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President Donald Trump fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, for being a “strong supporter” of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Trump announced the termination in a post on Truth Social on Friday afternoon.

“Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am hereby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery,” the president wrote. “She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position. Her replacement will be named shortly. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

A White House official told Fox News Digital that Sajet had donated $3,982 to Democrats, including presidential campaigns for former President Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. Sajet also reportedly donated to other Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris.

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The White House also pointed to the gallery’s photo of Trump, which was curated by Sajet. The caption of the photo reads, “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials. After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.”

The White House official also said it was ironic that Sajet said, “We try very much not to editorialise. I don’t want by reading the label to get a sense of what the curator’s opinion is about that person. I want someone reading the label to understand that it’s based on historical fact.”

The National Portrait Gallery did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter.

WHITE HOUSE VOWS TO IMPLEMENT ‘SYSTEM OF MERIT’ IN US, DISMANTLE DEI ‘STRANGULATION’

According to the National Portrait Gallery website, Sajet was the first woman to serve as the director of the National Portrait Gallery, and she spent time in the role looking for ways to put her experience and creativity at the center of learning and civic awareness.

Prior to taking the position, Sajet was the president and CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and held other positions at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Her biography notes that she was born in Nigeria, was raised in Australia and is a citizen of the Netherlands. She came to the U.S. with her family in 1997.

DEFUNDING DEI: HERE’S HOW THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS UNDONE BIDEN’S VERY PRIZED PROGRAMS

While speaking at the Richardson Symposium: Racial Masquerade in American Art and Culture, at the National Portrait Museum on Nov. 4, Sajet told a crowd that she was asked what she spent most of her time on, to which she answered, “identity politics.”

“America has never been able to separate a person’s appearance from their potential,” she said. “Our history is filled, and continues to be, with examples of hatred, discrimination, fear, and alienation.”

She then talked about a moment on Dec. 7, 1972, when she “suddenly felt” the world was going to come together and do away with “petty differences” while thinking holistically about what it meant to be a human.

That was the day astronaut Jack Schmidt of Apollo 17 snapped a picture of the earth and coined it the “Blue Marble.”

“Well, that utopian vision feels very, very far away today in the terrifying wake of the most uncivil, mistrustful, racially insensitive, sexually exploitative, factually untruthful, digitally manipulated, secretive and inflammatory election of the modern era,” she said.

“The National Portrait Gallery, as I’ve mentioned, is all about identity politics, whether it is to defend the label text that says President Eisenhower was cautious on civil rights or explaining why only 25% of women were historically considered cool or standing firm or not, allowing Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, to be removed from the Smithsonian or even outlining why we show the portrait of Sylvia Rivera, the transgender activist in the galleries,” Sajet later said during the same speech.

Hours after taking the Oath of Office on Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order to eliminate all DEI programs from the federal government.

A day later, the president directed the Office of Personnel Management to notify heads of agencies and departments to close all DEI offices and place those government workers in those offices on paid leave. 

Earlier this month, Trump fired Shira Perlmutter, who was in charge of the U.S. Copyright Office, which came just days after terminating the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden. The termination was part of the administration’s ongoing purge of government officials who are perceived to be opposed to Trump and his agenda.

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Both women were notified of their termination by email, The Associated Press previously reported.

Hayden tapped Perlmutter to lead the Copyright Office in October 2020.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

With Elon Musk leaving his role at the White House as head of the Department of Government Efficiency and President Donald Trump saying DOGE’s work will continue, the question now in Washington is who will take the reins to become Musk’s successor.

Musk, who has led Trump’s waste-cutting task force from Inauguration Day until now, announced his departure in an X post this week, saying: “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,”

Musk said the DOGE mission “will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”

So, who will take Musk’s place? Right now, no one.

A senior White House official previously told Fox News Digital that “the DOGE employees at their respective agency or department will be reporting to and executing the agenda of the president through the leadership of each agency or department head.”

‘AMERICAN HERO’ OR ‘FAILURE’: ELON MUSK’S DOGE DEPARTURE DIVIDES CAPITOL HILL

The official said DOGE is now part of the “DNA” of the federal government, and that it will keep operating as it already has. 

Speaking with reporters on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that “the DOGE leaders are each and every member of the president’s cabinet and the president himself, who is wholeheartedly committed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse from our government.”

These statements cast doubt on whether any singular individual will succeed Musk as the DOGE chief. However, if Trump finds a DOGE successor necessary and decides to shift gears, who could fill Musk’s shoes?  

Amy Gleason

While Musk was never an official federal employee, Amy Gleason, a little-known government employee who also worked in the first Trump administration, has been serving as the official acting chief of the United States DOGE Service (USDS) since February.

DOGE STAFFING SHAKEUP AS ELON MUSK HANGS UP HIS HAT, WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS

If the president decides to steer clear of any public-facing DOGE chief, it seems likely that he will keep Gleason on as a more behind-the-scenes DOGE leader at USDS.

Gleason, 53, is a career official who was recognized by the Obama administration as a “champion of change” for her work with several nonprofits researching and raising awareness about a rare autoimmune disorder known as Juvenile Myositis. Gleason previously worked in the first Trump administration in what was then called the U.S. Digital Service before leaving to work at Russell Street Ventures, which was founded by Brad Smith, another DOGE leader.

Keeping Gleason on as DOGE chief would allow the president to keep the agency’s efforts alive while following the structure of each cabinet head leading their own waste-cutting programs.

Russell Vought

As director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought has already been a central figure in DOGE’s waste-cutting efforts.

STATE DEPT SAYS DOGE’S CHANGES WILL BE PERMANENT AMID MUSK’S DEPARTURE

The Wall Street Journal reported that Vought already has plans to continue Musk’s efforts, even in his current role as OMB head. Vought is a close ally of Trump and a much more subdued personality than Musk, making him appear as a likely pick to take over DOGE. 

However, Vought does come with his own political baggage, with many on the left labeling him a “Christian nationalist” and criticizing his role as a co-author of Project 2025. Still, he was successfully confirmed by the Senate in his current role as OMB director.

Vivek Ramaswamy

A one-time GOP presidential candidate-turned key Trump ally, Vivek Ramaswamy, has been widely reported as a top contender to replace Musk at the helm of DOGE. Ramaswamy co-led DOGE alongside Musk for a short period at the start of Trump’s second term. However, he stepped down from his DOGE leadership role in February to begin his run for Ohio governor.

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Though Ramaswamy shares Musk’s and Trump’s vision for cutting government waste, it would seem unlikely he would rejoin the DOGE team any time soon with his eyes on winning the keys to the Ohio governor’s mansion in 2026.

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

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrapped up his time as the public face of DOGE in a press conference with President Donald Trump on Monday, leaving behind a total estimated $175 billion in government cost-cutting over the past few months. 

The $175 billion in savings from slashing government contracts, selling assets, identifying improper payments, and other cost-cutting measures amounts to $1,086.96 per each individual taxpayer, according to the DOGE website. 

The cuts took place all across the government, highlighted by a complete dismantling of USAID, where 83% of the agency’s programs and 5,200 contracts were canceled following the conclusion of a six-week review by DOGE.

Trump discussed some of the other more significant cuts in the Friday press conference.

FLASHBACK: TOP FIVE WILDEST MOMENTS FROM ELON MUSK’S DOGE TENURE AS IT COMES TO AN END

“$20 million for Arab Sesame Street in the Middle East,” Trump said. “Nobody knows what that’s all about. Nobody’s been able to find it. $8 million for making mice transgenders. So they spent $8 million in making mice transgender. And those are better than many others. I could sit here all day and read things just like that.”

While some outlets, including The New York Times and BBC News, have disputed DOGE’s $175 billion estimate and argued the true number is smaller, Musk told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that the savings will continue to build, and he is confident the total cuts will amount to $1 trillion in the coming years. 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR DOGE AFTER ELON MUSK’S DEPARTURE? ‘ONLY JUST BEGUN’

“The DOGE influence will only grow stronger,” Musk said. “I liken it to a sort of person of Buddhism. It’s like a way of life so it is permeating throughout the government. And I’m confident that over time, we’ll see $1 trillion of savings, and a reduction in $1 trillion of waste, fraud reduction.”

Additionally, Musk said that the DOGE cuts would soon hit the $200 billion threshold for fiscal year 25-26.

From the start, DOGE was hit with not only a tsunami of negative press and outraged Democratic lawmakers, but also a series of lawsuits, which bogged it down in protracted legal battles as Musk struggled to reach his original estimates of $1-2 trillion in cuts. 

This, coupled with the reality of most of the major end cuts requiring congressional approval to carry out, relegated DOGE’s impact on cutting around the edges of the big programs and agencies it likely would have liked to eliminate entirely.

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Musk was asked on Friday what the biggest “roadblock” was for him at DOGE.

“It’s mostly just a lot of hard work,” Musk responded. “It’s really not any one person or Congress. It’s going through really millions of line items and saying just each one of them makes sense or does not make sense.”

“Obviously, at times when you cut expenses, those who are receiving the money, whether they receive, whether they’re receiving that money legitimately or not. They do complain, and you’re not going to hear someone confessing that they received money inappropriately. Never. They’re going to always say that they received money appropriately for a report. Of course, naturally, that’s what you’d expect.”

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump offered his marital advice to French President Emmanuel Macron, after video footage was released of Macron’s wife, Brigitte, pushing the French leader in the face. 

“Make sure the door remains closed. That is not good,” Trump told reporters Friday. “No, I spoke to him, and he’s fine, they’re fine. Two really good people I know very well. And, I don’t know what that was all about, but, I know him very well, and they’re fine.” 

MACRON DISMISSES VIRAL MOMENT WITH WIFE AS ‘JOKING AROUND’ AFTER DISINFORMATION CLAIMS BACKFIRE

Trump’s comments come after video footage from the Associated Press emerged where Macron and his wife exited a plane upon landing in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday as part of a southeast Asia tour. The video depicts Macron at the door of the plane, and a woman’s hands appearing to shove him in the face. 

The couple, who have been married since 2007, were subsequently photographed departing the aircraft together. 

Meanwhile, Macron’s office later said the couple was engaging in a playful moment at the time of the incident. 

EMMANUEL MACRON’S WIFE SEEN SHOVING HIM IN THE FACE IN VIRAL CLIP AS FRANCE’S FIRST COUPLE ARRIVES IN VIETNAM

“It was a moment where the President and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by horsing around. It’s a moment of complicity. It was all that was needed to give ammunition to the conspiracy theorists,” Macron’s office said in a statement Tuesday. 

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The French leader met his now wife, Brigitte, while still a student in high school and she was a married teacher.

Macron visited Trump at the White House in February. He was the first European leader to visit the White House after Trump’s inauguration for his second term. 

FRANCE’S MACRON MEETS WITH TRUMP AT THE WHITE HOUSE

A government employee in Virginia accused of attempting to share classified information with a foreign country was held pending a detention hearing, and could face up to life in prison, or even death, depending on the details of the case brought against him, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Virginia-based Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick ordered that 28-year-old Nathan Laatsch be held pending a detention hearing scheduled for June 4.

Laatsch allegedly attempted to transmit classified national defense information or documents to a foreign government.

Depending on the details of the case, Laatsch faces “any term or years, or life…or even death,” according to DOJ prosecutor Gordon Kromberg.

US IT SPECIALIST ARRESTED AFTER ATTEMPTING TO SHARE CLASSIFIED INFORMATION WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENT: DOJ

Laatsch, an IT specialist employed by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) since 2019, appeared in court on Friday wearing street clothes, which were presumably the same clothes he wore when he was arrested the day before.

He was arrested after the FBI received a tip in March that someone was willing to provide classified information to a friendly foreign government.

Laatsch was a civilian employee in the DIA’s Insider Threat Division and held a top-secret security clearance, according to the DOJ. 

FORMER US ARMY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST SENTENCED FOR SELLING SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS TO CHINESE NATIONAL

An email to the FBI said that the person — later identified as Laatsch — didn’t “agree or align with the values” of the Trump administration and would be willing to share classified information that he could access, including “completed intelligence products, some unprocessed intelligence, and other assorted classified documentation.”

Laatsch communicated with an FBI agent, whom he believed to be a foreign government official, multiple times and would confirm that he was ready to share classified information that he transcribed onto a notepad at his desk, the DOJ said. He allegedly exfiltrated the information from his workspace multiple times over a three-day period in preparation.

The FBI set up an operation at a northern Virginia park where Laatsch was to deposit classified information “for the foreign government to retrieve,” according to the DOJ. He was observed by the FBI on or around May 1 depositing an item at the specified location.

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Once he left, the DOJ said FBI agents retrieved a thumb drive from the area found to contain a message from Laatsch and multiple typed documents with information portion-marked for Secret or Top-Secret levels. His message allegedly indicated that he was sharing “a decent sample size” of classified information to demonstrate the types of things he has access to.

On May 7, after Laatsch learned that the thumb drive had been retrieved, he allegedly sent a message to the undercover agent appearing to say that he was seeking something in exchange for providing the information.

The following day, he specified that he was interested in “citizenship for your country” because he didn’t expect things in America “to improve in the long term,” the DOJ said. He also allegedly said he was “not opposed to other compensation,” but not in a place where he needed “material compensation.”

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Laatsch was told on May 14 by the FBI agent that the “foreign government” was ready for additional classified information. Between May 15 and May 27, he transcribed more information and began to remove it from the building by folding the notes and hiding them in his clothing.

On Thursday, Laatsch arrived at a prearranged location in northern Virginia to drop the information off to the “foreign country.” He was arrested once the FBI received the documents.

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

SIMI VALLEY, CALIFORNIA – Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said that the Biden administration “strangled” the state of Alaska with restrictions and red tape that was beyond levels imposed on North Korea, Iran and Venezuela combined. 

“Alaska, a state that has had more sanctions, more restrictions on production of oil and gas in Alaska than everything we did to Iran and Venezuela and North Korea if they produced any combined. You know, the last administration just strangled Alaska. This awesome state of immense natural resources,” Wright said from the Reagan National Economic Forum in Simi Valley, California. 

Wright joined the inaugural Reagan National Economic Forum on Friday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to celebrate President Donald Trump‘s executive orders “unleashing American energy” and how the administration is tackling regulations that have prevented the growth of coal and nuclear energy in recent history. Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo moderated the energy-focused panel. 

He pointed to the Gulf of America and Alaska as two key areas for American energy growth, most notably in the Last Frontier State. 

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“Alaska has been this great resource. It boomed and then it’s been strangled. The idea is we export oil from the north slope of Alaska, comes by pipeline to southern Alaska, and then exported,” he said. “We want to build a pipeline from the north slope of Alaska that brings natural gas, not just oil. And then an oil, a natural gas export terminal on the southern coast of Alaska that in six days can sail to Tokyo or Taiwan or Korea. And then down to our allies in East Asia. So they’re getting energy from us. But it would be awesome and great from a geopolitical stance to have a very short supply chain between a huge industrial American facility and our allies in East Asia.”

CHRIS WRIGHT CONFIRMED TO SERVE AS TRUMP’S SECRETARY OF ENERGY

Wright added that the Gulf of America is a key area of the country to build massive export terminals, where American energy can be exported to foreign nations. 

“The export terminals today are almost entirely on the Gulf of America, on the Texas and Louisiana coast. And they’re there because you can build things there. The natural gas comes from Pennsylvania, Ohio or North Dakota or Texas or Oklahoma. The gas comes from all over. But that’s where you can build these giant facilities to export it,” he said. 

TRUMP LAUNCHES ‘DECISIVE COUNTERSTRIKE’ ON DEM STATES THAT ‘WEAPONIZED’ COURTS AGAINST COAL: EXPERTS

Wright added that America was recently the largest importer of oil in the world, but has since become the largest exporter.

“We were, not long ago, the largest importer of oil in the world and the largest importer of natural gas in the world. Today, we’re the largest exporter of natural gas and a net exporter of oil,” he continued. 

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“Who’s the biggest importer of oil in the world and the biggest importer of natural gas in the world? Both China. We have an incredible energy system advantage over China. But we should use it not just to the benefit of our country, but to bring security and tight alliances with our allies as well.”

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) saved over $5 million a year after discovering several agencies paid for far more software than they were actually using.

For example, the IRS was paying for 3,000 licenses for software but only used 25. Once DOGE discovered the waste, it cut the remaining 99% of the licenses.

“Agencies often have more software licenses than employees, and the licenses are often idle (i.e. paid for, but not installed on any computer),” DOGE wrote in a post on X. “These audits have been continuously run since first posted in February.”

The Department of Labor slashed 68% of unused “project planning” software licenses, DOGE noted, and the Securities and Exchange Commission cut 78% of the remote desktop software programs it was paying for after finding the commission was only using 22% of the programs.

TOP 5 MOST OUTRAGEOUS WAYS THE GOVERNMENT HAS WASTED YOUR TAXES, AS UNCOVERED BY ELON MUSK’S DOGE

According to DOGE, the three changes saved over $5 million a year.

DOGE raised a red flag in February that agencies were paying for more software licenses than employees when it shared a post about the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).

With 13,000 employees, GSA was paying for 37,000 licenses for WinZip, a program used to archive and compress files.

DOGE’S GREATEST HITS: LOOK BACK AT THE DEPARTMENT’S MOST HIGH-PROFILE CUTS DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS

The agency also pays for 19,000 training software subscriptions, 7,500 project management software seats for a division with only 5,500 employees and three different ticketing systems.

The most recent post comes as billionaire Elon Musk steps down as the face of DOGE.

While DOGE was tasked with cutting $2 trillion from the budget, its efforts led to roughly $175 billion in savings due to asset sales, contract cancellations, fraud payment cuts and other ways to eliminate costs, according to an update on DOGE’s website. 

MUSK SAYS DOGE SET TO TOP $150B IN FRAUD SAVINGS IN FY 2026

The savings translate to about $1,087 in per taxpayer, the website notes.

Musk told reporters in the Oval Office Friday the savings will continue to build, and he is confident total cuts will amount to $1 trillion in the coming years.

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“The DOGE influence will only grow stronger,” Musk said. “I liken it to a sort of person of Buddhism. It’s like a way of life, so it is permeating throughout the government. And I’m confident that, over time, we’ll see $1 trillion of savings, and a reduction in $1 trillion of waste, fraud reduction.”

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is firing back at accusations she directed staffers to create so-called “burner” accounts to boost her image online, telling Fox News Digital the claims are from “bitter exes” and lack any real proof.

“When a story relies on ‘anonymous former staffers,’ it’s journalist-speak for ‘We didn’t have anything real, so we called the bitter exes,’” Mace said, responding to a recent article published by Wired magazine.

The article cited former aides and consultants, including a deposition from political consultant Wesley Donehue, to allege Mace used burner accounts and even automated bots to amplify her political messaging. 

EXCLUSIVE: NANCY MACE UNLOADS AFTER ARREST OF TRANS ACTIVIST WHO ALLEGEDLY THREATENED TO ‘ASSASSINATE’ HER

But Mace, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, isn’t buying it.

“Unlike some folks, I don’t need a burner phone to tell the truth,” she said. “I say what I mean, I mean what I say, and I post it from my real account, with my name on it. Accountability starts there.”

At a time when anonymous sources dominate headlines, Mace is leaning into her reputation for saying the quiet part out loud.

“I’ll keep telling the uncomfortable truth,” she added. “And if it makes you squirm, good. That means you’re finally paying attention.”

NANCY MACE TORCHES CLEMSON UNIVERSITY OVER 15-GENDER MENU: ‘NOT ON MY WATCH’

Mace has built her brand on fighting for survivors of sexual assault, including her own, and advocating for policies that protect women and parental rights. She has taken public stands on legislation to preserve Title IX protections for biological women and expand access to resources for survivors of violence.

Earlier this month, she called out a transgender activist accused of threatening to “assassinate” her, saying, “You don’t have to agree with me, but threatening a mother and congresswoman with violence isn’t protest, it’s criminal.”

In the interview, Mace pointed to her real-world experience in tech, a rarity in Congress, as a major asset in crafting meaningful policy.

“Well, for starters, I actually understand the intricacies of technology, which already puts me ahead of most of Washington,” Mace said, referring to her background as a self-taught computer coder. “We’re writing policy focused on protecting your data, cracking down on cyber threats, and pushing back against Big Tech censorship.”

Her hands-on experience, she said, helps her spot both software flaws and political spin. 

“It turns out writing code teaches you to spot bugs in software and in political BS,” Mace said.

When asked how she keeps her office’s online work grounded in conservative principles like accountability and leadership, Mace didn’t miss a beat.

“I lead with facts, I speak for the people who sent me here and I don’t hide behind consultants or filtered statements,” she said. “Being accountable means saying the hard stuff, standing your ground and not running from a fight, even if it makes the media clutch their pearls.”

As for the viral video online showing what appeared to be a stack of burner phones, Mace had a laugh at the spectacle.

“About as many burner phones as Wired has credible sources for ‘burner-gate,’” she quipped.

She even poked fun at claims on social media with a tongue-in-cheek AI-generated image of herself holding two Bernese Mountain dogs outside the Capitol, captioned it, “It’s true. I have multiple berners!”

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Mace made it clear she sees this controversy as more smoke than fire, one she believes won’t distract her from the work of legislating and representing her district.

Mace is the first woman to graduate from South Carolina’s Citadel and the first woman elected to represent Charleston in Congress.

Hunter Biden was seen out and about with his family in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday amid Republicans’ investigation into an alleged “conspiracy” related to his father’s cognitive decline as president. 

The embattled son of the former president toured Cape Town with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, and son, Beau Biden Jr., driving a rented Toyota sedan, a big change from the black Chevy Suburbans he was used to traveling in before President Donald Trump yanked his Secret Service detail. 

In March, Trump terminated Hunter Biden’s Secret Service detail after former President Joe Biden extended his son’s detail indefinitely. Typically, children of former presidents only enjoy Secret Service protection if they are 16 or younger.

Trump’s move to remove Hunter Biden’s detail came as the former president’s son was once again vacationing in South Africa.

FBI REOPENING INVESTIGATION INTO COCAINE FOUND AT BIDEN WHITE HOUSE

Hunter Biden and his family were seen on the Sea Point Main Road, a main thoroughfare in a wealthy part of Cape Town, paying for parking and stopping into the local butcher. Based on the images, it is apparent Hunter no longer has the luxury of a Secret Service detail.

The new pictures also mark the first time Hunter Biden has been seen publicly since his father’s public cancer announcement.

JAKE TAPPER UNLOADS ON HUNTER BIDEN AS ‘DEMONSTRABLY UNETHICAL, SLEAZY AND PRONE TO HORRIBLE DECISIONS’

Republicans are launching a new investigation into the alleged “conspiracy” behind former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline. 

Senstors Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced plans to hold a Senate Judiciary hearing June 18 to look into the alleged cover-up of the 82-year-old former president’s mental decline while in office by the media and those closest to him.

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The lawmakers are still gathering witnesses for the probe, which would be the first full congressional committee hearing on the subject.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued seven detainers for removal against illegal immigrants who allegedly committed two burglaries in Tempe and Mesa, Arizona, last week.

The suspects are allegedly part of a South American Theft Group that committed two burglaries in the Phoenix area cities May 23, and they were arrested by the Scottsdale Police Department at the short-term rental the group was staying in.  

“Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, criminal illegal aliens are being held accountable for victimizing Americans,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

7 MEMBERS OF SOUTH AMERICAN THEFT GROUP ARRESTED FOR PHOENIX BURGLARIES

“ICE is working alongside partner law enforcement agencies throughout the country to ensure that South American Theft Groups — like the one allegedly responsible for burglaries in California, Oregon, Washington  and Arizona — are dismantled and deported once and for all. We will not allow criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American communities,” McLaughlin added.

The suspects are Nicolas Rojas Leon, 23, Joan Sebastian Orozco-Vargas, 26, Andres David Sanchez-Novoa, 38, Natalia Isabella Ortiz-Daza, 26, Martha Juliana Echiverri-Guzman, 28, Lady Johanna Gueito, 32, and Angie Paola Herandez-Manrique, 25.

According to DHS, the group operates out of California but is originally from Colombia.

GUN-TOTING NOEM JOINS ICE AGENTS TO GO AFTER CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS IN ARIZONA

Scottsdale Police were informed by Burbank Police in California about the SATG organization May 20 after it allegedly committed other burglaries in California, Oregon and Washington. Golden State authorities shared information, like vehicle descriptions, to help them find the suspects. A French Bulldog was stolen in one of the California break-ins, and it will be returned, according to police.

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The police department was alerted to the group May 20 by the Burbank Police Department in California. 

It was warned about a SATG group from Colombia that had allegedly committed burglaries in California, Oregon and Washington and how it could be making its way to Arizona next.

Each suspect was ordered held in the Maricopa County Jail pending “numerous criminal charges” on $150,000 cash-only bonds. 

TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBER ARRESTED IN NYC WAS ‘TRYING TO BUY GRENADES,’ NOEM SAYS

South American Theft Groups have been prevalent throughout communities in California, Arizona, Colorado and nationwide, particularly in affluent areas.

Although this group originated in Colombia, SATGs, like those from Chile, have triggered bipartisan calls for visa waiver program reform. 

A string of “dinner-time burglaries” in recent years in the Grand Canyon State has ties to SATGs, Arizona’s Family reported in March 2024.

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When Fox News Digital reached out to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, it noted comments County Attorney Rachel Mitchell made at a press conference earlier this week before ICE formally announced the detainers.

“Obviously that’s a federal issue,” Mitchell said when asked about the possibility of suspects being deported. “But my understanding is that there is an ICE file stop on each of the individuals.”

Scottsdale police said they do not comment on ICE-related matters and deferred to the county attorney’s office. There are no sanctuary jurisdictions listed by the DHS in Arizona.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

A federal appeals court paused a lower ruling blocking President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, siding with the administration Thursday in a legal fight over the White House’s use of an emergency law to enact punishing import taxes. 

The back-and-forth injected more volatility into markets this week after several weeks of relative calm, and court observers and economists told Fox News Digital they do not expect the dust to settle any time soon. 

Here’s what to know as this litigation continues to play out.

TRUMP DENOUNCES COURT’S ‘POLITICAL’ TARIFF DECISION, CALLS ON SUPREME COURT TO ACT QUICKLY

What’s happening now?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit temporarily stayed a lower court ruling Thursday that blocked two of Trump’s sweeping tariffs from taking force.

The ruling paused a decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) allowing Trump to continue to enact the 10% baseline tariff and the so-called “reciprocal tariffs” that he announced April 2 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA.

It came one day after the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled unanimously to block the tariffs.

Members of the three-judge panel who were appointed by Trump, former President Barack Obama and former President Ronald Reagan, ruled unanimously that Trump had overstepped his authority under IEEPA. They noted that, as commander in chief, Trump does not have “unbounded authority” to impose tariffs under the emergency law. 

Now, lawyers for the Trump administration and the plaintiffs are tasked with complying with a fast schedule with deadlines in both courts. Plaintiffs have until 5 p.m. Monday to file their response to the Court of International Trade, according to Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel and director of litigation of the Liberty Justice Center, which represents five small businesses that sued the administration. 

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit gave plaintiffs until Thursday to file a response to the stay and the Trump administration until June 9 to file a reply, Schwab told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

The goal is to move expeditiously, and lawyers for the plaintiffs told Fox News they plan to file briefs to both courts before the deadlines to mitigate harm to their clients.

“Hopefully,” Schwab said, the quick action will allow the courts to issue rulings “more quickly than they otherwise would.”

What’s at stake?

The Trump administration praised the stay as a victory.

The appellate court stay on the CIT ruling “is a positive development for America’s industries and workers,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.

“The Trump administration remains committed to addressing our country’s national emergencies of drug trafficking and historic trade deficits with every legal authority conferred to the president in the Constitution and by Congress.”

But some economists warned that continuing to pursue the steep tariffs could backfire. 

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS 5 TRUMP TARIFF EXECUTIVE ORDERS

The bottom line for the Trump administration “is that they need to get back to a place [where] they are using these huge reciprocal tariffs and all of that as a negotiating tactic,” William Cline, an economist and senior fellow emeritus at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said in an interview. 

Cline noted that this had been the framework laid out earlier by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had embraced the tariffs as more of an opening salvo for future trade talks, including between the U.S. and China. 

“I think the thing to keep in mind there is that Trump and Vance have this view that tariffs are beautiful because they will restore America’s Rust Belt jobs and that they’ll collect money while they’re doing it, which will contribute to fiscal growth,” said Cline, the former deputy managing director and chief economist of the Institute of International Finance.

“Those are both fantasies.”

‘AMERICAN HERO’ OR ‘FAILURE’: ELON MUSK’S DOGE DEPARTURE DIVIDES CAPITOL HILL

What happens now?

Plaintiffs and the Trump administration wait. But whether that wait is a good or bad thing depends on who is asked.

Economists noted that the longer the court process takes, the more uncertainty is injected into markets. This could slow economic growth and hurt consumers. 

For the U.S. small business owners that have sued Trump over the tariffs, it could risk potentially irreparable harm.

“Some of the harm has already taken place. And the longer it goes on, the worse it is,” said Schwab. 

The White House said it will take its tariff fight to the Supreme Court if necessary. But it’s unclear if the high court would choose to take up the case.

The challenge comes at a time when Trump’s relationship with the judiciary has come under increasing strain, which could make the high court wary to take on such a politically charged case. 

Lawyers for the plaintiffs described the case as “very likely” to be appealed to the Supreme Court, but it’s unclear whether it will move to review it.

“It’s possible that because the case is before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, which essentially applies to the country, unlike specific appellate courts, which have certain districts, that the Supreme Court might be OK with whatever the Federal Circuit decides and then not take the case,” Schwab said. 

For now, the burden of proof shifts to the government, which must convince the court it will suffer “irreparable harm” if the injunction remains in place, a high legal standard the Trump administration must meet.

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Beyond that, Schwab said, the court will weigh a balancing test. If both sides claim irreparable harm, the justices will ask, “Who is irreparably harmed more?

“And I think it’s fair to say that our clients are going to be more irreparably harmed than the United States federal government. Because our clients might not exist, and the United States federal government is certainly going to exist.”

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

• Biden’s first public remarks since cancer diagnosis honor Gold Star families
• US intel’s take on TdA gang misses mark on ties to Maduro regime, ex-Venezuela army officer says
•  Army unveils the MV-75, tiltrotor aircraft to replace iconic assault chopper

SCOTUS Hands Trump a Win on Deportation Plans

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a lower court order that blocked the Trump administration from deporting roughly 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The decision is a near-term victory for President Donald Trump as he moves to crack down on border security and immigration priorities in his second term. 

The order stays, for now, a lower court ruling that halted Trump’s plans to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for some migrants living in the U.S., which allows individuals to live and work in the U.S. legally if they cannot work safely in their home country due to a disaster, armed conflict or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions.” 

The stay, like many emergency orders handed down by the high court, was unsigned, and did not provide an explanation for the justices’ thinking…READ MORE

White House

OUT AND ABOUT: Obamas seen together for first time in six months as analyst sees ‘no love lost’ amid divorce murmurs

IMPOSTER AT LARGE: Alleged attempt to impersonate White House chief of staff under federal investigation

‘SCRIPTED’ PRESIDENT: New book exposes Biden’s ‘scripted’ Cabinet meetings amid alleged cognitive decline cover-up

CAMPUS SPIES: Spy surge sparks Trump visa crackdown on Chinese students

FULL ‘MAGA’ AHEAD: All aboard the WMAGA? Florida congressman wants to rename DC transit for Trump

DOGE

MISSION OVER: Elon Musk’s official role at Trump’s DOGE ends, but his political impact lingers ahead of midterms

DOGE’S BARK AND BITE: The budget cuts Musk couldn’t complete and what’s next for DOGE

ELON EXODUS: Elon Musk’s DOGE departure divides Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill

OLD GUARD CHALLENGED: Two longtime House Democrats face primary challenges from younger opponents

MIDNIGHT MANEUVERS: Inside the late-night drama that led to Trump’s tax bill passing by one vote

SANCTUARY SHOWDOWN: Top congressional committees launch probe into Nashville mayor accused of blocking ICE

Across America 

AFTER THE FALL: Since Floyd riots culled monuments 5 years ago, leaders in ex-Confederate capital lament ‘s—t didn’t change’

FEWER, FASTER, GONE: CBP ends use of temporary migrant processing sites as apprehensions plummet

‘UGLY’ INDICTMENT: Wisconsin judge claims ‘absolute immunity,’ calls DOJ indictment an ‘ugly innovation’

‘PARTY LEFT ME’: Kentucky Senate Democrat switches to GOP in major blow to Dem gov Andy Beshear

CAMPUS CLASH: Harvard DHS lawsuit revives Supreme Court conflict of interest questions

OFF THE STREETS: ICE agents in Boston arrest migrant murderer, child rapists as Fox News rides along

SANCTUARY SHOWDOWN: Dem county executive dings Trump admin over sanctuary jurisdiction designation

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The United States should stockpile guns, ammunition and drones instead of bitcoin, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Friday at the inaugural Reagan National Economic Forum in California. 

“We shouldn’t be stockpiling bitcoins,” Dimon said when asked about how industrial policy is entwined with national security policies during a panel. “We should stockpiling guns, bullets, tanks, planes, drones, you know, rare earths. We know we need to do it. It’s not a mystery.” 

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that operates outside of banking or government authority.  President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March establishing a Bitcoin reserve, which he described as “a virtual Fort Knox for digital gold.” 

“We should be stockpiling bullets,” he continued. “Like, you know, the military guys tell you that, you know, if there’s a war in the South China Sea, we have missiles for seven days. Okay, come on. I mean, we can’t say that with a straight face and think that’s okay. So we know what to do. We just got to now go about doing it. Get the people together, roll up our sleeves, you know, have the debates.” 

ELON MUSK SAYS US NEEDS MANY HYPERSONIC MISSILES, LONG-RANGE DRONES: ‘ANYTHING MANNED WILL DIE VERY FAST’

Dimon joined a fireside chat during the Reagan National Economic Forum in Simi Valley, California, at the Reagan Presidential Library Friday for a sweeping discussion on the economy and how the world’s “tectonic plates are shifting” in geopolitics in the form of wars, proxy terrorists and the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons. 

Dimon underscored during his address that he does not view China as America’s top adversary, and instead pointed his attention to the “enemy within” that could lead to the U.S.’ status as the world’s leader crater. 

PALANTIR’S CEO WARNS THE US IS FACING A ‘LEGITIMATION CRISIS’ AS DEFENSE EXPERTS MEET AT REAGAN FORUM

“I’m not as worried about China,” Dimon said. “China is a potential adversary. They’re doing a lot of things well, they have a lot of problems. But what I really worry about is us. Can we get our own act together, our own values, our own capability, our own management?”

“I always get asked this question: Are we going to be the reserve currency?” he said. “No. You know, if we are not the preeminent military and the preeminent economy in 40 years, we will not be the reserve currency. That’s a fact. Just read history.” 

He referred to the U.S. government as a “Leviathan” that is too weak to carry out policies, while simultaneously imposing “things on the American public that they’re getting sick of.” 

Dimon argued that instead, the U.S. needs to celebrate its long-held values.

TRUMP, GOP COULD REPRISE RONALD REAGAN’S ‘PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH’ DEFENSE STRATEGY IN 2025

“Celebrate our virtues: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise, equal opportunity, family, God, country,” he said. “You know, and you can acknowledge the flaws that we have, which are extraordinary — what we did the Black population for years. Don’t denigrate the great things of this country, because those are two different things.”

“We don’t talk that much to each other — deal with our policies — this is the enemy within,” he continued. “We’ve got to fix our permitting our regulations our immigration our taxation, which I, I think they’re on their way. We have to fix our inner city schools, our health care system.” 

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The Reagan National Economic forum kicked off Friday, and includes panels featuring Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, lawmakers such as Sens. Mike Rounds and Bill Cassidy, and leaders from the private sector, such as the CEO of Booz Allen Hamilton, Horacio Rozanski. The bipartisan event works to promote “President Reagan‘s enduring belief in the power of the free market and individual opportunity to drive national prosperity,” according to forum organizers. 

Speaking with members of the press on Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump floated the possibility of issuing a presidential pardon to disgraced rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, saying “it’s not a popularity contest” and “I would certainly look at the facts” if asked.

In a federal indictment unsealed on Sept. 17, Combs was charged with racketeering conspiracy (RICO); sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution. If found guilty, he faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars or a maximum sentence of life in prison.

He has maintained his innocence throughout the ongoing trial in which witnesses have testified to alleged rape, sexual assault, severe physical abuse, forced labor and drug trafficking. 

EX-ASSISTANT’S HARROWING TESTIMONY EXPOSES ALLEGED ABUSE, FORCED LABOR AND DRUG TRAFFICKING BY DIDDY: EXPERT

In response to a question by Fox News reporter Peter Doocy about his previous friendship with Diddy and whether he would consider a pardon of the former rapper, Trump indicated that he would consider “if I think somebody was mistreated.”

The president said that so far “nobody’s asked” for any such pardon, but noted: “I know people are thinking about it. I know that they’re thinking about it. I think people have been very close to asking.”

“First of all, I’d look at what’s happening, and I haven’t been watching it too closely, although it’s certainly getting a lot of coverage,” said Trump.

USHER, OBAMA NAME-DROPPED IN DIDDY’S TRIAL AS SEX TRAFFICKING CASE HEATS UP

“I haven’t seen him. I haven’t spoken to him in years,” he went on, adding that Diddy “used to really like me a lot, but I think when I ran for politics … that relationship busted up.”

Trump said that though he never had a falling out with Diddy per se, after entering politics, he would “read some little bit nasty statements in the paper all of a sudden.”

“It’s different,” he went on. “You become a much different person when you run for politics, and you do what’s right. I could do other things, and I’m sure he’d like me, and I’m sure other people would like me, but it wouldn’t be as good for our country.”

DIDDY EX-ASSISTANT CAPRICORN CLARK DELIVERS ‘MOST EXPLOSIVE’ TESTIMONY YET IN RAPPER’S FEDERAL TRIAL: EXPERT

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“As we said, our country is doing really well because of what we’re doing, so it’s not a popularity contest, so I don’t know, I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated. Whether they like me or don’t like me, it wouldn’t have any impact on me,” Trump concluded.

Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump during a news conference in the Oval Office on Friday said he is in favor of allowing international students on U.S. college campuses, clarifying he is against welcoming students who are “causing trouble.”

Singling out Harvard University, which has come under fire in both public opinion and the courts, Trump noted nearly 30% of its students are foreign.

“Our country has given $5 billion plus to Harvard over a short period of time,” he said. “Nobody knew that. We found that out. I wouldn’t say that was a [Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)] thing, but we found that out over a period of time, that was sort of a Trump thing.”

During ongoing litigation, which the president attributed to the university being “very anti-semitic,” he said the administration found out that the government gave them more than $5 billion in funding.

“We’re having it out with them, and let’s see what happens,” Trump said. “I think we have a very good, well, it’s a very sad case. It’s a case we win. We can’t lose that case because we have the right to make grants. We’re not going to make any grants like that.”

He went on to say Harvard has not “been acting very nicely,” and said other institutions like Columbia University in New York City “wants to get to the bottom of the problem.” 

“They’ve acted very well, and there are other institutions, too, that are acting, but Harvard’s trying to be a big shot,” Trump said. “And all that happens is every three days, we find another $100 million that was given.”

Two days ago, the president said his administration had found an additional $200 million in grants given to Harvard.

“The money’s given to them like gravy,” he said.

Offering an alternative, Trump said he would like to see the money go toward creating the world’s best trade school system.

“I’d like to see the money go to trade schools where people learn how to fix motors and engines, where people learn how to build rocket ships,” he said. “Because, you know, somebody has to build those rocket ships.”

“Yep,” Elon Musk, who departed DOGE on Friday, chimed in from the side of Trump’s desk.

“I’d like to see trade schools set up, because you could take $5 billion plus hundreds of billions more, which is what’s spent, and you could have the greatest trade school system anywhere in the world, and that’s what we need to build his rockets and robots and things that he’s doing, and to build lots of other things.”

He added he went to school with peers who could “fix the engine of a car better than anybody I’ve ever seen” and “take it apart blindfolded.”

“They had an ability at that, and they did very well,” Trump said. “They made a lot of money. You know, it’s a very skilled job. … I’d like to see a lot of money going into trade schools. I’ve always felt that, and we probably found our pot of gold, and that’s what’s been wasted at places like Harvard.”

Emotions are running high on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill as Elon Musk makes his way for the exit.

Musk is stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which President Donald Trump appointed the tech billionaire to run for the first 130 days of his new administration.

He’s been a polarizing figure in Washington, and that has extended to his announcement earlier this week that he’s returning to the private sector. Republicans cheered Musk’s work, while Democrats celebrated the end of it.

“Exposing reckless, wasteful government spending isn’t about one individual—it’s about a lasting overhaul of Crazy Town,” House DOGE Caucus Chair Aaron Bean, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. “That’s why we’re working closely with the White House to ensure recession packages reflect DOGE’s critical findings.”

SCOOP: HOUSE GOP MEMO HIGHLIGHTS REPUBLICAN WINS IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

And the White House has begun that work already, preparing a $9.4 billion package of spending cuts that’s expected to hit Congress on Tuesday. But Bean’s comments imply Republicans are going to seek more.

It was a sentiment that appeared to be shared by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who said that Musk “did a lot of what he came to do.”

“A lot of the savings that he identified are things hopefully that we’ll be able to incorporate into bills that Congress passes. The work that he did was really important. It’s long overdue,” Thune said.

Senate DOGE Caucus Chair Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said she was “honored” to work with Musk but signaled he should not be needed for lawmakers to cut government waste.

“It has been wonderful having a willing partner in my decade-long work to make Washington squeal, but I was DOGE before DOGE was cool, and I’m not slowing down,” Ernst told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Other Republicans were more lavish in their praise, like Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., who hailed Musk as an “American hero.”

“I’m absolutely sad to see him go,” Haridopolos told Fox News Digital. “He has given up a lot of time and wealth in order to bring the fiscal house of the United States in order, and he has done a great service to our country by bringing a heck of a lot more transparency of how we’re spending money.”

And Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., compared the billionaire to the nation’s revered first leaders.

“He’s kind of half Benjamin Franklin and half Thomas Jefferson. He had the inventiveness of Benjamin Franklin and the vision of a Thomas Jefferson, and I just remember all of our founding fathers were patriots, and they left their regular jobs. They gave up everything to come help found this country. And that’s what Elon’s [done],” Marshall told Fox News Digital.

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., pointed out that as much as Republicans lauded Musk, he also dealt a blow to the House GOP earlier this week by criticizing their “big, beautiful” tax and spending bill.

“They brought Musk to DC to fight the deficit, and he left DC calling out how the reconciliation bill will blow the biggest hole in the deficit ever – adding more than $3 trillion in debt,” Suozzi told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., told Fox News Digital he believed DOGE’s efforts were misplaced in the end.

MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, ‘BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE

“Initially, I said we should work with Musk to find common ground where there is real waste — like defense contractors, Medicare Advantage overpayments, and prescription drugs. It is sad that DOGE faced opposition in focusing on those issues, and that agencies like USAID and NIH are being dismantled,” Khanna said.

Others on the left unleashed on Musk directly. 

Democrats have held up the Tesla CEO as a boogeyman since he began campaigning for Trump, using him as a living example of the wealthy, out-of-touch people they believed the Republican White House was benefitting.

“Elon came to Washington thinking he could run the government like one of his companies—firing people left and right, gutting essential services, and tearing this s–t up from the ground up,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, wrote on X, calling for an investigation into Musk’s work.

House Progressive Caucus Chairman Greg Casar, D-Texas, meanwhile, took credit for Musk leaving despite his fixed tenure.

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“Musk’s exit is an enormous victory for Democrats and working people. This is a sign of how powerful the anti-corruption, anti-billionaire movement in American politics can be,” Casar said in a statement. “Musk did not choose to leave because Elon Musk likes to follow the rules. Musk will leave because the American people built enough political pressure that he had no choice.”

And Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, wrote on X, “Musk failed others and served himself.”

“But there’s an irony in his failure: in his quest to destroy government, he reminded us why it matters. To look out for hungry kids, to keep planes safe, to deliver Social Security checks, and to do the quiet work to serve the common good,” Booker said.

When reached for comment on this story, White House spokesman Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital, “DOGE is integral to the federal government’s operations, and its mission, as established by the President’s executive order, will continue under the direction of agency and department heads in the Trump administration. DOGE has delivered remarkable results at an unprecedented pace, and its work is far from complete.” Fox News Digital also reached out to Tesla for comment from Musk.

Trump, for his part, heaped praise on Musk at a joint press conference on Friday.

“Elon’s service to America has been without comparison in modern history. He’s already running one of the most innovative car companies in the world, if you look at his factories and compare them with some of the old factories we have, and it’s a big difference. And the most successful space company, I guess in history, you would have to say. The largest free speech platform on the internet,” Trump said.

“Yet, Elon, willingly, with all of the success, he willingly accepted the outrageous abuse and slander and lies and attacks because he does love our country.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed to Fox News Digital that it is no longer operating any “soft-sided” facilities, following the closure of a migrant processing center near San Diego in March.

The Biden administration used the facilities to process migrants who entered the country illegally at multiple sites in California, Texas, and Arizona, amid a surge of millions crossing the border.

“Due to the unprecedented drop in apprehensions of illegal aliens as a result of the President’s recent executive actions, CBP is not operating any temporary, soft-sided processing facilities where illegal aliens have been held in specific locations along the southwest border. CBP no longer has a need for them as illegal aliens are being quickly removed,” a CBP spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital on Thursday.

SOUTHERN BORDER APPREHENSIONS PLUNGE MORE THAN 90% FROM YEAR AGO IN APRIL, CBP SAYS

“The U.S. Border Patrol has full capability to manage the detention of apprehended aliens in USBP’s permanent facilities. Manpower and other resources dedicated to temporary processing facilities will be redirected toward other priorities and will speed CBP’s progress in gaining operational control over the southwest border,” the spokesperson said. 

On March 13, CBP said that they were closing three Texas and two Arizona facilities, but one California and one Texas location were still open.

In March, Fox News Digital reported that CBP had shuttered the Otay Mesa facility that was launched in January 2023 as the border crisis raged on.

BORDER CROSSINGS HIT RECORD LOW IN MARCH, THANKS TO ‘VIGILANT’ WORK OF AGENTS: REPORT

U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector posted a video to X on Sunday showing that the sector’s soft-sided facility has been decommissioned.

“The world has heard President Trump and Secretary Noem’s message. America’s borders are CLOSED to lawbreakers,” Homeland Security posted in response to the clip.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

According to CBP, the facilities cost taxpayers between $5 million and $30 million per month. 

Since President Donald Trump took office, southern border crossings marked by CBP have gone down. In April, there were just over 8,300 “apprehensions,” which is a 93% drop from the year before, the agency said.

CBP RELEASES MARCH BORDER CROSSING NUMBERS, MARKING LOWEST TO DATE EVER RECORDED

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“For the first time in years, more agents are back in the field—patrolling territories that CBP didn’t have the bandwidth or manpower to oversee just six months ago,” Pete Flores, Acting Commissioner of CBP, said in a statement on May 12. “But thanks to this administration’s dramatic shift in security posture at our border, we are now seeing operational control becoming a reality—and it’s only just beginning.” 

As Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, put it, his role in steering President Donald Trump‘s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has come “to an end.”

However, the president, in a social media post on Thursday night announcing that he and Musk would team up for a 1:30 p.m. ET White House news conference on Friday, teased that Musk would continue to help the Trump administration.

“This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way. Elon is terrific!”

Musk’s political impact on national politics and on next year’s midterm elections – for better or for worse – is far from over and is likely to live on well past his official departure from the Trump administration.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR DOGE AFTER ELON MUSK’S DEPARTURE 

Trump, after winning back the White House in last November’s election, created DOGE with marching orders to overhaul and downsize the federal government. Trump named Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX and Trump’s biggest political donor in the 2024 election, to steer the organization.

“Elon Musk made the most serious attempt at reducing the size and scope of government in modern political history. It was at times chaotic but impactful,” veteran GOP strategist Ryan Williams told Fox News.

Williams predicted that Musk’s “efforts will continue to linger as a political football, but also a guide for Republicans if they’re serious about limiting the growth of the federal government.”

After returning to the White House in January, Musk and DOGE quickly swept through federal agencies, rooting out what the new administration argued was billions in wasteful federal spending. Additionally, they took a meat cleaver to the federal workforce, resulting in a massive downsizing of employees. 

Nothing symbolized Musk’s controversial moves more than his brandishing of a chainsaw during a February appearance at the MAGA-dominated Conservative Political Action Conference, where he touted “how easy” it was to “save billions of dollars sometimes in… an hour.”

The moves by DOGE grabbed tons of national attention and triggered a slew of lawsuits in response. Many of DOGE’s cuts in government staffing were stymied or reversed by federal court orders.

While DOGE was originally tasked with slashing $2 trillion from the federal government’s budget, the DOGE website earlier this week said that its efforts to date had led to roughly $175 billion in savings due to asset sales, contract cancellations, fraud payment cuts, in addition to other steps to eliminate costs.

MUSK CRITICISM OF TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ FRUSTRATES SOME REPUBLICANS 

Musk’s arrival in the nation’s capital came with a bang.

Thanks to a direct pipeline to the president and his powerful mouthpiece on the social media site X, Musk instantly and repeatedly made headlines with his provocative moves and the targeting of people he did not like, often to the chagrin of Trump administration officials and Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Trump repeatedly praised Musk and DOGE’s efforts. 

“The vast majority of people in this country really respect and appreciate you, and this whole room can say that very strongly; you have really been a tremendous help,” the president said during a Cabinet meeting four weeks ago, when Musk announced that he would be cutting back on his time spent with DOGE and the Trump administration.

However, behind the scenes, there was a lot less harmony.

“People got really sick of him really quickly,” a veteran Republican strategist with ties to the administration and Capitol Hill who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely told Fox News.

“He was fun to begin with,” the strategist noted, before adding that “people inside and around the administration and people outside” were tired of Musk “by the end, when he’s sitting in a meeting wearing multiple hats on his head.”

Additionally, Musk’s recent criticism of Trump’s sweeping “big beautiful bill,” which passed a major congressional hurdle, did not help matters.

While a slew of public opinion polls, including national surveys from Fox News, indicated that Americans like the idea of downsizing the federal government, those same surveys highlighted that the public was far from thrilled with how Musk and DOGE carried out cuts to the federal bureaucracy.

WHITE HOUSE REVEALS NEXT STEPS FOR DOGE AFTER MUSK DEPARTURE

Musk, who spent nearly $300 million in support of Trump’s 2024 White House victory, quickly became a lightening rod in the handful of off-year and special elections held early this year.

Through aligned political groups, Musk dished out roughly $20 million in battleground Wisconsin’s high-profile state Supreme Court race, in support of Trump-backed judge Brad Schimel, the conservative-leaning candidate in the election.

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

Musk, at the rally, donned a cheesehead hat – a foam wedge which resembles a chunk of cheese – that is traditionally worn by devout Green Bay Packers football fans in Wisconsin and across the country.

However, Schimel ended up losing by 10 points to the Democratic-aligned candidate in what was supposed to be a close contest. Musk ended up getting tagged with plenty of blame in a race that partially turned into a referendum on his efforts at DOGE.

TOP FIVE WILDEST MOMENTS OF MUSK’S DOGE TENURE

Democrats repeatedly made Musk the bogeyman in their messaging in Wisconsin’s election and in other contests, and they pledged to continue to target him heading into next year’s midterm elections, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin House majority and their modest Senate majority.

“Top of mind for voters are the pocketbook issues. Democrats are going to win by highlighting the fact that Republicans are failing at lowering costs because they are too busy pushing tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations, while making the rest of us pay for them,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee national press secretary Viet Shelton told Fox News.

Shelton emphasized that “Elon is, and forever will be, an instantly-recognizable manifestation of the fact that House Republicans don’t work for the American people, they work for the billionaires.”

So, were Musk’s potential political risks to Republicans behind his departure from the nation’s capitol?

A GOP strategist close to GOP lawmakers, when asked if Musk’s welcome was wearing out among congressional Republicans, said “yes to a point.”

“But I think the larger question about whether Musk and DOGE are liabilities in the midterms, I would say emphatically no,” added the strategist, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely.

The strategist noted that GOP lawmakers “who have talked about waste, fraud, and abuse, and have talked about the savings generated by DOGE, they’ve done quite well. It’s the folks who don’t want to message on it and have not put Democrats on defense, who are tired of Musk.”

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Additionally, veteran Republican strategist Matt Gorman disagrees with the Democrats’ argument about Musk’s lasting impact on the campaign trail.

“I don’t think that in any way Elon Musk will be a factor one way or another in the year-plus that we have until Election Day 2026,” Gorman, a veteran of numerous presidential and statewide campaigns, told Fox News.

Kentucky state Democratic Sen. Robin Webb, who represents Kentucky’s rural 18th Senate district, is switching her party affiliation to Republican after she says the Democrat Party “left me.” 

“First and foremost, I’m a mother, a rancher and a lawyer with deep personal and professional roots in Kentucky’s coal country,” Webb explained. “As the Democratic Party continues its lurch to the left and its hyperfocus on policies that hurt workforce and economic development in my region, I no longer feel it represents my values.”

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“It has become untenable and counterproductive to the best interests of my constituents for me to remain a Democrat.”

Webb was originally elected to the Kentucky State House after defeating Republican Ramona Gee in 1998.

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This comes as a major blow to Kentucky Democrats, who have historically held a stronghold in rural regions of the state largely due to union workers and the coal industry. 

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told a local Louisville news outlet that he “would consider” a run as the Democratic nominee for president in 2028, and the newly elected Democratic governor and potential presidential candidate now faces an additional challenge to mobilize his state’s party ahead of the 2026 midterms. 

“Like countless other Kentuckians, [Webb] has recognized that the policies and objectives of today’s Democratic Party are simply not what they once were, and do not align with the vast majority of Kentuckians,” Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Robert Benvenuti added.

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“I always respected that [Webb] approached issues in a very thoughtful and commonsense manner, and that she never failed to keenly focus on what was best for her constituents,” Benvenuti added. “It is my pleasure to welcome Sen. Robin Webb to the Republican Party.”

Despite Beshear serving in the governor’s office, the attorney general’s office, secretary of state and both chambers of the state legislature have a Republican majority. 

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“While it’s cliché, it’s true: I didn’t leave the party — the party left me,” Webb said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Governor Andy Beshear’s office but did not receive a response.

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston

It was nearly 10 p.m. on a Sunday night when House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., surprised reporters in the hallway of the Cannon House Office Building.

The top House Republican was making a low-key — but high-stakes — visit to the House Budget Committee before the panel’s second meeting on President Donald Trump‘s “big, beautiful bill.” The first meeting on May 16 had blown up without resolution when four fiscal hawks balked at the legislation and voted against advancing it to the full House.

“The real debate was, is when [we] voted not to approve the budget. And the reason I did that, along with the others, was we needed to make the provisions better,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital.

“It was our opportunity to make a bill that overall was good, better. And that was the impetus to stop the budget, and then get some concessions. And then when it reached Rules Committee, there really wasn’t that much dissension.”

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The committee meeting continued with little fanfare, save for Democratic objections to the bill, before one more visit from Johnson, when he signaled the deal was sealed.

“I think what is about to happen here is that every member, every Republican member, will give a vote that allows us to proceed forward, and we count that as a big win tonight,” Johnson said. 

He was right, with the legislation advancing exactly along party lines.

Fox News Digital was told that conservatives were anticipating what is called a manager’s amendment, a vehicle with wide flexibility to change legislation, before the House Rules Committee’s vote to advance the bill to the full chamber. 

The House Rules Committee acts as the final gatekeeper to most bills before a House-wide vote. Trump himself made a rare visit to Capitol Hill the morning of May 20 to urge Republicans to vote for the bill.

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House leaders again signaled confidence late on May 21, informing Republicans that they would likely vote soon after the House Rules Committee’s meeting was over. However, that meeting alone had already dragged on for hours, from just after 1 a.m. on May 21 to finally voting on Trump’s tax bill just after 2:30 a.m. on May 22. Lawmakers and reporters alike struggled to stay awake as Democratic lawmakers forced votes on over 500 amendments, largely symbolic, in a bid to drag out the process.

Meanwhile, at some point overnight, talks with GOP holdouts went south.

The House Freedom Caucus held an impromptu press conference directly after Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., met with Johnson.

“The leadership’s going to have to figure out where to go from here,” Harris said. “I think there is a pathway forward that we can see…I’m not sure this can be done this week. I’m pretty confident it could be done in 10 days. But that’s up to leadership to decide.”

Harris also said the Freedom Caucus had struck a “deal” with the White House, something a White House official denied. “The White House presented HFC with policy options that the administration can live with, provided they can get the votes,” the official said.

However, the manager’s amendment, which finally came out just after 11 p.m. on May 21, eased the concerns of at least several of the fiscal hawks.

It bolstered funding to states that did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), included additional tax relief for gun owners, and quickened the implementation of Medicaid work requirements, among other measures.

Meanwhile, a small group of those House Freedom Caucus members had also been meeting with a small group of conservative senators who assured them they would seek deep spending cuts in the bill when it landed in the upper chamber, Norman said.

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“It was our hope that the Senate would come back and even make the cuts deeper, so that the deficit could be cut,” Norman said.

The moves were not enough to ease everyone’s concerns, however. Roughly three hours after the amendment’s release, Freedom Caucus Policy Chair Chip Roy, R-Texas, was the only Republican member of the House Rules Committee to miss the key vote.

Fox News Digital inquired via text message why Roy missed the vote and was told he was “actually reading the bill…”

Nevertheless, it passed by an 8 to 4 vote — prompting House leaders to warn their members to return for what would be an all-night series of voting and debates. Democratic leaders, recognizing they would be sidelined completely if Republicans had enough support on their side, again moved to delay the proceedings.

A whip notice sent to House Democrats, obtained by Fox News Digital, warned left-wing lawmakers that “House Republicans are planning to finish debate and vote on final passage of H.R. 1 late tonight.”

The notice advised that House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., would force a vote on adjourning the House and that “additional procedural votes are expected.”

In a bid to keep Republicans close to the House floor for what was an hourslong night, the speaker set up a side room with snacks and coffee for lawmakers to wait out proceedings. In the House Appropriations Committee room just down the hall, more Republicans were huddled over cigars and other refreshments. The smell of tobacco smoke wafted out as increasingly haggard lawmakers shuffled between the two rooms.

Fox News Digital even heard from several lawmakers inquiring when the final vote was expected to be — and wondering whether they had time for a nap themselves. Meanwhile, Fox News Digital spotted Harris and Roy walking the opposite way from the hullabaloo of the House floor, toward the much quieter Longworth House Office Building.

Both said they were leaving for more conversations with White House staff before the final vote.

SCOOP: HOUSE GOP MEMO HIGHLIGHTS REPUBLICAN WINS IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

“The manager’s amendment gets us a little closer, but we’re still in discussions with the executive branch to see whether we can achieve the objectives that we seek, which is support the president’s goals on waste fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid and, you know, making sure that we’ve got all we can out of the Inflation Reduction Act,” Harris said.

Roy said he hoped Republicans would go further against states that drastically expanded their Medicaid populations under the ACA. He also signaled that leaders suggested at the time some further Medicaid reform could come from the White House.

“The speaker alluded to this afternoon…that there are things in the executive space, executive actions, that we think could take care of some of the concerns that we were having about — again, it’s not what we want, but it does ameliorate some of our concerns on the Medicaid expansion front,” Roy said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the speaker’s office for comment.

When it came time for the final vote, it appeared enough was done to get Roy on board. Harris, however, voted “present.”

Neither made themselves available for an interview for this story.

The final vote saw just two Republican defections — Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., long a critic of Johnson, and Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio.

“While I love many things in the bill, promising someone else will cut spending in the future does not cut spending. Deficits do matter and this bill grows them now. The only Congress we can control is the one we’re in. Consequently, I cannot support this big deficit plan. NO,” Davidson posted on X just before the vote began.

Two other Republicans, Reps. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., and Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., both fell asleep before the final vote — but both said they would have voted to pass the bill.

In the end, it advanced by a 215-214 vote — with Republicans erupting in cheers when they realized the victory was locked.

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“The media, the Democrats have consistently dismissed any possibility that House Republicans could get this done. They did not believe that we could succeed in our mission to enact President Trump’s America First agenda. But this is a big one. And once again, they’ve been proven wrong,” Johnson said during a press conference after the vote.

Now, the bill is expected to be considered by the Senate next week — when senators are already signaling they are gearing up to make changes.

“I encourage our Senate colleagues to think of this as a one-team effort as we have, and to modify this as little as possible, because it will make it easier for us to get it over the line ultimately, and finish and get it to the president’s desk by July fourth,” Johnson said.