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The Trump Treasury Department’s new sanctions are a “full-frontal assault” on one of the deadliest southern border cartels, a local border official told Fox News Digital.

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two high-ranking Cartel del Noreste (CDN) members, Mexican nationals Miguel Angel de Anda Ledezma and Ricardo Gonzalez Sauceda, Wednesday.

CDN was one of eight cartels and transnational criminal groups labeled “foreign terrorist organizations” by the Department of State Feb. 20.

Under new sanctions announced this week, all property and interest in properties belonging to De Anda and Gonzalez that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked. 

EXCLUSIVE: ILLEGAL ALIEN WHOSE DEPORTATION WAS PAUSED BY ‘ACTIVIST’ JUDGE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED A DISABLED WOMAN

Video footage from a Texas Department of Public Safety surveillance aircraft captured a gun battle between Gulf Cartel factions earlier this year. (Texas Department of Public Safety)

While announcing the sanctions, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department is “working toward the total elimination of cartels to make America safe again” and that the Trump administration “will hold these terrorists accountable for their criminal activities and abhorrent acts of violence.”

“CDN and its leaders have carried out a violent campaign of intimidation, kidnapping and terrorism, threatening communities on both sides of our southern border,” said Bessent. “We will continue to cut off the cartels’ ability to obtain the drugs, money and guns that enable their violent activities.”

ICE BEGINS NEW, NATIONWIDE EFFORT TO ARREST ILLEGAL ALIENS AT IMMIGRATION HEARINGS

Paul Perez, who leads the National Border Patrol Council chapter in the South Texas Rio Grande Valley, told Fox News Digital even though the Trump administration’s border crackdown has dramatically reduced illegal crossings, the cartels, including CDN, continue to present a threat to the lives and safety of American citizens living on the border.

“The threat of cartels is still there,” Perez said in an interview with Fox News Digital. He noted that “the thing about the cartels is that they’re very sophisticated,” explaining they have begun using advanced technology like drones to carry out their operations.

Soldiers patrol the streets of Aguililla, Mexico, March 11, 2022, after violent cartel activity. (Enrique Castro/AFP/Getty Images)

“They’re not the street gang-level managers,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of people on their side that have been in this industry for a long time. They know how to get their products moving. They know how to get their product across.”

In Mexico, Perez said, the cartels control the border and “act with impunity all along the border,” while the Mexican police and military are unable to stop them.

He said cartel gunfights along the border often lead to cartel members fleeing north into the U.S., where “they’re going to do everything they can to get away and get back. And if that means harming American citizens, then they’re going to do that.”

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When it comes to CDN, Perez said “they engage in grotesque conduct,” such as beheadings and kidnappings and “will harm anybody that gets in their way” regardless of whether they are American or otherwise.

“What I can tell you about the Noreste cartel, they’re no different than any other cartels out there, the Sinaloa cartel. They’re all deadly cartels. They all traffic in fentanyl. They all traffic in drugs. They are trafficking people,” he explained.

TRUMP ADMIN PROMISES TO BE ‘RUTHLESSLY AGGRESSIVE’ IN RESPONSE TO SUSPECTED CARTEL KILLING OF US CITIZEN

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., including one that designates Mexican cartels as foreign terror organizations.  (Jim Watson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

By targeting CDN’s leadership, Perez said the Trump administration is effectively weakening the cartel by creating a power vacuum that will cause infighting that will further sap the organization’s strength.

“The cartels are definitely going to feel it,” he said. “So, it’s a full-frontal assault from the United States.

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“That’s the protection that we’re bringing to the border that we weren’t able to bring under President Biden,” he added. 

“President Trump, on the campaign trail, and since he’s been in office, has repeatedly said he’s going to do everything he can to protect the United States, to protect its citizens and make sure that there’s nobody around that can do harm to our country. And he’s doing that. He’s taking on the cartels. He’s not afraid of them.

“We want to decimate the cartel activity that’s going on in the United States. So, he’s done what he said he was going to. We support that 100%.”

The Trump administration is suing four New Jersey cities, accusing local officials of obstructing federal law and infringing on efforts to combat illegal immigration through their sanctuary city policies. 

The lawsuit by the Justice Department alleged the cities of Newark, Hoboken, Jersey City and Paterson unlawfully obstructed federal authorities trying to fight illegal immigration. 

Mayors Ras Baraka of Newark, Ravi Bhalla of Hoboken, Steven Fulop of Jersey City and Andre Sayegh of Paterson are named as defendants, along with the four city councils. 

“By intent and design, the Challenged Policies are a frontal assault on the federal immigration laws and the federal authorities that administer them,” the complaint states. 

BLUE STATE POLITICAL BATTLE INTENSIFIES AFTER DEM MAYOR’S ARREST AT ICE FACILITY: ‘OUTRAGED’

Ras Baraka of Newark speaks to the press near ICE agents at a demonstration outside an immigrant detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey on May 7. The Trump administration is suing Newark and three other New Jersey cities over their sanctuary policies.  (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

Baraka was recently arrested and charged with trespassing outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in his city. That case was dropped, but U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was later charged with assault during the protest at Delaney Hall. 

“The lawsuit against Newark is absurd,” Barake said in a statement. “We are not standing in the way of public safety. We are upholding the Constitution, providing oversight, and following the laws and guidelines of the State of New Jersey.”

He said nothing in the city’s policies prevents law enforcement from doing their jobs. “What we refuse to do is turn our city into an arm of federal immigration enforcement, which the courts have already ruled is not our role,” he added. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth wrote that local policies are designed to “thwart federal immigration enforcement”.

NEWARK MAYOR ARRESTED AT ICE FACILITY CLAIMS HE WAS ‘TARGETED’ AFTER COURT HEARING

“[E]ven where local law enforcement wants to help the United States deal with the nation’s immigration crisis, the Challenged Policies impede them from doing so,” he wrote. “This not only puts the safety of officers at risk, but also endangers the broader communities they are sworn to protect.”

The lawsuit comes after federal charges were filed against Baraka, a gubernatorial candidate, for his role during a May 9 clash involving Democratic politicians at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Newark.

“Recent events have proven that these New Jersey officials care more about political showmanship than the safety of their communities,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “As I have made clear, this Justice Department does not tolerate local officials in sanctuary cities obstructing immigration enforcement: there is more litigation to come.”

“We will continue to do what we have always done, protect the rights of all our residents, stand on constitutional ground, and reject fear-based politics that divide communities rather than strengthen them,” Baraka said.

DHS SAYS ‘ARRESTS ARE STILL ON THE TABLE’ AFTER NEW JERSEY HOUSE DEMS CAUGHT ON CAMERA ‘STORMING’ ICE FACILITY

Ras Baraka, Mayor of Newark, speaks at the State of the People Power Tour in Newark, NJ, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Baraka holds a rally after being arrested at a federal immigration center the week before. (Stephanie Keith for Fox News Digital)

“Hoboken is a community that prides itself on its vibrancy, its cultural diversity, and its inclusivity, and we will continue to stand together as a community for what is fair and just,” Bhalla said in a separate statement. ”The City of Hoboken will vigorously work to defend our rights, have our day in court, and defeat the Trump Administration’s lawlessness. To be clear: we will not back down.”

“Jersey City gets sued for being a sanctuary city — I guess MAGA ran out of conspiracy theories for the week,” Fulop wrote on X in response to the lawsuit. “Here is the truth: Jersey City’s policies protect families, reflect our values and have led to record low crime rates. As governor, I won’t be bullied. We’ll fight this — and win.”

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Sayegh’s office. 

The Trump administration has targeted sanctuary jurisdictions as it continues to catch and deport criminal illegal immigrants. 

It has filed lawsuits against cities in New York, Colorado and Illinois over attempts to impede immigration enforcement. 

The Fox News Politics Newsletter will not be sent out on Monday, May 25th due to the Memorial Day Holiday. We wish everyone a happy and safe Memorial Day. 

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.  Here’s what’s happening…

–Hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners released in swap with Russia, Zelenskyy says

–New footage shows Milwaukee judge confronting ICE before allegedly helping illegal immigrant exit

-Vance tells Naval Academy graduates they are facing ‘new’ and ‘very dangerous era’ for US

“Gold standard science”

President Donald Trump signed several executive orders (EOs) on nuclear energy proliferation and an order removing political considerations from public-sector science, as conservatives claimed the latter was scandalized in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump also signed restoring “gold standard science” as the cornerstone of federal research. 

A senior White House official said on Friday there has been a decline in “disruptive research” and investments in biomedical research, along with “serious cases” of fraud and misconduct and the inability to reproduce scientific methods for the purpose of restoring public trust…Read more

Trump, left, SLO Nuclear Reactor, right (Getty)

White House

‘COULD NOT SPEAK’: Biden struggled to film 2024 campaign videos amid declining health, new book claims: ‘The man could not speak’

RESTRAINING ORDER: Judge temporarily pauses Trump move to cancel Harvard student visa policy after lawsuit

Harvard is suing the Trump administration

DEADLY SLOGAN: Former Biden diplomat says there’s ‘no question’ ‘Free Palestine’ slogan has become a call for violence

World Stage

BARRACK ON: US Ambassador to Turkey Barrack to assume role of US Special Envoy for Syria

ATOMIC SHOWDOWN: US and Iran clash over uranium enrichment as nuclear talks resume in Rome

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Donald Trump (Getty Images)

Capitol Hill

‘WATER TORTURE’: Dems call budget bill ‘bureaucratic water torture’ as GOP ‘glad to have the ball in our court’

‘ABOUT TO FIND OUT’: Sen. Mike Lee accuses Chicago mayor — who called Trump a ‘monster’ — of ‘bragging about’ violating the law

Across America 

‘HEARTBREAKING’: Wisconsin man fired for refusing to use preferred pronouns appeals to Trump administration

WALL WORKS: Republican AGs visit US-Mexico border wall as Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ clears expansion funding

This image shows the border wall separating Mexico from the U.S. in San Diego Sector. (Fox News)

SHIFTING GEAR: Blue-state Republican ‘thankful’ for move to scrap gas-car ban as Newsom vows court fight to save it

SOROS UNDER FIRE: Alex Soros blasted for condemning shooting of Israelis while funding anti-Israel groups

TIMELINE TWIST: RFK Jr. backtracks on timeline for determining cause of autism in CNN interview

TERROR IN DC: Father of suspect accused of killing Israeli Embassy staffers in DC was guest at Trump’s joint address
 

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

Tom Barrack, US Ambassador to Turkey and former advisor to President Donald Trump, announced on Friday that he would be filling the role of U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, highlighting recent sanctions relief.

In a post on X, Barrack said he will be assuming the role to support Secretary of State Marco Rubio “in the realization of the President’s vision” for the country.

“President Trump has outlined his clear vision of a prosperous Middle East and a stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors,” Barrack wrote in the post. 

Tom Barrack, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and former advisor to President Donald Trump, will serve as U.S. Special Envoy for Syria. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

TRUMP ASKS SYRIA TO JOIN ABRAHAM ACCORDS, NORMALIZE TIES WITH ISRAEL IN RETURN FOR SANCTIONS RELIEF

On May 13, the president committed to lifting the United States’ sanctions against Syria to allow the new government to stabilize the country. 

U.S. sanctions were first administered on Damascus in 1979, when it was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Barrack said the cessation of sanctions against Syria will “preserve the integrity of our primary objective — the enduring defeat of ISIS,” and give the people of Syria a chance to recover after the Bashar al-Assad regime was ousted by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham last year.

People wave guns in the air as they gather to celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime in Umayyad Square on Dec. 8 in Damascus, Syria.  (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

BIDEN ADMIN LIFTS $10M BOUNTY ON THE HEAD OF LEADER OF ISLAMIST GROUP NOW IN CHARGE IN SYRIA

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S. and U.N.-designated terrorist organization, separated from al Qaeda in 2016.

Nearly 1,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Syria to fight ISIS, and about 10,000 ISIS fighters are being held by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia, Fox News Digital previously reported.

U.S. Army soldiers prepare to go out on patrol from a remote combat outpost on May 25, 2021, in northeastern Syria. U.S. forces, part of Task Force WARCLUB operate from combat outposts in the area, coordinating with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in combatting residual ISIS extremists and deterring pro-Iranian militia. (John Moore/Getty Images)

US DIPLOMATS IN DAMASCUS FOR FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN 10 YEARS FOLLOWING FALL OF ASSAD REGIME

“In this way, we, together with regional partners including Türkiye and the Gulf, are enabling the Syrian government to restore peace, security, and the hope of prosperity,” Barrack wrote. “In the words of the President, we will work together, and we will succeed together.”

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Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance told graduates at the United States Naval Academy on Friday that they are embarking on a mission in a “new and very dangerous era for our country” as adversaries such as China and Russia are “determined to beat us in every single domain.” 

Speaking in Annapolis, Vance said the Trump administration has “reversed course” in U.S. foreign policy as there will be “no more undefined missions” and “no more open-ended conflicts.” 

“We’re turning to a strategy grounded in realism and protecting our core national interests. Now, this doesn’t mean that we ignore threats. But it means that we approach them with discipline and that when we send you to war, we do it with a very specific set of goals in mind,” Vance said. 

“In the wake of the Cold War, America enjoyed a mostly unchallenged command of the commons — airspace, sea, space, and cyberspace. But the era of uncontested U.S. dominance is over. Today we face serious threats in China, Russia, and other nations determined to beat us in every single domain,” he added. 

WILL VANCE REMARK ABOUT US BAILING ON UKRAINE ENCOURAGE PUTIN TO SINK NASCENT PEACE TALKS 

Vice President JD Vance speaks during the U.S. Naval Academy’s graduation and commissioning ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Friday, May 23. (AP/Stephanie Scarbrough)

“You will be leaders of men and women in our armed forces,” Vance said. “So while President Trump and I congratulate you on this incredible achievement, I also thought it would be appropriate to tell you a bit about how the president and I think of your mission in this new and very dangerous era for our country.” 

The vice president said past U.S. administrations carried out a “long experiment in our foreign policy that traded national defense and the maintenance of our alliances for nation-building and meddling in foreign countries’ affairs, even when those foreign countries have very little to do with core American interests.” 

“Following the collapse of the Soviet Union… for a brief time, we were a superpower without any fear. Nor did we believe any foreign nation could possibly rise to compete with the United States of America,” he continued. 

TRUMP REVERSES COURSE ON MIDDLE EAST TECH POLICY, BUT WILL IT BE ENOUGH TO COUNTER CHINA? 

Vice President JD Vance, left, hands a diploma to a graduate during the U.S. Naval Academy’s graduation and commissioning ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Friday, May 23. (AP/Stephanie Scarbrough)

“And so our leaders traded hard power for soft power. We stopped making things, everything from cars to computers to the weapons of war, like the ships that guard our waters and the weapons that you will use in the future. Why did we do that? Well too many of us believed that economic integration would naturally lead to peace by making countries like the People’s Republic of China more like the United States,” Vance said. “Over time, we were told that the world would converge toward a uniform set of bland, secular universal ideals regardless of culture or country. And those that didn’t want to converge, our policymakers would it make it their goal to force them by any means necessary.” 

“So instead of devoting our energies to the rise of… competitors like China, our leaders pursued what they assumed would be easy jobs for the world’s preeminent superpower. How hard could it be to build new democracies in the Middle East? Well almost impossibly hard, it turns out, and unbelievably costly,” Vance told the graduates. 

Vance said, “We must be, all of us, not just smarter,” but now “we got to make sure that [when] we send our troops to war, we do it with the right tools.”  

Vice President JD Vance speaks on Friday in Annapolis, Md. (AP/KT Kanazawich)

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“We can no longer assume our engagements will come without cost. That’s why the Trump administration is investing in innovation, rewarding risk-takers at the Department of Defense and streamlining weapons acquisitions for the new century,” he said during his speech. 

YUMA, Ariz. – Republican attorneys general from 11 states visited the U.S.-Mexico border wall in remote Yuma, Arizona, this week, touting a more than 90% decrease in illegal crossings since President Donald Trump began his second term.

Their visit came a day before the House narrowly passed Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which in part allocates $46.5 billion to revive construction of the wall, which at its current stage covers just a quarter of the approximately 1,900-mile-long stretch separating the United States from Mexico. In Yuma, a city of just 110,000 people, local officials briefed the Republican attorneys general of Kansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Alabama, Montana, Iowa and Indiana on how an average of 1,500 people were illegally crossing the border a day during the first six months of the Biden administration. That’s dropped to about four daily illegal crossings since Trump took office.

In addition to the border wall itself, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach — chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association – told Fox News Digital the administration needs other “force multipliers,” especially with the task of carrying out the “largest interior removal since the Eisenhower administration.” He announced an additional three GOP states entered into 287(G) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which means local and state deputies and officers are trained to exercise federal law enforcement powers, including making immigration-related arrests, initiating removal processes, conducting investigations and tapping into ICE databases. 

BIPARTISAN SENATE BILL TARGETS BORDER HUMAN, DRUG TRAFFICKING WITH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY

Republican attorneys general from 11 states visited the border wall in Yuma, Arizona, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Danielle Wallace/Fox News Digital)

“The thing the Trump administration needs the most right now is force multipliers,” Kobach said. “Even if we doubled the number of Border Patrol agents at ICE stations, we still wouldn’t have enough. This border wall, which I’m looking at, is one force multiplier at the border. The other big force multiplier is state and local law enforcement signing 287(g) agreements and then helping ICE in the interior. And that’s where the red states are leading the way.” 

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said 540 kilograms of fentanyl and 850 kilograms of cocaine were trafficked into the Palmetto State, originating from Mexican drug cartels. One kilo alone is enough to kill half a million people. 

“This is the kind of stuff that keeps me up at night. I have two teenage kids in high school. When you hear about parents losing a kid in an overdose, it really strikes at your core. And so it’s not just about law enforcement, it’s about national security,” Wilson told Fox News Digital. “As a 29-year veteran of the Army, an Iraq war veteran. I think in terms of national security, as well as law enforcement. This right here, what happens here, President Trump’s policies here have empowered local law enforcement and local and state prosecutors like myself to be able to more effectively combat the illicit activity, starting with Mexican drug cartels and gangs like Tren de Aragua.” 

Wilson said it is important to fortify a “digital border,” noting how Mexican drug cartels, Chinese nationals and other illicit criminal organizations launder the proceeds of human and drug trafficking and other crimes using platforms such as WeChat. Wilson has partnered with North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, and attorneys general from four other states in a bipartisan effort to target the Chinese app allegedly linked to the international fentanyl trade. 

Republican attorneys general hold up makeshift fencing used during the Biden administration surge in Yuma, Arizona, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Danielle Wallace/Fox News Digital)

The 11 Republican attorneys general in Yuma highlighted the importance of making the trip to the southern border despite their home states not directly bordering Mexico. Under the Biden administration, the Republicans argued that every state became a border state with the trafficking of fentanyl and other deadly drugs, as well as people across the border. 

TOM HOMAN APPLAUDS ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’, SAYS LEGISLATION WOULD ‘SOLIDIFY THE SUCCESS’ AT THE BORDER

“In the dark days of the Biden administration, this part of the border saw 1,500 illegal crossings a day. Today? Just four. That’s leadership,” Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said. “In Kentucky, we lost 1,400 lives last year to drugs coming over this border. That’s not abstract—it’s empty chairs at kitchen tables. I’m here to thank the men and women who wear the badge, who’ve made this border secure again.”

“Alabama may not be a border state, but we’ve seen the cost of an open border – fentanyl deaths, rising crime. The difference now? It’s not the law that changed, it’s the leadership,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said. “Border encounters are down 93%, gotaways down 95%. That’s the result of letting immigration enforcement do their jobs. We’re no longer the last line of defense—we’re partners in restoring the rule of law.”

“When federal officials can’t do their jobs, every state becomes a border state—even Indiana,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said. “We were the first non-border state to sue the Biden administration over its lawless immigration policies. Now, under new leadership, morale at the border has skyrocketed. I’m here not just for our law enforcement, but for the teachers overwhelmed by the fallout, for the parents and professionals caught in a broken system. Enough is enough.”

A stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border wall is seen in Yuma, Arizona, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Danielle Wallace/Fox News Digital)

A stop on the tour included seeing pallets of $2 million worth of border wall supplies paid for under Trump’s first term that the Biden administration prevented federal contractors from erecting – something Kobach categorized as “dereliction of duty” and “deliberate efforts to keep our border open.” The Republican attorneys general also heard from the local hospital system, which incurred $26 million in unreimbursed care costs during a six-month period between December 2021 and May 2022 primarily due to treating migrants. At the peak of the crisis, approximately 350,000 illegal aliens crossed the border through the Yuma sector in a single year under the Biden administration. 

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The surge caused $1.2 million in losses to three family farms in the region, as migrants camped out and defecated around crops. Local officials underscored the national food security risks, given that Yuma produces 2,500 semi-loads of leafy greens per day during peak season. The Marine Top Gun School brings thousands more U.S. Marines to Yuma every six months, but live-fire drills had to be shut down due to the surge in illegal crossings near ranges, local officials told the attorneys general, highlighting how military readiness was also impacted due to the Biden border crisis. 

Senate reaction to the House’s passage of its “big, beautiful bill” was sharply divided, with Democrats warning of long-term harm to the working class and Republicans arguing it would help that very group.

“Republicans’ reconciliation bill dismantles the American Dream and strips health care, food assistance, and more away from millions of hardworking Americans,” Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., fumed in a Thursday statement.

“Republicans are taking a chainsaw to critical services that American families depend on and using them as a piggy bank for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy.”

Durbin, who is retiring after a four-decade career in office, quipped that billionaires “win” and American families “lose – all thanks to President Donald Trump.”

REPUBLICANS READY LATE-NIGHT SESSION ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ AFTER GOP MUTINY

The number-two Democrat urged four unnamed Senate Republicans to break with their party and have the “good sense to join Democrats” to stop the bill from reaching the White House.

Two Republicans unlikely to heed that call were Sens. Roger Marshall of Kansas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who both offered a “well done” verbal back-pat to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

Marshall said the Senate must deliver the bill to Trump for America’s betterment, as Graham cited the border security provisions in the legislation and welcomed the bill to his side of the Capitol.

Back in Durbin’s camp, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took to the Senate floor to condemn the “dead of night” vote and claimed Republicans hoped “nobody would notice” their “rotten to the core” bill.

Schumer was up late Wednesday, unsuccessfully forcing about a half-dozen motions-to-recess or adjourn as the Republicans held the Senate open to begin the process of undoing California’s emissions waivers granted by former President Joe Biden.

DEMS WARN HOUSE REPUBLICANS WILL PAY PRICE AT BALLOT BOX FOR PASSING TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’

House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans celebrated passing Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” on Thursday.  (Getty Images)

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., pointed Fox News Digital to recent comments on the bill, in which he said its goal is truly to “make life better for people so they can afford to pay their mortgage, they can afford to put gas in the car, and afford for their groceries.”

“That’s why we’re doing this. This is part of our comprehensive economic plan,” Thune said.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., echoed the “cloak of darkness” sentiment to Fox News Digital, saying the bill will “terminate health care for nearly 14 million Americans” and is “not what the people of Wisconsin signed up for.”

“You can bet I’m going to fight it,” Baldwin said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ronald Wyden – the Oregon Democrat and ranking member of the Finance Committee – called the bill a “full-scale assault on Americans’ health and safety.”

“This bill means kids will go hungry, seniors will face greater abuse and neglect in nursing homes, people with disabilities will lose care at home, and millions of working Americans will be subjected to humiliation and bureaucratic water torture just to get health care,” Wyden said.

“Millions will lose their health insurance, and many more will find it harder to get health care, leading to untold suffering and quiet deaths,” Wyden added.

Maryland Democrat Angela Alsobrooks told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the Big Beautiful Bill Act will account for the largest food stamp cuts in history.

“[It’s] beautiful for whom? Certainly not the millions of Americans who rely on SNAP to feed their children and on Medicaid to get their health care,” Alsobrooks said, adding the GOP seems “obsessed” with seeing the “poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer.”

Alsobrooks said the majority of her fellow Old Line State residents agree with her sentiments.

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., echoed Alsobrooks’ concerns about SNAP and Medicaid.

“It’s a terrible bill and every senator should reject it,” Welch said.

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When reached for comment, fellow Vermonter Bernie Sanders directed Fox News Digital to a 20-minute floor speech the democratic socialist made a few days ago.

“At a time when the richest people have never had it so good, they see Republican leadership working overtime to make the billionaire class even richer,” Sanders said.

“At a time when a majority of Americans are struggling to put food on the table and pay for health care, they see Republican leadership making life even more difficult for average Americans.” 

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said conversely she is grateful to Trump and Johnson for their “diligent work.”

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said that the Senate will carefully consider the House’s final product and work to craft final legislation that meets the chamber’s rules and prevents the “biggest tax hike in American history,” if the Trump Tax Cuts were to expire.

New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim released a video message to constituents about the passage on Thursday, calling it one of the most dangerous bills in history.

“I want you to pay attention,” he told Jerseyans, citing “disastrous things” in the legislation.

Thune and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, are expected to make changes to the bill, but they hope to keep them minimal to preserve the “delicate balance” struck by the House, Thune said.

The upper chamber hopes to have the final product to Trump by Independence Day.

President Donald Trump could soon sign into law a joint congressional resolution scrapping California’s Environmental Protection Agency waiver that requires an end to gasoline-powered car sales by 2035. It’s a move provoking pushback from Golden State leaders in Sacramento.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats have argued that it is an illegal use of the Congressional Review Act, whereas Republicans, including state legislators, say the move is a necessary step toward curbing regulation in the state.

“I’m thankful that the folks in Washington, D.C., had common sense with something the governor doesn’t have here in California,” State Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, told Fox News Digital in an interview on Thursday, adding that “people can’t afford” a transition to electric vehicles.

SENATE GOP VOWS VOTE TO END BIDEN EPA WAIVER GRANTED TO PUSH DRIVERS TO EV CARS

Motorists drive cars and other vehicles during the late afternoon commute on December 16, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)

“We don’t have enough energy capacity. The worst thing that can happen in California right now is everybody plugs in an electric car. We have rolling blackouts. We’re talking about rolling blackouts just from the heat this summer, not alone adding millions and millions of cars that would add electric vehicles to it. And we don’t have the infrastructure either,” the Republican added, saying that he’s glad “the federal government weighed in.”

At a news conference on Thursday morning, Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta said they plan on suing the Trump administration, which they’ve done more than 20 times, over the likely move.

Part of the legal argument being made by the Golden State is that the House Government Accountability Office and the Senate parliamentarian said that a waiver does not technically count as a rule, which created a debate over what can be done under the Congressional Review Act, according to The Hill. 

35 DEMOCRATS VOTE WITH GOP TO BLOCK BIDEN RULE ALLOWING NEWSOM’S GAS CAR BAN

Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, believes the Senate action to kill the EPA waiver is an illegal misuse of the Congressional Review Act. (Getty)

Newsom said that the electric vehicle manufacturing market has made significant gains in California and that the state is a leader in “innovation” in wanting to pivot to electric, specifically citing air quality.

In the short term, the state is also facing concerns about rising gas prices with the expected closures of two California refineries, an issue the governor said he’s been on top of to avoid issues.

When Fox News Digital asked Newsom whether he thinks rising prices would encourage consumers to switch to electric vehicles, he said that Californians are ultimately in the driver’s seat.

CONGRESS CAN STOP CALIFORNIA’S RADICAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANDATES THAT HURT THE ENTIRE NATION

Electric vehicle at a charging station (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

“I think that’s up to consumers, but the cost benefits of electric vehicles are well-established and continue to be well-reinforced as it relates to uncertainties around supply chains, wars of aggression by Russia, and by the vagaries of the kind of political machinations you see in the Middle East and self-dealing that we see. We are simply hostages to decisions that are made without you talking about any input from taxpayers or citizens. I’d rather have a little bit more agency in this country as it relates to our energy future,” Newsom added.

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In Washington, Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., is touting his resolution’s success.

“This is a bipartisan national repudiation of the utter insanity Newsom has inflicted on our state,” he posted to X. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. 

Harvard is taking the Trump administration to court over its decision to terminate the university’s student visa program. 

Harvard said the policy will affect more than 7,000 visa holders — nearly a quarter of the student body — and is a “blatant violation of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act,” per its court filing.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) moved to terminate the program after Harvard allegedly failed to provide it with the extensive behavioral records of student visa holders the department requested. DHS offered Harvard 72 hours on Thursday to come into compliance with the request and re-enter into the visa program. 

As of now, Harvard may no longer enroll foreign students in the 2025–2026 school year, and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status to reside in the U.S. before the next academic year begins. 

University President Alan Garber said a motion for a temporary restraining order to put the policy on pause while their court case against it plays out would be filed next.

Harvard University President Alan Garber said a motion for a temporary restraining order to put the policy on pause while their court case against it plays out would be filed next. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FROM TERMINATING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ LEGAL STATUS

“It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government’s demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum, and the “ideology” of its faculty and students,” Harvard wrote in its complaint. 

The records requested include any footage of protest activity involving students on visas and the disciplinary records of all students on visas in the past five years. 

Requested records also include footage or documentation of illegal, dangerous or violent activity by student visa holders, any records of threats or the deprivation of rights of other students or university personnel.

Harvard called the new policy “pernicious” and accused the Trump administration of departing from “decades of settled practice and come without rational explanation.” It claimed the policy was “carried out abruptly without any of the robust procedures the government has established to prevent just this type of upheaval to thousands of students’ lives.” 

“Consequences must follow to send a clear signal to Harvard and all universities that want to enjoy the privilege of enrolling foreign students, that the Trump administration will enforce the law and root out the evils of antisemitism in society and campuses,” said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. (Getty)

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in response to the suit, “This lawsuit seeks to kneecap the President’s constitutionally vested powers under Article II.”

“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments,” she said. “The Trump administration is committed to restoring common sense to our student visa system; no lawsuit, this or any other, is going to change that.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said on Thursday that in April, she requested the records related to visa-holding students, and Harvard’s counsel did not provide adequate information to meet the demand. 

After the DHS general counsel asked again for the information, Harvard provided an “insufficient, incomplete and unacceptable response,” she said. 

Student visa holders will not be allowed to study at Harvard next year over campus protests under a new DHS policy. (Brett Phelps/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BEGINS NEW WAVE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISA REVOCATIONS: ‘NO ONE HAS A RIGHT TO A VISA’

“Consequences must follow to send a clear signal to Harvard and all universities that want to enjoy the privilege of enrolling foreign students, that the Trump administration will enforce the law and root out the evils of antisemitism in society and campuses,” said Noem.

In April, Harvard took action to prepare for the potential of the drastic policy change, announcing it would allow foreign students to accept admission to both Harvard and a foreign university as backup amid the Trump administration’s threats to move to block Harvard’s authorization to host them. Typically, students must accept enrollment at Harvard by May 1 and cannot commit to another university. 

At least a dozen Harvard students have had their authorization to study in the U.S. revoked over campus protest activity. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress Tuesday the administration has probably revoked “thousands” of student visas by this point and would “proudly” revoke more. 

It is the latest development in the brewing battle between the Trump administration and some of the nation’s most prestigious universities. 

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The administration has already frozen close to $3 billion in federal funding to the university, largely dedicated to research, and launched investigations across the departments of Justice, Education and Health and Human Services. They claim Harvard has not adequately responded to campus antisemitism in protests or moved to root out diversity, equity and inclusion practices. 

President Donald Trump hosted a swanky dinner last night for the top investors of his $TRUMP meme coin project, telling them “The Biden administration persecuted crypto innovators and we’re bringing them back into the USA where they belong,” reports said. 

The event at the Trump National Golf Club Washington DC in Potomac Falls, Va., was open to the 220 largest buyers of Trump’s meme coin, with the top 25 getting “an ultra-exclusive private VIP reception with the President.” 

The Wall Street Journal, citing blockchain analytics firm Inca Digital, reported that around $148 million worth of $TRUMP was purchased by investors to win seats at the dinner, where guests had to pass background checks. 

“The Biden administration persecuted crypto innovators, and we’re bringing them back into the U.S.A. where they belong,” it quoted Trump telling the audience Thursday night, who dined on filet mignon and halibut. 

TRUMP CRYPTO CHIEF SAYS WE ARE IN THE ‘GOLDEN AGE’ FOR DIGITAL ASSETS, ‘CLEARING THE DECK’ OF BIDEN BARRIERS 

An unidentified guest wears a mask as he arrives at Trump National Golf Club where a private dinner was hosted by the president on Thursday, May 22, in Sterling, Va.  (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Protesters gathered outside the club holding signs that said “stop crypto corruption” and “no corrupt fools.” 

“The past administration made your lives miserable,” Trump was also quoted by the New York Times as saying, in reference to President Biden’s regulations against cryptocurrency. 

“There is a lot of sense in crypto. A lot of common sense in crypto,” Trump reportedly added. “And we’re honored to be working on helping everybody here.” 

According to participants’ posts on social media, Trump spoke for about half an hour before dancing to the song “YMCA.” 

Despite the White House insisting that Trump would be attending the event “in his personal time,” he stood behind a lectern with the presidential seal. 

HOUSE DEMOCRATS STORM OUT OF CRYPTOCURRENCY HEARING, ALLEGING TRUMP ‘CORRUPTION’ 

An activist calls out an attendee of an exclusive dinner at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 22. (Kevin Wolf/AP Content Services for Our Revolution)

Three days before Trump took office on Jan. 20, he announced the creation of the $TRUMP meme coin, describing as a way for his supporters to “have fun.” 

Trump’s meme coin saw an initial spike in value, followed by a steep drop. Its creators, which include an entity controlled by the Trump Organization, have made hundreds of millions of dollars by collecting fees on trades, according to the Associated Press. 

Critics have raised concerns that the president’s connection with cryptocurrency ventures could open the door to conflicts of interest and influence peddling. 

TRUMP LAUNCHES HIS OWN CRYPTOCURRENCY MEME COIN 

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., speaks outside the Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 22. (Kevin Wolf/AP Content Services for Our Revolution)

When asked by a reporter Thursday if “anyone in the White House or in the White House counsel’s office advise the president against holding this sweepstakes, whereby people who spent the most money on his Trump coin would then have access to the president at this time”, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “is abiding by all conflict-of-interest laws that are applicable to the president.” 

“And I think everybody, the American public, believe it’s absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency,” she added. “This president was incredibly successful before giving it all up to serve our country publicly. And not only has he lost wealth, but he also almost lost his life. He has sacrificed a lot to be here, and to suggest otherwise is, frankly, completely absurd.” 

The biggest investor in Trump’s meme coin, Chinese billionaire Justin Sun – who spent more than $40 million — told the New York Times outside of the event Thursday that “I’m very excited to meet him and discuss about crypto’s future.” 

Among those protesting outside the golf club were Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon. 

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“This is the crypto corruption club,” Merkley was quoted by the Times as saying. “This is like the Mount Everest of corruption.” 

FOX Business’ Eric Revell and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have launched a nationwide initiative to begin arresting illegal immigrants at their immigration and asylum hearings, Fox News has learned.

The effort targets illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. fewer than two years. The DHS strategy is to drop their immigration case, arrest the migrant, then place them into expedited deportation proceedings.

The initiative requires the DHS to drop the cases because migrants cannot be put forward for expedited removal if they have a pending case.

ICE sources who spoke with Fox News Digital on condition of anonymity say Americans should expect to see “a lot more” of these kinds of arrests.

HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANOTHER DEM OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF BLOCKING ICE AMID DELANEY HALL FALLOUT

ICE officers will begin arresting migrants when they appear for their immigration and asylum hearings. (ICE)

The new policy is likely to lead to a spike in deportations of migrants who have not committed crimes aside from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The Trump administration has so far focused its efforts on deporting illegal immigrants who have been convicted of other serious crimes.

News of the policy comes as the Department of Homeland Security is in multiple court battles regarding its deportation efforts.

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the DHS had violated a court order in sending a plane full of eight illegal immigrants to South Sudan this week.

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy ruled that the migrants — all of whom are convicted of crimes ranging from homicide to robbery — were not properly given “credible fear interviews.” The interviews allow migrants being deported to a third-party country to argue that being sent there would endanger them.

Murphy said he is investigating whether the deportees can conduct their interviews in South Sudan rather than returning to the U.S. immediately.

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Murphy previously found that any plans to deport people to Libya without notice would “clearly” violate his ruling regarding third-party deportations, which also applies to people who have otherwise exhausted their legal appeals.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., says she supports banning stock trading for sitting members of Congress “100%,” saying, “we shouldn’t be voting on things we can benefit from financially.”

Though supportive of efforts to curb the practice of trading by members of Congress, Mace, a staunch conservative, told Fox News Digital that she is not surprised the effort has been unsuccessful so far.

“It’s Washington. Washington is doing what it always does,” she said, adding, “The establishment rules and … when you see the kind of returns members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are getting that the average American isn’t, something doesn’t add up.”

According to Quiver Quantitative, Mace has no reported stock trading activity and has a net worth of $3.4 million.

WATCH: Leftist protesters flood Capitol Hill office building as ‘big, beautiful’ budget bill vote looms

While former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, right, declined to answer questions on a congressional stock-trading ban, Rep. Nancy Mace said she supports such a proposal. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I support it 100%. I don’t trade stocks,” said Mace. “I think I have learned since I’ve been up here that we can be market makers, and when we do bills, or we vote on things, or we do legislation, we shouldn’t be voting on things that we could benefit from financially.”

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., meanwhile, declined to comment on her stance.

According to Quiver Quantitative, the former speaker of the House, who has a net worth of a little over $261 million and, as of April 28, was reported as holding $119.9 million in stocks, has been heavily criticized for engaging in lucrative trading.

When asked by Fox News Digital whether she would support banning lawmakers from trading stocks, Pelosi ignored the question and continued walking. 

HAWLEY REIGNITES ‘PELOSI ACT’ PUSH TO BAN LAWMAKERS FROM TRADING STOCKS

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks with Katie Couric on Oct. 24, 2024 in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

This comes after Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., introduced legislation earlier this month that would ban congressional stock trading, serving as the House companion bill to Sen. Josh Hawley’s, R-Mo., “PELOSI Act” in the Senate.

Alford’s proposed bill would ban lawmakers and their spouses from holding, purchasing or selling individual stocks while in office, but it allows investments in diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds or U.S. Treasury bonds. If passed, current lawmakers would have 180 days to comply with the legislation. Likewise, newly elected lawmakers must achieve compliance within 180 days of entering office.

Under the proposed legislation, lawmakers who continue to make wrongful transactions would be required to hand over any profits they made to the U.S. Treasury Department. The House or Senate ethics committees could also impose a fine on such lawmakers amounting to 10% of each wrongful transaction.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has also endorsed a stock trading ban, saying “a few bad actors” have ruined Americans’ trust in lawmakers on the issue. President Donald Trump himself endorsed the same ban for members of Congress in an interview with Time magazine last month.

“I watched Nancy Pelosi get rich through insider information, and I would be okay with it. If they send that to me, I would do it,” he said of a trading ban.

CALLS TO BAN CONGRESSIONAL TRADING PERSIST AMID RECENT STOCK MARKET VOLATILITY 

Photos of President Donald Trump signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House next to photos of the New York Stock Exchange as investors and markets reacted to the news of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. (Getty Images)

Democrats in the House of Representatives have also expressed support for a ban, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., throwing his weight behind the proposal last week.

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Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., meanwhile, told Fox News Digital that he has an alternate solution that would allow legislators to trade stocks but would mandate that members of Congress wishing to do so to “put their money in escrow and announce the stock trade 24 hours before they make it.”

“Then they have to legally go through with the trade. So instead of not using the insider information, let’s give it to everybody and let them front run the elected officials here,” he said, smiling.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Those responsible for the fatal attack against two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington, D.C., Wednesday will be prosecuted to the “fullest extent of the law,” according to the White House. 

Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were departing an event at the Capital Jewish Museum Wednesday evening when a gunman opened fire and killed them. The two were slated to get engaged next week in Jerusalem, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a White House press briefing. 

A pro-Palestinian man authorities identified as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago was arrested, according to officials. 

“The evil of antisemitism must be eradicated from our society,” Leavitt told reporters Thursday. “I spoke to the attorney general this morning. The Department of Justice will be prosecuting the perpetrator responsible for this to the fullest extent of the law. Hatred has no place in the United States of America under President Donald Trump. Everyone here at the White House is praying for the victims, friends and families during this unimaginable time.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., May 22, 2025.  (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Yaron, born in Israel but who grew up in Germany, has a father who is Jewish. However, his mother is a Christian and the family is considered Christian. Milgrim was an American employee the Israeli embassy employed. 

Leavitt’s comments echo similar sentiments from President Donald Trump and other leaders in the administration, who have asserted that the attack amounts to an act of antisemitism. 

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s comments echo similar sentiments from President Donald Trump and other leaders in the administration, who have asserted that the attack amounts to an act of antisemitism.  (Rick Scuteri/The Associated Press)

“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” he wrote in a Truth Social post. “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things as this can happen! God Bless You ALL!”

Likewise, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that those responsible for the attack would encounter consequences. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that those responsible for the attack would encounter consequences.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the murder of two staff members from the Embassy of Israel in Washington, DC. Our prayers are with their loved ones. This was a brazen act of cowardly, antisemitic violence. Make no mistake: we will track down those responsible and bring them to justice,” Rubio wrote on X on Thursday.

Additionally, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin said he met Milgrim in May at his agency’s headquarters. 

“I just met Sarah two weeks ago in my office at EPA HQ. She struck me as a young woman filled with life and positivity,” Zeldin said in a post on X. “Heartbroken to learn she was one of two tragically murdered last night by a Jew-hating radical screaming ‘Free Palestine’. May Sarah and Yaron rest in peace.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday declared that the Democratic Party “has never been more radical and out of touch with the needs of the American people” after voting against President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill.” 

Trump’s sweeping tax and spending cuts package was passed by the House of Representatives by a razor-thin 215-214 vote early this morning.  

“Every single Democrat in the House of Representatives voted against all of these common-sense and massively popular policies. The Democrat Party has never been more radical and out of touch with the needs of the American people,” she said. “The one big, beautiful bill is the final missing piece toward ushering the Golden Age of America. The Senate should pass this as quickly as possible and send it to President Trump’s desk for a final signature.” 

Leavitt hailed the legislation as “delivering the largest tax cut in American history for middle-class families, the working class and small businesses.” 

The Trump administration and Republicans hope to reduce the national debt with the bill by cutting approximately $1.5 trillion in government spending. The U.S. government is over $36 trillion in debt and has spent $1.05 trillion more than it has collected in the 2025 fiscal year, according to the Treasury Department.

Leavitt also said it will “permanently secure the border by delivering the largest border security investment in history, funding at least 1 million annual removals of illegal aliens to carry out the largest deportation campaign ever, finishing the Trump border wall and giving pay raises and bonuses for our incredible ICE and Border Patrol agents.” 

DEMOCRATS PREDICT TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WILL COST MANY REPUBLICANS THEIR SEATS 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

Two House Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the bill — Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio. 

When asked by a reporter Thursday if Trump thinks both lawmakers should be primaried, Leavitt said, “I believe he does.” 

WINNERS, LOSERS AND GRAB-BAGS FROM HOUSE GOP’S NARROW PASSAGE OF ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., announces the final vote total after the House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and program cuts after an all-night session at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (Television via AP)

“And I don’t think he likes to see grandstanders in Congress. ‘What’s the alternative?’ I would ask those members of Congress. Did they want to see a tax hike? Did they want to see our country go bankrupt?” Leavitt continued. 

“That’s the alternative by them trying to vote no. And the president believes the Republican Party needs to be unified. And the vast majority of Republicans clearly are, and are listening to the president. They are trusting in President Trump, as they should, because there’s a reason he’s sitting in this Oval Office. It’s because he’s the unequivocal leader of the Republican Party, not just a president for Republicans, but all Americans,” she added. 

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., speaks to reporters following a series of votes at the U.S. Capitol on March 11. He was one of two House Republicans to vote against the bill on Thursday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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“The president’s approval rating is at an all-time high right now. That’s because he knows how to deliver, and Republicans like Thomas Massie and others should take note,” Leavitt also said. 

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Elizabath Elkind contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump has not directed his administration to declassify documents related to former President Joe Biden’s health and an alleged “cover-up” of the 46th president’s slipping mental acuity while commander in chief, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. 

“The president can declassify anything that he wants. Has he looked to see if there are any records here that would contradict what we’ve been told about Joe Biden’s decline?” Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Leavitt during a press briefing Thursday.

“He has not directed anyone, to my knowledge, to look into that,” Leavitt responded. “But, surely, I can ask him if he intends to.” 

BIDEN’S WOES CONVERGE: LAST-MINUTE PARDONS UNDER FIRE, CALLS FOR PROSECUTION MOUNT FOLLOWING HUR TAPE RELEASE

Biden’s health is back in the national spotlight after audio recordings of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur were released Friday. The recordings showed the former president tripping over his words, slurring sentences, taking long pauses between answers and struggling to remember key moments in his life, including the year his son Beau Biden died of cancer. 

Hur led an investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents after Biden’s departure as vice president during the Obama administration. Hur announced in February 2024 he would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, saying Biden is “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., May 22, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden’s office revealed Sunday the former president was battling an “aggressive” prostate cancer that had metastasized. 

After the election cycle, a handful of books documenting the 2024 election cycle and Biden’s apparent health decline have hit store shelves claiming that Biden staffers were aware of and fretted about the president’s mental decline, but publicly promoted him as physically and mentally fit to serve as president. Fox News Digital has extensively covered concerns about Biden’s mental acuity and health dating back to the 2020 election cycle. 

“I think the president has spoken on this pretty extensively,” Leavitt added at the news conference. “And I have spoken about it extensively from this podium as well, how it was truly one of the worst political scandals this country has ever seen, that the previous administration covered up the decline in the former president’s mental and physical ability. And it’s now all coming out. But the American people knew the truth, and that’s one of the many reasons why President Trump won the election on Nov. 5.” 

President Joe Biden listens during a visit to the D.C. Emergency Operations Center July 2 in Washington.  (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)

CRITICISMS MOUNT THAT BIDEN IS A ‘SHADOW’ OF HIMSELF AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE: ‘NOT THE SAME MAN’ FROM VP ERA

Doocy asked Leavitt specifically about the Biden administration’s use of an autopen, which Trump has argued was used by Biden staffers to sign official White House documents without Biden’s approval. 

Damilic Corp. President Bob Olding anchors a sheet of paper as the Atlantic Plus, the Signascript tabletop model autopen, produces a signature at the company’s Rockville, Md., office, June 13, 2011. (Manuel Balce Ceneta, File/The Associated Press) )

“Specifically, (Trump) talks about the autopen. He thinks that staffers were using this autopen. Is there some kind of, like a badge, that you have to swipe to use an autopen? Is there a record of that?” Doocy asked. 

WHAT IS AN AUTOPEN? THE SIGNING DEVICE AT THE HEART OF TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON BIDEN PARDONS

“I can tell you here at this White House, the president signs any document that has legal implications,” Leavitt responded. “The president signs every executive order. He signs every proclamation. He signs pretty much every document that is needed for the president’s signature, with the exception of maybe some letters to children. From what we have heard and seen, that was not the case in the previous administration. And the president is raising good questions that are worth looking into.” 

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, May 4, 2025.  (Manuel Balce Ceneta/The Associated Press)

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Autopen signatures are automatically produced by a machine, as opposed to an authentic, handwritten signature. 

The conservative Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project first investigated the Biden administration’s use of an autopen earlier this year and found that the same signature was on a bevvy of executive orders and other official documents, while Biden’s signature on the document announcing his departure from the 2024 race varied from the apparent machine-produced signature.

A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from terminating the legal status of international students while a court case challenging previous terminations is pending amid a crackdown on illegal behavior on college campuses.

California U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White barred the government from arresting or incarcerating the plaintiffs and similar students and from transferring any of them outside the jurisdiction of their residence.

His order also prohibits the administration from imposing any adverse legal effect on students and from reversing the reinstatement of the legal status until the case is resolved. 

However, students can still be arrested for committing violent crimes.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BEGINS NEW WAVE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISA REVOCATIONS: ‘NO ONE HAS A RIGHT TO A VISA’

The Trump administration has targeted universities and foreign students amid a crackdown on antisemitism on college campuses nationwide.    (AP Images)

The government’s actions “wreaked havoc not only on the lives of Plaintiffs here but on similarly situated F-1 nonimmigrants across the United States and continue to do so,” said White. 

More than 4,700 international students had their permission to study in the U.S. canceled this spring as the Trump administration cracked down on foreign nationals protesting on American university campuses. 

Department of Homeland Security officials said they ran the names of student visa holders through an FBI-run database that contains the names of suspects and people who have been arrested, even if the charges were dropped or they were never charged with a crime.

Some students have left the U.S. rather than risk arrest or deportation. 

RUBIO FIRES BACK AFTER DEM SENATOR SAYS HE REGRETS VOTING FOR HIM OVER VISA REVOCATIONS

The government contends it was exercising its ability to enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act. DHS officials said the students don’t need the court’s protection because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reinstated legal status and was mailing status reactivation letters to affected students.

However, White said the erroneous revocations remained on the students’ record, impacting their ability to obtain a new visa or change their nonimmigrant status. 

Trump has targeted college students and universities amid a crackdown on antisemitism and other illegal behavior.  

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security said it was eliminating the student visa program at Harvard University due to “pro-terrorist conduct” at campus protests. The Ivy League school has failed to comply with its requests for the behavioral records of student visa holders, DHS said. 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem looks on at the Coast Guard Academy Commencement in New London, Connecticut, U.S. May 21, 2025.  REUTERS/Michelle McLoughlin

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“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments.”

“Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused,” she added. “They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Two young Israeli Embassy staffers were shot and killed in an antisemitic attack in Washington D.C. Wednesday night. 

It was the latest incident being investigated by federal authorities as domestic terrorism.

The U.S. has seen an increase in antisemitic attacks and violent pro-Palestine protests amid the war between Israel and Hamas. 

But the incidents of domestic terrorism aren’t limited to antisemitism. Extremists who hold anti-American sentiment have attempted attacks on vehicles, military bases and more. 

Here is a breakdown of the domestic terrorism incidents in the U.S. this year: 

Shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. 

On Wednesday, May 21, a pro-Palestinian man opened fire outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. 

Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, two staffers of the Embassy of Israel to the U.S.—a couple set to be engaged—were shot and killed as they left the museum’s event focused on finding humanitarian solutions for Gaza. 

Lischinsky was born in Israel and grew up in Germany. His father is Jewish, and his mother is Christian.

Milgrim was an American employee of the embassy.

TWO ISRAELI DIPLOMATS SHOT, KILLED DURING EVENT AT CAPITAL JEWISH MUSEUM IN WASHINGTON, DC

Authorities took Elias Rodriguez, a 31-year-old man from Chicago, into custody. Upon being taken into custody, Rodriguez began shouting, “Free, free Palestine!” 

This image shows Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, who were the latest victims in a long history of attacks on Israeli embassy staff members.  (Image of police vehicle: Photo by Tom Brenner for the Washington Post via Getty Images. Image of Sarah and Yaron: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

The FBI is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime and investigating any ties to terrorism. 

Steven Jensen, the assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington field office, said in a news conference that the federal law enforcement entity is working alongside the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to “look into ties to potential terrorism or motivation based on a bias-based crime or a hate crime.”

Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing

On May 17, a bombing took place at a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, Calif. The bombing killed the suspect and injured four others.

Authorities identified the perpetrator of the incident as a 26-year-old suspect motivated by a fringe ideology known as “pro-mortalism.” 

“Pro-mortalism,” a radical offshoot of anti-natalism, views human reproduction as inherently immoral and embraces death as a moral corrective.

According to federal and local law enforcement, the suspect targeted the American Reproductive Centers facility specifically to destroy human embryos stored on-site.

FBI IDENTIFIES IVF CLINIC BOMBER AS ‘PRO-MORTALIST’ WHO OPPOSED BIRTH WITHOUT CONSENT

Surveillance footage and online postings suggest he parked in the rear of the building to remain unnoticed, ingested drugs and then detonated an explosive device – killing himself in the process. 

The FBI has classified the bombing as an act of domestic terrorism, citing the ideological motivation behind the violence. 

Officials have said that it is the first high-profile case linked to the pro-mortalist ideology and are now monitoring it as a potential emerging threat. Authorities have urged families and communities to remain vigilant for signs of ideological extremism, especially among those who may feel disenfranchised. 

Attempted mass shooting at Michigan military base 

Earlier this month, a former Michigan Army National Guard member, Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, was arrested for allegedly planning a mass shooting near the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) center at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan. 

Said planned to carry out the attack on behalf of ISIS. 

Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, of Melvinville, Mich., was arrested on Tuesday, May 13, for allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired attack at the Tank-Army Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) in Warren, shown right. (U.S. Department of Justice/AP)

Said “launched his drone in support of the attack plan” and told an undercover FBI agent in the lead-up to the foiled plot he recommended that “everyone have about seven magazines because you don’t want to be in there and run out of ammo,” according to officials. 

KASH PATEL DELIVERS FIERY WARNING AFTER FBI DISRUPTS MASS SHOOTING TERROR PLOT TARGETING MILITARY

Said is now facing charges of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years per count if convicted. 

The FBI disrupted the attempted attack, with FBI Director Kash Patel telling Fox News Digital that any individual targeting the U.S. military or conspiring with foreign terrorist organizations will be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” 

“Let this be a warning: Anyone who targets our military or conspires with foreign terrorist organizations will be found, stopped and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Patel told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “I commend the men and women of the Joint Terrorism Task Force and our law enforcement partners for their continued dedication to protecting the American people.”

Tesla attacks 

Since January, there have been a number of instances of vandalism, arson and targeted shootings against Tesla vehicles, dealerships, and charging stations across the nation. 

Tesla vehicles and dealerships have been targeted nationwide amid Elon Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has been focused on slashing wasteful spending and fraud within the federal government. Musk is the co-founder and CEO of Tesla. 

Tesla New Mexico (U.S. Department of Justice)

The FBI launched a task force to crack down on violent Tesla attacks. 

FBI LAUNCHES TASK FORCE TO CRACK DOWN ON VIOLENT TESLA ATTACKS, MITIGATE THREATS

The FBI’s task force was created in conjunction with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and will coordinate investigative activity.

A threat tag has been created at the FBI to streamline reports and a command post at FBI headquarters has been created. It consists of a joint FBI/ATF task force to mitigate that threat stream. 

Elon Musk, Tesla fire and Tesla boycott poster (Musk, Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images, Getty. )

TESLA ARSONS PROBED AS ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM’ CHEERED BY ‘ANTI-CAPITALIST’ GROUP LINKED TO 2020 RIOTS

The FBI is treating the attacks as “domestic terrorism.” Attorney General Pam Bondi called the attacks on Tesla “domestic terrorism,” and the Department of Justice announced charges against suspects in Tesla arson cases. 

Musk spoke out against the “deranged” attacks, suggesting that “there’s some kind of mental illness thing going on here, because this doesn’t make any sense.” The billionaire even alluded to “larger forces” potentially behind the attacks that have sprung up across the nation.

The White House pushed back against questions from a reporter challenging statements by the Trump administration regarding the treatment of White South African farmers — after President Donald Trump showed a video allegedly depicting burial sites of them at the White House on Wednesday. 

While hosting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump aired a video in the Oval Office that showed white crosses that Trump said were approximately 1,000 burial sites of White Afrikaner South African farmers. Trump has claimed these farmers are being killed and forced off of their land. 

But Yamiche Alcindor with NBC News questioned White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on the credibility of the video, amid reports that the crosses were from a memorial demonstration following the murder of a White farming couple, not actual burial sites. 

TRUMP CONFRONTS SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT WITH VIDEO ON TREATMENT OF WHITE FARMERS

Yamiche Alcindor of NBC News questioned White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on a video President Donald Trump aired Wednesday at the White House regarding the treatment of White South African farmers.  (William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty Images)

“We know that that was not true and that the video wasn’t true,” Alcindor said during the White House press briefing on Thursday. 

Leavitt and Alcindor sparred and talked over one another, with Alcindor asking, “What protocols are in place when there’s unsubstantiated information being put out for the world and world leaders?”

Leavitt then stepped in and ended the exchange, claiming the video was not unsubstantiated. 

“What’s unsubstantiated about the video?” Leavitt said. “The video shows crosses that represent the dead bodies of people who were racially persecuted by their government. In fact, The Associated Press, of all places, has a picture of that very monument in the caption from The Associated Press is ‘Each cross marks a white farmer who has been killed in a farm murder.’” 

TRUMP TO MEET LEADER OF ‘OUT OF CONTROL’ SOUTH AFRICA AT WHITE HOUSE

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (Getty Images)

“So it is substantiated. But it’s not just by that video and the physical evidence that everybody saw on display in the Oval Office, but also by another outlet in this from The Associated Press,” Leavitt said. “So you should take it up with them if you believe the claim is unsubstantiated. And that’s a ridiculous line of questioning.” 

The crosses depicted were part of a demonstration that occurred after a white, farming couple was killed in 2020, according to The Associated Press, citing local news reports from South Africa.

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President Donald Trump, right, and Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, speak during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump told Ramaphosa at the White House that the burial sites by the side of the road are visited by those who want to “pay respects to their family member who was killed.” 

“Have they told you where that is, Mr. President?” Ramaphosa said. “I’d like to know where that is. Because this I’ve never seen.” 

“I mean, it’s in South Africa, that’s where,” Trump said. 

“We need to find out,” Ramaphosa said.

Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report. 

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire on Thursday became the first state in New England to ban so-called sanctuary cities.

“There will be no sanctuary cities in New Hampshire, period, end of story,” Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte said at a bill signing ceremony at the state Capitol.

Speaking with Fox News Digital minutes later, Ayotte noted that the measures she signed “ban sanctuary cities in New Hampshire but also allow cooperation between all of our law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.”

New Hampshire joins a growing number of states in banning sanctuary cities, which is a term used to describe jurisdictions that put some limits on cooperating with efforts by federal authorities to deport illegal immigrants. 

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER CRACKING DOWN ON SANCTUARY CITIES 

Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire signs into law two bills that ban sanctuary cities at the Statehouse in Concord, N.H., on Thursday. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Ayotte, a former state attorney general who later served six years representing New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate, made banning sanctuary cities a key element in her successful 2024 run for governor. Ayotte’s campaign slogan was “Don’t Mass up New Hampshire,” as she took aim at neighboring Massachusetts’ more lenient migrant policies. 

“I campaigned on making sure we would not have sanctuary cities here in New Hampshire, and we don’t want to go the way of Massachusetts that has had a billion-dollar illegal immigration crisis,” the governor said in her national digital exclusive interview with Fox News.

Ayotte noted that she supports “legal immigration, but when people aren’t following our laws, we need to enforce our laws and this is about public safety.”

“New Hampshire is ranked the safest state in the nation, and I was glad I was able to sign the bill banning sanctuary cities to make sure we remain that way,” the governor added.

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The two bills were passed in the GOP-dominated state legislature mostly along party lines.

State Sen. Bill Gannon, the top sponsor in the state Senate, said that the measures would “make us an even safer place to work, live, and raise a family.”

And state Rep. Joe Sweeney, the lead House sponsor, said that “we are taking the handfcuffs off our law enforcement officers, and hopefully they’ll be able to work with our federal government, ICE, to put the handcuffs on the criminal illegal aliens that are violating and disobeying our laws.”

President Donald Trump repeatedly took aim at sanctuary cities as he made the issue of illegal immigration a key component to his successful 2024 campaign to win back the White House.

And Trump last month signed an executive order putting some muscle behind his threat to pull federal funding from sanctuary cities.

Some Democrats in New Hampshire, who opposed the measure, pointed to Trump’s efforts in the nation’s capital.

WHAT AYOTTE TOLD FOX NEWS ABOUT SECURITY THE NATION’S NORTHERN BORDER

“What this bill does, under the guise of enabling New Hampshire law enforcement to support federal immigration efforts, is to make our state a willing accomplice in a politically manufactured campaign of state terrorism against a group of people, the vast majority of whom came here not to victimize America, but because they love America and they believe America is good,” state Rep. David Meuse told reporters. 

Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire highlights her state’s status as the safest in the nation as she signs into law two bills that ban sanctuary cities, at the Statehouse in Concord, N.H., on Thursday. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

But Ayotte, asked about the lack of support from across the political aisle for the two bills, said, “I don’t understand where the Democrats are on these policies.”

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According to the New Hampshire Municipal Association, there are no sanctuary cities in the state, while a handful of cities and towns in the state have described themselves as “welcoming cities” that encourage a welcoming environment for all people, regardless of their race, ethnicity or origin.

But state Republican lawmakers pointed to between nine and 12 cities and towns in New Hampshire that they have identified over the years as welcome or sanctuary cities.

In a speech Thursday in North Carolina to soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pledged to restore what he called the U.S. military’s “warrior ethos” and announced pay raises for paratroopers.

Speaking during All American Week at Fort Bragg, Hegseth laid out President Donald Trump’s vision focused on combat readiness, merit-based standards, and investment in the American warfighter.

“We’re going to bring it back to the basics,” Hegseth said. “We’re going to restore the warrior ethos… and we are across our formations, a standard that’s set here every single day.”

According to the Department of Defense, Hegseth used the occasion to announce an increase in hazardous duty incentive pay, known as jump pay. It will rise from $150 to $200 per month for paratroopers, and for the first time, jumpmasters will receive an additional $150 on top of their existing pay.

SECRETARY OF THE ARMY DAN DRISCOLL: ARMY UNVEILS MODERNIZATION PLAN BECAUSE, ‘NO LOBBYIST EVER WON A WAR’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“For the first time in 25 years… we are increasing jump pay,” Hegseth said. “Not only are we increasing jump pay, but… jumpmasters… are going to receive an additional $150 a month in incentive pay.”

He added: “Here’s to our paratroopers, our jumpmasters, who do the difficult things in difficult places that most Americans can never imagine.”

Hegseth told the crowd that troops remain the focus of every major Pentagon decision. 

“Inside the corridors of the Pentagon, you are on our minds, with the decisions we make in budgets, in planning, in deployments, in orders, in reorganizations. We have you and your families in mind.”

HEGSETH ORDERS REVIEW OF MILITARY FITNESS AND GROOMING STANDARDS: ‘OUR ADVERSARIES ARE NOT GROWING WEAKER’

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, right, speaks as Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

In his remarks, Hegseth shared a core defense strategy promoted by Trump: prioritize readiness, reject identity politics, and reassert American deterrence.

“We will focus on readiness, on training, on warfighting, on accountability, on standards. Black, white, male, female, doesn’t matter. We’re going to be colorblind and merit-based warfighters just like you are here in the 82nd.”

This return to fundamentals, Hegseth argued is necessary to rebuild the force and deter growing global threats. 

“President Trump is committed to historic investments inside our formations. Our promise to you is that when the 82nd Airborne is deployed… you will be equipped better than any other fighting force in the world.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Drawing a contrast with prior administrations, Hegseth referenced global instability, including the war in Ukraine, the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“Unfortunately, for a number of years, the world watched and wondered where American leadership and American strength was,” he said. “By putting America first, we will reestablish peace through strength.”

Hegseth closed by honoring the legacy and future of the 82nd. 

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“Like those who came before you, you keep showing the world the stuff you’re made of. Because we know you are ready for the important work that lies ahead.”

The Army office of Public Affairs did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.