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EXCLUSIVE: Vice President JD Vance will serve as the Republican National Committee’s finance chair, telling Fox News Digital that he will work with the party to “fully enact the MAGA mandate” and grow the Republican majority in Congress in 2026.  

The RNC Executive Committee voted unanimously to confirm Vance in the role, an RNC official told Fox News Digital. This is the first time in the history of the GOP that a sitting vice president will serve in the role. 

RNC BRINGS ON NEW SENIOR LEADERSHIP TO ‘WORK AROUND THE CLOCK’ TO SUPPORT TRUMP AGENDA, ELECT REPUBLICANS

An RNC official told Fox News Digital that Vance serving as finance chair is “unprecedented” and shows “just how much the White House and the RNC are in lockstep this cycle.”

JD Vance (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

“Everyone is laser-focused on growing our majorities in 2026, and we are going to aggressively fundraise to be ready for next year.”

Vance, in a statement to Fox News Digital, reflected on Trump’s “historic election victory, taking back the White House and helping Republicans regain control of the Senate and retain control of the House.” 

“But to fully enact the MAGA mandate and President Trump’s vision that voters demanded, we must keep and grow our Republican majorities in 2026,” Vance said. 

President Donald Trump (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I am excited to work with Chairman Whatley and the RNC leadership to build the war chest we need to deliver those victories next November,” Vance added. 

“JD will do a fantastic job as RNC Finance Chair,” President Trump said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “He knows how to fight and win tough races.” 

RNC CHAIR WHATLEY VOWS TO BE ‘TIP OF THE SPEAR’ TO PROTECT TRUMP AFTER COASTING TO RE-ELECTION VICTORY

The president added, “I’m glad he’ll be working with Michael Whatley to help us secure our elections, get out the vote, and win big next year!” 

RNC Chair Mike Whatley told Fox News Digital that Vance is “the definition of an American success story, rising from a childhood where his family faced great struggles to become one of the youngest vice presidents in our nation’s history.” 

Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Vice President Vance is not only one of our Party’s most talented messengers, he is also a thought leader who has helped remake the GOP into the party of working Americans representing the forgotten men and women of our country,” Whatley wrote. “I am continuously thankful to President Trump for the leadership and direction he provides the Party and am honored to work with Vice President Vance to grow our party and ensure President Trump has the votes in Congress to Make America Great Again.” 

Vance is succeeding outgoing National Finance Chair Richard “Duke” Buchan III. Trump appointed Buchan to serve as ambassador to Morocco. 

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Whatley thanked Buchan for his “tremendous service” to the RNC and the GOP and for his “support for President Trump.” 

“His efforts were an essential contribution to our success in 2024,” Whatley said. 

President Donald Trump will urge illegal immigrants to “self-deport” from the U.S. using a newly announced app from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Axios reported Monday.

Trump will send the message in a video set to release on social media platforms this week, calling on illegal immigrants to use the CBP Home app to announce their departure from the country. The DHS unveiled the app earlier this month after removing the Biden-era CBP One app, which was used to allow migrants into the U.S.

“People in our country can self-deport the easy way, or they can get deported the hard way, and that’s not pleasant,” Trump says in the video.

“The Biden administration exploited the CBP One app to allow more than 1 million aliens to illegally enter the United States. Now, my administration is launching the CBP Home app to give people in our country illegally an easy way to leave now and self-deport voluntarily,” he continues.

NEARLY 17 MILLION ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS LIVING IN THE US, 16% INCREASE SINCE 2021: ANALYSIS

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“If they do, they will have the opportunity to potentially return legally at some point in the future, but if they do not avail themselves of this opportunity, then they will be found. They will be deported, and they will never be admitted to the United States ever, ever again,” Trump adds.

NOEM ENDS BIDEN-ERA USE OF CONTROVERSIAL APP TO ALLOW MIGRANTS TO BOARD FLIGHTS, EXCEPT TO SELF-DEPORT

Trump goes on to say that using the CBP Home app is the “safest option” for both illegal immigrants and law enforcement, in addition to allowing law enforcement to focus resources on apprehending and deporting illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes.

The CBP Home app allows illegal immigrants to “Submit Intent to Depart” and submit information regarding their intent to leave the U.S. They can also provide information to verify they have left the U.S., a function limited to those who were paroled into the U.S. using the Biden-era app.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told illegal immigrants to “leave now” in a recent ad. (Getty Images/ Fox News Digital )

The Trump administration has moved rapidly to expand deportations and also cut the number of migrants entering the U.S., including via humanitarian parole, which dramatically expanded under the Biden administration.

Trump ended the use of the CBP One app to parole migrants on his first day in office. His administration has also paused applications for parole programs and allowed ICE to cancel parole statuses of migrants.

President Donald Trump has cracked down heavily on illegal immigration. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

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Last month, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ended the use of CBP One to allow migrants to board domestic flights, unless it is being used for their self-deportation. The administration has also canceled extensions of Temporary Protected Status for some nationalities.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin contributed to this report

Dan Bongino, President Donald Trump’s choice for deputy director of the FBI, has been sworn in to serve in the federal agency.

“It is an honor to serve as Deputy Director for the Federal Bureau of Investigation at such a critical time for our nation. The American people deserve a justice system that is transparent, accountable, and committed to the rule of law,” Bongino said in a Monday post on X. 

One of the photos included in the post appears to show Bongino being sworn in by FBI Director Kash Patel.

FBI INVESTIGATING RISE IN SWATTING INCIDENTS AFTER SEVERAL CONSERVATIVES TARGETED, KASH PATEL SAYS

Dan Bongino has been sworn in to serve as deputy director of the FBI. (@FBIDDBongino on X)

“My promise to you is that I will work tirelessly to help restore integrity, eliminate political bias, and ensure the FBI remains dedicated to its core mission of protecting the United States and upholding the Constitution,” Bongino continued.

Republican Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona shared Bongino’s post and wrote, “The FBI is so back.”

NEWLY SWORN-IN FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL WELCOMES DAN BONGINO AS DEPUTY DIRECTOR: ‘HE’S A COPS COP’

President Donald Trump’s choices for deputy director of the FBI in Dan Bongino (left) and director of the FBI in Kash Patel (right) (@FBIDDBongino on X)

“Welcome,” Patel said to Bongino in a post on X, adding, “Let’s get to work.”

The @FBI X account noted, “After his swearing-in ceremony as FBI Deputy Director, Dan Bongino paid his respects at the Wall of Honor, honoring the brave members of the #FBI who made the ultimate sacrifice and reflecting on the legacy of those who paved the way in the pursuit of justice and security.”

TRUMP ANNOUNCES DAN BONGINO WILL BE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI

Dan Bongino paid his respects at the FBI’s Wall of Honor after his swearing-in ceremony, according to the FBI. (@FBI on X)

Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and NYPD officer, stepped away from his successful podcast “The Dan Bongino Show” in order to serve in the FBI.

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“He was a member of the New York Police Department (New York’s Finest!), a highly respected Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, and is now one of the most successful Podcasters in the Country, something he is willing and prepared to give up in order to serve,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last month when announcing Bongino for the FBI post.

President Donald Trump has signed more than 80 executive orders since returning to the White House in January — prompting more than 100 lawsuits against his administration. 

While Democratic lawmakers have accused the Trump administration of launching a “constitutional crisis” within the U.S. as a result of these orders, the White House has claimed that “low-level” judges have issued unconstitutional injunctions barring Trump from implementing his agenda and that it will appeal adverse rulings. 

“You cannot have a low-level district court judge filing an injunction to usurp the executive authority of the President of the United States,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday. “That is completely absurd. … It’s very clear that there are judicial activists throughout our judicial branch who are trying to block this president’s executive authority.” 

Here are some of the judges, appointed under the Obama and Biden administrations, who’ve pushed back against Trump’s orders: 

James Boasberg

Boasberg has served as the chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia since March 2023, and was first appointed as a judge to the District Court in March 2011 under the Obama administration. 

Boasberg issued several key rulings on various cases during Trump’s first administration. For example, he blocked Arkansas, Kentucky and New Hampshire from implementing work requirement waivers for Medicaid recipients, after the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a policy permitting states to enforce the waivers for Medicaid recipients. 

Ultimately, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a ruling in February 2020 upholding Boasberg’s previous decision in the Kentucky and Arkansas case. In the ruling, the appeals court said that former Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar “failed to analyze whether the demonstrations would promote the primary objective of Medicaid — to furnish medical assistance.”

The Supreme Court then dismissed all pending cases related to the Medicaid work requirements in April 2022. 

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS JUDGE FOR ATTEMPTING TO HALT DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO EL SALVADOR: ‘NO LAWFUL BASIS’

James Boasberg has served as the chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia since March 2023.  (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty)

On Saturday, Boasberg issued an order halting the Trump administration from deporting migrants under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which permits deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing. 

However, the flight continued to drop off the migrants in El Salvador, and Leavitt said Sunday the order had “no lawful basis” since Boasberg issued it after the flight’s departure from U.S. airspace. 

Boasberg graduated from Yale College in 1985 and Yale Law School in 1990. He also served a seven-year term from 2014 to 2021 on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which handles surveillance requests for foreign intelligence gathering. 

Leo Sorokin

Sorokin, an Obama appointee, joined the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in 2014, after previously serving as magistrate judge on the same court. 

Sorokin spearheaded a delayed-sentencing program in Massachusetts known as the Repair, Invest, Succeed, Emerge, or RISE, program. The program offers some criminal offenders a yearlong delay in sentencing for some criminal offenders who qualify for pretrial release as they undergo an intensive supervision program.

“I’m thrilled with how the restorative justice part of RISE has gone, so we’re expanding,” Sorokin said at an event at Columbia Law School in 2020. “I think it’s lawful. I think it’s correct. I think it’s what we ought to be doing.”

Sorokin said his motivation to launch the RISE program stemmed from a conversation he had with a man convicted of bank robbery who explained he wanted to apologize to the bank teller and to his sisters for committing the crime. 

Sorokin blocked the Trump administration from implementing an executive order to ban birthright citizenship in February — joining other judges from Maryland and Washington state in issuing nationwide injunctions against the ban. The Trump administration requested the Supreme Court step in Friday and allow it to execute the order, and the Supreme Court requested responses from challengers by April 4. 

Sorokin attended Columbia Law School and has worked as a professor for Boston University School of Law. 

Amir Ali

Ali, a Biden appointee, is one of the newest judges to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, joining the court in December 2024. Ali also helped launch the MacArthur Justice Center’s Washington, D.C., branch in 2017, a nonprofit law firm that specializes in criminal justice reform and civil rights issues. 

Ali, who eventually led the firm as the executive director, argued and won two cases before the Supreme Court on behalf of the MacArthur Justice Center. 

Ali’s ties to the firm came under scrutiny during his confirmation hearing in February 2024 before the Senate, where lawmakers asked him about remarks his MacArthur Justice Center colleague, Cliff Johnson, made in 2020 asserting that defunding the police paves the way for a “movement toward making police departments obsolete.”

WHO IS JUDGE AMIR ALI? THE BIDEN-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S USAID BATTLE 

District Judge Amir H. Ali is a Biden appointee on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.  (United States District Court for the District of Columbia)

However, Ali told lawmakers that he didn’t espouse those views, nor did the MacArthur Justice Center. 

“Let me be very clear about this,” Ali said. “I have never advocated for taking away police funding. I would not take that position, and the MacArthur Justice Center has not taken that position.”

On March 11, Ali issued a ruling that determined the Trump administration likely exceeded its constitutional authority when it sought to halt payments the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) owed to contractors amounting to $2 billion in funding Congress had approved.

Ali has also taught classes on civil, criminal and appellate litigation at schools, including Harvard Law School and the Georgetown University Law Center. 

Beryl Howell

Howell, an Obama appointee, joined the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in 2010. She previously served as staff and as general counsel of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 1993 to 2003. 

Howell ruled against the Trump administration March 6, and wrote in her ruling that Trump did not have the authority to fire members of the National Labor Relations Board at will. The Trump administration dismissed National Labor Relations Board chair Gwynne Wilcox in January, prompting Wilcox to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration for violating the National Labor Relations Act, which states negligence and misconduct are the only causes to fire a member of the board. 

“A president who touts an image of himself as a ‘king’ or a ‘dictator,’ perhaps as his vision of effective leadership, fundamentally misapprehends the role under Article II of the U.S. Constitution,” Howell wrote in the ruling — a reference to a White House social media post in February depicting Trump wearing a crown with the caption “Long Live the King.” 

Howell also ordered that Wilcox be reinstated to her position. 

SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2 BILLION IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTS

President Trump fired National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, left. Judge Beryl Howell ordered the Trump administration to reinstate Wilcox in a ruling on March 6.  (NLRB; AP Photo; US District Court)

Howell attended Columbia University School of Law, and served as the deputy chief of the narcotics section and an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York from 1987 until 1993. 

Her work at the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York earned her the Attorney General’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance and other commendations for her work focusing on international narcotics, money laundering and public corruption cases.

She’s also worked as a professor of legal ethics at American University’s Washington College of Law. 

Ana Reyes 

Reyes, a Biden appointee, joined the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in February 2023 following a career as a litigation attorney with Williams & Connolly LLP focusing on international litigation, representing foreign governments, foreign government officials and multinational companies. 

Previous pro bono work also includes representing refugees for groups like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Human Rights First. She also received the Hispanic National Bar Foundation’s “Judicial Leadership Award” in 2023. 

Reyes is overseeing a case that LGBTQ legal rights advocacy group GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed in February against the Trump administration for its executive order barring transgender individuals from serving in the military. 

The groups are seeking a preliminary injunction pausing the ban while litigation is pending, and Reyes is expected to issue a final decision on the preliminary injunction by March 25.

Reyes attended Harvard Law School, and has co-taught classes at Yale Law School and Georgetown University Law Center on trial practice and advocacy in international arbitration. 

Loren AliKhan

AliKhan, a Biden appointee, joined the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in December 2023, after previously serving as an associate judge for the D.C. Court of Appeals. 

AliKhan ruled against the Trump administration in February, indefinitely blocking the Trump administration from freezing federal grants and loans. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit a group of nonprofit organizations filed in January after the Trump administration’s Office of Management announced a pause in loans and grants. Although the administration rescinded the memo, the White House clarified that the order still remained to freeze funds. 

LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday that the Trump administration will appeal adverse rulings.  (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)

“In the simplest terms, the freeze was ill-conceived from the beginning,” AliKhan wrote in a ruling in February. “Defendants either wanted to pause up to $3 trillion in federal spending practically overnight, or they expected each federal agency to review every single one of its grants, loans, and funds for compliance in less than twenty-four hours. The breadth of that command is almost unfathomable. Either way, defendants’ actions were irrational, imprudent and precipitated a nationwide crisis.”

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AliKhan attended Georgetown University Law Center, and supported O’Melveny & Myers, LLP’s Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Clinic at Harvard Law School, as well as the legal writing program at Yale Law School.

She received the National Association of Attorneys General’s “Senior Staff of the Year” award in 2020. 

Fox News Breanne Deppisch, Jake Gibson, Andrea Margolis, Lucas Y. Tomlinson and Bill Melugin contributed to this report. 

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is requesting data from 20 law firms about employment practices to increase diversity, equity and inclusion, which the federal agency warns may be illegal.

The commission’s acting chair, Andrea Lucas, sent letters to the firms seeking detailed information on DEI programs that may be in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

Some of the companies have made legal challenges to President Donald Trump’s policies targeting DEI or have connections to his political opponents. Perkins Coie; Hogan Lovells; Ropes & Gray; and WilmerHale are among the firms currently representing plaintiffs in lawsuits against the Trump administration.

Lucas said some of the firms had made public statements expressing their commitment to diversity in their workforces. At least two of the firms had numerical goals for recruiting lawyers based on their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity.

TRUMP EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PUTS EMPLOYERS ‘ON NOTICE’ TO STOP ‘ANTI-AMERICAN BIAS’

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is requesting data from 20 law firms about employment practices on diversity, equity and inclusion. (Getty Images)

She expressed concern that the firms’ employment practices “may entail unlawful disparate treatment in terms, conditions, and privileges of employment, or unlawful limiting, segregating, and classifying” based on race, sex and other protected characteristics.

“The EEOC is prepared to root out discrimination anywhere it may rear its head, including in our nation’s elite law firms,” Lucas said in a statement. “No one is above the law—and certainly not the private bar.”

The letters requested information about the internships, scholarships and fellowships the firms offer to law students, as well as the firms’ hiring and compensation practices.

Lucas also asked for the name, sex and race of every lawyer who has worked at or applied for a job at one of the firms since 2019 and wanted to know if each of them participated in diversity programs.

Some of the information was asked to be included in a “searchable Excel spreadsheet.”

‘UNLAWFUL DEI-MOTIVATED’ WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION TO BE ROOTED OUT BY TRUMP’S NEW ACTING EEOC CHAIR

The EEOC’s acting chair, Andrea Lucas, sent letters to the firms seeking detailed information on DEI programs that may be in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Andrew Harrer/Getty Images)

The EEOC can investigate companies’ employment practices and file lawsuits over allegations of discrimination, but only after a worker or one of the agency’s five commissioners brings a formal complaint. The agency gave no indication that Lucas had filed complaints against any of the firms.

Trump has sought to eliminate DEI programs across the country, including in the federal government, higher education and the private sector.

The president has also taken action against high-profile law firms over their DEI practices.

Trump issued executive orders this month targeting Perkins Coie as well as Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison over the two firms’ alleged discriminatory internal diversity policies and previous work for his political opponents. The orders revoked security clearances for lawyers at the firms and restricted their government access and federal contracting work.

The order targeting Perkins Coie also directed Lucas to “review the practices of representative large, influential, or industry-leading law firms” even though the commission was designed to operate independently of the White House.

President Donald Trump has sought to eliminate DEI programs across the country, including in the federal government, higher education and the private sector. (Getty Images)

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Perkins Coie sued on allegations that the order violated its rights under the U.S. Constitution. A judge temporarily blocked parts of the order last week.

Some companies have previously adopted policies to encourage diversity from their outside law firms.

Lucas, in the letters, asked law firms to identify clients since 2019 that have had “diversity requirements” or stated preferences for employee staffing. She also asked for the firms’ actions in response to the client requirements, including producing related documents.

Reuters contributed to this report.

President Trump has spent the last decade railing against fake news, a phrase that’s now deeply embedded in our culture.

He has accused the media of being relentlessly biased against him – which is largely true – and called out journalists by name. He has sued such outlets as ABC News (which paid him $16 million), CBS and the Des Moines Register.

He has charged that Politico received payments for negatively covering him – it turned out these were routine subscriptions, and for the New York Times as well – and then canceled many of the subscriptions.  

TRUMP ORDERS THE DISMANTLING OF GOVERNMENT-FUNDED, ‘PROPAGANDA’-PEDDLING MEDIA OUTLET

But in a controversial speech at the Justice Department, Trump went further than ever before. He said the Times, the Washington Post and the major networks were engaged in “illegal” reporting.

The president did not specify what was illegal about it. But perhaps there’s a short distance between Trump’s accusation and a future prosecution?  

The DOJ speech drew heavy coverage. The Times said he “veered from his prepared remarks to lash out at lawyers and former prosecutors by name in a venue dedicated to the impartial administration of justice. He also accused the department’s previous leadership of trying to destroy him and declared former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. the head of a ‘crime’ family.”

President Trump has effectively gutted Voice of America. He’s castigated the outlet as unabashedly leftist and once called it the “voice of the Soviet Union.” (Getty Images )

The Post quoted Trump as saying his enemies had “launched one hoax and disinformation operation after another, broke the law on a colossal scale, persecuted my family, staff and supporters, raided my home, Mar-a-Lago, and did everything within their power to prevent me from becoming the President of the United States.” The paper added: “It is rare for a president to visit the Justice Department — which has kept safeguards between the White House and the law enforcement agency in the post-Watergate era to ensure that politics don’t interfere with law enforcement investigations.”

But here’s the fascinating part.

The Times and the Post made no mention of Trump’s “illegal” reporting charge. Didn’t give it as much as a paragraph. Couldn’t squeeze it in (I say in jest, since space is unlimited in the digital age).

I see two possible explanations for this.

One is that they are so offended by the president’s accusation, which they view as false, that they don’t want to give it any oxygen and share it with readers. In other words, when the president is shooting arrows at you, it’s best to deflect them.

The other is that they fear that there might be a prosecution down the road – given Trump’s history of civil lawsuits – and don’t want to cross him on this issue. In short, they are intimidated by the president.

President Trump’s charges of “illegal” reporting by major outlets wasn’t initially met with any real kind of direct, scathing rebuke one would expect. (Pool via AP)

But here’s the thing: If two of the nation’s preeminent newspapers aren’t going to defend themselves on the charge of illegality, who is? How can they expect any backing when they won’t stand up for themselves, by censoring Trump’s remarks?

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the president all but abolished the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe with an executive order aimed at its parent agency – whose special adviser is former Arizona candidate Kari Lake.

Trump ordered 1,300 journalists, executives and other staffers placed on indefinite leave. His argument is that they’re part of the radical left. He’s a longtime critic of VOA, having once called it the “voice of the Soviet Union.”

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

Carla Babb, the VOA’s Pentagon correspondent, posted this: “A silencing of VOA will be celebrated by communists, autocrats and ayatollahs whose lies we shed light on.” 

The VOA was launched during World War II and credited with successfully countering enemy propaganda for decades. But there’s a legitimate debate to been had about who the “enemy” is these days, given Trump’s friendly relationship with Vladimir Putin.

What’s more, people aren’t huddled around their radios as they were in 1942.

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But those who were laid off indefinitely consider themselves independent journalists – and suddenly find themselves out of a job.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Monday that “the ball is now in Russia’s court” to accept a U.S.-proposed ceasefire deal that Ukraine agreed to last week.

The U.S.-backed proposal, which includes an immediate 30-day ceasefire and guaranteed resumption of U.S. military aid and intelligence to Ukraine, was finalized during diplomatic talks in Saudi Arabia last week.

“Ukraine expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate interim 30-day ceasefire to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The ball is now in Russia’s court,” Bruce said during the State Department’s second briefing of Trump’s second term. “Following this historic meeting, Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio traveled to the G7 in Canada, where our partners expressed support for a swift and a durable end to this conflict.”

UKRAINE UNVEILS 600-MILE CRUISE MISSILE THAT CAN REACH MOSCOW AMID PEACE TALKS

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Monday that “the ball is now in Russia’s court” to accept a U.S.-proposed ceasefire deal that Ukraine agreed to last week. (Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Pool via REUTERS/Leah Millis/Alina Smutko)

After President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, Putin said during a news conference that he agreed with the truce in principle, noting, “The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it.” Meanwhile, Trump’s national security advisor, Michael Waltz, said following the meeting that there is “cautious optimism” a ceasefire could be close at hand.

While a ceasefire appears imminent, Russia and Ukraine still need to resolve key disagreements before finalizing the deal.

RUSSIA WANTS ‘IRONCLAD’ GUARANTEE THAT UKRAINE WILL BE BARRED FROM NATO: OFFICIAL

These include negotiations related to Ukraine’s entrance into NATO — which Russia has said is a non-starter — territorial integrity disputes and security guarantees, such as whether NATO peacekeeping troops will be allowed in Ukraine to maintain the ceasefire. Potential prisoner swaps will also need to be ironed out between the two warring nations.

While a ceasefire appears imminent, Russia and Ukraine still need to resolve key disagreements before finalizing the deal. (Getty Images)

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Trump has also signaled that control of certain land and power plants in Ukraine would also be part of the negotiations.

While Trump and his team have expressed optimism about the deal, GOP South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said only “time will tell” whether Putin plans on “deceiving us.”

U.S. airstrikes over the weekend took out Houthi drone, missile and air defense systems, but it remains to be seen whether they struck a lethal blow at their main target: the Iranian regime’s resolve. 

Joint Staff Director for Operations Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich told reporters “dozens of military casualties” had so far been counted, and that he had seen “no credible indications of any civilian casualties.” 

He added that an initial wave of strikes “hit over 30 targets at multiple locations, degrading a variety of Houthi capabilities.” 

“These included terrorist training sites, unmanned aerial vehicle infrastructure, weapons manufacturing capabilities, and weapons storage facilities.” 

US MILITARY SHOOTS DOWN HOUTHI DRONES AS TRUMP’S STRIKES AGAINST TERRORIST GROUP CONTINUE

Houthi rebel fighters march during a rally of support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo)

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed 53 people had been killed, including five children. Attacks began Saturday and continued into Monday. 

Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said the message in the strikes was, “If you shoot at American troops there will be consequences.” 

At the same time, he emphasized, “this is also not an endless offensive. This is not about regime change in the Middle East, this is about putting American interests first.”

But President Donald Trump had been clear that while the Houthis were the target of the attacks, Iran would be held responsible for any retaliation. 

“Any further attack or retaliation by the ‘Houthis’ will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there. Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control,” he wrote on Truth Social. 

“They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, ‘Intelligence.’ Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!”

IRANIAN GENERAL RESPONDS TO TRUMP THREATS AGAINST HOUTHI REBELS

The Houthis announced last week they would ramp up attacks on the Red Sea once more, claiming they were doing so to pressure Israel to allow humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza. 

The group had halted strikes in January when the Gaza ceasefire was first announced. 

Trump last week tried the diplomatic route with Iran, writing a letter to its supreme leader asking for engagement in nuclear talks. But Iran, enraged by Trump’s stated intentions to return to a “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign, said it would not engage with the U.S.

Trump has said its strikes will continue “with overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthis are eliminated as a threat. 

But what elimination would look like – especially if the Houthi attacks persisted – was vague. 

US NAVY SHIPS REPEL ATTACK FROM HOUTHIS IN GULF OF ADEN

“President Trump is taking action against the Houthis to defend U.S. shipping assets and deter terrorist threats,” the White House posted on X on March 15, 2025. (The White House)

Parnell refused to say whether U.S. troops could be deployed to Yemen. “It’s very difficult, if not impossible, for us to talk about force, posture from this podium,” he said. “It’s very important to keep the enemy guessing.”

Zineb Riboua, research fellow and program manager of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, explained that the U.S. strikes aimed to destroy missile and launch sites used to target Red Sea shipping and disrupt supply chains that feed Iranian weaponry to the Houthis.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell during a press conference at the Pentagon on March 17, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“However, the effectiveness of these operations depends on two key factors: Did they cripple Houthi capabilities? The group has proven resilient, especially if Iran continues to funnel weapons and intelligence support,” Riboua said. 

The Houthis responded with unsuccessful strikes on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed Sunday that over the past 18 months, Houthi fighters had attacked the U.S. Navy “directly” 174 times and had targeted commercial shipping 145 times using “guided precision anti-ship weaponry.”

The Houthis in recent years have attacked unarmed Western ships carrying goods through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden – and the U.S. military has responded with strikes that were seemingly limited in scope, not a full-scale declaration of war.

The attacks have led to perilous waters along a trade route that typically sees some $1 trillion in goods pass through it, as well as shipments of aid to war-torn Sudan and the Yemeni people.  

“We are already on day 3 of the military campaign and it has been unrelenting. This is much different than the smaller and more limited strikes during the Biden administration,” said Hudson fellow Rebecca Heinrichs.

“The days of pinprick responses where we allow that to occur is over. That’s, I think, a pretty clear statement from the administration as a whole as well,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters Monday of the renewed offensive. 

Smoke rises from an explosion after a projectile hit a group of buildings at an undisclosed location on March 15, 2025. (U.S. Central Command/Handout via Reuters)

Iran sought to distance itself from its proxy forces. Pamilitary Revolutionary Guard Gen. Hossein Salami said Iran “plays no role in setting the national or operational policies” of the groups it allies itself with. 

But some restraint-minded voices don’t believe the U.S. should be spending its resources to fight the Houthis, who haven’t publicly attacked maritime positions since November. 

“The people affected, I think, are more European and Chinese than American,” said Ben Friedman, policy director at Defense Priorities. “So it’s not clear to me why the U.S. should be doing this. If the Europeans want to deal with it, fine, but I don’t think everything needs to be our responsibility, especially when they’re not doing much damage [to us].”

“He’s doing what should have been done under the Biden administration,” said Gene Moran, former Navy captain and former advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. But at the same time, “We shouldn’t be fooled into thinking we can knock down an ideology with kinetic weapons. We’ve made that mistake time over time, something needs to be done with Iran. 

“Trump has proven with his relationship with Russia, he can flip the table over a weekend, change the whole conversation. So I would think that Trump would do something very decisive with Iran. He may find he doesn’t have to do that with kinetic power.” 

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Iran’s uranium enrichment has breached 60%, dangerously close to the 90% enrichment needed to make a bomb. 

Tehran still denies it is pursuing a nuclear weapon, but experts have said there is no civilian use for 60% enriched uranium. 

California Republicans, energized by district gains made during the 2024 general election, selected their new party leader, Corrin Rankin, a former surrogate for President Donald Trump, over the weekend at the CAGOP annual convention in Sacramento. 

She is the first-ever Black woman to hold the position, and she’s pro-MAGA.

“It’s time to end the Democrats’ one-party rule and make California great again,” the new CAGOP chair said to delegates after her win on Sunday.

In an interview with Fox News Digital on Monday, Rankin said there is “an outcry for commonsense politicians in California” and that the party, which has noticeably been given new life by Trump, is strongly aligned with the president’s national agenda. It’s an uphill battle against the state’s deep-blue Democrat trifecta, but it’s one that Rankin has her eyes set on as she prepares to lead the party under a second Trump term.

NEWSOM’S ‘UNFAIR’ REMARK ON GIRLS’ SPORTS BELIES RECORD AS GOVERNOR: ‘ABSOLUTE BULLS—‘

California Republicans chose their new party leader, former Trump campaign surrogate Corrin Rankin. (Corrin Rankin)

“I’ve worked on every single one of his campaigns for the past 10 years, and I have a great relationship with the Trump administration, and I plan to continue that,” Rankin said. “I want to welcome President Trump. We want to invite him to California. We would like to see him here as many times as we can.”

In the 2024 general election, Trump flipped several California counties red that had supported former President Joe Biden in 2020. Those counties include Butte, Fresno, Imperial, Inyo, Lake, Merced, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin and Stanislaus.

“A lot of people are favoring his policies show that through the campaign, a lot of counties flipped from blue to red, and a lot of voters voted for the top of the ticket,” said Rankin, who was the 2016 statewide coalition director for African Americans for Trump. “They voted for President Trump, and that goes across the aisle, people were voting for him.”

NEWSOM CALLS BIOLOGICAL MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS ‘DEEPLY UNFAIR’ IN PODCAST WITH CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST

President Donald Trump speaks as first lady Melania Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom listen after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 24, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Rankin said there’s an “underlying change” occurring in California, as the party is hopeful it can make the state less blue while more voters move to the center. The new GOP chair pointed to the newly elected mayor of San Francisco, Daniel Lurie, who is “a lot more moderate than the former mayor, London Breed,” as an example of that change.

“I think that California is moving from the far left and more towards the center, and as the California Republicans, it’s our job to make sure that we are offering solutions, that we’re articulating our policies and our vision and how we want to represent our constituents,” Rankin said.

The economy and public safety are going to be two major platform issues for the CAGOP moving forward, Rankin added. California has some of the highest state income and business taxes in the nation, and Republican lawmakers have doubled down in recent years, introducing bills to address affordability and the uptick in crime across the state’s major cities. 

The Golden State will hold its gubernatorial election in November 2026, with the next governor replacing termed-limited Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom. Rankin said the CAGOP has not favored any candidates yet and is waiting to see the full landscape of candidates who throw their hat in the race. 

NEWSOM SIGNS $50M ‘TRUMP-PROOFING’ LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE

The California State Capitol building in Sacramento (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League)

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Regarding Trump’s contentious relationship with Newsom, who signed a $50 million package bolstering the state’s legal defense against potential threats from the administration, Rankin said the CAGOP’s role will be contributing to the “ongoing conversation” between state and national politics. 

“We’re going to make sure that our message is heard and that our message resonates with Californians and [Californians] know and understand the position of California Republicans,” Rankin said. “And I think, at the end of the day, we take a look at Prop. 36 and how it passed overwhelmingly, and that was a Republican-led initiative to make sure that we are fighting back on these Newsom-led soft-on-crime policies; and Californians overwhelmingly voted with us, so we’re going to take that same approach to every single issue.”

President Donald Trump on Monday announced that he would release around 80,000 unredacted files on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Tuesday. 

Trump made the announcement while touring the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

“While we’re here, I thought it would be appropriate, we are, tomorrow, announcing and giving all of the Kennedy files. So, people have been waiting for decades for this, and I’ve instructed my people… lots of different people, [director of national intelligence] Tulsi Gabbard, that they must be released tomorrow,” he said. 

“You got a lot of reading. I don’t believe we’re going to redact anything. I said, ‘just don’t redact, you can’t redact,’” the president said.

DEADLINE LOOMS FOR RELEASE OF JFK ASSASSINATION FILES

President Donald Trump was voted in as the Kennedy Center’s board chair earlier this year after remaking the venue’s board of trustees. (Getty Images)

He noted that the files would be “very interesting.”

In January, Trump signed an executive order directing the release of federal government documents related to the assassinations of Kennedy, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER TO DECLASSIFY FILES ON JFK, RFK AND MLK ASSASSINATIONS

President Donald Trump on Monday said he will order the release of thousands of pages related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Tuesday.  (Associated Press)

Trump had promised to release the previously classified documents during his 2024 campaign after decades of speculation and conspiracy theories about the killings. 

“Everything will be revealed,” Trump told reporters at the time. 

During his first term in office, Trump promised to release all the files related to John F. Kennedy, but an undisclosed amount of material remains under wraps more than six decades after Kennedy was killed Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas. The primary suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, was killed two days later by Jack Ruby. 

After appeals from the CIA and FBI, Trump blocked the release of hundreds of records. Trump said at the time the potential harm to U.S. national security, law enforcement or foreign affairs is “of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure.”

President John F. Kennedy waves from his car in a motorcade in Dallas, with first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, right, Nellie Connally, second from left, and her husband, Texas Gov. John Connally, far left, Nov. 22, 1963. (AP Photo/Jim Altgens, Fil (AP Photo/Jim Altgens, Files)

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The JFK assassination has remained a point of interest among the public for decades amid conspiracy theories about the involvement of a second shooter.  

President Donald Trump on Monday announced that former President Joe Biden’s adult children will no longer receive U.S. Secret Service protection. 

In a Truth Social post, Trump remarked that Hunter Biden has received Secret Service protection for an “extended period of time.”

“There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous!” Trump wrote. “Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection.”

WHO IS SEAN CURRAN? HEAD OF TRUMP’S PERSONAL DETAIL TO BE NOMINATED FOR SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR

A Secret Service member and members of the crowd are seen at republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump’s rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.   (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Ashley Biden, Hunter’s sister, will have her Secret Service protection revoked as well. Trump noted that 13 agents were assigned to her security detail. 

“We are aware of the President’s decision to terminate protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden,” the Secret Service told Fox News Digital. “The Secret Service will comply and is actively working with the protective details and the White House to ensure compliance as soon as possible.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hunter Biden’s lawyers. 

Ashley Biden arrives ahead of Hunter Biden’s trial at federal court, Monday, June 3, 2024, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Former presidents and their spouses receive life-long Secret Service protection under federal law, but the protection afforded to their immediate families over the age of 16 ends when they leave office, though both Trump and Biden extended the details for their children for six months before leaving office, the Associated Press reported. 

Former President Biden allowed Baron Trump to keep his Secret Service protection after his 16th birthday. 

SECRET SERVICE STRUGGLE TO PROTECT PRESIDENTS WON’T SEE ‘IMMEDIATE’ END EVEN WITH MORE MANPOWER: RETIRED AGENT

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 6, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware. The trial for Hunter Biden’s felony gun charges continues today with additional witnesses.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

In his post, Trump said Biden was vacationing in South Africa, which has come under intense pressure from the administration over its land exploration law that allows the government to make land seizures without compensation and its support for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and Iran, 

Trump said the seizures discriminate against White land owners. 

“Because of this, South Africa has been taken off our list of Countries receiving Economic and Financial Assistance,” Trump wrote. 

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said South Africa’s ambassador to the United States “is no longer welcome” in the country. In a Friday webinar, Ebrahim Rasool talked of the Trump administration’s crackdowns on diversity and equity programs and immigration.

FILE – A Secret Service agent, July 20, 2022, in New York. Secret Service agents protecting President Joe Biden’s granddaughter have opened fire after three people tried to break into an unmarked Secret Service vehicle in Washington. That’s according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on Monday. It happened Sunday night in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File) (AP)

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“The supremacist assault on incumbency, we see it in the domestic politics of the U.S.A., the MAGA movement, the Make America Great Again movement, as a response not simply to a supremacist instinct, but to very clear data that shows great demographic shifts in the U.S.A. in which the voting electorate in the U.S.A. is projected to become 48% white,” the South African ambassador said.

Rubio accused Ebrahim Rasool of being a “race-baiting politician” who hates Trump. In a post on X, Rubio declared the South African diplomat “persona non grata.”

President Donald Trump said he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about the final points of a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said many “elements” of the Final Agreement” have been agreed to “but much remains.”

“Thousands of young soldiers, and others, are being killed. Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW,” Trump wrote. “I look very much forward to the call with President Putin.”

TRUMP, PUTIN CALL EXPECTED THIS WEEK, AS ADMIN EDGES CLOSER TO RUSSIA-UKRAINE CEASEFIRE DEAL: WITKOFF

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with members of the Security Council via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 13, 2024.  (Aleksey Babushkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo)

Some points of discussion could involed territorial concessions by Kyiv and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The Trump administration has been working on a deal to end the three-year war. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko reportedly said that the Kremlin wants an “ironclad” guarantee that Ukraine will be prohibited from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that “we have never been closer to peace,” as the U.S. waits for Russia’s answer on a 30-day ceasefire agreement. 

Ukraine accepted the deal earlier in the week after a meeting with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia, on the condition that Moscow commits to the plan.

PUTIN IN NO RUSH TO FOLLOW ‘TRUMP TIME’ CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL

President Donald Trump (center), Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right). (Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto via Getty Images | Contributor/Getty Images | Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for tougher sanctions on Russia and accused Putin of trying to drag out the peace talks to prolong the war.

“It’s clear to everyone in the world—even to those who refused to acknowledge the truth for the past three years—that it is Putin who continues to drag out this war,” the Ukrainian leader wrote Monday on X. “For a week now, Putin has been unable to squeeze out ‘yes’ to the ceasefire proposal. He’s saying whatever he wants, but not what the whole world wants to hear.”

He called for world leaders to pressure Moscow into ending the conflict.

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“The unconditional ceasefire proposal is essentially about saving lives, allowing diplomats to work on ensuring security and a lasting peace—the proposal that Russia is ignoring,” he said. “Pressure is needed to finally make Moscow accept that their war must be brought to an end.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., reside just a few blocks from one another as you traverse from Prospect Heights to Park Slope in Brooklyn.

But political observers suspect there’s practically a bridge of political distance spanning between the two Brooklyn Democrats now. Schumer decided to help Republicans break a filibuster and forestall a government shutdown last week. Schumer’s decision triggered howls of derision from House Democrats who were practically unified in their opposition to the GOP spending package. Schumer and nine other Democrats voted to break the filibuster. That sent many Democrats into a fit of apoplexy. 

Distance and geography helps us understand this perceived chasm between Schumer and Jeffries.

It’s a solid 40 miles from the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Va., to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. After the House voted to approve the emergency spending bill last Tuesday, Democrats high-tailed it to Leesburg for their annual issues retreat. Jeffries and other Democratic leaders held a press conference on the first day. Other Democrats spoke at nine news conference on the succeeding days.

TOP HOUSE DEMOCRAT LEAVES SCHUMER IN THE COLD AMID LEFT’S DISARRAY ON SHUTDOWN DRAMA

But back on Capitol Hill last Friday, Jeffries and other Democratic leaders would speed back from Leesburg for a news conference just before the vote to break a filibuster on the spending measure.

Schumer asserted that sidestepping a government shutdown was the lesser of two evils. He argued that a shutdown would further empower President Trump and Elon Musk to slash the federal workforce and shutter departments.

Jeffries wasn’t buying it. And he needed to signal to House Democrats about what side he was on.

A notable rift recently opened between House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., after the latter’s decision to help Republicans break a filibuster and forestall a government shutdown. (Getty Images)

“House Democrats remain strongly opposed to the partisan Republican spending bill that will hurt families, hurt veterans, hurt seniors, and hurt the American people,” said Jeffries. “It is a false choice that Donald Trump, Elon Musk and House Republicans have been presenting.”

Schumer and Jeffries spoke after the top Democrat in the Senate announced he would reluctantly vote to break a filibuster – and bring several Democratic colleagues along with him. Republicans control the Senate. But they only have 53 votes. Sixty votes are necessary to crush a filibuster. That’s where Democrats come in.

And Schumer relented.

SCHUMER UNDER FIRE FROM DEMOCRATS FOR SUPPORTING REPUBLICAN SPENDING BILL, FUELING LEADERSHIP CONCERNS: REPORT

“Is it time for new leadership in the Senate,” asked Chase Williams of Fox Business to Jeffries at the hastily arranged House Democratic leadership news conference on Capitol Hill.

“Next question,” replied Jeffries.

Another reporter tried a different approach.

Jeffries has remained mum on whether he maintains faith in Schumer to act in the Democratic Party’s interest. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

“Have you lost confidence in him, the fact that you guys see this so differently,” asked the reporter.

“Next question,” echoed Jeffries.

What’s unsaid is often what speaks the loudest in politics. That’s what was so striking about Jeffries’ identical responses when asked about his fellow Brooklynite. Again, Jeffries seethed about the bill and how Schumer caved to the Republicans. Otherwise, he and other Democratic leaders wouldn’t have hustled back to Capitol Hill from suburban Virginia to blast the legislation.

DEMOCRATS BLAST SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER FOR BACKING GOP SPENDING BILL

Yours truly wanted to follow up after the press conference, given Jeffries’ direct reticence about Schumer.

“Why were you afraid to say anything about Schumer when you were asked?” I questioned Jeffries as he walked out of the House Radio/TV Gallery studio.

Jeffries demeanor is usually cooler than a swirled Mister Softee cone under a shade tree in Prospect Park in August. But after my question, Jeffries stopped in his tracks and flashed a hint of anger.

The usually calm, collected Jeffries seems unusually testy when asked about the state of his relationship with his Senate counterpart. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

“Don’t characterize! No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No,” admonished Jeffries,

“But my question was, why are you afraid to say anything?” I interjected.

“Do not characterize my remarks. I’m not afraid about anything. Anything!” said Jeffries. 

“You went to another question,” I noted.

“I said I was very clear that we look forward to working with every single one of our Senate Democratic colleagues. Every single one of them who pushed back against the Trump administration. Every single one of them. It’s very clear,” said Jeffries.

MSNBC PANEL GRILLS SCHUMER FOR SUPPORTING GOP SPENDING BILL

So Jeffries had the fine line to walk. Incinerate the interim spending bill. Show rank-and-file Democrats how unhappy he was with what the Senate was doing. Yet be careful about what he says about Schumer.

But as we said, what’s unsaid often speaks the loudest. Jeffries demonstrated his displeasure. But frankly, Jeffries didn’t have to say much. Just returning to the Capitol said everything. And doing so right after getting an earful from House Democrats about Schumer’s maneuver may have scored Jeffries some points.

So, back to the questions at the House Democratic leadership press conference…

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., opposed the interim spending bill, but was torn because of the sheer volume of federal workers comprising his constituency. (Reuters)

“Is it time for new leadership in the Senate?” And, has Jeffries “lost confidence” in Schumer?

The second interrogative is not as important. Democrats nationally – if not Senate Democrats – will determine what they want to do with Schumer. If anything.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., opposed the interim spending bill. Warner was torn because he represents so many federal workers in northern Virginia.

DEMOCRATS LASH OUT AT SCHUMER FOR ‘BETRAYAL’ OF SIDING WITH TRUMP

“Are you going to issue a statement on Schumer’s leadership?” asked one reporter of Warner after the vote to fund the government.

“Is Leader Schumer the right leader in this moment,” asked another.

“I have faith in Chuck Schumer,” replied Warner.

Scribes asked similar questions of Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., following the vote.

“We also need to figure out how to use our leverage,” said Heinrich.

Democrats might not be able to stop President Trump’s “big, beautiful” spending plan from clearing Congress – equally undesirable for them, however, is shouldering blame for a government shutdown. (AP/Getty Images)

In other words, some Democrats believed the interim spending bill was an inflection point. They might not be able to stop President Trump and Congressional Republicans from approving the “big, beautiful bill” to slash spending and cut taxes. But they could have shuttered the government by filibustering the spending plan because it failed to reflect any major Democratic priorities. They needed to stand up.

“Leader Schumer has been very effective in a lot of battles. But these are new times,” said Heinrich. “Second guessing Leader Schumer out here isn’t going to accomplish the kind of unity that we’re going to need to be able to stand up the President. So we’ll have that conversation inside the caucus.”

The Senate is out until next week now. That might cool some of the tensions. But it also may exacerbate them. Schumer was supposed to go on a tour this week, promoting his book “Antisemitism in America.” Appearances in Baltimore and Washington are now canceled “due to security concerns.”

Regardless, it’s possible that dissonance about Schumer’s leadership may have overshadowed anything he could say about antisemitism in his forthcoming book.

SCHUMER DISMISSES POSSIBLE AOC PRIMARY CHALLENGE, SAYS HE’S FOCUSED ON BRINGING TRUMP’S NUMBERS DOWN

Some Democrats are calling on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.. to primary Schumer if he runs for another term in 2028.

Should Senate Democrats try to oust Schumer? Good luck with that. In the House of Representatives, the full membership elects the Speaker. He or she is the Constitutional officer of the legislative branch of government. In the Senate, the positions of Majority and Minority Leader are determined by their respective party caucuses or conferences – behind closed doors. Therefore, there’s no “motion to vacate the chair” like in the House. The real power of the Majority Leader stems from the custom of the Senate recognizing the Majority Leader first – ahead of the 99 others.

The Senate has only removed one party leader in recent memory. And that wasn’t even done formally on the floor. The administration of President George W. Bush and other Republicans pounced on former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss. Lott made remarks suggesting the nation would have been better off with late Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., and some of his racist policies had he won the presidency.

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Truth be told, some Republicans were just looking for a reason to dump Lott. And so Lott departed in favor of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

It’s possible the spending bill filibuster vote may have Democrats now looking to dump Schumer. There is a growing chasm now between Schumer and liberal Democrats.

Democrats wage internal warfare – while Republicans appear unified behind President Trump. And the distance between some Democrats now is a lot wider than a few blocks in Brooklyn.

A federal judge on Monday denied the Trump administration’s request to call off a court hearing involving President Donald Trump’s use of a wartime law to deport hundreds of Venezuelan nationals, and whether the White House knowingly violated the court order – an extraordinary effort that came just moments before administration officials were due to testify under oath.

The Justice Department’s filing came shortly after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered lawyers to court Monday for a “fact-finding hearing” involving Trump’s use of the 1798 wartime-era Alien Enemies Act, and whether the Trump administration knowingly violated his earlier court order blocking the Trump administration from invoking the law to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals and alleged members of violent gang Tren de Aragua, for 14 days. 

The law has only been used three times in U.S. history, most recently during World War II.

During Monday’s hearing, which lasted about 45 minutes, Judge Boasberg at times appeared frustrated as he pressed government lawyers for more details as to why his Saturday order—which called for the administration to immediately return all planes with expelled migrants, including the Venezuelan nationals and alleged Tren de Aragua gang members—were not brought back to the U.S.

“My orders don’t seem to carry much weight,” Jude Boasberg said near the end of the hearing. Both parties are due back in court Friday for a hearing over the Trump administration’s request to vacate the case. 

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

Trump and the DOJ logo. Getty Images. (Getty images)

During the hearing, the Trump administration repeatedly declined to provide information to Judge Boasberg about how many flights carrying migrants took off on Saturday, citing national security protections.

“Those are operational issues, and I am not at liberty to provide information,” a lawyer for the Trump administration told the court.

Judge Boasberg, in response, ordered the Justice Department to provide the court with more information in writing by Tuesday at noon.

In granting the emergency order Saturday Boasberg sided with the plaintiffs – Democracy Forward and the ACLU – who had argued that the deportations would likely pose imminent and “irreparable” harm to the migrants under the time proposed.

TRUMP POLICY ON BORDER JUMPERS EMPOWERS USE OF ‘MAXIMUM CONSEQUENCES,’ BORDER AGENT TELLS FOX

Judge Boasberg also ordered the Trump administration Saturday to immediately halt any planned deportations, and to notify their clients that “any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States,” he said.

But the decision apparently came too late to stop a plane filled with more than 200 migrants who were deported to El Salvador. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in an interview that a plane carrying hundreds of migrants, including more than 130 persons removed under the Alien Enemies Act, had already “left U.S. airspace” by the time the order was handed down.

 White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during the daily White House press briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. ( (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images))

She also suggested the order itself was not “lawful” and noted the Trump administration’s intent to appeal. 

In response, the ACLU asked the court to order the government to submit declarations, under oath, that the planes had indeed taken off after the court’s order.

“Whether or not the planes had cleared U.S. territory, the U.S. retained custody at least until the planes landed and the individuals were turned over to foreign governments,” the ACLU said in their filing.

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Judge Boasberg, an Obama appointee, at times appeared slightly incredulous that the Trump administration chose to move forward with the deportation of hundreds of migrants to El Salvador, pressing lawyers for the Justice Department over whether they believed there were better options than to comply with the decision he handed down Saturday.

“Isn’t then the better course, to return the planes to the United States and figure out what to do, than to say, ‘We don’t care, we’ll do what we want?'” he asked. 

President Donald Trump tapped airline executive Bryan Bedford to lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday.

Bedford has been the CEO of Indiana-based regional airline Republic Airways since 2007. In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump wrote that he was “pleased” to announce Bedford’s nomination as the FAA’s administrator.

“As the former President and CEO of Republic Airways, Mesaba Airlines, and Business Express Airlines, Brian brings over three decades of experience in Aviation and Executive Leadership to this critical position,” Trump’s post read.

Bedford will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before he begins work at the FAA. The president also referenced Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, noting that Bedford will work with him.

PLANE CRASHES IN RETIREMENT COMMUNITY’S PARKING LOT IN PENNSYLVANIA: OFFICIALS

Bryan Bedford, seen in this 2011 picture, has been tapped to lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). (Matthew Staver/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Bryan will work with our GREAT Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to strongly reform the Agency, safeguard our exports, and ensure the safety of nearly one billion annual passenger movements,” Trump’s post noted. “Congratulations Bryan!”

The recent announcement comes as the Trump administration continues its overhaul of the FAA, which involved laying off hundreds of workers in February. The agency attracted scrutiny after the Jan. 29 Potomac River midair collision at Reagan National Airport near D.C., which killed 67 people.

“We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system,” Trump said at the time. “Only the highest aptitude — you have to be the highest intellect — and psychologically superior people, were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers.”

Following Trump’s announcement about Bedford, he also named new appointees to serve on military academy boards.

PLANE CAUGHT ON CAMERA CRASHING INTO NEW ENGLAND NEIGHBORHOOD, NARROWLY MISSING HOMES

President Donald Trump named Bryan Bedford as his nominee to lead the FAA on Mar. 17. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Our Great United States Air Force Academy will soon have an incredible Board of Visitors, composed of Doug Nikolai, Dan Clark, Senator Tommy Tuberville, Charlie Kirk, and Dina Powell. Congratulations,” Trump wrote.

“Completing my list of appointments to the United States Naval Academy, I am happy to announce that the full Board will consist of Sean Spicer, Walt Nauta, Congressman ‘Doc Ronnie’ Jackson, Congressman Derek Van Order, Senator Tim Sheehy, and Earl Ehrhart,” the president added. “Congratulations to you all!”

Trump also named the new members of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point’s Board of Visitors.

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A sign marks the entrance to the FAA headquarters in Washington DC on October 7, 2024.  (J. David Ake/Getty Images)

“Major General David Bellavia, Lieutenant General Dan Walrath, General Michael Flynn, Congressman Wesley Hunt, Maureen Bannon, and Meghan Mobbs are hereby appointed to the Board,” Trump said. “They will make our Country proud. Congratulations to all!”

In another Monday post, Trump declared that April 2 would be observed as Liberation Day in America, “because we will start taking back some of the vast wealth that has been taken from us due to the many weak, incompetent, and perhaps even dishonest politicians who have represented us in the past!”

Nationwide injunctions ordered against the first Trump administration account for more than half of the total injunctions ordered against the federal government since 1963, data show. 

Nationwide injunctions are court orders that prevent the federal government from implementing a policy or law that has a cascading effect impacting the entire country, not just the parties involved in the court case. 

Trump’s first administration faced 64 injunctions out of the total 127 nationwide injunctions issued since 1963. There were 32 injunctions issued against the Bush, Obama and Biden administrations collectively since 2001, meaning the first Trump administration was on the receiving end of double the amount of nationwide injunctions than his two predecessors and successor combined, according to the April 2024 edition of the Harvard Law Review. 

The Harvard Law Review found there were six injunctions issued against the Bush administration, 12 against the Obama administration and 14 against the Biden administration. 

TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW BAN ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

President Donald Trump signs an executive order on Feb. 14 in Washington. (Getty Images)

Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January has brought with it more than 120 lawsuits from activists, government employees and others targeting his executive orders and actions. The lawsuits have resulted in nationwide injunctions in some cases, including 15 in February alone, according to Trump’s acting solicitor general, Sarah Harris.

Trump filed an emergency appeal Thursday asking the Supreme Court to narrow three injunctions that were issued to halt Trump’s nullification of birthright citizenship. The emergency appeal requests the injunction only cover individuals directly impacted by the relevant courts. 

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Harris argued in the emergency appeal that nationwide injunctions have hit “epidemic proportions” under the second Trump administration, noting that the federal government faced 14 universal injunctions in the first three years of the Biden administration compared to 15 leveled against the Trump admin in one month alone. 

Presidents Bush, Obama, Biden and Trump (Getty Images)

“Years of experience have shown that the Executive Branch cannot properly perform its functions if any judge anywhere can enjoin every presidential action everywhere,” Harris wrote.

Officials in the first Trump administration also railed against the flow of injunctions ordered against the 45th president’s policies and laws, including the former chiefs of the Department of Justice. 

“Courts issued an average of only 1.5 nationwide injunctions per year against the Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations, and 2.5 per year against the Obama administration,” former Assistant Attorney General Beth Williams said in February 2019.  

“In President Trump’s first year in office, however, judges issued a whopping 20 nationwide injunctions – an eightfold increase. This matches the entire eight-year total of such injunctions issued against President Obama during his two terms. We are now at 30, matching the total number of injunctions issued against the first 42 presidents combined.”

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Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris argued that nationwide injunctions have hit “epidemic proportions” under the second Trump administration. (Getty Images)

Former Trump administration Attorney General Bill Barr added in remarks later in 2019 that there were “only 27 nationwide injunctions­ in all of the 20th century” compared to 37, at the time, against the first Trump administration. 

“Since President Trump took office, federal district courts have issued 37 nationwide injunctions against the Executive Branch. That’s more than one a month. By comparison, during President Obama’s first two years, district courts issued two nationwide injunctions against the Executive Branch, both of which were vacated by the Ninth Circuit. And according to the Department’s best estimates, courts issued only 27 nationwide injunctions­ in all of the 20th century,” the former AG said in May 2019. 

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President Trump on the campaign trail in 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Harvard Law Review found that the judges who issued the injunctions against the first Trump administration were overwhelmingly ordered by judges who were appointed by a Democrat. 

Democratic-appointed judges ordered 92.2% of the injunctions against the Trump administration, meaning just five of the 64 injunctions were ordered by Republican-appointed judges. 

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Republican-appointed judges ordered all 14 of the nationwide injunctions against the federal government under the Biden administration. 

Injunctions under the Bush and Obama eras were much more bipartisan, with 50% of the injunctions in the Bush era issued by Democratic-appointed judges, and Republican-appointed judges ordering 58.3% of the 12 injunctions in the Obama era. 

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report. 

The official White House and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) X accounts trolled critics on Monday by posting a meme video showing deportations to the famed ’90s song “Closing Time,” a longtime staple at closing bars and weddings. 

“It’s closing time. We are making America safe again,” CBP said in its post. 

The video, which was posted by the White House as well as U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks and Customs and Border Protection, shows authorities processing shackled illegal immigrants to the tune of “Semisonic” lead singer Dan Wilson singing, “Closing time, you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.”  

The video then cuts to show agents loading illegals on a plane for deportation as Wilson sings, “I know who I want to take me home,” with the words Border Patrol clearly visible. 

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Stills from the White House/CBP’s video showing deportations alongside White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. (Getty/White House)

Since retaking the Oval Office, President Donald Trump has made securing the border and cracking down on illegal immigration one of his top priorities. In an interview with CBS in late February, Banks said illegal border crossings had plummeted by 94%. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security said last week that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had arrested just under 33,000 illegal immigrants. 

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Further, a senior Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News that a total of 261 illegal aliens were deported to El Salvador on Saturday – 137 were via the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, 101 were Venezuelans removed via Title 8, 21 were Salvadoran MS-13 gang members, and two were MS-13 ringleaders and “special cases” for El Salvador, according to the official.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained the video during Monday’s White House press briefing, saying it “sums up our immigration policy pretty well: You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” 

TOM HOMAN WARNS MAJOR SANCTUARY STATE WILL ‘GET EXACTLY WHAT THEY DON’T WANT’

Prison guards transfer deportees from the U.S., alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on Sunday. (El Salvador presidential press office via AP)

“The White House and our entire government clearly is leaning into the message of this president and we are unafraid to double down and to take responsibility and ownership of the serious decisions that are being made,” said Leavitt. “The president was elected with an overwhelming mandate to launch the largest, mass deportation campaign in American history. And that’s exactly what he is doing.” 

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She said that over 50 days into the administration, Trump continues to receive “overwhelming public support for the policies that he is enacting.” 

“So, we are unafraid to message effectively what the president is doing on a daily basis to make our, communities safer,” she explained. 

No decisions have been made about whether to enact a potential travel ban on more than 40 countries, a White House official told Fox News Digital on Monday. 

The countries may face severe or total travel limitations instituted by the United States, according to reports from Reuters and the New York Times. Fox News Digital was not able to independently confirm details of the proposed program.

The outlets reported that citizens of Afghanistan, Iran, Cuba, Bhutan, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen would not be allowed to enter the U.S. under the proposal. These 11 countries would be placed under the “red” level in the color-coded system, according to the reports.

During a State Department briefing on Monday, spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said that a list does not exist, but there is an ongoing review.

“Well, first of all, there is no list,” she said. “What people are looking at over these last several days is not a list that exists here that is being acted on. There is a review, as we know through the president’s executive order, for us to look at the nature of what’s gonna help keep America safer when dealing with the issue of visas and who’s allowed into the country. 

“But what has being touted as something as an item through the State Department just simply isn’t the case.”

Other countries, like Russia and Pakistan, would still have travel permitted — as opposed to a total ban — but would still face hurdles when it comes to getting a visa. That tier is considered the “orange” level.

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Other countries, like Russia and Pakistan, would still have travel permitted — as opposed to a total ban — but would still face hurdles when it comes to getting a visa. (Aleksey Babushkin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo)

Various countries, including many in Africa, are reportedly also being monitored for potential restrictions on the “yellow” level and would have roughly two months to make changes to avoid being placed on the “orange” or “red” levels. The yellow level allegedly includes Caribbean nations, including St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, as well as Antigua and Barbuda.

Reuters reports that 41 countries would be affected in some way, though the Times puts the number at 43 nations.

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Citizens of Afghanistan, Iran, Cuba, Bhutan, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen would not be allowed to enter the U.S. under the proposal. (Siddiqullah Alizai/AP Photo)

Early in the first Trump administration, an executive order banning travel from Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya faced legal hurdles and was derided as a “Muslim ban” by opponents due to the demographics of those nations. Proponents at the time argued it was needed to ensure a strict process for keeping track of who’s entering the country.

When President Trump signed the executive order banning travel and implementing “extreme vetting” for certain countries in January of 2017, he issued a statement that said in part, “To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe.”

“There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order.” Trump said at the time.

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Early in the first Trump administration, an executive order banning travel from Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya faced legal hurdles and was derided as a “Muslim ban” by opponents due to the demographics of those nations. (Alex Wong/Getty Images )

Meanwhile, criticism is already developing over the new looming proposal.

“Today’s the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, all too timely and relevant in our current moment. With the threat of diminished civil liberties and a so-called Muslim travel ban allegedly in the works, New Yorkers must stay united and refuse to engage in hate and bigotry,” New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams posted to X on Saturday.

“I hope someone at [the State Department] reviews this list and notices that any kind of [travel ban] on Bhutan, a peaceful, landlocked Himalayan Buddhist kingdom (population: ~800,000) wedged between India and China, is utterly insane,” American Enterprise Institute fellow Sadanand Dhume said in an X post.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment in time for publication. Customs and Border Protection said they “cannot comment on internal documents.” 

After Obama-appointed Judge James Boasberg issued an order Saturday halting President Donald Trump’s rapid deportation of Venezuelan gang members, Texas GOP Rep. Brandon Gill swiftly announced plans to file articles of impeachment in an effort to remove him.

Gill made the announcement on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, noting he would be filing the motion this week. In a subsequent tweet from Elon Musk, the entrepreneur turned Trump advisor responded simply, “Necessary.”

“The very worst judges – those who repeatedly flout the law – should at least be put to an impeachment vote, whether that vote succeeds or not,” Musk followed up in a separate post on X Monday. 

TOM HOMAN CALLS OUT ‘RADICAL’ JUDGE FOR ‘DEFYING LOGIC’ WITH RULING TO STALL TRUMP DEPORTATIONS

James Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court, in Washington, D.C., on March 13, 2023.  (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty)

Republicans have been piling on Boasberg after he issued a 14-day restraining order halting the Trump administration from deporting violent Venezuelan gang members who entered the U.S. illegally, via powers laid out in the centuries-old Alien Enemies Act. 

Last used during World War II, the Alien Enemies Act was implemented in advance of a potential war with the French at the time, due to fears that immigrants would sympathize with France. The law provides the president broad powers to imprison or deport noncitizens during a time of war.  

“Another day, another judge unilaterally deciding policy for the whole country. This time to benefit foreign gang members,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, posted on X. “If the Supreme Court or Congress doesn’t fix, we’re headed towards a constitutional crisis. Senate Judiciary Cmte taking action.”

TRUMP THANKS EL SALVADOR FOR TAKING IN ALLEGED GANG MEMBERS DEPORTED FROM US: ‘WE WILL NOT FORGET’

Trump is pictured next to Tren de Aragua gang members. (Edward Romero/Getty Images)

Boasberg’s ruling came in response to a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and left-wing legal advocacy group Democracy Forward. The lawsuit alleged that Trump’s intent to use his “wartime authority” to deport dangerous illegal immigrants was unlawful, since the U.S. is not in the midst of a “declared war.”

The lawsuit followed a proclamation signed by Trump on Saturday, which alleged that violent gang members belonging to the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang were “conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States.” Last month, Trump moved to designate a slew of Mexican drug cartels, including TdA, as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Gill to glean more exact details about when he plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Boasberg, but did not hear back in time for publication of this story. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) quietly rescinded a 2018 policy providing transgender-related medical services to transgender and intersex veterans on Friday, aligning the VA with the Trump administration’s orders to part ways with “radical gender ideology” within the U.S. military.

The memo states the VA “will conduct a comprehensive review of care with respect to trans-identifying Veterans and will undergo the rulemaking process to revise the medical benefits package as deemed necessary; however, this rescission does not affect existing clinical guidance.”

The VA maintains that it will not provide “gender-affirming” surgeries in its facilities or through non-VA care, as these procedures are excluded from the medical benefits package already. Additionally, the VA will not cover plastic reconstructive surgery for cosmetic or gender alteration purposes. The department also requires medical necessity for any surgical care provided, and gender alteration surgery remains unauthorized as a medical treatment.

TRANSGENDER SAILORS, MARINES OFFERED BENEFITS TO VOLUNTARILY LEAVE SERVICE OR FACE BEING KICKED OUT

The VA has rescinded a 2018 policy providing transgender-related medical services to transgender and intersex veterans. (Getty)

The memo says the directive providing transgender treatments – such as hormone therapy, prosthetic devices, and other tools to aid in their presentation of the desired gender – was rescinded because “it is not compliant with the definitions and terms described” in Trump’s executive order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”

Transgender and intersex veterans will still receive healthcare from the VA “that is compatible with generally accepted standards of medical practice as determined by appropriate health care professionals to promote, preserve, or restore the health of the individual,” according to the new guidance.

Regarding VA facilities, the memo states the department has “already addressed that all intimate spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms are designated by Sex (M, F) or unisex for single person spaces (e.g., one door, one stall bathroom),” adding that all “signage related to gender identity has been changed.”

LGBT ACTIVISTS MOBILIZE TO CHALLENGE TRUMP’S ‘EXTREME GENDER IDEOLOGY’ EXECUTIVE ORDERS

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly ordered a ban on allowing transgender people to join the military on Monday, following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January targeting gender ideology and those with gender dysphoria in the military. (iStock/ Getty Images)

Also in line with Trump’s order, the VA will maintain sex-segregated spaces based on biological sex. Under this directive, decisions regarding inpatient and residential room assignments will be made according to clinical guidance. If necessary, veterans may be assigned to private rooms or bathrooms.

Trump’s executive order, signed in January, mandates that federal agencies adopt the definition of sex as recognizing only male and female. It requires replacing the term “gender” with “sex” in official federal materials, prohibiting funding for sex-change treatments and programs promoting “gender ideology,” and prohibiting transgender individuals from using facilities or participating in programs that align with their gender identity.

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS BANNING ‘RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY,’ DEI INITIATIVES IN THE MILITARY

A memorandum issued by the U.S. Air Force requires trans service members to withdraw by March 26. (Getty Images)

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Trump’s executive orders on gender identity, as the administration challenges district court rulings through appeals.

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The Pentagon has also set deadlines for the end of the month to voluntarily part ways with transgender Marines, sailors, airmen and Guardians as part of Trump’s order to discharge all transgender service members.

The VA typically provides healthcare, benefits and support to veterans, including medical care, disability benefits and financial assistance. It also helps veterans transition from military to civilian life. An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press last week says the department will be another target of Trump’s plan to downsize the federal workforce, with an expected 80,000 job cuts.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the VA for comment.