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Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who is a staunch supporter of Ukraine and critic of Russia, declared in a post on X that “real Republicans know that Putin’s Russia hates the West and freedom.”

“We also know that Ukraine wants democracy, free markets and rule of law. We stand with right vs evil. Reagan, Churchill, Eisenhower… that is our legacy. I won’t walk away from it,” he added.

The U.S. has provided significant aid to the Eastern European nation over the last few years since Moscow invaded its neighbor, sparking the Russia-Ukraine war.

SCOOP: GOP UKRAINE SUPPORTERS ALARMED AFTER EXPLOSIVE TRUMP, ZELENSKYY MEETING

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., listens during his news conference on his challenger Tony Vargas with Nebraska state legislators in his campaign office in Omaha, Neb., on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Bacon asserted on CSPAN’s “Washington Journal” that it is in America’s “national security interest for Ukraine to win,” warning that a Russian victory would cause the U.S. to spend “a lot more money.”

The congressman has expressed support for helping to arm Ukraine.

TRUMP PAUSES AID TO UKRAINE AFTER FIERY MEETING WITH ZELENSKYY

The U.S. has “no troops in Ukraine and no one is advocating for that. We want to arm Ukraine so they can defeat this Putin invasion,” he said on X.

“What happens if Ukraine falls? Do you think it ends there? China is watching how we handle this too. I’m for helping Ukraine win,” he noted in another post. “They are fighting for their freedom just like we have in our history. I’m for a just peace, not surrender nor slavery,” Bacon declared in another tweet.

SECRETARY OF STATE RUBIO VOWS DIPLOMACY ATTEMPTS WILL CONTINUE IN EFFORT TO END RUSSIA’S WAR IN UKRAINE

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After someone on the platform asked Bacon approximately how much it would cost to oust Russia from Ukraine, the lawmaker replied, “Read Clausewitz. It’s changing the will of the adversary. Hard to measure. But being weak strengthens the adversaries’ will. It’s more about good vs evil and being on [the] right side of history.”

FIRST ON FOX: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem‘s legal team hit a South Dakota media outlet with a cease-and-desist letter demanding that it correct and end its knowingly “false and misleading” reporting that Noem allegedly racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars on a government-issued credit card when she served as governor, Fox News Digital has learned. 

“On behalf of former South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem in her personal capacity, I write out of concern that your website continues to publish false and misleading information about my client that you have known to be false since at least July 2024,” an attorney representing Noem in her personal capacity said in a letter to the co-founders of a South Dakota outlet called The Dakota Scout. The letter was obtained by Fox News Digital on Thursday. 

“Specifically, your website repeatedly, and inaccurately, refers to all charges on credit cards used by the Office of the Governor of South Dakota as charges of my client—allowing a conclusion by multiple commenters on the site and other news outlets that my client violated the laws of South Dakota or stole taxpayer funds for her personal use,” it continued.  “We demand that The Dakota Scout immediately cease spreading these false, misleading, and inaccurate statements and take immediate and significant steps to correct past inaccuracies.” 

The Dakota Scout has for months reported that Noem racked up more than $650,000 in credit card transactions on a government-issued card during her gubernatorial career, which has now grown legs in the state as other outlets publish similar reports. 

However, receipts reviewed by Fox Digital, as well as outlined in the cease-and-desist letter, show that Noem used her government credit card about 30 times across her tenure as governor for a total of $2,056.72. 

Noem’s gubernatorial office did spend more than $650,000 via multiple credit cards for official purposes across her years in office, receipts show. 

Noem served as South Dakota governor from January 2019 to January 2025, when she was sworn-in as the nation’s eighth Department of Homeland Security chief. 

SENATE CONFIRMS KRISTI NOEM AS TRUMP’S DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House border czar Tom Homan speak with reporters at the White House on Jan. 29, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press )

The Dakota Scout is a local media outlet covering South Dakota politics and culture that is based out of Sioux Falls and was founded in 2022, according to its website. 

The outlet, which also has a weekly print edition, has extensively written about credit card expenditures under Noem’s gubernatorial tenure, including headlines, “Noem’s state credit card spending kept secret,” “AG Jackley releases state reimbursements amid scrutiny of Noem’s credit card usage,” “Gov. Kristi Noem credit card secrecy prompts lawsuit,” and “Kristi Noem’s credit card expenses: Search database to see 5 years of charges.”

“The monthly totals show that Noem spent nearly $650,000 from the time she took office in 2019 through April of this year,” a report from July stated, characterizing the expenses as solely made by Noem. 

“The Scout reported last summer that Noem had spent nearly $650,000 on the charge cards,” another article published in February reads. 

Then-South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is sworn in during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on her nomination to be Secretary of Homeland Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 17, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

The Dakota Scout obtained credit card expenditures for Noem and her office earlier in 2025 after filing an open records lawsuit against the state auditor in September 2025, the outlet detailed in various articles. The media organization has since launched a database of her office’s credit card transactions across five years.

After receiving the receipts for the expenses in February, the outlet noted in its coverage that both “Noem and her staff charged more than $650,000 to state-issued credit cards,” while recent headlines still focus on “Noem’s credit card usage” and “Kristi Noem’s credit card expenses.” 

“This is fake news,” Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for Noem in her personal capacity, told Fox News Digital of the outlet’s reports in recent months. “They’ve been told it’s fake news, and it’s been proven to them, but they’re still at it.” 

“They’re trying to raise their own profile by attacking Kristi Noem because she’s a major public figure from the state, and now that she’s the Secretary of Homeland Security, she’s an even bigger target,” he said. “She’s busy doing her job and won’t be distracted from securing the border and keeping Americans safe as an important part of President Trump’s Cabinet. These journalists are definitely bringing attention to themselves, but not in the way they imagined.” 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and a cease-and-desist letter. (Getty Images)

NOEM SHOWS OFF MUGSHOTS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS: ‘UNBELIEVABLE’

Noem’s then-gubernatorial office sent a letter in October 2024 to The Dakota Scout requesting a correction to its previous report characterizing Noem as personally spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. 

The letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, detailed that in 2019 Noem did not have a government-issued credit card, that she spent $55.44 on her card in 2020, $841.21 in 2021, $730.19 in 2022, $429.88 in 2023 and $0 in 2024. The grand total comes to $2,056.72 in expenses on Noem’s card specifically.   

Noem’s gubernatorial office told the outlet in the letter that the office of the state auditor initially provided the outlet with a spreadsheet of monthly official expenses “for several state employees, not just the governor,” which Noem’s office said led to the outlet’s “incorrect conclusion that ‘The monthly totals show that Noem spent nearly $650,000 from the time she took office in 2019 through April of this year.’” 

The outlet acknowledged that the governor’s office had requested a correction but brushed off the email, including writing “heh” in the response. 

“I have reviewed your letter. We do not comment on pending litigation. Heh,” read the email, which was sent by The Dakota Scout co-founder, Jonathan Ellis. 

“I’m certain you will have the opportunity to fully explain your reasoning when you are deposed,” the email, which was reviewed by Fox Digital, added. 

The cease-and-desist letter sent Thursday demanded that the outlet correct previous headlines and graphics or likely face a lawsuit. 

NOEM REVEALS MAJOR MILESTONE ON BORDER CROSSINGS AMID TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

“Demand is hereby made that you immediately cease and desist reporting that my client spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on her government-issued credit cards and correct any headlines or graphics stating the same, and to notify your readers of these facts,” the letter reads. “Otherwise, we will consider all legal remedies, including a lawsuit seeking maximum compensatory and punitive damages, that we estimate at millions of dollars.” 

“We understand the benefit of transparency in government, but articles that are false, misleading, and deceptive do not provide transparency. Instead, such repeatedly false, misleading, and inaccurate reporting constitutes defamation,” the letter said. 

The total credit card expenses for the office included payments for Noem’s security detail, including when the detail would accompany her on the road. Noem rose to national prominence amid the pandemic in 2020, as she bucked COVID-19 mandates to the applause of conservatives nationwide and to the dismay of liberal voters and Democrat colleagues. 

Retired New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik told Fox News Digital on Thursday that “complaints about these expenditures are ludicrous,” citing that her high-profile on the national stage required that she have a security detail. 

GOV. KRISTI NOEM SAYS SOUTH DAKOTA IS DOING WELL BECAUSE IT HAS EMBRACED TRUMP’S POLICIES

“Kristi Noem was and is a high-profile public official who faces real security threats, including during the time when she was governor of South Dakota,” he said.  “A governor is never off-duty and requires the same level of protection regardless of whether they are in their home state or traveling out of state,” he said. “And the level of security they need would be assessed by the security experts providing the protection, not by the governor herself. It’s the same for all protectees — if you want to keep these people safe, it costs money.” 

Retired New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik told Fox News Digital on Thursday that “complaints about these expenditures are ludicrous.” (Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images)

The former governor and current Trump admin official has previously faced threats, including in 2020 when her security detail was activated after a man was spotted brandishing a knife and a baton during a campaign tour promoting President Donald Trump’s re-election that year.

President Donald Trump attends a town hall, moderated by then-South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 14, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

The majority of The Dakota Scout’s coverage on the expenses was authored by journalists Ellis and Austin Goss. 

Goss previously made national headlines in 2023 when he was arrested for impersonating Noem in what he said was a prank phone call. Goss was arrested in May 2023 after using a prank website to make it appear a phone call was made from Noem’s personal cellphone number. 

Goss used a prerecorded prank message called “Mafia Guy Got Vaccines” while calling the former chairman of the South Dakota Republican Party and impersonating Noem. 

TRUMP EXPECTED TO CHOOSE SOUTH DAKOTA GOV. KRISTI NOEM FOR HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY, SOURCE SAYS

Goss ultimately was fired by his then-employer, Dakota News Now, and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, multiple outlets reported at the time. 

He was initially charged with a misdemeanor count of making threatening, harassing or misleading contacts, which carried a maximum penalty of up to a year in prison. The journalist’s lawyer argued amid court proceedings that the call was just a “practical joke” between Goss and a friend. 

Following the plea, Goss sent an apology letter to Noem that underscored that he has “a great deal of respect for” the then-governor and that Noem was “the reason that I moved to South Dakota in the first place in 2020.” 

“I also apologize for the strain my mistake has understandably caused within your office,” Goss wrote in his letter to Noem, which was obtained by Fox News Digital. 

“Given my line of work, it has not always felt like it I am sure — but I care about you, your family, and your current and former staff. Many of the people you work with, or have worked with, are personal friends of mine and I deeply value their relationships both professionally and personally. I owe them a similar apology for what they had to endure as a consequence of my actions, and the trust that I breached in doing what I did,” he wrote. 

The South Dakota State Capitol is photographed in Pierre, South Dakota. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Goss has recently been floated as a potential candidate to run for state auditor in South Dakota, with the journalist telling a state political blog in February that he “views himself as a government watchdog.“

A source familiar with South Dakota politics told Fox News Digital that there is a “small group of people in” the Mount Rushmore State “who feel like they can get a seat at the grown-ups table if they attack Kristi Noem.”

“It’s ironic that they want to be like her, but they do that by attacking her and refusing to see what’s good for the whole team, which is a stupid and self-defeating strategy. It’s the same old problem we’ve seen before. Too many coyotes and not enough jackrabbits,” the source said. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Goss, Ellis and Joe Sneve, the other co-founder of the media outlet, on Thursday, but did not immediately receive replies. 

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Fox Digital learned that Noem’s legal team plans to send similar cease-and-desist letters to other outlets characterizing the $650,000 in expenditures were made specifically by the former governor. 

With DOGE scrutinizing the federal workforce for cuts, one potential 2028 Democrat hopeful issued an executive order aiming to fill hundreds of vacancies in his own state government while also focusing on private-sector openings.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was joined by other dignitaries during a job fair at the state Farm Show complex in Harrisburg to sign the order calling for, among other things, federal bureaucrats to be considered for a plethora of job openings in Harrisburg’s civil service.

“The commonwealth recognizes that a workforce of dedicated and talented public servants is the backbone of a responsive government that can ensure the efficient and effective delivery of services for Pennsylvanians,” Shapiro said in his order. 

The executive order seeks to “capitalize on federal layoffs by accepting federal work experience as equivalent to state experience for the state’s top recruitment needs,” according to a separate statement from Shapiro.

Gov. Josh Shapiro (AP/File)

The statement added there will be an emphasis on veterans and military servicemembers also having direct access to recruiter-contacts, as well as publication of the 23 highest-priority, hardest-to-fill state jobs.

“It is imperative that the commonwealth attract and retain qualified employees who are drawn to a career in public service to fill its existing vacancies,” the order reads, citing an estimated 103,700 Pennsylvanians employed by the feds in 2024.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Administration Neil Weaver added in a statement that the federal workforce is “one of the most professional and qualified in the world, and we know that many federal jobs have similar duties to jobs performed by Commonwealth employees.”

TOP BLUE STATE REPUBLICAN LAUNCHES COMPREHENSIVE DOGE EFFORT WITH A TWIST

“This executive order will help individuals with federal work experience find relevant job opportunities, continue their public service careers, and put their skills to work for the people of Pennsylvania,” Weaver said.

While Shapiro’s order aims to encourage qualified federal workers to relocate up I-83 to Harrisburg, a source familiar with his efforts noted that the governor remains committed to an all-encompassing strategy to attract top talent to Pennsylvania’s public and private sectors.

SHAPIRO, STITT SAY SLASHING ENERGY DEVELOPMENT RED-TAPE AND BEATING CHINA IN ‘AI ARMS RACE’ ARE TOP PRIORITIES

The day before he issued his order focused on state government jobs, Shapiro was in Pittsburgh meeting with private-sector leaders at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, seeking to boost economic growth in western Pennsylvania.

There, Shapiro spoke about his energy “lightning plan” to increase jobs while reducing costs, saying, “We haven’t done anything meaningful on energy generation since the [Ed] Rendell administration: It’s time for us to lead again.”

Shapiro also held a phone call with tech billionaire Elon Musk in October. The governor said neither of them discussed politics but instead investment in Pennsylvania.

In the past, a source familiar with the Shapiro administration’s work suggested he bore the mantle of increasing government efficiency before the Trump-Musk endeavor to cut federal government waste began, given his unofficial and oft-repeated slogan: “Get s–t done.”

Conservatives, however, swiftly criticized Shapiro’s order, with the state House minority leader suggesting any vacant government jobs first be deemed necessary to begin with.

“While President Trump is using his mandate to lead the federal government in an unprecedented effort to right-size itself in true responsibility to the taxpayers, finding ways to add to our bureaucracy here in Pennsylvania sends us in the wrong direction,” said state Rep. Jesse Topper, R-McConnellsburg.

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“When a job becomes vacant in Pennsylvania’s administrative apparatus, the question should first be asked if it is truly needed rather than how quickly it can be filled,” Topper continued, adding that the focus should be on “state-specific ways to get our fiscal house in order.”

Meanwhile, a potential 2026 Shapiro opponent said the governor’s order will “make living in Pennsylvania worse.”

“He’s already proposed an unsustainable, job-killing $51 billion budget, and yet that’s not enough for him,” said state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Gettysburg.

“Now he wants to continue his spending spree with this grandstanding, desperately trying to draw attention to himself politically. Meanwhile, he doesn’t bat an eye as he destroys Pennsylvania’s economy and ruins the lives and livelihood of our families.”

Mastriano notably launched an effort last week to establish Pennsylvania’s own version of the federal Department of Government Efficiency.

EXCLUSIVE: The top lawmaker on the House Education and Workforce Committee is backing President Donald Trump as he readies to potentially abolish the federal Department of Education, but the lawmaker is skeptical Congress could offer support.

“I support him in the fact that we need to abolish the Department of Education, return education to the states, especially for K-12, and gain control of the higher-ed institutions and make them work,” Chair Tim Walberg, R-Mich., said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Whether we can abolish it or not is the question”

He pointed out that the Senate’s threshold for most legislation, which is 60, means Republicans could likely be forced to seek Democrat votes if a bill to abolish the department came to Congress.

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

House Education and Workforce Committee Chair Tim Walberg said he backs President Donald Trump’s push to abolish the Department of Education but questions if Congress would back him up. (Getty Images)

“It takes votes. The president can do executive orders, but they’ll be limited in time and scope. The votes aren’t there, I would think, to totally abolish the department in the Senate, at the very least,” Walberg said.

However, the Michigan Republican signaled that Congress could still look at what kind of changes they could make.

“So what can we do to de-power, to reform, to replace in such a way that, for the time being, we’ll make the system work? I think that’s the question that we have,” he said.

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

Linda McMahon is the new secretary of education. (REUTERS/Mike Segar/File)

Trump is expected to sign an executive order to abolish the Department of Education, something that’s been pushed by conservative Republicans for years.

It comes just after his new secretary of education, Linda McMahon, was confirmed by the Senate on Monday.

The department was created in its modern-day form in 1980 after then-President Jimmy Carter separated it from what’s now the Department of Health and Human Services.

House Speaker Mike Johnson signaled support for Trump’s push. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/File)

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled his openness to abolishing it in comments to reporters on Thursday.

“The more we push control of education down to parents and local school boards and authorities, the better off we are,” Johnson said.

Life for many residents in border communities improved following swift policy changes by the Trump administration, Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., says.

“They’re very happy with the results, and we knew that the numbers were going to be reflecting like they are,” the Republican told Fox News Digital in an interview, calling the change “drastic.”

Migrant encounters plummeted at the border in February with just over 8,300, which is the lowest month since officials started keeping track of the numbers, according to United States Customs and Border Protection data. 

GOP FIGHTS BACK AGAINST ‘TRUMP-PROOF’ SANCTUARY JURISDICTIONS

Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Lukeville, Arizona, on Dec. 7, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

The reduction in the influx of people crossing is just one piece of the puzzle. More troops were sent down to the southern border upon President Donald Trump taking office; cartels and gangs like Tren de Aragua were designated as foreign terrorist groups; and Immigration and Customs Enforcement is conducting raids nationwide for illegal immigrants suspected of crimes.

“They’ve seen an immediate change in their daily lives on this for some people. They’re seeing the reports on TV for my community, they’re seeing it in person,” Ciscomani said about his constituents, which includes people on or near the border.

In his capacity as the Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Ciscomani is leading the freshman GOP class on an Arizona border trip this week, where they will visit ports of entry, strike up conversations with authorities on the ground and take a tour with the National Border Patrol Council. The group of lawmakers includes Reps. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah; Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D.; Jeff Hurd, R-Colo.; Tim Moore, R-N.C.; Derek Schmidt, R-Kan.; Dave Taylor, R-Ohio; Jeff Crank, R-Colo.; John McGuire, R-Va.; and Riley Moore, R-W.Va. 

NEW YORK CITY DENIED REQUEST FEMA RETURN $80M IN MIGRANT FUNDS

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks while standing with other Republican members of Congress in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Jan. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

“When I first got to Washington a few years ago, I realized that a lot of people run on the issue of the border,” said Ciscomani. “They care about fixing it and addressing it, but a lot of members just haven’t had the opportunity to visit the border. And even if they have, they probably have gone to the area of Texas. And Arizona’s so unique in so many ways, right?”

The congressman added that there’s still work to be done to make sure the changes under the Trump administration are permanent to prevent another border crisis in the future, as there were millions of migrant encounters during former President Joe Biden’s tenure.

TEXAS REP. PRAISES TRUMP’S BORDER CRACKDOWN: ‘HIS LEADERSHIP HAS LED TO SUCCESS QUICKLY’

Officers from Homeland Security and the FBI conduct immigration enforcement in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 30. (FBI)

Ciscomani, who is in a highly competitive district that includes much of the Tucson suburbs, touted his recent passage of the Agent Raul Gonzalez Office Safety Act in the House, which would make those convicted of fleeing authorities within 100 miles of the border face prison time and potentially be deported, depending on the individual’s immigration status. Some Democrats supported the legislation, whereas others said it was an overreach.

“For example, the asylum process, we have to increase the credible fear standard,” Ciscomani said. “Things like Remain in Mexico. I think something like that should be permanent. So we’ve got some ideas on this through reconciliation.”

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There has been room for bipartisan work to be done, including a bill that Ciscomani and Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., are working on to get image technicians at ports of entry in the hope of detecting illicit drugs faster and more thoroughly.

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…

-Migrants clone Border Patrol vehicles in bid to bypass Trump’s crackdown

-Trump blasts Rep. Al Green as ‘an embarrassment’ to Dem: He ‘should be forced to take an IQ test‘

-Trump’s plan to house migrants at Guantanamo Bay facing major hurdles

A Democratic Donnybrook

Democrats displayed their internal party divisions in the wake of President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress. 

Democrats who are a part of leadership or more aligned with the establishment are clashing with progressives, many of whom heckled Trump throughout his more than 90-minute speech on Tuesday. The party is facing pressure from grassroots organizations to take a more combative approach – in lieu of decorum – to the Trump administration’s dismantling of the federal bureaucracy. 

While moderate Democrats are frustrated over the progressives’ disruptions, progressives complained about a lack of direction and clear strategy ahead of Trump’s first joint session address to Congress since he began his second term…Read more

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 4: Democrats protest with signs (Medicaid, Musk) as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in the Capitol building’s House chamber in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

White House

‘IMMINENT RISK’: Biden-nominated federal judge extends hold on Trump NIH research funding cuts

DISMISSING DELLINGER: Federal appeals court sides with Trump on firing head of watchdog agency

‘UNSIGHTLY’: Trump says DC Mayor Bowser ‘must clean up’ homeless encampments in the capital

TRUMP REFLECTS: Trump says he ‘felt very comfortable’ during address to Congress, touts positive coverage from ‘fake news’

President Donald Trump speaks as Vice President JD Vance, left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listen at a  joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.  (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

‘REALITY ON OUR SIDE’: Trump guest shares special message to president after address to Congress

World Stage

‘HELL TO PAY’: After Trump threat, Hamas refuses to release more hostages without phase 2 ceasefire deal

STABLE CONDITION: Pope Francis had ‘good night,’ continues to rest during third week of hospital treatment for pneumonia

Capitol Hill

‘SHAMEFUL’: Speaker Johnson slams Dem Rep. Green’s ‘egregious behavior’ during Trump’s address

PAYING THE TAB: Republicans clear way for Trump to sell Nancy Pelosi Federal Building ‘at fair market value’

A federal building named after former Speaker Nancy Pelosi could be put up for sale under a proposed bill in Congress. (Google Maps, left, Brandon Bell/Getty Images, top right, Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images, bottom right. )

WHEELING AND DEALING: GOP lawmaker credits Trump’s business prowess for major investment in state: ‘Knows how to make deals’

‘BREAKING FEDERAL LAW’: GOP rep says she’ll refer sanctuary city mayors for criminal prosecution

‘BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS’: GOP fights back against ‘Trump-proof’ sanctuary jurisdictions

‘SELF OWNS’: Fetterman calls out Dems’ ‘unhinged petulance’ after Trump speech

Across America 

CHANGING THE GAME: ‘Star Trek shield’ technology gets $250M boost to knock drone swarms from the sky with high-powered microwave

FACE OF TERROR: Abbey Gate terror suspect’s mugshot revealed as he makes first federal court appearance

Muhammed Sharifullah, the alleged plotter of the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 American service members during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, was extradited to the United States on Wednesday.  (FBI Director Kash Patel)

‘UTTER DISGRACE’: Casey DeSantis calls out CDC for keeping COVID-19 vaccine on its recommended list for children

NEW HIRE: DNC hires new top exec with long history of pushing racial grievances, leftist ideology

GANG HEADQUARTERS: Denver mayor grilled over area’s Tren de Aragua problem as GOP lawmaker says policies to blame

‘CITY HALL IS IN CHAOS’: New York City Council speaker Adrienne Adams launches run for mayor: reports

OUTTA HERE: Dominican man sent home on ICE removal flight following warrant for human smuggling resulting in death

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

Democrats on social media were mocked by conservatives on Thursday over a viral video in which several of the elected officials pretended to be video game characters in a “choose your fighter parody.”

The video, posted by social media influencer Jessica Woo, featured Dem. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, Lauren Underwood, Katherine Clark, Judy Chu, and Susie Lee.

The congresswomen in the video could be seen jumping up and down in a fighting position as if they were video game characters, along with attributes describing their accolades and attributes. 

The video was widely mocked by conservatives on social media, with many pointing out the Democrats’ antics at President Trump’s speech to Congress on Tuesday.

HOUSE DEMS SUGGEST TRUMP IS TRYING TO BRING BACK SLAVERY IN RACIALLY CHARGED LIVESTREAM: ‘BACK TO THE FIELDS’

Conservatives widely mocked several House Democrats after a viral “Choose your fighter” TikTok video. (Getty)

“Democrats Not Be Cringe Challenge,” the White House rapid response social media account posted on X. “Level: Impossible.”

“It’s as if the party is trying to implode itself…,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha posted on X.

“There are just some people who don’t have anyone in their lives willing to tell them to stop,” conservative commentator Ryan James Girdusky posted on X. 

“Dear God,” American Majority CEO Ned Ryun posted on X. “As if they couldn’t get any lamer. . . Hold my beer and watch me release a stupid loser video and prove I’m even lamer than you thought!!”

“Trump Deranged Democrats release ‘choose your fighter skit’ after refusing to stand and clap for a child with cancer during President Trump’s address to congress,” GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X. “Democrats have sunk so low that I’m actually starting to feel sorry for them. Pitiful.”

POLLSTER WARNS DEMOCRATS’ ‘AMATEURISH’ ANTI-TRUMP ANTICS ARE ‘TANKING’ WITH AMERICANS

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Screenshot/CBS)

“My God, who is advising the Democrats,” former Trump campaign senior advisor Tim Murtaugh posted on X.

“I’ll take “Reasons why Democrats are not in the majority” for $1,000,” GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx posted on X.

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn)

“Anyone that has any doubt that the GOP can keep the house in 2026 should rest assured,” communications strategist Erica Knight posted on X. “But at least they like American flags again.”

Fox News Digital reached out to all six House Democrats for comment. 

The State Department has revoked the visa of a student who participated in protesting in favor of Hamas, a move in line with President Donald Trump‘s call for canceling visas of students involved in the anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses.

The State Department confirmed the matter with Fox News, without identifying the student or what university they attended due to “legal constraints.”

“Yesterday evening, we revoked the first visa of an alien who was previously cited for criminal behavior in connection with Hamas-supporting disruptions,” the State Department said. “This individual was a university student. ICE will proceed with removing this person from the country.”

BARNARD STUDENT DEMANDS ACTION AFTER PRO-HAMAS PROTEST TURNS VIOLENT, CALLS OUT SCHOOL’S ‘PATHETIC’ RESPONSE

The NYPD cleared pro-Palestinian demonstrators from Barnard College after a group of student protesters occupied Milstein Library. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The State Department reviewed over 100,000 student visas and none were revoked during the Biden administration, despite all the anti-Israel protests and disruptions on college campuses. 

Trump has repeatedly called for foreign students attending American universities to have their visas revoked for supporting Hamas and other terror groups. 

Upon taking office in January, he signed an executive order to combat antisemitism. 

COLUMBIA PROFESSOR SLAMS UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP AS ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS WREAK HAVOC AT BARNARD

Mounted police work to contain anti-Israel demonstrators at the University of Texas at Austin on April 24, 2024. The Trump administration has revoked the visa of a foreign student who engaged in “Hamas-supporting disruptions.” (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“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,” Trump is quoted in a fact sheet issued by the White House. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”

U.S. college campuses have been a hotbed for anti-Israel protests and disruptions, including vandalism, threats against Jewish students and violence against law enforcement. 

“The Biden Administration turned a blind eye to this coordinated assault on public order; it simply refused to protect the civil rights of Jewish Americans, especially students,” the fact sheet states. “According to a December 2024 U.S. House of Representatives Staff Report on anti-Semitism, ‘the failure of our federal government departments and agencies is astounding.'”

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On Thursday, Axios reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is launching an AI-fueled “Catch and Revoke” effort to cancel the visas of foreign students who appear to support designated terror groups.

“Those who support designated terrorist organizations, including Hamas, threaten our national security,” he wrote on X. “The United States has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists. Violators of U.S. law — including international students — face visa denial or revocation, and deportation.”

President Donald Trump said he still wants answers seven months after an assassination attempt on his life during a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

“I want to find the answers,” the president said during an executive order signing in the White House Thursday. “I’ve told them. … We can no longer blame [former President Joe] Biden for that one. He should have released that a long time ago.”

Gunman Thomas Crooks, 20, killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore and critically wounded two others, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, in his attempt to kill Trump, who was grazed in the ear by a bullet.

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, is rushed offstage after getting shot during a rally July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

SECRET SERVICE KNEW AIRSPACE PROTECTION WOULD END WITH FORMER PRESIDENT ONSTAGE

The investigation summary concluded the rally was a “failure for the Secret Service” that warranted “several operational, policy, and organizational changes.”

Two months later, Trump survived a second assassination attempt while golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Ryan Routh allegedly tried to assassinate Trump and remains in federal custody. 

During a Q&A session with the media Thursday in the Oval Office, Trump told Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy he would be receiving a report about both incidents sometime next week.

“I want to release it,” Trump noted.

SECRET SERVICE TURNED DOWN LOCAL DRONE ‘REPEATEDLY’ AHEAD OF TRUMP JULY 13 RALLY: WHISTLEBLOWER

“[Crooks] had three [cellphone] apps, two of which were foreign, supposedly, and who has the biggest white-shoe law firm in Pennsylvania, even though they don’t live in necessarily a white-shoe area,” Trump speculated. “What’s that all about?”

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, speaks at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

SECRET SERVICE, FBI RESPOND TO TRUMP RALLY VIDEO SHOWING FIGURE ON ROOF MINUTES BEFORE GUNFIRE

He added that Routh, 58, allegedly had numerous cellphones.

“The other one had seven or six cellphones, and I don’t have six cellphones,” Trump said. “Why would somebody have six cellphones. So, we’re going to be releasing a report on that soon. … It’s a lot of cellphones, and a couple of them had some strange markings on them.”

Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr., right, of the U.S. Secret Service addresses the media at a news conference with updates on the investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sept. 16, 2024. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

Pointing to a lack of information about the incidents, the president said “it makes me think a little bit.”

“I say when you have three apps and two of them are foreign, and you had an FBI that wouldn’t report on it — they didn’t want to say why — I would say that could be suspicious,” Trump said. 

He also took the time to highlight the Secret Service’s efforts to intercept Routh, who was spotted allegedly aiming a rifle at one of Trump’s security details in bushes.

Trump assassination attempt suspect Ryan Routh on police bodycam footage being taken into custody Sept. 15, 2024, in Florida. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office )

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“I want to find out, and I would be willing to release it,” Trump said. “I mean, maybe there’s a reason that we shouldn’t. So, I don’t want to get too far ahead of my skis. But, yeah, I would be very willing to release that. … I want to see that one myself.”

Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.

Could the cover-up be bigger than the crime?

So it’s of little surprise that few people even realized that Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, appeared in the well of the House chamber and was formally admonished by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., with a resolution of censure Thursday morning.

The House voted 224-198 with two members voting present to censure Green for his antics during President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress Tuesday night.

Per the resolution, Green had to present himself in the well as Johnson read the resolution before the House for his infractions and officially castigated him, with a rap of the gavel.

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

The House voted Thursday to censure Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, for interrupting President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress two nights earlier. (Win McNamee/Pool Photo via AP)

But you wouldn’t be alone if you missed it.

That’s because a host of Democrats joined Green near the dais. Johnson banged the gavel, imploring Green’s colleagues to stop. They sang “We Shall Overcome,” drowning out Johnson.

But the deed was done. Green was censured – even if few really saw it. That’s because there’s a trend in Congress for colleagues to join the censured individual in the well of the House and make a ruckus, almost diluting the discipline.

This is why Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., argued that the House should now try to expel Green. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is prepping a resolution to strip the dozens of Democrats who joined Green in the well from their committees. There’s also a move to relieve Green of his committee assignments.

It didn’t used to be this way. There’s an issue of debate about “who fired first.” But discipline in the House over censure has disintegrated markedly in recent years. And so has bipartisan comportment of lawmakers when the president of the other party speaks to a joint session of Congress.

Green became the 29th member of the House censured in the institution’s history. But he’s the fourth Democrat censured by the House since 2023. The fifth overall member to be censured if you include the censure of Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., in 2021.

You have to go back to 2010 with former Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., to find a member who was censured. Before that? Try 1983.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOOK: SORTING IT OUT

The Rangel censure over abuse of office is significant. Rangel was a towering figure in Congress. A Korean War hero who was left to die on the battlefield. Rangel rose from humble roots in Harlem to become Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. The House voted to censure Rangel in late 2010 after a lengthy investigation. After the vote, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asked the New York Democrat to “present himself in the well.” With the entire House present, Rangel, ambled to the front of the chamber, his head hung low, hands folded in front as though he were about to pray.

No one said a word. Members from both sides sat in rapt silence as Pelosi read the text of the censure resolution in an uncharacteristically meek tone. Pelosi herself seemed stricken, having to censure her friend and such a vaunted colleague. Pelosi tapped the gavel so lightly at the conclusion of the censure exercise that it almost seemed accidental.

The deed was done.

Green’s censure during the Trump speech is far from the only one to be carried out in recent years – in fact, there’s been a recent uptick in censures. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

That’s not how censures roll in the House anymore.

Contrast the censure of Rangel to the 2023 censures of former Rep. and now Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and you’ll find raucous affairs. Yelling. Shouting. Anything to cover up what the Speaker is reading from the dais.

In the case of the 2023 censure of Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the resolution just declared her to be censured but did not require her to appear in the well of the chamber before the full House and the Speaker.

TRUMP BLASTS REP AL GREEN AS ‘AN EMBARRASSMENT’ TO DEMOCRATS, SAYS HE ‘SHOULD BE FORCED TO TAKE AN IQ TEST’

The rate of censures is increasing dramatically. Republicans will argue that Democrats “started it.” The House censured Gosar in 2021 for posting an anime video which showed him using a sword to kill Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and harming former President Biden. The measure also stripped Gosar of his committee assignments. In 2021, Democrats and 11 Republicans voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., from her committees. They argued she trafficked in conspiracy theories and racism which encouraged violence.

But in the case of Al Green, his conduct on the floor reflects a trend of hectoring the president in the House chamber. Taylor Greene and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., certainly jeered and taunted former President Biden during his speeches to Congress. The former president even briefly engaged them on one occasion. This unfolded under three House Speakers: Pelosi, Johnson and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Yet there was never any effort by the Speaker to have anyone removed on those occasions.

That changed when Johnson ordered Green removed on Tuesday.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., faced significant backlash after shouting “you lie” at President Obama during a 2009 speech before a joint session of Congress. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

But when did this all start?

It goes back to September 2009.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shouted “you lie” at President Barack Obama as he delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress about health care reform. Wilson specifically accused the president of lying when he declared it was “false” that persons in the country illegally would qualify for health benefits.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE SENATE TRYING TO ADVANCE TRUMP’S AGENDA

Bipartisan lawmakers condemned the outburst immediately. Wilson apologized to then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. In a statement, Wilson said he “let my emotions get the best of me.” He characterized the episode as a “town hall moment.” By the weekend, Wilson was fundraising off the incident.

Pelosi didn’t want to go any further with a punishment. But her members pushed against the Speaker – and prevailed.

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who at the time served as the House Majority Whip, thought Wilson’s off-stage apology wasn’t enough. Clyburn, and fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus, believed the House needed to do something to assert its rules of decorum. They believed the verbal assault was tinged with race – directed at the first Black president. 

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., was one of many to advocate for strong pushback against Wilson following the Obama-era outburst. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Appearing on CNN, CBC member and Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., argued that if the House didn’t stand up to Wilson, “people with white hoods (would be) running through the countryside again.”

Democrats wanted Wilson to apologize to the entire House. After he refused, Democrats forged ahead with a vote on a “resolution of disapproval” of Wilson’s actions.

A reprimand, censure and expulsion are the three formal modes of discipline in the House. A “resolution of disapproval” is kind of like receiving a Congressional parking ticket.

DEMS THROW HOUSE INTO CHAOS AFTER 10 MODERATES JOIN GOP TO PUNISH AL GREEN

Then-House Minority Leader and future Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called the effort a “political stunt.” Boehner asserted there was “behavior in this chamber that’s more serious than this.”

Former Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., chaired the CBC at the time.

“Today’s resolution is an opportunity for us to come together and reject incivility,” said Lee. “Let’s turn the page.”

They’ve done anything but that.

Then-Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., called the “resolution of disapproval” levied against Wilson “an opportunity for us to come together and reject incivility.” Since then, Congress has done anything but. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The House is now involved in low-grade guerrilla warfare with periodic flare-ups. There’s routine sniping at the president – regardless of who occupies the office – when he comes to speak to a joint session of Congress. The parties battle over tit-for-tat resolutions of censure and committees.

They’re a long way from turning the page, as Barbara Lee suggested 16 years ago.

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And that’s why Mike Johnson must decide next week if he wants to wage another skirmish in this partisan fracas. He must decide whether to mete out more discipline to Green and those who stood by him in the well.

Or turn the page.

Five years after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, the World Health Organization is still reporting deaths from the virus. 

More than 3,000 people died in the last month, adding to the more than 7 million deaths since the pandemic began.

In the fall of 2019, many of the top stories for U.S. news outlets had to do with China.

“I have a good relationship with China. We’ll see what happens, but I’m very happy right now,” President Donald Trump said on Nov. 19, 2019 amid trade negotiations with Beijing. “If we don’t make a deal with China, I’ll just raise the tariffs even higher.”

NEW BAT CORONAVIRUS DISCOVERED IN CHINA SPARKS PANDEMIC CONCERNS

A rapid and sustained increase in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. prompted millions of people to take precautions while in public. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

On the other side of the globe, protesters in Hong Kong were objecting to China’s interference in the region’s government. Trump signed a bill supporting the pro-democracy demonstrations. Back in Washington, the Smithsonian National Zoo’s beloved panda, Bei Bei, was preparing to move to a new habitat in central China, but in the background, a much bigger story was taking place.

Also, in the fall of 2019, scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were studying how mice responded to SARs and MERs-related coronaviruses. A National Intelligence Director report noted the lab maintains one of the world’s largest repositories of bat samples.

It stated, “Teams separately used transgenic mouse models to better understand how the viruses infect humans as well as related vaccine and therapeutics research.”

“This laboratory that worked on bat coronaviruses was undertaking work, which on the face of it was quite important for understanding these viruses, but had some risks,” said Stanford microbiology professor David Relman in January 2020.

During that time, several researchers at the institute fell ill with cold or flu-like symptoms, but none were severe enough to be hospitalized.

“Some of their symptoms were consistent with but not diagnostic of Covid-19,” the intelligence report stated. The intelligence community also noted that it was unclear if those illnesses were linked to the virus that would soon spread around the world.

By December, China’s stock market was rising on hopes of a trade deal with the U.S., but the local economy in Wuhan was facing a major threat. Health officials were growing concerned about a new viral pneumonia that was not responding to standard treatments. Twenty-seven cases had been confirmed, seven of which were critical. 

Most of the patients had a recent history of exposure to wildlife animals at the Huanan Market, where poultry, snakes, bats and other farm animals were sold. Wuhan health officials claimed the wet market was where the virus originated. However, at least 13 of the first 41 hospitalizations had no link to the marketplace, according to an article by Chinese researchers published in the Lancet. 

“That’s a big number, 13, with no link,” Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Georgetown University, told Science in January 2020. “The virus came into that marketplace before it came out of that marketplace.”

NEW BAT CORONAVIRUS DISCOVERED IN CHINA SPARKS PANDEMIC CONCERNS

Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump were closing in on a trade deal when COVID-19 struck the world. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

All U.S. intelligence agencies assess both a natural and laboratory-associated origin remain plausible sources of the virus’ origin. The Energy Department, the FBI and the CIA believe a laboratory-associated incident was the most likely cause of the first human infection. 

“Laboratory accidents happen everywhere there are humans. Humans are fallible. So, it’s absolutely reasonable to think that some other laboratory also had an accident,” Relman said.

In late December, the Wuhan Institute of Virology isolated and identified the virus from patient samples. The information available to U.S. intelligence officials indicates this to be the first time researchers at the institute had access to the virus’ gene sequence.

On New Year’s Eve in the U.S., Trump rang in 2020 at his annual Mar-a-Lago party and was optimistic over his negotiations with China.

“We’re very excited about trade,” the president said. “I’ll be going, at some point, to Beijing, to be with President Xi.  We have a great relationship.  And we’ll be doing something reciprocal.”

Scientists in Wuhan were growing even more concerned about the new virus. Dozens of individuals with suspected cases had been isolated in a designated hospital. The World Health Organization became aware through a media statement from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. It warned of a pneumonia of an unknown cause.

During the first days of 2020, life around the world and in most parts of China, seemed normal. However, in Wuhan, the Huanan Market had been shut down, and World Health Organization officials were taking a closer look at the cases.

“There are many unreported cases in China. There’s also a number of cases in Hong Kong that haven’t been reported,” Gatestone Institute senior fellow Gordon Chang told Lou Dobbs in January 2020. “What’s happened in Hong Kong and the protest, people don’t want to go out so it has been quiet over the last week or so. But I think that this is really the fear over the contagion.”

TRUMP’S ‘MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN’ COMMISSION TO TARGET AUTISM, CHRONIC DISEASES

President Donald Trump said his outlook on a possible trade deal with China was once optimistic in 2020. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

What was now called the 2019 Novel Coronavirus had claimed its first victim by the time Trump inked phase one of his trade deal with China.

“Right now, our relationship with China is the best it’s ever been,” Trump said at the signing ceremony.

Cases from outside of China were now accumulating. Thailand and Japan had confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2. Shortly after, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began screening passengers on direct and connecting flights from Wuhan.

“The bottom line is this is a very rare virus. The number of people who have been infected or exposed is very small,” Lenox Hill Hospital emergency room Dr. Robert Glatter said as the flight screenings began.

Days later, health officials confirmed the first U.S. case in Washington state but insisted the virus was still a low risk to the public.

“We’re very happy to say that he is in satisfactory condition and as of this moment is being, is very helpful in us identifying particular people that he may have been in contact with,” Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wa, said after the case was announced.

More cases began to accumulate across the U.S. and around the world. In Wuhan, 11 million people were placed under lockdown orders.

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“It has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as Wuhan closed its city limits.

Shoppers raced to gather essentials before the lockdown officially took place. Roads, train stations and airports were empty. Other locations throughout China were also closed to the public, and Chinese New Year celebrations were scaled back.

Around the world, more countries implemented travel restrictions from China. Many evacuated citizens from the country before the virus spread further.

By mid-February, 1,013 people had died from the virus now known as COVID-19. It had officially killed more people than the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, when 774 people died.

The U.S. is “rated number one” for epidemic preparedness, Trump told White House reporters on Feb. 26, 2020. “We’ve had tremendous success, tremendous success beyond what people would have thought. Now at the same time you do have some outbreaks in some countries. Italy and various countries are having some difficulty.” 

Italy was the new epicenter for the virus. By mid-March, 114 countries had reported more than 118,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths.

“In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths and the number of effected countries climb even higher,” Ghebreyesus said. “We have formed the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly.”

A U.S. judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to pay at least a portion of the nearly $2 billion in owed foreign aid for previously completed projects by 6 p.m. Monday, an expeditious ruling that comes just one day after the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request to continue its freeze.

The decision from U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali came after a more than four-hour court hearing Thursday, where he grilled both parties on their proposed repayment plans, and a timeframe for the government to comply with the $1.9 billion in owed foreign aid that has been completed.

At the end of the hearing, Judge Ali ordered the government to pay at least a portion of the $1.9 billion by Monday at 6 p.m.

“I think it’s reasonable to get the plaintiffs’ invoices paid by 6 p.m. on Monday,” said Judge Ali. “What I’ll order today is the first concrete step that plaintiffs have their invoices paid … [and] work completed prior to Feb. 13 to be paid by 6 p.m. on Monday, March 10th.”

TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID

Susan Schorr, of DC, holds an anti-Elon Musk sign and an American flag in protest in front of the headquarters for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on February 3, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2 BILLION IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTS

That order previously set a deadline of Feb. 26 at 11:59 p.m. for the administration to pay its outstanding debt to foreign aid groups.

The Justice Department had argued that the timeline was “impossible” to comply with.

But Judge Ali seemed to reject that notion Thursday. After a Justice Department attorney asked the court for more time to get the latest payments out, pointing out that it may be difficult to get financial transactions done over the weekend, he responded by noting that the government had successfully paid out more than $70 million during the hours of Wednesday through early Thursday morning, so this should be possible as well.

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

The 5-4 Supreme Court decision remanded the case back to the D.C. federal court – and Judge Ali — to hash out the specifics of what must be paid, and when.

Judge Ali moved quickly following the high court’s decision, ordering both parties back to court Thursday to weigh plausible repayment schedules. 

The proposed schedules, his order noted, “should account for the length of time that has passed since the TRO, [temporary restraining order] was entered and the feasibility of any compliance timelines.”

At issue in the case was how quickly the Trump administration needed to pay the nearly $2 billion owed to aid groups and contractors for completed projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), at a time when the administration has issued a blanket freeze on all foreign spending in the name of government “efficiency” and eliminating waste.

In a Supreme Court filing, acting U.S. Solicitor General Sarah Harris said that while the plaintiffs’ claims were likely “legitimate,” the time Judge Ali gave them to pay the outstanding invoices was “not logistically or technically feasible.”

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Plaintiffs have argued that the lower court judge had ordered the Trump administration to begin making the owed foreign aid payments more than two weeks ago — a deadline they said the government simply failed to meet, or to even take steps to meet — indicating that the administration had no plans to make good on fulfilling that request.

This is a breaking news story. Check back soon for updates.

President Donald Trump, while signing executive orders Thursday in the Oval Office, vowed to bring home two NASA astronauts who have been stuck in space for eight months.

“Elon [Musk] is right now preparing a ship to go up and get them,” the president told Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy. “We love you, and we’re coming up to get you, and you shouldn’t have been up there so long.”

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were stranded at the International Space Station after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft had technical issues. 

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were the flight crew on Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which is recovering from a series of issues. (NASA)

NASA ASTRONAUTS NOT ‘FRETTING’ OVER EXTENDED MISSION, ‘GRATEFUL’ FOR MORE TIME IN SPACE AFTER STARLINER WOES

Their mission began June 5, 2024, and was only scheduled to last eight days.

Due to numerous issues with the spacecraft, NASA deemed it unsafe to carry the astronauts back to Earth. 

It returned to the planet unmanned.

BOEING’S STARLINER SPACECRAFT LANDS BACK ON EARTH WITHOUT A CREW

One of the astronauts recently confirmed former President Joe Biden declined an offer of help from Musk, SpaceX CEO, the New York Post reported.

Trump on Thursday said Biden “left them alone” in space because he was “embarrassed by what happened.”

Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during a press conference at SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas, Feb. 10, 2022. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

BOEING STARLINER UNDOCKS FROM SPACE STATION, HEADS TO EARTH UNMANNED AS CREW STAYS BEHIND

He continued, “The most incompetent president in our history has allowed that to happen to you, but this president won’t let that happen.”

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams during NASA’s live shot of their takeoff on June 5, 2024 (NASA)

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to launch on Wednesday to head to the space station, then return home with Wilmore and Williams after a handover period of several days, NASA said. 

Trump later joked with Doocy about partaking in the mission.

“Should I go on that journey just to be on the ship when we stop?” the president asked Doocy.

Doocy responded, “If that’s an option, yes.”

NASA ASTRONAUT SAYS STARLINER CREW LIKELY TO CHANGE EXERCISE ROUTINE DURING EXTENDED ISS STAY 

Astronaut Suni Williams does a backflip as Butch Wilmore gives a thumbs up while in space. (NASA)

“I should do it,” Trump replied with a laugh. “That’s terrible. I thought he liked me.”

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Another reporter chimed in saying the president should stay on Earth, to which Trump responded, “She likes me better.”

Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that would rescind security clearances and access to certain federal resources for Perkins Coie, the law firm that hired the company responsible for crafting the so-called “Steele dossier” containing alleged salacious material and Trump’s alleged connections to Russia, which the president has denied. 

“This is an absolute honor to sign,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “What they’ve done, it’s just terrible. It’s weaponization, you could say weaponization against a political opponent, and it should never be allowed to happen again.” 

Specifically, the executive order suspends security clearances for Perkins Coie employees until a further review evaluating its access to sensitive information is complete to determine if it aligns with the national interest. 

Additionally, the order cuts off access to sensitive compartmented information facilities for Perkins Coie employees, and will limit the company’s access to government employees. Additionally, the order bars the federal government from hiring Perkins Coie employees without specific authorization. 

JUDGE DISMISSES TRUMP’S LAWSUIT ALLEGING INFAMOUS DOSSIER AND ITS ‘SCANDALOUS CLAIMS’ DAMAGED HIS REPUTATION

The FBI used the Trump dossier to apply for surveillance warrants against former Trump adviser Carter Page, according to the Department of Justice inspector general.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Likewise, the federal government is prohibited from hiring contractors that use the law firm, amid a review of all federal contracts associated with Perkins Coie that agency heads will be ordered to terminate to the fullest extent lawfully permitted. 

The international law firm represented Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the 2016 election, and former President Joe Biden after Trump challenged Biden’s win in the 2020 election.

Perkins Coie first came under scrutiny after Marc Elias, the former chair of the firm’s political law practice, hired opposition research firm Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research against then-presidential candidate Trump in April 2016 for his opponent, Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee.

Fusion GPS then hired former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who composed the so-called “Steele dossier.” The document included scandalous and mostly unverified allegations, including details that Trump engaged in sex acts with Russian prostitutes. 

CARTER PAGE FISA WARRANT LACKED PROBABLE CAUSE, DOJ ADMITS IN DECLASSIFIED ASSESSMENT 

Perkins Coie hired an opposition research firm that hired former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who wrote the dossier.  (Getty Images)

Trump repeatedly denied allegations included in the dossier, and filed a lawsuit against Orbis Business Intelligence, a company that Steele co-founded. Trump’s legal team claimed that he “suffered personal and reputational damage and distress” as a result of the dossier, but a judge in London pitched the lawsuit in February 2024. 

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The dossier first became public in 2017 when BuzzFeed News published it. The Justice Department’s inspector general lambasted the agency and the FBI in 2019 for using the document to make a case in securing surveillance applications against former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page, as part of the agency’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

Still, the inspector general determined that no political bias motivated the surveillance of Page or the launching of Russia investigations. 

Requests for comment by Perkins Coie were not immediately answered. 

President Trump on Thursday exempted certain goods from Canada and Mexico covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) from his 25% tariffs for a month.

The tariffs were imposed earlier this week, and will be reinstated on April 2. 

President Trump on Thursday exempted certain goods from Canada and Mexico covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) from his 25% tariffs for a month. (Getty)

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Trump had previously mentioned an exemption for Mexico, but the amendment signed on Thursday covers Canada also. 

Reuters contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump signed a memo Thursday directing government agency heads to ask federal judges to require financial guarantees to hold “activist” groups that sue the government financially responsible if an injunction is found to be unnecessary.

The memo comes as the Trump administration faces more than 90 lawsuits stemming from executive orders, memos and executive proclamations issued since Jan. 20 that legal groups, labor organizations, and other state and local plaintiffs are challenging. 

Specifically, the memo instructs federal agencies to coordinate with Attorney General Pam Bondi to request federal courts adhere to a rule that mandates financial guarantees from those requesting injunctions. 

While federal judges ultimately have the final say on whether these financial guarantees are required, the Department of Justice can request under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c) that judges implement the rule to require financial guarantees from plaintiffs that are equal to the potential costs and damages the federal government would incur from a wrongly issued preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order. 

SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2B IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTS

The White House is ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi to request judges follow a rule that would require financial guarantees from plaintiffs seeking injunctions.  (The Associated Press)

The memo signed Thursday applies to all lawsuits seeking preliminary injunctions or temporary restraining orders “where the government can demonstrate monetary harm from the requested relief,” according to a White House fact sheet. 

“Agencies must justify security amounts based on reasoned assessments of harm, ensuring courts deny or dissolve injunctions if plaintiffs fail to pay up, absent good cause,” the White House said in the fact sheet obtained by Fox News Digital. 

As a result, the White House said the order will rule in “activist judges” and keep “litigants accountable.”  

“Unelected district judges have issued sweeping injunctions beyond their authority, inserting themselves into executive policymaking and stalling policies voters supported,” the White House said in its fact sheet. 

The lawsuits challenging the Trump administration already have started to make their way up to the Supreme Court. For example, the high court issued a 5-4 ruling Wednesday upholding a district judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to pay almost $2 billion in foreign aid money. 

The Supreme Court said that since the district court’s Feb. 26 deadline for the Trump administration to pay the USAID funding contracts has expired it directed the case back to the lower court to hash out future payment plans. 

TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID

The Supreme Court upheld a district judge’s ruling March 5, 2025, that would require the Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion in foreign aid money.  (Anna Moneymaker)

“Given that the deadline in the challenged order has now passed, and in light of the ongoing preliminary injunction proceedings, the District Court should clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines,” the Court said.

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Fox News’ Kerri Urbahn and Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report. 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., bucked his party this week, criticizing fellow Democrats for not standing for 13-year-old cancer survivor DJ Daniel during President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress.

“I don’t know why we can’t fully celebrate,” Fetterman told Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital. “I mean, I have a 13-year-old myself, and thank God she’s never had cancer, but I think that’s something we can all celebrate there. And I think it was a touching moment. And, like I said, that’s part of the best of the American experience.”

Fox News Digital reached out to 30 Democratic lawmakers about why they did not stand for DJ Tuesday night but only received six responses. 

SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLODES AFTER DEMS DO NOT STAND FOR 13-YEAR-OLD CANCER SURVIVOR: ‘TRULY SICK PEOPLE’

Sen. John Fetterman said DJ’s story is “something we can all celebrate.” (Nicholas Ballasy)

Fetterman also said in an X post that Democrats’ inaction “only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained.” Some Democratic lawmakers said their feelings against Trump were the reason they did not stand for DJ. 

“You know, that is a very individual thing. And aren’t there a lot of other things we can be focusing on, as I would think?” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said when asked why Democratic members did not stand for DJ. “The word betrayal comes to mind with regard to the president.”

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, “We all stood when the president entered, which I think is appropriate. And I think, frankly, by and large showed him respect to the office.”

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said it “was a moving story,” but that “what Trump left out, of course, is he’s cutting research for cancer, which is pretty, pretty bad.”

FORMER HARRIS 2024 ADVISOR SENDS WARNING TO DEMOCRATS IN AUDIENCE FOR TRUMP SPEECH: ‘DO NOT DO DUMB SH–‘

Sen. John Fetterman criticized fellow Democrats for not standing for 13-year-old cancer survivor DJ Daniel during President Donald Trump’s address to Congress. (Getty/Fox News Digital)

“Our hearts are with the Riley family on the loss of their daughter and inspired at Devarjaye ‘DJ’s’ story. It shouldn’t be confused with the disdain we have for President Trump’s divisive and strident voice,” Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said she “clapped and was touched – not rolling my eyes,” while Trump introduced the boy.

“After the Secret Service gave him his [badge] and he sat back down, but then he reached back up and hugged the Secret Service chief, it made me cry. I had tears. I was wiping a freaking tear,” Dingell said. 

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol March 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters)

Republican lawmakers criticized their Democratic colleagues for remaining seated during DJ’s big moment, calling it “childish” that they refused to stand for the boy. 

“The Democrats really embarrassed themselves. I mean, they wouldn’t even stand up for DJ, who survived cancer,” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Fox.

“I was so disappointed that my Democratic colleagues couldn’t stand and show love for some of the Americans that were recognized tonight. That was really heartbreaking to me,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.

Despite the tepid response from Democrats, chants of “DJ!” erupted in the House chamber Tuesday night as Trump directed Secret Service Director Sean Curran to designate the 13-year-old an honorary Secret Service agent. DJ’s father, Theodis, held DJ over his shoulders as the boy showed off his new badge to the chamber.

‘COULDN’T CLAP FOR A 13-YEAR-OLD BOY’: GOP SLAMS ‘CHILDISH’ DEM SILENCE ON SUPPORTING CANCER SURVIVOR

Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel holds an honorary U.S. Secret Service special agent ID presented to him by Sean Curran, director of the U.S. Secret Service, right, as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

“Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. His name is DJ Daniel. He is 13 years old. He has always dreamed of becoming a police officer himself. But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true, and DJ has been sworn in as an honorary law enforcement officer,” Trump said. 

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“Tonight, DJ, we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service.” 

FIRST ON FOX: The Small Business Administration announced a series of reforms on Thursday aimed at ensuring illegal immigrants don’t receive taxpayer benefits and removing offices from sanctuary cities.

The SBA, led by administrator Kelly Loeffler, said in a press release that it will “put American citizens first by ending taxpayer benefits for illegal aliens.”

The agency says that in the coming days it will implement a new policy that requires SBA loan applicants to include citizenship verification provision that will ensure only legal citizens are accessing its programs. The press release explains that lenders will also need to confirm that businesses are not owned in “whole or in part by an illegal alien” in order to be consistent with President Trump’s executive order that prohibits “taxpayer subsidization of open borders.”

Six regional offices located in sanctuary cities will also be relocated, according to the press release.

GOP FIGHTS BACK AGAINST ‘TRUMP-PROOF’ SANCTUARY JURISDICTIONS

Kelly Loeffler is moving SBA offices out of sanctuary cities (AP/Getty)

Those offices include locations in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Seattle. The agency says that the new locations will be less costly, more accessible, and in areas that “better serve the small business community and that comply with federal immigration law.”

“Over the last four years, the record invasion of illegal aliens has jeopardized both the lives of American citizens and the livelihoods of American small business owners, who have each become victims of Joe Biden’s migrant crime spree,” Loeffler said.

BOSTON MAYOR FACES HEAT OVER SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES AS PATRIOTS OWNER’S SON GOES ON OFFENSIVE

Then-Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler speaks during a campaign event at Valdosta Regional Airport in Valdosta, Georgia, December 5, 2020. (REUTERS/Dustin Chambers)

“Under President Trump, the SBA is committed to putting American citizens first again – starting by ensuring that zero taxpayer dollars go to fund illegal aliens.”

Loeffler continued, “Today, I am pleased to announce that this agency will cut off access to loans for illegal aliens and relocate our regional offices out of sanctuary cities that reward criminal behavior. We will return our focus to empowering legal, eligible business owners across the United States – in partnership with the municipalities who share this Administration’s commitment to secure borders and safe communities.”

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President Donald Trump (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

The announcement comes shortly after four Democrat mayors were grilled by Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill over their sanctuary city policies. 

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has filed a resolution to punish the Democrats who derailed House floor proceedings as Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was being censured on Thursday.

“We have a country to run. The failed policies of Joe Biden is why they lost the House, why they lost the Senate, why they lost the presidency. They can lick their wounds all day, but they still have to behave on the House floor,” Ogles told Fox News Digital in a brief interview.

“We can disagree on issues and politics, but we’re gonna respect one another, and I’m tired of this crap.”

Ogles’ resolution is aimed at stripping committee assignments from the Democratic lawmakers who temporarily plunged the House into chaos on Thursday. 

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP CONCLUDES REMARKS AFTER DECLARING ‘AMERICA’S MOMENTUM IS BACK’

Rep. Al Green is removed from the chamber as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Image)

He told Fox News Digital that he intends to deem the resolution “privileged,” meaning House leaders will have two legislative days to take the measure up. 

It could be voted on as early as next week, when Ogles is planning on broaching the matter with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

All but 12 House Democrats voted against censuring Green for disrupting President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. Ten Democrats voted with Republicans to reprimand Green, while two, including the Texas lawmaker himself voted “present.”

Before the formal censure could be read out to Green, however, Democrats upended House floor proceedings by gathering with the Texas Democrat and singing “We shall overcome.” Johnson was forced to call the House into a recess after failing multiple times to quell the protest.

The House floor briefly descended into chaos as a small group of Republicans and Democrats continued confronting each other, with one Republican heard calling Democrats “embarrassing” for their behavior.

Rep. Andy Ogles filed the resolution. (Michael M. Santiago)

Ogles’ resolution, first obtained by Fox News Digital, directs the House Sergeant-at-Arms to “provide a determination” of “which members ignored the speaker’s directive to leave the well of the House.”

“Upon submission of that list to the speaker,” they would be “removed from any standing committee on which they currently serve for the remainder of the 119th Congress,” the text said.

Ogles first posted his intent to file his resolution on X.

“The speaker, he’s a good man, he’s a Christian man. He has a kind heart. With grace gave them the opportunity to stop and they refuse to do so,” Ogles told Fox News Digital. “So, look, if you wanna act like a petulant child on the House floor and you’re giving a warning and a reprimand, and you choose not to stop, then actions need to be taken.”

Green was removed from Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday night after repeatedly disrupting the beginning of the president’s speech.

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

He shouted, “You have no mandate!” at Trump as he touted Republican victories in the House, Senate and White House.

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Johnson had Green removed by the Sergeant-at-Arms.

The 77-year-old Democrat was unrepentant when given the chance to speak out in his defense on Wednesday.

“I heard the speaker when he said that I should cease. I did not, and I did not with intentionality. It was not done out of a burst of emotion,” Green said. “I think that on some questions, questions of conscience, you have to be willing to suffer the consequences. And I have said I will. I will suffer whatever the consequences are, because I don’t believe that in the richest country in the world, people should be without good healthcare.”

A federal judge blocked New York City’s request for President Donald Trump’s administration to return $80 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds allocated for migrant shelters and services.

Judge Jennifer Rearden, from the Manhattan bench on Wednesday, refused to issue New York City a temporary restraining order to claw back the funds because the city did not prove it would suffer irreparable harm without the money. 

“We’re disappointed the court did not grant the emergency relief we were seeking while the case continued, and we are evaluating next steps,” a New York City Law Department spokesperson told Fox News. 

The City of New York filed the lawsuit on Feb. 21 against Trump, FEMA, the Treasury Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), arguing the $80 million was already approved and paid out by FEMA.

A federal judge blocked New York City’s request for President Donald Trump’s administration to claw back $80 million in FEMA funds. (Getty/AP)

NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, AN EX-COP, HAS ‘UPPER HAND’ OVER OTHER SANCTUARY CITY MAYORS: BLUE LIVES MATTER FOUNDER

“This morning, our office learned about the federal government clawing back more than $80 million in FEMA grants applied for and awarded under the last administration, but not disbursed until last week,” Mayor Eric Adams, D-N.Y., said in an X post the day the lawsuit was filed. 

The lawsuit said the funds were revoked on Feb. 11, after Elon Musk said the Department of Government Efficiency found a $59 million FEMA payment to New York City for luxury hotels used to house illegal migrants. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said she rescinded the funds over concerns that the Roosevelt Hotel is the “Tren de Aragua base of operations.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivers remarks to staff at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters on Jan. 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Manuel Balce Ceneta-Pool/Getty Images)

“​I have clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to NYC migrant hotels. FEMA was funding the Roosevelt Hotel that serves as a Tren de Aragua base of operations and was used to house Laken Riley’s killer. Mark my words: there will not be a single penny spent that goes against the interest and safety of the American people,” Noem said in a X post. 

NYC SUES AFTER TRUMP ADMIN CLAWS BACK $80M MIGRANT HOUSING GRANT

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, a mayoral candidate vying for Adams’ seat, said the Trump administration “stole” the funds. 

​​”Let’s be clear: Donald Trump and his loser lackies—Elon Musk and Kristi Noem—acted illegally when they stole $80 million from New York City’s bank account. Seizing our Congressionally-authorized, FEMA-approved money was nothing more than attempted retribution against immigrants seeking asylum, many of them sent here on buses by Governor Abbott from Texas. Like all of Trump’s illegal efforts to freeze and seize Congressionally-authorized funds, this action harmed taxpayers and working families and would force the City to cut services if not reversed,” Lander said in a statement following the ruling on Wednesday. 

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu testifies during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 2025. (Anadolu via Getty Images)

The ruling came as Adams and his fellow “sanctuary city” Democratic mayors testified about their response to the migrant crisis on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. 

“I’m here today to testify on how New York City can continue to reduce crime, even as a sanctuary city,” Adams told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. 

“To be clear: A sanctuary city classification does not mean our city will ever be a safe haven for violent criminals. It also does not give New York City the authority to violate federal immigration laws. To the contrary, New York City will always comply with city, state, and federal laws, as it does now,” Adams added. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, center, speaks during a news conference outside Gracie Mansion on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 in New York. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

Adams vowed to protect law-abiding New York City residents, regardless of immigration status, while also directing NYPD officers to comply with DHS and ICE. The mayor’s comments reflect his ongoing effort to strike a balance between protecting New Yorkers and coordinating with the Trump administration’s illegal immigration crackdown. 

As New York City struggled to keep up with the busloads of migrants entering the city’s overwhelmed shelter system, Adams was critical of former President Joe Biden’s handling of the migrant crisis. 

In his plight against the migrant crisis, Adams has developed a relationship with Trump – holding a private meeting with the president in West Palm Beach, Florida, and then meeting with border czar Tom Homan to discuss the migrant crisis in New York City. 

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Homan said he would hold Adams to his commitments, telling “Fox & Friends,” “If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City, and we won’t be sitting on the couch. I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?'”

Adams’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan and Grace Taggart contributed to this report.