Donald Trump Poll News

A federal judge’s order barring DOGE from accessing Treasury Department data is vague enough that some legal experts believe it even blocks the agency’s secretary from reviewing records and systems, prompting Republicans to blast what they consider judicial overreach. 

U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York Paul Engelmayer, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued a temporary restraining order Saturday that sided with 19 Democratic state attorneys general who claimed that giving DOGE “full access” to the Treasury’s payment systems violates the law. The lawsuit was spearheaded by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime Trump foe who said her office is “prepared to fight back” after President Donald Trump’s November election win. 

“The judge’s order is rightly being attacked as, at worse, barring the secretary of the Treasury from accessing the Treasury Department’s databases and at best, at being hopelessly ambiguous and confusing,” the Federalist’s senior legal correspondent Margot Cleveland told Fox News Digital on Sunday of the order.

The judge’s sweeping order, issued Saturday, bars DOGE from accessing the Treasury system until at least Feb. 14, when Engelmayer scheduled a hearing to revisit the matter. 

ELON MUSK ALLEGES $50B IN FRAUD AT TREASURY AFTER JUDGE BLOCKS DOGE AUDIT

Scott Bessent testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to be secretary of the Treasury, on Capitol Hill, on Jan. 16, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

The language of the order specifically bars “political appointees, special government employees, and any government employee detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department access to Treasury Department payment systems or any other data maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information.” Trump, Secretary Scott Bessent and the U.S. Treasury are named as defendants in the case. 

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS ELON MUSK’S DOGE FROM ACCESSING TREASURY RECORDS AFTER DEMOCRATIC AGS FILE LAWSUIT

President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk arrive to view a launch of the SpaceX Starship rocket on Nov. 19, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Conservatives and legal experts on social media have slammed the language of the order for reportedly also barring Bessent from Treasury data. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Treasury, White House and the Southern District on Sunday for comment, but did not immediately receive replies. 

ELON MUSK’S DOGE MAKES ANOTHER HIRING PUSH

“To comprehend how bad Judge Engelmayer’s decision was granting [a temporary restraining order] barring the Secretary of the Treasury Dept as well as DOGE & every other political appointee from accessing data, you need to compare to parallel case where a judge denied injunction,” Cleveland posted to X. 

Others on social media argued the order does not bar Bessent from accessing the data, only barring him from granting access to the data to political appointees, special government employees, and government officials outside of the Treasury Department. 

Cleveland told Fox News Digital on Sunday that beyond the vague language in the order, the attorneys general lack standing to challenge DOGE and the Treasury.  

PRESIDENT TRUMP PREDICTS ELON MUSK WILL FIND ‘HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS’ IN WASTE IN NEXT DOGE DIRECTIVES

“There is a more fatal flaw to the [temporary restraining order]: The Plaintiffs utterly lack standing to challenge DOGE and the Treasury Department’s decision to grant read-only access to select members of that executive agency’s team. With read-only access, DOGE cannot possibly use access to the Treasury Department’s system to freeze grants to the Blue States or their citizens; nor does such read-only access subject Plaintiffs to a higher hack-risk.  And without standing, there is no basis to bring a lawsuit, much less to justify the TRO,” she said. 

Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (Getty Images)

Bessent sent a letter to Congress early last week detailing that DOGE was given “read only” access to the Treasury data, and that the investigation has “not caused payments for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare to be delayed or re-routed.”

DOGE, led by Musk, has been on an investigation blitz of the federal government to stamp out government overspending and fraud. Musk reported after Engelmayer’s ruling that DOGE had already reportedly uncovered fraud at the national treasury. 

“[Friday], I was told that there are currently over $100B/year of entitlements payments to individuals with no SSN or even a temporary ID number. If accurate, this is extremely suspicious,” Musk wrote hours after the ruling. 

“When I asked if anyone at Treasury had a rough guess for what percentage of that number is unequivocal and obvious fraud, the consensus in the room was about half, so $50B/year or $1B/week!! This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately.”

Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on the order Sunday, slamming it as a judge trying to control “the executive’s legitimate power.” 

PALANTIR CEO TOUTS ELON MUSK’S DOGE, ABILITY TO HOLD ‘SACRED COW OF THE DEEP STATE’ ACCOUNTABLE

“If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” he posted to X. 

Vice President JD Vance claps at campaign event. (Getty Images)

Musk seethed following the order that Engelmayer should be “impeached.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“A corrupt judge protecting corruption. He needs to be impeached NOW!” he said in response to another social media post reporting Bessent was reportedly blocked from accessing his own agency’s data. 

Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., launched a unique attack against U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer over a plan to relinquish a military base in the Indian Ocean, cautioning the British leader to “put down the bong.”

“The United Kingdom is our friend. I went to school there for a while. I love them and I want to see the prime minister do well, but he needs to put down the bong. He needs to put down the bong,” Kennedy said during remarks on the floor of the Senate. “This makes absolutely no sense, and it’s going to be a big part of his legacy if he gives away this island and our military base to, in effect, what will eventually be China.”

At issue is the fate of the Chagos Islands, a British overseas territory in the Indian Ocean that currently hosts a U.S.-U.K. joint naval base at Diego Garcia.

UN DEMANDS BRITAIN END RULE OF CHAGOS ISLANDS IN 6 MONTHS

Sen. John Kennedy, left, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Getty Images)

But a ruling by the International Court of Justice in 2019 that was backed by the United Nations found that the U.K. had no claim to the islands, spurring an October announcement that the U.K. had cut a deal to hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius.

While the deal calls for the base to remain under American and British control for another 99 years, the plan to hand over the territory has received pushback in both the U.K and the United States.

Kennedy let it be known that he was one of those critics, calling the plan to give up control of the islands “bone deep down to the marrow stupid.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer gives an interview during a visit to the National Nuclear Laboratory on Feb. 6, 2025 in Preston, England. (Oli Scarff – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

UN COURT TO RULE ON BRITISH SOVEREIGNTY OVER CHAGOS ISLANDS

“Because the United Nations wants the United Kingdom to feel guilty, they want to give our military base and their military base to Mauritius,” Kennedy said. “Now, the prime minister of the United Kingdom can stop this, and Marco Rubio, our new secretary of state, is against it. And I haven’t talked to him directly, but I think President Trump is against it.”

But the Louisiana senator changed gears later in his remarks, arguing that he did not “mean any disrespect,” while still urging Starmer to reconsider.

Members of the Chagossian community gather outside parliament to protest the government’s decision to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius, on Oct. 7, 2024. (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I shouldn’t have said the bong part, I take it back,” Kennedy said. “Please Mr. Prime Minister, don’t do this. Don’t do this. We’ll stand with you in telling the United Nations, who’s so upset with you, to go fill out a hurt feelings report because we’re not doing it. We’ll stand with you.”

The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

A Republican congressman who is “fed up” with the “scripted outrage” promoted by the left over the Department of Government Efficiency and Elon Musk’s investigations of federal agencies published a letter to constituents dispelling the “lies about DOGE.”

Virginia Republican Rep. Ben Cline published an open letter to constituents last week who are furious over Musk’s role leading DOGE as the Musk team parsed through agencies such as the Treasury Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to find fraud and cut government spending fat. 

The investigations have led to an apparent dismantling of USAID as DOGE and Republican lawmakers and think tanks publish reports showing the independent government agency has bankrolled foreign programs such as creating an Iraqi version of “Sesame Street” and provided funds to extremist groups connected to designated terror organizations. 

ELON MUSK OUTLINES ‘SUPER OBVIOUS’ CHANGES DOGE AND TREASURY HAVE AGREED TO MAKE

Elon Musk speaks during an America PAC town hall on Oct. 26, 2024, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Democratic lawmakers, voters, as well as employees of the agency, have staged protests across the country over Musk’s work, slamming him as a billionaire “fascist” who has no right to investigate the federal government as he is not an elected official. 

USAID HAS ‘DEMONSTRATED PATTERN OF OBSTRUCTIONISM,’ CLAIMS TOP DOGE REPUBLICAN IN LETTER TO RUBIO

“I’m fed up with the scripted outrage of the Left & their lies about DOGE. @realDonaldTrump campaigned on using @elonmusk’s expertise to make government more efficient. Trump won & he’s keeping that promise,” Cline posted on X, linking to a letter to his constituents. 

Cline hit back in his letter that Musk has long held some of the highest security clearances in the nation through his work leading Space X. 

“Musk is not a private citizen being given ‘unprecedented access to personal or sensitive information,’ as the extreme left would lead you to believe. Mr. Musk holds some of the highest-level security clearances as a key defense contractor and his work is integral to ensuring U.S. military superiority,” Cline wrote in his letter addressed to “Jane Doe” constituents on Thursday. 

“As you are aware, the rocket systems and satellites his companies produce are used across the federal government, including in the Department of Defense, and his Starlink system has been critical in supporting U.S. allies abroad. There are few, if any, private individuals who have done more to advance America’s technological and defense capabilities in modern history. If there is anyone qualified to bring the federal government into the 21st century and improve its efficiency, it is Elon Musk,” he continued. 

Rep. Ben Cline participates in a House Judiciary Committee markup on May 16, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Cline added that President Donald Trump “has Article II constitutional authority to appoint individuals who can help execute their vision for the federal government.”

‘VIPER’S NEST’: USAID ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT LONG BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN TOOK AIM

“Most recently, President Trump designated Elon Musk as a ‘special government employee,’ which is defined by Section 202 of Title 18 of the United States Code. President Trump’s decision to enlist Mr. Musk is a bold step toward strengthening America’s technological leadership and eliminating bureaucratic inefficiencies. This appointment is fully within the President’s discretion and is no different from past administrations appointing industry experts to key cabinet, advisory, and operational roles,” Cline explained. 

“For over 20 years, Mr. Musk has undoubtedly showcased to the American people his unparalleled ability to drive innovation, develop world-leading technologies, and ensure America is the world leader in energy, Artificial Intelligence, rocketry, transportation, and healthcare, among other fields,” he continued.

Musk reportedly gained access to the Treasury’s payment system last weekend, sparking widespread outrage that he had access to private information related to Social Security, payments to government contractors, Medicare benefits and other data. The outrage soon spilled into Musk and DOGE’s work investigating USAID last week, which crescendoed on Friday when a federal judge paused the Trump administration’s order to place thousands of USAID employees on leave while signage for the agency was removed or covered on the building’s headquarters and surrounding area. 

MUSK RIPS ‘FRAUDULENT’ TREASURY HANDOUTS AS REPORTS MOUNT DOGE HAS ACCESS TO FEDERAL PAYMENT SYSTEM

People protest against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

“​​There is no evidence to support the allegation that Elon Musk or his team has unlawfully accessed or seized the sensitive data. Any access to citizen data is strictly regulated, and the role of DOGE is focused on modernizing outdated systems, not compiling private information. The real threat to Americans’ privacy has come from an unchecked bureaucracy that has mismanaged data security for decades. The reforms proposed by President Trump and implemented by individuals like Mr. Musk are designed to prevent government overreach, not expand it,” Cline wrote. 

House Democrats were blocked from entering the Department of Education building in Washington, D.C., Feb. 7, 2025. (Fox News)

Also on Friday, House Democrats, including Rep. Maxine Waters of Califorrnia, attempted to gain entry to the Department of Education’s headquarters to meet with acting Education Secretary Denise L. Carter. But they were seen clashing with a security guard as the DOGE team reportedly prepares to recommend major spending cuts to the department. Trump had repeatedly advocated and campaigned on shutting the Department of Education down in favor of giving states power over their respective education systems. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Rep. Maxine Waters and others speak out during an anti-Elon Musk rally at the Treasury Department on Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn)

ELON MUSK SLAMS ‘MEAN’ PODCAST HOSTS FOR CALLING DOGE EMPLOYEES ‘ARROGANT LITTLE PR—S’ AMONG OTHER THINGS

“The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is an essential initiative to reduce wasteful spending, cut bureaucratic red tape, and modernize government technology. On his first day in office, President Trump legally integrated DOGE into the federal government by way of an executive order renaming the U.S. Digital Service as the U.S. DOGE Service (USDS),” he wrote.  

“Fully authorized under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), USDS will enhance government productivity and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly. Each executive agency’s DOGE Team works in coordination with agency heads in order to ensure the implementation of President Trump’s DOGE agenda. Treasury Secretary Scott [Bessent] has already approved DOGE’s lawful access to unclassified records and systems to facilitate this integration,” he wrote. 

Rep. Ben Cline participates in the House Judiciary Committee organizing meeting in the Rayburn House Office Building on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Cline continued in his letter to constituents that he serves on the DOGE Caucus in Congress and “will work alongside President Trump to introduce reforms that streamline government operations, eliminate inefficiencies, and restore fiscal responsibility in Washington.”

Musk outlined “super obvious” changes DOGE and the Treasury agreed to in order for the agency to be easily audited, such as providing a categorization code for outgoing payments, a rationale for any payments, and the creation of a regularly updated “DO-NOT-PAY list” that includes dead people, or fraudulent entities, such as groups with ties to terror organizations. 

President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024, in New York City. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Yesterday, I was told that there are currently over $100B/year of entitlements payments to individuals with no SSN or even a temporary ID number. If accurate, this is extremely suspicious,” Musk posted on Saturday. 

A federal judge blocked DOGE’s ability to access Treasury Department systems on Saturday morning, teeing up a legal battle over DOGE’s work.

House Speaker Mike Johnson poked fun at “flailing” Democrats on Sunday and vowed that the House of Representatives would be just as aggressive in pushing legislation as President Donald Trump has been with executive orders.

Johnson made the statement during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream. Johnson said House Republicans are working to compile the massive legislative package Trump has requested.

“We’re going to secure the border, we’re going to make sure that American communities are safe. We’re going to get American energy dominance going again in the economy and restore common sense,” Johnson said.

“But to do all that in one big bill takes a little bit of time. So we’re working through that process very productively. We’ve been building on this for a year, Shannon. All through last year, we had our committees of jurisdiction working on the ideas to put it together,” he added.

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

House Speaker Mike Johnson says his Democratic colleagues are “flailing.” (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

“We were going to do a budget committee markup next week. We might push it a little bit further because the details really matter. Remember that I have the smallest margin in history, about a two vote margin currently. So I’ve got to make sure everyone agrees before we bring the project forward, that final product, and we’ve got a few more boxes to check, but we’re getting very, very close,” he continued.

NONCITIZEN VOTER CRACKDOWN LED BY GOP AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

The budget bill process has not been without its share of in-fighting, however. Republican spending hawks are pushing leaders to include at least $2.5 trillion in spending cuts in the massive legislative package.

President Donald Trump is pushing Congress to move forward with a massive legislative package. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

One GOP lawmaker said that tension bubbled up in a closed-door meeting last week with several “heated exchanges,” with conservatives demanding a concrete plan and minimum spending cuts at significantly higher levels than what was initially proposed.

“I think there’s a lot of frustration right now,” the lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “They’ve been trying to be inclusive, but not every open forum they’ve offered is giving members the ability to say, ‘I feel like people are listening to me,’ because I don’t know that’s the case right now.”

Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., two conservative members of the House Budget Committee, both told reporters they wanted to see the baseline for spending cuts set at roughly $2.5 trillion.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Artificial intelligence may be the new frontier for childhood schooling, but the idea of teacherless classrooms has received mixed reviews from state education officials.

Unbound Academy, a Texas-based institution billing itself as the nation’s first virtual, tuition-free charter school for grades 4 through 8, reportedly employs AI to teach students in a way that can be geared toward the individual student without “frustration[s]” sometimes present in traditional schooling.

While such schools have seen success in being approved to educate students in Arizona, Unbound was formally rejected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.

WY MAN SOUGHT BID TO ELECT FIRST AI BOT MAYOR

In a letter to an Unbound Academy official with a Lancaster office address, Secretary Angela Fitterer said her office has found “deficiencies” in all five criteria needed for approval to teach Keystone State students.

Pennsylvania’s Charter School law denotes a school must demonstrate sustainable support for the cyber charter school plan from teachers, parents and students. It must also exhibit the capacity to provide “comprehensive learning experiences,” enable students to meet academic standards, and abide by Section 1747(a) of the law, which pertains to governance, policy, facility and assessment.

“Artificial intelligence tools present unique opportunities in the classroom that educators across Pennsylvania are already exploring how to effectively, ethically and safely implement,” a spokeswoman for Fitterer told Fox News Digital.

“However, the AI instructional model being proposed by this school is untested and fails to delineate how artificial intelligence tools would be used to ensure that the education provided aligns with PA state standards,” she said.

In its application, Unbound cited its work with “2HR Learning” an “innovated educational approach that combines AI technology, personalized learning paths, and a focus on life skills development to revolutionize the learning experience,” according to the Scranton Times-Tribune.

However, Unbound saw success in Arizona, which approved an academy for the 2025-26 school year, while being rejected in three states besides Pennsylvania, according to the Arizona Republic.

Two hours are set aside for core instruction, and the rest of the day is geared toward students pursuing “personal interests” and life skills workshops.

Unbound Academy co-founder MacKenzie Price told the paper the Grand Canyon State was appealing because of its welcoming of school choice tenets.

Another state official on the frontier of educational evolution is Oklahoma Superintendent of Education Ryan Walters.

SCOTUS TO CONSIDER EFFORT TO ESTABLISH NATION’S FIRST PUBLICLY-FUNDED RELIGIOUS CHARTER SCHOOL

Words reading “Artificial intelligence AI,” miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken on Dec. 14, 2023. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)

In recent months, Walters has spearheaded efforts to return the Bible to schools, root out foreign influence in curriculum, and AMIRA – a new literacy initiative, among other endeavors. His state is also set to appear before the Supreme Court this term in regard to interest in allowing a Catholic charter school to receive state funding.

Walters said he has not yet seen an application for Unbound or any other AI-powered charter school, but believes that if parents desire the option in the Sooner State, he will consider it.

“You have to show parental support that they’re asking for it,” he said.

“You also have to be very transparent. Where’s the technology based out of? Who is developing it? We do not want any situation where you’ve got a CCP or [similar] country, involved there with the technology. . . . You need to be very upfront. Where is the technology developed? What is the curriculum look like?” 

With Oklahoma’s major agricultural sector, many schoolchildren work hours on their family farms when they’re not in class. Walters said virtual learning has helped Oklahoma families in the near-term, and suggested an AI school would have a similar setup.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He said his state is always open to the next frontier of childhood education.

“Catholics have some of the most successful schools in our state in the country. They brought us a model that said we’d like to try out so many of the things that have worked for us in our private schools at a charter school. We can make it available for more kids,” he said.

“We appreciate the Catholic Church for putting the application before us [and] the radical atheists and teachers union folks – they’re dead wrong on this.”

Walters said – just as Harrisburg deemed the AI-powered charter school did not meet its qualifications – Oklahoma believes the new Catholic charter school met its criteria.

“This is the next frontier of school choice – we want more schools. We want more charter schools.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Unbound Academy for comment and further information on its other state applications.

Billionaire Elon Musk outlined a list of “super obvious” changes that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to make at the U.S. Treasury Department this weekend.

Musk says officials at the treasury are working to make the government’s books more simple to audit, as well as more accountability for where funds are going. The changes also require treasury employees to more frequently update the congressional “do not pay” list, which highlights fraudsters and illegal fronts.

“Nobody in Treasury management cared enough before. I do want to credit the working level people in Treasury who have wanted to do this for many years, but have been stopped by prior management,” Musk said.

“Everything at Treasury was geared towards complain[t] minimization. People [who] receive money don’t complain, but people who don’t receive money (especially fraudsters) complain very loudly, so the fraud was allowed to continue,” he added.

USAID HAS ‘DEMONSTRATED PATTERN OF OBSTRUCTIONISM,’ CLAIMS TOP DOGE REPUBLICAN IN LETTER TO RUBIO

“The above super obvious and necessary changes are being implemented by existing, long-time career government employees, not anyone from DOGE,” Musk added.

“It is ridiculous that these changes didn’t exist already! Yesterday, I was told that there are currently over $100B/year of entitlements payments to individuals with no SSN or even a temporary ID number,” he continued. “If accurate, this is extremely suspicious. When I asked if anyone at Treasury had a rough guess for what percentage of that number is unequivocal and obvious fraud, the consensus in the room was about half, so $50B/year or $1B/week!! This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately.”

ELON MUSK’S DOGE MAKES ANOTHER HIRING PUSH

Billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE is targeting the Treasury Department. (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)

Musk’s tirade toward the treasury department comes just after a federal judge blocked DOGE’s ability to access treasury department systems. The Tesla CEO condemned the ruling as “insane” this weekend.

‘VIPER’S NEST’: USAID ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT LONG BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN TOOK AIM

The Friday lawsuit, which was filed by 19 Democratic attorneys general, claimed Musk’s team violated the law by being given “full access” to the Treasury’s payment systems. The systems include information about Americans’ Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ benefits, tax refund information and more.

The lawsuit was filed in New York by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who wrote that President Donald Trump “does not have the power to give away Americans’ private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress.”

A federal judge intervened to block DOGE from accessing treasury department systems. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has expressed support for Musk and DOGE in the past, recently saying that the U.S. “doesn’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“At the Treasury, our payment system is not being touched,” Bessent said in a “Kudlow” interview on Wednesday. “We process 1.3 billion payments a year. There is a study being done — can we have more accountability, more accuracy, more traceability that the money is going where it is?”

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called on multiple federal agencies to exempt federal seasonal firefighters from President Donald Trump’s executive order implementing a federal hiring freeze.

In a letter to the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget, Schiff noted that Trump’s hiring freeze issued on Jan. 20 had stopped the onboarding of thousands of seasonal firefighters that could harm readiness to respond to wildfires, as Southern California is still grappling with the aftermath of last month’s wildfires.

“The memo issued on January 20 states that it does not apply to positions related to public safety, but this onboarding delay is directly contrary to that claim,” Schiff said in the letter dated Friday. “Our constituents and communities rely on the hard work and sacrifice of our more than 15,000 seasonal federal wildland firefighters each year.”

LOS ANGELES FIRE VICTIMS TO BE BOOTED FROM RED CROSS SHELTER TO MAKE SPACE FOR FILM CREWS, EVENTS

Adam Schiff talks to the media after voting at McCambridge Recreation Center in Burbank on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

“Seasonal firefighters are essential to the public safety of those who live in fire-prone areas, and I am alarmed that federal firefighters are not party to this exemption,” he said. “In light of this, I am requesting information from your agencies explaining why the federal hiring freeze has extended to the hiring of seasonal federal wildland firefighters.”

Southern California was devastated last month by two major wildfires and several smaller ones that killed nearly 30 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures.

Some of the firefighters subject to Trump’s order that halted the onboarding of thousands of seasonal federal firefighters were from agencies that helped in the response to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area, according to NBC News.

A Fire firefighter works a fire during the Eaton fire on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

A Bureau of Land Management official told the outlet that despite Trump’s order excluding positions related to “public safety” from the hiring freeze, federal firefighters are not exempt.

“In the face of increasingly destructive wildfires, we cannot afford to diminish the tools at our disposal to fight these fires,” Schiff said in his letter. “Impeding the onboarding of federal firefighters and encouraging the early retirement of others, threatens California’s firefighting capacity and puts communities at great risk. Californians rely on the support of federal firefighters, and I hope you share my appreciation for the essential role these individuals play in keeping residents safe.”

TABLES TURN ON LOS ANGELES ARSON SUSPECT IN CAUGHT-ON-CAM TAKEDOWN: ‘WRONG NEIGHBORHOOD, BUDDY’

Vehicles and a house burned as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area forced people to evacuate the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, Jan. 8, 2025. (REUTERS/David Swanson)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The senator also requested information on how the hiring freeze impacts federal firefighting applicants, the number of voluntary resignations and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s role in the hiring, preparedness or readiness of federal wildland firefighters.

President Donald Trump on Friday said that he isn’t interested in deporting Prince Harry, who famously left Britain with his wife, Meghan Markle, in 2020, eventually settling in Montecito, California. 

The Duke of Sussex is in hot water after conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation filed a lawsuit last year against the Department of Homeland Security to have his immigration records released following Harry admitting to illegal drug use in the past in his 2023 memoir “Spare.”

“I don’t want to do that,” Trump told the New York Post on Friday after being asked if he would deport the royal. “I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.”

Markle has criticized Trump in the past, calling him “misogynistic” and “divisive” during a TV appearance ahead of the 2016 election. 

PRINCE HARRY, MEGHAN MARKLE, VISIT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO SUPPORT WILDFIRE VICTIMS, RECOVERY EFFORTS

President Trump on Friday said that he isn’t interested in deporting Prince Harry, who famously left Britain with his wife, Meghan Markle, in 2020, eventually settling in Montecito, Calif.  (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images; Taylor Hill/WireImage)

In 2019, before a state visit to the U.K. during his first term as president, Trump called the Duchess of Sussex “nasty” over her remarks about him. 

He then went on to meet with the royal family during the visit, minus Markle, who was with newborn Archie at the time. 

He also told Piers Morgan in 2022 that Harry was “whipped like no person he had ever seen.”

The Heritage Foundation in its lawsuit says that Harry may have lied on his immigration forms about his past drug use or was given preferential treatment by the government and called on the records to be released. 

“I’ll be urging the president to release Prince Harry’s immigration records and the president does have that legal authority to do that,” Nile Gardiner of the Heritage Foundation previously told the New York Post.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle enjoy the opening ceremony at the Invictus Games in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday.  ( Karwai Tang/WireImage)

“It’s important because this is an issue of the rule of law, transparency and accountability. No one should be above the law,” Gardiner added. “Donald Trump is ushering in a new era of strict border control enforcement, and you know, Prince Harry should be held fully to account as he has admitted to extensive illegal drug use.”

PRINCE HARRY ‘CHOSE EXILE’ IN CALIFORNIA AFTER VERBALLY ANNIHILATING FAMILY: EXPERTS

This week a federal judge said he is “likely” to release Harry’s immigration files after the first hearing in the royal’s high-profile case since Trump took office.

U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols said Harry’s files should be released “to the maximum extent possible,” during Wednesday’s hearing in Washington, D.C., according to a report from the New York Post, with the judge reasoning that he is “required to make public everything that can be made public” but would take care not to violate any privacy laws.

Last year during the campaign, Trump told Nigel Farage in an interview that the government would have to take the “appropriate action” if Harry was found to have lied on his immigration forms, but didn’t explicitly say he would seek to deport him. 

Prince Harry admitted to past illegal drug use in his memoir “Spare.”  (Getty Images)

Trump also accused the Biden administration of “protecting” Harry, saying in a separate interview with the Daily Express in February 2024 “I wouldn’t protect him. He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me.”

On Friday, Trump conversely praised Prince William, with whom Harry has a long-running feud, as a “great young man.” 

Trump recently met with William in December in Paris when the two attended the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral following its devastating fire. 

Fox News’ Michael Lee contributed to this report. 

A major solar power plant project that was granted over a billion dollars in federal loans is on the road to closure, with energy experts blasting the project as a “boondoggle” that harmed the environment.

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under former President Barack Obama issued $1.6 billion in loan guarantees to finance the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, a green energy project that consists of three solar concentrating thermal power plants in California. 

The facility was touted by then-Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz as an “example of how America is becoming a world leader in solar energy.” But after 10 years, the federally funded plant is now on track to close. 

“Ivanpah is yet another failed green energy boondoggle, much like Solyndra,” Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, an American energy advocacy group, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Despite receiving $1.6 billion in federal loan guarantees, it never lived up to its promises, producing less electricity than expected while still relying on natural gas to stay operational.”

ENERGY SEC. WRIGHT ISSUES DAY-1 ORDERS TARGETING OIL RESERVES, APPLIANCE RULES, ‘NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE’

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility (U.S. Department of Energy)

“Now, with its power contracts canceled, Ivanpah stands as a testament to the waste and inefficiency of government-subsidized energy schemes,” Isaac said.

Ivanpah consists of three individual units, two of which were contracted by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in 2009 and scheduled to run until 2039. 

EXPERTS SAY FIRST WEEK OF ‘TRUMP EFFECT’ IS DERAILING GLOBAL CLIMATE MOVEMENT’S ‘HOUSE OF CARDS’

In January, PG&E announced plans to cancel its agreement with Ivanpah 14 years early, determining that “ending the agreements at this time will save customers money compared to the cost of keeping them through 2039” – ultimately putting Ivanpah on notice for closure.

“The Ivanpah plant was a financial boondoggle and environmental disaster,” Julia Dowell of the Sierra Club, an environmental activism group, said of the power plant. 

The $1.6 billion loan to Ivanpah was delivered under former President Obama’s administration. (AP )

“Along with killing thousands of birds and tortoises, the project’s construction destroyed irreplaceable pristine desert habitat along with numerous rare plant species,” Dowell said. “While the Sierra Club strongly supports innovative clean energy solutions and recognizes the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels, Ivanpah demonstrated that not all renewable technologies are created equal.”

This comes after another DOE-funded green energy project, Solyndra, went bankrupt in 2011 after receiving $535 million in federal loan guarantees from the Obama administration.

“Green projects have a long history of expensive taxpayer-subsidized disaster that is getting more so,” Steve Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy & Environmental Legal Institute and former Trump EPA transition team member, said in a statement to Fox.

Chris Wright, chief executive officer of Liberty Energy Inc., was recently confirmed to head the U.S. Department of Energy under the Trump administration. (Al Drago)

Milloy suggested that further green energy failures could come from projects funded by recent Democrat-backed legislation that aims to push the green energy agenda.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Soon we will be looking at failures of larger magnitude than Green New Deal spending. No green project relying on taxpayer subsidies has ever made any economic or environmental sense,” Milloy said. “It’s important that President Trump stop the taxpayer bleeding by ending what he accurately calls the Green New Scam.”

Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought is now also the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he has directed staff to not issue any new rules, to suspend effective dates of all final rules and to stop any new investigations.

Vought, also a Project 2025 author, was named acting director of the CFPB on Friday.

“I am honored that President Trump designated me as Acting Director of the Bureau on February 7, 2025,” Vought said in an email to CFPB colleagues obtained by RealClearPolitics. “As Acting Director, I am committed to implementing the President’s policies, consistent with the law, and acting as a faithful steward of the Bureau’s resources.”

He issued several directives that, effective immediately, must be followed by all employees, contractors and other CFPB personnel “unless expressly approved by the Acting Director or required by law,” according to RealClearPolitics.

RUSSELL VOUGHT CONFIRMED TO HEAD GOVERNMENT’S LEADING BUDGET OFFICE AFTER DEMS HOLD 30-HOUR PROTEST

Russell Vought speaks during a Senate Budget Committee hearing on his nomination, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

The directives include not approving or issuing any proposed or final rules or formal or informal guidance and for the bureau to suspend the effective dates of all final rules that have been issued or published but have not gone into effect.

Vought also ordered the bureau not to “commence, take investigative activities related to, or settle enforcement actions.” CFPB must not open any new investigation in any manner and must cease any pending probes, he said.

The acting director said the CFPB shall not issue public communications of any type, including research papers.

 Russell Vought is sworn in during the Senate Banking Committee nomination hearing in the Dirksen Senate Building on January 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Additionally, the CFPB must not approve or execute any material agreements, including those related to employee matters or contractors, and must not make or approve filings or appearances by the bureau in any litigation except to ask for a pause in proceedings.

The bureau was also told to cease all supervision and examination activity and to cease all stakeholder engagement.

Vought also sent a letter to the Federal Reserve requesting no money for the CFPB’s third quarter of fiscal year 2025.

SENATE DEMOCRATS SPEAK ALL NIGHT AGAINST TRUMP OMB NOMINEE, DELAYING CONFIRMATION VOTE

Russell Vought testifies during the Senate Banking Committee nomination hearing in the Dirksen Senate Building on January 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Pursuant to the Consumer Financial Protection Act, I have notified the Federal Reserve that CFPB will not be taking its next draw of unappropriated funding because it is not ‘reasonably necessary’ to carry out its duties,” Vought wrote on X. “The Bureau’s current balance of $711.6 billion is in fact excessive in the current fiscal environment. This spigot, long contributing to CFPB’s unaccountability, is now being turned off.”

This comes after Vought was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

Fox News Digital has reached out to CFPB for further comment. 

President Donald Trump said he has directed the Secret Service to give him “every bit of information” known about his two attempted assassins last summer during the presidential campaign, according to a report. 

“I want to find out about the two assassins,” the president told the New York Post Friday. “Why did the one guy have six cellphones, and why did the other guy have [foreign] apps?”

Trump told the Post the Secret Service had been holding back information because of President Biden.   

IF IRAN ATTEMPTS ASSASSINATION, ‘THEY GET OBLITERATED’: PRESIDENT TRUMP

President Trump raised his fist and yelled “fight” to the crowd after surviving an assassination attempt in July in Butler, Pa. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“I’m entitled to know. And they held it back long enough,” he added. “No more excuses.”

Trump was shot in the ear July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, while speaking at an outdoor campaign rally by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by the Secret Service after shooting at Trump, killing a rally attendee and injuring two others. 

Two months later, Ryan Routh, 59, allegedly waited for over 12 hours in brush with a rifle on the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach as Trump was golfing Sept. 15. 

FLORIDA MAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY CALLING FOR TRUMP ASSASSINATION ON FACEBOOK; SECRET SERVICE INVESTIGATING

Thomas Matthew Crooks casually walks through a crowd in Butler, Pa., nearly two hours before he opened fire on former President Trump and attendees at a campaign rally.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Iron Clad USA, inset.)

A Secret Service agent saw Routh allegedly pointing a rifle through a fence and fired at him. Routh fled and was arrested that day.

He has pleaded not guilty to several counts, including attempted assassination of a presidential candidate and assault on a federal officer, and remains in federal custody. His trial is scheduled for Sept. 8, 2025.

Six cellphones were reportedly found in Routh’s car after his arrest.

Trump assassination suspect Ryan Routh was arrested for the alleged attempted assassination in Palm Beach County, Fla., Sept. 15, 2024. (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Crooks had encrypted messaging accounts on multiple platforms based in Belgium, New Zealand and Germany, according to Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., who was appointed to a congressional task force investigating the assassination attempt.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump has decided to remove security clearances for several Democrats, including former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom are vocal Trump critics. 

Former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Biden’s Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and attorneys Andrew Weissmann, Mark Zaid and Norm Eisen.

The move comes a day after Trump stripped his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, of his security clearance and his access to presidential daily briefs. 

Security clearances have been revoked for Antony Blinken, Letitia James and Alvin Bragg. (Getty)

“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Friday night.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He added the precedent was set by Biden himself.

“He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents,” Trump wrote.

Alexandra Koch contributed to this report. 

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been told to remove words frequently associated with progressive gender ideology from research manuscripts that they intend to publish.

A screenshot of a leaked internal email sent out to CDC staff, obtained by the newsletter Inside Medicine, showed a list of terms and phrases that must be removed from scientific manuscripts produced by the agency’s researchers and intended for publication. 

Those terms included: “gender,” “transgender,” “pregnant person,” “pregnant people,” “LGBT,” “transsexual,” “non-binary,” “nonbinary,” “assigned male at birth,” “assigned female at birth,” “biologically male” and “biologically female.” According to the Washington Post, the list includes about 20 terms. They indicated that the directive also ordered the removal of any use of “they/them.” 

LGBT ACTIVISTS MOBILIZE TO CHALLENGE TRUMP’S ‘EXTREME GENDER IDEOLOGY’ EXECUTIVE ORDERS

The rule affects manuscripts under review, as well as those accepted but not yet published, no matter whether they are intended for internal circulation only or circulation outside the CDC.

A CDC spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “All changes to HHS and HHS division websites/manuscripts are in accordance with President Trump’s January 20 Executive Orders.”

After taking office last month, President Donald Trump signed a slew of Day One executive orders, including one that attempts to root out “gender ideology extremism” and restore “biological truth” to the federal government. Meanwhile, in line with that order, the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management issued a memo a little over a week later calling on all federal agencies to “take prompt actions to end all agency programs that use taxpayer money to promote or reflect gender ideology.”

FEDS SPENT MILLIONS STUDYING TRANS MENSTRUATION, STRENGTHENING GAY RIGHTS IN THE BALKANS, DATABASE REVEALS

LGBT advocates and medical organizations sued the Trump administration over his executive order barring federal funds from going toward transgender surgeries for those under the age of 19. (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In addition to the terms, CDC web pages titled “Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth | Adolescent and School Health” and “April 18 is National Transgender HIV Testing Day” have also been removed.

The removal of the terms may make it hard to read surveys and research that utilizes them as demographic identifiers, The Post reported. 

“If you are trying to optimize society, you can’t just pretend some people aren’t in it,” executive director of the National LGBTQI+ Cancer Network, Scout, who legally goes by only one name, told The Post.

President Donald Trump has tasked SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk with scrutinizing wasteful spending at the Department of Education and the Pentagon through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Musk is leading.

DOGE is tasked with eliminating government spending and waste and streamlining operations and is expected to influence White House policy on budget matters.

“I’ve instructed him to go check out Education, to check out the Pentagon … and, sadly, you’ll find some things that are pretty bad. But I don’t think, proportionally, you’re going to see anything like we just saw,” Trump told reporters Friday about his plans for Musk during a press conference while hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. 

USAID STAFFERS STUNNED, ANGERED BY TRUMP ADMIN’S DOGE SHUTDOWN OF $40B AGENCY

Elon Musk, pictured here, is leading the Department of Government Efficiency. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

On Monday, Trump and DOGE launched an effort to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development, a group that works to deliver aid to impoverished countries and development assistance. 

The group has come under scrutiny from DOGE, and, in an X audio message, Musk said Sunday he was “in the process” of “shutting down USAID” for corrupt spending and that Trump reportedly agreed. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, now acting director of the independent agency, said Monday that USAID was not “functioning” and that the organization isn’t a “global charity.” 

“It needs to be aligned with the national interest of the U.S.,” Rubio said. “They’re not a global charity. These are taxpayer dollars. People are asking simple questions. What are they doing with the money? 

“We are spending taxpayers’ money,” he said. “We owe the taxpayers assurances that it furthers our national interest.”

WHAT IS USAID AND WHY IS IT IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS?

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said USAID was not “functioning” and that the organization isn’t a “global charity.”  (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)

DOGE has been tasked with cutting $2 trillion from the federal government’s budget through efforts to slash spending, government programs and the federal workforce.

Musk has faced some backlash for his interference in governmental affairs thus far. For example, Senate Democrats have accused DOGE of conducting a “hostile takeover” after reports emerged Musk had access to the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s central payment systems. 

The Department of Education and the Department of Defense have some of the largest budgets of government agencies. For fiscal year 2024, the Department of Education received a budget of $79.1 billion, while the Department of Defense received a budget of $841.4 billion, according to government documents. 

Meanwhile, Trump has signaled he’s seeking to eliminate the Department of Education through an executive order. 

Even so, Congress would need to pass legislation to completely disband an agency under Article II of the Constitution. 

MUSK’S DOGE TAKES AIM AT ‘VIPER’S NEST’ FEDERAL AGENCY WITH GLOBAL FOOTPRINT

President Donald Trump has tapped Linda McMahon, former administrator of the Small Business Administration, to lead the Department of Education. (Mike Segar/Reuters )

Trump told reporters Tuesday that while he has tapped Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), to lead the Department of Education, he wants her to eventually lose her job. 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“What I want to do is let the states run schools,” Trump said. “I believe strongly in school choice. But in addition to that, I want the states to run schools, and I want Linda to put herself out of a job.”

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace and Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk’s efforts to clean up waste and fraud in the federal government will soon shift its focus to the Social Security Administration (SSA) in a move likely to create a firestorm with Democrats.

The SSA, created by the Social Security Act under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 and tasked with establishing a federal benefits system for older Americans, will soon become a focus of DOGE, according to a report from Semafor that was not denied by the White House when contacted by Fox News Digital.

While several Democrats — including Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., in a post on X — have been quick to accuse this move as being aimed at slashing Social Security benefits for the elderly, several areas with potential waste exist in the agency that don’t involve cutting current benefits. 

Just Facts, a nonprofit research institute, previously reported that the agency disbursed roughly $2 billion in fraudulent or improper payments in 2022, which it calculated was enough “to pay 89,947 retired workers the average annual old-age benefit of $21,924 for 2023.”

‘DISTURBING’: WHISTLEBLOWER FUMES AT BIDEN-ERA AGENCY PROMOTING DEI PROGRAM AS DEPARTMENT’S ‘MISSION’

Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts are set to focus on Social Security. (Getty Images)

Just Facts explained that through a policy known as “administrative finality,” once the “SSA mistakenly overpays a beneficiary for more than four years, it does not recover past overpayments and deliberately continues to make future overpayments excepting cases of fraud.”

The SSA sent roughly 7,000 federal employees disability benefits in 2008 while they were still taking wages from federal jobs, according to a 2010 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The GAO estimated that about 1,500 of those individuals “may have improperly received benefits” since their wages went beyond maximum income thresholds. The GAO investigation also found that over 71,000 “stimulus checks” were sent by the Obama administration to people who were deceased, including 63,481 people whose deaths had been previously reported to the agency.

MEET THE YOUNG TEAM OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERS SLASHING GOVERNMENT WASTE AT DOGE: REPORT

Musk’s team has moved to slash USAID’s $40 billion spending budget. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“Social Security will not be touched, it will only be strengthened,” President Donald Trump said during a press conference on Friday. “We have illegal immigrants on Social Security and we’re going to find out who they are and take them out.”

Trump added, “We’re going to strengthen our Social Security, etc. We’re not going to touch it other than to make it stronger. But we have people that shouldn’t be on, and those people we have to weed out, most of them, or many of them, so far, have been illegal immigrants.”

On Friday afternoon, White House Principal Deputy Communications Director Alex Pfeiffer posted a report on X from the Center for Immigration Studies in 2021 that said, “We estimate that there are 2.65 million illegal immigrants with Social Security numbers.”

Trump added that DOGE will go through “everything” when it comes to waste and fraud in the federal government.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the SSA said, “We remain focused and vigilant on the integrity of our programs and take seriously our responsibilities to deter fraud, waste, and abuse.”

The Social Security Administration was created by the Social Security Act under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

DOGE has dominated news headlines over the past week as Musk’s team has moved to slash USAID’s $40 billion spending budget and put on leave the vast majority of its employees, as photos of the sign at the door of the agency’s Washington, D.C., headquarters being taken down have circulated on social media.

Musk has said that both he and Trump “agreed” that the agency should be “shut down.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been named acting director of the independent agency, on Monday echoed the sentiment, telling reporters, “USAID is not functioning.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“It needs to be aligned with the national interest of the U.S. They’re not a global charity, these are taxpayer dollars. People are asking simple questions. What are they doing with the money?” Rubio continued. “We are spending taxpayers’ money. We owe the taxpayers assurances that it furthers our national interest.”

Democrats held a rally outside the Treasury Department earlier this week blasting the DOGE efforts as a threat to democracy. 

“Elon Musk is a Nazi nepo baby, a godless lawless billionaire, who no one elected,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said at a rally, sparking pushback from conservatives on social media.

“Elon, this is the American people. This is not your trashy Cybertruck that you can just dismantle, pick apart, and sell the pieces of.”

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has taken a satirical jab at President Donald Trump’s effort to rename the Gulf of Mexico and annex Greenland. 

A straight-faced Pritzker released a choreographed video on Friday, with fake camera shutter clicks going off in the background, where he asserts that he is renaming Lake Michigan to “Lake Illinois,” poking fun at Trump’s recent executive order where he changed the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America.

Pritzker trolls Trump by sarcastically renaming Lake Michigan as “Lake Illinois,” jokes about annexing Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Vincent Alban/Getty Images, left, Stephen Maturen/Getty Images, right.)

PRITZKER BASHES TRUMP ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: ‘WE WILL NOT FOLLOW AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL ORDER’

“The world’s finest geographers, experts who study the Earth’s natural environment, have concluded a decades-long council and determined that a great lake deserves to be named after a great state,” Pritzker said. 

“So today, I’m issuing a proclamation declaring that hereinafter, Lake Michigan shall be known as Lake Illinois. The proclamation has been forwarded to Google to ensure the world’s maps reflect this momentous change.”

Trump signed Executive Order 14172 on his first day back in office which changed the name of the ocean basin. The order also renamed the highest peak in North America to “Mount McKinley,” reversing the 2015 decision to call it by its centuries-old name Denali.

Google has said it will make Trump’s changes once the Department of the Interior updates the Geographic Names Information System. As of today, Google Maps still refers to it as the Gulf of Mexico.

In the video, Pritzker then switches his attention to Green Bay, a Wisconsin city near Lake Michigan. And just like how Trump vowed to take over Greenland from Denmark, Pritzker pledged to snap up Green Bay from The Badger State.  

“In addition, the recent announcement that to protect the homeland, the United States will be purchasing Greenland… Illinois will now be annexing Green Bay to protect itself against enemies, foreign and domestic,” Pritzker said. 

In the video, Pritzker jokingly pledged to annex Green Bay from Wisconsin.   (@JBPritzker)

TRUDEAU SAYS TRUMP IS SERIOUS ABOUT CANADA BECOMING 51ST STATE: REPORTS

“I’ve also instructed my team to work diligently to prepare for an important announcement next week regarding the Mississippi River.”

“God bless America and bear down,” Pritzker said, a nod to Wisconsin’s Green Bay Packers, one of Chicago Bears’ biggest rivals.

The video comes on the heels of a Justice Department lawsuit filed against the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago for allegedly interfering with federal immigration enforcement with its sanctuary polices.

The lawsuit claims that several state and local laws are designed to interfere with the federal government’s enforcement of federal immigration law in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.

Trump signed Executive Order 14172 on his first day back in office, which changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Pritzker and Trump have also clashed over Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, with Pritzker declaring the move unconstitutional. 

Trump’s order, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” asserts that the 14th Amendment of the Constitution does not automatically confer American citizenship to individuals who are born within the United States. 

They also feuded during Trump’s first term in office when Pritzker claimed the state only recovered a quarter of its requested personal protective equipment from the federal government.

One of the attorneys representing anonymous FBI agents suing the Department of Justice to block the public identification of agents who investigated Jan. 6 is a longtime anti-Trump lawyer who worked with House Democrats on President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. 

Norm Eisen is an attorney, CNN legal analyst and expert at the Brookings Institution public policy think tank who previously served as the U.S.’ ambassador to the Czech Republic and special counsel for ethics and government reform under the Obama administration, when he earned the nicknames “Dr. No” and “The Fun Sponge” for reportedly ensuring the administration abide by ethics rules. 

Eisen appeared in court on Thursday for a hearing before U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb involving a pair of lawsuits filed by two groups of FBI agents who investigated the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol Building as well as former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations and cases against Trump. 

Eisen serves as executive chair of State Democracy Defenders Fund, which filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of the FBI agents who investigated Trump-related cases. State Democracy Defenders Fund is a nonprofit that bills itself as focused on defeating “election sabotage” and “autocracy in 2025 — and beyond.”

FBI AGENTS SUE TRUMP DOJ TO BLOCK ANY PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED ON JAN. 6 INVESTIGATIONS

Norm Eisen is an attorney, CNN legal analyst and expert at the Brookings Institution public policy think tank who previously served as the U.S.’ ambassador to the Czech Republic.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“Credible reports indicate the FBI has been directed to systematically terminate all Bureau employees who had any involvement in investigations related to President Trump, and that Trump’s allies in the DOJ are planning to publicly disseminate the names of those employees they plan to terminate,” State Democracy Defenders Fund wrote in its press release of the emergency order to block the public release of FBI personnel names involved in the Jan. 6 investigation. 

Fox News Digital took a look back on Eisen’s rhetoric and actions across the past few years and found that he has repeatedly been at the forefront of the legal cases against Trump, notably serving as co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during the first impeachment of Trump beginning in 2019. 

FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION

House Democrats tapped Eisen — who early in his career specialized in financial fraud litigation and investigations — to help lead the first impeachment against the 45th president, which accused Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to allegedly seeking foreign interference from Ukraine to boost his re-election efforts in 2020. The House adopted two articles of impeachment against Trump, but the Senate ultimately voted to acquit him. 

Norm Eisen served as special counsel for ethics and government reform under the administration of former President Barack Obama.  (Melina Mara/Getty Images)

Eisen revealed following the impeachment effort that he initially drafted 10 articles of impeachment against Trump, not just two, which would have included issues such as “hush money” payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels. Although the payments were not included in the impeachment articles, they were a focal point of the Manhattan v. Trump trial that found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024. 

FBI AGENTS DETAIL J6 ROLE IN EXHAUSTIVE QUESTIONNAIRE EMPLOYEES ‘WERE INSTRUCTED TO FILL OUT’

“This was only the third impeachment trial of a president in American history, so it’s remarkable that we even got those two,” Eisen said in an NPR interview in 2020. “I will tell you that those two articles are a microcosm of all 10 of the impeachment articles that we drafted. They have features of all 10.” 

Eisen told Fox News Digital, when asked about his history of anti-Trump cases, that he was initially open to working with the first Trump administration, but that the president, “turned against the Constitution.”

“I was initially open to Trump and even advised his first presidential transition,” Eisen told Fox Digital in an emailed comment on Friday. “But he turned against the Constitution and laws.”

“In his first administration and now, he was and is using the presidency to break the law and to help himself and his cronies like Elon Musk — not the American people,” he continued. “To ensure the integrity of our democracy, I am pushing back through the bipartisan institutions I work with such as State Democracy Defenders Fund, which has strong conservative representation on our board.” 

Fox News Digital took a look back on Norm Eisen’s rhetoric and actions across the past few years and found that he has repeatedly been at the forefront of the legal cases against President Donald Trump, pictured here. (Getty Images)

Eisen is the co-founder of the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which made waves in 2023 and 2024 when it helped to initiate a Colorado court case to remove Trump from the primary ballot in the state, The New York Times reported.  

The lawsuit, which ultimately landed in the Supreme Court, argued that Trump should be deemed ineligible from holding political office under a Civil War-era insurrection clause and that his name should thus be barred from appearing on the 2024 ballot. The group said that Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters breached the U.S. Capitol, violated a clause in the 14th Amendment that prevents officers of the United States, members of Congress or state legislatures who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution from holding political office.

Other states made similar legal claims to remove Trump, but each of the nine Supreme Court justices ruled in Trump’s favor in a decision released last March, ending the Colorado case and all others that were similar. 

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

The State Democracy Defenders Action, co-founded by Norm Eisen, center, has been involved with other Trump-involved court cases, including in the Manhattan v. Trump case. (Getty Images)

The State Democracy Defenders Action, which Eisen co-founded, has also been involved with other Trump-involved court cases, including in the Manhattan v. Trump case. The group helped file an amicus brief in February, advocating that presiding Judge Juan Merchan sentence Trump just days ahead of his inauguration. Trump was ultimately sentenced to unconditional discharge, meaning he faces no fines or jail time. 

​​Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Manhattan case in May 2024. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office worked to prove that Trump had falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star, Stormy Daniels, ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.

Eisen also founded another group, the States United Democracy Center, which filed an amicus brief in 2024 in Fulton County, Georgia, court, advocating that District Attorney Fani Willis’ racketeering case against Trump not be dismissed. 

ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT RESPONSIBLE FOR OPENING JACK SMITH ELECTOR CASE AGAINST PRESIDENT: WHISTLEBLOWER

The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled in December 2024 that Willis and her office are barred from prosecuting the case. The case worked to prove that Trump had led a “criminal racketeering enterprise” to change the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia. Trump has maintained his innocence in that case, as well as the other federal and state charges brought against him between the 2020 and 2024 election, slamming them as Democrat lawfare. 

Eisen, in his capacity as executive chair and founder of State Democracy Defenders Fund, also sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking Committee Member Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. on Monday to speak out against Kash Patel’s nomination as director of the FBI under the second Trump administration. Eisen said he had ethics concerns surrounding Patel’s previous work in Qatar. 

President Donald ​​Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Manhattan case in May 2024. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

MAJOR FBI CHANGES KASH PATEL COULD MAKE ON DAY 1 IF CONFIRMED AS DIRECTOR

The FBI lawsuits followed acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sending a memo to acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll in late January, directing him to fire eight FBI employees who worked on the Jan. 6 investigation, as well as a terror case related to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel. The memo also informed the acting director to identify all current and former FBI personnel who took part in the case. 

Democratic counsel Norm Eisen speaks with Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. (Getty Images)

The memo’s directive to identify those involved in the case sparked the two FBI lawsuits filed Tuesday, which seek to stop the collection of names and their public release. 

“The individuals being targeted have served in law enforcement for decades, often putting their lives on the line for the citizens of this country,” Eisen said in a statement provided in State Democracy Defenders Fund’s press release announcing it filed an emergency order on behalf of the FBI agents. “Their rights and privacy must be preserved.”

The judge temporarily barred the Trump DOJ on Thursday from disclosing information on the agents until she hears arguments and determines whether to issue a temporary restraining order. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

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

President Donald Trump has for weeks suggested that Canada become the United States’ 51st state, and while opinion has been divided about whether Trump is serious or merely trolling its neighbor, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reportedly said that it’s the former, according to reports.

In a closed-door meeting with Canadian business and labor leaders, Trudeau reportedly affirmed that Trump’s ambitious aims of annexation are “a real thing.”

“Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing. In my conversations with him on …” Trudeau said before the microphone cut out, according to CBC.

President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, left, CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images, right.)

TRUMP IMPOSES TARIFFS ON IMPORTS FROM CANADA, MEXICO AND CHINA: ‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY’

The news media had been asked to leave the room before Trudeau delivered his comments, but CBC and The Toronto Star were able to hear them and record them.

“I suggest that not only does the Trump administration know how many critical minerals we have, but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state,” Trudeau added according to people in the room who listened to his comments. “They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have, and they very much want to be able to benefit from those.”

Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labor, confirmed what Trudeau said in a post on social platform X.

“Yes, I can confirm that Trudeau said his assessment is that what Trump really wants is not action on fentanyl or immigration or even the trade deficit, what he really wants is to either dominate Canada or take it outright,” McGowan wrote. “Tariffs are a tactic towards that end.”

Trump first pitched the idea during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with Trudeau in late November. Trump has also suggested annexing Greenland.

Canada is home to more than 40 million people and is a founding NATO partner. It is a natural resource-rich nation that provides the U.S. with commodities such as oil.

Trump has long said Canada – as well as Mexico – has failed to do enough to prevent the flow of illegal migrants and drugs, particularly fentanyl into the U.S. In addition, Trump claims the U.S. has subsidized Canada to the tune of $200 billion annually. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reportedly said that President Donald Trump is serious about Canada becoming the United States’ 51st state. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

CANADA WILL NOT BE ’51ST STATE,’ AMBASSADOR PROTESTS AMID TRUMP TARIFF THREAT

Last weekend, Trump again repeated his suggestion of absorbing Canada, noting that it would not be subjected to his incoming tariffs should the country join the U.S.

“We pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars to SUBSIDIZE Canada. Why? There is no reason,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We don’t need anything they have. We have unlimited Energy, should make our own Cars, and have more Lumber than we can ever use. Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country. Harsh but true!” 

“Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State,” Trump added. “Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada – AND NO TARIFFS!” 

But Trump agreed to pause the tariffs for 30 days on Monday after a call with Trudeau, who made some concessions to temporarily stave off the levies. 

Trudeau said Canada will implement a $1.3 billion border plan and appoint a fentanyl czar. In addition, Canada will reinforce its border with new helicopters, technology, personnel and enhanced coordination with American authorities. He added that nearly 10,000 personnel are and will be working on border protection.

“We will list cartels as terrorists, ensure 24/7 eyes on the border, launch a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering,” Trudeau wrote on X. “I have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl and we will be backing it with $200 million.”

President Donald Trump has been touting a plan to make Canada the 51st state since November. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The U.S. imports approximately 60% of its crude oil from Canada, with Alberta alone supplying 4.3 million barrels per day. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. consumes about 20 million barrels a day, while domestically producing about 13.2 million barrels a day. This means about a quarter of the oil the U.S. consumes every day is from Canada.

Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $2.7 billion worth of goods and services cross the border each day.

Meanwhile, Canada is home to dozens of minerals considered critical for use in various industries, including for electric car batteries, solar panels, and semiconductors, according to the New York Times. Some commonly recognized examples of critical minerals include lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and zinc.

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and Louis Casiano, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrapped up his first overseas trip across Latin America with several wins on immigration, a top priority for President Donald Trump.

America’s new top diplomat returns home with a binder full of agreements from foreign governments on day-one priorities to interdict human and drug trafficking – a testament to how the Trump administration wields America’s economic might. 

“I think the fact that his first trip was to Latin America, I think was a huge statement in itself,” said Joseph Humire, executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS).

Next, Rubio will head to the Middle East, with plans to visit Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in mid-February after attending the Munich Security Conference. A broad swath of even more challenging circumstances await him there, including concerns from foreign officials over Trump’s newfangled idea to “take over” the Gaza Strip, with neighboring Arab states staunchly opposed to U.S. insistence that they take in Palestinians. 

RUBIO TO VISIT MIDDLE EAST FOR SECOND TRIP AS SECRETARY OF STATE AFTER TRUMP SUGGESTS US TAKEOVER OF GAZA

Panama agreed not to renew its Belt and Road Initiative with China after Rubio’s meeting, pictured above with the Panamanian foreign minister.  (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

Before the secretary took off for Latin America, the Trump administration had already scored several victories. Colombia did a lightning fast about-face on accepting deportation flights carrying illegal immigrants headed home from the United States. President Gustavo Petro had initially denied two flights carrying Colombian nationals, saying he would not accept the return of migrants who were not treated with “dignity and respect” and who had arrived shackled or on military planes. 

But Trump immediately threatened 25% tariffs on Colombian goods, and Petro acquiesced to all U.S. conditions, according to the White House, including accepting migrants on military planes. 

Rubio then began his regional tour in Panama last Saturday, a nation that nervously awaited to see what his visit would hold after Trump repeatedly called for a U.S. takeover of the Panama Canal. 

Trump had claimed the canal was essentially under the control of China – Hong Kong-based firms control the ports of entry – and charging America unfair rates after the U.S. built the canal and gave it back to Panama in a 1977 treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter. 

After Rubio’s visit, Panama said it would not be renewing its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with China, an investment project the CCP uses to secure influence in developing nations across the world. 

“The BRI thing was huge news,” said Humire. 

“There are 22 countries in Latin America that signed a BRI agreement. If we really push hard on this, a lot of countries, especially the ones that are allied with us, are going to rethink” their agreements with China, he added. 

RUBIO HEADS TO PANAMA, LATIN AMERICA TO PURSUE TRUMP’S ‘GOLDEN AGE’ AGENDA

Rubio had warned Panama that if its government did not move to reduce or eliminate the CCP’s grip on the canal, the U.S. would move to do so.

Under the canal treaties, the U.S. retains the duty to defend the canal if it comes under threat. 

Rubio, pictured above in the Dominican Republic, Rubio had warned Panama that if its government did not move to reduce or eliminate the CCP’s grip on the canal, the U.S. would move to do so. ( Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via Reuters)

But Rubio hit a snag over a claim that the State Department made that Panama had offered free passage through the canal for U.S naval vessels.

Panama President José Raúl Mulino then accused the US of spreading “lies and falsehoods” about his nation offering the U.S. free passage. 

The secretary then rowed back the claim, while calling the charges “absurd.” 

“It seems absurd that we would have to pay fees to transit a zone that we are obligated to protect in a time of conflict,” Rubio said.  “Panama has a process of laws and procedures that they need to follow as it relates to the Panamanian port.”

In Costa Rica, Rubio offered U.S. help to combat a wave of drug trafficking crime and push back on Chinese influence by limiting CCP development of 5G technology in the country. 

Then, in El Salvador, Rubio cinched an offer from Trump-friendly President Nayib Bukele to accept deportees of any nationality, including American criminals. 

EL SALVADOR AGREES TO ACCEPT US DEPORTEES OF ANY NATIONALITY FOLLOWING MEETING WITH RUBIO

At the same time, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to send 10,000 Mexican forces to the U.S. border after Trump agreed to delay a threatened 25% tariff on her nation’s exports to the U.S.

Meanwhile, in Guatemala, President Bernardo Arévalo pledged to accept 40% more deportation flights and to accept people of other nationalities. 

“I think a lot of the wins are because of his prior relationships with the region, his team and, frankly, his experience and his knowledge,” said Humire. “He’s somebody that can engage them in their language and in their kind of mannerisms.”

And, he added, Latin America saw “how serious” Trump was about deportations, watching the threats the president made to Canada, Mexico and Colombia.

Amid a stint in El Salvador, Rubio cinched an offer from Trump-friendly President Nayib Bukele to accept deportees of any nationality, including American criminals. (Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS)

“I think we could have gotten more clarity from Panama on the canal,” said Humire. “But I think we met little resistance [overall].”

Rubio wasn’t the only Trump official to secure Latin America wins. Special envoy Ric Grenell sat down with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this week and returned home with six American hostages. The price paid, according to Grenell, was giving the Venezuelan dictator a photo opportunity with an American diplomat for propaganda purposes. 

The Trump administration now expects deportation flights to Venezuela to resume “within 30 days,” border czar Tom Homan told the New York Times, after Maduro previously refused to accept Venezuelan nationals back from the U.S. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“He’s on a good-behavior policy,” said Humire.  “[Maduro] thinks – they call it agenda zero – they think that they can renew, kind of restart relations with the U.S. by basically being on good behavior, starting to steer us towards their interests.”

“Grennell has to be able to get the things that we need without giving a whole lot. And I think he accomplished that,” Humire continued. “The photo op, they’re going to spin it, use it for disinformation. But that’s a small concession for bringing hostages home.”

President Donald Trump, taking to social media ahead of the Super Bowl, praised both teams facing off in professional football’s biggest game.

“Two great Quarterbacks in this game. Also, an unbelievable running back, and the absolute best tight end in football (Ever!). Incredible coaching!” the president wrote Friday in a post on his Truth Social platform. “IT WILL BE A GREAT GAME!!!”

Trump is expected to make history this weekend as the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl in person, when the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans, Louisiana.

FIRST FAN: TRUMP TAKES AIM AT THIS NEW NFL RULE

President Donald Trump attends a game between the National Football League’s Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 20, 2024. (Evan Vucci-Pool/Getty Images)

The Chiefs are aiming to make history as the first National Football League team to win three straight Lombardi trophies as Super Bowl champions.

The Eagles, playing in their third Super Bowl in seven seasons, seek to avenge their 38-35 loss to the Chiefs in the championship game two years ago.

SIGN UP FOR TUBI AND STREAM SUPER BOWL LIX FOR FREE

Trump earlier this week appeared to indicate which team he may be rooting for in the big game.

When asked by reporters in the Oval Office which team he wanted to win the Super Bowl, the president responded, “I don’t wanna say.”

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs documents in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4, 2025.  (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)

“But there’s a certain quarterback that seems to be a pretty good winner,” he added as he apparently pointed towards Chiefs’ star quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The president the next day gave a shoutout to Mahomes and his wife Brittany, who hinted at support for Trump in last year’s presidential election.

HOW TO WATCH SUPER BOWL LIX BETWEEN CHIEFS, EAGLES STREAMED ON TUBI

“Congratulations to the Chiefs GREAT Quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, and his very beautiful and BRILLIANT wife, Brittany, on the birth of their new baby daughter, Golden Raye. This is what I call a baby with great genes, both mother and father. It’s happy times in the wonderful Mahomes family. See you all on Sunday!” he wrote.

President Donald Trump looks on during the first quarter of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 28, 2024, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

While Trump theoretically is staying neutral in Sunday’s game, he does appear to have an acrimonious history with the Eagles which dates back to his first White House administration.

During his first year in office, Trump repeatedly criticized NFL players who refused to stand for the national anthem as they symbolically protested racism. After the Eagles won the Super Bowl that season, most of the players on the team said they would boycott the traditional White House appearance by the championship team.

FOX NEWS’ BRET BAIER TO INTERVIEW TRUMP AT SUPER BOWL

Trump, responding, disinvited the team.

“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow,” Trump said at the time. “They disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country.”

The Eagles are also the team long cheered on by former President Joe Biden, a Pennsylvania native who for nearly his entire life has called neighboring Delaware home.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

As he addressed the Democratic National Committee, which met in Philadelphia amid a blistering cold weekend in early 2023 for their annual winter meeting, the then-president said “Fly, Eagles, fly!”

And former First Lady Jill Biden, a devout Eagles fan who often wears the team’s garb, will be attending Sunday’s Super Bowl.