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NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens credited President Donald Trump for securing the return of two astronauts stranded for more than nine months on the International Space Station.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Stevens said the mission to rescue astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams was a “huge win for the Trump administration.” 

The success is just the beginning, she said, as Trump’s nominee to become NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, looks to “Mars and beyond.” 

TRUMP SUGGESTS HE’LL PAY OVERTIME FOR FORMERLY STRANDED ASTRONAUTS ‘OUT OF MY OWN POCKET’

SpaceX and Polaris Mission Commander Jared Isaacman steps out of the manned Polaris Dawn mission’s “Dragon” capsule after it splashed down off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida, on Sept. 15, 2024.  (Polaris Program/AFP via Getty Images)

“This is a huge win for the Trump administration. And it would not have happened without President Trump’s intervention. Up next on the docket, to continue implementing President Trump’s ambitious space agenda that he touted in his inaugural address is to confirm his nominee for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman,” Stevens said. 

She highlighted that Isaacman “was the very first civilian to do a human spacewalk” and is a humanitarian who has worked extensively with St. Jude. Like Trump, Isaacman is an “outsider,” she said. 

“President Trump was also once considered an outsider, and the American people have put him back into office, just showing how much they appreciate the business side that he brings to the table. And Mr. Isaacman also has a background as an entrepreneur of an extremely successful business,” Stevens said. “I believe that he is well-suited, as do 30 astronauts who wrote in support of him and multiple GOP governors, that he is well suited to take the helm here at NASA and to implement the president’s agenda.”

Last Tuesday, Wilmore, 62, and Williams, 59, splashed down in the Gulf of America off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, after Elon Musk’s SpaceX Dragon spacecraft arrived at the ISS just days before.

Stevens made clear that NASA is ready to “get the ball rolling” after their safe return to Earth, but noted their mission is set to launch in the heart of Washington, D.C.

NASA astronaut Suni Williams is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN after she and fellow NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov landed on the water on March 18, 2025, off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida. (Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images)

NASA ASTRONAUTS STRANDED IN SPACE DUE TO BIDEN’S ‘LACK OF COURAGE,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS

Isaacman faces an upcoming Senate confirmation hearing as Trump looks to secure yet another nominee appointed to his administration. 

Earlier this month, eight Republican governors – Ron DeSantis, of Florida; Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas; Gregg Abbott of Texas; Bill Lee of Tennessee; Brian Kemp of Georgia; Mike Kehoe of Missouri; and Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma – wrote to Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas. They advocated for a “swift” confirmation, noting the Trump nominee’s “unparalleled ability to drive bold initiatives” and Isaacman’s understanding of “the complex landscape of modern space exploration.”

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN after he and fellow NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov landed on the water on March 18, 2025, off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.  (Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images)

“I think that these governors are cognizant that the result of the November election was a mandate from the American people to implement change and to bring about change,” Stevens told Fox News Digital. “And President Trump has been bringing about that change since day one. The next step here is to confirm Jared Isaacman expeditiously, so that we can get to work on the president’s ambitious space agenda, as he touted in his inaugural address.” 

“We were going to go to the moon and to Mars and beyond, and we have less than four years at this point to get through that considerably ambitious agenda,” she said. “And we need to implement his leadership here at NASA in order to get the ball rolling there. So I think that’s the next step towards being America First in Space.”

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Fox News Digital also obtained an exclusive letter from Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, another Republican who joined her fellow state leaders in endorsing a speedy confirmation of the NASA administrator.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., declared if Republicans seek to push a measure through the Senate to shutter the Department of Education, it would be “dead on arrival.”

President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order calling for the secretary of education “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”

Trump said during remarks last week that “the department’s useful functions … will be preserved, fully preserved.”

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SIGNIFICANTLY DISMANTLED IN NEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vows that if Republicans seek to push a bill shuttering the Department of Education, “It will be dead on arrival.” (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Regarding the notion of closing the department, Schumer asserted during a floor speech on Monday, “of course Donald Trump cannot proceed without an act of Congress. That’s the law.”

“Let me be very clear: If Republicans ever, ever, try to move a bill through the Senate that shuts down the Department of Education, Senate Democrats will halt it in its tracks. It will go nowhere. It will be dead on arrival,” he said.

CHUCK SCHUMER FACING ‘UPHILL FIGHT’ AMID LEADERSHIP DOUBTS: ‘MATTER OF WHEN, NOT IF’

Congress created the department less than 50 years ago.

“In October 1979, Congress passed the Department of Education Organization Act (Public Law 96-88). Created by combining offices from several federal agencies, the Department began operations in May 1980,” according to the department’s website.

LINDA MCMAHON: MY VISION FOR ELIMINATING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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Schumer has served in the nation’s legislature for nearly as long as the department has been operating — he started serving in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1981, then moved to the Senate in 1999.

The U.S. declared that three alleged members of the violent transnational gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) are “alien enemies” and plans to extradite them to Chile, where they are wanted for numerous violent crimes, officials said Monday.

The Justice Department said the three gang members were Adrian Rafael Gamez Finol, 38, Miguel Oyola Jimenez and Edgar Javier Benitez Rubio, both aged 37. All three men entered the U.S. illegally after committing “brutal” crimes, including murder, kidnapping, extortion, human and drug trafficking and other offenses, in Chile.

“The Justice Department will work expeditiously to return these Alien Enemies to Chile to face justice,” the department said.

Gamez Finol is a dual Venezuelan and Colombian citizen who was deported from the U.S. to Venezuela in August 2023 and later allegedly re-entered the U.S. illegally. He is currently in Texas county prison serving a sentence for human smuggling.

EXCLUSIVE: GOP MOVES TO AUTHORIZE TRUMP TO WAGE WAR ON CARTELS THROUGH MILITARY FORCE

The seal of the Justice Department as seen in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 18, 2022. The Justice Department on Monday announced plans to extradite three members of the violent transnational gang Tren de Aragua to Chile. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Oyola Jimenez, a dual Venezuelan and Ecuadorian citizen, is in custody in Washington after Chilean authorities requested his arrest and return to Chile to stand trial on kidnapping charges.

Benitez Rubio, a Venezuelan citizen, is in immigration custody in Indiana.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a written statement that the men would have already been removed if not for an injunction against the Alien Enemies Act.

“In fact, we would have already removed these violent gang members to Chile to face justice were it not for the nationwide injunction imposed by a single judge in Washington, D.C., which we are challenging today in the D.C. Circuit,” Blanche said.  “We hope common sense and justice will prevail.”

HIGH-RANKING TREN DE ARAGUA GANGSTER MURDERED TWO AMERICAN WOMEN, CAPTURED ACROSS COUNTRY: FEDS

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing, has been invoked three times, during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II.

Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of the D.C. Circuit granted a temporary restraining order preventing the deportations under the act.

The Trump administration has appealed the order. 

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is scheduled to hear arguments on the matter on Monday afternoon.

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TdA is a narco-terrorism enterprise based in Venezuela. It was designated a foreign terrorist organization on Feb. 20 by the Department of State.

Republicans in the Senate aren’t necessarily being swayed by a new push from House GOP leaders to take up their preferred budget bill for President Donald Trump. 

House Republicans have reportedly been concerned by the Senate’s lack of action on their budget bill passed weeks ago, addressing key Trump priorities such as the border and tax cuts. 

In response to suggestions that the Senate isn’t moving fast enough to get Trump’s budget bill done, a Senate GOP aide pointed Fox News Digital to the fact that the upper chamber just ended what was the longest work period in over 15 years. 

The Senate aide noted that members and their staff have been “actively engaged in substantive discussions” regarding the key budget reconciliation process for months. Even over the week-long recess, staff engagement has been “virtually non-stop,” they said. 

BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘VAST CENSORSHIP ENTERPRISE’ WITH HELP OF NGOS SLATED FOR KEY HEARING, LAWMAKER SAYS

Republicans aren’t necessarily on the same page just yet about budget reconciliation. (Reuters)

The budget reconciliation process lowers the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51 out of 100, allowing the party in power to skirt its opposition to advance its agenda, so long as the included provisions 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 certain Trump agenda items accomplished. 

CONGRESS EXPANDED THE EXECUTIVE—ONLY FOR TRUMP TO QUASH MUCH OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE

The Senate GOP aide noted that the Senate managed to pass its preferred reconciliation bill as part of a two-track plan – before the House passed an alternate version. 

Early Monday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., released a joint statement alongside 12 chairs of committees with jurisdiction in the budget reconciliation process. 

“We took the first step to accomplish that by passing a budget resolution weeks ago, and we look forward to the Senate joining us in this commitment to ensure we enact President Trump’s full agenda as quickly as possible,” they said. “The American people gave us a mandate, and we must act on it. We encourage our Senate colleagues to take up the House budget resolution when they return to Washington.”

House Republicans urged their Senate counterparts to take up their bill. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Senate aide reiterated that Senate Republicans have zeroed in on certain “consequential issues” in the budget reconciliation process, of which the details have to be exact before moving forward. 

The tax portion, which has been the area of contention between House and Senate Republicans, is expected to get consideration during the new work period, the aide said. 

GOP SENATOR SAYS HE’S WORKING WITH TRUMP ON BILL TO ABOLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Sen. Johnson isn’t sold on the House’s bill. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who has been generally opposed to the House’s one-bill reconciliation approach, also pushed back on their statement. “Until we seriously address out-of-control spending and create an effective process to return to a reasonable pre-pandemic level, I will not support another budget resolution,” he told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Unfortunately, the House Budget Resolution does not do that.”

Just before the brief legislative recess, Senate Finance Committee Republicans met with Trump at the White House to discuss the at-issue tax portion of his agenda and its reconciliation hopes. 

Trump has in recent weeks backed off from taking explicit sides in the reconciliation fight between the GOP chambers, despite initially supporting the House’s plan.

‘EDUCATORS WILL BE FIRED’: REPUBLICANS CHEER TRUMP ORDER DISMANTLING EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AS DEMS SEETHE

Trump met with Senate GOP before recess. (Getty Images)

At the center of the tax-cut controversy are Senate Republicans’ claims that the House’s bill would not make Trump’s tax policies from 2017 permanent, and House GOP complaints that multiple reconciliation bills would be difficult to pass, given tight party margins. 

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Senate Republicans did not include an extension of the tax cuts in their passed bill, preferring to do a separate reconciliation bill in the fall. Their bill instead focused on Trump’s border priorities. The House’s measure tackled both in one bill. 

The House-passed bill has yet to be brought up in the Senate. 

Democrats in Maine are pushing a bill that would require all public schools to provide tampons in boys’ bathrooms starting in middle school, a move that comes as state leaders continue to face backlash over their stance on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. 

LD 155, introduced by state Rep. Kristen Cloutier, D-Lewiston, seeks to “require” all public schools in the state that serve grades 6–12 to make tampons and sanitary pads available in all student bathrooms, including those designated specifically for males.

The bill is being pushed during an ongoing debate over whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete on female sports teams, particularly in high school. 

MAINE GOP URGES DEMS TO REPEAL TRANSGENDER ATHLETE POLICY FOLLOWING FEDERAL TITLE IX VIOLATION FINDING 

Maine’s LD 155 would “require” all schools that serve students in grades 6–12 to make tampons and sanitary pads available in all bathrooms, including those catering exclusively to boys. (Fox News Digital)

“This is really quite clearly a pattern that reveals where the legislative Democrats’ priorities are,” said state Rep. Rachel Henderson, R-Rumford. Henderson likened the move to an ongoing budget battle in the legislature, which saw Democrats usurp Republican authority in order to get their priorities across by passing a bill without a two-thirds majority. The move has delayed critical funds needed for the states’ Medicaid program, according to Henderson. 

“It just kind of shows how out of touch the legislative Democrats here in Maine are when their priorities are paying for tampons in boys’ bathrooms rather than ensuring that we have any type of balanced budget,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Assistant House Minority Leader Katrina Smith, R–Palermo, said Democrats in the state legislature think “they can push through anything they want,” even at the expense of taxpayers, because they have control over both chambers and the governor’s office. 

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DISTRICT INFORMS PARENTS PERIOD PRODUCTS ARE IN BATHROOMS FOR ‘ANY STUDENT WHO MENSTRUATES’

“Maine is ground zero for these types of policies,” Smith told Fox News Digital. “They think that, because they have the majority in every body, that they can push through anything they want and anything they want usually costs taxpayers money as well, which this would.”

Assistant House Minority Leader Katrina Smith, left, and Rep. Rachel Henderson (Maine House of Representatives)

Earlier this year, Democrats in the state legislature voted to censure GOP state Rep. Laurel Libby, who has been an outspoken advocate against state leaders choosing to defy President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in women’s athletics. The censure vote followed Libby’s opposition to state leaders’ decision that Maine’s Human Rights Law – which mandates athletic eligibility be based on gender identity – takes precedence over the president’s executive order banning that practice.

Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has supported the move to defy Trump’s executive order on trans sports participation as well, telling the president at the White House last month, “We’ll see you in court,” in reference to the matter.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Cloutier for comment on her bill that would require schools to provide tampons in boys’ bathrooms, but did not receive a response in time for publication. 

Patrick Henry delivered the revolutionary rally cry heard around the world: “Give me liberty or give me death!” Protesters sang their own rallying cry on Sunday, at the very site where the Founding Father urged Virginia colonists to join the American Revolution 250 years ago. 

After delivering remarks at the annual enactment of Henry’s iconic speech, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., was met by loud boos, “shame” chants and protest cries while exiting St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia. Protesters held up signs like “deport Musk” and “Youngkin is a Trumpkin” as the governor was escorted through the raucous crowd by law enforcement. 

The “250 Years of No Kings in America” protest in Patrick Henry Park was organized by Indivisible Richmond, a group focused on “local opposition to the MAGA agenda.” While Youngkin didn’t stop to debate the protesters shouting at him, he addressed them during his speech inside. 

“There are Virginians and there are Americans who are standing up for freedom and liberty, and I just want to once again thank all of you who care so deeply about our commonwealth and our country’s future. Now, you might have noticed that there are some enthusiastic friends outside. Don’t worry about them because I am happy to do whatever it takes to get someone to church on Sunday,” Youngkin said. 

GINGRICH WARNS OF ‘VERY DANGEROUS’ CONSEQUENCES AS DEMOCRATS RAMP UP RESISTANCE TO TRUMP, MUSK

Youngkin – a Trump ally who rose to political fame for defending parental rights – invoked Henry’s fight for freedom and liberty during his speech, as protesters danced to the tune of their own definition of democracy outside. 

Democratic state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, with a megaphone from the bed of a truck, shouted about President Abraham Lincoln’s leadership during the Civil War as protesters flooded the sidewalks around the church. She spoke in front of an upside-down American flag, which under U.S. Flag Code, should only be used “as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”

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

“We resisted King George. We will resist Trump,” the flier for Sunday’s protest said, comparing the resistance of President Donald Trump to the American Revolution. 

The Reddit user who organized the protest said: “Trump continuously violated the Constitution, declared himself the sole legal authority in the land, and called himself ‘KING.’ Trump must be removed from office!”

While anti-Trump protesters used the anniversary of Henry’s speech to resist Trump, Trump celebrated the 250th anniversary of Henry’s address to the Second Virginia Convention with a proclamation. 

“I signed a proclamation a few minutes ago honoring the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry’s famous speech to the Second Virginia Convention in which he declared the very well-known, very famous words, ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ Has anyone heard the phrase? I think most of you have,” Trump said. 

“Give me liberty or give me death!” has been a rallying cry for protesters during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, by Malcom X during the Civil Rights movement and by those who opposed COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in 2020. The phrase was first used by Henry in the run-up to the American Revolution to persuade Virginia colonists to prepare for war against Great Britain. 

Former President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media at Manhattan Criminal Court, May 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

Trump evoked Henry’s notorious line during his criminal trial last year. “Give me liberty or give me death,” he wrote in all caps on Truth Social, after Judge Juan Merchan said he would consider jail time for Trump if he continued to violate his gag order. 

Protests resisting Trump’s executive authority and Elon Musk‘s leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have been staged in the two months since he returned to office. Progressive groups also hosted “Not My Presidents Day” or “No Kings Day” demonstrations on Presidents Day across the country. Democrats have increasingly accused the Trump administration of “oligarchy” and “authoritarianism.”

‘NOT MY PRESIDENTS DAY’ PROTESTS ERUPT ACROSS THE COUNTRY

People gather for the “No Kings on Presidents Day” protest in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 17, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)

Last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., during “A Better Way Forward” conversation at the Center for American Progress, urged Democrats to fight and defend America’s constitutional republic from the “incompetence” and “treachery” of President Donald Trump. 

The Democratic governor, who compared the current political climate to Nazi Germany during his State of the State address in February, warned of Trump’s “authoritarian rule” last Tuesday. 

Gov. Glenn Youngkin was met by protesters as he exited St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, after delivering remarks at the annual enactment of Patrick Henry’s “liberty or death” speech. (Getty)

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has drawn thousands of supporters to his “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies across the country, with record-setting West Coast stops alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., over the weekend. 

The events are billed as an opportunity to “discuss how we take on the greed of the billionaire class and create a government that works for all and not just the few.”

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Indivisible Richmond, Youngkin and the White House did reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to have Momodou Taal, an anti-Israel student protester attending Cornell University who is in the U.S. on a visa, surrender to immigration authorities, according to court documents. Taal holds dual citizenship in the United Kingdom and Gambia.

Eric Lee, an attorney for Taal, stated in court filings that he was notified via email by a Department of Justice attorney, marking the first time he learned the government planned to issue him a notice to appear to begin deportation proceedings alongside an invitation to turn himself in to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Friday.

Lee, who called Trump’s orders an “urgent threat of dictatorship,” wrote in court documents that “undersigned counsel contacted counsel for Taal to share that ICE invites Taal and his counsel to appear in-person at the HSI Office in Syracuse at a mutually agreeable time for personal service of the NTA and for Taal to surrender to ICE custody.”

ICE NEARING HISTORIC DEAL WITH IRS TO AID IN DEPORTATIONS: REPORT

Anti-Israel agitators demonstrate in New York City on Oct. 5, 2024, ahead of the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital)

Taal, who has been an anti-Israel student activist since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, has praised the “resistance” against Israel several times on his X account. Despite being accepted on a student visa in 2022, Taal has also posted about his “hatred” for the U.S. and called for “the end of the US empire.”

Hundreds of Cornell University students, alumni and faculty held a rally in support of Taal – who was not present for the demonstration – last week. 

“I’m safe. I’m well. And I await my time to be heard in court,” Taal wrote in a X post on Sunday.

A document titled “Jewish Cornellians Stand with Momodou Taal” is also being circulated among students and staff at the university and has under 50 signatures. 

When reached for comment, a Trump administration official said, the DOJ “has already been fighting in court to vigorously defend President Trump’s agenda and will continue to do so, especially when it comes to protecting Jewish Americans.”

COURT ORDER HALTING DEPORTATION FLIGHTS ‘UNCONSTITUTIONALLY IMPEDES’ EXECUTIVE BRANCH, TRUMP ALLIES ARGUE

Momodou Taal, a dual citizen of Gambia and the U.K., is a student at Cornell University. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The motion comes after Taal, alongside two other students, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration earlier this month for the president’s executive orders vowing to “combat antisemitism,” which they say violates their First Amendment rights to protest against Israel. 

“Immediate action will be taken by the Department of Justice to protect law and order, quell pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation, and investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities,” the order states.

Another order listed in Taal’s lawsuit includes the “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” which seeks to strengthen the vetting and screening processes for individuals seeking entry into the U.S.

Ivy league schools and universities were the center of anti-Israel protests last year, with several instances of harassment of Jewish students, violent altercations and vandalism reported on campuses.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TELLS FEDERAL JUDGE IT MIGHT INVOKE STATE SECRETS ACT ON HIGH-PROFILE DEPORTATION CASE

Anti-Israel demonstrators defaced a monument outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., on the day of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, July 24, 2024. (Katie Pavlich)

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Taal’s case comes after the Trump administration targeted Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and outspoken anti-Israel activist, for deportation this month. Khalil, who arrived in the U.S. on a student visa, is accused by the DOJ of failing to disclose key details on his green card application, including his work with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and a position at the British Embassy in Lebanon.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Cornell University for comment.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is facing calls for his replacement after his controversial decision to help advance President Donald Trump’s recent stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, but not all Democrats are prepared to push him out just yet, giving him some time to prove himself. 

For some in the party, Schumer is ruling on borrowed time.

“Something’s [got to] give,” former Democrat pollster Adam Carlson told Fox News Digital. “And while I would expect him to want to hold onto his leadership, I suspect the outright calls and whispers from his colleagues for him to be replaced as minority leader are real.” 

“It’s a matter of when, not if,” he claimed. 

BATTLE OF THE CHAMBERS: HOUSE AND SENATE TENSIONS BOIL OVER AS TRUMP BUDGET HANGS IN LIMBO

Chuck Schumer’s future as Democrat leader in the Senate is anything but certain after a crucial vote that led to backlash. (Reuters)

The influence he has lost among his own caucus is evident “by dozens of Senate Dems, including those in Trump-won states, coming out against the CR (continuing resolution) even after Schumer came out in favor of it,” Carlson said. 

After Schumer’s vote this month, and the verbal shellacking and protests that followed, he told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, “Look, I’m not stepping down.”

Following his vote, protests emerged outside his home and offices in Washington and New York, and he began to face calls for his ousting as leader and threats of primary challenges down the road. 

“You know, sometimes when you’re a leader, you have to do things to avoid a real danger that might come down the curve,” Schumer further told “Meet the Press.”

The Democrat also pushed back on suggestions that his situation has parallels with that of former President Joe Biden, who was pressured to end his presidential campaign with just months until the election last year. 

BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘VAST CENSORSHIP ENTERPRISE’ WITH HELP OF NGOS SLATED FOR KEY HEARING, LAWMAKER SAYS

But for the Democrat strategists looking at his circumstances, the similarities are clear.

Co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) Adam Green told Fox News Digital, “I don’t think his recent caving was a June debate moment for Chuck Schumer, but it was a fall-off-the-bike moment,” making explicit comparisons to Biden’s biking accident and his disastrous presidential debate performance that preceded his campaign suspension.

“And if he continues to stumble … instead of meeting this moment, there will be continued questions about his future leadership,” he said.

President Joe Biden falls to the ground during a bike ride in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on June 18, 2022. (Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)

“I think it’s an uphill fight for him,” Green explained.

The PCCC leader compared Schumer to Biden once more, noting that the former president also had a prime and “eventually that prime was over.”

Carlson said “Schumer was an effective majority leader” for many years, “but being an opposition leader is an entirely different skill set” and could be one that the Democrat leader doesn’t have. 

Some Democrat strategists speculated about potential replacements for the Senate minority leader if it comes to that, proposing Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., specifically.

“Chris Murphy has been turning a lot of heads,” Green said.

CONGRESS EXPANDED THE EXECUTIVE – ONLY FOR TRUMP TO QUASH MUCH OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE

Sen. Chris Murphy has emerged as one to watch. (Getty Images)

Representatives for Murphy, Schatz and Klobuchar did not provide comment in time for publication. 

Other Democrat strategists don’t think Schumer should be replaced and are confident he won’t be. 

Schumer “will survive this,” Democrat strategist Max Burns told Fox News Digital. He credited Trump’s “habit of flooding the zone” with Schumer’s ability to hang on. 

Jim Kessler, former senior aide to Schumer and executive vice president for policy at Third Way, told Fox News Digital he expects him “to remain as the Democratic leader in the Senate.”

“Yes, there is a vocal group of House Democrats and activists calling for him to step aside as leader,” he said. But, “There is almost no one in the Senate doing so and most Democrats in Washington are simply keeping their heads down.”

“I talked to one House Democrat who said he was livid for 24 hours and then thankful after he thought about it for a few days,” Kessler said.

GOP SENATOR SAYS HE’S WORKING WITH TRUMP ON BILL TO ABOLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Schumer said he won’t step down. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Jim Manley, former senior communications advisor and spokesperson for former Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Senate Democratic Caucus, agreed that Schumer does not need to step down. 

“There is plenty of blame to go around” that isn’t confined to Schumer, Manley said.

Another Democrat strategist, who opted to remain anonymous, said “we’re in this position where no one has stepped up to be sort of the primary protagonist to Trump as the antagonist,” pointing to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as someone who skillfully played this role in his first administration.

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The strategist further hammered Democrats for being too quick to dispose of leaders and party members who make mistakes or disagree, labeling the calls for Schumer to step down “premature.”

Schumer’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a stern warning to those engaged in government fraud at the most recent Cabinet meeting on Monday.

Speaking with President Donald Trump present at the meeting, Bondi thanked Tesla CEO Elon Musk for uncovering “fraud, waste and abuse” through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.

“A lot of waste and abuse, but there is a tremendous amount of fraud,” Bondi began. “And, Elon, thank you for your partnership. Thank you for your team. You have uncovered so much fraud in our government.”

Bondi then revealed that an internal task force is involved with bringing those accused of fraud to justice.

DOJ INSISTS EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHTS DID NOT VIOLATE COURT ORDER

Pam Bondi, US attorney general, during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“We will prosecute you,” the attorney general warned. “We have an internal task force now working with every agency sitting here at this table. And if you’ve committed fraud, we’re coming after you. Thank you, Elon.”

Bondi also mentioned that, under Trump’s directive, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will begin seeking the death penalty for those convicted of violent crimes.

“All of these horrible violent criminals that you’re hearing about around the country, they will face the death penalty federally within our country,” Bondi said. “And the drug dealers need to get out of here, because we are coming after you. We’re going to have 94 great U.S. attorneys around this country, and everyone will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The topic of government fraud was mentioned throughout the meeting, with Musk claiming that he found $330 million worth of waste within the Small Business Administration (SBA).

IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES HIT JUDGE WHO ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

Brooke Rollins, US agriculture secretary, from left, Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, US President Donald Trump, and Pam Bondi, US attorney general, during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“[We found] a case of fraud and waste with the Small Business Administration, where they were handing out $330 million worth of loans to people under the age of 11,” Musk said. “I think the youngest was a nine month year [sic] old who got a $100,000 loan.”

“That’s a very precocious baby we’re talking about here,” he joked.

Trump expressed appreciation to both Musk and the rest of the Cabinet for uncovering waste and fraud.

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President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon attend a cabinet meeting at the White House on Monday. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

“We’ve had many fraudulent contracts that were caught by the work that Elon and his people are doing,” the president said. “And working with our people, it’s been brought to light. The fraud, not just waste and abuse, the fraud has been incredible.”

The Trump administration has begun an interagency effort to end what it describes as the “exploitation of housing programs” by illegal aliens.

In a statement published on Monday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it had established the “American Housing Programs for American Citizens” Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The agreement was also signed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

The MOU is geared towards ending “the wasteful misappropriation of taxpayer dollars to benefit illegal aliens instead of American citizens,” the press release stated.

“As part of this new agreement, HUD will provide a full-time staff member to assist in operations at the Incident Command Center (ICC), establishing an interagency partnership to facilitate data sharing and ensure taxpayer-funded housing programs are not used to harbor or benefit illegal aliens,” the release read.

TRUMP NOMINATES SUSAN MONAREZ TO BECOME THE NEXT CDC DIRECTOR, SAYS AMERICANS ‘LOST CONFIDENCE’ IN AGENCY

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and HUD Secretary Scott Turner are launching efforts to end the “exploitation of housing programs” by undocumented immigrants. (Getty Images)

The effort comes a month after President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) to “ensure taxpayer resources are not used to incentivize or support illegal immigration.” The EO, signed on Feb. 19, ordered government departments to identify which federally-funded programs are “providing financial benefits to illegal aliens,” and mandated them to “take corrective action.”

In a statement about the recent MOU, HUD Secretary Scott Turner referenced the ongoing housing crisis in the U.S. and characterized the issue as “pressing.”

IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES HIT JUDGE WHO ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

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)

“This agreement will leverage resources including technology and personnel to ensure American people are the only priority when it comes to public housing,” Turner said. “We will continue to work closely with DHS to maximize our resources and put American citizens first.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem blasted the Biden administration in her statement, accusing the former president of prioritizing illegal aliens “over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens taxpayer-funding housing at the expense of Americans.”

Scott Turner appears before the Senate ahead of his confirmation vote to serve as HUD secretary.  (Getty Images)

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“The entire government will work together to identify abuse and exploitation of public benefits and make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay illegally,” Noem said. “If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now. The gravy train is over.”

FIRST ON FOX: Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is expected to privately meet with Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, two people familiar with the plans told Fox News Digital.

The timing or reason for the meeting is not immediately clear, but it comes as Republicans in Congress map out how to respond to what they see as “activist” judges blocking President Donald Trump’s agenda.

The committee is currently scheduled to mark up several pieces of legislation, unrelated to the judicial standoff, on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. ET. Johnson is scheduled to hold his weekly press conference at that time.

It comes as the Trump administration has faced more than a dozen injunctions from various district court judges across the country on a range of policy decisions.

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 7, 2025.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., announced on X Monday that lawmakers would be voting on a bill next week led by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to limit U.S. district court judges’ ability to hand down nationwide injunctions.

Fox News Digital was told last week that Trump himself expressed interest in the bill.

Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is expected to hold a hearing on the issue of activist judges early next week.

Several conservative lawmakers have also introduced or threatened resolutions to impeach specific judges blocking Trump’s agenda.

Johnson has been known to meet with various factions of the House GOP when trying to push key pieces of legislation, particularly when there are differing opinions on what to do, to ensure all lawmakers who want to express a viewpoint are heard.

But House GOP leaders have also been privately wary of getting behind any of the calls for impeachment, worried it would not be the most effective approach.

‘WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT’: US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 7, 2025.  (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo/File Photo)

Trump, however, has previously signaled interest in impeaching U.S. district court Judge James Boasberg after he issued an emergency order blocking the administration’s deportation of suspected Tren de Aragua gang members under the Alien Enemies Act.

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, introduced a resolution to impeach Boasberg for “abuse of power” last week. The legislation gained three new supporters on Monday and now has 19 total co-sponsors.

Some House Republicans expressed hesitation at the idea when asked by Fox News Digital on Monday night, however.

“We shouldn’t lower the standard for impeachment, but we should – we meaning Congress – should provide a remedy for district court judges who totally overreach,” Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., said.

Another House Republican who declined to be named said they were “totally opposed” to impeachment.

“That’s what the appeals process is for,” they said.

Freshman GOP Rep. Brandon Gill introduced a bill to impeach US District Court Judge James Boasberg (Getty Images)

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., contended that the impeachment resolutions sent a necessary message. 

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“The reason I sponsored Gill’s efforts is just – if we don’t say anything, the judges are going to be like, ‘Oh, we can do whatever we want.’ So they need to know that we are watching and that there’s a group of us that, if that’s what it takes, we would support that,” Stutzman said.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said Issa’s bill was a “start” but said the House Freedom Caucus would have discussions about whether the group wanted to push for impeachment.

Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office and the House Judiciary Committee for comment but did not immediately hear back.

President Donald Trump has revoked former U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ Secret Service protection, starting Monday.

The Secret Service confirmed to Fox News Digital that, per an executive memorandum from the president, the protective detail for Mayorkas was discontinued.

No other details were provided, to ensure the integrity of the Secret Service’s operations.

The former secretary’s security protection was revoked a week after Trump announced he was revoking Secret Service protection for former President Biden’s adult children.

TRUMP REVOKES SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION FOR ADULT BIDEN CHILDREN HUNTER AND ASHLEY

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, during a briefing at the White House in Washington. Louisiana is suing Mayorkas and various federal agencies after an illegal Chinese immigrant allegedly exposed hundreds to a rare TB strain while in detention.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post, saying Hunter Biden received Secret Service protection for an “extended period of time.”

“There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous!” Trump wrote. “Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection.”

WHO IS SEAN CURRAN? HEAD OF TRUMP’S PERSONAL DETAIL TO BE NOMINATED FOR SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 6, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware. The trial for Hunter Biden’s felony gun charges continues today with additional witnesses.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Also losing protection was Ashley Biden, Hunter’s sister. Trump noted that 13 agents were assigned to Ashley’s security detail.

“We are aware of the President’s decision to terminate protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden,” the Secret Service told Fox News Digital. “The Secret Service will comply and is actively working with the protective details and the White House to ensure compliance as soon as possible.”

SECRET SERVICE STRUGGLE TO PROTECT PRESIDENTS WON’T SEE ‘IMMEDIATE’ END EVEN WITH MORE MANPOWER: RETIRED AGENT

Former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, PA on Saturday, July 13, 2024.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Former presidents and their spouses receive life-long Secret Service protection under federal law, but the protection afforded to their immediate families over the age of 16 ends when they leave office, though both Trump and Biden extended the details for their children for six months before leaving office, the Associated Press reported. 

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Biden allowed Baron Trump to keep his Secret Service protection after his 16th birthday. 

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

A portrait of President Donald Trump that he claimed was “purposefully distorted” will be taken down from the Colorado Capitol, officials said Monday. 

In a statement, House Democrats said the oil painting, painted by artist Sarah Boardman during Trump’s first term, would be taken down at the request of Republican leaders in the state Legislature in Denver, the Associated Press reported.

“If the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that’s up to them,” the Democrats said.

SENATOR REVEALS WHY EVERYONE ‘LOVES’ TRUMP AFTER ROARING NCAA STANDING OVATION

President Trump’s portrait joins the wall of former presidents inside the Colorado state Capitol. (Screenshot/KCNC, KMGH feed)

The portrait was unveiled in 2019. State Republicans raised more than $11,000 through a GoFundMe account to commission the painting.

Trump criticized the painting in a Truth Social post on Sunday. 

“Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the State Capitol put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before,” he wrote. 

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED DURING TRUMP’S NINTH WEEK IN OFFICE

President Donald Trump’s portrait hangs in the Colorado Capitol after an unveiling ceremony, Aug. 1, 2019, in Denver.  (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

“The artist also did President Obama, and he looks wonderful, but the one [of] me is truly the worst, Trump added. “She must have lost her talent as she got older.”

Trump said he was requesting the portrait’s removal on behalf of angry Coloradans who have complained about it.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois.  (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“In any event, I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one, but many people from Colorado have called and written to complain,” he wrote. “In fact, they are actually angry about it!”

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Trump called on Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to have the painting taken down. 

“Jared should be ashamed of himself!” he wrote. 

President Donald Trump has named Susan Monarez as his nominee for the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), calling the candidate “a dedicated public servant.”

Monarez, who is currently acting director of the CDC, replaces Trump’s original nominee for the role, Dr. David Weldon. The Trump administration never gave an official reason why Weldon’s nomination was withdrawn earlier this month, but a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that it would have been a “futile effort.”

“It became clear that the votes weren’t there in the Senate for him to get confirmed,” the source explained. “This would have been a futile effort.”

In a Truth Social post published on Monday, Trump wrote that Monarez “brings decades of experience championing Innovation, Transparency, and strong Public Health Systems.”

DOJ INSISTS EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHTS DID NOT VIOLATE COURT ORDER

President Trump has nominated Dr. Susan Monarez to lead the CDC. (Getty Images | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

“She has a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, and PostDoctoral training in Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine,” the president wrote. “Dr. Monarez understands the importance of protecting our children, our communities, and our future.”

Trump also claimed that Americans have “lost confidence” in the CDC, citing “political bias and disastrous mismanagement,” as reasons why.

IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES HIT JUDGE WHO ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

Dr. Susan Monarez is currently the acting director of the CDC. (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

“Dr. Monarez will work closely with our GREAT Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr,” the president continued. “Together, they will prioritize Accountability, High Standards, and Disease Prevention to finally address the Chronic Disease Epidemic and, MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!”

According to Monarez’s CDC biography, she previously worked at the White House in the Office of Science and Technology Policy and on the National Security Council.

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Trump claimed that Americans have “lost confidence” in the CDC in his Mar. 24 announcement. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“[She led] efforts to enhance the nation’s biomedical innovation capabilities, including combating antimicrobial resistance, expanding the use of wearables to promote patient health, ensuring personal health data privacy, and improving pandemic preparedness,” the biography states. “She has also held leadership positions at the Department of Homeland Security and has led numerous international cooperative initiatives to promote bilateral and multilateral health innovation research and development.”

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and Julia Johnson 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…

-US moves to extradite 3 alleged Tren de Aragua members to Chile

-Democrats on possible Biden political reemergence: ‘his time has passed’

-New report sounds the alarm on ‘staggering’ amount of foreign money being poured into U.S. universities

House takes on Judges 

FIRST ON FOX: The House Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing early next week looking into the issue of “activist judges,” three people familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital.

It comes as the Trump administration has faced more than a dozen injunctions from various district court judges across the country on a range of policy decisions. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments in one of those cases Monday after President Donald Trump called for the impeachment of U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, also confirmed on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” that he intended to hold hearings on “activist judges” opposing the administration. He said he expects a House-wide vote next week on a bill by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to block district judges from issuing nationwide injunctions…Read more

White House

‘NONSENSICAL’ SPENDING: From ‘food justice’ to ‘useless surveys,’ Trump’s cabinet reveals ‘nonsensical’ contracts it has canceled

FREE SPEECH: Biden admin’s ‘vast censorship enterprise’ with help of NGOs slated for key hearing, lawmaker says

CANDID CLOONEY: George Clooney says he dropped support for Biden after seeing him up close, condemns Democratic ‘cowardice’

World Stage

‘A HARMLESS VISIT’: Greenland PM slams upcoming visit from Usha Vance as ‘very aggressive’ provocation

IMPEACHMENT OVERTURNED: South Korean PM Han Duck-soo reinstated as acting president after impeachment overturned

South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo speaks during a briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul, South Korea, on March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool)

‘CONSTRUCTIVE’ DISCUSSION: US peace talks with Ukraine, Russia get underway in Saudi Arabia

Capitol Hill

BUDGET BRAWL: Battle of the chambers: House and Senate tensions boil over as Trump budget hangs in limbo

RED AND BLUE: Trump-district Democrat warns party brand ‘in trouble’ ahead of 2026 midterms

Rep. Tom Suozzi is warning the Democratic Party brand is in “trouble” but signaled confidence ahead of the 2026 midterms. (Getty Images)

Across America 

‘PROFOUND IMPACT’: Clean air mandates exacerbating dearth in gas tax revenues used for roads, bridges, infrastructure

‘DISRUPTIVE’: Bush-era education secretary wary about FAFSA disruptions as department faces dismantling

DEI DIES: Youngkin efforts lead slew of VA colleges to nix DEI, as Hokie alums reportedly push back’

‘CLEARLY A PATTERN’: Maine Dems push for tampons in boys’ bathrooms amid ongoing debate over trans sports participation

‘ABSOLUTELY EGREGIOUS’: Boston releasing serious criminal illegals on very low bail

‘DEEPLY HONORED’: Top GOP governor makes key endorsement in border state gubernatorial race: ‘Deeply honored’

NOT FINISHED?: RFK Jr.’s former running mate rules out 2026 CA governor run, hints at activism

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Trump’s nominee to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services testifies during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing for his pending confirmation on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

MAP QUEST: Supreme Court hears pivotal Louisiana election map case ahead of 2026 midterms

LEARNING NOTHING: Columbia faculty hold ’emergency vigil,’ urge students to wear masks, skip class

THE SHOW MUST GO ON: Judge blocks enforcement of Texas A&M system’s drag show ban, allowing ‘Draggieland’ event on campus this week

TESLA TERROR: FBI tells Tesla owners to be vigilant as authorities pinpoint their focus to stop violence: former agent

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

A U.S. appeals court judge said Monday that Nazis received better treatment than the Venezuelan nationals who were deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration last weekend during a hearing over President Donald Trump’s use of an 18th-century wartime authority to remove certain foreigners from U.S. soil.

The back-and-forth comes as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard arguments from the Trump administration in its emergency appeal of a lower court ruling, which temporarily blocked its use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang. 

During the hearing Monday, Judge Patricia Millett grilled Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign over the timing of the deportations, which sent at least 261 migrants to El Salvador, including more than 100 Venezuelan nationals who were subject to removal “solely on the basis” of the law temporarily blocked by the court.

“The point here was that there were planeloads of people,” Millett told him. “There were no procedures in place to notify people.”

‘WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT’: US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO
 

President Donald Trump and U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg (Getty Images)

“Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemy Act than has happened here,” she said, noting, “They had hearing boards before people were removed.”

Millett pressed Ensign over whether the individuals deported under the law had any time to seek relief or challenge their status as a member of the gang in the form of a habeas petition before they were deported.

JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA

Stills from the White House/CBP’s video showing deportations alongside White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (Getty/White House)

The government’s position was not immediately clear, though Ensign noted they disagreed with the contention that Nazis got better treatment. 

Congress passed the Alien Enemies Act immigration law in 1798, and it has since been used only several times in U.S. history, most recently during World War II.

Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 16, 2025.  (Secretaria de Prensa de la Presidencia/Handout via Reuters)

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It was not immediately clear when the appeals court plans to issue its ruling. 

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

A bipartisan pair of Florida lawmakers is teaming up to establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a separate Cabinet-level agency in an effort to “cut red tape, improve government efficiency, and save lives.”

Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Byron Donalds, R-Fla., introduced the FEMA Independence Act on Monday, which aims to detach the agency from the “bureaucratic labyrinth” of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and return it to its core mission of providing emergency aid.

“As the first Emergency Management Director ever elected to Congress, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disaster events. As these emergencies continue to grow larger and more widespread, the American people deserve a federal response that is efficient and fast,” Moskowitz said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “To achieve that, FEMA should be reformed.”

The bill would also require that a director be appointed to lead the agency upon confirmation by the Senate.

TRUMP’S FEMA FACES RECKONING AS MORE STAFF FIRED IN ‘POLITICAL BIAS’ SCANDAL: GOP LAWMAKER

Florida Reps. Byron Donalds, left, and Jared Moskowitz are introducing legislation to detach FEMA from DHS. (Getty Images)

The director would be required to have “a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security” and no less than five years of executive leadership and management experience in the public and private sectors, according to the bill text.

Moskowitz highlighted how FEMA sits under the “umbrella” of DHS with about 20 other agencies, saying, “The set-up simply doesn’t work.” 

“By removing FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security and restoring its status as an independent, cabinet-level agency, my bipartisan bill will help cut red tape, improve government efficiency, and save lives,” Moskowitz said. “It will also help refocus FEMA on its original mission: as an agency tasked with responding before, during, and after disaster events.”

NEW YORK CITY DENIED REQUEST FEMA RETURN $80M IN MIGRANT FUNDS

Donalds, in a statement shared with Fox, said, “FEMA has become overly bureaucratic, overly politicized, overly inefficient, and substantial change is needed to best serve the American people.” 

“When disaster strikes, quick and effective action must be the standard – not the exception,” the Republican congressman wrote. “It is imperative that FEMA is removed from the bureaucratic labyrinth of DHS and instead is designated to report directly to the President of the United States.”

The bill comes two months after President Donald Trump launched a review council as part of an initiative to begin “fundamentally reforming and overhauling” the agency.

“Despite obligating nearly $30 billion in disaster aid each of the past three years, FEMA has managed to leave vulnerable Americans without the resources or support they need when they need it most,” Trump’s order reads. “There are serious concerns of political bias in FEMA. Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President.”

President Donald Trump (Getty Images/File)

FEMA’s use of resources has also come under scrutiny in the past few weeks after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire Elon Musk, revealed that the agency, under former President Joe Biden, allocated $59 million to New York City to pay for “luxury hotels” for illegal immigrants.

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Moskowitz said FEMA should be reworked rather than abolished.

Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s Cabinet outlined billions of dollars in contracts it says it has canceled since he took office, including a “$300,000 contract educating on food justice for queer and transgender farmers in San Francisco” and $830 million on surveys described as looking like “anyone’s child in junior high could have put together.” 

The contracts, which Trump said represented “fraud,” are being canceled as Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are trying to eliminate wasteful spending by the federal government. 

“Even at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we canceled a $300,000 contract educating on food justice for queer and transgender farmers in San Francisco. A similar contract we canceled in New York, again educating transgender and queer farmers on food justice and food equality. I’m not even sure what that means, but apparently the last administration wanted to put out taxpayer dollars towards that,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Trump. 

“We canceled a $600,000 contract out of Louisiana that was studying the menstrual cycles of transgender men. We canceled another contract out of a university in the middle of the country that focused on getting more diversity, equity and inclusion into our pest management industry,” she continued. “Again, these are nonsensical, it makes zero sense to use taxpayer dollars to fund these. I know these are just a few examples of the hundreds and hundreds we have found.” 

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BLOCKS DOGE FROM PERSONAL DATA, IN ANOTHER INJUNCTION AGAINST TRUMP 

Elon Musk listens during a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House on Monday, March 24, in Washington.  (AP/Pool)

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Trump that “There is a federal consulting group which was a group inside of Interior, but it was managing contracts for many different agencies that flowed through here” and “one of those contracts was to do surveys of individuals, $830 million for surveys.” 

“And so part of the question was ‘hey could we actually see the surveys?’ and then the surveys came back and it was, the survey was like 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper with ten questions that anyone’s child in junior high could have put together, or AI could have done for free,” Burgum said during the Cabinet meeting. “$830 million, so that is one that we stopped and that contract was going out after you were inaugurated, sir.” 

“It’s fraud,” Trump responded. “But we’ve had many fraudulent contracts that were caught by the work that Elon and his people are doing and working with our people. It’s been brought to light. The fraud, not just waste and abuse. The fraud has been incredible.” 

REPUBLICAN SENATORS URGED TO ‘GO ON OFFENSE’ ON DOGE GOALS, HIGHLIGHT WORK WITH TRUMP, MUSK   

President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon attend a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Monday. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

An X account linked to the White House said Burgum announced $830 million in savings by “cutting contracts for useless surveys.” 

“The EPA has now canceled over $22 billion worth of contracts – $2 billion going to this NGO that Stacey Abrams was tied to. They received only $100 in 2023 and then the Biden administration gave them $2 billion,” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin also said. “The director of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund saw his former employer get $5 billion dollars. So $20 billion went to just eight NGOs.” 

Members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet detailed contracts they have canceled since he took office. (AP)

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“The partnership with DOGE and Elon Musk has been incredible at EPA. Their team is very talented, we wouldn’t have been able to do it without them and of course this mandate from President Trump to make sure that we identify every last penny, whether we are saving $50,000, five million dollars or $22 billion dollars we will not rest until every last penny is saved. Thank you, Mr. President for the opportunity to do this for the American public,” Zeldin added. 

EXCLUSIVE: Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is endorsing Karrin Taylor Robson in the Arizona 2026 gubernatorial Republican primary. 

Robson is seeking to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in what’s expected to be one of the most competitive races in the country.

“I am proud to join President Trump in endorsing Karrin Taylor Robson for Governor. Karrin is the conservative outsider and business leader Arizona needs. I know she will join me in partnering with the Trump Administration to secure our borders, create a strong economy, and say NO to the Woke Agenda. Join me in supporting Karrin today!” Sanders said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.

REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS CAN’T WAIT FOR TRUMP TO UNLEASH PROSPERITY IN THE STATES

Karrin Taylor Robson and Kari Lake (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Sanders was a press secretary for President Donald Trump during his first term, and then followed in her father Mike Huckabee’s footsteps and became governor in 2023, succeeding Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

“I am deeply honored to have Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ support. Her leadership in Arkansas and her dedication to President Trump’s America First agenda is an example for every Governor in the country to follow. I’m thrilled she’s joining President Trump in supporting my campaign to deliver results for Arizona by defeating radical Katie Hobbs, locking down our border, and building a stronger, safer state,” Robson said in response to the endorsement.

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS ON TARIFF THREAT: TRUMP IS TIRED OF AMERICA GETTING RIPPED OFF

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks during a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump in Pittsburgh on Nov. 4, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

At Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in December, Trump said he planned on backing her campaign if she jumped in. 

“Are you running for governor? I think so, Karrin, ’cause if you do you’re gonna have my support, OK?” Trump said during his speech.

In 2022, she mounted a primary bid for the governor’s office and narrowly lost to Republican Kari Lake, who serves as a senior advisor to the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Lake and Robson had a bitter primary battle in 2022, but Robson ultimately endorsed both Trump and Lake in their 2024 general election bids.

‘I WILL NOT REST’: BORDER STATE GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN WEEKS AFTER TRUMP BACKED HER

Former President Trump speaks during a Turning Point Action campaign rally in Las Vegas on Oct. 24, 2024. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Rep. Andy Biggs, who also supports Trump, threw his hat into the ring, and he’s racked up the endorsements of fellow Republican Arizona Reps. Eli Crane and Paul Gosar, as well as Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert. Critics of Robson believe that Biggs will have a better shot of winning over the Republican base and hope that the president will have a change of heart.

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Meanwhile, there’s a long way until the primary, which is scheduled for Aug. 4, 2026. It’s unclear if any other major contenders will enter the race on either side. Cook Political Report ranks the general election race as a toss-up. Other statewide offices, including secretary of state and attorney general, will be up for grabs as well in the battleground state that Trump won in 2024.

Former President Joe Biden may want to be back in the political arena to try and help the Democratic Party emerge from the wilderness.

However, it does not appear that many Democrats are overly receptive to the offer from the 82-year-old former president, whom many blame for last November’s stinging election setbacks, when the party lost control of the White House and Senate and fell short in winning back the House majority from the GOP.

“As far as Biden’s position within the current state of the Democratic Party, I think his time is over. I think his time has passed. The train has sort of moved on,” a Democrat strategist who asked for anonymity to speak more freely told Fox News.

Biden met last month with Ken Martin, the newly elected chair of the Democratic National Committee, to offer his help, a source with knowledge confirmed to Fox News last week. Word of the meeting and Biden’s offer to help fundraise or campaign for the party was first reported by NBC News.

POLL POSITION: DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S NUMBERS PLUNGE TO ALL-TIME LOWS

Then-President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House as he gives his farewell address on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP)

The offer of assistance by the former president comes as recent polling indicates the Democratic Party brand is in desperate need of repair. 

The party’s favorable rating sank to all-time lows in separate national polls conducted this month by CNN and NBC News. Those numbers followed a record low for Democrats in a Quinnipiac University survey in the field in February.

Additionally, the latest Fox News National poll, which was released last week, indicated Congressional Democrats’ approval rating at 30%, near an all-time low.

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While some Democrats praise Biden for his past accomplishments, including during his single term in the White House, many say it is time to move on as the party aims to rebound.

“President Biden did a lot of remarkably great things for this country,” longtime Democratic consultant John MacNeil told Fox News. “I’m sure there is still some love left for him.”

Then-President Joe Biden speaks at the State Department during the closing days of his presidency on Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)

However, MacNeil, who was part of the leadership of Unite the Country, a pro-Biden super PAC that helped boost the then-former vice president to victory in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, pointed to the 2024 election and noted that Biden “is unfortunately and unfairly the guy who’s going to get pegged for the loses.”

Joe Caiazzo, a veteran Democratic strategist who served on the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns of Sen. Bernie Sanders, told Fox News that “there is an appetite for a message anchored in economic populism wrapped in a desire for broad system change. Following November’s results, it is more than fair to say that folks are looking towards the future.”

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL SAYS ABOUT CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS 

Others, who asked to remain anonymous, were more blunt.

A longtime Democratic Party bundler and fundraiser argued that “Biden was never a very good fundraiser. Never. He always had difficulty raising money and really didn’t like doing it.”

There is still plenty of anger directed at Biden, who dropped his 2024 re-election bid last July, a couple of weeks after a disastrous debate performance against then-former President Donald Trump reignited serious questions and deep concerns over Biden’s physical and mental stamina to handle another four years in the White House.

Biden was succeeded at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket by then-Vice President Kamala Harris, with less than four months until Election Day.

A national Democrat strategist who was close to the 2024 Biden campaign told Fox News that “it defies belief that the man who cost the Democratic Party the White House, the Senate and the House, believes that he is going to be the Democratic Party savior, but this is also the same person who tried to convince America that he wasn’t too old to continue as President of the United States.”

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One en route to New Jersey on Friday, Mar. 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

One person who appears enthusiastic about the potential prospect of Biden re-entering the political arena is Trump, who has repeatedly blasted the former president in speeches, interviews and on social media in the two months since returning to power.

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“I hope so,” Trump told reporters on Friday when asked about the possibility of a more visible political role for his predecessor.