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A group of migrants is suing the Trump administration for ending a deportation shield for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living in the U.S., claiming that the move was illegal and driven by race.

The 48-page federal suit names Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. government for revoking Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 600,000 Venezuelans.

TPS grants protection from deportation and allows work permits for nationals living in the U.S. from countries deemed unsafe for them to be returned. Then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced extensions for TPS for Venezuela, as well as El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine, for an additional 18 months in the final few days of the Biden administration. That move, if left in place, would have complicated President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport large numbers of those nationalities.

President Donald Trump attends a town hall, moderated by then-South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on October 14, 2024.  (IM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

KRISTI NOEM JOINS IMMIGRATION RAID TO CATCH ‘DIRTBAGS’ IN MAJOR SANCTUARY CITY

“These actions have the effect of robbing 600,000 Venezuelan TPS holders of the right to live and work in this country for the next 18 months,” the lawsuit reads. 

Without the protection, at least 350,000 Venezuelan TPS holders stand to lose their legal status on April 7 and their work authorization as soon as April 2, per the lawsuit.

Another 257,000 will also be affected by September, according to the Miami Harald. Venezuelans were among the top nationalities coming into the U.S. at the height of the 2021-2024 border crisis, with many also coming in through a separate parole policy for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans—a program now ended by the Trump administration.

The program for TPS for Venezuelans was put in place amid the severe economic and political crises ongoing in the country, which has seen millions flee.

The suit takes aim at Noem and comments she made when announcing the decision to revoke the TPS. 

“The Secretary’s decisions also were motivated at least in part by racial animus, in contravention of the Fifth Amendment,” the suit reads. “That is clear from statements the Secretary made when announcing the decisions themselves, labeling Venezuelan TPS holders as ‘dirtbags’ —an expression of racism made by the official decisionmaker as part of her explanation for the decision.”

Noem made the comments while referring to a criminal illegal alien who had been apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on kidnapping, assault and burglary charges.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem participates in an immigration session in New York City. (Department of Homeland Security)

TRUMP ADMIN ENDS DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR MASSIVE NUMBER OF VENEZUELANS AMID ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

“Making matters worse, that statement is just one among a torrent of similar racist statements that Secretary Noem, President Trump, and members of the Trump campaign and administration have made to attack and marginalize nonwhite immigrants generally, and the Venezuelan TPS community in particular,” the suit continues.

The plaintiffs accuse Noem of conflating many TPS holders as being members of the violent Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) who have been terrorizing communities across the country. The plaintiffs claim that TdA’s threat to the U.S. are “overblown.

They also accuse Noem of a “baseless assertion” that Venezuela emptied its mental health facilities and sent them to the United States.

Additionally, they claim that she does not have the legal authority to revoke the TPS order.

The plaintiffs are calling on the courts to cancel Noem’s actions and reinstate the extension.

The suit was filed in San Francisco by the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network on behalf of eight Venezuelan TPS holders.

The plaintiffs include two university students, a factory worker with a 12-year-old daughter and an instructional coach who’s been living in the U.S. for 12 years. The latter’s mother, father, brother, sister and nephews all live in the U.S. and are U.S. citizens, per the lawsuit.

Migrants, mostly from Venezuela, move into Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept. 20, 2023. (Fox News)

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The lawsuit goes on to accuse Trump and his administration officials of embracing racist talking points, specifically White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who they accuse of supporting white nationalism and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio espoused an exaggerated depiction of TdA. 

“During President Trump’s first term, every federal district court to consider the question found ‘evidence that President Trump harbors an animus against non-white, non-European aliens which influenced his (and thereby the Secretary’s) decision to end the TPS designation[s]’ for El Salvador, Haiti, Sudan, and Nicaragua in 2017 and 2018,” the suit reads.

“The evidence adduced in those cases further illustrates that the conduct challenged here is part of a premeditated effort to terminate TPS without regard to applicable law or standards, and to further a racist agenda.”

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report. 

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem signed a memo this week deputizing up to 600 State Department officials as immigration officers, as part of a government-wide push to ramp up deportations and secure the border.

Noem signed an order that deputized up to 600 special agents in the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service to help with the arrest and deportation of illegal immigrants.

“Under President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security will use every tool and resource available to secure our border and get criminal illegal aliens out of our country,” Noem said in a statement. “The safety of American citizens comes first.”

TRUMP’S DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY LOOKING TO DEPUTIZE IRS AGENTS FOR IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

ICE agents arrested seven illegal immigrants during a workforce operation raid. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

The move is the latest effort by the department to expand the number of officials involved in immigration enforcement, amid a push by the Trump administration to aggressively increase the arrests and deportation of illegal immigrants.

DHS has deputized IRS employees, law enforcement components of the Justice Department and law enforcement officials with the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

“It is DHS’s understanding that the Department of Treasury has qualified law enforcement personnel available to assist with immigration enforcement, especially in light of recent increases to the Internal Revenue Service’s work force and budget,” Noem said last week.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. (Getty)

Fox News Digital reported last week that interior arrests have skyrocketed compared to the same period in 2024, while numbers of crossings of illegal immigrants at the border have continued to trend downward. According to Department of Homeland Security data, there were 11,791 interior ICE arrests from Jan. 20 to Feb. 8, compared to 4,969 during the same period in 2024. That is a 137% increase.

The administration has said it is trying to target the “worst of the worst,” focusing on criminal illegal immigrants and gang members but has also stressed that it is not ruling anyone out of contention. 

TRUMP FLOATS GUTTING THE IRS, MOVING AGENTS TO THE BORDER ARMED WITH GUNS

Meanwhile, the administration has secured additional cooperation at the border from Mexico and Canada, as well as agreements from Venezuela and Colombia to take back their nationals.

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DHS has also moved to shut down Biden-era parole programs and the use of Temporary Protected Status to allow migrants to avoid deportation. The administration is also tapping into the resources of the Pentagon by deploying the military to the border and is also using Guantanamo Bay to house illegal immigrants. 

Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers have launched an effort to withdraw the U.S. from the United Nations, amid concern that the international humanitarian and human rights organization fails to promote American interests and align with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda. 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced legislation Thursday called the Disengaging Entirely From the United Nations Debacle Act of 2025, which would terminate U.S. membership in the U.N. and its affiliated bodies, and funding to those groups. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is co-sponsoring the measure in the upper chamber. 

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is poised to introduce the measure in the House Friday, claiming that the U.N. and its bodies don’t advance the interests of Americans. 

TRUMP REINSTATES ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ CAMPAIGN AGAINST IRAN 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., introduced legislation in the Senate that would cut U.S. involvement from the United Nations.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

“The United Nations has devolved into a platform for tyrants and a venue to attack America and her allies,” Lee said in a Thursday statement to Fox News Digital. “We should stop paying for it. As President Trump revolutionizes our foreign policy by putting America first, we should withdraw from this sham organization and prioritize real alliances that keep our country safe and prosperous.”

The U.S. provides more funding than any other country to the U.N., donating more than $18 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. foreign policy think tank the Council on Foreign Relations. That makes up roughly a third of the U.N.’s entire collective budget. 

“The United Nations has enjoyed American tax money while often undermining our interests, attacking our allies and bolstering our adversaries,” Roy said in a Thursday statement to Fox News Digital.

“What has the United Nations achieved?” Roy said. “Despite all of the money and the attention, this corrupt globalist organization has, for decades, failed to prevent wars, genocides, human rights violations and even pandemics.”

HEAD OF UN WATCHDOG SAYS UNRWA HIRED PEOPLE ‘WHO WERE SUPPORTING TERRORISM’

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, will introduce the measure in the House on Feb. 20, 2025. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Specifically, Roy pointed to U.N. groups like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which assists Palestinian refugees and their descendants. 

However, the organization has come under scrutiny after a U.N. investigation found that UNRWA employees may have been involved in Palestinian-militant group Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The U.S. temporarily halted funding for UNRWA in January 2024 in response to the report. 

“No sane country would stand for this,” Roy said in his statement. 

Republican Reps. Mike Rogers of Alabama, Eli Crane of Arizona, Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia co-sponsored the legislation. 

The legislation also specifies that the U.S. may not participate in peace negotiations with the U.N., and bars the executive branch from entering any agreements for membership with the U.N. or its subsidiaries without Senate approval. 

DAYS BEFORE TRUMP HALTED FUNDING, AN EX-ISRAELI HOSTAGE WAS HELD AT UNRWA SCHOOL IN GAZA, SHE REVEALS

Co-sponsors of the measure in the House include the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama.  (Getty Images)

The U.N. also has received pushback from Democrats amid the Israel–Hamas conflict. For example, 11 Democrats joined Republican counterparts in sending a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in October 2024, claiming the U.N. has failed to remain neutral and has “definitively taken sides against Israel.” 

The lawmakers pointed to a resolution the United Nations General Assembly passed that Israel return all land and assets it settled in the Palestinian Territories since 1967.

“We will not accept the U.N.’s ongoing hostility to our ally Israel,” the lawmakers wrote.

The American people remain divided on their views of the U.N. For example, more than 70% of Democrats and liberal-leaning independents reported they maintained a favorable view of the U.N., compared to 34% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, according to a Pew Research Center survey released in April 2024. 

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Trump sought to cut or reduce funding to U.N. groups during his first term, and he has also done so in his second term. He signed an executive order in February pulling the U.S. out of the U.N.’s Human Rights Council and cutting funding for UNRWA. 

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

A federal judge on Thursday ordered Trump administration officials to comply with his previous order to temporarily lift a freeze on nearly all foreign aid, temporarily restoring it to programs worldwide. 

In his order, Judge Amir H. Ali, a Biden appointee, said Trump administration officials had used his Feb. 13 order to temporarily lift the freeze on foreign aid to instead “come up with a new, post-hoc rationalization for the en masse suspension” of funding. 

Despite the judge’s order to the contrary, USAID Deputy Secretary Pete Marocco, a Trump appointee, and other top officials had “continued their blanket suspension of funds,” Ali said.

Still, the Washington, D.C. district court judge declined a request by nonprofit groups doing business with the U.S. Agency for International Development to find Trump administration officials in contempt of his order.

TRUMP’S DOGE STAYS ON TRACK AFTER PAIR OF FEDERAL JUDGE RULINGS

Flowers and a sign are placed outside the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Ali’s ruling comes in a lawsuit by the nonprofit groups challenging the Trump administration’s month-old cutoff of foreign assistance through USAID and the State Department, which shut down $60 billion in annual aid and development programs overseas almost overnight.

Even after Ali’s order, USAID staffers and contractors say the State Department and USAID still have not restored payments, even on hundreds of millions of dollars already owed by the government.

President Donald Trump waves as he walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Marocco and other administration officials defended the nonpayment in written arguments to the judge this week. They contended that they could lawfully stop or terminate payments under thousands of contracts without violating the judge’s order.

The Trump administration says it is reviewing all State Department and USAID foreign assistance programs on a case-by-case basis to see which ones meet the Trump administration’s agenda.

TRUMP’S DOGE STAYS ON TRACK AFTER PAIR OF FEDERAL JUDGE RULINGS

Aid organizations, current and former USAID staffers in interviews and court affidavits, say the funding freeze and deep Trump administration purges of USAID staffers have brought U.S. foreign assistance globally to a halt, forced thousands of layoffs and is driving government partners to financial collapse.

FILE: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk delivers remarks as he joins U.S. President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Led by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s efforts at the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the department has been what Musk characterizes as a crusade to cut government spending and downside the federal workforce. 

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DOGE so far claims to have saved some $55 billion via cuts to USAID, the Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But many of DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts have brought legal challenges.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A blue California city voted last week to impose a strict ban on camping on public property, including penalties such as fines or jail time for those “causing, permitting, aiding, abetting, or concealing” homeless encampments. 

While activists argue the ordinance “criminalizes” homelessness, one advocate — who himself once struggled with drug addiction and a period of homelessness — tells Fox News Digital that the Fremont City Council’s actions reflect a growing “frustration” with the escalating crisis affecting cities across the state.

“This entire ordinance was born out of frustration regarding their inability to mitigate the homeless issue, and because politicians are afraid or lack political will, in many cases, to make the hard choices that need to be made,” Tom Wolf, founder of the San Francisco Bay-area nonprofit Pacific Alliance for Prevention and Recovery, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

Wolf, who himself was homeless for six months while addicted to fentanyl and heroin in 2018, said that Fremont’s ordinance is “not criminalizing homelessness,” but rather it is “criminalizing the behaviors that are exhibited by people who happen to be experiencing homelessness and are also struggling with drug addiction.”

CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY ALARMED BY HOMELESS CAMPS FOUND IN UNDERGROUND CAVES: ‘HUGE SAFETY HAZARD’

Homeless and fentanyl split image (Getty Images)

“It’s not as controversial as people and the media are blowing it up to be controversial, because it’s a departure from the approach that we’ve been taking for the last eight to 10 years in California, which is, ‘Oh, everyone just needs a home,’ Wolf said, referring to the state’s “Housing First” model adopted several years ago, which prioritizes providing shelter and temporary housing units to homeless without requiring sobriety or wraparound drug addiction services to people.

The Fremont City Council voted 6-1 last week in a lengthy session in favor of banning camping on any public property “including any street, sidewalk, park, open space, waterway, or banks of a waterway or any private property not designated and equipped for such camping” as well as “any land designated as a high fire risk area.”

Fremont is roughly 40 miles south of San Francisco.

The new ordinance states that anyone “causing, permitting, aiding, abetting or concealing” encampments shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subjected to either a $1000 fine or up to six months in jail. Violators may also be subjected to a temporary seizure of personal property.

CALIFORNIA CITY PASSES SWEEPING HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT BAN ON ALL PUBLIC PROPERTY

A homeless encampment in Balboa Park, San Diego, CA, Wednesday, January 8, 2025. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

“Fremont is not a conservative city,” conservative think tank California Policy Center expert Edward Ring told Fox News Digital. “It’s part of one of the most liberal regions in the country. So, the fact that they’re doing this, it’s not a reflection of some sort of harsh conservative mentality.”

“It’s a bipartisan conclusion, a non-partisan conclusion, that the city council has come to, and they’ve apparently decided that just a ban isn’t going to be sufficient, because there are so many groups associated with the homeless nowadays that call themselves advocates for the homeless,” Ring added.

“But what they’re basically doing by aggressively protecting the right of people to camp in public spaces, for example, is perpetuating homelessness,” he said.

These groups include nonprofits and homeless outreach workers who offer services to homeless people. These services include optional substance abuse treatment, housing, temporary shelter, tents, and even “safe” supplies for drug use, in line with the state-sanctioned “Harm Reduction” model, which focuses on preventing overdoses and infections rather than stopping drug use altogether.

Wolf said he takes issue with much of the Harm Reduction’s strategy because “people are going to still continue to use because they’re out there on the street addicted to drugs.”

As of the 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, which provides a snapshot of homelessness on a single night completed annually, Fremont reported 612 homeless individuals, marking a 21% decrease from the previous count in 2022.

California’s homeless population was estimated at approximately 187,000 after last year’s PIT count, making it the highest in the nation for unsheltered homeless people. The 2025 count is currently underway across the state’s cities.

CALIFORNIA PLANS TO CONTINUE ALLOWING TRANS ATHLETES TO COMPETE IN GIRLS’ SPORTS DESPITE TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER

Oakland Homeless encampment (Getty Images)

“The purpose of this chapter is to maintain streets, parks and other public and private areas within the city in a clean, sanitary and accessible condition and to adequately protect the health, safety and public welfare of the community, while recognizing that, subject to reasonable conditions, camping and camp facilities associated with special events can be beneficial to the cultural and educational climate in the city,” the ordinance reads.

It continued, “The use of streets and public areas within the city for camping purposes or for storage of personal property interferes with the rights of the public to use these areas for which they were intended. Such activity can constitute a public health and safety hazard that adversely impacts residential neighborhoods and commercial areas. Camping without the consent of the owner and proper sanitary measures adversely affects private property rights, public health, safety, and welfare of the city. Nothing in this chapter is intended to interfere with otherwise lawful and ordinary uses of public or private property.”

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Beyond California, cities like Washougal, Washington, have also adopted anti-camping restrictions, though Fremont’s is unique due to its penalties.

The anti-camping law comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that local governments have the authority to ban camping on public property, allowing cities to clear homeless encampments. The decision came after the Court declined to review a lower court ruling that upheld Boise, Idaho’s ban on camping, effectively setting a precedent for other municipalities to follow.

Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.

Senate Republicans scored a win over their House counterparts in the early morning hours of Friday, officially passing their preferred budget resolution to tackle some of President Trump’s priorities, such as securing the southern border. 

After hours of back-to-back voting on Democratic amendments, the bill to fund border security, energy and defense finally got its vote on the chamber floor. 

“[T]his particular budget resolution… addresses the president’s priority, top priority, which is securing the border and implementing and putting in place his immigration policies, rebuilding our military, and creating energy dominance for this country,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Wednesday, previewing the eventual vote. 

The leader and Republicans in the upper chamber started to move forward with the all-important budget reconciliation process earlier this month, pushing their preferred plan through a key committee and clearing a procedural hurdle. 

EXCLUSIVE: DEMS TO FORCE VOTES ON MEDICAID AS IT BECOMES SORE POINT IN SENATE BUDGET FIGHT

Thune succeeded McConnell as Republican leader. (Getty Images)

The move came despite House Republicans being expected to take the lead on passing a budget bill first. Thune and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also pressed on even after Trump came out in support of the House’s proposal, endorsing it earlier this week on Truth Social. 

The decision to move forward with the Senate’s alternative budget plan, which is two-pronged as opposed to the House’s effort to pass one large bill, was blessed by Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday, a source told Fox News Digital.

Trump himself did not seem bothered by their effort either, posting on Truth Social, “Thank you to Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Senate, for working so hard on funding the Trump Border Agenda. We are setting records, the likes of which have never been seen before, on stopping criminal illegals aliens from entering our Country. Put simply, we are delivering for the American People, far faster and, more successfully, than anyone thought possible. Your work on funding this effort is greatly appreciated!”

SCOOP: REPUBLICAN DANIEL CAMERON BLASTED BY LIKELY GOP OPPONENT AS MCCONNELL SUCCESSOR FIGHT BEGINS

Trump initially said he wanted one bill. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

The Senate’s procedural vote earlier in the week triggered a 50-hour debate clock that ended on Thursday night. Then, a marathon of votes, known as a “Vote-a-Rama,” began. 

Senators were able to introduce an unlimited number of amendments, of which many received floor votes. The process forced Republicans to take many potentially uncomfortable votes teed up by their Democratic counterparts. 

“Tonight, one amendment at a time, Democrats exposed Republicans’ true colors here on the Senate floor. For the first time this year, Senate Republicans were forced to go on record and defend their plans to cut taxes for Donald Trump’s billionaire friends. What happened tonight was only the beginning. This debate is going to go on for weeks and maybe months. Democrats will be ready to come back and do this over and over again, because Americans deserve to know the truth,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement following the budget resolution’s passage. 

“Again and again and again, Republicans sent a clear and consistent message from the Senate floor: under their agenda, billionaires win, and American families lose. If Republicans continue with this reckless plan to help their billionaire buddies at the expense of American families, Democrats will make sure the American people know the truth at every opportunity,” the Democratic leader continued. 

In the Senate Republicans’ budget plan, the first reconciliation bill includes Trump’s priorities for border security, fossil fuel energy and national defense. The second bill, to be drawn up later in the year, would focus on extending Trump’s tax policies from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The cuts begin to expire at the end of 2025. 

SUSAN COLLINS VOWS TO OPPOSE TRUMP FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE KASH PATEL AHEAD OF CRITICAL VOTE

Thune and Graham moved forward with the White House’s blessing. (Getty Images)

By lowering the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51 out of 100, reconciliation allows the party in power to skirt its opposition to advance its agenda – provided the items included relate to budgetary and other fiscal matters. The House of Representatives already has a simple majority threshold.

The process is crucial for Republicans, who have a trifecta in Washington, to get key Trump goals accomplished. 

KASH PATEL’S CONFIRMATION AS TRUMP FBI PICK ‘WILL HAUNT YOU,’ SENATE DEMS WARN GOP AHEAD OF VOTE

The House hasn’t brought their budget to the floor yet. (Getty Images)

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has claimed that the Senate’s first budget bill, along with its two-pronged approach, would be dead on arrival in the lower chamber. He has remained committed to including tax cuts in the bill with border security and other priorities. 

The House has managed to move their version through the appropriate committee, but a floor vote has yet to be scheduled. 

EXCLUSIVE: Governors from across the country are descending upon Washington, D.C., this week for the National Governors Association’s winter meeting. Among them is Gov. Tate Reeves, R-Miss., who said the Department of Government Efficiency has renewed Republican governors’ optimism in the federal government.

Reeves, who was elected governor of Mississippi in 2019 and re-elected in 2023, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview at the Republican Governors Association that DOGE aligns with Republican governors’ “fiscal sanity.”

“There’s no doubt that Republican governors lead the nation in fiscal responsibility and, quite frankly, in fiscal sanity. Part of that is because, as governors, we have to balance our budgets back home. For us to see the efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency, by Elon Musk and his team with the support of President Trump, it gives us great reason for optimism, because we think that there are literally billions and billions of dollars in spending in the federal government that should not be spent, that are for waste, fraud and abuse,” Reeves said. 

The second-term governor said most Americans appreciate DOGE’s audit and Republicans won’t allow the federal government to spend American taxpayer dollars on “some of the crazy things that have been identified in the last several weeks.”

SURPRISING NEW POLL NUMBERS RELEASED ON TRUMP’S PERFORMANCE SO FAR IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Mississippi Republican gubernatorial candidate Tate Reeves, left, stands with President Donald Trump during a “Keep America Great” campaign rally at BancorpSouth Arena on November 1, 2019 in Tupelo, Mississippi. (Brandon Dill/Getty Images)

“We believe that we ought to treat the taxpayers’ money exactly the way we would treat our own money. We’re not going to allow our own money to be spent on things that don’t make sense. We don’t think we ought to use the taxpayers’ money, spending them on things like what has been found in the last couple of three weeks,” Reeves added.

MUSK WEIGHS A ‘DOGE DIVIDEND’ TO SEND AMERICANS CHECKS USING SAVED FUNDS

Meanwhile, Reeves can’t wrap his head around Democrats’ rejection of government efficiency. 

“I’m really perplexed as to why Democrats have not actually supported these efforts,” Reeves said. “There was a time in America where all politicians of reasonable stripes would say we ought to try to make government more efficient. We ought to ensure that government money is being spent in the right way.”

Reeves questioned who benefited from the misuse of taxpayer dollars during President Joe Biden’s administration. 

“The Democrats’ opposition to these audits is really beyond my ability to comprehend. The reality is that they are fighting for waste, fraud and abuse in government. It’s almost as if they want that waste, fraud and abuse. It drives you to the question of who’s benefiting from the way in which the Biden administration spent these dollars in the last four years.”

Democrats have called DOGE’s ongoing layoffs and President Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders a “constitutional crisis.” Reeves said Trump is doing exactly what he was elected to do. 

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves delivers his State of the State address to the Mississippi State Legislature, Feb. 26, 2024, at the state Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

“When you talk about their claims of a constitutional crisis, a duly elected president managing the executive branch of government is not a constitutional crisis. In fact, it is exactly what the duly elected executive is supposed to do. President Trump is doing exactly what he got the mandate to do when he was elected overwhelmingly in the election in November. He got that mandate in large part because the Democrats have gone so far to the left that most people in the middle don’t even recognize the Democrat Party of today, and they’re just continuing down that path in deciding that government efficiency is not something they want to support,” Reeves said. 

Reeves added Trump’s return to the White House has empowered governors’ voices on both sides of the political aisle, drawing a stark contrast between President Joe Biden’s and Trump’s presidencies. 

“Having President Trump in office is a big plus, not only for me or for our Republican governors, but really for all governors,” Reeves said. “The first thing I would say about President Trump is that it is just completely different than what we saw during the Biden years, regardless of politics, regardless of policy views. President Trump respects and wants to hear from governors. He wants to know what other chief executives are doing in the states. We have a voice and that’s incredibly important.”

Mississippi incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and his family speak to supporters during an election night watch party at The Refuge Hotel & Conference Center on November 7, 2023 in Flowood, Mississippi. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Reeves said, unlike what he saw during Biden’s administration, Trump genuinely values all governors’ opinions, and having access to the president again is encouraging. 

“I think even some of those governors on the other side of the political aisle will recognize that it’s certainly something that President Trump values is our opinion. That’s something that we’re going to see over the next few days, having multiple opportunities to sit down and visit with the president, so that’s encouraging.”

Reeves said Trump’s return to Washington is building on Mississippi’s momentum in education, artificial intelligence and manufacturing. 

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“We want to work with President Trump in his efforts to onshore more manufacturing. That’s something that’s important to Mississippi’s economy. Many states across the country gave up on manufacturing 20 years ago. Mississippi never gave up on manufacturing. And that’s the reason we have a workforce that is ready for tremendous economic growth and prosperity. We’re going to take advantage of that,” Reeves said. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled he was not a fan of a proposal to send Americans stimulus checks with the money saved by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and that he believed the funding was better directed toward the national debt.

“Well, look, I mean, politically, that would be great for us, you know, because that gives everybody a check,” Johnson said during a Q&A session at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday.

“But if you think about our core principles, right, fiscal responsibility is what we do as conservatives. That’s our brand. And we have a $36 trillion federal debt.”

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., right, signaled he was not thrilled with President Donald Trump’s DOGE stimulus proposal. (Getty Images)

Johnson added there was a “giant deficit” — which is over $838 billion for fiscal year 2025 so far, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center — the U.S. was grappling with as well.

“I think we need to pay down the credit card. That’s what I think we need to do,” Johnson said.

It comes after President Donald Trump said he was considering giving 20% of DOGE-led savings back to U.S. taxpayers during a speech on Wednesday at the FII Priority Summit in Miami.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading DOGE, said Tuesday on X that he would “check with the president” about the proposal after it was first floated by Azoria investment firm CEO James Fishback.

Elon Musk wants DOGE to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget. (AP/Alex Brandon)

DOGE’s stated goal under Musk is to cut federal spending by $2 trillion.

During his sit-down remarks with Newsmax on Thursday, Johnson also warned that Americans could see the “largest tax increase in U.S. history” if Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was not extended before measures expired at the end of this year.

Congressional Republicans are currently trying to use their majorities to extend Trump’s tax cuts and pass his priorities on defense and the border via a massive bill using the budget reconciliation process.

BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS

Reconciliation will allow Johnson and Republicans to side-step House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. (Getty Images)

Under reconciliation, both the Senate and House operate under simple majorities, allowing the party in power to pass a massive budget bill without help from the opposition. Normally, the Senate’s threshold for passage is two-thirds.

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“We’re going to take a blowtorch to the regulatory state, get the bureaucracy back in check — lots of details, lots of subcategories under all that. But it’s going to be a big, beautiful bill. And it has to be by necessity, because that gives us the highest probability of success. Remember that I have a small margin in the House,” Johnson said. “I have one vote for much of this.”

Extending Trump’s tax cuts alone is expected to cost upwards of $4.5 trillion.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been circulating a list to congressional Republicans with the names of top military generals and officers he is interested in firing, Fox News has learned. 

Among the names on the list are U.S. Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the current Chief of Naval Operations and the second woman to be promoted to a four-star Admiral in the Navy’s history, a senior official said. 

“She is one of the folks on the list,” the official said. 

HEGSETH ORDERS PENTAGON TO MAKE PLANS FOR MAJOR BUDGET CUTS TO ALIGN WITH TRUMP’S PRIORITIES

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends a NATO Defence Ministers meeting at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium last week.  (REUTERS/Yves Herman)

So far, the list contains a “handful of names,” but it may not be the final version. It has been conveyed to Republican members of Congress, not Democrats. Several top Republicans on the Armed Services Committee said they heard about the list, but had not seen it themselves.

“I may have heard a rumor, but I’m not going to speculate on rumors,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told Fox. “No one has approached me about such a list other than people asking me questions.”  

Hegseth was slated to travel Friday to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to conduct a media interview, but the trip has been postponed until Tuesday.

Some officials have taken the postponement to be another sign that firings could be imminent. Late Friday is often the time that firings are announced in Washington. 

TRUMP ADMIN EXPECTED TO ENACT LAYOFF AT DEFENSE DEPARTMENT AMID DOGE ARRIVAL: REPORT

Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti on Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Getty Images)

During her tenure, Franchetti commanded two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Pacific and served as the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea. She also served as the deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting development, and director for strategy, plans, and policy of the Joint Staff. 

As head of the Navy’s 6th Fleet, she oversaw the Navy’s response to Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s use of chemical weapons.

“She is a war fighter with combat experience. She’s an operational leader. She’s a strategist. She’s an innovator,”Adm. Michael Gilday, the former Chief of Naval Operations, said when Franchetti was nominated by then-President Joe Biden in July 2023.

“She’s a team builder. She’s a trailblazer. She’s an example of personal and professional resilience and a testament to the power of the American dream to inspire service and sacrifice,” Gilday said.

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Hegseth has been outspoken about his belief that women should not serve in combat roles.

“I’m straight up saying that we should not have women in combat roles – it hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated,” he said on a Nov. 7, 2024 episode of the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast.

He later clarified his comments, saying his remarks had been “misconstrued, that I somehow don’t support women in the military, some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors out there are women.”

Joint Chiefs Chairman C.Q. Brown is also rumored to be on the list.

When asked if he would fire Brown on his first day in office, Hegseth said “I look forward to working with him.”

Brown was standing next to Hegseth as he answered the question.

Donning his “Dark Gothic MAGA” hat, a black coat and sunglasses, and wielding a chainsaw, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk made a surprise appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Thursday evening.

Musk spoke on a wide range of topics, including the latest DOGE updates, the Democratic and media hatred towards him and the importance of reducing waste and abuse in the federal government.

He also mentioned that he is in talks with President Donald Trump about issuing tax refunds to U.S. citizens from the money saved by DOGE.

‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS

At the start of his speech, the DOGE chief was joined by Argentinian President Javier Milei, who is also known for dramatically slashing the size of government in his country. The two men wielded a chainsaw hearkening back to a viral video of Milei and symbolizing their shared goals of cutting down government waste.

“I wasn’t really that interested in being political. It’s just like there was at a certain point no choice,” Musk explained. “The actions that we’re taking, with the support of the president and the support of the agencies, is what will save Medicare, what will save Social Security.” 

“That’s the reason I’m doing this,” he said. “Because I was looking at the big picture here and it’s like, man, it’s getting out of control.” 

“A country is no different from a person,” he went on. “[A] Country overspends, a country goes bankrupt in the same way as a person who overspends usually goes bankrupt. So, it’s not like optional to solve these things, it’s essential.”

TRUMP ISSUES WARNING ABOUT WASTEFUL SPENDING, ORDERS ‘RADICAL TRANSPARENCY’ AMID DOGE PROBES, REVELATIONS

Musk confirmed he is in talks with the president about the possibility of issuing “DOGE dividends” to U.S. taxpayers from the savings from cutting government waste.

“I talked to the president, and he’s supportive of that and so it sounds like, you know, that’s something we’re going to do,” he said. “So, as we’re finding savings, that’s going to translate directly to reductions in tax.”

He also criticized the Biden administration and entrenched government bureaucrats for what he called a “very obvious” scheme to use taxpayer dollars for their own ideological agenda, which he said included importing voters through mass immigration.

“You don’t actually have to assume some grand conspiracy, you just need to look at basic incentives,” he said. “If the probability [is] that an illegal is going to vote Democrat at some point … then the incentive is to maximize the number of illegals in the country. That is why the Biden administration was pushing to get in as many illegals as possible and spent every dollar possible to get as many [as they could] because every one of them is a customer.”

TRUMP FREEZES APPLICATIONS FOR BIDEN-ERA MIGRANT PROGRAMS AMID FRAUD, NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS

President Donald Trump speaks as Elon Musk, joined by his son X Æ A-Xii, listens in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Since Trump returned to the White House, Musk has been the center of much of Democratic and media vitriol because of his role with DOGE and work gutting wasteful government programs, many of which have been rooted in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and other favorite liberal causes.

DOGE claims that it has already cut $44 billion in previously wasted taxpayer dollars. 

“People ask me, what’s the most surprising thing that you’ve encountered when you got to DC?” he said. “Well, the most surprising thing is the scale of the expenditures and actually, how easy it is to – when you add caring and competence where it was absent before – you can actually save billions of dollars sometimes in the span of an hour. Like it’s wild.”

“It just shows that they really lack empathy for the average taxpayer who’s working hard, paying taxes and then and then they say: ‘Oh: ‘$1 million doesn’t matter.’ I’m like: ‘I think it matters a lot to people.’”

DOGE UNCOVERS OVER 4M GOVERNMENT CREDIT CARDS RESPONSIBLE FOR 90M TRANSACTIONS

A protester holds up a “NO MUSK” sign at the “No Kings on President’s Day” protest in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 17, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)

He made light of the widespread criticism against him from the media and the left.

“They’re always saying like ‘threat to our democracy.” But if you just replace democracy with bureaucracy, yeah, it makes a lot of sense. It makes perfect sense, big threat to the bureaucracy,” he said laughing. 

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Musk also explained some of his personal motivations for caring about fixing government overspending. 

“I grew up in South Africa, but my morality was informed by America. I read comic books, you know, played Dungeons and Dragons and I watched American T.V. shows, and it seemed like America cared about being the good guys, you know? About doing the right thing,” he said. “So, I was like, yeah, you want to be on the side of good, you want to care about what’s right.” 

President Donald Trump is making it very clear whom he would support in the blockbuster 2026 gubernatorial race to succeed term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“I am hearing that Highly Respected Congressman Byron Donalds is considering running for Governor of Florida, a State that I love, and WON BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024,” Trump, a Florida resident, wrote in a social media post on Thursday.

And the president emphasized that Donalds, a longtime Trump friend, ally and supporter, “would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida.”

Trump added that Donalds, “should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!”

WHAT BYRON DONALDS SAID ON FOX NEWS SUNDAY

Byron Donalds speaks inside the Capital One arena at an event for President Donald Trump, on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington D.C., on January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Segar (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Donalds, a conservative former state lawmaker who has represented parts of southwest Florida’s 19th District in Congress for four years, has been eyeing a potential gubernatorial bid for nearly a year.

“I’ve thought about it. I don’t really rule anything out,” Donalds said in a Fox News Digital interview last spring when asked about a possible run for governor.

Sources confirmed to Fox News last month that Donalds had been telling potential donors and Florida political players that he intends to run for governor.

WHY TRUMP IS PRAISING ONE-TIME PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY RIVAL DESANTIS

Another signal also came last month, when Donalds hired prominent Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio’s research firm. Fabrizio was a top pollster in Trump’s 2016 and 2024 presidential campaigns.

Sources in Florida tell Fox News that Donalds, behind the scenes, continues to make moves towards launching a gubernatorial campaign.

Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida speaks during Day 1 of the Republican National Convention, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024.  (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Donalds, responding to Trump’s social media post, took to X to write “President Trump is Making America Great Again. I’m committed to working with him to Keep Florida Great. Announcement coming soon!”

A source in Donalds’ political orbit told Fox News on Thursday that the congressman has been pushing hard for a Trump endorsement, in an effort to crowd out potential rivals for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

Another prominent Florida Republican who’s seriously considering a run for governor is state Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, the former president of the state Senate.

There’s also been some speculation that DeSantis’ wife, Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, was considering a run to succeed her husband in Tallahassee. A poll released earlier this week, which suggested Casey DeSantis would be favored in the race, grabbed plenty of attention.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who was Trump’s first choice for attorney general in his second administration before dropping out amid controversy, late last year made some noise about potentially running for governor. But there’s been little buzz in recent weeks about a possible Gaetz campaign.

The post by the president, who holds immense sway over the GOP and who is an adopted Florida resident, may put a damper on the speculation regarding Casey DeSantis, and could potentially dissuade Simpson, who’s hauled in millions for his political committees, from launching a gubernatorial bid.

Dan Eberhart, a Florida-based oil drilling chief executive officer and a prominent Republican donor who’s raised big bucks for Trump and DeSantis in recent years and who is also in Donalds’ political orbit, told Fox News that Donalds, if he runs, would “bring a fresh conservative vision for Florida’s future that will be hard to beat.”

The social media post by Trump was his second this week to pump up Donalds.

Trump on Monday showcased a screen grab of a poll conducted by a group aligned with Donalds that indicated the congressman leading in a hypothetical 2026 Florida gubernatorial match-up.

Trump has been talking up Donalds for over a year when it comes to a possible run for governor. At a closed-door fundraiser in New York City last spring, Trump suggested that if Donalds ran for Florida governor, he’d have “many friends in the race.”

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Donalds, speaking with Fox News Digital soon after Trump made the comments, said “it’s really cool that people back home in Florida consider me to be able to be the state’s next governor. It’s really an honor. It’s honestly surreal thinking about it because I’m 45 and my journey through politics has been a really fruitful one.”

While Florida was once a top general election battleground, it’s now firmly red, and the eventual winner of the GOP primary will be considered the front-runner in next year’s gubernatorial election.

Two federal judges declined this week to stop the Trump administration from firing federal workers and conducting mass layoffs, allowing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to remain on track with finding and slashing wasteful government spending.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper shot down a request from several federal labor unions, including the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), to issue a pause on the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration.

NTEU and four other labor unions representing federal employees – the National Federation of Federal Employees; the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers; and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America – filed a complaint on Feb. 12, challenging the firing of probationary employees and the deferred resignation program.

The resignation program presented federal employees with a fork in the road, meaning they could either return to the office or they could resign from their positions and continue to get paid through September, though they had to decide by Feb. 6. That date was ultimately deferred to Feb. 12, then subsequently closed that day.

‘GET BACK TO WORK’: HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK IN 1ST HEARING OF NEW CONGRESS

Elon Musk is heading up President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The unions moved for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and preliminary injunction to prevent the firing of probationary employees across all federal agencies and furtherance of the resignation program on Feb. 14, and the next day it was sent to Cooper’s court.

Cooper denied the request, though, saying the court lacks jurisdiction over the unions’ claims.

Instead, Cooper ruled the unions must pursue their challenges through the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, which provides for administrative review by the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

JUDGE EXTENDS RESTRAINING ORDER TO BAN TRUMP ADMIN BUYOUT OFFER TO FEDERAL WORKERS

In a separate case, 14 states asked U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to issue a TRO preventing billionaire Elon Musk and DOGE from accessing data systems at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Department of Education, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Energy, Department of Transportation and Department of Commerce for 14 days after the order is issued.

The plaintiffs also asked Chutkan’s order to forbid Musk and DOGE from terminating, furloughing, or putting on leave, any federal officers, or employees in those agencies.

JUDGE ISSUES RESTRAINING ORDER AFTER TRUMP BLOCKS FEDERAL FUNDS FOR YOUTH SEX CHANGE OPERATIONS

This week, Chutkan wrote, “The court is aware that DOGE’s unpredictable actions have resulted in considerable uncertainty and confusion for Plaintiffs and many of their agencies and residents.”

She ultimately ruled that DOGE can continue to operate as it is now and keep the status quo.

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Chutkan also, on Friday, issued the court briefing schedule for plaintiffs and defendants to file motions for discovery, preliminary injunctions and dismissals, which stretches through April 22.

President Donald Trump on Thursday appointed Alice Marie Johnson, a woman he pardoned during his first term, as “pardon czar.”

The announcement came during a Black History Month event at the White House.

The “pardon czar” will be responsible for making recommendations about who should be granted clemency.

Alice Marie Johnson, who had her sentence commuted by U.S. President Donald Trump (L) after serving 21 years in prison for cocaine trafficking, thanks the press during a celebration of the First Step Act in the East Room of the White House April 1, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

TRUMP SAYS CRIMINAL TRIAL IS HAVING A ‘REVERSE EFFECT,’ AS HE CAMPAIGNS AT NEW YORK BODEGA, VOWS TO SAVE CITY

The New York Times first reported Trump was thinking about naming Johnson “pardon czar.”

Johnson was convicted of nonviolent drug trafficking in Memphis, Tennessee, and after serving 21 years, her life sentence was commuted by Trump.

Reality television star Kim Kardashian West met with Trump at the White House a week prior to her release to discuss the great-grandmother’s case.

Alice Marie Johnson and Kim Kardashian attend an event celebrating Johnson’s five years of freedom and honoring Kim Kardashian on June 8, 2023, in Los Angeles, California.  (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for ABA)

WHO IS ALICE MARIE JOHNSON, THE GREAT-GRANDMOTHER TRUMP GRANTED CLEMENCY TO?

She was arrested in 1993 and convicted of drug conspiracy and money laundering in 1996.

A series of unfortunate events, including the death of her son, financial troubles and a divorce, led her to involvement with cocaine dealers.

“Back in the 1990s, I was a single mother about to lose my house,” Johnson wrote in a Fox News Digital opinion article. “In a desperate moment, I made a life-altering bad decision to become a low-level player in a drug operation. When law enforcement authorities broke up the drug operation, I was prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison.”

Alice Johnson revisits Aliceville, Alabama, after she was granted clemency and released from a prison in the city back in 2018.   (Stand Together/Gina K. Danals)

While Johnson claims she never “touched, saw or sold a single drug,” she admitted to assisting in communications. 

While in prison, she worked in the prison hospice, volunteered in the prison church, became an ordained minister, and started writing and directing plays.

After being pardoned, she remained under federal supervision for five years.

KIM KARDASHIAN WEST ADVOCATES FOR ALICE JOHNSON, OTHERS WHO ARE JAILED

She became a champion for overburdened case officers and has fought against unnecessary supervision post-incarceration.

Her work on criminal justice reform led her to launch “Taking Action For Good,” which advocated for clemency and pardons for over 100 people.

She also published a book and partnered with the philanthropic organization, Stand Together.

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Fox News Digital’s Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Emma Colton and Alice Marie Johnson contributed to this report.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth released a video Thursday detailing oncoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts and restructuring that will take place within the Pentagon.

On the date of filming, Hegseth said he met with DOGE and they are beginning their review.

“They’re here, and we’re welcoming them,” Hegseth said. “They’re going to have broad access, obviously, with all the safeguards on classification.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted a video on Thursday explaining Department of Defense budget and personnel changes. (@SecDef/X)

TRUMP ISSUES WARNING ABOUT WASTEFUL SPENDING, ORDERS ‘RADICAL TRANSPARENCY’ AMID DOGE PROBES, REVELATIONS

He added that many DOGE workers are veterans, and it is a “good thing” that they will find deficiencies.

“They care just like we do, to find the redundancies and identify the last vestiges of Biden priorities — the DEI, the woke, the climate change B.S., that’s not core to our mission, and we’re going to get rid of it all,” Hegseth said.

DOGE’s stop at the Department of Defense comes after reviews of the Treasury, Labor, Education and Health departments, as well as at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Personnel Management and Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The Defense Department has already slashed 8%, or $50 billion, from former President Joe Biden’s budget. (Omar Marques/Getty Images)

The temporary organization has faced an enormous amount of scrutiny over the last few weeks, with some accusing President Donald Trump of giving department head Elon Musk too much power.

Numerous lawsuits have also been filed in an attempt to block DOGE’s access to sensitive information.

$1,300 COFFEE CUPS, 8,000% OVERPAY FOR SOAP DISPENSERS SHOW WASTE AS DOGE LOCKS IN ON PENTAGON

The Defense Department has already slashed 8%, or $50 billion, from former President Joe Biden‘s budget.

“It’s not a cut,” Hegseth said. “It’s refocusing and reinvesting existing funds into building a force that protects you, the American people.”

The budget will be “refocused” on Trump’s priorities, and key programs will not be eliminated, he added.

President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Evan Vucci/AP)

The department is also reevaluating its probationary workforce, a government-wide action ordered by the president.

“Bottom line, it is simply not in the public interest to retain individuals whose contributions are not mission-critical,” Hegseth said. “We start with poor performers amongst our probationary employees, because that is common sense, and you want the best and brightest.”

DOGE fired 3,600 probationary Health and Human Services employees, and 7,000 are expected to be slashed from the IRS amid tax season.

It is unclear how many defense employees will lose their jobs.

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There will also be a hiring freeze as the defense department reviews its needs.

“Ever since I’ve taken this position, the only thing I care about is doing right by the war fighters, by the troops,” Hegseth said. “In short, we want the biggest, most bad a– military on the planet, on God’s green Earth.”

The Trump administration is increasing pressure on Ukraine to broker a peace deal ending the conflict with Russia as President Donald Trump grows increasingly irritated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to the White House. 

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Thursday admitted that Trump’s patience with Zelenskyy is running thin, and said that discussions Wednesday between U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg and Ukrainian officials focused on assisting Kyiv “understand” the war must come to a halt. 

“President Trump is obviously very frustrated right now with President Zelenskyy, the fact that he hasn’t come to the table, that he hasn’t been willing to take this opportunity that we have offered,” Waltz told reporters Thursday in a White House press briefing. “I think he eventually will get to that point, and I hope so very quickly.” 

“It certainly isn’t in Russia’s interest or in the American people’s interest for this war to grind on forever and ever and ever,” Waltz said. “So a key part of his conversation was helping President Zelenskyy understand this war needs to come to an end.” 

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday also defended the Trump administration’s decision to meet with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, despite frustration from Ukraine that it was absent from those meetings. Vance stressed that communicating with Russia is key to advancing a deal, and said he believes Europe is on the “cusp of peace” for the first time in three years. 

“How are you going to end the war unless you’re talking to Russia?” Vance said at the Conservative Political Action Conference near the nation’s capital. “You’ve got to talk to everybody involved in the fighting. If you actually want to bring the conflict to a close.” 

Meanwhile, U.S. officials also have met with Ukrainian officials about a peace deal, and Kellogg said Wednesday in a post on X that the U.S. remains committed to ending the war and finding ways to establish “sustainable peace.” 

The increased pressure on Ukraine to agree to a deal comes on the heels of several tense days between Trump and Zelenskyy, as each hurled insults back and forth toward one another after the meetings between U.S. and Russian officials. 

While Zelenskyy accused Trump of perpetuating Russian “disinformation” on Wednesday, Trump took a jab back and labeled Zelenskyy a “dictator” who has failed his country and suggested Ukraine initiated the war. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. 

TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY WAR OF WORDS HEATS UP EVEN AS US LOOKS TO WIND DOWN WAR IN UKRAINE

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second from left, and other U.S. officials meet with Russian counterparts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to advance talks about ending the Ukraine war. (The Associated Press)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Waltz met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs advisor, Yuri Ushakov, to hash out ways to end the conflict. 

Zelenskyy said Ukraine didn’t receive an invitation to the meeting and told reporters Tuesday in Turkey that “nobody decides anything behind our back,” after stressing in recent days that Kyiv will not agree to a peace negotiation without Ukraine’s input.

RUSSIA, UKRAINE TAKE ‘SIGNIFICANT FIRST STEP TOWARD PEACE’ AFTER RUBIO-LED NEGOTIATIONS, WHITE HOUSE INSISTS

Vice President JD Vance said that meeting with Russia was necessary to take the next steps to broker a peace deal. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)

Meanwhile, the U.S. has signaled interest in giving way to some of Russia’s demands for a peace agreement in recent days, and Trump told the BBC on Wednesday that he believes Russia is the one that has “the cards a little bit, because they’ve taken a lot of territory.” 

As of January, Russia has taken control of approximately 18% of Ukraine’s territory, according to the Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Brookings Institution. Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Feb. 12 that it wasn’t realistic for Ukraine to regain its pre-war borders with Russia, prompting criticism that Ukraine is being forced to give into concessions. 

“Putin is going to pocket this and ask for more,” Brett Bruen, director of global engagement under former President Barack Obama, told Fox News Digital on Feb. 13. 

Additionally, the U.S. has suggested it backs holding an election in Ukraine — a key condition for Russia to agree to a peace deal. 

Nearly a year after Zelenskyy’s five-year term was slated to end, he has remained in his position leading Kyiv because the Ukrainian constitution bars holding elections under martial law. Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022.

However, Russia wasn’t the only one exerting pressure to force Ukraine to hold an election, Trump said Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.  

‘MAKE NATO GREAT AGAIN’: HEGSETH PUSHES EUROPEAN ALLIES TO STEP UP DEFENSE EFFORTS 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will not agree to a peace deal unless it participates in negotiations.  (Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

As a result, Zelenskyy’s hands may be tied and he may have no other option but to give in to the concessions, according to Trump’s former deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland. 

“If President Zelenskyy is going to walk away from this and somehow say, ‘I’m against any deal with Russia, I’m against any deal with America.’ Really?” McFarland said Thursday in an interview with FOX Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria.” 

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“Well, how does he plan to keep this country safe for the next 20, 30, 40 years?” McFarland said. 

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump vowed on the campaign trail in 2024 that he would work to end the conflict if elected again.

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report. 

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.

Here’s what’s happening…

-Key Republican governor applauds Trump’s frenetic pace, says DOGE needed to ‘right size’ Washington

-Disputed DOD nominee is ‘best person’ to implement Trump and Hegseth agenda, key conservative group says

-Trump approval rating hits 47%, as Americans name his ‘single most significant’ move so far

McConnell Announces Retirement

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will not run for re-election in 2026 and will instead retire, the longtime senator announced Thursday.

McConnell has served in the Senate for decades, including as Senate majority leader under President Donald Trump’s first administration. McConnell is the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, and he announced his retirement on his 83rd birthday.

“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said in prepared remarks to the Senate floor. “Every day in between, I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business here. Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”…Read more

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks with reporters after a meeting with fellow Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (AP)

White House

DEI LAWSUITS: Group of DEI workers sue to stop Trump executive orders…Read more

CPAC KICKOFF: VP Vance kicks off the country’s biggest conservative conference…Read more

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: Trump signs executive order ending use of taxpayer money to ‘incentivize or support’ illegal immigration…Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a signing ceremony after his inauguration on January 20, 2025 in the President’s Room at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th President of the United States.  (Melina Mara-Pool/Getty Images)

‘LARGE-SCALE REDUCTIONS’: Trump signs late-night executive order abolishing handful of federal advisory boards…Read more

World Stage

‘DEVOTION TO PUTIN’: Liz Cheney lambastes Trump over Russia/Ukraine, branding him ‘the antithesis’ of all ‘Reagan stood for’…Read more

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: Russian aircraft fly in Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, US says…Read more

ANOTHER PRISONER SWAP?: Kremlin suggests another US-Russia prisoner swap could be coming: report…Read more

TRAGIC TURNOVER: Hamas hands over bodies of 4 slain Israelis, including Shiri Bibas and her two young boys…Read more

INTERNATIONAL BLOWBACK: China, Iran and Russia condemned by dissidents at UN watchdog’s Geneva summit…Read more

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his China’s counterpart Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony following the Russian-Chinese talks on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on September 11, 2018. (Photo by SERGEI CHIRIKOV / POOL / AFP)        (Photo credit should read SERGEI CHIRIKOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Capitol Hill

ONE STEP CLOSER: Wrestling mogul and Trump education pick McMahon clears Senate committee in heavyweight decision…Read more

AMERICANS ‘WANT ANSWERS’: MAHA caucus member pledges hearings into ‘corruption’ of a public health sector ‘captured by Big Pharma’…Read more

‘DOGE’ FOR ‘MAIN STREET’: Top Republican urges new SBA chief take ‘DOGE’ actions against Biden-era electioneering, COVID loan claims…Read more

KASH ME OUTSIDE: Patel’s confirmation as FBI chief ‘will haunt you,’ Senate Dems warn GOP at protest outside agency HQ…Read more

Democrats staged a last-minute protest event Thursday decrying Trump’s FBI pick. (Getty)

DIGITAL DANGER: Lawmaker who lost son to suicide warns Senate that ‘Big Tech is the Big Tobacco of this generation’…Read more

MONEY IN THE BANK: Parents could see up to $12,000 child tax refund under new bipartisan House bill…Read more

Across America

TOUCHDOWN: College football country seeks key tax exemption for athletes to enhance recruitment, boost team continuity…Read more

IVORY TOWER DEFENSE: Social justice law professor defends anti-Israel protesters who blocked traffic to Chicago airport…Read more

‘WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING?’: Dept of Ed spending soared 749% despite downsizing, new DOGE-inspired initiative reveals…Read more

BLUE CITY HAVEN: Reputed migrant gang members busted in NYC drug, gun raid but likely to avoid prosecution…Read more

‘I DIDN’T PLAN THIS’: DNC gave ex-Harris booster ‘no choice’ but to leave, she says, as Dems cry turncoat…Read more

AXE INCREASE: IRS to slash nearly 7,000 employees starting Thursday: reports…Read more

The IRS said in January Americans have benefitted from increased funding. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

LEADERSHIP IN QUESTION: DEI-charged claims fly over contract talks for military school’s leader as lawmaker demands ethics probe…Read more

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

EXCLUSIVE: The cafeteria in a top federal department resembles a ghost town after remaining empty and closed for years under the Biden administration, Fox News Digital has learned.

“You have federal workers showing up to protest President Trump’s plan to make government work for the people on a federal holiday, but they refuse to show up to work when they are collecting a paycheck courtesy of American taxpayers. It’s just nuts,” a source close to the situation told Fox News Digital.

The Department of Interior (DOI) cafeteria was initially closed during the coronavirus pandemic, but the lunchroom remained shut down for several years because the Biden administration did not require federal employees to work in person.

A photo taken on Feb. 20, 2025, reveals that five years after the pandemic, the lunchroom remains empty and unmanned, which “shows you exactly what’s wrong with the mindset of far too many federal workers,” the source tells Fox.

HUD OFFICES BECAME AS VACANT AS A ‘SPIRIT HALLOWEEN’ STORE UNDER BIDEN: ADMIN SOURCES

An image, taken on February 20, 2025, shows an empty cafeteria at the Department of Interior (DOI). (Fox News Digital)

President Donald Trump, in January, took aim at Biden’s policies on remote work, warning that federal employees must return to in-person work by early February or “be terminated.”

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is requiring that all federal employees return to the office to comply with the return to work order issued by the president.

TRUMP ADMIN LAYS OUT ROLES OF ‘PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES’ AS DEMS CLAIM CRITICAL EMPLOYEES ARE BEING CUT

Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota and US secretary of the interior nominee for US President-elect Donald Trump, during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.  (Al Drago)

“It’s understandable that the cafeteria would close during the pandemic, but the pandemic has been over for years,” the source told Fox. “Why did the Biden administration let everyone continue to work from home when there is real work to be done for the country?” 

Fox News Digital also recently found that the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) headquarters in Washington, D.C., was left relatively untouched since the first Trump administration, with an official saying it felt like a “taxpayer-funded ‘Spirit Halloween'” store.

The Trump administration has been conducting a sweep of federal departments over the past month, slashing spending, as well as making cuts to the workforce in an effort to downsize the government.

President Donald Trump has been cracking down on remote work since taking office in January. (Pool via AP )

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The U.S. Office of Personnel Management offered more than two million federal civilian employees buyouts in January to leave their jobs or be forced to return to work in person. 

About 75,000 federal employees have accepted Trump’s deferred resignation program and will retain all pay and benefits and be exempt from in-person work until Sept. 30.

Fox News’ Emma Colton and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Democrats are planning to make Republicans in the Senate go on the record on Medicaid during Thursday evening’s “Vote-a-Rama” as potential cuts to the program become a sore point in budget discussions, especially for Republicans in states that rely on it. 

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who just won re-election in a state that also swung for President Donald Trump, is introducing several amendments to the Senate GOP’s budget resolution, all aimed at preserving Medicaid, her office shared with Fox News Digital exclusively. 

Among her tranche of amendments will be several to protect Medicaid access and funding for senior citizens, children, people suffering from drug addiction, Americans in rural areas and for pregnant women. 

SCOOP: REPUBLICAN DANIEL CAMERON BLASTED BY LIKELY GOP OPPONENT AS MCCONNELL SUCCESSOR FIGHT BEGINS

Democrats are planning to make Republicans take uncomfortable amendment votes. (Getty Images)

“Americans want us to lower the cost of their health care, not rip it away from new moms, seniors in long-term care, and poor kids,” Baldwin told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. “Republicans have claimed they would protect Medicaid – despite their budget telling us otherwise – but tonight, they will have the chance to put their money where their mouth is: will they prevent Medicaid from being cut or will they put it on the chopping block to fund their billionaire tax break?”

Her amendments will get votes after others that are teed up by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats. The first amendment of the evening, per a Senate Democratic source, will be aimed at stopping Republicans from renewing the tax cuts in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which is a priority for Trump. 

SUSAN COLLINS VOWS TO OPPOSE TRUMP FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE KASH PATEL AHEAD OF CRITICAL VOTE

Schumer and Democrats will line up numerous amendment votes. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

If passed, the amendment would bar “handouts” to millionaires or billionaires in new tax legislation. Specifically, it would stop a reconciliation bill from providing a tax cut to people earning more than $1,000,000,000.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently sounded off on potential Medicaid cuts. “I don’t like the idea of massive Medicaid cuts. We should have no Medicare cuts of any kind,” he said in an interview with the Huffington Post. 

KASH PATEL’S CONFIRMATION AS TRUMP FBI PICK ‘WILL HAUNT YOU,’ SENATE DEMS WARN GOP AHEAD OF VOTE

Hawley pushed back on potential Medicaid and Medicare cuts. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Such cuts could prove unpopular in Republican states with significant Medicaid coverage, such as Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky and West Virginia, which each reported more than 25% of their populations covered by either Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as of last year, per KFF. 

After Senate Republicans cleared a procedural vote on their budget last week, it triggered a 50-hour debate clock that will end on Thursday evening. Then, a marathon of votes, known as a “Vote-a-Rama” will begin. 

FETTERMAN LOSES TWO TOP STAFFERS AS HE MAKES WAVES BY BUCKING DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Medicaid cuts would significantly affect some red states.  (iStock)

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Senators are able to introduce an unlimited number of amendments, which will then all get votes on the Senate floor. The process will force Republicans to take a large number of potentially uncomfortable votes teed up by their Democratic counterparts. 

Going forward with the marathon of votes appears to be a calculated risk for Senate Republicans after Trump endorsed the House GOP’s budget resolution on Truth Social over theirs. However, Vice President JD Vance gave GOP senators a green light on Wednesday to continue with their budget despite this, a source told Fox News Digital. 

Congress will need to work through the reconciliation process before American taxpayers will see Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dividend checks, Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said Wednesday. 

Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump floated the idea of delivering the savings to taxpayers directly. Trump said 20% savings could be delivered to U.S. citizens in personal checks to taxpaying households, while another 20% would be used to pay down the national debt. 

DC FEDERAL WORKERS IN A ‘PANIC’ OVER NOVEL EXPERIENCE OF JOB INSECURITY WITH JOB CUTS

The White House on Wednesday outlined where DOGE dividend checks could go after President Donald Trump floated the idea of giving 20% of the savings back to Americans. (Musk: Reuters / Money: iStock / Trump: Getty)

DOGE so far claims to have saved some $55 billion via cuts to USAID, the Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Some of DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts are under legal challenge, however.

During Wednesday’s White House news briefing, Miller broke down how the money could be used. 

“We’re hearing about these DOGE dividend checks,” Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked. “That would be 20% back to taxpayers, 20% to pay down the debt, 60% is left. Who gets that?”

“Well, the way that it works is when you achieve savings, you can either return it to the taxpayers, you can return it to our debtors, or it can be cycled into next year’s budget,” Miller replied.

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE

White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

“So in other words, you can just transfer it into the next fiscal window and then lower the overall spending level,” he added. 

Earlier this week, users on X pitched the idea of a “DOGE dividend” to Elon Musk, who leads DOGE, suggesting payouts of $5,000. The billionaire Tesla owner said he would “check with the president” about the plan.

When asked when taxpayers could see the money, Miller said, “This is all going to be worked on through the reconciliation process with Congress that’s going under way right now.”

“As you’ve seen, the Senate is moving a bill,” he added. “The House is moving a bill. The president has great confidence in both chambers to deliver on his priorities.”

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Trump has made a major commitment to the working class to fight for major tax relief, price relief and to cut spending, Miller said. 

Virginia Democratic lawmakers are raising racially tinged concerns that the Virginia Military Institute’s board might decide against offering a comprehensive contract extension to the historic school’s first Black superintendent.

According to Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., a board member at Virginia Military Institute revealed that at least one member of the Virginia legislature had expressed concerns about the potential non-extension of Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins’ contract, and brought race into the situation.

Cline, whose district runs nearly 200 miles from Roanoke to Winchester and includes VMI, wrote a letter Tuesday to the clerks of the Virginia House of Delegates and Virginia Senate asking for an ethics probe into Sen. Jennifer Carroll-Foy.

Carroll-Foy, D-Prince William, reportedly warned a VMI Board of Visitors member of state funding repercussions unless Wins’ contract is renewed properly.

CLIMATE PROTESTERS INTERRUPT YOUNGKIN’S 9/11 SPEECH

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va. (Getty Images)

 “I am just trying to help VMI,” Carroll-Foy – also a VMI graduate – told the board member.

“Cedric is African American. The leadership of the General Assembly is African American. Your board appointments and budget amendments are in peril. You can fix this by giving Cedric a four-year contract extension,” she said.

Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, and Senate Leader L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, are both Black. 

The exchange troubled Cline, who said in his letter that “these actions, specifically the direct threats made by [Carroll-Foy] are unbecoming, inappropriate, and ethically questionable.”

“These race-related comments – totally unbecoming of a member of the General Assembly and completely inconsistent with the values of our nation – make plain the leadership in the General Assembly is attempting to exert undue influence on the decisions of the board in exchange for funding priorities of VMI,” Cline wrote in-part in the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.

A source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital there are other lawmakers besides Carroll-Foy who have connected race or DEI considerations to the contract debate.

A statement from Cline’s office said that the congressman – and former member of the Richmond legislature himself – believes that attempts to “strong-arm members of the VMI board by withholding funding . . . reveal a clear and troubling effort to exert undue influence over VMI’s governance.”

DOJ ONCE OK’D KAINE-ERA LAW AT CENTER OF YOUNGKIN VOTE CULLING ORDER FEDS NOW SUING TO BLOCK

Drivers are welcomed to Virginia near Lee Highway in Arlington. (Getty)

“The idea that members of the General Assembly would use their positions of power to intimidate VMI Board members by conditioning funding on the extension of the superintendent’s contract is not just inappropriate, it is an outright abuse of power,” Cline said in a statement.

“These comments, wholly unbecoming of a member of the General Assembly and completely inconsistent with the values of our nation, make plain the leadership of the General Assembly is attempting to exert undue influence on the decisions of the Board in exchange for funding priorities of VMI,” he added.

Scott did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that he and former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder – the first Black governor in U.S. history – would like to see Wins’ contract extended.

However, the speaker told the paper that the debate is “not about Gen. Wins’ contract – it’s about whether the school is moving in the right direction.”

Current Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has seen Democrats stymie several of his appointments to collegiate boards of visitors – including counter-antisemitism crusader Kenneth Marcus at George Mason University – said through a spokesman that the members he had previously named to the VMI board have his full support.

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Richmond, Va. and the Virginia State Capitol (Getty)

“The governor appointed experienced and strong members to the board of visitors, all deeply committed to VMI and its mission,” spokesman Christian Martinez said.

“He has full confidence the board will act in the best interest of [VMI] and the Commonwealth.”

Two of Youngkin’s 12 VMI appointees were recently removed by state Senate Democrats, the Times-Dispatch reported.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Carroll-Foy and a representative for VMI.

VMI is the oldest state military institution in the country, founded in 1839.

Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson notably taught at VMI in the lead-up to the Civil War.

More recent famous VMI alumni include the late actor Fred Willard, World War II figures George Marshall and Gen. George Patton, award-winning comic Mel Brooks and Col. Douglas Macgregor – a veteran of the historic Battle of 73 Easting and an occasional Fox News guest.