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EXCLUSIVE: Governors from across the country are descending upon Washington, D.C., this week for the National Governors Association’s winter meeting. Among them is Gov. Tate Reeves, R-Miss., who said the Department of Government Efficiency has renewed Republican governors’ optimism in the federal government.

Reeves, who was elected governor of Mississippi in 2019 and re-elected in 2023, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview at the Republican Governors Association that DOGE aligns with Republican governors’ “fiscal sanity.”

“There’s no doubt that Republican governors lead the nation in fiscal responsibility and, quite frankly, in fiscal sanity. Part of that is because, as governors, we have to balance our budgets back home. For us to see the efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency, by Elon Musk and his team with the support of President Trump, it gives us great reason for optimism, because we think that there are literally billions and billions of dollars in spending in the federal government that should not be spent, that are for waste, fraud and abuse,” Reeves said. 

The second-term governor said most Americans appreciate DOGE’s audit and Republicans won’t allow the federal government to spend American taxpayer dollars on “some of the crazy things that have been identified in the last several weeks.”

SURPRISING NEW POLL NUMBERS RELEASED ON TRUMP’S PERFORMANCE SO FAR IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Mississippi Republican gubernatorial candidate Tate Reeves, left, stands with President Donald Trump during a “Keep America Great” campaign rally at BancorpSouth Arena on November 1, 2019 in Tupelo, Mississippi. (Brandon Dill/Getty Images)

“We believe that we ought to treat the taxpayers’ money exactly the way we would treat our own money. We’re not going to allow our own money to be spent on things that don’t make sense. We don’t think we ought to use the taxpayers’ money, spending them on things like what has been found in the last couple of three weeks,” Reeves added.

MUSK WEIGHS A ‘DOGE DIVIDEND’ TO SEND AMERICANS CHECKS USING SAVED FUNDS

Meanwhile, Reeves can’t wrap his head around Democrats’ rejection of government efficiency. 

“I’m really perplexed as to why Democrats have not actually supported these efforts,” Reeves said. “There was a time in America where all politicians of reasonable stripes would say we ought to try to make government more efficient. We ought to ensure that government money is being spent in the right way.”

Reeves questioned who benefited from the misuse of taxpayer dollars during President Joe Biden’s administration. 

“The Democrats’ opposition to these audits is really beyond my ability to comprehend. The reality is that they are fighting for waste, fraud and abuse in government. It’s almost as if they want that waste, fraud and abuse. It drives you to the question of who’s benefiting from the way in which the Biden administration spent these dollars in the last four years.”

Democrats have called DOGE’s ongoing layoffs and President Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders a “constitutional crisis.” Reeves said Trump is doing exactly what he was elected to do. 

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves delivers his State of the State address to the Mississippi State Legislature, Feb. 26, 2024, at the state Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

“When you talk about their claims of a constitutional crisis, a duly elected president managing the executive branch of government is not a constitutional crisis. In fact, it is exactly what the duly elected executive is supposed to do. President Trump is doing exactly what he got the mandate to do when he was elected overwhelmingly in the election in November. He got that mandate in large part because the Democrats have gone so far to the left that most people in the middle don’t even recognize the Democrat Party of today, and they’re just continuing down that path in deciding that government efficiency is not something they want to support,” Reeves said. 

Reeves added Trump’s return to the White House has empowered governors’ voices on both sides of the political aisle, drawing a stark contrast between President Joe Biden’s and Trump’s presidencies. 

“Having President Trump in office is a big plus, not only for me or for our Republican governors, but really for all governors,” Reeves said. “The first thing I would say about President Trump is that it is just completely different than what we saw during the Biden years, regardless of politics, regardless of policy views. President Trump respects and wants to hear from governors. He wants to know what other chief executives are doing in the states. We have a voice and that’s incredibly important.”

Mississippi incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and his family speak to supporters during an election night watch party at The Refuge Hotel & Conference Center on November 7, 2023 in Flowood, Mississippi. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Reeves said, unlike what he saw during Biden’s administration, Trump genuinely values all governors’ opinions, and having access to the president again is encouraging. 

“I think even some of those governors on the other side of the political aisle will recognize that it’s certainly something that President Trump values is our opinion. That’s something that we’re going to see over the next few days, having multiple opportunities to sit down and visit with the president, so that’s encouraging.”

Reeves said Trump’s return to Washington is building on Mississippi’s momentum in education, artificial intelligence and manufacturing. 

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“We want to work with President Trump in his efforts to onshore more manufacturing. That’s something that’s important to Mississippi’s economy. Many states across the country gave up on manufacturing 20 years ago. Mississippi never gave up on manufacturing. And that’s the reason we have a workforce that is ready for tremendous economic growth and prosperity. We’re going to take advantage of that,” Reeves said. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled he was not a fan of a proposal to send Americans stimulus checks with the money saved by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and that he believed the funding was better directed toward the national debt.

“Well, look, I mean, politically, that would be great for us, you know, because that gives everybody a check,” Johnson said during a Q&A session at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday.

“But if you think about our core principles, right, fiscal responsibility is what we do as conservatives. That’s our brand. And we have a $36 trillion federal debt.”

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., right, signaled he was not thrilled with President Donald Trump’s DOGE stimulus proposal. (Getty Images)

Johnson added there was a “giant deficit” — which is over $838 billion for fiscal year 2025 so far, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center — the U.S. was grappling with as well.

“I think we need to pay down the credit card. That’s what I think we need to do,” Johnson said.

It comes after President Donald Trump said he was considering giving 20% of DOGE-led savings back to U.S. taxpayers during a speech on Wednesday at the FII Priority Summit in Miami.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading DOGE, said Tuesday on X that he would “check with the president” about the proposal after it was first floated by Azoria investment firm CEO James Fishback.

Elon Musk wants DOGE to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget. (AP/Alex Brandon)

DOGE’s stated goal under Musk is to cut federal spending by $2 trillion.

During his sit-down remarks with Newsmax on Thursday, Johnson also warned that Americans could see the “largest tax increase in U.S. history” if Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was not extended before measures expired at the end of this year.

Congressional Republicans are currently trying to use their majorities to extend Trump’s tax cuts and pass his priorities on defense and the border via a massive bill using the budget reconciliation process.

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

Reconciliation will allow Johnson and Republicans to side-step House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. (Getty Images)

Under reconciliation, both the Senate and House operate under simple majorities, allowing the party in power to pass a massive budget bill without help from the opposition. Normally, the Senate’s threshold for passage is two-thirds.

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“We’re going to take a blowtorch to the regulatory state, get the bureaucracy back in check — lots of details, lots of subcategories under all that. But it’s going to be a big, beautiful bill. And it has to be by necessity, because that gives us the highest probability of success. Remember that I have a small margin in the House,” Johnson said. “I have one vote for much of this.”

Extending Trump’s tax cuts alone is expected to cost upwards of $4.5 trillion.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been circulating a list to congressional Republicans with the names of top military generals and officers he is interested in firing, Fox News has learned. 

Among the names on the list are U.S. Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the current Chief of Naval Operations and the second woman to be promoted to a four-star Admiral in the Navy’s history, a senior official said. 

“She is one of the folks on the list,” the official said. 

HEGSETH ORDERS PENTAGON TO MAKE PLANS FOR MAJOR BUDGET CUTS TO ALIGN WITH TRUMP’S PRIORITIES

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends a NATO Defence Ministers meeting at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium last week.  (REUTERS/Yves Herman)

So far, the list contains a “handful of names,” but it may not be the final version. It has been conveyed to Republican members of Congress, not Democrats. Several top Republicans on the Armed Services Committee said they heard about the list, but had not seen it themselves.

“I may have heard a rumor, but I’m not going to speculate on rumors,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told Fox. “No one has approached me about such a list other than people asking me questions.”  

Hegseth was slated to travel Friday to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to conduct a media interview, but the trip has been postponed until Tuesday.

Some officials have taken the postponement to be another sign that firings could be imminent. Late Friday is often the time that firings are announced in Washington. 

TRUMP ADMIN EXPECTED TO ENACT LAYOFF AT DEFENSE DEPARTMENT AMID DOGE ARRIVAL: REPORT

Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti on Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Getty Images)

During her tenure, Franchetti commanded two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Pacific and served as the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea. She also served as the deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting development, and director for strategy, plans, and policy of the Joint Staff. 

As head of the Navy’s 6th Fleet, she oversaw the Navy’s response to Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s use of chemical weapons.

“She is a war fighter with combat experience. She’s an operational leader. She’s a strategist. She’s an innovator,”Adm. Michael Gilday, the former Chief of Naval Operations, said when Franchetti was nominated by then-President Joe Biden in July 2023.

“She’s a team builder. She’s a trailblazer. She’s an example of personal and professional resilience and a testament to the power of the American dream to inspire service and sacrifice,” Gilday said.

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Hegseth has been outspoken about his belief that women should not serve in combat roles.

“I’m straight up saying that we should not have women in combat roles – it hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated,” he said on a Nov. 7, 2024 episode of the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast.

He later clarified his comments, saying his remarks had been “misconstrued, that I somehow don’t support women in the military, some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors out there are women.”

Joint Chiefs Chairman C.Q. Brown is also rumored to be on the list.

When asked if he would fire Brown on his first day in office, Hegseth said “I look forward to working with him.”

Brown was standing next to Hegseth as he answered the question.

Donning his “Dark Gothic MAGA” hat, a black coat and sunglasses, and wielding a chainsaw, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk made a surprise appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Thursday evening.

Musk spoke on a wide range of topics, including the latest DOGE updates, the Democratic and media hatred towards him and the importance of reducing waste and abuse in the federal government.

He also mentioned that he is in talks with President Donald Trump about issuing tax refunds to U.S. citizens from the money saved by DOGE.

‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS

At the start of his speech, the DOGE chief was joined by Argentinian President Javier Milei, who is also known for dramatically slashing the size of government in his country. The two men wielded a chainsaw hearkening back to a viral video of Milei and symbolizing their shared goals of cutting down government waste.

“I wasn’t really that interested in being political. It’s just like there was at a certain point no choice,” Musk explained. “The actions that we’re taking, with the support of the president and the support of the agencies, is what will save Medicare, what will save Social Security.” 

“That’s the reason I’m doing this,” he said. “Because I was looking at the big picture here and it’s like, man, it’s getting out of control.” 

“A country is no different from a person,” he went on. “[A] Country overspends, a country goes bankrupt in the same way as a person who overspends usually goes bankrupt. So, it’s not like optional to solve these things, it’s essential.”

TRUMP ISSUES WARNING ABOUT WASTEFUL SPENDING, ORDERS ‘RADICAL TRANSPARENCY’ AMID DOGE PROBES, REVELATIONS

Musk confirmed he is in talks with the president about the possibility of issuing “DOGE dividends” to U.S. taxpayers from the savings from cutting government waste.

“I talked to the president, and he’s supportive of that and so it sounds like, you know, that’s something we’re going to do,” he said. “So, as we’re finding savings, that’s going to translate directly to reductions in tax.”

He also criticized the Biden administration and entrenched government bureaucrats for what he called a “very obvious” scheme to use taxpayer dollars for their own ideological agenda, which he said included importing voters through mass immigration.

“You don’t actually have to assume some grand conspiracy, you just need to look at basic incentives,” he said. “If the probability [is] that an illegal is going to vote Democrat at some point … then the incentive is to maximize the number of illegals in the country. That is why the Biden administration was pushing to get in as many illegals as possible and spent every dollar possible to get as many [as they could] because every one of them is a customer.”

TRUMP FREEZES APPLICATIONS FOR BIDEN-ERA MIGRANT PROGRAMS AMID FRAUD, NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS

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)

Since Trump returned to the White House, Musk has been the center of much of Democratic and media vitriol because of his role with DOGE and work gutting wasteful government programs, many of which have been rooted in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and other favorite liberal causes.

DOGE claims that it has already cut $44 billion in previously wasted taxpayer dollars. 

“People ask me, what’s the most surprising thing that you’ve encountered when you got to DC?” he said. “Well, the most surprising thing is the scale of the expenditures and actually, how easy it is to – when you add caring and competence where it was absent before – you can actually save billions of dollars sometimes in the span of an hour. Like it’s wild.”

“It just shows that they really lack empathy for the average taxpayer who’s working hard, paying taxes and then and then they say: ‘Oh: ‘$1 million doesn’t matter.’ I’m like: ‘I think it matters a lot to people.’”

DOGE UNCOVERS OVER 4M GOVERNMENT CREDIT CARDS RESPONSIBLE FOR 90M TRANSACTIONS

A protester holds up a “NO MUSK” sign at the “No Kings on President’s Day” protest in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 17, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)

He made light of the widespread criticism against him from the media and the left.

“They’re always saying like ‘threat to our democracy.” But if you just replace democracy with bureaucracy, yeah, it makes a lot of sense. It makes perfect sense, big threat to the bureaucracy,” he said laughing. 

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Musk also explained some of his personal motivations for caring about fixing government overspending. 

“I grew up in South Africa, but my morality was informed by America. I read comic books, you know, played Dungeons and Dragons and I watched American T.V. shows, and it seemed like America cared about being the good guys, you know? About doing the right thing,” he said. “So, I was like, yeah, you want to be on the side of good, you want to care about what’s right.” 

President Donald Trump is making it very clear whom he would support in the blockbuster 2026 gubernatorial race to succeed term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“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,” Trump, a Florida resident, wrote in a social media post on Thursday.

And the president emphasized that Donalds, a longtime Trump friend, ally and supporter, “would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida.”

Trump added that Donalds, “should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!”

WHAT BYRON DONALDS SAID ON FOX NEWS SUNDAY

Byron Donalds speaks inside the Capital One arena at an event for President Donald Trump, on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington D.C., on January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Segar (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Donalds, a conservative former state lawmaker who has represented parts of southwest Florida’s 19th District in Congress for four years, has been eyeing a potential gubernatorial bid for nearly a year.

“I’ve thought about it. I don’t really rule anything out,” Donalds said in a Fox News Digital interview last spring when asked about a possible run for governor.

Sources confirmed to Fox News last month that Donalds had been telling potential donors and Florida political players that he intends to run for governor.

WHY TRUMP IS PRAISING ONE-TIME PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY RIVAL DESANTIS

Another signal also came last month, when Donalds hired prominent Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio’s research firm. Fabrizio was a top pollster in Trump’s 2016 and 2024 presidential campaigns.

Sources in Florida tell Fox News that Donalds, behind the scenes, continues to make moves towards launching a gubernatorial campaign.

Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida speaks during Day 1 of the Republican National Convention, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024.  (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Donalds, responding to Trump’s social media post, took to X to write “President Trump is Making America Great Again. I’m committed to working with him to Keep Florida Great. Announcement coming soon!”

A source in Donalds’ political orbit told Fox News on Thursday that the congressman has been pushing hard for a Trump endorsement, in an effort to crowd out potential rivals for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

Another prominent Florida Republican who’s seriously considering a run for governor is state Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, the former president of the state Senate.

There’s also been some speculation that DeSantis’ wife, Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, was considering a run to succeed her husband in Tallahassee. A poll released earlier this week, which suggested Casey DeSantis would be favored in the race, grabbed plenty of attention.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who was Trump’s first choice for attorney general in his second administration before dropping out amid controversy, late last year made some noise about potentially running for governor. But there’s been little buzz in recent weeks about a possible Gaetz campaign.

The post by the president, who holds immense sway over the GOP and who is an adopted Florida resident, may put a damper on the speculation regarding Casey DeSantis, and could potentially dissuade Simpson, who’s hauled in millions for his political committees, from launching a gubernatorial bid.

Dan Eberhart, a Florida-based oil drilling chief executive officer and a prominent Republican donor who’s raised big bucks for Trump and DeSantis in recent years and who is also in Donalds’ political orbit, told Fox News that Donalds, if he runs, would “bring a fresh conservative vision for Florida’s future that will be hard to beat.”

The social media post by Trump was his second this week to pump up Donalds.

Trump on Monday showcased a screen grab of a poll conducted by a group aligned with Donalds that indicated the congressman leading in a hypothetical 2026 Florida gubernatorial match-up.

Trump has been talking up Donalds for over a year when it comes to a possible run for governor. At a closed-door fundraiser in New York City last spring, Trump suggested that if Donalds ran for Florida governor, he’d have “many friends in the race.”

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Donalds, speaking with Fox News Digital soon after Trump made the comments, said “it’s really cool that people back home in Florida consider me to be able to be the state’s next governor. It’s really an honor. It’s honestly surreal thinking about it because I’m 45 and my journey through politics has been a really fruitful one.”

While Florida was once a top general election battleground, it’s now firmly red, and the eventual winner of the GOP primary will be considered the front-runner in next year’s gubernatorial election.

Two federal judges declined this week to stop the Trump administration from firing federal workers and conducting mass layoffs, allowing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to remain on track with finding and slashing wasteful government spending.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper shot down a request from several federal labor unions, including the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), to issue a pause on the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration.

NTEU and four other labor unions representing federal employees – the National Federation of Federal Employees; the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers; and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America – filed a complaint on Feb. 12, challenging the firing of probationary employees and the deferred resignation program.

The resignation program presented federal employees with a fork in the road, meaning they could either return to the office or they could resign from their positions and continue to get paid through September, though they had to decide by Feb. 6. That date was ultimately deferred to Feb. 12, then subsequently closed that day.

‘GET BACK TO WORK’: HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK IN 1ST HEARING OF NEW CONGRESS

Elon Musk is heading up President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The unions moved for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and preliminary injunction to prevent the firing of probationary employees across all federal agencies and furtherance of the resignation program on Feb. 14, and the next day it was sent to Cooper’s court.

Cooper denied the request, though, saying the court lacks jurisdiction over the unions’ claims.

Instead, Cooper ruled the unions must pursue their challenges through the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, which provides for administrative review by the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

JUDGE EXTENDS RESTRAINING ORDER TO BAN TRUMP ADMIN BUYOUT OFFER TO FEDERAL WORKERS

In a separate case, 14 states asked U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to issue a TRO preventing billionaire Elon Musk and DOGE from accessing data systems at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Department of Education, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Energy, Department of Transportation and Department of Commerce for 14 days after the order is issued.

The plaintiffs also asked Chutkan’s order to forbid Musk and DOGE from terminating, furloughing, or putting on leave, any federal officers, or employees in those agencies.

JUDGE ISSUES RESTRAINING ORDER AFTER TRUMP BLOCKS FEDERAL FUNDS FOR YOUTH SEX CHANGE OPERATIONS

This week, Chutkan wrote, “The court is aware that DOGE’s unpredictable actions have resulted in considerable uncertainty and confusion for Plaintiffs and many of their agencies and residents.”

She ultimately ruled that DOGE can continue to operate as it is now and keep the status quo.

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Chutkan also, on Friday, issued the court briefing schedule for plaintiffs and defendants to file motions for discovery, preliminary injunctions and dismissals, which stretches through April 22.

President Donald Trump on Thursday appointed Alice Marie Johnson, a woman he pardoned during his first term, as “pardon czar.”

The announcement came during a Black History Month event at the White House.

The “pardon czar” will be responsible for making recommendations about who should be granted clemency.

Alice Marie Johnson, who had her sentence commuted by U.S. President Donald Trump (L) after serving 21 years in prison for cocaine trafficking, thanks the press during a celebration of the First Step Act in the East Room of the White House April 1, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

TRUMP SAYS CRIMINAL TRIAL IS HAVING A ‘REVERSE EFFECT,’ AS HE CAMPAIGNS AT NEW YORK BODEGA, VOWS TO SAVE CITY

The New York Times first reported Trump was thinking about naming Johnson “pardon czar.”

Johnson was convicted of nonviolent drug trafficking in Memphis, Tennessee, and after serving 21 years, her life sentence was commuted by Trump.

Reality television star Kim Kardashian West met with Trump at the White House a week prior to her release to discuss the great-grandmother’s case.

Alice Marie Johnson and Kim Kardashian attend an event celebrating Johnson’s five years of freedom and honoring Kim Kardashian on June 8, 2023, in Los Angeles, California.  (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for ABA)

WHO IS ALICE MARIE JOHNSON, THE GREAT-GRANDMOTHER TRUMP GRANTED CLEMENCY TO?

She was arrested in 1993 and convicted of drug conspiracy and money laundering in 1996.

A series of unfortunate events, including the death of her son, financial troubles and a divorce, led her to involvement with cocaine dealers.

“Back in the 1990s, I was a single mother about to lose my house,” Johnson wrote in a Fox News Digital opinion article. “In a desperate moment, I made a life-altering bad decision to become a low-level player in a drug operation. When law enforcement authorities broke up the drug operation, I was prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison.”

Alice Johnson revisits Aliceville, Alabama, after she was granted clemency and released from a prison in the city back in 2018.   (Stand Together/Gina K. Danals)

While Johnson claims she never “touched, saw or sold a single drug,” she admitted to assisting in communications. 

While in prison, she worked in the prison hospice, volunteered in the prison church, became an ordained minister, and started writing and directing plays.

After being pardoned, she remained under federal supervision for five years.

KIM KARDASHIAN WEST ADVOCATES FOR ALICE JOHNSON, OTHERS WHO ARE JAILED

She became a champion for overburdened case officers and has fought against unnecessary supervision post-incarceration.

Her work on criminal justice reform led her to launch “Taking Action For Good,” which advocated for clemency and pardons for over 100 people.

She also published a book and partnered with the philanthropic organization, Stand Together.

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Fox News Digital’s Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Emma Colton and Alice Marie Johnson contributed to this report.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth released a video Thursday detailing oncoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts and restructuring that will take place within the Pentagon.

On the date of filming, Hegseth said he met with DOGE and they are beginning their review.

“They’re here, and we’re welcoming them,” Hegseth said. “They’re going to have broad access, obviously, with all the safeguards on classification.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted a video on Thursday explaining Department of Defense budget and personnel changes. (@SecDef/X)

TRUMP ISSUES WARNING ABOUT WASTEFUL SPENDING, ORDERS ‘RADICAL TRANSPARENCY’ AMID DOGE PROBES, REVELATIONS

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

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

DOGE’s stop at the Department of Defense comes after reviews of the Treasury, Labor, Education and Health departments, as well as at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Personnel Management and Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The Defense Department has already slashed 8%, or $50 billion, from former President Joe Biden’s budget. (Omar Marques/Getty Images)

The temporary organization has faced an enormous amount of scrutiny over the last few weeks, with some accusing President Donald Trump of giving department head Elon Musk too much power.

Numerous lawsuits have also been filed in an attempt to block DOGE’s access to sensitive information.

$1,300 COFFEE CUPS, 8,000% OVERPAY FOR SOAP DISPENSERS SHOW WASTE AS DOGE LOCKS IN ON PENTAGON

The Defense Department has already slashed 8%, or $50 billion, from former President Joe Biden‘s budget.

“It’s not a cut,” Hegseth said. “It’s refocusing and reinvesting existing funds into building a force that protects you, the American people.”

The budget will be “refocused” on Trump’s priorities, and key programs will not be eliminated, he added.

President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Evan Vucci/AP)

The department is also reevaluating its probationary workforce, a government-wide action ordered by the president.

“Bottom line, it is simply not in the public interest to retain individuals whose contributions are not mission-critical,” Hegseth said. “We start with poor performers amongst our probationary employees, because that is common sense, and you want the best and brightest.”

DOGE fired 3,600 probationary Health and Human Services employees, and 7,000 are expected to be slashed from the IRS amid tax season.

It is unclear how many defense employees will lose their jobs.

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There will also be a hiring freeze as the defense department reviews its needs.

“Ever since I’ve taken this position, the only thing I care about is doing right by the war fighters, by the troops,” Hegseth said. “In short, we want the biggest, most bad a– military on the planet, on God’s green Earth.”

The Trump administration is increasing pressure on Ukraine to broker a peace deal ending the conflict with Russia as President Donald Trump grows increasingly irritated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to the White House. 

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Thursday admitted that Trump’s patience with Zelenskyy is running thin, and said that discussions Wednesday between U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg and Ukrainian officials focused on assisting Kyiv “understand” the war must come to a halt. 

“President Trump is obviously very frustrated right now with President Zelenskyy, the fact that he hasn’t come to the table, that he hasn’t been willing to take this opportunity that we have offered,” Waltz told reporters Thursday in a White House press briefing. “I think he eventually will get to that point, and I hope so very quickly.” 

“It certainly isn’t in Russia’s interest or in the American people’s interest for this war to grind on forever and ever and ever,” Waltz said. “So a key part of his conversation was helping President Zelenskyy understand this war needs to come to an end.” 

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday also defended the Trump administration’s decision to meet with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, despite frustration from Ukraine that it was absent from those meetings. Vance stressed that communicating with Russia is key to advancing a deal, and said he believes Europe is on the “cusp of peace” for the first time in three years. 

“How are you going to end the war unless you’re talking to Russia?” Vance said at the Conservative Political Action Conference near the nation’s capital. “You’ve got to talk to everybody involved in the fighting. If you actually want to bring the conflict to a close.” 

Meanwhile, U.S. officials also have met with Ukrainian officials about a peace deal, and Kellogg said Wednesday in a post on X that the U.S. remains committed to ending the war and finding ways to establish “sustainable peace.” 

The increased pressure on Ukraine to agree to a deal comes on the heels of several tense days between Trump and Zelenskyy, as each hurled insults back and forth toward one another after the meetings between U.S. and Russian officials. 

While Zelenskyy accused Trump of perpetuating Russian “disinformation” on Wednesday, Trump took a jab back and labeled Zelenskyy a “dictator” who has failed his country and suggested Ukraine initiated the war. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. 

TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY WAR OF WORDS HEATS UP EVEN AS US LOOKS TO WIND DOWN WAR IN UKRAINE

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second from left, and other U.S. officials meet with Russian counterparts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to advance talks about ending the Ukraine war. (The Associated Press)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Waltz met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs advisor, Yuri Ushakov, to hash out ways to end the conflict. 

Zelenskyy said Ukraine didn’t receive an invitation to the meeting and told reporters Tuesday in Turkey that “nobody decides anything behind our back,” after stressing in recent days that Kyiv will not agree to a peace negotiation without Ukraine’s input.

RUSSIA, UKRAINE TAKE ‘SIGNIFICANT FIRST STEP TOWARD PEACE’ AFTER RUBIO-LED NEGOTIATIONS, WHITE HOUSE INSISTS

Vice President JD Vance said that meeting with Russia was necessary to take the next steps to broker a peace deal. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)

Meanwhile, the U.S. has signaled interest in giving way to some of Russia’s demands for a peace agreement in recent days, and Trump told the BBC on Wednesday that he believes Russia is the one that has “the cards a little bit, because they’ve taken a lot of territory.” 

As of January, Russia has taken control of approximately 18% of Ukraine’s territory, according to the Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Brookings Institution. Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Feb. 12 that it wasn’t realistic for Ukraine to regain its pre-war borders with Russia, prompting criticism that Ukraine is being forced to give into concessions. 

“Putin is going to pocket this and ask for more,” Brett Bruen, director of global engagement under former President Barack Obama, told Fox News Digital on Feb. 13. 

Additionally, the U.S. has suggested it backs holding an election in Ukraine — a key condition for Russia to agree to a peace deal. 

Nearly a year after Zelenskyy’s five-year term was slated to end, he has remained in his position leading Kyiv because the Ukrainian constitution bars holding elections under martial law. Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022.

However, Russia wasn’t the only one exerting pressure to force Ukraine to hold an election, Trump said Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.  

‘MAKE NATO GREAT AGAIN’: HEGSETH PUSHES EUROPEAN ALLIES TO STEP UP DEFENSE EFFORTS 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will not agree to a peace deal unless it participates in negotiations.  (Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

As a result, Zelenskyy’s hands may be tied and he may have no other option but to give in to the concessions, according to Trump’s former deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland. 

“If President Zelenskyy is going to walk away from this and somehow say, ‘I’m against any deal with Russia, I’m against any deal with America.’ Really?” McFarland said Thursday in an interview with FOX Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria.” 

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“Well, how does he plan to keep this country safe for the next 20, 30, 40 years?” McFarland said. 

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump vowed on the campaign trail in 2024 that he would work to end the conflict if elected again.

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report. 

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.

Here’s what’s happening…

-Key Republican governor applauds Trump’s frenetic pace, says DOGE needed to ‘right size’ Washington

-Disputed DOD nominee is ‘best person’ to implement Trump and Hegseth agenda, key conservative group says

-Trump approval rating hits 47%, as Americans name his ‘single most significant’ move so far

McConnell Announces Retirement

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will not run for re-election in 2026 and will instead retire, the longtime senator announced Thursday.

McConnell has served in the Senate for decades, including as Senate majority leader under President Donald Trump’s first administration. McConnell is the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, and he announced his retirement on his 83rd birthday.

“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said in prepared remarks to the Senate floor. “Every day in between, I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business here. Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”…Read more

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks with reporters after a meeting with fellow Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (AP)

White House

DEI LAWSUITS: Group of DEI workers sue to stop Trump executive orders…Read more

CPAC KICKOFF: VP Vance kicks off the country’s biggest conservative conference…Read more

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: Trump signs executive order ending use of taxpayer money to ‘incentivize or support’ illegal immigration…Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a signing ceremony after his inauguration on January 20, 2025 in the President’s Room at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th President of the United States.  (Melina Mara-Pool/Getty Images)

‘LARGE-SCALE REDUCTIONS’: Trump signs late-night executive order abolishing handful of federal advisory boards…Read more

World Stage

‘DEVOTION TO PUTIN’: Liz Cheney lambastes Trump over Russia/Ukraine, branding him ‘the antithesis’ of all ‘Reagan stood for’…Read more

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: Russian aircraft fly in Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, US says…Read more

ANOTHER PRISONER SWAP?: Kremlin suggests another US-Russia prisoner swap could be coming: report…Read more

TRAGIC TURNOVER: Hamas hands over bodies of 4 slain Israelis, including Shiri Bibas and her two young boys…Read more

INTERNATIONAL BLOWBACK: China, Iran and Russia condemned by dissidents at UN watchdog’s Geneva summit…Read more

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his China’s counterpart Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony following the Russian-Chinese talks on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on September 11, 2018. (Photo by SERGEI CHIRIKOV / POOL / AFP)        (Photo credit should read SERGEI CHIRIKOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Capitol Hill

ONE STEP CLOSER: Wrestling mogul and Trump education pick McMahon clears Senate committee in heavyweight decision…Read more

AMERICANS ‘WANT ANSWERS’: MAHA caucus member pledges hearings into ‘corruption’ of a public health sector ‘captured by Big Pharma’…Read more

‘DOGE’ FOR ‘MAIN STREET’: Top Republican urges new SBA chief take ‘DOGE’ actions against Biden-era electioneering, COVID loan claims…Read more

KASH ME OUTSIDE: Patel’s confirmation as FBI chief ‘will haunt you,’ Senate Dems warn GOP at protest outside agency HQ…Read more

Democrats staged a last-minute protest event Thursday decrying Trump’s FBI pick. (Getty)

DIGITAL DANGER: Lawmaker who lost son to suicide warns Senate that ‘Big Tech is the Big Tobacco of this generation’…Read more

MONEY IN THE BANK: Parents could see up to $12,000 child tax refund under new bipartisan House bill…Read more

Across America

TOUCHDOWN: College football country seeks key tax exemption for athletes to enhance recruitment, boost team continuity…Read more

IVORY TOWER DEFENSE: Social justice law professor defends anti-Israel protesters who blocked traffic to Chicago airport…Read more

‘WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING?’: Dept of Ed spending soared 749% despite downsizing, new DOGE-inspired initiative reveals…Read more

BLUE CITY HAVEN: Reputed migrant gang members busted in NYC drug, gun raid but likely to avoid prosecution…Read more

‘I DIDN’T PLAN THIS’: DNC gave ex-Harris booster ‘no choice’ but to leave, she says, as Dems cry turncoat…Read more

AXE INCREASE: IRS to slash nearly 7,000 employees starting Thursday: reports…Read more

The IRS said in January Americans have benefitted from increased funding. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

LEADERSHIP IN QUESTION: DEI-charged claims fly over contract talks for military school’s leader as lawmaker demands ethics probe…Read more

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

EXCLUSIVE: The cafeteria in a top federal department resembles a ghost town after remaining empty and closed for years under the Biden administration, Fox News Digital has learned.

“You have federal workers showing up to protest President Trump’s plan to make government work for the people on a federal holiday, but they refuse to show up to work when they are collecting a paycheck courtesy of American taxpayers. It’s just nuts,” a source close to the situation told Fox News Digital.

The Department of Interior (DOI) cafeteria was initially closed during the coronavirus pandemic, but the lunchroom remained shut down for several years because the Biden administration did not require federal employees to work in person.

A photo taken on Feb. 20, 2025, reveals that five years after the pandemic, the lunchroom remains empty and unmanned, which “shows you exactly what’s wrong with the mindset of far too many federal workers,” the source tells Fox.

HUD OFFICES BECAME AS VACANT AS A ‘SPIRIT HALLOWEEN’ STORE UNDER BIDEN: ADMIN SOURCES

An image, taken on February 20, 2025, shows an empty cafeteria at the Department of Interior (DOI). (Fox News Digital)

President Donald Trump, in January, took aim at Biden’s policies on remote work, warning that federal employees must return to in-person work by early February or “be terminated.”

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is requiring that all federal employees return to the office to comply with the return to work order issued by the president.

TRUMP ADMIN LAYS OUT ROLES OF ‘PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES’ AS DEMS CLAIM CRITICAL EMPLOYEES ARE BEING CUT

Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota and US secretary of the interior nominee for US President-elect Donald Trump, during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.  (Al Drago)

“It’s understandable that the cafeteria would close during the pandemic, but the pandemic has been over for years,” the source told Fox. “Why did the Biden administration let everyone continue to work from home when there is real work to be done for the country?” 

Fox News Digital also recently found that the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) headquarters in Washington, D.C., was left relatively untouched since the first Trump administration, with an official saying it felt like a “taxpayer-funded ‘Spirit Halloween'” store.

The Trump administration has been conducting a sweep of federal departments over the past month, slashing spending, as well as making cuts to the workforce in an effort to downsize the government.

President Donald Trump has been cracking down on remote work since taking office in January. (Pool via AP )

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The U.S. Office of Personnel Management offered more than two million federal civilian employees buyouts in January to leave their jobs or be forced to return to work in person. 

About 75,000 federal employees have accepted Trump’s deferred resignation program and will retain all pay and benefits and be exempt from in-person work until Sept. 30.

Fox News’ Emma Colton and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Democrats are planning to make Republicans in the Senate go on the record on Medicaid during Thursday evening’s “Vote-a-Rama” as potential cuts to the program become a sore point in budget discussions, especially for Republicans in states that rely on it. 

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who just won re-election in a state that also swung for President Donald Trump, is introducing several amendments to the Senate GOP’s budget resolution, all aimed at preserving Medicaid, her office shared with Fox News Digital exclusively. 

Among her tranche of amendments will be several to protect Medicaid access and funding for senior citizens, children, people suffering from drug addiction, Americans in rural areas and for pregnant women. 

SCOOP: REPUBLICAN DANIEL CAMERON BLASTED BY LIKELY GOP OPPONENT AS MCCONNELL SUCCESSOR FIGHT BEGINS

Democrats are planning to make Republicans take uncomfortable amendment votes. (Getty Images)

“Americans want us to lower the cost of their health care, not rip it away from new moms, seniors in long-term care, and poor kids,” Baldwin told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. “Republicans have claimed they would protect Medicaid – despite their budget telling us otherwise – but tonight, they will have the chance to put their money where their mouth is: will they prevent Medicaid from being cut or will they put it on the chopping block to fund their billionaire tax break?”

Her amendments will get votes after others that are teed up by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats. The first amendment of the evening, per a Senate Democratic source, will be aimed at stopping Republicans from renewing the tax cuts in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which is a priority for Trump. 

SUSAN COLLINS VOWS TO OPPOSE TRUMP FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE KASH PATEL AHEAD OF CRITICAL VOTE

Schumer and Democrats will line up numerous amendment votes. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

If passed, the amendment would bar “handouts” to millionaires or billionaires in new tax legislation. Specifically, it would stop a reconciliation bill from providing a tax cut to people earning more than $1,000,000,000.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently sounded off on potential Medicaid cuts. “I don’t like the idea of massive Medicaid cuts. We should have no Medicare cuts of any kind,” he said in an interview with the Huffington Post. 

KASH PATEL’S CONFIRMATION AS TRUMP FBI PICK ‘WILL HAUNT YOU,’ SENATE DEMS WARN GOP AHEAD OF VOTE

Hawley pushed back on potential Medicaid and Medicare cuts. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Such cuts could prove unpopular in Republican states with significant Medicaid coverage, such as Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky and West Virginia, which each reported more than 25% of their populations covered by either Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as of last year, per KFF. 

After Senate Republicans cleared a procedural vote on their budget last week, it triggered a 50-hour debate clock that will end on Thursday evening. Then, a marathon of votes, known as a “Vote-a-Rama” will begin. 

FETTERMAN LOSES TWO TOP STAFFERS AS HE MAKES WAVES BY BUCKING DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Medicaid cuts would significantly affect some red states.  (iStock)

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Senators are able to introduce an unlimited number of amendments, which will then all get votes on the Senate floor. The process will force Republicans to take a large number of potentially uncomfortable votes teed up by their Democratic counterparts. 

Going forward with the marathon of votes appears to be a calculated risk for Senate Republicans after Trump endorsed the House GOP’s budget resolution on Truth Social over theirs. However, Vice President JD Vance gave GOP senators a green light on Wednesday to continue with their budget despite this, a source told Fox News Digital. 

Congress will need to work through the reconciliation process before American taxpayers will see Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dividend checks, Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said Wednesday. 

Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump floated the idea of delivering the savings to taxpayers directly. Trump said 20% savings could be delivered to U.S. citizens in personal checks to taxpaying households, while another 20% would be used to pay down the national debt. 

DC FEDERAL WORKERS IN A ‘PANIC’ OVER NOVEL EXPERIENCE OF JOB INSECURITY WITH JOB CUTS

The White House on Wednesday outlined where DOGE dividend checks could go after President Donald Trump floated the idea of giving 20% of the savings back to Americans. (Musk: Reuters / Money: iStock / Trump: Getty)

DOGE so far claims to have saved some $55 billion via cuts to USAID, the Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Some of DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts are under legal challenge, however.

During Wednesday’s White House news briefing, Miller broke down how the money could be used. 

“We’re hearing about these DOGE dividend checks,” Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked. “That would be 20% back to taxpayers, 20% to pay down the debt, 60% is left. Who gets that?”

“Well, the way that it works is when you achieve savings, you can either return it to the taxpayers, you can return it to our debtors, or it can be cycled into next year’s budget,” Miller replied.

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE

White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

“So in other words, you can just transfer it into the next fiscal window and then lower the overall spending level,” he added. 

Earlier this week, users on X pitched the idea of a “DOGE dividend” to Elon Musk, who leads DOGE, suggesting payouts of $5,000. The billionaire Tesla owner said he would “check with the president” about the plan.

When asked when taxpayers could see the money, Miller said, “This is all going to be worked on through the reconciliation process with Congress that’s going under way right now.”

“As you’ve seen, the Senate is moving a bill,” he added. “The House is moving a bill. The president has great confidence in both chambers to deliver on his priorities.”

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Trump has made a major commitment to the working class to fight for major tax relief, price relief and to cut spending, Miller said. 

Virginia Democratic lawmakers are raising racially tinged concerns that the Virginia Military Institute’s board might decide against offering a comprehensive contract extension to the historic school’s first Black superintendent.

According to Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., a board member at Virginia Military Institute revealed that at least one member of the Virginia legislature had expressed concerns about the potential non-extension of Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins’ contract, and brought race into the situation.

Cline, whose district runs nearly 200 miles from Roanoke to Winchester and includes VMI, wrote a letter Tuesday to the clerks of the Virginia House of Delegates and Virginia Senate asking for an ethics probe into Sen. Jennifer Carroll-Foy.

Carroll-Foy, D-Prince William, reportedly warned a VMI Board of Visitors member of state funding repercussions unless Wins’ contract is renewed properly.

CLIMATE PROTESTERS INTERRUPT YOUNGKIN’S 9/11 SPEECH

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va. (Getty Images)

 “I am just trying to help VMI,” Carroll-Foy – also a VMI graduate – told the board member.

“Cedric is African American. The leadership of the General Assembly is African American. Your board appointments and budget amendments are in peril. You can fix this by giving Cedric a four-year contract extension,” she said.

Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, and Senate Leader L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, are both Black. 

The exchange troubled Cline, who said in his letter that “these actions, specifically the direct threats made by [Carroll-Foy] are unbecoming, inappropriate, and ethically questionable.”

“These race-related comments – totally unbecoming of a member of the General Assembly and completely inconsistent with the values of our nation – make plain the leadership in the General Assembly is attempting to exert undue influence on the decisions of the board in exchange for funding priorities of VMI,” Cline wrote in-part in the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.

A source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital there are other lawmakers besides Carroll-Foy who have connected race or DEI considerations to the contract debate.

A statement from Cline’s office said that the congressman – and former member of the Richmond legislature himself – believes that attempts to “strong-arm members of the VMI board by withholding funding . . . reveal a clear and troubling effort to exert undue influence over VMI’s governance.”

DOJ ONCE OK’D KAINE-ERA LAW AT CENTER OF YOUNGKIN VOTE CULLING ORDER FEDS NOW SUING TO BLOCK

Drivers are welcomed to Virginia near Lee Highway in Arlington. (Getty)

“The idea that members of the General Assembly would use their positions of power to intimidate VMI Board members by conditioning funding on the extension of the superintendent’s contract is not just inappropriate, it is an outright abuse of power,” Cline said in a statement.

“These comments, wholly unbecoming of a member of the General Assembly and completely inconsistent with the values of our nation, make plain the leadership of the General Assembly is attempting to exert undue influence on the decisions of the Board in exchange for funding priorities of VMI,” he added.

Scott did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that he and former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder – the first Black governor in U.S. history – would like to see Wins’ contract extended.

However, the speaker told the paper that the debate is “not about Gen. Wins’ contract – it’s about whether the school is moving in the right direction.”

Current Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who has seen Democrats stymie several of his appointments to collegiate boards of visitors – including counter-antisemitism crusader Kenneth Marcus at George Mason University – said through a spokesman that the members he had previously named to the VMI board have his full support.

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Richmond, Va. and the Virginia State Capitol (Getty)

“The governor appointed experienced and strong members to the board of visitors, all deeply committed to VMI and its mission,” spokesman Christian Martinez said.

“He has full confidence the board will act in the best interest of [VMI] and the Commonwealth.”

Two of Youngkin’s 12 VMI appointees were recently removed by state Senate Democrats, the Times-Dispatch reported.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Carroll-Foy and a representative for VMI.

VMI is the oldest state military institution in the country, founded in 1839.

Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson notably taught at VMI in the lead-up to the Civil War.

More recent famous VMI alumni include the late actor Fred Willard, World War II figures George Marshall and Gen. George Patton, award-winning comic Mel Brooks and Col. Douglas Macgregor – a veteran of the historic Battle of 73 Easting and an occasional Fox News guest.

You’ll likely need a universal translator to decipher the fiscal discourse emanating from Capitol Hill this week and next.

You’ll hear a lot about budget reconciliation. “One bill/two bill.” And “vote-a-rama.”

Let’s break down what the House and Senate Budget Committees completed last week. That will set the table for what the full Senate addresses this week – and what the House aims to tackle next week.

Congressional Republicans intend to enact President Donald Trump’s core agenda of cutting taxes and reducing federal spending. Republicans have their own problems passing such a plan in the House of Representatives because of the GOP’s slim majority. Republicans must stick together. But in the Senate, Republicans have 53 seats. That’s not enough to crack a filibuster on legislation. The bar there is 60. However, there’s a way to overcome that obstacle: use a special process called “budget reconciliation” to bypass a filibuster and pass the bill.

Congressional Republicans intend to enact President Donald Trump’s core agenda of cutting taxes and reducing federal spending. (Reuters)

‘WOKE IS THEIR GOD’: EX-DEM FUNDRAISER SAYS PARTY ‘IN SHAMBLES’ AFTER 2024 ELECTION LOSSES

“Budget reconciliation” isn’t a trick or scheme. It’s a time-honored parliamentary method used by both parties to enact their agenda when they can’t vault the filibuster.

Democrats used budget reconciliation to clear filibuster hurdles to approve Obamacare in 2009-2010. Republicans deployed the reconciliation gambit to try to undo Obamacare in 2017. However, Republicans were more successful in approving President Trump’s tax cuts later that year via reconciliation. The issue is that you must have a budget in place in order to use reconciliation in the Senate. And, the House and Senate must approve the same budget vehicle for reconciliation.

Let me say that again: it has to be the same budget vehicle for reconciliation.

That lays the groundwork. Here’s what unfolded last week.

House Republicans initially struggled to assemble a budget chassis for their eventual legislative plan. What they had to do first was construct and approve the legislative structure for this in the Budget Committee.

That took a Herculean lift, but after six weeks of meetings, House Republicans finally advanced their plan through committee. It cuts $4.5 trillion in taxes, $2 trillion in “mandatory” spending (like entitlements) and lifts the debt limit by $4 trillion.

TRUMP FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE KASH PATEL PICKS UP SUPPORT FROM KEY GOP SENATOR

Republicans specifically designed this measure to make it out of the Budget Committee and appeal to conservatives.

Hold that thought for a moment about whom the committee targeted the bill for.

House Republicans could no longer dither. That’s because Senate Republicans were marching ahead with their own plan. It was slimmer and didn’t focus on some of the same priorities demanded by the House.

The Senate Republican package didn’t touch tax cuts. Instead, it bolstered military spending and infused the Department of Homeland Security and other related agencies with $175 billion to finish the border wall. It also increased energy production. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., long argued that voters elected President Trump and awarded Congressional Republicans the House and Senate because their message about border security resonated with them. Graham believes it’s a fool’s errand to deal with tax and spending cuts first. He says the border should be up first. Then move to other things.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, left, believes it’s a fool’s errand to deal with tax and spending cuts first. (Getty Images)

You’ve undoubtedly heard the debate about, “one bill, two bill.” This is the crux of the debate between the House and Senate. The House wants to do one bill, or in the vernacular of the president, a “big, beautiful bill.” However, the Senate approach of focusing first on energy and the border – and leaving tax and spending cuts for later – naturally dictates doing two pieces of legislation.

This is the parliamentary problem facing Republicans. It doesn’t matter if it’s one bill, two bill, red bill, blue bill. Yes. I know this sounds like Dr. Seuss. Passing one thing is a lot easier than approving two things in Congress. And it’s far from clear that House Republicans can even pass their sole bill that just came out of committee.

Graham forged ahead with his bill in committee – the day before the House Budget Committee could even meet. That created the very real possibility that the Senate could jam the House with its “one bill” because the House may never approve its own framework on the floor.

But, there’s a risk involved.

What happens if Republicans are stymied by infighting and can never re-up the tax cuts?

The Senate began its 50-hour debate on the budget framework Tuesday night.

4 OF THE BIGGEST CLASHES BETWEEN PATEL, SENATE DEMS AT HIS CONFIRMATION HEARING

The budget process is lengthy and arduous. It culminates in a marathon vote series – known as a vote-a-rama Thursday, through Friday and perhaps into the wee hours of Saturday morning.

This onerous exercise is to craft a legislative product which enables Republicans to bypass a Senate filibuster later. However, the proposal must be fiscal in nature and not add to the deficit over a ten-year period.

Here’s something important to know.

The mechanics just spelled out creates nothing more than a shell. This is the legislative chassis I referred to earlier. Both the House and Senate must have this in place to eventually debate substantive and “binding” provisions of legislation down the road – be it border security or massive tax cuts. No “chassis,” then no final bill.

So, this is an important phase in moving the president’s agenda. But not the end result.

Remember what I said about House Republicans writing their bill to appeal to conservatives on the Budget Committee? The maneuver by the GOP brass was to specifically pry a plan out of committee. But adopting that budget proposal on the House floor – let alone the final bill – is a challenge. Some conservatives don’t think the bill cuts enough. Some moderates worry about blowing a hole in the deficit with the tax cuts. High-tax state Republicans – like those from New York and California – may be loath to support the package if it fails to address SALT. That’s the reduction on state and local taxes.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., is concerned about blowing a hole in the deficit with the tax cuts.

“$4.5 trillion (in tax cuts) does not leave a lot of room to do the president’s priorities. I share a lot of those priorities with the president, particularly as it relates to SALT and reducing taxes for our seniors,” said Malliotakis.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) listens to testimony from Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, during a hearing of the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus in Washington, D.C., on June 3, 2024. (ALLISON BAILEY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

One option Republicans are talking about is offsetting some of the tax cuts with money brought in via tariffs. It’s argued they could bring in up to $1 trillion in tariffs annually. But the total goods imported was only a little over $3 trillion.

There is no plan right now to slap a 33% tariff on all goods. So that figure seems to be ambitious.

Also, Republicans can’t technically “count” revenue generated by tariffs toward deficit reduction – unless it’s in the bill. Yes, tariffs could impact the bottom line. Favorably, even. But it’s something the Congressional Budget Office would not evaluate unless it was part of the legislation.

So could lawmakers put tariffs in the bill? Sure. But some Republicans would be loath to vote for that provision. That’s because some would interpret the tariffs as a tax on the public.

But even as the Senate moved ahead, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., referred to Graham’s approach as “a non-starter” in the House.

ONE MONTH IN TO HIS SECOND TERM, NEW POLLS SUGGEST TRUMP’S POLL NUMBERS SLIPPING

This is the parliamentary problem facing Republicans.

“If the House can pass one big beautiful bill and get 218 on it and send it to the Senate, I will tell you right now, we can get 51 votes on that,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., on Fox Business. “I’m just not sure they can do it.”

Mullin went on to characterize the House approach as “having all of our eggs in one basket.”

Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (Al Drago)

Then came a shot across the Senate’s bow on Wednesday morning.

The president took to Truth Social to undercut Senate Republicans just as they began debate on their slimmer bill.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has been in touch with the White House. But when speaking of the president’s decision, Thune conceded he “didn’t see that one coming.”

Mr. Trump officially endorsed the House GOP’s “one, big beautiful bill” to enact his agenda.

“He’s going to get what he wants. And so he wants one bill,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.

“When he says over and over, ‘I want one bill,’ it kind of seems to me like maybe he wants one bill,” observed Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

Still, Senate Republicans marched ahead with their own package.

“I just hope that leadership is going to sort this out and not just stick fingers in ears and say, ‘Well, we’re just going to do what we want,’” said Hawley.

Senate GOP brass did not budge.

So, yours truly had a question for Thune.

“Are you defying the president by going ahead with your own budget plan?” I asked.

“We believe that the president also likes optionality,” countered Thune.

President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (Pool via AP)

The president also called out Graham by name for failing to craft a comprehensive bill. President Trump noted that the House approach “implements my FULL America first agenda.”

Mr. Trump then dispatched Vice President JD Vance to Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans at their weekly luncheon.

“What the post seemed to suggest that we shouldn’t move forward. That was cleared up today. JD says we prefer one bill. I prefer one bill. But we go forward,” said Graham.

So, the Senate moves ahead. However, this is just the first of many steps to implement the president’s agenda.

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And here are the biggest questions on the table right now.

Will the president’s decision to weigh in compel skeptical House Republicans to support the House package?

Can the House approve a plan?

And, can the House and Senate ever approve the same framework – just so they can eventually move ahead to the actual bill?

All answers are unclear.

Speaking at the opening session of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) on Thursday morning, Vice President JD Vance touted the Trump administration’s success in its first month of restoring “safety and prosperity” to the American people, which he said is the president’s “fundamental goal.”

A week after his fiery speech to European political leaders in Munich, Germany, Vance spoke before a packed house at National Harbor, Maryland, in a conversation-style address with a CPAC organizer.

He said that Trump recognizes that “we have a historical mandate on a few issues,” which he said were cracking down on illegal immigration, restoring American energy dominance and cutting the rampant waste of taxpayer dollars through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He quipped that in his first thirty days in office, President Donald Trump signed “more executive orders than CNN has viewers.”

ACTIVISTS IN MEXICO REPORT FLOW OF MIGRANTS HAS ‘ENORMOUSLY DECREASED’ ONE MONTH INTO TRUMP ADMIN

Vice President JD Vance will attend an AI summit in Paris, France, a French official said anonymously. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Addressing the migrant crisis, Vance said: “We have to secure the southern border and thanks to [Trump’s] actions, border crossings are down well over ninety percent and we’re just getting started.”

On the heels of the administration designating several migrant criminal groups – including Tren de Aragua and MS-13 – as foreign terrorist organizations, Vance said that Trump’s message to migrant criminals is “get the hell out of our country because your free ride is over … you’re not welcome.”

Regarding American energy and the economy, Vance said that Trump “recognizes that we have to really unlock the engine of American growth.”

“We’ve got to get back to having a growing economy that creates good jobs and high wages for the American people and a lot of that goes back to ‘drill, baby, drill,’” he said as the crowd broke into applause.

TRUMP EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PUTS EMPLOYERS ‘ON NOTICE’ TO STOP ‘ANTI-AMERICAN BIAS’

The official portraits of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance. (Trump-Vance Transition Team)

The vice president also criticized wasteful government spending under the Biden administration.

“Why are we spending money on progressive, modern art projects centered around toilets in Afghanistan? That’s actually something that your tax dollars were funding until very recently,” he said. “And I think all of us are sitting around and asking, what the hell are we doing with the American people’s money for the last four years?”

“It is easy, unfortunately, to burn the house down. It takes a little bit of time to build it back up and that’s what we have to do,” he continued.

“Look, the fundamental goal of our immigration policy, of our border policy, of DOGE saving taxpayer money, the fundamental goal is we want your children and grandchildren to be able to raise a family in security and comfort in the country that we all love,” he explained. “That is the whole goal of President Trump’s agenda.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: FOUNDING FATHERS ‘SPINNING IN THEIR GRAVES’ BECAUSE OF BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ABUSE

United States Vice-President JD Vance addresses the audience during the Munich Security Conference at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.  (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Vance received a massive standing ovation after the CPAC organizer mentioned his Munich speech, in which he spoke about the need for Europe to follow Trump’s example of restricting illegal immigration and restoring free speech.

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“We cannot rebuild Western civilization; we cannot rebuild the United States of America or Europe by letting millions and millions of unvetted illegal migrants come into our country. It has to stop. Thank God it stopped here. But it’s got to stop there,” he said.

“The Biden administration did more to destroy free speech, not just in the United States, but also in Europe than any administration in American history,” he went on. “I’m not even blaming the Europeans. I’m actually saying you followed the lead of Joe Biden into censorship and mass migration, follow the lead of Donald J. Trump and that’s free speech, borders and sovereignty. That is the future for our shared civilization.”

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a bill that would give parents up to $6,000 per child in expanded tax credits. 

It’s part of a wider piece of legislation called the Affordable Childcare Act, led by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., on the right and Sharice Davids, D-Kan., and Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., on the left.

Both the Republican and Democratic campaigns had called for an expanded child tax credit during the 2024 presidential race, where both sides attempted to make inroads with families struggling to afford care. 

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

A new bipartisan bill would expand the child tax credit up to $6,000 per dependent or $12,000 for families of two or more. (iStock/FoxNews)

The current child tax credit levels give parents a refund of up to $2,000 for dependents under age 17. Adults with incomes that exceed $200,000 as a single filer or $400,000 for married couples can still be eligible for a partial credit.

The bipartisan bill would raise the maximum threshold to $6,000 for one dependent and $12,000 for two or more. 

It would also double the tax credit for businesses that facilitate childcare for employees, raising the amount to $300,000 per year for qualifying workplaces.

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

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick is one of the lawmakers leading the bill. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

During the most recent White House campaign, now-Vice President JD Vance and then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who was running for the top of the ticket, called for a $5,000 and $6,000 child tax credit, respectively.

But it’s not certain Congress will find an appetite to work together on such a bill now, given bitter divisions over the government funding process and President Donald Trump’s crackdown on government spending. 

Republicans are also working on a larger tax package that they’re aiming to pass with only GOP votes via the budget reconciliation process.

Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which Republicans are hoping to extend with reconciliation, raised the maximum child tax credit from $1,000 at the time to $2,000.

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If Congress fails to extend Trump’s tax cuts by the end of 2025, the original parameters would be back in place.

The maximum was briefly raised to $3,000 for children ages 6 to 16 and $3,600 for children ages 0 to 5 to help families cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, but those rates were not extended.

The consideration of Linda McMahon to run the Department of Education (DOED) will head to a full Senate vote after the Trump nominee advanced in a heavyweight decision on Thursday.

McMahon testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee during her confirmation hearing last week, when she was grilled on recent spending cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), potentially dismantling the DOED and Title IX.

“We need a strong leader at the department who will get our education system back on track,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said ahead of the committee vote. “Mrs. McMahon is the partner this committee needs.”

On Thursday, the committee voted to advance the nomination of McMahon for Education secretary to a full Senate vote.

TRUMP EDUCATION NOMINEE LINDA MCMAHON SAYS SHUTTING DOWN DOE WOULD ‘REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION’

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

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., spoke in opposition to her nomination during the vote on Thursday. 

“I like her personally. I respect the work she has done in building a large and successful business. But I think the main point that has to be made at this particular point in history is that it really doesn’t matter who the secretary of education or the secretary of labor is, because those people will not be calling the shots,” Sanders said, taking aim at President Donald Trump during his remarks.

McMahon’s nomination now heads to the Senate floor, where the entire chamber will vote on her nomination. At this time, the floor vote has not been scheduled.

DEMS SPAR OVER DOGE CUTS WITH TRUMP EDUCATION NOMINEE LINDA MCMAHON

Before entering the political scene, McMahon worked as the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, which she co-founded with her husband, Vince McMahon.

President Donald Trump has said he wants to close the Department of Education “immediately.” (AP)

During Trump’s first term, McMahon also served as administrator of the Small Business Administration before stepping down in 2019 to “return to the private sector.” 

McMahon is now being considered to head the Education Department, which Trump has said he wants to close “immediately.”

“It’s a big con job,” Trump said the day before McMahon’s confirmation hearing. “They ranked the top countries in the world. We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department: cost per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked No. 40.”

The president said that if confirmed, he wants McMahon to “put herself out of a job.”

Linda McMahon, former administrator of the Small Business Administration and Education secretary nominee, arrives for a meeting on Capitol Hill. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg)

The Education Department has been under the national spotlight in recent weeks, as DOGE, the department led by Elon Musk to slash federal costs, has cut hundreds of millions of spending on DEI programs being funded by DOED. 

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On Friday, DOGE announced that in just 48 hours, the department terminated 70 DEI training grants within the department, which totaled over $370 million.

FIRST ON FOX: An influential conservative group is throwing its weight behind Elbridge Colby’s nomination to serve in a top position at the Defense Department. 

The Heritage Foundation said, in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital, that Colby is “without question the most influential defense policy thinker in over twenty years.”

“For far too long, the United States has employed the Department of Defense – and the men and women of the U.S. military – to engage in activities that were not central to American interests,” the letter read. 

“From peacekeeping operations in far-flung theaters, to nation-building among cultures riddled with ethno-sectarian and religious strife, to democracy building in areas with no history of the rule of law, the Department of Defense has spent much of the post-Cold War era expending resources and American lives in conducting operations that are tangential to U.S. interests.”

TOP GOP SEN. COTTON TO MEET WITH EMBATTLED TRUMP DEFENSE NOMINEE AS DOUBTS SWIRL

Heritage released a letter Thursday supporting Elbridge Colby to serve as undersecretary of defense for policy. (Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

MAGA loyalists have muscled Republicans who are hesitant of Colby’s nomination to serve as undersecretary of defense for policy, mostly over his realist worldview. 

Colby has suggested that the U.S. living with a nuclear Iran is more plausible than countering the country’s nuclear assets, a position that has reportedly prompted concern for Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a member of the Armed Services Committee, which will vote on Colby’s nomination first. 

Colby is “the single best person to implement President Trump’s and Secretary Hegseth’s policies within the Department of Defense and ensure that American lives and resources are used judiciously against prioritized threats,” according to Heritage.

The current acting undersecretary of defense for policy, Alex Velez-Green, was plucked for the administration while working as a policy advisor for the Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense.

MAGA LOYALISTS TAKE AIM AT GOP SENATOR AS KEY TRUMP DEFENSE POST SPARKS CONTROVERSY: ‘WHY THE OPPOSITION?’

Vice President JD Vance expressed support for the Trump nominee, writing, “Bridge has consistently been correct about the big foreign policy debates of the last 20 years.”

“He was critical of the Iraq War, which made him unemployable in the 2000s era conservative movement. He built a relationship with [the Center for a New American Security] when it was one of the few institutions that would even hire a foreign policy realist,” Vance said. 

Heritage called Colby the “single best person” to implement the Trump and Hegseth agenda. (DefSec Hegseth on X)

Colby, who worked at the Pentagon during Trump’s first term, has long asserted the U.S. should limit its resources in the Middle East and refocus on China as the bigger threat. 

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told Roll Call that Colby’s nomination posts “a concern to a number of senators.” 

Colby served in the first Trump administration as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development and was the primary author of the 2018 U.S. National Security Strategy. 

Donald Trump Jr. wrote of Colby in an op-ed for Human Events on Tuesday: “He starts off in exactly the right place – with the concrete interests of the American people, not abstractions like ‘the rules based international order’ or spreading democracy in the Middle East.” 

Meanwhile, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk accused Cotton over the weekend of “working behind the scenes” to kill Colby’s nomination. 

“Colby is one of the most important pieces to stop the Bush/Cheney cabal at DOD,” Kirk wrote in a post on X. “Why is Tom Cotton doing this?”

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Elon Musk echoed Kirk’s post: “Why the opposition to Bridge? What does he think Bridge will do?”

Cotton will meet with Colby in the coming days before making up his mind on how to vote, sources told Fox News Digital. 

Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s approval rating remains higher than at any point during his first term in office, according to a new poll from CNN.

The Thursday poll shows Trump at 47% approval rating with 52% disapproval. The poll found that a plurality of Americans, 28%, say Trump’s “single most significant” action has been securing the border, followed by his slashing of government with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency at 12%.

Meanwhile, many Americans say they want Trump to do more to address everyday prices. According to the poll, 62% of Americans say he hasn’t gone far enough on the issue, including 47% of Republicans, 65% of independents and 73% of Democrats.

CNN conducted its poll from Feb. 13-17, surveying 1,206 U.S. adults in both English and Spanish. The poll advertises a margin of error of 3.1%.

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President Donald Trump sits at a 47% approval rating, according to a new poll from CNN. (AP)

CNN’s poll comes on the heels of three other polls that were released Wednesday.

Forty-five percent of voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey said they approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, with 49% disapproving.

That’s down from a 46%-43% approval/disapproval in a Quinnipiac poll conducted in late January, during the president’s first week back in office following his inauguration.

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Trump has signed a slew of executive orders since entering office last month. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Another national poll from Gallup indicated the president at 45% approval and 51% disapproval, down from 47%-48% approval/disapproval late last month.

And according to a Reuters/Ipsos national survey also released on Wednesday, the president stood at 44% approval and 51% disapproval. Trump registered at 45%-46% approval/disapproval in the previous poll by Reuters/Ipsos, which was conducted late last month during the first week of the president’s second administration.

The latest Quinnipiac poll was conducted Feb. 13-17, with Gallup in the field Feb. 3-16, and Reuters/Ipsos conducting their survey Feb. 13-18.

A CNN poll says Trump’s immigration actions have been the most significant part of his presidency so far. (White House)

New surveys this week from other polling organizations indicate Trump’s approval ratings remain above water.

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Trump has kept up a frenetic pace during his opening weeks back in the White House, with an avalanche of executive orders and actions. His moves not only fulfilled some of his major campaign trail promises, but also allowed the returning president to flex his executive muscles, quickly put his stamp on the federal government, make major cuts to the federal workforce, and also settle some longstanding grievances.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.