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The Trump administration’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) formally withdrew a proposed rule seeking to ban menthol cigarettes, after the Biden administration said it intended to make the ban become a reality after years of advocacy from anti-smoking groups.

Efforts to ban menthol cigarettes have been ongoing for multiple administrations, but, in April 2021, the Biden administration’s FDA announced plans to finalize the rule. The move was met with praise from anti-smoking advocates, such as the Truth Initiative, which argue that menthol in cigarettes makes them more addictive and disproportionately impacts minority communities.

The Biden administration subsequently delayed implementation of the rule out of concern that more time was needed to consider public comments and concerns.

DIET AND NUTRITION EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON HOW RFK JR’S NOMINATION COULD IMPACT HOW WE EAT 

President Biden and menthol cigarettes (Getty Images)

But a regulatory filing from President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, which oversees the federal rulemaking process, slashed any hopes that the ban might come back any time soon. According to the filing, Trump moved to rescind the proposed rule during his first day in office.

When reached for comment, the FDA cited an ongoing communications freeze imposed on all Health and Human Services Department sub-agencies.

HHS WILL REEVALUATE PROGRAMS, REGULATIONS TO ENSURE TAXPAYER FUNDS ARE NOT PAYING FOR ELECTIVE ABORTIONS

“It is deeply disappointing that the FDA’s rule to prohibit menthol cigarettes was not finalized in a timely manner and has now been withdrawn,” the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said in a statement. “We strongly support eliminating menthol cigarettes to end the tobacco industry’s decades-long, predatory marketing of these deadly products to kids, Black Americans and other communities.”

Packs of Newport cigarettes are seen on a shelf in a grocery store in the Flatbush neighborhood on April 29, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. 

The campaign said it will remain committed to building support to eliminate menthol cigarettes nationwide, noting “it is more critical than ever that states and cities step up their efforts to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products.”

Those challenging a menthol cigarette ban, meanwhile, argue the move could create a massive black market for cigarettes. People against the ban also fear the impact it could have on policing in minority communities.

THE YEAR IN CANCER: ADVANCES MADE IN 2024, PREDICTIONS FOR 2025

A woman in New York City holds up a sign on the steps of City Hall on March 9, 2023 in New York City. Members of Mothers of the Movement, a group of women whose African American children have been killed by police officers or by gun violence, held a rally against racism, inequality, and policies targeting people of color. 

“Remember Eric Garner? New York City’s exorbitant taxes on cigarette packages generated an underground market in untaxed individual cigarettes, called ‘loosies.’ In 2014, police infamously encountered 43-​year-​old Eric Garner selling loosies on a street corner, and a policeman’s chokehold led to his death as he repeated ‘I can’t breathe.’ And this happened without a menthol ban,” Jeffrey Singer, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Department of Health Studies, wrote after the Biden administration moved to finalize the ban. 

“With menthol cigarettes more prevalent among Black and Hispanic Americans, expect police to focus their attention on minority communities. This might make inequities in criminal justice even worse.”

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While Trump signaled he is against banning menthol cigarettes, the president did act during his first term to ban most flavored e-cigarette pods used in disposable nicotine vapes. However, while the ban prohibited future sales of sweet- and fruit-flavored nicotine cartridges, it permitted continued sales of pods that are either menthol or tobacco flavored.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Tuesday that about five dozen people had been detained within a day of ordering cooperation between Charleston and federal immigration authorities.

By midday on Tuesday, 58 people in the Mountain State were detained within the Regional Jail system pending verification of their immigration status. 

More detentions are likely imminent, Morrisey said as he repeatedly pledged his full support for President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown.

Morrisey, a Republican, and only two weeks into his term, promised a further update on his administration’s operations on Thursday, saying West Virginia has good reason to take every step possible to quash the crisis besides the fact these people are allegedly in the country illegally.

WV LAWMAKER ARRESTED AFTER THREATENING TO KILL ENTIRE REGION’S DELEGATION OVER CAUCUS BEEF

West Virginia leads the nation in drug overdose deaths-per-capita, and Morrisey said illegal immigration and cartel smuggling play a key role in that crisis.

“To be clear, our numbers may be lower than others in terms of illegal immigrants… but I’ve repeatedly talked about the impact of having illegal immigrants [who] bring deadly fentanyl into the state — that’s flooding in from Mexico [with] raw ingredients coming from China.”

The West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources recorded 1,389 drug overdose deaths statewide in 2023, down slightly from their peak at 1,537 in 2021. In 2001, there were only 212 such drug-related deaths among its estimated 1.75 million people.

“You’re going to find a Morrisey administration very cooperative with the Trump administration… It’s important for West Virginia because we have to stop this senseless death,” the governor said.

TRUMP, GOP CELEBRATE JOE MANCHIN RETIREMENT

Travelers are greeted by a West Virginia welcome sign after crossing the East River Mountain Tunnel on I-77 in Princeton. (Charles Creitz)

Morrisey praised Trump and said what the White House is doing is “absolutely correct.”

“We will take all appropriate steps to protect our citizens and work with the Trump Administration to crack down on illegal immigration,” Morrisey said in a separate statement to Fox News Digital.

The move received praise from other state officials.

State Del. Wayne Clark, R-Charles Town, called it “good progress” on both the illegal immigration front and the quest to curb the state’s drug crisis.

Huntington Police Chief Phil Watkins said some of his officers also provided support to recent ICE operations in what is West Virginia’s second-largest city.

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“As a general practice, we always try to accommodate requests for assistance from any of our law enforcement partners,” he told Wheeling’s CBS affiliate.

The Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation confirmed in a statement that it is detaining suspected illegal immigrant criminals in its facilities at the urging of federal agencies such as ICE and the FBI.

Caroline Kennedy, the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and a former U.S. ambassador, sent a letter to lawmakers urging them not to confirm her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who she referred to as a “predator” and said was “unqualified” both professionally and personally to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

RFK Jr. is set to sit before two Senate committees on Wednesday and Thursday this week, during which lawmakers will get a chance to probe him about various issues related to his nomination as Health and Human Services Secretary. In advance of those hearings, Caroline sent a letter to senators who will vote on her cousin’s confirmation, explaining why she thinks he should not be allowed to run the federal government’s chief public health agency. 

“Throughout the past year people have asked for my thoughts about my cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr and his presidential campaign. I did not comment, not only because I was serving in a government position as United States Ambassador to Australia, but because I have never wanted to speak publicly about my family members and their challenges,” Caroline said in a video posted online of her reading the letter. “But now that Bobby has been nominated by President Trump to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, a position that would put him in charge of the health of the American people, I feel an obligation to speak.”

TRUMP’S MOST VULNERABLE NOMINEES RFK JR, TULSI GABBARD GET BACK-TO-BACK HEARINGS

Caroline Kennedy speaks at the 2009 Women’s Conference held at Long Beach Convention Center on October 27, 2009, in Long Beach, California.  (Photo by Toby Canham/Getty Images)

In addition to arguing her cousin lacked the relevant government, financial management and medical experience to fill the role of HHS Secretary, Caroline said her cousin’s personal qualities were also a disqualifying factor. In the letter, Caroline called her cousin a “predator,” arguing he has sought to exploit his family’s tragedies for publicity and led his siblings and cousins down a path of addiction.

“It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets, because Bobby himself is a predator,” she said. “I watched his younger brothers and cousins follow him down the path of drug addiction. His basement, his garage, his dorm room were always the center of the action – where drugs were available and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in a blender to feed to his hawks.”

DR NICOLE SAPHIER: WHAT RFK JR MUST DO TO WIN OVER SKEPTICAL SENATORS – AND AMERICANS

Caroline did concede that such moments were “a long time ago,” and that she admired her cousin for finding his way out of his addiction. “I admire the discipline that took,” she said. “But siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness and death, while Bobby has gone on to misrepresent, lie and cheat his way through life.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., partner with Morgan & Morgan PA, is sworn-in during a House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The committee chairman announced the hearing to examine the federal government’s role in censoring Americans and big tech silencing speech. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Getty)

Caroline added in the letter that her cousin was “addicted to attention and power,” and also accused him of grandstanding “off my father’s assassination and that of his own father.”

“It’s incomprehensible to me that someone who is willing to exploit their own painful family tragedies for publicity would be put in charge of America’s life and death situations.”

She also took shots at her cousin’s views on vaccines in the letter, calling them “dangerous and willfully misinformed.” In the past, Kennedy has posited theories that vaccines cause autism, argued they are not safe for young children, and blamed them for a rise in chronic disease across the United States.  

DOCTOR DEFENDS RFK JR.’S VACCINE STANCE: ‘HE’S NOT AGAINST VACCINES

“Bobby preys on the desperation of parents of sick children, vaccinating his own kids while building a following hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs,” she said. “Overseeing the FDA, the NIH, the CDC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services agencies that are charged with protecting the most vulnerable among us is an enormous responsibility and one that Bobby is unqualified to fill.”

A woman holds a mock-up vial labeled “Monkeypox vaccine” and medical syringe in this illustration taken, May 25, 2022.  (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)

RFK Jr.’s confirmation remains uncertain as both Republicans and Democrats have taken issue with his stance on vaccines and other public health issues. Lawmakers from more rural states have also raised concern over the potential that RFK Jr. could severely disrupt the agriculture sector as a result of his staunch views on healthy eating. 

He will face questions from both the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions this week. However, only the Finance committee will ultimately vote on whether to advance RFK Jr.’s nomination to a full floor vote.

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said federal immigration authorities were arresting the “worst of the worst” in raids targeting criminal illegal immigrants in the first week of the Trump administration. 

Noem, who was confirmed Saturday, joined an immigration enforcement raid in New York City Tuesday morning in which officers picked up an alleged ringleader of the violent Tren de Aragua gang. 

“We are picking up the worst of the worst in this country that are making our streets so dangerous,” Noem told Sean Hannity on “Hannity.” “The community is safer now. That’s the reality of it.”

‘UNDO THE DAMAGE’: TEXAS LAWMAKER LAUNCHES STRATEGY TO HELP ICE AMID TRUMP DEPORTATION BLITZ

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joins an ICE raid in New York City Tuesday. Noem said communities will be safer because of targeted raids that go after criminal illegal immigrants.  (Department of Homeland Security)

Investigators said Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 25, is the same man caught on camera in a video showing heavily armed men kicking down an apartment door at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado.  

He was hiding out in New York City, authorities said. 

The targeted raid against criminal illegal immigrants was “very specific,” Noem said. In an effort to combat crime, sanctuary city laws should be lifted, so authorities can better target and prosecute illegal immigrants who commit crimes, she added.

“We need mayors and governors partnering with us, but we will do our job regardless of that,” she said. “We will continue to go forward and identify those folks and get them out.

“Talking about the difference in some of these sanctuary cities, how they’re just released as soon as they come into our custody, not necessarily our custody, but the local governments’.” 

KRISTI NOEM JOINS IMMIGRATION RAID TO CATCH ‘DIRTBAGS’ IN MAJOR SANCTUARY CITY 

A Venezuelan migrant arrested during an ICE raid early Jan. 28 was identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco. Zambrano-Pacheco was wanted by Aurora Police Department in Colorado and was allegedly one of the men who appeared in a viral security camera video from August 2024 who menaced an apartment building shortly before a fatal shooting. (City of Aurora, Colorado )

She added that immigration agents were happy “they finally get to do their job” and “finally get to get these dirtbags out of our country.”

Noem said she plans to accompany authorities to see what authorities need to better perform their jobs. 

Noem said three times the number of criminal illegal immigrants were being arrested than under the Biden administration, and she said there were fewer encounters at the southern border. 

The DEA New York Division participated in an immigration enforcement operation with other federal law enforcement partners, resulting in the arrest of one suspect on kidnapping, assault and burglary charges. (X/@DEANEWYORKDiv)

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“We’ve sent a message clearly to the world: ‘Don’t come here. If you’re an illegal and if you’re dangerous, we have a target on you, and you will not be welcome and we will remove you’,” said Noem. 

Six transgender members of the military are suing the Trump administration over an executive order pertaining to trans troops. 

The lawsuit was filed by six current military servicemembers and two people who want to enlist. On Monday, President Trump signed an order stating the “adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.”

“A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member,” it states. 

Trump states in the order that the mission cannot be met if the military is accommodating “political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.” He also said longstanding Defense Department policy says service members must be free of medical conditions and physical defects that would require excessive treatment or hospitalization.

The “hormonal and surgical medical interventions” involved when an individual claims to be a gender differing from their sex do not meet the “rigorous standards” required of service members, including the commitment to being honorable, truthful and disciplined, the order states.

CRACKING DOWN ON TRANS TROOPS: TRUMP ORDER NIXES PREFERRED PRONOUNS, RESTRICTS FACILITY USE

The American flag on a U.S. Army uniform.  (iStock)

Progress related to this order must be submitted by Defense Department Secretary Pete Hegseth and the homeland security secretary to the deputy chief of staff for policy to track implementation and to find recommendations, if any, to fulfill the order’s objective.

The lawsuit argues the order is unconstitutional and violates the Equal Protection component of the Fifth Amendment. The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to block it from being enforced. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House.

“Rather than being based on any legitimate governmental purpose, the ban reflects animosity toward transgender people because of their transgender status,” the suit claims. 

The plaintiffs include a Sailor of the Year honoree, a Bronze Star recipient and several who were awarded meritorious service medals. They were identified as U.S. Army Reserves Lt. Nicolas Talbott, Army Maj. Erica Vandal, Army Sgt. First Class Kate Cole, Army Capt. Gordon Herrero, Navy Ensign Dany Danridge, Air Force Master Sgt. Jamie Hash, Koda Nature and Cael Neary.

The lawsuit charges that Trump’s order will unfairly halt their military aspirations and careers, including for Cole who’s been in the Army for 17 years.

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH SAYS ‘NO MORE DEI AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE’: ‘NO EXCEPTIONS’

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and President Donald Trump have both vowed to eradicate “woke” policies within the armed forces.  (Getty)

“Removing qualified transgender soldiers like me means an exodus of experienced personnel who fill key positions and can’t be easily replaced, putting the burden on our fellow soldiers left behind,” Cole said in a statement released by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law). “That’s just wrong — and it destabilizes our armed forces.” 

Cole noted that she had served in combat in Afghanistan.

Herrero said his family has a long history of military service and that “it’s the only career I’ve pursued.”

“There’s nothing about being transgender that makes me better or worse than any other soldier I serve alongside,” Herrero said in a statement accompanying the lawsuit. “We are all here because we are committed to our country, and we are passionate, willing, and able to serve effectively.”

The suit was brought by attorneys from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law).

“The law is very clear that the government can’t base policies on disapproval of particular groups of people,” Shannon Minter, of the NCLR, said. “That’s animus. And animus-based laws are presumed to be invalid and unconstitutional.”

Trump and Hegseth have vowed to crackdown on “woke” initiatives in the military and focus on developing a lethal, effective fighting force without political agendas or various ideologies harmful to unit cohesion. 

“Recently, however, the Armed Forces have been afflicted with radical gender ideology to appease activists unconcerned with the requirements of military service like physical and mental health, selflessness, and unit cohesion,” the order states. 

American soldiers and the U.S. flag are pictured. Six transgender military service members are suing the Trump administration over an executive order banning them from serving openly.  (iStock)

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The Pentagon told The Associated Press that it doesn’t comment on pending or ongoing litigation but “will fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the Executive Orders issued by the President, ensuring that they are carried out with utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives.”

The Pentagon referred questions by Fox News Digital about the lawsuit to the Justice Department. 

Fox News’ Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report. 

The candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump won the Republican primary in a special election Tuesday to replace former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida’s 1st Congressional District.

The Associated Press projects that Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis will win the GOP nomination in the district, located in the northwest corner of the state in the Panhandle region.

He will face gun safety advocate Gay Valimont, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

IT’S PRIMARY DAY IN PARTS OF THIS CRUCIAL STATE 

Patronis, also endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, topped nine other Republican candidates in the crowded primary field. He will be considered the favorite in the April 1 general election to fill the congressional seat in the heavily red district.

“A fourth generation Floridian from the beautiful Panhandle, and owner of an iconic seafood restaurant, Jimmy has been a wonderful friend to me, and to MAGA,” Trump wrote in a social media post earlier this month.

Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis and President Donald Trump (Fox News Digital; Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Gaetz resigned from Congress abruptly late last year after Trump tapped him to be his attorney general, and Gaetz eventually withdrew himself from consideration amid growing Republican opposition.

The congressman’s resignation also came as the House Ethics Committee had been preparing its report on allegations against Gaetz that included illicit drug use and sex with a minor, all of which he has denied.

Among those who lost to Patronis in the GOP primary was a former Navy veteran who challenged Gaetz last year with the backing of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

TRUMP-ENDORSED CANDIDATE WINS GOP PRIMARY IN FLORIDA RACE TO REPLACE MIKE WALTZ IN CONGRESS

Gaetz triggered the congressional maneuver in 2023 that eventually led to McCarthy’s ouster from power after less than a year as House speaker.

Patronis, whose family runs a popular restaurant in Panama City, which is outside the district, was criticized for not living in the district.

He twice won statewide elections as chief financial officer and, until Gaetz quit Congress, was seen as a potential candidate in Florida’s 2026 race to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis delivers remarks at a campaign event in Sarasota, Fla., Nov. 6, 2022. (Tiffany Tompkins/Bradenton Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Republican and Democratic primaries were also being held Tuesday in Florida’s 6th Congressional District in the special election to fill the seat left vacant after GOP Rep. Michael Waltz stepped down to serve as national security advisor in the second Trump administration. 

The general election in the red district is scheduled for April 1.

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With a fragile, razor-thin majority in the House, the likely reinforcements from Florida’s 1st and 6th congressional districts will be welcome news to Republican leadership in the chamber as it tries to pass Trump’s agenda.

The candidate endorsed by President Trump on Tuesday won the Republican primary in a special election in Florida’s 6th Congressional District in the race to replace former GOP Rep. Michael Waltz.

Waltz stepped down from his House seat last week to serve as national security adviser in Trump’s second administration.

The Associated Press projects that state Sen. Randy Fine will win the GOP nomination in the Republican-leaning district, which stretches from Daytona Beach to the southern suburbs of Jacksonville along Florida’s Atlantic coast.

Educator Josh Weil won the Democratic primary.

Fine, who at one time was the only Jewish Republican lawmaker in the state legislature, topped a couple of other Republicans running in the primary. He will be considered the clear favorite in the April 1 general election.

IT’S PRIMARY DAY IN PARTS OF THIS CRUCIAL STATE 

State lawmaker Randy Fine, a Republican from South Brevard County, Florida, speaks during a special legislative session, on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, in Tallahassee. (AP)

Republican and Democratic primaries were also being held Tuesday in Florida’s 1st Congressional District, in the special election to fill the seat left vacant after GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz resigned from Congress abruptly late last year after Trump tapped him to be his attorney general. 

Gaetz eventually withdrew himself from consideration amid growing Republican opposition. The congressman’s resignation also came as the House Ethics Committee had been preparing its report on allegations against Gaetz that included illicit drug use and sex with a minor, all of which he has denied.

Then-Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida (left) introduces then-Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth during his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Both of Tuesday’s Republican primaries in Florida are a test of Trump’s overwhelming clout over the GOP.

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The general election in Florida’s 1st District is also on April 1.

With a fragile, razor-thin majority in the House, the likely reinforcements from both districts will be welcome news to Republican leadership in the chamber as it tries to pass Trump’s agenda.

Freshman GOP Rep. Gabe Evans spoke to Fox News Digital about the critical need for new energy policies in the United States and how he plans to push forward to overcome harmful green energy mandates like the ones in his home state of Colorado. 

“We know that we need more energy, not less, for our modern lifestyle, and all of the different emerging technologies, for example, United Power, they’re actually my local electric co-op that supplies my energy, and United Power is forecasting a double to triple increase in the amount of power that they’re going to need over the next 10 to 20 years, driven not only by population growth, but driven also by a lot of the new technologies that we’re seeing,” Evans told Fox News Digital. 

“Everybody knows about electric vehicles and the power that’s required there, and so whether that’s, you know, the switch to electric vehicles is driven by the free market or whether it’s driven by some heavy-handed government mandates, if you plug in something into the power grid, we need more power, and we need to make sure that we have a more robust power grid to deliver that and that all ties back to baseline energy generation,” he continued.

Evans explained that “there’s also mandates in Colorado around things like electrifying drill rigs for a lot of the oil and gas, which is going to consume massive amounts of energy.”

AMERICA’S ENERGY CRISIS IS HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT AND IT’S WORSE THAN YOU KNOW

Fox News Digital recently spoke to GOP Rep. Gabe Evans (Fox News Digital/Getty)

“So we have massive new demands for electricity around AI or computing, and these are things that are of critical national security importance, because if we’re not making sure that we’re the dominant power in AI and a lot of this advanced computing, a lot of our international competitors are going to move into the first place position in those spaces. And so really, our entire modern way of life revolves around energy and having more energy.”

Evans told Fox News Digital that the United States, particularly Colorado’s 8th Congressional District which he represents, makes “some of the cleanest and most environmentally responsible energy anywhere on the planet.”

“So being able to advocate for that, all of the above approach to meet the demands that we have for our modern way of life is something that I’m super excited to work on and on,” Evans said.

ENERGY EXPERTS WEIGH IN AFTER CANADIAN PREMIER SAYS SHE WANTS TO DISCUSS KEYSTONE PIPELINE 2.0 WITH TRUMP

Former State House of Representative Gabe Evans works at the Colorado State Capitol  (RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Evans told Fox News Digital that Democrat-led energy policies in Colorado, along with other places, are actually causing a larger carbon footprint from green energy policies.

“Follow the science,” Evans said. “So we’ve talked a lot about electricity. The question that often doesn’t come up in the space of electricity is what is the carbon footprint required to produce electricity? And in Colorado right now, the carbon footprint of our electrical grid is actually about 40% higher than the carbon footprint for pure natural gas,” Evans explained.

“So if there is a natural gas school bus versus an electric school bus, if there’s a natural gas RTD as in our local mass transit system in the Denver metro area, if we have a natural gas RTD bus versus an electric bus, the electric buses are actually contributing 40% more carbon to the atmosphere because of the carbon footprint required to generate and transmit that electricity than just pure natural gas.”

Evans told Fox News Digital it is imperative that Republicans work hand in hand with the Republican secretary nominees, who are yet to be confirmed, at the Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and Environmental Protection Agency.

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Crude oil pump jack (REUTERS/Angus Mordant)

“Chris Wright is the energy nominee, he’s also from Colorado, and so we have a preexisting relationship based on my time in the state legislature where I was the ranking member on our State Energy and Environment Committee,” Evans said. “But we really do have to work hand-in-hand together, and I think the American people understand that, which is why the American people gave majorities in the House and the Senate and then obviously the presidency to my party, because they understand that we need to have a full court press to be able to deliver these solutions.”

Evans continued, “And it’s not just the House or the Senate or the presidency and the administration. We all have to be able to work together. And so being able to continue, you know, specifically in the energy space, the existing relationship that I have with some of these nominees is going to be critically important to achieving that ultimate goal of empowering energy producers, getting the good jobs that come from that industry, protecting our environment by actually producing responsible energy and then ultimately providing the good paying jobs that are so critical to solving the affordability crisis that we have right now.”

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

Here’s what’s happening…

-FBI director nominee Kash Patel broke hostage rescue protocol: whistleblower

-Freshman GOP lawmaker rallies behind Trump’s rapid illegal immigration crackdown: ‘No time to waste’

–The JFK files: Here’s what’s happened since their original planned release

Workers on Leave

Dozens of senior officials in the U.S. agency that administers foreign aid were reportedly placed on leave Monday amid an investigation into alleged resistance to President Donald Trump’s orders.

At least 56 U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) officials were placed on administrative leave with full pay and benefits, Politico first reported. Several hundred contractors based in Washington and elsewhere were also laid off, a current and a former official told the Associated Press. 

These actions come after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, acting on Trump’s executive order, paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and USAID. The 90-day pause has halted thousands of U.S.-funded humanitarian, development and security programs worldwide and forced aid organizations to lay off hundreds of employees because they can’t make payroll…Read more

FILE – USAID humanitarian aid destined for Venezuela is displayed for the media at a warehouse next to the Tienditas International Bridge on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia, Feb. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File) President Donald Trump (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File |  SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

White House

FUNDING ON HOLD: Trump admin to pause financial assistance programs…Read more

REFOCUSING THE FORCES: Trump signs executive orders banning ‘radical gender ideology,’ DEI initiatives in the military…Read more

END THE ‘WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT’: Trump admin pauses federal grants, demands return to office details in memo blitz…Read more

BEAT THE PRESS: Trump White House press secretary mixes it up with reporters…Read more

White House press secretary holds her first briefing on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (Getty )

World Stage

‘WE ARE UNWAVERING’: Rubio’s State Dept caps migration-heavy first week with Colombia deportation win…Read more

NATIONAL SECURITY RISK?: China’s influence on Panama Canal poses ‘acute’ danger to US interests, Cruz warns…Read more

Capitol Hill

‘SAFEGUARDING THE INNOCENT’: Ogles and other Republicans push federal ban on chemical abortions…Read more

KEEP ‘EM ROLLING: Sean Duffy latest Trump Cabinet to pass Senate on bipartisan vote…Read more

Sean Duffy, former Republican Representative from Wisconsin and US secretary of the transportation nominee for US President-elect Donald Trump, during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Getty Images)

BATTLEGROUND SHOCKER: Gary Peters, Democratic senator from Trump state, won’t seek re-election…Read more

SENATOR PETE?:  Buttigieg giving ‘serious look’ to 2026 run in state Trump carried…Read more

NEW DIRECTION: Ratcliffe, allies promise workforce changes at CIA….Read more

Across America 

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE: USAID workers put on leave as Trump officials investigate resistance…Read more

DC CORRUPTION?: Councilmember faces expulsion hearing over federal bribery charge…Read more

SANCTUARY STORM: Kristi Noem joins immigration raid to catch ‘dirtbags’ in Democrat-run city…Read more

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem participates in an immigration in New York City. (Department of Homeland Security)

NEW GIG: Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff lands private sector job days after leaving DC…Read more 

BOTTOMS UP: Former Atlanta mayor mulls Georgia gubernatorial run…Read more

WILDFIRES: Trump claims military entered California to release water flow, but state says that did not happen…Read more

‘COMPLETELY IMPROPER’: ‘Non-sanctuary’ coastal enclave sues CA for right to enforce its own laws…Read more

NEW GUIDANCE: HHS will reevaluate programs, regulations to ensure taxpayer money not paying for elective abortions…Read more

‘JUST LIKE TRUMP’:  ISIS murder victim Kayla Mueller’s parents endorse Patel for FBI…Read more

FBI Director nominee Kash Patel gestures as he walks on stage to speak during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025.  (Getty Images)

‘SYSTEMATIC EFFORT’: Illinois ‘super mayor’ conducted cover-up of excessive spending, Lightfoot investigation finds…Read more

‘CLEAR EYES AND NO BIAS’: Dozens of former intel officials urge senators to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as DNI…Read more

‘UNLAWFULLY TRANSFERRED’: Trans inmate’s lawsuit challenges Trump ‘two-sexes’ order cutting off tax money for gender therapy…Read more

‘UNDO THE DAMAGE’: Texas lawmaker launches strategy to help ICE amid Trump deportation blitz…Read more

BACKING THE BLUE: ‘Defund the police’ movement turned on its head as sheriff touts achievements in state’s ‘murder capital’…Read more

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A handful of non-profit organizations and health associations, including an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, filed a lawsuit Tuesday over the Trump administration‘s directive to freeze federal aid. 

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday afternoon in Washington, D.C., federal court, was launched by the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, the Main Street Alliance, and SAGE against the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and acting director of OMB, Matthew Vaeth.

The parties are asking the court to impose a temporary restraining order “to maintain the status quo until the Court has an opportunity to more fully consider the illegality of OMB’s actions.”

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PLACES 60 DEI EMPLOYEES ON LEAVE WITH SALARIES TOTALING MORE THAN $8M

The suit was filed after the Trump administration went on a memo blitz Monday, sending at least three letters to federal agency leaders on directives covering topics including return to office instructions and pausing federal grants. Fox News Digital obtained copies of the memos.

One specific memo issued by OMB pauses all federal grants and loans in an effort to end “‘wokeness’ and the weaponization of government,” and to promote “efficiency in government.”

Trump signed two executive orders Monday taking aim at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the federal government.  (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

“Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” the memo reads. 

TRUMP’S FEDERAL DEI PURGE PUTS HUNDREDS ON LEAVE, NIXES $420M IN CONTRACTS

The pause takes effect at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday. 

The lawsuit argues that the parties will suffer harm as a result of the federal aid freeze given their reliance on federal funding. 

A handful of non-profit organizations and health associations, including an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, filed a lawsuit Tuesday over the Trump administration’s directive to freeze federal aid.  (Joan Slatkin/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

SAGE’s CEO, Michael Adams — whose organization describes itself as “dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults,” per the court filing — told Fox News Digital in a statement that the freeze “would devastate the lives of older Americans — including LGBTQ+ elders who already face unique challenges.”

TRUMP DEI CRACKDOWNS LAUDED FOR BRINGING MERIT BACK TO MEDICINE: ‘MAKE HEALTHCARE GREAT AGAIN’

“This reckless decision puts entire communities at risk. We must work together now to protect our older neighbors, friends, and loved ones before it’s too late,” Adams said.

Small Business Majority Founder & CEO John Arensmeyer said the federal grant freeze “will have a devastating impact on small businesses nationwide” and called the move a “Draconian shuttering of the federal purse.”

A handful of non-profit organizations and health associations, including an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, filed a lawsuit Tuesday over the Trump administration’s directive to freeze federal aid.  (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

Diane Yentel, President & CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits called the directive a “reckless action” by the Trump administration that would prove to be “catastrophic for nonprofit organizations and the people and communities they serve.” 

“From pausing research on cures for childhood cancer to halting housing and food assistance, shuttering domestic violence and homeless shelters, and closing suicide hotlines, the impact of even a short pause in funding could be devastating and cost lives,” Yentel said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “This order must be halted immediately before such avoidable harm is done.”

TRUMP TARGETS CULTURE WAR LIGHTNING RODS IN EARLY SLATE OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS

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

The memo explained that out of the $10 trillion spent by the federal government in fiscal year 2024, $3 trillion of that total was allocated to “federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans.”

Vaeth sent the memo to all heads of executive departments and agencies. 

Trump also signed two executive orders Monday taking aim at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the federal government. 

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The orders, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” and “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” should be in the process of being implemented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the secretary of Homeland Security within 30 days.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report. 

Conservatives on social media praised newly minted White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s performance in her first press conference on Tuesday and made the case that her tenure will be a welcome change from the previous administration’s.

Leavitt stepped to the White House press room podium on Tuesday and answered questions from over a dozen reporters with various political affiliations. She spoke for almost an hour.

As Leavitt addressed the media, conservatives on social media reacted with positive reviews on her handling of the questions and the variety of reporters she called on. 

“Karoline Leavitt is a rock star,” actor James Woods posted on X. “These next four years are going to be sublime.”

INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING DIRECT ASSISTANCE WON’T BE IMPACTED BY FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE, PRESS SECRETARY SAYS

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and the former press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre (Getty)

“Well @karolineleavitt is certainly up for the job,” Fox News contributor Joe Jones posted on X. “Impressive, but not surprising.”

“Both KJP and Jen Psaki were extremely dependent on their oversized binders jam-packed with scripted talking points,” talk show host Addison Smith posted on X. “Today, @karolineleavitt took to the podium for the first time with a couple sheets of paper that she barely even glanced at. Competence is back.”

TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ROLLS OUT SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT TO HOLD ‘FAKE NEWS ACCOUNTABLE’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt answers questions in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Jan. 28, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Damn White House press secretary @karolineleavitt absolutely smoking left wing reporters,” Outkick founder and radio host Clay Travis posted on X. 

“This Press Secretary – Karoline Leavitt – is so refreshingly clear in the positions she articulates,” Rush Limbaugh’s longtime friend and producer James Golden posted on X. “No dancing around facts, no avoidance of questions, in contrast to the previous Press Secretary.”

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Karoline Leavitt, 27, is the youngest press secretary in the nation’s history. (AP)

“Karoline Leavitt is 30 minutes into a Press Briefing and she hasn’t looked up a single answer yet,” Fox News contributor and comedian Jimmy Faila posted on X. “KJP would have gone through three binders and a Magic 8 Ball by now. THIS is why people wanna ditch DEI for Meritocracy.”

“How refreshing to have a Press Sec at the podium who can answer questions directly and without reading word for word from a script,” Coign Vice President Cassie Smedile Docksey posted on X. “We are so back.”

Leavitt, 27, is the youngest press secretary in the nation’s history – unseating President Richard Nixon’s press secretary Ron Ziegler, who was 29 when he took the same position in 1969. Leavitt was a fierce defender of Trump throughout his hard-fought campaign against former Vice President Kamala Harris, and also made her own political mark with a congressional run in 2022. 

Leavitt served in Trump’s first administration as assistant press secretary before working as New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik’s communications director following the 2020 election. She launched a congressional campaign in her home state of New Hampshire during the 2022 cycle, winning her primary but losing the election to a Democrat. 

Leavitt picked up the torch of press secretary from the Biden administration’s chief spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report

President Donald Trump’s White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that federal individual assistance will not be affected by a freeze on federal grants and loans.

“I have now been asked and answered this question four times,” Leavitt told reporters Tuesday during her first White House press briefing on Tuesday. “To individuals at home who receive direct assistance from the federal government: You will not be impacted by this federal freeze.” 

Programs including Social Security benefits, Medicare, food stamps, welfare benefits and other assistance going directly to individuals will not be impacted under the pause, according to Leavitt. 

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to members of the press in the grounds of the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 22, 2025.  (Getty)

“There is no uncertainty in this building … this is not a blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs from the Trump administration,” Leavitt said. 

The Office of Management and Budget issued a memo on Monday issuing a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate “wokeness” and the “weaponization of government” to improve government efficiency. 

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“Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” the memo, obtained by Fox Digital, reads. 

The pause takes effect at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday.

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has indicated that he will not support confirmation of President Donald Trump’s Labor secretary nominee, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

The senator said he thinks that Chavez-DeRemer will “lose 15 Republicans,’ but “get 25 Democrats.”

“She might get all the Democrats. Who knows?” he added.

TRUMP NOMINATES REP. LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER AS SECRETARY OF LABOR

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, during a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025 (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In a statement announcing Chavez-DeRemer as his pick for the Cabinet post last year, Trump declared, “Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America.” 

AFT union President Randi Weingarten said in a tweet last year that Chavez-DeRemer’s “record suggests real support of workers & their right to unionize,” adding, “I hope it means the Trump admin will actually respect collective bargaining and workers’ voices from Teamsters to teachers.”

DRAG SHOWS, ARABIC SESAME STREET, LONELY RATS: GOP SENATOR DETAILS HOW BIDEN SPENT $1T ON ‘GOVERNMENT WASTE’

Chavez-DeRemer, an Oregon Republican who lost her congressional re-election bid in 2024, served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives from early 2023 through early 2025.

Paul objected to the former lawmaker’s support for the PRO Act, which he claimed would “pre-empt state law” regarding “right to work.”

TRUMP CABINET NOMINEES, APPOINTEES TARGETED WITH ‘VIOLENT, UNAMERICAN THREATS’

Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., participates in the House Transportation Committee hearing on “Oversight of the Department of Transportation’s Policies and Programs and Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request” in the Rayburn House Office Building on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House about Paul’s opposition to Chavez-DeRemer, but did not receive a comment in time for publication.

EXCLUSIVE: CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned his agents of “changes” to come under his leadership in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital. 

“There will be changes during my tenure as director,” the new leader of America’s top spy agency wrote in an agency-wide workforce message. Ratcliffe is currently reviewing all top staff and planning to put his own fingerprints on the senior level of the agency, Fox News Digital has learned. 

“We will collect intelligence in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult. We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgment or infect our products,” Ratcliffe went on in his email. 

“And we will conduct covert action at the direction of the President, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do.” 

NEW CIA BOSS RATCLIFFE SAYS BIDEN-ERA REPORT BACKING LAB-LEAK THEORY RELEASED TO ‘RESTORE’ TRUST

CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned his agents of “changes” to come under his leadership of the CIA. (Getty Images)

As agents conduct work in what Ratcliffe defined as the “most challenging national security environment in our nation’s history,” he promised the CIA would be the “ultimate meritocracy.”

“Our shared mission will bind us together.”

A source familiar with Ratcliffe’s thinking said, “This was a message to Agency’s workforce that the John Brennan era, the Gina Haspel era, the eras of promoting leftwing political agendas or subverting the President — those days are over.” 

Haspel was President Donald Trump‘s CIA director from 2018 to 2021 – while Ratcliffe was Trump’s director of national intelligence. Brennan headed up the agency under former President Barack Obama.  

“I’m sure it’ll rub some of the political activists burrowed in there the wrong way, but there are a lot of red-blooded, mission-focused agency officers reading this and cheering him on,” the source added.

RATCLIFFE SAYS US FACES ‘MOST CHALLENGING SECURITY ENVIRONMENT’ EVER IN CONFIRMATION HEARING

Ratcliffe is also looking for ways to streamline the agency’s many tech-focused offices – the directorate of digital innovation; directorate of science and technology; transnational and technology mission center; office of the chief technology officer; and directorate of analysis, which has been developing AI-powered tools – to stake out clear lines of authority and tasks. 

“Nobody comes to CIA to be somebody. Our successes remain hidden. Even our medals are presented behind closed doors, our sacrifices memorialized by stars on a marble wall. But each one of those stars represents somebody who wanted to do something, regardless of whether history would know their name,” Ratcliffe continued. 

A source familiar with CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s thinking promised a different direction for the nation’s top spy agency than under Gina Haspel, CIA director during the first Trump administration. (Reuters)

“That’s what makes this place special. That’s what we must preserve.”

Ratcliffe was confirmed by the Senate last Thursday in a 74-25 vote. 

Under its new director, the CIA released a new assessment of the COVID-19 origin which favors a lab origin with “low confidence.” 

The review was ordered by former President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan toward the end of Biden’s time in office. 

JOHN RATCLIFFE CONFIRMED AS NEXT CIA DIRECTOR

President Donald Trump’s nominee for CIA director, John Ratcliffe, appears for a Senate Intelligence confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The agency has maintained for years it did not have enough intelligence to conclude whether COVID-19 originated in a lab or a wet market in Wuhan, China.

Ratcliffe recently told Breitbart News he no longer wanted the CIA to sit “on the sidelines” of the debate over the origins of Covid-19. He has long said he believes the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. 

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“I had the opportunity on my first day to make public an assessment that actually took place in the Biden administration, so it can’t be accused of being political,” he told “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.  

“And the CIA has assessed that the most likely cause of this pandemic that has wrought so much devastation around the world was because of a lab-related incident in Wuhan, so we’ll continue to investigate that moving forward.” 

China’s influence on the Panama Canal poses “acute risks to U.S. national security,” Sen. Ted Cruz is warning Tuesday, alleging the Chinese Communist Party has taken a “militaristic interest” in the vital global shipping passage. 

The Texas Republican told lawmakers during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation hearing that President Donald Trump recently has highlighted two key issues — “the danger of China exploiting or blocking passage through the canal” and “the exorbitant costs for transit.”  

“Chinese companies are right now building a bridge across the canal at a slow pace so as to take nearly a decade. And Chinese companies control container ports at either end. The partially-completed bridge gives China the ability to block the canal without warning and the ports give China ready observation posts to time that action,” said Cruz, who is the chairman of the committee. 

“This situation I believe poses acute risks to U.S. national security,” he added. 

MARCO RUBIO HEADING TO PANAMA ON FIRST TRIP AS SECRETARY OF STATE 

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is warning lawmakers Tuesday about China’s influence on the Panama Canal. (AP/Ben Curtis/Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images)

“Meanwhile, the high fees for canal transit disproportionately affect Americans because U.S. cargo accounts for nearly three quarters for canal transits. U.S. Navy vessels pay additional fees that apply only to warships. Canal profits regularly exceed $3 billion dollars,” Cruz continued. “This money comes from both American taxpayers and consumers in the form of higher costs for goods.” 

Cruz’s comments come as newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Panama for his first international trip as the nation’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned.  

Trump said during his inauguration speech last week that “China is operating the Panama Canal” and “we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.” 

Panama is denying the Chinese influence, with President José Raúl Mulino saying that “There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration,” according to the Associated Press.

RUSSIA SOUNDS OFF ON TRUMP’S THREAT TO RETAKE THE PANAMA CANAL 

President Donald Trump said during his second inauguration speech that “China is operating the Panama Canal.” (Fox News)

However, Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Louis Sola testified Tuesday that “Since 2015, Chinese companies have increased their presence and influence throughout Panama. 

“Panama became a member of the Belt and Road Initiative and ended its diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Chinese companies have been able to pursue billions of dollars and development contracts in Panama, many of which were projects directly on or adjacent to the Panama Canal,” he told lawmakers. “Many were no bid contracts, labor laws were waived, and the Panama and Panamanian people are still waiting to see how they’ve been benefited. 

“It is all more concerning that many of these companies are state-owned and in some cases even designated as linked to the People’s Liberation Army,” Sola added. “We must address the significant growing presence and influence of China throughout the Americas and in Panama specifically.” 

Cruz also said during the hearing that the Chinese Communist Party has taken a “militaristic interest in the canal” and that “Panama has emerged as a bad actor.” 

“Panama has for years flagged dozens of vessels in the Iranian ghost fleet, which brought Iran tens of billions of dollars in oil profits to fund terror across the world,” Cruz said. 

Two cargo ships enter the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal in Panama City on Jan. 22. (Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images)

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“We cannot turn a blind eye if Panama exploits an asset of vital commercial and military importance, and we cannot stay idle while China is on the march in our hemisphere,” he concluded. 

Fox News’ Nick Kalman and Bradford Betz contributed to this report. 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has floated the idea of the U.S. green-lighting private parties to target drug cartels for profit.

The senator laid out the proposal in posts on X.

“Letters of marque and reprisal are government-issued commissions that authorize private citizens (privateers) to perform acts that would otherwise be considered piracy, like attacking enemy ships during wartime,” Lee explained. “Privateers are rewarded with a cut of the loot they ‘bring home.’”

MIKE LEE CONTINUES CALLING FOR ABOLITION OF TSA

Sen Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during a campaign rally for U.S. Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump at Findlay Toyota Center on Oct. 13, 2024, in Prescott Valley, Ariz.  (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

The lawmaker pointed out that the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to “grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal,” and suggested that this power could be leveraged against drug cartels.

“Congress could issue letters of marque and reprisal authorizing private security firms or specially trained civilians to intercept cartel operations, particularly those involving drug shipments or human trafficking across borders,” Lee wrote, adding, “Focus on disrupting supply lines, capturing high-value targets, or seizing assets like boats, vehicles, cash, gold, or equipment used in criminal activities.”

Lee suggested that this method of contending with cartels would lower costs to American taxpayers, since privateers would be paid a portion of what they capture and bring back to the U.S.

SEN MIKE LEE: REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS MUST IMMEDIATELY ADVANCE TRUMP’S MAGA AGENDA

“Dismissing the possible use of letters of marque to combat Mexican drug cartels—either on the basis of ‘international law’ or otherwise—overlooks the clear and present threat posed by those cartels to the U.S.,” he wrote. “This could prove to be an effective alternative to war.” 

Lee noted that in such a scenario, privateers would only profit from “non-contraband,” and that cartel drugs would be destroyed, not sold.

“One pitfall as a practical matter might be that a lot of the property belonging to these cartels isn’t … easy to monetize — because the products they sell are illegal,” he wrote. 

“That could make it difficult to incentivize and reward them, as ‘prize courts’ (historically the government’s tool used for selling the seized assets and assessing how much money each privateer is able to receive) obviously wouldn’t be able to sell drugs,” Lee indicated. “But these cartels have a lot of non-contraband assets, including many things (gold, cash, etc.) that could be seized by privateers, returned to the U.S., liquidated, and used to reward the seizures.”

SENATE CONFIRMS KRISTI NOEM AS TRUMP’S DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., arrives for the Senate Republicans leadership election in the Capitol on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Rep. Chip Roy responded to Lee’s proposal by describing it in a tweet as “worthy of consideration.”

“This would work very fast,” Elon Musk said of the idea in a post.

A diplomatic victory over Colombia capped a busy week for the U.S. State Deptment under new Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who oversaw an agency that quickly made border security and immigration a top priority — racking up a flurry of actions in the space of a week.

After Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to take U.S. deportation flights carrying Colombian nationals on Sunday, Rubio announced the immediate suspension of the issuing of visas in the country, as well as travel sanctions on government officials.

“Measures will continue until Colombia meets its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens,” Rubio said. “America will not back down when it comes to defending its national security interests.”

RUBIO PAUSES FOREIGN AID FROM STATE DEPARTMENT AND USAID TO ENSURE IT PUTS ‘AMERICA FIRST’ 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks after being sworn in by Vice President JD Vance in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Within hours, Colombia had backed down and agreed to what the White House said were the terms provided by President Donald Trump. However, the administration said that visa sanctions would remain in effect until the deportations were received.

The diplomatic clash was a strong finish to what has been an immigration-focused week for not only the administration as a whole, but also the State Department. The agency was involved in multiple instructions and moves on visa issuance, migration and funding to foreign organizations.

On Rubio’s first day in office, the department instructed consular officers to put national security first when reviewing visas and ordered the department to implement enhanced vetting for visa applications from countries where there are concerns about a heightened national security risk.

NEW SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO PAUSES REFUGEE OPERATIONS, RAMPS UP VISA VETTING 

He would later go on to declare the administration’s priorities, which focused on ending mass migration and ramping up border security as top priorities.

Migrants who were deported from the U.S. stand on El Chaparral pedestrian border bridge in Tijuana, Mexico, late Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

“First, we must curb mass migration and secure our borders. The State Department will no longer undertake any activities that facilitate or encourage mass migration,” Rubio said.  “Our diplomatic relations with other countries, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, will prioritize securing America’s borders, stopping illegal and destabilizing migration, and negotiating the repatriation of illegal immigrants.”

Separately, a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital that a worldwide cable clarified that officials must resist pressures to speed up visa or passport processing at the expense of security concerns.

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The State Department then also paused all new obligations of funding for foreign aid programs through either the State Dept. or U.S. Agency for International Development. There are longstanding concerns by conservatives that those programs can exacerbate mass migration.

On refugee admissions, the department suspended the Refugee Admissions Program — in response to an executive order by President Trump. It also issued a worldwide alert announcing the upcoming changes to birthright citizenship in response to another Trump order.

Since then, the department has worked with other agencies on border security and the implementation of the birthright citizenship order, including working to cancel a green card for a Moroccan terrorist, the official said.

That cooperation was on display on Sunday when multiple agencies worked together to deal with the disagreement with Colombia.

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“As demonstrated by today’s actions, we are unwavering in our commitment to end illegal immigration and bolster America’s border security,” Rubio said.

Fox News’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

The White House has reportedly issued a memo that broadly suspends federal grants, loans and other financial assistance programs for executive departments pending an assessment of the funding. 

The Wall Street Journal first reported the memo, saying it was sent out by the Office of Management and Budget around 5 p.m. on Monday. 

The memo, which takes effect Tuesday at 5 p.m., said agencies “must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal,” according to the Journal. 

The memo reportedly said the federal government spent more than $3 trillion on federal assistance, including grants and loans, in the 2024 fiscal year and that the pause allows “time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities.”

JD VANCE CONDEMNS FEMA’S RESPONSE TO HELENE DEVASTATION IN 1ST TRIP AS VICE PRESIDENT

The White House is seen in Washington D.C., on Jan.22, 2025.  (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Each agency must “complete a comprehensive analysis of all their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders,” the memo continued, according to the Journal, adding that the pause must be applied “to the extent permissible under applicable law.” 

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., holds a news conference to speak out against the nomination of Russell Vought on Jan. 23, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

AFTER RAUCOUS FIRST WEEK IN OFFICE, DONALD TRUMP TO KEEP HIS FOOT ON THE GAS

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned the memo, telling the Journal that pausing the funding puts “billions upon billions of community grants and financial support that help millions of people across the country” at risk. 

“It will mean missed payrolls and rent payments and everything in between: chaos for everything from universities to non-profit charities, state disaster assistance, local law enforcement, aid to the elderly, and food for those in need,” Schumer said, adding that Congress approved the funding for the federal assistance programs.

President Donald Trump’s nominee for Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought testifies during the Senate Banking Committee nomination hearing on Jan. 22, 2025.  (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

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The memo included a footnote that said Medicare, Social Security benefits and assistance provided directly to individuals were exempt from the pause, but its otherwise broad language caused confusion Monday night among some federal employees, as administrators requested advice from their internal counsel regarding which programs the pause applied to and how the departments should respond, one source told the Journal. 

The memo included a Feb. 10 deadline for agencies to submit a thorough summary of all paused programs, projects and activities to the Office of Management and Budget.

Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, said she is considering a run to be Georgia’s next governor.

Bottoms, who most recently served in the Biden administration, told Fox 5 Atlanta that she is seriously contemplating running in the Georgia gubernatorial election in 2026 but wants to finish some things she is working on first, including a new book.

She also knocked President Donald Trump, who she believes is already failing to deliver on his campaign promises, as she eyes a return to public office.

BIDEN’S FORMER SENIOR ADVISER KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS REJOINING WHITE HOUSE IN NEW ROLE

Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks a press briefing at the White House on January 13, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

The former mayor further criticized the president for mass deporting illegal migrants who have not committed violent crimes.

“I don’t think there are many people who are against people who have violent criminal records being deported if they are in the country illegally,” she said. “When I see the raids, I immediately think of the families that are left behind, and it’s reminiscent of family separation policies that I had to deal with when I was mayor of Atlanta.”

Bottoms resigned earlier this month from the White House, where she served on President Joe Biden’s Export Council. Trump claimed on Truth Social that he fired her after he took office, but she provided a letter from Biden thanking her for her service, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

Keisha Lance Bottoms attends the Cancer Moonshot event on October 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

“I had already resigned. I sent in my resignation letter the first week of January saying it was effective Jan. 20, and it also was an unpaid position,” Bottoms said.

She also previously served in the Biden administration as senior advisor to the president and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement from July 2022 until April 2023.

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE FROM WHITE HOUSE ROLE

Keisha Lance Bottoms during the Bloomberg Equality Summit in New York, on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Bottoms also wanted to address critics who say she quit her job as Atlanta’s mayor when she decided not to run for re-election in 2021.

“I think people forget that mayors are elected to a four-year term,” she said. “I finished my term. If we want people to serve as mayor for eight years, we should make sure that they are elected to an eight-year term.”

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and more than a dozen other House Republicans are pushing a proposal to ban the provision of chemical abortion drugs.

The congressman reintroduced the proposal that he previously put forward in 2023, according to a press release, which provides a link to the text of the 2023 version.

“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whoever prescribes, dispenses, distributes, or sells, any drug, medication, or chemical for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion on any woman, shall be imprisoned for not more than 25 years, fined under this title, or both,” the text reads.

MANY WOMEN ‘UNPREPARED’ FOR INTENSITY OF PAIN FROM CHEMICAL ABORTION, STUDY FINDS

Rep. Andy Ogles at event about The Ending Chemical Abortion Act in Capitol Hill of Washington D.C., on Sept. 28, 2023 (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The ban would not apply to the provision “of any contraceptive agent administered before conception or before pregnancy can be confirmed through conventional testing,” or to “treatment of a miscarriage,” or to situations “where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death.”

The proposal also stipulates that a woman who receives a chemical abortion may not be prosecuted criminally.

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“Chemical abortions not only end a human life but pose a serious risk to the lives of the mothers,” Ogles noted, according to both the 2023 and 2025 press releases about the proposal. 

“I’m taking a stand against the irresponsibility of the Democrats and working to protect women and girls across America. I’m taking a stand for life because, born or unborn, every single person is uniquely and wonderfully made. It’s not merely a political issue; it’s a moral duty to uphold the sanctity of life. I am committed to safeguarding the innocent and voiceless in our society,” he noted.

Cosponsors include Republican Reps. Mary Miller of Illinois, Trent Kelly of Mississippi, Mike Bost of Illinois, Ben Cline of Virginia, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Rick Allen of Georgia, Randy Weber of Texas, Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Elijah Crane of Arizona, Mark Green of Tennessee, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Doug LaMalfa of California, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Barry Moore of Alabama, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, and Mike Ezell of Mississippi.

LAWMAKER UNVEILS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO GIVE TRUMP THIRD TERM

Left: Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, is seen after the freshman class photo on the East Front of the Capitol on Nov. 14, 2018; Center: Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is seen outside the U.S. Capitol during House votes on Friday, April 12, 2022; Right: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., arrives to a Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building on Sept. 13, 2023 in Washington, D.C.  (Left: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call; Center: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Right: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Ogles recently proposed a Constitutional amendment that would alter presidential term limits in a manner that would allow President Donald Trump to seek a third term in office.

The proposal reads, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”