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EXCLUSIVE — President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs promise is facing challenges from a new analysis that argues the sweeping trade policy failed to revive manufacturing and instead slowed job creation in the U.S.

The report, obtained first by Fox News Digital, lands months after Trump’s signature economic policies was handed a blow when the Supreme Court struck down sweeping tariffs, and businesses are now seeking billions of dollars in tariff refunds.

Trump’s April 2025 global tariff rollout marked the largest U.S. tariff hike in decades, delivering on a signature economic promise that higher duties would spark a manufacturing renaissance, bring factory jobs back to the United States and reduce Americans’ reliance on foreign goods.

Researchers at the Advancing American Freedom Foundation argue those goals never materialized, and estimate in their report that the tariffs resulted in up to 1 million fewer jobs nationwide than would have been expected under pre-tariff trends.

TRUMP SAYS US WOULD BE ‘DESTROYED’ WITHOUT TARIFF REVENUE

Manufacturing — the industry the tariffs were intended to help — fared particularly poorly, according to the damning report. Researchers estimate the sector lost roughly 75,000 positions during the policy’s first year, or about 6,250 jobs per month.

“We can say with an over 90% confidence level that manufacturing lost jobs because of the tariffs,” Richard Stern, vice president of the Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital.

Stern argued the tariffs backfired because many American manufacturers rely on imported components and equipment.

“Most of the Americans that are importing are American businesses, especially American manufacturers and producers,” he said. “So the tariffs really ended up being a tax on high-end American manufacturing.”

‘WE WERE RIGHT’: HE TOOK TRUMP’S TARIFFS TO THE SUPREME COURT AND WON

If nothing else, the tariffs proved to be a windfall for Washington.

Duties climbed from $9.6 billion in March 2025 to $23.9 billion by May, according to Treasury data. By the end of the 2025 fiscal year, tariff collections reached $215.2 billion, roughly triple pre-tariff levels.

In January alone, duties totaled $30.4 billion, up about 242% from $8.9 billion a year earlier. Tariff revenue for the current fiscal year has already reached roughly $230 billion, more than four times the amount collected during the same period last year.

ONE YEAR LATER, TRUMP TARIFFS GENERATED BILLIONS AS REFUNDS TAKE SHAPE

FLOURISH CHART SHOWING TARIFF REVENUE: 29325373

But the report from AAFF, which was founded by former Vice President Mike Pence in 2021, contends the tariffs’ revenue success came at a cost.

Researchers found employment growth weakened across most sectors after the tariffs took effect, with manufacturing and trade-related industries among the hardest hit. Their analysis found a 99.9% probability that job growth slowed following the policy change.

When reached for comment about the report’s findings, White House spokesman Kush Desai did not address the claims, but instead took a swipe at the group, telling Fox News Digital: “Another useless memo is still not going to make Mike Pence relevant again.” 

AFTER SUPREME COURT BLOW, TRUMP ADMIN LAUNCHES $166B TARIFF REFUND PORTAL

Beyond employment, the report points to higher costs for American households and businesses.

According to the report, about 90% of the tariff burden fell on U.S. importers rather than foreign producers. The authors estimate the average American family paid about $1,000 more in tariff-related costs during 2025.

While businesses are seeking refunds following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Stern argued that repayment cannot reverse broader economic damage caused during the tariff period.

“You can’t undo the damage. You can’t undo a factory,” Stern said. “There are many that closed in America because they couldn’t get their hands on products used for manufacturing.”

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The report concludes that the tariffs “unlawfully taxed American families, wiped out nearly a million jobs, and were ultimately ruled illegal.”

The findings add a new dimension to the ongoing debate over Trump’s trade agenda, challenging the argument that higher tariffs would revive domestic manufacturing and create American jobs.

Read the full report:

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States and Iran have officially reached a peace agreement, marking a major diplomatic breakthrough that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has served as a mediator, was the first to announce the peace deal, saying a signing ceremony is scheduled to take place Friday in Switzerland.

TRUMP SAYS HE’S CANCELED IRAN STRIKES, ADDS POTENTIAL DEAL-SIGNING ‘TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY’

Trump added that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen once the parties formally sign the agreement.

“With the opening of the Strait upon the signing of the Deal on Friday, for purposes of mine removal, oil will flow on both ends again for the Region, and the World!” he said.

IRAN REVEALS 10-POINT PLAN FOR PEACE WITH THE US – HERE’S WHAT’S IN IT

According to Sharif, the deal includes the termination of military operations across the region, including in Lebanon, where Iran-backed terrorist proxy Hezbollah has been engaged in conflict with Israel.

“Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” he said.

Additional details of the agreement, including any provisions related to Iran’s nuclear program, were not immediately released.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister said talks with the United States on a final and more comprehensive agreement will take place during a 60-day ceasefire period, according to Reuters.

The outlet reported that the future of Iran’s nuclear program will be addressed in upcoming negotiations. Trump has long maintained that Iran cannot be in possession of a nuclear weapon and has repeatedly vowed to prevent Tehran from developing, acquiring or obtaining one.

Trump further praised his administration for securing the agreement.

“This Great Deal will bring Peace and Security to the whole Region,” he said. “Many presidents have tried to make Peace with Iran, and all have failed before me. The Leaders of the Region have, for the first time, found a President who can help them achieve real Peace.”

Sharif also thanked the United States and Iran for their “commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict,” as well as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey for their contributions to the mediation effort.

With the agreement now in place, mediators are expected to facilitate a series of meetings this week that could lay the groundwork for technical negotiations and the official signing ceremony, Sharif said.

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The peace deal would formally end the high-stakes conflict that began on Feb. 28, which disrupted roughly 20% of global oil shipments that pass through the Strait of Hormuz and contributed to higher energy prices worldwide.

It comes roughly one year after Israel initiated massive strikes on Iran during Operation Rising Lion. The strikes sparked a 12-day conflict between the nations before Trump ordered strikes on a trio of nuclear facilities later that same month. 

Fox News’ Ashley J. DiMella and Reuters contributed to this report.

There were two 1s. Three 3s. Three 4s. One 04. Three 6s. Two 06s. Two 7s. Two 07s. 2 9s. And three 12s. 

No. I wasn’t trying to decipher computer programming code. 

This wasn’t a routing number for a checking account.

Nor was I communicating in hexadecimals.

I was staring at these numbers to unravel the GOP’s uniform numbers for the annual Congressional baseball game at Nats Park.

REPUBLICANS DESTROY DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESSIONAL BASEBALL GAME AGAIN, WINNING FOR 5TH STRAIGHT YEAR

Congressional Republicans and Democrats play each other in the event. It’s a custom dating back to 1909. No other athletic team in any sport on the planet allows players on the same team to wear the same numbers. But since this is Congress, lawmakers get to choose whatever uniform number they want. 

On the Republican team, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN) both wear number one. Reps. Chuck Flesichmann (R-TN), Greg Murphy (R-NC) and Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) don number three.

You get the idea. 

Old-time ballpark vendors used to hawk their wares by shouting, “You can’t tell the players without a scorecard.” 

With all of these numbers, a scorecard won’t do. You need an abacus.

The Democrats aren’t much better with their uniform algebra. Four Democrats utilized the same uniform digits. There were two 3s. Two 11s. Two 15s. And two 25s. For instance, Reps. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., sported number three. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Frank Mrvan, D-Ind., requested number 11. 

The game is a charity event, raising more than $3.2 million and coaxing 32,000 fans to the ballpark. So who wears what number really shouldn’t matter much.

SCHMITT GOES IN-DEPTH ON DIVING CATCH & CHANGES TO COLLEGE ATHLETICS ON ‘RUTHLESS’

Unless you’re broadcasting the game on national television.

That’s where I come in. 

I’ve had the privilege of announcing the game for Fox Sports for five years now, live on FS1. I handle the color commentary. My Fox News colleague and former ESPN hand Kevin Corke does play-by-play. Fox Sports sends the same production crew which handles playoff games and the World Series to cover this. Led by Fox producer extraordinaire Aaron Stojkov, the same group of folks just worked Fox’s national broadcast of the Cardinals/Cubs game a few weeks ago in St. Louis. They handled the Phillies/Brewers game in Milwaukee Saturday night.

Congress is my thing. But baseball even more so. 

I was at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati in 1985 the night Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb’s all-time hits record. I know that Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom House caught Hank Aaron’s 715th career home run in the bullpen, breaking Babe Ruth’s mark. I can talk about Ralph Branca on the mound for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Branca yielded “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” to Bobby Thomson, propelling the New York Giants into the 1951 World Series. I’ll then regale you with the little known fact that Thomson is from Glasgow, Scotland. Not Staten Island. I can even give you a dissertation explaining the infield fly rule. 

But the annual ritual of decrypting the Congressional baseball game is the most challenging thing I do professionally each year. The exercise involving the national pastime is a fabulous yet tough assignment. 

I’ve often wondered if calling an actual Major League game would be easier than announcing the tilt between the Democrats and Republicans. For MLB, I follow the teams. I study box scores. I can tell who is on a winning streak. Who can’t hit a slider. 

PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR: HOUSE REPUBLICANS’ SMALL MAJORITY COULD MAKE ATTENDANCE A PRIORITY

This is not to say that announcing a Big League game is easy. But there’s more information. It’s baseball as I know it. 

Pete Rose said that the easiest place to hit was the Big Leagues. The pitching was better. The umpiring was better. The lighting was better.

Rose’s point is that most MLB hurlers have command. But down in the minors, some of the pitchers make Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn from the movie Major League look like Greg Maddux. Umpires in The Show work a consistent strike zone. But in the Pioneer League, an actual pioneer may have a better concept of what’s a ball or strike. Down in the South Atlantic League, you might struggle to even see the ball because the stadium is practically illuminated by foot candles. But the lighting at Major League Stadiums is better than a Taylor Swift concert. 

So that’s the challenge. There’s a chasm between MLB and the Congressional baseball game. You have to figure out what to say about each player – who have limited stat lines. I know more about their voting records than batting averages. So, like any reporter, I dig around to prepare what to say during the game. 

It was just before 7a.m. ET a few weeks ago. My phone buzzed with a text from Republican Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt. He was at the pre-dawn practice. Schmitt has the highest OPS (on base percentage, plus slugging percentage) in Congressional baseball history. He’s a mega St. Louis Cardinals fan. But despite his prowess at the plate, Schmitt made one of the most stellar plays in Congressional baseball history in the game Wednesday night.

LEARNING CURVE: THE NEW PLAYERS IN CONGRESS

Rep. Johnny Oleszewski, D-Md., looped a long flyball down the left field line. Approaching foul ground and the warning track, Schmitt laid himself out, with a diving, circus catch in the heel of his glove. Schmitt popped back up, blood streaming from his face after crashing into the warning track.

“I’m not as sore as I thought I would be,” said Schmitt the next day, noting he scraped up his forearms. 

That play goes into the baseball lore for next year’s broadcast. 

Schmitt wasn’t the only Gold Glover this year. 

Reps. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., also made spectacular catches in short left field.

Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, is the GOP manager. But he toiled as an Atlanta Braves farmhand for three seasons. Williams hit an impressive .318 for Wytheville, VA in the Appalachian League in 1971. An injury curbed Williams to batting just .135 and .203 the next two seasons. The Braves released him and Wiliams became a scout. 

Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., manages the Democratic squad. She used to be one of a handful of women who played. After five seasons, Sanchez is still looking for her first win as the Democratic skipper. 

“We don’t get our hits together then and strand people on the bases,” said Sanchez. 

As a kid, Sanchez pulled for the now Los Angeles Angels. She was a big Nolan Ryan fan. But Sanchez dropped her allegiance to the Angels after Ryan signed with the Houston Astros. That was just as “Fernando-mania” seized the baseball world as phenom Fernando Valenzuela won the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year honor in 1981. Sanchez has been a Los Angeles Dodgers fan ever since. 

I have two favorite tales about lawmakers and their connections to Major League Baseball.  

Rep. Ray Cannon, D-Wis., served in Congress in the 1930s. But before that, Cannon represented Shoeless Joe Jackson and other members of the Chicago White Sox, banished from baseball during the Black Sox scandal. Eight players are accused of trying to throw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. 

Then there was Rep. Jacob Ruppert, D-N.Y., who represented part of New York City in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Ruppert wanted to acquire a baseball club. But a deal to purchase the New York Giants fell through. He opted to buy the New York Yankees – who were consistently a second division team in those days. Ruppert then acquired Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees became one of the most-storied franchises in the history of sports. And Ruth became the first American superstar. 

Few in Congress know who Ruppert was in Congress. But when it comes to baseball, Ruppert is now enshrined in Cooperstown. 

In order to get everyone to the ballpark on time for the game, Steve Scalise scheduled final votes for the day around 4:30 pm et last Wednesday. He also told committees to suspend votes until after the ballgame. 

The House Appropriations Committee was prepping the annual Homeland Security bill that night. But Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told Members he wanted everyone back to vote 30 minutes after the game. Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., had an amendment ready on collective bargaining for the TSA. Levin wondered if he’d return for the committee votes in his baseball uniform.

But no level of preparation fully arms you to call the game from the booth. I looked up at one point and found freshman Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Texas, pinch running at first base. But Menefee never appeared on any roster I was presented. I had no information on him. 

Menefee beat Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, in a primary for next year recently. He’s only been in Congress a few months after winning a special election. 

At first I couldn’t figure out who was out on the base paths. I scoured each each number on my roster. 

Nothing.

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A multitude of numbers. But none for Menefee.

Prep all you want to announce the Congressional baseball game. But you’d still be outnumbered.

A Biden-appointed federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore exhibits and other materials at national parks that highlighted slavery, climate change and other leftist ideology after they were removed under a directive targeting displays deemed disparaging to America.

U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Massachusetts, appointed to the federal bench by former President Joe Biden in 2021, issued a preliminary injunction Friday requiring the administration to reverse the changes and pause any further removals amid legal challenges.

The move comes amid the America 250 celebrations that will crescendo on July 4.

The Interior Department in a statement called Kelley a “liberal activist judge” and said it was reviewing its options to appeal its removal of what Secretary Doug Burgum rebuked as “improper partisan ideology.”

‘ACTIVIST’ JUDGES KEEP TRYING TO CURB TRUMP’S AGENDA – HERE’S HOW HE COULD PUSH BACK

“This ruling is from a liberal activist judge,” an Interior spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Sunday. “The Department will look at our appeal options while we celebrate UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House this weekend in honor of our nation’s 250th with the greatest president in the history of our country – President Donald J. Trump.”

Trump’s March 27, 2025 executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” sought to restore American heritage to national parks and monuments that were “changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history” after the race riots of 2020 that might have ultimately helped fuel Biden’s election.

Trump ordered Interior to “take action, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law,” to ensure that all U.S. government descriptions and depictions do not “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living” – instead putting “focus on the greatness” of America.

While Kelley wrote that the plaintiffs had shown the administration’s actions were meant “to rewrite the Nation’s history with a white-out pen,” Trump said he had issued the order because of the “false reconstruction” of U.S. history under Biden, the president who appointed her.

LIZ PEEK: TRUMP DECLARES WAR ON WOKE—AND THIS BELOVED MUSEUM IS IN HIS CROSSHAIRS

Removing the disparagement of Americans and highlighting of U.S. greatness set a “dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization,” according to Kelley.

FEDERAL AGENCIES SCRUB CLIMATE CHANGE FROM WEBSITES AMID TRUMP REBRANDING

The judge also ordered the administration to file weekly status reports detailing its progress in restoring the affected materials.

Among the materials Burgum’s Interior removed were an exhibit at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park describing the ownership of enslaved people by George Washington, the nation’s first president, and signage detailing climate threats at Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

AMERICAN HISTORY WON’T BE DISPLAYED ‘IN A WOKE MANNER’ AT SMITHSONIAN, TRUMP SAYS

“Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at National Parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths,” Kelley wrote.

Trump signed the executive order to work to “restoring truth and sanity to American history” at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks. Burgum later directed the removal of what he called “improper partisan ideology” from museums, monuments, landmarks and other public exhibits under federal control.

“Museums in our nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” the Trump order read.

TRUMP ADMIN-MAMDANI CLASH OVER STONEWALL MONUMENT REACHES FINAL DECISIONOther changes denounced by leftist ideologues included the removal of a sign at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona that included an image of a visitor holding a Pride flag, as well as the removal of films about labor history at Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts.

“What we were left, like virtually every Cabinet agency, was a complete mess from the Biden administration,” Burgum told Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany on “Saturday in America,” vowing that he is “cleaning up the mess that’s been left with us.”

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“They were doing everything from climate extremism to DEI, ESG, you name it, and they were doing it all opposed to what the American people voted for and what President Trump promised the American people we would do.”

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump turned 80 on Sunday, becoming only the second sitting U.S. president to reach octogenarian status in the Oval Office, leaving even his onetime political opponents marveling at his defying the effects of Father Time – even if his critics continue to share concerns they never had with the older former President Joe Biden, now 83.

“You don’t have to wish me a happy birthday, because I’m not happy about that birthday that I’m having,” Trump joked with Dr. Mehmet Oz, 66, in an Oval Office video shared Thursday on Instagram. “It’s a number I haven’t thought too much about.

“It’s not a number I like, but I’m here nevertheless.”

Trump’s White House is celebrating his keeping up the fight with an Ultimate Fighting Championship on the South Lawn.

TRUMP LOOKING FORWARD TO ATTENDING UFC WHITE HOUSE EVENT FEATURING ‘ALL TOP’ FIGHTERS

“At least to date, he has seemed to utterly defy age,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The 55-year-old Cruz was a target of Trump’s political fire a decade ago on the opposite side of the Republican presidential primary race.

“I don’t know where he gets the energy that he displays, but he is up early in the morning and late at night,” Cruz added.

Trump, born June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York, crossed the threshold previously reached by Biden, who turned 80 in 2022 while serving in the White House. Trump was already the oldest president ever sworn into office when he began his second term in January 2025 at age 78.

RFK JR: DR OZ SAYS TRUMP HAS ‘HIGHEST TESTOSTERONE LEVEL’ HE’S SEEN IN A MAN OLDER THAN 70

“He has gained in stamina as he has gotten older,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 82, said recently.

Unlike Biden, whose age and mental acuity became a central political liability before he left office, Trump and his allies have repeatedly pointed to the president’s busy public schedule, frequent media appearances and hands-on governing style as evidence that he remains active and engaged.

Trump hailed his latest physical by White House Dr. Sean Barbabella declaring him to be in “exceptional” health and his cardiac age being “approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age.”

TRUMP DECLARED ‘FULLY FIT’ FOR ALL PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES AFTER ANNUAL PHYSICAL SHOWS ‘EXCELLENT HEALTH’

“They said I’m very healthy,” Trump told “Pod Force One with Miranda Devine” earlier this month, saying he has “an obligation” to give periodic cognitive reports on his mental acuity after Biden’s administration.

“I took a test and cognitive test and I got 100% on it. I got as the expression goes: I aced it. And the doctors told me it’s very, very few people can ace. That’s actually a tough test.”

Trump noted Biden was able to skirt potential prosecution for retention of classified documents because special counsel Robert Hur declared Biden to be a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

TRUMP PITCHES COGNITIVE TESTS FOR LEADERS, TAKES AIM AT HARRIS, WALZ, NEWSOM

“I have a great memory,” Trump told Devine. “Look, so far so good. I hope I’m going to keep it that way.

“If I don’t, you’ll be the first to know. You’ll say [after] this interview: ‘This isn’t the same Trump; I think he’s lost it.'”

The White House has also sought to bolster that message with medical updates. Trump’s physician said the president remains in “excellent health” and “fully fit” to carry out the duties of commander-in-chief.

“Unlike other U.S. Presidents, none of whom have ever taken an approved, high difficulty, Cognitive Test, I scored a perfect 30 out of 30, considered ‘extreme intelligence,'” the post began.

“Are the Dumocrats really surprised?”

WHITE HOUSE PROVIDES TRUMP HEALTH UPDATE AFTER MRI SCAN CONCERNS SWIRLED

Trump has long cast his stamina as a political asset, regularly contrasting his pace and public visibility with Biden’s more limited appearances during his presidency. Supporters say the difference is clear: Trump remains outspoken, combative and highly visible as he enters his ninth decade.

Some Democrats have seized on images of Trump’s bruising of his hand and with his eyes closed during meetings and lengthy Cabinet news conferences, which Trump has noted provide unprecedented transparency and access to the administration lasting up to three hours of live back-and-forth.

“That’s false: I’ve never seen him fall asleep,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 25 years Trump’s junior and another one-time target of Trump’s political opposition, told a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing this month.

WHITE HOUSE REPORTERS WENT FROM COVERING AN ‘INVISIBLE PRESIDENT’ BIDEN TO ‘OMNIPRESENT’ TRUMP: POLITICO

“On the contrary, the guy doesn’t sleep, which is a big problem because he calls me at 2 in the morning. He calls me at 5 in the morning. And, you know, I like to sleep a little bit, maybe not 12 hours, but at least six. So he works. The other day he was at the Oval Office until 12:30 a.m.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., 74, rejected age getting in Trump’s way like it did for Biden, saying that “just because you’re 80 doesn’t mean you’re falling apart.”

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Trump’s birthday also arrives during a historically unusual stretch for America’s aging political class. Three baby boomer presidents — Trump, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush — all turn 80 in 2026. The latter two are long removed from active public service.

Trump is not looking to just rest after the UFC fight on the South Lawn on Sunday night. He plans to then travel early Monday to France for the annual G7 summit.

As President Donald Trump prepares to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary today with a UFC event at the White House, a national network of angry activists has assembled its own fight card: a celebrity concert headlined by Jane Fonda, hundreds of “watch parties,” local organizing events including a “RAGE AGAINST THE CAGE!” protest and a coordinated operation aimed at fighting Trump “through the midterm elections and beyond.”

About 400 organizations in the “No Kings” coalition with combined annual revenues of about $3 billion have organized Sunday’s nationwide protest operation. Internal planning documents obtained by Fox News Digital show organizers’ plan to using the concerts, watch parties and local gatherings to build momentum for a political organizing network.

At 4 p.m., in one of day’s many planned sideshows, “Refuse Fascism,” a pro-communism group, plans its “RAGE AGAINST THE CAGE!” protest at McPherson Square near the White House. UFC fighter Sean Strickland released a video on social media, saying he had booked a ticket to protest at the White House for allegedly being cut from the main event for criticizing the state of Israel and the war in Iran. “Ill bring a bullhorn,” he wrote in his social media post.

Meanwhile, the Women’s March, a multi-millon-dollar nonprofit enterprise, has rented portable toilets that its staffers are setting up from noon to 6 p.m. at Farragut Square, blocks from the White House, for a protest dubbed “Dump on Trump.”

A 16-page “No Kings Event Host Toolkit” describes June 14 as an opportunity to convert mass demonstrations into local political infrastructure. Organizers frame the event as a counter to Trump’s hosting of the White House UFC event, saying “we will be doing the real work of democracy.” The materials describe watch parties as “strategic community gatherings designed to build deep local connections and lay the grassroots infrastructure we need to defend our rights through the midterm elections and beyond.”

Indivisible, a Democratic nonprofit funded by mega-donor George Soros, handed the headline role to the 88-year-old Fonda’s “Committee for the First Amendment,” which is hosting the day’s premiere counter-event in New York City at a 90-minute concert, “Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment,” starting at 7:30 pm. at a theater called “The Town Hall” on 43rd Street. This weekend, tickets in the orchestra section sold for $330.15.

JANE FONDA SLAMMED DEMOCRATIC LEADERS AS ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH’ IN FIGHT AGAINST TRUMP

The “Committee for the First Amendment” describes itself as “a large collective of artists, storytellers, and cultural leaders” launched in October 2025 with about 500 leading figures from the entertainment industry. They invoked the name of a group established in 1947 by Hollywood celebrities, including Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Groucho Marx, to challenge Sen. Joe McCarthy’s investigations into the spread of communism in the U.S. and Hollywood. Later, some members of the original “Committee for the First Amendment” were identified as communist, and original members of the group wrote that they were duped into joining the effort. Ronald Reagan, then an actor, reportedly called committee member “suckers.”

Actor Humphrey Bogart even published a politically frank column, headlined, “I’m No Communist,” urging fellow celebrities not to be “used as dupes by Commie organizations.”

Fast forward to today, and the anti-Trump concert will feature left-wing activists including Fonda, whose controversial 1972 trip to communist North Vietnam earned her the nickname “Hanoi Jane” and sparked backlash from critics who accused her of aligning with the North Vietnamese communist regime during the Vietnam War. She’s scheduled to be joined in New York City by 1970s “godmother of punk” Patti Smith, actress Bette Midler, singer Rufus Wainwright, singer Sasha Allen, former MSNBC host Joy Reid and actor Wilson Cruz.

JANE FONDA WARNS AMERICA FACES ‘EXISTENTIAL’ CRISIS AS SHE URGES TURNOUT AT ‘NO KINGS’ PROTESTS

Organizers describe the event as “an uplifting evening of song, solidarity, and action” celebrating freedoms of “speech, religion, press, assembly, and protest.”

But the internal planning documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show the concert is the public-facing component of a much broader anti-Trump organizing effort designed to be a funneling agent for “the midterm elections and beyond.”

The day’s messaging guidance casts the June 14 showdown as an alternative political narrative of “people power.”

“The lead-up to America’s 250th is a test of who we are,” the guidance goes. “President Trump is choosing self-promotion. We’re choosing community, participation and people power.”

Organizers repeatedly frame the effort as direct counterprogramming to Trump’s event. One suggested message prepared for supporters states: “On June 14, President Trump hosts a UFC cage fight at the White House. The main event will be in our living rooms.”

The “No Kings” coalition’s internal materials outline an extensive organizing apparatus. Host toolkits instruct local organizers to recruit co-hosts, appoint “greeters” and safety leads, collect attendee contact information, identify future organizers and schedule follow-up organizing meetings after the concert.

One host guide tells organizers their goal is to “bring people in and move them to ongoing participation.” Another instructs hosts to determine “who might help you with organizing moving forward.” Before attendees leave, organizers are directed to create “a clearly defined plan” and schedule another organizing meeting within two weeks.

Taken together, the documents show an effort focused not merely on a single day of protest but on building durable activist networks after June 14.

The coalition’s messaging guidance makes that objective explicit. One recommended talking point states: “He wants attention. We’re building a movement.”

At the same time, organizers stress legal compliance and message discipline.

The protests include a “reimbursement” program, and the material explicitly states that it’s administered through Indivisible Civics, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. In a departure from the clearly partisan nature of “No Kings” protests that have as an underlying theme that Trump is “a king,” the guidance for today states that events “cannot include lobbying or partisan political activity.”

The reimbursement material reveals for the first time that participating groups may receive up to $500 in reimbursements for watch parties connected to the event.

FIRST ON FOX: POWERFUL HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS CHAIR THROWS HAMMER DOWN ON ‘FOREIGN-ALIGNED INFLUENCE NETWORK’

The guidance further states that event’s can’t be “co-hosted with any political party or partisan organization” or “feature candidates running for elected office.” The document also specifies that the program “cannot reimburse expenses from political rallies or protests (e.g. ‘No Kings’) or events hosted to prep for those activities.”

The politics has been very thinly veiled. At the last “No Kings” protest in St. Paul, Minn., just like with earlier rallies, organizers, including Fonda, openly embraced Democratic politicians like Rep. Ilhan Omar, without any Republican lawmakers around.

Organizers emphasized strict commitment to a “NONVIOLENCE CLAUSE.” One host guide warns: “DO NOT DELETE THE NONVIOLENCE CLAUSE. Your event will not be approved without this language.”

Beyond the celebrity headliners, the campaign’s leadership network overlaps with activists and organizations that have been the subject of congressional inquiries for their alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Documents released by the House Ways and Means Committee show that attorney Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, represents the People’s Forum, a nonprofit that has received millions of dollars Neville Roy Singham, an American businessman and self-described Marxist who lives in Shanghai, supporting the Chinese Communist Party. According to her official biography, Verheyden-Hilliard also serves on the steering committee of Fonda’s “Committee for the First Amendment.” Verheyden-Hilliard hasn’t respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

The operation is also supported by a professional communications infrastructure. Press inquiries for “Rise Up, Sing Out” are directed to Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis, a prominent New York-based public-relations firm known as “SSM&L.” The organization created many of the planning documents for the New York City headline event, its name on the metadata of several documents. The PR company didn’t respond to a request for comment.

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As Democrats seek to reclaim power in November’s midterm elections, some of the party’s long-standing progressives are in danger of losing their seats.

The warning signs are flashing red in hotly contested primaries across the country, from a longtime ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who is facing a challenger four decades younger, to a senior New York lawmaker seeking to fend off a Mamdani-backed opponent.

Not every race has a clear ideological divide, but every challenger is running on an anti-establishment message. Some are also advocating for generational change. 

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Though sitting lawmakers are historically difficult to defeat, a wave of anti-incumbent fever appears to be taking hold among voters. Four incumbents — including Reps. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Thomas Massie, R-Ky. — have already lost their re-election bids to primary challengers this cycle.

The following are the progressive lawmakers who could be next. 

Dan Goldman 

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., 50, a prominent Trump foe who served as Democrats’ lead counsel during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, is running as an endangered incumbent in a Democratic-heavy district spanning Lower Manhattan and deep-blue pockets of Brooklyn.

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, 56, who has the backing of Mamdani and leading progressives in Congress, is mounting an insurgent campaign from Goldman’s left. Leading progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and the left-wing Working Families Party are also supporting his candidacy.

Goldman’s endorsements from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., may not be enough to secure a third House term. Recent polling of the race shows Lander carving out a significant lead despite Goldman, who is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, outspending the progressive challenger.

Though Goldman has faced attacks from the left, he is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC). He has also supported a bevy of far-left proposals, including the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Green New Deal legislation and Medicare-for-all. If Democrats retake power in November, he’s vowing to help lead a third impeachment of Trump.

But Israel has become a key fault line in the contest. Lander has sharply criticized the incumbent’s ties to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC and his votes to supply Israel with military aid.

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Lander has also labeled Israel’s war in Gaza a “genocide” — a term Goldman has distanced himself from. Both men are Jewish.

Adriano Espaillat 

Mamdani is also seeking to flex his political muscle in another hotly contested New York City primary that could end the career of a senior progressive lawmaker.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, is facing a serious challenge from upstart candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, a socialist and activist who joined Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

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Mamdani threw a wrench into Espaillat’s re-election bid when he made the surprise decision to endorse Avila Chevalier, 32, just weeks before the primary. The move has led to fierce backlash from some of the party’s establishment, who alleged that Mamdani privately pledged to Espaillat that he would support his bid for a sixth House term, multiple outlets reported.

Espaillat, 71, is seeking to fend off a challenge from his left flank despite membership in the Congressional Progressive Caucus and his support for ICE’s dismantlement. He has also touted his background as the first former illegal immigrant elected to Congress.

Avila Chevalier has sparked controversy over since-deleted social media posts in which she voiced support for open borders, abolishing the police and called former President Joe Biden a “rapist,” according to CNN.

The deep-blue district covering parts of Upper Manhattan and the West Bronx is a progressive stronghold that swung hard for Mamdani’s mayoral campaign last year. Espaillat notably did not endorse Mamdani’s campaign until after his primary win over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y.

Jeffries, who represents a neighboring Brooklyn district, has vowed to help give Espaillat a sixth House term.

“Adriano Espaillat has been a tremendous leader,” Jeffries told CNN on Tuesday. “He’s leading in terms of battling Donald Trump.”

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., a junior member of House Democratic leadership, is gearing up for a tough re-election fight after Republicans carved up her deep-blue seat during redistricting earlier this year.

The 11-term incumbent sparked controversy after filing to run in a plurality-Black district that has been represented by a Black lawmaker for more than three decades.

She is expected to face four Black opponents ahead of the August primary, including former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., who is making a long-shot run for the seat after resigning amid an expulsion threat earlier this year. Cherfilus-McCormick is also facing a pending federal criminal indictment over alleged financial crimes that could result in more than 50 years in prison if convicted.

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Local Black leaders publicly urged Wasserman Schultz to run for a different seat, but she moved forward with seeking the Democratic nomination in Florida’s 20th Congressional District. 

While the four Black candidates have reportedly met to discuss unifying behind one individual to take on Wasserman Schultz, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has thus far declined to bail her out.

The leading Democrat has repeatedly stopped short of offering his endorsement when asked by reporters, despite his long track record of backing incumbents. Jeffries has issued effusive praise for Wasserman Schultz’s record in Congress but signaled his concern that the incumbent’s victory could potentially decrease Black representation in Congress.

“I think we all recognize the sensitivities of the moment in terms of an unprecedented Jim Crow-like assault on Black political representation that has been unleashed by the Supreme Court’s outrageous decision to gut the Voting Rights Act,” Jeffries said during a news conference earlier in June when asked about Wasserman Schultz’s candidacy. “And it’s an environment that all of us need to be sensitive to as we move forward.”

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Doris Matsui

Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., advanced to November’s general election after surviving California’s top-two primary system last week, but her leftist challenger received a higher share of the vote.

Mai Vang, 41, a progressive Sacramento city councilmember campaigning on generational change, is seeking to unseat Matsui, 81, who is twice her age. As of Thursday, Vang outperformed Matsui by one percentage point in the primary contest.

The Democratic candidates will face off for the Democratic-leaning district in November after shutting out the single Republican in the race.

Matsui has represented the Sacramento-anchored district for more than two decades and has never faced a serious primary challenger prior to Vang. Her husband, Robert Matsui, previously represented the seat for roughly 25 years prior to his death in 2005.

Matsui has long allied herself with Pelosi, who endorsed her reelection campaign for a 12th House term. She has also donated to her campaign.

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Vang is endorsed by the progressive, anti-incumbent organization Justice Democrats and Our Revolution, a group formed by Sanders staffers after his failed 2016 presidential campaign. 

She faced scrutiny during the primary contest after videos surfaced of her refusing to face the American flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance during city council meetings.

Al Green

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, one of Trump’s most vocal critics in Congress, lost his bid for a 12th House term in May.

Green, 78, came up short in a Democratic primary runoff election for a Houston-area district against Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Texas, 38. The two incumbents faced off for a Democratic-heavy district after Republicans’ redistricting efforts effectively forced both men to compete for the same seat.

Menefee, who was first elected to Congress in February, is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party and ran on a message of new leadership.

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Green faced widespread backlash over disrupting Trump’s addresses to Congress two years in a row. After his outburst toward the president during a 2025 speech, Green was formally censured by Congress in a bipartisan vote.

Green has also repeatedly tried to impeach Trump. His most recent impeachment attempts since Trump retook office in 2025 were scuttled in part by Democratic opposition.

Trump mocked Green after his primary loss in a post on Truth Social.

“Congratulations to the Dumocrat Party!” Trump wrote. “Al Green, one of the most mentally deficient Congressmen in the history of our Country, has lost, in a landslide, his seat in Congress — but I will miss that lunatic not screaming and violently waving his cane at me during my next State of the Union Speech.”

As the Supreme Court enters the final stretch of its term, a flood of closely watched decisions could determine not only the fate of several of President Donald Trump’s key policy priorities but also the scope of presidential authority for years to come.

Around the marbled halls and chambers, the final weeks of June are often known as “flood season,” the annual rush to complete opinions before the justices leave Washington for their summer recess. The nine justices and their law clerks are on tight, self-imposed deadlines to write and circulate final drafts of opinions in cases big and small.

This year, 23 cases remain unresolved after the court heard arguments in nearly 60 disputes during the term. Among them are four appeals involving executive actions by Trump, two election-related disputes and separate questions involving gun rights and transgender rights.

Several of the remaining disputes share a common thread: how much power a president can exercise over federal policy and the executive branch. The rulings could significantly affect Trump’s ability to advance his second-term agenda, particularly on immigration and government oversight, while further defining the boundaries between the White House, Congress and the courts.

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The court’s last day before its traditional summer recess is still unknown, even to its nine members, but they hope to finish up by month’s end. However, given the divided court’s compressed workload, that is no guarantee.

Here are 11 remaining opinions that we are closely watching.

 

Trump v. Barbara

Arguably the most closely watched Supreme Court case remaining to be decided, this challenge centers on President Trump’s Executive Order 14160, an effort to limit automatic citizenship for children born to parents who entered the country illegally.

The case could define the limits of presidential power by determining whether a president can change a longstanding interpretation of citizenship law without Congress.

Trump made history by personally attending oral arguments in March, becoming the first sitting president to do so — but that did not seem to matter.

The Supreme Court openly pushed back against the administration’s sweeping efforts to restrict who can be called an American, expressing varying levels of skepticism about the claim a citizenship “privilege” has been historically abused and wrongly granted to those whose parents were in the country illegally or temporarily.

A ruling against Trump would affirm the longstanding legal, political and social consensus supporting the idea of granting automatic citizenship to all babies born in the country, regardless of their parents’ immigration or temporary visitor status.

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Mullin v. Doe, Dahlia; Trump v. Miot

Immigration-related executive power is also at the center of Mullin v. Doe, Dahlia and Trump v. Miot, cases involving the administration’s effort to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections from certain Haitian and Syrian migrants living in the U.S.

The TPS program currently covers roughly 1.3 million people fleeing war and natural disasters from 17 countries and allows them to live and work in the country for a limited time.

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The administration argues the Department of Homeland Security has broad discretion to end some Temporary Protected Status protections for migrants from certain countries, arguing protections are intended to be temporary. Migrant advocates counter that federal law requires specific procedures and allows courts to review those decisions.

The conservative court majority has signaled its support for the Homeland Security secretary’s discretionary power to revoke deportation protections for 13 countries on the TPS list.

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Trump v. Cook; Trump v. Slaughter

In Trump v. Cook, the justices are weighing whether Trump can dismiss Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

Based on January’s oral arguments, the court appears ready to give President Trump one of his biggest legal setbacks in office, offering strong support for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook remaining in her leadership position — at least for now.

The questions of presidential power deal with whether Trump has broad unilateral executive authority to fire someone from the central bank, despite its special status as a stand-alone federal agency.

In arguments, most on the court seemed skeptical of Trump’s actions.

“That’s your position that there’s no judicial review, no process required, no remedy available?” Justice Brett Kavanaugh told the Justice Department’s Solicitor General D. John Sauer. “Very low bar for ’cause’ that the president alone determines? I mean, that would weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve.”

But a separate case involving presidential firing authority, Trump v. Slaughter, could have even broader implications. Former Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter is challenging her removal from the agency, setting up a direct test of a 1935 Supreme Court precedent set in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States that limits a president’s ability to fire members of independent regulatory commissions except only for “cause.”

A ruling favoring the administration could strengthen presidential control over agencies that regulate everything from communications and consumer safety to labor policy and financial markets, and a ruling in Slaughter’s favor could greatly restrict the president’s powers.

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The stakes could be enormous for how the federal government is run. Independent regulatory agencies and boards help manage almost every aspect of American life — from transportation safety, labor relations and the environment to Social Security and finance. Agencies include the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Reserve.

 

National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission

At issue is a federal law that caps coordinated spending between political parties and candidates running for Congress and the White House.

The high court in recent years, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, has tossed aside congressionally enacted federal campaign spending limits.

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And the six conservative justices appear ready to do so again, and could upend a nearly quarter-century opinion limiting how the major political parties spend tens of millions of dollars, much of it going to television advertising.

The dispute underscores a divide over whether campaign spending restrictions intended to prevent corruption improperly infringe on free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

 

Watson v. Republican National Committee

At issue is a Mississippi law allowing election officials to count mail-in ballots received after Election Day, provided they were mailed on time.

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Mississippi is one of about 14 states, the District of Columbia and three territories that permit a grace period ranging from one day to several weeks during which regular ballots can be counted, so long as those ballots are postmarked on or before Election Day.

That is currently the case in California, where final results from the June 2 election may not be known for another couple of weeks or more.

The justices are deciding whether federal Election Day statutes preempt various state laws and may clarify exactly what “the election” means when it comes to the casting and receipt of ballots.

The outcome could rest with Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who could cast the deciding votes.

 

Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J.

The court is also considering a pair of cases involving transgender athletes and school sports. In Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., the justices are weighing whether state laws that restrict transgender girls and women from competing on female athletic teams violate the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause or federal protections under Title IX.

Almost 30 states have laws limiting participation for transgender females who were designated male at birth, in both public school and college athletics, and officials say their restrictions are a matter of ensuring a level playing field and student safety.

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But lawyers for a high school sophomore and a college senior counter those prohibitions are clearly discriminatory, and that the issues should be about equality and dignity for every student, free from politics and misinformation.

The high court is examining whether the laws unconstitutionally discriminate on the basis of sex.

 

Wolford v. Lopez 

The challenge targets a Hawaii law that prohibits individuals, including concealed-carry permit holders, from bringing firearms onto private property open to the public unless the owner has expressly granted permission.

This case could come down to whether property rights trump gun rights, and how those rights interact.

GUN RIGHTS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY DEBATED AT SUPREME COURT

A group of gun owners in Maui are challenging those default permission rules, arguing the law improperly makes it a crime to bear arms even where the owner of property accessible to the public is merely silent. They refer to these laws as “vampire rules,” a nod to the legend of Dracula, who could not enter a room without being invited.

But Hawaii officials told the high court the restrictions balance gun and property rights, citing a long tradition in the Aloha State of limiting all kinds of dangerous weapons, dating back to when it was a monarchy.

 

United States v. Hemani

A separate Second Amendment case still unresolved deals with the federal government’s law banning people with a “habitual” use of marijuana from legally keeping a firearm.

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The “guns and ganja” dispute centers on whether the widespread use of cannabis in recent decades — legal in some form in 40 states — makes criminalizing “mere possession” contingent on firearm ownership.

The same law was applied to former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, who was convicted under Section 922(g)(3), which bars any “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” from possessing a firearm.

Rainn Wilson, best known for playing Dwight Schrute on hit sitcom “The Office,” says partisan hypocrisy on both sides of the political aisle is fueling America’s divisions, while arguing that cancel culture has stifled modern-day comedy.

Wilson told Fox News Digital that cancel culture, a result of growing political divisions, has damaged the ability for a comedy in a show like “The Office” to thrive and be acceptable in today’s society.

“I do feel like you couldn’t make The Office today,” Wilson said. “I think that would be too hard to be as politically incorrect as the show was. And I do, I do kind of miss that.”

He explained how, despite that both his character and actor Steve Carell’s role as Michael Scott, were purposely portrayed as lacking “self-awareness” and “a boob,” the humor still would not fly or be viewed as socially acceptable in today’s society.

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“We milked that for a lot of great, really inappropriate stuff,” Wilson said. “But even with the fact that painting that character as just an idiot, I don’t think you could get away with it today.”

Aside from comedy, Wilson said one of the biggest drivers of America’s political dysfunction is what he described as partisan hypocrisy, with both Republicans and Democrats quick to condemn misconduct of the opposing party while overlooking similar behavior on their own side.

Wilson used the response to Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner’s list of growing scandals throughout his campaign as an example, specifically citing the reaction to his Nazi tattoo as racist or religious discrimination.

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“The political right is all up in arms about that ‘Oh, he’s a racist, see,’” Wilson explained. “But they won’t look at their own side when people show racist tendencies or say racist things. And it’s the same on the left. They’re willing to overlook the Platner Nazi tattoo, but if it was someone from the other side that had a tattoo that was questionable, they would be all over MSNBC about it.”

“It’s the hypocrisy that gets me the most. It’s the hypocrisy of like, both sides need to have, kind of, equal standards of behavior.”

Despite his concerns about political division, Wilson argued that faith and spirituality remain one of the country’s most overlooked sources of common ground.

“There’s not any topic that has more commonality and mutuality than spiritual ideas,” Wilson said.

“The ideas around spirituality have kind of been weaponized in terms of the national discussion, but actually the two sides have more in common than you would think.”

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Wilson made the remarks while appearing on Capitol Hill alongside Reps. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and religious leaders for the public release of A Common Endeavor: Realizing the Promise of America, a five-part letter backed by leaders of the Baha’i faith that works to bridge political polarization and focus on shared American values.

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“The partisan divide and toxic partisanship, and corruption in partisanship, is something that the American people are very passionate about,” Wilson said. 

“The people want this fixed. There is an outcry from people. They want it fixed.”

President Donald Trump on Saturday made an 11th-hour endorsement in a crucial Senate race in battleground Georgia, which is among a handful that will likely decide if the GOP holds its slim majority in the chamber in November’s midterm elections.

Trump endorsed Republican Rep. Mike Collins, a MAGA champion and strong supporter of the president, who is facing off in Tuesday’s runoff election against former college football coach Derek Dooley, who has the support of popular conservative Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

The winner of the GOP Senate nomination will face off in the midterms against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Republicans view Ossoff as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat seeking re-election and are heavily targeting the first-term senator.

Collins, who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which is located between Atlanta and Augusta, is the son of the late Rep. Mac Collins, and is the founder and co-owner, along with his wife, of a trucking company.

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He and Dooley, a lawyer, a former University of Tennessee football coach and the son of legendary University of Georgia head football coach Vince Dooley, were the top two finishers in a crowded field of candidates that also included Rep. Buddy Carter. Since no one topped 50% in last month’s primary, Collins and Dooley advanced to Tuesday’s runoff election.

While Collins has long showcased his MAGA credentials and support for the president, Trump remained neutral in the Georgia primary and runoff election until now.

Meanwhile, Dooley is strongly backed by the term-limited Kemp, who is a lifelong friend. Kemp and his wife, Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp, have regularly appeared with Dooley on the campaign trail, and the governor’s top political advisor is a senior consultant for Dooley’s Senate bid.

GEORGIA GOP SENATE PRIMARY HEADS TO RUNOFF AS REPUBLICANS BATTLE TO UNSEAT OSSOFF

While Dooley has emphasized his outsider image and targeted Collins as a political insider, Collins has criticized him for a lack of political experience and for living outside of Georgia for much of his adult life.

Both candidates have some political baggage.

The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Collins over allegations he paid an intern in a district office who had a romantic relationship with his congressional chief of staff but who did not actually perform any work. Collins denied any wrongdoing and kept the staffer on his Senate campaign.

But the staffer was later fired by Collins after taking to social media on behalf of the campaign to mock the wife of a Dooley campaign advisor who attempted suicide after accusing Matt Lauer of rape. The social media post was deleted and Collins apologized, calling the tweet “despicable and unauthorized.”

Dooley, over the past week, was reportedly accused of being part of a “pay to play” scandal involving brother Daniel Dooley, and the governor. Dooley and Kemp have denied any wrongdoing, but Democrats in the legislature requested an independent investigation.

While the Republicans have been battling for their party’s nomination over the past year, Ossoff has built a powerful war chest that will give him a major fundraising advantage as the general election gets underway.

While he isn’t on the ballot, the president’s immense clout over the GOP is also facing another key test in Georgia’s other runoff, where Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is battling billionaire businessman Rick Jackson for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, in the race to succeed Kemp.

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past month, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Trump rebounded last week, as the candidate he endorsed in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.

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Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio used Team USA’s World Cup opener Friday night in California to meet with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, according to a State Department official, as the Trump administration highlighted the secretary’s diplomatic work during the quadrennial international soccer tournament.

“Secretary Rubio was honored to attend the first World Cup game in the U.S. [Friday] night and witness an incredible win for our country. Secretary Rubio never stops working to advance U.S. priorities and used the opportunity to meet with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña during the game to discuss our strategic partnerships,” an administration official told Fox News Digital.

The U.S. men defeated Paraguay, 4-1, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in the opening match of its World Cup campaign.

Rubio’s attendance also generated political interest after reports indicated he would be seated in the same suite as California Gov. Gavin Newsom during the match.

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The appearance placed two of the country’s most prominent political figures from opposite parties at the same event as speculation continues about the 2028 presidential race.

Newsom has repeatedly faced questions about a potential White House bid and has acknowledged he has considered a presidential run, though he has not announced any plans to seek the office.

Rubio, a former Republican presidential candidate and one of President Donald Trump‘s most visible Cabinet members, has likewise been discussed by some political observers as a potential future contender for the White House.

The State Department did not provide additional details about Rubio’s discussion with Peña, including whether the meeting had been arranged before the match or what specific issues were discussed.

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Paraguay has long maintained close ties with the U.S., and is one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies in South America, a relationship that has made the country strategically important in the region as the U.S. and China compete for influence across Latin America.

The World Cup is expected to draw government officials, world leaders and political figures from around the globe as matches are held across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The State Department and Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

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The administration’s description of Rubio’s meeting with Peña underscored that the secretary of state continued conducting diplomatic business while attending the tournament opener, which marked the beginning of Team USA’s World Cup campaign on home soil.

Concern is mounting that taxpayers could be left holding the bag if the Obama Presidential Center runs into financial trouble, as the foundation behind it has yet to establish a promised $470 million safety net to guard against a public bailout.

The scrutiny comes as a Fox News Digital investigation found multiple contractors and subcontractors claiming losses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions on the project, with some alleging they remain locked in payment disputes and face financial ruin just days before the center’s grand opening.

Under its agreement with the city, the Obama Foundation pledged to create the fund, known as an endowment, as part of its 99-year deal to take control of the publicly owned 19.3-acre section of Jackson Park for a one-time payment of just $10.

Fox News Digital previously reported that the foundation had deposited just $1 million into the reserve fund in 2021 and that the balance remained largely unchanged in its most recent publicly available filings.

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Concerns about the center’s financial state have raged for years, especially since construction delays and costs have ballooned from an original estimate of roughly $330 million to at least $850 million based on 2021 figures. An updated final projected cost has not been made public.

Endowment concerns

“One of their core promises was they were supposed to create an endowment as basically an insurance policy so the taxpayers wouldn’t get stuck with the bill,” Illinois GOP Chair Robert Grogan told Fox News Digital outside the center last week as worker vehicles entered and exited the center.

“They promised hundreds of millions of dollars for it. It’s still sitting at the $1 million mark [where it stood] when they opened it up. So I don’t believe that they’ve kept that promise.”

The contractor disputes have renewed concern of the endowment because critics argue the fund was intended to serve as a backstop if the project ever encountered financial distress. The Obama Foundation disputes suggestions that taxpayers face exposure and said the project is funded through private contributions.

Grogan said reports that contractors and subcontractors remain locked in payment disputes make the largely unfunded reserve even more problematic.

“The fact that they have created this probably unsustainable edifice to an ego and then, eventually, if it goes under, who’s going to be caught with the bill time and time again? It’s the taxpayers of the city, citizens of Chicago and the state of Illinois.”

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Richard Epstein, a New York University law professor who has spent years challenging the project in court, said the reserve fund was intended to protect against exactly this type of uncertainty.

“The whole point of an endowment is to fund future expenses,” Epstein told Fox News Digital, adding that the endowment acts as a financial backup if future fundraising falls short.

“If the endowment hasn’t been filled, the building [could] fall into neglect, it then becomes a safety risk, and it turns out that nobody’s going to pay the bill,” Epstein said. “The city therefore, is going to have to assume additional obligations to make sure that thing is kept in place.”

Grogan said reports that contractors remain unpaid only reinforce the need for closer scrutiny and called for an investigation if allegations that subcontractors were left holding the bag prove accurate.

Subcontractor disputes raise new questions

A Fox News Digital investigation identified multiple construction firms claiming losses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to tens of millions.

Outside the center last week, Adamson Plumbing President Mike Owen provided company spreadsheets to Fox News Digital, which he said showed that his firm is nearly $4 million in the red. He said that unnecessary rework, delays and more than 100 change-order requests left his company absorbing millions of dollars in additional costs.

In addition, Omar Shareef, the president of the African American Contractors Association, told Fox News Digital outside the center last Saturday that several Black-owned contractors are also in financial difficulty due to the project.

The claims raise fresh worries about the center’s long-term financial sustainability because an endowment is intended to provide a permanent source of income that can help fund future operations and cushion against financial stress. Endowments are typically invested, with a portion of the earnings used to support an institution over time.

The Obama Foundation told Fox News Digital that it is in compliance with its agreement with the city, noting that the pact required the creation of an endowment but did not specify a dollar target.

OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEPOSITS JUST $1M INTO $470M RESERVE FUND AIMED TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS

The foundation said the Obama Presidential Center is “fully funded” and that it plans to make “significant investments” in the endowment in the coming years.

“On the eve of our Grand Opening celebrations, we are pleased to reiterate that the Obama Presidential Center is fully funded with generous private contributions,” the Obama Foundation said in a statement.

The $470 million figure emerged during public discussions surrounding the project and was later cited in the Obama Foundation’s 2020 annual report, which featured a fundraising chart stating:

“$470M of our fundraising goal will go toward seeding an endowment that will sustain Obama Foundation activities and the operations of the OPC for generations to come.”

The foundation previously estimated annual operating costs could reach approximately $40 million.

Nonprofit endowments are typically structured so that only a small percentage of the fund — often around 4% to 5% annually — is spent each year while the principal remains invested. The goal is to generate investment income that can help support operations over the long term without relying entirely on future fundraising. The Obama Presidential Center consists of a museum tower, digital library, athletic facilities, conference space and offices for the Obama Foundation on Chicago’s South Side. The Obama Foundation is overseeing its construction and will run its day-to-day future operations.

Epstein disputed the foundation’s interpretation, arguing that an endowment is intended to provide meaningful financial protection and that a promise to raise money in the future is not the same as having a funded endowment in place.

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“On their view, putting a penny in an endowment fund covers all the risks,” Epstein said.

“There has to be a pile of cash to fund any particular process and then ensure some kind of robustness against radical changes in the market.”

President Donald Trump on Saturday announced his intent to appoint James M. McDonald as the next U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

The high-profile position is opening up following Trump’s recent nomination of the district’s current U.S. attorney, Jay Clayton, to serve in his cabinet as the nation’s new director of national intelligence.

“I am confident that Jamie will deliver strong results for our Country as the next United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, as he has the respect of, and will work fantastically with, our Law Enforcement Patriots, the Legal Community, and the Judicial Bench,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post announcing the pick.

TRUMP GREEN LIGHTS NEW DNI PULTE TO ‘START THE PROCESS’ ON MASS INTELLIGENCE FIRINGS

McDonald, an Oklahoma native, previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the SDNY and worked during Trump’s first term as the director of enforcement at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Like his predecessor Clayton, McDonald has strong ties to the prominent law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, where he currently serves as a senior partner.

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His legal background also includes clerking for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., and graduating from Harvard College and the University of Virginia School of Law.

Workers began tearing President Donald Trump’s name off the Kennedy Center facade Friday after an appeals court denied a request from the Kennedy Center’s board to block a judge’s ruling that Trump’s name be removed.

Workers erected scaffolding around the Washington, D.C., landmark Friday and began removing the Trump name from the signage that had previously read “The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts.”

The Kennedy Center board had approved the addition of Trump’s name in December, claiming that the move was in recognition of Trump’s accomplishments in saving “the institution from financial ruin and physical destruction.”

Workers affixed Trump’s name to the facade the next day.

TRUMP’S NAME ADDED TO KENNEDY CENTER FOLLOWING UNANIMOUS BOARD VOTE TO RENAME HISTORIC BUILDING

Now, however, the Trump name is coming down, despite numerous attempts at stays from the Kennedy Center board.

The board filed both a stay pending appeal and an immediate administrative stay, arguing the name should not be removed before the matter gets an appellate review.

But an appeals court denied the request for an immediate administrative stay.

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE WITH TIES TO ANTI-TRUMP CONSPIRACY THEORY HIT WITH MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT

The board then filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals, but a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit denied it.

The board had requested a pause in the enforcement of Judge Christopher Cooper’s ruling that Trump’s name be removed, but Cooper, a U.S. District judge, denied the request Friday.

Cooper maintained in an opinion on his ruling that the Kennedy Center’s name can only be changed or modified through an act of Congress.

Trump slammed Cooper’s decision in an excoriating late May Truth Social barrage, writing “Trump Hating Judge wants to keep it open because his wife probably told him to do so,” while pointing out the fact that Cooper’s wife, Amy Jeffress, is a former Obama-era Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney who represented a number of high-profile Trump critics.

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Fox News Digital contacted the White House and the Kennedy Center for additional comment.

Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr and Bill Mears contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, learned hard work in the dirt. 

When she was 10 years old, like several other children in Caribou, Maine, she left school to pick potato fields to aid farmers with the harvest deep in potato country in Aroostook County, dubbed “The County” by locals. 

“I remember my mother saying to me when I was going to pick for the first time at age 10, saying, ‘Now, Susan, this is really hard, back-breaking work, but you cannot quit.
The farmers are depending on you, and you can’t let them down,’” Collins told Fox News Digital. “And those words have always stayed with me.” 

SCHUMER’S ‘NUMBER ONE TARGET’ SAYS VOTERS WILL SEE HER DEMOCRAT SENATE CHALLENGER AS TOO EXTREME

It’s that work ethic born in her hometown of Caribou, molded by her parents’ separate stints as mayor of the small town in the county that helped shape her into the political titan she is today, propelling her to a record 10,000th straight vote in the Senate and a gavel atop the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

It’s also caused her to have the biggest target on her back in a highly contentious election cycle where Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is once again trying to flip her seat. 

Collins’ race has also become the most-watched and controversial of the cycle because of her unlikely opponent, Democratic nominee Graham Platner, who over the last several months has been rocked by scandal after scandal.  

Speaking to Fox News Digital on the drive between Bangor, Maine and Portland, one she’s made several times since joining the Senate in 1997, Collins acknowledged Platner’s rocky past and present but that she still was taking him seriously as an opponent.

MAINE DEMOCRATS DECIDE FATE OF SENATE CANDIDATE DOGGED BY EXPLOSIVE ALLEGATIONS

“I am surprised that [Gov. Janet Mills] is not my opponent,” Collins said. “That’s what I would have predicted, particularly given the very serious allegations against Graham Platner. Plus, his own words over many years, including recently. So, I think that he has a lot of questions to answer, but I do take him very seriously as a candidate.” 

Platner has been no stranger when it comes to attacking Collins in his insurgent campaign, skewering her for her vote to authorize the Iraq War two decades ago or her backing of parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda. 

During his acceptance speech earlier this week, he accused her of being “just as spineless and corrupt as the establishment she now serves.”

Collins, who is no stranger to heated campaigns, argued that her ability to produce results was a better metric for Mainers.

“I think when people look at the accomplishments and results that I’ve delivered for the people of Maine, that the contrast is enormous,” Collins said. “And angry rhetoric does not produce results.” 

She knows how to bring the bacon home to Maine. In her climb to the top of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she’s sent back $1.5 billion over five years, dozens of new or renovated fire stations, billions in rural healthcare funding and a fire boat that saved key businesses along Portland’s waterfront when a blaze broke out.

Still, she’s in a tight race with Platner, despite the scandals and baggage. 

And Schumer, who has spent years trying to beat her, hopes to seize the opportunity in this cycle, even with a candidate who was not his first choice. 

WATCH: CHUCK SCHUMER SIDESTEPS PLATNER SCANDALS, CONFIRMS SUPPORT FOR CONTROVERSIAL DEM

Schumer told Semafor that Collins is “weaker than in 2020,” when they last squared off, arguing that her defense of Trump, her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the role that vote played in overturning Roe v. Wade have weighed her down.

“To me, this is déjà vu all over again,” Collins said, noting that six years ago, Schumer and Democrats spent over $160 million to defeat her. 

Collins contended, “Democratic leaders always distort my record,” and added that when she voted to advance Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” last year, it was so she and others could modify the bill. She ultimately voted against the final product but scored a $50 billion rural hospital fund nonetheless. 

“If we can’t get on the bill, I can’t help fix that,” Collins said.

And on Kavanaugh, Collins noted that she disagreed with how he voted on Roe v. Wade, but that she also voted “for people who voted on the other side of that decision.” 


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“I voted for Sonia Sotomayor. I voted for Elena Kagan. I voted for Justice Jackson,” Collins said. “And that always seems to get left out.”

She doesn’t vote in lockstep with Trump, either, who recently said that Collins was “not my best friend at all,” but was a “sane woman.” That prompted a laugh from the longtime lawmaker, who noted, “I’ve worked with five different presidents, and I have never agreed with a single one of them on every issue.” 

“I know that there’s some people who want me to oppose President Trump, just because he’s President Trump, and that’s not how I operate,” Collins said. “I look at each individual issue and then make my decision. And based on whether it’s helpful to the state of Maine, and improves the lives of families in the state of Maine.”

Donors from outside of Texas accounted for roughly 50% of the funds Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico received during the final stretch of the first quarter of 2026, compared to his Republican opponent, who received just about 25% of his cash from out of state.

Of the $8.5 million Talarico raised between February 12 and March 31, a period where he saw a significant uptick in donations owing to his growing national profile, approximately $4 million came from states other than Texas, according to campaign finance records reviewed by Fox News Digital. The Republican nominee, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, meanwhile, raised $640,000 out of the roughly $850,000 he brought in during that period from within Texas.

The fundraising disparity underscores the nationalization of Texas’ Senate race, with Talarico drawing major financial support from Democratic donors and executives far beyond the state he seeks to represent, even as he campaigns on Texas roots and opposition to outside special interests. The haul gives Democrats a cash advantage in what is shaping up to be one of the most competitive Senate races this cycle, while giving Republicans an opening to cast Talarico’s campaign as powered by coastal liberal donors rather than Texas voters.

Donors from New York and California, for instance, showered Talarico with more than $1.3 million in the final six weeks of quarter one, according to Federal Election Commission records.

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR’S ‘GRASSROOTS’ CAMPAIGN POWERED BY OUT-OF-STATE CASH, MOSTLY BY COASTAL ELITES

Talarico has made an effort to highlight his ties to Texas during his Senate campaign, touting the fact that his family has lived in the state for eight generations and criticizing the influence of out-of-state interests on Texans. 

“I’ve led the fight against the billionaire mega-donors that have rigged the system against working Texas families,” Talarico’s campaign website reads. “Now, as those same billionaire mega-donors take over the federal government, we need more fighters in Washington who will take power back for working people.”

ACTBLUE SUES TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON, ALLEGING POLITICAL RETALIATION OVER DEMOCRATS’ FUNDRAISING

“James is proud to be the only candidate in this race not taking a dime of corporate PAC money, shattering grassroots fundraising records with donations from 246 Texas counties and the help of over 540,000 small dollar contributors — unlike John Cornyn and Ken Paxton, who have raked in millions of dollars from special interests and enriched their billionaire donors while working Texans struggle,” campaign spokesman JT Ennis told Fox News Digital when asked about out-of-state donations. 

“Our campaign is bringing Democrats, Republicans and Independents together to fix this broken, corrupt political system and bring down costs for families across our state.”

Talarico accepted donations from out-of-state executives at Google, Warner Brothers, Apple, Meta, Victoria’s Secret, and other major companies between February 12 and March 31, per FEC records. The Democratic Senate hopeful has also accepted donations from lobbyists representing major corporations such as Google, AirBnB, Boeing, Novo Nordisk, Comcast, CVS and JP Morgan.

While Talarico has attracted considerable support from outside of Texas, his fundraising operation within the state has also eclipsed that of Paxton, who raised less than one-fifth as much from Texans as his Democratic opponent. Paxton, however, fought a brutal primary against Sen. John Cornyn, splitting the GOP donor base.

JAMES TALARICO ADMITS PAST COMMENTS ‘MISSED THE MARK’ WHEN CONFRONTED ON CLAIMS LIKE GOD IS ‘NON-BINARY’

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Beyond his campaign committee, Talarico has also benefited from Lone Star Rising PAC, a super PAC spending millions to help him win. In contrast to his campaign rhetoric, much of the cash behind the super PAC boosting Talarico’s campaign came from wealthy out-of-state donors.

Just 12% of the millions of dollars in donations collected by Lone Star Rising PAC, which the Washington Free Beacon reports is run by Talarico’s longtime friend, came from entities within Texas, according to campaign finance records.

One of the government’s most powerful surveillance tools will go dark this weekend, and lawmakers aren’t sure what that means for the nation’s intelligence-gathering authorities. 

Democrats rejected attempts in the House and Senate to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in an act of defiance against President Donald Trump, who tapped Housing chief Bill Pulte to temporarily oversee the nation’s intelligence services. 

But there are differing trains of thought on the ramifications of failing to renew the program. Some lawmakers argued that an extension was not necessary given that FISA courts had authorized continued intelligence gathering until March 2027. 

SPY PROGRAM CREDITED WITH STOPPING TAYLOR SWIFT TERROR PLOT BARRELS TOWARD EXPIRATION

Others say that it opens up the possibility for telecommunications and major tech companies like Google to decline handing over information without explicit direction from Congress.

“We don’t know the answer to that,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said. “But it is, obviously, a high-risk proposition.” 

Boiled down, the Section 702 program allows the U.S. government to collect intelligence on foreigners abroad who are using U.S. communication systems, and it serves as a major part of Trump’s daily intelligence briefing. 

But it also sweeps up communications from Americans who are talking to foreign suspects — a key issue that threatened reauthorization among privacy hawks in both parties well before Pulte’s appointment.

CONSERVATIVE FISA REVOLT POSES FRESH TEST FOR SPEAKER JOHNSON

“That is a gray area, and it’s one of the things that we’re going to have to work through,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told Fox News when asked whether providers would still continue to share information with the government if the program was not authorized.

“What is clear is that we are going to have to address the issue of extending surveillance authority legislatively. And the problem is that the Trump administration has decided to toss this hand grenade into the middle of sensitive negotiations,” he added, referring to Pulte.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., contended that there were already thousands of FISA certifications approved, it’s just that new certifications wouldn’t be allowed until the program was reauthorized.

“It’s not like that will be the end of our ability to surveil foreign terrorists,” Kennedy said. 

The standoff is not expected to end soon. Trump’s decision to nominate former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton to serve as the permanent director of national intelligence also failed to soften Democrats’ opposition.

Many lawmakers remain unwilling to back a renewal of the program while Pulte continues serving in the acting role.

THE TOP 3 FACTORS HEIGHTENING THE RISK OF TERROR ATTACKS ON THE HOMELAND

“Nobody disputes that FISA has been used to stop terrorist attacks on our homeland here,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Thursday. “And why would anybody vote to end that tool is beside me.”

Meanwhile, the House is scheduled to begin a week-long recess next week, meaning that even if there is a resolution in the Senate in the coming week, the program will likely remain dark until they return. 

The program’s expiration marks the first extended lapse since it was enacted in 2008. The Trump administration has argued that the surveillance authority is a critical national security tool, crediting it with helping foil a mass-casualty terror plot targeting a 2024 Taylor Swift concert in Austria and combat North Korean hackers, among other successes.

The uncharted territory comes amid a heightened threat environment as the war with Iran continues and large-scale events, such as the World Cup and America 250 celebrations, are beginning to ramp up.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., argued on the Senate floor in his bid to extend the program that there was a bipartisan bill waiting to be passed, but in the meantime, lawmakers should pause the partisan animosity and support an extension. 

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“If we don’t extend it for at least a few weeks while we continue to try to work on our differences, the consequences could be severe,” Cotton said. “The consequences, to be frank, could be fatal.”

Still, Democrats counter that had Trump not appointed Pulte, or at least waited until the reauthorization was completed, Congress would not be in the current logjam. 

“I cannot stress enough to you that none of this, none of this needed to happen,” Warner said. 

FIRST ON FOX — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighted the stark difference he sees emerging between Texas and California as well as the “tale of two states” cropping up between red and blue jurisdictions.

“In California, I saw firsthand what years of failed governance looks like: a tax system that is hostile to ambition. A regulatory state that smothers enterprise. An economic climate indifferent to consequence,” he said during a meeting at the Petroleum Club of Houston on Friday in remarks shared exclusively with Fox News Digital.

California has seen a number of high-profile defections in recent years, with many businesses and wealthy individuals citing the state’s regulations and taxation regime as the reasons for their exit. 

CORPORATE AMERICA IS ON THE MOVE, AND THESE RED STATES ARE CASHING IN

Chevron, Tesla, Charles Schwab and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, to name a few, have all abandoned their California headquarters and shifted operations to Texas. IRS migration data also shows that the Golden State is hemorrhaging high-earning taxpayers, imperiling its finances.

“Here in Texas, meanwhile, the contrast is so striking that it begins to feel like a tale of two states,” Bessent said.

And it’s true that the Lone Star State’s business-friendly policies and lower taxes have attracted more American families and businesses to move from other states to Texas. 

THE RED-STATE WINNERS IN THE CLIMB TO BECOME AMERICA’S NEXT ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE

During the meeting on Friday, Bessent also highlighted the importance of energy policy as a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s economic policies.

“The AI race may be accelerated by the elegance of our code, but it will be won by the abundance of our energy,” he said. “More than strengthening an economy, energy abundance also secures a nation. Economic security is national security.”

RED STATES ARE THE ONES GOING GREEN AND WINNING THE CLEAN ENERGY RACE

He said that Texas is spearheading that growth.

Texas has rapidly expanded its energy production to meet booming demand, partially spurred by the construction of new data centers, recently surpassing California as the state with the most utility-scale solar capacity and hitting record-breaking levels for both crude oil production and low-carbon electricity generation.

“Texas has become America’s center of gravity because it is fostering the conditions for families and businesses to flourish,” Bessent went on.

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Data indicates that Texas has seen considerable success in attracting businesses and taxpayers to the state. 

Of the 725 companies that relocated headquarters between 2018 and 2025, per a CBRE report, 230 of them moved to Houston, Dallas and Austin alone. IRS migration data also shows that the Lone Star state saw a net increase of 56,000 tax filers between 2022 and 2023.

The Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas torched former President Joe Biden’s open borders policies as he races to clean-up past comments amid criticism he is too radical to be elected in Texas.

James Talarico hardened his stance on border security and pitted himself against the former president during a podcast interview on “Cogdell Law Uncensored” earlier this week.

The Democrat member of the Texas legislature has a far-left track record that includes calls to “tear down” Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), an agency which he has called “secret police,” and claiming the border should act as a “welcome mat” for illegal immigrants.

He is now the Democratic nominee taking on Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton in the race for a Senate seat in Texas in November.

JAMES TALARICO SAYS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WAS CONVINCED BORDER SECURITY WAS ‘RACIST’

“I called out Joe Biden for failing to secure our southern border and I got a lot of heat from my own party for doing that,” he told podcaster and attorney Dan Cogdell. “But I remember talking with my colleagues in the legislature who represent border communities and they told me about the utter chaos caused by President Biden’s policies.”

Those calls and his more moderate immigration stance emerged only after Talarico launched his Senate bid in the most populated U.S. red state where the most illegal immigration happens.

When asked repeatedly by Fox News Digital, Talarico’s campaign officials could not produce evidence to support the progressive candidate’s claims he was ever at odds with Biden on the issue of border security before his Senate campaign began and while Biden was still in office.

Millions of illegal aliens poured undetected into the United States during the previous presidency, while Talarico occupied his seat in the Texas House legislature.

Talarico said in the podcast: “The Democratic Party, we’re the ones that should be about making government work for people and our immigration system is a prime example of government not working for people. So I’m a border security Democrat. I believe we’ve gotta have a sane, orderly process to ensure that we know who’s coming into our country.”

While he has accused ICE of “terrorizing our country,” called for Americans to “stand up and fight back” and in 2019 slammed Texas Republicans for passing an “anti-immigrant bill” that funded President Donald Trump’s border wall project, Talarico said on the podcast this week that public safety should be a priority.

TEXAS DEM TALARICO’S ‘CULTURE OF VIOLENCE’ REMARKS RESURFACE AS HE DENIES DEFUND POLICE TIES

“But I also think we need to keep out folks who want to do us harm, and public safety is the most important thing the government does,” he said.

Under Trump, ICE has been tasked with zeroing in on the “worst of the worst” illegal aliens for arrest and deportation, especially those with violent criminal records.

“James has never supported abolishing ICE and supports more border security — which is why he’s authored legislation to modernize our ports of entry and called for more Border Patrol agents,” Talarico’s press secretary JT Ennis told Fox News Digital.

“Both parties have failed us on the issue of immigration, so James is running for Senate to keep our country safe by deporting criminals instead of hunting down moms, babies, and small business owners who have been contributing to our economy for decades.”

Speaking to Cogdell, Talarico also pitched himself as a defender of the Second Amendment while simultaneously calling for strict gun control methods.

TEXAS DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATES SIDESTEP ISLAMIC TERRORISM CONCERNS FOLLOWING DEADLY AUSTIN ATTACK

“I am a believer in the Second Amendment. I don’t pick and choose between the Bill of Rights. I believe in the Second Amendment just as much as I believe in the First,” he said. “We have a right to bear arms, to protect ourselves, our families. We have a right to own weapons for sport or for hunting, but like any freedom in the Bill of Rights, it’s not absolute.”

“We’ve gotta keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals. We’ve gotta make sure that we’ve got safe storage laws and background checks so that we’re keeping everybody safe,” the candidate qualified.

He positioned himself during the conversation as a moderate Democrat, chastising people on the political left who are “trying to take away people’s guns” and people on the political right who “don’t want to see any regulations.”

MS NOW ANALYST ADMITS TALARICO ‘NOT A MODERATE,’ HAS PROGRESSIVE VIEWS LIKE CROCKETT

But only a few months ago, Talarico said he favored “red flag laws,” which allow judges to order Americans to be stripped of their firearms if they think a person is a danger to themselves or others. Talarico also once accused Republicans of loving guns more than children.

“You can’t be the party of freedom and control women’s bodies,” he said at a 2024 event with the Travis County Democratic Party. “You can’t be the party of family and love your guns more than our kids. You can’t be the party of faith and worship at the feet of Donald Trump.”

Ennis said that the candidate has “always believed, like the vast majority of Texans, that we must protect the Second Amendment while also enacting popular, common sense measures like universal background checks that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals.”

MARK HALPERIN: IS DEMOCRAT JAMES TALARICO THE REAL DEAL — OR BETO 2.0 HEADED FOR A TEXAS FLOP?

Talarico also distanced himself from child sex change surgeries, sometimes called “gender affirming care,” and said he does not support them despite often earning criticism for his comments regarding children who identify as the opposite of their biological sex.

“I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors,” he told Cogdell, claiming “the people that are in power” are trying to distract from “corruption in our government.”

“So they’re gonna use a tried and true playbook to get out of this,” he said. “Distraction and division. That is how corrupt public officials stay in power.”

‘GOD IS NON-BINARY’: TEXAS DEM NOMINEE TALARICO’S PAST REMARKS ON ABORTION, RACE AND GENDER DRAW SCRUTINY

Talarico’s emphatic support for transgender children has raised eyebrows since he’s entered the national spotlight.

He has said he loves them on multiple occasions, including on a podcast in 2023 when he was asked to name something that he loved other than his friends and family.

“I love, I’m just saying this because it’s all on my mind, the trans children who showed up yesterday at the state capitol to advocate for their humanity,” he said on the Superbloom Podcast.

At the time, he had voted against a state bill to ban cross-sex hormones for minors.

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“I just want to say, I love you and so do a lot of people in this room, and so do a lot of people around this big state. I know it may not seem like it tonight, but you are loved beyond measure,” Talarico also said in 2023 on the Texas House floor, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“James opposes gender reassignment surgery for minors,” said Ennis. “While billionaire-bought politicians like Ken Paxton spread lies to divide Texans, James will continue to stand up against both political parties to fix this broken, corrupt political system and support Texas families.”

Paxton’s campaign did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Talarico’s apparent flip-flop on the border, Second Amendment or transgender youth

The Small Business Administration (SBA), in collaboration with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), is removing nearly two dozen foreign products from its official catalog that supplies government agencies, citing fears that some of them may be misrepresenting their sourcing.

Kelly Loeffler, SBA administrator, raised concerns that China-based companies were falsely marketing their products as “made in America” on the Advantage! platform — a listing service the government uses to connect vendors with agencies.

“As part of our commitment to rebuilding American industry and supply chains, the Trump SBA believes that every taxpayer dollar spent by the federal government should go to support American businesses, workers and products,” Loeffler said.

SBA’s crackdown furthers efforts by the Trump administration to double down on American manufacturing and aims to reduce the risk associated with purchasing or implementing compromised China-sourced goods.

REPUBLICANS LOOK TO STOP CHINA’S ‘BACKDOOR’ TARIFF DODGING SCHEME

The concerns first arose at the White House Small Business Summit where a New York-based small business, Sherrill Manufacturing, communicated suspicions to SBA that China-based companies were only partially assembling or finishing their products in the U.S.

Sherrill, according to the SBA, is the only manufacturer of stainless steel flatware that is 100% made in America.

“When foreign companies were caught falsely claiming ‘Made in America’ status in the federal procurement system, President Trump directed the SBA and GSA to take aggressive action,” Loeffler said.

Even in his first term, Trump used executive orders to maximize the use of domestically sourced raw materials such as iron, aluminum and cement. He issued a similar executive order earlier this year.

INTEL RIVAL SKYWATER PITCHES ITSELF AS ALL-AMERICAN FIRM AS TRUMP MULLS MORE EQUITY DEALS

But sourcing protections for federal materials didn’t start with him.

For security reasons, the Berry Amendment, implemented in 1941, requires the Department of War to purchase only American-sourced steel.

Similarly, the Buy American Act (BAA), a Great Depression-era law that passed in 1933, requires federal agencies to prioritize American-made goods over certain value thresholds.

Loeffler explained that companies like Sherrill Manufacturing can be put unknowingly at risk of violating those requirements if vendors aren’t honest about their sourcing.

“The Trump Administration is sending a clear message that we will not tolerate foreign impostors that hijack Made in America labels, or those that undercut honest, generational, American small businesses like Sherrill Manufacturing,” Loeffler said.

The company’s CEO, Matthew Roberts, praised the SBA’s work and thanked the Trump administration.

“The factory where Sherrill Manufacturing and Liberty Tabletop produce their flatware has a manufacturing history dating back to supplying America’s armed forces during World War I,” Roberts said.

18 BRANDS STILL MAKING COOKWARE AND KITCHEN TOOLS IN THE U.S. — FROM SKILLETS TO SPATULAS

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“We deeply appreciate President Trump, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, and GSA Administrator Ed Forst, along with their offices, for their continued efforts to keep American manufacturing alive and restore pride in products made in the USA,” he added.

SBA did not list which specific vendors have been removed from the Advantage! platform.