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China has agreed to “open itself up to American business” following trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing Saturday, according to President Donald Trump.

The arrangement arguably was the most significant development stemming from the trade negotiations, Trump told reporters Monday at the White House. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent launched trade negotiations with China in Geneva Saturday, resulting in a deal that would temporarily ease up on tariffs for 90 days.  

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

As the Alien Enemies Act continues to be a focal point of the immigration debate in the early days of President Donald Trump’s second term, Republican attorney Mehek Cooke told Fox News Digital about why the White House is making use of the 1798 law.

Some federal judges have disagreed with the Trump administration’s decision to use the act to send suspected MS-13 and Tren De Aragua gang members outside the United States, including to El Salvador’s CECOT prison. Trump designated those two groups as foreign terrorist organizations shortly after taking office.

“Under this act, it allows us to detain, apprehend, and deport alien enemies,” Cooke said.

BOASBERG GRILLS DOJ OVER REMARKS FROM TRUMP AND NOEM, FLOATS MOVING MIGRANTS TO GITMO IN ACTION-PACKED HEARING

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

“This immediately allowed under the Alien Enemies Act for President Trump and his administration to accelerate deportations of individuals from Venezuela and gang members,” she later added.

Earlier last week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg asked the Justice Department about public comments Trump and other Cabinet officials made about deportation proceedings under the Alien Enemies Act and floated the idea of moving some migrants to Guantánamo Bay.

During the hearing, Boasberg specifically pressed Justice Department lawyers about statements made by Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about CECOT, the maximum-security prison in El Salvador where the U.S. has deported hundreds of migrants, and the White House’s ability to secure someone’s release.

KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA’S LAWYERS ASK FOR MORE TRUMP ADMIN OFFICIALS TO TESTIFY, POSSIBLY FROM WHITE HOUSE

As prisoners stand looking out from a cell, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Cooke noted that the debate over due process has to do with the perspective of who gets those rights in the U.S.

“I think today, when we talk about due process, people have to understand there’s American citizens that deserve due process under our Constitution,” she said.

“There’s illegal aliens that are in our country that we have given a sliding scale of due process. And then there are terrorists that deserve very little process, as we’re expediting their removal. Our immigration judges and our courts don’t have enough time to stand there with every single individual that’s a Tren de Aragua member and bicker back and forth,” Cooke continued.

DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO LIBYA WOULD VIOLATE COURT ORDER WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE, FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conduct an arrest as part of President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging immigration crackdown in Chicago on January 26, 2025 in a still image from video. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Handout via REUTERS)

The Republican attorney said that from her perspective, many federal judges are questioning the president’s ability to actually decide what is considered an alien enemy.

“What’s happening today is courts through judicial activism are actually challenging that. So what they’re saying is that the president can’t designate somebody an alien enemy. They can’t designate Tren de Aragua an alien enemy. And more importantly, courts are pushing and saying that these individuals that are illegal terrorists in our country deserve due process,” Cooke explained.

Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

Global stock markets are soaring in the wake of the trade truce between the U.S. and China.

The agreement, announced early Monday, implements a 90-day cooling-off period between the world’s two largest economic superpowers, bringing a temporary end to their tariff war that last month triggered a massive financial market sell-off. 

U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, which were jacked to 145% last month as President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on countries around the world, will be scaled down to 30%, with Beijing lowering its tariffs from a retaliatory 125% to just 10%.

“We both have an interest in balanced trade, the U.S. will continue moving towards that,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after talks with Chinese officials in Switzerland.

WHAT’S IN THE TRADE TRUCE WITH CHINA

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, right, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer take part in a press conference after two days of closed-door discussions on trade between the United States and China, in Geneva on Monday, May 12, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

While the initial agreement brought instant relief to the stock markets, for a president aiming to pass a sweeping agenda through Congress and hold onto his congressional majorities in next year’s midterm elections, it is the potential political payoff that may be of upmost importance.

The truce with China follows days after an initial trade deal with the United Kingdom – which is the first since Trump implemented tariffs last month. The president touted that the agreement with London would be “the first of many.”

“It’s a positive first step,” veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News.

COMMERCE SECRETARY SAYS MORE DEALS TO COME FOLLOWING US-UK TRADE AGREEMENT: ‘GOING TO DRIVE OUR ECONOMY’

Trump’s approval ratings have been sliding since he returned to power in the White House nearly four months ago and are now underwater in most national polling.

Most, but not all, of the most recent national public opinion surveys indicate Trump’s approval ratings in negative territory, which is a deterioration from the president’s poll position when he started his second tour of duty in the White House in late January.

Fueling the drop in Trump’s poll numbers are increased concerns by Americans over the economy and inflation, which were pressing issues that kept former President Joe Biden‘s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency.  

Trump stood at 44% approval and 55% disapproval in the most recent Fox News national poll, which was conducted April 18-21.

Additionally, getting past the top lines, the president’s approval registered at 38% on the economy and just 33% on inflation and tariffs.

Front and center is Trump’s blockbuster tariff announcement in early April, which sparked a trade war with some of the nation’s top trading partners and triggered a massive sell-off in the financial markets and increased concerns about a recession.

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

In discussing his tariffs soon after he announced them on what he called “Liberation Day,” the president touted that “these countries are calling us up, kissing my a–.”

“They are dying to make a deal. ‘Please, please, sir, make a deal. I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything, sir!’” Trump claimed.

Will the tariff truce with China give President Donald Trump a political bounce? (Fox News)

A month later, Trump finally has a chance to show tangible results.

The president touted, “NO INFLATION!!! LOVE, DJT” in a social media post Monday morning.

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“President Trump has argued that his agenda requires time for an adjustment and deal making. He’ll be given a period of time to execute deals to prove that his plans are working and the first major trade deal with a nation like the UK is at least a sign that some of the work has been going on behind the scenes thus and is starting to bear fruit,” Williams said last week, following the announcement of the deal with the United Kingdom.

Williams added that the president will “have to back it up with more, but it is a positive first step for him in securing other deals.”

A Democratic congressman is calling for an ethics investigation over President Donald Trump’s plans to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar that would temporarily serve as Air Force One before being allotted to Trump’s presidential library after he leaves office.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote to the Government Accountability Office on Sunday, noting that the plane would be the single most expensive gift ever received by a U.S. president. Torres derided the deal as a “flying grift,” arguing it violates the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which “explicitly prohibits any person holding public office from accepting ‘any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.'”

“I am writing to express alarm over reports that President Donald Trump is poised to accept a luxury aircraft — a Boeing 747-8 — from the government of Qatar. The plane, so opulent it has been described as a ‘palace in the sky,’ is set to be made available to President Trump for official use as Air Force One and then for private use once he leaves office,” Torres wrote.

“This ‘flying grift’ is merely the latest chapter in a tawdry tale of presidential profiteering unprecedented in American history,” Torres added.

TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY, VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ AHEAD OF MIDDLE EAST TRIP, CARNEY SAYS HE’S ‘ON EDGE OF MY SEAT’

President Donald Trump says he plans to accept the gift of a $400 million jet from Qatar. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Trump described the deal in his own words on social media in a post Sunday night.

“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,” he wrote.

“Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!” he added.

TRUMP STAFFERS LOAD BOXES OF ITEMS SEIZED BY FBI IN 2022 MAR-A-LAGO RAID ONTO AIR FORCE ONE

ABC News reported that Trump toured the plane in West Palm Beach earlier this year. While the deal is set to be announced during Trump’s trip to the Middle East this week, the actual transaction is not expected to be made until later. Qatari officials say they expect to donate the plane through the Pentagon.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from New York, is calling for an ethics investigation into President Donald Trump’s plans to accept a jet from Qatar as a gift. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made,” Qatari embassy official Ali Al-Ansari told ABC News.

Presidents have for decades circumvented the Emoluments Clause by classifying gifts they receive while in office as gifts to the office of the president. Those gifts are then cataloged and stored as part of their presidential libraries after leaving office. While presidents maintain some level of access to the items in their libraries, they do not own them directly and must purchase them from the federal government in order to secure private ownership.

TRUMP STAFFERS LOAD BOXES OF ITEMS SEIZED BY FBI IN 2022 MAR-A-LAGO RAID ONTO AIR FORCE ONE

If the jet were to enter Trump’s presidential library, it is unclear how costs would be apportioned for maintenance and usage costs.

A Boeing 747-8, the same general model as the one being gifted to Trump, sits on a tarmac.  (Getty Images)

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When not in office as president, Trump has traveled in his private Boeing 757 jet, dubbed Trump Force One. That jet is famously emblazoned with Trump’s last name and was frequently seen in the backdrop of campaign rallies.

EXCLUSIVE: A division of the Congressional Budget Office, the agency charged with providing budget and economic information to lawmakers, is stacked with liberal Democrats, putting into question its long-standing reputation of being nonpartisan. 

The American Accountability Foundation, a conservative government research nonprofit, found that much of the CBO’s Health Analysis Division is made up of Democrats or Democratic donors.

Of the 32 staff members in the division, 26 of them, or 84%, have “clearly” verified liberal partisan biases, being either a Democrat donor, a registered Democrat, or a Democratic primary voter, the group said in a memo outlining its findings, which come ahead of potential scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s budget request. 

NPR, PBS CHIEFS SET TO CLASH WITH GOP LAWMAKERS DURING DOGE SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING

Copies of President Barack Obama’s proposed federal budget plan for fiscal year 2014 is prepared for delivery at the U.S. Government Printing Office. (AP)

“The CBO likes to call itself ‘nonpartisan’ in an attempt to disguise its role as an undercover leftist think tank,” AAF President Tom Jones said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “In fact, the CBO is institutionally progressive, with 84% of its professional healthcare staff members being registered Democrats. These same staff members, who are on record donating to radicals like Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton, ‘score’ legislation and present it to the American people like it’s sacrosanct.”

Jones accused the CBO staffers of not just voting left, but using their influence to promote progressive policy changes. 

DOGE SUBCOMMITTEE INVITES NPR, PBS CHIEFS TO TESTIFY ON THEIR FEDERAL FUNDING, ‘SYSTEMICALLY BIASED CONTENT’

“The Health Analysis Division has been overtaken by liberal group think,” the memo states. “As policymakers consider pronouncements and scores from CBO over the coming weeks, they should regard those from the Health Care Analysis Division with deep suspicion and should likely disregard them as the product of a politically biased policy shop, much as they would analysis from an institution like the Center for American Progress.”

The HAD is tasked with analyzing federal programs and policies that include Medicare, Medicaid and subsidies provided through health insurance exchanges. Its staffers produce reports on policy issues and play a key role in certain estimates of proposed changes in health care programs, the CBO website states.

The report noted that the CBO works to “cultivate” a reputation as a “non-partisan scorekeeper, just balls and strikes.” That reputation is so entrenched, the AAF said, that 1,358 different news media stories in the last year alone have appended the word “nonpartisan” to the beginning of the office’s name, reporting on the “nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.”

Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel speaks during a news briefing on the release of new economic reports at Ford House Office Building Feb. 15, 2023, in Washington, D.C.  (Getty Images)

“While the CBO has spun a narrative through the mainstream media that it’s a neutral scorekeeper, it’s one big gaslighting campaign to distract from the office’s fundamentally progressive roots.” Jones said. “They know the next few months with reconciliation are crucial and will do everything they can to slam and stall the Trump administration’s policies.”

CBO employees are barred from engaging in political activity if it would “identify, or appear to identify, CBO with a political campaign, candidate, officeholder, or cause,” its website states. 

“The specific positions taken are irrelevant; rather, the potential harm to CBO’s reputation for objectivity comes from association with political activity or public advocacy,” it adds. 

The agency doesn’t hire employment candidates based on their political affiliation, it said. 

Research conducted by the group found that Health Analysis Director Chapin White is a Democratic donor, having given money to former Secretary of State John Kerry. White made a $300 donation to Kerry’s failed presidential bid in 2004, according to Federal Election Commission data. 

White referred Fox News Digital to the CBO, which declined to comment.

TRUMP FCC CHAIR TARGETS NPR, PBS FOR INVESTIGATION AHEAD OF CONGRESSIONAL THREATS TO DEFUND

One analyst has donated to several Democratic elected officials, including former President Joe Biden and various members of Congress, according to the FEC. Many others are registered Democrats or have donated to Democratic pollical candidates, the think tank said. 

A Congressional Budget Office sign is in Washington, D.C., June 26, 2017. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Much of the data gathered by the AAF was obtained through public campaign finance reporting agencies or from voter registration offices, noting that many CBO employees live in Virginia, which doesn’t have partisan registration, the nonprofit said. 

Virginia also restricts access to voter history records via the state’s Freedom of Information Act, making it challenging to ascertain whether voters cast ballots in Democratic or Republican primaries, it said. 

However, the AAF said it obtained Virginia voting history information from a trusted third-party source. 

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“There were four staff members for whom AAF was unable to secure voting history or registration information,” it said. “AAF strongly suspects if the staffers listed as ‘Data on Definitive Partisan Bias Unavailable’ were asked whether they vote in Democrat or Republican primaries (or if they had voted for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump) very few, if any, will respond that they are Republicans.”

President Donald Trump confirmed that the last living American hostage, Edan Alexander, would be released by Hamas after nearly two years in captivity.

“I am happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who has been held hostage since October 2023, is coming home to his family,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform ‘Truth Social’ on Sunday.

“I am grateful to all those involved in making this monumental news happen. This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones,” Trump continued.  

“Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!”

HAMAS CLAIMS IT WILL RELEASE AMERICAN HOSTAGE EDAN ALEXANDER

Alexander, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, has been held captive in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel. 

Donald Trump is seen posing with a photo of Edan Alexander on Oct. 7, 2024 in New York City.   (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The news comes after the terror organization announced on Sunday it was “in contact with the U.S. administration in recent days.”

“The movement has shown a high level of positivity, and the Israeli soldier with dual American citizenship, [Edan] Alexander, will be released as part of the steps being taken toward a ceasefire, the opening of border crossings, and the entry of aid and relief for our people in the Gaza Strip,” the statement read. 

Vice President JD Vance also commented on the announcement, writing: “Pray that Hamas follows through and Edan gets to come home.”

“If they do, it will have been another triumph of Steve Witkoff, who continues to face withering attacks for freeing hostages, negotiating complex diplomatic proposals, and serving his country (at great financial cost),” Vance wrote in a post on X. 

It’s unclear when Alexander will be released.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters also released a statement following the announcement of Alexander’s release, saying that they “are embracing and supporting the Alexander family.”

NEW PULITZER PRIZE WINNER DISPARAGED ISRAELIS KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS ON OCT 7, QUESTIONED THEIR ‘HOSTAGE’ STATUS

Varda Ben Baruch holds photos of her grandson Israeli- American hostage Edan Alexander as she walks near Israeli soldiers during a rally of families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip at Nir Oz near the border with the Gaza Strip on April 20, 2025 (Amir Levy/Getty Images)

“Should this release be confirmed, the release of Edan Alexander must mark the beginning of a comprehensive agreement that will secure the freedom of all remaining hostages,” the statement read. 

“President Trump, you’ve given the families of all the hostages hope. Please, complete your mission and bring them all home.” 

Trump recently marked his 100th day in office, and the families of the five Americans still held hostage urged him to reflect on his strategy and apply pressure on both Israel and Hamas, through both economic and diplomatic means, to secure the release of all hostages.

In addition, fifty members of Congress sent Trump a letter on May 9 urging him to prioritize getting the remaining hostages out.

HAMAS AGREES TO RELEASE EDAN ALEXANDER, THE LAST LIVING AMERICAN HOSTAGE

“As months have passed since the most recent exchange, we must keep the five remaining Americans and additional 54 hostages top of mind. The five American hostages include Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein Haggai. Only Alexander is believed to be alive while Nuetra, Chen, Haggai and Weinstein Haggai were either murdered on October 7th or in captivity,” the group wrote in a letter to President Trump.

“Our government’s most solemn responsibility is to keep Americans safe. With that responsibility in mind, we urge you to use all diplomatic tools at your disposal, in concert with our regional allies and partners, to ensure Edan’s release and the release of the remains of the deceased American hostages as soon as possible. Every day in captivity adds to the nightmare for the hostages and their families. We must bring them home now,” the letter continued. 

Raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, Alexander moved to Israel at 18 to volunteer for military service in the IDF’s Golani Brigade. He lived with his grandparents in Tel Aviv and at Kibbutz Hazor, where he was part of a group of lone soldiers.

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He was kidnapped on the morning of October 7 — a Saturday, he wasn’t required to remain on base. His mother was visiting from abroad, and like many lone soldiers, he had the option to go home for the weekend. But he chose to stay, not wanting to leave his comrades short-staffed on guard duty.

There are 59 hostages still in Gaza, at least 24 of whom are assessed to be alive, including Alexander, now 21 years old after having spent two birthdays in Hamas captivity.

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

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is demanding U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy “immediately fix the situation at Newark Airport,” following a stretch of travel mishaps and chaos. 

“When people hear about radar screens just going dark, traffic controllers who cannot talk to planes, technology that is seemingly working no better than tin cans, they do not think this is a story about the Trump administration’s FAA, but that is what is so scary: this story is real and this story is dangerous. This situation is also unacceptable,” Schumer said in a statement on Sunday.

“I have communicated this past week with the FAA, and I feel no better today than a week ago about the state of aviation safety since this administration took the controls at FAA. As I said last week, Newark is a harbinger. If this dangerous situation can happen in the metro region, imagine what might happen in places where there is less scrutiny. This really makes you worry.”

HAKEEM JEFFRIES BLAMES TRUMP FOR NEWARK AIRPORT CHAOS, ACCUSES WHITE HOUSE OF ‘BREAKING THE FAA’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Secretary Duffy to immediately fix the situation at Newark Airport. (Getty Images)

On Thursday, more than 500 flights in and out of Newark were delayed and at least 200 others were canceled, and chaos followed throughout the weekend.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the situation on poor technology in an X post.

NEWARK AIRPORT DISRUPTIONS LEAVE AIRLINE FLYERS SCRAMBLING AS EXPERTS SHARE TIPS FOR NOT BEING ‘STRANDED’

Airplanes sit parked at gates at Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport on Dec. 4, 2024, in Newark, N.J. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

“The technology that we are using is old. That’s what is causing the outages and delays we are seeing at Newark,” Duffy wrote.

Schumer stated there have been an average of 34 arrival cancellations per day since mid-April at Newark, according to the FAA, with the number of delays increasing throughout the day from an average of five in the mornings to 16 by the evening. They tend to last 85 to 137 minutes on average, reports say.

LAWMAKERS REACT TO NEWARK AIRPORT CHAOS: ‘YOUR FAMILY DESERVES TO KNOW YOU’LL BE SAFE’

Travelers are seen at the Newark Liberty International Airport ahead of Thanksgiving on Nov. 26, 2024. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)

On Sunday, Schumer said Duffy “must put Newark first in line for fixes he said would be made to the nation’s ATC systems.” 

He also gave specific details about the work that needs to be done, including installing a DIRECT fiber-optic telco line between Newark Airport and Philadelphia terminal radar approach control center, no more indirect runaround. Schumer called for a “modernized, direct connection and new computers to analyze and display transmitted data.”

In a lengthy statement obtained by Fox News and Fox Business, the FAA acknowledged that “several major airlines are facing ongoing flight disruptions at New Jersey’s Newark-Liberty International Airport as the facility contends with ongoing staffing and technology issues.”

“Last week, air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility in Philadelphia lost radar and radio signals while directing planes to Newark for nearly 90 seconds, causing significant delays and flight cancellations that remain ongoing,” the statement continued.

“We are working to ensure the current telecommunications equipment is more reliable in the New York area by establishing a more resilient and redundant configuration with the local exchange carriers. In addition, we are updating our automation system to improve resiliency.”

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When reached by Fox News Digital, a representative for Duffy pointed to an interview the secretary gave earlier in the day to FOX Business’ “The Evening Edit.”

“I love Democrats who are now all concerned about air traffic control,” Duffy said. 

“They spent $1.2 trillion in the Biden-Buttigieg era; $1 .2 trillion on American infrastructure, and they didn’t spend anything on air traffic [control] and they knew it was getting old and needed a massive rebuild. They didn’t do it. Now they’re complaining during the Trump administration, we’re the ones that are.”

Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis and Charles Creitz contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

FIRST ON FOX: A measure in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” aimed at cracking down on federal payments for abortion providers could run into a buzzsaw of opposition from moderate House Republicans.

House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., held a conference call with GOP lawmakers on Sunday night unveiling his panel’s portion of the Republican reconciliation bill.

During the question and answer portion of the call, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., asked for clarity on several aspects, including a provision to make “large groups who provide abortion services” ineligible for federal Medicaid dollars, Fox News Digital was told.

“You are running into a hornet’s nest,” Lawler warned his colleagues.

BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT’S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY

Speaker Mike Johnson said Trump’s agenda bill could defund ‘big abortion’ last month (Getty/Reuters)

The New York Republican, one of only three GOP lawmakers representing districts that Trump lost in 2024, questioned how those groups were being defined and said the language needed to be “looked over,” Fox News Digital was also told.

Guthrie assured him that certain considerations were being taken in the language.

Lawler also pointed out that the Hyde Amendment already prevents federal dollars from going towards abortion services, Fox News Digital was told.

His concerns were echoed by another person familiar with House GOP discussions on the matter, who was granted anonymity to speak freely.

That person told Fox News Digital that several New York Republican lawmakers indicated they could oppose the final bill if that provision was included.

“We’re not fighting a new fight on abortion when that’s kind of calmed down,” the person recalled of their argument.

Fox News Digital first learned of discussions about the potential measure last week. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., alluded to Republicans’ plans in a speech at the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America’s gala last month.

Rep. Mike Lawler raised concerns about the anti-abortion provider measure on Sunday night. (Tierney L. Cross)

Johnson said the Republicans’ bill would redirect funds from “big abortion” to “federally qualified health centers.”

It’s one of several efforts to rein in spending to pay for Trump’s other priorities via the budget reconciliation process.

House Republicans currently have a razor-thin three-vote margin, meaning they can afford to have little dissent and still pass anything without Democratic support. They’re hoping to do just that, with virtually no Democrats currently on board with Trump’s massive Republican policy overhaul.

The budget-reconciliation process lowers the Senate’s passage threshold from 60 votes to 51, lining up the House’s own simple majority threshold.

Reconciliation allows the party in power to effectively skirt the minority and pass broad pieces of legislation – provided they address taxes, spending or the national debt.

Trump wants Republicans to use the maneuver to tackle his priorities on the border, immigration, taxes, defense, energy, and raising the debt ceiling.

To do that, several committees of jurisdiction are working on their specific portions of the bill, which will then be put together in a massive vehicle to pass the House and Senate.

CHINA IS ‘CAVING’ TO TRUMP’S TRADE WAR STRATEGY, EXPERT SIGNALS

Rep. Brett Guthrie chairs the House Energy & Commerce Committee (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The Energy & Commerce Committee – which has a broad jurisdiction including Medicare, Medicaid, telecommunications, and energy production – was tasked with finding at least $880 billion in spending cuts out of a total $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion.

Guthrie said the bill released late on Sunday evening includes “north of” $900 billion in spending cuts.

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In addition to the measure ending Medicaid funds for large abortion providers, the legislation also finds savings in instilling work requirements for certain able-bodied beneficiaries of Medicaid expansion. 

Some Medicaid dollars going toward states that provide taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants are also targeted.

It would also repeal certain Biden administration green energy subsidies, including the former White House’s electric vehicle mandate.

Fox News Digital reached out to the committee and Lawler’s office for comment on the specific measure.

Qatar’s royal family offered to donate a jumbo jet to the Department of Defense that could serve as Air Force One, but a White House official said the offer has not been accepted, Fox News has learned.

Earlier Sunday, ABC News reported that President Trump “was poised to accept” the $400 million Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet and would use it until the end of his term, when it would be given to his presidential library. Trump is believed to be frustrated with Boeing’s delays in producing a new presidential plane.

A White House official told Fox News the gift will not be presented or accepted when Trump visits Doha this week. But the White House stopped short of denying altogether that Trump may take possession of the plane at some point.

“Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “President Trump’s Administration is committed to full transparency.”

Trump confirmed the offer in a Truth Social post Sunday night.

“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,” Trump wrote. “Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA.”

Trump is headed to the Middle East this week and is expected to meet with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. 

TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY, VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ AHEAD OF MIDDLE EAST TRIP, CARNEY SAYS HE’S ‘ON EDGE OF MY SEAT’

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump step off Air Force One. (Getty Images)

Trump reportedly toured the plane when it was on the tarmac of the West Palm Beach Airport in Florida in February, ABC News reported. The outlet, which was the first to report on the matter, noted that the plane is so opulently outfitted that it is known as “a flying palace.”

The gift has reportedly been tied up with legal reviews as the White House counsel’s office and the Department of Justice reviewed the legality of the president accepting such a pricey gift from a foreign nation.

A Boeing 747-8 (Getty Images)

The current Air Force One fleet includes two planes, with Trump awarding Boeing a $3.9 billion contract in 2018 under his first term to manufacture two new jets. The construction of the jets, however, is not expected to be completed until 2029. 

“Boeing is proud to build the next generation of Air Force One, providing American Presidents with a flying White House at outstanding value to taxpayers. President Trump negotiated a good deal on behalf of the American people,” Boeing said in 2018 after ironing out a deal with Trump for the creation of the new fleet. 

TRUMP STAFFERS LOAD BOXES OF ITEMS SEIZED BY FBI IN 2022 MAR-A-LAGO RAID ONTO AIR FORCE ONE

President Trump’s personal jet that he used while on the campaign trail lands at an airport. (Getty Images)

When not in office as president, Trump travels in his private Boeing 757 jet, dubbed Trump Force One. That jet is famously emblazoned with Trump’s last name and was frequently seen in the backdrop of campaign rallies.

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Trump purchased the 757 jet in 2011 and outfitted it with luxury fixtures, such as 24-karat gold-plated seat belt buckles. The plane received a total revamp ahead of his 2024 presidential run. 

The Trump administration is temporarily banning imports of cattle, horses and bison through ports along the southern border because of the rapid northern spread of New World Screwworm (NWS) in Mexico.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the suspension in an X post on Sunday.

“Due to the threat of New World Screwworm I am announcing the suspension of live cattle, horse, & bison imports through U.S. southern border ports of entry effective immediately,” she wrote. “The last time this devastating pest invaded America, it took 30 years for our cattle industry to recover. This cannot happen again.”

The USDA said in a press release the first case of NWS in Mexico was reported to the U.S. in November 2024.

EXCLUSIVE: CATTLE INDUSTRY CHIEF WARNS FLESH-EATING FLY MENACES US HERS AS MEXICO YIELDS ON PEST FIGHT

The problem is when NWS fly maggots burrow into the flesh of living animals, they can cause serious and often deadly damage to the animal, the USDA said. The types of animals NWS maggots can infest include pets, livestock, wildlife, birds, and in rare cases, humans.

According to the USDA, NWS was recently detected in remote farms with minimal cattle movement as far north as about 700 miles from the U.S. border.

The U.S. and Mexico are working together to eradicate NWS before the deadly parasitic fly works its way to the southern border.

USDA THREATENS TO HALT MEXICAN BEEF IMPORTS OVER FLESH-EATING FLY CRISIS’

The screwworm fly, Cochliomyia hominivorax. (Iowa State University)

Effective immediately, the USDA said, the agency’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are restricting the imports of live animal commodities originating from or transiting through Mexico.

The suspension will continue on a month-to-month basis, until “a significant window of containment is achieved,” the USDA said.

Livestock currently being held for entry into the U.S. will be processed normally, the USDA added, and will be inspected by a port veterinary medical officer and treated to ensure they are not carrying NWS.

MAINE’S FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE FROM TRUMP’S USDA REVERSED

An aerial view of cattle, detained in the pens of the Chihuahua Regional Livestock Union, at the Jeronimo-Santa Teresa border crossing in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on November 27, 2024.  (Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“Secretary Berdegué and I have worked closely on the NWS response; however, it is my duty to take all steps within my control to protect the livestock industry in the United States from this devastating pest,” Rollins said of the work she had done with her Mexican counterpart. “The protection of our animals and safety of our nation’s food supply is a national security issue of the utmost importance. Once we see increased surveillance and eradication efforts, and the positive results of those actions, we remain committed to opening the border for livestock trade. This is not about politics or punishment of Mexico, rather it is about food and animal safety.”

The U.S. and Mexico are taking a three-pronged approach toward achieving the eradication of NWS, which includes field surveillance with education and outreach that ensures prevention, treatment and early detection. The approach also includes controlling animal movement to limit the spread of NWS and sustained sterile insect dispersal.

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This is not the first time the need to eradicate NWS has occurred. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said NWS was eradicated in the U.S. in the 1960s and in Mexico in the 1970s. 

However, the eradication of the deadly worm cost billions of dollars and took decades.

President Donald Trump’s administration fired the top copyright official in the U.S. – just days after terminating the Librarian of Congress.

Shira Perlmutter was in charge of the U.S. Copyright Office, which is overseen by the Library of Congress, until she was abruptly fired on Saturday. 

The U.S. Copyright Office told Fox News Digital that Perlmutter received an email from the White House, stating, “your position as the Register of Copyrights and Director at the U.S. Copyright Office is terminated effective immediately.”

Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who was the first woman and first African American to be Librarian of Congress, on Thursday. The termination was part of the administration’s ongoing purge of government officials who are perceived to be opposed to Trump and his agenda.

DEMS ERUPT AFTER REPORT OF TRUMP FIRING LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS: ‘A DISGRACE’

Shira Perlmutter was fired as Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office by the Trump administration.  (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, file)

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on the matter.

Hayden tapped Perlmutter to lead the Copyright Office in October 2020.

Like Perlmutter, Hayden was notified of her firing in an email, according to The Associated Press.

NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EXECUTIVE ORDERS

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden was fired by the Trump administration. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

“Carla,” the email from the White House’s Presidential Personnel Office reportedly began. “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.”

Perlmutter’s office recently released a report examining whether artificial intelligence companies can use copyrighted materials to “train” their AI systems.

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS DOUBLES DOWN ON DEFENSE OF COURTS AS SCOTUS GEARS UP TO HEAR KEY TRUMP CASES

The Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building is on First Street SE in Washington, D.C. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

The report followed a review that started in 2023 with opinions from thousands of individuals, including AI developers, actors and country singers.

The Copyright Office clarified its approach in January, as one based on the “centrality of human creativity” in authoring a work that warrants copyright protections. The Copyright Office takes in about a half a million copyright applications each year, covering millions of creative works.

“Where that creativity is expressed through the use of AI systems, it continues to enjoy protection,” Perlmutter said in January. “Extending protection to material whose expressive elements are determined by a machine… would undermine rather than further the constitutional goals of copyright.”

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Perlmutter, who holds a law degree, was previously a policy director at the Patent and Trademark Office and worked on copyright and other areas of intellectual property. 

She also previously worked at the Copyright Office in the late 1990s.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump announced he plans to sign an executive order on Monday that will reduce the cost of prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals “almost immediately, by 30% to 80%.”

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social Sunday.

“For many years the World has wondered why Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in the United States States of America were SO MUCH HIGHER IN PRICE THAN THEY WERE IN ANY OTHER NATION, SOMETIMES BEING FIVE TO TEN TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE SAME DRUG, MANUFACTURED IN THE EXACT SAME LABORATORY OR PLANT, BY THE SAME COMPANY???” Trump wrote. “It was always difficult to explain and very embarrassing because, in fact, there was no correct or rightful answer. 

MAHA CAUCUS MEMBER PLEDGES HEARINGS INTO ‘CORRUPTION’ OF A PUBLIC HEALTH SECTOR ‘CAPTURED BY BIG PHARMA’

President Trump announced plans to sign an executive order this week that he says will drop the costs of prescription drugs by between 30-80% almost immediately. (Getty Images)

“The Pharmaceutical/Drug Companies would say, for years, that it was Research and Development Costs, and that all of these costs were, and would be, for no reason whatsoever, borne by the ‘suckers’ of America, ALONE. Campaign Contributions can do wonders, but not with me, and not with the Republican Party,” the president continued.

“We are going to do the right thing, something that the Democrats have fought for many years,” Trump added. “Therefore, I am pleased to announce that Tomorrow morning, in the White House, at 9:00 A.M., I will be signing one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country’s history. Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%. 

Trump noted that the cost of drugs will rise throughout the World, but for the first time in many years, he added, it will “bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA!”

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“I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World,” Trump said. “Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before. Additionally, on top of everything else, the United States will save TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said a Worcester, Massachusetts city council member “incited chaos” when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested a violent criminal illegal alien on Thursday.

“District Councilor for the City of Worcester [Etel] Haxhiaj pulled a political stunt and incited chaos by trying to obstruct law enforcement. ICE officers and local police regained control of the situation and ICE arrested Ferreira de Oliveira,” DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “The previous administration’s open border policies allowed this criminal to illegally enter our country in August of 2022. Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem this criminal is off our streets.”

DHS went on to describe Oliveira as a “violent criminal alien.” The agency said she was arrested by local police for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a pregnant woman.

Tense video emerged over the weekend of Oliveira’s arrest. A rowdy crowd of about 25 people gathered and disrupted the operation. Police called it a “chaotic incident.”

CHAOTIC VIDEO SHOWS MASSACHUSETTS ICE ARREST BEING DISRUPTED BY ‘UNRULY’ CROWD, LEADING TO 2 ARRESTS

A woman was seen being taken into custody on Thursday, May 8, in Worcester, Mass. (@iwontstealthemooniswear_ via Storyful)

The video showed a group of residents chanting “don’t take the mother” and “no warrant” after a woman was led into an SUV by uniformed ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. Before the vehicle pulled away, other women are seen placing their hands on the front hood of an SUV and screaming in protest.

The Worcester Police Patrol Officers’ Union said in a press release that the incident happened at about 11:15 a.m. on Thursday and that police were dispatched for a call from federal law enforcement officers who needed assistance due to a hostile and uncooperative crowd.

“Officers arriving on scene continued to call for more officers as the scene continued to escalate rapidly,” the union said. “Police officers respond to a variety of highly emotional calls daily and there is nothing that can be more emotional or difficult to deal with than a call that involves times when families are separated or arrested or taken into custody in front of other family members. These types of calls for assistance can be extremely dangerous and place officers at a high risk of injury due to the high emotions people feel at the time.”

DHS DEFENDS ICE DETAINMENT OF GEORGIA COLLEGE STUDENT WHO VIOLATED TRAFFIC LAWS 

All available police officers from Worcester were dispatched to the scene, the union continued, and “for obvious reasons” the officers became concerned for their safety.

Federal and local authorities were “threatened, abused and even assaulted” at the scene, the union said.

“Such conduct cannot be tolerated or condoned. Because some protesters threatened officers’ safety, police had to make additional arrests,” the union said. “Of particular concern in this case, one of our elected policy makers and someone who has created this difficult task for the police, District 5 City Councilor, Etel Haxhiaj, incited aggression towards the police during the incident.

“This councilor participated in the conduct of the unruly crowd and eventually assaulted both Worcester police and federal law enforcement officers on scene. Her behavior also emboldened others to act in this manner,” the union added. “The conduct of this anti-police activist councilor is deplorable and unacceptable. Regardless of political opinions or views, city officials should never condone the assault of an officer and flat-out disregard to the point of violent opposition, the authority of police to maintain safety and public order.”

FOX NEWS RIDES ALONG AS FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL BEGINS ENFORCING FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS ON STATE ROADS 

Worcester City Council member Etel Haxhiaj allegedly caused a chaotic scene when ICE agents arrested a violent criminal illegal alien on Thursday. (Worcester City Council Website)

As a result, the union said it is calling for an ethics investigation into Haxhiaj’s behavior, adding it will hold her and others who assaulted their officers accountable.

“No one has the right to act in such a reckless manner towards police officers, and we demand accountability for all criminal and ethically deplorable behavior,” the union said.

Haxhiaj did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter.

MASSACHUSETTS JUDGE CHARGES ICE AGENT WITH CONTEMPT OF COURT

A crowd of people is seen gathering around the SUV in Worcester, Mass. (@iwontstealthemooniswear_ via Storyful)

The Worcester Police Department said that during the chaotic events on Thursday, 38-year-old Ashley Spring of Worcester was also arrested after she “pushed multiple officers” and “threw an unknown liquid substance on them.”

Spring was charged with Assault and Battery on a Police Officer, Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon (unknown liquid), Disorderly Conduct, and Interfering with a Police Officer. 

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The Worcester Police Department said the “chaotic incident is still under investigation” and further charges may be forthcoming. 

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

A Canadian free speech advocate who was fined by Australian authorities spoke out after the U.S. State Department appeared to come to his defense.

“It’s phenomenal. The Trump administration has been tremendous on this issue,” Chris Elston, popularly known as “Billboard Chris” for his custom of wearing sandwich boards with slogans on them, said.

In the Australian case, Elston had been fined $806 for “obstructing public movement” in response to displaying his billboard reading “children cannot consent to puberty blockers.”

Elston said he was peacefully conversing with members of the public and was issued a police “move on” order before being sent away.

MUSK, CANADIAN MAN SUE AUSTRALIAN AUTHORITIES FOR CENSORING X POST

‘Billboard Chris’ Elston (Getty)

That incident was separate from a legal challenge Elston launched in April against the country’s eSafety commission after the government had his tweet of a Daily Mail article about a transgender activist seated on an Australian board.

“It’s such a zealous overuse of authority,” Elston said. “We don’t elect [officials] to decide what we can say.”

After he was censored, the case was included in a tweet from a State Department bureau decrying government censorship and their coercion of tech companies into targeting individuals.

BILLBOARD CHRIS REFLECTS ON VIOLENCE HE’S MET WITH PROTESTING GENDER SURGERIES FOR CHILDREN

“Freedom of expression must be protected – online and offline,” it tweeted.

“Examples of this conduct are troublingly numerous. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton threatened X for hosting political speech; Türkiye fined Meta for refusing to restrict content about protests; and Australia required X to remove a post criticizing an individual for promoting gender ideology.”

“The United States opposes efforts to undermine freedom of expression.”

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Lois McLatchie Miller of Alliance Defending Freedom International, which has been defending Elston, said the group believes “everybody has the right to live and speak their truth, and Chris is a great example of that.”

“[W]e stood up with Chris alongside the Human Rights Law Alliance in Australia to defend free speech there, but we also see in my own country in the U.K., where people are having censorship thrust upon them, even being arrested for expressing their views.”

A trio of Democratic lawmakers say they were justified in “storming” an ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey, last week, arguing that President Donald Trump’s administration is “weaponizing law enforcement.”

Reps. LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez, all Democrats from New Jersey, made the comments during a joint appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. 

“Chaos ensued when someone on the phone above the leaders of ICE who were with us at that facility instructed them to go out of the facility, go to the private property and lock the mayor of the largest city in the state of New Jersey up,” Coleman said.

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS DEMS ‘CROSSING THE LINE’ BY STORMING ICE FACILITY

“That’s absurd. That’s un-American. That’s scary. That’s determination to intimidate people in this country,” she added, claiming the administration is “lying at all levels.

The three lawmakers stormed Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark last week in an incident that was caught on video. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was also present and was arrested and charged with trespassing. Authorities claim an ICE agent was assaulted in the confrontation, which was caught on camera.

McIver also responded to accusations from the Department of Homeland Security that she “body slammed” law enforcement officers during the incident.

“I honestly do not know how to body slam anyone. There’s no video that supports me body slamming anyone,” she told CNN’s Dana Bash.

ICE FACILITY DEMOCRATS ‘STORMED’ HOLDS CHILD RAPISTS, MURDERERS: OFFICIALS

Mendez argued that it was the responsibility of the ICE officers and other law enforcement to ensure the situation didn’t get out of hand.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., accused an ICE agent of shoving her during the incident on Friday. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Take Back the Court Action Fund)

“There were a lot of opportunities for DHS, for ICE to de-escalate the situation. They chose not to,” Menendez said. “It’s something that should really shock all Americans.”

NEWARK MAYOR ARRESTED AS DEM CONGRESS MEMBERS STORM NEW JERSEY ICE PRISON TO CONDUCT ‘OVERSIGHT VISIT’

Rep. LaMonica McIver can be seen wearing red in this screenshot from the body camera footage DHS provided to Fox News. (Department of Homeland Security)

While the lawmakers objected to ICE detentions, they also admitted that they saw evidence that the inmates were well-treated and living in good conditions inside the facility.

During a press conference after the incident, McIver claimed she was “assaulted by multiple ICE officers while regional directors of ICE watched it happen.”

DHS footage posted to X Saturday appears to show McIver barreling unprovoked through law enforcement near the gate.

“WATCH: US Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (wearing a red blazer), storms the gate of Delaney Hall Detention Center ASSAULTING an ICE agent,” DHS captioned the video.

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DHS officials have not yet confirmed any pending charges against those accused of storming the center.

Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that the Trump administration has made progress in its trade negotiations with China. 

“We will be giving details tomorrow. “But I can tell you that the talks were productive,” Bessent told members of the media on Sunday from Switzerland. “We had the vice premier, two vice ministers who were integrally involved, Ambassador Jamieson [Greer] and myself. And I spoke to President Trump, as did Ambassador Jamieson last night, and he is fully informed of what is going on.”

The Trump administration has leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods as the president looks to bring parity to the nation’s chronic trade deficit with foreign countries. Trump paused his April 2 reciprocal tariff plan on dozens of nations as countries called on the administration to make trade deals, but he upped the ante on China after Beijing rebuked Trump’s trade policies with tariffs of its own, including 125% duty taxes on U.S. goods. 

Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with their Chinese counterparts this weekend in Switzerland to discuss the countries’ economic futures, which Trump addressed in a Truth Social post on Saturday evening. 

TRUMP SAYS ‘TOTAL RESET NEGOTIATED’ WITH CHINA DURING TARIFF TALKS IN GENEVA

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was allegedly one of English’s targets. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner. We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!” he posted on Truth Social. 

China’s Ministry of Commerce said earlier this month that officials were “evaluating” an offer from the Trump administration to hold trade talks on the 145% U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

PIVOTAL TRADE TALKS WITH BEIJING LOOM AS TRUMP SWEARS IN NEW US AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: ‘WHAT TIMING’

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump smiles during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center on December 22, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

“The U.S. has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China,” the statement said, according to Reuters. 

Trump and the administration have previously said they were willing to hold trade negotiations with China, including the president saying on April 8, “We are waiting for their call. It will happen.”

TRUMP SAYS 80% TARIFF ON CHINA ‘SEEMS RIGHT’ AHEAD OF WEEKEND TALKS WITH BEIJING

The update on China comes after the Trump administration inked a separate trade deal with the UK last week – the first trade deal signed since Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2 that leveled tariffs on nations worldwide as the administration looked to end trade barriers on U.S. goods and even the playing field for U.S. exports. 

President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping

“With this deal, the U.K. joins the United States in affirming that reciprocity and fairness is an essential and vital principle of international trade,” Trump said Thursday of the deal. “The deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol and virtually all of the products produced by our great farmers.” 

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The UK deal keeps an existing 10% tariff in place against U.K. goods, while removing some import taxes on items like steel and cars. 

The U.S. and Mexico are one step closer to permanently ending a sewage crisis spewing from across the border into waters off the coast of San Diego, Environmental Protection Agency chief Lee Zeldin announced. 

“This week, EPA transmitted to Mexico a proposed ‘100% solution’ that would PERMANENTLY END the decades-old crisis of raw sewage flowing in to the U.S. from Mexico. Next, technical groups from both nations will be meeting to work through the details necessary to hopefully reach an urgent agreement,” Zeldin posted to X on Friday. 

Zeldin visited San Diego last month, where he announced talks with his government counterparts in Mexico to end the decades-long issue. The problem, blamed on outdated wastewater infrastructure, has persisted for decades, but has spiraled in recent years as Tijuana’s population skyrocketed. 

The sewage water has not only threatened San Diego’s massive tourism industry and local residents, but also poses a national security risk as it pollutes the waters where U.S. Navy SEAL members and candidates train, Fox Digital previously reported. 

EPA CHIEF ZELDIN LAUNCHES TALKS WITH MEXICO TO END SEWAGE HITTING SAN DIEGO, NAVY SEALS: ‘OUT OF PATIENCE’

The U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command is headquartered in San Diego and is where Navy SEAL candidates complete their arduous six-month Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. 

In February, the Department of Defense’s inspector general released a report finding that the Naval Special Warfare Center reported 1,168 cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses among SEAL candidates between January 2019 and May 2023 that were attributed to the contaminated water. 

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin attends a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on March 13, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Veterans who spoke to Fox News Digital in April described the contaminated water as a national security crisis. 

“This is a huge national crisis,” Navy SEAL vet Jeff Gum, who was sickened by the water when he was working through SEAL training in 2008, told Fox Digital in a Zoom interview last month. “Like half the SEAL teams are located in San Diego; the other half are in Virginia Beach. So when you’ve got half the SEAL teams who are getting exposed to this, then it’s a major issue.” 

EPA CHIEF TAKES ON MEXICAN ‘SEWAGE CRISIS’ FLOWING INTO US WATERS WHERE NAVY SEALS TRAIN 

Zeldin said last month that he and his counterparts in Mexico had launched good-faith talks to update infrastructure and water management facilities, adding that he zeroed in on the “specifics,” including drafting a “comprehensive list of everything that we believe with full confidence is going to end the crisis” on both the U.S. side of the border and Mexico’s. 

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a briefing. (Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/LightRocket)

“Now, if you don’t do all of the other projects and all you do is clean up the current contamination, that feel-good moment will last about a day,” Zeldin said during a press conference in San Diego last month. “We have to stop the flow in. Mexico needs to fulfill its part in cleaning up the contamination that they caused.” 

MEXICO IS POISONING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN A BORDER CRISIS ALMOST NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT

“We need Mexico to not just commit to all the projects that will stop the flow, but in order to actually finish this project, they’re going to need to commit to that final cleanup,” he added. 

Aerial view of sewage water spilling into Playa Blanca beach in the coast of Tijuana, Mexico on March 21, 2024. (Getty Images)

Zeldin first addressed the sewage problem in March before previewing the trip to take on the issue. 

“I was just briefed that Mexico is dumping large amounts of raw sewage into the Tijuana River, and it’s now seeping into the U.S.,” he posted to X on March 8. “This is unacceptable. Mexico MUST honor its commitments to control this pollution and sewage!” 

Local leaders have been sounding the alarm on the sewage problem. Imperial Beach’s Mayor Paloma Aguirre sent a letter to Zeldin in March describing how the raw sewage has sparked one of “America’s most horrendous environmental and public health disasters,” as billions of gallons have polluted the Pacific Ocean since 2023 alone.

MEXICAN SEWAGE GUSHING INTO NAVY SEAL TRAINING WATERS IS US’ ‘NEXT CAMP LEJEUNE,’ VETS WARN

Aerial view of Tijuana, Mexico, top, and San Diego, California (Getty Images)

“The toxic sewage coming across the border from Mexico into South San Diego County is among America’s most horrendous environmental and public health disasters,” Aguirre’s March 3 letter to Zeldin, published online, reads. “Since 2023, over 31 billion gallons of raw sewage, polluted stormwater and trash have flowed across the Mexican border, down the Tijuana River, through the cities of San Diego and Imperial Beach and into the Pacific Ocean.” 

“Our residents, are getting ill due to polluted air,” the letter continued. “Workers, including Navy Seals training in the area, have been sickened on the job by waterborne and aerosolized diseases. Many homeowners have been forced to place air quality monitors on their property so they know whether or not it’s safe to go outside. And the economic impact is profound, with the sewage crisis hurting area tourism, maritime industry jobs and local property values.” 

San Diego is one of the nation’s top cities for tourism – behind other national treasures such as New York City, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. – attracting roughly 32 million tourists to the city in 2024, the San Diego Tourism Authority previously reported. 

SAN DIEGO SUBURB FACES ‘SEWAGE CRISIS’ FROM LOCAL BEACH

During his visit to San Diego last month, Zeldin vowed to bring an end to the issue as Californians run out of patience with the crisis. 

A SEAL class participates in a surf passage training exercise at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in Coronado, California. (Getty Images)

“The Americans on our side of the border who have been dealing with this… for decades, are out of patience,” Zeldin said at a Tuesday press conference in San Diego. “There’s no way that we are going to stand before the people of California and ask them to have more patience and just bear with all of us as we go through the next 10 or 20 or 30 years of being stuck in 12 feet of raw sewage and not getting anywhere.”

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“So we are all out of patience,” he continued. “There’s a very limited opportunity. We’re in good faith, both on the American side and also on the Mexican side, what’s being communicated by the new Mexican president is an intense desire to fully resolve this situation.” 

Under the floorboards of the U.S. Capitol lie hidden staircases and passageways left over from the iconic building’s original construction in the 18th century, a viral video posted by Republican North Carolina Rep. Tim Moore shows. 

“Construction started in the 1700s and there are all sorts of little hidden passageways. As you saw, I just pulled this cover up, and you can see,” Moore said in a video posted to his official congressional X account on Friday, showing a secret door in the floor of the Capitol. 

The U.S. Capitol’s construction was commissioned in 1793, with President George Washington laying the cornerstone that same year. The original building was completed in 1826, with various expansions made across the decades, such as a visitor center that opened in 2008. 

SECRETS OF THE CAPITOL ROTUNDA

Congressman Tim Moore opens a passageway in the U.S. Capitol. (Rep. Tim Moore/X)

Moore took viewers inside the Capitol’s Lincoln Room, which he said is one of his favorites to show visitors to Washington, D.C., noting it’s where Abraham Lincoln would sit by a fire and read letters when he served as a congressman representing Illinois from 1847-1849. 

TRUMP TO BUILD NATIONAL CENTER FOR HOMELESS VETERANS WITH FUNDS PREVIOUSLY SPENT ON HOUSING FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS

“But the most interesting part of the room is underneath the floorboards,” Moore posted to X. 

The North Carolina Republican opened a hidden door on the floor, revealing a dusty and historic staircase leading to what appeared to be another room below. 

TRUMP TO CREATE TASK FORCE TO PLAN ‘EXTRAORDINARY CELEBRATION’ FOR 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA’S INDEPENDENCE

“We’re just off of what’s called Statuary Hall, which at one time was the actual House chamber.… But this is just an example of some of the little hidden secrets in the Capitol,” Moore said. 

North Carolina Republican Rep. Tim Moore filmed a video showing the hidden secrets of the U.S. Capitol. (Rep. Tim Moore/X)

The lawmaker added that he heard through Capitol building lore that the staircase under the Lincoln Room was used by British soldiers in the War of 1812 to set fire to the historic building. Known as the “Burning of Washington,” British soldiers in August 1814 set fire to the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Navy Yard and the White House – which was then known as the Presidential Mansion – before storms put out the fires and military personnel were called to D.C. to defend it from British forces. The War of 1812 ended in 1815. 

TRUMP TO CREATE TASK FORCE TO PLAN ‘EXTRAORDINARY CELEBRATION’ FOR 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA’S INDEPENDENCE

President Donald Trump is preparing for massive celebrations in 2026 in honor of the nation’s founding 250 years ago. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Moore’s tour of the secret staircase comes as President Donald Trump prepares to kick off America’s 250th anniversary of its founding on July 4, 2026. Trump signed an executive order just days after his inauguration this year detailing how his administration will prepare for the massive celebration, including launching a White House task force, building monuments celebrating the nation’s founding and historical leaders, and protecting monuments from vandalism following such attacks during the riots and protests that swept the nation in 2020. 

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The Army will hold a 250th anniversary of its founding next month with a planned parade that will stretch from Arlington, Virginia, to the National Mall.

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social Saturday night that “great progress” had been made during weekend trade negotiations with China.

During the meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, between U.S. officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and a Chinese delegation, “many things” were discussed and “much [was] agreed to,” Trump said.

No major breakthrough was announced in discussions that lasted over 10 hours, The Associated Press reported, and negotiations are scheduled to continue Sunday. 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leaves to meet with Chinese officials on tariffs in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

PIVOTAL TRADE TALKS WITH BEIJING LOOM AS TRUMP SWEARS IN NEW US AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: ‘WHAT TIMING’

The administration announced a round of tariffs April 2 and later imposed a 145% tariff on Chinese goods.

After reducing reciprocal tariffs on other countries for 90 days to a baseline of 10%, China raised tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%.

Members of the Chinese delegation leave the site where trade talks between Chinese and U.S. delegations took place in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday. (Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

TRUMP IS COMMITTED TO 10% BASELINE TARIFF, WHITE HOUSE SAYS, DESPITE UK TRADE DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT

On Thursday, Trump told reporters at the White House China “very much” wanted to make a deal, ending the intense tariff battle.

While the president did not provide many specifics Saturday night, he described the agreement as “a total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner.”

“We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business,” Trump wrote in the post. “GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent heads to trade talks between Chinese and U.S. delegations in Geneva, Switzerland.  (Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

TRUMP SAYS 80% TARIFF ON CHINA ‘SEEMS RIGHT’ AHEAD OF WEEKEND TALKS WITH BEIJING

A longtime supporter of tariffs, Trump argued that “fair” duties could address the nation’s record $1.2 trillion trade deficit from 2024 and encourage the return of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

Bessent said in April the tariffs could cost China up to 10 million jobs, making Chinese tariffs unsustainable.

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“Even if there is a drop in the tariffs, they could lose 5 million jobs,” Bessent told White House reporters. “Remember that we are the deficit country. They sell almost five times more goods to us than we sell to them. So, the onus will be on them to take off these tariffs.”

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego defended beleaguered fellow Democrat John Fetterman Saturday, saying “there needs to be space” in the party for the Pennsylvania senator.

Fetterman, who won election to his seat in 2022 despite having a stroke on the campaign trail, has been under fire from Democrats, even former staffers who claim to have witnessed erratic behavior. 

But Fetterman has also clashed with his party’s progressive wing on Israel and other issues, and his supporters say it is his independent streak that is prompting the whispers. 

“There needs to be space for Fetterman and for other senators in our caucus,” Gallego said in an interview in Pennsylvania Saturday, Politico reported. “He still is a senator that fights for working-class people. We may not be 100% in agreement a lot of times in a lot of areas, but we don’t have to be.”

LEAKS TO MEDIA ABOUT FETTERMAN ARE A COORDINATED SMEAR CAMPAIGN, HILL COLLEAGUES SAYS

Gallego was referring to Fetterman’s stance on Israel, his suggestion that Democrats need to work with President Donald Trump, not against him, and occasionally voting for the president’s nominees when other Democrats won’t. 

The senator, who spent more than a month in the neuropsychiatry unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2023 receiving treatment for depression, has also been the subject of several media stories recently that claim he has exhibited strange behavior that has concerned Democrats. 

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego said Saturday “there needs to be space” for Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman  (Getty Inages)

“This is so blatantly coordinated,” media observer and Fox News contributor Joe Concha wrote on social media this week. He shared a link in his post to a Politico report claiming an internal Democratic poll found Fetterman’s popularity faltering in his part of the Keystone State.

The report claimed Fetterman had fallen below 50% in Democratic voter support in Pittsburgh, just a few miles west of Braddock, where he was previously mayor.

Fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican, called the reports “vicious, personal attacks.” 

“He is authentic, decent, principled and a fighter,” McCormick said. “These disgraceful smears against him are not the John that I know and respect.”

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote, “The radical left is smearing him with dishonest, vicious attacks because he’s pro-Israel, and they only want reliable anti-Israel politicians.”

Sen. John Fetterman has been the subject of several media stories recently that claim he has exhibited erratic behavior, concerning Democrats.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

SENATOR SAYS DEMS ‘EAT THEIR OWN’ AS FETTERMAN FACES RENEWED SCRUTINY

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa posted to X, “The media ought to lay off Senator Fetterman.”

Gallego on Saturday warned that the GOP is defending Fetterman with the hope of bringing him further right. 

“In the Marines, we call these f—-f— games,” Gallego said, according to Politico. 

Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican, called the reports “vicious, personal attacks,” adding of Fetterman, “He is authentic, decent, principled and a fighter. These disgraceful smears against him are not the John that I know and respect.” (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

When asked by an audience member during the town hall why he did a fundraiser with a pro-Trump businessman, Gallego said the man runs “the largest venture capital firm in Arizona.”

“We got so pure that we started kicking people out of the tent. It ends up there aren’t enough people in the tent to win elections,” he added.

But Gallego also had harsh words for the Trump administration.

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“Be mad, stay mad and we fight,” he told Democrats during the town hall of how to deal with Trump’s presidency. “How do we fight? We fight them in the courts everywhere we can. We fight in the courts because we believe in the Constitution of the United States. You believe in it, and the country believes in it. … We believe in the United States.”