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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that President Donald Trump will deliver an “entertaining” speech Friday night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after gunfire abruptly ended the original event in April.

“The President’s speech will be a combination of unifying yet vicious, and serious yet hilarious, all at the same time, if you can imagine that,” Leavitt said on Friday about the president’s upcoming address at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C.

“One thing I can assure you, it will be entertaining,” she added.

The annual dinner has historically been held at the Washington Hilton. Chaos, however, broke out at this year’s banquet when an armed suspect, Cole Allen, stormed the event in what authorities say was an attempt to assassinate the president.

TRUMP HEADS BACK TO CORRESPODENTS’ DINNER MONTHS AFTER GUNFIRE FORCED EVACUATION

The incident prompted Secret Service agents to rush the president and first lady from the room as guests scrambled for cover, abruptly ending the dinner.

While first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not be in attendance Friday due to prior commitments, many Cabinet officials will be present.

WHITE HOUSE REVEALS WHO’S JOINING TRUMP AT CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER – AND WHO CAN’T ATTEND

FBI Director Kash Patel, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are among those attending.

“In a sign of Strength and Fortitude, it was just announced that The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which violently ended rather abruptly on April 25th, will be rescheduled to July 24th. This announcement is a very good thing in that we cannot allow Lunatics to change our way of life, or even its scheduling,” Trump had written on Truth Social in June.

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“I don’t know whether or not I will give the same rather nasty statements, at least as it concerns certain people, but we will soon find out,” Trump added.

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington, D.C., next week to meet with President Donald Trump and attend the memorial service of late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., his office announced Friday.

The office said Netanyahu will leave Israel on Monday and meet Trump the following day. Graham’s communications director said last week that the late senator’s “life and legacy” will be celebrated on Tuesday, July 28, in Washington, D.C., and on Wednesday, July 29, in Columbia and Pickens County, South Carolina.

Netanyahu, in a post on X paying tribute to Graham, described him as a “dear friend.”

“In our recent meeting, I said, ‘Lindsey is a great friend of Israel and a cherished friend of mine. We have no better friend than Lindsey.’ Lindsey understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable,” Netanyahu said. “He devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world.”

‘AMERICA AND THE WORLD HAVE LOST A DETERMINED LEADER’: TRIBUTES POUR IN AFTER SEN LINDSEY GRAHAM’S DEATH

“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu added.

The U.S. and Israel jointly launched Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion against Iran on Feb. 28.

ISRAEL’S NEW EXHIBIT EXPOSES YEARS OF HAMAS TERRORIST PLANNING BEFORE OCT 7 MASSACRE

Over the last 13 days, U.S. Central Command has carried out repeated airstrikes against Iranian military targets , while the Israel Defense Forces said they have been pushing back against provocations from Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist group based in Lebanon.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this report.

South Carolina is on course to remain the lead-off primary in the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential nominating calendar, after landing a key party committee’s recommendation.

The Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) powerful Rules and Bylaws panel, meeting in the nation’s capital on Friday, picked South Carolina over Nevada to hold the party’s first presidential nominating contest in 2028, a move that will likely maintain a key role in the primary calendar for Black voters, who are a crucial part of the Democrats’ base.

The vote comes after intense lobbying by both states, as well as by New Hampshire, and Iowa over the past year to hold the much-coveted lead-off Democratic primary in the race for the White House. And the battle between South Carolina and Nevada was seen as a struggle between rewarding Black voters, who have long been loyal Democratic voters, and outreach to Latino voters, with whom President Donald Trump and Republicans made major gains in the 2024 election, handing Democrats major setbacks.

The panel also voted to allow Nevada, New Hampshire, Michigan, Virginia, and New Mexico to hold primaries in the early voting window, before the rest of the states hold nominating contests starting ahead of Super Tuesday.

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According to the panel, South Carolina would hold its primary on Jan. 22, 2028, with Nevada going second on Feb. 1, 2028, followed by New Hampshire on Feb. 8, 2028. New Mexico would hold the fourth contest, on Feb. 15, 2028, followed by Michigan on Feb. 22, 2028, and Virginia on Feb. 29, 2028.

The Rules and Bylaws Committee’s proposals on the calendar will face a final vote by the DNC’s entire membership when the party holds its summer meeting next month in Austin, Texas.

Minyon Moore, the panel’s co-chair, said that South Carolina “will emerge as the first contest.”

South Carolina supporters pointed to the recent Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act, and the ongoing redistricting battles, and argued that the party needs to reaffirm its commitment to Black voters when their electoral strength has been diminished.

Nevada allies, meanwhile, pointed to the western battleground state’s diverse electorate of Latino, Black, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, and its working class population as the ideal state for Democratic White House hopefuls to make their case.

New Hampshire held the lead-off presidential primary for both Democrats and Republicans for a century, and while the GOP adhered to tradition in the last race for the White House, the DNC upended its calendar, placing South Carolina ahead of the Granite State. The move was seen as an unwanted distraction for Democrats during the 2024 primaries.

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National Democrats for years had knocked both Iowa — whose caucuses for 50 years led off the party’s nominating calendar until 2024 — and New Hampshire as unrepresentative of the party as a whole because the states have largely white populations with few major urban areas. Nevada and South Carolina, which are much more diverse than either Iowa or New Hampshire, were added near the top of the Democratic calendar two decades ago to increase the diversity of the early states’ electorate

.New Hampshire Democrats have long pushed back, saying the state’s rich tradition of grassroots, retail politics, its well-informed electorate, its high percentage of voter participation and its longtime status as a key general election swing state make it the perfect locale to hold the first-in-the-nation primary.

After the DNC removed New Hampshire from the top of its 2024 calendar, putting the state second along with Nevada, the Granite State still moved to the head of the line. Adhering to a half-century-old law that mandates the Granite State to hold the first presidential primary a week ahead of any similar contest, New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan scheduled the Democratic and GOP presidential primary contests for Jan. 23, 2024.

The Democratic contest, which was held before South Carolina and Nevada, ended up being an unsanctioned election, with the DNC banning the state’s delegates from attending that summer’s nominating convention. The DNC later made peace with New Hampshire and reinstated their convention delegates.

But this time around, the party is proposing much more lethal sanctions against states that go rogue, as well as tough penalties on candidates who campaign in those states, in hopes of preventing unsanctioned contests.

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“Because of this calendar, our candidates will be tested,” said DNC Chair Ken Martin. “Because of this process, millions more Americans will be heard. Because of this committee, our party is and will be stronger. And because of the work that all of us have done together, our eventual nominee will enter the general election, prepared to unite our coalition to compete in every part of the country and to win back the White House.”

But longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley, in a statement after the vote on the calendar, argued, “Today’s vote shows that many party insiders have learned nothing from 2024. New Hampshire has a proven track record of testing our candidates with a rigorous, fair, and efficient process, yet those qualities did not prevail. This committee’s vote does not change the realities governing New Hampshire’s primary, which are beyond the control of both this committee and our state party.”

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Nevada Democratic Party Chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno emphasized in a statement, “As an early state and the first true test of a candidate’s ability to win in a general election, we will play a critical role in the nomination process.”

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The National Republican Senatorial Committee took aim at the DNC.

“Instead of asking themselves why voters are rejecting their socialist agenda, Democrats are denying reality and reshuffling their voting calendar,” NRSC National Press Secretary Bernadette Breslin argued in a statement to Fox News Digital.

While Democrats have argued over their 2028 calendar, the rival Republican National Committee announced earlier this year that their nominating schedule, with Iowa and New Hampshire as the lead-off contests, would be unchanged.

Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ reelection campaign spent nearly three times what it raised in the second quarter of 2026, burning through more than $7.4 million in three months as a prominent GOP activist in Arizona accused the battleground incumbent of “spending like a drunken sailor” to prop up a struggling campaign.

Campaign finance records reviewed by Fox News Digital show Hobbs’ campaign began the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) Q2 filing period with roughly $7.18 million cash on hand, raised about $2.64 million, spent more than $7.44 million and ended the quarter with about $2.38 million in the bank. The filing shows much of the spending went toward communications, TV, advertising and outside campaign firms, giving Republicans a fresh line of attack as Hobbs seeks reelection in one of the nation’s most closely watched battleground gubernatorial races.

“She’s spending like a drunken sailor. And drunken sailors typically don’t spend smart,” Turning Point USA chief operating officer, former Maricopa County GOP chair and 7th generation Arizonan Tyler Bowyer told Fox News Digital. “When you’re spending that much money on consultants and TV and paid messaging, that tells me there isn’t a lot of organic energy behind the campaign.”

TOP DEMOCRAT GOVERNORS ARE HOPING TO RIDE THEIR RECORDS TO THE WHITE HOUSE. CAN THEY?

Bowyer said the filing reflects a broader challenge for Democrats in Arizona, and nationally, saying Hobbs’ campaign spending more than it raised is “a huge problem” for an incumbent Democrat in a battleground state.

Among those problems, Bowyer argued, is a spending strategy focused heavily on paid media and consultants rather than grassroots energy. He pointed to what he described as “a whole lot” of spending on consultants, TV and paid messaging, noting, “these are not real grassrootsy types of moves,” and arguing that campaigns with less organic support often struggle down the stretch.

Hobbs, who narrowly won the governor’s office in 2022 against then-Republican challenger Kari Lake, is seeking reelection in a state expected to be one of the most closely watched political battlegrounds of the 2026 cycle. 

She won her uncontested primary Tuesday and will advance to the general election to take on Trump-backed Republican nominee Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who beat out several opponents to win his Tuesday primary. Biggs’ campaign also seized on Hobbs’ spending earlier this month, accusing the incumbent governor of “lighting” $7.4 million “on fire” and highlighting what it described as a 281% Q2 burn rate.

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“While Andy Biggs’ campaign is floundering and stuck defending his decision to side with a pedophile cult over protecting women and children, we’re proud of the strong support we’ve received from grassroots donors in all 15 Arizona counties,” Hobbs campaign manager, Nicole DeMont, told Fox News Digital in response to the criticism about the governor’s spending numbers.

The “pedophile cult” reference appeared to point to a recent Hobbs campaign digital ad that accused Biggs of “protecting predators,” citing his opposition to a bill addressing Arizona’s rape-kit backlog and his vote against releasing the Epstein files.

“We’re going to continue using those resources to reach Arizonans across the state in both English and Spanish through face-to-face conversations, community organizing, and on their TVs, local radio stations, and digital platforms.”

But, aside from whether Hobbs is earning grassroots support, Bowyer also cast Hobbs’ burn rate as part of a broader problem for the Democratic Party, arguing that the party is spending aggressively to keep pace with Republicans heading into the midterms even though Democrats are the party out of power in Washington and would typically expect the president’s party to face tougher headwinds.

He added that Hobbs’ cash position matters beyond her own campaign because Arizona does not have a Senate race this cycle to help drive Democratic fundraising and turnout infrastructure.

“If the governor doesn’t have money, then a lot of candidates down ballot won’t have a ton of money,” he said, arguing Democrats often rely on federal races as a “crutch” to support campaigns lower on the ticket.

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Meanwhile, Bowyer said the race should also matter to conservatives outside Arizona because the state is expected to remain central to the 2028 presidential map. He argued that Republicans need to invest now in battleground states like Arizona to build the organization, funding and “boots on the ground” needed for the next White House race.

“Right now, we’re in the battle of our lives for what 2030 and beyond will look like,” Bowyer said. “People are totally underestimating what this country will look like if the Democrats win the presidency in 2028 and hijack the census process and redistricting.”

“We may look back at 2026 and realize that was the pivot point where we saved America ahead of 2028, or we lost America for good.” 

President Donald Trump struck a more conciliatory tone Friday at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner, scrapping the combative speech he had prepared before an assassination attempt upended the annual event in April. The rewrite emphasized unity and gratitude, though the president still couldn’t resist slipping in a few familiar jabs at the press while insisting: “The show must go on.”

Trump returned to the stage just months after gunfire abruptly ended the organization’s annual banquet. An armed suspect, Cole Allen, stormed the event in what authorities say was an attempt to assassinate the president.

“The speech that I had ready just a short while. Oh, that was going to be a doozy. I was so psyched. I was going to rip people. And I don’t know, just something changed it — really for the better. But I just wouldn’t want to do that,” Trump said to a room full of journalists and government officials.

“But we’ll do a little ripping, if you don’t mind. But it is true. I said, how do we handle this is going to be a different kind of evening. And it is. And in many ways it’s a more beautiful evening, actually,” he added.

TRUMP HEADS BACK TO CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER MONTHS AFTER GUNFIRE FORCED EVACUATION

Trump teed up his typical walk-out song — Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” — and quickly jumped into joking about seeking a third term before striking a more serious chord as he thanked the Secret Service for its work, not only during the attack at the original Correspondents’ Dinner, but for protecting him every day.

He delivered a speech that went longer than expected, talking for an hour and four minutes.

“Just like my presidency, the second time is always better. It’s always better, and the third time will be better yet. I’m only kidding,” Trump said to some chuckles throughout the room. 

The president said he could not deliver the same speech he had planned for the first dinner, “ripping” the press, but said “it was for the better” that he changed his remarks for the second time around.

COLE ALLEN INDICTED BY GRAND JURY ON FOUR CHARGES RELATED TO ALLEGED TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

He made various jokes aimed at not just Democrats but his own cabinet members.

“I hope that everyone finally got to enjoy their entire very delicious beef tenderloins, very special beef. And I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy, who’s right here personally, ran over the cow and his car,” said Trump.

TRUMP HEADS BACK TO CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER MONTHS AFTER GUNFIRE FORCED EVACUATION

He took aim at California Governor Gavin Newsom, former vice president Kamala Harris, possible 2028 presidential candidate Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker among other Democratic lawmakers and candidates.

” You can’t have somebody like a J.B. Pritzker who I understand is not president, sadly. But, you know, some people say never used a fat word. And I know I would never call anybody fat,” said Trump.

“I have my own problems, you know, it’s not like I’m perfect, sir. In the back. Don’t call him a fat pig, okay? That’s. I’m sticking up for him. Don’t call him you. You can’t do that, sir. You can’t call J.B. Pritzker a fat pig,” said Trump.

Trump mocked Chuck Schumer’s criticism of Israel and his increasingly vocal positions on the Israel-Hamas war.

“I’m going to send him a beautiful Palestinian outfit tomorrow so he can greet Bibi Netanyahu when he comes to town next week,” joked Trump.

He used the moment to call for term limits, saying, “all joking aside, I do think we need term limits in Congress.”

“The other day, a senator I knew got a text… ‘When you get home, I want to have you immediately come up the stairs and make love to me.’ And he said, ‘I can’t do both,” joked Trump, saying that he can’t both walk upstairs and have sex—he only has enough energy for one of those activities.

The WHCA honored U.S. Secret Service Officer Victor Gonzales during Friday’s dinner in recognition of his actions in helping stop Allen from entering the ballroom.

The computer scientist from Torrance, California, traveled from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. by Amtrak after purchasing a one-way ticket. Court filings say he sent a manifesto to family and friends shortly before the attack, describing political motivations and apologizing for his actions.

Allen has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempting to assassinate the president, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, transporting a firearm across state lines and assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon.

“The attempted mass murder at the Washington Hilton, that’s what it could have been, was an assault on our democracy itself,” Trump said in his speech, which spanned from jabs at Democrats, the press and some jokes at the expense of his own Cabinet.

PHOTO OF TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SUSPECT COLE ALLEN IN HOTEL ROOM RELEASED AS DOJ SEEKS TO KEEP HIM JAILED

“One officer placed himself directly in harm’s way and engaged the armed suspect, even after gunfire struck his protective vest. He stayed in the fight and the attacker was stopped,” said Weijia Jiang, former WHCA president presenting the award to Gonzales.

“I know many of us have wondered. What if he hadn’t acted in that exact way? What if he had waited a few more seconds? His courage that night reflects the core values of Secret Service duty, justice, courage, honesty and loyalty, and as a commitment to safeguarding his country and community,” said Jiang.

During the speech, Trump highlighted his White House Ballroom following heat for the $200 million project, pointing to the lawsuits.

FIRST ON FOX: WHITE HOUSE REVEALS WHO’S JOINING TRUMP AT CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER — AND WHO CAN’T ATTEND

“In light of what we went through, I think, people understand it. It’s going to be amazing, a phenomenal one of the biggest drone ports anywhere in the world,” Trump said, referencing gunfire at the first WHCA Dinner.

Trump said that he “predicts” the WHCA would use the space for future dinners.

He also vowed to attemd next year’s WHCA dinner.

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“They said, ‘Would you do it next year?’ I said, ‘I will be back next year,'” Trump said. “Now, if you get really, really nasty, maybe not. I don’t know. But we’re going to be back next year.”

In his closing remarks, Trump said he has a “scoop” for the press announcing he is running for the fourth time.

He put on a red “TRUMP 2028” hat.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens ahead of the state’s U.S. Senate Democratic primary.

Stevens, a more centrist candidate, and progressive Dr. Abdul El-Sayed are considered the front-runners in the race as early voting starts on Saturday.

Whitmer’s endorsement could give Stevens a boost in a state where the governor twice won by considerable margins.

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The governor also beat El-Sayed in the Democratic primary for governor in 2018.

Whitmer told supporters at a Teamsters hall in Detroit on Friday that Stevens has “what it takes to win” while appearing with her and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn.

“Michiganders need a fighter in Washington and there are few leaders with more fight in ’em than Haley Stevens,” Whitmer said at the event.

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Stevens, who flipped a Republican House seat in 2018, is also backed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, a two-term Democrat who is retiring from the seat.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are backing El-Sayed.

“The corporate establishment has closed ranks and made their pick – now, Michigan voters will get to make theirs,” Roxie Richner, a spokesperson for El-Sayed, told the Associated Press.

JEWISH MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS ADMIT THEY WILL VOTE REPUBLICAN IF ABDUL EL-SAYED BECOMES NOMINEE

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Michigan’s Democratic primary is on Aug. 4 and the winner will face Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in November.

Democrats want to flip the U.S. Senate from narrow Republican control and must hold Michigan to do so.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump on Friday ordered his administration to install signs outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History directing visitors to what the White House describes as “accurate” information about the nation’s past.

The executive order instructs the National Park Service, which maintains the sidewalks outside the museum, to place signs informing visitors about a White House report released July 4 that criticized the Smithsonian’s portrayal of American history. Trump also directed the creation of a temporary exhibit intended to correct what his administration considers inaccurate historical information.

TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CALLS OUT SMITHSONIAN FOR PUSHING ‘ONE-SIDED, DIVISIVE POLITICAL NARRATIVES’

The move follows a report from Trump’s Domestic Policy Council that accused the Smithsonian and the National Museum of American History of failing to present history “in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.”

Because the Smithsonian operates independently of the executive branch, Trump cannot directly remove museum leadership or unilaterally change exhibits. Instead, the order targets federal property outside the museum that falls under National Park Service jurisdiction.

National Museum of American History Director Anthea M. Hartig defended the museum during congressional testimony this week.

“As we continue to fact check the report, we unwaveringly attest that it does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum,” Hartig told lawmakers. “There is always room for improvement. But I also know the beauty and the inspiration and the expertise that lies in our collections, our exhibits, and our programming.”

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Friday’s order builds on Trump’s broader effort to reshape the Smithsonian’s exhibits.

In March, Trump signed an executive order directing the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents to eliminate what the administration described as “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” from the institution’s museums.

The White House later criticized the National Museum of American History’s “Entertainment Nation” exhibit, arguing displays about American pop culture framed the nation’s history through an ideological lens rather than celebrating its achievements. White House official Lindsey Halligan previously told Fox News Digital that “American taxpayers should not be funding institutions that undermine our country or promote one-sided, divisive political narratives.”

OBAMA JUDGE RULES ON EFFORT TO BLOCK AMERICA 250 EVENTS AT WH AND LINCOLN MEMORIAL

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At the time, the Smithsonian said it was conducting a review of museum content and remained committed to “continuous and rigorous scholarship and research and unbiased presentation of facts and history.”

The Smithsonian is overseen by a Board of Regents that includes Vice President JD Vance, Chief Justice John Roberts, members of Congress and citizen regents. The institution receives roughly two-thirds of its approximately $1 billion annual budget through federal appropriations.

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump said Friday that Saudi Arabia will have to join the Abraham Accords before the United States moves forward with a civilian nuclear agreement, saying the requirement had always been understood during negotiations.

Asked why he appeared to add a new condition after Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced progress on a Saudi nuclear deal, Trump rejected the suggestion that anyone had gotten ahead of him.

“No, nobody got out ahead. I mean, I just say that in order to do it, they have to be a member of the Abraham Accords, which have been very successful. But it’s time now that they do it,” Trump said.

TRUMP CALLS ON ARAB NATIONS TO SIGN ABRAHAM ACCORDS

Later, when asked whether he had authorized Wright to sign the agreement, Trump maintained the condition was never in doubt.

“Well. We didn’t talk about it, but it was always understood. And Chris knew and Saudi Arabia knew that if they joined the Abraham Accords, the deal is not, I’m not going to do the deal,” Trump said.

When a reporter followed up by asking why Wright signed the agreement if that condition remained, Trump said any deal would still have to clear Congress and would not move forward unless Saudi Arabia joined the Abraham Accords.

TRUMP’S IRAN DEAL SPARKS GOP DEMANDS FOR VOTE AS CONGRESS REMAINS IN THE DARK

“Because they understood that, subject to Congress and everything else, in order for that deal to go through, they had to sign into the Abraham Accords,” Trump said. “We think the Abraham Accords bring peace in the Middle East.”

Trump argued the regional security landscape had shifted after Iran‘s military capabilities were significantly weakened.

“There’s no longer an Iran factor. There’s no longer Iran to worry about because they’ve been reduced in terms of their capability and power by many fold,” Trump said.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN’S MISSILES ‘AREN’T THE PROBLEM’ AFTER WHITE HOUSE MADE THEM CENTRAL TO WAR RATIONALE

Trump also emphasized that any agreement with Saudi Arabia would be limited to civilian nuclear energy.

“They’ll join and they’ll do their civil. It’s really, it’s civil nuclear. But that’s what it is. No enrichment. It’s civil nuclear,” Trump said.

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The remarks came during an Oval Office event celebrating what the administration described as a milestone for advanced nuclear energy after four privately funded reactor companies met Trump’s goal of bringing new reactor designs online by the Fourth of July. During the event, Trump hailed what he called a “historic milestone for civilian nuclear energy” and a “renaissance of nuclear power in America.”

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for additional comment.

FIRST ON FOX: A former NFL player from Kenya with a criminal record has been removed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Chicago, ICE exclusively told Fox News Digital.

Daniel Ogama Adongo, 37, was a linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts until 2015 and has been arrested multiple times over the last decade, including a conviction for criminal mischief with damage in 2020.

He was sentenced to a year in jail.

DHS BLASTS MINNESOTA BOARD FOR UNANIMOUSLY PARDONING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CONVICTED OF 3 ASSAULTS

ICE said Adongo overstayed his visa in 2016 and under the Laken Riley act, signed by President Donald Trump last year, those in the country illegally are required to be detained without bond if convicted of certain crimes.

His other arrests include felony intimidation, battery and disorderly conduct, according to officials.

In March, Adongo was ordered to be removed by a Department of Justice immigration judge; the order was carried out on June 20.

EXCLUSIVE: DHS SEEKS CUSTODY OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH MURDER AFTER TRUMP DEPORTATION, BIDEN RELEASE

“This dangerous individual was clearly a threat to the community, which is now safer since he’s been removed,” ICE Chicago Assistant Field Office Director Douglas Thompson said in a statement. “Those who violate immigration law are held equally accountable, including former professional athletes.”

Adongo came to the U.S. after he was recruited as a rugby player and played two seasons with the Colts from 2013 until 2015.

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“Since Day One, DHS law enforcement has been delivering on President Trump’s promise to the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, child sex abusers, gang members, and terrorists,” ICE said.

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It added, “Nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. More than 3 million illegal aliens are out of the country and counting. Our message is clear: If you come to our country illegally, we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you.”

Adongo could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., choked up on the Senate floor as he pointed to a bracelet honoring a fallen friend he said was “cut in half” by an Iranian bomb, turning a Democratic-led push to rein in President Donald Trump’s war powers into an emotional warning about the cost of failing to confront Tehran.

The Montana Republican and combat veteran delivered the fiery remarks in opposition to an Iran War Powers Resolution that would have forced the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress explicitly authorized the mission. The Senate rejected an effort to advance the measure Thursday in a 47-49 vote, but not before Sheehy accused critics of ignoring decades of Iranian-backed attacks on Americans.

“We didn’t start this war, we did not. But, we will finish it,” Sheehy said from the Senate floor. “And forever wars are not popular with anybody these days. Both sides of [the aisle] love to attack our forever wars. And I can promise you, being someone overseas wearing the uniform, when you’re fighting for your country, you don’t care what party’s in office.”

REPUBLICANS FALL IN LINE WITH TRUMP ON IRAN WAR DESPITE RISING COSTS AND US DEATH TOLL

Sheehy argued Democrats were right to call the conflict a “war of choice,” but said the choice was made by Iran’s regime decades ago — not by Trump.

“This is a war of choice. The Democrats are correct,” Sheehy said. “It’s a war of choice that was begun by a radical, lunatic band of terrorists that took over a beautiful nation 47 years ago.”

The former Navy SEAL then ticked through decades of attacks he tied to Iran and its proxies, invoking the 1983 Marine barracks bombing, the USS Cole, the Achille Lauro and terrorist groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

TRUMP THREATENS ‘MAJOR MILITARY PUNISHMENT’ FOR IRAN OVER FUTURE HOUTHI ATTACKS

“This regime that we are fighting does not care about our partisan politics,” Sheehy said. “They don’t care who you voted for, who you pray to, or where you live. They want to kill all of us. And they don’t just say it, they actually do it. And they’ve been doing it for 47 years.”

Sheehy also invoked William Buckley, whom he described as “an American military officer” who was abducted and tortured in the 1980s.

“William Buckley was abducted in 1985,” Sheehy said. “He was skinned alive on camera by the Iranians.”

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The senator concluded by describing Iran’s ongoing retaliatory attacks as “the flailing’s of a nation in collapse” not strength, citing what he called “an occasional missile strike” on commercial boats and U.S. military members in the Middle East. Meanwhile he encouraged his congressional colleagues to “think about the people who are deployed right now standing on that wall with a loaded weapon who volunteered to defend our country and our way of life” in what Sheehy described as a “just war.”

“Last time I checked, we wiped these bastards out … because they deserve it,” Sheehy said. “We did not start a war with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), they started it with us 47 years ago and their attacks have gone unanswered for half a century. It is time to fix this problem and make sure another generation of Americans does not have to fight this murderous, savage adversary.”

The Trump administration is hammering a federal judge for temporarily blocking its effort to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudan despite a recent Supreme Court decision that significantly narrowed lower courts’ authority to intervene.

U.S. District Judge Patti Saris on Thursday granted an administrative stay in African Communities Together v. Mullin , preserving TPS protections for South Sudanese nationals while she considers whether plaintiffs may amend their lawsuit and seek renewed relief on constitutional grounds.

The order temporarily freezes the administration’s Nov. 6, 2025, decision ending South Sudan’s TPS designation, keeping it “null, void, and of no legal effect” until jurisdiction returns to the 1st Circuit. Saris stressed that the order is a procedural measure to preserve the status quo while the court considers the plaintiffs’ latest filings and is not a ruling on the merits.

“Another rogue district judge just postponed the termination of TPS for South Sudan,” DHS general counsel James Percival wrote on X, slamming the decision. “This is open defiance of the Supreme Court, plain and simple!”

SUPREME COURT WEIGHS TRUMP EFFORT TO TERMINATE TEMPORARY PROTECTIONS FOR HAITIAN, SYRIAN MIGRANTS

Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, echoed that criticism, arguing Saris lacked authority to issue any relief after the Supreme Court’s recent TPS ruling.

“She has no right to ‘maintain the status quo,'” von Spakovsky told Fox News Digital. “No jurisdiction means no jurisdiction and under the applicable law, the only proper course of judicial action is to dismiss the lawsuits, explaining that based on the law and the Supreme Court’s decision, she has no jurisdiction to entertain any claims in her courtroom.”

He said the Supreme Court’s June decision in Mullin v. Doe reaffirmed that federal law largely bars courts from reviewing or blocking the government’s decisions to end Temporary Protected Status.

Although Mullin involved TPS terminations for Syrian and Haitian nationals, von Spakovsky said the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the TPS statute applies equally to South Sudan.

SUPREME COURT’S LATEST IMMIGRATION RULING WILL CAUSE AMERICANS TO ‘DIE AND SUFFER’ ATTORNEY WARNS

“These decisions on Sudanese nationals need to be overturned by the Supreme Court in emergency appeals and the judges need to be disciplined for their misconduct in refusing to follow the Supreme Court decision and the federal law that bans them from questioning decisions made by the executive branch on TPS status,” he said.

The criticism stems from the Supreme Court’s June 25 decision in Mullin v. Doe, in which a 6-3 majority held that the TPS statute bars courts from reviewing Administrative Procedure Act (APA) challenges to decisions designating or terminating Temporary Protected Status.

The ruling allowed constitutional Equal Protection claims to continue but blocked the APA claims that Saris had relied on in February to delay South Sudan’s TPS termination.

“The Supreme Court ruled that district courts lack jurisdiction to review terminations of temporary protected status. I’m confused why some district courts have not yet removed any remaining road blocks,” Eric Wessan, Iowa’s solicitor general, told Fox News Digital.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the Justice Department asked the 1st Circuit to reverse Saris’ February ruling. The plaintiffs did not oppose the request, instead asking the appeals court to return the case to the district court so they could amend their complaint and pursue only the constitutional claims the Supreme Court left intact. They then asked Saris to temporarily preserve South Sudan’s TPS protections while those claims moved forward, a request she granted Thursday.

BLUE STATE LEADERS ERUPT AFTER SUPREME COURT’S DECISION ENDING TPS PROTECTIONS FOR HAITIANS, SYRIANS

The lawsuit was filed in December 2025 by African Communities Together and four South Sudanese immigrants protected by TPS. They allege the Department of Homeland Security unlawfully ended South Sudan’s TPS designation without following required procedures and that the decision was motivated by unconstitutional discrimination.

Before the Supreme Court weighed in, Saris repeatedly ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. She first temporarily blocked the TPS termination in December 2025 before issuing a broader postponement in February, finding the plaintiffs were likely to succeed because DHS allegedly failed to follow required procedures, had already decided to end the designation, and offered what the court described as pretextual reasons for doing so.

The Trump administration appealed to the 1st Circuit in March, but Saris declined to stay her own order while the appeal proceeded. The case was later paused pending the Supreme Court’s resolution of related TPS disputes involving Haiti and Syria.

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Saris, who was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by President Bill Clinton in 1993, has presided over a number of high-profile immigration disputes involving both the Trump and Biden administrations.

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The temporary order keeps South Sudan’s TPS protections in place for now, but the 1st Circuit and potentially the Supreme Court could soon weigh in on whether the district court has the power to do so after the justices’ recent TPS decision.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and to plaintiffs African Communities Together for comment.

Senate Republicans want to rein in President Donald Trump’s income explosion since returning to the White House, but Democrats aren’t sold on how they’re going to do it.

The Senate is on the cusp of moving landmark cryptocurrency legislation known as the Clarity Act that, if passed, proponents say would finally fold the novel currency into the nation’s web of financial regulations.

Tucked away in the over 600-page package are a slate of ethics provisions that target Trump, the vice president and their spouses. The White House signed off on the provisions, and the architects of the bill say that the restrictions reach beyond just Trump and target lawmakers, too.

GOP RIFT GROWS AS THUNE HITS BRAKES ON TRUMP’S ELECTION BILL TO AVERT SHUTDOWN

But for now, it’s not enough for Senate Democrats.

“Someone can call it an ethics provision,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said. “But if it doesn’t stop the president from profiting off of crypto, and using it as a way to take bribes right out in public. Then it’s not really any expedition.

The list of guardrails included preventing federal officials from creating their own digital currency for profit, promoting or endorsing crypto, creating a divestiture or blind trust requirement one year after enactment, allowing officials to own crypto and a disclosure of crypto sales.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who has led the effort on the Clarity Act, told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that the idea isn’t to “plan legislation around one person who holds one office for the next two years, but rather, over time, that will serve the House, the Senate, the judiciary, and the executive branch in a fair way.”

HOUSE GOP VOTES TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BATTLE TO AFTER NOVEMBER MIDTERMS

“The struggle is, of course, a lot of Democrats are absolutely focused on one person, and that’s President Trump,” Lummis said. “So since President Trump actually agreed that he would have the choice to either put his assets in a blind trust, or divest of his participation in digital assets and companies that derive revenue from digital assets, somehow, that’s not enough.”

There are other gripes with the package, but the ethics provisions are proving a sharp red line. That’s because Trump’s income between 2024 and 2025 erupted by about 250% — from just over $620 million to about $2.2 billion.

And much of that increase is attributed to his various holdings and ventures in crypto, which are run by his sons, Don Jr. and Eric, according to the president’s financial disclosure forms reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Trump’s income shot up by $1.4 billion during his first year in office thanks to earnings from the $TRUMP memecoin, World Liberty Financial token sales and Stablecoin Holdco, among others.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who alongside Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., worked with the White House to draft the ethics provisions, said that the “behavior” that was being targeted was issuance, promotion, and sponsorship of crypto.

“Again, a very different standard than Nancy Pelosi was held to,” Moreno said.

REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP’S TOP ELECTION PRIORITY ‘DEAD’ IN SENATE AS GOP FRACTURES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

When asked about Democrats already raising issues with the provisions, Moreno told Fox News Digital, “They’re always obsessed with putting things into the base bill, just offer an amendment.”

“That’s the way this place was built, you know, let’s put the base bill out there,” he said. “The ethics piece is this much of the bill — Tiny bit — just offer an amendment.”

Democrats have noted that the ethics provisions don’t specifically target his sons, meaning that the Trump family crypto empire, which has heavily benefited from his name and time in office, would be left largely unchecked.

They also put sole enforcement power into the hands of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, a close ally of Trump’s, and are set to sunset on Jan. 20, 2029, when Trump will have left office.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told Fox News Digital that he still has “a lot of ethics concerns, and there’s still work to do.”

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“This is the partisan draft. It’s very obviously not going anywhere,” Booker said. “If there’s only one pathway to do this it’s doing (it in) a bipartisan manner. There are enough of us on both sides of the aisle that we should be able to land this. It’s good faith negotiations.”

The objections to the bill, for now, appear to be slowing its roll through the Senate as the upper chamber sprints to a monthlong break in August, and deals with a shrinking window of opportunity to finish legislation before the year is out.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had hoped to get the Clarity Act on the floor next week, but acknowledged that might not be possible.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to get it done, but I would like to at least get Clarity started,” he said.

Prominent far-left figures, including livestream influencer Hasan Piker, are rallying around a pro-China media outlet within the sprawling network bankrolled by communist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham – casting recent congressional subpoenas as leading a “McCarthy-style” witch hunt against the left.

As Fox News Digital first reported Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee sent subpoenas to three nonprofits, including media outlet BreakThrough News, as part of a wider investigation into alleged malign foreign influence by China in U.S. politics. The three groups have received about $39 million from Singham, who left the U.S. several years ago to live in China.

The other two groups are the People’s Forum Inc., a New York-based activist and political-education hub, and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, a think tank that says its work is anchored in “national liberation Marxism.”

The committee said it is examining whether nonprofit laws adequately protect against foreign influence and whether Congress needs to strengthen them. It also accused the three groups of failing to produce “a single responsive document” following earlier requests for information.

HOUSE PANEL SUBPOENAS 3 LEFT-WING GROUPS IN PROBE OF $39M TIED TO MARXIST TYCOON NEVILLE SINGHAM

Piker, CodePink rally behind subpoenaed outlet

Hours after Fox News Digital reported the subpoenas, pro-communist influencers and organizations mounted a social media defense of BreakThrough News, echoing similar-phrased attacks on the congressional investigation.

Among them were Piker, a prominent Twitch streamer and political commentator, and Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, a pro-communist, pro-China nonprofit that has received Singham money.

Piker called the subpoenas “the McCarthy trials,” invoking the anti-communist Congressional investigations of the 1950s, led by Sen. Joe McCarthy.

“They will come for you,” Piker warned on X.

Responding to BreakThrough News host Rania Khalek appeal for support and donations, Benjamin called the move a “terrible attack on independent journalism,” adding, “We stand with you!!!”

Benjamin co-founded CodePink with Jodie Evans, who married Singham in 2017, the year he sold his technology company, ThoughtWorks, for an estimated $785 million. He has subsequently poured money into a network of pro-communist, pro-China organizations.

In March, Piker, Benjamin and Evans traveled to Cuba to rally support for the island nation’s communist government. Fox News Digital previously reported that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is investigating whether they violated U.S. sanctions restricting dealings with Cuba, according to sources familiar with the inquiry.

Their warnings about political repression come despite longstanding restrictions on dissent and independent media under the communist governments of Cuba and China.

The three organizations occupy different roles within the Singham network.

Breakthrough BT Media Inc., which runs BreakThrough News, is based at the People’s Forum W. 37th Street address in Manhattan. It serves as a propaganda arm of the network, producing media and protest coverage and “agitprop,” or agitation propaganda. It’s often the first on the scene of major hotspots, like Glam Doll Donuts in Minneapolis, where a local activist, Alex Pretti, was killed by U.S. immigration agents earlier this year.

The People’s Forum organizes demonstrations and political programming, often the first to arrive at protests, handing out pre-printed signs from an affiliated group, the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Tricontinental, led by Singham friend Vijay Prashad, supplies Marxist research and ideological material and hosts events like a “Global South” conference last November in Shanghai, where Singham spoke, expressing support for the “new world order” of the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

GOP LAWMAKERS URGE TREASURY TO PRESS AHEAD WITH PROBE OF HASAN PIKER OVER CUBA TRIP

As Fox News Digital first reported, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton from has separately launched a grand jury investigation into alleged wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and other financial improprieties by Singham in financing these organizations. Meanwhile, the State Department issued a report on Monday, naming People’s Forum and CodePink as “fellow travelers” in Cuba’s foreign influence campaign to sell communism.

The synchronized defense illustrates how organizations and personalities tied to the Singham network can rapidly mobilize around a common message, just as they’ve done in the past to oppose everything from data centers to President Donald Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the war with Iran, Israel and the U.S. arrest of Venezuela strongman Nicholas Maduro.

Rather than addressing the committee’s allegations about foreign-linked funding, financial transparency and compliance with congressional document requests, many of the network’s most prominent voices characterized the investigation as political persecution, invoking themes of the “red scare,” “McCarthyism,” “censorship” and a broader “war on the left.”

Messaging and fundraising push spreads

The wider campaign began Wednesday evening with a coordinated petition and fundraising push, before spreading through the Singham-linked network overnight and into today.

At 5:40 p.m. on Wednesday, the People’s Forum launched the messaging counterattack, sharing a new petition and a fundraising appeal on the platform Give Lively LLC, requesting tax-deductible donations to finance its legal response and “mass organizing work.”

A few hours later, at 9:44 p.m, Khalek, the BreakThrough News host, urged her social media followers to “sign, share, donate” to the outlet’s new fundraising campaign on the GoFundMe platform and sign a petition, “Tell Congress: Drop the Witch Hunt Against BreakThrough News!”

The petition is hosted on Action Network, a big Democratic Party organizing platform. BreakThrough News said it sought “emergency funds to fight back.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Khalek wrote on X. “We’re going to fight this assault on our journalism. The only rights we have are the ones we’re willing to defend.”

According to Breakthrough BT Media’s tax filings, Khalek received $101,449 in 2024 and $108,160 in 2023 for “consulting.”

Khalek hosts the outlet’s “Dispatches” program and co-hosts “The Freedom Side.” Fox News Digital previously reported that she promoted the Chinese government’s claimed “eradication of extreme poverty” during a 2021 program with Tings Chak, a China-based researcher at Tricontinental, linking the media output of one subpoenaed organization to the ideological work of another.

WATCH: How funding from Marxist tycoon Neville Roy Singham flows to organizations

SINGHAM-BACKED, PRO-CHINA GROUP DROPS HUGE SUM ON MANHATTAN HQ AS FEDS PROBE SHADOWY NETWORK

About an hour later, at 10:52 p.m, Hartzell Gray, a congressional candidate in Missouri supported by Democratic Socialists of America and CodePink’s Benjamin, declared: “Truth isn’t partisan. Journalism isn’t a crime.”

Soon after, at 11:45 p.m., Benjamin replied to Khalek, expressing her support, and at 11:51 p.m., Piker posted his condemnation of the subpoenas.

By 2:11 a.m. the next day, socialist congressional candidate Kshama Sawant, a former Seattle City councilwoman, shared Khalek’s message and told followers she had signed the petition supporting BreakThrough News. She described the subpoenas as a “shocking increase in repression of independent media and left activists.”

Later that morning, at 9:34 a.m., the campaign had spread to propagandists for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a University of Tehran professor and former adviser to Iran’s nuclear negotiating team, shared BreakThrough News’ response and declared: “The US is an intolerant and authoritarian regime.”

Marandi’s accusation comes against the backdrop of Iran’s own crackdown on dissent. A United Nations fact-finding mission said the Iranian government had intensified its repression in a “concerted effort to crush dissent,” while Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 177th out of 180 countries for press freedom in 2026.

About an hour later, at 10:39 a.m, Craig Mokhiber, a former senior U.N. human-rights official who previously directed the New York office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, called the subpoenas an “outrageous attack” by the “US-Israel Axis.” He said they threatened freedom of opinion, expression and information.

Foreign-linked funding at heart of probe

At the heart of the committee’s inquiry is the network’s layered financial architecture.

The panel alleges that Singham’s money traveled through shell companies and donor-advised funds before reaching the three tax-exempt organizations. Such arrangements, the committee said, can move foreign-linked funding through layers of intermediaries that “by design, obscure the original source of the contribution.”

Fox News Digital previously documented $278 million flowing from Singham into six core nonprofits in a wider transnational network spanning media operations, activist organizations and ideological think tanks. The committee’s current investigation focuses on about $39 million it says reached BreakThrough News, the People’s Forum and Tricontinental.

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The committee requested records concerning foreign-linked funding and projects whose finances the groups managed. It also sought contracts involving foreign individuals or organizations, communications with Singham about the groups’ finances or operations, contacts with other foreign interests, information about foreign donors who contributed more than $5,000 and records of grants sent overseas.

By Thursday night, the counterpropaganda campaign went global with the World Socialist Website, a pro-communism platform, parroting the rhetoric of the Singham network and blasting the “anti-communist witchhunting” to its readers.

A newly-uncovered Biden White House memo from the administration’s final days revealed plans that could have expanded Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to more than 3 million noncitizens while acknowledging that previous court challenges had blocked many of President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the protections.

TPS is meant for foreign populations experiencing crises like political unrest or natural disasters, and while Trump has tried to end the “temporary” provisions for Haitians, Nepalese, Salvadorans and Sudanese people, lawsuits from pro-migrant advocates have halted most attempts.

“Stakeholders argue that granting TPS will potentially protect many vulnerable people from President-elect Trump’s planned mass deportations… They argue that these protections are likely to hold in court, and they are prepared to litigate efforts to terminate or slow down the implementation of TPS for specified nations by the Trump Administration,” read a section of the memo — acquired by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.

SUPREME COURT WEIGHS TRUMP EFFORT TO TERMINATE TEMPORARY PROTECTIONS FOR HAITIAN, SYRIAN MIGRANTS

“[P]rior federal litigation brought by advocates during the first Trump administration was successful in halting [its] efforts to terminate TPS, though that was due in large part to [its] failure to produce a factual record in support of termination, which is something that could be rectified,” the memo went on.

Schmitt said he obtained the memo from Archivist of the United States Edward Forst through his authority as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.

BIRTH TOURISM COULD SOON CARRY A SEVERE NEW CONSEQUENCE FEW WOULD RISK: ‘EXISTENTIAL CRISIS’

“Biden tried to turn TPS into a 3.1-million-person deportation shield, protect Tren de Aragua members, and trap President Trump in years of litigation,” he said, adding the move directly betrayed the “will of the people” who ousted liberal Democrats from power the prior election.

“The most disturbing part, Biden’s ‘Senior Advisors’ recommended he create 2.1 million NEW TPS designees in the last few weeks of his presidency, despite admitting TPS applications take 6 months,” Schmitt added.

“Luckily, that never happened and we have been deporting Ecuadorians and Guatemalans.”

TRUMP’S ‘THIRD WORLD’ TRAVEL BAN COULD BECOME PERMANENT IF FIREBRAND REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER GETS HER WAY

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden, a former Biden official and Schmitt for additional comment.

Schmitt noted that one week after the January 2025 memo — which he said was erroneously dated “2024” — Biden extended TPS protections for nearly 1 million noncitizens, meaning its transmission still led to “a concrete, mass-migration action.”

Schmitt shared a clip of his recent floor remarks on a related topic, where he said the U.S. should not be a “get-rich-quick scheme for the third world” and that Americans don’t try to delay enforcement of squatters on their property in real-life.

The memo reminded Biden he gave TPS protections to Afghans, Cameroonians, Ethiopians, people from Burma, Lebanese, Ukrainians and Venezuelan nationals and repeatedly extended protections for Haitians.

“The previous Administration unsuccessfully attempted to terminate TPS designations for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, Nepal, and Honduras. Courts issued preliminary injunctions blocking the Trump Administration’s actions,” it read. “Your administration took actions to resolve this litigation by either redesignating Haiti or rescinding the terminations.”

The memo noted that Trump had said during the 2024 campaign he intended to revoke TPS protections for Haitians and predicted his incoming administration would likely seek to rescind additional TPS designations.

A chart in the memo estimated potential new TPS eligibility for roughly 1.5 million Guatemalans, 600,000 Ecuadorians, 464,000 Nicaraguans, 455,000 Venezuelans, and smaller populations from Ukraine, Sudan, and Afghanistan — figures Schmitt said totaled more than 3.1 million people.

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The memo said Biden’s “senior team” had also received requests for varying types of new TPS-related actions before Trump would take office from Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif.

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“In addition, some stakeholders are requesting that your Administration designate nationals from new countries, most notably Ecuador and Guatemala, for TPS,” it stated.

While the proposals outlined in the memo were never fully implemented, the document offers a rare glimpse into the immigration options Biden advisers presented as Trump prepared to return to the White House promising mass deportations.

The wheels are in motion for Republicans to take another swing at President Donald Trump’s top election priority, but in the Senate, the main focus is keeping the government open.

House Republicans advanced their framework for another party line budget reconciliation package that, among other funding priorities, includes a rough sketch to find a way to pass part of the SAVE America Act in the Senate.

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is prioritizing another issue: preventing Senate Democrats from getting the opportunity to shut down the government ahead of the midterm elections in the fall.

JOHNSON DELIVERS BIG FOR TRUMP, BUT FRUSTRATION GROWS ACROSS RAZOR-THIN GOP MAJORITY

Thune plans to hold the House’s budget framework until the Senate can move a funding extension, known as a continuing resolution. Doing so, however, delays reconciliation, and in turn, trying to pass the SAVE America Act.

Negotiations on a continuing resolution between Republicans and Democrats are already underway in the Senate, but some in the GOP worry that Thune’s maneuver opens the door for betrayal.

“I support (Thune), I like him. I don’t agree with him on this,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., an appropriator, told Fox News Digital. “I’ve seen this vampire movie before. He wants to negotiate with the Democrats. I respect that, but right now, if you turn the other cheek to Chuck (Schumer), he’s just gonna stab me in the neck.”

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital she understood Kennedy’s position, but that Republicans needed to strike on funding the government while the opportunity was there.

I “believe that, particularly in the last year, we’ve seen Democrats getting more and more comfortable with not doing their job and finding a pathway forward,” Britt said. “I do think we all have a duty and an obligation to try to find one here.”

HOUSE GOP VOTES TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BATTLE TO AFTER NOVEMBER MIDTERMS

Kennedy also is unhappy with the slowdown in passing the SAVE America Act, a sentiment shared by his colleagues in the House.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., contended that the Senate could, and should, do both at the same time.

“Well, we all should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Scalise told Fox News Digital before the vote Tuesday. “In fact, this week, we’re doing both. We’re passing the reconciliation bill that will move SAVE America, and we’re passing a continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels.”

The House did pass a continuing resolution earlier in the week, but the Senate is working on a plan that could score Democratic votes, which given the 60-vote filibuster threshold, is a necessity in the upper chamber.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital he was largely open to whatever could help Republicans avoid a shutdown ahead of the all-important midterm elections.

“Obviously, we would consider anything they had,” Cole said. “A lot depends on what’s in it and whether or not, if we’d lost Republicans, are they going to replace them over here with Democrats? But no, I think the more talking about getting this done, the better off we are, the less chance of a shutdown.”

Thune also floated attaching the continuing resolution to the reconciliation bill sent over by the House as a means of bypassing the 60-vote threshold, which Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., called “problematic” because they are two separate aspects of government funding that are not traditionally paired.

REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP’S TOP ELECTION PRIORITY ‘DEAD’ IN SENATE AS GOP FRACTURES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

“I would suggest that Leader Thune do exactly what the House is doing,” Clyde said. “Putting a continuing resolution on the budget reconciliation is problematic because you’ve got mandatory and discretionary funding mixed, literally for the entire Congress.”

But the SAVE America Act may not even survive the strict rules that allow Republicans to use reconciliation. It also might not have the 50 votes needed to pass, either.

Thune, when asked about the criticism of his plan and the concerns holding up the SAVE America Act, told Fox News Digital, “as I’ve said before, we gotta get to 50.”

“And I can’t count to 50 right now on a budget resolution,” Thune said. “But we’ll see. I mean, we’ll have those conversations at the conference. The priority is funding the government. And, so, to me, that’s the thing we’ve got to keep our eyes on.”

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Republicans across the chambers agree on the latter point to find a way to keep the lights on and prevent yet another government shutdown.

But still, those not completely bought into Thune’s plan think that both issues can be completed.

“We need to do government funding, he’s right on that,” Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “We should also make sure our elections are secure, we should support the military, and so I think the reconciliation bill should move forward as well. But you know what, the Senate’s the Senate, they’ll do what they want to do.”

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., has endorsed Democratic Michigan U.S. Senate primary candidate Abdul El-Sayed, describing him as “a fighter.”

El-Sayed expressed his gratitude Thursday for the senator’s backing.

“Senator Tina Smith has been a fighter for working people in the US Senate,” he said in a statement. “She’s fought for and delivered on an economy that works for all of us. I hope to build on her leadership on women’s health and reproductive rights and access which has paved the way for the future I want for my daughters and every American. I’m deeply grateful for her support.”

TOP DEM HOPEFUL FLIPS SCRIPT AFTER YEARS IN SOCIALIST ORBIT WITH PUZZLING CLAIM

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are some of the figures who have endorsed El-Sayed.

“In all due respect to Haley Stevens, everybody knows that this is not an election between her and Abdul,” Sanders said during an event last week in support of El-Sayed. “This is an election between Abdul and the billionaire class. That is what this election is about.”

The Senate hopeful is running against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary contest.

WARREN DEFIES SCHUMER AS DEM CIVIL WAR EXPLODES OVER MUST-WIN SENATE RACE

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who announced last year that he would not seek re-election, is supporting Stevens to succeed him in the Senate seat.

“Over the last eighteen years, while serving the people of Michigan, I have been surrounded by many extremely talented and dedicated partners who work tirelessly for our state. Haley Stevens has been that partner in Congress,” Peters wrote in a statement. “Haley Stevens will be ready on day 1 to fight for Michigan, which is why I am excited to announce I am all in for Haley Stevens.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is also among those backing Stevens.

DEMOCRATS’ CIVIL WAR HEADS TO MICHIGAN WHERE PROGRESSIVES FACE BIGGEST TEST YET IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE SHOWDOWN

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Former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is backed by President Donald Trump, does not face any competition heading into the Michigan Republican U.S. Senate primary.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is comparing the lack of a federal voter ID law to an identification requirement at one of America’s most well-known chain restaurants.

“If you want to go buy unlimited pasta at the Olive Garden, they said you have to show your ID,” Scalise told Fox News Digital in an interview earlier this week.

He also pointed out that the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) required attendees to show ID in order to enter the venue.

SEN MARK WARNER CALLED OUT IN ABC INTERVIEW FOR INACCURATE VOTER ID CLAIMS

“Democrats are saying it somehow impedes people’s ability to participate, yet Democrats themselves wouldn’t even let you go to their convention without showing ID,” Scalise said. “I’m not against them having to require ID – but by the way, everybody understands it, and everybody gets it in polling. You know, if you’re Black, if you’re White, if you are Hispanic, if you’re Republican, or Democrat, or Independent, you understand that an ID makes sense because it protects your right to vote.”

He also listed boarding a plane and buying “a six-pack of beer” as situations where a photo ID was required as well.

“How about the franchise of American democracy? Let’s make sure you are who you say you are and illegals can’t vote in American elections,” Scalise said.

TRUMP INTERVENES AS HOUSE GOP REVOLT PUTS SAVE AMERICA ACT AT CENTER OF SPENDING SHOWDOWN

Republicans have emphasized polling showing broad support for voter ID requirements as their main argument against Democrats’ opposition to the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which was advanced by the House multiple times but has stalled in the Senate.

Democrats have argued the election integrity package is tantamount to voter suppression, claiming it would make it harder for married women who have changed their names to vote and make absentee voting more burdensome. Another provision in SAVE America that’s angering Democrats would allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) comprehensive access to states’ voter rolls.

But Republicans say that’s not true. The SAVE America Act, among other provisions, would mandate proof of citizenship in the voter registration process and implement a federal photo ID requirement to vote in U.S. elections.

WHITE HOUSE DISHES OUT NEW ELECTION SECURITY JAB OVER OLIVE GARDEN’S PASTA PASS ID POLICY

And Republicans have seized on a temporary promotion at the Italian-American restaurant chain Olive Garden as the latest example of the commonsense reasoning behind photo ID.

Earlier this month, the restaurant chain unveiled a “Never-ending pasta pass,” which would give 10,000 customers unlimited pasta for dine-in visits across 13 weeks, for the price of $100.

The Olive Garden website states that “Passholders must present a photo I.D. along with Pass at time of ordering” to ensure one pass is not being shared by multiple people.

House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., referenced the promotion during debate on a separate voter ID measure earlier this week, which Democrats also opposed.

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“The never ending pasta bowl is back at Olive Garden. I used to work at Olive Garden, so this hit close to home. But to safeguard the integrity of their pasta program, Olive Garden, as you may have seen, implemented photo ID requirements,” Steil said. “However, in jurisdictions across the country from Illinois and California or Minnesota, an individual can go to the polls on Election Day and cast a ballot without providing confirmation, without providing confirmation of their identity.”

That measure, which would require photo voter ID even when sending mail-in ballots, passed the House earlier this week with the help of just 13 Democrats.

The Trump administration fired a newly sworn-in U.S. attorney just 54 minutes into his tenure.

Now, in what is believed to be the first lawsuit of its kind, he is fighting back.

Roger Rogoff was appointed to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington last week after a panel of district court judges, among them Democratic and Republican appointees, unanimously decided that he should fill the vacant role. The Trump administration fired him just 54 minutes after he was sworn in, prompting Rogoff to file a lawsuit alleging that the Trump administration lacked the authority to remove him.

TRUMP ADMIN FIRES US ATTORNEY IN SEATTLE MINUTES AFTER HE WAS APPOINTED

The legal challenge sets up a novel test of presidential power over court-appointed U.S. attorneys, pitting the Trump administration’s claim of broad removal authority against a federal law Rogoff says allows him to serve until a Senate-confirmed successor takes office. The outcome could determine whether presidents may dismiss judicially selected prosecutors at will — and potentially leave key offices under temporary leadership without seeking Senate approval.

Rogoff argues that, while the law allows the Department of Justice to appoint an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days, after that period has expired, the local district court retains the right to appoint a replacement “until the vacancy is filled,” meaning that he can’t be fired until a permanent replacement is approved by the Senate.

Allowing the president to immediately remove any court-appointed U.S. attorney he opposed, according to Rogoff, would permit an administration to circumvent the Senate-confirmation process indefinitely.

“The district court did not coordinate with DOJ on this selection,” a spokesperson for the agency told Fox News Digital of the firing. “Consistent with other firings of this type, this is wholly within the President’s authority.”

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Rogoff’s firing was the latest in a string of dismissals — such as those in New Jersey, New York and Virginia — where the Trump administration has removed U.S. attorneys very early in their tenure. Rogoff is unique in that he is the first to challenge his removal in court.

U.S. attorneys serve as the federal government’s chief prosecutors in their districts, overseeing criminal prosecutions and representing the United States in civil cases. They also direct local U.S. attorney’s offices and coordinate federal law enforcement priorities.

“District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on X shortly after the firing. “[Western District of Washington] judges abandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration so that the selected U.S. Attorney is qualified to serve in the administration.”

TRUMP DOJ FIRES PROSECUTORS TIED TO FACE ACT CASES AFTER REPORT ALLEGES BIAS AND MISCONDUCT

A large number of experienced federal attorneys, including many in U.S. attorneys’ offices, have departed the second Trump administration, often going to work for Democratic-run states and taking north of a decade of legal experience with them.

In his complaint, Rogoff points to administration statements indicating that court-appointed U.S. attorneys who lack the president’s support will be removed.

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Rogoff was appointed a King County Superior Court judge by Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., in 2013 and worked in private practice after leaving the bench.

The White House referred Fox News Digital to the DOJ when reached for comment. Rogoff’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.

Secret Service is giving a behind-the-scenes glimpse inside the strategy to protect President Donald Trump and guests at Friday night’s rescheduled White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) Dinner.

The originally scheduled event in April was done before it even started after a crazed gunman bolted through a security check point, and was later accused of trying to assassinate the 47th president.

“Our agency grows and adapts from every event we secure, and we have engaged with WHCA to ensure attendees are given timely information in the unlikely event on an emergency during the event,” Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service’s communications director, told Fox News Digital.

Guglielmi noted that Secret Service’s protection plan worked during the April 25 dinner when agents stopped Cole Allen of California after he alleged descended from the 10th floor of the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the dinner is historically held, and attempted to breach security barriers. He allegedly fired one shot from a shotgun before tripping and falling, after which he was quickly detained. One Secret Service agent was shot and sustained minor injuries.

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The rescheduled dinner is set for Friday night at the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue, which is housed inside the Old Post Office Tower and was previously owned by the president and called the Trump International Hotel. It’s the first time in decades that the annual WHCA dinner is not being held at the Washington Hilton.

Those attending the dinner will enter the ballroom through a door separate from the main lobby and entrance of the hotel.

“Guests will see a visible police presence around the Waldorf Astoria hotel and there will be enhanced traffic closures due to proximity to major thoroughfares,” Guglielmi said. “All ticketed guests will go through airport-style magnetometer screening to enter the event.”

“Roads immediately around the hotel will be closed Friday evening, and specifics about closures will be communicated in the coming days.”

TRUMP URGES NEED FOR SECURE WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM AFTER DINNER SHOOTING, SAYS HOTEL SETTING ‘TOUGH’ TO PROTECT

Guglielmi added that exact arrival instructions will be communicated specifically to ticket holders, and that each ticket will be screened by event staff prior to Secret Service security.

Notably, the dinner is significantly scaled-back from the usual event, which typically hosts 4,000+ guests inside one of the largest ballroom in the District of Columbia — second only to the convention center Marriott Marquis. The Waldorf Astoria ballroom can host a maximum of 1,300 people for tight banquet seating.

At the dinner, Secret Service Police Officer Victor Gonzales, who was shot by the alleged gunman, will be awarded the President’s Award for Exceptional Service to the WHCA for his actions protecting Trump and event guests during the April attack.

“The WHCA is deeply grateful that law enforcement officials prevented the armed suspect from entering the ballroom,” said Weijia Jiang of CBS News, who as president of the association presided over the April dinner.

“Officer Gonzales played a significant role when he ran toward danger so that thousands of others could make it home safely. His courage stemmed from a dedication to service, which we are looking forward to honoring this week.”

WHCD SHOOTING SUSPECT PLANNED TO TARGET TRUMP OFFICIALS, MANIFESTO REVEALS

According to a court filing in the proceedings against Allen, the alleged gunman boarded an Amtrak train on April 21 after purchasing a one-way ticket from Los Angeles to the nation’s capital, stopping in Chicago to change trains. While he rode, prosecutors say he “kept a running note on his phone of his observations and thoughts during his cross-country train journey.”

His musings along the way, in tandem with what he wrote in a later manifesto, paint a picture of an unfocused person whose thoughts were “scattered,” as one former FBI behavioral analyst said, despite the gravity of the situation.

While he traveled through the U.S. southwest on the first leg of his trip, Allen made a note: “[t]he southwest desert in spring Distant wind turbines looming like snowy mountains across the hazy NM desert.”

Of Chicago, where he would switch trains and board a second train to his final destination, Allen wrote that, “Chicago is cool; kinda like an Iowa small town was scaled up to LA size.” Of the sliver of southwestern Pennsylvania through which he would pass, he wrote that the “woods are awesome (look like vast fairy lands filled with tiny trickling creeks in spring apparently.”

Allen arrived in Washington, D.C. early in the afternoon on Friday, April 24. He spent about 30 hours in the city before initiating his alleged attack.

Surveillance video from the Washington Hilton hotel, also released by the Department of Justice, showed Allen apparently pacing through hallways, once entering the hotel’s fitness center and taking a look around before hastily exiting.

Minutes before the attack, a pre-scheduled email from Allen was sent to his family and friends, explaining his actions, according to authorities.

He allegedly acknowledged that his mission would likely severely harm him at the least, but never stated that he was willing to die for his cause. His motivations were political, and he painted himself as a savior of the oppressed. He apologized profusely to family, friends and everyone he had come in contact with on his cross-country trek. He noted that there were certain people he hoped wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire, and described himself as “friendly.”

Allen remains in federal custody in Washington, D.C., while awaiting trial on four charges.

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Those charges are attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, transporting a firearm across state lines and assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon.

Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

The fight over President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act has moved from squabbles within the GOP to the top Senate Republican and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt publicly sniping at one another.

Leavitt suggested Thursday that Trump’s patience was wearing thin with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., over his flagship election security legislation.

“His patience is running out. He wants to see as much of the Save America [Act] passed as possible by the August recess,” Leavitt said of the heavy-handed president. “He knows that’s what the American people want to see passed.

REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP’S TOP ELECTION PRIORITY ‘DEAD’ IN SENATE AS GOP FRACTURES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

“And I would just add, you know, the American people … elected overwhelmingly Republicans to lead not just this White House, but also the House and the Senate,” she continued. “The House did its job. The Senate needs to do its job, too.”

But in the Senate, the political reality looks much different than Leavitt’s assertion that Republicans in the upper chamber weren’t doing enough. Still, Thune has become the dartboard for conservatives, online and at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., to throw their frustrations over the SAVE America Act at.

The SAVE America Act is universally despised by Senate Democrats, who argue it would disenfranchise millions of Americans from voting. Thune would need Democrats to pass the bill, compared to the House, where Republicans can ram through legislation without Democratic help.

TRUMP’S VOTER ID BILL CATCHES UNLIKELY BREAK AS MCCONNELL REMAINS SIDELINED

Further compounding the issue is the fact that not every Republican is on board with the legislation.

And even though House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Trump are hoping that Thune and Republicans can pass a version of the SAVE America Act through the party-line budget reconciliation process, which requires 50 votes to work, there’s no guarantee that the support is there.

“Well, maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes, right? It’s 50 around here,” Thune said. “So, instead of, you know, pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats. And if there are Republicans that they think are gettable, get on the phone. Let’s get them to yes.”

GOP CIVIL WAR ERUPTS OVER TRUMP’S LATEST AGENDA PUSH AS KEY REPUBLICANS THREATEN TO SINK MEGABILL

In the Senate, Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with the expectations surrounding the bill that aren’t feasible given the math problem bogging the legislation down in the upper chamber.

Thune is considering using the reconciliation process to keep the government open, too, in the event that Democrats renege in ongoing negotiations to craft a short-term funding deal as the typical government funding process struggles to move forward.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., one of the most vocal opponents of the SAVE America Act, said Republicans should turn to reconciliation to fund the government and that some were “being dishonest to the American people to say that we need SAVE Act passed because there’s no way on God’s green Earth it can be implemented by the election.”

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When asked about Leavitt’s comments against Thune, Tillis dug in.

“I have 1,000% confidence in Thune, and anybody in the White House who thinks he’s not a good leader isn’t qualified for their job,” he said.