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The White House released photos of President Donald Trump watching strikes on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on Saturday, as the large-scale U.S. operation against the terrorist group continues. 

“President Trump is taking action against the Houthis to defend US shipping assets and deter terrorist threats,” the White House wrote on X, sharing photos of Trump, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. “For too long American economic & national threats have been under assault by the Houthis. Not under this presidency.” 

Trump appeared to be dressed in golf attire and was wearing his signature red baseball cap with his name emblazoned on the back while watching video of the strikes on a television screen. 

Another photo showed the president from the front with a black headset on. 

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)

Trump wrote in a Saturday TRUTHSocial post that he had “ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen.” 

“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Trump said. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.” 

U.S. Central Command said Saturday it “initiated a series of operations consisting of precision strikes against Iran-backed Houthi targets across Yemen to defend American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation.” 

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement that Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday.  

“The Secretary informed Russia of U.S. military deterrence operations against the Iran-backed Houthis and emphasized that continued Houthi attacks on U.S. military and commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea will not be tolerated,” Bruce wrote. “Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov also discussed next steps to follow up on recent meetings in Saudi Arabia and agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia.” 

The Houthi-run Health Ministry in Yemen said the strikes killed at least 31 people, according to the Associated Press. 

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)

The Houthis have repeatedly targeted international shipping in the Red Sea and launched missiles and drones at Israel in what the terrorist group said were acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been at war with Hamas, another Iranian ally. The attacks stopped when a fragile Israel-Hamas cease-fire took hold in Gaza in January. The Houthis then threatened to renew them after Israel cut off the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza this month following the Hamas rejection of a U.S. framework for continuing the cease-fire and hostage releases.

The U.S. and others have long accused Iran of providing military aid to the Houthis, and the U.S. Navy has seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry it said were bound for the terrorist group, which controls Yemen’s capital of Sanaa and the country’s north. Gen. Hossein Salami, head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, denied his country was involved in the Houthis’ attacks. 

TRUMP ANNOUNCES ‘DECISIVE AND POWERFUL’ AIRSTRIKES AGAINST HOUTHI TERRORISTS IN YEMEN

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a post on X, urged the U.S. to halt the strikes and said Washington cannot dictate Iran’s foreign policy.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears in a photo shared by the White House on March 15, 2025. (The White House)

Trump said, “The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective. The Houthis have choked off shipping in one of the most important Waterways of the World, grinding vast swaths of Global Commerce to a halt, and attacking the core principle of Freedom of Navigation upon which International Trade and Commerce depends.” 

Trump charged that the Houthis “have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones.” 

“Joe Biden’s response was pathetically weak, so the unrestrained Houthis just kept going,” he wrote on TRUTHSocial. 

Trump said it has been more than a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden. 

“The last American Warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times. Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at U.S. aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies. These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk,” Trump wrote. 

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz appears in a photo shared by the White House on March 15, 2025. (The White House)

“To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” Trump said. 

The president added, “To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!” 

The Houthis have targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two and killing four sailors, during their campaign targeting military and civilian ships between the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 and January of this year, when the ceasefire in Gaza took effect, according to the AP. 

The U.S., Israel and Britain have previously hit Houthi-held areas in Yemen, but Saturday’s operation was conducted solely by the U.S. It was the first strike on the Houthis under the second Trump administration.

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It comes two weeks after Trump sent a letter to Iranian leaders offering a path to restarting bilateral talks between the countries on Iran’s advancing nuclear program. Trump has said he will not allow it to become operational.

The Trump administration re-designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this month, after the Biden administration had lifted the group’s designation in 2021.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Long before Democrats and liberal activists accused Trump of trampling on the rights of pro-Hamas visa holders in the U.S., the Biden administration rolled out a visa-restriction policy targeting Israelis that was riddled with political bias and vague language, but received little resistance or protest, a legal expert told Fox News Digital. 

“One is a valid judgment,” legal expert and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, Eugene Kontorovich, explained of President Donald Trump’s restrictions and revocations of visas belonging to pro-Hamas students in the U.S.

“The other was just using the visa system to punish one’s political enemies,” he continued of a 2023 Biden visa policy. 

The Trump administration is in the midst of working to revoke visas and green cards belonging to pro-Hamas students in the U.S. who participated in the widespread anti-Israel protests and riots that rocked college campuses during the last school year. The effort has been met with backlash from Democrats who say Trump is attacking the First Amendment rights of individuals who protested Israel. 

PRO-HAMAS ACTIVIST’S DEPORTATION NOT A ‘FREE SPEECH’ MATTER AND LAW IS ON TRUMP’S SIDE: EXPERTS

Long before Democrats and liberal activists accused Trump of trampling on the rights of pro-Hamas visa holders in the U.S., the Biden administration rolled out a visa-restriction policy targeting Israelis.  (Getty Images)

Kontorovich spoke to Fox News Digital Wednesday in a phone interview where he explained that Trump’s actions are not only within his legal bounds but also “far more restrained” than previous administrations’ “politicized visa” policies, including a Biden policy that restricted Israelis. 

The Biden administration announced in December 2023, just months after war broke out in Israel on October 7, 2023, that it would restrict visas to those believed to have undermined peace and stability in the West Bank. The restriction was a part of the Biden administration’s efforts to achieve a two-state solution for peace in Israel and Palestine, the New York Times reported at the time. 

COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST RINGLEADER MAHMOUD KHALIL TO REMAIN DETAINED IN LOUISIANA

“Today, the State Department is implementing a new visa restriction policy targeting individuals believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security, or stability in the West Bank, including through committing acts of violence or taking other actions that unduly restrict civilians’ access to essential services and basic necessities,” the State Department said in a press release in December 2023. “Immediate family members of such persons also may be subject to these restrictions.”

A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on Feb. 18, 2024. (Getty Images)

In February 2024, Biden signed an executive order imposing sanctions on “persons undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank” as he decried “extremist settler violence” in the West Bank. Under the order, sanctioned individuals had their bank accounts frozen and their credit cards canceled and were restricted from conducting basic life activities.

TRUMP VOWS ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST MAHMOUD KHALIL WAS ‘FIRST ARREST OF MANY TO COME’ 

An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires a shell from southern Israel toward the Gaza Strip, in a position near the Israel-Gaza border on Nov. 6, 2023. (Ohad Zwigenberg/The Associated Press)

Kontorovich explained that the language of the announcement was vague and allowed for the Biden administration to punish individuals who disagreed with the administration’s policies on a two-state solution. 

“The executive order of Biden says, we can ban people who disagree with our notion, even if they don’t encourage or participate in violent activities. Whereas there is nothing in U.S. law that says the two-state solution is the be-all and end-all.”

JUDGE BLOCKS ANTI-ISRAEL COLUMBIA AGITATOR MAHMOUD KHALIL FROM DEPORTATION AS POLITICIANS COME TO HIS DEFENSE

A pile of trash burns in Union Square in New York City on Monday, October 7, 2024, marking one-year since the Oct. 7, 20223, Hamas attacks on Israel. (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital)

“Half the congressmen in Congress probably don’t support the two-state solution, whereas Hamas is a designated foreign terror,” he continued. “Opposing the two-state solution, not a designated terror organization. Hamas kidnaps and rapes people, murders people. Opponents of the two-state solution don’t do that.” 

Despite the alleged political motivation behind the policy, it was within Biden’s legal bounds, as presidents have broad power to deny entry to foreign nationals. 

Kontorovich called the Biden-era visa policy a “Jew ban” — which plays off of the “Muslim ban” title for the travel ban policies under the first Trump administration — as it targeted “Israeli Jews based on political viewpoints that are extremely common amongst Israeli Jews.”

ICE AGENTS ARREST ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST WHO LED PROTESTS ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CAMPUS FOR MONTHS

The international law expert and George Mason Antonin Scalia Law School professor continued that Democrats and activist groups did not sound the alarm or speak out against the Biden visa policy at the time, noting that the “Biden administration was doing so many bad things to Israel, this was kind of not at the top of the list” for rebuke. 

He added that despite the silence in 2023, Democrats this year are “going to bat for a guy who was working with a group that openly and actively supported murderous foreign terrorist organizations,” referring to Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who was a top pro-Hamas protest organizer on campus in 2024. 

Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil talks to the press during the press briefing organized by pro-Palestinian protesters who set up a new encampment at Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus in New York City, June 1, 2024.  (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“It just shows you how much this outrage is manufactured,” he said. “Also, how what Trump is doing is not some kind of new wild, crazy Trumpian thing. It’s actually far more restrained than politicized visa policies of prior administrations. Those just didn’t get the manufactured outrage.” 

Democrats and activists have slammed the Trump administration over the ICE detention of Khalil at his Columbia University-owned apartment in Manhattan March 8. The Department of Homeland Security said he was a former Columbia graduate student who “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” 

Khalil helped lead the anti-Israel protest that plagued the campus in April 2024, including as a negotiator for radical agitators students on campus as they set up a tent encampment and took over an academic building, Hamilton Hall. 

A pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a flag on the rooftop of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York, April 30, 2024.  (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

He served as a leader of a group called Columbia United Apartheid Divest, which demanded that Columbia completely divest from Israel amid the country’s war with Hamas that began on Oct. 7, 2023. The group said its main goal was to “challenge the settler-colonial violence that Israel perpetrates with the support of the United States and its allies,” according to an op-ed published in the Columbia Spectator in November 2023.

DHS additionally reported that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”

The 47th president signed an executive order in January, putting pro-Hamas protesters in the U.S. on student visas on notice that they will be deported. 

NYC MAYOR ON MAHMOUD KHALIL ARREST: ‘I DIDN’T SEE THAT SUPPORT FOR ME’

Student protesters gather in protest inside their encampment on the Columbia University campus, Monday, April 29, 2024, in New York. (Stefan Jeremiah/The Associated Press)

“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” the president said in a Jan. 30 fact sheet on the executive order. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”

Khalil was born in Syria in 1995 and has been in the U.S. on a green card, according to various reports. He is under investigation as a possible threat to U.S. national security, with investigators reportedly finding “antisemitic and hateful” posts on Khalil’s social media accounts, White House sources told Fox News Tuesday. 

Liberal lawmakers and activists have described his arrest as an attack on the First Amendment, which protects the freedom of speech and assembly. The administration and legal experts, however, argue that the case is not focused on First Amendment rights but on national security and immigration. 

DEMOCRATS UNDER FIRE FOR BACKING ARRESTED PRO-HAMAS AGITATOR

Kontorvich explained that the Trump administration is not targeting students on visas who said “bad or scary things,” the administration is instead targeting foreign nationals with suspected ties to a longstanding designated terror organization. 

“It’s not like they just went out and designated some group they didn’t like,” he added. “It’s not like designing BLM a terror organization.” 

The legal scholar also noted that the Trump administration likely took on its most difficult revocation and deportation case first.  (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The legal scholar also noted that the Trump administration likely took on its most difficult revocation and deportation case first, as Khalil holds a green card, which permits permanent residence to foreigners, while visas allow for temporary residence. 

“The test for revoking permanent status is harder than just a visa holder,” he said. “And the government is going to have to show evidence that he supported Hamas, sort of actively, openly endorsed violence. From what I’ve seen, all that’s true, and that’s probably enough to revoke his visa. But by focusing on that, the pro-Hamas, Democrats have basically conceded that for visa holders, this will be totally fine. I think Trump is dealing with the hardest case first with permanent residence.” 

A senior State Department official told Fox News that Khalil is deportable under Section 237(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The section of the immigration law states: “An alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable.” 

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There is no requirement that a crime be committed under this section of the law. Instead, it provides broad power to the secretary of state to declare an alien deportable.

President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 Saturday to target the designated foreign terrorist organization Tren de Aragua (TdA) just hours after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled the law could not be used to deport five Venezuelans. 

The wartime law, which allows deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing, has been invoked three times, during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II.

All Venezuelan citizens 14 years or older who are members of TdA, are within the U.S. and are not naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the U.S. may be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed as “alien enemies,” according to a proclamation.

Alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang have overtaken an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado, charging rent in exchange for “protection,” previous reports say.  (Edward Romero)

‘WEAPONIZED MIGRATION’: US FACES DEADLY CONSEQUENCES WITH MADURO IN POWER, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION WARNS

Hours before the act was signed, a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Democracy Forward and the ACLU of the District of Columbia, claiming the proclamation could be used to deport any Venezuelan in the country, regardless of whether they are a member of TdA.

Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg of the D.C. Circuit granted a temporary restraining order preventing the deportation of five Venezuelans already in immigration custody for two weeks.

The Trump administration appealed the restraining order, alleging it is improper to delay a presidential act before it is announced, affiliate FOX 32 Chicago reported.

Peruvian police transfer several members of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization in Lima Oct. 5, 2023. (Cris Bouroncle/AFP via Getty Images)

A second hearing is scheduled for Saturday afternoon to establish if the order should be broadened to everyone in danger of removal under the act. 

“The United States is not at war, nor has it been invaded. The president’s anticipated invocation of wartime authority — which is not needed to conduct lawful immigration enforcement operations — is the latest step in an accelerating authoritarian playbook,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, wrote in a statement. 

“From improperly apprehending American citizens to violating the ability of communities to peacefully worship to now improperly trying to invoke a law that is responsible for some of our nation’s most shameful actions, this administration’s immigration agenda is as lawless as it is harmful.”

An in-person hearing on the lawsuit’s merits is scheduled for D.C. Monday.

Police officers search for evidence in apartment buildings at 12th and Dallas in Aurora, Colo., Dec. 17, 2024. (Fox News Digital)

The move fulfills a campaign promise made during an October rally, when Trump announced he would use the law to combat Tren de Aragua (TdA) members in the U.S.

Tren de Aragua (TdA), designated a foreign terrorist organization Feb. 20 by the Department of State, has thousands of members, many of whom the White House says have unlawfully infiltrated the United States and are “conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States.”

Colorado officials confirmed TdA occupied entire apartment complexes in Aurora, noting a special task force had to be established to combat its activity.

TRUMP TO INVOKE WARTIME ALIEN ENEMIES ACT OF 1798 TO FAST-TRACK DEPORTATIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

As of Sept. 11, 2024, the Aurora Police Department linked the gang to nearly a dozen people, resulting in eight arrests. 

“Two of the eight individuals who were taken into custody were involved in a July shooting at one of the specific properties in the city that have experienced issues with TdA activity,” according to a statement. “In line with these arrests, we can also now confirm that criminal activity, including TdA issues, had significantly affected those properties.”

Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, right (Fox Nation)

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The White House said the gang has continued to engage in mass illegal migration to the U.S. to “further its objectives of harming United States citizens,” undermining public safety.

TdA operates in conjunction with Cártel de los Soles, the Nicolás Maduro regime-sponsored narco-terrorism enterprise based in Venezuela, and commits brutal crimes, including murders, kidnappings, extortion and human, drug, and weapons trafficking, according to the White House.

It grew significantly while Tareck El Aissami served as governor of Aragua between 2012 and 2017. In 2017, El Aissami was appointed vice president of Venezuela. 

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Soon after, the Treasury Department designated El Aissami a specially designated narcotics trafficker under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, and he remains a U.S. fugitive.

In 2020, Maduro and other regime members were charged with narcoterrorism and other crimes in an alleged plot against America.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1968, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, into law after it passed both the House and the Senate. The passage of the continuing resolution (CR), which was backed by Trump, officially stopped a potential government shutdown. 

The CR extends the government’s budget through the end of September and was approved by a majority of Senate Republicans. Only Sen. Rand Paul, R-K.Y., voted against the bill. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., faced backlash on Friday from fellow Democrats after announcing his intention to vote for the bill.

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025.  (JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

SHUTDOWN AVERTED AFTER SCHUMER CAVES AND BACKS TRUMP SPENDING BILL

In total, 10 Democrats voted with Republicans to pass the CR and avert a government shutdown, including Schumer, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durban, D-Ill., and Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.

Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., talks after a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill, Sept. 24, 2024, in Washington, D.C.  (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

TRUMP-BACKED BILL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN PASSES HOUSE DESPITE MUTINY THREATS

Before the bill passed the senate, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement urging Democrat senators to “listen to women.” The California congresswoman referenced Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Ct., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wa., both of whom opposed the bill.

“Appropriations leaders Rosa DeLauro and Patty Murray have eloquently presented the case that we must have a better choice: a four-week funding extension to keep government open and negotiate a bipartisan agreement,” Pelosi’s statement read. “America has experienced a Trump shutdown before – but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse.”

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One as he departs from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, March 14, 2025. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

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Trump appeared to hear about the Senate vote while answering reporters’ questions at Joint Base Andrews. He told the media that he was “very impressed” by the Senate passing the CR.

Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

The Senate passed a bipartisan bill Friday that will permanently classify fentanyl-related substances, also known as fentanyl analogs, as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act. 

The HALT Fentanyl Act passed with overwhelming support, earning 84 Senate votes while 16 opposed it. The bill aims to close loopholes exploited by drug traffickers who smuggle substances with chemical compositions similar to fentanyl but are different enough to evade legal penalties.

“What this bill does — it says, ‘OK, it’s illegal to bring in fentanyl.’ But it recognizes that some of those attempting to bring in fentanyl will try and circumvent the law by changing the fentanyl just enough so that it becomes what is called an analog,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the bill’s sponsor and a former physician, told reporters Friday ahead of the bill’s passage. 

“‘Oh, it’s not fentanyl. You can’t bust me because it’s not actually fentanyl.’ No, it still addicts like fentanyl. It still kills like fentanyl, and it is substantially fentanyl. So, therefore, it shall be treated by law enforcement as if it is fentanyl.”

I BLAME BIDEN’S BORDER CRISIS FOR MY TEEN’S FENTANYL DEATH AND THANK TRUMP FOR TRYING TO END THIS SCOURGE

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office made an announcement on Twitter stating its office and the Narcotics Task Force recovered the 42,000 grams of illicit fentanyl in Oakland and Hayward. (Alameda County Sheriff’s Office)

Democrats sought to filibuster the bill’s passage, arguing it did not do enough to combat the fentanyl crisis as a whole, would increase mass incarceration and limit the study of these fentanyl analogs by placing them in a more restrictive regulatory category. 

However, the bill’s Republican sponsors argue it will reduce bureaucratic hurdles in the research of fentanyl analogs, serving to open the door for more scientists to study these novel substances. The arguments it will increase mass incarceration were also questioned by a Stanford University drug policy expert and former White House Office of National Drug Control Policy advisor, Keith Humphreys, who pointed out it’s already illegal to possess or traffic fentanyl analogs. 

The HALT Fentanyl Act does not create any new mandatory minimum sentencing, but it puts fentanyl-related substances under the same sentencing guidelines used for fentanyl itself.

GRIEVING PARENTS SLAM DEMS FOR OPPOSING BIPARTISAN FENTANYL BILL USING CLAIMS PARROTED BY SOROS-BACKED GROUP

During a press call Friday with some of the bill’s Republican sponsors ahead of the HALT Act’s passage, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., noted how the nature of the U.S. drug crisis is “changing rapidly on the street, and Congress needs to respond.”

More than 107,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2023, and nearly 70% of those deaths were attributed to fentanyl.  (Getty Images)

“This is a major accomplishment, quite frankly, to be able to move this through in the fight against fentanyl,” Lankford added. 

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Other potential measures to combat the fentanyl crisis, including efforts to bolster law enforcement’s drug interdiction efforts and legislation to go after the veterinary drug xylazine, which is being added to fentanyl to make it more addictive, are among additional efforts being considered on Capitol Hill. 

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., was mocked by conservatives on social media Friday after he posted a video on X explaining he was getting rid of his Tesla because of the optics brought by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who Kelly referred to as an “a–hole.”

Kelly, a retired astronaut, said he bought a Tesla because it was “fast like a rocket ship” but now it feels like “a rolling billboard for a man dismantling our government and hurting people.” 

The Arizona senator and military veteran said it’s been difficult driving around in a Tesla knowing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has cut jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Kelly said today would be his last day driving a Tesla. 

“When I bought this thing, I didn’t think it was going to become a political issue. Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing to our country,” Kelly said in the video, which was viewed over 1.5 million times just two hours after it was posted. 

‘CORRUPTION IN BROAD DAYLIGHT’: DEMS OUTRAGED BY TRUMP ‘PLAYING CAR SALESMAN’ FOR TESLA

Sen. Mark Kelly announced on X he is getting rid of his Tesla because of Elon Musk. (Getty Images)

Kelly added in the video that Elon Musk “kind of turned out to be an a–hole” and that he would rather not drive around in a car “built and designed by an a–hole.”

Conservatives on X were quick to mock Kelly’s post. 

“Literally the most stunning and brave thing a politician has ever done. It’s so brave that I have actually been moved to tears,” White House rapid responder Greg Price said in a post.

“There are no more ‘moderate’ Democrats,” conservative influencer account Johnny Maga posted on X in response to Kelly’s video. 

MARK KELLY ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘TRYING TO WEAKEN’ UKRAINE, FIRES BACK AT ELON MUSK FOR BRANDING HIM A ‘TRAITOR’

House Majority Speaker Mike Johnson’s director of rapid response posted on X that the video shows “Elon Musk lives rent-free” in Kelly’s head. 

“‘I bought this product because it’s amazing and I’m only getting rid of it because I don’t like the guy who made it’ is an amazing commercial for Tesla,” conservative commentator Kate Hyde posted on X. 

“This is just embarrassing,” Republican strategist Nathan Sproul posted on X. 

U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., attends the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Aug. 20, 2024.  (Reuters/Vincent Alban)

Conservative podcaster Stephen L. Miller called out the Democrats’ shift from embracing EVs to “getting rid of theirs in like 3 months.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Kelly’s office for comment. 

Protests have erupted at Tesla showrooms across the country and have since escalated to instances of vandalism on Tesla vehicles and charging stations. The demonstrations began as protests against DOGE, which has scrutinized wasteful government spending and reduced the massive federal workforce. 

President Donald Trump took the driver’s seat of a red Tesla Model S at the White House to support Musk Tuesday, and Tesla’s stock rebounded after facing a steep decline to start the week during the protests. 

Democrats were quick to criticize Trump on social media for buying a Tesla at the White House.  

“Earlier today, while hard-working Americans were watching their retirement savings plummet, President Trump was filming a Tesla ad in front of the White House to help Elon Musk’s failing stock. This is a brazen conflict of interest and corruption in broad daylight,” Democrats on the House Committee on Financial Services said. 

But conservatives called out Democrats for selectively embracing electric vehicles, reminding liberals that former President Joe Biden drove a hybrid Jeep Wrangler 4xe around the White House grounds to promote his EV initiative. 

Kelly’s post Friday was the latest escalation in an ongoing social media feud with Musk. 

CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel and Convention Center Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Just left Ukraine. What I saw proved to me we can’t give up on the Ukrainian people. Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraine’s security and can’t be a giveaway to Putin,” Kelly posted this week. 

“You are a traitor,” Musk replied. 

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“Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do,” Kelly fired back. 

Kelly said in a video posted yesterday he would vote “no” on the continuing resolution bill in the U.S. Senate, calling it a “partisan power grab for Donald Trump and Elon Musk.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sidestepped questions on whether he had confidence in Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Friday.

The top House Democrat was directly asked about Schumer twice during a hastily-announced press conference to emphasize their opposition to Republicans’ government funding bill.

Early during the press conference, Jeffries was asked if it was time for new leadership in the Senate, to which he replied, “Next question.”

Jeffries gave the same exact answer when asked later if he had “lost confidence” in Schumer.

The bill passed, 62-38, averting a government shutdown. 

DEMOCRATS FACE PRESSURE TO ACT AND AVOID A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, is joined by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for a press conference in Statuary Hall at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 12. (AP/Rod Lamkey, Jr./File)

Many say it’s a major public rift between the top two Democrats in Congress. Jeffries’ silence on his fellow New York liberal comes as other Democratic lawmakers aim their fury at Schumer for announcing he will vote with Republicans to avert a partial government shutdown.

Jeffries later emphatically pushed back when Fox News questioned whether he was “afraid to say anything about Schumer.”

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

When pressed again, he said, “Do you think that this is what the American people care about right now? Or do they want us to do everything that we can to stop this partisan and harmful Republican bill from actually becoming law? Because that’s what we as House Democrats are focused on right now.”

DEMOCRATS BLAST SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER FOR BACKING GOP SPENDING BILL

President Donald Trump speaks at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Friday. (Fox News/Pool)

Jeffries avoided mentioning Schumer during his press conference, but reporters pressed him with questions about the growing rift between him and the senior Democrat.

He did not directly answer when asked if Schumer “acquiesced” to President Donald Trump, only pointing out the vote had not yet taken place.

“That’s a question that is best addressed by the Senate. The vote hasn’t taken place yet, and the House Democratic position is very clear. We strongly oppose any efforts to cut the healthcare of the American people, veterans benefits and nutritional assistance, all of which are in the partisan Republican bill,” Jeffries said.

Democrats are in historic levels of disarray over a Republican bill to avert a government shutdown that’s been backed by Trump.

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Progressives have been attacking Schumer for announcing he would not block the bill, but whether Republicans can find enough Democratic support to reach the necessary 60-vote threshold is still unclear.

The bill passed the House last week with support from just one House Democrat — Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine.

The House and the Senate must send a bill to Trump’s desk by midnight Friday to avert a partial government shutdown.

The Department of the Navy is offering transgender sailors and Marines the option to voluntarily separate from the service by March 28. Otherwise, they risk being booted from the service — cutting the benefits they’re eligible for in half, according to a Thursday memo released by the Department of the Navy. 

The policy aligns with an executive order that President Donald Trump signed in January to bar transgender individuals from serving in the military, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s subsequent orders in February instructing each of the service branches to start separating transgender troops within 30 days. 

Acting Secretary of the Navy Terence Emmert said in the memo that the Department of the Navy recognizes male and female as the only two sexes, and that “an individual’s sex is immutable, unchanging during a person’s life.”

As a result, Emmert said that those who have a history or “exhibit symptoms consistent with” gender dysphoria may no longer serve in the military and may voluntarily elect to depart the service by March 28. After that date, the Navy will remove sailors and Marines involuntarily from their respective services.

FEDERAL JUDGE RIPS DOJ LAWYERS, DEMANDS WRITTEN RETRACTION FROM HEGSETH OVER TRANSGENDER MILITARY POLICY POST 

The Navy is offering transgender sailors and Marines the option to voluntarily separate from the service by March 28.  (Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“A history of cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery as treatment for gender dysphoria or in pursuit of a sex transition is disqualifying for applicants for military service, and incompatible with military service for military personnel,” the memo said. 

Even so, the Navy said it will not go through medical records or health assessments to identify transgender service members, unless explicitly requested to do so. 

Transgender service members who don’t take the Navy up on its offer to voluntarily separate are not eligible for as many benefits post-separation. Those who voluntarily depart from the service will receive double the separation pay as those who are involuntarily removed, according to the Navy’s memo. 

For example, the Pentagon said on Feb. 28 that an E-5, a petty officer first class in the Navy, with 10 years of experience, would collect a total of $101,628 in voluntary separation pay, but only $50,814 if that service member were to opt for involuntary separation pay. 

Those with less than six years of service, or more than 20 years of service, are not eligible for voluntary separation pay. 

“The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) will maximize the use of all available command authorities to ensure impacted personnel are afforded dignity and respect,” the Navy’s memo said. 

Some exceptions to the rule may apply. The memo said that the Secretary of the Navy may issue waivers for those seeking to remain or join the service on a “case-by-case basis,” if there is proof that keeping or recruiting such individuals “directly supports warfighting capabilities.” 

DOJ ISSUES COMPLAINT ABOUT FEDERAL JUDGE’S ‘MISCONDUCT’ WHILE PRESIDING OVER MILITARY TRANS BAN COURT CASE

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued guidance in February instructing the service branches to create plans to separate transgender troops.  (Yves Herman/Reuters)

The Navy referred Fox News Digital to its press release on the order when reached for comment, and did not provide an answer as to how many sailors this order would likely impact. 

The Navy released its guidance the same day that a federal judge heard arguments for a lawsuit that LGBTQ legal rights advocacy group GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed in February against the Trump administration, seeking a preliminary injunction pausing the ban while litigation is pending. 

U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes is expected to issue a final decision on the preliminary injunction by March 25. GLAD Law did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Lambda Legal also filed a separate lawsuit in February challenging the Trump administration’s order on behalf of six trans service members and asked a federal judge to block the order amid the legal proceedings. 

“A dishonorable action from a dishonorable administration,” the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Lambda Legal said in a Feb. 27 statement. “This attack on those who have dedicated themselves to serving our country is not only morally reprehensible but fundamentally un-American. Forcing out thousands of transgender servicemembers, who have met every qualification to serve, does not enhance military excellence or make our country safer.”

The Human Rights Campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Navy leaders have previously defended LGBTQ service members. For example, former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday defended a nonbinary Navy officer assigned to the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford featured in a video the Navy Judge Advocate General Corps shared on Instagram about participating in an LGBTQ spoken-word night during deployment.

PENTAGON SAYS TRANSGENDER TROOPS ARE DISQUALIFIED FROM SERVICE WITHOUT EXCEPTION

Former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday defended a nonbinary Navy officer in 2023 before the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

The video attracted scrutiny from Republican lawmakers, who called into question the Navy’s war-fighting priorities. For example, then-Sen. Marco Rubio shared the video on X in April 2023, and said: “While China prepares for war this is what they have our @USNavy focused on.” 

But Gilday, who retired in August 2023, told Republican lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee in April 2023 that he was proud of the officer and that people from all different backgrounds serve in the Navy. 

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As a result, Gilday said it is incumbent upon Navy leaders to “build a cohesive warfighting team that is going to follow the law, and the law requires that we be able to conduct prompt, sustained operations at sea.”

“That level of trust that a commanding officer develops across that unit has to be grounded on dignity and respect,” Gilday said in April 2023. “And so, if that officer can lawfully join the United States Navy, is willing to serve and willing to take the same oath that you and I took to put their life on the line, then I’m proud to serve beside them.”

President Donald Trump kicked off the week driving a red Tesla on the White House South Lawn and closed out the week addressing the Department of Justice.  

In his remarks Friday, Trump railed against former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice and accused the agency of turning into the “department of injustice.”

“Our predecessors turned this Department of Justice into the department of injustice,” Trump said Friday at the Department of Justice. “But I stand before you today to declare that those days are over, and they are never going to come back.” 

Trump has regularly condemned the Justice Department and the FBI since his first administration after multiple investigations and lawsuits filed against him. For example, the FBI investigated Trump and his 2016 campaign for alleged collusion with Russia. The probe determined there was no evidence the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the election.

President Donald Trump speaks at the Justice Department in Washington Friday, March 14, 2025.  (Associated Press )

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

Under the Biden administration, Trump faced more legal scrutiny when former Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped former special counsel Jack Smith in 2020 to conduct investigations into alleged efforts by Trump to overturn the 2020 election results and Trump’s alleged efforts to preserve classified materials at Mar-a-Lago after his first term as president.

“They tried to turn America into a corrupt communist and Third World country, but, in the end, the thugs failed, and the truth won,” Trump said. “Freedom won. Justice won. Democracy won. And, above all, the American people won.”

A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Here are some other key moments from the week: 

Meeting with NATO secretary general 

Trump also met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte Thursday, and the two discussed efforts to bolster NATO’s defense spending and the U.S. potentially acquiring Greenland. 

Trump has long advocated for NATO allies to boost defense spending to between 2% and 5% of gross domestic product. He also has called for European nations to pick up more responsibility for defending their continent. 

“You’re starting to hear the British prime minister and others all committing to much higher defense spending,” Rutte told reporters Thursday at the White House. “We’re not there. We need to do more, but I really want to work together with you … to make sure that we will have a NATO which is really reinvigorated under your leadership. And we are getting there.

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House March 13, 2025.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“When you look at Trump 47, what happened the last couple of weeks is really staggering.”

He made the remarks after an $841 billion proposal European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pitched March 4 for European Union nations to up their defense spending. 

Additionally, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed in February to boost his country’s defense spending to 2.5% of its gross domestic value. That is up from the 2.3% the U.K. currently spends and amounts to a nearly $17 billion increase.

‘HYSTERIA’: WHITE HOUSE SHUTS DOWN CONCERNS ABOUT USAID DOCUMENT PURGE

Trump also expressed optimism during the meeting about the likelihood of the U.S. acquiring Greenland, even though the Danish territory has said it’s not interested in Trump’s offer. 

“I think it’ll happen,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “And I’m just thinking. I didn’t give it much thought before, but I’m sitting with a man that could be very instrumental. You know, Mark, we need that for international security, not just security, international.”

In response, Rutte said he didn’t want to “drag NATO” into the discussions but said Arctic countries must work with the U.S. to preserve security in the region as Russian and Chinese vessels increase their activity there. 

An American flag and USAID flag fly outside the USAID building in Washington, D.C., Feb. 1, 2025.  (Annabelle Gordon/Reuters)

USAID document ‘hysteria’ 

The White House shut down concerns Tuesday and Wednesday that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) ordered employees to destroy classified documents amid efforts by the Trump administration to close the agency. 

USAID acting Executive Secretary Erica Carr emailed employees, instructing them to begin shredding and burning documents, according to a motion that government labor unions filed in a federal court Tuesday. 

But the documents remain available on computer systems, and Carr’s directive coincides with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s impending move into the USAID building, according to White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly.

“This was sent to roughly three dozen employees,” Kelly said in an X post regarding Carr’s order Tuesday night. “The documents involved were old, mostly courtesy content (content from other agencies), and the originals still exist on classified computer systems. More fake news hysteria!”

All involved in purging the documents had a secret security clearance or higher and were not among the USAID employees on administrative leave, an administration official told Fox News Digital Wednesday. 

Those involved were familiar with the content they were handling and were specifically appointed by the agency to review and eliminate materials, the official said. 

Thousands of employees at USAID were either fired or placed on administrative leave in February, following recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut wasteful spending.

President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speak to reporters near a red Model S Tesla on the South Lawn of the White House March 11, 2025, in Washington.  (Pool via AP )

Tesla purchase 

Trump bought a red Tesla Tuesday and showed off the vehicle on the White House’s South Lawn with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who heads DOGE. The event coincided with Tesla’s stock dipping earlier in the week, but the share price rose after the White House event.

Democrats were quick to pass judgment on the move, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee labeled the Trump administration the “most corrupt administration in American history.” 

FIRST ON FOX: A group of President Donald Trump’s House GOP allies is leading a bill that would enshrine the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its efficiency efforts in federal law, giving it some protection from various legal challenges over the next year and a half.

“This creates a reporting structure that allows what DOGE is doing with the Cabinet to be relayed to Congress, which is our Article I authorities, which is really the idea of being good stewards of taxpayer funding,” Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., who is leading the bill, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

The legislation more generally codifies Trump’s executive order directing Cabinet secretaries and heads of other executive offices to coordinate with DOGE on various government efficiency plans.

DOGE PROTESTERS RALLY OUTSIDE KEY DEPARTMENT AFTER EMPLOYEES ARE TOLD NOT TO REPORT TO WORK 

Under President Donald Trump, the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has detected billions of what it deems as wasteful government spending.  (Reuters | iStock | Getty Images)

It would give Elon Musk and DOGE Acting Administrator Amy Gleason more standing to implement various cuts within the federal government, as part of Trump’s plan to cut federal waste.

“What Elon has done is that he’s created kind of this algorithm that works in the background, that sifts through all of these different programs, 24 hours a day, to look at anomalies and how they’re being utilized, to go ahead and say, ‘Hey, is this something for analysis? Is this something that we need to take a look at?’” Mills said. “That’s really what this is — it’s about modernizing and maximizing.” 

The bill is led by Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla. (David Dee Delgado)

The legislation is co-sponsored by House DOGE Caucus co-chair Aaron Bean, R-Fla., of which Mills is also a part.

Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Barry Moore, R-Ala.; and Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, are also helping lead the bill.

DOGE AND AGENCIES CANCEL 200,000 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CREDIT CARDS 

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If passed, such a bill would likely help shield DOGE from Democratic efforts to block it from gathering federal government data.

Musk and DOGE were recently ordered to turn over a broad array of records by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in response to a lawsuit by more than a dozen Democratic attorneys general.

FIRST ON FOX: China could face a crackdown on its influence in the U.S. on multiple fronts if a slate of new targeted bills is passed.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., led the introduction of three bills aimed at curbing Chinese influence this week. The measures specifically take action on China’s acquisition of U.S. farmland, its predatory investment and its connections to U.S. education institutions. 

“China continues to buy up American farm land, steal our patents and expand their authoritarian world view,” Lankford told Fox News Digital. “America will demonstrate to the world our values and maintain our economic and military strength to assure the globe has the best opportunity for freedom. No one in China should doubt America’s resolve and commitment to liberty.”

TRUMP ‘HOPES’ PUTIN AGREES TO CEASEFIRE AS MOSCOW SIGNALS NO TRUCE YET

China’s influence could be curbed if the bills pass.  (Adek Berry)

The Countering Adversarial and Malicious Partnerships at Universities and Schools Act (CAMPUS) would prohibit joint research between U.S. universities and those in China connected to its military and bar federal funds from going to schools that partner with entities linked to it. 

The next bill, known as the Belt & Road Oversight Act, is designed to monitor China’s predatory lending practices and counter any economic coercion. The measure would establish officers at all worldwide embassies who would be charged with tracking its investments in critical infrastructure. 

POLAND CALLS ON US TO PLACE NUKES WITHIN ITS BORDERS AMID RUSSIA THREAT

Lankford led the package of three bills. ( Nick Oxford/AFP via Getty Images)

The third bill would conduct oversight into any purchases of U.S. agricultural land that could pose a national security threat. Named the Security and Oversight of International Landholdings (SOIL) Act, the measure specifically bans any federal assistance for certain real estate holdings that are owned by foreign entities and expands disclosure requirements for land purchases made by any such entities.  

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., co-sponsored both the CAMPUS and SOIL Acts. 

PENTAGON CALLS MARK MILLEY ‘CORPULENT’ AS IT KICKS OFF REVIEW OF PHYSICAL FITNESS AND GROOMING STANDARDS

One of the bills would scrutinize foreign holdings of U.S. farmland. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The bills targeting China’s influence come after the country held recent nuclear talks with Russia and Iran in Beijing. 

Ahead of the meeting, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the discussions would be about “developments related to the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions.”

SECRETARY HEGSETH SAYS THE DOD DOES NOT DO ‘CLIMATE CHANGE CRAP’

Iran met with China and Russia. (AP Photo/Florian Schroetter, FILE)

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The meeting was downplayed by President Trump earlier in the week. He suggested U.S. adversaries could be talking “de-escalation.” 

“Well, maybe they’re going to talk about non-nuclear problems. Maybe they’re going to be talking about the de-escalation of nuclear weapons,” Trump said in the Oval Office. 

Senators voted to advance the House-passed stopgap spending bill on Friday as the deadline for a government shutdown inches closer. 

By a margin of 62-38, senators voted to advance the measure. Ten Democrats joined nearly all Republicans to overcome the filibuster. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., voted to move the bill forward, opposing the rest of their caucus colleagues. 

The House-passed short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), would keep spending levels the same as fiscal year (FY) 2024 until Oct. 1. However, if a spending bill is not passed by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, the government will enter into a partial shutdown.

Democrats in the Senate were embroiled in passionate disagreement this week over what to do when the measure eventually came for the key procedural vote. In order to reach the 60-vote threshold, Republicans needed some Democratic support, as the GOP majority is only 53 seats and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., planned to vote against it. 

CHUCK SCHUMER WILL VOTE TO KEEP GOVERNMENT OPEN: ‘FOR DONALD TRUMP, A SHUTDOWN WOULD BE A GIFT’

The Capitol is seen under cloud cover in Washington, Tuesday, May 11, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Amid tense caucus meetings leading up to the vote, Democrats were tight-lipped, unwilling to reveal details about the discussions. During one meeting on Thursday, a senator yelled so loudly that the press could hear through thick, heavy wooden meeting room doors. The voice was identified by the press as that of Gillibrand, but her office would not confirm. 

Several Democratic senators came out against the stopgap bill ahead of the procedural hurdle, sharing that they wouldn’t vote to advance it or vote for its passage. 

However, they faced criticism from staunch government shutdown opponent Fetterman, who joked about their “spicy” social media videos about voting no. 

DEM HEARD SCREAMING AT COLLEAGUES DESPITE SCHUMER’S UNITY CLAIM AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS

During a recent interview with NBC News, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., declared he’s ‘not a progressive.’ (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“It wasn’t that long ago before we were lecturing that you can never shut the government down. So, that’s kind of inconsistent,” he told reporters on Thursday. 

“We can all agree that it’s not a great CR, but that’s where we are, and that’s the choice,” he emphasized. 

Schumer had initially claimed on Wednesday that his caucus was unified, and pushed for an alternative CR that would last only a month. But the Republicans did not budge on the House-passed bill that lasts the rest of the fiscal year. 

SENATE REPUBLICANS COIN ‘SCHUMER SHUTDOWN’ AHEAD OF CRITICAL VOTE ON TRUMP SPENDING BILL

Chuck Schumer, left, John Thune, right (Reuters)

By Thursday night, Schumer revealed he would vote to advance and pass the stopgap bill, rather than providing President Donald Trump and Elon Musk with the “gift” of a government shutdown. 

This was met with significant frustration from Democrats across the country and division about what party leaders should do in such circumstances. 

CANADA EXPLOITING ‘LOOPHOLE’ HURTING US DAIRY FARMERS AMID TRUMP TARIFFS, SENATORS SAY

Former Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

House Democratic leaders released a late-night statement reiterating their opposition to the CR on Thursday, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., shared her own on Friday, similarly slamming the bill. 

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The former speaker called on Democratic senators to “listen to the women” and move forward with “a four-week funding extension to keep government open and negotiate a bipartisan agreement.”

Newly minted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has defiantly rejected any notion that Canada will become America’s 51st state amid tensions about an all-out trade war between the neighboring nations. 

Carney, speaking to reporters after being sworn into office on Friday, shot down the bold and controversial idea touted by President Donald Trump, calling the idea “crazy.”

“We will never, ever in any way, shape or form, be part of the United States,” Carney said.

He said that Canada is sovereign with its own values and traditions and that Trump needs to show the nation more respect.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has panned the idea of Canada becoming America’s 51st state amid tensions about an escalating trade war between the neighboring nations.  (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg, left, Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP, right. )

Asked about Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told reporters that Trump’s position is that Canada would be better off joining the United States, Carney said Rubio’s point was crazy.

“It’s crazy,” Carney said. “His point is crazy. That’s it.”

Trump has said that annexing Canada would prevent the country from being on the receiving end of punishing trade tariffs. Trump claims the U.S. has subsidized Canada to the tune of $200 billion annually and the U.S. began imposing a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico last week.

Two days later Trump suspended the 25% tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) for one month. Trump has put 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products on April 2.

Trump has long said Canada — as well as Mexico — has also failed to do enough to prevent the flow of illegal migrants and drugs, particularly fentanyl into the U.S.

Carney said he has no immediate plans to meet with President Trump but looks forward to doing so. He also addressed Trump’s concerns with Canada.

Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to supporters in Ottawa, Ontario on March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

“We respect President Trump,” Carney said. “President Trump has put some very important issues at the top of his agenda. To understand his agenda is understand the importance of addressing the scourge of fentanyl, which is a challenge here in Canada as well as the United States. 

“And I would say that the measures that have been put in place in recent weeks in Canada and Mexico, also the United States, means that we are making tremendous progress.”

Carney noted he understands the importance President Trump places on American workers and American jobs. 

“And we want him and his administration to understand the importance we put on Canadian workers and Canadian job,” Carney said. 

“And we will look for avenues to work together so that both objectives are met in terms of our goals, our great economies, just as we are doing.

Trump brought up the merger idea to former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in person when the pair met at Mar-a-Lago in late November, per Fox News sources. Trump has also suggested annexing Greenland.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with then-President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 29, 2024 where Trump brought up the 51st state idea.  (Justin Trudeau X)

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Carney, a former Goldman Sachs executive, worked for 13 years in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto, before being appointed deputy governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003. Carney ran the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.

He has never been elected to public office by the Canadian electorate and does not have a seat in parliament. He won the Liberal leadership last week with 86% of the vote after Trudeau stood down. 

President Donald Trump renewed his vow to clean up the city of Washington, D.C., Friday while speaking at the Department of Justice, saying, “We’re going to have a crime-free capital.”  

“We’re cleaning up our city. We’re cleaning up this great capital,” the president said. “And we’re not going to have crime, and we’re not going to stand for crime.” 

He noted that, since returning to the White House, he has had to order the roadways cleaned of tents and graffiti when heads of state visit.  

TRUMP BLASTS BIDEN’S DOJ: THEY TRIED TO TURN US INTO A ‘CORRUPT COMMUNIST’ THIRD WORLD COUNTRY

President Donald Trump, the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.; and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (Fox/Getty/iStock)

“When Prime Minister Modi of India, when the president of France and all of these people, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, they all came to see me over the last week and a half. And, when they come in, I had the route run,” he said. “I didn’t want to have them see tents. I didn’t want to have them see graffiti. I didn’t want to have them see broken barriers and potholes in the roads.

“We want to have a capital that can be the talk of the world,” Trump added. “We’re going to do that for the city.” 

Washington, D.C., police prepare for the inauguration Jan. 22.  (Washington Metropolitan Police Dept.)

Trump commended D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, for cooperating with his administration. 

DANCING TRANSGENDER HECKLERS SHUT DOWN PARENTS’ EVENT AT BLUE STATE’S CAPITOL: ‘SAD AND UNFORTUNATE’

Black Lives Matter Plaza will be replaced, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser recently announced.  (Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Bowser recently announced the removal of a “Black Lives Matter” street mural that was installed in front of the White House in 2020. 

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“We’re working with the administration, and if the administration can’t do the job, we’re going to have to take it back and run it through the federal government,” said Trump. “But we hope the administration’s going to be able. So far, so good. So far, they’ve been doing very well. The mayor has been doing a good job.”

“We’re going to have a crime-free capital,” he added. “When people come here, they’re not going to be mugged or shot or raped. They’re going to have a crime-free capital again. It’s going to be cleaner and better and safer than it ever was. And it’s not going to take us too long.” 

House Democrats will hold a “Day of Action” across the country on Tuesday to “aggressively” push back against the “diabolical Republican scheme to enact the largest Medicaid cut in our nation’s history” after Congress passed a spending bill to avert a government shutdown.

The Senate voted 54-46 on Friday to pass the stopgap spending bill, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as the only Republican to oppose the measure. Nearly all Democrat senators opposed it, but Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, voted to pass the bill.

Earlier in the week, the GOP-controlled House passed the short-term bill, otherwise known as a continuing resolution, which will keep spending levels the same as fiscal year 2024 until Oct. 1.

SHUTDOWN AVERTED AFTER SCHUMER CAVES AND BACKS TRUMP SPENDING BILL

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, in Washington, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

If a spending bill was not passed by the Friday deadline, the government would have entered into a partial shutdown. President Donald Trump backed the bill and urged lawmakers to pass it.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said that the bill “is an attack on veterans, families, seniors and everyday Americans.”

“The ongoing Republican assault on the economy, healthcare, the social safety net and veterans benefits requires all of us working together in the weeks and months to come,” he said in a statement. “Donald Trump’s disingenuous and nakedly superficial effort to divide us will not succeed.”

CHUCK SCHUMER WILL VOTE TO KEEP GOVERNMENT OPEN: ‘FOR DONALD TRUMP, A SHUTDOWN WOULD BE A GIFT’

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Jeffries said House Democrats will hold a “Day of Action” throughout America on Tuesday to “aggressively push back against the diabolical Republican scheme to enact the largest Medicaid cut in our nation’s history,” adding: “We will partner with our colleagues at every level of government to protect the American people.”

Democrats in the House and the Senate, as well as governors, local elected officials, unions, civil rights organizations, democracy reform groups and concerned citizens all have an important role to play, Jeffries said.

“Our party is not a cult, we are a coalition,” he said. “On occasion, we may strongly disagree about a particular course of action. At all times, Democrats throughout the nation remain determined to make life better for everyday Americans and stop the damage being done by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and House Republicans.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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The Senate’s vote on Friday to pass the six-month continuing resolution came after a procedural vote earlier in the day in which enough Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., helped Republicans overcome the filibuster and move forward with the stopgap spending bill.

Jeffries has refused to answer questions about whether he had confidence in Schumer after the senator helped advance the Republican-backed legislation.

Fox News’ Julia Johnson 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…

–Education Department launches widespread civil rights probe: A look at what the agency does as Trump eyes shutdown

-50 House Dems railed for ‘political puppet show’ after making identical social media posts

–Migrant gangs on notice after string of home burglaries

Phoning it in 

EXCLUSIVE: The Biden White House turned over government cellphones belonging to President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence to the FBI in May 2022 as part of a bureau probe into the aftermath of the 2020 election, tying Trump to that investigation without sufficient predication, Fox News Digital has learned.

The FBI did not need a warrant to physically obtain the government phones from the Biden White House, but after acquiring the devices agents began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data, sources familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital.

“The Biden White House played right along with the FBI’s ‘gotcha’ scheme against Trump,” a source familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital. “Biden’s Office of White House Counsel, under the leadership of Dana Remus and Jonathan Su, gave its blessing and accommodation for the FBI to physically obtain Trump and Pence’s phones in early May 2022. Weeks later, the FBI began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data.” …Read more

Biden White House turned over Trump, Pence cellphones in anti-Trump agent’s case.  (Associated Press)

White House

TAKEN FOR A SPIN: Biden also paraded electric vehicles at the White House, when he drove a Jeep Wrangler in 2021

‘VACCINE HESITANCY’: Millions spent by Biden on COVID ‘vaccine hesitancy’ campaign slashed by Trump NIH: report

SPLIT ON TRUMP: Americans split over the job Trump and Musk are doing: poll

‘DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE’: Trump accuses Biden’s DOJ of trying to turn U.S. into ‘corrupt communist’ country

President Donald Trump speaks at the Justice Department in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Pool via AP)

World Stage

‘BROKE THE DEADLOCK’: ‘We have never been this close to peace’ since Russia invaded Ukraine, Leavitt tells reporters

‘REALLY STAGGERING’: Trump praised for getting NATO allies to bolster defense spending

‘PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE’: Venezuela agrees to resume deportation flights

Venezuela agrees to resume deportation flights (Getty Images)

Capitol Hill

SENATE GRILLING: Dr. Oz faces Senate grilling on Capitol Hill in bid to run Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

BAD EVIDENCE: Anna Paulina Luna escalates DOJ standoff over Epstein docs, unveils SHRED Act

‘WELLNESS GRIFTING’: Oz bats back Dem attempts to paint him as ‘snake oil’ salesman

Across America

KEY WITNESS: Key witness in American college student’s disappearance tells police how they met, what happened on beach

‘ENDS NOW’: Tulsi Gabbard lists ‘recent examples of unauthorized leaks’ from intelligence community, announces crackdown

‘RADICALS’: Vance booed at Kennedy Center concert

Vance booed at Kennedy Center concert (Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images)

‘BROKEN BUSINESS MODEL’: USPS signs agreement with DOGE after moving to cut 10,000 workers: ‘Broken business model’

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

FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday revealed that the agency is investigating a recent spike in swatting incidents after several conservative media figures said they were targeted. 

“I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures,” Patel wrote Friday morning on his social media. “The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.”

The director stressed, “This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement against ANY American is not only morally reprehensible but also endangers lives, including those of our officers.”

Swatting is when a person attempts to send armed law enforcement to another person’s house over a fake incident, which has led to deadly consequences in the past. 

TRUMP CABINET NOMINEES, APPOINTEES TARGETED WITH ‘VIOLENT, UNAMERICAN THREATS’

FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday revealed that the agency is investigating a recent spike in swatting incidents after several conservative media figures said they were targeted.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“That will not be tolerated,” Patel continued. “We are fully committed to working with local law enforcement to crack down on these crimes.”

He added that there would be more updates to come. 

Conservative podcaster Nick Sortor said Thursday on X that both his father and sister were swatted that same day. 

“A dozen cops attempted to kick my dad’s door in at gunpoint,” he wrote. “This is literal f—ing terrorism. And the FBI should treat it as such. Before calling in the swat, this dumbs— sent my sister an email calling me a Nazi, of course. So the motive is clear.”

Sortor said the person who called the police on his father claimed he was killing his “entire family, requiring them to intervene with deadly force.” 

“This is nothing short of attempted murder. They wanted the police to kill my father,” he added. 

FEDS CHARGE 2 EUROPEANS WITH ‘SWATTING’ PLOT TARGETING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS

Conservative host Shawn Farash wrote on his X account that he and his wife were swatted Thursday night. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was the victim of a swatting attack in December.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)

“We are totally safe,” he assured his followers. “Thank you to everyone who checked in. We are going to do whatever is necessary to find out who is behind these coordinated attacks and hold them accountable to the fullest extent.” 

An apparent swatting call at Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s home in December turned deadly following a car accident with police. 

Greene at the time said she had been swatted at least eight times before the fake bomb threat. 

In January, lawmakers introduced a bipartisan and bicameral bill to impose “strict penalties” for people who make swatting calls, including up to 20 years in prison if someone is seriously injured or killed in an incident.

In January, lawmakers introduced a bipartisan and bicameral bill to impose “strict penalties” for people who make swatting calls, including up to 20 years in prison if someone is seriously injured or killed in an incident. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“Having spent over 40 years in law enforcement, I’ve seen firsthand how swatting is a reckless and dangerous action that not only puts innocent lives at risk but wastes critical resources,” Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., said in a statement in January when introducing the bill in the House. 

“Local and state law enforcement agencies are forced to divert their time, energy, and taxpayer dollars to respond to these false calls, taking them away from real emergencies. As someone who has been on the front lines, I understand the toll this takes on our officers and communities. That’s why I am proud to help introduce the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act — a vital step in protecting both our law enforcement officers and the communities they serve.”

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, wrote on Friday that he was “proud” to cosponsor the bill. 

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“Multiple conservative influencers and pundits have had their homes swatted in the past several days,” he wrote. “This is an extremely dangerous form of political terrorism. It’s liable to get somebody killed, and it must end now.”

Speaking at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Friday, President Donald Trump comforted a mother whose son died from fentanyl poisoning, telling her, “He’s up there watching you” and “he’s so proud of mom.”

Trump highlighted the profound impact of fentanyl poisoning on U.S. citizens, saying during his speech that “more Americans died from fentanyl last year than died in the Korean War, or the Iraq War or the Afghanistan War. All of them combined.”

He blamed President Joe Biden’s open border policies, the cartels and countries such as Mexico, Canada and China for allowing the fentanyl problem to become so widespread.

TRUMP PLEDGES TO MAKE US CAPITAL ‘CRIME-FREE’ AND THE ‘TALK OF THE WORLD’

President Donald Trump listens as Anne Fundner, whose son died after taking fentanyl-laced pills, during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Friday, March, 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Fox News/Pool)

Stepping aside for a few moments, the president called to the stage Anne Fundner, an anti-drug activist and mother who lost her son – Weston – to fentanyl poisoning, to speak about how the deadly drug is hurting Americans.

While onstage, Fundner thanked Trump and his administration for shutting down the border, targeting the cartels and migrant crime groups as “foreign terrorist organizations” and for instituting tariffs to target countries where fentanyl is flowing from.

“The cartels were allowed to operate on American soil and took hundreds of thousands of American lives. And so, we knew there was only one person that could save us from the devastation on our American soil. And that was President Trump,” said Fundner. “I feel like I can speak for the entire fentanyl fighting community when I say thank you to President Trump and thank you to Pam Bondi and everyone out here who is fighting this fight. God bless you. God bless you, President Trump.”

VENEZUELA AGREES TO RESUME DEPORTATION FLIGHTS IN RESPONSE TO PRESSURE FROM TRUMP

President Donald Trump speaks at the Department of Justice, Friday, March 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Fox News/Pool)

In a heartfelt moment caught on the microphone, Trump leaned in to hug Fundner and said, “He’s up there watching you. He’s so proud of mom.

“I just said to Anne, ‘Weston is up in heaven watching his mom, and he’s so proud of you, he’s so proud of you,” Trump said afterward.

Turning to the crowd, Trump also addressed a group of parents who also lost children to fentanyl, saying, “We want to acknowledge you and also, your daughters, your sons, they’re looking down on you, and they’re loving you like crazy.”

The president said that since he took office the DEA and FBI have seized 1 million deadly doses of fentanyl.

“And that’s just the beginning,” he said. “At my direction and working with Pam and everybody else, we’ve launched an all-out war on fentanyl traffickers. And it’s a war that we’re going to win. We’re going to win this war.”

He also hinted that the death penalty for certain cartel drug trafficking crimes is being considered but acknowledged that “America may not be ready for it.”

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

A Border Patrol agent walks between a gap along the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico in Yuma, Arizona on June 1, 2022. The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is asking to speak to the head of that Border Patrol sector. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

“Wherever you have the death penalty, you don’t have drugs,” he said. “But I just don’t know if this country is ready for it. So, I tell people and it’s always an option.”

The Trump White House has previously told Fox News Digital that it would be “ruthlessly aggressive” in responding to cartel threats to American lives.  

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“This department will not rest until we have ended the fentanyl epidemic in America once and for all,” Trump said on Friday.   

In addition to taking action against the cartels, Trump said his administration would soon be launching a series of ads to emphasize the negative effects of drug use in an attempt to lessen the widespread deaths across the U.S.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said Friday she and President Trump had a “productive” meeting at the White House while discussing several topics, such as tariffs and energy. 

“Gov. Hochul and President Trump covered a broad range of topics in today’s meeting, including the redevelopment of Penn Station, congestion pricing, tariffs and energy policy,” a spokesperson for her office shared with Fox News Digital. 

“While no formal agreements or decisions were reached, it was a productive conversation, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue in the coming weeks.”

The White House also confirmed the meeting to Fox News Digital but said it was off the record and there would be no readout. 

NY GOV HOCHUL NOW SAYS SHE WILL LEAD ‘RESISTANCE’ AGAINST TRUMP AFTER SAYING OPPOSITE WEEKS AGO 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office on Friday said she and President Trump had a “productive” meeting at the White House while discussing several topics, such as tariffs and energy.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; John Lamparski/Getty Images)

Trump told reporters Thursday, “Kathy Hochul, very nice woman; she’s coming in tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock to meet me.”

He added they would be discussing reviving the Constitution natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York, among other topics. 

They met amid tensions between the two, including over congestion pricing. The Trump administration has ordered the termination of congestion pricing by next Friday. 

In February, Trump posted from the White House X account, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”

HOCHUL SLAMS TRUMP’S ‘KING’ REMARK AFTER PRESIDENT’S MOVE TO BLOCK CONGESTION PRICING TOLL IN NYC

Hochul responded by saying in a press conference, “I’m here to say New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years. We sure as hell are not gonna start now,” FOX 5 reported. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaking to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board in late February.  (Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress)

“There is a huge disconnect between the reality we know that New Yorkers are facing and the perception of reality out of the White House,” she added at a New York Department of Transportation board meeting this week. “I guarantee that the president has never had to endure missing a child’s sporting event because he was stuck on a delayed train.” 

Earlier this month, the Democratic governor said she will be “leading the resistance” against Trump. 

Hochul said she would “fight back hard” during an interview with NPR’s “Morning Edition” Monday when asked about New York City’s congestion pricing toll that the Trump administration moved to block last month.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul holds an AI image of President Trump wearing a crown during a press conference in February.  (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

“We offered up an olive branch. [We said] ‘We’ll work with you on infrastructure. Let’s redo Penn Station’,” Hochul said. “Those areas were common ground. But once you draw first blood on us, we’re coming back hard. And I will be leading the resistance on policies like these where you’re hurting New Yorkers directly. This is our decision, not yours.”

Two weeks before that, however, Hochul said she didn’t plan to lead the resistance.

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“I’m governing the great state of New York,” she told reporters. 

An appeals court on Friday lifted a block on President Donald Trump‘s executive orders ending federal support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

A panel of three judges ruled the orders can be enforced during a pending lawsuit, reversing a nationwide injunction from U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore, the Associated Press reported.

Two of the judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the orders “could raise concerns” about First Amendment rights, but found Abelson’s “sweeping block went too far,” according to the report.

President Donald Trump instituted sweeping policies to eradicate DEI across the federal government since taking office.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY STOPS TRUMP ADMIN FROM FIRING 11 INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO DEI PROGRAMS

Abelson, a Biden nominee, previously ruled the orders violated the First Amendment right to free speech and were unconstitutionally “vague,” as they did not define DEI.

The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by the City of Baltimore, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of University Professors and the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, which alleged the executive orders were presidential overreach and anti-free speech. 

They argued the president’s power “is not limitless.”

People march outside the office of hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman protesting his campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion and attacks against former Harvard University President Claudine Gay in New York City, Jan. 4, 2024. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

TRUMP SCORES BIG LEGAL WIN AGAINST PULITZER PRIZE BOARD MEMBERS AS LAWSUIT MOVES TO DISCOVERY

Trump’s orders directed federal agencies to terminate all “equity-related” grants or contracts, and required federal contractors to certify that they don’t promote DEI. 

The administration argued in court that the ban only affected DEI programs violating federal civil rights laws. 

“What’s happening is an overcorrection and pulling back on DEI statements,” attorney Aleshadye Getachew said in a hearing. 

Nathaniel Dibble, a member of the Young Democratic Socialists of America at North Carolina State University, voices opposition to repealing North Carolina’s public university system’s diversity policy before the UNC Board of Governors’ vote outside the UNC system office in Raleigh, N.C., May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

While the president secured a win with the latest injunction, a similar federal lawsuit was filed in D.C. U.S. District Court on Wednesday challenging DEI executive orders including: “Ending Radical and Wasteful DEI Programs and Preferencing;” “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government;” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” 

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The second complaint was filed by NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Lambda Legal on behalf of nonprofit advocacy organizations. 

White House spokesman Harrison Fields told the New York Times that “the radical leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda.”

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson, Danielle Wallace, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.