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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…

-Republican AGs urge Trump to crack down on obscure ‘loophole’ cartels use to flood U.S. with fentanyl

-Where Trump stands 10 weeks into his second tour of duty in the White House

-House Republicans brush off Stefanik’s Trump admin upheaval amid high-stakes Florida race

Case closed 

The White House considers the Signal group chat leak case “closed,” Trump administration press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the media Monday while reiterating President Donald Trump’s support of national security advisor Mike Waltz.

“As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team,” Leavitt told the media in brief remarks during a gaggle 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.” 

“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.”…Read more

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to the media on March 31 on tariffs and provides update on Signal group chat leak.  (Getty Images)

White House

UNLIKELY ALLY: Trump and his tariffs find unlikely ally in auto union boss, who blasted Dems and ‘corporate greed’

FOR THE RECORD: Trump admin breaking modern presidential staffing records, hiring ‘thousands of America First warriors’

ECONOMICS 101: Trump privatizing student loan system would spur higher-ed reform, lower costs

‘LIBERATION DAY’: Trump’s 11th week in office set to focus on tariffs as president touts ‘Liberation Day’

U.S. President Donald Trump waits to greet Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, March 17, 2017. Trumps first meeting with  (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

World Stage

‘DEGRADED THE AUTONOMY’: US sanctions 6 Beijing, Hong Kong authorities for ‘undermining’ the island region’s autonomy

ILLEGAL ALIENS EXPELLED: El Salvador accepts more alleged Tren de Aragua gang members from Trump admin

Keivis Jesus Arrechedera Vasquez, a Venezuelan national accused of being a Tren de Aragua leader, was transferred Sunday, March 30, 2025, to El Salvador by the Trump administration. (Fox News/Nayib Bukele/X)

‘SHAM CHARITY’: Iran-born Yale scholar fired over allegations of working with terrorist-tied ‘sham charity’

Capitol Hill

DIVIDED LOYALTIES: Massie and several GOP colleagues push proposal to require dual citizenship disclosure by political candidates

‘JUST SAY NO’: Conservative backlash erupts after Trump’s Graham endorsement: ‘I am not with Trump at all with this one’

MIDTERMS WATCH: Who are the most vulnerable Senate Republicans in 2026?

Across America 

FIRST ON FOX: New research reveals how EV, emissions mandates are inflating costs for gas-powered cars, utilities

TOP 5 TAKEDOWNS: Top  5 wins for FBI since Kash Patel took office

Attorney General Pam Bondi, left, FBI Director Kash Patel, center, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, center right, are seen on Wednesday, March 5, awaiting Muhammed Sharifullah’s arrival to the U.S. following his arrest overseas. (Justice Department)

GRAD SCHOOL GRANDSTANDING: Tim Walz’s daughter ditches grad school, backs anti-Israel protesters

‘I AM OPTIMISTIC’: Another red state expected to cut income taxes

PUMP THE BREAKS: NYC Dem calls on NYPD to investigate car buyers ‘aggressively’ test driving Teslas on city streets

NO SAFE HAVEN: Texas claims border islands used by Mexican cartels, asks Trump admin to secure and defend

OIL SLICK: $3B LA lawsuit could ‘destroy’ gulf energy industry, critics warn, as state’s position questioned

STOPPING THE SLIDE: Hegseth says he’s signing memo on combat arms standards for men and women

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends a NATO Defence Ministers meeting at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium Feb. 13, 2025. (Reuters/Yves Herman)

‘TRUMP DESERVES PRAISE’: Oliver Stone to testify at JFK files House hearing

‘SUPER IMPORTANT’: Elon Musk hands out million-dollar checks in ‘super important’ Wisconsin judicial race

‘BIN LADEN’: Dems ridicule bill aimed at abolishing TSA, suggest ‘Bin Laden’ and ‘the Ayatollah’ would support it

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

President Donald Trump said he would “love” to run against former President Barack Obama in a hypothetical third-term run for the presidency that he has floated in recent days. 

“I know it’s hypothetical right now, but if you were allowed for some reason to run for a third term, is there a thought that the Democrats could try to run Barack Obama against you?” Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Trump on Monday evening from the Oval Office. 

“I’d love that,” Trump responded. “I’d love that …. That would be a good one. I’d like that. And no, people are asking me to run, and there’s a whole story about running for a third term. I don’t know, I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that.”

Trump said that he has not looked into the potential legal avenues of running for a third presidency, saying he has nearly four years left of his term and is focused on doing a “fantastic job.”

TRUMP TEASES RUNNING FOR A THIRD TERM: ‘NOT JOKING’

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1951, prevents presidents from serving more than two terms. The amendment was ratified after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected as president for four terms. 

LAWMAKER UNVEILS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO GIVE TRUMP THIRD TERM

Former U.S. President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks during Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 20, 2024.  (REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer)

Roosevelt died during his fourth term and Vice President Harry Truman assumed the presidency. FDR is the only president in the nation’s history who has been elected and served more than two terms, which was largely due to the political and economic climate at home and abroad, with his presidency unfolding amid the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II. 

TRUMP UNLOADS ON JUDGE BOASBERG, ‘RADICAL LEFT JUDGES’ FOR HALTING DEPORTATIONS OF VIOLENT ILLEGAL ALIENS

U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt at his desk in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington D.C., 1934. (History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Trump teased he might run for a third term in an interview with NBC News on Sunday, saying he is “not joking” about making another run for the Oval Office and enjoys working. 

‘PEOPLE LOVE THE JOB THIS PRESIDENT IS DOING’: KAROLINE LEAVITT RESPONDS TO BUZZ ABOUT POTENTIAL TRUMP THIRD TERM

“There are methods which you could do it,” Trump said when asked about how he could go about running for a third term. NBC News floated a possible method during the interview where Vice President JD Vance could run for the presidency, win and pass the torch to Trump. The president said such a scenario is one of the methods he could use to serve a third term. 

Former President Obama chuckling during a conversation with President-elect Donald Trump at the funeral service for former President Jimmy Carter on Thursday. (Getty Images)

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“It is far too early to think about it,” he added of another potential run. 

The Department of Education recently announced a “comprehensive review” of federal contracts and government-funded grants at Harvard University, which is part of an investigation to eliminate antisemitism on campuses.

The efforts, on behalf of the Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, are being launched in accordance with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). Its primary goal is to “eliminat[e] anti-Semitic [sic] harassment on college campuses,” which has proliferated amid the Israel-Hamas war and pro-Palestinian protests at universities.

In a press release on Monday, the Department of Education said that over $255.6 million in contracts between Harvard, its affiliates and the federal government will be reviewed, plus nearly $9 billion worth of grants.

“The review also includes the more than $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments to Harvard University and its affiliates to ensure the university is in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities,” the agency described.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES PLAN TO CHOP DOWN MAGNOLIA TREE PURPORTEDLY PLANTED BY ANDREW JACKSON: ‘MUST COME TO AN END’

The Trump administration is reviewing federal contracts and grants with Harvard University, according to the Department of Education. (Getty Images)

“Any institution found to be in violation of federal compliance standards may face administrative actions, including contract termination.”

In a statement, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said that Harvard’s reputation was “in serious jeopardy” over the prevalence of antisemitism on campus.

“Harvard has served as a symbol of the American Dream for generations — the pinnacle aspiration for students all over the world to work hard and earn admission to the storied institution,” McMahon’s statement read. “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic [sic] discrimination — all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry — has put its reputation in serious jeopardy.”

TRUMP NOMINATES SUSAN MONAREZ TO BECOME THE NEXT CDC DIRECTOR, SAYS AMERICANS ‘LOST CONFIDENCE’ IN AGENCY

Linda McMahon said Harvard’s reputation was “in serious jeopardy.” (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“Harvard can right these wrongs and restore itself to a campus dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, where all students feel safe on its campus.”

In a statement on Monday evening, Harvard President Alan M. Garber responded to the news and called antisemitism “one of the most insidious forms of bigotry” and insisted that if the funding is stopped, “it will halt life-saving research and imperil important scientific research and innovation.”

“I have experienced antisemitism directly, even while serving as president, and I know how damaging it can be to a student who has come to learn and make friends at a college or university,” the Harvard official said.

“For the past fifteen months, we have devoted considerable effort to addressing antisemitism… We will continue to combat antisemitism and to foster a campus culture that includes and supports every member of our community.”

Harvard faculty and staff hold signs from inside Harvard Yard during a press conference by faculty supporters of the Harvard Out of Palestine coalition outside Harvard Yard on May 10, 2024. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The latest move comes nearly a month after the Trump administration announced it would rescind more than $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University.

“Since Oct. 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and antisemitic harassment on their campuses — only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,” McMahon said at the time. “Universities must comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding.” 

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Fox News Digital reached out to Harvard for additional comment.

The Department of Homeland Security will no longer participate in naturalization ceremonies in state, county, and city venues in localities that have adopted sanctuary policies, which limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

Leadership at U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) told employees at every field office in a Monday email that the agency will no longer participate in such events. 

“USCIS will not participate with these state/local entities for administrative ceremonies and instead will host the ceremonies at our offices, privately-owned venues, or other federally owned/operated spaces,” the directive states. “If an entity located in a sanctuary city requests to host a ceremony, we request that you politely decline the invitation.”

BLUE STATE SANCTUARY LAWS ENABLED ILLEGAL ‘ABOLISH ICE’ ACTIVIST TO EVADE CAPTURE, SAYS LOCAL DA

Immigrants take the oath of allegiance to the United States during a naturalization ceremony on February 01, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. Thirty-five people became American citizens at the event held by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Federal Building in Newark.  (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

For example, if the city of Los Angeles wanted to host a naturalization ceremony at a library, museum or school, USCIS would not participate, meaning the event couldn’t be held. 

The ceremonies are the final step towards becoming a U.S. citizen, and is where the Oath of Allegiance is taken. 

A senior DHS official told Fox News that sanctuary policies put the public and law enforcement at risk. 

“Sanctuary policies are an insult to our Constitution, they endanger all levels of law enforcement, and they leave law-abiding American citizens around the country at the mercy of violent and dangerous criminal aliens,” the officials said. “America still welcomes those who come here legally and complete the naturalization process, USCIS will simply do those at locations where the rule of law is still respected.” 

The change won’t affect someone’s chance of becoming a naturalized American citizen, USCIS said. 

BLUE STATE LEADER SOUNDS ALARM ABOUT ‘PERFECT STORM’ OF DEM IMMIGRATION POLICIES DECIMATING PUBLIC SAFETY

ICE arrests 81 illegal aliens as part of joint federal law enforcement operation in Kentucky, of which 25 are also charged with felony criminal offenses. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

The Trump administration has targeted sanctuary cities as it presses ahead with its mass deportation efforts. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforces U.S. immigration laws nationwide but seeks state and local help, often requesting assistance from local police and sheriffs to alert them to those ordered to be deported.

The agency often asks local authorities to hold criminal illegal immigrants until federal officers take custody of the suspects. However, some jurisdictions ignore the requests and release the illegal immigrants back onto the streets. 

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The Trump administration has suggested cutting federal funding to cities that adopt sanctuary policies, in an effort to wield the money as a tool against jurisdictions that get in the way of deportation efforts. 

President Donald Trump‘s administration told several Planned Parenthood affiliates on Monday that it was withholding funding due to possible violations of civil rights laws, according to reports.

Politico reported that tens of millions of dollars were being withheld from Planned Parenthood clinics that provide low-income Americans services like contraception, STI testing and other health services.

On Monday, nine state affiliates of Planned Parenthood that receive money from the federal government through Title X, a family planning program, got notices saying their funding was being “temporarily withheld.”

The publication said that the letter, which was provided by Planned Parenthood, pointed toward “possible violations” of Trump’s executive orders – like the banning of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs – and federal civil rights laws.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD APPEARS TO SCRUB INSTAGRAM AS FEARS OF DOGE CUTS LOOM

Planned Parenthood signage is displayed outside of a health care clinic in Inglewood, California on May 16, 2023.  (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Another policy by Trump that the family planning program allegedly violated had to do with “taxpayer subsidization of open borders.”

The Planned Parenthood chapters that received the letters were mostly in GOP-controlled states, the publication noted. The administration also pointed to evidence of violations by citing the mission statement from the clinic, as well as other documents that stress a “commitment to black communities.”

The deputy director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Public Affairs, Amy Margolis, reportedly argued that those materials “paint a picture of Planned Parenthood” suggesting it is “engaged, across its affiliates, in widespread practices across hiring, operations, and patient treatment that unavoidably employ race in a negative manner.”

FEDS GAVE $700M TO PLANNED PARENTHOOD DURING YEAR OF RECORD ABORTIONS

President Donald Trump’s administration withheld millions of dollars from Planned Parenthood affiliates for allegedly violating civil rights laws and executive orders banning DEI initiatives. (Evan Vucci/AP)

The letter also accuses Planned Parenthood of encouraging illegal aliens to receive care.

Planned Parenthood has 10 days to respond to the letter and provide evidence it plans to comply with the president’s executive orders. Once provided, the administration will determine whether to suspend or terminate the grants.

Planned Parenthood and HHS did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on the matter.

In a social media post, Planned Parenthood wrote, “When we say, ‘Care no matter what,’ we mean it. Planned Parenthood health centers’ doors are open to everyone. Period. We’ve fought to protect your care for decades and won’t stop now.”

In another post, Planned Parenthood directed its supporters to its website to submit a letter to Congress regarding the funding.

NEW REPORT EXPOSES BOTCHED PROCEDURES, POOR CONDITIONS AT PLANNED PARENTHOOD ABORTION CLINICS

The US Department of Health and Human Services building is shown in Washington, DC, 21 July 2007. (SAUL LOEB/AFP)

“The Trump admin withholding Title X funds further strips health care from people across this country,” the post read. “We know what happens when Title X funding is taken away: cancer goes undetected, birth control access is severely reduced, and the STI crisis worsens. People will suffer.”

HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon reportedly told Politico that payments to 16 Title X providers were being withheld, including nine Planned Parenthood affiliates.

The reasoning behind the withholding, Nixon explained, is “to ensure these entities are in full compliance with Federal law and applicable grant terms, and to ensure responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”

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He further noted that out of Title X’s over $200 million budget, $27.5 million was frozen and under review.

A U.S. District judge in San Francisco, California, on Monday granted a motion to postpone the Trump administration’s attempt to end temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals, which was granted under a program implemented by the Biden administration.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced actions three days after being sworn into her role to strip nearly 350,000 Venezuelan nationals of their protection under the TPS program, which allows them to live and work temporarily in the U.S.

By stripping the Venezuelans of their TPS status, the court said Noem is subjecting them to “possible imminent deportation” back to their country, which the State Department has categorized as a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” country because of the “high risk of wrongful detentions, terrorism, kidnapping, the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, [and] poor health infrastructure.”

The action would reverse the Biden administration’s efforts to extend temporary protections of Venezuelan nations that have been in place since 2021.

TRUMP ADMIN PULLING LEGAL STATUS FOR MORE THAN 530K MIGRANTS

A group of Venezuelan migrants cross the U.S. southern border and encounter Border Patrol. (Fox News)

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of the San Francisco Federal Court granted a postponement of Noem’s order on Monday, saying, “The Court finds that the Secretary’s action threatens to: inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, cost the United States billions in economic activity, and injure public health and safety in communities throughout the United States.”

Chen also said the government has failed to identify “any real countervailing harm” in continuing TPS for Venezuelan beneficiaries.

“Plaintiffs have also shown they will likely succeed in demonstrating that the actions taken by the Secretary are unauthorized by law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus,” Chen wrote. “For these reasons, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ request to postpone the challenged actions pending final adjudication of the merits of this case.”

DHS’ KRISTI NOEM SAYS TRUMP ADMIN WILL RESUME CONSTRUCTION OF 7 MILES OF SOUTHERN BORDER

Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS for comment on the decision.

The National TPS Alliance – an organization representing individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the U.S. – and individuals from Venezuela who have TPS challenged the Trump administration’s decision to terminate TPS for Venezuelans in the U.S., argue that Noem’s action was unlawful and motivated by racial bias.

Venezuelan migrants were allowed to fly directly to the U.S. after applying from abroad under a policy started during the Biden administration that was designed to open legal migration pathways, but President Donald Trump suspended the program when he returned to office in January.

JUDGE GIVES MAHMOUD KHALIL LEGAL TEAM MORE TIME TO REVIEW IMMIGRATION CASE

Venezuelan migrants walk following their arrival on a flight after being deported from the United States, in Caracas, Venezuela, March 24, 2025.  (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

The Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela program, CHNV, allowed migrants and their immediate family members to fly into the U.S. if they had American sponsors. They could then remain in the country for two years under a temporary immigration status known as parole. The program first applied to Venezuelans before it was expanded to additional countries.

Trump’s efforts to remove legal and illegal migrants from the U.S. since taking office in January as part of his immigration agenda have faced numerous legal obstacles.

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The Trump administration is also reportedly dismantling internal watchdogs for DHS, including its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which investigated allegations of abuse and discrimination within immigration enforcement, according to Bloomberg News.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump said that the U.S. would continue to search for Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared in Syria in 2012. 

Tice, who previously served as a captain in the Marine Corps and was a student at Georgetown University Law Center, started working as an independent journalist for McClatchy, The Washington Post and other outlets in Syria in May 2012 before jihadist militants seized him near Damascus. 

Trump said that although there has been “virtually no sign” of Tice, his administration would continue to try to secure Tice’s release. 

“Until we find out something definitive, one way or the other, we’ll never stop looking,” Trump told reporters Monday. “But we have been, and the response – it’s just a lot of dead ends. It’s been done for a long time. The problem is, there’s never been a sighting.”

AUSTIN TICE: FBI RENEWS PUSH TO FIND KIDNAPPED AMERICAN JOURNALIST IN SYRIA

Freelance journalist Austin Tice went missing in Syria in 2012 and has not been heard from since. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Trump’s comments come after Tice’s mother, Debra, told reporters at the National Press Club in December that they’d received information suggesting that her son was still alive. 

“We have from a significant source that has been vetted all over our government: Austin Tice is alive,” his mother Debra Tice said Dec. 6. She later met with former President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, at the White House to discuss her son’s wrongful detainment. 

Meanwhile, rebels also overthrew Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime in December, prompting the FBI to issue a statement reiterating its push from April 2018 for more information that could lead to Tice’s release. 

“Given recent events in Syria, the FBI is renewing our call for information that could lead to the safe location, recovery, and return of Austin Bennett Tice, who was detained in Damascus in August 2012,” the FBI said in a statement in December. 

AUSTIN TICE: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN JOURNALIST MISSING IN SYRIA

Debra Tice, mother of Austin Tice, speaks during a news conference updating the media about her eldest son’s condition as the family continues to push for his release, on Dec. 6, 2024, at the National Press Club in Washington.  (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

“The FBI and our government partners remain committed to bringing Austin home to his family, and we are still offering a reward of up to $1 million for information that leads to Austin’s safe return,” the FBI said. 

Both Trump’s first administration and Biden’s administration have launched efforts to advance the release of Tice. Biden urged the Syrian government to release Tice in 2020, and said the U.S. knew “with certainty” that the Syrian regime was holding him hostage. Syria has publicly denied it has detained Tice. 

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There were 46 American nationals known to be held captive in 16 different countries in 2024, according to the nonprofit Foley Foundation, which advocates for U.S. hostages and was named after James Foley, a U.S. journalist kidnapped while reporting in Syria in 2012 and killed by ISIS in 2014. That number is now likely closer to the low 30s after the recent releases of hostages in January and February through efforts by the Trump administration. 

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan and Stephany Price contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., will vote to confirm President Donald Trump’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) nominee, Dr. Mehmet Oz, after securing commitments from him regarding transgender treatments for minors and abortion. 

“On this basis, I will vote to confirm him. Now that I am confident that he has moved away from his previous positions, and he’s moved into alignment with the president, I feel comfortable voting for him,” he told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview on Monday. 

The senator revealed that Oz responded to his inquiries and disavowed his past stances on transgender treatments for minors and abortion in a series of posts on X earlier in the day. 

‘BLINDSIDED’: HOW STEFANIK’S TRUMP NOMINATION AS UN AMBASSADOR IMPLODED

Josh Hawley had concerns about where Dr. Oz stands on abortion and transgender treatments for minors. (Reuters)

“Dr. Oz has responded to my questions re: past support for trans treatments for minors & his criticism of right to life. Oz now disavows his previous support for trans surgeries & drugs for minor children. He pledges to ‘end chemical and surgical mutilation of children,’” Hawley wrote on X on Monday. 

“He also walks back past criticism of state pro-life laws, says he supports the Dobbs decision, and is ‘unequivocally pro-life.’ He vows to enforce conscience protections, end the abuse of [the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act], and work to end funding for abortion providers,” he continued. 

“This was really a big shift of position for him,” he explained, adding that he was “delighted” by Oz’s responses. 

“When it comes to the [transgender] issue and the life issue, those are non-negotiable for me, just as I believe they are for the president,” the Missouri Republican explained. “I want to know that these people are 100% clear.” 

HOW TRUMP-BLOCKING JUDGES MANAGED TO GET PAST SENATE JUDICIARY HAWKS

Oz will face a full Senate vote soon.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“Every member of the Trump administration is working from the same playbook, President Trump’s playbook, to restore commonsense policies and put an end to left-wing ideological nonsense afflicting our government,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital in a statement. “We look forward to the Senate’s swift confirmation of Dr. Oz so he can join the rest of our all-star team at HHS working to Make America Healthy Again by restoring common sense, transparency, and confidence in our healthcare apparatus.”

Earlier in the month, Hawley sent Oz a list of questions, specifically probing him on those issues. As of last week, Hawley said the nominee hadn’t responded, which the senator called “strange.” 

Oz previously used his television show as a platform for people who supported and promoted transgender treatments, particularly for minors. Specifically, he hosted two transgender children on his show in 2010 in a segment titled, “Transgender Kids: Too Young to Decide?” 

He also expressed concerns about state laws to limit abortion during a 2019 interview on the popular radio show “The Breakfast Club.”

It’s “a hard issue for everybody,” he said at the time. 

And while on “a personal level,” Oz didn’t like abortion, he also believed he should not “interfere with everyone else’s stuff,” he said. 

JOSH HAWLEY BELIEVES HIS BILL CAN STOP ‘RESISTANCE’ JUDGES FROM ‘PROVOKING A CRISIS’

Oz also opposed government jurisdiction on the subject of abortion when he ran for Senate in Pennsylvania as a Republican in 2022.

“I don’t want the federal government involved with that at all,” he claimed during a debate with now-Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. “I want women, doctors, local political leaders, letting the democracy that’s always allowed our nation to thrive, to put the best ideas forward, so states can decide for themselves.”

Hawley’s commitments from Oz are just the latest he’s received from Trump nominees as he considers them for confirmation. He previously got assurances from now-Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the same issues. 

REPUBLICANS LOOK TO ABOLISH TSA IN FAVOR OF PRIVATE SECURITY AT AIRPORTS

Makary was recently confirmed.  (Getty Images)

When it came to now-leader of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Dr. Marty Makary, Hawley led a successful campaign to secure the resignation of a top lawyer with the FDA who previously argued in favor of abortion pill access in a high-profile case while in former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ). 

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“I just view my role for those I have to vote on — I want to know that these people are going to align with the president,” Hawley said, noting that he believes Trump has “moved really fast [and] really strong” on the issues. 

The Supreme Court appeared likely to side with a Wisconsin-based Catholic Charities group in its fight with the government over a state ruling it says “distorts” and “undermines” its mission of caring for the sick and poor.

The Trump Justice Department has filed a brief in support of the charity, arguing exemptions in federal tax laws, like the Wisconsin tax law, protect the rights of religious institutions.

The group, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, is appealing a ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court that found that because it does not conduct “typical” religious activity, it is not exempt from the state’s costly unemployment payment program.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that a Wisconsin law exempting religious nonprofits from the program does not apply to the charity group, because it is not “operated primarily for religious purposes” and serves and employs non-Catholics and does not attempt to convert individuals, they said.

TRUMP MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN ‘IMPORTANT’ WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT RACE

The Supreme Court appeared likely to side with a Wisconsin-based Catholic Charities group in its fight with the government over a state ruling it says “distorts” and “undermines” its mission of caring for the sick and poor. (Ricky Carioti /The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Catholic Charities, however, argues that helping the disabled, elderly and those living in poverty — regardless of their faith — is a core tenet of their religious practice.

The group’s attorney, Eric Rassbach, with the religious liberty law firm Becket, argued during the hearing that Catholic teaching forbids Catholics from conditioning assistance on acceptance of the church’s teachings.

“The Wisconsin Supreme Court got it wrong when it interpreted a state-law religious exemption to favor what it called ‘typical’ religious activity and when it held that helping the poor can’t be religious, because secular people help the poor too,” he said.

The group is seeking to be exempt from the state’s unemployment compensation program so it can join the Wisconsin Catholic Church’s private program, which they say would save them more money than paying into the state program.

POPE FRANCIS’ DOCTORS CONSIDERED ENDING TREATMENT, SAID ‘THERE WAS A REAL RISK HE MIGHT NOT MAKE IT’: REPORT

The nation’s Catholic bishops gather for their annual fall meeting in at the Marriott Waterfront hotel in Baltimore on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. On Tuesday, the Catholic leaders called for peace in a war-torn world and unity amid strife within their own clerical ranks.  (Tiffany Stanley/AP Photo)

In nearly two hours of often heated debate, a majority on the bench seemed to agree the state engaged in an unnecessary entanglement over defining whether Catholic Charities should be treated differently from other similarly situated secular groups.

Attorneys for Wisconsin faced intense questioning from the justices about the state entangling itself in religious doctrine and practice, thus violating the First Amendment by denying a religious organization an otherwise available tax exemption because the organization does not meet the state’s criteria for religious behavior.

“Isn’t it a fundamental premise of our First Amendment that the state shouldn’t be picking and choosing between religions,” questioned Justice Neil Gorsuch. 

“Doesn’t it entangle the state tremendously when it has to go into a soup kitchen, send an inspector in, to see how much prayer is going on?” he asked.

JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON RAISES EYEBROWS WITH COMMENT THAT FIRST AMENDMENT ‘HAMSTRINGS’ GOVERNMENT

Even some of the court’s liberal justices seemed to have concerns with Wisconsin’s ruling. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Even some of the court’s liberal justices seemed to have concerns with Wisconsin’s ruling.

“There are lots of hard questions in this area,” said Justice Elena Kagan. “But I thought it was pretty fundamental that we don’t treat some religions better than other religions and we certainly don’t do it based on the contents of the religious doctrine that those religions preach.”

“The reason why we’re so worried about entanglement is because it gets us enmeshed in the content of religious doctrine,” she said.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett commented during the hearing that “the problem here is how to figure out what the line is.”

Alan Rock, executive director of the Catholic Charities Bureau, told Fox News Digital that following the hearing, he is “confident the Supreme Court will ensure our freedom to serve all those in need according to our Catholic faith.”

EXCLUSIVE: GROUNDBREAKING NEW PRAYER BOOK DESIGNED FOR DEMOGRAPHIC MOST TARGETED FOR ABORTION

United States Supreme Court (Fox News Digital)

“The state of Wisconsin said that our work isn’t religious. The state denied that our care for those in need is driven by our faith, simply because we serve everyone and do not try to convert those we serve. That view distorts the heart of our mission and undermines our ability to care for the most vulnerable,” he said, adding, “We look forward to the Court’s ruling.”

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Speaking with Fox News Digital after the hearing, Bishop James Powers, head of the Catholic Diocese of Superior, said that Wisconsin is “punishing Catholic Charities for following this example of Christian love.”

“We do not help the needy because they are Catholic — we help them because we are Catholic,” he said. “The Good Samaritan did not ask about the wounded man’s faith: He simply saw a neighbor in need and responded with mercy. That is the model Catholic Charities has embraced since its founding.”

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is suing to defund an entire county after its leading law enforcement authority vowed to “make every effort to block, interfere and interrupt” deportation operations based on ICE detainers, which he called unconstitutional.

This comes amid the Trump administration’s concerted whole-of-government approach to cracking down on illegal immigration and migrant crime in the United States. 

Bird, a Republican, argues that the sheriff’s self-proclaimed “longtime” stance of interrupting immigration enforcement operations based on detainers “impeded and discouraged cooperation with federal immigration authorities in violation of Iowa law.”

A detainer is a formal request by ICE to other law enforcement authorities to hold an individual the agency has good reason to believe is an illegal alien who poses a threat to the well-being and safety of the community.

ICE officials have said that by refusing to honor detainers, law enforcement agencies put their communities at risk by allowing potentially dangerous illegals back onto the streets.

BLUE STATE SANCTUARY LAWS ENABLED ILLEGAL ‘ABOLISH ICE’ ACTIVIST TO EVADE CAPTURE, SAYS LOCAL DA

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is suing to defund an entire county after its leading law enforcement authority vowed to “make every effort to block, interfere and interrupt” deportation operations based on ICE detainers, which he called unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall | Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office | John Lamparski/Getty Images)

Despite this, Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx pledged not to cooperate with ICE detainers in a Feb. 4 Facebook post in which he asserted that a detainer is “simply an unconstitutional *request* from ICE.”

In the now-deleted post, Marx encouraged people to contact his office if they encounter “any federal agents” and said he and his staff are “always willing to assist with verifying credentials and the legitimacy of any paperwork federal agents should have to make certain your rights are not being abused.”

“If the fed’s actions and paperwork are within constitutional parameters (such as proper and valid judicial warrants/court orders) we will assist if needed or requested to ensure their actions are carried out professionally and in the least intrusive fashion possible,” he said.

“If their actions or paperwork are not within constitutional parameters,” he went on, “then we will make every effort to block, interfere and interrupt their actions from moving forward.”

BLUE STATE LEADER SOUNDS ALARM ABOUT ‘PERFECT STORM’ OF DEM IMMIGRATION POLICIES DECIMATING PUBLIC SAFETY

ICE arrested 81 illegal aliens in March as part of joint federal law enforcement operation in Kentucky, of which 25 also charged with felony criminal offenses. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Actions the sheriff claimed are not within constitutional parameters include what he called “non-judicially vetted ‘detainers,’” which he claimed “are simply an unconstitutional *request* from ICE or other three letter federal agency to arrest or hold someone.”

Marx claimed that “the only reason detainers are issued is because the federal agency does not have enough information or has not taken the time to obtain a valid judicial warrant.”

“Simply put, they are not sure they are detaining the right person and need more time to figure it out,” he claimed, adding, “these detainers are violations of our 4th Amendment protection against warrantless search, seizure and arrest, and our 6th Amendment right to due process.”

Marx concluded the long post by saying his “long-time stance on not recognizing detainers” and involvement with immigration enforcement will be based on “constitutional standards … not opinions, politics or emotions.”

HOMAN BLASTS BLUE STATE AS REPORT SHOWS IT RELEASING ILLEGALS CHARGED WITH ‘HORRIFIC’ CRIMES ON LOW BAILS

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, filed an official complaint with the attorney general about the sheriff violating a state law mandating law enforcement cooperate with federal immigration authorities. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

In response, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, filed an official complaint with the attorney general about the sheriff violating a state law mandating law enforcement cooperate with federal immigration authorities. This prompted an investigation in which Bird found that, despite his defiant rhetoric, Marx’s office had complied with “every single ICE detainer request” since 2018.

The attorney general gave Marx a deadline last week to amend his statements to comply with state law. When he refused to issue a correction, Bird launched a lawsuit to pull all state funding to Winneshiek County until the sheriff agrees to comply with state law regarding cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

Bird argues that Marx’s post, which she said was “rife with legal and factual errors that discouraged enforcing immigration laws,” violated chapter 27A of the Iowa state legal code.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the Polk County District Court, cites section 27A.4 of the Iowa legal code, which states that a county “shall be ineligible to receive any state funds if the local entity intentionally violates this chapter.”

DEMOCRAT MAYOR BLASTED FOR VOWING TO MAKE MAJOR CITY ‘SAFE HAVEN’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is suing to defund an entire county after its leading law enforcement authority vowed to “make every effort to block, interfere and interrupt” deportation operations based on ICE detainers, which he called unconstitutional. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Commenting on her suit, Bird said that “sanctuary counties are illegal under Iowa law.”

“Sheriff Marx was given the chance to retract his statement, follow the law, and honor ICE detainers, but he refused—even at a cost to his home county,” she said. “He left us with no choice but to take the case to court to enforce our laws and ensure cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”

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A representative for the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment, saying the sheriff and office “are unable to provide any comments at this time due to the pending litigation.” 

The Winnishiek County Auditor, Benjamin D. Steines would not disclose how much money the county stands to lose, citing the same litigation.

“Iowa is not a sanctuary for illegal immigration. Anyone who threatens to ‘block, interfere and interrupt’ with immigration enforcement, as this sheriff did, will be held accountable,” Bird told Fox News Digital. 

REPUBLICAN STATE AGS BACK TRUMP BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER IN COURT FILING: ‘TAXPAYERS ARE ON THE HOOK’

AG Brenna Bird, alongside more than a dozen state AGs, filed an amicus brief supporting President Trump’s exeuctive order ending birthright citizenship. (Getty Images)

She noted that her office “gave the Sheriff an opportunity to fix his state-law violation and cooperate with immigration enforcement, but he refused—knowing that it would cost his home community. All he has to do to end this is fix the problem and follow the law.” 

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“Years of a Biden-Harris border invasion takes a serious toll—even on Iowa, and we’re a long way away from the border,” she went on. “Thankfully, President Trump hit the ground running to secure the border, crack down on drug trafficking, and reduce crime. And as Iowa’s Attorney General, I will keep fighting to ensure our state cooperates with federal immigration authorities to keep our communities safe.”

FIRST ON FOX: A group of influential conservatives and lawmakers is warning the Trump administration that the U.S. does not have the tactical nuclear weapons to fight China if war breaks out in the Indo-Pacific. 

A 13-minute video obtained by Fox News Digital and set for release Thursday by the Heritage Foundation argues the U.S. nuclear arsenal is outdated, with the newest weapons nearly 40 years old – about as modern as a grandpa’s vintage Corvette.

Military experts across Washington have begun gaming out the potential scenario if China invades Taiwan and the U.S. comes to the island democracy’s aid. 

The video opens by putting forth a scenario where China may launch a tactical nuclear weapon to destroy the U.S. Air Force Base at Guam, killing 3,000, in “an attempt to change the tide of the battle in their favor.” 

CHINA WILL DOUBLE ITS NUCLEAR ARSENAL TO OVER 1,000 WARHEADS BY 2030, ACCORDING TO US INTELLIGENCE

Military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Tiananmen Square during the military parade marking the 70th founding anniversary of People’s Republic of China, in Beijing, Oct. 1, 2019. (Reuters/Jason Lee)

“The president wants to respond in kind by targeting a similar Chinese target with our own tactical nuclear weapon. There’s only one problem with all this: we probably couldn’t do such a mission if we tried.” 

The video argues the U.S. has abandoned its buildup of tactical nuclear weapons, which are forceful but smaller and more targeted in their destruction than earth-shattering strategic nuclear weapons. 

Since the end of the Cold War, according to Bob Peters, strategic deterrence fellow at Heritage, the U.S. has “dramatically reduced the number of nuclear weapons around the world, signed multiple arms control agreements with the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, and today has an arsenal that is roughly 85% smaller than the ones it fielded at the height of the Cold War.”

The U.S. removed naval and land-based tactical nuclear weapons from Korea in 1991 and retired the nuclear variants of the Tomahawk cruise missile that were stationed across the Pacific. 

“We had Russia, we thought, under control with the breakup of the Soviet Union. We always thought China would be an economic threat,” Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., a top member on the Armed Services Committee, said in the clip. 

IRAN, CHINA AND RUSSIA HUDDLE FOR NUCLEAR TALKS WHILE UN MEETS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS ON POSSIBLE SANCTIONS

China has been building up its missile capabilities, including strategic and tactical nukes. (Reuters/Stringer)

But now, China has tripled its nuclear arsenal over the past five years, and plans to go from 500 to 1,000 warheads by 2030. 

The newest nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal is now over 35 years old, Peters points out, and many are decades older, “meant to be retired and replaced in the 1980s.” 

“Like a 1975 Cadillac bought by our grandfather, we’ve been keeping America’s strategic deterrence on life support,” said Peters. 

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, blamed it on a decades-long focus on the Middle East, at the expense of containing threats in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Part of this is a hangover from what I call endless wars, where, instead of having that strong deterrence, we got involved with, you know, a quarter-century of endless conflict that caused a great toll, both in terms of blood and treasure.” 

China has not only been building up its strategic and tactical nuclear weapons, but its anti-ship nuclear capabilities and its fractional orbital bombardment systems, space-based platforms that can drop munitions, including nuclear ones, from space onto the Earth’s surface. 

WOULD THE US WIN A WAR WITH CHINA OVER TAIWAN? US LAWMAKERS BRIEFED ON THE POTENTIAL OUTCOME

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi earlier this month to discuss nuclear weapons. (Pool via Reuters)

“At the same time, China’s building nuclear-capable long-range hypersonic missiles that could in time be able to deliver nuclear weapons to the American homeland with little to no notice,” Peters warned. 

The video argues that the U.S. has too few tactical nuclear weapons when compared with China – weapons that would offer a forceful response but avoid population-decimating strategic nukes. 

“Right now, we’re preaching about arms control but building nothing,” the video states.  “We must modernize the existing strategic arsenal and replace the decades-old warheads and missiles that were meant to be retired in the 1980s and 1990s.”

“We need a much stronger but modern Navy,” said Roy. “Not built on what K Street contractors are saying they need to be, but rather, what do we actually need?”

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“The world is really watching both allies and adversaries. Is the United States going to accept decline and live in a world in which the Chinese, the Russians, perhaps the Iran regime and the North Koreans can successfully coerce the United States of America to prevent us from moving in the world on terms that benefit the American people in our prosperity and freedom?” said Rebecca Heinrichs, senior fellow with Heritage. 

“The United States must field the military capabilities that will convince the Chinese leadership that today is not the day to pick a fight with the United States or its allies,” said Adm. Charles Richard, former head of U.S. Strategic Command. 

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin is shuttering the Biden-era EPA museum located near the White House that “scarcely” saw visitors since it opened in 2024, Fox News Digital learned. 

Zeldin announced Monday afternoon that the National Environmental Museum and Education Center, which opened last year under the Biden administration, will shutter after costing taxpayers millions to build and subsequently drew a lackluster number of visitors. 

“The scarcely visited museum cost a whopping $4 million taxpayer dollars to build in accordance with Smithsonian standards and more than $600,000 annually to operate,” the EPA said of the museum in Monday comment provided to Fox News Digital, describing the museum as the “Biden EPA’s pet project.” “It had less than 2,000 external visitors between May 2024-February 2025 and while the museum was free, the cost to taxpayers per external visitor amounted to nearly $315 per person.” 

The EPA museum opened in May 2024 within the William Jefferson Clinton federal building, which is home to the EPA’s headquarters and sits just blocks from the White House. A smaller EPA exhibit previously was showcased in a neighboring federal building ahead of the construction and opening of the National Environmental Museum and Education Center in 2024. 

EPA TERMINATES BIDEN ADMIN’S GREEN GRANTS WORTH $20B, ZELDIN SAYS

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the closing of the National Environmental Museum and Education Center, known as the EPA museum, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“From Love Canal and the founding of EPA more than 50 years ago to the historic funding of our Investing in America agenda, our new museum chronicles our nation’s work to protect public health and the environment – a movement that has transcended political and geographic divides,” Biden-era EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the museum last year.

 “Our work with state, local and Tribal partners has changed people’s lives, it has restored our connection with the environment and our planet, and it will ensure that future generations will continue to have clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, and clean land to live, work and play on,” he continued. 

Zeldin’s EPA said the museum did not spotlight bipartisan achievements and efforts protecting Americans’ health and the environment, but instead, “the Biden administration chose to curate the museum with a massive gap of recognition between 2014 and January 20, 2021.”

STACEY ABRAMS SLAMMED AFTER DEFENDING $2 BILLION IN BIDEN-ERA EPA FUNDS TO BUY GREEN ENERGY APPLIANCES

A sign for the National Environmental Museum and Education Center in Washington, D.C. (EPA/X)

“There is also a higher priority placed on Democrat Administrations’ work compared to Republican Administrations,” an EPA spokesperson said of the museum. “Biden’s EPA favored the incorporation of a slew of ‘environmental justice’ and climate change content to proliferate the fearmongering tactics of the radical left instead of focusing on the statutory work EPA does daily to deliver clean air, land and water to Americans.” 

LEE ZELDIN LIKENS BIDEN ENERGY ‘SCHEME’ CONNECTED TO STACEY ABRAMS TO ‘THROWING GOLD BARS OFF THE TITANIC’

A breakdown of estimated annual costs to operate the museum, which was provided to Fox Digital, shows taxpayers were expected to foot the bill for an estimated: $123,766.29 in annual cleaning and landscaping costs, $37,899 for audio and visual maintenance, $54,292.99 in annual “artifact storage” costs, $8,900 for “Magnetometer maintenance,” $46,000 for X-ray maintenance, an estimated $123,000 in utility costs, and $207,326 in annual costs to fund two security guards for the museum during operating hours. 

The total annual operating costs totaled just more than $600,000. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington. (Getty Images )

The Functional Government Initiative, a government watchdog focused on broadening the public’s awareness of government officials and decisions, celebrated Zeldin’s announcement as a win for taxpayers as funds will return to it intended use for the agency: protecting the environment. 

COMER PROBES NGOS THAT RECEIVED $20B IN BIDEN EPA GRANTS DESPITE ALMOST NO REVENUE: ‘SHADY DEAL’

 Rod Law, Functional Government Initiative’s communications director, said in comment to Fox News Digital Monday. “There is something ironic about the EPA wasting money on a museum about itself when it is supposed to be focused on toxic waste.” 

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has been working with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut costs. (Getty Images/iStock)

“Sadly, promoting special interest climate activism and growing the out-of-touch bureaucracy were hallmarks of the EPA in the Biden administration, and this museum was an unfortunate result of such policy. Administrator Zeldin closing it protects taxpayers, helps return the EPA to its statutory mission of protecting the environment, and abandons past dysfunction and bureaucratic self-promotion,” Law continued. 

TRUMP EPA CHIEF TO ‘CONFRONT CRISIS’ OF MEXICAN SEWAGE POLLUTING SAN DIEGO AREA BEACHES

The New York Times previewed in February that the museum’s fate hung in the balance as the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency went through various federal agencies in search of government overspending, fraud, and mismanagement.

Zeldin, a staunch Trump ally, has been on a cost-cutting mission at the agency since he was sworn-in back in January.

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Zeldin has uncovered and cut $20 billion in grants awarded by the Biden administration for climate and clean-energy projects; put the Biden administration’s Clean Power Plan 2.0, which cracked down on power plants, on the chopping block; and terminated hundreds of employees amid the Trump administration’s mission to trim and streamline the federal government of overspending.

The State Department sanctioned six Beijing and Hong Kong authorities who Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “have engaged in actions or policies that have degraded the autonomy of Hong Kong, including in connection with transnational repression targeting individuals residing in the United States.” 

Rubio announced Monday that the actions “demonstrate the Trump Administration’s commitment to hold to account those respondsible for depriving people in Hong Kong of protected rights and freedoms or who commit acts of transnational repression on U.S. soil or against U.S. persons.” 

Those sanctioned include Sonny Chi Kwong Au – the Secretary-General for the Committee for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong – and Raymond Chak Yee Siu, the Police Commissioner of Hong Kong Police Force. The other four sanctioned were identified as Dong Jingwei, Dick Chung Chun Wong, Margaret Wing Lan Chiu and Paul Ting Kwok Lam. 

“Beijing and Hong Kong officials have used Hong Kong national security laws extraterritorially to intimidate, silence, and harass 19 pro-democracy activists who were forced to flee overseas, including a U.S. citizen and four other U.S. residents,” the State Department said. 

45 PRO-DEMOCRACY HONG KONG ACTIVISTS SENTENCED TO UP TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON UNDER CHINA-BACKED LAW 

Raymond Chak Yee Siu, right, who is the Commissioner of Police of the Hong Kong Police Force, embraces his colleague during the Hong Kong Police College’s passing-out parade on March 29, 2025, in Hong Kong, China.  (Hou Yu/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

Lam, according to the State Department, “is the Secretary for Justice, Hong Kong in the Regional Government Ministers category, and has been responsible for or involved in developing, adopting, or implementing, the National Security Law.” 

Last year, Human Rights Watch said the “Safeguarding National Security Ordinance punishes peaceful speech and civil society activism with heavy prison sentences, expands police powers, and weakens due process rights.” 

HONG KONG LAWMAKERS UNANIMOUSLY PASS CONTROVERSIAL SECURITY LAW, GRANTING GOVERNMENT POWER TO CURB DISSENT 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, shown here with President Donald Trump during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on March 24, said the actions announced Monday “demonstrate the Trump Administration’s commitment to hold to account those responsible for depriving people in Hong Kong of protected rights and freedoms or who commit acts of transnational repression on U.S. soil or against U.S. persons.”  (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

“As a result of today’s sanctions-related actions, and in accordance with E.O. 13936, all property and interests in property of the sanctioned persons described above that are in the United States or in possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC),” the State Department said. 

“Additionally, all individuals or entities that have ownership, either directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked,” it continued. 

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Justice Paul Ting Kwok Lam speaks in Hong Kong in November 2022. (Reuters/Tyrone Siu)

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“All transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC or exempt from U.S. sanctions,” according to the State Department. “These prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person and the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.” 

Fox News’ Nick Kalman contributed to this report.

The daughter of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says she is skipping graduate school in protest against the university’s lack of support for student demonstrations.

Hope Walz made the announcement to her followers on TikTok on Sunday, saying she was disappointed with how the institution she had planned to attend dealt with student protests.

“I applied for one school. I kind of had my heart set on it. I am not going to name the institution, but given recent events I am not going to give my money, go into debt for, or support institutions that do not support students and the right to protest and speak out for their communities,” Hope said.

“Students deserve to be protected. I am not worried about if I were to be protected or not at said institution. I am, you know, a privileged white woman. But I am not going to put myself in the position where I am giving money or supporting institutions that don’t support their students,” she added.

VIDEO SHOWS ARREST OF COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL RINGLEADER MAHMOUD KHALIL

Tim Walz and his daughter, Hope Walz. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Her announcement comes as universities across the country grapple with how to respond to often-violent anti-Israel protests and the spread of antisemitism on their campuses.

President Donald Trump’s administration has taken an aggressive stance with Columbia University in particular, threatening to withhold federal funding if the institution did not make reforms to combat antisemitism and rampant campus protests.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY YIELDS TO TRUMP ADMIN DEMANDS OVER REVOKED $400M IN FEDERAL FUNDING

A Columbia University graduate speaks before tearing up her degree during a protest on Saturday, March 29. (Freedom News TV)

Columbia agreed to demands from the administration to ban masks for the purpose of concealing identity on campus as well as appoint a senior vice provost to oversee the school’s Department of the Middle East, South Asian and African Studies, as well as the Center for Palestine Studies.

After much violence on campus, Columbia must also hire 36 new campus police officers with the ability to arrest students.

A Columbia student looks at damage to windows of a door at Hamilton Hall at Columbia University on April 30, 2024, in New York City.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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Columbia was at the heart of 2024’s anti-Israel campus protests, with NYPD officers ultimately breaking up a barricade at Hamilton Hall in a highly publicized raid.

Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday, to showcase the speed at which he’s acted during the first two and a half months of his second administration.

“107 executive orders signed in 67 days, more than any in American history,” the president wrote in a social media post.

Trump has been expanding the powers of the presidency, as he has upended long-standing government policy and made major cuts to the federal workforce through an avalanche of executive orders and actions. 

While Trump repeatedly touts his performance steering the nation, the latest public opinion polling suggests Americans may not be so pleased with the job he’s doing as president.

WHERE TRUMP STANDS IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL

President Donald Trump displays a signed executive order in the East Room of the White House on March 20, 2025. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump stands at 42% approval and 56% disapproval in an AP/NORC released on Monday that questioned adults nationwide March 20-24.

That’s slightly lower than a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted March 21-23, which indicated the president at 45%-51% approval/disapproval.

Trump’s numbers were slightly higher in the most recent Fox News national poll, which was in the field March 14-17. Americans appeared divided on the job the president was doing, with 49% approval and 51% disapproval.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING, ANALYSIS, AND OPINION ON PRESIDENT TRUMP

An average of all the most recent national polls that asked the presidential approval question indicates that Trump’s approval ratings are slightly in negative territory. Trump has seen his numbers edge down slightly since the start of his second term, when an average of his polls indicated the president’s approval rating in the low 50s and his disapproval in the mid-40s.

Contributing to the slide, the economy and jitters that Trump’s tariffs on America’s top trading partners will spark further inflation, which was a pressing issue that kept former President Joe Biden’s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency.

President Donald Trump speaks at an event in the State Dining Room at the White House, March 27, 2025. (Pool via AP)

Only 40% of those questioned in the AP/NORC poll gave the president a thumbs up on the job he’s doing steering the economy, with 58% saying they disapprove.

And Trump stood at 38% approval and 60% disapproval on how he’s handling trade negotiations with other countries. A slew of Trump’s proposed tariffs are expected to go into effect on Tuesday.

Inflation was arguably the top issue that boosted Trump to victory in last November’s presidential election, and it remains critical to his political fortunes.

“If prices remain high, he’s going to have trouble,” warned Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas who serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and is the Republican partner on the Fox News poll.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST INFLATION NEWS FROM FOX BUSINESS

But the AP/NORC does have some good news for the president. It’s the latest survey to indicate an increase in the percentage of Americans who are optimistic about the direction of the country.

Thirty-eight percent of those questioned said the country’s headed in the right direction, up from 28% in January at the end of Biden’s term in the White House. The jump is mostly fueled by a 34% surge in Republicans saying the country’s headed on the right track.

According to the poll, Trump’s favorable rating is underwater at 42%-54% favorable/unfavorable.

As with his approval rating, there’s a massive but expected partisan divide.

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk speak to reporters near a red Model S Tesla vehicle on the South Lawn of the White House, March 11, 2025. (Pool via AP )

But Trump’s favorable ratings are superior to Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and Tesla and Space X chief executive, and White House advisor whose controversial moves downsizing the federal government as he steers the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have grabbed tons of attention.

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According to the poll, Musk’s favorable rating stands at 36%, with 55% seeing him in an unfavorable light.

A Yale University Law School associate research scholar was terminated after failing to disclose information about her alleged ties to Samidoun Network, a Canada-based group designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

Iranian-born Helyeh Doutaghi was fired Friday, three weeks after being put on administrative leave after allegations were made that she was part of the Samidoun Network, classified as “a sham charity” by the federal government for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a U.S-designated terrorist organization.

“Over the last three weeks, Yale has repeatedly requested to meet with Ms. Doutaghi and her attorney to obtain clarifying information and resolve this matter,” Yale spokesperson Alden Ferro said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “Unfortunately, she has refused to meet to provide any responses to critical questions, including whether she has ever engaged in prohibited activity with organizations or individuals that were placed on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list (‘SDN List’).”

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY YIELDS TO TRUMP ADMIN DEMANDS OVER REVOKED $400M IN FEDERAL FUNDING

Anti-Israel protesters march ahead of the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 18, 2024. (Fox News Digital )

As such, the university terminated Doutaghi, effective immediately, over her “refusal to cooperate” with their investigation. The university, which saw its fair share of anti-Israel protests last year and a large-scale graduation walkout, noted her short-term employment was already set to expire in April. 

Doutaghi was appointed deputy director of the Law and Political Economy (LPE) Project at the unversity in October 2023. According to her bio on the Palestine Center for Public Policy website, her “research explores the intersections of the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), encompassing Marxian and postcolonial critiques of law, sanctions, and international political economy.”

She is also an incoming post-doctoral fellow at the University of Tehran, according to the website, where her focus will be “completing her manuscript on Iranian sanctions regime and neoliberalism.”

HAWLEY BLASTS ‘INSANE’ LIBERAL ATTORNEY DURING SENATE HEARING ON CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM

Yale graduates stage a walkout during the commencement ceremony in New Haven, Connecticut, May 20, 2024. (Richard Harbus for Fox News Digital)

The allegations about Doutaghi were first made by Jewish Onliner, a Substack “Empowered by A.I. capabilities,” according to its X account.

“Rather than defend me, the Yale Law School moved within less than 24 hours of learning about the report to place me on leave,” Doutaghi wrote in a statement on X earlier this month. “I was given only a few hours’ notice by the administration to attend an interrogation based on far-right AI-generated allegations against me, while enduring a flood of online harassment, death threats, and abuse by Zionist trolls, exacerbating ongoing unprecedented distress and complications both at work and at home.”

Doutaghi said she was “afforded no due process and no reasonable time to consult” with her attorney.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT RESIGNS AFTER MONTHS OF MOUNTING PRESSURE OVER ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS

Anti-Israel protests at Yale University and the University of Michigan. (Fox Detroit; Fox News Digital)

The termination of Doutaghi comes as the Trump administration has been clamping down on allegations of antisemitism across Ivy League schools. 

Several students holding visas or green cards have since filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, alleging First Amendment violations.

“Immediate action will be taken by the Department of Justice to protect law and order, quell pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation, and investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities,” a White House fact sheet on the executive order said. 

Trump also vowed to deport Hamas sympathizers and revoke student visas. 

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Columbia University student and anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil was among the first students to face allegations from the Trump administration over his green card application, in which he was accused of omitting details about his employment history.

The administration subsequently pulled $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University, citing its handling of anti-Israel protests on campus last year. The Ivy League school announced on Friday it would implement significant policy changes to comply with the administration’s demands.

President Donald Trump earned a wave of backlash from the political right after endorsing Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. for re-election last week.

A torrent of replies flooded Trump’s Truth Social post as people disagreed with the president’s move, including retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who very briefly served as national security advisor during Trump’s first term. 

“Not someone I can get behind. I’ll go to the gates with you but I won’t take one step forward with him,” Flynn wrote.

Trump declared in the Truth Social post that Graham has his “Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election” and that the senator “WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN.”

Negative sentiment about the senator and Trump’s endorsement also appeared on X.

TRUMP ENDORSES SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM FOR RE-ELECTION: ‘HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN’

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Sen. Lindsey Graham has his “Complete and Total Endorsement” last week. (Left: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Right: Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

“Sorry… I am not with Trump at all with this one. Not one bit,” conservative commentator and crack Trump impressionist Shawn Farash tweeted.

“Just say NO to Lindsey Graham,” conservative commentator Chad Prather wrote.

Townhall columnist Scott Morefield opined, “Trump endorsing Lindsey Graham, in a state where an eggplant with an R beside their name would win, with the promise that he ‘will not let us down’ no less, while at the same time castigating real, non-RINO conservatives like Chip Roy, Bob Good & Thomas Massie, just shows that, while we should appreciate how he’s running the country, his ‘endorsements’ should be taken with a heavy grain of salt.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., hauled in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations this month after Trump trashed him on Truth Social for opposing a government-funding measure to avert a partial government shutdown.

“HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him,” Trump vowed. “He reminds me of Liz Chaney [sic] before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!)”

In a statement to Fox News Digital on Thursday, Massie likened Graham to former Rep. Liz Cheney.

“I don’t begrudge anyone for an endorsement, but Senator Graham is objectively the ideological twin of Liz Cheney,” Massie said in the statement.

Graham’s campaign manager Mark Knoop said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday, “Senator Graham shares President Trump’s frustration with Rep. Massie. Rep. Massie has become the most reliable vote for Democrats on critical issues opposing President Trump’s agenda.”

TRUMP PLEDGES TO ‘LEAD THE CHARGE’ AGAINST REP. MASSIE, LIKENS HIM TO LIZ CHENEY

Former President Donald Trump gestures as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., addresses the crowd during a 2024 election campaign event in Columbia, S.C., on Jan. 28, 2023 (LOGAN CYRUS/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump attacked conservative House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, last year, declaring in a Truth Social post, “The very unpopular ‘Congressman’ from Texas, Chip Roy, is getting in the way, as usual, of having yet another Great Republican Victory – All for the sake of some cheap publicity for himself.”

While Trump wanted the debt ceiling raised, Roy indicated in a December tweet, “Currently, I’m against raising the debt ceiling without major spending cuts/reform. Congress needs to feel the pain of their actions and confront reality.”

Fox News Digital reached out to request a comment from the congressman, but no comment was provided by his office. The White House also declined to provide comment on the president’s endorsement of Graham. 

“There’s no bigger endorsement than President Trump’s and Senator Graham is honored to have his support. He has earned it. Senator Graham looks forward to playing golf this weekend with Trey Gowdy and President Trump. When it comes to conservative organizations endorsing Senator Graham, stay tuned,” Knoop said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday.

Figures from pro-life groups are slated to appear at a press conference on Monday as the groups back Graham’s re-election bid, according to a campaign press release provided to Fox News Digital.

IF PLUG IS PULLED ON UKRAINE IT WILL BE ‘WORSE THAN AFGHANISTAN,’ SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM SAYS

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Graham, who thanked Trump for the endorsement in a post on X, has also shared another post with a video highlighting the president’s support.

“President Trump is on team Graham,” a voiceover declares during the video, describing Graham as “a conservative leader, trusted by Trump, endorsed by Trump.”

But while Trump, who previously endorsed Graham in 2020, is on the senator’s side, time will tell whether voters share the same sentiments.

While Graham decisively won his 2020 primary with more than 67% of the vote, he was met with a chorus of boos when he spoke at a Trump rally in his own state of South Carolina in 2023.

The lawmaker, who has served in the Senate for more than two decades, is up for re-election in 2026.

Since its establishment in 1979, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has shaped federal student loan policies, which have, in turn, influenced the rising cost of an education and the loans to pay for it. As President Donald Trump moves to significantly downsize, and eventually shutter, the DOE, one expert says a completely private loan system would work better than shifting administration to other government agencies.

“The Clinton administration introduced the direct loan program, so this was kind of the competitor to the quasi public-private system, where now the government was going to be the one issuing the loans, and both systems kind of coexisted for a couple years, until 2010, when we got Obamacare, and that basically used some of the paper profits from switching all the loans to government loans to help pay for Obamacare,” Cato Institute expert Andrew Gillen told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

“And so, ever since 2010, we’ve been in the government-lending exclusively area,” he added.

CALIFORNIA UNDER INVESTIGATION BY TRUMP ADMIN FOR ALLEGEDLY HIDING ‘GENDER IDENTITY’ OF KIDS

Morning sun lights the front of the Department of Education building in Washington, February 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Initially, after Trump signed an executive order in March dismantling the DOE, the administration proposed transferring the $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration (SBA). However, recent developments indicate that the Treasury Department may assume responsibility for federal student loans. 

The Trump administration is also proposing to transfer Pell Grants and Title I funding to other federal agencies, effectively reducing the department’s role in overseeing major educational programs.

“If we just transfer student loans to the Treasury and don’t change anything else about the system, I don’t think this would have any real impact,” Gillen said. “So, all of these loan terms are already set by Congress, and so simply changing the administrative home of who oversees the paperwork in the background, that’s not going to have any impact.”

The current system encourages “bad investments” by funding students or education without a realistic expectation of repayment, Gillen said. Instead, private lenders, who prioritize repayment risk, would likely avoid financing such loans. He suggested that moving to a private system would provide better incentives for both colleges and students, as universities would face pressure to produce students who can repay their loans, and students would be more likely to choose fields that lead to successful careers.

NEWSOM’S ‘UNFAIR’ REMARK ON GIRLS’ SPORTS BELIES RECORD AS GOVERNOR: ‘ABSOLUTE BULLS—‘

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier after President Donald Trump moved to dismantle her agency. (Fox News / Special Report)

The government has made it difficult to discharge student loans through bankruptcy, Gillen added, with only a few exceptions, but this rule doesn’t apply to private lenders. 

“There are a couple of things we can do to encourage private lenders to basically be willing to make those loans. So, one is clarifying how bankruptcy law works with these income-driven loans,” he said. 

Some lawmakers have made efforts to address this issue. Democratic Reps. Steve Cohen, Danny K. Davis, and Eric Swalwell reintroduced the Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act, seeking to make private student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy, similar to other types of consumer debt.

STUDENT LOANS, PELL GRANTS WILL CONTINUE DESPITE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT DOWNSIZING, EXPERT SAYS

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon attends the executive order signing ceremony to reduce the size and scope of the Department of Education in the East Room of the White House on March 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Currently, the government can garnish wages without needing to go through a lawsuit, making the process more efficient and less costly, which would be beneficial for private lenders as well.

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The 1990s saw the introduction of income-driven repayment plans, starting with the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan in 1994 under former President Bill Clinton. These plans allowed borrowers to repay loans based on their income, extending the loan term and increasing the total interest paid. While they provided immediate financial relief, they also led to higher long-term costs for some borrowers.

By fiscal year 2024, the DOE held approximately $1.6 trillion in student loan debt, issuing $85.7 billion in new loans, with $45.3 billion allocated for undergraduate education and $40.4 billion for graduate education.

President Donald Trump’s 11th week in office is slated to focus heavily on tariffs, including the roll-out of the president’s promised “Liberation Day,” when his reciprocal tariffs will be announced. 

“Liberation Day, I call it Liberation Day in America,” Trump said from the White House last week, previewing April 2. “You’ll be seeing tariffs. And I think I’ve been very fair. I have them set. But I think I’ve been very fair to countries that have really abused us economically for many, many decades.” 

For weeks, April 2 has been touted as the day when Trump’s trade policy emphasizing “America First” will be laid out in earnest and end the U.S.’ reliance on goods made overseas. He is expected to roll out his reciprocal tariff plan on Wednesday, which will likely match other countries’ higher tariff rates and aims to counter other trade barriers like burdensome regulations, value-added taxes, government subsidies and exchange rate policies and to negotiate with some countries to reduce those barriers.

“For DECADES we have been ripped off and abused by every nation in the World, both friend and foe. Now it is finally time for the Good Ol’ USA to get some of that MONEY, and RESPECT, BACK. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social of April 2 earlier in March. 

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED DURING TRUMP’S 10TH WEEK IN OFFICE

The tariffs on Wednesday follow Trump already leveling a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico, and a 20% tariff on goods from China. 

Another 25% tariff on all cars imported into the U.S. will also take effect late Wednesday of this week. 

TRUMP SAYS HE ‘COULDN’T CARE LESS’ IF FOREIGN AUTOMAKERS RAISE PRICES OVER TARIFFS: ‘WE HAVE PLENTY’

President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (JIM WATSON,EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump is also expected to hold another conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week after the two world leaders also spoke last week as Trump and his administration continue working to help hash out a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine amid the ongoing war.

On Sunday, however, Trump told NBC News that he is “pissed off” with Putin after the Russian president slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s leadership last week. Russia also carried out a series of attacks on Ukraine over the weekend amid ongoing talks to reach a potential peace agreement. 

TRUMP SAYS HE IS ‘PISSED OFF’ WITH PUTIN OVER LACK OF PEACE PROGRESS: REPORT

“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump told NBC News.

“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” he continued. “There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”

Trump added that his anger will “dissipate quickly” if Putin “does the right thing.”

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on Oct. 1, 2024. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

This week, Trump is also expected to assess options for his “Golden Dome” missile-defense project, according to Defense One. Trump signed an executive order in January to build a “a next-generation missile defense shield for the United States against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks.” Trump dubbed the system the “Golden Dome” earlier this month, which is a play on Israel’s air defense system, called the “Iron Dome.”

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Trump’s 11th week in office follows a break-neck pace of executive orders and actions since Jan. 20. Trump has signed at least 106 executive orders alone, which surpasses the number of executive orders signed by his predecessors in their respective first years in office since the Carter administration. 

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Eric Revell contributed to this report.

Kash Patel has spent his first month as FBI director cracking down on some of the Trump administration’s top law enforcement priorities, including violent crime, gang activity and drug trafficking – all while managing to avoid much of the high-profile controversy that has embroiled some other senior national security officials.

His early moves have earned him accolades from Republicans in Congress, who have been quick to praise Patel’s first weeks in office, including his effort to move quickly and share certain documents long requested by majorities on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

“Under the leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Bureau is working aggressively each and every day to find violent criminals, no matter where they are, and bring them to justice,” Patel told Fox News Digital in reflection on his first few weeks heading up the bureau.

“Any success thus far is a credit to the brave men and women of the FBI and our state and local law enforcement partners who do amazing work to execute the mission,” he added.

Just five weeks after his confirmation as FBI director, here are some of Patel’s earliest – and most significant – wins. 

JUDGE FIGHTING TRUMP OVER EL SALVADOR DEPORTATIONS ASSIGNED TO LAWSUIT OVER SIGNAL CHAT LEAK

FBI agents next to the FBI logo. Photos by Getty and AP, illustration via Fox News Digital. (AP/Getty Images)

Arrest of top MS-13 member 

The FBI this week announced the arrest of the top U.S. MS-13 leader, 24-year-old Salvadoran national Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos.

Santos was captured in Woodbridge, Virginia, and was charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. 

Officials told Fox News this week that Santos is one of the top three leaders of the MS-13 gangs in the U.S.

Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, and Patel both watched the arrest take place from a nearby tactical operation center. 

In an interview with Fox News, Bondi praised the team for executing a “clean, safe operation” and credited FBI personnel for getting “one of the worst of the worst of the MS-13 off the streets this morning.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard are seen in this March 5 photo shared by the U.S. Department of Justice.  (U.S. Department of Justice. )

‘Most wanted’ fugitive arrests

Patel announced last week that since Jan. 20, the FBI has apprehended three fugitives from the FBI’s top 10 Most Wanted list – an achievement that he said on social media is the result of good leadership and hard work from bureau personnel. 

The individuals captured include Arnoldo Jimenez, accused of murdering his wife in Burbank, Illinois, in 2012; Donald Eugene Fields II, charged with child sex trafficking and child rape charges in federal and state court, respectively; and Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, another MS-13 leader arrested in Mexico last week and extradited to the U.S., where he was charged with racketeering, conspiracy, conspiracy to provide and conceal material support and resources to terrorists, narco-terrorism conspiracy and alien smuggling conspiracy. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION INVOKES STATE SECRETS ACT ON HIGH-PROFILE DEPORTATION CASE

Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. (Reuters)

Roman-Bardales had been a fugitive for nearly three years prior to his arrest and is believed to be a founding member of the MS-13 leadership structure in the U.S., where he helped direct the group’s unlawful activities in the U.S., El Salvador, and elsewhere for roughly 20 years. 

Patel praised the arrests in a post on X, noting that the successes of the FBI are “not an accident.” 

“When you let good cops be good cops, this is what happens,” he said. “This administration is giving the new FBI and AG Bondi the resources to get the job done — and we won’t stop.”

Narcotics crackdown 

The FBI under Patel successfully raided and arrested 22 members of a narcotics trafficking ring in Lubbock, Texas, believed to be tied to violent drug cartels based in Mexico.

The operation comes as Patel and Bondi have moved to crack down on narcotics and drug trafficking as part of Trump’s agenda for his second White House term. 

In a post on X, Patel praised the work of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

“These are the operations that mean safer streets for American families,” Patel said. “And we are just getting started.” 

MORE THAN HALF A MILLION LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL BACK PATEL AS FBI DIRECTOR

Hundreds protest outside a Tesla showroom on March 8, 2025. Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) (Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Tesla arrests

The FBI and U.S. Department of Justice have worked in tandem to crack down on a wave of vandalism targeting Tesla dealerships, charging stations, and individual Tesla cars in the U.S. – actions that Bondi described in a press conference earlier this month as acts of “domestic terrorism” punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Individuals have been arrested in recent weeks for setting fire to, and shooting at, Tesla cars and dealerships across the country, vandalizing charging stations and carving graffiti, including anti-Trump messages, into personal vehicles.

The crimes have prompted a federal crackdown pursued by FBI and DOJ leadership. 

Most recently, authorities on Thursday announced federal charges against a 36-year-old Las Vegas resident accused of setting fire to vehicles at a Tesla collision business in Nevada earlier this month. Video footage obtained by authorities shows an individual using Molotov cocktails to set the Teslas on fire, using an AR-30 rifle to shoot bullets into the vehicles, and spray-painting the word “resist” onto the individual cars. 

Las Vegas authorities described the crime as a “targeted” attack on the Tesla facility. 

“As promised, acts of violence and vandalism will not be tolerated, and today law enforcement personnel acted quickly to arrest an individual on charges including arson,” Patel said Thursday in a press release announcing the federal charges. “Under Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, we will continue to pursue these investigations with the full force of law and will bring to justice anyone responsible for these attacks.”

Terrorist money laundering stopped

This week, the Department of Justice announced the successful disruption of a major cryptocurrency financing scheme believed to be used to launder money to Hamas – a significant victory for the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division and Cyber Division and the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office, which ran point on the investigation.

The financing ring purportedly controlled by Hamas was used by the terrorist group to launder more than $1.5 million in virtual cryptocurrency from donors since October 2024, according to FBI and Department of Justice personnel.

Supporters were encouraged to make donations to Hamas via an encrypted group chat and complex money laundering system, authorities said. 

FBI AGENTS SUE TRUMP DOJ TO BLOCK ANY PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED ON JAN. 6 INVESTIGATIONS

FBI Director Kash Patel is seen waiting for an extradition flight that was carrying Muhammed Sharifullah.  (Justice Department)

In total, the FBI seized $201,000 in cryptocurrency assets from the group, including another $112,000 from three exchange accounts registered in the names of Palestinian individuals living in Turkey and elsewhere. The important success comes as Hamas has increasingly embraced cryptocurrency and encrypted communications to better evade detection.  

The U.S. Treasury Department believes that Hamas has been using crypto to launder its money since at least 2020, taking advantage of the decentralized and unregulated nature of the digital currency.

These early victories are a signal of strength for the bureau as it seeks to shed what it sees as unfair perceptions of weaponization or politicization, and pursue key priorities under the Trump administration.

FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson praised Patel’s job performance, telling Fox News Digital, “The FBI and our law enforcement partners have delivered on multiple key initiatives just within the first month, but the work is only beginning.”

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“Director Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino have built an extremely formidable FBI team committed to delivering on the promises of building public trust, engaging with congressional partners to increase transparency, and pursuing violent criminals in every corner of the earth,” Williamson said.

“We’re just getting started.”

Fox News’s Anders Hagstrom, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.