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Lawmakers in the Texas legislature are considering a bill that would prohibit people in the state from changing the gender marker on their birth certificate to reflect their gender identity.

The measure, Senate Bill 406, is now being debated in the Texas Senate.

Last year, the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped changing gender on driver’s licenses unless courts intervened, according to FOX 4.

The Senate bill would block changes to gender on birth certificates, regardless of whether there is a court order.

TEXAS LAWMAKER PROPOSES BILL TO BAN GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENT FOR EVERYONE, INCLUDING ADULTS

“This bill is not about restricting anyone’s personal expression. It is about ensuring legal documents reflect accurate statistics,” GOP state Sen. Mayes Middleton, who sponsored the bill, said Monday in a State Affairs Committee hearing. “Right now, the only way to change sex is by court order, and this bill prevents that.”

Testifying before the committee, Megan Benton of the group Texas Values said this is “a matter of public safety and public record.”

“If a man can legally change his birth certificate to say he is a woman, then it’s possible to get a driver’s license, passport, and social security card that also says he is female,” she said.

Several transgender Texans also testified before the committee, saying they believe they are being unfairly targeted.

“I’m not a monster. This is not a fetish for me, and I did not decide to be a woman,” Amanda McLaughlin said.

Megan Fairbanks asked, “What harm have I caused society?”

“I don’t play sports. The only thing I want to do in the bathroom is use the bathroom and touch up my makeup and wash my hands,” Fairbanks said.

The Transgender Education Network of Texas’ policy coordinator, Landon Richie, argued that the bill would lead to isolation and incentivize others to discriminate or put targets on the backs of transgender people who he said are already vulnerable.

DYLAN MULVANEY REACTS TO GAVIN NEWSOM’S REMARKS ON TRANS ATHLETES PARTICIPATING IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

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The bill is expected to pass through the Senate and be sent to the House.

This comes after state lawmakers passed legislation banning biological men from competing in girls’ school sports.

At the federal level, President Donald Trump signed an executive order recognizing male and female as the only genders.

Teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten said during a recent podcast appearance that she is fearful President Donald Trump’s plans to terminate the Department of Education will mean more funding for school choice vouchers, which she decried as a “tax credit” for wealthy families already sending their kids to private school. 

Weingarten’s comments came during a podcast interview with Molly Jong-Fast, who spoke with her about the implications of Trump’s spending reforms, particularly his plan to terminate the Department of Education. Weingarten stated that cutting the department’s roughly $100 billion in funding will primarily benefit tax cuts for the wealthy or – “equally pernicious” – be redirected to states as “block grants.”

“We know, for example, what Texas would do,” Weingarten told Jong-Fast. “They’ll use it for vouchers. So they won’t give [federal funding] to the kids who have it now, they’ll just give it for vouchers.” 

THREE MORE STATES JOIN TREND OF PASSING UNIVERSAL SCHOOL CHOICE

“And frankly, what we are seeing in all the programs now – in terms of vouchers – they don’t work for kids,” Weingarten continued. “They basically go right now – it becomes a tax credit for people who already are sending their kids to private schools. So it’s income redistribution.”

Trump has not taken any formal action to dismantle the the department, but media reports have signaled he is close to signing an executive order directing his education secretary, Linda McMahon, to begin the process. Last month, the president mused during a press conference from the Oval Office that the Education Department was “a big con job” that needed to be shut down “immediately.”

Alongside his anticipated executive action to dismantle the department Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 29 to expand “educational freedom” for families through various school choice programs, including vouchers.

“We’re fighting to protect our kids and protect that funding and not let Donald Trump or Elon Musk glom it off for tax cuts for billionaires or for block grants for vouchers,” Weingarten responded after Jong-Fast asked what she and her union, the American Federation of Teachers, was doing to combat Trump. Weingarten added that regardless of whether you are a Republican or Democrat, ensuring American families have the economic and educational opportunities to achieve the American Dream, should be a priority.

TRUMP CUTS MORE THAN $400 MILLION IN GRANTS TO COLUMBIA OVER ANTISEMITISM CONCERNS, POTENTIALLY MORE TO COME

“We all have to do a lot more to help make sure that families in America have what they need for a quality of life, for entry into the middle class,” Weingarten said.

However, while Weingarten may be of the belief that school choice funding, in particular for vouchers, does not benefit the economic and educational opportunities of Americans, others disagree with that notion. 

Rachel Langan, a senior education policy analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation, a public policy think-tank based in Pennsylvania, said “simply spending more money” is not an answer to the deficiencies within the U.S. education system. 

“Pennsylvania already dedicates more than $37 billion to public schools, more than $22,000 per student. Yet, the latest U.S. Department of Education data shows that 69% of Pennsylvania eighth-grade students aren’t proficient at math, and an equal 69% cannot read at grade level – despite a $4.1 billion increase in state education spending in the last four years,” Langan said in a statement following Trump’s executive order directing the federal government to prioritize school choice funding.

 TRUMP ADMIN TACKLING BIDEN ‘BACKLOG’ OF CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM COMPLAINTS: ‘IMMEDIATE PRIORITY’ 

“Parents need more educational options, as evidenced by the continued waiting lists for charter schools and for the state’s tax credit scholarship programs, which serve large numbers of low-income families zoned to attend low-achieving public schools.”

“The time is now for school choice in every state,” the American Federation for Children, a nonprofit that advocates for school choice, added following Trump’s order. “For a generation, our nation’s education system has been held hostage by bureaucrats and schooling unions who care only about preserving their own power, not the needs of American students.”

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Since Trump’s executive order boosting school choice funding, a handful of states have introduced legislation to make these programs more widely available. In total, 14 states have passed universal school choice bills. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the American Federation of Teachers and Weingarten for comment, but did not hear back prior to publication. 

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump is making calls on Monday to potential holdouts on a plan to avoid a government shutdown at the end of this week, a White House official confirmed to Fox News digital.

Three sources have said Trump world is making calls to Capitol Hill ahead of the late Tuesday afternoon vote.

Two senior House Republicans said they expected Trump to speak directly with critics of the bill sometime before the vote on Tuesday.

DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY REBUKE PARTY MEMBERS WHO JEERED TRUMP DURING SPEECH TO CONGRESS: REPORT

The House and Senate must pass a bill and get it to Trump’s desk before the end of Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown.

Two sources said Trump aides have been in contact with lawmakers who could vote against the bill, while the third source said the White House has also phoned reliable “yes” votes to ensure Republicans will “show a unified front” during the vote.

“I’m sure the president is making calls,” one senior House Republican told Fox News Digital.

But as of late afternoon Monday, the pressure campaign has not reached every House GOP lawmaker with doubts.

One GOP lawmaker who said they were undecided about the bill said they had not heard from the White House, nor House leadership.

The legislation is a rough extension of fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding levels known as a “continuing resolution” (CR).

Republicans have traditionally rejected CRs in droves, frequently advocating for “regular order” involving 12 annual appropriations bills crafted by Congress. 

But unlike with previous CR votes, House Democratic leaders have signaled that the left will not vote against shutting down the government en masse as usual over the last two years.

Democratic leaders have accused Republicans of using the CR to pave the way for Trump and Elon Musk to carry out their Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts — something conservatives are using as an argument to their own colleagues in favor of the bill.

It’s possible at least several moderate Democrats running in competitive races next year will vote to avoid a shutdown, but Republicans are expected to largely shoulder the burden on their own.

At least one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is already opposed. He wrote on X, “Unless I get a lobotomy Monday that causes me to forget what I’ve witnessed the past 12 years, I’ll be a NO on the CR this week.”

It’s not immediately clear if the White House has made any private overtures to Massie for his vote, and his spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.

GOLDMAN SACHS HIGHLIGHTS TARIFF WARS WINNERS AND LOSERS

Former Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita, however, responded to him with a pointed message on X, “Tick tock Tommie.”

Meanwhile, a third House Republican, who said it “wouldn’t surprise” them if Trump was making calls, was frustrated at what they saw as repetitive political theater by dissenters.

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“You’ve got these handful of members that see themselves as the ‘purists,’ and if we all just shared their vision, all of the problems we faced would magically disappear. This act is getting old!” the House Republican said. “Can you imagine if we just shut down the government during a unified government because we can’t get an agreement out of the House?”

Fox News Digital reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson’s office and the White House for comment but did not hear back by press time.

House Republicans released the text of their 99-page continuing resolution on Saturday.

Trump was previously credited with helping get House Republicans’ framework for a massive conservative budget overhaul over the line after lengthy phone calls with two holdouts, Reps. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., and Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the failed 2024 vice presidential candidate, conducted a postmortem on his 2024 campaign with former Vice President Kamala Harris, determining the Democrats played it too safe during the cycle. 

“We shouldn’t have been playing this thing so safe,” Walz told Politico in an interview published Saturday. 

He added: “I think we probably should have just rolled the dice and done the town halls, where (voters) may say, ‘You’re full of s—, I don’t believe in you.’ I think there could have been more of that.”

Walz joined Harris on the Democratic ticket in August 2024, just days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July amid mounting concerns over the commander in chief’s mental acuity and as Harris moved to pick up the mantle at the top of the ticket. The Harris campaign had just more than 100 days between Biden dropping out and rallying support for the Harris-Walz ticket on Nov. 5. 

FAILED VP CANDIDATE TIM WALZ SKEWERED AFTER HINTING AT POTENTIAL 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RUN

The Trump-Vance ticket swept the battleground states on election night, catapulting them to victory with 312 electoral votes to Harris’ 226. 

Walz has been on a media blitz in recent days, including speaking with the New Yorker, joining MSNBC ahead of President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress, speaking at the South By Southwest film festival on Saturday and teeing up an interview on California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s podcast. 

TIM WALZ SAYS LOSING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS ‘PURE HELL,’ ADMITS DEMS ARE ‘FATIGUED’ IN MSNBC INTERVIEW

Walz argued that Democrats “are more cautious” in engaging with the media than Republicans, while adding that he felt as if the campaign was never ahead, comparing it to a “prevent defense” strategy during a football game. 

“In football parlance, we were in a prevent defense to not lose when we never had anything to lose because I don’t think we were ever ahead,” he said, which bolsters reporting following the election that internal Democratic polling showed Harris lagging behind Trump in the lead-up to Nov. 5. 

Walz took ownership for the party’s loss in 2024, telling the outlet that “when you’re on the ticket and you don’t win, that’s your responsibility.” 

TIM WALZ ADMITS HE WAS SURPRISED BY ELECTION DEFEAT: ‘THOUGHT THE COUNTRY WAS READY’

A handful of former presidential campaign staffers who spoke to the outlet under the condition of anonymity relayed that Walz wasn’t presented to voters in an effective manner, and was instead kept in a “box,” which they said compounded the Harris–Walz loss to the Trump–Vance ticket. 

“He was underutilized and that was the symptom of the larger campaign of decision paralysis and decision logjam at the top,” one former senior Harris aide told the outlet. “Could he have changed a percent in Wisconsin? Maybe. We still lose even if we win Wisconsin.”

Walz was put “in a box,” and “we didn’t use him the way we could’ve,” the aide added. 

“The world seemed to want more Tim Walz, and there were times when I wish they could’ve gotten more Tim Walz,” Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said, adding that he “wished they would’ve put [Walz] out there more.”

TIM WALZ THOUGHT HIS LACK OF WEALTH WAS ‘REAL FLEX’ AGAINST TRUMP: ‘HOW… DID WE LOSE TO A BILLIONAIRE?’

“By the time they finally let him do anything at all, it’s like 20 days left, and he’s doing four states a day, and there’s only so much you could do,” another former staffer said of Walz. “It was too short.”

The aides argued that Walz faced a steep battle ahead of his debate against then-Ohio Sen. JD Vance, remarking that he was “super nervous” and “in his own head” while preparing to face the Trump running mate on the stage. 

“It looked as if Vance was the conductor and Walz was following the script,” longtime Democrtic strategist David Axelrod told Politico of the VP debate. “I don’t think that was the reason they lost, but that was not helpful either.”

‘DOOMED’: EXPERTS SAY THIS CRUCIAL CAMPAIGN DECISION LED TO VP HARRIS’ ‘DISASTROUS’ DEFEAT

Walz reportedly carried campaign flubs heavily on his mind, while some aides argued that the Harris campaign “didn’t do enough to punch back” against criticisms and defend Walz, such as when he falsely claimed he carried guns while in war. Walz joined the Army National Guard in 1981 and retired in 2005, but never saw combat. 

“This was a guy who definitely was embarrassed by his flubs, didn’t handle them well, and seemed like there was a never-ending supply of them, so that was part of the issue of getting him out there everywhere,” a former Harris staffer told Politico. “I don’t look back on that campaign and think that the way we used Walz was a critical error.”

Walz revealed in an interview with the New Yorker, published March 2, that he is open to a potential presidential run in 2028, which was met with mockery by conservatives on social media earlier in March. 

Walz reiterated in his Politico interview that he is “not saying no” to a potential 2028 presidential run if the opportunity should present itself. 

“I’m staying on the playing field to try and help because we have to win,” Walz said. “And I will always say this, I will do everything in my power [to help], and as I said, with the vice presidency, if that was me, then I’ll do the job.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for additional comment on his remarks and did not immediately receive a reply. 

A federal judge in Manhattan ruled that anti-Israel agitator Mahmoud Khalil is not to be deported “unless and until the Court orders otherwise,” on Monday. 

Khalil, who led anti-Israel protests and encampments on Columbia University’s campus, was taken into custody on the Upper West Side in New York City on Saturday. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said he was a former Columbia graduate student who “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” 

The judge ordered a hearing for Wednesday. Khalil’s lawyer also filed a motion that he be returned to New York City while the case plays out. According to ICE, Khalil is currently being held at the Lasalle Detention facility in Louisiana. Khalil’s lawyer has insisted their client was detained illegally and should be released.

His attorney, Amy E. Greer, released a new statement Monday evening, saying he is “healthy and his spirits are undaunted by his predicament.”

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

The statement continued: “The remarks by government officials, including the President, on social media only confirm the purpose – and illegality – of Mahmoud’s detention. He was chosen as an example to stifle entirely lawful dissent in violation of the First Amendment. While tomorrow or thereafter the government may cite the law or process, that toothpaste is out of the tube and irreversibly so. The government’s objective is as transparent as it is unlawful, and our role as Mahmoud’s lawyers is to ensure it does not prevail.”

Khalil’s wife also spoke out in a statement, calling for her husband to be released.

“Mahmoud is my rock, he is my home, and he is my happy place…,” she wrote. “For everyone reading this, I urge you to see Mahmoud through my eyes as a loving husband and the future father to our baby. I need your help to bring Mahmoud home, so he is here beside me, holding my hand in the delivery room as we welcome our first child into this world. Please release Mahmoud Now.”

Politicians have also spoken out in defense of Khalil. “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., criticized his arrest, calling the incident an “egregious violation of constitutional rights.”

In a post published to Instagram on Sunday, Tlaib wrote that it was “dangerous to allow our government to target people based on political speech” and warned that “more targeting of students like this will happen.”

“Everyone should be concerned about this,” Tlaib said in the Instagram video.

The Michigan congresswoman also addressed the reports about Khalil having a student visa revoked after his lawyer said he was a legal permanent resident.

“They were revoking his student visa. Well, guess what? He doesn’t have a student visa,” Tlaib claimed. “He’s a green card holder, legal permanent resident.”

“Now, again, they proceed to engage the attorney … he or she asked for a warrant, they hung up on them,” she continued. “If you believe in constitutional rights, you understand that they’re targeting this person. And everyone knows he has been very vocal against the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and they’re targeting him and refusing him constitutional rights. Who’s next?”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., released a statement supporting Khalil. 

“Mahmoud Khalil is a legal permanent resident whose wife, an American citizen, is eight months pregnant,” Jefferies said. “To the extent his actions were inconsistent with Columbia University policy and created an unacceptable hostile academic environment for Jewish students and others, there is a serious university disciplinary process that can handle the matter.”

Jefferies went on to say that “DHS must produce facts and evidence of criminal activity.” He said the actions of the Trump administration are “wildly inconsistent with the United States Constitution.”

In an X post on Monday, New York State Attorney General Letitia James expressed concern.

COLUMBIA’S ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS SAY TRUMP PULLING $400M IN GRANTS FROM UNIVERSITY IS A ‘SCARE TACTIC’

“I am extremely concerned about the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, an advocate and legal permanent resident of Palestinian descent,” James’ post reads. “My office is monitoring the situation, and we are in contact with his attorney.”

James’ comments came hours before hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York to express support for Khalil. Pictures show demonstrators waving Palestinian flags, carrying signs and wearing keffiyehs.

President Donald Trump said Khalil’s apprehension was “the first arrest of many to come” in a recent social media post.

“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. 

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“Many are not students, they are paid agitators,” he added. “We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”

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

Fox News Digital’s Pilar Arias and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Senate confirmed former Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to head the Department of Labor, marking the completion of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet secretaries.

Chavez-DeRemer was confirmed by the Senate with bipartisan support in a 67-32 vote on Monday evening. Three Republicans, Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., voted against Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation.

“The American people demand and deserve change after four years of economic heartache under the ‘most pro-union administration in American history.’ Unfortunately, Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s record pushing policies that force hardworking Americans into union membership suggests more of the same,” McConnell said in a statement. 

Paul has consistently opposed Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination over her past support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, voting against the motion to proceed her nomination to a final Senate vote. 

FOLLOWING KEY WINS, TRUMP POISED FOR CABINET COMPLETION IN RECORD TIME

However, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that Chavez-DeRemer is “committed to this mission and ready to work with the HELP Committee to secure a better future for all workers.”

“The Biden administration used its authority as a weapon against workers, threatening their ability to earn a living and provide for their families. With President Trump back in office, we have an opportunity to enact a pro-America agenda at the Department of Labor that puts workers first,” Cassidy said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

Chavez-DeRemer has received support from Democratic senators throughout her confirmation process, including from Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., who said she believed the Trump nominee was “qualified to serve as the next secretary of Labor.”

“The Department of Labor plays an integral role in supporting workers and small businesses alike, and after hearing significant support from constituents, including members of labor unions in New Hampshire, I will support Representative Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination as Secretary of Labor,” Hassan shared in a statement to Fox News Digital after voting to advance the Trump nominee through the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

WWE LEGEND TO LEAD EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AFTER CLINCHING FINAL MATCH IN THE SENATE

Chavez-DeRemer previously served as mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon, from 2011 to 2018, before being elected to represent the state’s 5th Congressional District in Congress in the 2022 midterms.

The Teamsters Union endorsed the Trump nominee for the top role in Trump’s Cabinet.

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“As the daughter of a Teamster, Lori Chavez-DeRemer knows the importance of carrying a union card and what it means to grow up in a middle-class household,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a February statement. 

“Working people need someone with her experience leading the agency that is tasked with protecting workers, creating good union jobs, and rebuilding our nation’s middle class.”

A plan to avert a partial government shutdown backed by President Donald Trump is heading for a House-wide vote on Tuesday.

The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before legislation hits the House of Representatives chamber, advanced the bill along party lines on Monday evening. 

Tuesday is expected to first see a vote to allow for lawmakers to debate the bill, known as a “rule vote,” followed by a chamber-wide vote on the legislation itself later in the afternoon.

It’s a major test for Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., as they seek to corral a House GOP conference that’s been exceptionally fractured on the subject of government funding.

DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY REBUKE PARTY MEMBERS WHO JEERED TRUMP DURING SPEECH TO CONGRESS: REPORT

As of late Monday evening, the bill’s chances of passing are still uncertain, even despite Trump himself making calls to potential holdouts.

Two sources told Fox News Digital that Vice President JD Vance will be on Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning for House Republicans’ regular conference meeting, in an apparent bid to help push dissenters along.

In addition to one staunch opponent, there are at least four other House Republicans who are undecided or leaning against the bill.

With all lawmakers present, Johnson will likely only be able to lose two Republicans to pass a bill along party lines.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told reporters he was “currently” against the bill during the House’s 6 p.m. ET vote series.

“I like the fact that it has less spending, but I hate the fact that they push it over to the war pimps at the Pentagon once again, and that’s kind of my hang-up,” Burchett said, adding that he hadn’t heard from Trump at the time. 

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., and Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., signaled they were undecided, with the latter signaling he was leaning against the bill.

“I refuse to paint myself in the corner. I don’t think that’s a smart thing to do. But as it stands right now, it doesn’t make sense to say anything is going to be different in September than it is right now,” McCormick said.

The bill is a continuing resolution (CR), which is a rough extension of fiscal 2024 funding levels to keep the government open through the start of fiscal 2026 on Oct. 1.

Republicans are largely expected to shoulder the bill alone in the House, despite a significant number of GOP lawmakers who would normally be opposed to extending Biden administration-era funding levels. House GOP leaders are confident, however, that it will pass.

Democrats have outnumbered Republicans in anti-government shutdown votes in recent years, but this time their opposition Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has many left-wing lawmakers signaling their opposition to the bill.

But what’s lending optimism to Johnson allies is the fact that two of the measure’s most vocal backers are the senior-most members of the hawkish House Freedom Caucus.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, the group’s policy chair, told Fox News Digital on Monday morning that a key part of conservatives’ pitch to fellow fiscal hawks is that Trump will likely still move to spend less money than the CR appropriates, including funding that he’s already blocked by executive order.

“Step 1 is the CR freezes spending, guys, that’s a win; No. 2, no earmarks; No. 3, no giant omnibus; No. 4, we believe the president can impound,” Roy said of his pitch.

Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., cited Republicans’ near-uniform vote on their Trump-backed federal budget bill last month.

“There were a lot of people in Washington who said we would never pass a debt ceiling increase with only Republican votes, and we did in the House,” Harris said. “I think, similarly, there’s some people who, including some of the Democrats, who think, ‘Well, they’re going to have to come to us, because they can never pass a continuing resolution with only Republican votes.’ And I think we’re going to see the same result [Tuesday].”

But with razor-thin margins, Johnson can afford precious little dissent to still pass the bill on party lines.

At least one Republican is already opposed: Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a staunch Johnson critic, wrote on X late Sunday, “Unless I get a lobotomy Monday that causes me to forget what I’ve witnessed the past 12 years, I’ll be a NO on the CR this week. It amazes me that my colleagues and many of the public fall for the lie that we will fight another day.”

The 99-page legislation was released over the weekend.

GOLDMAN SACHS HIGHLIGHTS TARIFF WARS WINNERS AND LOSERS

The bill allocates an additional $8 billion in defense spending to mitigate national security hawks’ concerns, while non-defense spending that Congress annually appropriates would decrease by about $13 billion.

There are also some added funds to help facilitate Immigrations and Customs Enforcement operations.

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Cuts to non-defense discretionary spending would be found by eliminating some “side deals” made during Fiscal Responsibility Act negotiations, House GOP leadership aides said. Lawmakers would also not be given an opportunity to request funding for special pet projects in their districts known as earmarks, another area that Republicans are classifying as savings.

It allows Republican leaders to claim a win on no meaningful government spending increases over fiscal 2025.

The House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at cracking down on Mexican cartels’ use of tunnels underneath the southwestern border to smuggle illegal immigrants and illicit items the U.S.

The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in a 402 to 1 vote – with the lone dissenter being Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. Fox News Digital reached out to her office for comment but did not immediately hear back.

The bill is led by Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., but enjoys bipartisan support thanks to its lone Democratic co-sponsor, Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif.

NEW REPORT REVEALS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATION HIT NEW HIGH DURING BIDEN-ERA CRISIS

It’s also backed by six other House Republicans, including Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s subcommittee on border security.

The legislation, titled the Subterranean Border Defense Act, would direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to submit an annual report to Congress about cartels’ use of tunnels and how U.S. law enforcement was looking to combat it.

‘LEAVE NOW’: TRUMP ADMIN REPURPOSES CONTROVERSIAL CBP ONE APP TO ENCOURAGE SELF-DEPORTATIONS

“Since 1990, officials have discovered more than 140 tunnels that have breached the U.S. border with an 80% increase in tunnel activity occurring since 2008,” Crane said during debate on the bill. “With border crossings thankfully going down since January, I think it’s safe to assume this will drive threats to our border underground through these tunnels.”

Debate on the bill was brief on Monday afternoon, lasting less than 10 minutes. Just Correa and Crane spoke, with no lawmakers rising to oppose the bill.

“I believe this bill is an important step in the right direction,” Correa said.

He said the legislation if passed “will improve Congress’ efforts to counter illicit cross-border tunnels and hold bad actors accountable.”

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It’s a rare show of bipartisanship in today’s House of Representatives, with Crane being known as one of the most conservative members of the House GOP.

House leaders held the vote under suspension of the rules, meaning the legislation was fast-tracked to a final House-wide vote in exchange for raising the threshold for passage from a simple majority to two-thirds.

It’s what House GOP leaders have done for critical legislation that is expected to receive wide bipartisan support.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem swore in Sean Curran on Monday to serve as the director of the U.S. Secret Service.

The swearing-in ceremony took place in the Oval Office, where President Donald Trump and Noem joined Curran.

“Sean’s brave actions when he risked his life to help save President Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania is a testament to his dedication to the mission of the US Secret Service,” Noem said in a statement. “With his decades of experience, he will return the Secret Service to focusing on its core mission: protecting American leaders and the U.S. financial system.”

“I look forward to working alongside Sean to ensure that the Secret Service is stronger than ever before,” she added.

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

Curran was among the group of agents who rushed to the stage to shield Trump with their bodies during a failed assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler that left two dead and the candidate with an injury to his ear.

Curran appeared next to Trump in a series of photos showing the former and future president returning to his feet, blood running down his face and raising a fist, prompting cheers from the audience.

Three bystanders were shot. They were firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, who died from his injuries, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, both of whom survived.

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

In the aftermath, Trump praised the members of his personal detail and defended them from criticism.

“Trump wanted someone he could trust, and they clearly have formed a bond after Pennsylvania,” former Secret Service agent Bill Gage said in January.

SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR CHEATLE RESIGNS AFTER MOUNTING PRESSURE IN WAKE OF TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

“Even with all of the mistakes in Butler, the mistakes were from the advance team. The agents assigned to Trump and Curran performed exactly as trained.”

Curran maintains a low profile but is often pictured at Trump’s side. 

He even has fans on TikTok.

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The attempt on Trump’s life led to intense scrutiny of the U.S. Secret Service and the resignation of Director Kimberly Cheatle.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz 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…

–Newsom’s ties to CCP under microscope in new book exposing alleged corruption: ‘Fleeced American citizens’

-Trump’s eighth week in office set to continue breakneck level of actions, rallying GOP to avoid shutdown

-How ‘judge shopping’ is shaping the legal fights against President Trump’s agenda in federal court

It’s a ‘no’ from Massie 

As the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown approaches and President Donald Trump urges Republicans to support passage of a funding measure, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has declared that he will oppose the proposal.

“Unless I get a lobotomy Monday that causes me to forget what I’ve witnessed the past 12 years, I’ll be a NO on the CR this week. It amazes me that my colleagues and many of the public fall for the lie that we will fight another day,” Massie declared in a Sunday post on X.

President Donald Trump has urged Republicans to pass the measure…Read more

White House

‘NO CREDIBLE ACTION’: Trump admin makes ‘backlog of complaints’ of antisemitism from Biden administration an ‘immediate priority’

‘LEAVE NOW’: Trump admin rolls out new app to replace CBP One, encourage self-deportations

‘FINANCIAL BURDEN’: New study reveals ‘staggering’ scope of how much DEI was infused into government under Biden

DISASTER SHIFT: Trump to sign disaster relief order putting states, localities in the driver’s seat of catastrophe response

‘FIRED’ UP: WH lambasts ‘head-in-the-sand’ liberal prosecutors after 20 AGs sue to halt DOGE cuts

World Stage

MAXIMUM PRESSURE: Trump admin ends waiver allowing Iraq to buy Iranian electricity as part of ‘maximum pressure’ campaign

Capitol Hill

‘PURE EVIL’: Social media explodes at Sanders for hosting trans musician who sang ‘pure evil’ song at anti-Trump rally

TRUMP CARD: Dems weaponize Medicaid anxiety in bid to take down Trump-backed federal funding plan

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS: Days from partial government shutdown deadline, here’s where things stand

EMOTIONAL RETURN: Sole Cuban-born congressman talks emotional return to island as part of congressional GITMO CODEL

DISSING DOGE: ‘Hurting people to help themselves’: Dem senator disses DOGE’s CFPB cuts

‘GOING ON THE OFFENSE’: AOC ‘going on the offense’ to rally red-district voters against Trump: report

PECULIAR PAIRING: Freedom Caucus member Anna Paulina Luna joins AOC to push 10% credit card interest rate cap proposal

Across America 

MAIL FAIL: DOGE lawmakers look to defund Biden’s anemic-paced $3B EV postal truck ‘boondoggle’

‘KICK IN THE PANTS’: Pentagon losing cutting edge on weapons innovation, needs ‘massive kick in the pants,’ say defense leaders

‘HISTORIC REFORM’: Sec Rubio says purge of USAID programs complete with 83% gone, remainder now falling under State Dept

LIFE AND TAXES: New Missouri bill would let residents donate to pregnancy centers instead of paying any taxes

‘CAUSE A CONFRONTATION’: CA sheriff blasts media ‘fearmongering’ and warns activists they will get people ‘hurt’ by defying ICE

2028 SPECULATION: Democrat governor to headline top party fundraiser in key presidential primary state stoking 2028 speculation

SCHOOL SAFETY: Arkansas public school students will soon be required to take gun safety courses

SPACE FOR SAVINGS: NASA shutters DEI office as Trump admin downsizes federal agencies

KASH ON DELIVERY: FBI Director Patel working ‘aggressively’ to comply with congressional record requests ahead of deadlines

STAMP OF APPROVAL: Conservative intellectual, National Review founder Bill Buckley honored on new U.S. Postal Service stamps

POLITICAL BAGGAGE: Scandal-scarred former Gov Andrew Cuomo is the frontrunner in NYC mayoral race

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

FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan pair of senators are teaming up to pass “commonsense legislation” that ensures the families of former law enforcement officers who are killed in retirement are protected by benefits.

Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., introduced the Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act, shared first with Fox News Digital, on Monday to amend the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program and make families of former law enforcement officers eligible to receive benefits if the former officer is killed or permanently disabled after retirement. 

The legislation is named after Chief Herbert D. Proffitt, a retired officer who was shot and killed in his driveway by someone he had arrested decades prior.

GOP SENATOR REVEALS STRATEGY TO PUSH TRUMP’S POLICIES THROUGH CONGRESS: ‘I BELIEVE IN THE AGENDA’

Despite serving in law enforcement for 55 years, Proffitt’s family members were denied benefits since he had retired prior to the attack.

“When a law enforcement officer is killed because of the work they did to keep our communities safe, it’s our responsibility to make sure their family is cared for,” Cortez Masto, a former law enforcement official, said in a statement. “I’m proud to introduce this critical piece of commonsense legislation to right the wrong Chief Proffitt’s family experienced and make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

The amendment would also apply to claims by former law enforcement officers who retired on or after Jan. 1, 2012.

EX-DEM SENATOR JON TESTER LINKS HIS 2024 LOSS TO KAMALA HARRIS’ POOR PERFORMANCE IN HIS STATE

“The loss of Chief Herbert D. Proffitt is a tragic reminder of the risk that follows our finest every day of their lives,” McConnell said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

“This legislation plugs an important hole, ensuring the Proffitt family – and others like them – are supported and assured that the service and sacrifice of their loved ones are never forgotten,” the senator said.

The bill is endorsed by several police advocacy groups, including the Fraternal Order of Police, the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers, the Kentucky Sheriffs’ Association, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation and Supporting Heroes.

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A mirrored version of the bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House last month by Reps. Andy Barr, R-Ky., and Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.

A former Iraqi refugee pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group, according to the Justice Department. 

Abdulrahman Mohammed Hafedh Alqaysi, 28, pleaded guilty to creating and developing logos for ISIS’ media wing, known as the Kalachnikov team, and sending hacking videos and instructions to ISIS members between 2015 and 2020, the Justice Department announced Friday. 

He also pleaded guilty to providing stolen credit card information and creating fraudulent identity documents for the designated terrorist group. 

Alqaysi, currently a legal permanent resident in Richmond, Texas, will remain in custody until his June 5 sentencing. He faces up to 20 years behind bars and up to $250,000 in fines. 

JD VANCE CLASHES WITH CBS ANCHOR OVER UNVETTED REFUGEES: ‘I DON’T WANT THAT PERSON IN MY COUNTRY’

The guilty plea comes after the Trump administration has moved to crack down on the vetting of refugees. For example, President Donald Trump signed executive orders in January suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and ramping up vetting of refugees “to the maximum degree possible,” particularly those “from regions or nations with identified security risks.”

One of the orders, known as the Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program, instructs Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to admit refugees to the U.S. on a “case by case basis” if the alien does not pose a national security threat to the U.S.

Additionally, Vice President JD Vance voiced concerns about the vetting process for refugees in January, and said in an interview with CBS anchor Margaret Brennan that the U.S. shouldn’t “unleash thousands of unvetted people into our country.” 

Specifically, Vance pointed to an Afghan national arrested in October 2024 on charges of conspiring to conduct a terrorist attack on Election Day on behalf of ISIS, according to the Justice Department. 

NEW SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO PAUSES REFUGEE OPERATIONS, RAMPS UP VISA VETTING

“I don’t agree that all these immigrants, or all these refugees have been properly vetted,” Vance told Brennan. “In fact, we know that there are cases of people who allegedly were properly vetted and then were literally planning terrorist attacks in our country. That happened during the campaign, if you may remember. So, clearly, not all of these foreign nationals have been properly vetted.”

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A spokesperson for Vance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about Alqaysi’s guilty plea. 

Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report. 

The White House remained steadfast in its DOGE agenda after 20 Democratic state attorneys general collaborated to file a lawsuit Friday challenging the legality of the administration’s planned cuts to the federal workforce.

“The Democrats have no plan on how to recover from their embarrassing loss, and it shows,” White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said Monday.

“Instead of working to become a party that focuses on the will of the people, they are hell-bent on keeping their heads in the sand and gaslighting on the widely supported mission of DOGE.”

Maryland’s top lawman led 19 other states in asking a federal court to halt what Attorney General Anthony Brown called illegal mass layoffs of federal probationary employees. His office also called for those already let go to have their jobs reinstated.

LAWMAKERS FROM STATE WITH MOST FEDERAL WORKERS PER-CAPITAL WARN AGAINST TRUMP BUYOUT BID

The lawsuit listed each of Trump’s top 21 acting or confirmed cabinet officials as defendants in their official capacity, and alleged the administration made “no secret of their contempt for the roughly 2 million committed professionals who form the federal civil service.”

“Nor have they disguised their plans to terminate vast numbers of civil servants, starting with tens of thousands of probationary employees,” the suit read.

Fields, a spokesman for President Donald Trump, said that slashing waste, fraud and abuse and “becoming better stewards of the American taxpayer’s hard-earned dollars” might “be a crime to Democrats.”

“But, it’s not a crime in a court of law,” Fields said.

Brown said in a statement that Trump’s “mass firings” have thrown thousands of Marylanders and others who work for the government into “financial insecurity.”

Lawmakers in the Old Line State, which is home to the most federal workers per capita, previously warned constituents against Trump’s offer to buy-out their jobs in February.

Rep. Sarah Elfreth — a Democrat who represents a line of bedroom communities including Columbia, Elkridge and Glen Burnie — said her constituents had been coming to her expressing worry about the situation.

“Pushing out career federal employees will only cripple agencies and undermine essential government services — it does nothing to make government more efficient,” she said.

In a statement, Gov. Wes Moore added that he supports the lawsuit and that Marylanders in public service are “dedicated patriots” whose work should be “praised, not villainized.”

TOP BLUE-STATE REPUBLICAN LAUNCHES COMPREHENSIVE DOGE EFFORT, WITH A TWIST

Meanwhile, the lawsuit alleged potential “chaos” nationwide due to these job cuts, and that under the law, cabinet agencies must follow protocols when conducting “Reductions in Force” (RIFs) which include 60 days advanced notice of termination.

It also alleged that the layoffs are being carried out in a manner that forces state governments to abruptly step in, providing safety nets for affected employees — placing additional strain on state services and budgets.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin echoed Brown, calling the firings “callous and reckless.”

Platkin claimed several military veterans in the Garden State have already been affected by the layoffs and that the endeavor has greatly damaged partnerships between Trenton and Washington.

“[These layoffs] are not only short-sighted but are illegal, and today we are taking the Trump administration to court in order to reverse them,” he said.

In California, Attorney General Robert Bonta claimed DOGE’s actions will do the opposite of its stated purpose to curb waste and inefficiency.

“The reality is that abrupt and indiscriminate terminations will lead to increased operation disruptions, higher rehiring costs, and long-term financial burdens on taxpayers,” Bonta said, adding that DOGE’s work has the potential to harm national parks within the Golden State.

Meanwhile, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha added in a statement that states need “appropriate notice” in order to prepare to help affected bureaucrats who live in the Ocean State.

“If [Trump] wants to reduce the size of the federal government, he must do so through legal means: This is another attempt to subvert the rule of law as an illegal means to an end and coalesce executive power in the process,” Neronha said.

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“These protections are on the books for a reason, and we won’t stand for this attack on American workers and their families.”

In defense of Trump and his administration, several Republican governors have countered that investigating and enacting ways to cut bureaucracy is not new, but that the president and Elon Musk have turbo-charged such an endeavor at the federal level.

“Idaho was DOGE before DOGE was cool,” Gem State Gov. Brad Little said in his recent State of the State address.

“Florida has set the standard for fiscally conservative governance,” Sunshine State Gov. Ron DeSantis added last month.

Meanwhile, officials like New Jersey state Sen. Joe Pennacchio, Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano and Texas Senate President Brandon Creighton have crafted DOGE commissions or policy proposals in their respective states.

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order Monday that will put states and local jurisdictions in the driver’s seat of preparing and responding to disasters, Fox News Digital learned. 

“This Order restores state, local, and individual empowerment in disaster preparedness and response, and injects common sense into infrastructure prioritization and strategic investments through risk-informed decisions that make our infrastructure, communities, and economy more resilient to global and dynamic threats and hazards,” details on the order obtained by Fox News Digital show. 

The order emphasizes the role of states, localities and individual leadership over federal leadership while preparing for and coping with disasters — such as flooding or fires — and will “streamline” federal functions so local communities can more easily work with federal leaders in Washington, Fox News Digital learned. 

It also will establish the National Resilience Strategy, which will outline the “priorities, means, and ways to advance the resilience of the nation” while pinpointing risks to key national infrastructure and related systems, Fox Digital learned. 

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER AIMED AT ‘DRASTICALLY’ IMPROVING FEMA EFFICACY, PRIORITIES, COMPETENCE

Officials will be called to review “all infrastructure, continuity, and preparedness and response policies” to ensure they fall in line with the National Resilience Strategy. 

The order will shift the federal government’s “all-hazards” approach to handling disasters to a “risk-informed approach” that will prioritize “resilience and action over mere information sharing,” Fox Digital learned. 

‘FEMA IS NOT GOOD:’ TRUMP ANNOUNCES AGENCY OVERHAUL DURING VISIT TO NORTH CAROLINA

Trump has railed against the nation’s response to natural disasters under the Biden administration. He told Fox News’ Sean Hannity just days after his inauguration that “FEMA has not done their job for the last four years” and he would like to see “states take care of their own problems” as they have historically relied on the federal government and its resources and funds to handle disasters. 

FEMA came under the nation’s microscope in 2024 when Hurricane Helene ripped through North Carolina, devastating residents as it wiped out homes and businesses and killed more than 100 people. FEMA and the Biden administration faced fierce backlash for its handling of the emergency, while Trump accused the agency of obstructing relief efforts in Republican areas. 

TRUMP SAYS NEWSOM IS TO ‘BLAME’ FOR ‘APOCALYPTIC’ WILDFIRES

Trump signed a separate executive order in January establishing FEMA Review Council to “drastically” improve the federal agency tasked with handling disaster assistance across the nation. 

“Despite obligating nearly $30 billion in disaster aid each of the past three years, FEMA has managed to leave vulnerable Americans without the resources or support they need when they need it most,” that executive order read. “There are serious concerns of political bias in FEMA. Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President.”

TRUMP WARNS FEMA FACES A RECKONING AFTER BIDEN ADMIN: ‘NOT DONE THEIR JOB’

Trump additionally has railed against left-wing policies that he says have compounded natural disaster response, most notably in California over its water infrastructure policies that he said contributed to the raging wildfires that destroyed swaths of areas around Los Angeles in January. 

“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump posted to Truth Social in January as the wildfires spread. 

Trump signed a separate executive order on Jan. 24 that provides additional water resources to California to improve the state’s response to disaster. 

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The order Trump is expected to sign on Monday will serve as a continuation of his pledge “to shift power from Washington to the American people,” similar to the California executive order and establishing the FEMA Review Council in January, Fox Digital learned. 

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

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., met with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) employees on Friday who were fired as a result of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) federal workforce reductions. 

CFPB has provided over $21 billion in consumer relief, according to the agency’s latest data from Dec. 3. 2024. Kaine accused Musk of targeting the CFPB with DOGE cuts for his own gain. 

“The fact that the Trump administration would target these guys at the front end of a chainsaw massacre… Why are you going after these consumer protection advocates? It smells really bad. I mean, it makes it seem like it happened because Musk has some particular interest in gutting these regulators who are protecting everyday folks.”

In an interview with Fox News Digital following his meeting with former CFPB employees, Kaine said the CFPB saved “tens of thousands of Virginians” from unfair or abusive financial practices. 

FEDERAL WORKERS’ UNION FILES LAWSUITS TO STOP VOUGHT, DOGE ACTIVITY AT CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

“These folks are doing great work,” Kaine said. “This is an agency that returned $21 billion to consumers who got ripped off. I know the Virginia statistics. It’s tens of thousands of Virginians who got relief because of the work that these folks did.”

Virginia has the second-highest number of federal civilian employees in the United States, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Kaine has been a vocal opponent of DOGE’s federal workforce cuts, holding town hall meetings to address concerns from his constituents. 

‘SAVE FACE’: OFFICIALS AT LIZ WARREN’S PET PROJECT AGENCY DISMISSED DESPITE TELLING MEDIA THEY RESIGNED

Kaine said Musk and DOGE are “hurting people to help themselves” by promoting a government that yields a “huge giveaway to Elon Musk and people just like him.”

“There’s just too much bubbling up about Musk trying to get a contract here with the Department of State, trying to displace a contract at the DoD, and maybe steer it toward either his own companies or companies that he’s close to. When you allow an unelected guy to just come with the chainsaw and have access to people’s… and look, they’ve released data that they shouldn’t release: sensitive data, classified data, names of people who did not authorize them to put their data out to the world. They’re engaging in behavior that’s hurting people… why? I think they’re hurting people to help themselves,” Kaine said. 

Regarding the ongoing federal workforce firings, Kaine said: “They ain’t using a hatchet. They’re using a chainsaw.” Kaine said Trump is relying on executive actions to dismantle government agencies because even congressional Republicans wouldn’t “go along with this stuff that he’s doing.”

“He is not confident he could get even Republican majorities to go along with this stuff. He’s going to do what he can, because even these Republican majorities that seem completely cowed and submissive, with no backbone and no willingness to exercise a vocal cord that they have, he doesn’t think they will go along with this stuff that he’s doing,” Kaine said. 

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by the deadline of this article. 

Joe Valenti, a former CFPB term worker who met with Kaine on Friday, told Fox News Digital he was locked out of the CFPB office last month, received a stop-work order and then a termination letter with no severance. 

Valenti said consumer finance laws are “not necessarily being enforced” by halting CFPB operations. 

“The federal government is abdicating from its role in protecting working people from financial harms and that affects low-income constituents, like the people who I served at CFPB. It affects service members, affects veterans, seniors. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is one of the laws that CFPB would oversee and enforce. That goes back to World War I. If you don’t have a cop at the beat at all, what’s going on in the markets and what does it mean for people who are affected by market abuses?” Valenti said. 

CPFB is one of several agencies that has been impacted by DOGE’s federal workforce reductions. Elon Musk posted on X on Feb. 7, “CFPB RIP,” followed by a gravestone emoji. 

President Donald Trump has touted CFPB cuts, telling the Future Investment Initiative Institute Priority Summit on Feb. 19 that his administration “virtually shut down” CFPB. 

“We virtually shut down the out-of-control CFPB, escorting radical-left bureaucrats out of the building and locking the doors behind them. What they were doing was so terrible. Where they were spending the money was so terrible,” Trump said. 

Trump confirmed to reporters in the Oval Office on Feb. 10 his plan to have the agency “totally eliminated.” Trump said the CFPB was a “waste” used “to destroy some very good people” and it was a “very important thing to get rid of.” 

A complaint filed last month by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) accuses Russell Vought, CFPB acting director and director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), of “preparing to conduct another mass firing, this time of over 95% of the Bureau’s employees.”

Vought ordered CFPB employees to halt agency operations unless otherwise approved on Feb. 10. Seventy-three newly hired “probationary employees” and 70 to 100 “term employees” were subsequently fired while around 200 contracts were canceled, according to the lawsuit and media reports. 

Three CFPB leaders were placed on administrative leave in early February, Fox News Digital confirmed. An agency spokesperson said CFPB’s chief legal officer, Mark Paoletta, placed Lorelei Salas, the CFPB’s supervision director, and Eric Halperin, the agency’s enforcement chief, and Zixta Martinez, the agency’s deputy director, on administrative leave.

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There have been protests outside the CFPB headquarters in Washington since the firings, featuring Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, who initially proposed the agency. 

CFPB is an independent government agency intended to protect consumers from unfair financial practices in the private sector. It was created by President Barack Obama’s administration in 2010 following the Great Recession of 2008. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ anti-Trump, anti-oligarch tour of the U.S. is under fire for hosting a transgender singer who performed a song with lyrics described as “pure evil,” and mocking God and Jesus.  

“The song specifically attacks Christianity with mentions of Easter and God’s son,” Conservative activist Robby Starbuck posted to X over the weekend. 

Sanders is in the midst of a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour in areas of the country where the 2024 race proved competitive for Democrats, including in battleground states such as Wisconsin and Michigan.

The self-described Democratic socialist senator traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Friday and was joined by transgender singer Laura Jane Grace, who performed an anti-Christian song on stage before Sanders thanked the musician for performing. 

BERNIE SANDERS SEETHES US HAS BECOME ‘OLIGARCHIC SOCIETY’ FOLLOWING TRUMP SPEECH

The song is titled “Your God (God’s D—),” with lyrics mocking Christianity, Easter Sunday and Jesus through sexually explicit language. Clips of the video, including on Grace’s Instagram page, circulated across social media over the weekend. 

BERNIE SANDERS REJECTS JAMES CARVILLE’S CALLS FOR DEMOCRATS TO ‘PLAY DEAD’

Critics and conservatives slammed Sanders and the musician for the performance of the song on social media, including taking issue with the Vermont senator for personally thanking the singer in his remarks during the event. 

“Wow. AFTER the anti-Christian ‘performance’ at his event, @BernieSanders thanked the trans singer that performed this hateful, evil song,” Starbuck posted in another X post. “If he attempts to apologize, just know his first instinct was to thank the singer after he sang it.” 

“This is who the Democrats are now. Pure evil,” Starbuck added on X. 

Grace gained notoriety in the early 2000s as the lead singer of the punk rock band Against Me!. The musician came out as transgender in 2012 during an interview with Rolling Stone. 

BERNIE SANDERS ‘FLIPS OUT’ WHEN PRESSED ON 4-DAY WORK WEEK PROPOSAL

Fox News Digital reached out to Sanders’ office and the musician’s publicity team for comment on the performance and subsequent outrage but did not immediately receive responses. 

Sanders delivered a response speech to President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on March 4, when he railed that the U.S. has become an “oligarchic society” under the Trump administration. 

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“The Trump administration is not hiding it,” Sanders said in a streamed response to Trump’s address. “The Trump administration is a government of the billionaire class by the billionaire class, and for the billionaire class. Notwithstanding some of their rhetoric, this is a government that could care less about ordinary Americans and the working families of our country. My friends, we are no longer moving toward oligarchy. We are living in an oligarchic society.”  

The Trump administration is moving to investigate as an “immediate priority” outstanding allegations of antisemitism and violence on college campuses across the U.S. after canceling roughly $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) said Friday the Biden administration “accumulated a backlog of complaints” across universities after the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel in October 2023. 

“American institutions of higher education erupted with antisemitic harassment and violence that denied Jewish students their right to equal access to learning, school activities, and campus facilities,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for the OCR, said in a statement. “Many college and university presidents took little or no credible action, and the Biden Education Department’s OCR political leadership inexplicably accumulated a backlog of complaints.”

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LAUNCHES ‘ENDDEI’ PORTAL FOR PARENTS, STUDENTS, TEACHERS TO REPORT DISCRIMINATION

“For the relatively few complaints actually resolved, the prior administration’s assistant secretary signed off on toothless resolution agreements that provided little to no remedy for Jewish students to this day,” Trainor said. “The Trump administration will not permit antisemitic protesters and antagonists to take over campus facilities and terrorize Jewish students and staff with impunity.” 

The Trump administration’s investigation of antisemitic allegations is in line with the president’s executive orders cracking down on antisemitic harassment of Jewish students since the Hamas-Israel conflict. As part of the orders, a multi-agency Task Force to Combat Antisemitism was created, making Columbia’s grant funds its first target.

Linda McMahon, Trump’s secretary of education, visited Columbia University on Friday to discuss concerns about ongoing antisemitic allegations on campus with school leaders.

HOUSE EDUCATION CHAIR BACKS TRUMP MOVE TO ABOLISH FEDERAL AGENCY

“Americans have watched in horror for more than a year now, as Jewish students have been assaulted and harassed on elite university campuses – repeatedly overrun by antisemitic students and agitators. Unlawful encampments and demonstrations have completely paralyzed day-to-day campus operations, depriving Jewish students of learning opportunities to which they are entitled,” McMahon said in a statement last week.

“Institutions that receive federal funds have a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination. Columbia’s apparent failure to uphold their end of this basic agreement raises very serious questions about the institution’s fitness to continue doing business with the United States government.”

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CANCELS ANOTHER $350M IN ‘WOKE’ SPENDING FOR CONTRACTS, GRANTS

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Over the weekend, an activist who led protests and encampments on the Columbia University campus for months was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. 

“We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a post on X. 

America’s defenses will not be able to keep up with its peer adversaries if the Pentagon continues to take years to innovate its weapons systems, experts agreed at a security summit last week. 

The Pentagon’s modernization was given a “D” by the National Security Innovation Base Summit this week, a near-failing letter grade that national security leaders in Congress agreed was a fair assessment.

“Progress lives in the private sector, and we’re not seeing enough progress in the public sector,” said Govini CEO Tara Dougherty. “The department needs a massive kick in the pants in this area, and should be held accountable for catching up in progress to match what is happening among the investor community and among the technology sector.”

“I think the score is a deserved score, unfortunately,” House Armed Services Committee Vice Chair Rob Wittman said. 

US CONTINUES TO SHARE DATA TO PROTECT UKRAINIANS AGAINST RUSSIAN STRIKES, DESPITE INTEL PAUSE: SOURCES

“The Pentagon is the Ford Motor Company of the 1950s. I mean, they the way they operate, slow, stoic,” Wittman explained. “‘Let’s spend years to write a requirement, then let’s spend years to go to a program or record, let’s spend years to acquire.’ By the time we acquire something, guess what? The threat’s way ahead of us.” 

“We want them to reflect the Apple 2025 model.”

Nowhere is this clearer to defense leaders than in the nation’s shipbuilding capabilities. The Navy currently has 295 deployable ships, though its shipbuilding plan calls for that number to be increased to 390 by 2054. The Maritime Security Program, which maintains privately owned, military-useful ships to deploy in wartime, is down to 60 in its fleet. 

“It’s precipitously low. We could not get to where we need to be in the Pacific right now if we needed to,” Wittman told Fox News Digital. 

The issue seemingly keeps President Donald Trump awake at night. 

“China specifically is better at cybersecurity than we are.” – Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.

John Phelan, Trump’s nominee for Navy secretary, quipped during his confirmation hearing that the president texts him late at night, “sometimes after 1 a.m.” about “rusty ships or ships in a yard, asking me, what am I doing about it?” 

Phelan added that he has told the president, “I’m not confirmed yet and have not been able to do anything about it, but I will be very focused on it.”

‘STAR TREK SHIELD’ TECHNOLOGY GETS $250M BOOST TO KNOCK DRONE SWARMS FROM THE SKY WITH HIGH-POWERED MICROWAVE

“We used to make so many ships,” Trump lamented during a speech to a joint Congress on Tuesday. “We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon. It will have a huge impact.” 

He announced he had establish a White House Office of Shipbuilding. 

With the Pentagon, “it’s process, process, process, not outcomes,” said Wittman, who announced he would be co-chairing a defense modernization caucus in Congress.

“We’re operating off of an innovation cycle right now that, you know, used to be a decade, and it used to be five years. Then it used to be three years, and now it’s a year or less innovation cycle,” said Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. “In Ukraine, they’re actually operating off of week-long innovation cycles.” 

“China is eating our boxed lunch in the energy area, in our cellular phone infrastructure, they’re trying to get into Wall Street, they’re trying to get into agriculture…” – Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.

Crow said it is up to Congress to give the Pentagon the “kick in the pants” it needs to move faster. 

“There are simply no demand signals being sent. So that requires a very real conversation about political will, which is actually bipartisan right now on this issue.” 

The Pentagon began work on the F-35 fighter jet 25 years ago, and it is “just now getting into full scale production,” noted Wittman. 

“The capability of that aircraft, the modernization that it needs to keep up with the Chinese threat, it’s just not where it has to be.”

Even the newest F-35s need to be taken back to the assembly line to be fitted with 360-degree motion sensors known as the digital aperture system and the other latest technology in radars, Wittman said. 

“We’re still not going to deliver the current jets coming off the line with technical refresh three hardware and have that software enabled until probably early next year.” 

Under a new DOGE memo, the Pentagon has kicked off a review of its contracting procedures. “Each Agency Head, in consultation with the agency’s DOGE Team Lead, shall conduct a comprehensive review of each agency’s contracting policies, procedures, and personnel,” a memo circulated this week read. 

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., told Fox News Digital she worries most about the military being prepared to defend against a cyberattack. 

“China specifically is better at cybersecurity than we are,” she said. “It only takes one or two incursions that we don’t see coming or that we aren’t responsive to, to make an enormous difference here.” 

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., suggested that the U.S. may need to start thinking about offensive cyber missions. 

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“When it comes to cyber, we’ve got to change the rules of engagement,” he said. “China is eating our boxed lunch in the energy area, in our cellular phone infrastructure, they’re trying to get into Wall Street, they’re trying to get into agriculture.” 

“We’re really good on cyberintelligence but we have [rules of engagement] that do not let us do nearly what China or Russia does,” he continued. “I don’t think it’s like taking punches to the face, saying ‘can I have another.’”

“We’ve got to be able to allow cyber command to fight fire with fire. I wouldn’t even advertise it that much. Just carry a big stick and, get them back.” 

EXCLUSIVE: Two top DOGE lawmakers are introducing a bill to claw back $3 billion authorized under former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which was designated to create an electric vehicle (EV) fleet for the United States Postal Service (USPS).

A South Carolina defense contractor responsible for the 60,000-vehicle order was already “far behind schedule” as of November. A Washington Post exposé revealed that by then, fewer than 100 of these vehicles had been delivered to USPS.

Citing that, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, DOGE Caucus chair, and Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, will be forwarding the “Return to Sender Act,” seeking to recoup what is about 30% of the overall appropriation in Biden’s law that was intended to be geared toward reducing inflation.

The Postal Service was to receive an initial order of 50,000 EV delivery trucks from defense contractor Oshkosh within the next three years, but only 93 had been produced by November, according to the Post.

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One person involved in the production told the outlet that the “bottom line [is] we don’t know how to build a damn truck.”

That, along with a Post revelation that the government’s deliveryman agreed to pay more for the trucks after the contractor increased its prices, appeared to lead Ernst and Cloud to announce their bill.

The agreement forged between the Postal Service and the manufacturer ultimately finalized a $77,692 cost per EV truck for about 28,000 vehicles. While the company did not comment at the time of the exposé, its CEO told investors in October that Oshkosh “is really happy where we are” on the project.

“Biden’s EV postal fleet is lost in the mail,” said Ernst, chief sponsor of the legislation.

DOGE SENATOR PUSHES TO END ‘SLUSH FUND’ FOR FAILED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

“The order needs to be canceled with the unspent money returned to sender, the taxpayers. I am defunding this billion-dollar boondoggle to stamp out waste in Washington. Tax dollars should always be treated with first-class priority.”

Cloud told Fox News Digital the Inflation Reduction Act continues to be proven to be a misnomer, and that in this respect it “funneled billions into a failed USPS EV project that has delivered nothing but delays, defective trucks, and skyrocketing costs.”

“Three years later, taxpayers are still waiting while the Postal Service refuses to provide basic transparency on where the money went. The Return to Sender Act takes back the $3 billion in taxpayer money that has been wasted in this project,” Cloud said.

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In February, Ernst also cited the USPS EV project in her Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act that targets disclosures of government projects costing 10 figures or more over-budget, and/or five years behind schedule.

The text of the bill, which is less than one-page long, specifically directs “unobligated balances of amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by sections 70002 and 70003 of Public Law 117–169 (commonly referred to as the ‘Inflation Reduction Act’), as of the date of enactment of this Act are rescinded and those sections are hereby repealed.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is gearing up for a vote on Tuesday on a bill, which, if approved, will avert a partial government shutdown during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s term.

Given the lack of support from Democrats, Johnson is betting Republicans can muscle through largely by themselves on  the 99-page piece of legislation that would keep federal agencies funded until Sept. 30. 

Congress must act to avoid a partial government shutdown by Friday, March 14. Despite dozens of conservative defections on continuing resolutions over the past two years, Trump on Saturday called for Republicans to unite to support the bill. 

“The House and Senate have put together, under the circumstances, a very good funding Bill (‘CR’)! All Republicans should vote (Please!) YES next week,” Trump wrote on TRUTHSocial. “Great things are coming for America, and I am asking you all to give us a few months to get us through to September so we can continue to put the Country’s ‘financial house’ in order. Democrats will do anything they can to shut down our Government, and we can’t let that happen.” 

CONGRESS UNVEILS SPENDING PLAN AFTER TRUMP CALLS ON REPUBLICANS TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

“We have to remain UNITED — NO DISSENT — Fight for another day when the timing is right,” Trump added. “VERY IMPORTANT. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” 

Still, some Republicans have already signaled they would not support the CR. 

“I’m not voting for the Continuing Resolution budget (cut-copy-paste omnibus) this week,” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., posted to X on Sunday. “Why would I vote to continue the waste fraud and abuse DOGE has found? We were told the CR in December would get us to March when we would fight. Here we are in March, punting again! WTFO.” 

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., meanwhile, said he has never voted for a continuing resolution, but he is on board with Johnson’s effort. He says he has confidence in Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, to make a difference on the nation’s debt. “I don’t like CRs,” Norman said. “But what’s the alternative? Negotiate with Democrats? No.”

In a call with reporters on Saturday, House Republican leadership aides outlined how the bill provides for $892.5 billion in discretionary federal defense spending, and $708 billion in non-defense discretionary spending.

The aides emphasized that the bill was “closely coordinated” with the White House – while stopping short of saying Trump backed the measure completely, noting he has not reviewed the specific pages yet.

It includes an additional $8 billion in defense dollars in an apparent bid to ease national security hawks’ concerns, while non-defense spending that Congress annually appropriates would decrease by about $13 billion.

There is  also an added $6 billion for healthcare for veterans.

REP. RALPH NORMAN BACKS TRUMP’S PLAN TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, PUSHES FOR CONGRESSIONAL TERM LIMITS

The White House has requested additional spending in areas that were not present in the last government funding extension, known as “anomalies.” Among the anomalies requested by Trump and being fulfilled by the bill is added funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Aides said the funding is meant to meet “an operations shortfall that goes back to the Biden administration.”

“That money, most of that, has already been obligated prior to the start of this administration. So that request reflects an existing hole,” a source said.

The bill also ensures that spending caps placed under a prior bipartisan agreement, the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), are followed. The FRA mandated no more than a 1% federal spending increase in FY 2025. 

Cuts to non-defense discretionary spending would be found by eliminating some “side deals” made during FRA negotiations, House GOP leadership aides said. Lawmakers would also not be given an opportunity to request funding for special pet projects in their districts known as earmarks, another area that Republicans are classifying as savings.

The bill does not cover the majority of government spending, including Social Security and Medicare. Funding for those two programs is on autopilot and not regularly reviewed by Congress. Still, Democratic leadership issued a statement Saturday saying they were troubled the bill does not take steps to protect those programs and Medicaid, which Republicans are eying to help pay for extending tax cuts passed in Trump’s first term.

“We are voting no,” a trio of House Democratic leaders, including House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said. 

The top Democrats on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Washington Sen. Patty Murray, both issued statements blasting the legislation.

Murray said the legislation would “give Donald Trump and Elon Musk more power over federal spending — and more power to pick winners and losers, which threatens families in blue and red states alike.” DeLauro, in an X post, called the CR “a power grab for the White House.”

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who heads the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the focus must be on preventing a shutdown because closures have negative consequences all across government.

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“They require certain essential government employees, such as Border Patrol agents, members of our military and Coast Guard, TSA screeners, and air traffic controllers, to report to work with no certainty on when they will receive their next paycheck,” Collins said. “We cannot allow that to occur.”

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and the Associated Press contributed to this report.