Donald Trump Poll News

Most of the media are blaming Donald Trump for the shocking shouting match that led to him kicking Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the White House.

The result, these journalists and commentators say, is to put America’s relationship with Ukraine on life support as its people continue to fight and die in an invasion launched by Russia, even as Trump continues to tout his good relationship with Vladimir Putin. It’s the Kremlin leader who is the dictator, not Zelenskyy, and it is Russia, not Ukraine, that started the war to restore its smaller neighbor to Soviet satellite status – as Trump well knows. 

There is no question that Trump, prodded by JD Vance, lost his temper in the Oval Office and that derailed the meeting, leaving the lunch that had been prepared for their teams to be eaten by staffers. 

But Trump also makes a fair point that he can’t do a deal with Russia if he’s constantly attacking its leader (something he’s obviously not inclined to do, given their history, including the Helsinki summit).

TRUMP BANISHES ZELENSKYY AFTER OVAL OFFICE SHOUTING MATCH

At the same time, Zelenskyy was justified in asking for security guarantees, saying that Putin has a history of violating agreements, from the 2014 invasion of Crimea to the brutal war – including the deliberate targeting of civilians – that he launched three years ago.

But Zelenskyy had one job: Manage the meeting with Trump and sign the expected rare minerals agreement. And he utterly failed. He took the bait. And while he might have gotten some sympathy – Britain and France embraced him and promised to send peacekeeping troops after a settlement – the Ukrainian leader may have irreparably damaged his relationship with Trump.

Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s prime minister, greets Volodymyr Zelenskiy, during a summit at Lancaster House in London on Sunday, March 2, 2025. (Neil Hall/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The president was blunt in saying that without U.S. aid, Zelenskyy doesn’t have “the cards” to play – but he is right.

I did a lengthy “Media Buzz” interview with Karoline Leavitt, Donald Trump’s press secretary, leading off with the White House fireworks. She is very skilled at pushing back.

DECIPHERING DONALD TRUMP: HOW HIS RHETORIC SENDS DIFFERENT MESSAGES

She told me Zelenskyy was “antagonistic, and frankly, he was rude. He picked a fight with the Vice President of the United States.” (It was kinda the other way around.) “He repeatedly interrupted President Trump.” (That’s true.)

“President Zelenskyy wouldn’t even agree to a ceasefire. If you want a war to end. How can you not agree to stop the fighting? You have the greatest deterrent in the Oval Office in President Trump, and you need to trust his ability to deter Russia’s aggression.”

President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)

Well, Zelenskyy doesn’t trust Trump because he believes a ceasefire would lock in Russia’s territorial gains from the invasion. But what choice does he have?

The thing that struck me most is that I can’t imagine this meltdown would have happened if the meeting was held behind closed doors – the usual venue for finalizing agreements. So as much as I support journalistic access, it’s 40 minutes of press questions that framed the dialogue.

So I asked Leavitt why, even though Trump ended things by pronouncing it “great television,” he did the meeting in public. 

“Because President Trump is the most transparent president in history,” she responded. “And as he said, it was great for the cameras to be in there because the American people and the world were able to see what the president and his team has seen behind the scenes in negotiating with President Zelenskyy’s team.”

Will Zelenskyy come back to the White House when, as Trump said, he’s ready to make peace? Who the hell knows at this point? But it’s a huge setback.

UK PRIME MINISTER LAYS OUT UKRAINE PEACE DEAL FRAMEWORK AS ZELENSKYY RESPONDS TO RESIGNATION CALLS

David Sanger, the veteran diplomatic correspondent for the New York Times, has the most penetrating big-picture take.

What the president wants “is a normalization of the relationship with Russia. If that means rewriting the history of Moscow’s illegal invasion three years ago, dropping investigations of Russian war crimes or refusing to offer Ukraine long-lasting security guarantees, then Mr. Trump, in this assessment of his intentions, is willing to make that deal.”

Sanger suggests that Trump, a constant critic of NATO, is walking away from the Atlantic alliance that has thrived for 80 years.

The president “makes no secret of his view that the post-World War II system, created by Washington, ate away at American power.”

To Trump, “such a system gave smaller and less powerful countries leverage over the United States, leaving Americans to pick up far too much of the tab for defending allies and promoting their prosperity.

“While his predecessors – both Democrats and Republicans – insisted that alliances in Europe and Asia were America’s greatest force multiplier, keeping the peace and allowing trade to flourish, Mr. Trump viewed them as a bleeding wound.”

Senators react to Trump calling Zelenskyy a “dictator.” (Reuters )

Look, Trump ran as the America First candidate who kept us out of wars. Many Americans, especially Republicans, have lost patience with U.S. aid to Ukraine when the money could be spent at home. The aid, I should add, is nowhere near the $350 billion that Trump keeps claiming, but it’s been substantial.

The rare minerals deal at least would have given the United States an economic incentive to keep backing Ukraine and partially paid our country back for its generosity.

But there is, in my view, a far stronger argument for supporting Ukraine. If Putin succeeds in dismembering part of the country, he will have been rewarded for launching the illegal invasion, and its barbaric practice of deliberately bombing apartment buildings and train stations.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

And does anyone seriously believe he would stop there? Isn’t it extremely likely that Putin would attack another neighboring country?

Trump’s approach, aligning ourselves with Russia at the expense of Europe, may well be popular. But if he stands by that plan, the shouting in the White House may be remembered as a turning point for the old world order. 

Footnote: Zelenskyy said something monumentally dumb yesterday that vindicated Trump’s stance that he’s not ready to reach a settlement with Russia. Zelenskyy predicted that the end of the war was “still very, very far away,” the AP reports.

The president quickly took to Truth Social: “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!…What are they thinking?” And Trump later told reporters: “Now maybe somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, and if somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long.” 

What are they thinking? I don’t have a clue. This is clearly self-destructive.

A Republican-led Senate bill to prevent boys from participating in girls’ sports failed to overcome the legislative filibuster on Monday night after it did not reach the necessary 60-vote threshold to advance. 

The bill failed to clear the key procedural hurdle by a vote of 51-45, along party lines. All Democratic senators voted against the motion to proceed, with the exception of absent Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., who were absent.

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act would require Title IX to treat gender as “recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth,” and would disallow any adjustment for it to apply to gender identity. 

The bill was introduced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-AL, and has over 40 cosponsors in the Senate. It would also codify one of Trump’s many recent executive orders, giving the policy better longevity. 

WHO IS ELISSA SLOTKIN, AND WHY DID DEMS CHOOSE HER FOR THE PARTY’S REBUTTAL TO TRUMP SPEECH?

Sen. Tommy Tuberville has led an effort to safeguard women’s and girls’ sports for years.  (Getty Images)

Last month, Trump issued an executive order titled, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” 

“It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth,” it read. 

In a statement shared by Tuberville’s office prior to the Monday vote, the White House said, “The Administration strongly supports passage of S. 9, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025.”

“Through an amendment to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, this bill would expressly recognize what is already federal law—that it is an illegal act of discrimination for a man to participate in a federally funded athletic program or activity designated for women or girls,” the statement said. 

“This bill also recognizes that ‘sex,’ as used in the statutory scheme, is based solely on reproductive biology and genetics,” it continued. “Men participating in women’s sports not only is demeaning and dangerous to women and girls, but it erodes the integrity of our Nation’s civil rights laws. Congress’s affirmative vote on this bill would complement both federal court rulings and President Trump’s February 5, 2025, Executive Order, ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.'”

Tuberville’s effort to advance the bill has been years in the making, with the senator first introducing it during President Joe Biden’s administration, during which there were no such executive orders. 

Like the executive order, the measure would ban federal funding from going toward sports programs that allow biological men to participate in women’s and girls’ sports.  

FLASHBACK: DEM SENATOR EMBROILED IN CONFLICT OF INTEREST ROW TARGETED SCOTUS IN ETHICS CRUSADE

President Donald Trump signs an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women’s or girls’ sporting events, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“Female athletes who work extremely hard should not have their future in athletics hindered because they are forced to compete against biological males. Instead of standing up for women and girls, Democrats voted to cosign Joe Biden’s attempted assault on Title IX,” said Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., in a statement. “I will continue working with President Trump and my Republican colleagues to preserve Title IX, ensuring every woman and girl has the chance to succeed.”  

The bill and executive order come amid growing concerns about biological men and boys who identify as transgender participating in and winning in events and leagues for women and girls. 

“President Trump ran on the issue of saving women’s sports and won in a landslide,” Tuberville said in a statement to Fox News Digital in January when he reintroduced the bill for the 119th Congress. “70% of Americans agree—men don’t belong in women’s sports or locker rooms. I have said many times that I think Title IX is one of the best things to come out of Washington. But in the last few years, it has been destroyed.”

“While I’m glad that the Biden administration ultimately rescinded the proposed rule, Congress has to ensure this never happens again. I am welcoming my first granddaughter this spring and won’t stop fighting until her rights to fairly compete are protected. I hope every one of my colleagues will join me in standing up for our daughters, nieces, and granddaughters by voting for this critical bill.”

‘UTTER DISASTER’: LINDSEY GRAHAM CALLS FOR ZELENSKYY RESIGNATION AFTER WHITE HOUSE THROWDOWN

Tuberville first introduced the measure in 2023.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

At the time, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had signaled his plan to move forward with Tuberville’s bill, foreshadowing the early March vote. 

The Senate’s consideration of the bill comes as the Democratic Party faces an identity crisis, with many pointing to candidates’ unpopular position in favor of transgender participation in women’s sports as an example. 

SEE THE STAR-STUDDED LIST OF TRUMP ALLIES DESCENDING ON DC TO CHART FURTHER 100-DAY WINS

Last year, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-MA, received backlash from the party after saying in an interview, “Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face.” 

Moulton received immediate backlash. (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that,” he told the New York Times. 

Soon after the comments, his campaign manager resigned and Moulton faced protests. 

Linda McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO, was offically sworn in to serve as the next Secretary of Education under President Donald Trump, who seeks to “immediately” close the department during his term.

The Senate confirmed McMahon to head the Department of Education on Monday evening 51-45, along party lines, the final hurdle of her confirmation process.

McMahon was sworn in shortly after the vote and will begin her official duties on Tuesday morning.

“I am deeply grateful to President Trump for his trust in me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Education. I am prepared to lead the Department in this transformational time and embrace the challenge to improve the education system for the more than 100 million children and college students who deserve better,” McMahon said in a statement after being confirmed.

DEPT OF ED SPENDING SOARED 749% DESPITE DOWNSIZING, NEW DOGE-INSPIRED INITIATIVE REVEALS

Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, arrives for a hearing of the Health, Education, and Labor Committee on her nomination on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin)

“Education is the issue that determines our national success and prepares American workers to win the future. Every decision made at the Department will be driven by a commitment to support meaningful learning and empower our most important stakeholders: students, families, and teachers,” McMahon added. “We will empower states and districts to have more say in what is working on the ground for students instead of bureaucratic edicts from Washington, D.C.”

Trump has said he wants to close the Education Department, and McMahon, in a letter to Democratic lawmakers, said she supports his position on the issue.

The Department of Education Building (iStock)

“President Trump believes that the bureaucracy in Washington should be abolished so that we can return education to the states, where it belongs. I wholeheartedly support and agree with this mission,” McMahon wrote to members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) in February. 

McMahon served as the former head of WWE, which she founded with her husband, Vince McMahon.

Linda McMahon, former Administrator of Small Business Administration, speaks on Day 4 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024. (Mike Segar)

The former WWE mogul launched two separate Senate bids in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012 but lost both general elections to Democratic nominees. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The secretary also served as the administrator of the Small Business Association (SBA) during Trump’s first term.

The Trump administration is pausing all aid to Ukraine, including weapons in transit or in Poland, until Ukrainian leaders show more appreciation for U.S. support and a commitment to peace, Fox News has learned. 

The pause comes days after a contentious meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump in the White House over how to end the three-year conflict initiated by Russia. 

“President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace,” a White House official told Fox News. “We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”

A senior Trump administration official also told Fox News that military aid will remain on hold until Ukrainian leaders show a commitment to good faith peace negotiations.

“This is not permanent termination of aid, it’s a pause,” the official emphasized. “The orders are going out right now.”

TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE’S READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE

The official said Monday’s move was in response to Zelenskyy’s conduct over the last week.

Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance last week erupted into a shouting match that was seen worldwide. The Ukrainian president traveled to the United States to meet with Trump after the commander-in-chief said a peace negotiation to end the war between Ukraine and Russia is in its final stages. 

Zelenskyy was apparently presented with a minerals for security agreement by the Trump administration prior to the press event, but the deal included no security guarantees to protect Ukraine from another Russian invasion. 

Minutes after reporters in the Oval Office asked their first questions, an aggressive spat unfolded between the heads of state.

Vice President JD Vance, right, speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, as President Donald Trump listens in the Oval Office at the White House on Friday.  (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov)

“We cannot just sign an … agreement without any substantial guarantees,” one Ukrainian defense advisor told Fox News Digital. “It’s not going to work. It’s just going to reward the aggressor.”

JD VANCE STEPS INTO THE SPOTLIGHT DEFENDING TRUMP’S FOREIGN POLICY IN OVAL OFFICE DUSTUP WITH ZELENSKYY

Zelenskyy’s refusal to sign a deal apparently contributed to the ire of Trump and Vice President JD Vance.  The Ukrainian leader pointed out that Russia never stopped attacking Ukraine between 2014 and 2022, four years of which included Trump’s first term. 

“Nobody stopped him you know,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Russian President Putin repeatedly violated bilateral agreements. 

Trump then accused Zelenskyy of “gambling with World War Three” as the Ukrainian president pushed back at suggestions that he should work harder to reach a ceasefire with Vladimir Putin.

Following the heated exchange, Zelenskyy refused to apologize when asked by Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier. 

“Mr. President, do you think your relationship with Donald Trump — President Trump — after today can be salvaged?” Baier asked Zelenskyy.

“Yes, of course, because it’s relations more than two presidents. It’s the historical relations, strong relations between our people, and that’s why I always began… to thank your people from our people,” Zelenskyy said during an exclusive interview Friday on “Special Report.”

“Of course, thankful to the president, and, of course, to Congress, but first of all, to your people. Your people helped save our people… we wanted very much to have all these strong relations, and where it counted, we will have it.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Biden administration gave billions in military aid to Ukraine to fend off Russian forces amid its three-year war following Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor. 

When asked Monday about the status of the rare-earth minerals deal, Trump told reporters that he would disclose where the deal stands when he addresses a joint session of Congress Tuesday in a speech akin to the annual State of the Union. He added that he would like to see the Ukrainian leader express more gratitude for U.S. support during the war in order to rekindle peace negotiations. 

“I just think he should be more appreciative because this country has stuck with him through thick and thin,” Trump said. “We’ve given them much more than Europe, and Europe should have given more than us because, as you know, that’s right there, that’s the border.” 

This story is breaking. Please check back for updates.

The Department of Defense could save up to $80 million in wasteful spending by cutting loose a handful of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, the agency said Monday.

The Defense Department has been working with the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in slashing wasteful spending, DOD spokesman Sean Parnell said in a video posted to social media.

Parnell listed some of the initial findings flagged by DOGE, much of it consisting of millions of dollars given to support various DEI programs, including $1.9 million for holistic DEI transformation and training in the Air Force and $6 million to the University of Montana to “strengthen American democracy by bridging divides.”

DOD TELLS CIVILIAN WORKFORCE TO IGNORE ELON MUSK’S REQUEST TO REPORT PRODUCTIVITY

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

Among the initial findings were $1.6 million to the University of Florida to study the social and institutional detriment of vulnerability in resilience to climate hazards in Africa. 

“This stuff is just not a core function of our military,” Parnell said. “This is not what we do. This stuff is a distraction from our core mission.”

“We believe these initial findings will probably save $80 million in wasteful spending,” he added. 

OPM’S SECOND EMAIL TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ASKS WHAT THEY DID LAST WEEK—AND ADDS A NEW REQUIREMENT: REPORT

The Department of Defense could save up to $80 million in wasteful spending by cutting loose a handful of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, the agency said Monday.  (Pentagon: DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images / Elon Musk: AP/Jose Luis Magana)

In an effort to gut spending, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the DOD’s civilian workforce to comply with Musk’s DOGE productivity email, listing five things they accomplished after initially telling them not to reply.

Last week, Hegseth said his agency would work with DOGE, which has conducted reviews of the Treasury, Labor, Education and Health departments, as well as at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Personnel Management and Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

He added that many DOGE workers are veterans, and it is a “good thing” that they will find deficiencies.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth talks to the media during his visit to the headquarters of U.S. European Command and Africa Command at the Africa Command at Kelly Barracks in Stuttgart Germany, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.  (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“They care just like we do, to find the redundancies and identify the last vestiges of Biden priorities — the DEI, the woke, the climate change B.S., that’s not core to our mission, and we’re going to get rid of it all,” Hegseth said.

DOGE has come under scrutiny, with some accusing President Donald Trump of giving Musk too much leeway and access to sensitive data. 

New York City officials are making it easier for illegal aliens to acquire a city residency ID card, in turn making it easier for them to obtain housing and free healthcare, according to reports.

City Council members passed a change backed by Mayor Eric Adams that opens up 23 additional types of IDs that immigrants can provide to obtain a New York City residency card.

The New York Post reported that some of the examples of identification that immigrants can provide include an expired driver’s license; documents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Federal Bureau of Prisons; and about 100 other forms of identification to obtain an IDNYC card.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration first introduced the city IDs in 2015 to help migrants access free healthcare, enroll in school, open accounts at banks and more.

NYC MAYOR DELIVERS BLUNT MESSAGE TO LEFT-WING CRITICS OVER DESIRE TO MEET WITH TRUMP’S INCOMING BORDER CZAR

Asylum seekers line up in front of the historic Roosevelt Hotel, converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived migrant families in New York City. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The program is open to all New Yorkers who are 10 and older, no matter what their immigration status is.

To date, nearly 1.7 million people have acquired the ID card. Last year there were 132,054 IDs handed out, while the previous year there were 127,859, according to the city.

Not everyone thinks it is a good idea to ease the process for obtaining a city ID. In fact, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told The Post it was a “terrible idea.”

“To provide a legitimate government ID to individuals in the country illegally then gives them access to government buildings and services is just another incentive [to come here],” she told the publication. “Most disturbing is that there is no vetting, no process to ensure documents provided to prove identity are not fake and, to boot, they destroy these documents that could be helpful in an investigation.”

NEW YORK CITY ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF MIGRANT SHELTERS AS NUMBERS DROP 

Migrants line up outside a migrant re-ticketing center at St. Brigid School on E. 7th St. Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, in Manhattan, New York City. 

Still, a representative from the city told The Post they vigorously vet applicant backgrounds for criminal issues.

In an Op-Ed published in Harlem World Magazine, Adams highlighted his administration’s accomplishments with immigration.

“New York City is a city built by immigrants, and we are not just stronger because of our diversity – we are the greatest city on the globe because of it,” he said.

Beginning in 2022, the city faced what he referred to as an “unprecedented influx of asylum seekers,” which his administration tackled head-on.

“Thanks to our efforts, over 189,100 of the 232,600 of the migrants – or 81 percent – who requested services from the city in the last three years have taken the next step in their journeys toward self-sufficiency,” Adams said, adding that his administration’s support to asylum seekers while they pursued the American Dream resulted in 84 % of the adults receiving or applying for work authorization.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS SAYS NYC’S ROOSEVELT HOTEL MIGRANT SHELTER WILL SOON CLOSE

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

Adams also highlighted that the city purchased over 53,000 tickets to help those seeking asylum reach their “preferred destinations,” reducing the long-term costs of keeping them in the city for taxpayers.

Adams announced last week that the Roosevelt Hotel migrant shelter in Manhattan will be shutting down in the next few months.

The hotel, which was converted into a migrant shelter with about 1,000 rooms, has processed over 173,000 migrants since May 2023. It was set up as a migrant shelter in response to the wave of migrants that began coming to the city in 2022 in search of asylum.

The Roosevelt Hotel’s shelter, along with the Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center located on the site, will now be closed by June, a source told the New York Post.

NYC SUES AFTER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CLAWS BACK $80 MILLION MIGRANT HOUSING GRANT 

Hundreds of migrants are seen sleeping outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan early Monday, July 31, 2023. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)

“While we’re not done caring for those who come into our care, today marks another milestone in demonstrating the immense progress we have achieved in turning the corner on an unprecedented international humanitarian effort,” Adams said in a statement last week.

This week, he continued to address the city’s efforts.

The New York City Department of Small Business Services connected the migrant population to hundreds of job opportunities, he noted, and other parts of his administration continued to search for ways to assist new arrivals, providing things from direct outreach and resource fairs to onsite English as a Second Language courses at shelters.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“Our actions have shown an entire nation what can be accomplished when we lead with compassion and resourcefulness,” Adams said. “Because of the work we have done, we will emerge from this crisis stronger than ever before. We are all New Yorkers together: anything that affects one of us, affects us all. I have faith in our great city to continue to be a beacon of hope, and a place where people from every corner of the world can build a new life.”

Fox News’ Mike Lee contributed to this report.

The top official at the FBI New York Field Office was forced to retire on Monday, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital.

James Dennehy was appointed to the position by former FBI Director Christopher Wray in September 2024.

He shared the news of his departure with colleagues in an email Monday, obtained by Fox News Digital.

He said that he had been informed late Friday that he would need to put in his retirement papers. “I was not given a reason for this decision,” Dennehy said.

FBI RAIDS HOMES OF TOP AIDES FOR NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ERIC ADAMS

James E. Dennehy, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, exits the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse after attending a court hearing for New York City Mayor Eric Adams on February 19, 2025, in New York City.  (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

“Regardless, I apologize to all of you for not being able to fulfill my commitment to you to serve as ADIC NY for at least two years.

“But as I leave today, I have an immense feeling of pride – to have represented an office of professionals who will always do the right thing for the right reasons; who will always seek the truth while upholding the rule of law; who will always follow the facts no matter where they lead and be unapologetic about it; who will never bend, break, falter, or quit on your integrity; who will always handle cases and evidence with an overabundance of caution and care for the innocent, the victims, and the process first; and who will always remain independent,” he added.

Dennehy provided a top 10 list of things he would miss about working for the FBI, though his commute was not one of them.

Among the items on his list were the investigations, the intensity, the FBI brand, the camaraderie, the badge, the independence and everyone he worked with.

“I’ve been told many times in my life, ‘When you find yourself in a hole, sometimes it’s best to quit digging,’” he wrote. 

“Screw that. I will never stop defending this joint. I’ll just do it willingly and proudly from outside the wire,” he said.

Dennehy’s departure is the latest in a series of oustings under President Donald Trump’s new administration. 

News of his departure, which comes shortly after the confirmation of FBI Director Kash Patel, and deputy director Dan Bongino, is likely to touch off new fears of politicalization within the bureau.

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

A side-by-side of the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., and FBI Director Kash Patel. (Anna Moneymaker/Kent Nishimura)

Dennehy, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, joined the FBI shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2002, and received numerous awards during his more than two decades as a special agent. 

His prolific career included numerous promotions and management positions, including recent promotions to serve in the FBI’s Washington, D.C., headquarters under the first Trump administration, and as head of the FBI’s Newark Field Office and its New York City Field Office, respectively. 

Most recently, Dennehy was in the spotlight for publicly sparring with the Trump administration over a questionnaire sent to thousands of FBI personnel asking them to detail their role in the sprawling Jan. 6 Capitol riot investigations.

Bureau personnel had cited fears of retaliation and political retribution for their roles, and Dennehy was among the bureau employees who had urged his colleagues to “dig in” to protect the FBI’s independence from outside interference. 

He also played a key role in the investigation into New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was indicted on criminal corruption charges last fall before the Justice Department abruptly moved to dismiss the case last month.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on criminal corruption charges last fall. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The presiding judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, has not yet granted the DOJ’s request, and instead tasked an outside lawyer, Paul Clement, to advise him on the matter. 

The departure comes just days after Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested the FBI’s New York Field Office was responsible for withholding thousands of pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi accused the FBI’s New York Field Office of withholding Jeffrey Epstein files. (AP)

Bondi sent a scathing letter to Patel last week demanding answers as to why the documents were not made available sooner, and had since vowed to fire the person responsible.

It is not clear whether Dennehy had any role in the investigation, or whether his retirement was related in any way to those documents.

In his farewell note to colleagues Monday, Dennehy said he is leaving with an “immense feeling of pride” to have represented an office of professionals who will always do the right thing for the right reasons” and “who will always seek the truth while upholding the rule of law…”  

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He added: “We will not bend. We will not falter. We will not sacrifice what is right for anything or anyone.”

FIRST ON FOX: Linda McMahon, in her first act as Secretary of Education, is informing all employees that she will lead a “momentous final mission” to send education back to the states, according to a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. 

McMahon is sending a letter to all Department of Education (DoEd) employees on Monday evening, informing them of a “new era of accountability” as she oversees President Donald Trump’s promise to dissolve the department.

“Our job is to respect the will of the American people and the President they elected, who has tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education—a momentous final mission—quickly and responsibly,” McMahon wrote to employees in the letter that was shared first with Fox News Digital.

The secretary said that the reconstruction of the department will “profoundly” impact staff, budgets and agency operations. 

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

McMahon was confirmed by the Senate on Monday to serve as the next Secretary of Education. (Getty Images)

Under McMahon, the department will work from three base convictions, according to her letter: that parents are the primary decision makers in their children’s education, that taxpayer-funded education should refocus on “meaningful learning in math, reading, science, and history—not divisive DEI programs and gender ideology,” and that post-secondary education should be a path to a well-paying career aligned with workforce needs.

“Removing red tape and bureaucratic barriers will empower parents to make the best educational choices for their children,” the letter reads. “An effective transfer of educational oversight to the states will mean more autonomy for local communities. Teachers, too, will benefit from less micromanagement in the classroom—enabling them to get back to basics. “

Trump has said that his goal is to “immediately” close the DoEd and that, in the process, he wants McMahon to “put herself out of a job.”

“My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children,” McMahon told employees on Monday evening. “The Department of Education’s role in this new era of accountability is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington.”

President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, DC, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

The Trump administration would need congressional approval in order to eliminate the federal department, and McMahon said that she will be partnering with the legislative branch “to determine the best path forward to fulfill the expectations of the President and the American people” in an effort to “eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy so that our colleges, K-12 schools, students, and teachers can innovate and thrive.”

JUDGE BLOCKS DOGE FROM ACCESSING EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RECORDS

“As I’ve learned many times throughout my career, disruption leads to innovation and gets results,” the secretary wrote. “We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaul—a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great.”

The letter also applauded recent orders by the Trump administration to eliminate critical race theory (CRT), gender ideology, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), while “restoring patriotic education and civics” in schools.

“This review of our programs is long overdue,” McMahon said. “The Department of Education is not working as intended. Since its establishment in 1980, taxpayers have entrusted the department with over $1 trillion, yet student outcomes have consistently languished.”

Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, arrives for a hearing of the Health, Education, and Labor Committee on her nomination, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin)

“American education can be the greatest in the world. It ought not to be corrupted by political ideologies, special interests, and unjust discrimination. Parents, teachers, and students alike deserve better,” McMahon wrote in the letter.

The secretary, who was confirmed by the Senate on Monday evening, encouraged employees to join the mission. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“This is our opportunity to perform one final, unforgettable public service to future generations of students,” she said. “I hope you will join me in ensuring that when our final mission is complete, we will all be able to say that we left American education freer, stronger, and with more hope for the future.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for further comment but did not immediately hear back.

A Democratic Rep. drew criticism on social media Monday when she told DOGE Chief Elon Musk to “Go back to South Africa” and asked “What the hell” he is doing in the United States. 

“It was interesting yesterday I was watching a video of an interview of Elon Musk with someone where he said that the Italians should stay in Italy and the Chinese should stay in China, my question to Elon Musk is what the hell are you doing here in America?” Democratic Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.) said outside the HUD Department on Monday evening. 

“Go back to South Africa,” Rep. Velazquez said.

Velazquez was repeating a claim promoted on social media about an Elon Musk interview in 2023 that liberal fact-checker Snopes deemed to be “false.”

ELON MUSK TAKES AIM AT NATIONAL DEBT, WARNS OF ‘DE FACTO BANKRUPTCY’ WITHOUT DOGE: ‘$2 TRILLION IN DEFICITS’

Dem. Rep. Lydia Velazquez told Elon Musk to “go back to South Africa” on Monday (NLIHC Organization | AP Photo/Getty)

Velazquez, who was born in Puerto Rico, added that the fight against DOGE is the fight “for the soul of our nation.”

Conservatives on social media blasted Velazquez for her comments on Musk’s immigration status. 

“Unhinged,” Bobby LaValley, Rapid Response Director for House Speaker Mike Johnson, posted on X.

“Completely unhinged…,” the White House Rapid Response team added in a post on X.

“Elon has broken their brains so much that Democrats are now embracing nativism,” White House Rapid Response’s Greg Price posted on X.

“Nydia Velasquez has finally found an immigrant she doesn’t like,” Claremont Institute Senior Fellow Jeremy Carl posted on X. “Not the tens of thousands of illegals in her district who live off of our tax dollars – but America’s greatest entrepreneur, a White immigrant. When the left tells you who they are believe them.”

WHO IS DOGE’S NEWLY IDENTIFIED ADMINISTRATOR AMY GLEASON? ‘WORLD-CLASS TALENT’

 Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., speaks at a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center ( Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images)

“Imagine if any Republican said this about any liberal,” Right Turn Strategies President Chris Barron posted on X.

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

Velazquez had gathered outside the HUD building with fellow Democrats in the latest protest of Musk’s DOGE efforts which they argue is making cuts to programs that are vital to the everyday needs of Americans, a criticism the Trump administration has pushed back on. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Maryland.  ((Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images))

The controversial comment follows a similar sentiment expressed by Dem. Rep. Marcy Kaptur last week where she questioned Musk’s loyalty to the United States due to his immigrant status. 

“Mr. Musk has just been here 22 years,” Kaptur said outside the Capitol on Wednesday in a comment that received blowback from conservatives. “And he’s a citizen of three countries. I always ask myself the question, with the damage he’s doing here, when push comes to shove, which country is his loyalty to? South Africa? Canada? Or the United States? And he’s only been a citizen, I’ll say again, 22 years.”

Fox News Digital’s Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report

The Senate has confirmed former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Linda McMahon to serve as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education, heading the department that he intends to close “immediately.”

The Senate held a full floor vote on Monday evening, confirming McMahon along party lines.

McMahon, who co-founded WWE with her husband, Vince McMahon, served as the administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) during Trump’s first term but exited her post early to return to the private sector in 2019.

JUDGE BLOCKS DOGE FROM ACCESSING EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RECORDS

The Senate held a full floor vote on whether to confirm McMahon to serve as Secretary of Education. (Getty Images)

In November, the president tapped McMahon to serve in another top post during his second term. But this time, he said he wanted her to “put herself out of a job.”

REPUBLICANS BARREL TOWARD SHOWDOWN OVER TRUMP TAX CUTS AFTER DRAMATIC HOUSE BUDGET VOTE

“It’s a big con job,” the president said of the Education Department. “They ranked the top countries in the world. We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department: cost per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked No. 40.”

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Linda McMahon, the outgoing Administrator of the Small Business Administration, as she sits beside him after announcing her resignation, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 29, 2019. (Joshua Roberts)

In a letter to Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), McMahon said that she “wholeheartedly” agreed with Trump’s plan to abolish the department. 

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

“President Trump believes that the bureaucracy in Washington should be abolished so that we can return education to the states, where it belongs. I wholeheartedly support and agree with this mission,” McMahon wrote.

Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, arrives for a hearing of the Health, Education, and Labor Committee on her nomination, on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin)

In the opening remarks of her confirmation hearing, McMahon said that “many Americans today are experiencing a system in decline,” but that “the opportunity before us these next four years is momentous.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“If I am confirmed, the department will not stand idly by while Jewish students are attacked and discriminated against,” McMahon said in her opening remarks, shared first with Fox News Digital. “It will stop forcing schools to let boys and men into female sports and spaces. And it will protect the rights of parents to direct the moral education of their children.”

Failed 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate and current Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz recently floated a potential 2028 presidential run, garnering mockery online as critics sarcastically implored him to throw his hat in the ring.

Laughing emojis and comments such as “Need a morning chuckle” or “Yes please” were splashed across conservative social media accounts after Walz floated a potential 2028 presidential run during a recent conversation with the New Yorker.

Walz ran alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democrats’ 2024 ticket in the waning months of the election cycle after former President Joe Biden dropped out of the race amid mounting concern over his mental acuity and age.

Walz demurred at first when asked if he would run for president during the New Yorker interview published Sunday, before saying he would run if the opportunity presented itself. 

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

Gov. Tim Walz was mocked on social media following his suggestion he might run for president in 2028.  (Getty Images)

“Well, I had a friend tell me, ‘Never turn down a job you haven’t been offered,’” Walz said when asked if he would run for president. 

“If I think I could offer something … I would certainly consider that,” he said. “I’m also, though, not arrogant enough to believe there’s a lot of people that can do this.”

He said that under the correct circumstances and if he has the right “skill set” for the 2028 race, “I’ll do it.”

“You might do it?” the New Yorker asked. 

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Walz said. “I certainly wouldn’t be arrogant enough to think that it needs to be me.”

Walz ran alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democrats’ 2024 ticket in the waning months of the election cycle after former President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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

“I’ve always said this: I didn’t prepare my life to be in these jobs, but my life prepared me well,” he said. “And, if this experience I’ve had and what we’re going through right now prepares me for that, then I would. But I worry about people who have ambition for elected office. I don’t think you should have ambition. I think you should have a desire to do it if you’re asked to serve. And that’s kind of where I’m at.” 

Social media critics had a field day on X over the remarks, resurrecting the “Tampon Tim” moniker, mocking the prospect of a Walz presidency, while encouraging him to make a run official. 

“Tampon Tim” was a nickname used by conservatives during the election cycle that mocked Walz’ Minnesota policies that provide menstrual products “to all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students,” as opposed to stating the products were intended for female students. 

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

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

After Biden’s exit from the 2024 race in July, Harris simultaneously launched her campaign as well as her search for a running mate, combing through a list of high-profile Democrats and lesser-known allies before choosing Walz.

Following the Democratic ticket’s loss, political strategists and insiders launched post-mortems on the campaign, with a handful pointing to Harris’ selection of Walz as her running mate as opposed to another candidate, such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is popular in the key battleground state that ultimately voted for President Donald Trump.

Following the Democratic ticket’s loss, political strategists and insiders launched post-mortems on the campaign, with a handful pointing to Harris’ selection of Walz as her running mate. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

Walz added in his conversation with the New Yorker that he and Harris ended the campaign cycle on good terms, but that he has only spoken to the former vice president a handful of times since November 2024. 

“I’m doing my job, and she’s doing her job, and she’s out in California, I believe, living, and I’m here in beautiful Minnesota, where the weather’s always great,” he said.

DEM PARTY BLAME GAME: ACCUSATIONS FLY AS TO WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HARRIS’ LOSS TO TRUMP

Walz and Harris ended the campaign cycle on good terms, but he has only spoken to the former vice president a handful of times since November 2024.  (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

“Well, maybe she doesn’t want to talk to me after we got this thing done,” Walz said while laughing when asked why they don’t speak more frequently. “No, I think it’s just there’ll be a time and a place. But we left good, and my family misses her. My daughter, especially.”

 CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for any additional comment on a potential presidential run or response to social media critics, but did not immediately receive a reply.

President Donald Trump said he would reveal the future of a rare-earth minerals deal with Ukraine Tuesday during his address to Congress, after peace negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to a halt Friday after a disorderly White House visit. 

Zelenskyy visited Washington Friday amid negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, and was poised to sign a minerals agreement that would allow the U.S. access to Ukraine’s minerals in exchange for U.S. support in the country. 

But after a tense exchange between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy over whether diplomacy was the correct avenue to secure a peace deal and whether Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted, Trump kicked Zelenskyy out of the White House and said the Ukrainian leader could return when he was ready for peace. 

When asked Monday about the status of the rare-earth minerals deal, Trump told reporters that he would disclose where the deal stands when he addresses a joint session of Congress Tuesday in a speech akin to the annual State of the Union. 

“I’ll let you know,” Trump told reporters Monday. “We’re making a speech, you’ve probably heard about it, tomorrow night. I’ll let you know tomorrow night… it’s a great deal for us.”

Zelenskyy told reporters in London Sunday that he was still on board with the deal, and that he predicts the relationship between Ukraine and the U.S. will persevere. 

TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE’S READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE

President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 28, 2025. (Mystyslav Chernov/The Associated Press)

Trump also said Monday he wanted to see the Ukrainian leader express more gratitude for U.S. support during the war in order to rekindle peace negotiations with Zelenskyy. 

“I just think he should be more appreciative because this country has stuck with him through thick and thin,” Trump said. “We’ve given them much more than Europe, and Europe should have given more than us because, as you know, that’s right there, that’s the border.” 

Trump previously hailed the minerals agreement as a breakthrough deal that would benefit both the U.S. and Ukraine, touting that it would serve as the foundation for a more “sustainable” future relationship between the two countries and allow the U.S. access to resources like oil and gas that “we need for our country.” 

“We’re going to be signing really a very important agreement for both sides, because it’s really going to get us into that country,” Trump told reporters Thursday while meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “We’ll have a lot of people working there and so, in that sense, it’s very good.”

Trump also said Thursday it would reimburse taxpayers for financial contributions backing Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in 2022. 

JD VANCE STEPS INTO THE SPOTLIGHT DEFENDING TRUMP’S FOREIGN POLICY IN OVAL OFFICE DUSTUP WITH ZELENSKYY

President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Vice President JD Vance reacts at the White House on Feb. 28, 2025. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Precise numbers on financial assistance to Ukraine vary slightly, depending on what is considered aid. However, the Council on Foreign Relations reports that Congress has appropriated $175 billion since 2022 for aid to Ukraine. 

All European assistance to Ukraine between January 2022 and December 2024 amounts to roughly $138.7 billion, German-based think tank Kiel Institute estimates. The organization also estimates that the U.S. contributed $119.7 billion in that same time frame. 

The meeting between Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy soured after Zelenskyy said that Putin couldn’t be trusted and had breached other agreements. Trump and Vance then accused Zelenskyy of not being grateful for the support the U.S. has provided over the years and said the Ukrainian leader was in a “bad position” at the negotiating table. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“You’re playing cards,” Trump said Friday. “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country.”

Following his departure from the White House on Friday, Zelenskyy issued a social media post on X expressing gratitude to the U.S. for its support. 

“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit,” Zelenskyy said. “Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”

Several Democratic members are planning to boycott the first joint congressional address of President Donald Trump’s second term on Tuesday.

Trump will be addressing members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday evening, but some Democrats are planning to skip the event, including Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who will instead hold a live prebuttal of the speech. 

“I think that State of the Union speech is going to be a farce. I think it’s going to be a MAGA pep rally, not a serious talk to the nation,” Murphy told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

“I think Donald Trump is going to spew a series of lies about his alignment with Russia, about what he’s trying to do to allow Elon Musk to essentially monetize the American government to enrich Musk and his billionaire crowd,” Murphy said. “And I’m just not going to be a part of that.”

TOP WILDEST MOMENTS FROM PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES TO ENTIRE CONGRESS, FROM REAGAN TO BIDEN

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said that he is ‘not going to be a part’ of Trump’s address to Congress. (Anna Moneymaker)

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, will join Murphy for the prebuttal of the speech that will be livestreamed while Trump is speaking.

At least one House Democrat, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., also said that he is going to be skipping the address. 

TRUMP SHOULD ‘STEW IN HIS OWN JUICE’ DURING CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESS, PELOSI ADVISES DEMS

“The notion of half my colleagues rising and standing and enormous clapping for… things that I think are terrible for the American people every couple minutes will not be funny,” Beyer said of the address, according to POLITICO. “I don’t see that I’ll contribute anything to the event.”

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said he will not attend Trump’s first joint address to Congress. (J. Scott Applewhite)

House Democrats were asked by the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) ahead of the speech to bring guests who have been “harmed” by the Trump administration, Fox News Digital learned.

“DPCC and Leader Jeffries have encouraged members to bring guests that have been harmed by Donald Trump’s threats to Medicare and SNAP, as well as his Administration’s mass firings of veterans working in our civil service — veterans like Gabe, a disabled Marine veteran and new dad who was working at the IRS as a facilities manager until he was fired last month,” a Democratic aide told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Several Democratic members attending the speech are planning to bring federal workers who have been laid off in recent weeks to protest the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) recent efforts to downsize federal agencies.

Sen. Chris Murphy, President Donald Trump and Rep. Don Beyer appear side by side. (Getty Images | Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., will deliver the Democrats’ rebuttal address after Trump’s speech, focusing her remarks on what actions the administration is currently taking.

“The public expects leaders to level with them on what’s actually happening in our country,” Slotkin said in a statement. “From our economic security to our national security, we’ve got to chart a way forward that actually improves people’s lives in the country we all love, and I’m looking forward to laying that out.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

At least eight Democratic lawmakers planned to boycott Trump’s State of the Union address in 2020, including members of the progressive members such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Murphy, Schatz, and Beyer for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

Ahead of President Donald Trump’s address to Congress Tuesday night, revisiting his 2017 congressional address shows both striking parallels and differences to the current political climate, and a prophetic question about what America will become as it rings in its 250th birthday in 2026. 

During Trump’s address in 2017, with Vice President Mike Pence and Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan behind him, Trump opened by acknowledging “threats targeting Jewish community centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries” before transitioning to a call for “a renewal of the American spirit.”

“In nine years, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our founding – 250 years since the day we declared our independence,” said Trump,who was elected to his first term in November 2016. “It will be one of the great milestones in the history of the world. But what will America look like as we reach our 250th year? What kind of country will we leave for our children?”

HOW TO WATCH AND WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S TUESDAY ADDRESS TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

President Donald Trump’s first speech to Congress on Feb. 28, 2017. (Getty Images)

In one of his first executive actions this year kicking off his second non-consecutive term, Trump signed “Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday,” which will “provide a grand celebration worthy of the momentous occasion of the 250th anniversary of American Independence on July 4, 2026.”

In 2017, Trump continued his first address to the nation after the Obama administration by promising to crack down on illegal immigration, implement an America-first agenda and restore the economy. Noticeably, however, there was no mention of Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) nor “radical” gender ideology. 

“These are kind of common themes when he speaks today, and those are gone,” Tevi Troy, presidential historian and former HHS secretary under the George W. Bush administration, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Those are not there. But that aside, there are a lot of similarities, and at first I was reading and wondering if it could be given in this administration, because there’s a lot of the same stuff.”

“He talks about borders in there, for example, and he talks about unleashing the American economy,” Troy said. “And so the themes are the same, but some of the circumstances have changed.”

VA DEM SLAMS DOGE FANS; COMPARES JOB CUTS TO HOLOCAUST: ‘FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS…’

President Trump delivered his second inaugural speech inside the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025. (Fox News)

While joint addresses to Congress and State of the Union speeches are typically written well in advance, Trump is known for speaking off the cuff. Troy said Trump may bring up the explosive Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

“I could see that coming as an improv moment, but it’s probably not in the speech’s written,” he said.

In addition, inflation is going to be on peoples’ minds come Tuesday night.

“No one’s going to blame Trump for DEI or woke or the problems of Biden,” Troy said. “He is in danger at some point in being blamed for inflation. So he’s got to handle that one a little bit more carefully.”

Trump’s 2017 address did not include inflation, but he does mention restarting “the engine of the American economy – making it easier for companies to do business in the United States, and much, much harder for companies to leave our country.” 

TUNE IN: LIVE COVERAGE OF TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS TUESDAY NIGHT ON FOX NEWS

Melania Trump kisses former President Donald Trump after he finished giving his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 18, 2024. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

So far this year, Trump has signed a slew of executive orders, many aimed at bolstering American manufacturing and the domestic economy as well as removing the U.S. from worldwide climate change commitments. 

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, is in the spotlight over a new ethics complaint about votes that ultimately yielded millions for a green nonprofit that pays his wife’s consulting firm. 

Before that, he led an aggressive campaign alleging ethical violations of conservative Supreme Court justices. 

The Democratic senator took particular aim at conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after several instances of undisclosed travel and trips were reported in 2023. “The Supreme Court justices are so deeply ensconced in a cocoon of special interest money that they can no longer be trusted to police themselves without proper process,” Whitehouse claimed at the time. 

‘UTTER DISASTER’: LINDSEY GRAHAM CALLS FOR ZELENSKYY RESIGNATION AFTER WHITE HOUSE THROWDOWN

Before the latest ethics complaint against him was filed, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, center, led a campaign against Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, right, over what he asserted were ethical violations. (Reuters)

This history of acting as a judicial ethics watchdog for conservative justices has left some calling the latest ethics complaint against Whitehouse from the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) ironic. 

“The irony here absolutely takes my breath away,” Thomas Jipping, senior legal fellow with the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation, previously told Fox News Digital. 

Whitehouse’s office provided a letter to Fox News Digital from the Senate Select Committee on Ethics last year informing another watchdog group, Judicial Watch, that the senator’s actions did not violate “federal laws, Senate rules, or other standards of conduct.” 

The group had filed a similar ethics complaint to FACT. 

“This is a repeat dark money performance, and the previous attempt by a dark money group to plant these same smears was roundly dismissed by Senate Ethics,” Whitehouse spokesperson Stephen DeLeo told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The billionaires and Supreme Court capture operatives behind FACT would like to try to stop Senator Whitehouse from shining a light on what they’ve done to deprive regular people of a fair shake before the Court. But false accusations from far-right special interests and billionaires will not impede the Senator’s pursuit of an accountable, ethical government that responds to Americans’ needs.”

SEE THE STAR-STUDDED LIST OF TRUMP ALLIES DESCENDING ON DC TO CHART FURTHER 100-DAY WINS

The gifts accepted by Thomas from GOP donor Harlan Crow came under severe scrutiny by Democrats, but experts are still at odds over whether they violated the law. 

The post-Watergate-era 1978 Ethics in Government Act dictates that government officials, judges included, should report all gifts over a certain dollar amount that are “received from any source other than a relative.” There are exceptions for “food, lodging, or entertainment received as personal hospitality of an individual.”

Thomas did ultimately revise his disclosure to include trips from 2019 with Crowe.

FURIOUS DEMS ATTACK TRUMP, VANCE AFTER EXPLOSIVE OVAL OFFICE MEETING WITH ZELENSKYY: ‘SIDING WITH DICTATORS’

Following the report on his undisclosed trips, Thomas said he had been advised they did not need to be reported. 

“Early in my tenure at the court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the court, was not reportable,” he said in a statement released by the Supreme Court at the time. “I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines.”

Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas sits with his wife and conservative activist Virginia Thomas while he waits to speak at the Heritage Foundation on Oct. 21, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Whitehouse asked that the Department of Justice (DOJ) open a criminal investigation into Thomas, which the U.S. Judicial Conference formally declined to refer to the DOJ in January. 

Thomas was not the only conservative justice to face Whitehouse’s ire; he also targeted Justice Samuel Alito for alleged ethical misconduct. 

Last year, reports emerged about an upside-down American flag at Alito’s home following the 2020 election and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag flying outside his vacation home in New Jersey. Critics quickly jumped on the opportunity to pressure the justice to recuse himself from crucial upcoming decisions regarding then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s criminal cases. 

Alito attributed the upside-down flag to his wife and neighborhood drama. The “Appeal to Heaven” flag is popular among conservatives and is notably featured outside many congressional offices in the U.S. Capitol.

GABBARD SAYS BIDEN ADMIN IGNORED ‘HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE’ CHATS HAPPENING AT NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCIES

In an interview at the time, Whitehouse said the flag ordeal “demonstrates why the Supreme Court needs an enforceable code of conduct,” for which he has notably introduced a bill. However, many have pushed back on the idea that the legislature can or should regulate the court. Alito himself weighed in during an interview for the Wall Street Journal last year. 

“I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it. No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court—period,” he said. 

Whitehouse again took him to task for the “improper” interview. “From the outside, it looks like the attorney recruited you to prop up his legal case against our investigation, using the interview to advance the argument he and several colleagues were making,” he claimed, referring to attorney David Rivkin, who interviewed Alito alongside Wall Street Journal editorial features editor James Taranto.

An upside-down American flag was displayed outside of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s home on Jan. 17, 2021, days after President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, The New York Times first reported. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Most recently, the senator attacked Alito over a phone call with Trump regarding a former clerk being considered for his administration. The phone call came as cases involving Trump’s administration were pending in court. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“This contact could potentially implicate provisions of the Supreme Court’s new code of conduct and of federal law… We humbly suggest that this incident provides yet another reason for the Judicial Conference and the Court to agree on some sort of neutral fact-finding when a justice’s conduct is questioned,” Whitehouse wrote in a January letter to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the Judicial Conference. 

“William Levi, one of my former law clerks, asked me to take a call from President-elect Trump regarding his qualifications to serve in a government position. I agreed to discuss this matter with President-elect Trump, and he called me yesterday afternoon,” Alito told Fox News’ Shannon Bream. 

Former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., has died at the age of 70, his brother and current House member Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., announced. 

“Defender of the silenced and oppressed, author of the democracy requirement for the lifting of U.S. sanctions against the Cuban dictatorship, and the author of the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). Lincoln’s legacy of achievements will endure for generations, and continues the work of the Congressional Hispalic Leadership Institute (CHLI) which he co-founded in 2003,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart said in a statement about his brother.

Lincoln Diaz-Balart served Floridians as a member of the Republican Party. The Cuban refugee first got into politics by “leading the Florida Young Democrats and running an unsuccessful campaign for the Florida legislature as a Democrat in 1982,” his congressional biography states. 

He formally switched his party allegiance in 1985 and was elected to the Florida legislature in 1986. Then, he “sponsored laws strengthening sentences for crimes against law enforcement officers, increasing penalties for drug-related money laundering, providing low-interest loans for home construction, creating a statewide program to combat substance abuse, and establishing disclosure rules for Florida companies doing business with Cuba,” according to the biography. 

WHITE HOUSE WILL NOT RELEASE VISITOR LOGS DURING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM

Former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., from when he was in office. (Associated Press)

He was sworn into Congress in January 1993 and served until his retirement in 2010. That same year, his brother Mario won the election to succeed him in the 21st Congressional District. 

Diaz-Balart leaves behind his wife of 48 years, Cristina; his son Daniel; two grandsons and three brothers. He was preceded in death by his first son, Lincoln Gabriel. 

RUBIO SIGNS DECLARATION TO EXPEDITE $4B IN ARMS TO ISRAEL ‘WRONGLY WITHHELD’ BY BIDEN

Former member of Congress Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), right, translates from Spanish to English for Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, as House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R- FL) addresses the U.S.-Cuba Democracy political action committee during a campaign event Jan. 25, 2012 in Miami. (Chip Somodevilla)

Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., speaks during a news conference to unveil the new House Rules Committee Republican website, and release the “Out of Order” report documenting the “breakdown of debate, decorum and deliberation in the House at the hands of the Rules Committee” on Sept. 25, 2007. (Douglas Graham/Roll Call)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Lincoln’s profound love for the United States, and his relentless commitment to the cause of a free Cuba, guided him throughout his life and his 24 years in elected public service, including 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Mario’s announcement said. “We will miss him infinitely.”

The Pentagon is urging transgender military personnel in the Air Force and Space Force to “separate voluntarily” by the end of the month, saying that individuals with gender dysphoria are “incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service.”

Troops have until March 26 to resign, according to a memorandum filed Sunday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as part of Talbott v. Trump – one of the first lawsuits filed against President Donald Trump’s executive order barring transgender troops from the military – by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

“Service members eligible for voluntary separation pay will be paid at a rate that is twice the amount for which the service member would have been eligible under involuntary separation pay,” the memo, signed by Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Gwendolyn R. DeFilippi on March 1, states.

PENTAGON SAYS TRANSGENDER TROOPS ARE DISQUALIFIED FROM SERVICE WITHOUT AN EXEMPTION

A memorandum issued by the U.S. Air Force requires trans troops to voluntarily separate by March 26. (Getty Images)

Cross-sex hormone treatments will continue for service members who have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria that began prior to a separate memo issued last week until the “separation is complete” by direction of a Department of Defense medical provider “in order to prevent further complications.”

However, transgender service members are required to adhere to conduct matching their biological sex, “effective immediately,” including in showers, bathrooms and living quarters, until their withdrawal is completed. Physical dress and fitness standards must also match service members’ biological sex, the memorandum states. 

Last week’s internal Pentagon memo states that service members who are transgender or otherwise exhibit gender dysphoria are prohibited from military service unless they obtain an exemption. 

IOWA GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL REMOVING TRANSGENDER PROTECTIONS FROM CIVIL RIGHTS CODE

The Pentagon is urging transgender military personnel in the Air Force and Space Force to “separate voluntarily” by the end of the month. (Getty)

“The Air Force memo is consistent with this purge of highly accomplished, dedicated transgender service members,” attorney Jennifer Levi of Glad Law told Fox News Digital in a statement Monday. “It is shameful. The memo also demonstrates the chaos and havoc being wreaked by this administration in ways that undermine our national security.”

The Trump administration’s transgender military ban is currently facing legal challenges, and the Justice Department filed a complaint against the presiding judge, Ana Reyes, accusing her of potential bias and misconduct. There are currently a handful of lawsuits specifically challenging Trump’s gender-related executive orders.

HIDING KIDS’ ‘GENDER IDENTITY’ FROM PARENTS IS COMMON IN BLUE STATE FIGHTING TRUMP ON TRANS ISSUES: WATCHDOG

The latest memo requires Air Force and Space Force transgender military personnel to “separate voluntarily” by March 26.  (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Defense and White House for comment.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back on critics of President Donald Trump’s approach to ending the war in Ukraine on Sunday, saying the president is a “peacemaker.”

Rubio made the comments during an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week,” telling host George Stephenopoulos that Trump is facing attacks simply because he is Trump.

“Shouldn’t we at least try to see if there is a way to end this war in a way that’s acceptable to both sides and is enduring and sustainable? How is that a bad thing?” Rubio said.

“I really am puzzled why anyone thinks that trying to be a peacemaker is a bad thing. It’s only a bad thing when it’s Donald Trump trying to do it. When it’s President Trump. It’s absurd to me,” he added.

ZELENSKYY SPEAKS OUT AFTER PUBLIC SPAT WITH TRUMP, VANCE, SAYS DUSTUP ‘BAD FOR BOTH SIDES’

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Rubio went on to reject claims that Trump is working to placate Russia and Vladimir Putin, saying all the administration has done is reach out and say, “are you guys willing to talk about peace?”

Rubio’s appearance comes days after an explosive meeting between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House last week.

The meeting ended in a shouting match, with Trump arguing Ukraine doesn’t “have the cards” to continue fighting Russia on its own and that a negotiated peace is the best way forward.

Trump says Zelenskyy is not pushing for peace in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Trump later accused Zelenskyy of “disrespecting” the U.S. during their meeting Friday and said the Ukrainian leader was not ready to secure peace for his country.

TRUMP SAYS UKRAINE RARE EARTH MINERALS DEAL WILL LEAD TO ‘SUSTAINABLE’ FUTURE BETWEEN US, UKRAINE

“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Friday. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as U.S. Vice President JD Vance reacts at the White House in Washington, D.C. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo)

Zelenskyy visited Washington amid negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and was expected to sign a minerals agreement that will allow the U.S. access to Ukraine’s minerals in exchange for support the U.S. has provided the country since Russia’s invasion in 2022.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump instead kicked Zelenskyy out of the White House after their contentious public meeting.

Gov. JB Pritzker and 16 Illinois Democrats sent a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought on Tuesday demanding the Trump administration release $1.88 billion in federal funding to Illinois. Chair of the Illinois Republican Party Kathy Salvi dismissed it as Pritzker playing politics. 

Pritzker, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and congressional Democrats said in the letter that Illinois is “in danger of needing to pause operations, cancel projects, or lay off staff” if their funding is not restored, leaving a “detrimental impact on vulnerable people, local economies, and the state as a whole.”

The Illinois Republican Party is pushing back on the Democrats’ claims, saying the letter “has no basis.”

“Governor Pritzker is grandstanding for his 2028 run for president instead of focusing on the mess that he’s left with us in Illinois. Since he’s been the governor, now in his seventh budget address, he has raised our budget by $16 billion from a $39 billion budget initially to $55 billion,” Salvi told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. 

ILLINOIS GOVERNOR SAYS TRUMP ADMIN WITHHOLDING $1.88B IN APPROVED TAXPAYER MONEY, AMID RIFT WITH PRESIDENT

Illinois Gov. Pritzker sent a letter to OMB Director Russell Vought on Tuesday demanding the Trump administration release $1.88 billion in federal funding.  (Getty)

Fox News Digital reached out to OMB about the letter, but they did not provide a comment by the deadline of this article. 

“On behalf of our constituents, we are seeking full transparency and accountability on any and all funding that has been paused or interrupted. If the Trump Administration is unable to follow the law and uphold their end of the deal, the people of our state deserve to know,” the Democrats said. 

‘DULY OWED TO US’: BLUE STATE GOVERNOR SAYS $2.1B IN FEDERAL FUNDING RESTORED AFTER SUING TRUMP ADMIN

“He has defied law since day one,” Salvi countered. “This is a sanctuary state. He has caused the higher crime rates we have. He has caused the educational mess that we have here in the City of Chicago. He is not helping with solutions here. He’s distracting and using his weight in Washington to posture against this president and his administration’s agenda in order to catapult his own campaign for president in 2028. And this must be exposed.”

Pritzker also met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in Washington, D.C., this week to push for the release of Illinois’ federal funds. 

“His travel to Washington is a distraction of the mess that he’s led here in Illinois,” Salvi said. 

Salvi said Pritzker is asking for a “blank check” without “any examination of where the money goes.”

“Pritzker’s budget plan faces a $3 billion budget deficit. He has been given a blank check for the last four years. Now, he is being held to account. So, instead of dealing with the problems that he and his administration have caused here in Illinois, which are causing people to flee our state to neighboring states, he decides instead to distract and sue the federal government. Well, I think we need to have an accounting here in Illinois. We, Illinois taxpayers and citizens and families, we require results,” Salvi said. 

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday extending the block on the White House Office of Management and Budget’s federal funding freeze. Federal judges had previously issued a temporary restraining order to block the funding freeze. 

Illinois was one of the initial 22 states and Washington, D.C., that sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Jan. 28 to unfreeze federal funds. OMB directed agencies to halt federal funding on Jan. 27 in compliance with Trump’s executive orders. 

Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Penn., in a separate lawsuit, sued the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funds on Feb. 13. Shapiro said that $2.1 billion in federal funds had been released and restored to Pennsylvania on Monday. While Shapiro said legal action was necessary to unfreeze his state’s federal funds, he added that his “direct engagement” with the Trump administration had led to the restoration of those funds. 

Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Pritzker’s letter urged the Trump administration to “follow the law and make good on the government’s promise to deliver hard-earned taxpayer dollars back into Illinois’ economy, workforce and communities.”

The letter claims that many Illinois agencies have been forced to “pause operations, cancel projects, or cut staff” and have reported “their inability to access funds” since the OMB’s funding freeze memo. The letter says there have been “widespread reports of system outages and lockouts that prevented grantees from accessing entitled funding” since Jan 27. 

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker speaks during a 2024 United States Secret Service Democratic National Convention security briefing on July 25, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. Pritzker is among a small group of Democratic politicians who are reportedly being considered to join Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket for the upcoming election. (Vincent Alban/Getty Images)

“Attempted communications with government liaisons were often ignored and public statements from the White House were inconsistent with the experiences of our grantees,” the letter says. 

Illinois Democrats allege that “14 state agencies, boards, and commissions have a total of $1.88 billion in impacted federal funds” that provide “technical assistance for small businesses, provide affordable solar energy for low-income residents, improve roads and bridges, and more.”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“These funds have been contractually agreed to, allocated, and planned around by their recipients–which include childcare providers, educational institutions, small businesses, community and economic development organizations, and more. Needless to say, the restriction of these funds will have a detrimental impact on vulnerable people, local economies, and the state as a whole,” the letter added.

The letter concludes by asking the Trump administration to answer five questions by March 4, 2025, about the disbursement of federal funds. 

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer put forward a framework for a peace plan between Ukraine and Russia on Sunday, though he acknowledged it relies heavily on assumed U.S. support.

Starmer revealed the plan along with French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday. In a concession to President Donald Trump’s administration, Starmer emphasized that European countries would need to “step up their own share of the burden” toward security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.

Starmer said the U.K. is prepared to deploy boots on the ground in Ukraine as well as air force assets to ensure Russia does not infringe on a peace agreement. He nevertheless stated that the plan would rely heavily on U.S. backing as well.

Macron told French media that European leaders were discussing a plan that would freeze strikes from the air, sea and on energy infrastructure for 30 days in Ukraine. He said the window could be used to negotiate a wider peace deal.

ZELENSKYY MEETS WITH BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER IN LONDON FOLLOWING TRUMP OVAL OFFICE CLASH

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he hosts a European Leaders Summit at Lancaster House in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy himself has been on damage control since a disastrous meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Friday. Zelenskyy has emphasized that he is still willing to sign a rare earth minerals deal with the White House.

The Ukrainian leader remains largely unapologetic, however, saying after Sunday’s meetings in Europe that the “best security guarantees are a strong Ukrainian army.”

ZELENSKYY SPEAKS OUT AFTER PUBLIC SPAT WITH TRUMP, VANCE, SAYS DUSTUP ‘BAD FOR BOTH SIDES’

“The failure of Ukraine would not just mean Putin’s success, it would be a failure for Europe, it would be a failure for the U.S.,” he said.

Trump and Vance argued with Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday. (Getty Images)

Many Republicans on Capitol Hill have rallied behind Trump’s criticism of Zelenskyy. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called on the Ukrainian leader to resign on Sunday.

“He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change,” Graham said after Friday’s meeting.

TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE IS READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE

Zelenskyy retorted that Graham could weigh in on Ukrainian leadership when he became a Ukrainian citizen, to which Graham responded: “Unfortunately, until there is an election, no one has a voice in Ukraine.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called on Zelenskyy to resign this weekend. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

According to the senator, he doesn’t think Americans saw the Ukrainian president as someone they feel comfortable going “into business with” following the televised dispute.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Graham also stressed that the Ukrainian-American relationship is “vitally important.” However, he cast doubt on whether Zelenskyy could ever “do a deal with the United States.”

Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.