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As President Donald Trump celebrated his 100th day in office this week, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said it has cut at least $160 billion in waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. 

When Trump signed an executive order establishing the agency on his Inauguration Day, DOGE set an ambitious goal of cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget. 

According to the Office of Government Ethics, “special government employees” like Musk can work for the federal government no more than 130 days a year, which in Musk’s case will fall on May 30. He has already started paring back his hours leading the controversial agency. 

Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Watters Primetime” had the opportunity to see behind the curtain of Musk’s infamous DOGE, which Democrats have railed against and Republicans have celebrated since Trump returned to the White House this year. The “DOGE boys” reminded Watters on Thursday of some of the most shocking savings secured by the department this year. 

DOGE’S GREATEST HITS: LOOK BACK AT THE DEPARTMENT’S MOST HIGH-PROFILE CUTS DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS

Funding a former Taliban member

Earlier this year, DOGE discovered the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) had transferred $132,000 to Mohammad Qasem Halimi, a former Taliban member who was Afghanistan’s former Chief of Protocol. DOGE announced on March 31 that the contract was canceled. 

Halimi was detained by the U.S. and held at Bagram Air Base for a year beginning Jan. 2, 2002. He held several positions in Afghanistan’s government following his release and was appointed as the Minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs in Afghanistan in 2020. 

“A small agency called the United States Institute of Peace is definitely the agency we’ve had the most fight at. We actually went into the agency and found they had loaded guns inside their headquarters — Institute for Peace,” a DOGE staffer told Watters. “So by far, the least peaceful agency that we’ve worked with, ironically. Additionally, we found that they were spending money on things like private jets, and they even had a $130,000 contract with a former member of the Taliban. This is real. We don’t encounter that in most agencies.”

USIP did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry. 

ELON MUSK LOOKS BACK ON 100 DAYS OF DOGE, PREVIEWS FUTURE OF THE ‘LONG-TERM ENTERPRISE’

Parties at Caesars Palace 

Fox News Digital reported earlier this year that the nation’s schools spent $200 billion in COVID-relief funds on expenses “with little oversight or impact on students,” such as Las Vegas hotel rooms and buying an ice cream truck, according to DOGE’s audits. 

Granite School District in Utah spent their COVID-relief funds on $86,000 in hotel rooms for an educational conference at Caesars Palace, a ritzy Las Vegas casino, while Santa Ana Unified in California spent $393,000 to rent out a Major League Baseball stadium, according to a report by Parents Defending Education and shared by DOGE. Granite School District has since denied “any impropriety for having our educators participate” in the Las Vegas conference.

The cost-cutting department also revealed that schools spent $60,000 of COVID-relief funds on swimming pool passes, while a California district used its funds to purchase an ice cream truck.

“They were basically partying on the taxpayers’ dollars,” Musk told Watters on Thursday. 

CAESARS PALACE, MLB STADIUM, AN ICE CREAM TRUCK: DOGE REVEALS HOW SCHOOLS SPENT BILLIONS IN COVID-RELIEF FUNDS

Millions for ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is chairwoman of the Senate DOGE Caucus and who has collaborated closely with Musk to identify waste to cut, revealed that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) “authorized a whopping $20 million to create a ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq.” 

Ernst said that under the Biden administration, USAID awarded the $20 million to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshop to produce a show called “Ahlan Simsim Iraq” in an effort to “promote inclusion, mutual respect and understanding across ethnic, religious and sectarian groups.” 

Billions in ‘improper payments’ in 2024 alone 

DOGE received a hand from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which released a report in March revealing that federal agencies wasted $162 billion in “improper payments,” which was actually a decrease of $74 billion from the previous fiscal year. 

GAO’s analysis revealed that of the 16 government agencies reporting improper payments, 75% of the waste found was concentrated in five programs: $54 billion from three Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Medicare programs; $31 billion in HHS Medicaid; $16 billion from the Department of the Treasury’s earned income tax credit; $11 billion from the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; and $9 billion from the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Restaurant Revitalization Fund. 

Large amounts of DEI spending within the federal government

On the campaign trail and since taking office, Trump has made it clear he aims to slash diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) spending in the federal government, while making the case that a system of meritocracy should be the focus.

DOGE has announced over the last few months that it has cut hundreds of millions in DEI contracts. 

Earlier this month, DOGE announced it had worked with the U.S. National Science Foundation to cancel 402 “wasteful” DEI grants, which will save $233 million, including $1 million for “Antiracist Teacher Leadership for Statewide Transformation.”

The Department of Defense could save up to $80 million in wasteful spending by cutting loose a handful of DEI programs, the agency announced last month.

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The Defense Department has been working with DOGE to slash wasteful spending, DOD spokesman Sean Parnell said in a video posted to social media.

Parnell listed some of the initial findings flagged by DOGE, much of it consisting of millions of dollars given to support various DEI programs, including $1.9 million for holistic DEI transformation and training in the Air Force and $6 million to the University of Montana to “strengthen American democracy by bridging divides.”

The Trump administration announced earlier this month it is slashing millions of dollars in DEI grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as part of its overall DOGE push.

And in February, the Department of Education said it is canceling more than $100 million in grants to DEI training as part of DOGE’s efforts. 

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

A top Chinese government official is asking what the Trump administration wants the communist nation to do about chemicals used to make fentanyl amid an ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies. 

Wang Xiaohong, China’s minister of public security, has been making inquiries about what Trump wants China to do about the fentanyl issue over the last few days, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Chinese companies produce precursors, large quantities of chemicals that eventually flow to Mexican drug cartels, which then make fentanyl and smuggle it into the United States. 

ON TRUMP’S 100TH DAY, CHINESE COMMUNIST REGIME DECLARES IT WILL ‘NEVER KNEEL’ TO U.S. PRESSURE IN FIERY VIDEO

Beijing could possibly have Wang meet with senior Trump administration officials in a neutral country, the newspaper reported. 

Trump has tried to persuade China, Mexico and Canada to do more to combat the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. 

TRUMP SAYS TARIFFS ARE INCENTIVIZING US INVESTMENT, HURTING CHINA

“China has consistently failed to take meaningful steps to stem the flow of precursor chemicals to known illicit drug producers,” the White House told Fox News Digital. “Most governments could do so through regulation and enforcement – this is especially true for an authoritarian state like China.”

Upon taking office, Trump imposed 20% tariffs on China over its role in the fentanyl epidemic in the U.S., which kills tens of thousands of Americans every year.

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Since then, Trump has increased tariffs on China to 145%, while Beijing has retaliated with 125% tariffs on American goods. 

A new report warns that NATO is unprepared for modern digital warfare. Without stronger leadership, especially from the U.S., the alliance could face serious security risks.

The Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) released a study showing that many NATO members are failing to modernize their military data systems.

Although NATO leaders talk about the importance of secure and shared cloud infrastructure, most countries still store critical military information in local servers that are vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The report calls data the “currency of warfare” and urges NATO to improve how it stores and shares military information.

FOR PUTIN, ‘US IS THE MAIN ENEMY,’ ESTONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS

At the moment, most NATO countries are building separate national cloud systems. France uses Thales, Germany uses Arvato, and Italy is working with Leonardo to develop sovereign defense cloud services, according to the CEPA report Defend in the Cloud: Boost NATO Data Resilience.

The U.S. has its own approach, using Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle to build a sovereign cloud for the Department of Defense, as noted in the same CEPA report.

This fragmented setup is creating major problems. The CEPA report explains that many of these national systems are not interoperable, which makes it difficult for NATO allies to share intelligence or respond rapidly in times of crisis.

Although 22 NATO members have pledged to build shared cloud capabilities, progress has been slow. CEPA describes a gap between what leaders promise and what is actually getting done, and the process remains slow and overly bureaucratic.

NORWAY RAISES SECURITY CONCERNS OVER MANHATTAN-SIZED ARCTIC LAND SALE AS TENSIONS RISE

Some of the hesitation stems from political tensions. 

Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has reinforced his long-standing position that NATO members must meet their defense spending commitments. 

In early 2025, Trump proposed raising the target above the current 2% benchmark and stated publicly that the U.S. would only defend NATO allies who meet what he considers their “fair share” of the burden.

TRUMP PRAISED FOR GETTING NATO ALLIES TO BOLSTER DEFENSE SPENDING: ‘REALLY STAGGERING’

At the same time, Trump has taken credit for strengthening the alliance by pushing European governments to boost their defense budgets. 

In March, he pointed to what he called “hundreds of billions of dollars” in new allied defense spending as proof that his pressure was effective. His administration continues to engage in high-level NATO meetings and has publicly affirmed support for the alliance’s core mission.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has worked to reassure European partners. During an April meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, he stated that the U.S. is “as active in NATO as it has ever been,” pushing back on claims that the administration is disengaging.

According to statements published by the State Department and reported by Reuters, Rubio emphasized that Trump is not opposed to NATO itself, but to an alliance that is under-prepared or underfunded.

Rubio is also playing a central role in U.S. efforts to broker peace in Ukraine. In early 2025, he led direct talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia and presented Trump’s terms for a possible ceasefire, according to official State Department readouts and contemporaneous reporting by Reuters and other outlets.

Rubio has emphasized that Ukraine and European allies will remain closely involved in the process. After a pause in U.S. aid earlier this year, he announced that military support would resume once Kyiv signaled agreement with the proposed framework for peace.

Meanwhile, NATO continues to provide assistance to Ukraine through a trust fund valued at nearly $1 billion. This figure is based on NATO’s own reporting on its Comprehensive Assistance Package, as cited in CEPA’s April report.

The alliance is also coordinating training and equipment donations, but the CEPA report makes it clear that efforts are being slowed by a lack of secure data sharing.

The report points to Estonia as a model for digital resilience. Estonia backs up its government data in Luxembourg through a “data embassy” system, ensuring it remains protected even if local systems are attacked. NATO, according to CEPA, should encourage similar strategies across the alliance.

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According to CEPA, the U.S. is best positioned to lead the way, with Trump and Rubio already taking the necessary steps to push NATO in the right direction.

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

CEPA’s report can be reviewed here.

A hysterical protester yelling about the “genocide” in Gaza interrupted a district town hall event being held by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., shortly after it began Friday night.

Shortly after, Ocasio-Cortez began speaking she pulled up a PowerPoint presentation for the night’s event. She was interrupted before even getting through her first slide discussing the Trump administration’s budget cuts, including alleged cuts to local healthcare systems.  

“I am a healthcare worker and I want to know what youre doing about the genocide in Gaza!” the protester stood up and started shouting at the congresswoman. 

WATCH: AOC LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR 2028 PRESIDENTIAL BID AS CAMPAIGN BUZZ SOARS

“Shame! Shame! Shame!” the audience began shouting at the disruptor. Audible “boos” could be heard as well.

Ocasio-Cortez attempted to appease the disruptor, but nothing she could say calmed the person down. Staff at the event allowed the disruptor to continue yelling until they approached her and eventually pushed her out voluntarily. 

“Shame on you, I used to support you,” the woman shouted as she exited. “You’re a war criminal! War criminal! War Criminal!”

AOC CLAIMS ‘WE ARE ONE’ IN CAMPAIGN-STYLE VIDEO DESPITE YEARS OF INVOKING RACE, GENDER IN POLITICS

Ocasio-Cortez responded to the protester after things quited down: 

“I more than welcome people who disagree, or are super pissed off at me for any issue to come, but we have some ground rules here,” she told the town hall’s attendees. “Please wait for the Q&A, because we don’t want to deprive all of our neighbors of the ability to have information and hearing them respond to it … We need to be able to have this conversation.”

As rumors swirl over Ocasio-Cortez’s ambition for higher office, the congresswoman raked in a massive $9.6 million over the past three months. The record-breaking fundraising haul was one of the biggest ever for any House lawmaker. Ocasio-Cortez’s team highlighted that the fundraising came from 266,000 individual donors, with an average contribution of just $21.

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“I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy. Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities,” Ocasio-Cortez emphasized in a social media post.

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is launching a month of action to “Fight to Save Medicaid,” targeting four “vulnerable” House Republicans, who Democrats claim are “poised to gut Medicaid and other critical programs.” 

Republicans quickly fired back in statements to Fox News Digital on Friday. 

“The dishonest Democrats should rename their campaign ‘the fight to save taxpayer-funded welfare benefits for illegal immigrants’ because that’s what they’re really trying to do,” Rep. Mike Lawler’s director of communications, Ciro Riccardi, told Fox News Digital. 

“This is a desperate political stunt, plain and simple. The truth is that Congressman Lawler has been very clear on this: he will vote to protect and strengthen Medicaid for those who rely on this critical program.”

DAVID HOGG FACES CHALLENGE TO DNC ROLE AS PARTY TENSIONS ESCALATE

The DNC’s multipronged pressure campaign, including digital, local and direct action, will target Republican Reps. Lawler of New York, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Don Bacon of Nebraska and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. The DNC is advising voters to post “accountability content” on social media, host “People’s Town Halls” in the Republicans’ congressional districts, and call or email their representatives to “make their outrage known.”

DNC Chair Ken Martin said the four Congressional Republicans will “seal their political fate if they go along with Trump’s disastrous budget.”

“To ensure these Republicans understand that it’s either their vote or their job, the DNC is launching its first-ever distributed organizing program to offer voters a platform to join Democrats in taking direct action — from hosting town halls to mobilizing their personal networks — against the GOP’s budget, while building grassroots power for critical elections still ahead. Our representatives must serve the people — not ignore them. Republicans will either learn that lesson now or at the ballot box,” Martin said. 

TRUMP SAYS PUBLIC ENTITLEMENTS LIKE SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICAID WON’T BE TOUCHED IN GOP BUDGET BILL

While Democrats have railed against potential cuts to Medicaid since President Donald Trump was elected in November, the White House has maintained that public entitlements, including Social Security and Medicaid, will not be cut in the Republicans’ budget bill. 

“All national Democrats have are pathetic lies and fear-mongering tactics to distract from their failures. They were already forced to take down their dishonest Medicaid ads across the country because Americans know they’re full of crap, and voters aren’t going to buy their latest publicity stunt,” National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) Spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital in a response to the DNC’s new pressure campaign. 

Last month, Democrats were forced to take down six billboards targeting Republican Reps. Gabe Evans, Don Bacon, Ryan Mackenzie, Monica De La Cruz, Jen Kiggans and Rob Wittman, as reported by the Washington Examiner, after the NRCC sent a cease and desist letter to Lamar Advertising Company, accusing the vendor of spreading “defamatory messages.” 

“What DC Democrats are saying when it comes to Medicaid is they oppose having work requirements for able-bodied adults without children, annual audits to ensure only eligible individuals receive benefits, and ensuring that only people who are here legally should qualify,” Bacon told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The methods our group of 12 Republicans has identified to improve Medicaid are not controversial or cutting the quality of healthcare. We’re protecting our children and those most vulnerable. Last time the DNC targeted me on this issue, the billboard companies pulled their ads for false information.”

Despite Republicans’ assurances that Medicaid services will be protected, there is debate among the party about how to slash wasteful spending within the program. Those discussions come as Republicans seek to extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and deliver Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which includes no taxes on tips and Social Security. 

But Democrats are warning “vulnerable” House Republicans that Medicaid cuts are a losing issue, and their new campaign will not just hold Republicans accountable but help them win back a Democratic majority in 2026. 

“House Republicans have lost the trust of the American people and are on track to lose in the midterms because of their record of broken promises. They’ve consistently sold out their own constituents to please their billionaire backers, even when it means supporting catastrophic cuts to health care access,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chair Suzan DelBene said. 

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

Connecticut Senate Democrats posted an outlandish TikTok video on Thursday, featuring lawmakers listing out unpleasant things they would rather subject themselves to, rather than face another 100 days of the Trump administration.

The video, which had garnered just over 100 likes on the platform as of Friday afternoon, appears to have been partially filmed in the State Senate chamber.

TRUMP TOUTS ‘MOST SUCCESSFUL’ FIRST 100 DAYS IN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY DURING MICHIGAN RALLY

Lawmakers suggested they would rather have 100 bad haircuts, 100 vaccination shots in the arm or spend 100 hours in a traffic jam on Interstate 84.

Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, added she would rather cook 100 family meals, which she noted her kids would find “very funny.”

FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP, REPUBLICANS AT RECORD-HIGH RATINGS AS DEMOCRATS FALTER 

The post came days after President Donald Trump said at a Michigan rally that his administration had enjoyed the most successful first 100 days in presidential history.

Trump’s first 100 days of his second term centered around aggressive action to address border security, trade, education, civil rights, technology and innovation, Fox News Digital previously reported.

TRUMP ADMIN REVOKES 4K FOREIGN STUDENTS’ VISAS IN FIRST 100 DAYS, NEARLY ALL WITH SERIOUS CRIMINAL RECORDS

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established with an executive order signed by the president on his first day in office, claims to have slashed federal spending through budget and staffing cuts.

However, the latest poll numbers show Trump has 44% approval and 55% disapproval ratings in the most recent Fox News national poll, which collected data from April 18-21.

On specific issues, Trump received a 55% majority approval on border security, 47% approval on immigration and 38% approval on the economy.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE

His worst ratings were on inflation (33% approve, 59% disapprove), tariffs (33%-58%), foreign policy (40%-54%), taxes (38%-53%) and guns (41%-44%).

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Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Virginia State Police arrested an illegal immigrant after he was released as a result of a plea deal made by the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.

Guatemalan national Wilmer Osmany Ramos-Giron, 34, faced numerous felony charges in January, including abduction by force, assault on a family member and felony strangulation causing injury to a Virginia woman, according to ICE, which has Ramos-Giron in custody.

Ramos-Giron spent only two months in an adult detention center in Fairfax County. 

The county attorney’s office, led by Democrat Steve Descano, arranged a plea deal dropping Ramos-Giron’s charges to misdemeanors. Ramos-Giron would have faced up to 16 years behind bars on the felony charges if convicted, according to ABC 7. 

DEM PROSECUTOR LETS OFF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH STRANGULATION, KIDNAPPING

The outlet reported that even though the county attorney’s office said the plea deal was what the victim wanted, the victim said that’s not true. Ramos-Giron was deported two other times but found his way back into the U.S. despite being convicted in a federal gun case. But it’s not clear when he returned to the country, according to ICE.

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office praised the April 24 arrest.

“It’s disappointing that the Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney’s Office has been more concerned about shielding dangerous illegal immigrants than ensuring the safety of Virginians,” Peter Finocchio, Youngkin’s press secretary, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“Fortunately, Wilmer Osmany Ramos-Giron will no longer pose a threat to Virginia families, thanks to brave federal and state law enforcement heroes.”

Descano’s campaign received over $627,000 between 2019 and 2023 from the Justice and Public Safety PAC, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Fox News Digital previously reported that a large majority of the super PAC’s funding came from liberal billionaire George Soros.

ICE NABS MORE THAN 425 MIGRANT CRIMINALS IN VIRGINIA, GOV. YOUNGKIN SAYS

Fairfax County District Attorney Steve Descano, a Democrat, has had a clear policy against wanting to enforce federal immigration laws and has a history of not complying with many ICE detainers, ABC 7 reported.

“Wilmer Ramos-Giron represents a significant threat to our Virginia residents,” said Russell Hott, who directs the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C., field office.

“He has displayed a blatant disregard for our immigration laws and, more importantly, for the safety and well-being of our community. He is a violent and recidivist threat to public safety that ICE Washington, D.C., cannot tolerate. Regardless of the obstacles placed in our way, we remain committed to prioritizing public safety. The men and women of ICE Washington, D.C., will continue to arrest and remove criminal alien threats from our Washington, D.C., and Virginia neighborhoods and ensure their victims receive the justice they so rightly deserve.”

ICE TOUTS RECORD-BREAKING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS

Descano’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

As ICE continues its crackdown on illegal immigrants it considers public safety risks, state and local laws nationwide continue to face scrutiny. Last month, the state of California said it would transfer an illegal immigrant into ICE custody after the state prison system was preparing to release a man convicted of killing two teenagers in a DUI manslaughter who was 3½ years into a 10-year sentence in July.

EXCLUSIVE: Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. is warning of potentially catastrophic consequences if India follows through with what Islamabad claims could be an imminent military strike in response to a recent attack in the disputed Kashmir region.

War between the two nuclear-armed states could get ugly quickly, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the U.S. Rizwan Saeed Sheikh is calling on President Donald Trump to leverage his self-professed dealmaker credentials to hammer out an agreement with India.

“This is one nuclear flashpoint,” the ambassador said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “It could be an important part of President Trump’s legacy to attend to this situation — not with a Band-Aid solution, but by addressing the core issue: the Kashmir dispute.”

Saeed described India’s response to the attack in Pahalgam — which left several Indian security forces dead — as dangerously premature and inflammatory. “Within minutes of the attack, India began leveling accusations against Pakistan,” he said, noting that a post-investigation report was filed just 10 minutes after the incident occurred, despite the remote and rugged terrain near the scene. 

INDIA’S MODI GIVES ARMY FREEDOM TO ACT AS TENSIONS RISE WITH PAKISTAN AFTER DEADLY TERROR ATTACK

Pakistan claimed this week to have “credible intelligence” that an Indian counter-attack on its territory is imminent. The Indian Embassy in the U.S. did not respond to requests for comment on this story before publication time. 

The dust-up began with a tourist massacre on April 22 in Belgaum, Kashmir. All but one of the victims were Indian citizens, and India swiftly pointed the finger at Pakistan, which rejected the charge. 

The attack occurred in a remote valley only accessible on foot or by horse, and survivors claimed after the attack that the gunmen had accused some of the victims of supporting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The ambassador warned that the region, home to over 1.5 billion people, is once again being held “hostage to the war of hysteria” by India’s government and media, who immediately “began beating war drums.” The pair of rivals have exchanged gunfire across their heavily militarized borders since the attack. 

He cited Pakistan’s request for evidence linking it to the attack and Islamabad’s offer to participate in a neutral, transparent inquiry — both of which he said have gone unanswered.

“Any misadventure or miscalculation can lead to a nuclear interface,” the ambassador said. “That is certainly not desirable in such a densely populated region.”

PAKISTAN FEARS INDIA INCURISON ‘IMMINENT’ AMID HEIGHTENED TENSIONS FOLLOWING TERROR ATTACK

While Pakistan denies any involvement in the attack, the ambassador said those suspected are reportedly Indian nationals whose homes have already been raided. He questioned why India is looking outside its borders rather than addressing what he characterized as “administrative inadequacies” in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory he repeatedly referred to as “illegally occupied.”

He also criticized India’s broader policies in Kashmir, including the alleged settlement of non-residents into the region, and what he called threats to unilaterally block water flows from Pakistan’s rivers — a move he said violates the long-standing Indus Waters Treaty.

“That is as grossly illegal as it can get,” said Saeed. “This is one treaty that has withstood wars between India and Pakistan.” Pakistan has said they would consider the cutting off of water supplies an act of war — and made pleas to The Hague, accusing New Delhi of water terrorism.

The ambassador called on nations around the globe to help with a lasting settlement. 

“Previously, when the situation has been at this level or the tensions have escalated, the international community has attended to the situation, but taken their eyes, their attention away, even before the situation could fully diffuse,” said Saeed. “This time, perhaps it would be… timely in terms of the situation elsewhere on the globe, with similar instances, which one can note and see and are being attended to to perhaps not afford a Band-Aid solution, but to address the broader problem.”

PAKISTAN FEARS INDIA INCURSION ‘IMMINENT’ AMID HEIGHTENED TENSIONS FOLLOWING TERROR ATTACK

India and Pakistan each control parts of the Kashmir region, but both claim it in full. They have fought three wars over the territory.

In 2019, a cross-border attack carried out by militants killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel in Kashmir. India responded by bombing targets inside Pakistan. 

Modi’s government revoked Muslim-majority Kashmir’s autonomy in 2019, bringing it back under Indian control and prompting protests. 

Kashmir has been a disputed region since both India and Pakistan gained their autonomy from Britain in 1947. The region is now one of the most militarized in the world. Violence by regional militant groups has left tens of thousands dead. 

But Modi’s aggressive stance in Kashmir has precipitated relative peace over the past five years, boosting his popularity domestically. He may feel political pressure to respond with force to the most recent dust-up. 

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Pakistan has been ravaged by terrorism for decades, and Saeed said the nation has lost anywhere between 70,000 and 90,000 lives over the past 20 years to terror attacks. 

“We cannot afford any instability in the neighborhood,” said Saeed. “We want a peaceful neighborhood. But as we have been repeatedly mentioning at all levels, leadership level and all the other levels, that we want peace, but that should not in any way be misconstrued as a sign of weakness. We want peace with dignity.”

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.

Here’s what’s happening…

– China open to talks with Trump admin on lowering tariffs, ministry says

– Top Senate Armed Services Republican says Trump OMB’s budget ‘shreds to the bone’ military capabilities

– Former Trump official slams UN reform efforts as ‘eight and a half years late’

Brown University in House Republican’s Sights Amid Email Controversy

A brewing controversy over a “DOGE-like” email at one of America’s top universities has gotten the attention of Capitol Hill.

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, wrote to Brown University on Friday morning urging the school to reconsider any disciplinary action against Alex Shieh, a sophomore who sent an email mirroring the style of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that asked non-faculty university workers what they did “all day.”

“Reports indicate that Mr. Shieh engaged in a journalistic act of contacting university administrative employees to inquire about their roles and responsibilities. This action, it appears, stemmed from his perspective as a student paying a substantial tuition fee and experiencing concerns regarding university facilities, leading him to question the allocation of administrative resources,” Nehls wrote…READ MORE

White House

‘FIERCE’ MAHA FIGHTER: Trump’s surgeon general pick touted as ‘fierce’ MAHA advocate before confirmation hearing

‘CELEBRATING OUR VICTORIES’: Trump declares May 8 as ‘Victory Day’ for World War II: ‘Going to start celebrating our victories again!’

GULF SHIFT: Trump’s interior chief to unleash Gulf drilling with major rule change

‘WHAT THEY DESERVE’: Trump says he’ll revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status

‘FIGHTING THE FAKE NEWS’: DHS pushes back against claims of immigration enforcement at elementary schools

MILITARY MESS: Billions spent, warfighters wait: Inside the Pentagon’s broken buying system and the plan to fix it

‘100 DAYS’: Buttigieg ‘got nothing done,’ Duffy declares: ‘Pete appears unburdened by no longer being a cabinet secretary’

TRUMP V COURTS: Trump asks SCOTUS to strip protected status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants 

Capitol Hill

GOP CLAPS BACK: ‘Protect’ the majority: Senate GOP’s campaign arm takes opposite tact to DNC’s Hogg

‘OUT OF CONTROL’: Trump dubs Dems ‘out of control,’ suggests GOP consider kicking them out of Congress for ‘REAL crimes’

CAMPAIGN BUZZ: AOC draws spotlight with Queens town hall as 2028 White House talk swirls

‘GREEN NEW SCAM’: Trump’s tax overhaul hits GOP turbulence over Biden-era green incentives

Across America 

TAKE A NUMBER: REAL ID renews America’s age-old dread of the DMV

‘MANUFACTURING BOOM’: ‘Mississippi’s moment’: Gov Tate Reeves on economic growth from eliminating state income tax

‘SLAP IN THE FACE’: California lawmaker demands ‘accountability’ after illegal immigrant’s planned early release stopped by feds

IMMIGRATION BATTLE: Fla. AG to rebuff judge who ordered halt to state immigration enforcement: ‘The court has overstepped’

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

The Senate’s top Armed Services Republican eviscerated President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shortly after the White House released details of its government funding proposal for fiscal year 2026. 

“President Trump successfully campaigned on a Peace Through Strength agenda, but his advisers at the Office of Management and Budget were apparently not listening,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said in a statement. 

“The Big, Beautiful Reconciliation Bill was always meant to change fundamentally the direction of the Pentagon on programs like Golden Dome, border support, and unmanned capabilities – not to paper over OMB’s intent to shred to the bone our military capabilities and our support to service members.

BILLIONS SPENT, WARFIGHTERS WAIT: INSIDE THE PENTAGON’S BROKEN BUYING SYSTEM AND THE PLAN TO FIX IT

The Trump OMB’s “skinny budget,” released on Friday, proposes cuts to non-defense funding by $163 billion but increases defense funding from $893 billion to $1.01 trillion – a 13% increase. That includes $892.6 billion in discretionary spending, but will be supplemented by $119.3 billion in mandatory spending that is expected to be passed in the upcoming reconciliation bill. 

Senior officials told Fox News the Trump administration needed to get creative to get a $1 trillion-plus budget over the finish line: Republican majorities have historically been forced to offer one-to-one increases in non-defense spending to secure increases in defense spending. 

However, by keeping discretionary defense spending at $892.6 billion, the same level as fiscal year 2025, the budget that would be presented to Democrats would essentially reflect an unchanged defense discretionary budget with a smaller non-defense discretionary budget of about $557 billion – a 22.6% decrease.

The White House and congressional Republicans would then pursue the reset of the defense spending through the budget reconciliation process that is linked to the tax cut package.

HEGSETH ORDERS SWEEPING ARMY OVERHAUL AND CONSOLIDATION AIMED AT COUNTERING CHINA AND GOLDEN DOME CAPABILITIES

But Wicker isn’t satisfied. 

“OMB is not requesting a trillion-dollar budget. It is requesting a budget of $892.6 billion, which is a cut in real terms. This budget would decrease President Trump’s military options and his negotiating leverage,” he said. 

“I have said for months that reconciliation defense spending does not replace the need for real growth in the military’s base budget.”

OMB Director Russ Vought said in a post on X: “The President wants to increase defense spending to $1 trillion, a 13% increase to keep our country secure. This budget provides that level while ensuring that only Republican-votes are needed by using reconciliation to secure those increases without Democrats insisting on increasing wasteful government.”

To account for spending decreases across government, all departments were asked to provide recommended budget cuts except for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Transportation, which were excluded to protect veterans’ services as well as NASA and space exploration programs.

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Congress will have to hammer out its own budget plan – which could take months – with the White House’s framework as a suggestion. 

Wicker has long aimed to grow U.S. defense spending to 5% of the GDP, up from around 3.5 percent. 

The Mississippi senator suggested he would ignore the OMB guidelines and work to achieve “real growth” within the defense budget. 

Fox Business’ Edward Lawrence and Eric Revell contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A brewing controversy over a “DOGE-like” email at one of America’s top universities has gotten the attention of Capitol Hill.

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, wrote to Brown University on Friday morning urging the school to reconsider any disciplinary action against Alex Shieh, a sophomore who sent an email mirroring the style of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that asked non-faculty university workers what they did “all day.”

“Reports indicate that Mr. Shieh engaged in a journalistic act of contacting university administrative employees to inquire about their roles and responsibilities. This action, it appears, stemmed from his perspective as a student paying a substantial tuition fee and experiencing concerns regarding university facilities, leading him to question the allocation of administrative resources,” Nehls wrote.

“Penalizing a student for what appears to be an attempt to understand the university’s administrative structure raises serious questions about the institution’s commitment to open inquiry and the tolerance of dissenting viewpoints.”

BROWN UNIVERSITY STUDENT ANGERS NON-FACULTY EMPLOYEES BY ASKING ‘WHAT DO YOU DO ALL DAY,’ FACES PUNISHMENT

He also demanded more information on how Brown uses its $7.2 billion endowment to lower tuition and better the lives of students.

It comes at a time when American Ivy Leagues have been thrust under the microscope by the Trump administration, both for their soaring tuition rates and controversies surrounding antisemitism on campus.

Shieh had created a database of the 3,805 non-faculty employees who worked at Brown University and emailed them to ask, “What do you do all day?”

He wrote on X that he had been given a disciplinary hearing after being “charged with misrepresentation and violating the IT policy.”

Tuition alone at Brown University for the 2025 to 2026 academic year is $71,700. Fees, food, and housing charges bring that up to about $93,000 per year, according to the school’s website – and with indirect charges, annual costs are estimated at nearly $96,000.

“I urge you to reconsider any disciplinary action taken against Mr. Shieh and to reaffirm Brown University’s commitment to protecting the free expression of all its students,” Nehls wrote.

“Additionally, below you can see screenshots from Brown’s website showing the performance of its $7.2 billion endowment, boasting a 10% annual return. Please explain how these funds are used to improve the student experience or bring down the cost of tuition.”

Nehls previously introduced a bill that would significantly hike excise taxes on most larger colleges’ endowment funds from 1.4% to 21%, in line with the corporate tax rate.

A Brown University official declined to comment on Nehls’ letter directly when reached by Fox News Digital, but denied free speech was the larger issue.

TRUMP ADMIN HALTING MORE THAN $500M IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO BROWN UNIVERSITY OVER ANTISEMITISM RESPONSE

“In spite of what has been reported publicly framing this as a free speech issue, it absolutely is not,” Brian Clark, vice president for news and strategic campus communications, said in an email statement to Fox News Digital. 

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“At the center of Brown’s review are questions focused on whether improper use of non-public Brown data, non-public data systems and/or targeting of individual employees violated law or policy.” 

“Brown has detailed procedures in place to investigate alleged conduct code violations, resolve them and implement discipline in instances when students are found responsible, and these will continue to guide our actions,” Clark added. “Students have ample opportunity to provide information and participate directly in that process to ensure that all decisions are made with a complete understanding of the circumstances.” 

Fox News Digital’s Rachel del Guidice contributed to this report.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is hosting an in-person town hall in Jackson Heights, Queens, on Friday night amid speculation she is considering a 2028 presidential run. 

After speaking at a May Day protest in New York City on Thursday, rejecting Trump’s agenda and warning protesters that Republicans “are going after Medicaid next,” Ocasio-Cortez is returning home to New York’s 14th congressional district to “share updates on her work in D.C., provide important constituent updates, and take questions from the audience.”

Ocasio-Cortez has been jet-setting across the United States with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. The campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital that Friday night’s town hall was originally scheduled for the April congressional recess, but had to be rescheduled because Ocasio-Cortez was sick. She posted an Instagram story two weeks ago apologizing for canceling. 

Earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations when asked by Fox News Digital about the viral video that had pundits guessing whether she were soft-launching her campaign. 

WATCH: AOC LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR 2028 PRESIDENTIAL BID AS CAMPAIGN BUZZ SOARS

“I think what people should be most concerned about is the fact that Republicans are trying to cut Medicaid right now, and people’s healthcare is in danger. That’s really what my central focus is,” the New York Democrat said when asked whether she is considering a run for president, despite President Donald Trump’s assurances that he wouldn’t cut Medicaid. 

AOC CLAIMS ‘WE ARE ONE’ IN CAMPAIGN-STYLE VIDEO DESPITE YEARS OF INVOKING RACE, GENDER IN POLITICS

“This moment isn’t about campaigns, or elections, or about politics. It’s about making sure people are protected, and we’ve got people that are getting locked up for exercising their First Amendment rights. We’re getting two-year-olds that are getting deported into cells in Honduras. We’re getting people that are about to get kicked off of Medicaid. That, to me, is most important,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Capitol Hill on Trump’s 100th day in office. 

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign account posted a video on X last week that invigorated those rumors as the four-term Democrat from New York City and a progressive leader proclaimed, “We are one.”

“I’m a girl from the Bronx,” Ocasio-Cortez said on a campaign-style stage in Idaho. “To be welcomed here in this state, all of us together, seeing our common cause, this is what this country is all about.”

Americans reposted Ocasio-Cortez’s video across X, pointing to the video as proof of her 2028 presidential ambitions. “Get ready America. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will almost undoubtedly run for president in 2028,” political reporter Eric Daugherty said in response to the video. 

‘WE ARE ONE’: AOC CAMPAIGN VIDEO SWIRLS 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RUMORS

As rumors swirl over Ocasio-Cortez’s ambition for higher office, back at home in New York, a Siena College poll found that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s favorability is down, at 39% among New York state voters questioned in the poll, which was conducted April 14 through 16. Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez’s favorability soared to 47%.

The longtime senator from New York faced pushback from the Democratic Party in March for supporting the Republican budget bill backed by Trump that averted a government shutdown and stirred up outrage among congressional Democrats who planned to boycott the bill.

POLLSTER NATE SILVER CALLS OCASIO-CORTEZ MOST LIKELY TO BE 2028 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

That growing disapproval among Democrats was reflected in the poll, and the shifting perception comes as DNC vice chair David Hogg, through his political arm, Leaders We Deserve, faced blowback from the DNC for investing $20 million into electing younger Democrats to safe House Democrat seats.

Ocasio-Cortez raked in a massive $9.6 million over the past three months. The record-breaking fundraising haul was one of the biggest ever for any House lawmaker. Ocasio-Cortez’s team highlighted that the fundraising came from 266,000 individual donors, with an average contribution of just $21.

“I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy. Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities,” Ocasio-Cortez emphasized in a social media post.

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Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about the 2028 presidential speculation. 

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump‘s pick for U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, garnering support ahead of her upcoming confirmation hearing, with senators describing her as a “fierce” advocate for the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement. 

Sources familiar with her confirmation hearing prep told Fox News Digital that Nesheiwat has had many “productive meetings” on Capitol Hill regarding her nomination. 

TRUMP PICKS DR. JANETTE NESHEIWAT AS NATION’S NEXT SURGEON GENERAL

Nesheiwat recently met with the staff for the Senate HELP Committee, along with all the health policy GOP staffers. Sources said those staffers have expressed support for her nomination as medical director in the Public Health Service and surgeon general. Nesheiwat also met with Democrat Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, along with Democrat Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. 

Sources told Fox News Digital that Blackburn is supportive of Nesheiwat. Details of Nesheiwat’s meetings with Hickenlooper and Alsobrooks were not immediately clear. 

The sources said various topics were discussed during those meetings, including fighting chronic illness, diseases, opioids, the mission of MAHA, vaccines, good nutrition, educating Americans with science-backed data, combating healthcare provider shortages, mental health, food deserts and the government’s role in tracking health crises and emerging health threats. 

Sources said the conversations have been “positive, productive conversations.” 

Nesheiwat has met, so far, with all the Republican senators on the Senate HELP Committee except for Sen. Josh Hawley. 

A source told Fox News Digital that Sen. Katie Brit of Alabama, who is not on the committee, wants to meet with Nesheiwat in early May. 

Nesheiwat, formerly a Fox News contributor, is double-board certified in family medicine and urgent care medicine. 

Nesheiwat, a daughter of Jordanian immigrants, led frontline medical teams during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, along with her past work managing public health responses during flu epidemics, the opioid crisis, the monkeypox outbreak and other major health challenges. 

She also was named the first female medical director for CityMD in Manhattan — one of America’s largest urgent care systems. 

SHORT QUESTIONS WITH DANA PERINO FOR DR. JANETTE NESHEIWAT

Upon nominating Nesheiwat to the position, Trump said she is a “fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health.”

“I am proud to announce that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the Nation’s Doctor as the United States Surgeon General. Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives,” he said. “She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives.” 

Trump praised Nesheiwat’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying she “worked on the front lines in New York City treating thousands of Americans and helped patients in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s Historic Operation Warp Speed that saved hundreds of millions of lives.”

He also praised her “expertise and leadership” after New Orleans’ Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornadoes. 

The president said Nesheiwat “will play a pivotal role in MAKING AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!”

Meanwhile, after meeting with Nesheiwat, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy said Nesheiwat is “aware of the issues facing our nation and how they relate all the way down to counseling a patient in an exam room.” 

“A very good meeting,” he said. 

As for the MAHA movement led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Republicans say Nesheiwat represents the vision of the Trump administration. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said Nesheiwat “understands the MAHA movement.” 

“With the Trump admin, American health is no longer taking a back seat,” Banks said. 

Additionally, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said that “Making America Healthy Again starts with having strong leadership” within Health and Human Services. 

“I know that @DoctorJanette, President Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, will be a fierce MAHA advocate and will work with @SecKennedy to increase transparency in our healthcare system,” Tuberville said. 

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Nesheiwat began her medical education at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. She completed her initial curriculum at the school’s Saint Maarten campus. She then went on to complete her clinical rotations at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Metropolitan State Hospital, Guy’s & St. Thomas Hospitals and Medway Maritime Hospital. 

Nesheiwat completed her family medicine residence at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Area Health Education Center, and was elected chief resident during her final year. 

In 2009, Nesheiwat achieved board certification in family medicine for the American Board of Family Medicine, and in 2020 achieved board certification in urgent care medicine with the American Board of Urgent Care Medicine. 

Nesheiwat’s hearing is set for May 8 at 10:00 a.m., when senators on the Senate HELP Committee, will question her ahead of her confirmation vote. 

Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy suggested that the department has accomplished more during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term than President Joe Biden and former Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg accomplished in four years.

Duffy made the assertion when sharing a post by Buttigieg, who became Transportation secretary not long after Biden took office in 2021.

“100 days into this presidency, Americans are paying the price – higher prices, crashing retirement accounts, and broken promises. But the American people are turning, thanks to your voices. Keep it up. It’s up to us to demand something better,” Buttigieg wrote in the post, which also included a video of him speaking.

DUFFY BLASTS BUTTIGIEG, ACCUSING BIDEN-ERA OFFICIAL OF ‘MISMANAGEMENT’: ‘MAYOR PETE FAILED FOR FOUR YEARS…’

When retweeting Buttigieg’s post, Duffy declared, “We’ve achieved more in 100 days than Buttigieg and Biden achieved in 4 years. Pete appears unburdened by no longer being a cabinet secretary. Not one word on transportation or infrastructure because he got nothing done. @POTUS and I will continue the work of ripping out the Green New Scam and DEI for the American people!”

Earlier this year, Trump blasted Buttigieg.

PETE BUTTIGIEG BLASTS TRUMP AFTER PRESIDENT EXCORIATES HIM DURING PRESS BRIEFING

“He’s a disaster. He was a disaster as a mayor. He ran his city into the ground. And he’s a disaster now,” Trump said, asserting that Buttigieg just has “a good line of bulls—.”

Buttigieg previously served as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

He announced in March that he will not be running for governor or U.S. Senate in Michigan in 2026.

BUTTIGIEG SAYS DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRONE TO ‘FINGER-WAGGING,’ NEEDS TO DO ‘BETTER JOB’ REACHING OUT TO VOTERS

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“I care deeply about who Michigan will elect as Governor and send to the U.S. Senate next year, but I have decided against competing in either race,” he noted in a post on X.

California state Sen. Tony Strickland believes policy reforms are warranted after federal authorities intervened in the planned early release of an illegal immigrant convicted in a 2021 DUI manslaughter that killed two Orange County teenagers in his district in Seal Beach.

The Republican told Fox News Digital that changes are needed to programs like the in-prison credit system that may have allowed Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano to be released back into the community in July if the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not quickly get involved.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said last week that California will “coordinate” with ICE to “transfer him before release,” as he is slated to only spend three and half years of his 10-year sentence behind bars at the state level.

GOP LAWMAKERS RALLY AROUND TRUMP ADMIN FOR MASSIVE NIGHTCLUB RAID TARGETING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

“We need to reform these programs. We need to reform some of this. Again, I think the most essential role of government is public safety, and we need to bring accountability back into our system here in California. If you make a mistake, you can commit a crime. You should do the time. And again, we are not more safe by these programs, we’re less safe,” Strickland told Fox News Digital in an interview.

The senator said the plan for early release was “a slap in the face of the parents and everybody who loved those children who ended up passing away.”

Ortega-Anguiano, 43, was driving drunk and high, and speeding at nearly 100mph on the 405 freeway in Orange County in November 2021, when he crashed into a car being driven by a young couple, 19-year-olds Anya Varfolomeev and Nicholay Osokin, killing them both as they burned alive. In spring 2022, he was convicted of two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CONVICTED OF KILLING TEENS IN HIGH-SPEED CRASH TO BE RELEASED EARLY: ‘IT’S DISGUSTING’

Fox News reported that the victim’s families were informed on Easter Sunday about an early release. However, following the report, the DOJ said they would be prosecuting Ortega-Anguiano on federal charges to keep him behind bars longer.  

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

“For safety and security reasons CDCR cannot provide information on an incarcerated person’s release date or location in advance of their release. Incarcerated persons may earn credits for participating in rehabilitative programming, which may move their parole dates to an earlier date,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation stated last week.

ICE told Fox News Digital that Ortega-Anguiano had entered the country illegally twice before and had a prior criminal background before the two teens were killed in the fatal crash.

GOP DA TRADES BARBS WITH NEWSOM AFTER BEING BLAMED FOR BAD ‘PLEA DEAL’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FELON

“I was moved by the story and the fact this should never happen,” Strickland said.

However, he said Democrats in Sacramento are mum about early release concerns.

“I haven’t heard anything. The supermajority is tone-deaf, and the governor, Newsom, is so busy about running for president, he’s not doing his job as governor of California. He’s so interested in what’s going on in the Trump administration,” the senator said.

Strickland said Golden State residents are becoming more aware of problems in Sacramento – and the Orange County lawmaker said that awareness is cause for optimism.

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“The good news is people are now waking up to the lack of leadership and they’re waiting to hear leaders to come forward to help turn the state around. I do believe California will be golden again, but it takes leadership and people like myself and others in the legislature to point this out,” Strickland said.  

As DNC Vice Chair David Hogg seeks to spend millions on primarying older Democrats in blue districts, the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm suggested they are taking the exact opposite tact ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“With Democrats like Jon Ossoff openly calling to impeach President Trump, no one should put their personal ambitions above protecting the president’s legacy and majorities,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) communications director Joanna Rodriguez told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

“Leader [John] Thune and Chairman [Tim] Scott have been clear that the NRSC’s goal is to protect President Trump’s majority in the Senate, and they know Mike Rogers and John Cornyn are the best candidates to do that in their respective races.” 

The issue arose as both men – a former Michigan congressman seeking Sen. Gary Peters’ to-be-open seat and an incumbent Texas senator, respectively – may see substantive primary challenges.

SENATE FAILS TO REJECT TRUMP’S NATIONAL EMERGENCY ON TARIFFS AS REPUBLICANS SPLINTER

An NRSC official reportedly told donors on a Tuesday conference call that people seeking to aid Senate races in both states should only give to Rogers and Cornyn, according to Axios.

When reached, an NRSC official did not wave Fox News Digital off that report.

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., is considering a run for Peters’ seat, and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, is doing the same in the Lone Star State, according to several reports.

NRSC political director Brendan Jaspers said, according to Axios, that no other candidates but Rogers and Cornyn – “declared or posturing” – should be supported by substantive donors, unless and until they decide to hold onto their seats in a narrowly Republican-majority House of Representatives.

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

A Huizenga spokesperson told Fox News Digital it is important to “remember that Michigan voters have the ultimate say.”

“We continue to hear from grassroots activists, Republican primary voters and donors both here in Michigan and around the country who are looking for an alternative. Sadly, it seems that Washington insiders prefer predictable candidates, regardless of success.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the DNC for comment from Hogg regarding Republicans shaping their campaign strategy in direct contrast to his own.

“Republicans are clearly so afraid of losing seats in the House with their extremely unpopular agenda that party leaders are urging House members not to run for higher office,” a DNC spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

“Republicans should be afraid of losing elections as they push a budget bill that will cut vital programs for hardworking Americans to pay for another billionaire tax handout — all as the country braces for a Trump recession.”

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Hogg’s strategy incensed party elders, including Bill Clinton confidant James Carville, who recently remarked, “Does he really think the problem that we‘re facing in the United States today is because we got 65-year-old Democrats in office? Why don’t you take on a Republican? That‘s your job.”

However, Carville has since softened his stance, appearing to compare Hogg to Ulysses S. Grant by referencing a popular anecdote in which President Abraham Lincoln purportedly defended Grant against calls for his dismissal after the 1862 Battle of Shiloh, reportedly saying, “I can’t spare this man; he fights.”

Hunt’s office could not be reached for comment for the purposes of this story. 

President Donald Trump fired off a scathing Truth Social post late on Thursday night as he is once again targeted for impeachment, floating the idea that Republicans should target Democrats for expulsion from Congress.

“The Democrats are really out of control. They have lost everything, especially their minds! These Radical Left Lunatics are into the ‘Impeachment thing’ again. They have already got two ‘No Name,’ little respected Congressmen, total Whackjobs both, throwing the ‘Impeachment’ of DONALD J. TRUMP around, for about the 20th time, even though they have no idea for what I would be Impeached,” Trump declared in the post.

Earlier this week Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., announced articles of impeachment against Trump. 

HOUSE DEMOCRAT ANNOUNCES ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST TRUMP: ‘CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER’

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, applauded the impeachment effort and declared during a speech, “Add my name to your articles of impeachment.” 

Green also plans to introduce his own articles of impeachment targeting Trump.

“These Congressmen stated that, they didn’t know why they would Impeach me but, ‘We just want to do it.’ The Republicans should start to think about expelling them from Congress for all of the crimes that they have committed, especially around Election time(s),” Trump asserted in his post. 

Thanedar’s resolution includes seven articles of impeachment: “OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, VIOLATION OF DUE PROCESS, AND A BREACH OF THE DUTY TO FAITHFULLY EXECUTE LAWS,” “USURPATION OF THE APPROPRIATIONS POWER,” “ABUSE OF TRADE POWERS AND INTERNATIONAL AGGRESSION,” “VIOLATION OF FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS,” “CREATION OF UNLAWFUL OFFICE,” “BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION,” and “TYRANNY.”

DEM REP. AL GREEN, BOOTED FROM TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS, DOUBLES DOWN ON IMPEACHMENT

The House impeached Trump twice during his first term in office, but in each case the Senate vote failed to reach the threshold necessary for conviction.

The second impeachment occurred at the tail end of Trump’s term in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, and the Senate vote resulting in acquittal occurred after Trump had already departed from office.

“These are very dishonest people that won’t let our Country heal! Why do we allow them to continuously use Impeachment as a weapon against the President of the United States who, by all accounts, is working hard to SAVE OUR COUNTRY. It’s the same playbook that they used in my First Term, and Republicans are not going to allow them to get away with it again. These are total LOWLIFES, who hate our Country, and everything it stands for,” Trump declared in his late-night post on Thursday.

TRUMP NOMINATES WALTZ FOR HIGH-LEVEL POST AFTER OUSTING HIM AS NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR

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“Perhaps we should start playing this game on them, and expel Democrats for the many crimes that they have committed — And these are REAL crimes,” he declared. “Remember, ‘Shifty’ Adam Schiff demanded a Pardon, and they had to use the power of the Auto Pen, and a Full Pardon, for him and the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, to save them from Expulsion, and probably worse!”

FIRST ON FOX: Angel moms and dads whose children were killed at the hands of illegal immigrants and the previous immigration crisis traveled to the White House this week, where they celebrated President Donald Trump ushering “justice back” to the U.S. in an emotional video. 

“My name is Angie Morfin Vargas, and I’m the mother to Ruben Morfin,” Morfin-Vargas said in a video published by the White House Thursday. “He was executed in the streets of Salinas in 1990. Thirty-four years later, I could still cry for him like if it was yesterday.” 

“This right here is what should be living here in America, not criminals that are coming in,” another mom, whose son Javier Vega Jr. was shot to death in 2014, said while pointing to a photo of her son. 

The White House installed a massive poster campaign on the White House lawn on Sunday evening showcasing 100 of the “worst illegal immigrant criminals” arrested in the first 100 days of Trump’s second term. 

WHITE HOUSE DISPLAYS LAWN SIGNS HIGHLIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIME

“We will hunt you down. You will face justice. You will be deported – and you will never set foot on American soil again,” the White House wrote in X post early Monday morning. “Oh, and your mugshot may just end up on a yard sign at the White House.” 

The poster showcased mugshots of illegal immigrant criminals arrested for crimes such as fentanyl distrubution, murder, rape of a child, lewd acts in front of a child, and distribution of guns. 

OVER 100 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED IN COLORADO SPRINGS MASSIVE UNDERGROUND NIGHTCLUB RAID

Angel moms and dads are parents whose children have been killed by illegal immigrants, and is a title Trump popularized for the grieving parents under his first administration.

The angel moms and dads held photos of their children in the video published by the White House Thursday, and were seen standing in front of the posters on the White House lawn.

“My name is Chris Odette. I’m an angel father,” the dad said, while holding his phone to show a photo of his daughter, who was 13 years old when she was killed in a hit-and-run while crossing a street. “My daughter, Chrishia, was killed Sept. 12, 2014 by an illegal alien in Rockwall, Texas.” 

NEARLY 800 ILLEGAL ALIENS ARRESTED IN MASSIVE FLORIDA ICE OPERATION: ‘TIDAL WAVE’

The driver, Ramiro Guevara, was an illegal migrant from Mexico. He was arrested by the Rockwall, Texas, Police Department for driving without a license and for not having an operator’s license, but records showed he spent roughly 35 minutes behind bars before he posted a cash bond, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

ICE arrested Guevara in 2025 under the Trump administration. 

“Without them, there would be no justice for my daughter,” Odette said. 

TRUMP FLAUNTS ARRESTS OF VIOLENT ILLEGALS WITH MUGSHOT POSTERS ON WHITE HOUSE LAWN AND MORE TOP HEADLINES

“This is my son, Ryan, and his girlfriend, both poisoned to death by illicit fentanyl,” another angel mom said in the video. “I can’t bring my son back, but we are doing all of this to save the future Americans from being poisoned to death by fentanyl.”

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The angel parents celebrated in the solemn video that the Trump administration was ushering back “justice” for the families suffering and all Americans. 

“We’re finally getting some justice in this country for our children,” one angel mom said in the video. 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Taylor contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Leaked video obtained by Fox News Digital shows school administrators at an Illinois school of medicine rejecting multiple Trump executive orders, including on combatting DEI, and outlining how the school plans to fight back against them. 

Trump’s executive order on gender ideology “is an attack on women” and on “basic human rights,” according to Dr. Jerry Kruse, Dean, Provost, and CEO of Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine. Kruse recently gave a speech in a small group discussion about Trump’s executive orders and actions that was obtained by the medical and policy advocacy group Do No Harm.

“We will resist obeying in advance. We won’t do any anticipatory obedience,” Kruse said. “The existing laws have not changed, no court directives will require any change in compliance at this time.”

Kruse added that “these executive orders and actions and the general philosophy that they espouse constitute direct attacks on all that is important to us” while mentioning science, higher education and healthcare. 

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“More importantly, these orders and actions constitute a direct attack on the people we serve, the people to whom we are accountable,” he said.

Kruse explained that the school of medicine is “very fortunate” to be part of a university system that is “on top of it” in terms of pushing back on Trump’s executive orders.

Kruse also claimed that the executive orders on immigration and DEI from the Trump administration are “an attack on human rights and on justice and fairness” that “have engendered fear among large segments of the population of law-abiding people.”

At one point in his speech, Kruse said he would provide employees with the “resources” to “fight back.”

The SIU school system has been active in promoting DEI in recent years, and it was a topic discussed in the presentation. 

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“The work that we are doing around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a life or death issue for some people,” Dr. Wendi El-Amin, Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, said during the presentation.

The school’s website hosts a page featuring its work on DEI that says it works to “ensure that our students, residents, faculty, and staff reflect the demographics of central and southern Illinois while also equipping them with the knowledge and skills to address health disparities through culturally responsive care, patient access, education, and health literacy initiatives.”

In February of this year, the SIU Board of Trustees reaffirmed its commitment to DEI and the school’s VP of anti-racism and DEI, Sheila Caldwell, claimed that DEI is “lifesaving” and has had measurable improvements for minority students in retention rates.

SIUSOM receives millions in active grant funding from NIH and HHS and Dr. Donald Torry, Associate Dean for Research, said during the presentation that none of the grant funding has been affected so far.

In terms of immigration executive orders, Dr. Vidhya Prakash, Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Population Health and Chief Medical Officer, said during the presentation that a school dean recently sent an email to faculty members instructing them not to comply with ICE and that they should call security if a situation arises. 

“So please understand that no member of our school of medicine whether it’s an employee or its a trainee, should have to engage in conversation or discourse with ICE,” she said, adding that the school has patients who are “afraid” and live in fear of being apprehended. 

“Continue doing what you have been doing,” Paulette Dove, Senior Counsel for Health Affairs for the SIU system, said during the presentation, adding that the “law has not changed.”

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“These issues demand a strong institutional and collective response,” Kruse said. “Thankfully, the SIU system stands firm with a strong voice. SIU president Dan Mahoney has stated that we will hold our ground and that ‘the executive actions are antithetical to the values of our institution, the SIU system.'”

Lauren Crocks, the university’s director of marketing, communications, and engagement, told Fox News Digital that “Southern Illinois University School of Medicine is committed to following the law.”

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“By putting itself directly at odds with President Trump, the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine is begging to be investigated by the federal government,” Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, Chairman at Do No Harm, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “In this unearthed video, the School of Medicine’s Dean, Senior Counsel, and other officials openly and repeatedly flaunt their contempt for the Administration’s orders to promote meritocracy and protect children from sex-change procedures.

“While defying executive orders and obsessing over DEI and gender ideology, SIUSOM somehow continues to receive millions of taxpayer dollars from the National Institutes of Health. The school’s officials made their playbook clear: ignore executive orders until forced to obey; this strategy must be exposed and nipped in the bud. SIUSOM must stop prioritizing identity politics over patients.”

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller touted Trump’s efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs on Thursday.

Miller appeared alongside White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a Thursday morning briefing, declaring that the administration is bringing a “system of merit” back to the U.S.

“This administration is not going to let our society devolve into communist, woke, DEI strangulation,” Miller said. “We are going to have a system of merit.”

“It’s not just a social and cultural issue, it’s an economic issue. When you hire, retain and recruit based on merit, as President Trump has directed, you advance innovation, you advance growth, you advance investment, you advance job creation,” he added.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump late Thursday announced plans to designate May 8 as World War II “Victory Day” in the United States, which coincides with the “Victory in Europe Day” that has been celebrated in most of Europe since the Germans surrendered in 1945.

Trump acknowledged in a Truth Social that “many of our allies and friends” already celebrate on May 8, but said America should join in because “we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result.”

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On May 7, 1945, the Germans surrendered to the Allied Forces, and agreed to cease all operations the next day. 

World War II officially ended later in the year on Sept. 2 when the Japanese signed an instrument of surrender, though Japan waved a white flag on Aug. 14 – about a week after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The U.S. does not have any public holidays commemorating World War II specifically, but there have been remembrance ceremonies in May, August and September across the country for decades.

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Former President Harry Truman, who was in office during the end of WWII, issued a proclamation in August 1946 declaring Aug. 14 as “Victory Over Japan Day.”

“And I call upon the people of the United States to observe Victory Day as a day of solemn commemoration of the devotion of the men and women by whose sacrifices victory was achieved, and as a day of prayer and of high resolve that the cause of justice, freedom, peace, and international good-will shall be advanced with undiminished and unremitting efforts, inspired by the valor of our heroes of the Armed Services,” Truman’s proclamation read, in part.

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In the same post, Trump stated that Nov. 11 will also be recognized as World War I “Victory Day.”

“We won both Wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance, but we never celebrate anything,” the president wrote. “That’s because we don’t have leaders anymore, that know how to do so! We are going to start celebrating our victories again!”