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President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, received a warm welcome from the Republican legislature in Arizona – while Democrats walked out of the special joint session in protest within seconds of his 30-minute speech.

“I think this is just another reason why it just shows again that the Democrats are totally out of touch with Americans,” Arizona Senate President Warren Peterson told Fox News Digital in an interview. “We expanded our majorities because immigration is a top issue, especially here in Arizona as a border state. I guess what’s surprising is that they keep doubling down on issues that they’re completely losing on.”

State Democrats walked out while holding pieces of paper with the names of people deported under the Trump administration’s mass deportation program, as Homan appeared unfazed, saying, “I love it. Thank you for making my day. I love haters, they make my day every day.” 

UP TO 1M MIGRANTS WHO USED BIDEN’S CBP ONE APP ORDERED TO DEPORT BY TRUMP ADMIN

Border czar Tom Homan was boycotted by Democrat lawmakers at the Arizona legislature within seconds of speaking about the administration’s mass deportation program. (Getty Images)

“We won because of the Hispanic male voting Republican, and the Democrats are completely out with their base on this issue,” Petersen said. “So, they do have some people that are extreme, that are opposed to border security. But what I am finding is that the majority of Hispanics want Arizona to be safe and they want the borders to be secure.”

Instead of attending Homan’s speech, several Democrats gathered outside the state Capitol to rally and denounce the administration’s immigration policies, with Rep. Anna Abeytia reportedly in tears as she spoke about the growing “rise of anti-immigration sentiment” in her community.

State Sen. Catherine Miranda, a Democrat, called it “disturbing” that Republicans would give “a platform to someone who has caused so much harm in our community.” 

Miranda claimed Homan is not just responsible for deporting people, but for “kidnappings, disappearances and the deportation of individuals for reasons as unjust as having tattoos, protesting or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Right now, they might only be going after the right to due process for immigrants, but soon they will be coming for you or your loved one’s due rights processes as well,” Miranda said in a statement.

State Rep. Betty Villegas, another Democrat, called ICE “cruel” under Homan’s leadership, “even by Trump-era standards.”

COLORADO DEMS ARE ‘POKING THE BEAR’ BY DEFYING TRUMP’S ORDERS, GOP LAWMAKER WARNS

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

Homan was invited by Arizona Senate and House Republicans to talk about the status of illegal border crossings and missing migrant children. At the end of his speech, he signaled his support for state measure Proposition 314, the Secure the Border Act, passed by Arizona voters in November. 

“Congratulations on your immigration legislation. I know it’s being litigated, but you will win,” Homan said.

Homan also said the administration is “not going to apologize” for deporting illegal immigrants through the Alien Enemies Act.

“They came here to unsettle this country, to cause harm,” he said. “We will not apologize for sending two planeloads of terrorists out of this country.”

MEXICAN MAN CONVICTED OF KILLING HIS CHILD TO BE DEPORTED AFTER ENCOUNTERING ICE OFFICERS IN MONTANA JAIL

Migrants walk along the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Lukeville, Arizona, on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Trump administration initiated deportation flights targeting alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua, invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Despite a federal judge’s order to ground the planes, the administration went ahead, arguing the flights were already en route and beyond U.S. airspace when the injunction was issued.

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The Supreme Court later ruled that the administration could continue deportations under the Alien Enemies Act but said deportees must be notified and allowed to challenge their removal. 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris engaged in a “dark-arts operation” to undercut other potential running mates for former President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to a new book. 

The book, “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,” published April 1 by William Morrow and Company, claims that Harris spread unfavorable information about other possible vice presidential picks for Biden. 

“In 2020, when she beat out a crowded field to join Biden’s ticket, Harris advisers ran a dark-arts operation to undermine the competition, circulating negative information on her rivals,” write political journalists Jonathan Allen of NBC News and Amie Parnes of The Hill.

TENSIONS ALLEGEDLY RISE BETWEEN BIDEN WHITE HOUSE AND HARRIS CAMPAIGN: ‘TOO MUCH IN THEIR FEELINGS’

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally, Nov. 2, 2024, at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Specifically, the book singled out Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

“‘We stabbed Karen Bass a little bit. We stabbed Susan Rice a little bit. We stabbed Stacey Abrams a little bit,” one adviser said of the effort four years earlier. ‘We stabbed Gretchen Whitmer.’”

The book did not delve into the specifics Harris took to undercut her opponents as they all vied for the vice presidential nomination. 

But any steps Harris took to undermine those women didn’t damage their relationships enough to stop them from backing her in the 2024 election. 

Bass endorsed Harris, and both Whitmer and Abrams appeared at Harris campaign events in 2024. Additionally, Rice also defended Harris in July after Rep. Ted Burchett, R-Tenn., described Harris as a “DEI hire.” Rice described the comment as “incredibly insulting,” in an interview with CNN. 

KAMALA HARRIS WAS ‘VERY ANNOYED’ WITH OBAMA AS SHE SOUGHT HIS ENDORSEMENT, BOOK REVEALS

Michigan Gov. Whitmer supported Harris in the 2024 election, and appeared at a campaign event with the vice president. (Getty Images)

Harris, who previously served as a senator from California, has signed with CAA Speakers, which represents high-profile celebrities. CAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

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“Fight” chronicles how President Donald Trump secured the White House for a second term. Allen and Parnes conducted interviews with more than 150 political insiders for the book, according to the book’s description.

The book also details how former President Barack Obama remained wary of supporting Harris in the 2024 election to replace Biden, amid concerns about his mental fitness. Likewise, the book shares that Obama doubted Biden’s political abilities as the race dragged on. 

Sen. Adam Schiff fired back late Tuesday after President Donald Trump mocked the California Democrat during a black-tie Republican dinner in Washington, D.C.

“The President of the United States seems oddly focused on me,” Schiff posted after footage of Trump’s jokes made the rounds.

“Shouldn’t he be focused on the economy he’s crashing?” he wrote.

During the event hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) – the House Republicans’ campaign arm – Trump wove in a few insults about the Boston-born Angeleno’s appearance into a verbal indictment of his role in the 2016 Russia collusion investigation.

KASH PATEL ENRAGES ADAM SCHIFF IN CLINTONIAN BATTLE OVER THE WORD ‘WE’

“Adam ‘Schifty’ Schiff – can you believe this guy?” Trump said. “He’s got the smallest neck I’ve ever seen – and the biggest head: We call him Watermelon-Head.” Trump went on to ruminate about 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 went on to call Schiff “one of the most dishonest human beings I’ve ever seen,” and wondered aloud how people like Schiff could be able to run for office.

FLASHBACK: SCHIFF, WHO REPEATEDLY CLAIMED EVIDENCE OF RUSSIAN COLLUSION, DENOUNCES DURHAM REPORT AS ‘FLAWED’

President Donald Trump, left, and Sen. Adam Schiff. (Getty)

“He was in charge of the fake witch hunt – with ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ – it was a made-up story,” he said, playing off the “Brady Bunch” line “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.”

In 2020, Schiff managed the House’s impeachment probe into Trump, leading off his opening remarks that January by comparing former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton’s 1792 warning to then-President George Washington about future American leaders who would rise to the executive “despotic in [their] ordinary demeanor.”

“When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits… known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty—when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity—to join in the cry of danger to liberty—to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion—to flatter and fall in with all the nonsense of the zealots of the day—It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind,” Schiff said at the time.

Sen. Adam Schiff. (Getty)

Since then, he and Trump have often traded criticisms, with Trump also referring to him in the past as a “structural marvel,” with an appearance like a “finger on a basketball.”

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In October, Trump compared Schiff to the “enemy from within” and called him a “sleazebag” on FOX Business before lamenting that the Democrat would likely defeat former MLB star Steve Garvey for California’s open U.S. Senate seat.

For his part, Schiff has also clapped back at Republicans for their criticisms – responding in July to a report that now-Vice President JD Vance had lamented campaign name-calling after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the GOP ticket “weird.”

“Shifty Schiff, pencil neck and watermelon head, would like a word, JD,” Schiff responded at the time on Facebook.

Fox News Digital reached out to Schiff for additional comment but did not immediately hear back.

Business tycoon Elon Musk floated the idea that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is somehow profiting off of government fraud, though the lawmaker has pushed back.

“Chuck, I’m starting to think you’re getting a piece of the action with the government fraud. But no, that couldn’t possibly be the reason, could it?” Musk posted early Tuesday morning.

Musk, who has been spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort to expose waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, made the comment in response to a Monday post in which Schumer accused DOGE of “sabotaging” Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — the post reflected sentiments Schumer had conveyed during a Senate speech.

ELON MUSK DUNKS ON SEN CHUCK SCHUMER, DECLARING ‘HYSTERICAL REACTIONS’ DEMONSTRATE DOGE’S IMPORTANCE

Elon Musk, left, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images | Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Schumer fired back in response to Musk’s suggestion he could be benefiting from government fraud.

“Another Elon lie. He wants you to think anyone who dares to stand up to him is committing fraud, meanwhile he’s taking tens of billions from the government,” Schumer declared in a post on Tuesday.

MUSK SPARS WITH WHITE HOUSE TRADE ADVISOR PETER NAVARRO: ‘DUMBER THAN A SACK OF BRICKS’

Early Tuesday morning, Musk fired off a response to a post in which Schumer suggested that Musk is slashing Social Security benefits.

“Make no mistake: What Elon Musk is doing at Social Security is cutting benefits,” Schumer said in a post on Monday, which echoed his speech. 

“The intern running Schumer’s social media account is lying,” Musk shot back Tuesday on X.

SCHUMER SLAMS UNITED AUTO WORKERS UNION FOR PRAISING THE TRUMP TARIFFS HE SAYS ‘HURT EVERYBODY’

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During the speech, Schumer claimed that “Elon Musk is cutting Social Security benefits.”

“When offices close down, when websites crash, when phone lines shut off, that’s no different than cutting benefits,” Schumer said.

FIRST ON FOX: Venezuelan opposition leader and U.S.-recognized President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia promised to offer “reparations” to Laken Riley’s family and other Americans affected by the crimes of street gang Tren de Aragua. 

In a letter to Riley’s family, González and fellow opposition leader María Corina Machado wrote, “Laken’s life, full of potential and promise, was tragically cut short by an individual who should have never been allowed to cross your border.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with González and Machado in January, reaffirming that Urrutia is the “legitimate president” of Venezuela. The Biden administration had previously referred to Urrutia as the “president-elect” before leaving office.

In their letter, the opposition leaders called Riley’s murder a “direct consequence of Nicolás Maduro’s regime, which has fostered an environment where criminal organizations like Tren de Aragua can flourish with impunity.”

FEDERAL JUDGE POSTPONES DHS’S ATTEMPT TO END TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR VENEZUELANS

Venezuela’s opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia wrote a letter to the family of Laken Riley. (ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP via Getty Images)

Urrutia vowed that, if officially installed as president, he would “hold accountable all those responsible for the devastation they have wrought, both within Venezuela and internationally.”

“We intend to establish a comprehensive framework for reparations, both for the countless Venezuelans harmed by this narco-state and also for victims abroad, including your family.”

Gonzales also noted that the “vast majority of Venezuelans who have sought safety in the United States are committed to upholding the law and contributing to your nation’s economy and society.”

“They long for the day they can return home to reunite with their families and work toward a free and prosperous Venezuela. We look forward to welcoming them back,” they added. 

“Please accept this letter as a message of our deepest condolence and a solemn promise: Laken will never be forgotten. She will be remembered as an innocent victim of tyranny and a powerful catalyst for the change we are determined to bring about.” 

WH MAY REVERSE DECISION TO KILL BIDEN-MADURO OIL DEAL, APPLY TARIFFS INSTEAD TO AVOID HURTING US FIRMS

Supporters cheer during a campaign rally of Venezuela’s opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado ahead of the July elections. (REUTERS/Isaac Urrutia)

The Trump administration was allowed to move forward with a plan to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime immigration law dating back to 1798, to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals believed to be affiliated with Tren de Aragua. Legal battles over the deportation effort intensified when a federal district court temporarily blocked the policy – prompting Trump allies to call for the impeachment of Judge James Boasberg.

According to United Nations estimates, roughly 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled the country over the past decade, escaping economic collapse marked by hyperinflation, which peaked at 130,000% in 2018, and widespread poverty.

Since taking power in 2013, Nicolás Maduro’s regime has been plagued by allegations of corruption, authoritarianism, money laundering and drug trafficking. While many nations recognized González’s election victory in July, Maduro has refused to relinquish power.

READ THE LETTER BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

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Maduro has issued an arrest warrant for González, who fled into exile in Spain last September.

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was killed while jogging on the University of Georgia campus in February 2024. The suspect, José Ibarra – a Venezuelan national who entered the U.S. illegally – was arrested and charged with her murder. The killing sparked nationwide outrage and led to new immigration legislation that Trump signed into law shortly after taking office this year.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted some Republican members of Congress for trying to limit his presidential powers on instituting tariffs so that Congress could retake control.

Trump delivered a speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee, calling out “rebel” Republicans while speaking about his trade policies.

“And then I see some rebel Republican, some guy who wants to grandstand, say, ‘I think that Congress should take over negotiations.’ Let me tell you, you don’t negotiate like I negotiate,” Trump said.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., is leading a bipartisan bill to block Trump from instituting tariffs and retake that power for Congress. Bacon told reporters earlier on Tuesday that he didn’t like “the thought of waging a trade war with the entire world.” 

TRUMP TRADE REP TAKES BIPARTISAN FIRE OVER TARIFFS AS DEM LAUNCHES BID TO HALT THEM

President Donald Trump speaks as he attends the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)

In the Senate, a bipartisan group led by Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is also introducing a resolution to repeal Trump’s global tariffs. 

Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., have already introduced a bipartisan bill that would require the president to notify Congress about any new tariffs within 48 hours of imposition and require Congress to approve new tariffs within 60 days or allow them to expire.

Trump chewed out the Republicans over the proposed bills.

Trump blasted some Republican members of Congress for trying to block his powers on instituting tariffs. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)

“I just saw it today, a couple of your congressmen,” Trump said before launching into an impression of a lawmaker. “‘Sir, I think we should get involved in the negotiation of the tariffs.’ Oh, that’s what I need, I need some guy telling me how to negotiate.”

WHITE HOUSE WARNS AGAINST TARIFF RETALIATION, SAYS TRUMP ‘HAS SPINE OF STEEL AND HE WILL NOT BREAK’

Trump said that should Congress take over tariff negotiations, China would be “the happiest people in the world.”

“They wouldn’t be paying 104%,” Trump said of China. “I’d say they’d be paying no percent — we’d be paying them 104%.”

Trump said that even the talk around Capitol Hill about limiting his tariff powers “hurts your negotiation,” adding, “And then the fake news wants to build it up, and it has no chance anyway.”

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“We have to remain united as I defend workers from unfair trade,” Trump said.

Vice President JD Vance spoke out against Sen. Mitch McConnell’s, R-Ky., vote against confirming Elbridge Colby to serve as undersecretary of defense for policy.

“Mitch’s vote today—like so much of the last few years of his career—is one of the great acts of political pettiness I’ve ever seen,” Vance declared in a post on X.

Colby was confirmed in a 54-45 vote on Tuesday. McConnell was the only Senate Republican to vote against confirmation, while three Democrats voted in Colby’s favor.

ELBRIDGE COLBY CONFIRMED TO TOP PENTAGON POLICY POST AFTER HESITATION FROM GOP HAWKS

Left: Vice President JD Vance speaks at the U.S. military’s Pituffik Space Base on March 28, 2025 in Pituffik, Greenland; Right: Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks through the U.S. Capitol on April 8, 2025 in Washington, D.C.  (Left: Jim Watson – Pool / Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump announced Colby as his pick for the Pentagon post when he was the president-elect.

“Elbridge Colby’s long public record suggests a willingness to discount the complexity of the challenges facing America, the critical value of our allies and partners, and the urgent need to invest in hard power to preserve American primacy,” McConnell said in a statement.

“The prioritization that Mr. Colby argues is fresh, new, and urgently needed is, in fact, a return to an Obama-era conception of a la carte geostrategy. Abandoning Ukraine and Europe and downplaying the Middle East to prioritize the Indo-Pacific is not a clever geopolitical chess move. It is geostrategic self-harm that emboldens our adversaries and drives wedges between America and our allies for them to exploit,” the senator asserted.

VANCE VISITS CAPITOL HILL TO URGE SENATORS TO CONFIRM ELBRIDGE COLBY FOR PENTAGON NO. 3 POST

Elbridge Colby, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be under secretary of defense for policy, prepares for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2025 in Washington, D.C.  ( Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

McConnell has voted against multiple Trump nominees this year.

“Mr. Colby’s confirmation leaves open the door for the less-polished standard-bearers of restraint and retrenchment at the Pentagon to do irreparable damage to the system of alliances and partnerships which serve as force multipliers to U.S. leadership. It encourages isolationist perversions of peace through strength to continue apace at the highest levels of Administration policymaking,” McConnell said.

DISPUTED DOD NOMINEE IS ‘BEST PERSON’ TO IMPLEMENT TRUMP AND HEGSETH AGENDA, KEY CONSERVATIVE GROUP SAYS

Vice President JD Vance greets his friend and President Donald Trump’s nominee to be undersecretary of defense for policy. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Vance spoke out in support of Colby last month at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Colby’s nomination.

Biden administration State Department officials held private talks with Beijing counterparts about the Chinese spy balloon that intercepted U.S. airspace in 2023, and discussed the implications the balloon’s publicity would have on the relationship between the U.S. and China, according to Trump administration officials. 

U.S. officials identified the spy balloon infiltrating U.S. airspace on Jan. 28, 2023, and an Air Force fighter jet shot down the Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina Feb. 4, 2023, two days after the Pentagon issued a statement on the matter.  

Biden officials held discussions with Beijing Feb. 1, 2023, about the balloon, and discussed the impact disclosing the balloon to the public could have on the relationship with China, internal State Department documents show, two Trump administration officials told Fox News Digital.  

CHINESE SPY BALLOON EQUIPPED WITH TECH FROM AT LEAST 5 US FIRMS: REPORT 

The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. Feb. 4, 2023.  (Randall Hill/Reuters)

An internal State Department readout of the talks between Blinken and a top Chinese diplomat said Blinken stated that if the presence of the balloon were revealed publicly, it could have “profound implications for our relationship” with China, particularly amid efforts to stabilize the bilateral relationship with Beijing, two Trump administration officials familiar with the documents told Fox News Digital. 

The readout said that the incident could also have complicated Blinken’s travel plans to China in early February 2023, if not quickly resolved. Blinken ultimately postponed the trip until June 2023. 

A former Biden administration official told Fox News Digital that the State Department summoned senior Chinese diplomat Zhu Haiquan Feb. 1, 2023, so that the U.S. could notify China to remove the balloon, and issue a warning that the U.S. could take action to eliminate the balloon. 

“Former Secretary Blinken advocated strongly to tell the American people about China’s rogue balloon, which is exactly what happened,” a spokesperson for the former secretary of state said in a Tuesday statement to Fox News Digital. “He has a long history of being tough on China while actually delivering results.”

Likewise, another senior State Department official also held private talks on Feb. 1, 2023, with Chinese counterparts. A readout from that discussion says that the official claimed the longer it took to mitigate the issue would only increase the likelihood that news of the balloon would become public, posing greater challenges managing the situation, the Trump administration officials said. 

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO … THE INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE CHINESE SPY BALLOON

American forces recover debris from a shot-down Chinese surveillance balloon in South Carolina.  (US Fleet Forces)

Ultimately, the Pentagon issued a statement Feb. 2, 2023, claiming that the U.S. government had detected a “high-altitude surveillance balloon.” 

While then-White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden received a briefing on the balloon on Jan. 31, 2023, she did not provide details regarding why his administration didn’t issue a statement on the matter until Feb. 2, 2023. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, then a U.S. senator from Florida, repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for how it handled disclosing information to the public about the balloon — and how long it took the administration to shoot it down. 

Biden’s failure to address the situation sooner was the “beginning of dereliction of duty,” Rubio said during an appearance on CNN with Jake Tapper. 

“Why didn’t the president go on television?” Rubio told Tapper. “He has the ability to convene the country in cameras and basically explain what we’re dealing with here.” 

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U.S. Air Force pilot looks down at the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovered over the Central Continental, United States February 3, 2023. Recovery efforts began shortly after the balloon was downed.  (US Department of Defense / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

On Feb. 4, 2023, an Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet from Virginia’s Langley Air Force Base shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. 

At the time, the Pentagon said that while the balloon was not a military or physical threat, its presence in U.S. airspace did violate U.S. sovereignty. The Pentagon also shut down China’s initial claims that the balloon was a weather balloon blown off course and labeled such statements false. 

“This was a PRC surveillance balloon,” a senior defense official told reporters at the time. “This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada, and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites.”

The Pentagon also said after shooting down the balloon that similar balloons from China transited continental U.S. airspace in at least three instances during Trump’s first administration. 

Sailors assigned to Assault Craft Unit 4 prepare material recovered off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., in the Atlantic Ocean from the shooting down of a Chinese high-altitude balloon, for transport to the FBI, at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Va., on Feb. 10, 2023.  (Ryan Seelbach/U.S. Navy via AP)

Additionally, Biden “gave his authorization to take down the Chinese surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to us civilians under the balloon’s path,” the senior defense official said, noting that there was concern debris could harm civilians. 

The Pentagon later said in June 2023 that it did not believe that the balloon gathered information as it traveled across the U.S.

Blinken is now a speaker with CAA Speakers, which represents high-profile celebrities.

A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

FIRST ON FOX: Schools around the country could soon be able to opt into the “Congressional Fitness Challenge,” including legendary boxer Mike Tyson’s own academy.

House Concurrent Resolution 20, introduced by Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., would create a voluntary program that would allow students who successfully complete the challenge to receive a signed certificate from the speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate, and the student’s senator and congressman.

“Listen, because we need to be in shape, man,” Tyson told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“We can’t physically get into an army because we’re out of shape. And that’s embarrassing. So it comes across we’re the most heavy, heaviest people in the planet. We’re the fattest people in world, Americans,” he continued. Specifically, Tyson noted 77% of Americans aged 17 to 24 would need a wavier in order to serve in the military, according to the Department of Defense.

“It’s just mental. It’s just a shame, but it can be helped,” Tyson said of the issue.

‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’: HOUSE REPUBLICAN TOUTS GOP EFFORT TO PASS BILL CRACKING DOWN ON ‘ROGUE’ JUDGES

Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., introduced House Concurrent Resolution 20, which would create a voluntary program that would allow students who successfully complete the challenge to receive a signed certificate from the speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate, and the student’s senator and congressman. (Abe Hamadeh)

It would apply to students in K-12 public and private schools, groups that provide the testing to home schoolers, and members of Congress who hold a “community-based event” for the challenge, the current text states.

According to the resolution, the benchmarks will be inspired by “historical” lines for the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, which was popularized under the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations in the 1960s.

“So we got to make sure that they’re physically fit. Now is the perfect time to be instituting this once again, because we understand President Trump through his Cabinet picks and through what his campaign promises have been with the America First agenda, where he wants to make America healthy again,” Hamadeh said.

The test itself would entail a mile-long run or walk, pull-ups or a flexed arm hang, curl-ups, sit-ups, shuttle runs, and sit-and-reach. Those who perform well would be divided into gold, silver, and bronze levels. The gold level would be in the top 85th percentile, silver would cover the top 75th percentile, and bronze would be in the top 50th percentile, the legislation states.

Tyson added that actions like this give him hope for the future.

“I think this is going to improve, and people are going to get better, and people want to get healthier. I just believe that,” he said.

MIKE TYSON TALKS SUPPORT FOR FELLOW ‘FIGHTER’ PRESIDENT TRUMP

Schools around the country could soon be able to opt into the “Congressional Fitness Challenge,” including legendary boxer Mike Tyson’s own academy. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Tyson is at the helm of Tyson Transformational Technologies Academy, a private school in Arizona that is part of the My Life My Power International Preparatory Academy, which has campuses in Florida and West Virginia as well. The academies plan on taking up the challenge.

“I believe in this country and I believe we’re going to get well and we’re going to be in good condition. And we’re gonna be able to go into the army and defend our country,” Tyson said.

Other athletes have come out in support of the resolution, including former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.

NFL LEGEND BRETT FAVRE MAKES PREDICTION ON POSSIBILITY OF INTERNATIONAL SUPER BOWL

Other athletes have come out in support of the resolution, including former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“Love this! So important for our Youth,” Brown posted to X. 

“As a former pro athlete, one of us knows first-hand the doors that physical fitness can open— confidence, leadership, the drive to succeed. As a Member of Congress and former US Army Captain and Intelligence Officer, the other sees the broader picture – healthier kids mean a healthier, more prosperous America,” Favre and Hamadeh co-wrote in an op-ed for OutKick in March. 

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The resolution is co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Tony Wied and Martin Stutzman.

“Right now, people are really focused on what foods have been going into their bodies and how come the obesity rate has tripled,” Hamadeh said. “And it’s a real problem in terms of a national security perspective. So the government has an invested interest in this. but also the American people do it themselves as well.”

EXCLUSIVE: Legislation will be introduced Tuesday to expand the list of crimes that would require a migrant to be taken into custody.

The “Safeguarding American Property Act” would add arson, vandalism and trespassing to the crimes that would require those in the country illegally to be placed into federal custody.

“Property rights are a fundamental American value,” Rep. Troy Downing, R-Mont., said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

TRUMP SIGNS LAKEN RILEY ACT INTO LAW AS FIRST LEGISLATIVE VICTORY IN NEW ADMINISTRATION

Immigrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico, on Aug. 6, 2022, in Yuma, Arizona. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

“Those who disregard our laws by committing acts of vandalism or trespassing on private property, especially those who broke our laws crossing our borders, must not be allowed to remain. This bill builds on the good work of the Laken Riley Act and takes another step toward reversing Biden’s border crisis. I appreciate the support of the bill’s cosponsors, and I look forward to getting this legislation passed into law to keep our communities safe,” he continued.

Specifically, it would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Montana Republican’s legislation is meant to help rural communities, which could have limited law enforcement resources to protect property. 

Many properties along the southern border faced damage as a result of the high volume of migrants that came across throughout the Biden administration, which triggered the state of Texas to create the Landowner Compensation Program to help repay those in agricultural communities.

LAKEN RILEY ACT UNLEASHES FEDS TO HUNT VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS IN FLORIDA: LAWMAKER

Cattle graze at a ranch in Blanchard, Oklahoma, on Dec. 2, 2021. (Nick Oxford/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Illegal aliens crossing the Texas-Mexico border at Joe Biden’s invitation leave behind a trail of destruction that harms Texas agricultural land,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in May 2024. “This program will provide needed relief to Texans whose property is damaged by foreign aliens waved into the country by the federal government. I am glad to help the farmers and ranchers on our borderlands who bear the costs of Biden’s destructive policies.”

Downing’s proposal builds off the Laken Riley Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump this winter. The act garnered some bipartisan support, as it made theft, similar criminal charges or assaulting an officer triggers for federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants for potential deportation.

LAKEN RILEY MURDER: JUDGE SENTENCES COLLEGE STUDENT KILLER AFTER FAMILY ADDRESSES ‘MONSTER’ IN COURT

Laken Riley was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)

The law is named after a late 22-year-old nursing student who was killed by illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra while on a jog on the University of Georgia campus.

Ibarra had been arrested in the past but was not taken into ICE custody, and he’s now facing life behind bars.

“This horrific atrocity should never have been allowed to happen,” Trump said at the time, as it was the first bill signed in his second term. “And as president, I’m fighting every single day to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.”

Fox News’ Diana Stacy contributed to this report. 

What’s most striking about President Trump’s tariff war is that he’s being pressured by some of his closest advisers and supporters to end the crusade that has upended the world economy.

It’s not just media conservatives like Ben Shapiro, Rich Lowry, Ben Domenech and the Wall Street Journal editorial page. It’s longtime wealthy donors like Ken Langone, co-founder of Home Depot, who denounced the tariffs and cited the 46 percent levy on Vietnam as an example of “bull****,” telling the Financial Times that “right now what everybody’s terrified of is a trade war.” 

Another billionaire, hedge fund investor Bill Ackman said, “The consequences for our country and the millions of citizens who have supported the president…are going to be severely negative.” Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, said “whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth.”

WHITE HOUSE SAYS BEIJING MISSED DEADLINE TO LIFT RETALIATORY TARIFFS, US TO HIKE CHINA TARIFFS TO 104%

The most famous defector is Elon Musk, who, according to the Washington Post, privately urged Trump not to go ahead with the sky-high tariffs. Now he’s gone public: 

“Ideally, both Europe and the United States should move to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America.” Even the world’s richest man and chief budget cutter couldn’t convince the boss, and he is off the reservation.  

Musk is also taking shots at the strongest tariff booster in the White House, Peter Navarro, calling him “truly a moron,” “dumber than a sack of bricks,” and, in a particularly juvenile jab, “Peter Navarrdo.”

In addition to sounding off against President Trump’s tariffs, Elon Musk has thrown a few rhetorical punches at the staunchly pro-tariff Peter Navarro. (AP)

The aforementioned Navarro, you’ll be happy to hear, went on Fox and guaranteed there will be no recession. So you can all resume regular breathing.

It doesn’t help Trump that after an early rebound rally yesterday ran out of gas, the Dow dropped another 320 points, after a dramatic decline that has decimated people’s stock holdings and 401-Ks. The Constitution, by the way, says Congress is in charge of tariffs.

Almost no one is safe, including Bibi Netanyahu, who came to the White House on Monday in a ring-kissing gesture, has imposed no levies on the U.S., but still got hit with a 17 percent tariff. Against Israel, our chief ally in the Middle East and the region’s only democracy?

And the escalation with China, our biggest adversary, was predictable. Trump had hit Beijing with a 54 percent tariff (including an earlier 20 percent levy). Beijing hit back, as promised, with a 34 percent tariff on U.S. goods, battling what it calls blackmail. 

Wouldn’t we have done the exact same thing if the roles were reversed?

But Trump acted as though he was personally insulted, and is now vowing an additional 50 percent tariff on the Chinese. This is how trade wars spiral out of control. And China has cut off negotiations on the sale of TikTok to an American owner.   

Media blunders also fueled the market’s volatility. On Monday, Bloomberg – that is, someone identified as Walter Bloomberg, not connected to any news outlet – posted this: “HASSETT: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE IN TARIFFS FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT CHINA.”

Media blunders – including one claiming Kevin Hassett, director of the White House economic council, said Trump was considering a 90-day tariff pause – only exacerbated market volatility. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

This goosed the stock market. Except that Kevin Hassett, director of the White House economic council, never said that. 

But CNBC morning anchor Carl Quintanilla told viewers, “I think we can go with this headline. Apparently, Hassett’s been saying that Trump will consider a 90-day pause in tariffs for all countries except for China.”

Reuters then ran with this headline: “Wall Street reverses course after Hassett’s comments on tariff pause.”

What Hassett actually said, when asked on Fox if Trump would consider a 90-day tariff pause: “I think the president is gonna decide what the president is gonna decide.” Not exactly the same thing. But the market shot up.

The wire service later admitted the mistake: “Reuters has withdrawn the incorrect report and regrets its error.”

TRUMP, EYEING 3RD TERM, KEEPS ATTACKING ELITE INSTITUTIONS – AND MANY ARE CAVING

A CNBC spokeswoman said later, “As we were chasing the news of the market moves in real-time, we aired unconfirmed information in a banner. Our reporters quickly made a correction on air.”

Meghan McCain posted a broader swipe against the media: “There are so many hypocritical talking heads on TV saying they don’t care about losing money or being in financial pain for a while. Most of you are married to finance bros, come from rich families or have huge media contracts. You have a cushion…

“One of my best friends buys her groceries for her family based on what coupons each store has. I assure you a possible recession or huge rise in prices everywhere will be a different experience for her family than you.”

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

Is there an exit ramp? White House officials say 70 countries have been in touch, seeking a negotiated settlement. Some, of course, were doing that in the runup to “Liberation Day.” The president could reach many of the settlements, declare victory and credit his tariff war.

At the moment, he shows no inclination to do that, having pushed the tariff idea since the 1980s and repeatedly promising such an approach during last year’s campaign. 

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I wrote a book on Wall Street and the media, talked to many top traders as well as business anchors and commentators. I understand the hair-trigger nature of the culture. Everyone expected that Donald Trump would impose hefty tariffs, just not at this stratospheric level.

Wall Street rebounded into the green as multiple foreign countries came to the tariff negotiating table with President Donald Trump – but that was not enough to assuage some lawmakers’ critiques of the “alla prima” tariff actions, as one Republican put it.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testified Tuesday the U.S. has long-suffered from “China Shock” – the surge in manufacturing outputs from the Communist nation since the turn of the century – and that the U.S. had to do something substantive but strategic about the 5 million manufacturing jobs lost and 90,000 factories closed since the middle of the Clinton administration.

“President Biden left us with a $1.2 trillion trade deficit-in-goods – the largest of any country in the history of the world,” Greer said.

“During COVID, we were unable to procure semiconductors to build our cars or materials for pharmaceuticals and personal protective equipment. During World War II, we built nearly 9,000 ships. Last year, the United States built only three ocean-going vessels,” he said.

STOCKS JUMP AS TRUMP TARIFF NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies before the Senate Finance Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. (Getty Images)

Greer said the U.S. historically was on the surplus side of agriculture trade but that, as of late, purportedly friendly countries like Australia have essentially rejected beef and pork exports, while America has not reciprocated with their livestock.

That became a sore subject during a particularly heated exchange between Greer and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., as the lawmaker claimed Trump unnecessarily “clobbered” Canberra with a 10% tariff.

“We have a free trade agreement with Australia,” he said, questioning Trump’s “fancy Greek formula” for determining tariffs.

Democrats and media figures previously mocked Trump for tariffing uninhabited Australian islands in the Indian Ocean – which Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested over the weekend was to close any potential loophole to circumvent tariffs on such countries’ mainland.

Greer argued the “lowest rate available” was imposed on Australia, leading Warner to ask again “why did they get whacked in the first place.”

“Despite the [free trade] agreement, they ban our beef, they banned our pork, they’re getting ready to impose measures on our digital companies – It’s incredible,” Greer said.

OPINION: TRUMP RISKS IT ALL ON TARIFFS

Warner later acknowledged markets had rebounded a “blip” by midday but said a Wall Street contact equated it to a “good day in hospice.”

Meanwhile, during his opening remarks, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden said he has drafted a bipartisan resolution to “end the latest crop of global tariffs that are clobbering American families and small businesses.”

“Members on both sides of the aisle ought to know that this is a call to action and Congress must step in to rein this president on trade,” Wyden said.

He called the tariffs “aimless” and “chaotic” and said it showed Congress ceded the executive branch too much constitutional power.

In his testimony, Greer called trade imbalance an indicator of both an economic and national security emergency.

He also suggested America’s allies have been foisting unfair policies on the American consumer – including the European Union.

“[They] can sell us all the shellfish they want, but the EU bans shellfish from 48 states. The result is a trade deficit in shellfish with the EU,” he said.

CHINA REFUSES TO BACK DOWN ON TARIFFS

“We only charge a 2.5% tariff on ethanol, but Brazil charges us an 18% tariff. The result? We have a large trade deficit in ethanol with Brazil.”

“Our average tariff on agricultural goods is 5%, but India’s average tariff is 39%. You understand the trend here.”

In response to some of Wyden’s concerns, Greer said Vietnam has already negotiated a lower tariff on U.S. cherries and apples exported from Oregon and the Northwest.

“This is exactly the right direction that we want to go in,” Greer said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., struck a more middling tone on tariffs, saying that he has never been a “great fan of free trade,” and cited his work ending NAFTA and opposing normalized relations with China.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 20, 2023 in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

He also cited the outsourcing of manufacturing to Mexico, saying it killed hundreds of thousands of American jobs and has many Mexican workers “living in cardboard boxes.”

“That is the type of trade policy which I detest. But I want to move to an area, to talk about the legal basis of what President Trump has done,” he said.

Sanders said he lives 50 miles from Canada and does not see the same empirical data on illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling that Trump accused Ottawa of failing to act on – and incorporated into his tariff calculations.

On the Republican side, Chairman Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, was largely deferential to Trump and Greer, while some other Republicans voiced concerns.

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Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa questioned whether Congress “delegated too much authority to the president” but said he supports the president so long as his mission is to “turn tariffs into trade deals to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers” versus any plot to “feed the U.S. Treasury through them.”

“I made very clear throughout my public service that I’m a free and fair trader. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. I believe that Congress delegated too much authority to the president in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Trade Act of 1974,” he said.

Additionally, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., pressed Greer on who should be considered the person that will take ultimately responsibility for either praise or accountability depending on the outcome of the tariff actions.

“Whose throat do I have to choke,” he said, underlining that the phrase was borrowed from a management consulting mantra.

House Republicans are divided over how to proceed on a massive piece of legislation aimed at advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda as a possible vote on the measure looms Wednesday afternoon.

Fiscal hawks are rebelling against GOP leaders over plans to pass the Senate’s version of a sweeping framework that sets the stage for a Trump policy overhaul on the border, energy, defense and taxes.

Their main concern has been the difference between the Senate and House’s required spending cuts, which conservatives want to offset the cost of the new policies and as an attempt to reduce the national deficit. The Senate’s plan calls for a minimum of $4 billion in cuts, while the House’s floor is much higher at $1.5 trillion.

“The problem is, I think a lot of people don’t trust the Senate and what their intentions are, and that they’ll mislead the president and that we won’t get done what we need to get done,” Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., told reporters on Tuesday. “I’m a ‘no’ until we figure out how to get enough votes to pass it.”

SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES

Republicans aren’t necessarily on the same page just yet about budget reconciliation. (Reuters)

McCormick said there were as many as 40 GOP lawmakers who were undecided or opposed to the measure.

A meeting with a select group of holdouts at the White House on Tuesday appeared to budge a few people, but many conservatives signaled they were largely unmoved.

“I wouldn’t put it on the floor,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told reporters after the White House meeting. “I’ve got a bill in front of me, and it’s a budget, and that budget, in my opinion, will increase the deficit, and I didn’t come here to do that.”

Senate GOP leaders praised the bill as a victory for Trump’s agenda when it passed the upper chamber in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Trump urged all House Republicans to support it in a Truth Social post on Monday evening.

Meanwhile, House Republican leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have appealed to conservatives by arguing that passing the Senate version does not in any way impede the House from moving ahead with its steeper cuts.

The House passed its framework in late February.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who was at the White House meeting on Tuesday afternoon, is still skeptical about the Senate plan. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Congressional Republicans are working on a massive piece of legislation that Trump has dubbed “one big, beautiful bill” to advance his agenda on border security, defense, energy and taxes.

Such a measure is largely only possible via the budget reconciliation process. Traditionally used when one party controls all three branches of government, reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage of certain fiscal measures from 60 votes to 51. As a result, it has been used to pass broad policy changes in one or two massive pieces of legislation.

Passing frameworks in the House and Senate, which largely only include numbers indicating increases or decreases in funding, allows each chamber’s committees to then craft policy in line with those numbers under their specific jurisdictions. 

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

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have pushed for Johnson to allow the House GOP to simply begin crafting its bill without passing the Senate version, though both chambers will need to eventually pass identical bills to send to Trump’s desk.

“Trump wants to reduce the interest rates. Trump wants to lower the deficits. The only way to accomplish those is to reduce spending. And $4 billion is not – that’s … anemic. That is really a joke,” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told reporters.

He said “there’s no way” the legislation would pass the House this week.

The measure will likely go through the House Rules Committee, which acts as the final gatekeeper for most legislation getting a chamber-wide vote.

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., who was not at the White House meeting, is also skeptical of the Senate plan. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)

However, tentative plans for a late-afternoon House Rules Committee meeting on the framework, which would have set up a Wednesday vote, were scrapped by early evening on Tuesday.

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The legislation could still get a House-wide vote late on Wednesday if the committee meets in the morning.

As for the House speaker, he was optimistic returning from the White House meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

“Great meeting. The president was very helpful and engaged, and we had a lot of members whose questions were answered,” Johnson told reporters. “I think we’ll be moving forward this week.”

Fox News’ Ryan Schmelz and Aishah Hasnie contributed to this report.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle Tuesday night that he will run for the U.S. Senate. 

The announcement comes as Paxton no longer faces the cloud of a federal corruption investigation that loomed over him as he rose up the ranks in the Republican Party. 

The announcement by Paxton, a close ally of President Donald Trump and a MAGA firebrand, comes two weeks after Republican Sen. John Cornyn officially launched his re-election campaign as he bids for a fifth six-year term serving Texas in the Senate.

“It’s time for a change in Texas,” Paxton told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, before acknowledging Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas’ other Republican senator. “It’s time that we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas and also support Donald Trump in the areas that he’s focused on in a very significant way.”

EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR DETAILS SURFACE IN HISTORIC IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a news conference in Dallas, June 22, 2017. On Tuesday, Paxton announced that he will run for the U.S. Senate.  (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

On Sunday, Cornyn said he was looking forward to “the competition” amid rumors of Paxton’s candidacy. 

“Ken Paxton is a fraud,” Cornyn’s campaign charged in a social media post after Paxton’s announcement. “He talks tough on crime and then lets crooked progressive Lina Hidalgo off the hook. He says his impeachment trial was a sham but he didn’t contest the facts in legal filings which will cost the state millions.”

TEXAS AG PAXTON ACQUITTED ON ALL IMPEACHMENT CHARGES: ‘THE TRUTH PREVAILED’

“He says he’s anti-woke but he funnels millions of taxpayer dollars to lawyers who celebrate DEI,” the post continued. “And Ken claims to be a man of faith but uses fake Uber accounts to meet his girlfriend and deceive his family.”

Cornyn’s campaign noted that the incumbent senator has voted with Trump more than 95% of current senators. Trump and Texas need a “battle-tested conservative” who knows how to protect his agenda in the Senate and won’t be outsmarted by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, the campaign said. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.  (Fox News Digital)

The announcement from Paxton puts the gears in motion for what may be an extremely expensive and bruising GOP primary battle, pitting the remaining establishment and business factions of the Republican Party versus the ascendant MAGA wing.

“It sets the table for the most expensive primary in Texas. It will be a brutal battle,” veteran Republican strategist Dave Carney told Fox News. Carney, the longtime top political adviser to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, noted that the announcement by Paxton also “opens up the attorney general’s race. There will probably be a very competitive primary for that and we’re going to have a lot of musical chairs down ballot.”

Matt Mackowiak, a veteran Republican strategist and communications consultant based in Texas and Washington, D.C., said “this is going to be the most expensive, nastiest, most aggressive, most personal U.S. Senate primary in Texas history.”

“You have two candidates who are going to raise significant funds, who are in significant positions, who do not like each and have not liked each other, whose teams do not like each other and the stakes could not be higher,” he emphasized.

WILL DEMOCRATS ONCE AGAIN CHASE THE ‘GHOST OF A BLUE TEXAS’ IN NEXT YEAR’S SENATE RACE?

Paxton’s announcement was not a huge surprise, as he has long claimed Cornyn does not represent the conservative values of Texans and has accused the senator of not being an ally of Trump.

He has also regularly labeled Cornyn a “RINO,” a “Republican in name only” and an insult MAGA and “America First” Republicans have regularly used to criticize more mainstream or establishment members of the GOP.

Paxton, who has been Texas’ top prosecutor since 2015, has regularly criticized his GOP rival, pointing to Cornyn’s position on a border wall and opposing Trump during the 2016 election. 

Cornyn also previously came under criticism from conservatives after he helped push a bipartisan gun control bill after the 2022 mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school that killed 19 students and two teachers. 

Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton at his primary night celebration, on March 1, 2022, in McKinney, Texas. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Paxton, for a couple of years, had flirted with a primary challenge against the 73-year-old Cornyn, a former state senator, former Texas Supreme Court justice, and former state attorney general, who first won election to the U.S. Senate in 2002.

FACING POSSIBLE PRIMARY CHALLNGE FROM A TRUMP ALLY, LONGTIME TEXAS SENATOR ANNOUNCES RE-ELECTION

“I can’t think of a single thing he’s accomplished for our state or even for the country,” Paxton said in a September 2023 interview on the Fox News Channel. “Somebody needs to step up and run against this guy,” adding, “everything’s on the table for me.”

Fast-forward to earlier this year, and Paxton, at a county GOP meeting in Texas, told supporters that one of the things “we need to do, and I might play a role in this, is replace John Cornyn in the U.S. Senate.”

And in a Fox News Digital interview in January, Paxton acknowledged that he was “looking potentially at the U.S. Senate.”

Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at an event outside the Texas Statehouse, on Feb. 28, 2022 in Austin. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Cornyn, during the early stages of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race, had said he would prefer that the GOP take a new direction, which angered Trump. But the senator endorsed Trump in late January of last year, after the then-former president won both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, the first two contests in the Republican presidential nomination calendar.

Since Trump returned to the White House three months ago, Cornyn has been supportive of the president’s Cabinet nominees and agenda.

ONLY ON FOX NEWS: SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS HOW MANY SEATS HE’S AIMING FOR IN 2026

And in the senator’s campaign launch video last month, the announcer highlighted that during Trump’s first term in office, “Texas Sen. John Cornyn had his back.”

As he gears up for what will most certainly be his roughest re-election of his decades-long career, Cornyn has the backing of the top Republican in the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

And Republican sources confirm to Fox News that Thune, as well as National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. Tim Scott, have personally asked Trump to back Cornyn.

Sen. John Cornyn speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing, on Capitol Hill, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

The president’s grip on the GOP is stronger than ever and any endorsement Trump may make in the emerging Republican Senate primary in Texas would be extremely influential.

Making Cornyn’s path to renomination even more difficult is a possible Senate bid by Rep. Wesley Hunt, who represents a Houston area district.

The third-term 43-year-old Texas Republican and rising MAGA star has made his case to the president’s political team, sources confirm to Fox News. Hunt’s argument is that he’s the only person who can win both a GOP primary and a general election, a source familiar with the discussions confirmed to Fox News.

An outside group supportive of Hunt is currently spending seven figures to run ads across the Lone Star State to increase the lawmaker’s name ID.

CORNYN’S RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN SPARKS QUESTIONS ON BOTH PARTY FLANKS AS DEMS CHASE ‘THE GHOST OF A BLUE TEXAS’

GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas headlines the opening of the first Trump campaign office in Pennsylvania, on June 4, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Some Republican operatives and strategists worry that a primary battle in Texas could cost up to $100 million, potentially diverting much-needed resources from other races.

While Paxton is very popular with the conservative base of the party, it’s not clear at this point what Trump will do regarding the race. And political strategists note that toppling Cornyn in a GOP primary will likely be a very expensive proposition, and it’s not clear if Paxton can raise the money needed for victory.

“This says two things. One, Paxton sees an opportunity. And two, him getting in this early shows he needs the maximum time possible to try to raise money,” Mackowiak said. He added that Paxton “has received some negative feedback on fundraising.”

Paxton grabbed national attention in 2020 for filing the unsuccessful Texas vs. Pennsylvania case in the Supreme Court that tried to overturn former President Joe Biden’s razor-thin win over Trump in the Keystone State, and for speaking at the Trump rally near the White House that immediately preceded the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by right-wing extremists aiming to disrupt congressional certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory.

During Biden’s four years in the White House, Paxton took the administration to court numerous times.

While Paxton, who’s in his third four-year term as Texas attorney general, has long been a legal warrior in the MAGA movement, he also has plenty of personal political baggage.

Paxton was indicted on securities fraud charges soon after taking office in 2015, and more recently came under investigation by the FBI over bribery and corruption allegations from former top staffers. And in 2022, he survived a bruising primary amid his many legal difficulties.

In 2023, Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives, but he was later acquitted of all charges by the state Senate. 

The charges in the long-running federal corruption probe were dropped during the final weeks of the Biden administration. 

The attorney general also faced an investigation by the Texas State Bar for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

While Paxton for years has denied any wrongdoing and has survived his legal fights, he would likely continue to face tough optics and plenty of incoming fire over his past predicaments during a Senate showdown.

Colin Allred, last year’s Democratic Senate nominee in Texas, speaks at a campaign rally in Houston on Oct. 25. (Reuters/Marco Bello)

The eventual winner of next year’s GOP primary will be considered the favorite in the general election against whomever the Democrats nominate.

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Former Rep. Colin Allred has said he’ll decide by this summer if he’ll mount a 2026 Senate campaign.

Allred, a former Baylor University football player and NFL linebacker who later represented Texas’ 32nd Congressional District (which includes parts of Dallas and surrounding suburbs), was last year’s Democratic challenger in the race against Cruz.

President Donald Trump touted the record-breaking fundraising numbers garnered by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) during its annual president’s dinner Tuesday evening. 

“You know, we’ve done very well in this room before,” Trump told attendees at the annual dinner Tuesday night. “But right now we broke every record. I just heard from Mike Johnson, he said, ‘We broke every record, sir.’ There is over $35 million. That’s not bad, for an evening.”

The fundraising numbers achieved during Tuesday night’s dinner rival what the NRCC has garnered across entire quarters. In July, the group highlighted a “record-shattering” fundraising haul for the second quarter of 2024, which was only $2 million more than what the NRCC was able to garner Tuesday night. 

TRUMP’S NAME CONTINUES TO BE FUNDRAISING BEHEMOTH FOR BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES: ‘CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE’

Estimates, in advance of the Tuesday night dinner, suggested it might only bring as much as $10 million for the NRCC, a source familiar told Fox News Digital.

Republicans and Democrats elicit President Donald Trump’s name in fundraising messages.   (Getty)

“Next year we’ll do 45 or 50 million, right?” Trump asked the crowd, garnering cheers. “A lot of people, you broke your record attendance, and you broke your money record, and that’s a great tribute to the Republicans and the party and everything it stands for.”

Tuesday’s event had “giving levels” as high as $310,100, with the lowest costing seat being $6,000 per person, or $10,000 per couple.

“We have some unbelievable supporters of our House Republican majority with us, as you know, and with the help of everyone in this room the next year’s Republican Party is going to defy history. We’re going to really defy it, and we already are.”

TRUMP, HEGSETH REVEAL WHOPPING FIGURE THEY WANT FOR THE NEXT PENTAGON BUDGET

Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower to attend his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs in New York, on April 22, 2024. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

To illustrate this point, Trump pointed to the “fortune” America is making with his new tariff plan. 

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“Two billion dollars a day – do you believe it? I was told $2 billion a day,” Trump told the crowd. “You know I get hit by the press about tariffs, we’re making $2 billion – billion – this isn’t $35 million, that’s peanuts. $2 billion a day.”

“In addition, we have a lot of countries coming to see us – they want to make a deal. And we’re doing – we’re doing things that nobody’s ever even thought about.” 

New York Republicans are pushing a new law to protect animals after a beloved pet squirrel and internet star named P’Nut was taken and killed by state environmental officers late last year.

The bill, called “Peanut’s Law: The Humane Animal Protection Act,” would require a 72-hour waiting period before the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) can euthanize any seized animal. It would also give animal owners the chance for a hearing before the state takes or puts down their animals.

P’Nut and another pet squirrel named Fred were taken from Mark and Daniela Longo’s upstate farm last October after someone filed an anonymous complaint. Both animals were killed and tested for rabies, and both tests came back negative. 

The squirrel had a huge following on social media, with P’Nut accruing nearly one million followers to watch content of the critter and his family.

OWNERS OF BELOVED PEANUT THE SQUIRREL PLAN TO SUE NEW YORK STATE OVER SEIZURE AND KILLING BY AUTHORITIES

Peanut or P’Nut the squirrel, who had over 500,000 followers on Instagram, was euthanized by New York State officials last week. (peanut_the_squirrel12 via Instagram)

Once news spread on P’Nut’s Instagram page, backlash over DEC’s actions spread like wildfire online. At the time, everyone from Elon Musk to President Trump weighed in on the killing of the dear family pets.

Musk referred to the killing back in November as “the whole squirrel thing” while on Joe Rogan’s podcast.

Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz (R-Nassau), who is sponsoring the bill, said it’s about fairness. “This is about due process,” he said, adding that animals should not be killed unless they’re an immediate danger.

PEANUT THE PET SQUIRREL TAKEN AWAY BY NEW YORK STATE OFFICIALS FROM ADOPTED HOME, MAY BE EUTHANIZED

The Longos, who run an animal sanctuary, say they were never told why their pets were taken. They hope the new bill will stop similar cases from happening again. 

Mark Longo said of the new bill: “I sit here trying not to cry, but passing this law will be a movement to make sure that animal rights are not overlooked anymore.”

Peanut or “P’Nut” was only a baby when the Longos rescued him. The squirrel adapted to his adoptive human family after his real mother was run over by a car when he was just five weeks old.

Peanut was rescued at 5 weeks old by his adoptive human parents after his mother was run over by a car. (peanut_the_squirrel12 via Instagram)

“They were not dangerous. They were not sick. They were not wild threats roaming the streets,” said Assemblyman Blumencranz. “They were rescues — loved, nurtured, and safe.” 

Supporters of the legislation say it’s a common-sense move to protect both animals and their owners.

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“Here is the cold, hard truth. It is too little, too late. Words don’t save P’Nut and Fred, and words won’t save the next animal, or the next family, unless we change the law.”

An attorney who represents the Longo family did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Department of Commerce on Tuesday announced its decision to cut $4 million in funding related to climate research for Princeton University.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a news release the cuts were made “after a detailed, careful, and thorough review of the Department’s financial assistance programs against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) current program objectives.”

The department added that the termination of these funds from Princeton, effective June 30, “will streamline and reduce the cost and size of the Federal Government, consistent with President Trump’s promise for his Administration. The Department of Commerce is delivering on that promise.”

Princeton received $455 million in federal funding during fiscal year 2024.

IVY LEAGUE ANTI-ISRAEL RINGLEADER MAHMOUD KHALIL DENIES ALLEGATIONS AS JUDGE AWAITS DEPORTATION EVIDENCE

Exterior view of University Chapel on the Princeton University campus, Princeton, N.J.  (Oliver Morris/Getty Images)

The department said the financial awards previously given to Princeton through NOAA, including the Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System (CIMES), “are no longer aligned with the program objectives of NOAA, a sub-agency of the Department of Commerce, and are no longer in keeping with the Trump administration’s priorities.”

Princeton did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.

PRINCETON EVENT WITH FORMER ISRAELI PM NAFTALI BENNETT DISRUPTED BY ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS

President Donald Trump, from left, speaks as then-Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick and Rupert Murdoch listen in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, as Trump prepares to sign an executive order. (Evan Vucci)

The CIMES website states that the program “has contributed to the development of oceanic and atmospheric models, performed research on climate and biogeochemical cycling and educated several generations of postdoctoral researchers and graduate students.”

The commerce department, however, said the CIMES agreement “promotes exaggerated and implausible climate threats, contributing to a phenomenon known as ‘climate anxiety,’ which has increased significantly among America’s youth.”

VIDEO SHOWS ARREST OF COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL RINGLEADER MAHMOUD KHALIL 

The department further stated that the Climate Risks and Interactive Sub-seasonal to Seasonal Predictability agreement “suggests that the Earth will have a significant fluctuation in its water availability as a result of global warming,” and the Advancing Prediction agreement “has used its resources to assess risks associated with climate change, including alleged changes to precipitation patterns and sea-level rise,” according to the release.

The Trump administration is cutting $4 million in federal funding to Princeton University for its climate-related research projects. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

“It also aims to address coastal inundation while other more targeted research efforts are addressing this issue,” the release continues.

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The department said the administration’s goal in terminating these funds will save U.S. taxpayer dollars, and it will “continue to review its outstanding cooperative agreements, grant awards, and other financial assistance on an individualized basis to avoid wasteful governmental spending — whether they be to Princeton or any other recipient.”

Colleges and universities across the country have been on edge since Trump began investigating schools for alleged antisemitic discrimination and harassment, cutting federal funds for certain schools that allowed anti-Israel protests on campus since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem spent Tuesday morning with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Arizona law enforcement agents going after illegal immigrant criminals in the Phoenix area.

Standing with a gun in her hands, Noem said in a video posted to X that she was going out with ICE to pick up someone facing charges of human trafficking. She also said she went out earlier with agents and swept up a person wanted for murder.

“I appreciate the work that they do every day, and we appreciate them working to keep America safe,” Noem said.

In another post, Noem shared images of her standing with law enforcement officials and sitting in an ICE vehicle while wearing a Kevlar vest.

FEDERAL JUDGE POSTPONES DHS’S ATTEMPT TO END TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR VENEZUELANS

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem joined ICE and other agents on operations in Phoenix on Tuesday. (Secretary Noem X)

She also shared pictures of law enforcement officials arresting two men, one who had no shoes and the other who was wearing a pair of Crocs.

“Arizona is safer this morning after a successful operation getting criminal illegal aliens and gang members off our streets,” Noem wrote. “Thank you to our brave law enforcement officers. If you are in this country illegally, we will find you, arrest you, and send you back.”

NOEM OFFERS HOMELAND SECURITY EMPLOYEE BUYOUTS IN MOVE TO SHRINK DEPARTMENT

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem joined ICE and other agents on operations in Phoenix on Tuesday. (Secretary Noem X)

Noem has taken a hands-on approach to her role as the DHS secretary since President Donald Trump appointed her to the position.

She recently traveled to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, where hundreds of migrant criminals were deported last month.

IRS AND DHS REACH HISTORIC DEAL TO AID IN PURSUIT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SUBJECT TO DEPORTATION

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem joined ICE and other agents on Tuesday in Phoenix. (Secretary Noem X)

Noem toured the facility where she met face-to-face with alleged Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gang members, all of whom were wearing white prison suits and had shaved heads.

She also sent a message from the prison to illegal immigrants who are still in the U.S. or plan to visit anytime soon.

NOEM’S HOMELAND SECURITY ‘UNAPOLOGETIC’ ABOUT USING LIE-DETECTOR TEST ON SUSPECTED INTEL LEAKERS

DHS Secretary Noem joined ICE and other agents on operations in Phoenix, Arizona on April 8, 2025. (Secretary Noem X)

“First of all, do not come to our country illegally: You will be removed, and you will be prosecuted,” she said while standing with her back to the inmates. “But know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people.”

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Noem shared the video on X, saying, “President Trump and I have a clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW. If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison.”

Trump’s hard-line approach to illegal immigration was a key campaign promise, and his administration has also been arresting and deporting criminal illegal migrants across the country under the leadership of Noem and border czar Tom Homan.

A Republican lawmaker has warned that Democrats in Colorado’s state legislature could face the ire of the Trump administration if a series of controversial bills passed Sunday — including one labeling parental misgendering during custody battles as “coercive control” — are signed into law.

“It really does feel like we’re poking the bear,” state Rep. Jarvis Caldwell told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

Colorado enacted legislation to expand health care access to illegal immigrants this year, “as well as housing and food and education for illegal immigrants, which is in direct violation of some of the orders that have come from President Trump,” according to Caldwell.

“And then the transgender issue, we’re pushing this further than we ever have before on children in the state of Colorado, and that directly goes in violation of what President Trump is looking at.”

COLORADO DEMS RAM ABORTION, TRANSGENDER BILLS THROUGH ON LIMITED SUNDAY SESSION DEBATE: ‘UNPRECEDENTED’

Colorado state Rep. Jarvis Caldwell says Democrats could be headed toward federal action from the Trump admin after controversial bills passed the House on Sunday. (Getty Images/Rep. Jarvis)

As such, Caldwell said “it’s a very real possibility” that some of the state’s programs could be at risk of losing federal funding, adding the Centennial State will “pay the consequences for it, and Democrats will be responsible.”

“Health is a big one with Medicaid, a big portion of that is federal funds, and then education as well,” Caldwell said. “And so we are passing bills, especially on the illegal immigrant issue, that directly involve these issues. And so I think that’s going to be something that’s on President Trump’s radar.”

The Colorado Democratic House majority barreled through four controversial gender and abortion bills on Sunday — which one Republican lawmaker described as a day for “family and prayer,” curtailing floor debate in an “unprecedented” floor procedural tactic.

The bills that were passed include SB25-183, which requires taxpayers to fund abortion services; HB25-1309, mandating insurers cover transgender procedures regardless of age; HB25-1312, which imposes state-mandated gender policies on schools and considers it “coercive control” in child custody cases when a parent does not affirm a child’s gender identity or “deadnames” them; and SB25-129, which prohibits cooperation with out-of-state investigations on transgender procedures and abortion services.

TRANS INMATE IN PRISON FOR KILLING BABY MUST GET GENDER SURGERY AT ‘EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY’: JUDGE

Colorado State Capitol in Denver. (John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group viaGetty Images)

State House Majority Democratic Leader Monica Duran told Fox News Digital previously that the four bills were debated on the floor for more than 12 hours last week. Duran also invoked a procedural rule that limited debate to two hours last Friday.

But Caldwell said under 24 hours is nothing compared to the Democrat majority’s 12 months they spent on several of the bills.

“They had an entire year to coordinate testimony, and we had less than 24 hours,” Caldwell said. “And then when it went to the final vote, we’re each supposed to get 10 minutes for debate, and they completely cut off any and all debate.”

The Republican minority also failed to get any of their amendments passed. For HB 1309, which would mandate insurers cover the cost of transgender procedures regardless of age, Republicans introduced an amendment to exclude minors from it.

“Because some of the coverage is genital surgical procedures, it’s hormone therapy, it’s facial reconstruction, and then breast reductions and chest augmentation,” Caldwell said. “And so now your health care plan, even if you disagree with this, you’re going to be paying a higher premium most likely to cover the cost, in my opinion, to genitally mutilate children.”

SB25-183 and SB25-129 are headed to the governor’s desk for signature, while the other House bills now go to the Senate for consideration.

TRUMP DOJ, EDUCATION DEPT FORM TASK FORCE TO PROTECT FEMALE ATHLETES FROM ‘GENDER IDEOLOGY’ IN SCHOOLS, SPORTS

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025.  (AP Photo)

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It’s not unlikely that Trump could target Colorado Democrats. 

Earlier this year, Trump signed several executive orders aimed at eliminating “radical gender ideology,” and he’s already moved to slash some federal funds in Maine after Gov. Janet Mills refused to enforce Trump’s ban on biological males competing in women’s sports. Mills lobbed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday over the frozen funds.

In January, Trump signed the “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” executive order, which defines two sexes: male and female. The order prohibits “chemical and surgical mutilation” of minors to include puberty blockers, hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, and sex-change surgeries. It also bars institutions receiving federal grants from providing such services and allows healthcare providers to refuse services based on gender identity.

Trump also signed an executive order requiring military personnel to serve according to their biological sex.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates and supervises national banks, on Tuesday said it notified Congress of a February hack that it called a “major information security incident.”

The breach was first disclosed in February when it learned of “unusual interactions between a system administrative account in its office automation environment and OCC user mailboxes,” an OCC news release states. 

According to Bloomberg, the hackers had access to more than 150,000 emails after breaching the system in June 2023.

“The confidentiality and integrity of the OCC’s information security systems are paramount to fulfilling its mission,” said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood.

MALWARE EXPOSES 3.9 BILLION PASSWORDS IN HUGE CYBERSECURITY THREAT

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

The OCC first learned of the incident on Feb. 11. Compromised administrative accounts were shut off the next day.

“The OCC discovered that the unauthorized access to a number of its executives’ and employees’ emails included highly sensitive information relating to the financial condition of federally regulated financial institutions used in its examinations and supervisory oversight processes,” the agency said.

The OCC said it has reached out to third-party cybersecurity experts to conduct a review of IT security protocols to prevent future attacks. 

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“I have taken immediate steps to determine the full extent of the breach and to remedy the long-held organizational and structural deficiencies that contributed to this incident,” Hood said. “There will be full accountability for the vulnerabilities identified and any missed internal findings that led to the unauthorized access.”

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Throughout its review, the OCC has coordinated with the Treasury Department to share information about its findings.