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Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is starting to transition from his role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and is no longer working regularly from the White House, according to a report from the New York Post.

His impending exit is no surprise, as the White House confirmed earlier this month that the plan was always for Musk to refocus on Tesla once he completed “his incredible work at DOGE.”

The Tesla CEO was appointed as an unpaid special government employee under DOGE and remains involved in the agency remotely.

MUSK NOT LEAVING YET, WRAPPING UP WORK ON SCHEDULE ONCE ‘INCREDIBLE WORK AT DOGE IS COMPLETE’: WHITE HOUSE

DOGE leader Elon Musk is no longer working with the agency from the White House and is involved with the work from a remote location, the New York Post reported. (Fox News)

Fox News’ Bret Baier previously asked the DOGE leader during an interview with him and members of his team if he would be working past the 130 days typically expected of special government employees.

To which Musk responded, “I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that timeframe.” 

Musk has also reportedly told his investors that he would be “allocating far more of my time to Tesla” in the coming months during a Tesla earnings call.

Musk has said that he believes that DOGE has accomplished enough of the work to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars. (Getty Images)

Although the exact amount of money DOGE has recovered is unknown, Musk has said that he believes enough work has been done to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told The NYP that Musk working remotely “really doesn’t matter much” when it comes to accomplishing goals.

“Instead of meeting with him in person, I’m talking to him on the phone, but it’s the same net effect. He hasn’t been here physically, but it really doesn’t matter much,” Wiles said.

DOGE SLASHES OVER $100M IN DEI FUNDING AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: ‘WIN FOR EVERY STUDENT’

Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts have uncovered several examples of wasteful spending. (Getty,AP.DOGE/X)

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Wiles also said Musk’s team is still working from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the West Wing.

“He’s not out of it altogether… He’ll be stepping back a little, but he’s certainly not abandoning it,” she told the outlet.

Here’s what actually happened to that Wisconsin judge.

Setting aside the spin – and there’s plenty of it from some Democrats and pundits – these are the facts.

Based on the criminal complaint, county judge Hannah Dugan had a hearing scheduled for illegal Mexican immigrant Eduardo Flores-Ruiz – who is already facing charges of domestic abuse.

Not only that, Flores-Ruiz got into a fight with two roommates who complained that he was playing his music too loud.

Flores-Ruiz punched one roommate in the face 30 times, then hit a woman who tried to end the fight, the complaint says. Let that sink in for a minute.

WISCONSIN JUDGE’S ARREST BLASTED BY DEMOCRATS WHO PREVIOUSLY CLAIMED ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ IN TRUMP CASES

Now let’s get to what Hannah Dugan did. (National Review’s Jim Geraghty has a highly detailed account with extensive quotes from the documents.)

First she blew off the hearing. ICE agents have the absolute power to arrest the immigrant at the county courthouse, and were closing in, but hoped to do it in a low-key manner. 

Then she arranged for Flores-Ruiz to slip out a private exit, for the sole purpose of helping him avoid the federal agents. And it worked. But the agents tracked him down after a chase.

Many in the press have used the arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan as a political weapon against the Trump administration. (Mike De Sisti / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

This sounds very much like alleged obstruction of justice.

Now Dugan is entitled to the presumption of innocence, along with a healthy skepticism. We’ve only heard the government’s side of the story.  

Does that sound like obstruction of justice? That’s what the judge has been charged with, along with concealing an individual to prevent an arrest.

The Washington Post yesterday made explicit what it implied a day earlier: “While many Republican supporters of the president cheered the aggressive actions, critics of the administration said the spectacle sent a chilling message.

“‘The obvious purpose of the arrest of Judge Dugan on criminal charges is to intimidate and threaten all judges, state and local, across the country,’ said J. Michael Luttig, a conservative former U.S. appeals court judge.”

Many others are treating Dugan’s arrest, unusual though it is, as an outrage.

Hannah Dugan is accused of helping conceal illegal Mexican immigrant Eduardo Flores-Ruiz as ICE agents closed in on her court. (DHS/Milwaukee Independent via AP)

Before the arrest of Flores-Diaz, the Milwaukee county executive said: “An attack on this safe, community-serving space undermines public trust, breeds fear among citizens and staff and disrupts the due process essential to our courts,” An attack, says David Crowley. 

Some other quotes helpfully rounded up by Geraghty:

Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith posted: “If Kash Patel,” the FBI director, “and Donald Trump don’t like a judge, they think they can arrest them.” So this was not about alleged obstruction of justice but some kind of personal animus toward Dugan? And I doubt Trump knew anything about this.

JUDGE WHO ALLEGEDLY HELPED MIGRANT DOESN’T DESERVE ‘SPECIAL TREATMENT,’ WISCONSIN LAWMAKER SAYS

New York Times columnist David Brooks said on PBS: “It strikes me as maybe something illegal, but it also strikes me as something heroic.” It MAY be illegal, but on what planet would the judge’s actions be deemed heroic??

And here’s one I found from Guardian columnist Moira Donegan, saying: “The Trump administration is making an example of the Milwaukee judge to intimidate critics and opponents.”

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

So now the tale has morphed into an anti-Trump hit job. The president does plenty of things to intimidate critics and openly talks about it. This isn’t one of them.

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As for the politics, aren’t most voters going to be more concerned with keeping violent illegal migrants off our streets?

President Donald Trump has been unafraid to publicly blast Democrats and the liberal media during his first 100 days in office, continuing a similar trend from his first term.

In one high-profile skirmish, Trump publicly berated Maine’s Democrat. Gov. Janet Mills for defying his executive order barring biological males who identify as transgender from competing in women’s sports.

“Your population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports, so you better comply because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding,” Trump told Mills during a meeting of the nation’s governors at the White House in February. Mills argued she would “see [him] ion court” over the matter, to which the president responded: “I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one.”

TRUMP TOOK ON THE ‘ENTIRE’ INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL WORLD ORDER WITH TARIFFS: JOURNALIST

“Enjoy your life after governor,” he added, “because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”

A second notable clash with Democrats came during Trump’s joint address to Congress in March. Several Democrats held up anti-Trump signs, shouted and moaned in the middle of Trump’s speech, and some ultimately walked out. Progressive Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas had to be escorted out of the House chamber because he would not stop disrupting the president’s speech and was subsequently censured by members of his own party over the stunt.

“I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or make them stand and smile or applaud,” Trump said during his address, looking toward the Democrats’ side of the House chamber. “I could find a cure to the most devastating diseases. A disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history… and these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements.”

PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT: HOW TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS STACK UP AGAINST INAUGURATION DAY PLEDGES

“It’s very sad,” Trump added. “And it just shouldn’t be this way.”

The press has not been spared from public lashings by Trump during his second term, either. 

In one notable back-and-forth, Trump was asked by a reporter in the Oval Office whether he thought he had the legal authority to mass deport illegal aliens. In response, the president flipped the script on the reporter, asking in return: “Did Biden have the authority to allow millions of people to come into our country?”

In another testy back-and-forth with reporters, this time aboard Air Force One, Trump did not mince words with a reporter from Bloomberg who questioned Trump about his tariffs.

HOW DONALD TRUMP DOMINATES THE NEWS, BOTH POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY 

“I think your questions are so stupid,” Trump told the reporter aboard Air Force One after he was asked if there was any “pain in the market at some point you’re unwilling to tolerate?” 

“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump shot back. “And we have such a horrible, we have been treated so badly, by other countries because we had stupid leadership that allowed this to happen.”

President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One before arriving at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, on March 28, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump’s public lashings of Democrats and the media have also included new nicknames for the president’s political opponents. 

One of those targets, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., garnered himself a new nickname this term: “Watermelon-Head.” The nickname follows Trump’s first-term nickname he gave to Schiff: “Pencil neck.”

TRUMP WHITE HOUSE TAKES 100-DAY VICTORY LAP ON REFORMING KEY AGENCY AMID FIERCE PUSHBACK

“Adam ‘Schifty’ Schiff – can you believe this guy?” Trump said at a dinner hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee earlier this month. “He’s got the smallest neck I’ve ever seen – and the biggest head: We call him Watermelon-Head.” Trump went on to ponder how Schiff’s “big fat face” could “stand on a neck” the size of the president’s finger. 

“It’s the weirdest thing – it’s a mystery; no one can understand it.”

Trump gives his joint address to Congress and is interrupted by Rep. Al Green protesting his cuts to multiple government programs. March 4. (AP)

Another Trump nickname to come from his first 100 days did not target a specific person, but Democrats as a whole who have been against his tariff policies. 

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“The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!),” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social earlier this month. “Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) terminad $2.5 billion in “wasteful” grants that went toward gender-based causes, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said Tuesday. 

The USDA got rid of 420 grants for a savings of $2.3 billion, according to DOGE. 

Among the programs the money was used for, $361,000 went toward “gender non-conforming, non-binary, two-spirit” BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) farmers in New York.

HOW A DOGE REVIEW CAN ACTUALLY IMPROVE THE PROGRAMS THAT FIGHT HIV/AIDS

Elon Musk leads DOGE. (Getty Images)

Another $150,000 was used for “gender-lensed curricula designed to be transdisciplinary in the food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences.”

Even Ghana benefited, with $100,000 earmarked for “climate resilience and sustainable agriculture” in the African nation. 

DOGE SLASHES ‘WASTEFUL’ ‘PROBLEM-SOLVING’ CONTRACT WORTH $50K IN LATEST ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS

President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Getty Images)

In addition, federal agencies eliminated 179 contracts with a ceiling value of $1.87 billion and savings of $280 million. 

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The federal government spent $207,000 on a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services consulting contract for a “grant writing workshop” and an $89,000 Treasury Department contract for a “country program manager in Namibia.”

Another $1.8 million Trade & Development contract was spent on “energy and climate advisory services.”

President Donald Trump campaigned for a second term on pledges to lower prices, create jobs and impose tough tariffs on imports, especially from China. 

Dubbing himself the “Tariff Man” last fall, he told an audience at the Economic Club of Chicago, “To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff.” However, in his first months in office, it is unclear whether Trump can, or should, implement the harsh reciprocal tariffs he announced in April against dozens of countries.

Now, 100 days into his second term, economists told Fox News Digital they see these proposed reciprocal tariffs as politically motivated, unnecessary and failing to secure the benefits from U.S. trading partners that Trump had been hoping for.

CHINA IS ‘CAVING’ TO TRUMP’S TRADE WAR STRATEGY, EXPERT SIGNALS

President Donald Trump holds a “Foreign Trade Barriers” document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo)

Instead, they warned, Trump’s tariffs could grind billions of dollars in trade to a halt between the world’s two largest economies, disrupt global supply chains and risk torpedoing the U.S. economy into a major slump or recession.

When Trump took office, chances of recession “were probably about 10%,” Justin Wolfers, an economist at the University of Michigan, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Now, they’re up to around 55%.” 

It is unclear whether Trump will continue to push through with these unpopular tariffs, which are slated to take force in early July. In the near-term, uncertainty and volatility remain.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City on March 28, 2025 amid President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Short-term tariff impact

Trump announced tariffs on April 2, dubbed “Liberation Day.” The announcement included both a 10% universal baseline tariff and plans to enact larger tariffs on dozens of other countries, including China.

These new import taxes immediately sent stock markets into free-fall, triggering one of the largest single-day S&P 500 losses since World War II, and prompting deep and unyielding uncertainty over possible next moves.

“The only thing that’s happened that has pushed the odds of a recession up so high, so fast, is chaos coming from out of the White House,” Wolfers said.

Trump subsequently paused the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to encourage the administration to make “deals” with countries on trade and encourage more investment in U.S. manufacturing. Even so, some prices have already risen in anticipation of higher costs under the new tariff regime.

Uncertainty has also played a role. Trump’s tariff announcement in April prompted a number of large container ships to abruptly halt their shipments to the U.S. earlier this month and turn back to their original ports. This means that more consumers will see a price hike for everyday products, likely at certain big-box retailer stores like Walmart or Target, as early as next month. 

These price hikes are “not showing up tomorrow, but will show up over the next few months, as scarcities develop and American retailers have to find other sources – that might take a while,” David H. Feldman, an economist and professor at William & Mary College, said in an interview.

TRUMP’S ULTIMATUM TO FEDERAL WORKERS: RETURN TO OFFICE ‘OR BE TERMINATED’

President Donald Trump arrives for a presentation ceremony in the East Room of the White House on April 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

While Trump says tariffs will target foreign competitors and reduce the trade deficit, the costs will fall mostly on working- and middle-class Americans who buy the bulk of imported goods.

Wolfers said Trump’s focus on the trade “deficit” is based on a common misconception.

“What that means is we sell China a small amount of stuff, and they sell us a large amount of stuff,” he explained. However, for every dollar bill that goes to China, the U.S. gets something for it that Americans want to buy, like T-shirts. 

“We have a dollar deficit – but we have a stuff surplus.” 

Potential for deescalation 

There are few signs that Trump’s tariffs will deliver the gains he sought, such as onshoring U.S. production or securing better trade deals, particularly with Asian countries.

Instead, experts warn these countries are likely to circumvent U.S. markets and supply chains over time.

“If these tariffs stay in place, there will be hardly any trade between the U.S. and China,” by the second half of the year, Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a senior non-resident fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said in an interview.

Roughly $650 billion in annual trade between the two countries is at risk, along with knock-down effects on global commerce in the long term.

 WORLD LEADERS REACT AS TRUMP RE-ENTERS THE WHITE HOUSE

President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Trump’s tariffs also discard decades of international understanding that has depoliticized trade disputes, Feldman said.

The U.S. is “moving from a system that at least was based on mutually acceptable rules of behavior to a system that does not have that as its anchor,” Feldman, whose research focuses on global trade policy, told Fox News Digital. That shift allows the government to target foreign nations individually and offer selective tariff relief to firms and industries “if they do ‘our’ bidding,” he argued. 

“America is now master of the shakedown.” 

President Donald Trump gestures to members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on April 3, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Trump spoke a day after announcing sweeping new tariffs targeting goods imported into the U.S. on countries including China, Japan and India. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Next steps 

After market backlash, Trump appears to be warming to the idea of easing his proposed 145% reciprocal tariffs on China, which has vowed to impose its own retaliatory measures on U.S. goods.

Economists say he is more likely to do so if the economy sours, or he sees a major drop in poll numbers, if the past is precedent. 

Still, any path to deescalation remains uncertain. Just last week, China denied Trump’s claim that the two countries were negotiating a tariff deal, after he asserted in an interview that he had reached “200 deals” on trade.

Economists believe Trump will at least partially scale back the tariffs before July but warn he is playing a high-stakes game of brinkmanship that could hit U.S. consumers and businesses hardest.

“What I worry about is that the immediate impact of uncertainty is on business investment in trade-exposed industries, leading to a recession,” Feldman said. “But it could get worse, if it transmits into a financial panic. And  if everyone starts to say, ‘geez, I got to get into gold and cash, I can’t be in Treasury bills.’ If we move into a flight to cash, all bets are off.” 

Should that happen, he said, “We could slide into 2008 all over again.”

A television broadcasts market news on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump has refused to concede that his early days have been anything but a major success.

In a recent interview with Time magazine, he touted his first 100 days as “very successful,” saying “people [are] writing that it was the best first month, and best second month, and really the best third month” for a U.S. president.

He dismissed stock market volatility and rising inflation as temporary “market fluctuation,” calling it a “transition period” that would level out.

When asked if he would consider it a win if tariffs remained as high as 50% on imports a year from now, Trump said he would.

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“Total victory,” he said. 

“Everybody is going to benefit.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., greeted President Donald Trump on the tarmac in Michigan before his speech to National Guard members on Tuesday, where she also spoke at the event without hiding her face.

“Well, I hadn’t planned to speak, but on behalf of all the military men and women who serve our country and serve so honorably on behalf of the State of Michigan, I am really damn happy we’re here,” Whitmer said.

Fox News co-host Judge Jeanine Pirro said on “The Five” Tuesday that Whitmer had a chance to set the tone for the Democratic Party.

“I think that…of course, she’s there because of the troops, but there are some Democrats who wouldn’t be in the same room with Donald Trump,” Pirro said. “I think that she did the right thing, and I think that wanting to work with the president to bring back manufacturing to Michigan is a smart move.”

WHITMER DITCHES DEM PLAYBOOK ON TRUMP’S TARIFFS AMID 2028 SPECULATION

President Donald Trump listens as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks to members of the Michigan National Guard at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Tuesday, in Harrison Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

During the event on Tuesday, Trump unveiled plans to swap out the retiring A-10 Warthog aircraft based out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan with 21 brand-new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets.

Trump shared the details during a speech to National Guard members at the Michigan base before an event commemorating his 100th day in office.

“So I want to thank Governor Gretchen Whitmer for bringing it also to our attention very strongly. And, you know, I’m not supposed to do that. She’s a Democrat. They say, ‘Don’t do that. Don’t have her here.’ I said, ‘No, she’s going to be here,'” Trump said. “She’s done a very good job, frankly. And she’s she was very much involved with, with the Republicans. They worked together on saving it. And it was not easy. So I want to thank you very much, Gretchen. Good job.”

DEM GOVERNORS REVOLT AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer looks on as President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on April 9, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Whitmer’s presence Tuesday came a few weeks after seemingly hiding her face during a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.

Whitmer was criticized for shielding her face with a folder as a photo of the moment became a meme on social media.

She poked fun at the now-viral moment by once again holding folders up in front of her face when asked about her trip to Washington, D.C., during an event at the Detroit Economic Club after the meeting with the president. 

“… I don’t want my picture taken, that’s all it was. I kind of wished I hadn’t put my folder up in front of my face, but whatever. You know I was there … I just wrote a book about learning to laugh at yourself, so I’m pretty good at it. We all have our moments,” Whitmer said. 

GRETCHEN WHITMER RIBBED ONLINE FOR SEEMING TO HIDE FACE IN OVAL OFFICE

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer waits with Michigan National Guard adjutant general Major Gen. Paul Rogers at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Tuesday, in Harrison Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The governor’s trip to Washington brought her 2028 presidential ambitions into the national conversation as she struck a diplomatic tone with Trump. She carefully criticized Trump’s tariffs while saying she understood the “motivation behind the tariffs” and even agreeing with Trump that we “need to make more stuff in America.”

Whitmer’s Oval Office moment marked her second meeting with Trump in less than a month, and Tuesday’s meeting now marks the third. As Trump signed executive orders from the Oval Office on April 9 and answered questions from the press, he said Whitmer had “done an excellent job” as governor and called her a “very good person,” a break from his typical lines of attack on her character. 

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When Trump signed the executive orders calling for the investigation of two first-term administration aides who were critical of his actions, Whitmer’s office said she was brought into the room “without any notice” and that her appearance was “not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made.”

But Trump called the issues “bipartisan” and jokingly added, “We’ll all stand there together and cut a ribbon. OK, Gretchen?”

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., saved little deference for his fellow New York native when he kicked off what he previously advertised as an all-nighter on the Senate floor by Democrats planning to rail against President Donald Trump for actions over his first 100 days.

Speaking just before the endeavor was interrupted by two scheduled votes including the final ambassadorship confirmation of the day, Schumer said it has been 100 days of “corruption [and] cronyism” that are “forcing much higher costs on the American people – it really is awful.”

 “[T]his is a threat to our democratic republic. He’s acting like a king, a mob boss, a wannabe dictator,” Schumer fumed.

“He said he wanted to be a dictator on day one. It looks like he’s extending it – Any quarter of opposition that might just say something in our tradition of free speech and debate, he tries to crush: crush the law firms, crush the universities, go after the judges, which have been the foundation of our republic; that judges are independent and are were able to stop an executive that’s going too far.”

DEM SENATORS RIP GOP’S ‘SILENCE OF THE LAMBS’ AS TRUMP MARKS 100TH DAY

Sens. Richard Blumenthal, left, Charles Schumer, center, and Tammy Baldwin, right, joined together for a Senate Floor all-nighter (Getty)

“Let us commit ourselves, all of us Democrats here in the Senate, against this administration, and to uphold the core values and principles of this beautiful nation which we must fight to preserve and protect.”

Earlier in the day, Schumer had been challenged by CNN’s Manu Raju on his sinking poll numbers within his party.

Schumer dismissed the charge: “Polls come and go: our party is united.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also took shots at the president, saying his administration has been “cruel… and dumb.”

DAVID PERDUE CONFIRMED AS TRUMP’S TOP CHINA DIPLOMAT AFTER KEY SENATE VOTE

“The turmoil and turbulence has produced confusion – and yes, anxiety, deep fear and apprehension about the future of this country,” he said.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., began her remarks Tuesday by lamenting what she called the “unimaginable amount of havoc and harm President Donald Trump has caused for Wisconsinites.”

“While on the campaign trail and even once in office, the president made a staggering number of promises — promises to end wars on day one, promises to lower costs at the grocery store on day one – promises to make health care more affordable, and the list goes on and on and on.”

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital when asked about the remarks, “In his first 100 days, President Trump has delivered on hundreds of promises and already accomplished his two most important campaign goals — the border is secure and inflation is ending.”

“The next 100 days will consist of trade deals, peace deals, and tax cuts. More American greatness is on the way,” Leavitt said.

Interrupted again by a procedural vote on an energy-standards bill from Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, the all-nighter, is expected to continue thereafter.

The U.S. Treasury Department and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars in improper payment requests were identified after going live with its first automated payment system last week.

In fact, the system found $334 million in improper payment requests that were flagged because of missing budget codes, invalid budget codes and budget codes without authorization.

DOGE, which is led by billionaire Elon Musk, announced the discovery in a post on X.

In the post, DOGE said an example of an invalid budget code was if the payment was not linked to the budget. It also provided an example of a budget code without authorization, saying the budget had already been fully spent.

DOGE SAYS IT FOUND NEARLY UNTRACEABLE BUDGET LINE ITEM RESPONSIBLE FOR $4.7T IN PAYMENTS

The Treasury Department building in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)

The news comes months after DOGE learned about an identification code linking U.S. Treasury payments to a budget line item that accounted for nearly $4.7 trillion in payments, which was oftentimes left blank.

“The Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) is an identification code linking a Treasury payment to a budget line item (standard financial process),” DOGE wrote in a post on X in February. “In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible. As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going.”

DOGE SLASHES ‘WASTEFUL’ ‘PROBLEM-SOLVING’ CONTRACT WORTH $50K IN LATEST ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS

DOGE thanked the U.S. Treasury for its work in identifying the optional field.

According to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which is under the Treasury, TAS codes are used to describe any one of the account identification codes assigned by the Treasury and are also referred to as the “account.”

All financial transactions made by the federal government are classified by TAS when reporting to the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget.

FOX NEWS POLL: THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SECOND TERM

DOGE leader Elon Musk has been hit with 96% negative coverage on ABC, NBC and CBS evening newscasts, according to the Media Research Center.  (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

DOGE’s announcement on Tuesday comes as it continues to find savings and fraud across all aspects of the government.

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On the department’s site, it says $160 billion in savings have been discovered, equating to $993.70 in savings per taxpayer.

DOGE has been aggressive in its mission to root out wasteful spending and to downsize the scope of the federal government. 

President Donald Trump laughed off a protester who attempted to disrupt a speech he was giving in Michigan marking his first 100 days in office, joking that he “thought it was a guy.”

As the president was praising Republican National Committee leader Michael Watley, there appeared to be some type of disruption in the crowd, causing the president to pause his speech.

“What’s the problem over there?” Trump said. “What’s the problem? Is that a radical left lunatic? He’s just a child. All right, get him out.”

As security personnel removed the protester and the crowd booed, Trump apologized for calling the person a man, alluding that it actually was a woman who was thrown out.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, ma’am, I thought it was a guy,” Trump said. “I’m sorry, I said he and it’s a she.”

TRUMP RALLIES PACKED CROWD IN MICHIGAN TO CELEBRATE FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE

President Donald Trump laughed off a protester who attempted to disrupt a speech he was giving in Michigan marking his first 100 days in office, joking that he “thought it was a guy.” (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for confirmation and has not yet received a reply.  

Trump continued, quipping that “she now has to go home to a mother who’s a big Trump fan. Her mother’s watching.”

During his speech, Trump slammed former President Joe Biden, and touted the first 100 days of his second term as the “most successful” of any administration in history.

The president’s remarks came during Trump’s first major political rally since taking office, organized to celebrate Trump’s achievements throughout his second term thus far.

TRUMP SLAMS ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ OPPOSING BUDGET BILL

President Donald Trump laughed off a protester who attempted to disrupt a speech he was giving in Michigan marking his first 100 days in office, joking that he “thought it was a guy.” (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“We’re here tonight in the heartland of our nation to celebrate the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country — and that’s according to many, many people,” Trump told a roaring crowd of supporters. “This is the best, they say, 100-day start of any president in history, and everyone is saying it.”

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“Week by week, we’re ending illegal immigration. We’re taking back our jobs, are protecting our great American auto workers and all of our workers. Frankly, we’re protecting all of our workers. We’re restoring the rule of law,” he said.

“We’ve just gotten started. You haven’t seen anything yet. It’s just kicking off.”

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

During a Michigan speech marking his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump slammed Democrats and Republican “grandstanders” opposing his “big beautiful” budget reconciliation bill — saying that if they succeed Americans will see the “highest tax increase in history.”

He said that his bill has “100 percent, just about Republican support,” but said it “would be nice if we had just a couple of Democrats just to make sure, because, you know, every once in a while, you have a grandstander Republican. We have some grandstanders.” 

As the crowd booed, Trump noted there were “not many” Republicans opposing his bill, but he urged viewers to “remember who those grandstanders were and vote them the hell out of office.”

Trump cautioned that if the bill fails, the U.S. is “going to have the highest tax increase in history instead of the greatest tax cut in history.”

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP TAX CUTS ‘TOP PRIORITY’ FOR CONGRESS, SAYS TOP HOUSE GOP LEADER

During a speech in Michigan marking his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump slammed Democrats and Republican “grandstanders” opposing his “big beautiful” budget reconciliation bill, saying that if they succeed Americans will see the “highest tax increase in history.” (Fox News/Getty Images)

He went on, saying that “if the Democrats prevail on this bill, you get a 58% tax increase,” asking the crowd, “would you like that?”

“All my life I’ve been watching, and I’ve never heard people campaigning that they’re going to raise taxes. It’s always been, ‘We will reduce your taxes,’ Democrat, Republican. Now they go, we’re going to raise your taxes,” he said. “I’ve never seen all the years that they campaign: ‘We will raise your taxes.’ I said, ‘This country has gone crazy.’”

SCOOP: REPUBLICANS ROLL OUT $69B FUNDING PLAN FOR NEW CBP AGENTS, BUILDING BORDER WALL IN TRUMP BUDGET BILL

President Donald Trump speaks as Vice President JD Vance, left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listen as Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.  (Ben Curtis/The Associated Press)

Though Democrats are sure to largely oppose Trump’s spending bill, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters after a Monday meeting with Republican leaders that House and Senate GOP leaders are “in lockstep” on passing the budget bill.

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Republicans are seeking to fit Trump’s priorities on energy, defense, border security and taxes into the bill, as well as raise the debt ceiling — another item the president specifically asked GOP lawmakers to deal with.

Fox News Digital also recently reported that House Republicans are carving out $68.8 billion for Trump’s border wall and to hire more agents in the field amid talks on the spending bill to advance the commander-in-chief’s agenda.

Fox News Digital’s Liz Elkind and Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

Two of President Donald Trump’s diplomatic nominees were confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, as a prominent NBA team owner awaited a late evening vote on his own confirmation.

Investors Tom Barrack and Warren Stephens were up for ambassadorship posts to Turkey, and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland respectively.

Tilman Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets and CEO of Landry’s Restaurants group will face a confirmation vote later in the evening in the upper chamber to be President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Italy and San Marino.

Barrack’s nomination passed by 60-36. Stephens was confirmed 59-39.

HOUSTON ROCKETS OWNER: ‘OUR GREAT CAPITALISM WILL COME TO AN END’ IF DEMS PASS UNREALIZED GAINS TAX

Warren Stephens, right, Tom Barrack, center, Tilman Fertitta, left, sit for their confirmation hearings (Getty)

Fertitta is a GOP donor and has spoken fondly of Trump’s business sense.

During Trump’s first term, Fertitta told CNBC the president was doing “a fantastic job for the economy.”

“Businesses are booming, unemployment is low. He understands what drives this country,” Fertitta said in 2018.

Fertitta’s praise of Trump often steers more toward business-focused than overtly-political, as in the CNBC interview.

Trump’s choice of Barrack played into two different aspects of the investor’s history.

Before he was a friend of the future president’s, Barrack served as an undersecretary in the Reagan Interior Department, focusing on energy policy including Middle East oil.

DAVID PERDUE CONFIRMED AS TRUMP’S TOP CHINA DIPLOMAT AFTER KEY SENATE VOTE

Tom Barrack Jr., founder of Colony Capital LLC, during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York, US. (Getty)

Barrack, who is fluent in Arabic, would therefore fit well with a Turkish ambassadorship.

Later in that decade, Barrack helped Trump secure financing for his short-lived ownership of the Plaza Hotel – during which time the future president famously told a lost Kevin McCallister its lobby was “Down the hall, and to the left” in 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

The two real estate moguls remained friends in the years after Trump ultimately gave up the Midtown landmark.

Barrack was a strong supporter of Trump’s first presidential campaign and raised millions for his first inauguration’s events.

Stephens’ family bank has a footprint in London, and he is a noted fan of the Tottenham Hotspurs Premier League soccer team, which draw parallels to his ambassadorship nomination.

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Houston Rockets Owner, Tilman Fertitta is seen at agame against the Utah Jazz. (Getty Images)

The billionaire will be the eyes and ears for Trump in London, where the president has a cordial relationship, albeit one wherein lies a politically contrasting view of global politics, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party.

Stephens has a history of donations to Republican causes and many Arkansas candidates, per OpenSecrets.

Recipients have included former Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Bob Dole, R-Kan., ex-Arkansas Govs. Asa Hutchinson and Mike Huckabee, and media executive Steve Forbes’ presidential run in 1995.

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations when asked by Fox News Digital about the viral video that had pundits guessing if she was soft-launching her campaign. 

“I think what people should be most concerned about is the fact that Republicans are trying to cut Medicaid right now, and people’s healthcare is in danger. That’s really what my central focus is,” the New York Democrat said when asked if she was considering a run for president, despite President Donald Trump’s assurances that he wouldn’t cut Medicaid. 

“This moment isn’t about campaigns, or elections, or about politics. It’s about making sure people are protected, and we’ve got people that are getting locked up for exercising their First Amendment rights. We’re getting 2-year-olds that are getting deported into cells in Honduras. We’re getting people that are about to get kicked off of Medicaid. That, to me, is most important,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Capitol Hill on Trump’s 100th day in office. 

Ocasio-Cortez has crisscrossed the United States with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, and Americans have been speculating about whether the New York Democrat is launching a shadow campaign for president.

AOC CLAIMS ‘WE ARE ONE’ IN CAMPAIGN-STYLE VIDEO DESPITE YEARS OF INVOKING RACE, GENDER IN POLITICS

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not rule out a 2028 presidential bid when pressed by Fox News Digital but said her main focus right now is protecting Medicaid.  (Fox News Digital)

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign account posted a video on X last week that invigorated those rumors as the four-term Democrat from New York City and a progressive leader proclaimed, “We are one.”

‘WE ARE ONE’: AOC CAMPAIGN VIDEO SWIRLS 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RUMORS

“I’m a girl from the Bronx,” Ocasio-Cortez said on a campaign-style stage in Idaho. “To be welcomed here in this state, all of us together, seeing our common cause, this is what this country is all about.”

FiveThirtyEight founder and prominent pollster Nate Silver signaled earlier this month that Ocasio-Cortez is the leading Democrat to pick up the party’s presidential nomination in 2028. In a draft 2028 pick with FiveThirtyEight’s Galen Druke, Silver chose Ocasio-Cortez as his top choice to lead the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket.

POLLSTER NATE SILVER CALLS OCASIO-CORTEZ MOST LIKELY TO BE 2028 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., arrives to speak during a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour event at Arizona State University, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Tempe, Ariz. (Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo)

“I think there’s a lot of points in her favor at this very moment,” Druke said, adding, “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has broad appeal across the Democratic Party.”

Americans have been reposting Ocasio-Cortez’s video across X, pointing to the video as proof of her 2028 presidential ambitions. “Get ready America. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will almost undoubtedly run for president in 2028,” political reporter Eric Daugherty said in response to the video. 

SCHUMER SINKS, AOC SOARS IN NEW POLL AS LIBERAL VOTERS DEMAND HARDER LINE ON TRUMP

As rumors swirl over Ocasio-Cortez’s ambition for higher office, back at home in New York, a Siena College poll found Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s favorability is down, at 39% among New York state voters questioned in the poll, which was conducted April 14-16. Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez’s favorability soared to 47%.

The longtime senator from New York faced pushback from the Democratic Party in March for supporting the Republican budget bill backed by Trump that averted a government shutdown and stirred up outrage among congressional Democrats who planned to boycott the bill.

That growing disapproval among Democrats was reflected in the poll, and the shifting perception comes as DNC vice chair David Hogg, through his political arm, Leaders We Deserve, faced blowback from the DNC this week for investing $20 million into electing younger Democrats to safe House Democrat seats.

Gun violence survivor and activist David Hogg speaks at the March for our Lives rally against gun violence at the National Mall in Washington on June 11, 2022.  (Getty Images)

Ocasio-Cortez raked in a massive $9.6 million over the past three months. The record-breaking fundraising haul was one of the biggest ever for any House lawmaker. Ocasio-Cortez’s team highlighted that the fundraising came from 266,000 individual donors, with an average contribution of just $21.

“I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy. Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities,” Ocasio-Cortez emphasized in a social media post.

THESE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028

Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, a veteran of Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, said that Ocasio-Cortez appears to be one of a small group of politicians in his party who “are test ballooning a potential 2028 run for the presidency” as Democrats search “for a path out of the wilderness.”

“We’re not really sure who or what it will be, but one of the pathways there is to drill down on economic populism. There are many people that occupy that lane and she is one of them. And there’s clearly energy behind what her and Bernie Sanders did criss-crossing the country.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks onstage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 19, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Colin Reed, a Republican strategist, said Ocasio-Cortez “shouldn’t be discounted” by Democrats “who are standing in her way” of running for whichever office she decides to seek — whether as a U.S. senator or president of the United States.

While Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders garnered plenty of national attention as they jetsetted across the country, Reed said their passion and energy might invigorate the progressive portion of the Democratic Party, but “her ideas are way too outside the mainstream to ever be electable at a nationwide level.”

“Ultimately, in a Democratic base there’s always going to be a percentage of voters who are drawn to that message. The issue they run to is it’s just not the majority of Americans. The majority of Americans don’t want to transform our country into some sort of ‘European-style government rules all’ vision. That’s why America was founded in the first place — to get away from oppression, from an overbearing, overreaching government,” Reed said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders participate in a stop on the ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour at the Dignity Health Arena, Theater in Bakersfield, California on April 15, 2025. (Aude Guerrucci/Reuters)

As Democrats struggle to land on a consistent message and search for a clear party leader following Republicans’ November wins, there is an opportunity within the party to dominate the national Democratic narrative, Reed explained. 

“Chaos loves a vacuum, and right now, there is a vacuum in leadership in the Democratic Party, and thus chaos is ruling the roost,” Reed said. 

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“As long as those two are out there, they’re going to get attention because nobody else is doing anything. The house of cards will come crumbling down, especially when you’ve got two folks out there, Sen. Sanders and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, holding themselves out as climate warriors as they jet around the country on private jets spewing untold carbon emissions into the air. That hypocrisy is one that’s tough for a lot of folks’ stomachs,” Reed added.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced that during President Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second term, the agency arrested more than 66,000 illegal immigrants and removed more than 65,000. 

ICE arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants and removed 65,682, including those accused of threatening public safety and national security, according to a news release from ICE.

Three in four arrests of illegal immigrants involved someone accused of committing a crime, according to the agency.

“The brave men and women of ICE protect our families, friends and neighbors by removing public safety and national security threats from our communities,” ICE acting director Todd M. Lyons wrote in a statement. 

NEARLY 800 ILLEGAL ALIENS ARRESTED IN MASSIVE FLORIDA ICE OPERATION: ‘TIDAL WAVE’

Nearly 800 illegal immigrants were arrested during a joint operation this week in Florida. (ICE)

The total number of ICE illegal immigrant arrests includes 2,288 gang members from Tren de Aragua, MS-13, 18th Street and other gangs, Lyons said. 

Tren de Aragua and MS-13 are now listed as foreign terrorist organizations.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS SUE OVER TRUMP ADMIN REVOKING VISAS

Additionally, 1,329 were accused or convicted of sex offenses, and 498 were accused or convicted of murder, according to ICE.

The criminal records of those arrested include convictions or charges for 9,639 assaults, 6,398 DWIs or DUIs and 1,479 weapon offenses, according to the release.

ICE agents arrested seven illegal immigrants during a workforce operation raid. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RESTORE OHIO STATE GRAD STUDENT’S VISA

Arrests and removals surged with help from state and local law enforcement agencies through the 287(g) Program, which allows local authorities to enforce federal immigration laws. 

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations directorate has nearly 600 pending and signed agreements with police departments and sheriff’s offices across the nation, demonstrating the effectiveness of a whole-of-government approach to immigration enforcement, according to the release.

Since Jan. 20, there have been 444 new 287(g) agreements nationwide.

Even still, with about 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., the current 65,682 deportations would account for just 0.59%.

ICE and several other federal, state and local agencies launched a week-long immigration enforcement operation in the Houston area, which resulted in the arrests of 646 illegal immigrants. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

ICE SAYS IT DEPORTED 174 CRIMINAL MIGRANTS FROM TEXAS, INCLUDING A MAN WITH 39 ILLEGAL ENTRIES

Officials said ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which also focuses on transnational crime and threats, has been zeroing in on worksite operations to protect American businesses. 

Since Jan. 20, HSI has arrested more than 1,000 workers who were illegal immigrants, and proposed over $1 million in fines against businesses that hire illegal employees.

Officers from Border Patrol and the FBI conduct immigration enforcement in El Paso, Texas on Thursday, January 30, 2025. (FBI)

“This agency has set the bar on arrests and removals while upholding its national security mission,” ICE deputy director Madison D. Sheahan wrote in a statement. “Last week, HSI broke up a human smuggling ring that’s allegedly responsible for bringing between 500 and 700 illegal aliens into the U.S. every year — aliens that the U.S. government never vetted. Our communities are becoming safer each day thanks to President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem’s leadership.”

VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT USES TREN DE ARAGUA AS PROXIES TO UNDERMINE US PUBLIC SAFETY, FBI ASSESSMENT FINDS

Illegal immigrant encounters are down by 95%, while illegal crossings plunged to levels last seen in the 1960s, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the White House. 

The number of illegal immigrants who “got away” from immigration enforcement officers is down 99%, with a 655% spike in arrests of suspected terrorists, CBP and the White House said.

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There are now an additional 85 miles of new border barriers.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said her department has a “massive plan” for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program reforms, as the Trump administration continues to make spending cuts throughout the federal government.

The USDA recently announced that they will be pushing for additional safeguards to ensure illegal immigrants are not illegally getting on food stamps, Fox News Digital reported, but there are other changes expected to be made.

“The Biden administration increased that program through some discretionary spending by almost 40%,” Rollins told Fox News Digital in an interview on Friday.

Spending on the food stamps program soared from $63 billion in 2019 and to $123 billion as of 2023, which is still high despite pandemic-related changes, according to the Cato Institute.

USDA THREATENS TO HALT MEXICAN BEEF IMPORTS OVER FLESH-EATING FLY CRISIS

Brooke Rollins is sworn in for a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing on her nomination for secretary of Agriculture, Jan. 23, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

“You’ll be seeing a big announcement in the coming weeks on this. Another step, another five steps, another 10 steps toward more accountability, toward more intentionality, and toward a much more efficient and effective government program,” she continued.

The Republican Cabinet secretary quelled fears about whether cutting spending will impact Americans who rely on SNAP to put food on the table, saying that the reforms will help put a renewed emphasis on the mission of the social service.

“This administration will not let any child go hungry. So as we make these reforms and as we cancel future contracts that we don’t believe were within the original intent or mission of the program, or the USDA, or the government, you’re going to hear the Democrats and the left basically start, you know, yelping about how we hate children and old people and we’re stealing the food out of their mouths. That could not be further from the truth,” Rollins said.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEMANDS CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS POTENTIALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF KEY BENEFIT

Canned foods are open on a table. (iStock)

She also anticipates that certain health-based reforms will be made for the program administered by state governments. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. backs not allowing soda to be bought with food stamps, according to Scripps News, and Rollins has also backed efforts by states like Arkansas to limit the purchase of candy and soda with SNAP.

“What we are doing is ensuring those hungry people actually get the food that they need. And of course, the layer on that is the [Make America Healthy Again] movement, hopefully more nutritious food than we’ve been able to serve before,” the secretary added.

EXPERTS REVEAL TRUMP’S NEXT MOVE COULD BE ‘NAIL IN COFFIN’ FOR BIDEN-ERA REGULATIONS ON NICOTINE

A drive-thru food distribution site at Placer Food Bank. (Placer Food Bank)

“I’m so proud of President Trump and his just resolute conviction in working to make America great again and across every single government agency, and I think this food stamp piece is a really big part of it,” she added.

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Over 42 million Americans use SNAP benefits monthly as of 2023, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service data.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., accused President Donald Trump’s administration of targeting the transgender community on Tuesday, urging Congress to pass the Democrat-backed Equality Act.

Booker made the emotional speech during an appearance on Capitol Hill alongside prominent Democrats from both the House and Senate. His speech, which lasted several minutes, borrowed heavily from the language of Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The Equality Act is on the right side of history, and right now we stand in the cold shadow of injustice. And so here we are again, introducing this bill. But it is not a normal time that we introduce this bill. We introduced it in the backdrop of a president that in his very campaign, singled out an opportunistic bigotry. The trans community. We stand here in the backdrop of a time that LGBTQ Americans are being targeted and singled out for more injustice,” Booker said.

“I want you to know, we reintroduce this bill with attitude. We reintroduce this bill with swagger. We entered the bill Tuesday’s bill with confidence, because there are a lot of people who are hearing our voice right now that don’t understand that they are implicated. There’s no bystanders in history. When injustice is in our midst, and you say nothing and you do nothing, you are part of the perpetuation of that injustice,” he added.

MULTIPLE FEDERAL AGENCIES END LINKEDIN CONTRACTS OVER DEI

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., accused President Donald Trump’s administration of “targeting” transgender people. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“I remind those Americans, that even the truth, when crushed to the ground, after lie, after lie, after lie, that the truth will still rise again, that this is still one nation under God. That we still swear an oath of liberty and justice for all, and that we will not stop until freedom rings from every coast in this country. That freedom rings for every person and every soul. That freedom rings for every American, no matter who you are. Race, color or creed, LGBTQ, American or straight ally,” he continued. “That we declare that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it doesn’t bend automatically.”

TRUMP VOWS ‘NEW ERA OF NATIONAL SUCCESS,’ SAYS AMERICA’S ‘DECLINE IS OVER’ IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

“We declare today and every day until justice is established in this land, until the Equality Act passes, we declare that we, the people, will grab hold of that arc and pull and bend it until we live up to our promise in a country and truly are free at last, free at last,” he finished.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., greets Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., as Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., looks on, during a news conference to reintroduce the Equality Act, outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The Equality Act would prohibit discrimination based on “sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”

Booker was joined by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as well as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., among other lawmakers.

MAJOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER ACCUSED OF HIDING DEI PROGRAMS, INFLUENTIAL SENATOR CALLS THEM OUT

The legislative push comes as Trump’s administration has pushed to end unpopular diversity, equity and inclusion programs throughout the federal government.

The president’s efforts to end DEI across the federal government also prompted the cancellation of such programs across the private sector. 

Meta, in January, canceled its DEI programs, as did McDonald’s. And after the 2024 election, Walmart, Ford Motor Co., John Deere, Lowe’s and Toyota also ended DEI programs.

President Donald Trump has pushed to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government. (AP/Alex Brandon)

As recently as April, according to Forbes, IBM, Gannett, and Constellation Brands Inc., made changes to DEI policies. Earlier in 2025, UnitedHealth Group, MLB, Victoria’s Secret, Warner Bros. Discovery, Goldman Sachs, Paramount, Bank of America, BlackRock, Citigroup, Pepsi, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, PBS, Google, Disney, GE, PayPal, Chipotle and more scaled back or canceled their DEI programs.

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Meanwhile, in March, the National Institutes of Health rescinded the agency’s “Scientific Integrity Policy” implemented during the last few weeks of President Biden’s term, to peel back any DEI requirements. 

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump will sign a proclamation later Tuesday aboard Air Force One that will soften auto tariffs, senior White House officials confirmed. 

Senior administration officials said Tuesday during a call with the media that the current 25% tariff leveled on imported cars will remain intact, but that other similar tariffs, such as tariffs on steel and aluminum, will not stack on top of the 25% auto tariff. 

The announcement comes on Trump’s 100th day back in the Oval Office, which he will celebrate in a Michigan rally near Detroit — the U.S.’ former auto manufacturing capital. 

In addition, domestic auto manufacturers that finish building cars in the U.S. will receive an offset for automobile part tariffs equal to 3.75% of the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of a manufacturer’s U.S. production for the next 12 months, and 2.5% of U.S. production for year following. The figures were calculated to reflect the tariff that would be owed when a 25% duty tax is applied to 15% of the value of a U.S.-assembled car, Fox Digital learned. 

President Donald Trump speaks as he welcomes the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles NFL football team to the South Lawn of the White House, April 28, 2025, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)

The 25% tariff on certain auto parts is set to take effect May 3, with administration officials explaining that auto manufacturers can use the offset credits against the tariff on auto parts. The administration stressed that the offset plan is not a rebate. 

“A part comes into the country and it gets tariffed,” a senior Commerce Department official said Tuesday. “And the auto manufacturers say, ‘Look, I sold a car, I have a credit. I have an offset amount of $1,600. Please use that $1,600 tariff offset amount against this particular part.’ So it will not cost the government any money whatsoever. It is basically allowing them to bring 15% foreign parts and put that in their cars.” 

Tesla Inc. vehicles are parked at the company’s assembly plant in Fremont, California, U.S., on Monday, May 11, 2020. Elon Musk restarted production at Teslas only U.S. car plant, flouting county officials who ordered the company to stay closed and openly acknowledging he was risking arrest for himself and his employees. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The plan intends to allow all domestic auto manufacturers “to grow their plans, to grow their employment, and to build more factories in America,” by building in a two-year time frame to amp up the U.S. supply chain for the auto industry, according to senior administration officials. 

The White House detailed that under the plan, if a car manufacturer builds a vehicle with 85% U.S. parts or parts made under the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, they will effectively not owe tariffs. 

All other autos and autoparts imported to the U.S. will face 25% tariffs. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., appeared to accuse Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., of lying about discussing the New York governor’s race with her on Tuesday.

Johnson said he was having “conversations” with Stefanik and her fellow New Yorker, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., when asked whether he discussed the upcoming gubernatorial election with the two potential candidates.

Stefanik cited a Punchbowl News report on Johnson’s comments at the public press conference and wrote on X, “This is not true. I have had no conversations with the Speaker regarding the Governor’s race.”

“Looking forward to the conversation about [State and Local Taxes] with NY Members tomorrow. Stay tuned,” Stefanik wrote.

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

Rep. Elise Stefanik undercut Speaker Johnson’s comments at his press conference on Tuesday (AP/Getty)

Fox News Digital reached out to both Johnson and Stefanik for further comment but did not hear back by press time.

It’s a stunning public clash between two members of House GOP leadership that comes shortly after Stefanik returned to her House role full-time.

SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES

She had been poised to easily sail through the Senate confirmation process to become President Donald Trump’s new ambassador to the United Nations.

But the House’s razor-thin majority and concerns about the race to replace Stefanik in her upstate New York district eventually forced Trump to have her drop out of the process.

Rep. Mike Lawler is also considering a run for New York governor. (Tierney L. Cross)

Stefanik had given up her role as House GOP Conference chair and two high-level committee positions on the House’s intelligence and education panels to take the new job.

But Trump directed Johnson to find a new top role for Stefanik, and he soon announced her as chair of House Republican leadership.

Days after that, however, sources told Fox News Digital and other outlets that Stefanik was considering a run for New York governor.

House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

When asked about speaking to her and Lawler about potentially running, Johnson told reporters on Tuesday, “I have lots of conversations.”

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“I love them both. They’re two of my favorite people in my most trusted colleagues. And, and they’re both super talented, which is why they get talked about for doing other things…I mean, my preferences at the all stay here with me, right,” Johnson said.

“But I don’t begrudge anybody for having other opportunities. And we ultimately support them in whatever they do. But, are we having conversations? We are. Yeah. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.”

Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., confirmed to Fox News Digital that he will not travel to El Salvador following the deportation of the so-called “Maryland man,” Kilmar Abrego Garcia. 

In Washington this weekend, Fox News Digital asked Moore if he was planning to visit Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, following Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s high-profile trip to advocate for Abrego Garcia’s release from prison and return to the United States. 

“I’m not. Planning on having a good night tonight,” Moore said in response, with a smile on his face and dressed in a black tuxedo for the White House Correspondents Dinner. 

“Governor, do you think Abrego Garcia should be sent back to the U.S.?” Fox Next Digital asked Moore again later. 

DEPORTED ‘MARYLAND MAN’ CHAMPIONED BY DEMS WAS PULLED OVER DRIVING CAR BELONGING TO HUMAN SMUGGLER

Gov. Wes Moore confirmed he will not travel to El Salvador following the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital)

“Hi man, have a great night. Thank you,” Moore said while ignoring the question, again with a smile on his face as he proceeded down a hallway. 

DEPORTED ILLEGAL ALIEN AND SUSPECTED MS-13 GANG MEMBER TRANSFERRED FROM NOTORIOUS EL SALVADORAN MEGA-PRISON

While Moore was silent on the El Salvador situation this weekend, he affirmed his support for his fellow Maryland Democrat on social media earlier this month. 

“I’m grateful for @ChrisVanHollen’s leadership and his efforts to ensure Kilmar is safe and will be brought back home to Maryland,” Moore said on X. 

Sen. Chris Van Hollen is welcomed by supporters upon his arrival from meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Virginia, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Moore’s office confirmed the governor was not traveling to El Salvador when reached Tuesday by Fox News Digital.

Last week, Moore said he had no plans to travel to El Salvador, despite Van Hollen’s headline-dominating trip to support the alleged MS-13 member, whom President Donald Trump’s administration initially said had been mistakenly deported. 

“This is a case about due process, and it’s a case about, are we going to follow the Constitution or not? Are we going to bring him back to make sure he stands trial and has a judge determine whether or not a law was broken, and if a law was broken, then make sure there is accountability? But I believe in due process, and I believe in the Constitution,” Moore told reporters last week. 

President Donald Trump in the Oval Office holding a photo of the tattoos on Abrego Garcia’s knuckles that the White House says are affiliated with the MS-13 terrorist group. (Donald Trump TRUTH Social)

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” his return, but El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said Abrego Garcia has gang connections and that he would not release him to the United States.  

The deportation sparked outrage among Democrats, and several lawmakers joined Van Hollen in visiting El Salvador to advocate for Abrego Garcia, including Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif.

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Abrego Garcia is being held at a lower-security facility in El Salvador after being transferred from Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), an El Salvador prison that federal officials sent hundreds of suspected criminals and gang members to in March.

President Donald Trump delivered his second Inauguration Day speech on Jan. 20, when he previewed the steps his administration would take to unleash “the golden age of America,” which stretched from locking down the border and streamlining the federal government through the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will, very simply, put America first,” Trump declared at the start of his speech.

“Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced,” he added. 

Fox News Digital looked back at the top vows and declarations Trump made during his speech and where they stand 100 days later after his return to the Oval Office. 

FOX NEWS POLL: THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SECOND TERM

Then-President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump look on as they meet with then-President Joe Biden and then-first lady Jill Biden on inauguration day of Donald Trump’s second presidential term in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Immigration 

Ending the illegal immigration crisis that spiraled under the Biden administration was one of Trump’s top campaign platforms and was a topic he focused on repeatedly during his inaugural address. 

“First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy,” Trump declared on Jan. 20. 

“I will end the practice of catch and release,” he continued. “And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEPORTS 100K ILLEGAL MIGRANTS SINCE INAUGURATION: REPORT

Migrants walk along the road in a caravan in an attempt to reach the U.S. border in Tapachula, Mexico, on Nov. 5, 2023. (REUTERS/Jose Torres)

Trump did sign or authorize executive actions that declared a national emergency, ended catch-and-release policies and sent troops to the U.S. border. 

Fox News Digital reported this month that there were fewer apprehensions at the southern border in the entire month of March than across the Biden administration’s first two days of March 2024, when President Joe Biden was still in the Oval Office.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection noted that March was the second consecutive month in which the U.S. Border Patrol averaged its lowest daily nationwide apprehensions in history.

Deportations have also been underway, with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joining immigration raids since her confirmation in January, as well as the administration placing a heightened focus on deporting illegal immigrants with known ties to violent gangs, such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13. The State Department designated both gangs as foreign terrorist organizations in February. 

Trump invoked a wartime act, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, to carry out the deportations, which allows deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing. The act had been invoked three times before, including, during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II.

Restoring ‘competence’ in U.S. government 

President Donald Trump, right, tapped Elon Musk to help spearhead DOGE at the start of his administration. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk had both railed against government overspending, bureaucratic red tape and federal agencies that had become bloated in the lead up to Election Day, with Trump saying in his inaugural address that he would restore “competence” in the federal government.

DOGE SLASHES ‘WASTEFUL’ ‘PROBLEM-SOLVING’ CONTRACT WORTH $50K IN LATEST ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS

“Our liberties and our nation’s glorious destiny will no longer be denied. And we will immediately restore the integrity, competency, and loyalty of America’s government,” Trump said during his inaugural address. 

“To restore competence and effectiveness to our federal government, my administration will establish the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency,” he added. 

Trump signed an executive order in January establishing DOGE, renaming the Obama-era United States Digital Service to the United States DOGE Service. 

DOGE leader Elon Musk has been hit with 96% negative coverage on ABC, NBC and CBS evening newscasts, according to the Media Research Center. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

DOGE has been a thorn in the side of Democrats since Musk, the office’s public leader, and his teams began working through various federal agencies in the search of government overspending, mismanagement and corruption.

DOGE has since saved an estimated $160 billion through cancellations of government contracts, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, asset sales and other cuts, according to the DOGE website. 

Trump also signed an executive order closing down the Department of Education, citing how American students have fallen behind other nations in education, and instead charged individual states to hold authority over public education. The administration also effectively shuttered the U.S. Agency for International Development, an independent government agency charged with administering economic aid to foreign nations, as DOGE uncovered a slew of programs U.S. taxpayers funded and Musk slammed the group as a “viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America.”

‘Peacemaker and unifier’ 

President Donald Trump, left, meets face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since their Oval Office spat in February. (Vatican and Ukraine Ambassador to Holy See)

Trump entered office just days after Israel and Hamas declared a ceasefire in a war that had raged since Oct. 7, 2023, as well as an ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. 

“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier,” Trump said during his inaugural address. “I’m pleased to say that as of yesterday, one day before I assumed office, the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to their families.”

Trump vowed while on the campaign trail that he would end the wars in the Middle East as well as between Russia and Ukraine, adding that if he had been in office for the 2020-2024 term, neither war would have launched. 

The majority of hostages Hamas held have since been released, with the terrorist group still holding at least 59 living or deceased hostages. A final hostage and permanent ceasefire deal, however, has not yet been reached, with Reuters reporting earlier in April that Hamas wants to strike a deal to end the war and return the remaining hostages. 

Gaza City, Gaza on Feb. 2, 2025. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The war between Ukraine and Russia, which began in February 2022, has continued raging after the Trump administration worked to help facilitate a deal for peace. Negotiations notably hit a wall in February when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a fiery meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

TRUMP BLASTS PUTIN, QUESTIONING IF RUSSIAN LEADER WANTS PEACE OR IS JUST ‘TAPPING ME ALONG’

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his address to the nation in Moscow on March 23, 2024. (Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images))

“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” Trump said at one point during the meeting. “You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country.”

Vance interjected, asking Zelenskyy whether he had “said thank you once this entire meeting.” He also added that Zelenskyy “went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October” and that he should “offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this month that the U.S. might “move on” from trying to secure a deal between Russia and Ukraine if progress was not made. 

“We are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,” Rubio said on April 18 while speaking with the media. “Because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on. It’s not our war. We have other priorities to focus on.”

Trump met with Zelenskyy on Saturday at the Vatican as the pair attended Pope Francis’ funeral mass. 

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, shortly after he met with Zelenskyy at the Vatican on Saturday. 

TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY HAVE ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE’ TALK AS THEY ATTEND POPE FRANCIS’ FUNERAL

“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” he added.

Rubio said on Sunday during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the coming week will be “very critical” as the White House weighs whether it wants to continue working towards a peace deal. Rubio warned earlier this month that the U.S. might “move on” from trying to secure a deal between Russia and Ukraine if progress was not made. 

“I think this is going to be a very critical week,” Rubio said on Sunday. “This week is going to be a really important week in which we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally, if not more, important in some cases. But we want to see it happen. There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic, of course, as well. We’re close, but we’re not close enough.”

Education 

President Donald Trump has moved to pare down the size and scope of the Department of Education, but abolishing it entirely would take an act of Congress. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Ahead of winning re-election in November, Trump floated that he would shutter the Department of Education to overall improve the nation’s school systems, as well as remove diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) curricula from public schools. 

Trump reflected in his inaugural address that he was on the verge of overhauling an education system that teaches students to “be ashamed of themselves” as well as “hate our country.”

“And we have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves — in many cases, to hate our country despite the love that we try so desperately to provide to them. All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly,” Trump said during his inaugural address. 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SIGNIFICANTLY DISMANTLED IN NEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER

Trump signed an executive order in March to dismantle the Department of Education and return oversight power of school systems to state leaders after years of the U.S. dragging behind other nations such as Finland and Japan in overall student performance. 

“Everybody knows it’s right, and we have to get our children educated,” Trump said while signing the executive order. “We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven’t for a long time.” 

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

“In many cases, innocent children are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics. In other instances, young men and women are made to question whether they were born in the wrong body and whether to view their parents and their reality as enemies to be blamed. These practices not only erode critical thinking but also sow division, confusion, and distrust, which undermine the very foundations of personal identity and family unity,” the executive order, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” reads. 

Trump also signed an executive order in February that prohibits schools and colleges that receive federal funds and are subject to Title IX from allowing men onto women’s sports teams and into women’s locker rooms, and another in January expanding school choice.  

Economy, manufacturing and inflation 

President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with former President Joe Biden at Trump’s inauguration in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)

Another top campaign issue was the economy and job creation amid spiraling inflation under the Biden administration.

STEVE MOORE: IF TRUMP MAKES THESE DEALS IT WILL BE ‘VERY POSITIVE’ FOR THE ECONOMY

“The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices, and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill,” Trump said during his inaugural address.

He added that “America will be a manufacturing nation once again,” and that the administration “will bring prices down” with the aid of unleashing American energy, such as oil and coal. 

Inflation has eased since 2024, with the March annual inflation rate falling to 2.4% from 2.8% in February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The annual inflation rate in March 2024 stood at 3.5%. 

The U.S. job market added 151,000 jobs in February, and 228,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment rate sits at 4.2% as of last month, according to BLS data. The unemployment rate sat at 3.9% in March 2024 under the Biden administration. 

“The prices are going down, not going up. One of the big things is, energy is going down. I see that we had a couple of states where gasoline was at $1.98 a gallon. Nobody thought they’d see that for years,” Trump said from the Oval Office on April 22 when asked about costs picked up by Americans at the checkout line. 

Tariffs and trade relations 

A New York Times columnist grilled the Democratic Party for not mounting an aggressive enough attack on President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

“I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” Trump declared during his inauguration speech in January. 

“For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources,” he added. 

On April 2, Trump announced his administration’s reciprocal, customized tariff plan to be imposed on dozens of nations as part of his highly-anticipated Liberation Day event. The plan aims to bring parity to the country’s chronic trade deficit. 

TRUMP SAYS CHINA’S XI CALLED HIM AMID ONGOING CONFUSION OVER TRADE TALKS

On April 9, when the tariff plan took effect, Trump abruptly changed course and put the reciprocal tariff plan on ice for 90 days. China, however, was not spared from the pause and was instead hit with a 125% after the Asian nation retaliated against the U.S. with its own tariffs. 

A tariff negotiation blitz is now underway as nations across the world look to book meetings with the White House to iron out more favorable terms. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent lauded South Korea specifically last week for its negotiations, saying talks have progressed quickly and that the two countries could reach a trade agreement as early as this week. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, left, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, right, are key economic advisors to President Donald Trump’s trade negotiations. (Getty Images)

“We had a very successful bilateral meeting with the Republic of South Korea today,” Bessent said from the White House on Thursday. “We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week as we reach an agreement on understanding as soon as next week.”

“So South Koreans came early. They came with their A game, and we will see if they follow through on that,” Bessent continued. 

Concerns have mounted that the tariffs will cause American consumers to spend more at the checkout lines. Trump said during his speech to a joint session of Congress in March that there will be “a little disturbance” with the tariffs, but that America will be made “rich again” through the plan.  

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“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s happening, and it will happen rather quickly,” Trump said in his March address to Congress. “There will be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that. It won’t be much.” 

Trump said earlier this month that there is a “real chance” tariffs could replace income tax.

“There’s a real chance,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy. “There is a chance that the money from tariffs could be so great that it would replace. You know, in the old days, about 1870 to 1913, the tariffs were the only form of money. And that’s when our nation was relatively the richest. We were the richest.”

The president said during the interview that there was a committee formed in the 1880s to “get rid of money.”

FIRST ON FOX: As President Trump marks his first 100 days in office on Tuesday, the administration is touting all of their fulfilled campaign promises when it comes to Social Security, an issue where he has been much maligned by Democrats and some in the media.

“I am proud of the extraordinary work by our dedicated employees at SSA to help deliver on President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security,” Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“They have worked tirelessly to improve customer service while safeguarding Americans’ hard-earned benefits from waste, fraud, and abuse. It will take time to fully recover from the disastrous policies of the previous administration, which led to sky-high wait times for customer service and unconscionable delays for benefit decisions,” Dudek continued. “But SSA employees are leading the turnaround by refocusing their work on frontline customer service, modernizing IT for a better customer experience, and bolstering program integrity.” 

The administration, which has called Trump’s first 100 days the most successful of any administration, says that it has made “significant strides” in moving the Social Security Fairness Act forward and has paid over $14.8 billion in retroactive payments to over 2 million individuals affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset.

GOP SENATOR TURNS TABLES ON DEM NARRATIVE ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE: ‘GET FRAUD OUT OF THERE’

The Trump administration is touting its improvements to Social Security during President Donald Trump’s first 100 days. (Getty)

Trump’s moves on Social Security come as Democrats, including former President Joe Biden, have accused the administration of plotting to slash Social Security benefits, particularly through the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE’s) efforts to reform the agency. 

However, the administration says that it is focused on reforms, not cutting benefits, and a White House official told Fox News Digital that SSA has identified over $1 billion in cost avoidance or efficiencies for fiscal year 2025 “through new, common-sense approaches in areas such as payroll, information technology, contracts and grants, real property, printing, travel, and purchase card policies.”

Examples include reducing software licensing, salvaging and repairing tables and chairs, returning leased motor vehicles, converting in-person training to online, streamlining case assignment and tracking systems, and reducing travel card spending allowances. 

Additionally, the White House official says the agency has made strides in implementing fraud prevention tools, including tools that help identify fraudulent claims via telephone.

Many, including DOGE chief Elon Musk, have raised concerns about the accuracy of Social Security records, particularly when it comes to data related to whether a person is deceased or still on the rolls despite being well over 100 years old. 

The White House told Fox News Digital that progress has been made on that front as well to improve the accuracy of death data and called that effort a “high priority” that was a low priority in the previous administration.

FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY RESTRICTS DOGE ACCESS TO PERSONALIZED SOCIAL SECURITY DATA

Social Security card. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Musk has drawn the ire of Democrats by referring to Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme.”

Fox News Digital spoke to an expert earlier this year who made the case that Musk has a point in using the term “Ponzi scheme.”

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DOGE leader Elon Musk has been hit with 96% negative coverage on ABC, NBC and CBS evening newscasts, according to the Media Research Center. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

“Musk’s statement about Social Security being the world’s biggest Ponzi scheme does have validity,” James Agresti, president of the nonprofit research institute Just Facts, told Fox News Digital in response to pushback from Musk’s claim, which included a “false” rating from Politifact. 

“A Ponzi scheme operates by taking money from new investors to pay current investors. That’s the definition given by the SEC, and contrary to popular belief, that’s exactly how Social Security operates.”