severe enough to be hospitalized.

“Some of their symptoms were consistent with but not diagnostic of Covid-19,” the intelligence report stated. The intelligence community also noted that it was unclear if those illnesses were linked to the virus that would soon spread around the world.

By December, China’s stock market was rising on hopes of a trade deal with the U.S., but the local economy in Wuhan was facing a major threat. Health officials were growing concerned about a new viral pneumonia that was not responding to standard treatments. Twenty-seven cases had been confirmed, seven of which were critical. 

Most of the patients had a recent history of exposure to wildlife animals at the Huanan Market, where poultry, snakes, bats and other farm animals were sold. Wuhan health officials claimed the wet market was where the virus originated. However, at least 13 of the first 41 hospitalizations had no link to the marketplace, according to an article by Chinese researchers published in the Lancet. 

“That’s a big number, 13, with no link,” Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Georgetown University, told Science in January 2020. “The virus came into that marketplace before it came out of that marketplace.”

NEW BAT CORONAVIRUS DISCOVERED IN CHINA SPARKS PANDEMIC CONCERNS

Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump were closing in on a trade deal when COVID-19 struck the world. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

All U.S. intelligence agencies assess both a natural and laboratory-associated origin remain plausible sources of the virus’ origin. The Energy Department, the FBI and the CIA believe a laboratory-associated incident was the most likely cause of the first human infection. 

“Laboratory accidents happen everywhere there are humans. Humans are fallible. So, it’s absolutely reasonable to think that some other laboratory also had an accident,” Relman said.

In late December, the Wuhan Institute of Virology isolated and identified the virus from patient samples. The information available to U.S. intelligence officials indicates this to be the first time researchers at the institute had access to the virus’ gene sequence.

On New Year’s Eve in the U.S., Trump rang in 2020 at his annual Mar-a-Lago party and was optimistic over his negotiations with China.

“We’re very excited about trade,” the president said. “I’ll be going, at some point, to Beijing, to be with President Xi.  We have a great relationship.  And we’ll be doing something reciprocal.”

Scientists in Wuhan were growing even more concerned about the new virus. Dozens of individuals with suspected cases had been isolated in a designated hospital. The World Health Organization became aware through a media statement from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. It warned of a pneumonia of an unknown cause.

During the first days of 2020, life around the world and in most parts of China, seemed normal. However, in Wuhan, the Huanan Market had been shut down, and World Health Organization officials were taking a closer look at the cases.

“There are many unreported cases in China. There’s also a number of cases in Hong Kong that haven’t been reported,” Gatestone Institute senior fellow Gordon Chang told Lou Dobbs in January 2020. “What’s happened in Hong Kong and the protest, people don’t want to go out so it has been quiet over the last week or so. But I think that this is really the fear over the contagion.”

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President Donald Trump said his outlook on a possible trade deal with China was once optimistic in 2020. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

What was now called the 2019 Novel Coronavirus had claimed its first victim by the time Trump inked phase one of his trade deal with China.

“Right now, our relationship with China is the best it’s ever been,” Trump said at the signing ceremony.

Cases from outside of China were now accumulating. Thailand and Japan had confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2. Shortly after, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began screening passengers on direct and connecting flights from Wuhan.

“The bottom line is this is a very rare virus. The number of people who have been infected or exposed is very small,” Lenox Hill Hospital emergency room Dr. Robert Glatter said as the flight screenings began.

Days later, health officials confirmed the first U.S. case in Washington state but insisted the virus was still a low risk to the public.

“We’re very happy to say that he is in satisfactory condition and as of this moment is being, is very helpful in us identifying particular people that he may have been in contact with,” Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wa, said after the case was announced.

More cases began to accumulate across the U.S. and around the world. In Wuhan, 11 million people were placed under lockdown orders.

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“It has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as Wuhan closed its city limits.

Shoppers raced to gather essentials before the lockdown officially took place. Roads, train stations and airports were empty. Other locations throughout China were also closed to the public, and Chinese New Year celebrations were scaled back.

Around the world, more countries implemented travel restrictions from China. Many evacuated citizens from the country before the virus spread further.

By mid-February, 1,013 people had died from the virus now known as COVID-19. It had officially killed more people than the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, when 774 people died.

The U.S. is “rated number one” for epidemic preparedness, Trump told White House reporters on Feb. 26, 2020. “We’ve had tremendous success, tremendous success beyond what people would have thought. Now at the same time you do have some outbreaks in some countries. Italy and various countries are having some difficulty.” 

Italy was the new epicenter for the virus. By mid-March, 114 countries had reported more than 118,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths.

“In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths and the number of effected countries climb even higher,” Ghebreyesus said. “We have formed the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly.”

A U.S. judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to pay at least a portion of the nearly $2 billion in owed foreign aid for previously completed projects by 6 p.m. Monday, an expeditious ruling that comes just one day after the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request to continue its freeze.

The decision from U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali came after a more than four-hour court hearing Thursday, where he grilled both parties on their proposed repayment plans, and a timeframe for the government to comply with the $1.9 billion in owed foreign aid that has been completed.

At the end of the hearing, Judge Ali ordered the government to pay at least a portion of the $1.9 billion by Monday at 6 p.m.

“I think it’s reasonable to get the plaintiffs’ invoices paid by 6 p.m. on Monday,” said Judge Ali. “What I’ll order today is the first concrete step that plaintiffs have their invoices paid … [and] work completed prior to Feb. 13 to be paid by 6 p.m. on Monday, March 10th.”

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Susan Schorr, of DC, holds an anti-Elon Musk sign and an American flag in protest in front of the headquarters for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on February 3, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2 BILLION IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTS

That order previously set a deadline of Feb. 26 at 11:59 p.m. for the administration to pay its outstanding debt to foreign aid groups.

The Justice Department had argued that the timeline was “impossible” to comply with.

But Judge Ali seemed to reject that notion Thursday. After a Justice Department attorney asked the court for more time to get the latest payments out, pointing out that it may be difficult to get financial transactions done over the weekend, he responded by noting that the government had successfully paid out more than $70 million during the hours of Wednesday through early Thursday morning, so this should be possible as well.

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The 5-4 Supreme Court decision remanded the case back to the D.C. federal court – and Judge Ali — to hash out the specifics of what must be paid, and when.

Judge Ali moved quickly following the high court’s decision, ordering both parties back to court Thursday to weigh plausible repayment schedules. 

The proposed schedules, his order noted, “should account for the length of time that has passed since the TRO, [temporary restraining order] was entered and the feasibility of any compliance timelines.”

At issue in the case was how quickly the Trump administration needed to pay the nearly $2 billion owed to aid groups and contractors for completed projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), at a time when the administration has issued a blanket freeze on all foreign spending in the name of government “efficiency” and eliminating waste.

In a Supreme Court filing, acting U.S. Solicitor General Sarah Harris said that while the plaintiffs’ claims were likely “legitimate,” the time Judge Ali gave them to pay the outstanding invoices was “not logistically or technically feasible.”

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Plaintiffs have argued that the lower court judge had ordered the Trump administration to begin making the owed foreign aid payments more than two weeks ago — a deadline they said the government simply failed to meet, or to even take steps to meet — indicating that the administration had no plans to make good on fulfilling that request.

This is a breaking news story. Check back soon for updates.

President Donald Trump, while signing executive orders Thursday in the Oval Office, vowed to bring home two NASA astronauts who have been stuck in space for eight months.

“Elon [Musk] is right now preparing a ship to go up and get them,” the president told Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy. “We love you, and we’re coming up to get you, and you shouldn’t have been up there so long.”

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were stranded at the International Space Station after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft had technical issues. 

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were the flight crew on Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which is recovering from a series of issues. (NASA)

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Their mission began June 5, 2024, and was only scheduled to last eight days.

Due to numerous issues with the spacecraft, NASA deemed it unsafe to carry the astronauts back to Earth. 

It returned to the planet unmanned.

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One of the astronauts recently confirmed former President Joe Biden declined an offer of help from Musk, SpaceX CEO, the New York Post reported.

Trump on Thursday said Biden “left them alone” in space because he was “embarrassed by what happened.”

Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during a press conference at SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas, Feb. 10, 2022. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

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He continued, “The most incompetent president in our history has allowed that to happen to you, but this president won’t let that happen.”

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams during NASA’s live shot of their takeoff on June 5, 2024 (NASA)

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to launch on Wednesday to head to the space station, then return home with Wilmore and Williams after a handover period of several days, NASA said. 

Trump later joked with Doocy about partaking in the mission.

“Should I go on that journey just to be on the ship when we stop?” the president asked Doocy.

Doocy responded, “If that’s an option, yes.”

NASA ASTRONAUT SAYS STARLINER CREW LIKELY TO CHANGE EXERCISE ROUTINE DURING EXTENDED ISS STAY 

Astronaut Suni Williams does a backflip as Butch Wilmore gives a thumbs up while in space. (NASA)

“I should do it,” Trump replied with a laugh. “That’s terrible. I thought he liked me.”

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Another reporter chimed in saying the president should stay on Earth, to which Trump responded, “She likes me better.”

Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that would rescind security clearances and access to certain federal resources for Perkins Coie, the law firm that hired the company responsible for crafting the so-called “Steele dossier” containing alleged salacious material and Trump’s alleged connections to Russia, which the president has denied. 

“This is an absolute honor to sign,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “What they’ve done, it’s just terrible. It’s weaponization, you could say weaponization against a political opponent, and it should never be allowed to happen again.” 

Specifically, the executive order suspends security clearances for Perkins Coie employees until a further review evaluating its access to sensitive information is complete to determine if it aligns with the national interest. 

Additionally, the order cuts off access to sensitive compartmented information facilities for Perkins Coie employees, and will limit the company’s access to government employees. Additionally, the order bars the federal government from hiring Perkins Coie employees without specific authorization. 

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The FBI used the Trump dossier to apply for surveillance warrants against former Trump adviser Carter Page, according to the Department of Justice inspector general.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Likewise, the federal government is prohibited from hiring contractors that use the law firm, amid a review of all federal contracts associated with Perkins Coie that agency heads will be ordered to terminate to the fullest extent lawfully permitted. 

The international law firm represented Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the 2016 election, and former President Joe Biden after Trump challenged Biden’s win in the 2020 election.

Perkins Coie first came under scrutiny after Marc Elias, the former chair of the firm’s political law practice, hired opposition research firm Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research against then-presidential candidate Trump in April 2016 for his opponent, Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee.

Fusion GPS then hired former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who composed the so-called “Steele dossier.” The document included scandalous and mostly unverified allegations, including details that Trump engaged in sex acts with Russian prostitutes. 

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Perkins Coie hired an opposition research firm that hired former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who wrote the dossier.  (Getty Images)

Trump repeatedly denied allegations included in the dossier, and filed a lawsuit against Orbis Business Intelligence, a company that Steele co-founded. Trump’s legal team claimed that he “suffered personal and reputational damage and distress” as a result of the dossier, but a judge in London pitched the lawsuit in February 2024. 

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The dossier first became public in 2017 when BuzzFeed News published it. The Justice Department’s inspector general lambasted the agency and the FBI in 2019 for using the document to make a case in securing surveillance applications against former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page, as part of the agency’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

Still, the inspector general determined that no political bias motivated the surveillance of Page or the launching of Russia investigations. 

Requests for comment by Perkins Coie were not immediately answered. 

President Trump on Thursday exempted certain goods from Canada and Mexico covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) from his 25% tariffs for a month.

The tariffs were imposed earlier this week, and will be reinstated on April 2. 

President Trump on Thursday exempted certain goods from Canada and Mexico covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) from his 25% tariffs for a month. (Getty)

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Trump had previously mentioned an exemption for Mexico, but the amendment signed on Thursday covers Canada also. 

Reuters contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump signed a memo Thursday directing government agency heads to ask federal judges to require financial guarantees to hold “activist” groups that sue the government financially responsible if an injunction is found to be unnecessary.

The memo comes as the Trump administration faces more than 90 lawsuits stemming from executive orders, memos and executive proclamations issued since Jan. 20 that legal groups, labor organizations, and other state and local plaintiffs are challenging. 

Specifically, the memo instructs federal agencies to coordinate with Attorney General Pam Bondi to request federal courts adhere to a rule that mandates financial guarantees from those requesting injunctions. 

While federal judges ultimately have the final say on whether these financial guarantees are required, the Department of Justice can request under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c) that judges implement the rule to require financial guarantees from plaintiffs that are equal to the potential costs and damages the federal government would incur from a wrongly issued preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order. 

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The White House is ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi to request judges follow a rule that would require financial guarantees from plaintiffs seeking injunctions.  (The Associated Press)

The memo signed Thursday applies to all lawsuits seeking preliminary injunctions or temporary restraining orders “where the government can demonstrate monetary harm from the requested relief,” according to a White House fact sheet. 

“Agencies must justify security amounts based on reasoned assessments of harm, ensuring courts deny or dissolve injunctions if plaintiffs fail to pay up, absent good cause,” the White House said in the fact sheet obtained by Fox News Digital. 

As a result, the White House said the order will rule in “activist judges” and keep “litigants accountable.”  

“Unelected district judges have issued sweeping injunctions beyond their authority, inserting themselves into executive policymaking and stalling policies voters supported,” the White House said in its fact sheet. 

The lawsuits challenging the Trump administration already have started to make their way up to the Supreme Court. For example, the high court issued a 5-4 ruling Wednesday upholding a district judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to pay almost $2 billion in foreign aid money. 

The Supreme Court said that since the district court’s Feb. 26 deadline for the Trump administration to pay the USAID funding contracts has expired it directed the case back to the lower court to hash out future payment plans. 

TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID

The Supreme Court upheld a district judge’s ruling March 5, 2025, that would require the Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion in foreign aid money.  (Anna Moneymaker)

“Given that the deadline in the challenged order has now passed, and in light of the ongoing preliminary injunction proceedings, the District Court should clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines,” the Court said.

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Fox News’ Kerri Urbahn and Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report. 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., bucked his party this week, criticizing fellow Democrats for not standing for 13-year-old cancer survivor DJ Daniel during President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress.

“I don’t know why we can’t fully celebrate,” Fetterman told Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital. “I mean, I have a 13-year-old myself, and thank God she’s never had cancer, but I think that’s something we can all celebrate there. And I think it was a touching moment. And, like I said, that’s part of the best of the American experience.”

Fox News Digital reached out to 30 Democratic lawmakers about why they did not stand for DJ Tuesday night but only received six responses. 

SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLODES AFTER DEMS DO NOT STAND FOR 13-YEAR-OLD CANCER SURVIVOR: ‘TRULY SICK PEOPLE’

Sen. John Fetterman said DJ’s story is “something we can all celebrate.” (Nicholas Ballasy)

Fetterman also said in an X post that Democrats’ inaction “only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained.” Some Democratic lawmakers said their feelings against Trump were the reason they did not stand for DJ. 

“You know, that is a very individual thing. And aren’t there a lot of other things we can be focusing on, as I would think?” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said when asked why Democratic members did not stand for DJ. “The word betrayal comes to mind with regard to the president.”

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, “We all stood when the president entered, which I think is appropriate. And I think, frankly, by and large showed him respect to the office.”

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said it “was a moving story,” but that “what Trump left out, of course, is he’s cutting research for cancer, which is pretty, pretty bad.”

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Sen. John Fetterman criticized fellow Democrats for not standing for 13-year-old cancer survivor DJ Daniel during President Donald Trump’s address to Congress. (Getty/Fox News Digital)

“Our hearts are with the Riley family on the loss of their daughter and inspired at Devarjaye ‘DJ’s’ story. It shouldn’t be confused with the disdain we have for President Trump’s divisive and strident voice,” Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said she “clapped and was touched – not rolling my eyes,” while Trump introduced the boy.

“After the Secret Service gave him his [badge] and he sat back down, but then he reached back up and hugged the Secret Service chief, it made me cry. I had tears. I was wiping a freaking tear,” Dingell said. 

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol March 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters)

Republican lawmakers criticized their Democratic colleagues for remaining seated during DJ’s big moment, calling it “childish” that they refused to stand for the boy. 

“The Democrats really embarrassed themselves. I mean, they wouldn’t even stand up for DJ, who survived cancer,” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Fox.

“I was so disappointed that my Democratic colleagues couldn’t stand and show love for some of the Americans that were recognized tonight. That was really heartbreaking to me,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.

Despite the tepid response from Democrats, chants of “DJ!” erupted in the House chamber Tuesday night as Trump directed Secret Service Director Sean Curran to designate the 13-year-old an honorary Secret Service agent. DJ’s father, Theodis, held DJ over his shoulders as the boy showed off his new badge to the chamber.

‘COULDN’T CLAP FOR A 13-YEAR-OLD BOY’: GOP SLAMS ‘CHILDISH’ DEM SILENCE ON SUPPORTING CANCER SURVIVOR

Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel holds an honorary U.S. Secret Service special agent ID presented to him by Sean Curran, director of the U.S. Secret Service, right, as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

“Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. His name is DJ Daniel. He is 13 years old. He has always dreamed of becoming a police officer himself. But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true, and DJ has been sworn in as an honorary law enforcement officer,” Trump said. 

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“Tonight, DJ, we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service.” 

FIRST ON FOX: The Small Business Administration announced a series of reforms on Thursday aimed at ensuring illegal immigrants don’t receive taxpayer benefits and removing offices from sanctuary cities.

The SBA, led by administrator Kelly Loeffler, said in a press release that it will “put American citizens first by ending taxpayer benefits for illegal aliens.”

The agency says that in the coming days it will implement a new policy that requires SBA loan applicants to include citizenship verification provision that will ensure only legal citizens are accessing its programs. The press release explains that lenders will also need to confirm that businesses are not owned in “whole or in part by an illegal alien” in order to be consistent with President Trump’s executive order that prohibits “taxpayer subsidization of open borders.”

Six regional offices located in sanctuary cities will also be relocated, according to the press release.

GOP FIGHTS BACK AGAINST ‘TRUMP-PROOF’ SANCTUARY JURISDICTIONS

Kelly Loeffler is moving SBA offices out of sanctuary cities (AP/Getty)

Those offices include locations in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Seattle. The agency says that the new locations will be less costly, more accessible, and in areas that “better serve the small business community and that comply with federal immigration law.”

“Over the last four years, the record invasion of illegal aliens has jeopardized both the lives of American citizens and the livelihoods of American small business owners, who have each become victims of Joe Biden’s migrant crime spree,” Loeffler said.

BOSTON MAYOR FACES HEAT OVER SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES AS PATRIOTS OWNER’S SON GOES ON OFFENSIVE

Then-Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler speaks during a campaign event at Valdosta Regional Airport in Valdosta, Georgia, December 5, 2020. (REUTERS/Dustin Chambers)

“Under President Trump, the SBA is committed to putting American citizens first again – starting by ensuring that zero taxpayer dollars go to fund illegal aliens.”

Loeffler continued, “Today, I am pleased to announce that this agency will cut off access to loans for illegal aliens and relocate our regional offices out of sanctuary cities that reward criminal behavior. We will return our focus to empowering legal, eligible business owners across the United States – in partnership with the municipalities who share this Administration’s commitment to secure borders and safe communities.”

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President Donald Trump (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

The announcement comes shortly after four Democrat mayors were grilled by Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill over their sanctuary city policies. 

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has filed a resolution to punish the Democrats who derailed House floor proceedings as Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was being censured on Thursday.

“We have a country to run. The failed policies of Joe Biden is why they lost the House, why they lost the Senate, why they lost the presidency. They can lick their wounds all day, but they still have to behave on the House floor,” Ogles told Fox News Digital in a brief interview.

“We can disagree on issues and politics, but we’re gonna respect one another, and I’m tired of this crap.”

Ogles’ resolution is aimed at stripping committee assignments from the Democratic lawmakers who temporarily plunged the House into chaos on Thursday. 

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP CONCLUDES REMARKS AFTER DECLARING ‘AMERICA’S MOMENTUM IS BACK’

Rep. Al Green is removed from the chamber as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Image)

He told Fox News Digital that he intends to deem the resolution “privileged,” meaning House leaders will have two legislative days to take the measure up. 

It could be voted on as early as next week, when Ogles is planning on broaching the matter with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

All but 12 House Democrats voted against censuring Green for disrupting President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. Ten Democrats voted with Republicans to reprimand Green, while two, including the Texas lawmaker himself voted “present.”

Before the formal censure could be read out to Green, however, Democrats upended House floor proceedings by gathering with the Texas Democrat and singing “We shall overcome.” Johnson was forced to call the House into a recess after failing multiple times to quell the protest.

The House floor briefly descended into chaos as a small group of Republicans and Democrats continued confronting each other, with one Republican heard calling Democrats “embarrassing” for their behavior.

Rep. Andy Ogles filed the resolution. (Michael M. Santiago)

Ogles’ resolution, first obtained by Fox News Digital, directs the House Sergeant-at-Arms to “provide a determination” of “which members ignored the speaker’s directive to leave the well of the House.”

“Upon submission of that list to the speaker,” they would be “removed from any standing committee on which they currently serve for the remainder of the 119th Congress,” the text said.

Ogles first posted his intent to file his resolution on X.

“The speaker, he’s a good man, he’s a Christian man. He has a kind heart. With grace gave them the opportunity to stop and they refuse to do so,” Ogles told Fox News Digital. “So, look, if you wanna act like a petulant child on the House floor and you’re giving a warning and a reprimand, and you choose not to stop, then actions need to be taken.”

Green was removed from Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday night after repeatedly disrupting the beginning of the president’s speech.

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

He shouted, “You have no mandate!” at Trump as he touted Republican victories in the House, Senate and White House.

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Johnson had Green removed by the Sergeant-at-Arms.

The 77-year-old Democrat was unrepentant when given the chance to speak out in his defense on Wednesday.

“I heard the speaker when he said that I should cease. I did not, and I did not with intentionality. It was not done out of a burst of emotion,” Green said. “I think that on some questions, questions of conscience, you have to be willing to suffer the consequences. And I have said I will. I will suffer whatever the consequences are, because I don’t believe that in the richest country in the world, people should be without good healthcare.”

A federal judge blocked New York City’s request for President Donald Trump’s administration to return $80 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds allocated for migrant shelters and services.

Judge Jennifer Rearden, from the Manhattan bench on Wednesday, refused to issue New York City a temporary restraining order to claw back the funds because the city did not prove it would suffer irreparable harm without the money. 

“We’re disappointed the court did not grant the emergency relief we were seeking while the case continued, and we are evaluating next steps,” a New York City Law Department spokesperson told Fox News. 

The City of New York filed the lawsuit on Feb. 21 against Trump, FEMA, the Treasury Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), arguing the $80 million was already approved and paid out by FEMA.

A federal judge blocked New York City’s request for President Donald Trump’s administration to claw back $80 million in FEMA funds. (Getty/AP)

NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, AN EX-COP, HAS ‘UPPER HAND’ OVER OTHER SANCTUARY CITY MAYORS: BLUE LIVES MATTER FOUNDER

“This morning, our office learned about the federal government clawing back more than $80 million in FEMA grants applied for and awarded under the last administration, but not disbursed until last week,” Mayor Eric Adams, D-N.Y., said in an X post the day the lawsuit was filed. 

The lawsuit said the funds were revoked on Feb. 11, after Elon Musk said the Department of Government Efficiency found a $59 million FEMA payment to New York City for luxury hotels used to house illegal migrants. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said she rescinded the funds over concerns that the Roosevelt Hotel is the “Tren de Aragua base of operations.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivers remarks to staff at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters on Jan. 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Manuel Balce Ceneta-Pool/Getty Images)

“​I have clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to NYC migrant hotels. FEMA was funding the Roosevelt Hotel that serves as a Tren de Aragua base of operations and was used to house Laken Riley’s killer. Mark my words: there will not be a single penny spent that goes against the interest and safety of the American people,” Noem said in a X post. 

NYC SUES AFTER TRUMP ADMIN CLAWS BACK $80M MIGRANT HOUSING GRANT

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, a mayoral candidate vying for Adams’ seat, said the Trump administration “stole” the funds. 

​​”Let’s be clear: Donald Trump and his loser lackies—Elon Musk and Kristi Noem—acted illegally when they stole $80 million from New York City’s bank account. Seizing our Congressionally-authorized, FEMA-approved money was nothing more than attempted retribution against immigrants seeking asylum, many of them sent here on buses by Governor Abbott from Texas. Like all of Trump’s illegal efforts to freeze and seize Congressionally-authorized funds, this action harmed taxpayers and working families and would force the City to cut services if not reversed,” Lander said in a statement following the ruling on Wednesday. 

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu testifies during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 2025. (Anadolu via Getty Images)

The ruling came as Adams and his fellow “sanctuary city” Democratic mayors testified about their response to the migrant crisis on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. 

“I’m here today to testify on how New York City can continue to reduce crime, even as a sanctuary city,” Adams told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. 

“To be clear: A sanctuary city classification does not mean our city will ever be a safe haven for violent criminals. It also does not give New York City the authority to violate federal immigration laws. To the contrary, New York City will always comply with city, state, and federal laws, as it does now,” Adams added. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, center, speaks during a news conference outside Gracie Mansion on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 in New York. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

Adams vowed to protect law-abiding New York City residents, regardless of immigration status, while also directing NYPD officers to comply with DHS and ICE. The mayor’s comments reflect his ongoing effort to strike a balance between protecting New Yorkers and coordinating with the Trump administration’s illegal immigration crackdown. 

As New York City struggled to keep up with the busloads of migrants entering the city’s overwhelmed shelter system, Adams was critical of former President Joe Biden’s handling of the migrant crisis. 

In his plight against the migrant crisis, Adams has developed a relationship with Trump – holding a private meeting with the president in West Palm Beach, Florida, and then meeting with border czar Tom Homan to discuss the migrant crisis in New York City. 

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Homan said he would hold Adams to his commitments, telling “Fox & Friends,” “If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City, and we won’t be sitting on the couch. I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?'”

Adams’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan and Grace Taggart contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump told Fox News Digital Thursday that Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, “should be forced to pass an IQ test because he is a low IQ individual and we don’t need low IQ individuals in Congress,” after the Democrat disrupted his joint session address. 

The House of Representatives Thursday, in a bipartisan vote, censured Green for interrupting the president’s joint session address to Congress on Tuesday. 

President Donald Trump attends a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., March 4, 2025. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the president reacted. 

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, shouts as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025.  (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)

“He should be censured,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “He should be forced to pass an IQ test because he is a low IQ individual and we don’t need low IQ individuals in Congress.” 

The president also blasted Green as “a fool and a clown.” 

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

“Nobody takes him seriously,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “He is an embarrassment to Congress but a much bigger embarrassment to the Democrats.” 

The 77-year-old Democrat was removed from Trump’s joint address to Congress Tuesday night after repeatedly disrupting the beginning of the president’s speech.

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He shouted, “You have no mandate!” at Trump as he touted Republican victories in the House, Senate and White House.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had Green removed by the U.S. Sergeant-at-Arms.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., scolded Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, for engaging in “shameful and egregious behavior” during President Donald Trump’s Tuesday night address to a joint session of Congress. The speaker, who booted Green from the House chamber, accused the lawmaker of violating House rules “deliberately.”

The speaker’s post on X condemning Green’s behavior comes just hours after a resolution to censure the Texas Democrat survived an attempt by his party to table it.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, left, shouts as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)

RESOLUTION PUNISHING AL GREEN CLEARS DEM BLOCKADE, ADVANCES TO HOUSE-WIDE VOTE AFTER TRUMP SPEECH

Speaker Johnson wrote in a post on X that Green “disgraced the institution of Congress” with his protest during Trump’s address. He also urged Democrats to join in voting for the censure.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., introduced the resolution punishing Green on Wednesday. Now that it has survived the Democrats’ push to table it, the resolution will likely be headed for a House-wide vote today.

The resolution likely did not come as a surprise to Green, who, upon his expulsion from the speech, told the press he would be “willing to suffer whatever punishment” came about from the incident. In fact, Green tweeted on Thursday reminding his followers on X about the upcoming censure vote.

While there were multiple resolutions to censure Green, Fox News Digital was told that Newhouse had been in contact with House GOP leadership about his resolution since Trump’s speech ended.

President Donald Trump attends a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

DEMOCRATS TURN ON EACH OTHER OVER TRUMP ADDRESS STUNTS

“I think [Green’s protest is] unprecedented. Certainly in the modern era. It wasn’t an excited utterance. It was a, you know, planned, prolonged protest,” Speaker Johnson told reporters on Wednesday.

On Tuesday night, Green began shouting after President Trump called the 2024 election “a mandate like has not been seen in many decades,” and touting the GOP’s victories.

Johnson issued Green a warning and asked him to take his seat. When Green refused and continued protesting, the speaker asked the Sergeant at Arms to remove the Texas Democrat from the room.

“The president said he had a mandate, and I was making it clear to the president that he no mandate to cut Medicaid,” Green told press in the hallway outside of Trump’s address. He then called on President Trump to “save Medicaid,” something that was written on several paddles used in the Democrats’ silent protest of the speech.

Democrats protest with signs as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in the Capitol building’s House chamber in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Rep. Green was the first and only Democrat to actively disrupt the president’s speech on Tuesday night. Other Democrats held up signs and many walked out of the speech early.

The resolution to censure, if it passes, does not carry any consequences, rather it serves as a formal condemnation of Green by the House. Other lawmakers who have faced censure include former Rep. Adam Schiff, former Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Aishah Hasnie contributed to this report.

A Republican congresswoman said she is referring the Democratic sanctuary city mayors who testified before Congress on Wednesday to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said that the mayors who testified during a House Oversight Committee hearing on sanctuary cities were in violation of Title 8, U.S. Code § 1324, a federal law that makes it illegal to bring in and harbor unauthorized aliens. It also prohibits the unlawful employment of aliens. 

“I just referred the sanctuary city mayors to the Department of Justice for CRIMINAL investigations based on evidence from their own comments and policies, proving that they were breaking federal law,” Luna wrote on X with a video accompanying her announcement.

“Open borders ideologies hurt people on both sides. If you hold federal office and are breaking the law, you’ll be criminally investigated by the DOJ.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu testifies during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on March 5. Following the hearing, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said she was referring the mayors to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution. (Anadolu via Getty Images)

ANNA PAULINA LUNA TO LEAD TASK FORCE ON DECLASSIFICATION OF JFK ASSASSINATION RECORDS, EPSTEIN CLIENT LIST

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu all defended their respective city’s sanctuary policies at the fiery hearing. They defended their communities as welcoming and called on Congress to pass immigration reform.

Republican members of Congress hammered the mayors for their sanctuary city policies, accusing them of endangering Americans and threatening to prosecute local officials. 

Luna told the mayors that their policies were hurting citizens as well as migrants.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said the mayors were breaking federal law by harboring illegal migrants. (Getty Images)

DENVER MAYOR GRILLED OVER AREA’S TREN DE ARAGUA PROBLEM AS GOP LAWMAKER SAYS POLICIES TO BLAME

“I do not think you guys are bad people, but I do think you are ideologically misled,” Luna said.

“Which is why, unfortunately, based on your responses, I’m going to be criminally referring you all to the Department of Justice for investigation,” she said, holding up copies of the referrals.

“As soon as I leave here, these will be going over to [Attorney General] Pam Bondi.”

A congressional criminal referral does not require the DOJ to initiate a prosecution and does not hold as much weight as a referral from an entire chamber.

Republicans, the mayors said, were trying to paint their cities as overrun by criminal immigrants even as crime was falling. The mayors said a key to safety is creating cities where residents feel comfortable reporting crimes and working with police.

Illegal immigration was a key plank of Trump’s presidential campaign, and he has repeatedly pressed on the theme since coming to office, including a Tuesday night speech to Congress where he vowed to “complete the largest deportation operation in American history.”

Migrants are seen sleeping outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan on July 31, 2023.  (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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Luna, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, also leads the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, a new task force focused on the declassification of federal secrets – including records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and other documents in the public interest.

She has also been pressing the Justice Department for the release of classified records related to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A federal appeals court cleared the way for President Donald Trump to fire Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, on Wednesday.

Dellinger, appointed to the role by former President Joe Biden, sued the Trump administration in Washington, D.C., federal court after his Feb. 7 firing.

D.C. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had argued in a filing last month that Dellinger’s firing was “unlawful.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia sided with the Trump administration in a Wednesday ruling, however. Dellinger is likely to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

SUPREME COURT PAUSES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S EFFORT TO FIRE HEAD OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION AGENCY

President Donald Trump and Hampton Dellinger. Trump is trying to dismiss Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel. (AP / Reuters)

FEDERAL JUDGE HINTS SHE WILL CONTINUE BLOCKING TRUMP FROM FIRING HEAD OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION AGENCY

Jackson claimed that the court “finds that the elimination of the restrictions on plaintiff’s removal would be fatal to the defining and essential feature of the Office of Special Counsel as it was conceived by Congress and signed into law by the President: its independence. The Court concludes that they must stand.”

Special Counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger poses for a portrait in an undated handout image.   (U.S. Office of Special Counsel/Handout via REUTERS )

Dellinger has maintained the argument that, by law, he can only be dismissed from his position for job performance problems, which were not cited in an email dismissing him from his post.

Journalists work outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Earlier in February, liberal Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson voted to outright deny the administration’s request to approve the firing.

Conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito dissented, saying the lower court overstepped. They also cast doubt on whether courts have the authority to restore to office someone the president has fired. While acknowledging that some officials appointed by the president have contested their removal, Gorsuch wrote in his opinion that “those officials have generally sought remedies like backpay, not injunctive relief like reinstatement.”

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., called out his own party the day after President Donald Trump’s address before a joint session of Congress, warning that the Democrats are becoming like a blaring car alarm that people ignore.

“A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained. We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to—and it may not be the winning message,” the senator said in a post on X.

Some lawmakers held signs up during Trump’s speech with messages including “FALSE,” “SAVE MEDICAID,” “PROTECT VETERANS” and “MUSK STEALS.”

‘COULDN’T CLAP FOR A 13-YEAR-OLD BOY’: GOP SLAM ‘CHILDISH’ DEM SILENCE ON SUPPORTING CANCER SURVIVOR

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks to reporters in the Senate Subway during a series of confirmation votes for U.S. President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees at the U.S. Capitol Building on Feb. 12, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was removed from the chamber after being disruptive. 

Some Democrats opted not to attend the address and a few others who did attend chose to walk out.

“The Democrats should lose the Midterms based on their behavior at last night’s Joint Address to Congress,” Trump declared in a Wednesday post on Truth Social.

Trump declared that “Republicans should utilize the footage provided on the total disrespect they showed to all of those that were honored that night, including young ladies who were killed by illegal migrants, people with terminal cancer, etc. They didn’t even have the common courtesy to stand, smile, or applaud. This could be, on analyzing the full tape of this Historic Event, your full CAMPAIGN TO VICTORY! In other words, Republicans can take what happened last night, and win any Race in the Country.”

BILL TO PREVENT MALES FROM WOMEN’S SPORTS RECEIVES NO SUPPORT FROM SENATE DEMS: WHO WERE THEY?

Fetterman on Wednesday agreed with Trump’s strong warning toward the terror group Hamas.

“You can choose. Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” Trump declared on Truth Social. “I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say.”

“This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance. Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”

Fetterman, a staunch supporter of Israel, approved of Trump’s warning.

“Free all the hostages or start killing Hamas members again. I fully agree with @POTUS,” the senator tweeted.

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An agreement between the terror group and Israel called for negotiations regarding a second phase during which hostages would be freed in exchange for additional Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and Israel pulling out of Gaza, according to the Associated Press.

Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said that the “best path to free the remaining Israeli hostages” is via negotiations regarding that phase, the AP reported.

President Donald Trump said he has notified Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser that she needs to “clean up all of the unsightly homeless encampments” within the city or the federal government “will be forced to do it for her.”

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, the president specifically referenced areas near the State Department and the White House that are populated with homeless encampments that need to be removed, adding that the nation’s capital “must become CLEAN and SAFE!”

“If she is not capable of doing so, we will be forced to do it for her!” Trump wrote, in part. “We want to be proud of our Great Capital again. Thank you Mayor Bowser for your efforts on behalf of the Citizens of our Country. Hopefully you will be successful!”

TRUMP THROWS SUPPORT BEHIND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TAKING OVER DC 

President Donald Trump said the federal government “will be forced” to clean up the “unsightly” homeless encampments within Washington, D.C., if Mayor Muriel Bowser doesn’t have it done herself. (Getty)

Trump has previously stated that he supports the federal government taking over the nation’s capital if it cannot be managed correctly, adding that the city cannot remain as it is when foreign leaders come to town.

“They’re not doing the job,” Trump said last month, arguing that there is “too much crime” and “too many tents on the lawns – these magnificent lawns.”

Despite his criticism of the city, Trump has said he likes the Democratic mayor personally. The two met in December to discuss their shared priorities for Washington, D.C., a moment that was described by Bowser as a “great meeting.”

Homeless people live in tents on the sidewalk near the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 20, 2025. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“President Trump and I both want Washington, DC to be the best, most beautiful city in the world and we want the capital city to reflect the strength of our nation,” Bowser said in December.

DC BLACK LIVES MATTER PLAZA TO GET NEW LOOK, REPLACE STREET MURAL AS PART OF ‘EVOLUTION’ 

Trump’s social media post on Wednesday also comes one day after Bowser announced the city will be replacing its controversial Black Lives Matter Plaza with murals by students and artists as part of DC’s America 250 project ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary next year.

When the plaza was constructed in 2021, Bowser said it would be a permanent installation.

Black Lives Matter Plaza was constructed in Washington, D.C., near the White House in 2021. It was initially planned to be a permanent installation within the city. (Andrew Harnik, file)

“The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a painful period, but now we can’t afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference,” Bowser’s statement said, referencing a recently-introduced bill that calls for changing the plaza. “The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern.”

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Details surrounding a date for the plaza’s transformation were not given.

As calls continue to grow for the Democratic Party to moderate following a disappointing performance in the November election, the Democratic National Committee announced the hiring of an executive director with a history of promoting far-left ideologies. 

The DNC announced the hiring of Roger Lau as executive director in a press release highlighting his long career, which includes working on campaigns for Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

A Fox News Digital review found multiple instances of Lau associating with progressive causes, including signing onto a letter in 2020 that claimed the United States is built on “racism” and “genocide.” 

“Our country was built on the foundation of racism, ranging from the genocide of indigenous people, chattel slavery, racial profiling of young men of color, and a criminal justice system that tears families apart,” the letter signed by Lau and over 100 other AAPI community leaders in June 2020 stated at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement as rioters were attempting to burn down cities across the country. 

LEFT-WING STREAMER WALKS BACK COMMENT ABOUT KILLING RICK SCOTT FOLLOWING TWITCH SUSPENSION

Roger Lau was recently named executive director of the DNC  (Getty)

The letter announced support for a “10-point plan” to address “police violence” and “racial justice” which contains measures that include a commission on “structural racism” and declaring racism a “public health crisis.”

Lau’s adherence the Black Lives Matter platform at the time made its way into one of Sen. Warren’s speeches according to an ABC News report in 2020 that said Lau was behind putting hidden BLM messages into the senator’s DNC speech. 

MEET THE FAR-LEFT GROUPS FUNDING ANTI-DOGE PROTESTS AT GOP OFFICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) reacts on the stage on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 22, 2024.  (REUTERS/Kevin Wurm)

Lau can be seen taking part in a video posted on the YouTube page of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who recently sparked controversy by offering condolences to the family of a man shot while trying to stab innocent bystanders in a Chick-fil-A, that warned about “white supremacy culture.”

Lau’s resume also includes opposition to a resolution that condemned the Chinese Communist Party for misleading the world on the origin and spread of coronavirus. 

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David Hogg, American gun control activist, speaks during the Texas Democratic Party Convention in El Paso, Texas, at the El Paso Convention Center on Friday, June 7, 2024. (GABY VELASQUEZ/ EL PASO TIMES / USA TODAY NETWORK)

“The DNC is laser-focused on equipping Democrats across the country with the tools they need to win, and I am honored to support Chair Martin in this critical work,” Lau said in the press release that announced his hiring. “When we’re in the opposition party, the work of the DNC is more important than ever. This team will leverage the vast infrastructure that we’ve built within the DNC and our state parties while meeting this moment by deepening our partnerships, strengthening grassroots organizing, and turbocharging messaging to win elections.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to the DNC for comment.

The DNC has already faced criticism over some of the other new faces it has brought in to lead the party into the midterms, including new Vice Chair David Hogg, whose old social media posts went viral as conservative activists sounded the alarm about his past policy positions and rhetoric against conservatives.

Conservatives on social media also had a field day mocking the DNC for featuring a handful of “beyond parody” moments during its leadership vote earlier this month, which critics said underscores that Democrats have “learned absolutely nothing” from their 2024 election losses. 

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey and Emma Colton contributed to this report

The chief of staff for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was recently arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated, Fox News can confirm.

Hayden Haynes was arrested just before midnight on Tuesday evening for allegedly getting behind the wheel of a vehicle while drunk. The arrest took place around an hour after President Donald Trump‘s joint address to Congress wrapped up.

U.S. Capitol Police (USCP), who did not identify the suspect, confirmed the arrest to Fox News.

“A driver backed into a parked vehicle last night around 11:40 p.m,” a USCP spokesperson said. “We responded and arrested them for DUI.” 

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED DURING PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S 6TH WEEK IN OFFICE

Hayden Haynes, inset, the chief of staff for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated. (Mike Johnson/Facebook | Nathan Howard/Reuters)

Haynes has worked in Johnson’s office since 2017 and became chief of staff in October 2023, according to LegiStorm records. He was Johnson’s campaign manager in 2016.

A Louisiana native, Haynes graduated from Louisana Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in 2011, later earning a graduate degree from Gonzaga University in 2014.

In a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, Johnson’s office said that the speaker still has “full faith and confidence” in Haynes’ “ability to lead the Speaker’s office.”

TRUMP GIVES JOHNSON ‘COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT’ AHEAD OF SPEAKERSHIP FIGHT

President Donald Trump arrives to address a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Behind him are Vice President JD Vance, left, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La. (Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters)

“The Speaker is aware of the encounter that occurred last night involving his Chief of Staff and the Capitol Police,” the statement read. “The Speaker has known and worked closely with Hayden for nearly a decade and trusted him to serve as his Chief of Staff for his entire tenure in Congress.”

“Because of this and Hayden’s esteemed reputation among Members and staff alike, the Speaker has full faith and confidence in Hayden’s ability to lead the Speaker’s office.”

Before the arrest took place, Johnson appeared on “Hannity” to praise Trump’s speech and said that Democrats “brought shame on themselves and their party” by disrupting the event.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson shakes hands with President-elect Donald Trump onstage at a House Republicans Conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Nov. 13, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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“I’m sure it was received as well at home as it was there by the Republicans and the audience up in the gallery,” Johnson said. “It was really shameful what the Democrats did. I mean, they really it was quite a spectacle. They brought shame on themselves and their party.”

“But the American people are following what the president is delivering, and they are appreciating it.”

DJ Daniel, a 13-year-old brain cancer survivor with a dream of working in law enforcement, visited President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House just hours after warming millions of hearts Tuesday night when he was named an honorary Secret Service member during the president’s joint address to Congress.

In a video shared on X, Daniel could be seen standing next to Trump in the Oval Office before saying, “There’s one more thing I got for ya: a big hug.”

The president responds, “OK good, that’s very nice,” as they embrace.

13-YEAR-OLD CANCER SURVIVOR EARNS STANDING OVATION AS HE BECOMES SECRET SERVICE AGENT DURING TRUMP SPEECH

DJ Daniel meets President Donald Trump in the Oval Office a day after being named an honorary Secret Service member.

Trump then shakes Daniel’s father’s hand and asks how he is doing, before adding, “That was a big evening last night, right? That was a big evening.”

The Texas boy’s expression during the surprise Tuesday night went viral on social media, along with video of his father holding him up in the air to hug director of the U.S. Secret Service Sean Curran, who presented him with a customized Secret Service badge.

SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLODES AFTER DEMS DO NOT STAND FOR 13-YEAR-OLD CANCER SURVIVOR: ‘TRULY SICK PEOPLE’

“I was not expecting it,” Daniel told “Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy on Wednesday. “Nobody even told us [it was going to happen].”

Doctors gave him just five months to live after his brain cancer diagnosis in 2018, yet he survived and endured numerous surgeries.

Devarjay “DJ” Daniel holds an honorary U.S. Secret Service special agent ID, presented to him by director of the U.S. Secret Service Sean Curran, right, as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

During the address, Trump noted Daniel’s father had been on a “quest” to make his son’s dream of becoming a police officer come true, and Daniel had already been sworn in as an honorary member of several local police departments.

DJ Daniel shows off his custom Secret Service badge. The 13-year-old is battling brain cancer. (Fox News Digital)

Daniels later told “Fox & Friends” he hoped the brown cowboy hat he gifted Trump from Texas made it past security.

Tuesday night’s honor was not the first heartwarming moment for Daniels caught on camera.

Tennessee Highway Patrol shared a flashback video of Daniel being sworn in as an honorary trooper and Nashville Police Department officer in 2022.

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“From an honorary Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper and @MNPDNashville Police Officer, to the newest honorary Special Agent of the United States @SecretService – Congratulations #DJDaniel,” the agency wrote.

Fox News’ Taylor Penley contributed to this report.