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FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan group of 151 lawmakers is rallying around a resolution to support the Iranian resistance movement ahead of a hearing with an opposition leader. 

The resolution, led by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., expresses support for the Iranian people and their stated desire for a “democratic, secular and non-nuclear” Iran through regime change. 

“The developments of the past year have left no doubt that the source of terrorism and warmongering in the Middle East region is the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran,” the resolution reads. 

It calls out the Iranian regime’s oppressive practices, voices support for the opposition and calls on global leaders to continue imposing sanctions. 

WORLD BRACES FOR IMPACT OF TRUMP’S ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ SANCTIONS TARGETING IRAN

NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi will attend a hearing in the U.S. House titled, “The Future of Iran.” (Siavosh Hossein, The Media Express)

“The efforts of Western countries over the past 45 years to change the behavior of this regime have failed, and the ultimate solution to ending the Iranian regime’s threats is the establishment of a secular, democratic, and pluralistic republic by the Iranian people and resistance.”

President Donald Trump has been hesitant to throw U.S. efforts into regime change in Iran. “We can’t get totally involved in all that. We can’t run ourselves, let’s face it,” he told Iranian-American producer Patrick Bet-David in October. 

The resolution also claimed that in the first four months of Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidency, beginning July 28, 2024, some 500 prisoners, including political prisoners and at least 17 women, were executed, and hand amputations increased. 

The resolution also expressed support for Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a leading resistance group known as MEK to Iranians, and her 10-point plan to bring democracy, secular government and human rights to Iran. The plan, which has the support of 4,000 parliamentarians across the globe, calls for installing NCRI as a provisional government for six months to set up elections and a constituent assembly. 

It was introduced Wednesday ahead of a 2 p.m. hearing entitled “The Future of Iran” with the Congressional Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus, where Rajavi – a top target of Iran’s terror plots and demonization – will give testimony. 

PRESIDENT TRUMP CAN STOP IRAN’S MARCH TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS: ‘RE-ESTABLISH CREDIBLE MILITARY THREAT’, REPORT SAYS

The first Trump administration imposed harsh sanctions to bankrupt Iran but stayed away from messaging campaigns aimed at encouraging Iranian resistance. This time around, opposition supporters say the situation on the ground has changed – the regime is far weaker after Bashar al-Assad was forced out of power in Syria and Israel has decimated its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. Protests have again kicked up across the nation and threaten to spread if the financial crisis does not improve. 

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the target of resistance efforts. (Photo by Iranian Leader Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Rajavi, in her opening remarks, will say that the Iranian regime is at its weakest point in decades. 

“​​The situation of the Iranian society is explosive. During its 46-year rule, the religious fascism has never been so weak and fragile,” Rajavi is expected to say, according to remarks obtained by Fox News Digital. 

STATE, TREASURY DEPARTMENTS REIMPOSES ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ SANCTIONS ON IRAN’S OIL TRADE

“The mullahs are surrounded from all sides: by a society that is filled with anger and rebellion, by Resistance Units, and by selfless and rebellious youth, because of its bankrupt economy and corruption in the government, particularly after the overthrow of the brutal dictatorship of Assad and the collapse of the regime’s “strategic depth” in the region.”

The resolution is sure to rankle Ayatollah Ali Khameni, leader of the current Iranian regime, and supporters of Reza Pahlavi II, whose father ruled Iran in the 1970s, who want to see the younger Pahlavi cede power in Iran and deeply oppose the NCRI. 

President Donald Trump, right, has called for the resumption of his “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign targeting Iran. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo)

Rajavi will call for the implementation of United Nations snapback sanctions that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal, putting the regime under the Chapter VII charter of the U.N. as a threat to peace and formally recognizing the resistance’s movement for regime change.

She will also pay tribute to two resistance leaders, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, who have been sentenced to death on charges of “rebellion” and for being members of the MEK. The U.N. has called on Iran to halt their executions. The regime has executed 120,000 on political grounds over the past four decades, according to Rajavi.

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The hearings come after the Trump administration pushed forward with its promise to return the U.S. to “maximum pressure” sanctions with new crackdowns on Iranian oil tankers. 

Trump has said he would “love to make a deal” with the nation’s clerical leaders, but Iran has insisted it will not engage in nuclear negotiations while the U.S. is imposing maximum pressure. 

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“Iran’s position regarding nuclear talks is clear, and we will not negotiate under pressure and sanctions,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said during a televised joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

“There is no possibility of direct negotiations with the U.S. as long as maximum pressure is being applied in this way.”

FIRST ON FOX:  The Trump administration will direct heads of agencies across the federal government to prepare to initiate “large-scale reductions in force” and develop reorganization plans by mid-March, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the memo that will be sent Wednesday to agency heads by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought and acting director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Charles Ezell. The memo directs them to prepare to eliminate roles and submit plans for reorganization by March 13. 

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE

The memo states, however, that government positions “necessary to meet law enforcement, border security, national security, immigration enforcement, or public safety responsibilities” are exempt from the order, as well as officials nominated and appointed to positions requiring presidential appointment or Senate confirmation, officials in the Executive Office of the President, and U.S. Postal Service workers. 

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump talk about DOGE’s efforts to investigate wasteful U.S. government spending from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Feb. 11, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

The memo is titled “guidance on agency RIF and reorganization plans requested by implementing the president’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ workforce optimization initiative.” 

“The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt,” the memo states. “At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public.” 

“Instead, tax dollars are being siphoned off to fund unproductive and unnecessary programs that benefit radical interest groups while hurting hard-working American citizens,” it continued. “The American people registered their verdict on the bloated, corrupt federal bureaucracy on November 5, 2024 by voting for President Trump and his promises to sweepingly reform the federal government.” 

The memo points to the president’s February executive order, which directed agencies to “eliminate waste, bloat and insularity” in order to “empower American families, workers, taxpayers, and our system of Government itself.” 

The memo provides guidance to agency heads for the reduction-in-force and reorganization plans, along with instructions for how those plans should be submitted to OMB and OPM. 

“President Trump required that ‘Agency Heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force, consistent with applicable law,’” the memo states, noting that agencies have to submit reorganization plans “no later than March 13, 2025.” 

The reorganization plans, according to the memo, should provide “better service for the American people; increased productivity; a significant reduction in the number of full-time equivalent positions by eliminating positions that are not required; a reduced real property footprint; and reduced budget topline.” 

IRS TO SLASH NEARLY 7K EMPLOYEES STARTING THURSDAY: REPORTS

OMB and OPM directed agency heads to focus on “maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated while driving the highest-quality, most efficient delivery of their statutorily-required functions.”

OMB and OPM also directed agencies to consolidate areas of their organization charts that are “duplicative,” and consolidate management layers “where unnecessary layers exist.” 

They also are directing agencies to “maximally reduce the use of outside consultants and contractors.” 

As for office space, the memo says agency heads should close or consolidate regional field offices and should align those closures or relocations of bureaus and offices with agency return-to-office actions “to avoid multiple relocation benefit costs for individual employees.” 

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The memo says “Phase 1” of reorganization plans should be submitted by March 13, with “Phase 2” being submitted by April 14. 

“Phase 2 plans shall outline a positive vision for more productive, efficient agency operations going forward,” the memo explains. “Phase 2 plans should be planned for implementation by September 30, 2025.” 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) appeared to defy President Donald Trump’s executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO) after the U.S. agency said it would participate in a conference with the global organization.

The CDC confirmed this week that it will go ahead and partake in a biannual conference on the influenza vaccine led by the WHO.

“CDC will be actively participating virtually at the WHO vaccine consultation meeting for the recommendation of viruses for 2025-26 Northern Hemisphere Vaccine this week,” a CDC spokesperson told Fox News. 

The agency did not clarify if it received an exemption from Trump’s executive order, which required all officials to stop working with the WHO. 

TRUMP OPEN TO CONSIDERING RE-ENTRY INTO WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: ‘THEY’D HAVE TO CLEAN IT UP’

The CDC confirmed it will partake in a biannual conference on the influenza vaccine led by the WHO. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

Trump signed the executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO just hours after taking office last month. The president cited reasons such as WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the “failure to adopt urgently needed reforms,” and “unfairly onerous payments” forced on the U.S. 

Trump signed an executive order hours after he took office in January, calling for the U.S. to withdraw from the WHO. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

CDC ORDERED TO IMMEDIATELY STOP COLLABORATING WITH WHO AFTER TRUMP BEGINS PROCESS FOR US WITHDRAWAL

Days after signing the order, Trump said during a Las Vegas rally that he was open to potentially rejoining the WHO if the global body were “to clean it up a bit.”

The WHO issued a statement shortly after Trump’s order, lamenting the president’s decision and expressing hope that the U.S. will rethink the move.

The World Health Organization logo is seen near its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 2, 2023.  (Reuters/Denis Balibouse/File Photo)

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During Trump’s first term, in July 2020, he took steps to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO but his successor, former President Joe Biden, eventually reinstated the nation’s participation in the global health initiative. 

Fox News Digital’s Alex Schemmel contributed to this report.

Gov. Janet Mills of Maine is attempting to capitalize on her moment in the national spotlight after she got into a public dust-up with President Donald Trump last week over her state’s defiance of his executive order demanding biological males who identify as transgender stay out of women’s sports. 

The pair got into a verbal skirmish on Friday at the White House after Trump said the night prior that Maine would not receive any federal funding until it started taking action to prevent transgender women from competing on women’s sports teams. 

“We’re going to follow the law, sir. We’ll see you in court,” Mills said after Trump asked if she would comply with his order. “Enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’ll be an elected official afterward,” Trump shot back.

A Maine state representative confirmed to Fox News Digital that following the verbal skirmish on Friday, Mills began sending out mass fundraising texts to Maine residents that cited her altercation with Trump, which played out on national TV.

MAINE STATE REP TALKS ‘EXTREME’ TRANSGENDER ATHLETE POLICY

“On Friday at a bipartisan meeting of governors, Donald Trump threatened to deny Maine school children federal funding unless we fall in line with his personal demands,” Mills’ text campaign said. “He even stated that he was ‘the law,’ never mind Congress or the states. I told him we’d see him in court.”

Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. (Getty Images)

Mills went on to say that while Trump campaigned on lowering prices for everyday Americans, he is now using his new power to “punish his enemies.”

“I want to make one thing clear: Maine will not be intimidated by the president’s threats,” the campaign said. “The work to push back against Trump and his agenda begins at the state level. Can you donate $10 to the Maine Democratic Party to make sure they have the resources to fight for our state?” 

The same week Trump threatened to withhold funding from Maine for not complying with his executive order on women’s sports, a transgender woman who competed as a man until June last year won first place in the women’s pole vault at Maine’s Class B state indoor championship.

MAINE FEMALE ATHLETE ‘GRATEFUL’ FOR TRUMP’S FOCUS ON TRANS COMPETITORS AFTER LOCAL LEADERS ‘FAILED’ GIRLS

Maine’s primary governing body for high school athletics said they would defer to state law that makes it illegal to determine someone’s athletic eligibility on the basis of their gender identity. (Getty Images)

Maine’s primary governing body for high school athletics, the Maine Principal’s Association, confirmed that it did not intend to follow Trump’s executive order after it came out. Rather, the association said they would defer to state law that makes it illegal to determine someone’s athletic eligibility on the basis of their gender identity. 

Sarah Perry, a civil rights attorney who has extensive experience litigating Title IX issues, said that in addition to Trump’s executive order, Maine is also flouting directives from the Department of Education and previously established precedent from a slew of cases that challenged former President Joe Biden’s Title IX regulations allowing athletic eligibility to be determined by one’s preferred gender identity. 

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“Within six weeks [after Biden’s Title IX ruling] we had 11 federal lawsuits brought by 26 states, in addition to a handful of others – the Biden administration has lost every time,” Perry pointed out.

Perry added that besides the obvious risk of losing funding, these states also open themselves up to federal Title IX investigations, something she said could potentially force them to comply with Trump’s demands.

Fox News Digital attempted to reach out to the governor’s office for comment but did not hear back.

EXCLUSIVE: As most leaders in deep blue Washington state double down on sanctuary policies and refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, Sheriff Bob Songer of Klickitat County is pledging to support federal immigration enforcement in any way he can, telling Tom Homan to “put me on speed dial.”

In December, Songer published a video through the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office’s official Facebook page in which he said the Biden administration had “allowed our country to be invaded” and publicly vowed to help ICE enforce immigration law. 

Songer’s stance flies directly in the face of Washington’s migrant sanctuary laws, which prohibit law enforcement from assisting federal authorities in enforcing immigration laws. 

It also puts him at odds with other law enforcement authorities in the state and Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, who has vowed to “protect law-abiding Washington families” including the “overwhelming majority of undocumented residents” who he said are “decent, hard-working, law-abiding residents.” 

ALLEGED FENTANYL-SMUGGLING IMMIGRANTS LEAD POLICE ON DANGEROUS CORNFIELD CHASE

Sheriff Bob Songer, right, of Klickitat County in Washington, is pledging to support federal immigration enforcement in any way he can, telling Tom Homan, left, to “put me on speed dial.” (Fox News Digital)

Uncowed by this, Songer – who, after serving in law enforcement for 56 years, is currently serving his third term as sheriff – said, “I will cooperate with ICE 100 percent because they’re doing the right thing.” 

In an interview with Fox News Digital, he explained that, despite being a small, rural county in Washington, illegal immigrants regularly pass through the county and very often receive government benefits paid for by the taxpayers. 

“When people have invaded our country across the southern border and even the northern border, Canada, our government, it’s their job to protect our American citizens by preventing that invasion,” he said. “Why would any governor, any mayor, any county commissioner, or any sheriff or police chief knowingly allow criminals, serious criminals for murder, rape, whatever, protect them from immigration, protect them from ICE?” 

“So why am I standing up against that?” he continued. “You bet I’m saying that Tom Homan, if you wish to contact me, I’ll give you my phone number, he can have me on speed dial.” 

TOM HOMAN TELLS MIGRANT TERROR GROUPS TRUMP WILL ‘WIPE YOU OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH’

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a worksite enforcement operation Jan. 28 at Complete Autowash in Philadelphia based on allegations that employees were being subjected to labor exploitation. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Songer said there are two main reasons for his bold stance. First, he believes Washington’s sanctuary law is unconstitutional, and secondly, he feels the U.S. citizens of Klickitat County are demanding it.  

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“I honestly believe that it’s the best thing for our citizens,” he explained, adding: “You know what’s neat about an elected sheriff versus police chief … an elected sheriff is elected by the people. His or her only boss is the people, not the governor, not the county commissioners, not anybody but the people themselves. That’s the sheriff’s boss.” 

Responding to criticisms from Democrats and the media that not all illegal immigrants should be arrested and deported by ICE, Songer said, “They’ll try to tell you, ‘well, those who just waded across the Rio Grande, that’s a civil infraction,’ that’s bull, it’s a crime under federal law. Period. No matter what their intentions were.” 

TEXAS GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES CRACKDOWN ON MASSIVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY NEAR MAJOR CITY

ICE agents conduct an enforcement operation in the U.S. interior on June 2, 2022. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

“They’re coming into this country across the border with no legal representation at all. In other words, they know they’re breaking the law. Why not? They get free phones, free medical, free sign up, it’s Christmas for them,” he said. “And at the same time, our government, Democrat government, they didn’t give a d— about veterans or homeless that are U.S. citizens.”

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“I know Washington State is a blue, blue, blue sanctuary state. It’s scary to live in this kind of atmosphere,” he concluded. “But I wanted to make it clear and make it known to Tom Homan and President Trump and Vance, the vice president, that as long as I’m in office … I will totally cooperate with it and I want them to know that all they got to do is reach out and ask for assistance in Klickitat County, and I’ll be there, standing at attention and willing to carry out the duties.”

The town of West Boylston, Massachusetts, voted to fire its administrator following a dispute over a Trump flag hanging in the police station.

The vote took place during a closed-door Zoom meeting “to discuss the reputation, character, physical condition or mental health, rather than professional competence, of an individual, or to discuss the discipline or dismissal of, or complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual.”

The result was a 4-1 vote to remove former Town Administrator James Ryan.

TRUMP FLAG IN MASSACHUSETTS POLICE STATION GYM DIVIDES TOWN AS CHIEF, OFFICIAL FEUD OVER ITS REMOVAL: REPORT

The town of West Boylston, Massachusetts, voted to fire Town Administrator James Ryan following a dispute over a Trump flag hanging in the police station. (Google Maps)

The dispute allegedly began when Ryan toured the police station in January and viewed a Trump flag hanging in its gymnasium. At the time, Ryan claimed the flag was a civil rights violation, according to a statement.

Police Chief Dennis W. Minnich, Sr., removed the flag but alleges that Ryan later had a town employee sneak into the police station after hours to verify the flag was removed. According to him, at that time a new flag was then hanging, but has since been taken down.

TRUMP PARDONS FORMER DC POLICE OFFICERS CONVICTED IN DEATH OF MEN DURING DEADLY PURSUIT

A police support sign and a Trump sign are displayed.  (Paul Weaver/Pacific Press/LightRocket)

Minnich says he was “targeted” and sent a three-page memo to the Board of Selectmen to request “an immediate and thorough review” of Ryan’s actions.

“Either he’s gone or I’m gone,” Minnich said Friday. “I’m going to take all vacation time until this is resolved. I’m not reporting to the guy. I don’t trust him. There’s no trust there.”

The select board said Ryan’s firing had nothing to do with the police dispute, but him allegedly sending an employee inside the station that could have seen private information.

A closed-door Zoom meeting resulted in a 4-1 vote to remove Town Administrator James Ryan.

Ryan’s attorney, John Clifford, said in a statement that his client was “disappointed” with the select board’s decision.

“James acknowledges that he could have handled the situation differently, but his insistence that there be no political signs in a public building was completely justified,” the statement read. “In tonight’s meeting, James expressed his sincere regret that he had any role in what became an embarrassment and distraction for the entire town. While he knows he may have made some mistakes as a very new town administrator, he is not responsible for the controversy that has ensued.”

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Clifford released a statement on Ryan’s behalf which read, in part:

“James will be reviewing his options with respect to litigating his termination, but he would like to make it clear that he has no ill feelings toward town employees, volunteer officials, or the citizens of West Boylston. He remains grateful for the short opportunity to serve in West Boylston and wishes the town the best of luck in the future.”

A new Gallup-Walton Family Foundation survey released Wednesday shows that nearly half of rural Generation Z Americans feel they can’t find fulfilling work in their communities and are considering moving.

Rural Gen-Zers are also nearly 20 percentage points more likely to feel that way than their urban brethren.

Urban young people also have a higher confidence in their ability to land crucial internships out of school, and parents of rural youths are similarly concerned about quality-of-life issues for their grown children and in their ability to accomplish their goals.

Forty-nine percent of Gen Zers believe they can find a worthy job at home. Thirty-eight percent say they’re confident in their internship searches.

LGBT AMERICANS REACH RECORD NUMBER, MORE LIKELY TO BE DEMOCRAT: POLL

The pressures of the contemporary occupational landscape are also leading 77% of Gen Z adults to seek to move away from their hometowns, if they are able.

But that feeling is met with countervailing sentiment against leaving home.

More than half of urban Gen Zers say they are comfortable relocating out of state or even outside the U.S., while about half in rural areas prefer to entertain moving to another place within their state, at most.

About two-fifths would consider moving out of state and only a few percent would think to leave the U.S. for a job.

“The desire to stay closer to home contrasts with those in urban areas who are more likely to say they would like to leave their state (54%), or even the country (15%),” the poll found.

“Career and education opportunities strongly influence young people’s decisions to relocate, but rural Gen Zers often face limited access compared to their urban peers,” said Stephanie Marken, senior partner for U.S. research at Gallup. 

“Expanding access to job training, career opportunities and higher education in rural areas could help more young people stay connected to their communities while pursuing their goals.”

TRUMP’S SURPRISING NEW POLL NUMBERS

Only one-fifth of adult Gen Z Americans who have moved away from their home areas mentioned the ability to live financially comfortably.

Many, however, still love their hometowns despite a changing job landscape in recent years and decades.

The panel was conducted in November, the week of the presidential election.

Pollsters sampled 3,963 people ranging in age from 12 to 27 in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C.

They were randomly selected using an address-based methodology, but the polling firm also said it uses random-digit telephone dialing to cover both landlines and cellphones.

The margin of error was +/- 2.3 percentage points overall. A total of 382 respondents were in rural areas with a 7.3 percentage point margin, and 2,969 were from urban areas with a 2.7 percentage point margin of error.

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Between rainstorms, fifth-generation wheat farmer Sen. Jon Tester ends his day of cultivating on his 1,800-acre farm land in Big Sandy, Mont. (Melina Mara/Washington Post via Getty)

Despite facing fewer job and education opportunities, rural Gen Zers remain deeply connected to their communities, with their desire to move only slightly numerically higher than their urban peers (82% vs. 78%).

The co-leader of the poll, the Walton Family Foundation, was launched by late Walmart founder Samuel Walton and his wife, Helen.

The foundation seeks to improve the U.S. education system, communities and waterways, particularly in northwest Arkansas, where the family and mega-store chain are both based.

The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to hear oral arguments Wednesday in a case involving an Ohio woman who claims she was unfairly discriminated against for being straight, while she watched her less-qualified LGBT colleagues in Ohio’s youth corrections system climb the career ladder.

Marlean Ames, the woman at the center of the case, argued she was discriminated against because of her heterosexuality at the Ohio Department of Youth Services and contends that her demotion and pay cut constitutes a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The decision of the case could have a significant impact on employment law.

Ames’ case is before the Supreme Court after lower courts dismissed her claim in light of the precedent in the 1973 McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green decision. In that case, the high court created a three-step process for handling discrimination cases based on indirect evidence, with the first step being the key issue in the case.

SCOTUS TURNS DOWN ABORTION CLINIC BUFFER ZONE CHALLENGE, THOMAS SLAMS ‘ABDICATION’ OF DUTY

The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to hear oral arguments Wednesday in a case involving an Ohio woman who claims she was unfairly discriminated against for being straight. (Fox News Digital)

At this first step, plaintiffs in such cases must present enough evidence to make a basic case of discrimination. This requirement applies to all plaintiffs, whether they are from minority or majority groups.

Thus, Ames is challenging the legal standard used by lower courts, which requires her to provide additional “background circumstances” to “support the suspicion that the defendant is that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.” The majority in this case appears to be Ames, since she is straight. 

Ames’ attorney, Edward Gilbert, argued in a Feb. 7 court filing that this additional evidence burden is inappropriate and that discrimination should be assessed equally.

“Judges must actually treat plaintiffs differently, by first separating them into majority and minority groups, and then imposing a ‘background circumstances’ requirement on the former but not the latter,” the filing read. “In other words, to enforce Title VII’s broad rule of workplace equality, courts must apply the law unequally.”

Ames started working at the Ohio Department of Youth Services in 2004 as an executive secretary, which oversees the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. Since 2009, she was promoted several times, and by 2014, she was promoted to program administrator, according to the Supreme Court filing.

In 2017, Ames began reporting to a new supervisor, Ginine Trim, who is openly gay. During her 2018 performance review, Trim rated Ames as meeting expectations in most areas and exceeding them in one.

‘THE PENDULUM IS SWINGING’: EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON HISTORIC SCOTUS TRANSGENDER CASE AMID ORAL ARGUMENTS

Ames’ case is before the Supreme Court after lower courts dismissed her claim in light of the precedent in the 1973 McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green decision. (Ricky Carioti /The Washington Post via Getty Images)

However, in 2019, after Ames applied for a bureau chief position and did not get it, she was removed from her program administrator role, the court filing states. The department’s assistant director and HR head, both of whom are straight, offered her the choice to return to her previous job with a pay cut. Ames chose to remain with the department and was later promoted to a different program administrator position. The department then hired a gay woman for the bureau chief role Ames had wanted, and a gay man for the program administrator position she previously held.

After assuming Ames’ role, the co-worker “expressed to Ames an ‘impatient attitude towards climbing the ranks within the Department,’ ‘claim[ed] that he could manipulate people to get what he wanted on the basis of being a gay man,’ and ‘acknowledge[d]; that he had ’been angling for Ames’s position for some time, stating in front of their coworkers that he wanted the PREA Administrator position,'” according to the filing.

In an amicus brief filed by Elizabeth Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general under the Biden administration, the federal government supports Marlean Ames’ argument. Prelogar said the “background circumstances” requirement imposed by the lower court has no basis in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and goes against the Court’s past rulings, which allow all plaintiffs to be judged by the same standards, SCOTUS Blog reported.

On the other hand, the Ohio Department of Youth Services disagrees with the idea that Ames was held to a higher standard because she is straight. The department argued that the “background circumstances” rule is not an additional burden on plaintiffs, but rather a “method of analysis” to examine cases like Ames’ without creating a new legal precedent.

UNPACKING THE SUPREME COURT: WHY IT’S NOT JUST A MAGA STRONGHOLD, AND HOW THE JUSTICES REALLY VOTE

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case Wednesday morning, with a ruling expected by the end of June. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case Wednesday morning, with a ruling expected by the end of June. 

The case’s hearing before the high court comes amid a second Trump administration that is working to dismantle Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the federal sector while pressuring private sectors to do the same. 

FIRST ON FOX: Now-FBI Director Kash Patel worked hard to get the Senate support necessary for confirmation, studying the lawmakers, sitting for countless meetings and even enlisting the assistance of Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to prep for his hearing, Fox News Digital has learned.

Patel met with 61 senators in his bid to take on the role that President Donald Trump nominated him for, a transition official told Fox News Digital. 

They noted this is significant for a position that is not even within the president’s Cabinet. 

GOP SENATOR SUFFERS SEIZURE, BRAIN BLEED AFTER FALLING ON ICE

Kash Patel’s confirmation was the result of a significant and long-term effort to get senators’ support. (Reuters)

“He studied what was important to the FBI and everyone in these meetings,” they said, explaining how close to home the question of who directs the bureau hits for each senator. 

“You can touch and feel an FBI office in nearly every state.”

Prominent Republicans Lee and Cruz were part of “murder board” sessions to critique and question Patel before his hearing. There were roughly 10 such meetings to prepare him. 

“I was happy to assist Director Patel through the confirmation process, because President Trump picked a man of great integrity and dedication to lead the FBI. America will be more free, fair, and safe with him at the Bureau,” Lee told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

A source familiar said the sessions consisted of a series of round-robin questions on hot-button issues. He was asked about some of the FBI controversies of recent memory, particularly former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who infamously exchanged anti-Trump text messages while investigating him for potential collusion with Russia.

DEMS DEMAND TRUMP RESUME CASH FLOW AS THEY FINALLY GET LEVERAGE IN RACE TO PREVENT SHUTDOWN

Kash Patel is sworn in as FBI director by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Feb. 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)

They also took turns grilling Patel over a group of individuals listed in his 2023 book who he considers deep-state actors. Democrats dubbed it an “enemies list,” which the then-nominee denied.

According to the transition official, the enthusiasm was palpable upon Patel’s nomination.

“There’s a cadre of senators that knew Kash before he was nominated,” they said, adding that they were excited.

He was confirmed last week by a narrow margin of 51-49. This caught his team by surprise as they actually expected both Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to come down in favor of his nomination.

During his meeting with Collins, a source familiar told Fox News Digital that Patel referenced the fact that she is the only elected Republican from Maine in Congress and is up for re-election in 2026. The then-nominee also told her that he understood if she was in a position in which she couldn’t vote for him.

Collins’ office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. 

Patel’s meetings with both Collins and Murkowski had been good, per the transition official.

“Kash and Lisa had many conversations and talked a lot,” they explained.

While she didn’t vote for him, the Alaska Republican did call Patel in the hours leading up to the vote, giving him a heads-up that she wasn’t going to be able to support him, a source familiar shared.

Another significant vote was that of former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who opted to support Patel after opposing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP WARNS MAJOR DEM AGAINST MOVE THAT COULD COST VOTERS TRILLIONS

McConnell shocked some when he supported Patel. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump’s team leading Patel through the process had strategically worked on getting McConnell’s backing behind closed doors.

Before Christmas, the then-nominee had already done 40 meetings with senators. This was on purpose; they wanted to get senators talking with each other, the source said. 

This early meeting blitz was specifically designed to lay the groundwork for Patel’s eventual discussions with McConnell, Murkowski and Collins, along with others who were potentially skeptical. 

When McConnell’s meeting came around, it appeared the strategy worked, with the seemingly open-minded Republican asking questions about Patel’s background experience in law and national security. McConnell also seemed particularly interested in Patel’s plans to increase transparency. 

Another key win for the now-FBI director was having Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., in his corner. The senator had previously hesitated on Hegseth’s confirmation, waiting until the last minute to announce his support. 

ETHICS WATCHDOG FLAGS SENATOR HELPING MAKE MILLIONS FOR WIFE’S GREEN NONPROFIT

Tillis, left, was one of Patel’s most vocal supporters. (Getty Images)

What truly sold Tillis on supporting Patel, with whom he was relatively unfamiliar, was the opinion of former South Carolina Republican congressman and current Fox News weekend host Trey Gowdy. Patel and Gowdy worked with one another when the former was a staffer for former Republican congressman Devin Nunes. The two were part of investigating the FBI’s probe into potential Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Gowdy spoke with Fox News Digital, sharing that he received calls about his experience with Patel from “maybe a dozen” senators. He said he was happy to share his opinion but urged each of them to meet with the nominee themselves rather than just take his word for it.

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Tillis quickly became one of Patel’s biggest supporters, giving him advice as he met with other lawmakers. 

The North Carolina Republican even introduced Patel for his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, also creating a “K$H Bingo” game that included subjects Tillis expected to be brought up by Democrats during the hearing. The sheet included subjects such as “Deep State,” “Enemies List” and Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, among others.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin appears to be following through with a promise to help federal workers find new employment after their jobs were cut by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. 

The Republican governor has announced a new website to assist them find employment in the Virginia government on virginiahasjobs.com. 

“We care about you,” Youngkin said at the Capital One Center in McLean. “And we have a support system in order to help you find that next great opportunity.”

VIRGINIA GOV. YOUNGKIN CALLS FOR END TO TAXES ON TIPS AHEAD OF LEGISLATIVE SESSION

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin speaks on Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 15, 2024.  (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

The new website is described as a “federal workers support resource package.” Youngkin says the site was designed to help federal employees transition into new roles if they “experience job dislocation.” 

“We have openings in state government, and they will find a link on our website to go find those opportunities as well,” Youngkin.

The site will connect those searching for employment to job sources and regions as well as listings on Indeed and LinkedIn.

“Take advantage of the resources that will help you find your pathway to that career of your dreams,” adding: “I actually have extraordinary empathy for the fact that there are many workers in Virginia today, from our federal workforce, who are experiencing real concerns,” Youngkin added.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Policy Conference at the Washington Hilton on June 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

DESANTIS ANNOUNCES FLORIDA ‘DOGE TASK FORCE’

Democrats in Virginia have made a note that they believe Youngkin is backing the president and not defending Virginians.

House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, called the website “an insult.”

“Glossy websites and slogans can’t cover up his political capitulation and a Governor who has turned his back on his constituents when they need it most,” Senate Majority Leader Scott A. Surovell, D-Fairfax, said in a statement.

Youngkin has not denied that he is in support of recent DOGE cuts, stating that he believes they are essential.

President Donald Trump and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin meet for the first time in June 2024. (Trump Campaign)

“We have a federal government that is inefficient, and we have an administration that’s taking on that challenge, rooting out waste, fraud and abuse and driving efficiency in our federal government,” and “It needs to happen,” he said.

However, Youngkin does believe the “federal workforce is not at fault here.”

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“But the reality,” he said, “is that any CEO who steps into a position where there is an organization that has had such deep financial challenges is going to have to make change.”

Virginia is home to one of the largest populations of federal employees with over 144,000, according to a December 2024 congressional report. That number rises significantly when you add in commuters working in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, rising to over 300,000.

White House officials confirmed with Fox News that while billionaire Elon Musk is overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an acting administrator has been appointed to the role.

Amy Gleason, who is a low-profile executive with an expertise in healthcare technology, has been appointed as the acting leader of DOGE, the department responsible for gutting many federal agencies while locating and cutting billions of dollars in government waste.

Gleason’s identity was revealed after a reporter pressed White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on who is actually running DOGE.

CBS News’ Nancy Cordes pointed out to Leavitt that President Donald Trump’s executive order to create DOGE called for the naming of a DOGE administrator. She then asked the president’s spokesperson who is serving as the DOGE administrator.

KAROLINE LEAVITT: TRUMP, ELON MUSK’S DOGE TEAM ARE DOING WHAT DEMOCRATS PROMISED ‘FOR DECADES’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House Tuesday. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

“So, the president tasked Elon Musk to oversee the DOGE effort,” Leavitt said. “There are career officials and there are political appointees who are helping run DOGE on a day-to-day basis.

“There are also individuals who have onboarded as political appointees at every agency across the board to work alongside President Trump’s Cabinet to find and identify waste, fraud and abuse, and they are working on that effort every day.”

Cordes quickly asked, “So, is Elon Musk the administrator?” as Leavitt twice called on another reporter.

ELON MUSK SAYS MILLIONS IN SOCIAL SECURITY DATABASE ARE BETWEEN AGES OF 100 AND 159

Elon Musk and protesters against DOGE and its work auditing various federal agencies.  (Getty Images)

After the exchange, Fox News learned of Gleason’s temporary appointment.

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Gleason, 53, worked from 2018 through 2021 for the United States Digital Service, an agency that has been renamed the US DOGE Service, according to her LinkedIn profile. In that role, she worked with the White House on the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Gleason returned to the agency after Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Georgia state Senate passed a bill on Monday that they are referring to as “DOGE lite.”

Senate Bill 28, Red Tape Rollback Act of 2025, has the goal of reducing costs and increasing accountability for state agencies by having them review and update rules and regulations every four years.

During the vote, Democrats were against the measure, accusing Republicans of trying to bring DOGE to Georgia. “DOGE” refers to the Department of Government of Efficiency, headed by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and aimed at shrinking the federal government. 

WHITE HOUSE PUSHES BACK ON REPORT CLAIMING SOME CANCELED DOGE CONTRACTS WON’T SAVE TAXPAYERS MONEY

Republican Georgia senators on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 at the state Capitol in Atlanta.  (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

“This is a power grab. Plain and simple, this is DOGE coming to Georgia,” said state Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) during the debate.

An aerial photograph shows the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The bill is also aimed at small businesses and requires state agencies to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of rules and will solicit the public’s input regarding whether rules are justified and if the government can further reduce those costs.

MEET THE FAR-LEFT GROUPS FUNDING ANTI-DOGE PROTESTS AT GOP OFFICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

President Donald Trump and DOGE head Elon Musk sit down for a “Hannity” exclusive interview. (Fox News)

The vote was split between party lines, but the majority was Republican.

“Now that Donald Trump is president, we need to feign outrage about a commonsense bill,” claimed Sen. Greg Dolezal following the vote.  “That’s just the state of play in Georgia politics.”

Dolezal says there has been some mischaracterization of the bill.

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He went on to say before President Trump was reelected that a similar bill passed with bipartisan support last year.

Overall, Senate Democrats believe the bill will be effective in aggressive cost-cutting, much like at the federal level.

The bill will now go to the House for consideration.

The House of Representatives has adopted a resolution that will eventually become a massive multi-trillion-dollar bill full of President Donald Trump’s priorities on the border, defense, energy and taxes.

In a major victory for House GOP leaders, the resolution passed in a 217 to 215 vote.

All Democrats voted against the measure, along with lone Republican rebel Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who was concerned about its effect on the national deficit.

The next step is now for the relevant House committees to meet and build their own proposals, which will eventually be returned into the framework and negotiated into a compromise deal with the Senate.

BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS

Speaker Mike Johnson is advancing a reconciliation bill aimed at Trump’s priorities through the House of Representatives. (Getty Images)

It was a dramatic scene in the House chamber on Monday night as Republican leaders delayed formally ending a vote for roughly 45 minutes as they worked to convince conservative fiscal hawks to support the legislation.

Impatient Democrats called out loud for the vote to be closed as Republicans huddled in varied groups.

Two people on the House floor told Fox News Digital that President Donald Trump got involved at one point, speaking to one of the holdouts, Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., by phone.

Reps. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, could be seen on the phone at other points on the House floor as well, but it’s not clear if they were speaking with Trump.

At one point, House GOP leaders appeared to lose confidence that they had enough support and abruptly canceled the planned vote. 

Moments later, however, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were rushing back to the House floor and Fox News Digital was told the vote would be held.

Meanwhile, three House Democrats who had been absent early in the day returned for the Tuesday evening vote in dramatic fashion. 

Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., who had a baby roughly a month ago, returned to the House floor with her infant to oppose the bill. And Rep. Kevin Mullin, R-Calif., who was recently hospitalized for an infection, appeared in the chamber aided by a walker.

House and Senate Republicans are aiming to use their majorities to advance Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process. 

It’s a Senate maneuver that lowers the threshold for passage from two-thirds to a simple majority, but it’s used when a party controls both houses of Congress and the White House because it allows that party to pass its policy goals even under the slimmest margins.

And Republicans are dealing with slim margins indeed; with current numbers, the House GOP can afford no more than one defection to pass anything without Democratic votes if all liberals are voting.

On the Senate side, Republicans can lose no more than two of their own in the reconciliation process.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is waiting in the wings with a Plan B. (Getty Images)

The House resolution aimed to increase spending on border security, the judiciary and defense by roughly $300 billion, while seeking at least $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in spending cuts elsewhere. 

As written, the House bill also provided $4.5 trillion to extend President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions, which expire at the end of this year.

An amendment negotiated by House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and conservatives on his panel would also force lawmakers to make $2 trillion in cuts, or else risk the $4.5 trillion for Trump’s tax cuts getting reduced by the difference. 

The resolution also fulfilled Trump’s directive to act on the debt limit, raising it by $4 trillion or roughly two years. 

NONCITIZEN VOTER CRACKDOWN LED BY GOP AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

A bipartisan deal struck in 2023 saw the debt limit suspended until January 2025. Now, projections show the U.S. could run out of cash to pay its debts by spring if Congress does not act.

The resolution’s odds were touch and go for much of the week so far, since House lawmakers returned from a week-long recess period Monday.

Several fiscal conservatives had demanded more assurances from House GOP leadership that Republicans would seek deep spending cuts to offset the cost of Trump’s priorities.

Republican lawmakers in more competitive districts are concerned some cuts may go too far, however. 

The resolution directs the House Energy & Commerce Committee to find at least $880 billion in spending cuts – which those lawmakers fear will mean severe cuts for federal programs like Medicaid.

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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pushed back against fears of such cuts during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

“Medicaid is hugely problematic because it has a lot of fraud, waste and abuse. Everybody knows that. We all know it intuitively. No one in here would disagree,” Johnson said. “What we’re talking about is rooting out the fraud, waste, and abuse. It doesn’t matter what party you’re in, you should be for that because it saves your money, and it preserves the programs so that it is available for the people who desperately need it.”

It was also supported by a wide swath of Republicans, including conservative Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, a member of the House Budget Committee that approved the bill earlier this month.

“It’s the best bill we’re going to get,” Gill said while praising Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, for his efforts. “If I were writing it then I’d write it differently, but this is the best we’re gonna get it.”

Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, said he was eager to begin working on “cutting taxes for Iowans, securing our border, unleashing American energy production, and eliminating waste and fraud in our government.”

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., announced plans to run for Florida governor next year during an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity” Tuesday night.

The next Florida gubernatorial election is slated for Nov. 3, 2026. Speaking to host Sean Hannity, Donalds said he came to the decision to run “after a lot of prayer [and] a lot of thoughts with my family and my friends.”

“Sean, we have a wonderful state,” Donalds said. “I got to Florida when I was 17 years old, off of a Greyhound bus with just a trunk full of clothes. And over the rest of my time in Florida, I built a family, I built a career. … I was able to serve four years in a state legislature, four years in Congress.

“And I think now is the time to now take the mantle and lead our state into the future.”

RON DESANTIS: FLORIDA WAS DOGE BEFORE IT WAS COOL

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said he plans to run for governor. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Florida Republican said he is the only candidate in the race so far and commended Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his service to the state.

“We have a great governor. Ron DeSantis has done a tremendous job for our state,” Donalds said. “But now the job is to keep the best state in the country as the best state in the country. And so that’s going to be the mission at hand. And I’m excited to announce my candidacy with you tonight.”

Donalds was endorsed by President Donald Trump, who recently wrote that his fellow Sunshine State resident “would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida.”

“I am hearing that Highly Respected Congressman Byron Donalds is considering running for Governor of Florida, a State that I love, and WON BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024,” a Trump social media post said. 

“[S]hould he decide to run, [Donalds] will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!”

KAMALA HARRIS TAKES VEILED JABS AT TRUMP, ELON MUSK IN 1ST MAJOR SPEECH SINCE ELECTION DEFEAT

President Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds for Florida governor.  (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

DeSantis, however, has not signaled support for Donalds. On Monday, DeSantis told reporters he wants Florida congressmen to be “focused on enacting [Trump’s] agenda.”

“They haven’t done very much yet,” DeSantis said. “They’re not putting his executive orders into place. We’ll see what they do on the spending, but we have such a narrow majority that to be trying to campaign other places and missing these votes, I think, is not something that’s advisable at all.”

DeSantis’ comments came amid rumors that his wife, Casey, might run for governor. The Florida governor dodged a reporter’s question about his wife’s plans at a press conference Monday.

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Rumors have swirled that Casey DeSantis, the current first lady of Florida, might run for governor. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

“People ask me all the time about our wonderful first lady, who has done a fantastic job as first lady of Florida,” DeSantis responded. “I will tell you this. You’re talking about somebody like her. I won by the biggest margin that any Republican has ever won a governor’s race here in Florida. She would do better than me.” 

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

DOGE leader Elon Musk suggested the United States has a “TYRANNY of the JUDICIARY” following a series of court rulings that have paused or blocked some of President Donald Trump’s executive orders, while also saying corrupt judges should be impeached and removed. 

In a post on X, Musk lamented judicial rulings that have blocked some of the Trump executive orders, many that have included slashing wasteful government spending and deporting illegal immigrants. 

“If ANY judge ANYWHERE can block EVERY Presidential order EVERYWHERE, we do NOT have democracy, we have TYRANNY of the JUDICIARY,” Musk wrote. 

‘IF YOU DON’T ANSWER…YOU’RE FIRED’: TRUMP STANDS BEHIND MUSK’S DOGE PRODUCTIVITY EMAIL 

Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 11. (Alex Brandon/AP)

The post came hours after a federal judge blocked raids by immigration authorities targeting certain places of worship and another gave the Trump administration two days to resume hundreds of millions of dollars in payments for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) projects across the globe.

On Monday, a federal judge also blocked Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing personal records at the Department of Education (ED) as part of their cost-cutting sweep.

In response to Musk’s post, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said: “Corrupt judges should be impeached. And removed. Pass it on if you agree.”

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKS ICE RAIDS AT CERTAIN PLACES OF WORSHIP, DEFYING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

President Donald Trump speaks as Elon Musk, joined by his son X Æ A-Xii, listens in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“It’s the only way,” replied Musk. 

He cited the ousting of rivals to El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. Parliamentary leaders in that country recently sacked supreme court judges and an attorney general. 

“The only way to restore rule of the people in America is to impeach judges,” said Musk. “No one is above the law, including judges. That is what it took to fix El Salvador. Same applies to America.”

“Unfortunately, as President Bukele eloquently articulates, there is no other option,” he added. “We must impeach to save democracy.”

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Bukele replied, saying that “if you don’t impeach the corrupt judges, you CANNOT fix the country.”

“They will form a cartel, (a judicial dictatorship) and block all reforms, protecting the systemic corruption that put them in their seats,” he added. 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem is warning illegal immigrants in the U.S. that they should leave the country now or face serious consequences, including losing the opportunity to enjoy freedom and live the American dream.

Noem appeared on “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Tuesday night to discuss her latest initiative, announcing an illegal alien registry that requires fingerprinting.

The secretary said DHS will enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act, which was enacted in 1952 and created several tools to track illegal aliens and compel them to voluntarily leave the U.S.

DHS said the tools include criminal penalties for migrants who choose not to leave the U.S., fail to register with the federal government and get fingerprinted, and fail to notify the federal government of changes to their address.

NOEM SENDS MESSAGE TO THOSE CONSIDERING ENTERING US ILLEGALLY: ‘DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT’

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem warned illegal immigrants to either self-deport, register with the federal government or face serious consequences, putting their chance for American freedom at risk. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Illegal immigrants who fail to depart the U.S. will be charged with a crime resulting in a “significant penalty,” DHS said.

But migrants who fail to register with the federal government could be fined, imprisoned or both.

“For decades, this law has been ignored – not anymore,” DHS said.

DHS SECRETARY NOEM APPEARS TO ACCUSE ‘CORRUPT’ FBI OF LEAKING LA ICE RAIDS

More than 100 migrants attempt to enter the U.S. illegally by rushing the southern border into Texas, March 21, 2024. (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)

Noem and DHS hope to convince illegal immigrants that self-deportation is a safer path, not just for them, but also for law enforcement officials.

“President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message for those in our country illegally: leave now. If you leave now, you may have the opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American dream,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. “The Trump administration will enforce all our immigration laws—we will not pick and choose which laws we will enforce. We must know who is in our country for the safety and security of our homeland and all Americans.”

The DHS encourages immigrants in the U.S. illegally to visit the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, where there are instructions on how to register with the federal government.

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

Migrants attempt to enter the U.S. illegally by rushing the southern border into Texas, March 21, 2024. (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)

Noem’s push comes more than a week after she sent a stern warning on behalf of President Donald Trump, to those planning on entering the U.S. illegally.

“Let me deliver a message from President Trump to the world. If you are considering entering America illegally, don’t even think about it,” she said. “Let me be clear. If you come to our country, and you break our laws, we will hunt you down. Criminals are not welcome in the United States. For too long, weak leadership has left our borders wide open, flooding our communities with drugs, human trafficking, and violent criminals. Well, those days are over.”

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Noem was the fourth member of the Trump administration to gain approval from the Senate, and is leading the department at a time when securing the border and tackling illegal immigration are top priorities for the new administration.

The administration has taken a number of actions to secure the border, including deploying the military, restarting wall construction and ending Biden-era parole programs.

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

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order directing the departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to make healthcare prices transparent.

The order directs the departments to “rapidly implement and enforce” the Trump healthcare price transparency regulations, which he claims were slowed by the Biden administration.

The departments will ensure hospitals and insurers disclose actual prices, not estimates, and take action to make prices comparable across hospitals and insurers, including prescription drug prices.

In addition, they will be required to update their enforcement policies to ensure hospitals and insurers are in compliance with requirements to make prices transparent.

HERE’S HOW TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON CHINA COULD IMPACT DRUG PRICING AND OTHER HEALTHCARE COSTS

President Donald Trump arrives at the White House Feb. 22 in Washington, D.C. (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)

“When healthcare prices are hidden, large corporate entities like hospitals and insurance companies benefit at the expense of American patients,” the White House wrote in a statement. “Price transparency will lower healthcare prices and help patients and employers get the best deal on healthcare.”

The executive order notes a number of concerns with current healthcare pricing, including that prices vary between hospitals in the same region.

“One patient in Wisconsin saved $1,095 by shopping for two tests between two hospitals located within 30 minutes of one another,” according to the statement.

The White House claims one economic analysis found Trump’s original price transparency rules, if fully implemented, could deliver savings of $80 billion for consumers, employers and insurers by 2025.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday requiring actions that could assist in healthcare price transparency. (iStock)

‘THIS IS ABOUT FENTANYL’: TARIFFS ARE CRUCIAL TO COMBATING ‘DRUG WAR,’ TRUMP AND CABINET OFFICIALS SAY

It added that employers will lower their healthcare costs by an average of 27% on 500 common services by better shopping for care.

“They’ll be able to check them, compare them, go to different locations, so they can shop for the highest-quality care at the lowest cost,” Trump wrote in the statement. “And this is about high-quality care. You’re also looking at that. You’re looking at comparisons between talents, which is very important. And, then, you’re also looking at cost. And, in some cases, you get the best doctor for the lowest cost. That’s a good thing.”

The White House said American patients are “fed up with the status quo,” with 95% saying healthcare price transparency is an important priority. More than 50% said it should be a top priority of the government.

In his first term, Trump took historic action by mandating that hospitals and insurers make prices public.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, File)

A lawsuit was filed against the Biden administration in 2023, alleging it did not enforce the prescription drug transparency requirements. 

“While the prior Administration failed to prioritize further implementation and enforcement of these requirements, President Trump is delivering on his promises to make the healthcare system more affordable and easier to navigate for patients,” according to the statement.

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Fox News Digital previously reported the administration’s tariffs on China will affect drug costs.

Consumers are more dependent on China for medications for anxiety and other psychiatric disorders, such as antidepressants.

Republicans are mounting pressure on the Justice Department to advance the release of classified documents and records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and other federal secrets. 

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January for agencies to create plans to distribute the files, as well as documents pertaining to the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

But Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who is leading the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, is pushing the Department of Justice for answers on when that will happen — and so far, says she has faced silence. 

“On Feb 11 & Feb 19, house oversight sent a letter to the DOJ asking for status on releasing the Epstein files as well as JFK etc.,” Luna said in a post on X Monday. “The DOJ has not responded. Reaching out on X because we can’t seem to get a response from the AG. @AGPamBondi what is the status of the documents? These documents were ordered to be declassified.”

ANNA PAULINA LUNA TO LEAD TASK FORCE ON DECLASSIFICATION OF JFK ASSASSINATION RECORDS, EPSTEIN CLIENT LIST

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is leading the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets.  (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Luna sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Attorney General Pam Bondi, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and White House Counsel David Warrington requesting a briefing by Thursday on plans for the release of the documents. 

The letter also requests details on when the declassified documents will become available to the task force and the public. 

Trump’s executive order instructed the Department of Justice to coordinate with Gabbard, Waltz and Warrington to establish a plan by Feb. 7 for the release of the JFK files, and to create a plan for the release of the MLK and Robert F. Kennedy files by March 9. 

Additionally, Luna is pushing the Justice Department to share details regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s client list. The American financier died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. 

Meanwhile, Bondi said Friday that Epstein’s client list was awaiting review, and that she was looking over the Kennedy and King files. 

“It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,” Bondi told “America Reports” host John Roberts Friday about the Epstein files. “That’s been a directive by President Trump.”

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

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the documents are under review. (Jason C. Andrew/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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

Luna’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital in response to Bondi’s statements. 

Luna isn’t the only Republican lawmaker pushing for the release of these documents. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also said Monday Democrats have undercut her efforts to “crack the Epstein trafficking ring wide open,” and vowed that she would receive answers under newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel. 

“The time for transparency is now,” Blackburn said in a Monday post on X. 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, also said in a Monday X post that the documents belong to the American people, and “it’s about damn time they be given access to it!” 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is among the Republicans pushing for the documents to be released to the American public.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The Office for the Director of National Intelligence also did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, but told the Associated Press that a plan has been submitted regarding the Kennedy files.

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The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. However, Trump vowed on the campaign trail that he would declassify all JFK-related documents if he won the 2024 election.  

The House’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets is scheduled to hold its first public hearing on March 26. 

Fox News’ Haley Chi-Sing contributed to this report. 

Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs plans to expand border security operations along the state’s four border counties, placing added focus on disrupting transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).

Hobbs signed an executive order Tuesday to establish Operation Desert Guardian, a joint task force in which the state partners with local law enforcement, sheriffs and the federal government to disrupt TCO operations in the counties of Yuma, Pima, Santa Cruz and Cochise.

“I’m proud to launch Operation Desert Guardian to combat the cartels, stop drug smuggling and human trafficking and secure Arizona’s border,” Hobbs said. “My administration has been in contact with the federal government and local sheriffs about the Operation, its critical objectives and our shared commitment to keeping criminals and drugs out of Arizona’s communities.”

Hobbs added that the operation’s objectives will include identifying and mitigating security vulnerabilities along Arizona’s southern border, which stretches about 370 miles, while also combating border-related crimes committed by TCOs. To do so, Hobbs said, the joint task force plans to dismantle TCO supply chains and operating networks.

BORDER STATE GOVERNOR VOWS TO DEFY TRUMP’S ‘MISGUIDED’ MASS DEPORTATION PLAN

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed an executive order Tuesday establishing Operation Desert Guardian to take on Mexican cartels and help secure the border. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Operation Desert Guardian’s funding will come from a portion of the state’s Border Security Fund, which has a balance of $28 million.

The operation will also build on the efforts of Task Force SAFE (Stopping Arizona’s Fentanyl Epidemic), a joint operation between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Arizona National Guard to stop drugs from entering Arizona at ports of entry.

Since its launch in July 2024, Task Force SAFE has intercepted 19 million fentanyl pills, 6,598 pounds of illicit drugs and 237 weapons at the border.

‘LOUD AND CLEAR’: BORDER STATE’S LEGISLATURE MOVES TO BACK TRUMP’S ICE ON DEPORTATION

Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers seized more than 26 pounds of fentanyl pills at a Border Patrol checkpoint near Gila Bend in 2022.  (Arizona Department of Public Safety)

“I have worked productively with the federal government on Task Force SAFE and partnered with local law enforcement to deliver critical border security support, and I look forward to continued partnership on our shared border security priorities,” Hobbs said. “With Operation Desert Guardian, I’m confident we can take an important next step in our ongoing work to secure the border.”

After President Donald Trump was re-elected to a second term in November, Hobbs said Arizona would not be aiding the incoming administration with its “misguided” plan to launch a mass deportation operation.

She was asked by ABC News whether the Trump administration would bring a reset on the border, and she responded by focusing on current partnerships with the federal government to secure the border.

‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY’: TRUMP DECLARES AMBITIOUS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Migrants at the southern border encountered in Arizona (U.S. Border Patrol)

“I am very hopeful that that partnership can continue, and that the incoming administration will listen to, not only my administration, but the experts here on the ground, the people that are doing the work, about what is most needed, and what we can continue to do that will be most helpful in securing our border,” she said.

“What I will unequivocally say is that, as governor, I will not tolerate efforts that are part of misguided policies that harm our communities, that threaten our communities, that terrorize our communities, and Arizona will not take part in those.”

State Republicans have a different plan, and, in January, state Senate President Warren Petersen, a Republican, introduced the “AZ ICE Act,” which would require sheriff’s departments and the Arizona Department of Corrections to enter into cooperative agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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

The agreements are based on 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers certain immigration functions, including identifying and detaining suspected illegal immigrants.

Petersen’s bill would also require law enforcement to comply with ICE detainers, which are requests that ICE be notified when an illegal immigrant is being released from state or local custody. “Sanctuary” jurisdictions do not comply with detainers.

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After Trump was sworn into office Jan. 20, he immediately signed a number of executive orders to tackle border security and illegal immigration.

Some local jurisdictions have pledged their support for the measures, but other officials have promised to either resist or not comply with any planned deportation operations.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Paul Clement, a former solicitor general and previous potential Trump Supreme Court pick, was tapped by a federal judge Friday to weigh in on the motion to dismiss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. 

U.S. District Judge Dale Ho decided to adjourn the case against Adams until further notice, while also appointing Clement to serve as an independent party. 

Ho wrote that bringing in Clement was “appropriate” in this case, “particularly so in light of the public importance of this case, which calls for careful deliberation.”

Former assistant U.S. attorney and Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy noted to Fox News Digital that it is “unusual” for courts to entertain amicus briefs in criminal cases and “it is highly unusual to appoint an amicus to assist the court in the manner contemplated in the Adams case.”

JUDGE ADJOURNS CASE AGAINST NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, STOPS SHORT OF DISMISSING THE CHARGES

Paul Clement, a former solicitor general and previous potential Trump Supreme Court pick, was tapped by a federal judge Friday to weigh in on the motion to dismiss the case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. (Getty)

Clement, a seasoned appellate lawyer who has argued more than 100 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, served as solicitor general under the Bush administration from 2005-2008. He was notably on President Donald Trump’s short list of Supreme Court nominees during his first term. 

Before taking on the role of the federal government’s top appellate lawyer, Clement served as a deputy solicitor general.

Clement earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a master’s in economics from Cambridge University. 

He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was the Supreme Court editor of the Harvard Law Review. 

Following graduation, Clement clerked for Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as well as for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. 

NY GOV HOCHUL DECIDES NYC MAYOR ADAMS’ FATE; RAMPS UP OVERSIGHT OF CITY’S TOP OFFICIAL

He went into private practice after his clerkships, joining Kirkland & Ellis’ Washington, D.C., office. 

Clement also served as chief counsel of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights before returning to private practice and working as a partner at King & Spalding in D.C., where he headed the firm’s appellate practice. 

Clement’s advocacy in the high court includes recently arguing Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which effectively overturned the Chevron doctrine. (Getty)

Clement is currently a distinguished lecturer in law at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he initially served as an adjunct professor starting in 1998. He is also partner at Clement & Murphy in D.C.

Clement’s advocacy in the high court includes recently arguing Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which effectively overturned the Chevron doctrine. The doctrine previously gave deference to an agency’s interpretation of a federal regulation. Clement also litigated against the Obama administration, challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.  

NYC MAYOR ADAMS REFUSES TO RESIGN IN SERMON: ‘I HAVE A MISSION TO FINISH’

McCarthy said he thinks “very highly of Paul Clement, who is among the top appellate lawyers in the United States,” saying the Adams case “calls for a faithful interpretation” of federal law and “I can’t think of anyone better than Clement to give a judge impartial, solid advice on that issue.”

Ho’s decision to adjourn the case came just days after U.S. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove asked prosecutors to drop all corruption charges against the mayor.  

In the motion to dismiss, Bove said the legal proceedings against Adams were detracting from other Justice Department priorities, such as illegal immigration and violent crime. 

The charges against Adams will remain intact until Ho agrees to dismiss them. (Adam Gray for Fox News Digital )

Ho appointed Clement to weigh in on the DOJ’s motion to drop the case. Among the questions posed to Clement, the court asks, “Under what circumstances, if leave is granted, dismissal should be with or without prejudice.” 

“The main point of the rule is to protect the defendant’s rights,” McCarthy said. “The judge has no authority to order DOJ to persist in prosecuting Adams, or to appoint a ‘special prosecutor,’ but Clement is an excellent lawyer and can give Judge Ho good advice on whether to accept the plea with the ‘without prejudice’ term in it.”

Parties are expected to submit briefings by early March, with oral arguments expected shortly thereafter. 

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The charges against Adams will remain intact until Ho agrees to dismiss them.

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