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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will slash its workforce by at least 25% beginning Friday with layoffs as the Trump administration continues to shrink the size of the federal government. 

In addition to the layoffs, the agency said in a letter to employees that it is eliminating its Office of Civil Rights and Compliance, which is responsible for protecting taxpayers from discrimination, audits and investigations.

The remaining employees in the division will be transferred to other departments. 

“In a stark contrast to the previous administration’s wildly unpopular plan to hire thousands of additional IRS agents, President Trump is focused on saving tax dollars, eliminating bloat, axing useless DEI offices, and increasing the agency’s efficiency,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston said to Fox News Digital.

TRUMP FLOATS GUTTING THE IRS, MOVING AGENTS TO THE BORDER ARMED WITH GUNS

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will slash its workforce by at least 25% beginning Friday with layoffs amid efforts to shirk the federal workforce. (Getty Images)

“This action is being taken to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the IRS in accordance with agency priorities and the Workforce Optimization Initiative outlined in a recent Executive Order,” the letter states, referring to President Donald Trump‘s executive order directing the Department of Government Efficiency to get rid of wasteful spending. 

The agency said it was approved to offer Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP). Information about those programs will be shared with employees at a later date, the message said. 

TRUMP VOWS TO DELIVER ON ‘NO TAX ON TIPS’ CAMPAIGN PROMISE DURING LAS VEGAS SPEECH: ‘100% YOURS’

The Treasury Department is weighing options on how to streamline the agency, Fox Digital learned.  (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“This calendar year to date, approximately 5% of this office left through the Deferred Resignation Program and attrition,” the message said. “An additional 75% of the office will be reduced through a RIF (Reduction in Force).”

A Treasury Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the reductions are part of, and driven by, “process improvements and technological innovations that will allow the IRS to collect revenue and serve taxpayers more effectively.”

“The roll back of wasteful Biden-era hiring surges, and consolidation of critical support functions are vital to improve both efficiency and quality of service,” the spokesperson said. “The Secretary is committed to ensuring that efficiency is realized while providing the collections, privacy, and customer service the American people deserve.”

The layoffs were expected, as the agency announced in February its intention to slash nearly 7,000 probationary workers in Washington, D.C.

IRS data states that it has roughly 90,000 employees in total across the United States. (Ge)

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Those employees have since been reinstated by a court order.

The IRS has roughly 90,000 employees in total across the United States, according to the latest IRS data. 

Former President Barack Obama sought to distance himself from the Democratic Party after leaving it in shambles following his departure from the White House, according to a new book. 

The book, “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,” published by William Morrow and Company, claims that Obama was never a Democratic Party loyalist. Instead, the authors allege, Obama curried favor from a group of “Black professionals” for his campaigns, unlike former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and former President Joe Biden. 

Additionally, Obama’s creation of Organizing for Action — a nonprofit that launched in 2012 following Obama’s re-election to advance his legislative priorities — fractured the Democratic Party, according to the book, authored by political journalists Jonathan Allen of NBC News and Amie Parnes of The Hill.  

“Though Organizing for Action never realized his vision, it competed with the party for power and money,” the book said. “He left the Democratic Party far weaker than he found it. Or, as one Black party operative put it, ‘Obama destroyed that s—.’” 

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

Former President Barack Obama arrives to speak next to former first lady Michelle Obama during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago in 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The book also detailed how the Clintons, along with Biden and former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile and a few other party operatives, sought to “rebuild the party infrastructure” following Obama’s 2016 departure from the White House. This meant preventing far-left Democrats from seizing control of the party and ensuring party loyalists ran the show, according to the book. 

“By helping install party loyalists at the national and state committees over the course of years, these establishment Democrats kept progressive outsiders at bay. ‘You know who did that?’ said one Black Biden ally familiar with the maneuvering. ‘Bill and Hillary motherf—ing Clinton,’” the book related. 

“Fight,” released Tuesday, also revealed how Obama remained hesitant to back former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election to replace Biden, amid concerns about his mental fitness. The book claimed that Obama didn’t believe Harris had the capacity to beat now-President Donald Trump in the November 2024 race, frustrating Harris. 

The book stated that Obama didn’t believe that Harris could beat Trump in the 2024 election.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg)

Ultimately, Obama endorsed Harris five days after Biden announced he would not run for office again in the 2024 race — a delay that offended Harris and required some “mending” between the two Democrats, a source close to Obama said, Allen and Parnes wrote. 

A spokesperson for Obama’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Even so, Obama’s wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, appeared at the Democratic National Convention in August 2024 after Harris clinched the party’s nomination. 

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

Former first lady Michelle Obama, left, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris are seen at a campaign rally in October 2024.  (Jacquelyn Martin/The Associated Press)

“Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment,” Michelle Obama said at the convention. “She is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency and she is one of the most dignified — a tribute to her mother, to my mother, and probably to your mother, too, the embodiment of the stories we tell ourselves about this country.” 

Meanwhile, Democrat strategists predict that Barack Obama’s influence over the Democratic Party is waning, and some have suggested he is out of touch with the appeal of Trump. 

For example, political commentator and author Ben Burgess wrote an op-ed after Obama delivered a speech at the Obama Democracy Forum that part of the “problem” is Obama doesn’t understand why Trump won the 2024 election and that the American public should stop listening to the former president. 

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“​​Obama’s characteristic rhetorical virtues were on full display,” Burgess wrote in December 2024 for MSNBC, following Obama’s speech. “He was a constitutional law professor before he was a politician, and he still sounds like one. At the same time, he was a once-in-a-generation talent as a political communicator. He knows how to convey a complex set of ideas in a digestible and appealing way.” 

“But there was a massive gaping hole at the center of his speech,” the op-ed stated. “He still doesn’t understand why his eight years in power culminated in the rise of Trump.” 

“Fight” details how Trump secured the White House for a second term and the fallout of his victory for the Democratic Party. It is based on interviews Allen and Parnes conducted with more than 150 political insiders, according to the book’s description. 

Fox News’ Hanna Panreck and Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said, “As a woman and as a mom,” she does not support proxy voting exceptions for new mothers in Congress, a hotly debated topic that brought the House to a grinding halt this week.

A bill sponsored by conservative firebrand Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., which would let new parents vote by proxy for 12 weeks while caring for their newborns, appears to have split the GOP.

While President Donald Trump has said he supports proxy voting for new parents in Congress, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has said he believes proxy voting is “unconstitutional.”

With 218 lawmakers backing the move, it has enough support to force a vote.

TRUMP SUPPORTS PROXY VOTING FOR NEW MOTHERS IN CONGRESS: ‘DON’T KNOW WHY IT’S CONTROVERSIAL’

In an interview with Fox News Digital, prominent Congresswoman Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, said, “As a woman and as a mom,” she does not support proxy voting exceptions for new mothers in Congress, a hotly debated question that brought the House to a grinding halt this week. (Reuters/Mike Segar; AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

After Democrats and nine Republicans blocked an effort to sideline the issue, prompting Johnson to call the House into recess for the rest of the week, Mace said she is an “absolute no” on the question.

“I’m an absolute no on any and all proxy voting. It’s wrong,” Mace told Fox News Digital.

“We have a job. We have a constitutional duty to show up here and work, and we should.”

Asked whether any exceptions should be made for new mothers and fathers in Congress, Mace answered, “Nope, none, zero.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP, CONSERVATIVES CELEBRATE ‘ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE’ FLORIDA SPECIAL ELECTIONS SWEEP

“As a woman and as a mom, I want to make it on my own merit,” said Mace, “I don’t want to be given an exception for anything. I want to be able to make here like any man would.” (GOP Oversight YouTube channel)

“As a woman and as a mom, I want to make it on my own merit,” she added. “I don’t want to be given an exception for anything. I want to be able to make here like any man would.”

Addressing other hot questions about exceptions for women, Mace also shared that she strongly supports Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s moves on standards.

“Doing it based on merit and making the standards be the same, I think that’s good for our country. It’s good for those who are willing to risk their lives, put their lives on the line for their fellow countrymen,” she said.

SCOOP: WHITE HOUSE RALLIES HOUSE GOP ON TRUMP TARIFF PLAN IN SECRET CALL

Mace, who represents a state with many military bases, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is doing a “remarkable job.” (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. ShaTyra Cox)

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“I love what Pete Hegseth is doing,” she added. “I think he’s doing a remarkable job, and he’s bringing so much transparency to DOD and the Pentagon. And where they failed, then he is trying to pick up the pieces and put it back together, including how men and women are treated in uniform and how we are combat-ready.”

Despite changes to standards, Mace predicted a “major uptick with recruitment” in all military branches under Trump and Hegseth’s leadership, saying, “I think we’ve got great things to come. Our enemies should be scared.”

The Trump administration said that “radical judges” will “soon learn that denying” President Donald Trump his “constitutionally granted authorities is a gross infringement of the law and will not stand on appeal” after a Bush-appointed judge blocked the administration from firing intelligence agency employees tied to DEI programs.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga, a President George W. Bush appointee in Virginia, issued the preliminary injunction on Monday ahead of a 5 p.m. deadline issued by CIA Director John Ratcliffe for the agents to resign or be fired, allowing them to appeal and stay on the federal payroll.

The injunction was part of a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen intelligence agents from the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence who were found to be involved in, or working on, DEI programs in the department. 

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

President Donald Trump has taken aim at revoking DEI offices in federal government agencies. (Getty Images)

“The plaintiffs face termination without any suggestion of wrongdoing or poor performance,” Trenga said after the ruling, according to Politico. “Simply requiring the government to follow its regulations is a minimal burden.”

The employees, who were abruptly placed on administrative leave in January, were facing termination as part of the Trump administration’s effort, supported by Elon Musk, to eliminate DEI-related programs and initiate a large-scale government overhaul. Musk also visited the CIA headquarters on Tuesday to discuss his government efficiency program. 

“These radical judges will soon learn that denying the Chief Executive his constitutionally granted authorities is a gross infringement of the law and will not stand on appeal,” Trump administration spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital. 

CONCERNED PARENTS OF TRANS KIDS COMPARED TO ‘HATE GROUPS’ BY COLORADO DEM: WOULDN’T ‘ASK THE KKK’ FOR OPINION

CIA employees are suing agency chief John Ratcliffe, seen here with DOGE chief Elon Musk, saying their firings were in error.  (John Ratcliffe /X )

“Ending the bigotry of DEI and ensuring the federal government runs efficiently might be a crime to Democrats, but it’s in line with the law,” he said.

The 19 employees, who are unnamed, contended in their lawsuit last month that their roles in the DEI programs were “temporary assignments” and that they also had other responsibilities as intelligence officers. The lawsuit also states that “poor performance” wasn’t a factor in their dismissal. 

The “imminent termination is therefore arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion,” the lawsuit charges.

BAN ON TAXPAYER-FUNDED SEX CHANGES FOR PRISONERS SPARKS DEM WALKOUT IN GEORGIA HOUSE VOTE

Elon Musk is seen here with CIA Director John Ratcliffe in a visit to the spy agency’s campus. (John Ratcliffe / X)

Trenga’s written order also said the Trump administration must consider employees’ “request for reassignment for open or available positions, in accordance with their qualifications and skills.” The administration can still fire the employees but first has to present a “report” on the employees’ appeals or reassignments to the judge.

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This injunction adds to a stack of injunctions and temporary restraining orders placed on several of President Donald Trump’s executive orders.  

Trump issued an executive order last month penalizing law firm Perkins Coie for its representation of Hillary Clinton and its DEI policies by targeting the firm’s government contracts and limiting access to federal facilities. Over 300 law professors and legal groups, including the ACLU and Cato Institute, filed briefs supporting Perkins Coie. In February, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking key provisions of President Trump’s executive orders aimed at banning DEI programs on university campuses.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser lobbed at least 13 lawsuits against Trump administration policies related to DEI, including the Health and Human Services’ (HHS) termination of public health grants, and moves to defund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Jacky Rosen plans to introduce amendments ahead of Friday night’s “Vote-A-Rama” that would roll back President Donald Trump’s tariffs on certain materials on key tourism partners, likely forcing her Republican colleagues to go on record defending the policy again. 

“President Trump broke his promise to lower costs, and has enacted reckless tariffs that are jacking up prices even higher for hardworking Nevada families and harming my state’s tourism economy,” Rosen, D-Nev., told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. 

“Donald Trump may not care if his tariffs raise prices, but I do, and that’s why I’m trying to stop his new national sales tax. Every senator should be on the record: Do you stand with America’s working families who need financial relief, or do you stand with Trump in giving his billionaire buddies even more tax giveaways?” 

REPUBLICANS CHARGE AHEAD ON TRUMP BUDGET, SETTING UP MARATHON SENATE VOTES

Jacky Rosen will introduce amendments to the reconciliation bill specifically targeting Trump’s tariffs on certain items. (Reuters)

The Nevada Democrat’s amendments include one to stop the administration from levying tariffs on critical construction materials for building houses, and one that would bar Trump from putting across-the-board tariffs on countries with many who visit the U.S.

“I’ve already heard from Nevadans and Nevada business owners who are worried about how these new tariffs will impact their businesses and livelihoods, including the founder of a small business in Reno. They wrote to me saying, quote, ‘We maintain a small production facility in Reno . . . these duties will force us to raise retail prices by 37 percent, and we don’t believe our customers will accept that. This policy could wipe us out entirely,'” Rosen said during her debate time on the floor on Friday.

TED CRUZ CLASHES WITH KEY DEMOCRAT OVER ‘SECOND PHASE OF LAWFARE’ THROUGH FEDERAL JUDGES’ ORDERS

President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2025.  (Getty Images)

“They go on to say, quote, ‘I’m not asking for a favor. I’m asking for leadership that reflects the urgency and reality we face. These tariffs do not bring jobs back. They raise prices, punish small businesses, and put livelihoods at risk, all while making it harder for companies like mine to do what we’ve done for 13 years: create jobs, innovate, and support our families,’” she went on.

On Thursday, Republicans agreed to a motion that kicked off roughly a day’s worth of debate, before the “vote-a-rama” begins. 

A marathon of amendment votes is now expected to take place at some point on Friday after the debate ends. 

GOP DEFECTORS HELP SENATE ADVANCE RESOLUTION TO CANCEL TRUMP TARIFFS DESPITE WHITE HOUSE VETO WARNING

The GOP Congress is trying to push through Trump’s budget.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)

During this process, senators can introduce an unlimited number of amendments, and many are expected to get floor votes. 

The “vote-a-rama” marks movement on Trump’s budget for border funding and extending his hallmark 2017 tax cuts, which Republicans in Congress have long been pursuing. This week, the Senate released its changes to the House’s budget reconciliation resolution, taking a big step forward. 

SENATE DEMS FORESHADOW MORE FORCED VOTES TO BLOCK TRUMP’S EMERGENCY ORDERS

Republicans weren’t initially on the same page about budget reconciliation. (Reuters)

This amendment to the resolution will get a Senate vote at the end of the “vote-a-rama.” 

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The expected budget vote comes after months of disagreement between Republicans in the House and Senate, the former of which sought a reconciliation bill to tackle both the border and taxes, while many in the Senate wanted to split it into two bills. 

Ultimately, House Republicans got what they wanted in a one-bill approach, which Trump blessed. 

A conservative legal group is challenging President Donald Trump‘s tariffs on China, calling them “an unlawful attempt” to make Americans pay higher taxes on Chinese imports. 

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) filed an initial complaint in Florida district court Thursday, challenging Trump’s “unlawful use of emergency power to impose a tariff on all imports from China.”

“By invoking emergency power to impose an across-the-board tariff on imports from China that the statute does not authorize, President Trump has misused that power, usurped Congress’s right to control tariffs, and upset the Constitution’s separation of powers,” Andrew Morris, senior litigation counsel at NCLA, said in a statement released. 

SOME COUNTRIES TARGETED BY TRUMP TARIFFS SEEK NEGOTIATIONS, CHINA SAYS ‘NO WINNERS IN TRADE WARS’

The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed the initial complaint in Florida district court on Thursday challenging President Donald Trump’s “unlawful use of emergency power to impose a tariff on all imports from China.” (Pool)

Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 1 titled “Imposing Duties to Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China,” and amended it on Mar. 3 to raise tariffs on Chinese imports from 10% to 20%.

Plaintiff Emily Ley, owner of Simplified, a Pensacola, Florida-based company, argues Trump’s invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose the tariffs is unlawful. The plaintiff also argues that her business will be harmed as a result of Trump’s action. 

“The key thing for all of this is that IEEPA does not provide for the tariff power, and you know that because when Congress does do it, they use the word, and they say how the president is supposed to do it,” John Vecchione, senior litigation counsel at NCLA, told Fox News Digital. 

Vecchione notes that the complaint delineates the various statutes Trump used in his first term to impose tariffs, saying that in this instance, he is “using the wrong statute.”

“Here, [Trump] declares an emergency, and then he says that his tariffs fit the emergency, that they’re necessary for the emergency,” Vecchione said. “IEEPA requires that they be necessary for the emergency, and they’re not.”

TRUMP TOUTS RETURN OF THE ‘AMERICAN DREAM’ IN HISTORIC TARIFF ANNOUNCEMENT

The suit comes just days after President Donald Trump unveiled his tariff plan during a White House Rose Garden speech at a highly anticipated “Make America Wealthy Again” event. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The plaintiff argues that the law permits the president to “order sanctions as a rapid response to international emergencies,” but does not authorize him to “impose tariffs on the American people.”

“President Trump’s executive orders imposing a China tariff are, therefore, ultra vires and unconstitutional,” the complaint states.

If the president is granted such authority, the group argues, he would have “nearly unlimited authority to commandeer Congress’s power over tariffs.”

“He would be empowered to declare a national emergency based on some long-running national problem,” the complaint continues, “then impose tariffs purportedly in the name of that emergency – thus sidestepping the detailed constraints Congress has placed on the tariff authority it has granted.”

NCLA is asking the court to block the administration from implementing or enforcing the executive orders and to vacate “all resulting modifications” to the tariff schedule.

In response to the lawsuit, White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields defended the executive orders, telling Fox News Digital, “President Trump has broad authority to impose tariffs to address issues of national emergency, such as the opioid pandemic. The Trump administration looks forward to victory in court.”

The suit comes just days after the president unveiled his tariff plan during a speech in the White House Rose Garden at a highly anticipated “Make America Wealthy Again” event. 

“Now it’s our turn to prosper, and in so doing, use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt,” Trump said on April 2. “And it will all happen very quickly. With today’s action, we are finally going to be able to make America great again, greater than ever before.”

HOW WE GOT TO LIBERATION DAY: A LOOK AT TRUMP’S PAST COMMENTS ON TARIFFS

“China played it wrong, they panicked — the one thing they cannot afford to do,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Trump was joined by several Cabinet members in the Rose Garden on Thursday for his first official presidential event since taking office in January. During the speech, Trump announced that China would be hit with a 34% tariff.

In response, China declared retaliatory measures on Friday, saying it would impose matching 34% tariffs on U.S. goods.

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The new tariffs are set to take effect April 10, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“China played it wrong, they panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Greg Norman contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: A key moderate Democrat is warning his party they are heading the “wrong” way on trade.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, was one of the few Democrats to express some optimism at President Donald Trump’s support for tariffs, specifically his move to add a 10% baseline duty to all U.S. imports. 

Golden noted in a brief interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday that he himself proposed legislation for a 10% universal tariff earlier this year and in the previous Congress.

When asked how his stance on tariffs has been received by fellow House Democrats, Golden said, “Well, I think that they are moving in the wrong direction when it comes to trade.”

TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT TELLS COUNTRIES NOT TO RETALIATE AFTER SWEEPING ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS

Rep. Jared Golden, left, is again bucking his fellow House Democrats on the issue of trade, as Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others heckle tariffs. (Getty Images)

“I think it’s been a knee-jerk reaction to the president,” the Maine Democrat explained of the more recent furor.

He said the Democratic Party he joined in his “formative years” was “the party that was warning about things like the World Trade Organization or [the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)].”

“It has kind of, I think, had a sudden movement in the opposite direction, and that’s unfortunate,” Golden said. “You’ve got to look beyond, you know, who the president is…to ask themselves what would be good for rural communities or working-class people, or cities like Detroit, whatever it may be – those who have been hit hardest by the existing trade regime.”

He added, however, “I think that this debate has been brewing since the ’90s, so it’s not only about Trump.”

President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on April 2, 2025. (Getty Images)

Golden has been known to break from his own party on issues like trade, border security, and notably, former President Joe Biden’s student loan relief efforts.

He won his seat in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District by less than 1% in 2024, while Trump carried the district by 10%.

He said on Wednesday that he was “pleased” Trump’s tariff plan lined up with his own ideas for a universal tax on foreign goods.

“I’m eager to work with the president to fix the broken ‘free trade’ system that made multinational corporations rich but ruined manufacturing communities across the country. But tariffs must be paired with policies that prioritize American families’ prosperity.”

FRANCE ASKS US TO BE ‘COOPERATIVE’ INSTEAD OF ‘CONFRONTATIONAL’ FOLLOWING TRUMP’S ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS

House Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, left, and former President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)

He pointed out, however, that Trump “introduced a number of new tariff policies” alongside the 10% universal tax, and that he would need time to review the policies in detail before weighing in on them further.

Trump’s plan involves a 10% blanket tariff on all imports into the U.S., as well as reciprocal tariffs as high as nearly 50% on both adversaries and allies.

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Golden added, “We need to make sure that the new approach benefits working people — that means supporting unions, the trades and apprenticeship programs, cutting regulations that hold back production, unleashing American energy and using tariff revenue to support domestic manufacturers that create good-paying jobs for Americans.”

“Tariffs are a first step in rewriting a rigged trade system, but they cannot be the last one.”

A major part of a first-of-its-kind green energy project, which the Biden administration bragged about, is now lying in ruins and polluting some of America’s beautiful ocean and seashore in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Exclusive images obtained by Fox News Digital show the shattered remains of what is left of an ocean wind turbine constructed by Vineyard Wind in a green energy project touted by the Biden administration.

The turbine was recently struck by lightning and destroyed just months after one of its blades dangerously fell into the Atlantic Ocean, dropping non-biodegradable fiberglass shards into the water, some of which washed ashore, forcing six Nantucket beaches to close.

EX-BIDEN CAMPAIGN STAFFER SLAMS FORMER PRESIDENT’S TEAM FOR KNOWING HE WAS ‘NOT CAPABLE,’ FEELS ‘LIED TO’

Exclusive images obtained by Fox News Digital show the shattered remains of what is left of an ocean wind turbine constructed by Vineyard Wind in a green energy project touted by the Biden administration.

The Cape Cod Times reported that the broken turbine was hit by lightning on Feb. 27 and “caught fire, and detached.”

Today – just a few years after the Biden administration announced the project in 2021 – the turbine sits in ruins with its interior materials being exposed just about 14 nautical miles from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

In May 2021, the Biden-era Department of Interior announced the approval of the construction and operation of the Vineyard Wind project, which it said would be the first large-scale, offshore wind project in the United States. The administration touted the project as contributing to their green energy goals.

Former President Joe Biden’s Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland called the project an “important step toward advancing the Administration’s goals to create good-paying union jobs while combating climate change and powering our nation.” 

EX-BIDEN AIDE SAYS FORMER PRESIDENT WAS ‘FATIGUED, BEFUDDLED, AND DISENGAGED’ PRIOR TO JUNE DEBATE: BOOK

A major part of a first-of-its-kind green energy project, which the Biden administration bragged about, is now lying in ruins and polluting some of America’s beautiful ocean and seashore in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

She said it was “one of many actions we are determined to take to open the doors of economic opportunity to more Americans.”

Biden’s Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, “This project is an example of the investments we need to achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s ambitious climate goals, and I’m proud to be part of the team leading the charge on offshore wind.” 

However, after the project went down in literal flames, local residents had much more choice words to say about the Biden administration’s “ambitious climate goals.”

“Everybody wants a healthy planet, but when the ones advocating for a green planet are the ones damaging it, it makes you pause,” Barstool Sports President Dave Portnoy, a Nantucket homeowner, told Fox News Digital after the blade detached and fell into the ocean.

‘RUINED BY NEGLIGENCE’: DAVE PORTNOY BLASTS NANTUCKET WIND FARM AFTER BROKEN BLADE SHUTS DOWN BEACHES

Boats are pictured along one of Nantucket’s wharfs. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)

Portnoy lamented those who paid good money only to be unable to visit the closed beaches. 

“Families save up for years to take a vacation to Nantucket only to have it ruined by negligence,” he said. 

Mary Chalke, another local resident, posted on X on Mar. 23 that she was continuing to find blade fiberglass debris washing ashore on a Nantucket beach on the south side of the island.

The Vineyard Gazette reported that the broken blade had a manufacturing defect that was not caught during inspections and that there were 66 other blades in the project that could potentially have the same problem. The outlet reported that Vineyard Wind has been ordered to remove all the potentially defective blades.

DEMS MUM ON TRUMP’S COURT FIGHTS DESPITE TRYING TO LIMIT BIDEN-BLOCKING JUDGES

The turbine was recently struck by lightning and destroyed just months after one of its blades dangerously fell into the Atlantic Ocean, dropping non-biodegradable fiberglass shards into the water, some of which washed ashore, forcing six Nantucket beaches to have to be closed. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)

The outlet said that as of January, only one turbine of the 62 planned was running.

A source familiar with the project said its catastrophic failure is a “shining example of how these failed green energy projects pose a hazard to the environment.”

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“It wasn’t by chance that this wind turbine was struck by lightning just months after it fell apart into the ocean,” the source said.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump paused new or renewed approvals, rights-of-way, permits, leases or loans for offshore wind projects pending a review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices. He also issued a memorandum temporarily withdrawing the Outer Continental Shelf from offshore wind leasing.

Former President Barack Obama told a crowd Thursday night that some sacrifice might be necessary in order to resist President Donald Trump’s policies.

Obama spoke at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, on Thursday and accused the Trump administration of trying to destroy the post-World War II international order, according to the Washington Post.

During the speech, Obama called Trump’s behavior “contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans” and called on students to do more in order to resist Trump’s policies.

“It has been easy during most of our lifetimes to say you are a progressive, or say you are for social justice, or say you are for free speech, and not have to pay a price for it…And now we’re in one of those moments when…it’s not enough just to say you’re for something. You may actually have to do something and possibly sacrifice a little bit,” Obama said.

JAMES CARVILLE BLAMES SECRETIVE DEMOCRATIC MANEUVERING FOR ‘SELF-ENGINEERED DEFEAT’ IN 2024

Former President Barack Obama takes the stage during Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 20, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Obama also said law firms and universities need to take a more active role in resisting Trump, arguing there would be massive pushback if he tried to sanction law firms.

“It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me or a whole bunch of my predecessors,” Obama said.

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

Former President Barack Obama, left, speaks with then-President-elect Donald Trump before the State Funeral Service for former President Jimmy Carter at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 9, 2025. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

Obama said he is “deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don’t give up students who are exercising their right to free speech.”

“All of you have grown up in an international order that was created by America after World War II. … This is an important moment because in the last two months, the U.S. government has been trying to destroy that order,” Obama said. “Democracy is pretty recent in its vintage. An international order where you cooperate instead of fight is new. It’s fragile.”

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Former President Barack Obama speaks at a rally. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

The Thursday night speech at Hamilton College was not recorded.

For decades, President Donald Trump has remained a staunch advocate for tariffs — routinely declaring the word one of the most beautiful in the dictionary and regularly accusing foreign countries of ripping off the U.S. 

Following through on 2024 campaign promises and building upon policies his first administration introduced, Trump unveiled a series of historic tariffs at the White House’s Rose Garden on Wednesday for a “Make America Wealthy Again” event as part of a day his administration dubbed “Liberation Day” for the U.S. 

While some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have voiced concern over the policy, tariffs are an area where Trump’s views have remained incredibly consistent over the years, as he has routinely decried that other countries have treated the U.S. unfairly in trade deals. 

For example, Trump wrote in his 2011 book, “Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again!” that he backed a solid 20% tariff on all foreign items imported into the U.S. and singled out China as a high offender. 

“I want foreign countries to finally start forking over cash in order to have access to our markets,” Trump wrote in the book, according to an excerpt. “So here’s the deal: any foreign country shipping goods into the United States pays a 20 percent tax. If they want a piece of the American market, they’re going to pay for it. No more free admission into the biggest show in town — and that especially includes China.” 

HERE’S A CLOSER LOOK AT TRUMP’S TARIFF PLAN: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DUTIES

President Donald Trump during a Make America Wealthy Again event in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 2, 2025. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Trump also boasted about the benefits of tariffs during his campaign in the election for his first run at president, when he outlined his trade priorities during a June 2016 Pennsylvania speech. 

“Our original Constitution did not even have an income tax,” Trump said at the event. “Instead, it had tariffs emphasizing taxation of foreign, not domestic, production. Yet today, 240 years after the Revolution, we’ve turned things completely upside down. 

President Donald Trump speaks during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday. (Getty Images)

“We tax and regulate and restrict our companies to death, and then we allow foreign countries that cheat to export their goods to us tax-free,” Trump said. “How stupid is this? How could it happen? How stupid is this. As a result, we have become more dependent on foreign countries than ever before. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to declare our economic independence once again.”

Following Trump’s victory in the 2016 election, Trump moved to impose a series of tariffs on countries and various products, including 25% duties on steel and 10% duties on aluminum from most countries, and others targeting China. In response to these tariffs, China issued its own retaliatory tariffs that cost the U.S. federal government billions of dollars in government aid to farmers who suffered financial losses due to the retaliation on their agricultural exports. 

Critiques of other countries’ trade practices have continued into Trump’s second administration, and he has routinely blamed them for allegedly engaging in unfair trade practices against the U.S. 

He also argues that tariffs will help return manufacturing jobs to the U.S. As a result, he and his administration have called for employing tariffs to address the nation’s 2024 record $1.2 trillion trade deficit. 

TRUMP TOUTS RETURN OF ‘AMERICAN DREAM’ IN HISTORIC TARIFF ANNOUNCEMENT

President Donald Trump, left, speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said Wednesday. 

Earlier in 2025, the Trump administration imposed up to 25% tariffs on certain goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 20% tariff on shipments from China. The White House said that tariffs already imposed on Canada and Mexico will remain in place; however, new tariffs on China will be added on top of existing duties on Beijing. 

Tariffs function as a tax that governments collect on foreign goods and services that manufacturers import, and are collected while undergoing customs clearance in foreign ports, according to the International Trade Administration. 

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The new tariff plan sets out a baseline duty of 10% on imports to the U.S., while customized tariffs are set for countries, like China, which have higher duties in place on American goods. 

“If you want your tariff rate to be zero, then you build your product right here in America,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House. 

The tariffs are slated to impact a variety of goods, including electronics like iPhones that are predominantly manufactured in China, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. They are also expected to hit goods like wine and other alcohols originating from European Union countries like Italy. 

Both parties in Congress have voiced opposition to the new tariffs and have warned that the tariffs will raise prices for American consumers.

For countries considering implementing their own tariffs against U.S. products in retaliation, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a simple message: “Don’t.”

“My advice to every country right now: Do not retaliate,” Bessent said in a Wednesday interview with Fox News Wednesday. “If you retaliate, there will be escalation.”

EXCLUSIVE: California Gov. Gavin Newsom will announce plans Friday afternoon directing the state to pursue “strategic” relationships with countries announcing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., urging them to exclude California-made products from those taxes, Fox News Digital has learned.

Sources in Newsom’s administration told Fox News Digital the announcement is a direct response to President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff plan, which sets out a baseline duty of 10% on all imports to the U.S. and some higher percentages for other top traders. 

The Newsom administration is worried that California’s almond industry, a major agricultural exporter, will lose billions of dollars as nations like China, India and the European Union move to impose retaliatory tariffs.

HERE’S A CLOSER LOOK AT TRUMP’S TARIFF PLAN: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DUTIES

Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, is considered to be weighing a run to replace term-limited President Donald Trump in the White House in 2028. (Fox News)

Almonds, California’s most valuable food export, account for about 20% of the state’s $23.6 billion in agricultural sales abroad and 2.5% of its total exports, according to the California Department of Food & Agriculture. The state produces 80% of the world’s supply and exports the majority of its almond crop. Other top agricultural exports include dairy products, pistachios, wine and walnuts.

California boasts of being the fifth-largest economy in the world, a vital engine for much of U.S. economic growth, with a gross domestic product of $3.9 trillion — 50% larger than Texas, the nation’s second-largest state. The Golden State is the largest importer and second-largest exporter among U.S. states, with more than $675 billion in two-way trade supporting millions of jobs, state officials said.

Trade with Mexico, Canada and China are also key partners for California, as nearly half of the state’s imports come from these countries, totaling $203 billion of the more than $491 billion in goods imported by California last year. 

A Newsom official said the new Trump tariffs will also affect access to critical supplies, like construction materials, needed to rebuild after the Los Angeles wildfires. The U.S. currently imposes a duty of over 14% on Canadian lumber, with the rate potentially rising to nearly 27% this year.

TRUMP TOUTS RETURN OF ‘AMERICAN DREAM’ IN HISTORIC TARIFF ANNOUNCEMENT 

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

State officials also said the retaliatory tariffs will cause “major disruptions” to cross-border supply chains in the California-Baja region, arguing that if component goods are taxed each time they cross the border, the final price of the finished product will increase and be passed onto Californians.

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“The markets are going to boom. The stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom, and the rest of the world wants to see is there any way they can make a deal,” Trump said Thursday leaving the White House.

“This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It’s our declaration of economic independence. For years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense,” Trump said. “But now it’s our turn to prosper, and in so doing, use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt, and it’ll all happen very quickly.”

All but one Senate Republican voted on Thursday to confirm President Donald Trump’s nomination of Harmeet Dhillon to serve as an assistant attorney general.

While the 52-45 vote was almost entirely along party lines, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, joined Democrats in voting against Dhillon’s confirmation.

Fox News Digital reached out to a Murkowski spokesperson on Friday morning to request a comment from the lawmaker, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

DR. OZ BECOMES NEXT HEAD OF MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES FOLLOWING APPROVAL FROM FULL SENATE

Harmeet Dhillon, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, prepares for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 26, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Then-President-elect Donald Trump announced in December that Dhillon was his choice to serve as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department.

“I am pleased to nominate Harmeet K. Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. Throughout her career, Harmeet has stood up consistently to protect our cherished Civil Liberties, including taking on Big Tech for censoring our Free Speech, representing Christians who were prevented from praying together during COVID, and suing corporations who use woke policies to discriminate against their workers,” Trump declared in his Truth Social post at the time.

SENATE CONFIRMS DR MARTY MAKARY AS TRUMP’S FDA CHIEF

Harmeet Dhillon, nominee to be an assistant attorney general, testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Building on Feb. 26, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Harmeet is one of the top Election lawyers in the Country, fighting to ensure that all, and ONLY, legal votes are counted. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia Law School, and clerked in the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Harmeet is a respected member of the Sikh religious community. In her new role at the DOJ, Harmeet will be a tireless defender of our Constitutional Rights, and will enforce our Civil Rights and Election Laws FAIRLY and FIRMLY. Congratulations, Harmeet!” he added.

Trump recently accused Murkwoski, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, and Kentucky Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell of having “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

TRUMP PRESSURES 4 GOP SENATORS AHEAD OF ANTI-CANADIAN TARIFF VOTE, ACCUSING THEM OF ‘TDS’

Harmeet Dhillon, a candidate for the Republican Party chair speaks to the media after GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel was re-elected during the 2023 Republican National Committee Winter Meeting in Dana Point, Calif., on Jan. 27, 2023 (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

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The president called out the four GOP senators ahead of a vote on a measure to scuttle his tariff policy on Canadian products. 

All four Republican senators voted for the joint resolution anyway, and it cleared the Senate with all Democrats voting in favor.

The Trump administration fired National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh and civilian Deputy Director Wendy Noble, according to a report.

The firings were first reported by The Washington Post on Thursday.

Haugh also served as commander of the U.S. Cyber Command – a position from which he was also dismissed. Noble was reassigned to serve in the office of the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, according to the Post.

Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes, top Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence committees, reacted to the alleged firings late Thursday night.

TRUMP ADMIN MOVES TO MORE EASILY FIRE FEDERAL WORKERS AT 2 AGENCIES: REPORT 

President Trump reportedly fired National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh, who also commanded U.S. Cyber Command, and reassigned civilian Deputy Director Wendy Noble. (U.S. Air Force website)

Himes, a ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said he is “deeply disturbed” by Haugh’s dismissal. 

“I have known General Haugh to be an honest and forthright leader who followed the law and put national security first—I fear those are precisely the qualities that could lead to his firing in this Administration,” he said in a statement, adding an “immediate explanation” is needed for this decision.

Warner, the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, described Haugh’s firing as “astonishing” in a statement.

TRUMP CONFIRMS NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL FIRINGS AS WALTZ’S SIGNAL CHAT WOES SNOWBALL 

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, described President Trump’s decision to fire Gen. Timothy Haugh as “astonishing” in a statement. (Reuters)

“General Haugh has served our country in uniform, with honor and distinction, for more than 30 years. At a time when the United States is facing unprecedented cyber threats, as the Salt Typhoon cyberattack from China has so clearly underscored, how does firing him make Americans any safer?” Warner said.

The senator described Haugh as a “nonpartisan, experienced leader” and said it is astonishing that President Donald Trump would fire him before holding “any member of his team accountable for leaking classified information on a commercial messaging app.” 

He continued, “even as he apparently takes staffing direction on national security from a discredited conspiracy theorist in the Oval Office.”

Sen. Mark Warner accused President Trump of making national security firings based on the guidance of far-right activist Laura Loomer. (Getty Images)

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Warner is appearing to refer to Laura Loomer, a far-right activist who reportedly presented Trump with a list of disloyal National Security Counsel staff members who should be fired.

An undisclosed number of NSC employees were dismissed on Thursday, but Trump has said Loomer was not involved in those firings.

Fox News Digital reached out to the NSA for comment but was referred to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 

Two senior lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill that would reassert Congress’ powers over U.S. tariffs, a day after President Donald Trump announced a new wide-ranging tariff strategy during his “Liberation Day” speech on Wednesday.

Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., on Thursday introduced the Trade Review Act of 2025, which would require the president to notify Congress about any new tariffs within 48 hours of imposition. 

The bill also requires that Trump provide an explanation of the rationale along with an analysis of the tariffs’ potential impact on the U.S. economy. Congress would have to approve the new tariffs within 60 days or allow them to expire.

If enacted, the bill would shift certain trade policymaking powers from the executive branch to the Congress. 

WHAT IS TRUMP’S NEW LIBERATION DAY AND WHAT TO EXPECT APRIL 2?

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, appears during a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch,” Grassley, a Trump ally who is skeptical of tariffs, said in a statement. 

“Building on my previous efforts as Finance Committee Chairman, I’m joining Senator Cantwell to introduce the bipartisan Trade Review Act of 2025 to reassert Congress’ constitutional role and ensure Congress has a voice in trade policy,” he continued.

TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT TELLS COUNTRIES NOT TO RETALIATE AFTER SWEEPING ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., speaks during a news briefing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on July 9, 2024. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Cantwell said in a statement that Trump’s tariffs would hurt sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and technology and have reverberating effects on consumers.

“Ultimately, consumers will pay the price,” Cantwell said in a statement. “It’s time for Congress to take action to counter the president’s trade war.”

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Grassley’s home state of Iowa heavily relies on farm crop exports, while Cantwell’s Washington state is home to many export-heavy companies such as Boeing.

Trump on Thursday compared the tariffs to a medical operation, and said the “patient lived, and is healing.” “The prognosis is that the patient will be far stronger, bigger, better, and more resilient than ever before,” he wrote on Truth Social.

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Thursday’s bill was introduced after four Republican senators joined Democrats in approving a separate resolution on Wednesday that would repeal Trump’s emergency declaration levying tariffs on Canadian imports. Grassley was not one of the Republican defectors. The resolution is likely dead on arrival in the House.

More than half a billion dollars in federal funding to Brown University is being halted by the Trump administration over the Ivy League’s response to antisemitism since Hamas’ 2023 attack in Israel.

A White House official said nearly $510 million awarded to the university through federal contracts and grants is on the line, The Associated Press reported, adding that the official spoke on condition of anonymity.

Fox News Digital reached out to Brown University, but did not immediately hear back.

Brown Provost Frank Doyle said in an email on Thursday to campus leaders that the school is aware of “troubling rumors” about its research money, but they don’t have any “information to substantiate” the claims, according to The AP.

IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS RECEIVED $6.4 BILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING IN 2024 

The Trump administration is reportedly set to halt nearly $510 million in federal funding to Brown University as the government investigates the Ivy League’s response to antisemitic protests on campus last year. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

President Donald Trump has suspended federal funding to every Ivy League, besides Penn and Dartmouth, over investigations into anti-Israel protests that have taken place on their campuses since October 2023. Funding for dozens of other universities has also been impacted by investigations for the same reason.

Columbia University, which had more than $400 million in federal funding taken away, was the first Ivy League to lose money over its failure to make Jewish students feel safe on campus. The university caved to demands from the Trump administration late last month in hopes of restoring the funding. 

This week, a federal antisemitism task force announced a review of Harvard’s federal grants and contracts, worth nearly $9 billion, as the university faces an investigation into campus antisemitism, and Princeton University confirmed dozens of its research grants have been halted. 

Education Secretary Linda McMahon has said schools receiving federal funding “have a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination” when discussing the investigations into campus antisemitism. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

DHS: DEPORTED BROWN UNIVERSITY DOCTOR ATTENDED HEZBOLLAH CHIEF’S FUNERAL, SUPPORTED TERROR LEADER 

The Trump administration has promised to be more aggressive in ending campus antisemitism after saying President Joe Biden did not hold universities accountable for their violent protests.

“Americans have watched in horror for more than a year now, as Jewish students have been assaulted and harassed on elite university campuses – repeatedly overrun by antisemitic students and agitators. Unlawful encampments and demonstrations have completely paralyzed day-to-day campus operations, depriving Jewish students of learning opportunities to which they are entitled,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement last month.

She said schools that receive federal funding “have a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination” and described the failure to do so as a reason to question if the university should be “doing business with the United States government.”

The administration has also made moves to detain and deport foreign students who participated in or orchestrated anti-Israel protests at American universities.

Brown University was one of many campuses across the U.S. impacted by anti-Israel protests last year. ( Joseph Prezioso / AFP)

The Department of Homeland Security announced last month that an assistant professor at Brown, who held an H-1B visa, was deported to Lebanon for her support of and attendance at the funeral of a slain Hezbollah leader.

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Brown made headlines last year for a deal it struck with anti-Israel protesters, who were taking over the university, promising to have its governing board vote on whether it should divest from companies linked to Israel.

The Corporation of Brown ultimately rejected the divestment proposal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

There’s no denying that billionaire Elon Musk has been the most visible member of President Donald Trump’s administration during Trump’s first 10 weeks back in the White House. But with familiarity can come contempt, as recent polling shows the DOGE point man underwater with approval ratings.

Musk, the world’s richest person and the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, has grabbed outsized attention as he’s steered DOGE, the acronym for Trump’s recently created Department of Government Efficiency, which has swept through federal agencies, rooting out what the White House argues was billions in wasteful federal spending.

The unit has also taken a meat cleaver to the federal workforce, resulting in a massive exodus of employees. The controversial moves by Musk and DOGE have triggered a slew of lawsuits in response.

But it’s becoming increasingly clear that a majority of Americans are far from happy with Musk’s moves. And two new national public opinion polls released this week offer further proof.

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

President Donald Trump listens as White House senior advisor and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks next to a Tesla Cyber Truck and a Model S on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 11. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted March 31-April 2, Musk’s favorable rating stands at 39% among Americans, with 57% viewing him in an unfavorable light.

And only 36% of respondents said the Trump administration was doing a competent job in reducing the number of federal employees. Even fewer — 31% — offered that the Trump administration was competently downsizing the federal government without affecting vital services.

According to a Marquette Law School national survey, 41% approve of the job Musk is doing at DOGE, with 58% giving him a thumbs down.

And Musk’s personal favorability rating was in negative territory — at 38% favorable to 60% unfavorable — in the poll, which was conducted March 17-24.

AMERICANS WANT SMALLER GOVERNMENT BUT NEW POLLS SHOWS WHETHER THEY LIKE HOW MUSK IS GOING ABOUT IT

A slew of new and recent public opinion polls indicate that Elon Musk’s favorable ratings and approval ratings are hovering in negative territory. Musk, the world’s richest person and President Donald Trump’s top donor in last year’s election, is currently serving as a top White House advisor and steering DOGE. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

The two surveys are the latest to indicate Musk’s poll numbers deeply underwater.

A majority — 54% — questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted early last month said that Musk and DOGE are hurting the country, with just four in 10 saying their efforts are helping the country.

And according to a Fox News national poll conducted in mid-March, approval of Musk’s work at DOGE was in negative territory, at 40% approval and 58% disapproval.

While nearly six in 10 questioned in the Fox News poll felt that a great deal or almost all of government spending is wasteful and inefficient, 51% opposed substantially shrinking the number of government employees, 56% disapproved of the job the Trump administration is doing identifying and reducing wasteful spending, and another 65% worried that not enough thought and planning has gone into the cuts.

Trump continues to praise Musk’s efforts with DOGE – he’s done a fantastic job. We found hundreds…of millions of dollars in fraud and abuse and waste and, they’re still….going strong,” the president said on Thursday.

But Republicans are starting to voice concerns about Musk’s political liabilities. And Democrats have increasingly spotlighted and targeted Musk in their political attacks. And that was before he inserted himself front-and-center in this week’s high-profile and historically expensive state supreme court election in Wisconsin.

DEMOCRAT CONGRESSMAN LASHES MUSK IN OPENING SALVO OF SENATE BID

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk arrives for a town hall wearing a cheesehead hat at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Sunday. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

With a massive infusion of money from Democrat- and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin, which turned the race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation’s history, the contest partially transformed into a referendum on Trump’s sweeping and controversial moves during the opening months of his second tour of duty in the White House, and on Musk’s efforts.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford, the liberal-leaning candidate, ended up defeating Brad Schimel, the conservative-leaning Trump-backed candidate, a former state attorney general who currently serves as a state circuit court judge in Waukesha County, by roughly 10 points.

The large margin was not expected, in a race that was expected to be close, in a state that last November had an extremely tight margin in the presidential race.

Musk, who last year was Trump’s top donor, dished out roughly $20 million in the Wisconsin race through aligned groups in support of Schimel.

ELON MUSK HANDS OUT MILLION-DOLLAR CHECKS AMID ‘SUPER IMPORTANT’ WISCONSIN JUDICIAL RACE

Elon Musk, right, sparked controversy as he presented million-dollar checks to two attendees during a town hall ahead of the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Sunday. (Jamie Kelter Davis/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In a controversial move, Musk handed out $1 million checks at a rally in Green Bay on Sunday evening to two Wisconsin voters who had already cast ballots in the contest and had signed a petition to stop “activist judges.”

Musk’s lighting rod efforts in Wisconsin are being blamed for partially contributing to the 10-point shellacking Schimel suffered.

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The White House confirmed to Fox News on Wednesday that Musk will exit his role with DOGE on schedule later this spring, once his efforts are complete.

The White House, pushing back against reporting by Politico that Trump had told his inner circle and cabinet members that Musk would be “stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role,” said that Musk had long been anticipated to step back from DOGE when his 130 days as a “special government employee” run out in May. 

“We’re in no rush. But there’ll be a point at which time, you know, he’s going to have to leave,” Trump told reporters on Thursday, when asked when Musk would leave. “I would think a few months.”

President Donald Trump confirmed that multiple employees within the National Security Council were fired Thursday, adding to National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s recent political woes that have snowballed since Democrats first slammed him over March’s Signal chat leak. 

“Always, we’re going to let go of people we don’t like, or people we don’t think can do the job, or people who may have loyalties to somebody else,” Trump said from Air Force One when asked about reports on the NSC firings. 

Trump confirmed that NSC members had been fired, but remarked it was not many individuals. 

Trump added that he continues to trust his NSC team, remarking that they’ve “done very well” and “had big success with the Houthis.”  

Waltz, who previously served as a Florida congressman and as a decorated combat Green Beret, has come under fire from Democrats and critics since March, when the Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published a firsthand account of getting added to a Signal group chat with top national security leaders, including Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, while they discussed strikes against Yemen terrorists. Trump and his administration have repeatedly defended the national security leader amid criticisms over the chat leak.  

Signal is an encrypted messaging app that operates similarly to texting or making phone calls, but with additional security measures that help ensure communications are kept private to those included in the correspondence. 

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR MIKE WALTZ TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR ‘EMBARRASSING’ SIGNAL CHAT LEAK

President Donald Trump believes that a staffer for national security advisor Mike Waltz may have accidentally added the Atlantic’s editor in chief to the Signal text chain that he eventually leaked to the press. (Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

The Atlantic’s report characterized the Trump administration as texting “war plans” regarding a planned strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Trump administration has maintained, however, that no classified material was transmitted in the chat, with Trump repeatedly defending Waltz amid the fallout. 

NSC CONFIRMS MIKE WALTZ AND STAFF USED GMAIL FOR GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION

“As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team,” Trump administration press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the media in brief remarks outside of the White House’s press room Monday afternoon. “And this case has been closed here at the White House, as far as we are concerned.” 

President Donald Trump and his administration have repeatedly defended national security advisor Mike Waltz. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“There have been steps made to ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again,” she continued. “And we’re moving forward. And the president and Mike Waltz and his entire national security team have been working together very well, if you look at how much safer the United States of America is because of the leadership of this team.” 

TRUMP REVEALS WHO WAS BEHIND SIGNAL TEXT CHAIN LEAK

Fox News Digital has compiled a timeline of accusations and outrage directed at and involving Waltz since the Atlantic’s first report on the chat leak. 

• March 24: The Atlantic publishes a report that Goldberg was added to a Signal chat that claimed national security leaders were discussing “war plans” with one another.
• March 25: Trump tells NBC News he believes a staffer in Waltz’s office was behind mistakenly adding the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief to the group chat.
• March 25: Democratic outrage over the Atlantic article mounts, including Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, calling on Waltz and Hegseth to resign.
• March 25: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe join an annual Senate Intelligence Committee hearing and report no classified material was shared in the chat and that the Signal chat was “lawful.”
• March 25: Waltz joins Fox News and takes “full responsibility” for the Signal chat leak. Waltz added that he “100 percent” did not personally know Goldberg before the Signal debacle.”I take full responsibility. I built the group,” Waltz said on “The Ingraham Angle” March 25. “It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.”
• “I take full responsibility. I built the group,” Waltz said on “The Ingraham Angle” March 25. “It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.”
• March 26: Politico reports anonymous sources found Trump was irritated with Waltz over the leak, while the president publicly defended Waltz as “a very good man.”
• March 26: The Atlantic publishes a follow-up story that included direct texts from the Signal chat, but notably did not include the phrase “war plans” in its headline, instead characterizing the texts as “attack plans.”
• March 26: Administration officials slam the Atlantic’s follow-up story as exposing a “hoax” against Trump. Waltz also doubled-down that the Signal messages published in the Atlantic article did not include, “locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS.”
• March 26: Leavitt says Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency team would help investigate the Signal leak.
• March 28: Politico reports Trump did not want to fire Waltz and “give the press a scalp,” according to anonymous sources reportedly familiar with private discussions.
• March 30: Goldberg joins NBC News’ Kristen Welker and says Waltz’s claims the two had never met or spoken are “simply not true.”
• March 31: Leavitt declares Signal case is “closed,” reiterating that “Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team.”
• April 1: Washington Post reports Waltz and National Security Counsel staff used Gmail to conduct government business. NSC spokesman Brian Hughes pushed back on the Washington Post report in a comment provided to Fox Digital Thursday:”This is the latest attempt to distract the American people from President Trump’s successful national security agenda that’s protecting our nation. Let me reiterate, NSA Waltz received emails and calendar invites from legacy contacts on his personal email and cc’d government accounts for anything since January 20th to ensure compliance with records retention, and he has never sent classified material over his personal email account or any unsecured platform.”
• “This is the latest attempt to distract the American people from President Trump’s successful national security agenda that’s protecting our nation. Let me reiterate, NSA Waltz received emails and calendar invites from legacy contacts on his personal email and cc’d government accounts for anything since January 20th to ensure compliance with records retention, and he has never sent classified material over his personal email account or any unsecured platform.”
• April 1: House Oversight Democrats open investigation into Waltz’s use of Gmail.
• April 2: Politico reports Waltz’s office set up at least 20 different Signal group chats to coordinate with other officials. NSC pushes back that Signal is allowed on government devices and is an app used by both the Biden and Trump administrations:”Signal is an approved, encrypted messaging app and any claim NSC officials sending classified information over these channels is false. It can be used for unclassified messaging and a user has the responsibility to preserve any official record created,” Hughes said in Thursday comment provided to Fox Digital. “Some in NSC, like those in the media and many areas across the federal government, use the Signal app. There are federal agencies that automatically install the app on government devices, as was testified to in congressional hearings last week. Using Signal to send unclassified information is appropriate and these same facts have been reported multiple times in the last few days. All communications are a reflection of a thoughtful dialog of those committed to the effective implementation of the President’s agenda.”
• “Signal is an approved, encrypted messaging app and any claim NSC officials sending classified information over these channels is false. It can be used for unclassified messaging and a user has the responsibility to preserve any official record created,” Hughes said in Thursday comment provided to Fox Digital. “Some in NSC, like those in the media and many areas across the federal government, use the Signal app. There are federal agencies that automatically install the app on government devices, as was testified to in congressional hearings last week. Using Signal to send unclassified information is appropriate and these same facts have been reported multiple times in the last few days. All communications are a reflection of a thoughtful dialog of those committed to the effective implementation of the President’s agenda.”
• April 3: The New York Times reports far-right activist Laura Loomer reportedly presented Trump with a list of National Security Counsel staff who have been disloyal and should be fired.
• April 3: Trump confirms some members at NSC have been fired. He told the media that Loomer was not involved with the firings of the NSC members on Thursday.

National security advisor Mike Waltz speaks during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, March 25, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the matter, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

The House and Senate are a long way from approving President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” to cut spending, slash taxes and likely raise the debt ceiling.

But the next step in the process begins unfolding Thursday afternoon and over the next 48 hours.

The Senate likely votes between 4 and 6 p.m. ET Thursday to actually “proceed” to a retooled budget framework. The framework is necessary under special budget rules the Senate is using to avoid a filibuster, which would kill the bill.

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The next step in the budget process begins unfolding Thursday afternoon and over the next 48 hours. (Getty Images)

If the Senate fails to proceed, Republicans have major problems. But if the Senate can forge ahead, then it can actually launch up to 50 hours of debate on the updated budget package and go to what’s called a “vote-a-rama” on Friday evening. The Senate would presumably finish this step in the process and adopt the new framework in the wee hours of Saturday morning or perhaps during the day on Saturday.

A “vote-a-rama” is really just a very Senate way of saying “long vote series which probably runs all night.” The Senate rifles through roll call vote after roll call vote for hours on end. Most vote-a-ramas run 10–15 hours. They are always related to the budget process. And, because of special budget rules, senators can offer an unlimited number of amendments — and that’s why there are so many votes.

Republicans will try to get through this process as quickly as possible — although some conservatives may offer amendments for additional debt reduction or something related to the debt ceiling.

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The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 16, 2024. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Democrats will likely offer a host of amendments to get vulnerable Republicans on the record about controversial issues like possible cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and even tariffs.

The bottom line is this:

There is high interest in Congress advancing the “big, beautiful bill.” It’s the touchstone of Trump’s legislative agenda and probably the most significant piece of legislation to come before Congress over the next two years. But getting to a point where the House and Senate can actually try to approve the bill itself is an exhaustive process and months away. However, this incremental step is essential to getting there. And that’s why interested parties will focus on the vote-a-rama starting Friday night and when it ends.

Also, why start this process so late on a Thursday and compel the Senate to meet on a Friday night and into the weekend? Especially when the Senate has had multiple weekend sessions already this year and several overnight sessions? That includes the all-night, record-breaking speech by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., earlier this week.

There is some method to the madness.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. (Senate Democrats YouTube channel)

First, the Senate needs to get through this step. Time is of the essence. But secondly, Fox is told that holding off until later in the week could limit the length of the vote-a-rama if the Senate doesn’t start until Friday night. That isn’t to say the vote-a-rama won’t be long and tiring. But it could abbreviate the process.

Let’s take a step backward so we can look forward on what the House and Senate must still do to pass the tax cut and spending cut plan. There are potentially eight steps here. The Senate motion over the next few days is step three.

In February, the Senate adopted an initial budget outline so it could use the special “budget reconciliation process” and avoid a filibuster.

The House approved its own version of a budget outline in late February — even though the consequences of the filibuster mean nothing to the House. But the issue was that the House and Senate approved different budget frameworks. They still need to sync up.

So those were steps one and two of this protracted process.

The Senate’s vote-a-rama — culminating with the adoption of a new, updated budget blueprint — is step three.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. (Reuters)

Step four likely comes next week when the Senate’s updated package goes to the House. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., indicated Wednesday night he’d like the House to align with the Senate framework next week. So that entails another vote. However, some archconservatives might look askance at the Senate’s spending cut numbers. Those close to the Senate process have told Fox that those figures represent a “floor” for spending cuts. Not a “ceiling.” But the ultimate Senate number might not please as many House conservatives.

Why does the Senate do it this way? To comply with specific, strict Senate budgetary rules.

Johnson seemed buoyed last night after he swore in new Reps. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., and Randy Fine, R-Fla., on Wednesday night.

“The margin is a little more comfortable. It’s an embarrassment of riches. Now we can lose, what, three votes now or something,” he said.

Yours truly asked Patronis if he and Fine would vote for the still incomplete package when it comes over from the Senate.

“I vote for my speaker,” replied Patronis.

“Right!” piped up Johnson.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

It’s possible the speaker was glad to have some backup after one of the worst weeks of his tenure. Johnson lost an internecine fight over proxy voting for members who are pregnant or new moms. That blocked the House from considering other major bills and forced him to shut the House down for the rest of the week on Tuesday.

Regardless, if the House adopts the plan now before the Senate, they go to steps five and six. That’s where the House and Senate actually assemble, debate and presumably pass the bill itself. Those steps will be the most challenging set yet. And it likely involves yet another vote-a-rama in the Senate.

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Then, we may have steps seven and eight. That’s where the House and Senate may need to take yet another set of votes to align again — if both bodies have approved different bills.

That’s why passing the “big, beautiful bill” may take until summer. And there will undoubtedly be additional hiccups along the way.

Senate Republicans cleared the way on Thursday for an eventual vote on the latest version of a budget to push through several key agenda items for President Trump, including the southern border and extending his 2017 tax cuts. 

A motion to proceed was agreed to in the upper chamber just one day after Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham unveiled the Senate’s amendment to the House’s budget plan. 

The Senate agreed to the motion by a vote of 52 to 48, along party lines. The only exception was Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who voted against it. Paul has criticized the budget framework’s provision on the debt ceiling. 

The changes made by the Senate include raising the debt ceiling by up to $5 trillion and making Trump’s tax cuts permanent by using what’s known as a current policy baseline, as determined by the chairman. 

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The Senate laid the groundwork for a vote-a-rama this weekend. (Reuters)

The Thursday motion kicks off roughly a day’s worth of debate, before a “vote-a-rama” begins. The marathon amendment votes are expected to take place at some point on Friday afternoon or evening after debate concludes. 

During a vote-a-rama, senators are able to introduce an unlimited number of amendments, and many are expected to get floor votes. 

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The Senate voted to begin the process on Thursday. (Getty Images)

After the amended budget resolution passes in the Senate, which it is expected to do at some point on Saturday, the House will need to take it up again. 

This is a significant step forward for Republicans in their quest to get Trump’s priorities done through the budget reconciliation process. This key budget process lowers the vote threshold in the Senate from 60 to 51, allowing the GOP to pass things without support from their Democrat counterparts. Reconciliation is considered a key tool for the Republican trifecta in Washington to get Trump’s policies passed. 

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Republicans in DC see reconciliation as the best tool to accomplish Trump priorities. (Fox News Digital/Trump-Vance Transition Team)

Early on, Republicans in the House and Senate were split on how to organize the key resolution. House Republican leaders largely preferred doing one reconciliation bill that addressed both the border and tax cuts, while Senate Republicans wanted to separate the issues into two bills. 

Republicans in the lower chamber made it clear they would only accept one reconciliation bill that included border funding and tax cut extensions, as they have less room for dissent in their slim majority. 

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Trump has pushed Congress to pass his budget plan. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Each chamber passed their preferred resolution, but Trump’s support for one bill on multiple occasions put the House’s strategy over the top. Senate Republicans themselves even described their resolution as a backup plan to the House’s.