Donald Trump Poll News

EXCLUSIVE: Republican Rep. Andy Barr’s decision on whether to run for U.S. Senate in Kentucky will be made “independent of the decisions that others make, including Sen. Mitch McConnell,” he told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Friday morning, stressing that “it’s time for Kentucky to have a U.S. senator who supports President Trump.” 

The congressman, who currently represents Kentucky’s 6th congressional district, told Fox News Digital that he is “doing a lot of listening right now.” 

“I’m listening to supporters, advisors, friends, people I trust, but most importantly, I’m listening to my family and talking to my family, and I am grateful for the strong encouragement to run,” he said. “A lot of constituents are encouraging me to run for the Senate, and I am grateful for the outpouring of financial support that’s coming my way.” 

Rep. Andy Barr, left, R-Ky., said “it’s time” for his state to have a senator who supports President Donald Trump.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Scott Eisen)

RNC BRINGS ON NEW SENIOR LEADERSHIP TO ‘WORK AROUND THE CLOCK’ TO SUPPORT TRUMP AGENDA, ELECT REPUBLICANS

But Barr said that “ultimately, this is going to be a family decision on our timeline.” 

“It will be a decision that we make independent of the decisions that others make, including Sen. McConnell, or others who have or will express an interest in running for the Senate in 2026, so this will be a family decision that we make,” Barr said. “All I can say is, I am very, very grateful for the outpouring of support, mainly from Kentuckians, but people around the country who want to see strong, America First leadership in the U.S. Senate.” 

Sources close to Barr told Fox News Digital back in 2023 that he could be “a serious contender” for McConnell’s seat in 2026. 

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was the longest-serving party leader in U.S. Senate history.  (J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press)

In a veiled swipe at McConnell, Barr told Fox News Digital that “it’s time for Kentucky to have a U.S. senator who supports President Trump.” 

McConnell, at this point, has now opposed three of Trump’s now-confirmed Cabinet secretaries: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“He votes against almost everything now,” the president said of McConnell on Thursday. “He’s a, you know, very bitter guy.”

Trump also said McConnell is “not equipped mentally” and said he “let the Republican Party go to hell.”

Barr doubled down, saying: “I think it is time for Kentucky to have a U.S. senator who has a vision, not only to make America great again, but to make Kentucky great again, and I think that’s why a lot of people have encouraged me to run,” Barr said. “They see me as someone who has been, and has a proven record of, supporting President Trump’s America First agenda, but also a very strong record of supporting the signature industries of Kentucky and building a very strong record of constituent services and accessibility to the people of Kentucky.” 

He added, “I have a vision for Kentucky, just like America, to be great again. I have a vision for Kentuckians to achieve their potential and to restore the American Dream for Kentuckians.” 

Barr said he believes the state has “enormous potential” and said that “with strong partnership with President Trump, we can deliver just extraordinary possibilities for the people of Kentucky.” 

Rep. Andy Barr’s decision on whether to run for U.S. Senate in Kentucky will be made “independent of the decisions that others make, including Sen. Mitch McConnell,” he said. (Fox News)

MITCH MCCONNELL STEPS DOWN AS REPUBLICAN LEADER

When asked for comment, a McConnell aide told Fox News Digital that the senator has not made an announcement on his 2026 plans. 

McConnell, who will turn 83 later in February, stepped away from serving as the Senate Republican leader in November 2024. McConnell was the longest-serving party leader in U.S. Senate history. 

Meanwhile, Barr told Fox News Digital, “I’m my own man.”  

“People try to peg me as this type of Republican or that type of Republican, but at the end of it, I’m an America First conservative who loves my home state, the commonwealth of Kentucky,” he said.

“I think what sets me apart is that nobody else looking at the race has been in the trenches on the job with President Trump to drain the swamp,” he continued. “I’ve got a proven record, and I think that does differentiate me from anyone else.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But Barr stressed that his decision on whether to run for the U.S. Senate “is not dependent on anybody else.” 

“I’m just going to remain focused on working with President Trump and working with his team to deliver on his America First agenda — we don’t have any time to waste,” Barr told Fox News Digital. “And so that’s my focus right now.” 

While the debate over President Donald Trump’s cuts to facilities and administrative costs associated with federally funded research grants rages on, one expert in the field of medicine says he sees a clear way forward. 

Dr. David Skorton, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, has had a wide-ranging career spanning government, higher education and medicine. He now runs a national association that oversees all Medical Doctorate-granting schools in the country, and about 500 academic health systems teaching hospitals. Skorton told Fox News Digital that while he does not agree with Trump’s blanket cuts, the current status quo needs changing. He cited over-regulation as a reason why facilities and administrative costs have gotten so “wildly expensive.” 

TRUMP NOMINEES DEBUT NEW SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL AIMED AT SPURRING SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE, INCREASING TRANSPARENCY 

He also said that transparency from research institutions could help create better awareness of how taxpayer dollars are being used to support those institutions that have become the bane of critics who say they are stockpiling taxpayer dollars for their own benefit. 

Dr. David Skorton, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, which represents all the MD-granting accredited medical schools in the country, and about 500 academic health systems teaching hospitals. (Fox News)

“In some cases, more than one agency will develop regulations, and the researchers have to answer to all of those different agency regulations. We should be able to harmonize those things and come out with a more thoughtful approach to reducing some of the regulatory burden,” Skorton said. He added that, in turn, researchers will be able to spend more time doing what they do best, research, which in the long run will mean greater results for the public.   

“It would also mean that the costs would go down because the additional personnel, the additional things that are necessary to keep track of things for these regulations, that would also go down,” Skorton pointed out.

JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ORDER LIMITING ‘INDIRECT’ NIH RESEARCH COSTS AFTER PUBLIC OUTCRY

Skorton said that the impact of reducing over-regulation will be two-fold: it will improve the current research environment and show that there is room for collaboration to reduce overhead costs while not threatening new research. In particular, he pointed to research involving human or animal subjects, which Skorton said is often riddled with regulatory requirements that, while important, could be streamlined.  

The National Institutes of Health is facing a shakeup with the new administration, worrying some about how it may impact critical aspects of public health. (Fox News)

Skorton added that the AAMC was “very hungry” to work with the administration on improving this framework, noting that “we’re not here to claim that the status quo is perfect, and we want to defend it, but the idea of very quickly knocking down the facilities and administrative costs to what felt like an arbitrary number to many of us, 15%, will cause research to be reduced.”

The AAMC president said there is an onus on research institutions as well to better educate folks about where their taxpayer dollars are going when they are utilized by federally funded research programs.

JUDGE ORDERS TEMPORARY REVERSAL OF TRUMP ADMIN’S FREEZE ON FOREIGN AID

“For every dollar that we get at universities, medical schools, et cetera, for research from the NIH or some other science agency, for every dollar another half dollar, roughly, is contributed by the institution,” Skorton pointed out. “That’s something that maybe people don’t realize, and why would they, because we have to be more clear in making that visible, that we already contribute a lot to the research.”

In fiscal year 2023, the NIH spent around $35 billion across roughly 50,000 grants that went to research institutions, such as universities and hospitals. Of that $35 billion, according to the Trump administration, $9 billion was allocated for “indirect costs” that cover expenses related to depreciation on buildings, equipment, capital improvements, interest on debt associated with certain buildings, and operations and maintenance expenses. (iStock)

Fox News Digital spoke to medical experts who have supported Trump’s blanket cut to administrative and facilities costs, and they argue that reducing this price burden on the federal government will increase the availability of new research grants, while getting rid of financial bloat that universities have been able to take advantage of at the taxpayers’ expense.

One of the doctors who shared their thoughts, Dr. Erika Schwartz, echoed calls for reform to the current structure, similar to Skorton.  

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“While infrastructure support is necessary, there’s room for more efficient cost management. A reformed funding model could redirect more resources to direct research activities while maintaining essential support services,” Schwartz said. “This could potentially increase the number of funded research projects and accelerate medical breakthroughs, ultimately benefiting patients more directly.”

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Friday barring schools who still have coronavirus vaccine mandates from receiving federal funds. 

The order, according to a report from Breitbart confirmed by the White House, prohibits “federal funds from being used to support or subsidize an educational service agency, state education agency, local education agency, elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education that requires students to have received a COVID-19 vaccination to attend in-person education programs.” 

It also tasks Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and the Secretary of Education to establish guidelines for compliance and to “provide a plan to end coercive COVID-19 vaccine mandates.” 

That includes coming up with a system to block federal funding to “educational entities” that have coronavirus vaccine mandates.

NO LONGER TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF: TRUMP SIGNS ORDER PRIORITIZING ‘UNIFIED’ US FOREIGN POLICY FRONT

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, where he signed an executive order, on Thursday, Feb. 13. (AP/Ben Curtis)

TRUMP ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDERS ON RECIPROCAL TARIFFS

An executive order Trump signed in late January called a vaccine mandate for U.S. service members “unfair, overbroad, and [a] completely unnecessary burden.” 

That order called to “make reinstatement available to all members of the military (active and reserve) who were discharged solely for refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and who request to be reinstated.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The order said in August 2021, the Secretary of Defense “mandated that all service members receive the COVID-19 vaccine.” That mandate was rescinded in January 2023. 

Trump also signed an executive order in January that removes federal funding from K-12 schools that teach critical race theory. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Moderate members of New York City’s otherwise overwhelmingly progressive City Council met with President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, on the same day the lawman met with Mayor Eric Adams.

Homan, himself a New York State native from the Watertown area, joined a meeting of the bipartisan “Common Sense Caucus” led by Councilmembers Bob Holden, D-Glendale, and Joann Ariola, R-Howard Beach.

At the meeting, Homan pledged to act swiftly when informed of another migrant shelter being planned for an outer borough.

Councilwoman Kristy Marmorato told 1010WINS after the meeting that Homan had been incensed to learn that Adams’ Office of Asylum-Seeker Operations had announced a 2,200-bed shelter in the Bronx.

DEMOCRATIC NYC COUNCILMAN BOB HOLDEN BACKS ZELDIN OVER HOCHUL

Tom Homan and NYC skyline (AP/Reuters)

“Get me that address,” Homan reportedly told Marmorato, R-Throggs Neck.

The shelter is planned for a low-income area off the Bruckner Expressway in Mott Haven – not far from the RFK-Triboro Bridge, according to reports.

“Enough is enough,” Marmorato – the only Bronx Republican on council – headlined a press release about “migrant dumps” there.

Holden is a moderate who famously took office in 2017 by unseating a Democrat who outraised him tenfold while running on the endorsed Republican, Conservative and Dump de Blasio ballot lines.

“Today, we had a productive meeting with Tom Homan, the Border Czar, to discuss the serious public safety consequences of sanctuary laws,” Holden said in a statement.

“I have full confidence in Homan and his team to enforce federal laws and keep our communities safe.”

As for Adams’ meeting with Homan, he appreciated the mayor’s acknowledgment of the crisis, but added, “words are not enough – he needs to take real action.”

BLUE CITY POLICE SERGEANTS SAY THEY’RE PAID LESS THAN SUBORDINATES AS BILLIONS GO TO MIGRANTS

Adams, who on Thursday also pledged to work with the feds to fight gang proliferation at the city’s Rikers Island prison, announced executive action to reopen an ICE facility on the island in Hell Gate.

Holden called the move a “significant first step” toward prioritizing New York City public safety.

“I first pitched the idea of reopening the ICE office in December, and I’m glad to see action finally being taken. Thank you to Tom Homan for his leadership on this issue.”

Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, a Brighton Beach Republican and immigrant from Ukraine, noted that her family “came here legally” and slammed the “top-down failures” of the Biden era.

“It’s a thrill to have a man of action leading immigration and border enforcement,” Vernikov said on X, formerly Twitter, adding that she was unable to make the meeting itself but sent a staffer in her stead.

“The consensus is that we are all done with the media and leftist politicians making excuses for lawbreaking,” she said, adding that she had paved her own path to legal citizenship and now practices immigration law.

“Illegal immigration is destroying this city and is offensive to citizens. Full stop. If the mayor won’t revoke sanctuary city status, I expect the Trump administration will provide very compelling and hard-hitting incentives to do so.”

Ariola, who took over as the caucus’ GOP co-chair upon longtime Staten Island Councilman Joe Borelli’s retirement, said on X that “we need change – we need it now.”

Councilman David Carr, R-New Dorp, also tweeted about the Homan meeting, saying New York needs to stop “shielding” migrants from ICE.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

ri

Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, R-Whitestone, reacted to the meeting by pledging to double her efforts to fight the crisis.

“Despite the progressive monopoly in this city, I plan to use whatever power I have, in partnership with the Trump Administration wherever possible, to keep my district and my constituents safe,” she said.

Democrats currently hold a 44-5 supermajority on the council, with one vacancy from each party.

One caucusmember, however, skipped the meeting with Homan, saying that she had a scheduling conflict and that “not every immigrant is a criminal.”

“I am an immigrant. No one can ever tell me about the challenges faced by newcomers to New York and to this nation,” Councilwoman Susan Zhuang, who was born in China, told City & State.

“Find the criminals and deport them, yes. But leave decent hard-working families alone,” said Zhuang, D-Dyker Heights.

In a speech to European leaders, Vice President JD Vance said the continent’s recent censorship activities were a bigger threat to its existence than Russia. 

“The threat that I worry the most about Vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China. It’s not any other external actor,” he said in an address at the Munich Security Conference. 

“What I worry about is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.”

Vance called out former European Commissioner Thierry Breton who said in January that if the right wing German AfD party won elections in Germany, the results could go the way of Romania.

“These cavalier statements are shocking to American ears,” said Vance. 

HEGSETH SAYS HE AND VANCE ARE ‘ON THE SAME PAGE’ DESPITE VP’S REMARK ON US TROOPS IN UKRAINE

Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance wave upon landing at Munich international airport, southern Germany, on February 13, 2025, one day before the start of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) (TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images)

“For years we’ve been told that everything we fund and support is in the name of our shared democratic values. Everything from our Ukraine policy to digital censorship is billed as a defense of democracy. But when we see European courts canceling elections and senior officials threatening to cancel others, we ought to ask whether we’re holding ourselves to an appropriately high standard.”

Romania annulled the results of its December presidential election because President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence reports alleging a Russian influence campaign on social media to the benefit of Calin Georgescu, the darkhorse candidate who won the most votes. 

“You can believe it’s wrong for Russia to buy social media advertisements to influence your elections. We certainly do. You can condemn it on the world stage, even. But if your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.”

The vice president even called out the organizers of the Munich conference, who he said had “banned lawmakers representing populist parties on both the left and the right from participating in these conversations.”

The conference barred the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the newly formed left-populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) for what MSC chair Christoph Heusgen described as a rejection of the conference’s principle of “peace through dialogue.”  Heusgen said the tipping point was when lawmakers with the parties walked out of the room as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was addressing German parliament last June. 

“The threat that I worry the most about Vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China. It’s not any other external actor,” Vice President Vance said. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)

“To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election.”

He then said Europe had forgotten the lessons of the Cold War and the Soviet Union’s censorship policies. 

“Within living memory of many of you in this room, the Cold War positioned defenders of democracy against much more tyrannical forces on this continent. And consider the side in that fight that censored dissidents, that closed churches, that canceled elections,” Vance said. 

“Unfortunately, when I look at Europe today, it’s sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the Cold wars winners. I look to Brussels, where EU commissars warn citizens that they intend to shut down social media during times of civil unrest the moment they spot what they’ve judged to be ‘hateful content’ or to this very country where police have carried out raids against citizens suspected of posting anti-feminist comments online as part of ‘combating misogyny on the internet.’”

“Most concerning,” according to Vance, is the United Kingdom. 

“The backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs.”

Vance recounted Adam Smith Connor, who was found guilty in October of breaching the local government’s Public Spaces Protection Order, after he stood outside an abortion facility nearly two years ago with his head bowed in silent prayer.

” I wish I could say that this was a fluke, a one-off, crazy example of a badly written law being enacted against a single person. But no,” said Vance.

VANCE WARNS US WILL USE SANCTIONS, MILITARY ACTION IF PUTIN DOESN’T AGREE TO UKRAINE PEACE DEAL: REPORT

US Vice President JD Vance delivers his speech during the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany on February 14, 2025.  (THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)

The U.K. law suggests that those within the buffer zone of 200 meters of an abortion clinic cannot attempt to influence someone’s decision to access an abortion. Those who are in homes within the buffer zone cannot hang signs outside or shout anti-abortion messages that could be heard in range of the clinic. 

Vance also called out Sweden, where Danish activist Rasmus Paludan was sentenced to four months in prison for burning copies of the Quran. 

“Sweden’s laws to supposedly protect free expression do not, in fact, ‘Grant,’ and I’m quoting, ‘a free pass to do or say anything without risking offending the group that holds that belief,’” said Vance. 

Vance’s speech had veered away from what European leaders had been expecting to hear – details on President Donald Trump’s plan for peace between Russia and Ukraine and how to strengthen the NATO alliance.

“I’m sure you all came here prepared to talk about how exactly you intend to increase defense spending over the next few years in line with some new target,” said Vance.

“I’ve heard a lot about what you need to defend yourselves from, and of course that’s important. But what has seemed a little bit less clear to me, and certainly I think to many of the citizens of Europe, is what exactly it is that you’re defending yourselves for. “

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The vice president went on: “What is the positive vision that animates this shared security compact that we all believe is so important? And I believe deeply that there is no security If you are afraid of the voices, the opinions and the conscience that guide your very own people.”

“The crisis this continent faces right now, the crisis I believe we all face together, is one of our own making. If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is vowing to veto a bill that would block his state’s prison system from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a report says. 

Assembly Bill 15 argues that “when California’s jails and prisons voluntarily and unnecessarily transfer immigrant and refugee community members eligible for release from state or local custody to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for immigration detention and deportation purposes, they subject these community members to double punishment and further trauma.” 

“The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall not detain on the basis of a hold request, provide an immigration authority with release date information, or respond to a notification request, transfer to an immigration authority, or facilitate or assist with a transfer request any individual who is eligible for release,” reads some of the language of the bill. 

However, Newsom’s office told KCRA 3 that the governor would veto the bill if it ever lands on his desk this year. Currently, the legislation has been referred to the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee, the station added. 

CALIFORNIA CITY PASSES SWEEPING HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT BAN ON ALL PUBLIC PROPERTY 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom waits for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to step off Air Force One upon their arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Jan. 24. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

A spokesperson for Newsom did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Friday. The bill is sponsored by Mike Gipson, a Democratic lawmaker who represents Los Angeles. 

Two years ago, Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 1306, which called for similar actions. 

“This bill prohibits the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from providing any information or responding to a request for coordination from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal law enforcement agency, regarding the imminent release of an incarcerated non-citizen, if the person is being released under specific circumstances,” Newsom wrote at the time. 

TRUMP-SUPPORTING CALIFORNIA SHERIFF TO LAUNCH REPUBLICAN BID FOR GOVERNOR IN RACE TO SUCCEED NEWSOM: SOURCES 

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement knocks on the door of an alleged suspect during a recent operation in Chicago, Ill. Assembly Bill 15 would prevent California’s prison system from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The bill would prevent information sharing and coordination upon a person’s release from CDCR custody for a significant number of people and, as a result, would impede CDCR’s interaction with a federal law enforcement agency charged with assessing public safety risks,” he continued.  

“I believe current law strikes the right balance on limiting interaction to support community trust and cooperation between law enforcement and local communities. For this reason, I cannot sign this bill,” Newsom concluded. 

A California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officer holds a pair of handcuffs at the Short-Term Restricted Housing Unit of California State Prison, Sacramento.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

More than 10,500 California inmates have been transferred into ICE custody since Newsom took office in 2019, KCRA 3 reported, citing prison system data. 

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are taking steps to repeal the “climate-crazed” Biden administration’s tax credit for electric vehicles (EVs) that “ran up the bill on the American people to the tune of billions of dollars,” Fox News Digital learned exclusively.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, on Friday will introduce the Eliminating Lavish Incentives to Electric Vehicles Act, a bill that aims to eliminate the Biden-era tax credit for new and used EVs and slash “woke and wasteful spending.”

“Under President Biden and the most climate-crazed administration in the history of our country, Democrats ran up the bill on the American people to the tune of billions of dollars, strapping tax subsidies for expensive electric vehicles to the failed Inflation Reduction Act,” Arrington, who currently serves as chair of the House Budget Committee, told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

TRUMP REVERSES BIDEN CRACKDOWN ON LIGHTBULBS AND DISHWASHERS, RETURNING TO ‘COMMON SENSE STANDARDS’

Honda unveils its 0 Saloon prototype, a futuristic vehicle concept, during the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 9, 2025. (Getty Images)

Former President Joe Biden implemented a tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of EVs under the Inflation Reduction Act in an effort to push auto buyers to select greener alternatives.

However, President Donald Trump has been walking back the Biden-era green energy policies, and the Republican-led Congress is seeking to end the use of taxpayer dollars for EV purchases.

TRUMP ADMIN HITS BRAKES ON $5B ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION PROGRAM

Arrington’s legislation aims to stop taxpayer money from subsidizing the purchase of luxury electric vehicles and close the “loophole” that allows for individuals to get a tax credit for leasing an EV.

“I will remain on mission to repeal Green New Deal climate handouts along with other woke and wasteful spending programs while we restore fiscal sanity, reignite prosperity, and Make America Great Again,” the congressman said.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, leaves the House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. (Getty Images)

The bill, joined by several members of the Ways and Means Committee, aligns with an executive order recently issued by Trump ending Biden’s mandate that 50% of all new car sales be EVs by 2030. 

Amid rumblings that Trump was considering eliminating the EV credit in November, Tim Stewart, president of the U.S. Oil & Gas Association, a group promoting public policy on behalf of the natural gas industry, suggested that behind the scenes, automotive groups and consumers could feel relieved if the EV credit was repealed.

“Losing $70,000 on an EV is not a winning business model and U.S. automakers know that,” Stewart told Fox News Digital. “The EV tax credit was the only way to entice consumers to ‘maybe’ purchase something they really didn’t want, but told by the Biden folks they had to buy.” 

President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order recently ending former President Joe Biden’s mandate that 50% of all new car sales be electric vehicles by 2030. (Scott Olson)

Stewart said axing the EV tax credit gives members of the auto industry the opportunity to shift back to traditional production lines.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is heading Trump’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, revealed in July that he supports getting rid of the credit. “Take away the subsidies,” Musk posted to X, saying “it will only help Tesla.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Companies that are financially sound, such as Tesla, could benefit if the playing field for electric vehicles is narrowed, while the smaller companies that rely on the tax credit for consumer affordability could face setbacks, analysts have suggested.

Saudi Arabia has emerged as a central player in the pursuit of a U.S.-brokered peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, in large part due to the political capital it wields with its massive oil reserves. 

President Donald Trump suggested Riyadh as a meeting place to kick off face-to-face talks between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin agreed the location was acceptable. To some it might seem a curious choice, but the Middle Eastern kingdom has reasons to involve itself in finding an end to the conflict happening thousands of miles from its borders. 

For Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, mediating peace negotiations would help to solidify his standing as a global leader. It also offers him a leg up on Qatar, which was heavily involved in negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Qatar has also, since 2023, helped facilitate the return of dozens of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war. 

Trump cited both his and Putin’s relationship with the Saudis in his remarks. “We know the crown prince, and I think it’d be a very good place to be,” he said. 

RUSSIAN-AMERICAN BALLERINA ‘IN TRANSIT’ AFTER US SAYS SHE WAS WRONGFULLY DETAINED, BOYFRIEND SAYS

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS)

It’s why Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has taken a front-row seat to the U.S. dealings in Eastern Europe. Witkoff jetted off to Moscow this week and returned home with Marc Fogel, an American teacher who had been detained by the Kremlin on charges of bringing medical marijuana into Russia in 2021. Witkoff credited Prince Mohammed for his “instrumental” role in mediating the release. 

Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday he’d designated Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Witkoff to lead peace negotiations but failed to mention the special envoy he originally hired for the task, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg. The post came after he spoke by phone with both Putin and Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy. 

The Saudi kingdom is the largest exporter of oil in the world and plays a critical role in setting global prices. Higher oil prices generate more revenue for the Kremlin from Russia’s own exports.

In 2024, Russia made $108.22 billion from oil and gas sales, 26% more than the previous year, according to Reuters. 

Trump suggested Riyadh as a meeting place to kick off face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump has repeatedly pressed nations in the OPEC alliance to flood the market with oil and lower the global price, believing Russia would be more open to negotiations if its war coffers are hit. 

“Right now the price is high enough that that war will continue,” Trump told executives at the World Economic Forum at Davos last month.

“You got to bring down the oil price,” he said. “That will end that war. You could end that war.”

The Trump team is far closer to the Saudis than the Biden administration was, though relations may strain over Trump’s plan to move Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip and into neighboring nations and take over the territory. Still, bin Salman has pledged to invest as much as $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. 

FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY 

Trump and Zelenskyy (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Trump, who spoke to bin Salman just ahead of his Davos remarks, said he would be asking “the Crown Prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it out to around $1 trillion.”

The Saudis and Ukraine have a common enemy in Iran, which has long been providing Russia with Shahed drones and other munitions. 

“The [Iran-backed] Houthis have deployed Iranian weaponry against Saudi Arabia, targeting critical infrastructure, including oil pipelines and airports,” said Daniel Balson of the advocacy group Razom for Ukraine. “In fact, repeated Houthi attacks against highly urbanized targets like Khamis Mushait in Saudi Arabia have served as a prelude for Russia’s use of drone warfare against Ukrainian cities.”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In May 2023, bin Salman invited Zelenskyy to speak at a meeting of Arab leaders in Jeddah. Later that year, Zelenskyy and bin Salman held closed-door talks with diplomats from 40 countries on ending the war, but Russia did not participate.

Putin thanked Saudi Arabia in August for its role in negotiating the most extensive prisoner swap since the Cold War, securing the release of 26 people.  

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed the idea of abolishing property taxes throughout the Sunshine State, but explained that it would require a constitutional amendment.

The governor, who is currently serving his second term after a decisive re-election victory in Florida’s 2022 gubernatorial contest, was responding to someone on X who advocated abolishing property taxes in the state and asked what would need to be done to make that happen.

“Property taxes are local, not state. So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them,” DeSantis noted.

FLORIDA’S PROGRESSIVE ABORTION AMENDMENT FAILS FOLLOWING DESANTIS PUSH AGAINST ‘BAIT AND SWITCH’ LEGISLATION

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference on Sept. 17, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60%,” he continued. 

“I agree that taxing land/property is the more oppressive and ineffective form of taxation,” the governor added.

FLORIDA SHERIFF ASKS TRUMP’S ICE TO REMOVE BIDEN-ERA ‘SHACKLES’

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Aug. 8, 2024.  (CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Eric Trump, one of President Donald Trump’s sons, shared DeSantis’ post, and hailed the idea, declaring, “Florida leading the way! This is amazing!”

The governor’s tweet has amassed more than 50,000 likes so far since he shared it on Thursday evening.

DESANTIS’ CHOSEN RUBIO REPLACEMENT MOODY WANTS TO TACKLE INFLATION, SPENDING, BORDER: ‘AUDIT THE FED!’

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

DeSantis mounted a presidential bid in 2023, but dropped out and endorsed Trump in early 2024 after finishing in a distant second place in the Iowa Republican presidential caucus.

A mammoth bill advancing a broad range of President Donald Trump’s policy goals survived a key hurdle on Thursday, putting Republicans closer to their goal of passing a bill by sometime in May.

The legislation passed the House Budget Committee on a party-line 21 to 16 vote and is expected to be taken up by the entire chamber for a floor vote later this month.

It comes despite eleventh-hour negotiations that had the bill’s eventual passage in question even as the committee met to discuss the text on Thursday morning.

The 45-page resolution directs various House committees to find a sum of at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, with $300 billion in new spending allocated toward the border, national defense and the judiciary. 

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

Speaker Mike Johnson wants the House to advance a Trump budget bill by the end of the month. (Getty Images)

It also directs $4 trillion toward raising the debt limit, and it includes $4.5 trillion to extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and other tax provisions pushed by the president for the next 10 years.

House and Senate Republicans are aiming to use the budget reconciliation process to pass a broad range of Trump policy goals, from border security to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages.

By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority, it will allow the GOP to use their razor-thin majorities to get legislation signed into law with zero Democratic support, provided the measures included relate to the budget and other fiscal matters.

Conservative spending hawks on the House Budget Committee had demanded assurances that Republicans would seek to cut spending as deeply as possible in the reconciliation process, particularly to offset new spending on Trump’s tax priorities.

House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told reporters early Thursday afternoon that committee Republicans came to an agreement on an amendment that would win over holdouts, however.

House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington ushered the bill through his committee on Thursday.

The proposal would mandate a corresponding reduction in the $4.5 trillion tax allocation if Republicans failed to cut at least $2 trillion in spending elsewhere.

Conversely, if spending cuts exceeded $2 trillion, it would increase the amount of money directed toward tax cuts by the same amount.

“The amendment that will come up is a good amendment,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a Budget Committee fiscal hawk who had issues with the original text, told Fox News Digital. “It’s common sense. It’s doing what we said we’d be doing.”

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

The House advanced its proposal after being forced to punt the committee vote last week in the face of disagreements over where to set the baseline floor for spending cuts.

Senate Republicans advanced their own plan in the meantime, passing a narrower bill on Wednesday night that included new funding for the border and defense but would leave Trump’s tax cuts for a second package.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called that bill a “nonstarter” in the House.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham moved his own version of the bill on Wednesday (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

But while the House’s bill passed a critical test on Thursday, it’s just the first step in a long process.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Passing a budget resolution then sends instructions to other committees to seek cuts and policy changes in their respective jurisdictions, before those proposals are added back to one large bill.

The House and Senate must also agree on a compromise between their two versions and pass identical pieces of legislation before they can be sent to Trump’s desk.

Republicans have a three seat majority in the Senate and a one seat majority in the House, meaning they can afford precious little dissent among themselves to pass a final bill.

Linda McMahon’s Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday was marked by disruptive protesters, debate over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, discussion on the participation of biological men in women’s sports and scrutiny over spending cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Several protesters disrupted and were removed from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing, with one individual shouting, “Protect trans kids, protect immigrant students, protect our schools!”

Addressing the disruptions, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., complained about the “outburst of some of the protesters in the room,” prompting a blue state Democrat to speak out in their defense.

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

Linda McMahon’s confirmation hearing was interrupted a few times by protesters. (Getty Images)

“A number of them have told us that they’re … teachers. Can you imagine them teaching these people, teaching our kids in classrooms across America, and they come here and act like children with outbursts?” Banks said.

Newly elected Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., hit back at the Republican senator, saying that the protesters are “exactly the kind of people who we want teaching our children.”

In January, Trump declared that legal protections under Title IX, the 1972 federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination for recipients of federal education funding, would be based on the basis of biological sex, not gender identity, in K-12 schools and higher-learning institutions.

“[W]omen should feel safe in their locker rooms. They should feel safe in their spaces. They shouldn’t have to be exposed to men undressing in front of them.” — Linda McMahon

Regarding Trump’s reversal of the Biden administration’s regulations, McMahon said she is “happy” to see the law “back to what Title IX was originally established to do, and that was to protect social discrimination.”

DEMS SPAR OVER DOGE CUTS WITH TRUMP EDUCATION NOMINEE LINDA MCMAHON

Linda McMahon, nominee for secretary of education, testifies at her Senate committee confirmation hearing on Feb. 13, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“And women should feel safe in their locker rooms. They should feel safe in their spaces. They shouldn’t have to be exposed to men undressing in front of them,” she said.

The Trump nominee also said that if confirmed, she will “make sure the law is enforced” on campuses that try to defy the law.

McMahon faced further questioning on the impact of DEI programs during her Senate confirmation hearing. She criticized the programs, claiming that though they were intended to promote diversity, they have instead contributed to further dividing America’s kids rather than being inclusive.

“DEI has been – I think has been, it’s a program that’s tough,” McMahon said. “It was put in place ostensibly for more diversity, for equity and inclusion. And I think what we’re seeing is it is having an opposite effect. We are getting back to more segregating of our schools instead of having more inclusion in our schools.”

INTO THE RING: TRUMP EDUCATION CHIEF PICK MCMAHON TO TESTIFY ON CUTTING ‘RED TAPE’ AMID DOGE SWEEPS

Trump hopes Linda McMahon will “put herself out of a job” if confirmed to lead the Department of Education, an agency he’s proposed abolishing. (Getty Images)

She pointed to instances where DEI programs led to separate graduation ceremonies for Black and Hispanic students, arguing that such measures went against the goal of inclusion: “When their DEI programs say that Black students need separate graduation ceremonies or Hispanics need separate ceremonies, we are not achieving what we wanted to achieve with inclusion,” she added.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., countered with an example of Department of Defense schools that had canceled programming for Black History Month. 

He asked, “So if a school in Connecticut celebrates Martin Luther King Day and has a series of events and programming teaching about Black history, are they in violation of a policy that says schools should stop running DEI programs?”

McMahon disagreed, saying that events like Black History Month celebrations should be celebrated across all schools. 

“In my view, that is clearly not the case,” she said. “That celebration of Martin Luther King Day in Black History Month should be celebrated throughout all of our schools. I believe that, you know, Martin Luther King was one of the strongest proponents of making sure that we look at all of our populations when he said that he would hope that his children wouldn’t be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.”

Musk’s government spending cuts also sparked debate, with Democratic lawmakers pressing McMahon on whether she supports the dramatic cuts made by DOGE.

“I believe the American people spoke loudly in the election last November to say that they want to look at waste, fraud and abuse in our government,” said McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.

FORMER TRUMP EDUCATION SECRETARY LAYS OUT ‘UNFINISHED BUSINESS’ FOR NEW ADMIN ON SCHOOL REFORMS

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office on Feb. 11, 2025. (AP/Alex Brandon)

Pressed by Democrats, including Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, if she would follow through with cuts suggested by the “DOGE brothers,” McMahon said she can be counted on to follow congressional statute “because that’s the law.”

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., also asked if McMahon believes DOGE should have access to “private student data,” suggesting that their probes “should frighten everyone.”

“It is my understanding that those employees have been onboarded as employees of the Department of Education, and therefore, they operate under the restraints of utilizing access of information,” McMahon said.

“That’s not my understanding,” Murray shot back.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“That’s my understanding,” McMahon responded.

Murray said it was “deeply disturbing” that DOGE staffers aren’t “held accountable” and that it should “frighten everyone” if they have access to students’ private information.

McMahon’s confirmation vote in the Senate HELP Committee is scheduled for Feb. 20.

EXCLUSIVE: Senate Majority Leader John Thune is getting a tough job done.

“Senate Republicans have been committed to getting President Trump’s nominees through,” Thune, who’s been on the job steering the Senate for six weeks, told Fox News in an exclusive national digital interview.

Thune was interviewed ahead of Brooke Rollins’s confirmation as secretary of agriculture, which brought to 16 the number of Trump nominees approved by the Senate.

Only 11 Cabinet nominees were approved by this date eight years ago during Trump’s first term in the White House.

SENATE CONFIRMS ANOTHER CONTROVERSIAL TRUMP CABINET NOMINEE

Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune of South Dakota speaks to reporters on Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

And on this date four years ago, the Senate had confirmed only seven of then-President Biden’s Cabinet nominees.

Rollins’ confirmation followed the confirmations of two of Donald Trump’s most controversial nominees: former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services.

Gabbard and Kennedy were confirmed on near party-line votes in a chamber the GOP controls with a 53-47 majority.

“I think that the Senate Republicans have proven that we are united,” the South Dakota Republican said.

Thune, a two-decade Senate veteran who served in GOP leadership the past few years before succeeding longtime leader Sen. Mitch McConnell as the top Republican in the chamber, emphasized the team effort.

HEAD HERE FOR LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS BACK IN THE WHITE HOUSE

“What you try and do is just try and make the people around you better,” Thune said. “We’ve got a lot of talent in the Senate, people who … we want to deploy and utilize and let them use their gifts and talents [to] get things done around here that need to be done.”

The senator pointed to his father, a former college athlete and coach, who he said would advise him to “make the extra pass if somebody’s got a better shot. So what we’ve been trying to do is look for an opportunity to make the extra pass. And I think that it does really utilize the great talent we have here in the Senate.”

Thune says he’s been meeting “fairly regularly” with the president, in person, on the phone and through text.

President Donald Trump talks to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., after speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

“It’s a regular pipeline,” he said. “His team has been really good, too, about working with our team here. I think we’ve had a very constructive working relationship. And I tell people, our incentives are aligned. We all want to get to the same destination.”

Thune hasn’t always had a constructive relationship with the often unpredictable Trump.

Trump was critical of Thune in the years after his first term and briefly considered backing a primary challenge against the senator as he ran for re-election in 2022.

Thune said that “like a lot of people,” he’s had “differences with the president in the past.”

“But I think right now, we understand the things that we want to get done in the course of his term and the opportunity that we have, which is rare in politics, to have unified control of the government, House, Senate and White House. We need to maximize that, and in order to do that, we’ve got to have a very constructive relationship in which there’s regular communication,” Thune emphasized.

McConnell was the only Senate Republican to vote against confirming Kennedy and Gabbard. McConnell, who suffered from polio as a child and is a major proponent of vaccines, was critical of Kennedy’s history of high-profile vaccine skepticism.

Mitch McConnell (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“I’m a survivor of childhood polio. In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” McConnell said after the Kennedy vote.

Trump, who’s long criticized McConnell, took aim again.

“I have no idea if he had polio. All I can tell you about him is he shouldn’t have been a leader. He knows that. He voted against Bobby. He votes against almost everything. He’s a very bitter guy,” Trump charged.

Thune, interviewed after Gabbard’s confirmation and ahead of the final vote on Kennedy, said the 82-year-old McConnell is “still active up here and still a strong voice on issues he’s passionate about, including national security.”

“So when it comes to those issues, he has outsized influence and a voice that we all pay attention to,” Thune said. “He’s got views on some of these nominees that maybe don’t track exactly with where I or other Republicans have come down, but we respect his positions on these, some of these noms, and I know that on a lot of big stuff ahead of us, he’s going to be with us. He’s a team player.”

Thune added, “I’ve had plenty of consultations with him through the years and in recent months and weeks, and we’ll continue to reach out to him when we think it makes sense to get a lay of the land that, based on his experience, he can help us navigate.”

Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, right, speaks to reporters, Feb. 11, 2025, after a Senate policy luncheon on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

While he’s enjoyed a slew of confirmation victories this week, Thune is realistic.

“I feel good about how it’s gone so far, but we’ve got some really hard sledding ahead. We know that, and we just have to keep our heads down and do the work,” he cautioned.

While confirming Trump’s Cabinet is currently job No. 1, Thune is juggling numerous tasks.

“Obviously, most of our time has been occupied moving the president’s team and getting his nominees confirmed, and we’ll continue to do that. But as we go about that process, we’re looking for windows, too, to move important legislation,” he said.

He pointed to the Laken Riley Act, quickly passed by the Senate and the House and signed into law by Trump.

The controversial measure, which is named after a nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant while jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus, requires federal immigration authorities to detain illegal immigrants found guilty of theft-related crimes.

Thune pointed out that the legislation grabbed bipartisan support, but he added that it’s “a bill that was responsive to the election mandate, and it was a bill that divided Democrats and united Republicans.”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He also chastised his predecessor as Senate majority leader, Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York.

Thune argued that during Schumer’s tenure “the floor would get bogged down. You know, votes would take forever. We’re just trying to make more efficient use of people’s time and get this place kind of operating on a schedule again. We’re going to continue to do that and getting back to regular order.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as the new secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), hours after being confirmed in the Republican-controlled Senate Thursday by a close vote of 52-48 that was almost entirely along party lines.

Kennedy stood in the Oval Office alongside his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, and accompanied by his children, while he placed his hand on a Bible and swore the oath of office. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch swore in Kennedy.

After the ceremony, Kennedy told attendees about his first visit to the Oval Office. 

“My first time in this Oval Office was in … 1962. I came here, and I had a meeting with my uncle who was president then, where we talked about the environment. He was involved very deeply, as we all know, in restoring physical fitness in this country.

MCCONNELL WARNS RFK JR. TO STEER CLEAR OF THE POLIO VACCINE

“For 20 years, I got on my knees every morning and prayed that God would put me in a position where I could end the childhood chronic disease epidemic in this country,” Kennedy said.

“On Aug. 23 of last year, God sent me President Trump. He’s kept every promise he’s made to me. He’s kept his word in every account and gone way beyond it. … I’m so grateful to you, Mr. President.” 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the war effort against Russia Sept. 26. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote against Kennedy’s nomination. McConnell, the former longtime GOP Senate leader, had polio as a child and is a major proponent of vaccines.

Kennedy, the well-known vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump, needed a simple majority to be confirmed by the Senate.

SENATE DEMOCRATS RAIL AGAINST RFK JR. IN LATE-NIGHT SESSION AHEAD OF VOTE

Former Republican presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, shake hands during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

“I’m a survivor of childhood polio. In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” McConnell said after the Kennedy vote.

Kennedy, whose outspoken views on Big Pharma and the food industry have also sparked controversy, has said he aims to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including overhauling dietary guidelines, taking aim at ultra-processed foods and getting to the root causes of chronic diseases.

The push is part of his “Make America Healthy Again” campaign.

SENATE CONFIRMS ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. TO SERVE AS TRUMP’S HEALTH SECRETARY

(L-R) President Donald Trump, actress Cheryl Hines and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of Health and Human Services, during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (Jason C. Andrew/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump regularly criticized Kennedy during his independent presidential bid, accusing him of being a “radical left liberal” and a “Democrat plant.”

Kennedy fired back, claiming in a social media post that Trump’s jabs against him were “a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims.”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

However, Kennedy made major headlines again in August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump. 

Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, who were both assassinated in the 1960s. Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders due in part to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a page from President Donald Trump’s playbook during a joint press conference Thursday, saying he wants to make India great again, or “MIGA.”

Modi met with Trump at the White House, where the world leaders discussed a range of issues, including trade, the economic relationship between India and the United States and military sales. 

During a press conference, Modi said Indian people were focusing on their heritage and ways to ensure his nation is developed by 2047. 

INDIA’S MODI SPEAKS WITH ‘DEAR FRIEND’ PRESIDENT TRUMP AMID HOPES OF FURTHERING TIES

President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a news conference in the East Room of the White House Thursday. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

“Borrowing an expression from America, our vision for a developed India is to make India great again, or MIGA,” he said through a translator. “When America and India work together, that is, when it’s MAGA plus MIGA, it becomes a mega partnership for prosperity.

“And it is this mega spirit that gives new scale and scope to our objectives.” 

TRUMP’S TARIFF THREATS GO BEYOND ‘TRADE AGREEMENT’ TO ADVANCE AMERICAN INTERESTS: EXPERT

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi points to President Donald Trump during a news conference in the East Room of the White House Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

At the beginning of the press conference, Trump announced the United States would be providing India F-35 fighter jets and increasing military sales to the country by billions of dollars. 

Trump also said his administration approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, one of the plotters of a deadly 2008 terrorist attack that killed 160 people. 

“I’m pleased to announce that my administration has approved the extradition of one of the plotters and one of the very evil people of the world having to do with the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack to face justice in India,” Trump said. 

In addition, Modi said India would accept illegal Indian immigrants in the United States who are deported back home. 

A U.S. military plane deporting illegal Indian immigrants lands in Amritsar, India, Feb. 5, 2025. (Adnan Abidi)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Anybody who enters another country illegally,” Modi said, “they have absolutely no right to be in that country.

“And as far as India and the U.S. is concerned, we have always been of the same opinion. And that is that any verified Indian who is in the U.S. illegally, we are fully prepared to take them back to India.”

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday reportedly warned that the U.S. wouldn’t rule out tough sanctions or even potential military action against Russia if President Vladimir Putin didn’t come to the negotiating table on a deal that would guarantee peace for Ukraine. 

In speaking with The Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report on Vance’s comments, the vice president said sending U.S. troops to Ukraine was “on the table” if Russia failed to negotiate in good faith. 

Vance said there are “economic tools of leverage [and] there are, of course, military tools of leverage” that the U.S. could use against Putin. 

“I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that’s going to shock a lot of people,” Vance told The Journal. 

‘NO REASON’ FOR NEW NUKES: TRUMP FLOATS DISARMAMENT TALKS WITH CHINA, RUSSIA

U.S. Vice President JD Vance visits Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site in Dachau, Germany February 13, 2025. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)

Vance’s comments came a day before the vice president is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich. The discussions will be closely watched by European leaders to gauge where President Trump stands on negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which is nearing three years. 

President Trump had what he described as a “lengthy” phone call with Putin on Wednesday, which included the Russian leader agreeing to “immediately” begin negotiations over the war in Ukraine. 

RUSSIA CLAIMS TRUMP, PUTIN TALK BROUGHT WORLD FROM ‘BRINK OF APOCALYPSE,’ EU WARNS OF ‘DIRTY TRICKS’

Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the two leaders “agreed to work together, very closely.” 

“We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now. I have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, to lead the negotiations which, I feel strongly, will be successful.” 

President Donald Trump (center), Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right). (Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto via Getty Images | Contributor/Getty Images | Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are scheduled to lead the U.S. delegation to the Munich Security Conference where the future of Ukraine will be the top item on the agenda.  

Trump has been vague about his specific intentions — other than suggesting that a deal will likely result in Ukraine being forced to cede territory that Russia has seized since it annexed Crimea in 2014.

RUSSIA LAUNCHES FRESH DRONE ATTACK AGAINST UKRAINE SHORTLY AFTER TRUMP-PUTIN PHONE CALL

“The Ukraine war has to end,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “Young people are being killed at levels that nobody’s seen since World War II. And it’s a ridiculous war.”

Both Trump and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dashed Ukraine’s hopes this week of becoming part of NATO, which the alliance said less than a year ago was “irreversible,” or getting back its territory captured by Russia, which currently occupies close to 20%, including Crimea.

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, walks with Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, on Wednesday, Feb. 12. (Johanna Geron/Pool Photo via AP)

“I don’t see any way that a country in Russia’s position could allow … them to join NATO,” Trump said Thursday. “I don’t see that happening.”

When asked what he thought Russia should give up to reach a deal, he noted that talks have not yet begun and that “maybe Russia will give up a lot, maybe they won’t.”

At NATO headquarters, Hegseth reiterated Thursday that “simply pointing out realism like the borders won’t be rolled back to what everybody would like them to be in 2014 is not a concession to Vladimir Putin.” He said it’s a recognition of realities on the ground.

He added, though, that neither Russia nor Ukraine will “get everything that they want” and stressed that “any negotiation that’s had will be had with both.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for a response to Vance’s comments. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A federal judge late Thursday issued an order compelling the Trump administration to lift its three-week funding freeze on U.S. foreign aid.

Judge Amir Ali issued the order Thursday in U.S. district court in Washington in a lawsuit brought by two health organizations that receive U.S. funding for programs abroad.

In his order, Ali noted that the Trump administration argued it had to shut down funding for the thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development aid programs abroad to conduct a thorough review of each program and whether it should be eliminated.

TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID

A bouquet of white flowers placed outside the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, is pictured, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

But the judge said that Trump officials failed to explain why a “blanket suspension” of foreign aid programs was necessary before the programs were more thoroughly reviewed. 

CLICK HERE TO GET TO THE FOX NEWS APP

USAID was established in 1961 under the Kennedy administration, operating as an independent agency that works closely with the State Department to allocate civilian foreign aid. Under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency could be abolished after its reorganization over the coming days, he said in a letter to bipartisan lawmakers on Feb. 3. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio was diverted back to Joint Base Andrews on Thursday night due to a mechanical issue.

Rubio was on his way to Munich, Germany from Washington, D.C. on Thursday night when the plane experienced a mechanical issue, according to spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

RUBIO SAYS AMERICAN MARC FOGEL FREED FROM RUSSIA DUE TO ‘STRENGTH’ OF TRUMP

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards a plane as he departs Joint Base Andrews for the Munich Security Conference, in Maryland, U.S., February 13, 2025. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool)

The plane turned around and returned to Joint Base Andrews where it arrived just before 10 p.m. EST. 

An official said the mechanical issue had to do with the cockpit windshield on the C-32, a converted Boeing 757, occurred about 90 minutes after the flight took off from Joint Base Andrews.

Bruce said Rubio intends to continue his travel to Germany and the Middle East on a different aircraft.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares to depart Joint Base Andrews for the Munich Security Conference, in Maryland, U.S., February 13, 2025.  (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool)

Rubio is expected to travel to the Middle East for a few days, visiting Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

His impending visit to the Middle East comes at a pivotal time in foreign policy, as Israel and Hamas are implementing a three-stage ceasefire agreement after 16 months of war in Gaza.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

It was not immediately clear if Thursday’s delay would cause Rubio to miss a scheduled Friday morning meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich. 

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Pritchett, Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Several senior Justice Department officials resigned in protest Thursday rather than comply with an order to drop a bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. 

The acts of resistance came amid President Donald Trump’s effort to overhaul the agency, which he said has been weaponized against political opponents, Reuters reported. 

The six resignations include Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, Trump’s pick to temporarily lead the office prosecuting Adams, who resigned her post on Thursday, according to the memorandum by Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a Trump appointee.

SENATE CONFIRMS PAM BONDI AS US ATTORNEY GENERAL

U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, via Southern District of New York

“I remain baffled by the rushed and superficial process by which this decision was reached,” Sassoon wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi. 

Adams, a Democrat who said he was targeted by the Biden administration, has been willing to work with the Trump administration crackdown to curb illegal immigration. Adams pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted bribes from Turkish officials. 

“Rather than be rewarded, Adams’s advocacy should be called out for what it is: an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case,” Sassoon wrote to Bondi. 

Adams’ lawyer Alex Spiro said in an email to Reuters that the charges against his client are a “sham.”

“If SDNY had any proof whatsoever that the mayor destroyed evidence, they would have brought those charges—as they continually threatened to do, but didn’t, over months and months,” Spiro wrote. “This newest false claim is just the parting shot of a misguided prosecution exposed as a sham.”

In his Thursday memo, Bove wrote that Sassoon had refused to comply with what he called his office’s finding that the case against Adams amounted to weaponization of the justice system. 

“Your resignation is accepted…you lost sight of the oath that you took when you started at the DOJ,” he wrote. 

“Your office has no authority to contest the weaponization finding,” wrote Bove, Trump’s former personal criminal defense lawyer. “The Justice Department will not tolerate the insubordination.”

DOJ DIRECTS FBI TO FIRE 8 TOP OFFICIALS, IDENTIFY EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN JAN. 6, HAMAS CASES FOR REVIEW

The seal for the Justice Department is photographed in Washington, Nov. 18, 2022. The Justice Department has announced three arrests in a complex stolen identity scheme that officials say generates enormous proceeds for the North Korean government, including for its weapons program.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

After Sassoon refused to dismiss the case, the Trump administration directed John Keller, the acting head of the Justice Department’s public corruption unit, to do so, according to people familiar with the matter.  

Keller also resigned on Thursday, two people familiar with the matter said, as well as Kevin Driscoll, a senior official in the department’s criminal division. 

Three other deputies in the Justice Department’s public corruption unit – Rob Heberle, Jenn Clarke, and Marco Palmieri – also resigned on Thursday over the Adams case, a person familiar with the matter said.

A Justice Department official confirmed Keller’s and Driscoll’s resignations, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the other three.

On Monday, president-elect Trump said he would consider a pardon for New York City Mayor Eric Adams.  (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House. Since taking office in January, Trump has fired more than a dozen federal prosecutors who pursued cases against him.

In a statement to Fox News, Bove said he concluded that the prosecution against Adams had to be dismissed in order to “prioritize national security and public safety over continuing with a case that has been tainted from the start by troubling tactics.”

“There is no room at the Justice Department for attorneys who refuse to execute on the priorities of the Executive Branch – priorities determined by the American people,” he said. “I look forward to working with new leadership at SDNY on the important priorities President Trump has laid out for us to make America safe again.”

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report. 

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

Here’s what’s happening…

-Trump’s nominee for Commerce secretary passes key vote in the Senate

–USAID workers ask federal judge to uphold restraining order blocking Trump freeze

-Dems spar over DOGE cuts with Trump education nominee Linda McMahon

Record setting

President Donald Trump took to social media on Thursday morning to showcase his frenetic pace since reentering the White House on Jan. 20.

“THREE GREAT WEEKS, PERHAPS THE BEST EVER,” the president touted.

Trump has signed 64 executive orders since his inauguration, according to a count from Fox News, which far surpasses the rate of any presidential predecessors during their first weeks in office…Read more

President Donald Trump speaks as Tulsi Gabbard is sworn in as the Director of National Intelligence in the Oval Office of the White House, on Wednesday, Feb. 12. (AP/Alex Brandon)

White House

‘TOO MANY PEOPLE’: Roughly 75,000 federal employees agree to Trump’s buyout offer…Read more

SICK AND TIRED: Trump’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ commission to target autism, chronic diseases…Read more

FROZEN FUNDS: Pennsylvania’s Shapiro latest Democrat suing ‘unconstitutional’ Trump admin…Read more

‘FLEXING HIS EXECUTIVE POWER’: Judicial pushback against Trump’s agenda will likely lead to one final face-off, experts say…Read more

Several of President Donald Trump’s executive orders are likely to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. (Getty Images)

‘PARTISAN ACTIVIST’: Impeachment threat hits judge who blocked Trump federal funding freeze…Read more

BACK TO BACK: Trump Agriculture pick confirmed as president racks up Cabinet wins…Read more

World Stage

POISONED APPLE: Bipartisan intelligence letter warns Gabbard new UK order for backdoor Apple data could jeopardize Americans…Read more

‘SURRENDERING LEVERAGE’: Obama officials, Trump critics target Hegseth’s Ukraine ‘concessions’ as ‘biggest gift’ to Russia…Read more

UKRAINE DEAL: ‘No betrayal’ in Trump move toward Ukraine war negotiations, Hegseth says…Read more

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Harry Nakos) (AP Photo/Harry Nakos)

Capitol Hill

SENATE SEAT SHAKE-UP: Senate Democrats forced to defend another open seat in 2026 midterms…Raed more

DEATH TAX: Inheritance tax hits chopping block as more than 200 Republicans push for repeal…Read more

INTERNAL AFFAIRS: Ways and Means chair calls for de-weaponization, overhaul of IRS after ‘lawless’ behavior…Read more

CIVICS LESSON: Trump Education nominee Linda McMahon says shutting down DOE would ‘require congressional action’…Read more

‘DON’T WATCH THE NEWS’: GOP chairman responds after protesters are tossed from USAID spending hearing…Read more

FAST-TRACK: Comer, Lee roll out bicameral bill to fast-track Trump’s government reorganization plans through Congress…Read more

WON’T TOE THE LINE: Fetterman says there ‘isn’t a constitutional crisis’ with the Trump administration: report…Read more

CHANGE COMING: Kash Patel’s nomination to lead FBI faces first major Senate hurdle…Read more

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, arrives for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)

MATH TEST: Trump budget bill hits the rocks with GOP rebels, tax hawks ahead of key vote…Read more

‘WAR ON WASTE’: DOGE subcommittee holds first hearing slamming $36T national debt, as House Republicans declare ‘war on waste’…Read more

Across America 

STEPPING DOWN: NIH principal deputy director, who led agency during COVID, resigns abruptly…Read more

‘GIRL,’ DEFINED: Alabama’s What is a Woman Act, to ‘codify common sense,’ primed for gov’s signature…Read more

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

The new administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lee Zeldin, said he has canceled a Biden-era $50 million environmental justice grant to an organization that believes “climate justice travels through a Free Palestine.”

Zeldin, who was sworn in as the EPA administrator at the end of January, was a guest on “The Story with Martha MacCallum” on Thursday, where he spoke about canceling the grant.

“Just earlier today, I canceled a $50 million grant to an organization called the Climate Justice Alliance,” he said. “They say that climate justice runs through a free Palestine. I think that the American taxpayer wouldn’t want $50 million going to this left-wing advocacy group. It’s canceled.”

Zeldin also noted that Congress has advocated against the grant.

EPA ADMINISTRATOR ZELDIN DEMANDS RETURN OF $20B IN TAXPAYER MONEY WASTED BY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said his team has uncovered billions of dollars that were wasted at the agency under the Biden administration. (Fox News)

The EPA also sent $160 million to a Canadian electric bus manufacturer under the Biden administration.

Zeldin said the Biden administration sent the full amount to the manufacturer, rather than making payments along the way as school buses were being produced.

Since receiving the money, he added, the company has declared bankruptcy.

“They still haven’t provided $95 million worth of school buses to the 55 school districts,” Zeldin said. “It’s the American taxpayer that gets screwed.”

TRUMP TAPS FORMER NEW YORK REP LEE ZELDIN TO LEAD EPA

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, appears before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

On Wednesday, Zeldin announced his team had located $20 billion in taxpayer funds that the Biden administration purposely wasted.

Two months ago, a video featuring a Biden EPA political appointee circulated, with that individual talking about how they were “tossing gold bars off the Titanic,” and rushing to get billions of tax dollars out the door before President Trump took office.

Zeldin spoke about the video on X, and said the gold bars were tax dollars, and “tossing them off the Titanic” meant the Biden administration knew they were wasting the money.

The new EPA administrator said his team has plans to recover the “gold bars” that were found “parked at an outside financial institution,” which he did not mention by name.

THROUGH THE EPA, WE CAN PURSUE ENERGY DOMINANCE, LEE ZELDIN SAYS | FOX NEWS VIDEO

WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 05: Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Co-Chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on December 05, 2024, in Washington, DC. Musk and his Co-Chair, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy are meeting with lawmakers today about DOGE, a planned presidential advisory commission with the goal of cutting government spending and increasing efficiency in the federal workforce.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

As the EPA continues to find ways funds are being wasted, President Donald Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is being led by billionaire Elon Musk, also continues to go agency to agency in search of blown tax dollars.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Scott Turner announced the creation of the DOGE Task Force at HUD on Thursday.

“We will identify and eliminate any waste, fraud and abuse,” Turner wrote on X. “Under President Trump’s leadership, business as usual is over.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He announced his team had identified $260 million in savings, just two days prior.

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