Donald Trump Poll News

EXCLUSIVE: Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is hosting a day of action on Saturday in competitive congressional districts as House Republicans iron out the details of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

AFP is teaming up with GOP Reps. David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Ashley Hinson of Iowa, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania for door-knocking, phone banks and grassroots organizing in a show of support for extending Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). 

Canvassers will encourage constituents in Arizona, Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania to urge their senators and representatives to extend Trump’s tax cuts as a key component of his “big, beautiful bill.”

“Working families and small businesses throughout the country are counting on Congress to act as soon as possible to renew President Trump’s tax cuts,” AFP Managing Director Kent Strang said in a statement to Fox News Digital ahead of the day of action. 

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS TARGETING DOZENS OF HOUSE REPUBLICAN-HELD SEATS IN 2026 MIDTERM BATTLE FOR MAJORITY

From left: GOP Reps. David Schweikert of Arizona, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Ashley Hinson of Iowa are joining Americans for Prosperity in a day of action on Saturday. (Getty Images)

“With support from AFP’s activists bringing their unmatched energy and drive this weekend, we can ensure we extend pro-growth tax policy and help Republicans prevent the largest tax hike in history from crushing the middle class.”

REPUBLICANS TO TAKE AIM AT THESE 26 DEMOCRAT-HELD HOUSE SEATS IN 2026 MIDTERMS

AFP is launching their day of action in conjunction with their $20 million “Protect Prosperity” campaign, which the conservative advocacy group has called the single largest investment of any outside group dedicated to preserving the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

As House Republicans searched for alternative ways to offset an extension of the 2017 tax cuts and Trump’s ambitious goals to cut taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security, AFP urged Republicans to offset budget cuts by eliminating former President Joe Biden’s “Green New Deal giveaways.” 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., left, is leading House Republicans’ negotiations on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” (Andrew Harnik)

The House Energy and Commerce Committee debated green energy cuts during their lengthy markup on Capitol Hill this week as part of the House budget reconciliation process. 

Meanwhile, House Republicans debated potentially raising taxes as Trump indicated his support for a small tax hike to fund his “big, beautiful bill.” While rumors swirled among House Republicans for weeks that the White House was floating a tax hike on millionaires, Trump confirmed on Friday he would be “OK if they do.”

However, House Republicans seemed to drop their plans for a new millionaire’s tax hike as the reconciliation began. The House Ways and Means Committee released nearly 400 pages of legislation on Monday that did not include a tax hike. 

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., flipped his competitive House district from blue to red in 2024.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

It’s no coincidence that AFP is focusing its attention on competitive districts in Arizona, Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania, as contentious races are expected in 2026. 

In Arizona’s sixth congressional district, Ciscomani won his House seat in 2022 with just over 50% of the vote. Schweikert narrowly won Arizona’s first congressional district by less than 2% of the vote in 2022 and 2024, as one of the most expensive House races in the country last year. 

And while Hinson won by a much larger margin in Iowa’s second congressional district, Democrat Kevin Techau has already announced his campaign to unseat Hinson. 

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Both Barrett in Michigan and Mackenzie in Pennsylvania managed to pick up Republican House seats in 2024, flipping their congressional districts from blue to red. Democrats will likely seek to win those seats back in 2026. 

President Donald Trump blasted President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and cited his wish to give troops a pay raise in an address to U.S. service members on Thursday.

Trump made the comments during an address to troops at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar during his extended trip to the Middle East.

“My 2026 budget includes across the board – maybe you don’t want to look for the good of the country, you don’t have to take it – pay raises for each and every one of you. Substantial pay raises,” Trump said.

“You are without a doubt the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. That’s the way it is. I said it last night. I said it’s strong. We have the strongest military in the world. It’s not even a contest. We have the best equipment, nobody has equipment like us, nobody has the planes or the missiles or anything else,” he continued.

RUBIO TAKES SOMBER TONE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE DEAL: ‘CLOSE BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH’

President Donald Trump arrives to address troops at the Al-Udeid air base southwest of Doha on May 15, 2025.  (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

“And as your commander-in-chief, I’m here to say that America’s military will soon be bigger, better, stronger and more powerful than ever,” he added.

Trump went on to criticize Biden, noting the deaths of 13 U.S. troops during the evacuation from Kabul, Afghanistan.

TRUMP CONSIDERS JOINING RUSSIA-UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS IN TURKEY, UNCLEAR IF PUTIN WILL SHOW

Trump’s speech came less than a day after he on Wednesday signed a series of agreements with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, Qatar.

President Donald Trump holds up a pen given by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as they exchange documents during a signing ceremony at the Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alex Brandon/AP)

The agreements involved a purchasing agreement by Qatar for Boeing aircraft, as well as letters of intent and “joint cooperation” between Qatar and the U.S. The emir also signed an intent agreement to purchase MQ-9 drone aircraft.

TRUMP SAYS HE’LL DROP SANCTIONS ON SYRIA IN MOVE TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS

Al Thani said he had a “great” conversation with Trump prior to the signing ceremony on Wednesday, adding that the agreements have elevated the U.S.-Qatar relationship to “another level.”

A model of a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial drone vehicle is displayed during the Farnborough International Airshow. (John Keeble/Getty Images)

U.S. relations with Doha have come a long way since 2017, when Trump accused Qatar of harboring terrorism: “The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level,” Trump said at the time.

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From there, Qatar became a major non-NATO ally to the U.S. in 2022 under Biden and is home to Al Udeid Air Base, one of the U.S.’s largest Middle Eastern bases and a key hub for U.S. Central Command operations. 

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump attended a breakfast with business leaders at the St. Regis Doha hotel in Qatar on Thursday morning where he remained firm that Tehran must choose between never having a nuclear weapon or dealing with “violence like people haven’t seen before.”

Just days before, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had made comments that calls to dismantle Tehran’s nuclear facilities were “unacceptable,” and that “Iran will not give up its peaceful nuclear rights under any circumstances and will not back down from its rights in the face of pressure.”

Trump suggested Iran may now be informally moving toward compliance with international demands to halt its nuclear weapons ambitions, but emphasized that a final agreement has not yet been reached.

TRUMP OFFERS IRAN CHOICE: DROP NUCLEAR WEAPONS OR FACE ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and President Donald Trump. (Khamenei: West Asia News Agency, Reuters; Trump: Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

“I want them to succeed. I want them to end up being a great country, frankly, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon. That’s the only thing. It’s very simple,” Trump said. “It’s not like I have to give you 30 pages’ worth of details. There’s only one sentence. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. And I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this.”

He went on to state simply that there were limited options when it came to the deal and that he personally would rather go the more amicable route.

“There’s two steps. There’s a very, very nice step, and there’s a violent step. There’s violence like people haven’t seen before, and I hope we’re not going to have to do this. I don’t want to do the second step. Some people do. Many people do. I don’t want to do that step,” he said.

Left: Trump made clear that Iran “can’t have a nuclear weapon.” Right: Ayatollah Khamenei examines Iranian centrifuges. (Reuters)

REPUBLICANS URGE TRUMP TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON HIS PLAN TO DISMANTLE IRAN’S NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES

Congressional Republicans are urging Trump to remain committed to a hardline Iran strategy, calling for the complete dismantlement of the regime’s nuclear enrichment capabilities in a letter that drew wide support. 

Trump said at the breakfast that he is working toward a long-term solution that will bring peace to a country that he says “is a very special place with a special royal family.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei attends a Nowruz event in Tehran, Iran, on March 21, 2025. Nowruz is considered as the beginning of the new year according to the Iranian calendar. (Iranian Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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 “So we’ll see what happens, but we’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace. And if we do that, it’ll be fantastic. And for this country in particular, because you’re right next door. You’re a stone’s throw away, not even right here, a foot away. You can walk right into Iran. Other countries are much further away, so probably it’s not quite the same level of danger, but we are going to protect this country. It is a very special place with a special royal family,” Trump said.

“And the head of the royal family is two heads of the royal family, really, if you think. Great people. And they’re going to be protected by the United States of America. And I think we’re not going to have to do it because I believe very strongly in peace.”

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday on a challenge to President Donald Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship, and crucially, whether lower courts that have blocked Trump’s policies from taking force nationwide have acted beyond their authority.

Any decision from the 6–3 conservative majority could have sweeping implications for Trump’s presidency as his lawyers spar against an onslaught of lawsuits in federal courts nationwide. 

The Supreme Court arguments are expected to focus on lower court judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state who issued “universal” injunctions against Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order earlier this year. 

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court in March to intervene and limit the scope of three lower court rulings to cover only individuals directly impacted by the relevant courts (or potentially, the 22 states that challenged Trump’s executive order). But that’s unlikely to be the primary theme at the center of Thursday’s high-profile debate.

100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT

Demonstrators hold up signs during a “Hands Off!” protest against President Donald Trump at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., on April 5. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rather, justices are expected to use the oral arguments to weigh the authority of lower courts to issue nationwide, or “universal” injunctions blocking presidential policies — teeing up a high-stakes showdown that pits Trump’s Article II powers against Article III courts.

The hearing comes as Trump and his allies have railed against so-called “activist” judges, whom they have accused of overstepping their powers and acting politically to block Trump’s policies. The president even suggested that a federal judge in Washington, D.C., be impeached for his ruling earlier this year, which prompted a rare public rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.

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

President Donald Trump shakes hands with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool via Reuters/File)

Trump has signed more than 150 executive orders in his second term, inviting a seemingly unrelenting wave of challenges in court. Many of these orders have been blocked by federal judges across the country, who have restricted Trump’s use of a 1798 wartime immigration law to deport certain migrants, ordered the administration to reinstate certain government personnel and sought to impose limits on Elon Musk’s government efficiency organization, DOGE, among other orders. 

While Trump allies accuse these judges of political bias and overreach, others critical of the administration say the courts have not gone far enough to rein in Trump’s attempts to expand the executive branch’s powers. 

“The second Trump administration has taken the guardrails off of the norms that historically governed the rule of law, and is undertaking steps to enhance the perceived power of the executive branch to the detriment of the two other co-equal branches,” Mark Zaid, a D.C.-based attorney who has sued Trump in several high-profile cases, told Fox News Digitial in an interview to mark his first 100 days in office. 

FEDERAL JUDGES IN NEW YORK AND TEXAS BLOCK TRUMP DEPORTATIONS AFTER SCOTUS RULING

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

Justices on the Supreme Court will consider a trio of consolidated cases involving nationwide injunctions handed down by federal judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state that blocked Trump’s ban on birthright citizenship from taking force.

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But the policy remains widely unpopular. More than 22 U.S. states and immigrants’ rights groups have sued the Trump administration to block the change to birthright citizenship, arguing in court filings that the executive order is both unconstitutional and “unprecedented.”

And to date, no court has sided with the Trump administration’s executive order seeking to ban birthright citizenship, though multiple district courts have blocked it from taking effect.

Democrats remain pessimistic about the future of their party, six months after they suffered setbacks up and down the ballot at the hands of now-President Donald Trump and Republicans.

That’s a key finding in a newly released national poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

According to the survey, only about one-third of Democrats are very or somewhat optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party. That’s a steep decline from last July, when around six in 10 Democrats said they were optimistic.

The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since last November’s elections, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate and defended their fragile House majority. And Republicans made gains among Black and Hispanic voters as well as younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party’s base.

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. The latest polls indicate the Democratic Party sinking to new favorability lows. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

The survey, conducted May 1-5, points to an increase in optimism among Republicans, with 55% more optimistic about the future of the GOP, up from 47% last summer.

Since Trump’s return to power, an increasingly energized base of Democrats is urging party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against the president’s sweeping and controversial agenda during the opening months of his second administration. And their anger is directed not only at Republicans but also at Democrats they feel aren’t vocal enough in their opposition to Trump.

And that’s fueled the plunge in the Democratic Party’s favorable ratings, which have hit all-time lows in several new polls so far this year.

According to the AP-NORC survey, only around a third of all respondents have a positive view of the party. The GOP didn’t fare much better, with only around four in 10 adults holding a favorable view of the Republican Party.

KAMALA HARRIS TAKES NEXT STEP IN RETURN TO POLITICAL SPOTLIGHT

Some top Democrats were sampled in the poll.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the longtime progressive champion and 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential nomination runner-up, was viewed positively by roughly four in 10 Americans. But around three-quarters of self-described Democrats questioned held a favorable view of Sanders.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders participate in a stop on the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour in Bakersfield, California, on April 15, 2025. (Reuters/Aude Guerrucci)

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, the progressive firebrand who has teamed up with Sanders this year for a series of large rallies across the country, was viewed positively by only three out of 10 adults. Around half of Democrats held a favorable opinion of the four-term representative, who is seen as a possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender.

There are also suggestions that Ocasio-Cortez may primary challenge longtime Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York when he’s up for re-election in 2028.

POLL POSITION: WHERE TRUMP STANDS 15 WEEKS INTO HIS SECOND PRESIDENCY

Only 21% of adults view Schumer favorably. A third of self-described Democrats said they view him positively, but that’s a dramatic drop from December, when half of Democrats questioned held a favorable opinion of the 74-year-old senator.

Many Democrats heavily criticized Schumer earlier this year for his support of a GOP-crafted funding bill that kept the federal government from shutting down.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks on Capitol Hill, on April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

The AP-NORC poll is the latest survey to spell trouble for the Democratic Party.

The Democrats’ ratings stood underwater in the most recent Fox News national poll at 41% favorable and 56% unfavorable in a survey conducted April 18-21.

That’s an all-time low for the Democrats in Fox News polling. And for the first time in a decade, the party’s standing was lower than that of the GOP, which stood at 44% favorable and 54% unfavorable.

The figures were reversed last summer, when Fox News last asked the party favorability question in one of its surveys.

The Democratic Party’s favorable ratings were well in negative territory in a Pew Research national survey – 38% favorable, 60% unfavorable – conducted in early April and at 36% favorable, 60% unfavorable in a Wall Street Journal poll in the field a couple of weeks earlier.

And national polls conducted in February by Quinnipiac University and March by CNN and by NBC News also indicated the favorable ratings for the Democratic Party sinking to all-time lows.

But there’s more.

Confidence in the Democratic Party’s congressional leadership sunk to an all-time low, according to a Gallup poll conducted early last month.

The confidence rating for Democrats’ leadership in Congress stood at 25% in the survey, which was nine points below the previous low of 34% recorded in 2023.

And the semi-annual Harvard Youth Poll, which was released late last month, indicated that approval ratings for Democrats in Congress among Americans aged 18-29 nosedived.

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An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted in mid-April indicated that more respondents trusted Trump (40%) than Democrats in Congress (32%) to handle the nation’s main problems. The results came even as Trump’s approval ratings have slid into negative territory since returning to the White House.

And a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted late last month suggested Republicans hold a significant advantage over Democrats on two top issues: the economy and immigration.

In her first interview since announcing her bid for Alaska governor, Bernadette Wilson, a former radio host and longtime conservative figure in Alaska, spoke to Fox News Digital about the issues in the race and working with the Trump administration on energy development.

Wilson, a lifelong Alaskan who was born on the Kenai Peninsula and grew up in Anchorage, is a political outsider. Even so, politics does run in her family. Her great-uncle Wally Hickel served as governor, first in the 1960s as a Republican and again in the early 1990s as a member of the Alaska Independence Party.

She noted she comes from a long line of business people, including her grandfather, who “built a good chunk” of the state’s largest city.

“I myself own a garbage company … and we are celebrating our ninth year in business,” she said. She added that her entrepreneurial experience and knowledge of state politics through her family history and own career in radio and activism is a good mix.

RANKED CHOICE VOTING RANKLES ELECTION SEASON

Alaska gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson (Bernadette Wilson for Governor)

Wilson opposes ranked choice voting, in which votes are tallied in a hierarchical manner through several rounds. Conservatives in the red state blamed ranked choice voting for the election of former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola. Incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited.

“Ranked choice voting disenfranchises voters. We see that it is … so confusing to them. We see people who don’t understand the process, and it absolutely has got to go. That is mission-critical,” she said.

In other states, ranked choice voting has had mixed reviews. In Virginia, proponents on the right credited it with helping the state party select businessman Glenn Youngkin as its nominee for governor in 2021, which led to a major Republican upset that fall.

ALASKA CAN BE CURE FOR NATION’S ILLS WITH HELP FROM TRUMP ADMIN: GOVERNOR SAYS

Energy is the most important economic topic for Alaska, and Wilson said she looks forward to working with the Trump administration on its stated plan for a domestic energy renaissance if she’s elected.

“Energy is obviously huge for Alaska. Under the Biden administration, Alaska was sanctioned more times than … the country of Iran,” she said.

“We have the ability to lead the rest of the country [in this field].”

Asked about another Trump-related topic, the ongoing tit-for-tat with Canada over claims to make it the 51st state and Ottawa’s bipartisan outrage at American tariffs, Wilson said, as governor, she would want to work on cross-border infrastructure projects.

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Wilson grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, pictured here. (Zihao Chen via Getty Images)

“Obviously, Canada sitting right along the border to Alaska has a huge impact for us. And so getting a railroad through Canada would definitely be a great No. 1 priority when it comes to our interaction with that particular country,” she said.

Wilson faces Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and State Sen. Click Bishop, R-Fairbanks, in the 2026 contest.

President Donald Trump and his motorcade were greeted by dozens of mounted camels after his plane landed in Qatar Wednesday morning as he continues his four-day trip to the Middle East. 

“We appreciate those camels,” Trump said Wednesday while meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. “I haven’t seen camels like that in a long time. And really, we appreciate it very much.”

Camels in Qatar greeted President Donald Trump’s motorcade.  (Fox News)

The motorcade traveling from the Doha airport to the Amiri Diwan, which serves as the central hub of the Qatari government, also included red Tesa Cybertrucks in an apparent nod to Tesla CEO and Trump ally Elon Musk, as well as men on horseback. 

SAUDIS DEPLOY MOBILE MCDONALD’S FOR TRUMP’S TRIP TO THE KINGDOM

Trump signed a series of agreements with al-Thani Wednesday as part of the trip, including a purchasing agreement by Qatar for Boeing aircraft, as well as letters of intent and “joint cooperation” between Qatar and the U.S. 

Trump arrived to Doha Wednesday morning, and met with local leaders as well joined a Qatari State Dinner. 

TRUMP SIGNS AGREEMENTS WITH QATAR ON DEFENSE AND BOEING PURCHASES

Wednesday’s deals follow Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia Tuesday, when he signed a “strategic economic partnership” with Saudi Arabia for energy, defense, mining and space-based agreements that amount to $600 billion. Trump said the deal could lead to the creation of two million jobs in the U.S.

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Saudi Arabia also welcomed Trump with grand gestures, including sending fighter jet escorts to welcome Air Force One to the ground and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greeting Trump on the tarmac. 

The Saudis also rolled out a mobile version of Trump’s beloved fast-food joint, McDonald’s, in Riyadh during his trip. 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard moved the presidential daily brief staff from the CIA to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Fox News Digital confirmed. 

A senior intelligence source told Fox News Digital that the director of National Intelligence “has always controlled” the presidential daily brief (PDB) and that Gabbard “is just moving it physically to ODNI from CIA in a streamlining effort and a continuity of workforce.” 

The PDB, according to the intelligence community, is a daily summary of high-level, all-source information and analysis on national security issues produced for the president and key cabinet members and advisers. It is coordinated and delivered by the ODNI with contributions from the CIA as well as other elements from the intelligence community. It has been presented to the president since 1946.

GABBARD FIRES ‘DEEP STATE’ HEADS OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL TO ROOT OUT ‘POLITICIZATION OF INTEL’

The move comes after Gabbard, on Tuesday, also moved the National Intelligence Council from the CIA to ODNI. NIC, according to senior intelligence officials, has always been a DNI component. 

“It makes sense for them to be physically located at DNI,” a CIA official told Fox News Digital. 

Another senior intelligence official pointed to Gabbard’s confirmation hearing, in which she said her “priority was to deliver timely, accurate and actionable intelligence as the President’s principal intelligence advisor.” 

“The PDB staff and the NIC are the primary apparatus that feeds her this advisory material, so moving them physically closer gives her the best support,” the official said. “In other words, having them in closer proximity gives her less lag time and faster responsiveness to fill that role as principal intelligence advisor.” 

DNI GABBARD REFERS INTEL OFFICIALS TO DOJ FOR PROSECUTION OVER ALLEGED LEAKS OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION

The official added: “Both moves are about providing the President more timely and actionable intelligence.” 

The moves come as Gabbard has taken steps to root out leakers and alleged “deep state holdovers” who officials say are politicizing intelligence analysis and “trying to sabotage President Trump’s agenda.” 

FLASHBACK: BIDEN CAMPAIGN, BLINKEN ORCHESTRATED INTEL LETTER TO DISCREDIT HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY, EX-CIA OFFICIAL SAYS

So far, Gabbard has referred three intelligence community professionals to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution over alleged leaks of classified information. Fox News Digital first reported on those criminal referrals in April. 

An ODNI official at that time told Fox News Digital that the intelligence community professionals allegedly leaked classified information to the Washington Post and The New York Times. 

Fox News Digital, on Tuesday, exclusively reported that Gabbard had fired the top officials leading National Intelligence Council, whom whistleblowers described as “radically opposed to Trump.”

Gabbard fired Mike Collins, who was serving as the acting chair of the National Intelligence Council, and his deputy, Maria Langan-Riekhof, Tuesday, senior intelligence officials told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out Langan-Riekhof for comment and did not immediately hear back, and couldn’t immediately find contact information for Collins. 

Collins also has whistleblower complaints against him for political bias and “deliberately undermining the incoming Trump administration,” officials said. 

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They added that Collins was closely associated with Michael Morrell, the former deputy director of the CIA who worked to write a public letter in 2020 claiming that Hunter Biden’s laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation,” and to get signatures from top ex-intelligence officials. 

As for Langan-Reikhof, officials said she has been a “key advocate” for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and is someone who whistleblowers allege is “radically opposed to Trump.”

It’s hard enough to know what you want. It’s even harder to know what others want. But what if what you want hinges on what somebody else wants…and they aren’t sure what they want?

Hence the conundrum now facing Congressional Republicans as they try to approve the “big, beautiful bill.”

GOPers are waiting for President Trump to push for very specific items to be in the bill – or fall by the wayside.

Congressional Republicans are aligned closely with the President and willing to bend to his wishes. But it complicates things when Trump calls for what he termed a “tiny” tax increase for the super wealthy.

TRUMP SAYS TAX RAISES ARE ‘GOOD POLITICS,’ DISMISSING GOP CRITICS

Members of the House Ways and Means Committee participate a markup hearing in the Longworth House Building on Capitol Hill on May 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“People would love to do it. Rich people. I would love to do it, frankly. Giving us something up top in order to make people in the middle income and the lower income brackets [have] more. So, it’s really a redistribution,” said the president.

First, President Trump suggested a form of rations, limiting how many pencils kids need or how many dolls a little girl should have. That puzzled free marketeers in the GOP.

Now, to use his phrase, “redistribution.”

You understand how much heartburn this gives capitalists in Congress. But what’s worse is the mixed messaging.

When writing on Truth Social about creating a higher tax bracket for the wealthy, the president muddled his instructions for lawmakers:

“Republicans should probably not do it, but I’m OK if they do!!!” declared President Trump.

CIVIL WAR THREATENS GOP OVER MILLIONAIRE TAX HIKES IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

This exasperated Congressional Republicans who oppose raising any taxes – a long-held tenet of the Republican Party. 

In another political universe, taxing the wealthy would be – at best – a trial balloon. So, most Congressional Republicans decided it was time for this to pop.

“No, we are not going to do tax increases,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., on Fox Business.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., attends the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“We don’t want to raise taxes on anybody. I mean, we’re about lowering taxes on Americans,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Fox.

But President Trump’s Republican Party is very different from the Reagan Republican Party. The GOP shifts to where Trump wants it. Just consider the approach to tariffs compared to free trade.

TRUMP PUSHES TAX HIKES FOR WEALTHY AS ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ DEADLINE LOOMS

President Trump broadened the party’s base in the last election. The GOP is no longer dominated by big business, titans of commerce and the well-to-do. Part of the president’s appeal was the blue-collar coalition he cobbled together. And his fundamental economic message on taxes resonated with millions of voters. That’s why his top advisers say Trump is sticking to campaign promises.

“President Trump has made it clear that he has his priorities, like no tax on tips. No tax on overtime. No tax on Social Security,” said National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Fox.

However, revenue generated from new taxes on the wealthy could help cover the cost of spending cuts.

“We need to see what we need to do with the math to make sure that we are doing the country well fiscally and that we don’t just add to the debt,” said Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb.

But Republicans are frustrated after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., shrank the size of the tax cuts and spending reductions.

The tax breaks were supposed to be around $4.5 trillion at one point. They dwindled to $4 trillion. They were angling to lock in $2 trillion in tax cuts. They’re scaled back to $1.5 trillion.

‘HARD NO’: MILLIONAIRE TAX HIKE PROPOSAL HAS HOUSE REPUBLICANS DIVIDED

“Republicans talk a big game in campaigns,” lamented House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas. “If we’re not able to bend the curve on mandatory spending, then we will send a very bad signal to the bond markets.”

But regardless of what’s in the package, the White House is expecting Congressional Republicans to ultimately vote yes on the “big, beautiful bill.”

“The president has great political instincts. That’s why he’s back in the Oval Office,” said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.

But that’s what Congressional Republicans found so vexing. The president may have great political instincts. But the marching orders were far from clear.

Trump conceded that a tax hike may be controversial politically.

Congressional Republicans suffer from political PTSD. They remember another Republican President who made one of the most famous political promises of all time. And then broke it.

On the White House’s South Lawn, U.S. President George H.W. Bush speaks prior to the signing ceremony of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (or ADA), Washington DC, July 26, 1990. (Ron Sachs/CNP/Getty Images)

“No new taxes,” intoned the late President George H.W. Bush in his address to a Joint Session of Congress in 1989.

But Bush famously reversed himself as part of a 1990 budget pact. That was not necessarily the reason “Bush 41” lost reelection in 1992 to former President Clinton. And President Trump was sure enough to point that out on social media.

TRUMP SLAMS REPUBLICAN ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ OPPOSING BUDGET BILL, PREDICTS MASSIVE US TAX INCREASES IF IT FAILS

“The Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, ‘Read my lips,’ the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election. NO, Ross Perot cost him the Election!” wrote Trump.

Presidential candidate Ross Perot speaks during the 1992 Presidential Debates.  (Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

The “Perot Effect” certainly deprived George H.W. Bush of a second term more than breaking the “no new taxes” promise. But that doesn’t mean that Republicans aren’t skittish about voting for tax increases.

And regardless, the legislative product that emerged from the Ways and Means Committee markup this week lacked the type of tax hike dangled by President Trump.

That said, Congressional Republicans certainly have their opinions about what they think of the developing “big, beautiful bill.”

“A growing number of us, we don’t want smoke and mirrors. We want real cuts,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. “$2 trillion (in cuts) is really a teardrop in the ocean.”

“You’ve got front-loaded tax [cuts]. Backloaded spending restraint,” groused Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. “Medicaid reforms and work requirements don’t kick in for four years.”

“It’ll be ironic and sad in a way that conservatives will be voting for the largest increase in the debt ceiling,” mused Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. “I have a feeling it’s going to be wimpy on the spending cuts and maybe a little wimpy on the taxes, too.”

So, at least some Republicans grasp what they want in the bill. And they’re willing to take direction from the president. That’s why clear direction from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. will be key next week as the House tries to pass the measure.

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Members will say they can’t vote for the bill because it has this or excludes that. But they just might be able to vote yea if President Trump knows what he wants – and makes that clear to lawmakers.

Mexican officials said Wednesday that 17 family members of drug cartel leaders crossed into the United States last week as part of a deal between a son of the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration.

Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed a report by independent journalist Luis Chaparro that family members of Ovidio Guzmán López had entered the U.S. Lopez, the son of imprisoned Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, was extradited to the U.S. in 2023. 

Among the family members allowed into the U.S. was Guzman’s former wife, Griselda López Pérez. 

CONSERVATIVE GROUP’S ROADMAP SHOWS HOW TRUMP CAN USE MILITARY TO THWART CARTELS 

This frame grab from video, provided by the Mexican government, shows Ovidio Guzmán López being detained in Culiacan, Mexico, Oct. 17, 2019.   (CEPROPIE via AP File)

In a radio interview, García Harfuch said it was clear to Mexican authorities the deal was made during negotiations between Guzmán López and the U.S. government.

“It is evident that his family is going to the U.S. because of a negotiation or an offer that the Department of Justice is giving him,” García Harfuch said.

None of the family was being pursued by Mexican authorities. 

Video footage posted online Tuesday by Spanish-language outlet Radio Formula shows Guzmán’s family carrying luggage as they wait to be processed at the Tijuana/San Diego border crossing. They reportedly packed $70,000 in cash with them.

SINALOA CARTEL TAKES ROOT IN AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOODS: WHERE ARE THEY?

A truck burns on a street in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Martin Urista)

The confirmation by García Harfuch came the same day the office of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced it was charging a number of top cartel leaders with “narcoterrorism” for the first time since the Trump administration declared a number of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

“Let me be direct, to the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, you are no longer the hunters, you are the hunted,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California said. “You will be betrayed by your friends, you will be hounded by your enemies and you will ultimately find yourself and your face here in a courtroom in the Southern District of California.”

Guzmán López, 35, also known as “the Mouse,” is one of the four of Guzmán’s sons known as “Los Chapitos,” who ran the Sinaloa Cartel in their father’s absence. At his peak, the elder Guzmán was one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world, turning the Sinaloa Cartel into a major force and one of the largest groups responsible for illegal drugs pouring into the U.S. 

Griselda Lopez Perez, the ex-wife of jailed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, crossed into the U.S. with other family members this week, Mexico said.  (Alexandria Sheriff’s Office/AP)

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He was arrested and extradited to the U.S. in 2017 and convicted of drug trafficking and other crimes. He is imprisoned in Colorado. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Missouri’s near-complete abortion ban could possibly return if a new ballot measure just passed by the state legislature gets approval from voters.

The GOP-controlled Missouri Senate passed a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday, which would repeal an earlier constitutional amendment passed by voters last year that enshrined abortion protections in the state’s constitution. Democrats sought to fillibuster the move Wednesday, but Republicans used procedural rules to get around it, according to The Associated Press.

The proposed amendment, which passed in Missouri’s GOP-controlled House last month, would go on the state’s ballots in Missouri’s 2026 general election. 

However, the amendment could be voted on sooner if Missouri’s Republican governor chooses to call a special election on the issue.

ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION

Voters could soon decide to reinstate Missouri’s near-total abortion ban following state legislature’s passage of constitutional amendment Wednesday. (Neil Nakahodo/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“Senate Republicans are overturning the will of the voters and pushing to bring an Abortion Ban back to Missouri. This new ballot item will ban abortion and take away a right that voters secured just six months ago,” the Missouri Senate Democrats X account posted Wednesday.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, several Republican states had trigger laws on the books that immediately went into effect and imposed stricter abortion regulations at the state level. Missouri was one of those states, and was among the first in the nation to enact a post-Roe abortion ban. 

Missouri’s trigger law made all abortions in the state illegal, except during circumstances when the life of the mother is at risk.

SENATOR INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO REIN IN WIDELY USED, CONTROVERSIAL ABORTION PILL

‘Yes on 3’ signs are displayed outside of the Missourians for Constitutional Freedom office on October 26, 2024. (Photo by Arin Yoon for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

But, in 2024, a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion protections into the state’s constitution ultimately repealed Missouri’s trigger law. The ballot measure, known as Amendment 3, was voted on in November and passed, but by a very narrow margin.  

Missouri Republicans sought to include messaging in the ballot amendment that explicitly says it will repeal Amendment 3, but it did not pass, according to the Missouri Independent. 

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If the latest ballot measure advanced by Republican legislators passes, it would include exceptions for rape and incest.

Ben Cohen, one of the co-founders of the ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s, was arrested on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon during a Senate hearing involving Health and Human Services (HHS) Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

United States Capitol Police (USCP) confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Cohen was among seven people arrested after they disrupted the hearing. While Cohen was only arrested on charges of obstruction, others involved in the protest were arrested for resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, Capitol Police said. 

However, it is unclear how many people were charged with the more severe violations.

WATCH: NEWARK MAYOR COMPARES SELF TO BIBLICAL HERO IN WAKE OF ICE PROTEST ARREST: ‘THIS IS OUR DAVID MOMENT’

“RFK kills people with hate!” a protester yelled during the hearing as Kennedy delivered his opening statement. 

“RFK kills people with hate!” the chant continued, with more voices joining in. “RFK kills people with hate!”

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen, left in photo at left, was arrested Wednesday while protesting on Capitol Hill. (Getty; Fox News)

Multiple people were eventually escorted out of the room, and  Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), paused the hearing. 

In video of the disruption posted on X by The Daily Caller, Cohen can be seen being forcibly pulled out of the hearing room by a Capitol Police officer.

MOOD FLIPS AT COLUMBIA U AFTER QUASHING OF LATEST PROTEST, TRUMP PRESSURE TAKES HOLD

“Members of the audience are reminded disruptions will not be permitted while the committee conducts its business. Capitol Police are asked to remove the individuals from the hearing room,” Cassidy said as Cohen was being wrangled out of the room.

“That was a made-for-C-SPAN moment,” Cassidy quipped after things settled down.

Protesters showed up to a Senate hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wednesday and began yelling that the HHS secretary “kills people with hate” during his opening statement.  (Getty Images; Fox News)

Wednesday wasn’t the first time Cohen has been arrested while protesting in the nation’s capital. In 2023, he was arrested outside the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for blocking the entrance to the Department of Justice (DOJ) building in Washington, D.C., where he was protesting the detainment of Julian Assange. 

Ben & Jerry’s is frequently a target of Republicans, who have slammed the company and its founders over their support of progressive activism and politicians. They are also frequent critics of Trump.

DHS WARNED NOT TO ARREST HOUSE DEMS AFTER NJ PROTEST TURNED TENSE

Ben Cohen (left) and Jerry Greenfield at the global announcement of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream going 100% fair trade Feb. 18, 2010 in London. (Gareth Davies/Getty Images)

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Ben & Jerry’s has been known for its left-leaning advocacy since its founding in 1978, and the Vermont-based ice cream maker was able to maintain an independent board of directors to continue its progressive activism even after it sold to Unilever in 2000.

One of those moments included a decision by Ben & Jerry’s in 2021 that ended the sale of its products to Israelis in the West Bank, which the company refers to as “Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

Fox Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got into a heated debate with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., during a hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday after the senator accused Kennedy and the Trump administration of delaying critical cancer care for one of her constituents named Natalie.

Kennedy told Murray he wanted to do “everything” in his power to help her constituent, telling the senator repeatedly to contact his office to go over the individual’s case. But his answers were not adequate for the senator, leading Kennedy to eventually question whether the Washington state Democrat actually cared about her constituent, Natalie. 

“Mr. Secretary, one of my constituents — her name is Natalie Phelps — she’s a mom of two from Bainbridge Island in Washington state. She has been fighting aggressive stage four colorectal cancer for nearly five years now. Her best hope now is a clinical trial she’s participating in at the [National Institutes of Health’s] Clinical Center,” Murray said in her opening line of questioning directed at Kennedy. 

BEN & JERRY’S CO-FOUNDER ARRESTED PROTESTING SENATE HEARING: ‘RFK KILLS PEOPLE WITH HATE’

“But because of the thoughtless mass firing of thousands of critical employees across NIH and HHS that you carried out, Natalie’s doctors at that clinical center have told her they have no choice but to delay her treatment by an additional four weeks.”

Murray added that those four weeks of delayed care “could mean the difference between life and death” for Natalie. She also demanded Kennedy give a “specific” number of how many employees have been cut at NIH’s clinical center.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got into a heated arguement on Capitol Hill Wednesday with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., during a hearing about HHS’s budget for fiscal year 2026.  (Getty Images; Fox News)

“I can’t tell you that now, Sen. Murray,” Kennedy responded. “What I can tell you is that if you contact my office tomorrow, I’ll look specifically into that.” 

However, that answer from Kennedy was “not acceptable” to the senator.

“That is not acceptable. I want an answer,” Murray shot back, eventually demanding Kennedy provide her an update on Natalie’s case within 24 hours.

DEM LAWMAKER SEETHES RFK JR’S ‘LEGITIMACY’ AS HHS SECRETARY HAS ‘EXPIRED’ IN HEATED EXCHANGE

“Wouldn’t you rather get her into that clinical trial as fast as you can?” Kennedy shot back.

“Absolutely,” Murray said.

“All right, so if you contact my office tomorrow, this is a …,” Kennedy said before Murray cut him off.

“Natalie is sitting there waiting for treatment, you’re here to …” Murray said before Kennedy interjected to remind her he was trying to help with Natalie’s circumstances.

“I’m offering to help here, but you don’t care. You don’t care about Natalie,” Kennedy told Murray, noting during the hearing he wanted do “everything in [his] power to try to get Natalie into [the clinical trial quicker.]”

President Donald Trump has cut billions from the NIH’s budget since taking office. (Alamy/Getty Images)

FDA’S LATEST MAHA MOVE WOULD WIPE OUT KIDS’ FLUORIDE PRESCRIPTIONS AS HEALTH RISK EVIDENCE MOUNTS

The spat ended with Murray pivoting to a different question tied to the Trump administration’s cuts, which Kennedy spent much of Wednesday on Capitol Hill fielding questions about. Kennedy also participated in a separate House hearing Wednesday that covered the matter and other issues HHS faces.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the House Appropriations Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building May 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

Kennedy told lawmakers he didn’t know of any agency head who wants to see budgets slashed, but he pointed out he is not the president, who, Kennedy said, has a “broader vision” than he does when it comes to spending priorities.

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“We must spend smarter,” Kennedy said Wednesday in response to inquiries about the Trump administration’s cuts at HHS. “We will shift funding away from bureaucracy toward direct impact.”

Harvard University President Alan Garber has agreed to voluntarily take a 25% reduction in pay for the 2025-26 school year, amid funding cuts imposed by the Trump administration, amounting to about $2.2 billion.

A Harvard University spokesperson told Fox News about the pay cut, adding that other leaders across the institution are making their own voluntary contributions, given the significant challenges the school faces.

The university announced a hiring pause in March, also asking “schools and administrative units to scrutinize discretionary and non-salary spending, reassess the scope and timing of capital renewal projects, and conduct a rigorous review of any new multi-year commitments,” the spokesperson noted.

Additionally, schools within the central administration at Harvard announced there would be no merit pay increases for faculty and staff for fiscal year 2026, which runs from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. The school also paused non-essential capital projects and spending.

HARVARD SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER ‘UNLAWFUL’ MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR BUDGET CUTS

Harvard University President Alan Garber has agreed to take a 25% pay cut amid the slashing of federal funds. (Paul Marotta/Getty Images)

This is not the first time Garber has taken a voluntary pay reduction. In April 2020, then-Provost Garber took a voluntary 25% pay cut as the school faced financial challenges caused by the pandemic.

The Harvard Crimson reported that past presidents have made up to $1 million annually.

Harvard has become a target of Trump’s broader crackdown on universities, much of which is in response to last year’s anti-Israel unrest that erupted on campuses across the country.

TRUMP FROZE FUNDING FOR HARVARD. MONEY TO THESE UNIVERSITIES MAY ALSO BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

Harvard announced a hiring pause in March, also asking “schools and administrative units to scrutinize discretionary and non-salary spending, reassess the scope and timing of capital renewal projects, and conduct a rigorous review of any new multi-year commitments,” according to a spokesperson. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

On April 11, the Trump administration sent a letter to Garber and Harvard Corporation Lead Member Penny Pritzker outlining the institution’s failures and a list of demands from the White House. In the letter, the administration accused Harvard of failing to uphold civil rights laws and to foster an “environment that produces intellectual creativity.”

The Trump administration threatened to pull federal funding if Harvard did not reform governance and leadership as well as its hiring and admissions practices by August of this year. The letter emphasized the need for Harvard to change its international admissions process to avoid admitting students who are “hostile” to American values or support terrorism or antisemitism.

HARVARD PRESIDENT SAYS HE HAS ‘NO CHOICE’ BUT TO FIGHT TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

President Donald Trump has targeted Harvard by freezing its federal funding, and the university has sued the Trump administration in response. (Getty Images | iStock)

Harvard refused to comply with the demands, with Garber saying that “no government… should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”

The Trump administration then froze $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard and is reportedly looking to slash another billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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The university later filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its “unlawful” freezing of funds.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.

A lone House Democrat pushing to impeach President Donald Trump has backed down from his effort to force a vote on the measure – after pressure to do so from fellow liberals.

Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., aimed to force a vote on his seven articles of impeachment against Trump this week, via a mechanism known as a privileged resolution that forces the House to reckon with a piece of legislation within two days of being in session.

Democratic leaders made their opposition to the effort known, however, with House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., telling reporters he believed it was a “distraction.”

Thanedar later announced on X that he would back off trying to force the vote.

ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION

President Donald Trump and Rep. Shri Thanedar (Getty; Reuters )

It comes after Democrats including House Progressive Caucus Chairman Greg Casar, D-Texas, pushed back on the effort. He said he would vote against the measure and called it “unserious,” according to Punchbowl News.

“This doomed impeachment vote is not about holding Trump accountable, but instead seems to be about the interest of the bill sponsor,” Casar said.

House GOP leaders had planned a vote to table the measure, a procedural motion blocking a House-wide vote, but called it off after Thanedar apparently missed his window to force the vote.

Thanedar said in a statement on X afterwards, “In the fifteen days since I filed seven articles of impeachment against President Trump, he has committed more impeachable offenses, most dangerously, accepting a $400 million private jet from Qatar, which even Republican Members of Congress have called wrong.”

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

“So, after talking with many colleagues, I have decided not to force a vote on impeachment today. Instead, I will add to my articles of impeachment and continue to rally the support of both Democrats and Republicans to defend the Constitution with me,” Thanedar said.

Later, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said the situation “speaks for itself” when asked whether he pressured Thanedar to drop the motion.

Thanedar’s resolution has caused a modest political headache for Democratic lawmakers, at a time when the party has struggled with messaging in the wake of the 2024 election.

“I have said before from this podium, this is not the right approach we should be taking,” Aguilar said at his weekly press conference. “I’ll join members of the leadership team in voting to table that motion.”

Thanedar acknowledged his colleagues’ concerns about his move during his own press conference Wednesday morning, though he insisted it would not deter him.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., called Thanedar’s push a “distraction” (Fox News Digital)

“Even some Democrats call me a lunatic, just like the president has called me lunatic,” the Michigan Democrat said.

“But they have never said, nobody has said to me, ‘Mr. Thanedar, the seven articles of impeachment that you presented to the U.S. Congress, they’re a piece of s—. They’re not good. You missed it, missed the point. They are not legally right.’ They didn’t do that. No one says that.”

However, Aguilar said hours later that it was not the right time to push an impeachment effort.

“This is such an impactful moment, and our colleagues are locking themselves in a room for 24 hours to protect and defend healthcare. We shouldn’t be talking about this proposal that is not right, not timely,” Aguilar said, referring to the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s meeting on budget reconciliation, which has been ongoing since 2 p.m. Tuesday.

“This president is no stranger to impeachments, he’s been impeached twice. Impeachment is a tool that can be used, but it takes weeks, months to do. Right now the issue of the day is, will hill Republicans stand up and support healthcare in this country?”

Hours before the expected vote, NBC News reported that House Democratic leaders pressed Thanedar not to show up for the chamber’s 5 p.m. vote series – which would have meant he could not force the vote.

Republicans, meanwhile, seized on the disarray.

“House Democrats have demonstrated once again they are willing to abuse the Constitution in their effort to impede the agenda of the American people,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement before the vote.

“Their latest sham impeachment charade against President Trump is another embarrassing political stunt. Today, House Republicans will move promptly to discard it.”

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When reached for comment on Thanedar’s push on Tuesday, White House spokesperson Liz Huston told Fox News Digital, “Every action taken by President Trump and his administration is fully lawful and firmly rooted in the will of the American people. President Trump is doing exactly what he promised: securing our border, bringing in trillions of dollars in investment to America, and restoring common-sense leadership.”

“Meanwhile, Democrats are once again showing where their true priorities lie — siding with illegal immigrants over the safety, security, and well-being of hardworking American citizens. This desperate impeachment stunt is nothing more than a reckless political act that the American people see right through,” the White House said.

Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report

EXCLUSIVE: As Republican state financial officers across the country move to rid the government of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social  and governance (ESG), Fox News Digital spoke to Utah’s state treasurer about the importance of bringing meritocracy and fiduciary responsibility back to markets and investments. 

“ESG introduces another motive or another motivation to address societal issues through the capital markets or through investment, and when you do that, you violate the fiduciary standards that all of us as financial officers are committed to,” Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks told Fox News Digital at the State Financial Officers Foundation conference in Orlando, Florida. 

“And, so, because of that dual mandate, you really have problems when you’re managing money for other people. If a single person wants to do it or a family wants to invest their money that way, that’s their choice. But when you are managing money for other people, we don’t have that choice. We have an obligation to do what’s in their financial best interest.”

Oaks has been at the forefront of the fight against ESG, an investing principle critics say companies and institutions utilize to enact “woke” agendas, authoring several letters on the subject. 

WHITE HOUSE HIGHLIGHTS OVER $2B IN SAVINGS FROM DEI CUTS DURING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S FIRST 100 DAYS

Fox News Digital spoke to Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks about ESG and DEI (Fox/Getty)

“When you talk about managing money for the benefit of other people, which is what a lot of state treasurers do, we have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the beneficiary,” Oaks explained. “So, we have the duty of loyalty and a duty of care.

“And it is really focused on the financial outcomes for the beneficiaries. They are depending on this money for their retirement, and, so, it is our financial obligation or fiduciary obligation to act in their best interests.”

Oaks said firefighters, teachers and police officers who depend on state pensions end up being harmed when states or companies are investing based on factors other than protecting investors. 

DEI IS DEAD. HERE’S WHAT SHOULD COME NEXT

President Trump has made moves to slash DEI spending in the federal government. (iStock)

“ESG introduces another motive or another motivation to address societal issues through the capital markets or through investment, and when you do that, you violate the fiduciary standards that all of us as financial officers are committed to,” Oaks said. 

Oaks and the other Republicans at the SFOF conference have also been vocal opponents of DEI measures and praised President Trump for his efforts to roll back DEI in government. 

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Oaks told Fox News Digital ESG and DEI are closely related and that his opposition to DEI also links back to the desire to do what’s best for shareholders in his state.

“DEI — diversity, equity, inclusion — that’s really the S portion, the social portion of ESG, and, again, it’s important because a lot of the push by activist folks in the financial markets is to push an agenda onto corporate America, to have them adopt policies at companies that really are not in the best interest of the companies. And companies have a fiduciary obligation to their shareholders,” Oaks said. 

President Donald Trump walks from the Oval Office to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House en route to Florida March 28, 2025, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“When they introduce things like DEI, you change hiring practices, not for merit-based, it moves to other discriminatory hiring practices and ultimately harms companies and their financial output. And, so, that ultimately harms the teachers, the firefighters, the police officers that you’re trying to help with their retirement.”

Oaks was one of two dozen state financial officers who sent a letter in March to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), asset managers, proxy advisors and public companies, sounding the alarm on the financial risk of prioritizing a political agenda, like DEI, over financial returns. 

Oaks told Fox News Digital that when DEI is introduced at the state financial officer level, “we are potentially introducing financial harm.” 

“And we’ve seen that with companies like Target, like Bud Light, you know, other companies that have adopted policies that are not in the financial best interest of the shareholders. They have harmed the shareholder value, and that ultimately harms the outcomes that these hardworking public servants and teachers, et cetera, that have worked so hard, retire with the money that they need.”

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report

Lawmakers on Tuesday approved portions of a bill that would massively roll back Biden-era energy programs. 

The House Energy and Commerce Committee met to discuss the Republican-backed legislation that would initiate billions of dollars in spending cuts.

The money would come from unspent funds from the Democrats’ 2022 climate law, Politico reported. 

NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS: ALASKA’S ENERGY, SECURITY POLICIES ARE THE GUIDE FEDS NEEDS AMID TRANSITION, GROUP SAYS

Someone demonstrates charging a Kia Soul electric vehicle in San Lorenzo, Calif., Nov. 9, 2024. Congressional lawmakers want to roll back Biden-era energy programs. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu,)

Democrats pushed back on provisions they said would raise energy prices by repealing Inflation Reduction Act programs and allow heavy polluting industries to skip portions of the federal permitting process, the news outlet reported. 

“We’re considering a reconciliation bill that picks winners and losers and elevates expensive, outdated and inefficient sources like coal over cheap, American-made energy like solar, wind and storage,” said Democratic California Rep. Scott Peters. 

BIDEN GREEN ENERGY PROJECT HALTED BY TRUMP ADMIN RELIED ON RUSHED, BAD SCIENCE, STUDY FINDS

President Donald Trump speaks during an event on energy production in the East Room of the White House April 8 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

On Sunday, House lawmakers laid out plans to phase out key clean energy tax credits, slashing billions in spending related to electric vehicles and renewable energy and fast-track gas exports as part of a GOP push to pass a multitrillion-dollar budget to carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda, Reuters reported. 

The bill would repeal Environmental Protection Agency rules, including one that would slash allowed emissions for light- and medium-duty vehicles starting with 2027 models.

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Also included are measures to speed permitting for liquified natural gas exports and directing $2 billion for the Energy Department to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

A Michigan judge ruled on Tuesday that the state’s 24-hour waiting period and informed consent rules restricting abortion were unconstitutional.

The waiting period, which allows abortion-seekers to consider their options before the procedure, was voted into the state constitution by Michigan voters in 2022, before being challenged in a 2024 lawsuit filed by abortion rights groups.

“The mandatory delay exacerbates the burdens that patients experience seeking abortion care, including by increasing costs, prolonging wait times, increasing the risk that a patient will have to disclose their decision to others, and potentially forcing the patient to forgo a medication abortion for a more invasive procedure,” state Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel wrote in her opinion.

SCOOP: REPUBLICANS DISCUSS DEFUNDING ‘BIG ABORTION’ LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN TRUMP AGENDA BILL

Pro-choice supporters gather outside the Michigan State Capitol during a “Restore Roe” rally in Lansing, Sept. 7, 2022. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

Patel also ruled it was unconstitutional to ban nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants from performing abortions.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a post on X that she was “overjoyed” with the decision.

“I’m overjoyed to say that the Michigan Court of Claims has seen these restrictive provisions for what they are: an unconstitutional overreach that infringes on our constitutional right to make our own reproductive health decisions,” Whitmer wrote. “Today’s ruling reaffirms what we already know: reproductive health decisions belong between a patient and their doctor, not the government. I’m proud to know that this Women’s Health Week, we can celebrate by protecting and expanding women’s fundamental rights and freedoms.”

TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES LEADING CHARGE ON NEW MULTISTATE LAWSUIT OVER HHS CUTS

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer attends the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting, Sept. 24, 2024, in New York City. (John Nacion/Getty Images)

Michigan Catholic Conference President and CEO Paul Long said the intent of the proposal was to grant constitutional protections to “an industry that places itself above the health and safety of women and the lives of pre-born children.”

“This decision is a tragic reminder that the normalization of abortion in Michigan exists to the detriment of some 31,000 children every year who will never have the opportunity to experience the gift and blessings of life,” Long wrote in a statement. “Now, more than ever, we encourage others to envision a world where human life at every stage – from conception to a natural end – is truly cherished and protected, where expecting mothers are supported with love and care and have access to maternal needs, regardless of the circumstance of the pregnancy.”

‘GENDER-AFFIRMING’ TREATMENTS DON’T BENEFIT YOUTH, SAYS PEDIATRICIANS GROUP: ‘IRREVERSIBLE CONSEQUENCES’

The Michigan Capitol in Lansing (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

The court upheld a rule that requires abortion providers to screen for signs of coercion.

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If the decision is appealed, the case would be elevated to the Michigan Court of Appeals.

While Democrats have largely ridiculed President Donald Trump‘s decision to accept a $400 million jet from the Qatari royal family on behalf of the U.S. government, Republicans have raised national security concerns and admitted they have not been briefed on the details of the deal.

Fox News Digital asked Senate Republicans for their reaction to Trump deciding to accept the luxury Boeing jet from Qatar. While Trump continues his diplomatic trip through the Middle East, House Republicans are busy finalizing his “big, beautiful bill” at committee markups on Capitol Hill. 

“I actually haven’t paid attention to it,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said. “I’m sorry to be so out of the loop on that. I’ve just been thinking about Medicaid and about what the House is sending over.”

And Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, another Trump ally, said she didn’t know enough about the deal to comment on it when pressed by Fox News Digital. 

DEMS CONDEMN TRUMP’S JET DEAL, CALL $400M GIFT ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and President Donald Trump speak to each other at the Royal Palace in Doha May 14, 2025. Trump, right, touched down at Hamad International Airport in Doha. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

“I need to find out from the administration what exactly is going on,” Ernst added. 

TRUMP DEFENDS QATAR JUMBO JET OFFER AS TROUBLED BOEING FAILS TO DELIVER NEW AIR FORCE ONE FLEET

Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Eric Schmitt of Missouri also admitted they don’t know the details of the deal. 

However, Collins, a Republican with a willingness to buck the party on certain issues, seemed to align more with Democrats’ reaction to the gift, saying she suspected there could be issues within the GIFT Act, which prohibits federal employees from accepting gifts from foreign governments. 

Democrats have pointed to the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution as proof the Qatari gift is “unconstitutional.” The emoluments clause states that no elected official should accept a gift from a foreign country without consent from Congress. 

“My concern is his safety,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla, told Fox News Digital. “Qatar supports Hamas. The Hamas leaders live in Qatar, so my concern is the safety of the president. How are we going to know that the plane is safe?”

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Doha, Qatar, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The U.S. Department of Defense is expected to retrofit the Boeing 747-8 luxury jet to be used as Air Force One. Some Republicans still have national security concerns. 

“Qatar has a relationship with China, a relationship with Hamas. That would scare me,” Scott admitted. 

But Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo, said a “free plane” sounds like a “good deal for the government.”

The Trump administration has continued to defend Qatar’s gift to the United States. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed it was not “Trump’s plane” and that it was donated to the U.S. Air Force. 

A Qatari Boeing 747, right, sits on the tarmac of Palm Beach International airport after Trump toured the aircraft Feb. 15, 2025. (Getty Images)

On Wednesday morning, Trump signed a series of agreements with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha, Qatar, which included a Qatari purchasing agreement for 160 American Boeing planes, defense agreements and a declaration of cooperation between the countries. 

Trump defended his decision to accept the Qatari jet Tuesday, saying it would be “stupid” not to and emphasizing that he accepted it on behalf of the U.S. government, not himself. 

“The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years. It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive. Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done,” Trump said on Truth Social Tuesday. 

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“This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump added.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about plans to discuss the deal with Congress. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is proposing freezing undocumented adult enrollment in full-scope Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, a fact sheet the governor’s office provided to Fox News Digital indicates.

The document notes that the proposed freeze would take effect “no sooner than January 1, 2026,” and would apply “to new adult applicants over age 19.” People would not “be kicked off their health care,” according to the document.

It also notes that the Golden State governor is proposing a $100 per month premium for Medi-Cal enrollees 19 and up with “unsatisfactory immigration status,” which “refers to people whose immigration status makes them ineligible for federally funded Medicaid, including people with lawful status and the undocumented” — this would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, under the proposal.

NEWSOM UNVEILS AGGRESSIVE PLAN TO CLEAR HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS ACROSS CALIFORNIA: ‘NO MORE EXCUSES’

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference at Gemperle Orchard on April 16, 2025, in Ceres, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The proposed moves are being partially blamed on President Donald Trump.

“Trump’s pendulum swings on tariffs have slowed the economy and weakened state revenues by a staggering $16 billion,” the document declares.

NEWSOM DEBUTS RAPID-RESPONSE WEBSITE AS CRITICS ACCUSE HIM OF PRIORITIZING PRESIDENTIAL AMBITIONS

Newsom “refuses to turn his back on hardworking Californians, especially when it comes to their basic health care needs,” the release states. “But because of the $16 billion Trump Slump and higher-than-expected health care utilization, the state must take difficult but necessary steps to ensure fiscal stability and preserve the long-term viability of Medi-Cal for all Californians.”

GAVIN NEWSOM REMOVES AD AFTER BEING KNOCKED FOR USING UKRAINE FOOTAGE WHILE BRAGGING ABOUT CALIFORNIA

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Newsom, who has served as governor since early 2019, survived a gubernatorial recall election in 2021.