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Orange County, California, District Attorney Todd Spitzer said there was not a “plea deal” made in the case of an illegal immigrant convicted of manslaughter in the death of two teens after new scrutiny over the man’s early release from a California prison.

“A convicted felon who was twice previously deported is being released after serving just a fraction of his sentence for killing two 19-year-olds because California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature refuse to hold criminals accountable,” the Republican said in a news release Wednesday.

“This was not a plea deal. This was a defendant who pled to the court and was sentenced by a judge under California law, over the objection of Orange County prosecutors, who unsuccessfully argued for the maximum sentence.”

TWO FEDERAL JUDGES MAY HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT AS HE DEFIES COURTS IN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

California Gov. Gavin Newsom campaigns for President Joe Biden at a county Democratic Party event in South Haven, Michigan, on July 4, 2024. (Chris duMond/Shutterstock)

“California’s creative concoction of good time, education and other credits has resulted in criminals being released quicker than ever before, fulfilling Gov. Newsom’s plot to empty California’s prisons and put dangerous and violent felons back on the street,” Spitzer added.

Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano was driving drunk and high and speeding at nearly 100 mph on the 405 freeway in Orange County in November 2021, when he crashed into a car carrying 19-year-old Anya Varfolomeev and Nicholay Osokin. Both were killed and burned alive. In the spring of 2022, he was convicted of two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

The victims’ families were notified on Easter Sunday that Ortega-Anguiano would be released early on July 19, more than six years before his 10-year sentence is up.

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

Mugshot of manslaughter convict Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

However, after Fox News’ reporting, Democratic Gov. Newsom’s office said it would comply with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer and transfer him into federal custody. The Department of Justice announced it was filing federal charges against him, and border czar Tom Homan said his agency would do everything possible to keep him in custody.

“After being deported in 2013, this individual unlawfully re-entered the US & committed heinous crimes. A GOP DA then gave him a plea deal instead of pursuing 2nd-degree murder. [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation] will again coordinate with ICE — as they have w/ 10,000+ inmates — to transfer him before release,” the governor’s press account tweeted on Wednesday afternoon. 

In response to Spitzer’s comment, the governor’s office told Fox News on background that district attorneys get a say in what charges are prosecuted in cases. The governor’s office said it was the Orange County District Attorney’s office that dropped great bodily injury enhancements and other charges. Still, it does not play a role in the fact that the individual was scheduled to be released several years sooner, which could have been a part of the state’s credit system to get out early. 

“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 corrections department previously told Fox News.

TOP TRUMP OFFICIALS FILE CHARGES AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT AFTER FOX NEWS EXPOSES EARLY RELEASE PLANS

Anya Varfolomeeva and Nicholay Osokin were killed in an Orange County, California., car crash in 2021. (Courtesy of the Varfolomeev and Osokin families)

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On Thursday morning, Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, told “America’s Newsroom” why the DOJ is pursuing federal prosecution.

“This is what happens when you have an open border policy like we did in the prior administration. But those days are over. Under this administration, our borders are closed,” Essayli said.

“I’ve made it a top priority in my office, and I know throughout the United States, to enforce our immigration laws. So this defendant, he’s not gonna get free. He’s not going to be deported. He’s coming to my jurisdiction, and we’re gonna prosecute him. And once he’s convicted, he’s gonna spend many years in federal prison, and then he’ll be deported again.”

Slash and burn. 

Contracts and grants worth hundreds of millions of dollars were terminated over several days, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said Thursday, including one aimed at providing “problem-solving” services.

Federal agencies have eliminated 269 “wasteful” contracts with a “ceiling value of $845M and savings of $255M,” according to a DOGE post on X.

DAVID MARCUS: WHAT AMERICA OWES ELON MUSK AFTER DOGE

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, announced the elimination of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of “wasteful” contracts on Thursday, including one for a “BIPOC culinary program.” (Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket)

DOGE eliminated $90 million in grants, including $995,000 for “a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) culinary program” and $625,000 for a “Russian-Far East biodiversity partnership.”

One of the terminated contracts was a $50,000 Department of the Interior consulting contract to “provide facilitation and collaborative problem-solving services.”

FOX NEWS POLL: THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SECOND TERM

Elon Musk is celebrating a new poll that found most voters agree there should be a government agency dedicated to efficiency and that DOGE is helping to make major spending cuts.  (Getty Images)

On Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi said some of the grants the Justice Department eliminated included $2 million for “national listening sessions of individuals with lived experience.”

Another was a $625,000 grant for “a parallel convergent mixed-methods case study research design to assess the efficacy of police departments’ LGBTQ liaison services.”

President-elect Donald Trump greets Elon Musk as he arrives to attend a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell)

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DOGE, which is led by Elon Musk, has been aggressive in its mission to root out wasteful spending and to downsize the scope of the federal government. 

With the upcoming departure of longtime Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in 2026, a battle will soon commence for his coveted role as Senate minority whip, the second-highest leadership role in the caucus next to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer.

“There comes a point in your career when the torch must be passed, and I’ve reached that point,” Durbin said during a press conference in Springfield Thursday. “I will not be seeking re-election to this United States Senate seat.”

Several names have already been floated for the whip job, including some typically vocal senators and others whose quiet policy chops appear just as attractive.

One candidate mentioned has been Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz.

ZELDIN GRILLED BY DEMOCRATS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRUMP’S STANCE ON CARBON EMISSIONS DURING EPA HEARING

Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Patty Murray and Brian Schatz are considered whip considerations. (Reuters)

Schatz, 52, is in his third term and is Durbin’s current chief deputy whip as well as deputy conference secretary, a job involving communication and strategy for Senate Democrats.

He is also the top Democrat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, given the Aloha State’s heavy native population.

Schatz has been active behind the scenes for liberals, placing holds on hundreds of Trump nominees for State Department positions in response to the president’s efforts to shutter USAID.

A former member of the Green Party in Hawaii, he is also considered a bridge between progressives and mainstream liberals.

A former top aide to previous Senate mainstays Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., told The Hill it’s hard to tell how leadership elections will go because they’re closed-door votes, but “as far as I can tell, Sen. Schatz seems to be in a pretty good position if he wants to take the leap.”

DICK DURBIN, NO 2 SENATE DEMOCRAT, WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sits in a hearing. (Getty Images)

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is rumored to be a possible successor to Durbin as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to Politico.

Whitehouse has raised his profile as another one of President Donald Trump’s loudest critics, regularly creating viral clips of combativeness with administration nominees in the various hearings he’s sat in on.

Another lawmaker mentioned is Washington Sen. Patty Murray, who had been third in line to the presidency until the GOP took back the Senate.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa., now holds that role, which is typically held by the longest-serving senator of the majority party.

Murray is also the top Democrat on the influential Senate Appropriations Committee.

Frequently called the “mom in tennis shoes” who ran for the Senate in 1992 as a relative political newcomer, Murray once said she and others “got into the U.S. Senate because we were mad.”

She lobbied officials in Olympia to save an education program from budget cuts when she was told “you can’t make a difference,” according to a biography from the Washington Secretary of State’s office.

That populist history, along with Murray’s long tenure and closeness with leadership, could also make her a lock to succeed Durbin.

Fox News Digital reached out to Schatz, Whitehouse and Murray for comment but did not immediately hear back.

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Durbin spoke tearfully about his decision to retire during a press conference outside the same Springfield home where he announced his first Senate run nearly 30 years ago.

He hearkened back to his risky move to give up a “safe House seat.”

“So, for the last 29 years, I’ve been vindicated that that decision paid off,” said Durbin.

“I love this job. I think it’s a terrific job, but I also know reality.”

An Obama-appointed federal judge in California who issued a ruling blocking the Trump administration from cutting funding to sanctuary cities has deep financial ties to the Democratic Party, records indicate.

The judge has also spoken at events in support of former Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama and held leadership roles on committees to elect Obama and John Kerry.

Judge William Orrick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a ruling on Thursday that said President Donald Trump’s executive orders against sanctuary cities are unconstitutional.

Orrick said that Trump’s orders instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities and counties that do not cooperate with federal immigration law would violate the Constitution’s separation of powers principles and the Spending Clause, as well as the Fifth and 10th Amendments. 

PRESIDENT TRUMP BLASTS COURTS FOR GETTING IN THE WAY OF DEPORTATION AGENDA

Judge William Orrick, left, an Obama-appointed federal judge in California who issued a ruling blocking the Trump administration from cutting funding to sanctuary cities, has deep financial ties to the Democratic Party, records indicate. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California | Getty Images)

The judge said Trump’s orders — titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” and “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” — are “unconstitutionally vague and violate due process” and “impose coercive condition intended to commandeer local officials into enforcing federal immigration practices and law.”

Orrick wrote that “the threat to withhold funding causes them irreparable injury in the form of budgetary uncertainty, deprivation of constitutional rights, and undermining trust between the Cities and Counties and the communities they serve.” 

According to donation records stored in the Federal Election Commission database, Orrick, who was nominated by Obama in 2012, has donated $113,600 to Democratic candidates and committees throughout the years.

Democrats that Orrick has donated to include Obama, Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and Diane Feinstein.

MEXICAN POLICE BRING IN MAJOR CARTEL BOSS IN ICE-ASSISTED RAID: ‘MAJOR MILESTONE’

Sanctuary city supporters stage a protest. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times )

Orrick made two donations to the Obama Victory Fund of $2,300 and $28,500 in 2008. He has also contributed a total of $53,500 to the Democratic National Committee and made a $3,000 donation to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and a $2,000 donation to the Iowa Democratic Party.

Besides his financial contributions, a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire further reveals that Orrick served as co-chair of the Bay Area Lawyers to Elect John Kerry 2003-2004 as well as the Bay Area Lawyers to Elect Barack Obama 2006-2008.

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In 2009, he introduced then-California district attorney candidate Harris at a campaign fundraiser in San Francisco.

Orrick has also stumped for Obama and Kerry at several events dating back to 2003.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

The Trump administration is applauding a major move by a key South American ally in the global fight against terrorism.

On Thursday, the U.S. State Department issued a statement congratulating Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña for officially labeling Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization – a decision the U.S. calls a critical blow to Iran’s terror network in the Western Hemisphere.

“The United States welcomes President Santiago Peña’s designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization,” said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

In addition to the IRGC designation, Paraguay also expanded its 2019 designations of the armed wings of Hezbollah and Hamas to include the entirety of both organizations. The Trump administration hailed it as a firm stand against Iranian-backed extremism.

NUCLEAR WATCHDOG URGES ‘TRUST BUT VERIFY’ THAT IRAN ENGAGES IN GOOD-FAITH NEGOTIATIONS

The Trump administration praised Paraguay for designating Iran’s IRGC, Hamas and Hezbollah as terror groups, calling it a key move to cut off Tehran’s global terror reach. (NORBERTO DUARTE/AFP via Getty Images)

“Iran remains the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world and has financed and directed numerous terrorist attacks and activities globally, through its IRGC-Qods Force and proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas,” Bruce said.

The decision is particularly significant in the Tri-Border Area, the region where Paraguay borders Argentina and Brazil, which has long been considered a financial hub for Hezbollah-linked operatives. The State Department said Paraguay’s action will help cut off the Iranian regime’s ability to fund terrorism and operate in Latin America.

“The important steps Paraguay has taken will help cut off the ability of the Iranian regime and its proxies to plot terrorist attacks and raise money for its malignant and destabilizing activity,” Bruce added, highlighting the Tri-Border Area as a critical front in this effort.

TRUMP TEAM HOLDS ‘CONSTRUCTIVE’ FACE-TO-FACE NUCLEAR TALKS WITH IRAN, WILL MEET AGAIN NEXT WEEKEND

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with a group of students in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday, Nov. 1.  (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

The Trump administration said it plans to build on this momentum and continue working with allies to confront Iran’s global influence.

“The United States will continue to work with partners such as Paraguay to confront global security threats,” Bruce said. “We call on all countries to hold the Iranian regime accountable and prevent its operatives, recruiters, financiers, and proxies from operating in their territories.”

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce sent a warning to those who support foreign terrorist organizations like the Houthis. (State Department)

This isn’t a one-off. Since his first term, Trump has made confronting Iran’s terror apparatus a cornerstone of his foreign policy. 

In 2018, he pulled the U.S. out of the Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), calling it “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”

Now, the Trump administration is back at the negotiating table, but on its own terms. Two rounds of nuclear talks have already taken place this month, with a third scheduled for later this week. A senior administration official said the discussions have made “very good progress,” though the details remain closely guarded.

As Bruce emphasized, Washington is calling on “all countries” to follow suit in holding “the Iranian regime accountable.”

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The United States does not currently have a permanent Ambassador to Paraguay. Instead, Amir Masliyah holds the position of Chargé D’Affaires.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

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…

-What did the Bush administration, 9/11 Commission say about REAL ID legislation?

-Ahead of key Supreme Court arguments, here’s which states have passed school choice measures

–Democrats’ vice chair gets ultimatum: stay neutral in primaries or step down from party leadership

Hogg Fit to Be Tied

Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin, aiming to quell a raging firestorm in the party, is making it crystal clear the DNC will stay neutral in intra-party primaries.

“No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger,” the recently elected national party chair said during a conference call with reporters Thursday.

Martin’s comments were directed at DNC vice chair David Hogg, who recently pledged to shell out $20 million through his outside political group, Leaders We Deserve, to primary-challenge some older Democrats in blue districts… READ MORE

White House

‘I AM NOT HAPPY’: Trump tells Putin ‘STOP’ after deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv

‘EXTREMIST RHETORIC’: Trans inmate who killed baby blames Trump admin for alleged assaults in prison

TIME FLIES: Trump to hold rally Tuesday in celebration of first 100 days, Leavitt says

Donald Trump speaks at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

World Stage

PUTIN’S NAVAL GAMBIT: US–Russia flashpoint looms over Putin’s plans for African naval base

PEACE IS POSSIBLE: A weakened Hezbollah leads some in Lebanon to talk of peace with Israel as U.S. pushes sides together

BRAZEN ATTACK: Russia blamed for overnight strike on Kyiv that killed at least nine, injured dozens, including children

A Ukrainian serviceman carries a dog out of a house damaged by a Russian airstrike in a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 24, 2025.  (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

‘IDENTIFY, TRACK AND PUNISH’: India vows to hunt terrorists ‘to the ends of the earth’ as tensions with Pakistan rise after deadly Kashmir attack

Capitol Hill

MAX TAX: GOP talks on millionaire tax hike come from party’s populist streak, strategists say

DEM DENIAL: Top Dem denies ignoring constituent abducted by Maduro after being lambasted for Abrego Garcia advocacy

‘TIME TO PASS THE TORCH’: Air Force veteran jumps into race to unseat 22-term vulnerable Dem in key race

Air Force veteran Alea Nadeem, a Republican, will challenge Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur.  (Getty)

Across America 

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT: Top union calls cops on itself to orchestrate ‘civil disobedience’ stunt at GOP office

FOLLOW THE MONEY: GOP governor hopeful pushes anti-China policy after years of Chinese investments

JUDICIAL SHOWDOWN: Federal judge gives DOJ another week in Abrego Garcia deportation case

‘TAX DOLLARS’: Harvard’s endowment holds $7 million per student, still receives $550M from government annually

Harvard banners hang outside Memorial Church on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday, Sept. 4, 2009.  (Michael Fein/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

‘WHAT THE HELL’: Alex Soros fumes at left-wing climate group over ‘Palestine’ obsession

‘NO CHANCE’: Chicago residents react to possible Pritzker presidential run: ‘No chance to win’

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

The Trump administration has renamed the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in Texas after a Houston girl who, prosecutors said, was brutally killed last year by two Venezuelan illegal immigrants.

The park, now known as the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge, hosted a renaming ceremony on Thursday. The 39,000-acre sanctuary along the Texas Gulf Coast in Anahuac serves as a home for migratory birds and wildlife managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Let this land speak her name. Let its quiet strength echo her spirit. And let it stand as a testament that her life mattered,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said during the ceremony attended by Nungaray’s mother. “And that her story, however heartbreakingly brief, needs to be told and retold and never forgotten.”

JOCELYN NUNGARAY’S MOTHER REVEALS HORRIFIC TIMELINE OF DAUGHTER’S MURDER IN HEARING ON OPEN-BORDER CRIME

The Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge became the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge on Thursday to honor the life of the 12-year-old girl who was brutally murdered last year by two alleged Venezuelan illegal immigrants. (KRIV)

During his joint address to Congress in March, President Donald Trump announced the renaming of the refuge to honor Nungaray, showing his signature on an executive order that changed the name of the park. 

“I had no idea that was going to happen. It was a really big shock and surprise,” Alexis Nungaray, Jocelyn’s mother, told FOX 26 at the time. “I was stunned. I didn’t really know how to react. It was very surreal, very bittersweet.”

TRUMP HONORS LIVES OF LAKEN RILEY, JOCELYN NUNGARAY WHILE CELEBRATING STRIDES ON SECURING BORDER 

Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, left, and Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, right, have been charged in the killing of Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston, Texas. (Harris County Jail)

During Thursday’s ceremony, Burgum noted that Nungaray loved animals while offering his condolences to her mother, who did not speak. 

“May Jocelyn’s family find peace in the tranquility of the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a lasting tribute to a beautiful young soul taken from us too soon,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. 

Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, was found strangled to death in a Houston creek in June 2024.  (Fox Houston courtesy of the Nungaray family)

Nungaray’s death drew national attention amid criticism of the Biden administration over millions of illegal immigrants, some with violent criminal records and street gang ties, who entered the United States during his presidency. 

In December, prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty for her accused killers, 22-year-old Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and 26-year-old Franklin Jose Peña Ramos.

Both men kidnapped Nungaray and caused her death by applying pressure to her neck, authorities said. They also allegedly sexually assaulted her before leaving her body under a bridge. 

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Search warrants later revealed the men were possibly members of the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and entered the U.S. illegally before the slaying.

U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., urged people to call and threaten congressional lawmakers over the Trump administration’s immigration policies following a visit to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Wilson visited ICE Krome Detention Center in Miami before holding a news conference on Instagram Live.

“So I’ve been giving out the phone numbers to the House of Representatives and to the Senate,” she said. “It’s one number that number you call and you threaten it, and you say, this is wrong. This is not America. This is not what we stand for. We need a change. You have to do that. It’s going to take the people. We’ve done it.”

FEDERAL JUDGE ALLEGES ‘WILLFUL AND BAD FAITH REFUSAL’ TO COMPLY IN ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION CASE

Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., on Thursday blamed the Trump administration and the passing of the Laken Riley Act for a sharp increase in illegal migrant detentions. (Getty Images)

“We need the people. We needed an uprising where people are taking to the streets and the phones and writing letters. That’s what we need,” she added. 

Before going into the ICE facility, Wilson said she expected to see criminals with “cases tattooed with gold teeth.”

“I wanted to see where were these dangerous people that they had picked up off the street and put them in a detention center,” the representative said. “I didn’t see that. I saw hard working men. Some more literate than others. I even saw some who are mentally disturbed and have mental issues.”

Wilson, who has feuded with President Donald Trump in the past, also blamed the Laken Riley Act for the increase in migrant detentions. 

Trump signed the bill into law days after taking office. It directs ICE to detain illegal immigrants arrested or charged with theft-related crimes, or those accused of assaulting a police officer.

TRUMP-APPOINTED JUDGE ORDERS ADMINISTRATION TO RETURN SECOND DEPORTED MIGRANT

The law also allows states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration.

The bill was named after Riley, a nursing student who was killed while jogging on the University of Georgia campus by an illegal immigrant. Jose Ibarra, who had previously been arrested but never detained by ICE, was sentenced to life in prison for the killing. 

“The Laken Riley Act has caused an increase in detainees, and these are people who have… you could have been here forever,” said Wilson, who said that illegal migrants can get arrested “walking across the street, jaywalking, or shoplifting, they will detain you and bring you right here.”

University of Georgia murder suspect Jose Ibarra lived within a five-minute walk of the approximate scene where he allegedly murdered 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on Feb. 22. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital/ Laken Riley/ Jose Ibarra)

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Wilson’s offices in Washington and Florida. 

The New York Attorney General’s Office has hired high-powered attorney Abbe Lowell to defend Attorney General Letitia James against fraud accusations being levied against her. 

The office confirmed it hired Lowell, who has represented high-profile political figures on both sides of the aisle, including Hunter Biden, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, former Sen. Bob Mendez and Bill Clinton. 

It is unclear whether taxpayer dollars are going towards James’ defense, as the attorney general’s office stopped answering questions once Fox News Digital began asking about how Lowell would be compensated.

Lowell will represent James as a private citizen, not as part of Winston & Strawn LLP, where he is a partner.

HUNTER BIDEN HIRES ALEX MURDAUGH’S LAWYER IN LATEST COURT CASE; ABBE LOWELL OUT

Abbe Lowell, right, has previously represented Hunter Biden. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

U.S. Federal Housing Director William Pulte is requesting the Department of Justice investigate James and consider prosecuting her for allegedly falsifying bank documents and records in order to garner more favorable loans. Lowell, who hung up on Fox News Digital when reached by phone, sent a letter to the DOJ Thursday urging them to reject Pulte’s request for prosecution.

Local reporting from the Times Union said the attorney general’s office indicated the decision to hire Lowell to defend James was, in part, based on their allegation that the Trump administration is pushing a politically motivated criminal referral in response to James bringing a civil case against Donald Trump last year for allegedly inflating asset values to obtain favorable loans.   

Lowell, in his letter to the DOJ that was directed to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, referred to Pulte’s criminal referral as “the latest act of improper political retribution” from Trump.

The New York Attorney General’s Office hired high-powered political attorney Abbe Lowell to represent Letitia James against accusations of fraud. (AP/Reuters/Fox News)

NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL CLAIMS DOJ’S MORTGAGE FRAUD ACCUSATIONS ARE ‘BASELESS’

“The stunning hypocrisy of President Trump’s complaint that the Justice Department had been ‘politicized’ and ‘weaponized’ against him is laid bare as he and others in his administration are now asking you to undertake the very same practice,” Mr. Lowell wrote.

In his letter, Lowell points to instances where Trump has called for revenge, and instances where the president has personally attacked James. 

President Donald Trump (LEFT) and New York Attorney General Letitia James (RIGHT). (Getty Images)

Lowell also went after the allegations, including that James listed a home in Virginia as her primary residence while serving as a state official in New York. According to Lowell, James had no intention of using the property as a primary residence and her indication of this in a power-of-attorney letter was a mistake. Lowell pointed out there were other documents where James indicated to her lender that the Virginia home would not be her primary residence.  

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A second accusation of fraud against James accuses her of inflating the number of livable units in a multifamily Brooklyn residence to receive better interest rates. Lowell accuses Pulte of disregarding updated documentation listing the residence as a four-unit multifamily residence, and instead pointing to a certificate of occupancy from 2001.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are pushing back against a report saying they have discussed lifting sanctions on Russian energy assets, calling the anonymously sourced article from Politico “totally fictitious” and “fake crap.”

The outlet released a report citing internal White House officials Thursday, indicating Witkoff and Rubio had been in discussions about potentially lifting energy-related sanctions as part of a wider peace negotiation to end the war in Ukraine.

“This is false,” Rubio and Witkoff said in a joint statement released by the White House. “Neither of us have had any conversations about lifting sanctions on Russia as part of a peace deal with Ukraine. This is just totally fictitious and irresponsible reporting from Politico, a fifth-rate publication. If they have an ounce of journalistic integrity, they will fully retract this piece of fiction.”

The report from Politico claimed “five people familiar with the discussions” said Witkoff has been a “main proponent” of lifting sanctions against Russian energy assets, including the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, one of the country’s main natural gas pipelines that goes to Europe. 

TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are pushing back against a report claiming they have been discussing lifting sanctions on Russian energy assets. (Getty Images; Fox News)

The Politico report claimed Rubio has tried to derail the efforts, saying there is an ongoing rift between U.S. energy export proponents and those who want to improve ties with Russia. 

When reached for comment, a Politico spokesperson said the outlet stands by its reporting.    

“There isn’t even a kernel of truth to this story – Politico was played by their ‘sources’ yet again,” Witkoff said in a separate statement posted by his X account after the report was published. “It’s embarrassing that they print this type of fake crap.”

Steve Witkoff meets with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. (Reuters )

“More bulls— from the liars at Politico smearing Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff with pure fake news,” Donald Trump Jr. posted on X. “How do they get away with continuing to run these fake stories????”

TRUMP HAS HIS OWN DEADLINE, ‘NO ALLEGIANCE TO ANYBODY’ IN UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL

“I hope Politico has good defamation insurance coverage,” Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee wrote on social media. “Or maybe I don’t.”

“Politico is a C-rated tabloid, fraught with poor sourcing and a TDS epidemic, pretending to be serious news,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly added. “This story is one of many pathetic tall tales that have been debunked, but their reporters are too desperate to report fake drama to discern truth from fact.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Getty Images)

Sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline were established during the first Trump administration and waived by President Joe Biden a few months after he entered office. However, Biden reinstituted the sanctions after Russia’s decision to enter into war with Ukraine. 

US–RUSSIA FLASHPOINT LOOMS OVER PUTIN’S PLANS FOR AFRICAN NAVAL BASE 

The energy sector has played a central role in the ongoing negotiations for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. has reportedly proposed taking control of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and is pushing to ink a critical minerals deal to help repay America’s military assistance. The U.S. has also reportedly floated the idea of taking over Ukrainian natural gas pipelines to help with the repayment. 

Russia and Ukraine recently ended a U.S.-brokered temporary truce, agreeing not to attack each other’s energy infrastructure, earlier this month.

But the negotiations reached a critical point after Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. is prepared to walk away from further ceasefire negotiations if the two sides do not strike a deal. Vance’s remarks were followed up by a post on Truth Social by the president, who blasted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for refusing to accept the annexation of Crimea as part of a peace deal.

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“We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE,” Trump said of Zelenskyy in his post. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on this story but did not receive a response in time for publication.   

The Trump administration is giving migrants as few as 12 hours to contest their deportation after being formally notified, according to an unsealed document released Thursday.

The filing came from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official. The document was revealed in Texas federal court in a pending challenge from lawyers representing detained migrants held in the state.

“Although there may be fact-specific exceptional cases, in a general case, after an alien is served with Form AEA 21-B, the alien is given a reasonable amount of time, and no less than 12 hours, including the ability to make a telephone call, to indicate or express an intent to file a habeas petition,” the document states. 

“If the alien does not express any such intention, then ICE may proceed with the removal, though such removal may not actually occur for many more hours or days, giving the alien additional time to express an intent.”

ACLU APPEALS TO SUPREME COURT TO STOP VENEZUELAN DEPORTATIONS; BOASBERG HOLDS EMERGENCY HEARING FRIDAY NIGHT

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago on Jan. 26. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Typically, those set to be deported would be allowed to file a habeas petition under the Alien Enemies Act within a 24-hour time period, which the document also addresses.

“If the alien does express an intent to file a habeas petition, the alien is given a reasonable amount of time, and no less than 24 hours, to actually file that petition,” the unsealed document reads. “If the alien does not file such a petition within 24 hours, then ICE may proceed with the removal, though such removal may not actually occur for many more hours or days, giving the alien additional time to file the petition.”

DEMOCRAT SENATOR VAN HOLLEN MEETS, SHAKES HANDS WITH ABREGO GARCIA

An ICE agent is shown during an enforcement operation in Chicago. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The document’s unsealing came days after the Supreme Court moved to halt President Donald Trump‘s deportations of Venezuelan criminals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

The decision, which was issued early Saturday morning, was contested by Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas.

“I refused to join the Court’s order because we had no good reason to think that, under the circumstances, issuing an order at midnight was necessary or appropriate,” Alito wrote in his dissent.

President Donald Trump (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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“Both the Executive and the Judiciary have an obligation to follow the law. The Executive must proceed under the terms of our order in Trump v. J. G. G., 604 U. S. ___ (2025) (per curiam), and this Court should follow established procedures.”

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Thursday blocked a portion of President Donald Trump’s executive order on election integrity, specifically provisions related to providing documentary proof of citizenship before being allowed to register to vote.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia handed down the order in response to lawsuits filed by three separate groups of plaintiffs over five different provisions in a March 25 Trump executive order relating to election integrity. While Kollar-Kotelly dismissed requests to block three of the provisions, requests to block two other provisions pertaining to a proof of citizenship requirement for voters were granted. 

The first blocked provision sought to compel the Election Assistance Commission to amend standardized national voter registration forms to require documentary proof of citizenship. The second sought to require federal agencies offering voter registration to people on public assistance to “assess” the individual’s citizenship status before doing so.

CITIZENSHIP VOTER REGISTRATION BILL IS ‘COMMON SENSE,’ GOP LAWMAKER ARGUES

Trump issued an executive order on March 25 calling for various provisions to strengthen the integrity of elections, including proof-of-citizenship requirements for voters. (REUTERS/DONALD TRUMP)

“Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States – not the President – with the authority to regulate federal elections. Consistent with that allocation of power, Congress is currently debating legislation that would effect many of the changes the President purports to order,” Kollar-Kotelly, a Clinton-appointee, wrote in her order. “No statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress’s deliberative process by executive order.”

Kollar-Kotelly said she would not block the other provisions that the groups sought to challenge, which cover mail-in ballots and data collection on citizenship status, calling the challenges “premature” and indicating they would be best challenged at the state level.

Earlier this month, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a bill requiring proof-of-citizenship to vote in federal elections. The measure still must pass the Senate, however, before the president can sign it into law. 

TOP OFFICIAL APPLAUDS RED STATE’S HISTORIC LEGISLATION REQUIRING PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP TO VOTE: ‘HUGE WINNERS’

Meanwhile, 25 states are considering some form of proof-of-citizenship legislation, according to the Voting Rights Lab, which is tracking such legislation. In total, 15 state constitutions have explicit prohibitions against non-citizen voting.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly’s order blocks two proof-of-citizenship requirements that Trump tried to usher through via executive order. (Getty)

In addition to Trump’s proof-of-citizenship orders getting shot down, two other federal judges from Maryland and New Hampshire also shot down additional orders from the president related to ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in K-12 public schools on Thursday.

The rulings followed lawsuits filed by the National Education Association, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Maryland chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. The groups argued that making federal funding contingent on whether educators squash their DEI programs violates First Amendment rights granted by the Constitution.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on this article but did not receive a response in time for publication. 

The Navy will no longer pursue a zero-emissions goal instituted under the Biden administration, Secretary John Phelan announced on Wednesday. 

“We need to focus on having a lethal and ready naval force, unimpeded by ideologically motivated regulations,” Phelan said in a video announcing he would rescind the Navy Climate Action 2030 Plan.

The plan had called for the Navy to use 100% emissions-free vehicles by 2035 and to use 100% carbon pollution-free electricity sources by 2030, with a 65% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. 

HEGSETH MAINTAINS WHITE HOUSE BACKING AMID ‘SMEAR CAMPAIGN’ ALLEGING LIKELY OUSTER

Then-Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus, left, observes an underway replenishment with Adm. Giuseppe De Giorgi, chief of the Italian navy, while aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87).  (Armando Gonzales/US Navy/Getty Images)

Naval installations all along the coast are threatened by rising sea levels and increased storms, Meredith Berger, the former assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment, argued at the time. 

“2030 is the marker that we laid down initially because the scientific community and others have said that this is the decade of decisive action, and so we’re taking that very seriously,” she told reporters.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth applauded Phelan’s move in a post on X: “Well done.”

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH REBUFFS NEW GROUP CHAT ALLEGATIONS AS ATTEMPT TO ‘SABOTAGE’ TRUMP’S AGENDA 

“We need to focus on having a lethal and ready naval force, unimpeded by ideologically motivated regulations,” Phelan said in a video announcing he would rescind the Navy Climate Action 2030 Plan. (Photographer: Peter Foley/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Under Biden’s Navy secretary, Carlos del Toro, the service branch produced a 32-page document deeming climate change “one of the most destabilizing forces of our time.” 

It laid out a series of climate change-related threats to the Navy: destructive storms, black flag days at or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit where strenuous training is curtailed, and strains on the energy grid as people compete for power. The document followed Biden’s own bold plan to make the U.S. economy net-zero-emissions by 2050. 

During the Obama administration, then-Navy Sec. Ray Mabus launched an effort dubbed the “Great Green Fleet,” aimed at renewable energy sources for warships. The effort was canned by the first Trump administration in 2017. 

Secretary Pete Hegseth applauded Phelan’s move in a post on X: “Well done.” (Franco Brana/AFP via Getty Images)

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In February, Hegseth ordered Pentagon agencies to identify 8% of their budget that could be cut, “low-impact and low-priority” Biden-era programs, and the funding redirected to Trump priorities. 

Programs that could be on the chopping block include “so-called ‘climate change’ and other woke programs, as well as excessive bureaucracy,” according to Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses. 

A federal judge in New Hampshire on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from cutting funding to public schools that maintain diversity programs, a setback to its broader crackdown on DEI.

U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty said the effort by Trump’s Education Department to block federal funding to public schools that continue to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs likely violates the First Amendment, presenting what she described as “textbook viewpoint discrimination.”

At issue is a memo sent by the Education Department this month to public schools nationwide, threatening to withhold Title I federal funds from public schools that continue to “unfairly” promote DEI views or programs.

The effort sparked an immediate wave of concern, and lawsuits, across the country from education groups that cited the importance of Title I funds as a critical source of funding for many low-income public schools.

 TRUMP-APPOINTED JUDGE ORDERS ADMINISTRATION TO RETURN SECOND DEPORTED MIGRANT

Demonstrators participate in a recent “Hands Off” protest in Columbia, S.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

The DEI-slashing effort was met with a wave of court challenges, including a lawsuit filed by the National Education Association, the group’s New Hampshire affiliate chapter, and the Center for Black Educator Development, who challenged the case in New Hampshire’s federal court.

Two other U.S. courts are slated to hear similar challenges to the Education Department’s effort, with one case in Washington, D.C., expected to be heard as early as this week.

McCafferty’s ruling stopped short of issuing a nationwide injunction to block the policy in all 50 states. 

Rather, it blocks the Trump administration from halting the disbursement of Title I funds to any schools that employ or contract with plaintiffs in the lawsuit. 

“The right to speak freely and to promote diversity of ideas and programs is … one of the chief distinctions that sets us apart from totalitarian regimes,” McCafferty said in her 82-page opinion, adding that the actions taken by the Education Department “threate[n] to erode these foundational principles.”

TRUMP URGES SUPREME COURT TO LET TRANS MILITARY BAN PROCEED

President Donald Trump holds an education-related executive order in the Oval Office as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Education Secretary Linda McMahon watch. (AP/Alex Brandon)

She also said the Trump administration failed to provide the court with a sufficient definition of the DEI programs that were at risk as a result of the anti-DEI push.

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The order comes after the Trump administration and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit reached a short-term agreement to delay the policy from taking force.

That agreement was slated to expire Thursday, prompting the court to rule on the matter.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin gifted President Donald Trump in March a portrait showing the moment Trump pumped his fist into the air in defiance after surviving an assassination attempt last year.

While outlets previously reported the gift as a mystery portrait, the Russian painter has now revealed the details behind his work, according to a Russian embassy. 

Artist Nikas Safronov said he created the painting in hopes that the artwork would strengthen U.S.-Russia ties, the Russian Embassy in Kenya said on Wednesday in a post on X.

The painting depicts Trump pumping his fist into the air while the other hand holds a red cap similar to Trump’s famed MAGA headwear. The American flag and Statue of Liberty are spread across the background, and blood is splattered across the president’s face.

TRUMP SAYS HE IS ‘PISSED OFF’ WITH PUTIN OVER LACK OF PEACE PROGRESS: REPORT

The mystery painting that Vladimir Putin gifted to Donald Trump back in March has been revealed. (Russian Embassy in Kenya/X)

“It was important to me to show the blood, the scar and his bravery during the attempt on his life,” Safronov told CNN. “He didn’t break down or become afraid, but raised his arm to show he is one with America and will bring back what it deserves.”

The painting is an illustration of a dramatic photo that captured the moment Trump survived an assassination attempt during a presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.

RUSSIA, UKRAINE AGREE TO BLACK SEA CEASEFIRE FOLLOWING US TALKS
 

The Kremlin commissioned a Russian artist to paint a photo of the moment President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt.  (Russian Embassy in Kenya/X/Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

Safronov has painted numerous global figures, including the late Pope Francis and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. He told the outlet that he was “visited by some people who said they want me to paint Trump as I see him.” 

While Safronov said he did not know who the visitors were, adding that some clients “do not go into details,” he suspected it was the Kremlin, the outlet reported.

“When I started the portrait, I realized this could bring our countries closer, and decided not to charge any money because I suspected what this painting was for,” the artist said.

TRUMP TELLS PUTIN ‘STOP’ AFTER DEADLY RUSSIAN STRIKES ON KYIV

In this photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian artist Nikas Sagronov talk during an awards ceremony in Moscow’s Kremlin. (Mikhail Metzel, Presidential Press Service, RIA Novosti/AP)

The painting was given to Trump envoy Steve Witkoff in March when the official was in Moscow seeking a ceasefire in the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, the Associated Press reported, citing Russian president’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

AP said Witkoff described the artwork as a “beautiful” portrait by “a leading Russian artist,” and added that Trump was “clearly touched by it.”

Donald Trump, left, and Vladimir Putin, right, have actively worked to mend their relationship since Trump returned to the U.S. presidency this year.

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While Trump and Putin have worked to strengthen their relationship, tensions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continue to simmer between the three countries. 

Russia recently pounded Kyiv with missiles and drones overnight and killed at least 10 people in the biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year. The attack on April 24 prompted a rare rebuke from Trump who said “Vladimir, STOP!” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth may have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan — but now he’s facing another battle: this time on his home turf at the Pentagon.

Controversy has plagued Hegseth since Trump first nominated him to serve as the secretary of defense, from sexual assault and drinking allegations, to two Signal chat debacles, and an op-ed suggesting that Hegseth may be on the way out. 

The new Signal controversy, along with the op-ed, are only the latest blows in what the Trump administration claims are sustained effort against Hegseth as defense secretary, dating back to his nomination. 

Scrutiny has heightened after a Sunday New York Times report said that Hegseth shared information about a March military airstrike against the Houthis in a Signal messaging app group chat that also included his wife, brother and personal lawyer.  

That incident follows a similar episode in March, when the Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a Signal group chat alongside Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and others, to discuss the same attack on the Houthis. 

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH REBUFFS NEW GROUP CHAT ALLEGATIONS AS ATTEMPT TO ‘SABOTAGE’ TRUMP’S AGENDA 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is facing a new battle.  (Franco Brana/AFP via Getty Images)

While the White House continues to back Hegseth, a series of Democratic coalitions and multiple lawmakers are calling for Hegseth’s resignation. 

Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., is urging for the Pentagon’s inspector general to launch an investigation into the recent Signal chat allegations.  

“Since he was nominated, I have warned that Mr. Hegseth lacks the experience, competence, and character to run the Department of Defense. In light of the ongoing chaos, dysfunction, and mass firings under Mr. Hegseth’s leadership, it seems that those objections were well-founded,” Reed said in a Sunday statement. “Accountability starts at the top, and I have grave concerns about Secretary Hegseth’s ability to maintain the trust and confidence of U.S. service members.”

Meanwhile, Vance told reporters Wednesday that he believed Hegseth is doing a “great job.” 

In response to a video post on X of Vance issuing the remarks, the Pentaton’s Rapid Response Team replied: “We will not be stopped. We will not be deterred.”

While the secretaries of defense historically have received bipartisan support in the Senate, the upper chamber did not issue broad backing for Hegseth’s nomination. 

The Senate confirmed Hegseth along party lines in January, with all 47 Democrats opposing his nomination. 

Every senator except for Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., voted to confirm Trump’s first secretary of defense in 2017, retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis. Likewise, the Senate voted in 2019 by a 90–8 margin to confirm Trump’s second secretary of defense, Mark Esper. 

HEGSETH SHARED DETAILS OF YEMEN STRIKES IN SECOND SIGNAL CHAT: REPORT

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Trump’s first secretary of Defense, received broad bipartisan support from the Senate during the confirmation process. 

Hegseth first came under fire as sexual assault allegations emerged leading up to his confirmation. For example, he told lawmakers in written responses during his confirmation process that he had paid $50,000 as part of a settlement payment to a woman who had accused him of sexual assault in 2017. The police report on the incident says a woman had alleged that Hegseth sexually assaulted her in a hotel room, confiscated her phone and blocked the door. 

Hegseth told lawmakers that he had been “falsely accused” by the woman. 

Hegseth also faced allegations of alcohol misuse during the confirmation process. In response, Hegseth told lawmakers that he is not a “perfect person,” but said he was the subject of a “coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media.”

Controversy has not left Hegseth since the Senate confirmed him in January, however. 

Hegseth’s role in the original Signal chat that included the Atlantic editor-in-chief, Goldberg, emerged in the spotlight in March following an initial report. Even so, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s team was responsible for creating the chat. 

Hegseth has said that no “war plans” were discussed in both the initial Signal chat with Goldberg, and the one with his wife. Additionally, he said that all discussions conducted over Signal were unclassified.

“I said repeatedly, nobody is texting war plans,” Hegseth told Fox News Tuesday. “I look at war plans every day. What was shared over Signal then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordinations, for media coordinations and other things. That’s what I’ve said from the beginning.”

Staff firings at the Pentagon have also shined a light on Hegseth’s leadership. 

John Ullyot, a former senior communications official for the Pentagon who stepped down from his post in April under Hegseth, wrote that the abrupt Friday firings of three of Hegseth’s “most loyal” advisors were alarming and “baffling.” Hegseth’s aide Dan Caldwell, his deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll, were all ousted. 

“The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,” Ullyot wrote in a Sunday op-ed for Politico. 

“Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.”

Support for Hegseth is also cracking within Trump’s own party. For example, Rep. Don Bacon, a former Air Force general who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, told Politico on Monday that Hegseth is an “amateur person” and that he doesn’t believe that Hegseth has the experience to lead the Pentagon. These concerns started from the “get-go,” said Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska. 

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., is the first Republican to call on Hegseth to resign.  (AP Photo)

NPR reported on Monday that the White House was eying a new secretary of defense. The story was based on one anonymous U.S. official who was not authorized to speak to the media. 

Meanwhile, the White House has pushed back on allegations that it is eyeing a replacement for Hegseth. 

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“He is bringing monumental change to the Pentagon, and there’s a lot of people in the city who reject monumental change, and I think, frankly, that’s why we’ve seen a smear campaign against the Secretary of Defense since the moment that President Trump announced his nomination before the United States Senate,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. 

“Let me reiterate: The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth and the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he’s achieved thus far speak for themselves,” Leavitt said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A second U.S. judge in Maryland ordered the Trump administration to return another man who was deported from the U.S. to El Salvador last month under the Alien Enemies Act – the latest case in a high-profile legal battle playing out in federal courts across the country.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, a Trump appointee, on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration violated a settlement agreement DHS reached last year with a group of young asylum seekers when it deported a 20-year-old man, referred to in court filings as “Cristian,” to El Salvador last month.

He was part of a group of migrants who had entered the U.S. illegally as unaccompanied children and who later filed asylum claims to remain in the U.S.

DHS agreed in the settlement that it would refrain from deporting any of the individuals in the class until their asylum claims could be fully adjudicated by a U.S. court.

Gallagher ruled that the government breached that agreement when it deported Cristian, a member of the class, and ordered that they return him to the U.S. 

News of the case and settlement in question was first reported by ABC News. 

FEDERAL JUDGE JAMES BOASBERG FINDS PROBABLE CAUSE TO HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT OVER DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

Trump holds a photo of Abrego Garcia’s hand tattoos at the White House. (President Trump/Truth Social)

Gallagher stressed in her ruling that, unlike other court challenges to Trump’s deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, this one centers on a “breach of contract” by the government. 

Her ruling also alluded to the deportation of Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member living in Maryland who was deported to El Salvador last month. U.S. officials have resisted court orders to facilitate his return to the U.S.

In response to this, Gallagher specifically tasked the Trump administration in her ruling with “making a good faith request to the government of El Salvador and to release Cristian to U.S. custody for transport back to the United States to await the adjudication of his asylum application on the merits by USCIS.”

The Trump administration, meanwhile, told the court it had determined that Cristian was eligible for removal under the Alien Enemies Act because he had been arrested and convicted for cocaine possession earlier this year.

They told the court that his designation as an “alien enemy pursuant to the AEA results in him ceasing to be a member” of the class that had negotiated a settlement. 

JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA

Inmates at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison, in Tecoluca, El Salvador on Jan. 27, 2025. (Marvin Recinos/AFP via Getty Images)

That agreement did not appear to hold water with Gallagher, who ordered the government not to remove any other members of the class until their asylum claims are properly adjudicated.

“Therefore, under the plain terms of the Settlement Agreement and fundamental tenets of contract law, removal from the United States of a Class Member, including but not limited to Cristian, without a final determination on the merits by USCIS on the Class Member’s pending asylum application violates the Settlement Agreement,” Gallagher said.

She also granted a temporary restraining order to another member of the class, an 18-year-old referred to as Javier, whom counsel for the group said was in “imminent danger” of being deported earlier this month, as ABC reported. 

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Gallagher agreed that Javier was covered by the settlement with the government and blocked his removal from the U.S.

FIRST ON FOX: A powerful House Committee is demanding information from DeepSeek on what U.S. data it used to train the AI model as members accuse the company of being in the pocket of the Chinese government.

In announcing a new probe into DeepSeek, House Energy and Commerce committee members penned a letter expressing concern that companies like it “harvest Americans’ personal and proprietary information and introduce new data security vulnerabilities into the U.S. economy.”

“DeepSeek admits to sending Americans’ personal information to servers in China, where it is undoubtedly accessed by officials connected to the Chinese Communist Party,” Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., said in a statement. “We are concerned that this close relationship with agents having close connections to our primary adversary jeopardizes our data and our national security.”

The company’s privacy policy states that it collects user data and stores it “in secure servers located in the People’s Republic of China.” That data entails all questions or chats sent to DeepSeek’s AI model and the answers provided.

DEEPSEEK FALLOUT: GOP SEN JOSH HAWLEY SEEKS TO CUT OFF ALL US-CHINA COLLABORATION ON AI DEVELOPMENT

Congress accuses DeepSeek of sharing data with CCP  (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

A growing number of states – New York, Texas and Virginia – have banned DeepSeek from government devices. 

It’s reminiscent of the arc of TikTok, where Chinese-owned ByteDance’s video-sharing platform became widely popular in the U.S. before growing skepticism of its data-sharing with the CCP. Now, the app is banned on government devices and may soon be banned entirely in the U.S. 

Several countries, including Canada, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan and Italy, have already blocked DeepSeek due to security risks. 

South Korea in February accused DeepSeek of sharing user data with ByteDance.

The letter expressed concern about how Chinese companies access U.S. technology to advance AI development. Reports have suggested that DeepSeek trained its R1 model by “distilling” outputs from American competitors. 

CHINA’S DEEPSEEK AI STARTUP RELEASES NEW MODEL IN RIVALRY WITH OPENAI

As part of a new probe into DeepSeek, Energy and Commerce Chairman Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., demanded information related to the AI training model and whether it shares data with the CCP.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc., via Getty Images)

Guthrie requested DeepSeek offer the committee a description of the types and sources of data used to train its AI models, including any U.S. proprietary or personal information, and confirm whether data collected by DeepSeek is shared with any Chinese state entity.

The letter also requests details on how the AI system is trained and whether any steps are taken to influence the system output to align with the CCP’s political goals.

READ THE LETTER BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

The letter requests a response by May 8. 

DeepSeek sent shockwaves across Silicon Valley and the rest of the U.S. as the company appears to be nearly matching the capabilities of chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but at a fraction of the development cost.

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The Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over AI and data privacy. Last year’s legislation that forced TikTok to divest from ByteDance, or face a ban in the U.S., originated with the committee. Trump has extended TikTok’s deadline twice, buying more time to work out a deal to keep the app operating in the U.S. 

In April, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a report finding that DeepSeek both funneled American data to China and manipulated the results it offers to align with CCP propaganda. 

FIRST ON FOX: Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the largest and most politically active unions in the country, contacted local California police with a plan to get arrested on purpose during a scheduled protest outside the office of GOP Rep. Young Kim, Fox News Digital has learned.

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that SEIU informed the Anaheim Police Department about a protest held Tuesday, in which they wanted to be arrested during a staged “civil-disobedience type of event.” The protesters planned to block the office entryway to prompt an arrest by police officers. 

Following conversations with law enforcement, the source said SEIU decided to go “in a different direction,” by holding a rally outside the office with “small civil disobedience toward the end,” like blocking a driver outside Kim’s office to get cited by police. 

“Sorry, I have no information on that,” an Anaheim Police Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital when reached for comment. 

FLORIDA PROTESTER SCREAMS AT REP. BYRON DONALDS DURING TENSE TOWN HALL

Members of SEIU contacted local California police with a plan to intentionally get arrested during a scheduled protest outside Rep. Young Kim’s office. (Getty Images)

When reached by Fox News Digital for comment, a spokesperson did not confirm or deny that SEIU called the cops on itself.

“I’m glad our action got your attention! You may have missed the real news today, which is that the lives of people with disabilities are at stake,” the spokesperson said while including information about the “devastating effects cutting Medi-Cal would have on Rep. Kim’s constituents who live with disabilities.”

‘CHAOS AND CONFUSION’: HOW DEMOCRATS INFILTRATED ‘THUNDEROUS’ GOP TOWN HALLS

About 1,000 people gathered outside Kim’s office on Tuesday in a peaceful protest where no one was arrested, ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported.

At one point, roughly a dozen people blocked a driveway near the building. Police instructed them to move and when they refused they were marched to another parking lot and cited with tickets for blocking a roadway, the outlet reported. 

Protesters gather in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 17, 2025. Protesters also gathered outside Rep. Young Kim’s office on Tuesday. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)

Protests outside representatives’ offices and at their town halls have erupted during President Donald Trump’s second term, as massive layoffs and spending cuts led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have triggered outrage among Democrats across the country. 

SEIU has been at the forefront of those protests nationwide, advocating for workers’ rights and protecting Americans’ access to healthcare. The protest outside Kim’s office was about protecting Medicaid as Democrats have been sounding the alarm about potential threats to the program since Trump’s November victory. 

“The GOP budget would gut $880 BILLION from Medicaid – the biggest cut in U.S. history – just to hand $7 TRILLION to billionaires. This will hurt working families, seniors, kids, veterans & people with disabilities,” SEIU posted on Friday. 

Rep. Young Kim speaks during a hearing March 10, 2021, on Capitol Hill. (Ting Shen-Pool/Getty Images)

While Democrats have said there is no way to preserve Medicaid given Trump’s ambitious tax cuts included in his “big, beautiful bill,” Republicans have maintained that Trump will not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits. 

Kim, whom the SEIU protesters were targeting with their staged arrests, joined 12 House Republicans in a letter to House leadership opposing any budget resolution that would make cuts to Medicaid services. Her office is also shutting down the implication that congressional Republicans are hiding from their constituents. 

“I had a productive meeting with many of these local healthcare advocates last week and will continue to make clear to House leadership and my constituents that any budget resolution that cuts vital Medicaid services for the most vulnerable citizens in our community will not receive my vote. My door is always open,” Kim told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

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

“Rep. Kim recently wrote to House leadership to make clear once again that any budget resolution that cuts vital Medicaid services for the most vulnerable citizens in our community will not receive her vote. She appreciates the work of these advocates on healthcare issues. She is committed to protecting and strengthening our healthcare system, including vital Medicaid services for our most vulnerable, and has worked across the aisle to expand access to care for her constituents,” a spokesperson for Kim added in a statement. 

Kim’s spokesperson said the California congresswoman was “recently ranked the most effective federal lawmaker from California” and emphasized her efficiency and bipartisan leadership in Congress. 

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Progressive protest groups organized disruptions at Republican-held town halls and local legislative offices earlier this year, effectively shutting them down. Some lawmakers, including Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., reported safety concerns following threats of violence. Many Republicans opted for tele-town halls as a result, citing productivity in a controlled environment. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the former vice presidential candidate, has joined a growing number of Democrats hosting town halls in Republican-held congressional districts, following reports that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) told congressional Republicans to stop holding in-person town hall meetings after protesters began disrupting them earlier this year. 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is continuing to advocate for the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program.

“Waste that s—,” the lawmaker declared to the Washington Free Beacon. “You’re never going to be able to negotiate with that kind of regime that has been destabilizing the region for decades already, and now we have an incredible window, I believe, to do that, to strike and destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities.”

“Years ago, I completely understood why Trump withdrew from the Obama deal. Today, I can’t understand why Trump would negotiate with this diseased regime. The negotiations should be comprised of 30,000-pound bombs and the IDF,” Fetterman noted, according to the outlet. The IDF is the Israel Defense Forces.

US CONFIRMS THIRD ROUND OF NUCLEAR TALKS WITH IRAN AFTER ‘VERY GOOD PROGRESS’

Sen. John Fetterman talks with reporters after the Senate luncheons in the U.S. Capitol on March 11, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman’s office to request a comment from the senator on Thursday morning but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The lawmaker, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, had already been calling for the elimination of Iran’s nuclear program.

Fetterman declared last week in a post on X, “The only purpose of Iran’s nuclear program is to create weapons. We can’t allow that or negotiate with this regime. Provide our comprehensive military support and whatever else Israel requires to destroy Iran’s capabilities.”

NUCLEAR WATCHDOG URGES ‘TRUST BUT VERIFY’ THAT IRAN ENGAGES IN GOOD-FAITH NEGOTIATIONS

President Donald Trump noted earlier this week that he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I’ve just spoken to Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, relative to numerous subjects including Trade, Iran, etc. The call went very well – We are on the same side of every issue,” Trump said in a Tuesday post on Truth Social.

JOHN FETTERMAN AND LINDSEY GRAHAM ADVOCATE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM

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Fetterman declared in part of an X post in January, “Whatever remains of Iran’s nuclear program needs to be destroyed and I fully support efforts to do so.”