Donald Trump Poll News

President Donald Trump renewed his vow to clean up the city of Washington, D.C., Friday while speaking at the Department of Justice, saying, “We’re going to have a crime-free capital.”  

“We’re cleaning up our city. We’re cleaning up this great capital,” the president said. “And we’re not going to have crime, and we’re not going to stand for crime.” 

He noted that, since returning to the White House, he has had to order the roadways cleaned of tents and graffiti when heads of state visit.  

TRUMP BLASTS BIDEN’S DOJ: THEY TRIED TO TURN US INTO A ‘CORRUPT COMMUNIST’ THIRD WORLD COUNTRY

President Donald Trump, the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.; and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (Fox/Getty/iStock)

“When Prime Minister Modi of India, when the president of France and all of these people, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, they all came to see me over the last week and a half. And, when they come in, I had the route run,” he said. “I didn’t want to have them see tents. I didn’t want to have them see graffiti. I didn’t want to have them see broken barriers and potholes in the roads.

“We want to have a capital that can be the talk of the world,” Trump added. “We’re going to do that for the city.” 

Washington, D.C., police prepare for the inauguration Jan. 22.  (Washington Metropolitan Police Dept.)

Trump commended D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, for cooperating with his administration. 

DANCING TRANSGENDER HECKLERS SHUT DOWN PARENTS’ EVENT AT BLUE STATE’S CAPITOL: ‘SAD AND UNFORTUNATE’

Black Lives Matter Plaza will be replaced, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser recently announced.  (Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Bowser recently announced the removal of a “Black Lives Matter” street mural that was installed in front of the White House in 2020. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“We’re working with the administration, and if the administration can’t do the job, we’re going to have to take it back and run it through the federal government,” said Trump. “But we hope the administration’s going to be able. So far, so good. So far, they’ve been doing very well. The mayor has been doing a good job.”

“We’re going to have a crime-free capital,” he added. “When people come here, they’re not going to be mugged or shot or raped. They’re going to have a crime-free capital again. It’s going to be cleaner and better and safer than it ever was. And it’s not going to take us too long.” 

House Democrats will hold a “Day of Action” across the country on Tuesday to “aggressively” push back against the “diabolical Republican scheme to enact the largest Medicaid cut in our nation’s history” after Congress passed a spending bill to avert a government shutdown.

The Senate voted 54-46 on Friday to pass the stopgap spending bill, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as the only Republican to oppose the measure. Nearly all Democrat senators opposed it, but Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, voted to pass the bill.

Earlier in the week, the GOP-controlled House passed the short-term bill, otherwise known as a continuing resolution, which will keep spending levels the same as fiscal year 2024 until Oct. 1.

SHUTDOWN AVERTED AFTER SCHUMER CAVES AND BACKS TRUMP SPENDING BILL

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, in Washington, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

If a spending bill was not passed by the Friday deadline, the government would have entered into a partial shutdown. President Donald Trump backed the bill and urged lawmakers to pass it.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said that the bill “is an attack on veterans, families, seniors and everyday Americans.”

“The ongoing Republican assault on the economy, healthcare, the social safety net and veterans benefits requires all of us working together in the weeks and months to come,” he said in a statement. “Donald Trump’s disingenuous and nakedly superficial effort to divide us will not succeed.”

CHUCK SCHUMER WILL VOTE TO KEEP GOVERNMENT OPEN: ‘FOR DONALD TRUMP, A SHUTDOWN WOULD BE A GIFT’

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Jeffries said House Democrats will hold a “Day of Action” throughout America on Tuesday to “aggressively push back against the diabolical Republican scheme to enact the largest Medicaid cut in our nation’s history,” adding: “We will partner with our colleagues at every level of government to protect the American people.”

Democrats in the House and the Senate, as well as governors, local elected officials, unions, civil rights organizations, democracy reform groups and concerned citizens all have an important role to play, Jeffries said.

“Our party is not a cult, we are a coalition,” he said. “On occasion, we may strongly disagree about a particular course of action. At all times, Democrats throughout the nation remain determined to make life better for everyday Americans and stop the damage being done by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and House Republicans.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Senate’s vote on Friday to pass the six-month continuing resolution came after a procedural vote earlier in the day in which enough Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., helped Republicans overcome the filibuster and move forward with the stopgap spending bill.

Jeffries has refused to answer questions about whether he had confidence in Schumer after the senator helped advance the Republican-backed legislation.

Fox News’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

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…

–Education Department launches widespread civil rights probe: A look at what the agency does as Trump eyes shutdown

-50 House Dems railed for ‘political puppet show’ after making identical social media posts

–Migrant gangs on notice after string of home burglaries

Phoning it in 

EXCLUSIVE: The Biden White House turned over government cellphones belonging to President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence to the FBI in May 2022 as part of a bureau probe into the aftermath of the 2020 election, tying Trump to that investigation without sufficient predication, Fox News Digital has learned.

The FBI did not need a warrant to physically obtain the government phones from the Biden White House, but after acquiring the devices agents began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data, sources familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital.

“The Biden White House played right along with the FBI’s ‘gotcha’ scheme against Trump,” a source familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital. “Biden’s Office of White House Counsel, under the leadership of Dana Remus and Jonathan Su, gave its blessing and accommodation for the FBI to physically obtain Trump and Pence’s phones in early May 2022. Weeks later, the FBI began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data.” …Read more

Biden White House turned over Trump, Pence cellphones in anti-Trump agent’s case.  (Associated Press)

White House

TAKEN FOR A SPIN: Biden also paraded electric vehicles at the White House, when he drove a Jeep Wrangler in 2021

‘VACCINE HESITANCY’: Millions spent by Biden on COVID ‘vaccine hesitancy’ campaign slashed by Trump NIH: report

SPLIT ON TRUMP: Americans split over the job Trump and Musk are doing: poll

‘DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE’: Trump accuses Biden’s DOJ of trying to turn U.S. into ‘corrupt communist’ country

President Donald Trump speaks at the Justice Department in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Pool via AP)

World Stage

‘BROKE THE DEADLOCK’: ‘We have never been this close to peace’ since Russia invaded Ukraine, Leavitt tells reporters

‘REALLY STAGGERING’: Trump praised for getting NATO allies to bolster defense spending

‘PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE’: Venezuela agrees to resume deportation flights

Venezuela agrees to resume deportation flights (Getty Images)

Capitol Hill

SENATE GRILLING: Dr. Oz faces Senate grilling on Capitol Hill in bid to run Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

BAD EVIDENCE: Anna Paulina Luna escalates DOJ standoff over Epstein docs, unveils SHRED Act

‘WELLNESS GRIFTING’: Oz bats back Dem attempts to paint him as ‘snake oil’ salesman

Across America

KEY WITNESS: Key witness in American college student’s disappearance tells police how they met, what happened on beach

‘ENDS NOW’: Tulsi Gabbard lists ‘recent examples of unauthorized leaks’ from intelligence community, announces crackdown

‘RADICALS’: Vance booed at Kennedy Center concert

Vance booed at Kennedy Center concert (Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images)

‘BROKEN BUSINESS MODEL’: USPS signs agreement with DOGE after moving to cut 10,000 workers: ‘Broken business model’

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

FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday revealed that the agency is investigating a recent spike in swatting incidents after several conservative media figures said they were targeted. 

“I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures,” Patel wrote Friday morning on his social media. “The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.”

The director stressed, “This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement against ANY American is not only morally reprehensible but also endangers lives, including those of our officers.”

Swatting is when a person attempts to send armed law enforcement to another person’s house over a fake incident, which has led to deadly consequences in the past. 

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

FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday revealed that the agency is investigating a recent spike in swatting incidents after several conservative media figures said they were targeted.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“That will not be tolerated,” Patel continued. “We are fully committed to working with local law enforcement to crack down on these crimes.”

He added that there would be more updates to come. 

Conservative podcaster Nick Sortor said Thursday on X that both his father and sister were swatted that same day. 

“A dozen cops attempted to kick my dad’s door in at gunpoint,” he wrote. “This is literal f—ing terrorism. And the FBI should treat it as such. Before calling in the swat, this dumbs— sent my sister an email calling me a Nazi, of course. So the motive is clear.”

Sortor said the person who called the police on his father claimed he was killing his “entire family, requiring them to intervene with deadly force.” 

“This is nothing short of attempted murder. They wanted the police to kill my father,” he added. 

FEDS CHARGE 2 EUROPEANS WITH ‘SWATTING’ PLOT TARGETING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS

Conservative host Shawn Farash wrote on his X account that he and his wife were swatted Thursday night. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was the victim of a swatting attack in December.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)

“We are totally safe,” he assured his followers. “Thank you to everyone who checked in. We are going to do whatever is necessary to find out who is behind these coordinated attacks and hold them accountable to the fullest extent.” 

An apparent swatting call at Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s home in December turned deadly following a car accident with police. 

Greene at the time said she had been swatted at least eight times before the fake bomb threat. 

In January, lawmakers introduced a bipartisan and bicameral bill to impose “strict penalties” for people who make swatting calls, including up to 20 years in prison if someone is seriously injured or killed in an incident.

In January, lawmakers introduced a bipartisan and bicameral bill to impose “strict penalties” for people who make swatting calls, including up to 20 years in prison if someone is seriously injured or killed in an incident. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“Having spent over 40 years in law enforcement, I’ve seen firsthand how swatting is a reckless and dangerous action that not only puts innocent lives at risk but wastes critical resources,” Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., said in a statement in January when introducing the bill in the House. 

“Local and state law enforcement agencies are forced to divert their time, energy, and taxpayer dollars to respond to these false calls, taking them away from real emergencies. As someone who has been on the front lines, I understand the toll this takes on our officers and communities. That’s why I am proud to help introduce the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act — a vital step in protecting both our law enforcement officers and the communities they serve.”

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, wrote on Friday that he was “proud” to cosponsor the bill. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Multiple conservative influencers and pundits have had their homes swatted in the past several days,” he wrote. “This is an extremely dangerous form of political terrorism. It’s liable to get somebody killed, and it must end now.”

Speaking at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Friday, President Donald Trump comforted a mother whose son died from fentanyl poisoning, telling her, “He’s up there watching you” and “he’s so proud of mom.”

Trump highlighted the profound impact of fentanyl poisoning on U.S. citizens, saying during his speech that “more Americans died from fentanyl last year than died in the Korean War, or the Iraq War or the Afghanistan War. All of them combined.”

He blamed President Joe Biden’s open border policies, the cartels and countries such as Mexico, Canada and China for allowing the fentanyl problem to become so widespread.

TRUMP PLEDGES TO MAKE US CAPITAL ‘CRIME-FREE’ AND THE ‘TALK OF THE WORLD’

President Donald Trump listens as Anne Fundner, whose son died after taking fentanyl-laced pills, during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Friday, March, 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Fox News/Pool)

Stepping aside for a few moments, the president called to the stage Anne Fundner, an anti-drug activist and mother who lost her son – Weston – to fentanyl poisoning, to speak about how the deadly drug is hurting Americans.

While onstage, Fundner thanked Trump and his administration for shutting down the border, targeting the cartels and migrant crime groups as “foreign terrorist organizations” and for instituting tariffs to target countries where fentanyl is flowing from.

“The cartels were allowed to operate on American soil and took hundreds of thousands of American lives. And so, we knew there was only one person that could save us from the devastation on our American soil. And that was President Trump,” said Fundner. “I feel like I can speak for the entire fentanyl fighting community when I say thank you to President Trump and thank you to Pam Bondi and everyone out here who is fighting this fight. God bless you. God bless you, President Trump.”

VENEZUELA AGREES TO RESUME DEPORTATION FLIGHTS IN RESPONSE TO PRESSURE FROM TRUMP

President Donald Trump speaks at the Department of Justice, Friday, March 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Fox News/Pool)

In a heartfelt moment caught on the microphone, Trump leaned in to hug Fundner and said, “He’s up there watching you. He’s so proud of mom.

“I just said to Anne, ‘Weston is up in heaven watching his mom, and he’s so proud of you, he’s so proud of you,” Trump said afterward.

Turning to the crowd, Trump also addressed a group of parents who also lost children to fentanyl, saying, “We want to acknowledge you and also, your daughters, your sons, they’re looking down on you, and they’re loving you like crazy.”

The president said that since he took office the DEA and FBI have seized 1 million deadly doses of fentanyl.

“And that’s just the beginning,” he said. “At my direction and working with Pam and everybody else, we’ve launched an all-out war on fentanyl traffickers. And it’s a war that we’re going to win. We’re going to win this war.”

He also hinted that the death penalty for certain cartel drug trafficking crimes is being considered but acknowledged that “America may not be ready for it.”

TOM HOMAN WARNS MAJOR SANCTUARY STATE WILL ‘GET EXACTLY WHAT THEY DON’T WANT’

A Border Patrol agent walks between a gap along the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico in Yuma, Arizona on June 1, 2022. The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is asking to speak to the head of that Border Patrol sector. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

“Wherever you have the death penalty, you don’t have drugs,” he said. “But I just don’t know if this country is ready for it. So, I tell people and it’s always an option.”

The Trump White House has previously told Fox News Digital that it would be “ruthlessly aggressive” in responding to cartel threats to American lives.  

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“This department will not rest until we have ended the fentanyl epidemic in America once and for all,” Trump said on Friday.   

In addition to taking action against the cartels, Trump said his administration would soon be launching a series of ads to emphasize the negative effects of drug use in an attempt to lessen the widespread deaths across the U.S.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said Friday she and President Trump had a “productive” meeting at the White House while discussing several topics, such as tariffs and energy. 

“Gov. Hochul and President Trump covered a broad range of topics in today’s meeting, including the redevelopment of Penn Station, congestion pricing, tariffs and energy policy,” a spokesperson for her office shared with Fox News Digital. 

“While no formal agreements or decisions were reached, it was a productive conversation, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue in the coming weeks.”

The White House also confirmed the meeting to Fox News Digital but said it was off the record and there would be no readout. 

NY GOV HOCHUL NOW SAYS SHE WILL LEAD ‘RESISTANCE’ AGAINST TRUMP AFTER SAYING OPPOSITE WEEKS AGO 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office on Friday said she and President Trump had a “productive” meeting at the White House while discussing several topics, such as tariffs and energy.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; John Lamparski/Getty Images)

Trump told reporters Thursday, “Kathy Hochul, very nice woman; she’s coming in tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock to meet me.”

He added they would be discussing reviving the Constitution natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York, among other topics. 

They met amid tensions between the two, including over congestion pricing. The Trump administration has ordered the termination of congestion pricing by next Friday. 

In February, Trump posted from the White House X account, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”

HOCHUL SLAMS TRUMP’S ‘KING’ REMARK AFTER PRESIDENT’S MOVE TO BLOCK CONGESTION PRICING TOLL IN NYC

Hochul responded by saying in a press conference, “I’m here to say New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years. We sure as hell are not gonna start now,” FOX 5 reported. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaking to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board in late February.  (Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress)

“There is a huge disconnect between the reality we know that New Yorkers are facing and the perception of reality out of the White House,” she added at a New York Department of Transportation board meeting this week. “I guarantee that the president has never had to endure missing a child’s sporting event because he was stuck on a delayed train.” 

Earlier this month, the Democratic governor said she will be “leading the resistance” against Trump. 

Hochul said she would “fight back hard” during an interview with NPR’s “Morning Edition” Monday when asked about New York City’s congestion pricing toll that the Trump administration moved to block last month.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul holds an AI image of President Trump wearing a crown during a press conference in February.  (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

“We offered up an olive branch. [We said] ‘We’ll work with you on infrastructure. Let’s redo Penn Station’,” Hochul said. “Those areas were common ground. But once you draw first blood on us, we’re coming back hard. And I will be leading the resistance on policies like these where you’re hurting New Yorkers directly. This is our decision, not yours.”

Two weeks before that, however, Hochul said she didn’t plan to lead the resistance.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I’m governing the great state of New York,” she told reporters. 

An appeals court on Friday lifted a block on President Donald Trump‘s executive orders ending federal support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

A panel of three judges ruled the orders can be enforced during a pending lawsuit, reversing a nationwide injunction from U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore, the Associated Press reported.

Two of the judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the orders “could raise concerns” about First Amendment rights, but found Abelson’s “sweeping block went too far,” according to the report.

President Donald Trump instituted sweeping policies to eradicate DEI across the federal government since taking office.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY STOPS TRUMP ADMIN FROM FIRING 11 INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO DEI PROGRAMS

Abelson, a Biden nominee, previously ruled the orders violated the First Amendment right to free speech and were unconstitutionally “vague,” as they did not define DEI.

The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by the City of Baltimore, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of University Professors and the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, which alleged the executive orders were presidential overreach and anti-free speech. 

They argued the president’s power “is not limitless.”

People march outside the office of hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman protesting his campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion and attacks against former Harvard University President Claudine Gay in New York City, Jan. 4, 2024. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

TRUMP SCORES BIG LEGAL WIN AGAINST PULITZER PRIZE BOARD MEMBERS AS LAWSUIT MOVES TO DISCOVERY

Trump’s orders directed federal agencies to terminate all “equity-related” grants or contracts, and required federal contractors to certify that they don’t promote DEI. 

The administration argued in court that the ban only affected DEI programs violating federal civil rights laws. 

“What’s happening is an overcorrection and pulling back on DEI statements,” attorney Aleshadye Getachew said in a hearing. 

Nathaniel Dibble, a member of the Young Democratic Socialists of America at North Carolina State University, voices opposition to repealing North Carolina’s public university system’s diversity policy before the UNC Board of Governors’ vote outside the UNC system office in Raleigh, N.C., May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)

While the president secured a win with the latest injunction, a similar federal lawsuit was filed in D.C. U.S. District Court on Wednesday challenging DEI executive orders including: “Ending Radical and Wasteful DEI Programs and Preferencing;” “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government;” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The second complaint was filed by NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Lambda Legal on behalf of nonprofit advocacy organizations. 

White House spokesman Harrison Fields told the New York Times that “the radical leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda.”

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson, Danielle Wallace, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump announced Friday the rollback of 19 “harmful” Biden-era executive orders, including some related to gender ideology and “radical” labor policies.

Trump also reduced the functions of a number of government agencies as part of widespread cost-cutting measures. 

Some of the rescinded Biden executive orders include eliminating the Defense Production Act to push the “Green New Scam,” including mandates for electric heat pumps and solar panels, and an order that elevated alleged radical gender ideology in U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid, Trump said.

DOGE SAYS 239 CONTRACTS CANCELED OVER 2 DAYS, INCLUDING A GRANT TO TEACH TRANS FARMERS ABOUT ‘FOOD JUSTICE’

President Donald Trump signs an executive order Feb. 14 in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Another Biden order that prioritized union-driven policies was rescinded, and Trump terminated proclamations that declared nearly a million acres for new national monuments, which the Trump administration said shielded large amounts of land from economic development and energy production.

Since taking office, Trump has rescinded more executive orders than the total number of orders signed by Biden during the first year of his presidency, a White House fact sheet states. 

“President Trump is committed to continuing the review and repeal of harmful Biden administration policies to usher in a new golden age for America,” the fact sheet said.

HOUSE DEM GOES ON SCREAMING RANT AGAINST ELON MUSK, DOGE: ‘SHAME!’

Under President Donald Trump, DOGE, led by Elon Musk, has slashed billions in what it considers wasteful government spending.  (Musk: Reuters / Money: iStock / Trump: Getty)

In addition, Trump pared down the functions of multiple agencies as he continues to downsize the federal government. 

A White House official told Fox News Trump’s actions eliminate non-statutory functions and reduce the statutory functions of unnecessary governmental entities to what is required by law. 

The entities affected include the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, United States Agency for Global Media, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Institute of Museum and Library Services, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, Minority Business Development Agency and Arctic Research Commission. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Cutting these governmental entities will save taxpayer dollars, reduce unnecessary government spending and streamline government priorities,” the White House said. “Through these actions, President Trump is keeping his promise to restore efficiency and accountability in the federal government.”

The moves are part of the Trump administration’s effort to scale down the size of government through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The Elon Musk-led group has overseen the cancellation of billions of dollars in government contracts and grants and layoffs within multiple agencies. 

Kennedy Center interim Director Richard Grenell is developing a “common sense” plan to turn the center’s financials around and make it “prosperous again,” as it grapples with $72 million of debt due to past leadership decisions.

“The Kennedy Center is the premier arts institution in the United States,” Grenell told Fox News Digital. “It deserves to have the public’s full support and a balance sheet that is solid.”

Sources familiar with the Kennedy Center’s current financials told Fox News Digital that it had been “budgeting to lose money.”

But Grenell brought in a new chief financial officer, Donna Arduin, who is tasked with improving what she has described as a “dire situation.”

KENNEDY CENTER DIRECTOR ENCOURAGES REPUBLICAN ATTENDANCE, SAYS ‘EVERYONE IS WELCOME’

Kennedy Center interim Director Richard Grenell is developing a “common sense” plan to turn the center’s financials around and make it “prosperous again,” as it grapples with $72 million of debt due to past leadership decisions. (Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images)

“The Kennedy Center’s previous business plan was made to leave the Center in the red and it did just that,” Arduin told Fox News Digital. “The previous leadership were left with no other option than to pay employees’ salaries with monies supposed to be allocated for the debt reserves.”

Arduin told Fox News Digital that the “gross mismanagement created a dire situation that we were shocked to discover.”

In Fiscal Year 2025, the Kennedy Center is operating on a $234 million budget. Also, in FY25, the Kennedy Center had an operating deficit of $105.2 million dollars, which left a bottom-line deficit of $7.2 million dollars.

Sources familiar with the numbers told Fox News Digital that the gap was filled with Kennedy Center fundraising dollars–$91 million from annual fundraising, and $7 million from earnings on the endowments.

VANCE BOOED AT KENNEDY CENTER CONCERT

Sources familiar with the leadership team’s plans told Fox News Digital that the plan will focus on getting rid of debt, improving on ticket sales and fundraising, and growing the center’s endowments.

Grenell told Sean Hannity earlier this month that “everyone is welcome” at the Kennedy Center.  (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

A source explained that the team will use the venue for profitable business events other than traditional shows and performances and will begin offering alternative programming.

“There are a lot of opportunities and we are pursuing all of them,” the source said.

The Kennedy Center has two affiliates—the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera. The new leadership team is currently working on business plans with its affiliates to ensure the Kennedy Center has larger endowments and “greater sustainability.”

The official endowments combined total just $163 million, which new leadership told Fox News Digital is “not adequate for the size of this institution.”

Under the last leadership team, the Kennedy Center built “The REACH,” an intimate theater at the Kennedy Center hosting concerts, comedy shows, and poetry readings. It also has a restaurant.

But sources familiar with the financials told Fox News Digital that former leadership took out a significant chunk of debt to build the venue—costing the center nearly $200 million.

“There wasn’t a profitability plan for that,” the source explained, noting that thus far, the space has been “underutilized,” bringing in just $2 million per year.

WHOOPI DECLARES SHE ‘HAS NO PLANS TO GO’ TO KENNEDY CENTER AFTER TRUMP BECOMES CHAIRMAN OF VENUE

President Trump in January fired the theater’s board of directors and announced he had been elected board chair by his new handpicked board.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“America’s premier institution for the arts deserves better,” Arduin said. “The new team has already written a responsible budget that will make us prosperous again.”

She added: “We are using common sense.”

President Trump in January fired the theater’s board of directors and announced he had been elected board chair by his new handpicked board. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Wall Street Journal in January: “The Kennedy Center learned the hard way that if you go woke, you will go broke. President Trump and the members of his newly-appointed board are devoted to rebuilding the Kennedy Center into a thriving and highly respected institution where all Americans, and visitors from around the world, can enjoy the arts with respect to America’s great history and traditions.”

Some groups who disagreed with the move decided to cancel shows at the center. 

Producers of Broadway’s “Hamilton” pulled out of a planned run there next year.

“Our show simply cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center,” producer Jeffrey Seller said earlier this month. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The show was performed at the Kennedy Center during Trump’s first term in office. 

Grenell told Sean Hannity earlier this month that “everyone is welcome” at the Kennedy Center. 

“Look, the reality is, the Kennedy Center is open for business for everyone,” Grenell told Hannity. “We just want an arts center that celebrates the arts — we want common-sense art.” 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S. was no longer welcome in the country, while calling him a “race-baiting” politician who hates America and President Donald Trump after he said the commander-in-chief is leading a global White supremacist movement.

On Thursday, South African Ambassador Embrahim Rasool addressed the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA) in Johannesburg while explaining Trump’s opposition to his country’s expropriation law and its anti-Israel stances. 

He said Trump’s Make America Great Again movement was a White supremacist response to demographic changes in the U.S.

SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT SIGNS CONTROVERSIAL LAND SEIZURE BILL, ERODING PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS 

South African Ambassador to the U.S. Ebrahim Rasool addresses the Cape Town Press Club in Cape Town, South Africa, on Dec. 15, 2020. (Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

“What Donald Trump is launching is an assault on incumbency, those who are in power, by mobilizing a supremacism against the incumbency, at home, and, I think I’ve illustrated, abroad as well,” he said. “So in terms of that, the supremacist assault on incumbency, we see it in the domestic politics of the USA, the MAGA movement, the Make America Great Again movement, as a response not simply to a supremacist instinct, but to very clear data that shows great demographic shifts in the USA in which the voting electorate in the USA is projected to become 48% white.”

Rubio, in a post on X, blasted Rasool over his remarks. 

“South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country,” the secretary said. “Emrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS. We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.”

Trump has criticized South Africa over a land expropriation law that allows the government to make land seizures without compensation. In February, Trump issued an executive order penalizing South Africa.

“In shocking disregard of its citizens’ rights, the Republic of South Africa recently enacted Expropriation Act 13 of 2024, to enable the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation,” the order states. 

TRUMP FREEZES AID TO SOUTH AFRICA, PROMOTES RESETTLEMENT OF REFUGEES FACING RACE DISCRIMINATION

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, listens as President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 26. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“It is the policy of the United States that, as long as South Africa continues these unjust and immoral practices that harm our Nation: (a) the United States shall not provide aid or assistance to South Africa; and (b) the United States shall promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation.”

The order also took aim at South Africa’s position against Israel, which it has accused in the International Court of Justice of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as well as reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements.

“The United States cannot support the government of South Africa’s commission of rights violations in its country or its undermining United States foreign policy, which poses national security threats to our Nation, our allies, our African partners, and our interests,” the order said. 

U.S. and South African flags are shown at Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa.  (Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

The South African government has claimed Whites of all backgrounds, not just Afrikaners, still own approximately 70% of South Africa’s land. The government is on record saying the Expropriation Act will only be used to take land needed for public purposes — such as for a new school — from people of any color when the owner refuses to sell, and even then there would be “fair and equitable compensation.”

A government shutdown was averted just hours before the Friday 11:59 p.m. deadline after enough Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., helped Republicans defeat the filibuster. 

The bill now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for a signature. The Senate earlier took a key procedural vote on a stopgap spending bill, which needed to meet a 60-vote threshold to move forward, also known as the legislative filibuster. 

House Republicans passed the short-term bill, called a continuing resolution, earlier in the week. The bill will keep spending levels the same as fiscal year (FY) 2024 until Oct. 1. 

CHUCK SCHUMER WILL VOTE TO KEEP GOVERNMENT OPEN: ‘FOR DONALD TRUMP, A SHUTDOWN WOULD BE A GIFT’

Schumer received significant blowback from Democrats for his decision to advance the CR.  (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool via AP)

If a spending bill was not passed by the Friday deadline, the government would enter into a partial shutdown.

During a partial government shutdown, federal agencies and non-essential services would be halted. However, government functions deemed “essential” would continue. National security protocols, such as border patrol, law enforcement and disaster response, stay active during shutdowns, for example. 

The Friday evening vote to pass the six-month CR came after a critical procedural vote earlier in the afternoon. A handful of Senate Democrats provided the Republican majority with the necessary votes to overcome the filibuster and move forward with the stopgap spending bill. 

DEM HEARD SCREAMING AT COLLEAGUES DESPITE SCHUMER’S UNITY CLAIM AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS

Schumer and Trump. (AP/Getty Images)

Deep divisions emerged within the Democratic Party over the past couple of days, with even House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., refusing to answer questions about whether he had confidence in Schumer. 

In one of several Senate caucus meetings, a senator yelled loud enough that it was heard outside of heavy, thick wooden doors. The voice was identified by the press as belonging to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., but her office would not confirm. 

SENATE REPUBLICANS COIN ‘SCHUMER SHUTDOWN’ AHEAD OF CRITICAL VOTE ON TRUMP SPENDING BILL

The Senate approved the House-passed stopgap bill on Friday. (Reuters)

Prior to its passage, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., criticized his fellow Democrats for their planned “no” votes that risked a government shutdown. 

“It wasn’t that long ago before we were lecturing that you can never shut the government down. So, that’s kind of inconsistent,” he told reporters on Thursday.

CANADA EXPLOITING ‘LOOPHOLE’ HURTING US DAIRY FARMERS AMID TRUMP TARIFFS, SENATORS SAY

Fetterman was staunchly opposed to a shutdown. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Ahead of the final vote, 10 Democrats joined nearly all Republicans to overcome the legislative filibuster. Those senators were Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.

The senators managed to beat the 60-vote threshold, with an ultimate margin of 62-38. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are taking the “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies out West next week – and advising supporters to mask up to participate. 

Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, Fox News Digital can confirm that the RSVP for the events in Denver and Las Vegas includes guidance that “masks are advised for all attendees of this event.”

A post shared by conservative podcaster Stephen L. Miller on Friday about the Denver event had many wondering why masks would be advised for an outdoor event in 2025. 

Sanders did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry about the mask guidance. 

DEM LEADER SWINGS THROUGH GOP-HELD DISTRICTS AFTER ‘CLOWN SHOW PROTESTS’ HALTED TOWN HALLS

“Sent from a friend. Bernie’s speaking tour is advising everyone in attendance to wear masks. This is an outdoor event,” the X post said, accompanied by a screenshot of the RSVP.

‘HE CANNOT BUY AN ELECTION HERE IN WISCONSIN’: SANDERS SLAMS MUSK IN STATE TRUMP WON BY LESS THAN 1%

“Still trying the Covid panic politics,” the top comment said. 

“Was this from the year 2020?” a content creator asked.

But another reply countered: “They don’t want the paid attendees found out.”

The reactions to the post are split, with many people online dumbfounded by the need for masks exactly five years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced shutdowns and social distancing. 

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to a capacity crowd during an event at UW-Parkside on March 07, 2025 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Others speculated that the masks are a way to protect attendees’ identities. Masks are a common practice to protect protesters’ identities at large demonstrations, like the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University this past year. 

However, Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” events are not protests. Events in the Blue Wall states of Michigan and Wisconsin last weekend operated like a traditional campaign rally, with thousands of supporters lining up to earn a spot inside to hear the headline speaker. 

Sanders announced the West Coast leg of his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with Ocasio-Cortez in a social media video on Friday. The progressives will make stops in Nevada, Arizona and Colorado “to hold town meetings with working people who are profoundly disgusted with what is going on in Washington, D.C.”

“Nevada, Colorado, Arizona: You deserve public servants who show up for you. The time is now to protect the public good, advance healthcare and living wages for all, and fight against corruption. See you next week,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the political campaign committee tasked with electing more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives, advised against town halls following a series of protest disruptions fueled by Democrats’ discontent with President Donald Trump’s second term. 

Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., began his own slew of town hall events in Republican-held congressional districts on Friday, saying if a Republican representative refused to meet with their constituents, then he would “lend a megaphone” to them. 

An RSVP for “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., advised supporters to mask up to participate.  (Getty/AP)

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on Friday a revised organized effort alongside the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC) and Democrat state parties to host town halls in Republican-held districts. 

“Republicans in Congress know they sold out their voters by backing the Trump-Musk agenda – and now they’re terrified to be in the same room as the people who sent them to Washington,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement on Friday. 

“Instead of facing their constituents, they’re running scared and hiding from the people they were elected to represent. If they won’t talk to their own voters, then Democrats will. That’s why we’ll be hosting People’s Town Halls in all 50 states across the country, starting now with vulnerable GOP-held target districts. Working families deserve to have their voices heard, even if Republicans want to ignore them,” Martin added. 

The NRCC said the protests that shut down Republicans’ town hall meetings were “manufactured productions.” Fox News Digital reported last month about the coordinated effort by progressive groups protesting the Department of Government Efficiency. 

MEET THE FAR-LEFT GROUPS FUNDING ANTI-DOGE PROTESTS AT GOP OFFICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

MoveOn.org, which has accepted millions of dollars from billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Policy Center, announced in a press release last month that it was mobilizing resources as part of a “Congress Works for Us, Not Musk” initiative “aimed at pressuring lawmakers to fight back against the Trump-Musk agenda” at Republican town halls and offices. 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Trump called the protesters who shut down Republican town halls “professionals” and “paid troublemakers.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., center, joined from left by Rep. Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

“Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings. It is all part of the game for the Democrats, but just like our big LANDSLIDE ELECTION, it’s not going to work for them!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

In addition to the mask guidance, the flier for next Friday’s event with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez includes typical safety precautions for large public events, including a request for anyone not feeling well to stay home.

“Please note: no bags, signs, or firearms are allowed. Masks are advised for all attendees of this event. Anyone experiencing a fever or other symptoms of COVID-19 is asked to stay home and not attend,” it says on the RSVP. 

People gather in support of continuing the school mask mandate outside the Loudon County Government Center prior to a Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday January 18, 2022, in Leesburg, VA. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ended their travel mask mandate on April 18, 2022. 

According to the CDC’s website, masks are still “recommended in indoor public transportation settings” and “people may choose to mask at any time.”

The website advises people who are at medium to high risk of getting very sick to wear a mask or “consider avoiding non-essential indoor activities in public where you could be exposed.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

While the CDC has maintained that masking can reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, other studies since the pandemic have brought into question the efficacy of wearing a mask. 

President Donald Trump accused former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice of transforming the agency into the “department of injustice,” as they sought to turn the U.S. into a “corrupt communist” country. 

“Our predecessors turned this Department of Justice into the Department of Injustice,” Trump said Friday at the Department of Justice. “But I stand before you today to declare that those days are over and they are never going to come back.” 

Trump has routinely blasted the Justice Department and the FBI since his first term for being corrupt, amid multiple investigations and lawsuits filed against him. The FBI investigated Trump and his 2016 campaign for alleged collusion with Russia, which ultimately found no evidence that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the election. 

More recently, Trump has come under legal scrutiny after former Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped former special counsel Jack Smith to conduct investigations into alleged efforts from Trump to overturn the election results in 2020, and Trump’s efforts to obtain allegedly classified materials at Mar-a-Lago following his first term as president. 

“They tried to turn America into a corrupt communist and third world country, but in the end, the thugs failed and the truth won,” Trump said. “Freedom won, justice won, democracy won. And above all, the American people won.” 

“There could be no more heinous betrayal of American values than to use the law to terrorize the innocent and reward the wicked,” Trump said. “And that’s what they were doing at a level that’s never been seen before. And it’s exactly what you saw with Joe Biden, Merrick Garland and their cronies to do the building over the last four years. They ripped what they’ve ripped down is incalculable.” 

A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch and David Spunt contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: A bipartisan group of lawmakers asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to nix Chile’s status on the visa waiver program (VWP) amid a major gang burglary risk.

Reps. Young Kim, Derek Tran, Dave Min and Mike Levin of California sent a letter to DHS asking that Chile be taken off the list, which allows citizens from certain countries to visit the U.S. for roughly three months without a visa, until steps are taken to ensure that people robbing homes and businesses after they come to the country are stopped. 

“We are concerned that the VWP continues to be exploited by South American Theft Groups (SATG) — a majority of whom originate from Chile. Known as ‘burglary tourism,’ certain eligible individuals travel to the U.S. through the VWP for the purpose of committing residential and commercial robberies before returning to their country of origin,” states the letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. 

‘NEEDS TO RESIGN’: BLUE STATE BLASTED FOR ASKING FOR LOAN AMID SKYROCKETING IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE COSTS

A sailboat cruises through Newport Harbor, California, passing Balboa Fun Zone’s Ferris Wheel and a panoramic view of the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains, on March 2, 2023. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“In addition to having an impact on familial communities, SATGs continue to victimize Orange County companies and entrepreneurs, placing a burden on our local police departments, already beset by a lack of resources and a staffing deficit,” the letter continued.

“In 2024, there were 59 residential burglaries suspected of being committed by SATGs in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Southeast Patrol Area. Given the threat to public safety, we believe immediate action must be taken.”

The practice of “burglary tourism” has become a relatively common occurrence in communities throughout the country, including affluent areas such as Orange County, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona. 

Even top athletes such as Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow have become theft victims. 

CHILEAN MIGRANT GANGS TERRORIZE AMERICANS WITH HOME INVASIONS: WHAT TO KNOW

Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., flanked by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., left, and Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, speaks during a roundtable discussion about Chile’s continued status as a Visa Waiver Program Country in Santa Ana, California, on June 16, 2023. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

A previous letter was sent by Kim, Levin and Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., asking the Biden administration to take similar action in June 2023, warning that the SATGs will sometimes “sell stolen goods online and launder money through Chinese crime syndicates.”

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer asked Chile to lose its visa waiver program privileges last month on “FOX & Friends.”

GANG OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TARGET HIGH-END PHOENIX-AREA HOMES IN BURGLARIES, AUTHORITIES SAY

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer speaks during a news conference at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in Santa Ana, California, on Aug. 24, 2023. (Mark Rightmire/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

“Every other South American country that has participated in the past has been kicked out of the program for sending their criminals to the United States of America,” Spitzer said at the time. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“These Chileans have been coming here for years,” he said. “They’re going to Orlando, Florida, where Disney World is. They’re coming to Orange County, California, where Disneyland is. And they’re not here to visit the happiest place on Earth — they’re here to burglarize,” he added.

Southern American gangs, including the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua, have been under heightened scrutiny under the Trump administration, as many groups like them have now been designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

The Department of Defense has dissolved its Office of Net Acquisition – a think tank-like arm of the Pentagon that Republicans have claimed was involved in the Trump-Russia investigation.

Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said civilian employees within the office would be “reassigned to mission-critical roles” as the DOD established a plan to rebuild the office “in alignment with the Department’s strategic priorities.” 

The office is meant to provide long-term strategic analysis within DOD, but it has become a target of Republicans who claim it has engaged in “projects unrelated to its mission.”

“Praise the Lord. This wise move saves American taxpayers over 20 million dollars a year,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a statement. 

PENTAGON CALLS MARK MILLEY ‘CORPULENT’ AS IT KICKS OFF REVIEW OF PHYSICAL FITNESS AND GROOMING STANDARDS

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shuttered the Office of Net Acquisition on Thursday. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)

He called the office “wasteful and ineffective.”

The office in recent years has been focused on strategizing a potential war with China. It championed a strategy known as “AirSea Battle,” where a blinding campaign against the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of stealth bombers and submarines would take out China’s long-range surveillance before a naval assault. 

But Grassley has for years scrutinized ONA’s contracting practices. 

ONA has failed to produce classified net assessments for years, with whistleblowing analyst Adam Lovinger once complaining in emails to Director James Baker that the office seemed to attract overpriced academic-style papers instead of classified net assessments. 

“On the issue of quality, more than once I have heard our contractor studies labeled ‘derivative,’ ’college-level,’ and based heavily on secondary sources,” Lovinger wrote in a September 2016 email. “One of our contractor studies was literally cut and pasted from a World Bank report.”

Lovinger had complained about questionable government contracts awarded to Stefan Halper, an FBI informant who spied on the Trump campaign in 2016.

A DOD inspector general’s report later found that Halper had failed to properly document the research he did as a contractor on four studies valued at $1 million. The four contracts, spanning from 2012 to 2016, were meant to encompass relations between the U.S., Russia, China and India.

SECRETARY HEGSETH SAYS THE DOD DOES NOT DO ‘CLIMATE CHANGE CRAP’

An ONA contractor had contact with former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

The report found that Halper had not provided proof of any meetings he had or locations he had visited as part of his studies. 

“ONA personnel could not provide us any evidence that Professor Halper visited any of these locations, established an advisory group, or met with any of the specific people listed in the statement of work.”

For a study on what China relations could look like in 2030, Halper had proposed travel to London and Tokyo. 

ONA contractor Stefan Halper also had contact with Carter Page. (Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin)

“The contract was fixed price based on the acceptance of the deliverables and did not require Professor Halper to submit travel receipts. ONA personnel could not provide documentation that Professor Halper traveled for this contract.”

Contracts show that Halper listed a Russian intelligence official as a consultant for an ONA project, the same intelligence official who was listed as a source in the Trump dossier used to spy on Carter Page. He was in contact with Page and former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, “raising questions about whether Halper used U.S. taxpayer dollars to seek connections with Trump campaign officials,” according to Grassley. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Halper was also a confidential human source for the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections who recorded conversations with officials from the campaign. 

The senator claims that ONA has stonewalled on his inquiries about Halper’s relations to the Trump-Russia probe. 

Senator Jack Reed, D-R.I., top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, called the office’s closing “shortsighted,” adding that it would “undermine our ability to prepare for future conflicts.” 

A North Carolina Republican Congressman’s town hall event grew heated after a man who identified himself as a veteran stood up and started shouting at him, yelling “you don’t give a f— about me!” before being escorted away by police. 

The outburst unfolded Thursday night at a college auditorium in Asheville during a gathering hosted by Rep. Chuck Edwards, who serves the state’s 11th District. 

“In my view, the debt crisis has been largely ignored far too long and the time is now to fix how Washington works. To that end, I was proud to vote recently for the House budget resolution which provides the framework,” Edwards was heard telling the audience before being interrupted by boos and jeers. He then said, “And you wonder why folks don’t want to do these town halls.” 

Moments later, a man in the audience started shouting at Edwards, saying “You have nothing to say but lies. You’re lying. I’m a veteran, and you don’t give a f— about me!”  

DEMOCRAT LEADER SWINGS THROUGH GOP-HELD DISTRICTS AFTER ‘CLOWN SHOW PROTESTS’ HALTED TOWN HALLS 

A man who identified himself as a veteran shouts at Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., as members of law enforcement escort him out of the building during a congressional town hall meeting on Thursday in Asheville, N.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

“You don’t get to take away our rights” the man continued to shout. “You don’t get to do this to us!” 

The audience in the room applauded as the man was removed from the room by law enforcement. 

“You f—— touch me again and I’ll lay you the f— out!” the man said before exiting the area. 

Edwards later said on X that he had a “lively town hall with my constituents in Asheville.” 

DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR SAYS NEWSOM SHOULDN’T HAVE HOSTED BANNON ON PODCAST 

Rep. Edwards speaks to the crowd during the town hall event in Asheville, N.C., on Thursday night. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Around 300 people attended the 1.5-hour long event, where Edwards answered questions on topics such as cuts orchestrated by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to the Associated Press. 

“Do you support the annexation of Canada and/or Greenland? And this is a yes or no question, I don’t want you to wander off into the woods, I don’t want to hear about your latest week in your office,” Edwards was asked by one audience member, to which he replied “the short answer to that is no.” 

Last week, President Donald Trump said “Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings” and “It is all part of the game for the Democrats.” 

A man shouts at Rep. Chuck Edwards during the event. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“We may not agree on every issue, but hearing the concerns of Western North Carolinians and answering your questions will continue to be a priority of mine,” Edwards said. 

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., wants federal agents caught destroying or concealing government documents to be eligible for a life sentence in prison.

Luna, who is leading a task force on the declassification of government records, is introducing a new bill called the Stopping High-level Record Elimination and Destruction (SHRED) Act of 2025.

It would levy a mandatory sentence of 20 years to life for any government official or employee of the Department of Justice (DOJ) found to have concealed, removed, or mutilated federal records, according to bill text previewed by Fox News Digital.

Federal law currently dictates that anyone found knowingly destroying, falsifying, or obstructing government records “with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States” is eligible for a fine or up to 20 years in prison.

‘TIPPING THE SCALES’: HOUSE GOP LEADERS RIP ACTBLUE AFTER DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT HIT WITH SUBPOENA

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has been reaching out to Attorney General Pam Bondi for information on Jeffrey Epstein. (AP Photo/Getty Images)

Any custodian of public records found to be destroying or concealing those records could be fined up to $2,000 or face up to three years in prison, or both.

Luna’s push for increased penalties comes amid her continued standoff with the Trump administration over the declassification of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy Jr., among others.

Trump officials like Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have repeatedly vowed to lead with transparency, including on the subjects of Epstein and Kennedy.

Luna is also looking for avenues to declassify documents from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. (Getty Images)

However, Luna told Fox News Digital earlier this week that she had not had significant communications with the DOJ about her task force matters.

“The DOJ has not been really responsive,” she said Tuesday. “Even if they are, you know, conducting a criminal investigation, you should probably pick up the phone and call us, and not talk about it on the news.”

GOPERS PRESS FOR THE RELEASE OF JFK, EPSTEIN FILES: HERE’S WHY THEY’RE NOT OUT

Conservative influencer Benny Johnson reported on whistleblower allegations within the last month that rank-and-file agents within the FBI were destroying documents in a bid to block Patel’s work

Meanwhile, there has been a tidal wave of pressure from the right for Bondi and Patel to declassify documents about Epstein. An initial round of information, first released to conservative influencers at the White House, was blasted for containing no meaningful evidence implicating anyone in the deceased pedophile’s crimes.

Bondi told Fox News host Mark Levin earlier this month that she was misled on the Epstein documents, and that she was alerted after that initial release to the Southern District of New York “sitting on thousands of pages of documents” that she was not in possession of.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

She said Americans would see “the full Epstein files,” adding, “We will have it in our possession. We will redact it, of course, to protect grand jury information and confidential witnesses, but American people have a right to know.”

The DOJ was not able to immediately return a request for comment by Fox News Digital.

Democrats pounced on President Donald Trump’s purchase of a red Tesla on Tuesday — even though former President Joe Biden similarly paraded a Jeep Wrangler at the White House in 2021. 

Trump flaunted the vehicle on the White House’s South Lawn with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is also heading up the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as Tesla’s stock floundered earlier in the week. The share price rose following the White House event.

Democrats decried the move, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee labeled the Trump administration the “most corrupt administration in American history.” 

But Biden also conducted a similar event at the White House in August 2021, when he drove an electric Jeep Wrangler on the White House South Lawn as part of a meeting with top executives from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. 

That event corresponded with Biden signing an executive order aiming for zero-emission vehicles manufactured in the U.S. to make up half of its vehicle production by the end of the decade. 

TRUMP BUYS RED TESLA MODEL S AT WHITE HOUSE ALONGSIDE ELON MUSK: ‘I LIKE SIGNING A CHECK!’

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

Musk and Tesla weren’t invited to Biden’s 2021 electic vehicle event. Musk had called out the Biden administration in a post on X at the time, saying, “Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn’t invited.” 

When asked at the time why the White House had excluded Tesla, the largest electric vehicle maker in the U.S., White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggested that Tesla would receive an invitation for future events. 

“Well, we of course welcome the efforts of automakers who recognize the potential of an electric vehicle future and support efforts that will help reach the President’s goal, and certainly Tesla is one of those companies,” Psaki said in August 2021. “I would not expect this is the last time we talk about clean cars and the move toward electric vehicles, and we look forward to having a range of partners in that effort.”

Meanwhile, the Biden’s administration’s refusal to meet with Musk served as the catalyst for Musk’s departure from the Democratic Party, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal reported in July 2024 that Musk had voted for Biden in 2020 and had reached out to the Biden White House following his inauguration, but the White House had refused to speak with him. 

The Journal reported that the Biden White House had hesitated to take Musk up on the offer due to concerns that ties to him would upset the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, since Tesla is the only non-union automaker in the U.S. 

Psaki said that for the electic vehicle event it had selected the “three largest employers of the United Auto Workers, so I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.”

TESLA REBOUNDS AFTER TRUMP DEFENDS MUSK, BRINGS EVS TO WHITE HOUSE

Then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki signaled that Tesla would be invited to other electric vehicle events in the future.  (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)

Others criticized Trump for his Tuesday Tesla show. “I’m sure all the people losing their retirement, jobs, and health care because of Trump are glad to see the White House turned into a car dealership for the richest man on the planet,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in an X post.

Fox Business’ Breck Dumma contributed to this report. 

People jeered Vice President JD Vance at the Kennedy Center on Thursday night.

“Boos for JD Vance as he enters tonight’s concert at the Kennedy Center,” Global Affairs correspondent for The Guardian Andrew Roth tweeted when sharing a video of the episode on Thursday evening.

Vance, seated next to his wife Usha, waved from a balcony amid the cacophony.

BILL MAHER RIPS LEFT’S ‘EXCLUSIONARY ATTITUDE’ AS ‘HAMILTON’ CANCELS SHOWS AT TRUMP-BACKED KENNEDY CENTER

Vice President JD Vance during a bilateral meeting with Taoiseach Micheal Martin ahead of the White House St Patrick’s Day reception in Washington DC, as part of his week-long visit to the U.S. (Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images)

Presidential Envoy for Special Missions Richard Grenell, who is serving in a leadership post with the Kennedy Center, suggested that people on the political left are “intolerant.”

“The intolerant Left are radicals who can’t even sit in the same room with people that don’t vote like they do. What has happened to today’s Democrats? They are so intolerant,” he declared when commenting on the episode.

Fox News Digital reached out to Vance’s team to request comment on Friday, but no comment was provided.

KENNEDY CENTER DIRECTOR ENCOURAGES REPUBLICAN ATTENDANCE, SAYS ‘EVERYONE IS WELCOME’

The event was a National Symphony Orchestra concert, reports indicate.

Vance, the author of the book “Hillbilly Elegy,” previously noted that he was shocked to find out that people listen to classical music for enjoyment.

“Elites use different words, eat different foods, listen to different music — I was astonished when I learned that people listened to classical music for pleasure — and generally occupy different worlds from America’s poor,” Vance said, according to The New York Times.

KENNEDY CENTER SHAKE-UP WILL USHER IN ‘GOLDEN AGE OF THE ARTS’ UNDER TRUMP, RIC GRENELL PREVIEWS

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

President Donald Trump announced a shakeup of Kennedy Center leadership last month.

“I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture. We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!” the president declared in part of a Truth Social post in February.

He later announced that Grenell would serve as interim executive director.

A Kennedy Center press release stated, “the Board elected President of the United States Donald J. Trump as Kennedy Center Board Chair, replacing former Chair David M. Rubenstein,” and “terminated Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter’s contract and announced Richard Grenell as interim Kennedy Center President.”

The press release also noted that more than a dozen new Kennedy Center Board of Trustee members were announced, including Usha Vance, Trump, and others. 

Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, will face questions in front of the Senate Committee on Finance Friday morning. 

Following the hearing, the committee will schedule a vote to send Oz’s nomination to the full Senate, where approval is likely considering the Republican majority.

If confirmed, Oz would be in charge of nearly $1.5 trillion in federal healthcare spending. Medicare, a federal healthcare program for seniors aged 65 and up, currently provides coverage for about 65 million Americans, according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy. Medicaid, which assists people with low incomes, covers roughly 72 million Americans, according to Medicaid.gov.

3 THINGS DR. OZ CAN DO AS CMS ADMINISTRATOR TO HELP FIX AMERICAN HEALTH CARE

Former GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz hosts a safer streets community discussion at Galdos Catering and Entertainment on Oct. 13, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

A former heart surgeon who saw his fame rise through his appearances on daytime TV and 13 seasons of “The Dr Oz Show,” Oz later transitioned into politics, launching an unsuccessful bid for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat in 2022. He ultimately lost to John Fetterman, then the state’s lieutenant governor. Oz graduated from Harvard, and received medical and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Oz is expected to be grilled by Democrats during the hearing over his financial ties to a myriad of healthcare-related companies, several of which pose potential conflicts of interest for the potential CMS director.

Oz has committed to divesting many of his financial interests that pose the most obvious risk of impropriety, such as his hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock in United Health Group, a major private health insurer. He also said, if confirmed, he would forfeit the nearly $25 million in stock earnings he obtained as an advisor for a company selling health and beauty supplements.

CALIFORNIA EXPLOITING MEDICAID ‘LOOPHOLE’ TO PAY BILLIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS’ HEALTHCARE, STUDY SAYS

President Donald Trump stands behind Mehmet Oz, then-Republican Senate candidate for Pennsylvania, during a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, US, on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. (Photographer: Michelle Gustafson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

As the administrator of CMS, Oz would make decisions related to how the government covers procedures, hospital stays and medication within the federal healthcare programs, as well as the reimbursement rates at which healthcare providers get paid for their services. 

On Thursday, Trump’s pick to lead the NIH and FDA, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Dr. Marty Makary, respectively, were approved in committee and will now face impending votes by the full Senate.