Donald Trump Poll News

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) account on X shared eyebrow-raising findings from a survey of unemployment insurance claims.

The “initial survey of Unemployment Insurance claims since 2020” found that thousands of people with future birthdates claimed benefits.

The survey also indicated that thousands of supposedly very young and very old people had claimed benefits.

ELON MUSK SCRAPS WITH CHUCK SCHUMER, SUGGESTING THE SENATOR PROFITS FROM GOVERNMENT FRAUD

Elon Musk walks to the White House after landing in Marine One on the South Lawn with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) on March 9, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

The DOGE post states that the survey found, “24.5k people over 115 years old claimed $59M in benefits,” “28k people between 1 and 5 years old claimed $254M in benefits,” and “9.7k people with birth dates over 15 years in the future claimed $69M in benefits.”

“In one case, someone with a birthday in 2154 claimed $41k,” the post also notes.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Labor for comment early on Thursday morning, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

DOGE ENDS 108 ‘WASTEFUL’ CONTRACTS, INCLUDING FOR AN ‘EXECUTIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM’

“Your tax dollars were going to pay fraudulent unemployment claims for fake people born in the future! This is so crazy that I had to read it several times before it sank in,” Elon Musk tweeted.

Musk is spearheading the DOGE effort to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.

“The oldest living American is 114 years old, so it is safe to say that anyone 115 or older is collecting ‘unemployment’ due to being dead. There was no sanity check for impossibly young or impossibly old people for unemployment insurance,” he noted in another post.

AMERICANS GRADE DOGE AND ELON MUSK’S EFFORTS WITHIN THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

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Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah replied to Musk, writing, “Reckless incompetence.”

Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina, who has been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than a year, is on her way back to the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed early Thursday.

Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina, who has been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than a year, is on her way back to the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed early Thursday. (Eleonora Srebroski/Handout/Reuters)

“American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release. @POTUS will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans,” Rubio wrote on X.

Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in a Russian prison after donating about $50 to a Ukrainian charity in early 2024.

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The Wall Street Journal reported that Karelina was released in exchange for the release of Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the U.S. on charges of exporting sensitive microelectronics.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was tapped to serve as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), replacing FBI Director Kash Patel, who was appointed to the role in February, according to a U.S. defense official.

Driscoll was notified of the appointment on Wednesday while traveling in Europe, the defense official told Fox News.

He will fulfill both roles, continuing to serve as the Army secretary while overseeing the ATF.

DEMOCRATS PRESS ARMY SECRETARY NOMINEE IF ‘READINESS’ AFFECTED BY SOUTHERN BORDER DEPLOYMENTS

Daniel Driscoll testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be Army secretary, on Capitol Hill, Jan. 30. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

A source close to Patel told Fox News Digital that the ATF was taken off his plate because he wanted to focus on the bureau.

“It was never supposed to be a long-term thing. He was happy to serve, of course, but his job is the director of the FBI,” the source said.

Hailing from North Carolina, Driscoll, an Army veteran and venture capitalist, was chosen by Trump to serve as secretary of the Army. Driscoll, who is a senior advisor to Vice President JD Vance, fought with the 10th Mountain Division as a cavalry scout platoon leader in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL SWORN IN AS ACTING ATF CHIEF, VISITS DC HQ

Kash Patel testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jan. 30, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Patel was sworn in to lead the ATF days after taking an oath to head the FBI following a contentious confirmation process in which Democrats raised alarms about his lack of management experience, among other claims. 

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President Donald Trump hasn’t made clear what his plans are for the ATF, which has long been a target for congressional Republicans. The agency is charged with enforcing the nation’s laws with respect to firearms, explosives and arson. 

It’s also charged with licensing federal firearms dealers, tracing guns used in crimes and analyzing intelligence in shooting investigations.

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

Two federal judges in Texas and New York on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration‘s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals — the latest in a high-profile legal saga centered on the administration’s use of a wartime immigration law to immediately deport certain migrants.

Plaintiffs filed two separate lawsuits asking federal judges in Brownsville, Texas, and Orange County, New York, to grant a temporary restraining order blocking their removals under the 1798 wartime immigration law that was reviewed by the Supreme Court just days earlier.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., in Brownsville granted a temporary restraining order filed on behalf of three Venezuelan nationals. The order temporarily blocks their removal under the AEA, as well as the removal of “any other person that Respondents claim are subject to removal under the Proclamation” from the district’s El Valle Detention Center, according to the text of his ruling.

Rodriguez, a Trump appointee, sided with plaintiffs’ contention that allowing the law to be used for their deportations would likely cause “immediate and irreparable injury to the removed individuals,” whom he said would likely be “unable to seek habeas relief.”

JUDGE BOASBERG POISED TO HOLD TRUMP ADMIN IN CONTEMPT, TAKES DOWN NAMES OF DHS OFFICIALS: ‘PRETTY SKETCHY’

Prison officers stand guard a cell block at the maximum security penitentiary CECOT (Center for the Compulsory Housing of Terrorism) in Tecoluca, San Vicente, El Salvador, on Friday. (Alex Peña/Getty Images)

In addition, he said, the “substantial likelihood exists that the individual could not be returned to the United States” if deported.

Rodriguez said he will hear from both parties in court again Friday to consider whether to continue extending the 14-day emergency order.

In the New York case filed in Manhattan federal court, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein — a Clinton appointee — sided with two Venezuelan nationals whose attorneys argued they likely wouldn’t have time to seek the habeas relief granted by the Supreme Court in its emergency ruling.

Venezuelan migrants walk following their arrival on a flight after being deported from the U.S. in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 24.  (Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

Both clients, “and others similarly situated to them,” are now “all at imminent risk of removal” by the Trump administration without proper notice, lawyers said in the filing. 

Hellerstein’s ruling, unlike that of the federal judge in Texas, stopped short of directly addressing whether the Alien Enemies Act is an appropriate legal basis for deporting the two individuals, though it temporarily blocks the law from being used to remove them.

The updates follow a 5–4 Supreme Court ruling on Monday that lifted a lower court’s restraining order, allowing the Trump administration to temporarily resume use of the Alien Enemies Act — albeit with new due process protections for migrants.

JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM FIRING FEDERAL PROBATIONARY WORKERS

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The high court said individuals slated for deportation must have the opportunity to challenge their removal, with sufficient time to do so in a U.S. court.

But the proceedings must take place in the federal jurisdictions where detainees are held — raising concerns among immigration advocates, who note that these cases are often difficult to bring individually and typically occur in court districts where most migrants are detained.

“Whether or not you’re a gang member, the Alien Enemies Act cannot be used under these circumstances,” lawyers for the ACLU said in an earlier court filing, noting that the Alien Enemies Act “is a military authority.”

“It is not supposed to be used in peacetime against a gang,” they said.

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In granting the temporary restraining order, Rodriguez, the Trump appointee, agreed with the plaintiffs’ argument that “maintaining the status quo is required to afford the parties the ability to develop a fuller record for the Court to consider the request for a preliminary injunction and other forms of relief,” and to “prevent the immediate and irreparable injury that may occur with the immediate removal of any Venezuelan alien subject to the Proclamation.”

“Furthermore, if the United States erroneously removed an individual to another country based on the Proclamation, a substantial likelihood exists that the individual could not be returned to the United States,” he said.

Lawyers for the Trump administration had urged the court to vacate the lower court ruling, arguing in a Supreme Court filing that the lower court orders “rebuffed” their immigration agenda, including their ability “to protect the Nation against foreign terrorist organizations and risk debilitating effects for delicate foreign negotiations.”

Legislation setting the stage for Republicans to pass a broad swath of President Donald Trump’s agenda survived an important hurdle on Wednesday afternoon.

House GOP lawmakers voted to allow for debate on the legislation, known as a “rule vote,” a framework that serves as one of the first steps in the budget reconciliation process.

It’s still unclear whether House Republicans have enough support to pass the legislation itself, though GOP leaders have indicated they’re moving full steam ahead in a matter of hours.

“I think we can get this job done. I understand the holdouts. I mean, their concerns are real. They really want to have true budget cuts and to change the debt trajectory that the country is on,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters ahead of the first vote.

HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR URGES JOHNSON TO CHANGE COURSE ON SENATE VERSION OF TRUMP BUDGET BILL

President Donald Trump walks from the Oval Office to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House en route to Florida on March 28. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The legislation advanced through the procedural hurdle in a narrow 216 to 215 vote, with three Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.; Victoria Spartz, R-Ind.; and Mike Turner, R-Ohio — voting with Democrats to block it.

Trump has directed Republicans to work on “one big, beautiful bill” to advance his agenda on border security, defense, energy and taxes.

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

Rule votes are traditionally not indicators of a bill’s final passage, and they generally fall along party lines. 

Several Republicans who voted to allow debate on the measure have said they will still oppose its final passage.

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

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., leaves the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., after the last votes of the week on April 20, 2023. (Getty Images )

The House passed its own version of the reconciliation framework earlier this year, while the Senate passed an amended version last week. House GOP leaders now believe that voting on the Senate’s plan will allow Republicans to enter the next step of crafting policy.

But fiscal hawks have raised concerns about the differences in minimum mandatory spending cuts, which they hope will offset the cost of new federal investments and start a path to reducing the deficit.

The Senate’s version calls for at least $4 billion in spending cuts, while the House baseline begins at $1.5 trillion — a significant gap.

Conservatives have demanded extra guarantees from the Senate GOP that it is committed to pursuing deeper spending cuts in line with the House package.

“They don’t have a plan that I’ve seen. So until I see that, I’m a no,” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. 

SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 11. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Trump himself worked to persuade holdouts both in a smaller-scale White House meeting on Tuesday and in public remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee.

He also fired off multiple Truth Social posts pushing House Republicans to support the measure, even as conservatives argue it would not go far enough in fulfilling Trump’s agenda.

“Republicans, it is more important now, than ever, that we pass THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL. The USA will Soar like never before!!!” one of the posts read.

President Donald Trump told reporters that if Iran does not give up its nuclear weapons program, military action led by Israel is a real possibility, adding he has a deadline in mind for when the two countries must come to an agreement.

The U.S. and Iran are expected to hold negotiations Saturday in Oman as the Trump administration continues to try to rein in the country’s nuclear program, threatening “great danger” if the two sides fail to come to an agreement. 

Trump told reporters from the Oval Office Wednesday he did have a deadline in mind for when the talks must culminate in an agreed-upon solution, but the president did not go into details about the nature of the timeline.

TIMELINE IS RUNNING OUT TO STOP IRAN FROM MAKING NUCLEAR BOMB: ‘DANGEROUS TERRITORY’

Iran’s domestically built centrifuges are displayed in an exhibition of the country’s nuclear achievements in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 8, 2023.  (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

“We have a little time, but we don’t have much time, because we’re not going to let them have a nuclear weapon. We can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.” Trump said when pressed on details about his potential timeline. “I’m not asking for much. I just — I don’t — they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

When asked about the potential for military action if Iran does not make a deal on their nuclear weapons, Trump said “Absolutely.” 

“If it requires military, we’re going to have military,” the president told reporters. “Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. They’ll be the leader of that. But nobody leads us. We do what we want to do.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Donald Trump (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA; Handout via Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo)

TRUMP SAYS US WILL DEAL ‘DIRECTLY’ WITH IRAN IN HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON SATURDAY

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed support for Iran’s complete denuclearization. During a visit to the White House, he expressed support for a deal similar to the one Libya sealed with the international community in 2003. The country gave up its entire nuclear arsenal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, talks to President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House April 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

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“Whatever happens, we have to make sure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said during the meeting.

The talks with Iran scheduled for Saturday in Oman have been characterized as “direct” talks by Trump, but Iran’s foreign leaders have disputed that assertion, describing the talks as “indirect.” Iran’s leaders have said if the talks go well Saturday, they would be open to further direct negotiations with the U.S. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is delaying a key vote on legislation aimed at advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda in the face of a likely rebellion on Wednesday evening.

It comes as fiscal hawks in the lower chamber have raised alarms at the Senate’s version of the plan, which guarantees far fewer spending cuts than the House’s initial offering.

Johnson told reporters he would aim to hold the vote Thursday, the last scheduled day in session for House lawmakers before a two-week recess. He added, however, that lawmakers could be kept in session next week if needed to pass the legislation.

“I don’t think we’ll have a vote on this tonight, but probably in the morning,” the speaker said. “We want everybody to have a high degree of comfort about what is happening here, and we have a small subset of members who weren’t totally satisfied with the product as it stands. So we’re going to we’re going to talk about maybe going to conference with the Senate or add an amendment, but we’re going to make that decision.”

HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR URGES JOHNSON TO CHANGE COURSE ON SENATE VERSION OF TRUMP BUDGET BILL

A split of Mike Johnson and Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

He also said there were multiple ways the House could move forward and Republicans would look at each one. Johnson said, “Everything is moving along just fine. We have a little bit of room here to work, and we’re going to use that.”

The House floor was paralyzed for over an hour during an earlier unrelated vote as Johnson met with Republican holdouts behind closed doors.

Two sources in the room said the holdouts did not speak with Trump, though it’s not clear if he called people individually.

Outside that room, in the cavernous House chamber, lawmakers began filtering out or impatiently pacing as time went by with little information.

Democrats, meanwhile, began calling for Republican leaders to close the lingering vote.

Tensions were high for those GOP lawmakers who remained on the House floor, Fox News Digital was told – and much of that frustration is aimed at Johnson.

“I think he’s quickly losing faith from the rest of us. I mean, he kept the entire conference out on the floor for 80 minutes while you play grab-a– with these people,” one House Republican fumed. “And all day it was like, ‘Oh, we’re going to get this done.'”

That House Republican said, “All the chatter we were hearing was [holdouts were] down to single digits. But 17, 20 people were in that room. So clearly there was a much bigger problem than they were letting on all day.”

The gap between the House and Senate versions is significant; the House version that passed in late February calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, while the Senate’s plan mandates at least $4 billion.

Some conservatives are also wary of congressional leaders looking to use the current policy baseline to factor the total amount of dollars the bill will add to the federal deficit. The current policy baseline allows lawmakers to essentially zero out the cost of extending Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) because they are already in effect.

“We’ve got to have something more substantive out of the Senate. If you were going to sell your house, and I offered you a third of the price, you would laugh,” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., one of the earliest holdouts, told reporters on Wednesday.

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

Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune of South Dakota speaks to reporters, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, after a Senate policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump has directed Republicans to work on “one big, beautiful bill” to advance his agenda on border security, defense, energy and taxes.

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

The first step traditionally involves both chambers of Congress passing an identical “framework” with instructions for relevant committees to hash out policy priorities in line with the spending levels in the initial legislation.

The House passed its own version of the reconciliation framework earlier this year, while the Senate passed an amended version last week. House GOP leaders now believe that voting on the Senate’s plan will allow Republicans to enter the next step of crafting policy.

“Why does President Trump call it one big, beautiful bill? Because it does a lot of critically important things, all in one bill, that help get this country back on a strong footing. And what else it does is it produces incredibly needed savings,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said during debate on the bill.

The legislation as laid out would add more money for border security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as some new funding for defense. 

Republicans are also looking to repeal significant portions of former President Joe Biden’s green energy policies, and institute new Trump policies like eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages.

But House conservatives had demanded added assurances from the Senate to show they are serious about cutting spending.

U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., speaks to reporters following a House Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 27, 2023 in Washington, D.C.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The House and Senate must pass identical versions of the final bill before it can get to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

They must do so before the end of this year, when Trump’s TCJA tax cuts expire – potentially raising taxes on millions of Americans.

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Trump himself worked to persuade holdouts both in a smaller-scale White House meeting on Tuesday and in public remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee.

He also fired off multiple Truth Social posts pushing House Republicans to support the measure, even as conservatives argued it would not go far enough in fulfilling his own agenda.

“Republicans, it is more important now, than ever, that we pass THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL. The USA will Soar like never before!!!” one of the posts read.

It was a split screen Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill.

One eye on the markets. The other eye on the Senate testimony of U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

“Do you think your remarks will alter the markets in any way?” yours truly asked Greer as he walked to the hearing room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

“I’m just going to respond to the senators. Be candid as I can be,” replied Greer.

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

The public has heard a lot about tariffs from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

They’ve heard a lot about tariffs from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

They’ve heard even more about tariffs from White House advisor Peter Navarro.

But until Tuesday morning, there was little said about tariffs from the man in charge of the administration’s trade policy: Jamieson Greer.

All eyes were on two things Tuesday morning — the stock market and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. (AP/Getty Images)

“The president’s strategy is already bearing fruit,” Greer testified. “Nearly 50 countries have approached me personally to discuss the president’s new policy and explore how to achieve reciprocity.”

Democrats were dubious about Greer’s suggestion. Yes, nations may be willing to negotiate. But carving out sophisticated trade agreements with nations just sanctioned by the U.S. takes time.

“You’re telling us you have nearly 50 countries coming to you, approaching you to enter into negotiation, and you think that you can do that overnight?” asked Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. “You’re pretty superhuman here, if that’s the case.”

TRUMP TRADE CHIEF FACES HOUSE GRILLING ON TARIFFS

Greer tangled with Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.

“Even if inflation hits Americans’ pocketbooks at 10% because of these tariffs, then the Trump administration is still going to go charging ahead?” asked Hassan.

“Senator, your hypotheticals are not consistent with the history we have seen with tariffs,” Greer replied.

Greer got the third degree from members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

“My hypotheticals are based on the fact that a lot of Americans are looking at their 401(k)’s today and wondering how much of a lifestyle change they are going to have to have or whether they’re going to be able to retire when they plan to,” Hassan shot back. “This has been a haphazard, incompetent effort. And it’s showing.”

After rough showings, the markets actually shot up at the opening bell Tuesday before Greer spoke. It didn’t appear that anything Greer told senators resonated positively or negatively on Wall Street. But lawmakers were well attuned to the market fluctuations. 

Especially as they started to hear from constituents.

TRUMP SAYS HE’LL ‘TAKE A LOOK’ AT EXEMPTING SOME LARGER US COMPANIES HIT ESPECIALLY HARD BY TARIFFS

Outside the hearing room, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., offered one of his signature Bayou homilies to characterize the unfolding trade war.

“God created the world. But everything else is made in China,” said Kennedy.

“But senator, isn’t the bigger issue here the question of the uncertainty in the markets and rattling around?” I asked Kennedy.

“Well, there’s always uncertainty,” answered Kennedy.

“But this is a different type of uncertainty, though, Senator,” I countered.

“Is it going to have to have an impact on your capital markets? Well, yes. Duh. And it’s not fun. It’s very, very painful. Whether this will have a happy ending or a sad ending depends in large part what President Trump does next,” said Kennedy.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., acknowledged the fate of the market lies largely in the hands of President Trump and whatever his administration does next. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

And that’s the key to the entire enterprise. It doesn’t matter what Lutnick does. Or Bessent. Or Navarro. And not Greer. For better or worse, this is President Trump’s baby. Only he can move markets. And potentially trade deals. And that’s certainly what unfolded in recent days.

Democrats — and some Republicans — excoriated the president for unilaterally imposing the tariffs. Lawmakers asked the reasoning for imposing the tariffs. And they argued that the tariffs should have been an issue which came to Capitol Hill.

“Where was the consultation with Congress about this? Where is the homework? You know, Greek and Roman letters thrown on a plaque doesn’t mean a strategy that you’ve informed Congress on,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, asked. “And part of the question is, where’s the homework done by the administration to not misconstrue the authority that was given?”

SCHUMER SAYS TRUMP ‘FEELING THE HEAT’ AFTER RECIPROCAL TARIFF PAUSE

Cantwell may not have received a sufficient answer from the Trump administration on the rationale. But Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., answered the other part of the question about why the President cut Congress out of the loop.

“Let’s not pretend that this is anything other than the president exercising the statutory authority Congress has given him for decades,” said Hawley. “Because Congress didn’t want to do tariffs, they didn’t want to do trade, it was too hot. They wanted the president to hold the hot potato. So now you’ve got a President who’s happy to do that.”

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution declares that Congress has the “Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.”

“Let’s not pretend that this is anything other than the president exercising the statutory authority Congress has given him for decades,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said of Trump’s imposition of tariffs. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says the U.S. is a signatory to more than 14 total trade pacts. Congress has ratified several of those in recent years. That includes the USMCA. That’s a trade pact President Trump pushed – alongside former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in 2020 for the U.S., Mexico and Canada. That deal replaced NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, approved by Congress in 1993. Congress also greenlighted “CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, in 2005.

So, Congress has engaged in trade somewhat in recent decades. But maybe not as much as it should have.

Greer appeared for a second time on Capitol Hill Wednesday, testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee.

TRUMP PUSHES BACK ON ‘REBEL’ REPUBLICANS OVER TARIFFS: ‘YOU DON’T NEGOTIATE LIKE I NEGOTIATE’

“Any deal that you do, are you going to bring that to Congress for a vote?” asked Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.,

“We’ll do what the law requires. Some of it’s consultation. Some requires a vote. So we’ll follow the law,” replied Greer.

But DelBene pressed Greer on the president using emergency powers on the tariffs. She quoted from the statute.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., pressed Greer on the Trump administration’s leveraging of executive powers. (Reuters)

“It states, ‘The President, in every possible instance, shall consult with Congress before exercising any powers,’” said DelBene. “That didn’t happen.”

Greer said he called Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., and the top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass.

“I argue that we did not have that consultation,” said DelBene, who sits on the trade subcommittee.

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

But less than two hours later — with Greer still testifying — President Trump announced he was now pausing most tariffs for three months. But still imposing steep tariffs on China.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., was apoplectic.

“He announced it on a tweet?” an incredulous Horsford asked of Greer. “WTF? Who’s in charge?”

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., appeared beyond furious with the rollout of Trump’s tariff plan. (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Congressional Black Caucus Foundation)

“The president of United States is in charge,” Greer said.

“And what do you know about those details?” countered Horsford. “It looks like your boss just pulled the rug out from under you.”

Horsford later asked if what the President executed was “market manipulation.” Greer said it wasn’t.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS HE’D VOTE TO PROTECT TRUMP’S TARIFF PLAN, WORRIES WHITE HOUSE WILL STAND DOWN

So, when the hearing adjourned, yours truly and Nikole Killion of CBS pursued Greer to get more clarity on the president’s new strategy.

“Can you explain why you were caught flat-footed about the change in the trade policy? Were you aware of any of this?” I asked Greer before he stepped into an anteroom.

We resumed the quest in the hall.

“Were you not told about this?” I asked.

“Did you know before your testimony?” added Killion.

“I’ll just refer you to my testimony,” said Greer.

“Your testimony did not reflect what it was implemented during the hearing,” I followed up.

“I’ll just refer you to my testimony,” Greer repeated.

“But that’s inconsistent with the decision of the president,” I said.

I tried to get a few answers out of Greer after one of his hearings. He remained fairly mum on most of what he was asked. (FOX)

An aide to Greer then intervened.

“I think the ambassador was extremely clear in his testimony about what was going on, and the president could make the choice,” the aide interjected.

“Explain why you don’t think that this was market manipulation. You said it wasn’t,” I followed up.

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES READY TO OPPOSE SENATE GOP FRAMEWORK FOR TRUMP TAX CUT PACKAGE

“Were you aware that there would be a pause before you came here to Capitol Hill? Yes or no? Yes or No, sir?” Killion continued.

Greer then disappeared down a winding staircase in the Longworth House Office Building.

Let’s shift back to the Senate hearing on Tuesday with Greer.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who faces a potential uphill battle for re-election next year, was more blunt in his questioning of Greer, asking, “Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., could face a competitive re-election bid next year. He asked a pointed question to Greer.

“Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Tillis asked.

“Well, Senator, you can certainly always talk to me,” replied Greer.

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“So, if you own this decision, I’ll look to you to figure out if we’re going to be successful,” said Tillis. “If you don’t own the decision, I’m just trying to figure out who’s throat I get to choke if it’s wrong.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and leader of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should be demonized, in an apparent escalation of their feud. 

Walz was speaking at a town hall in Youngstown, Ohio, when he laid into Musk, whom he has sharply criticized before. He was talking about social media and the Democratic Party’s view on success when he brought up the billionaire tech mogul. 

“We’re creating a false narrative for them that everybody is super rich and has Lamborghinis and life is easy,” Walz told the crowd. “But that’s what we’re going to have to figure out in our society about social media and all those things.”

SUSPECTED TESLA ARSONISTS HIT WITH FEDERAL CHARGES IN ACTS OF ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM’: AG

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday “we should demonize” people like Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO. (Reuters)

“But I don’t think we should be the party that demonizes someone because they’re able to afford something,” he added. “What we should demonize is someone like Elon Musk and those people that do that. That’s different.”

Earlier, Walz said Democrats should be conveying a message that it’s “OK to be successful” and that success should be celebrated. 

“What my beef is, once you get successful, don’t be a greedy bastard and not pay your taxes,” he said. 

Walz, the former 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, and Musk have traded bards in recent weeks. 

The feud began last month when Walz joked that he regularly checks Tesla stock, which was down amid a string of vandalism incidents targeting the electric vehicle company. 

ELON MUSK IN ‘SHOCK’ OVER DEMS’ ALLEGED ‘HATRED AND VIOLENCE,’ LAMENTS ‘DERANGED’ ATTACKS ON TESLA PLANTS

Elon Musk and Tesla protest.  (Getty Images)

“On the iPhone, they’ve got that little stock app. I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day,” Walz said, referencing Tesla’s stock slump as he held up his iPhone during a Wisconsin town hall titled, “The People vs Musk.”

Musk responded by turning the tables on the Democratic governor with a diss about his 2024 election loss.

“Sometimes when I need a little boost, I look at the @JDVance portrait in the White House and thank the Lord,” Musk wrote in response to Walz’s remark.

The White House joined in on hitting back at Walz’s comment regarding the billionaire’s company.

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“When we need a little boost during the day at the White House, we walk around the corner from our office and admire these beautiful portraits,” Trump’s Rapid Response team wrote in a social media post.

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied the president’s move to implement a pause on his tariffs was the result of declines in the financial markets, which have been causing great concern for investors.

The comments came after the president issued a pause Wednesday for 75 different countries, which, according to the Trump administration, have shown a willingness to negotiate trade deals in good faith with the United States. Simultaneously, the Trump administration increased its tariff rates on Chinese goods to 125%, which came after China imposed tariffs of its own in response to Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff increase last week.  

“This was driven by the president’s strategy. He and I had a long talk on Saturday and this was his strategy all along,” Bessent responded when asked if the tariff pause was the result of market declines. The Treasury Secretary also cited an “imbalance” in the responses from various countries, particularly China, in regard to their willingness to negotiate new trade deals. 

TRUMP URGES AMERICANS TO ‘HANG TOUGH’ ON TARIFFS PLAN AS MARKETS TUMBLE

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied that President Trump’s tariff pause was a reaction to the ongoing financial market declines, telling reporters Wednesday that the pause was part of Trump’s strategy all along.  (GETTY IMAGES/FOX NEWS)

“It is just a processing problem,” Bessent said when asked if the market whiplash was a catalyst for the pause. “Each one of these solutions is going to be bespoke. It is going to take some time, and President Trump wants to be personally involved, so that’s why we are hitting the 90-day pause.”

Meanwhile, Bessent questioned claims from reporters that the bond market was “cratering” and said the information in front of him did not indicate as much. Trump, who also fielded questions Wednesday about the market volatility following his tariffs, similarly described the current bond market as “beautiful.” 

“I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy,” Trump told reporters Wednesday about his view on the market declines in relation to his tariffs. “[Markets] went from, you know, pretty moderate today, but over the last few days, it looked pretty glum, to, I guess, they say it was the biggest day in financial history. That’s a pretty big change.” 

“I think the word would be flexible,” Trump added. “You have to be flexible.”

WHITE HOUSE ADDRESSES RECESSION FEARS, CALLS MARKET VOLATILITY A ‘PERIOD OF TRANSITION’

A television broadcasts market news on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Friday, April 4, 2025. The S&P 500 slumped 5.97% on Friday, closing out its worst week since Covid, as investors continued to pull away from US equities after China escalated the trade war by retaliating against President Donald Trump’s tariffs.  (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Stocks did jump back up on Tuesday before sliding back down once again before the markets closed that evening. However, on Wednesday, as Trump made his announcement about the tariff pauses, stocks rallied again, with the S&P 500 seeing its best day since 2008, according to Market Watch.

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Over the weekend, the president told Americans concerned about the ongoing market volatility to “hang tough,” adding that his plan is already working with trillions of dollars already being poured into the U.S. economy. 

“HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic,” Trump wrote Saturday in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. “We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” 

The White House declined to comment for this story. 

The House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday to limit federal district judges’ ability to affect Trump administration policies on a national scale.

The No Rogue Rulings Act led by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., passed the House and limits district courts’ power to issue U.S.-wide injunctions, instead forcing them to focus their scope on the parties directly affected in most cases.

The Trump administration has faced more than 15 nationwide injunctions since the Republican commander-in-chief took office, targeting a wide range of President Donald Trump’s policies, from birthright citizenship reform to anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

Issa himself was confident the bill would pass, telling Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning, “We’ve got the votes.”

SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES

President Donald Trump, left, and U.S. Judge James Boasberg, right, are seen in a side-by-side split image (Getty Images)

He was less certain of the bill getting Democratic support, though he noted former Biden administration solicitor general Elizabeth Prelogar made her own complaints about district judges’ powers during the previous White House term.

“We’re hoping some people look at it on its merits rather than its politics,” Issa said.

Rep. Derek Schmidt, R-Kan., who has an amendment on the bill aimed at limiting plaintiffs’ ability to “judge shop” cases to favorable districts, told Fox News Digital before the vote, “A lot of things get called commonsense around here, but this one genuinely is.”

“The basic policy of trying to rein in the overuse of nationwide injunctions was supported by Democrats before. It’s supported by Republicans now, and I’m hoping [this vote will] be supported by both,” he said.

Issa attends the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, who, like Schmidt and Issa, is a House Judiciary Committee member, told Fox News Digital after the bill’s passage, “Many Democrat-appointed lower court judges have conducted themselves like activist liberal lawyers in robes while attempting to stop President Trump’s nationwide reforms. The No Rogue Rulings Act limits this unchecked power.”

Another GOP lawmaker, Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital, “More than 77 million Americans voted for [Trump’s] pro-American policies and want to see them implemented quickly. There is no reason that activist judges whose authority does not extend nationally should be allowed to completely stop [his] agenda.”

Republicans’ unity on the issue comes despite some early divisions over how to hit back at what they have called “rogue” and “activist” judges.

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

Rep. Derek Schmidt introduced an amendment to Issa’s bill (Getty Images)

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A group of conservatives had pushed to impeach specific judges who have blocked Trump’s agenda, but House GOP leaders quickly quashed the effort in favor of what they see as a more effective route to take on the issue.

Despite its success in the House, however, the legislation does face uncertain odds in the Senate, where it needs at least several Democrats to hit the chamber’s 60-vote threshold.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was open to providing exemptions for certain U.S. companies hit especially hard by tariffs through no fault of their own. 

The president and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke to reporters Wednesday afternoon and were asked repeatedly about the effect their tariff moves have had on financial markets and whether they will let their recent declines affect future trade decisions. 

Trump was asked specifically if he would consider “exempting” some larger U.S. companies that have been hit especially hard by the new tariffs, and the president said he would consider it. 

“I’ll take a look at it as time goes by. We’re going to take a look at it,” Trump responded. “There are some that have been hard — there are some that, by the nature of the company, get hit a little bit harder, and we’ll take a look at that.”

DONALD TRUMP’S ALLIES, SUPPORTERS AND DONORS, LED BY ELON MUSK, PUSH TO END TARIFF WAR

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

When asked how he would determine which companies might receive such an exemption, Trump responded, “Instinctively.”

“You almost can’t take a pencil to paper. It’s really more of an instinct than anything else,” Trump added. “Some companies, through no fault of their own, they happen to be in an industry that is more affected by these things than others. You have to be able to show a little flexibility, and I’m able to do that.

CHARLIE GASPARINO BREAKS DOWN TRUMP’S TARIFF PAUSE: ‘THIS IS WHAT FORCED THE HAND’

“You have to have flexibility,” Trump said Wednesday. “I could say, ‘Here’s a wall, and I’m going to go through that wall. I’m going to go through it, no matter what. Keep going, and you can’t go through the wall. Sometimes you have to be able to go under the wall, around the wall or over the wall.”  

A television broadcasts market news on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York April 4, 2025. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

After the president’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements, which included a 10% universal tariff on all imported goods and higher “reciprocal” tariffs targeting other countries like China and the European Union, the Trump administration did release a list of carve-outs related to roughly $644 billion in imports, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The exemptions include $185 billion in goods from Canada and Mexico, but the countries remain subject to other tariffs, according to the report.

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

A truck with vehicles crosses the Blue Water Bridge border crossing into the United States from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, April 3, 2025. (Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images)

Additionally, the Trump administration has exempted certain industries, such as the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries, from new tariffs, but the president has signaled that could change. These sectors and others are facing an ongoing probe, called a Section 232 investigation, according to Market Watch, to assess the need for imposing tariffs.

No matter the outcome of the investigation, it appears Trump has his sights set on placing higher tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry. He told an audience at a dinner hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee Tuesday night that “a major tariff on pharmaceuticals” would be announced very soon. 

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The White House declined to comment for this article.

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is clapping back against accusations from Democrats that Republicans are trying to make cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits for seniors.

“The message to seniors is really pretty simple. We are going to strengthen Social Security. That is our goal. And one of the ways we’re doing that is by rooting out waste, fraud, abuse,” she told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview, saying the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been an effective tool for doing so.

The senator is touting the RETIREES FIRST Act, which would raise the income bar for somebody to be required to pay federal taxes on their Social Security payouts.

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

Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk and seven other members sit down for an exclusive interview on “Special Report.’ (Fox News)

“Now, there’s also legislation I have — and the president’s talked about this a lot — and it’s removing a federal income tax from Social Security benefits. And as we work on the tax package, you’re going to see this in one of those reconciliation packages,” she said.

“The left and the mainstream media continues to talk a lot about cutting Social Security, and we are not doing that,” she said. Blackburn’s office is circulating a memo highlighting a quote from President Donald Trump on “Sunday Morning Futures” last month saying he’s “not going to touch Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. Now, we’re going to get fraud out of there.”

“What we’re doing is strengthening. We are not cutting. What we are doing is making certain that people that are defrauding the system, people who are abusing the system, are no longer going to be able to do that. People that have paid into Social Security deserve to get every penny that they are in line to receive as a benefit, and we want to make certain that that happens,” the Republican said.

ELON MUSK SCRAPS WITH CHUCK SCHUMER, SUGGESTING THE SENATOR PROFITS FROM GOVERNMENT FRAUD

Social Security card (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Blackburn also took aim at the state of California, which made it a state law in 2024 to provide Medicaid, known in the state as Medi-Cal, to illegal immigrants. The program is now being partially blamed for the state going nearly $3.5 billion over budget for Medi-Cal, and the governor’s office has had to ask for billions in loans to cover the costs.

“So it’s all taxpayer money, and when you hear of a state like California who decided — they made a conscious decision, a very intentional decision — that they wanted to provide healthcare for those that were illegally entering the country, and they wanted the taxpayers to pay for it. And Tennesseans will say, ‘Well, we don’t want to shoulder that burden because that’s a policy we don’t agree with,'” Blackburn said.

DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN ‘WRONG’ ON EVERY ISSUE: SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other Democrats in Congress have raised alarms about cuts made to the Social Security Administration, including 7,000 staff layoffs.

“Make no mistake: What Elon Musk is doing at Social Security is cutting benefits. And Senate Republicans are standing with him. They blocked our amendments last week to protect Social Security from DOGE and reverse the Social Security layoffs and office closures,” Schumer tweeted Monday.  

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However, Elon Musk said cutting benefits for people actually taking them is not the case.

“The intern running Schumer’s social media account is lying,” Musk said in response to Schumer’s post Tuesday. 

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday agreed to temporarily halt the reinstatement of two fired federal board members, delivering another near-term win to President Donald Trump as his administration continues to spar in federal courts over the extent of his executive branch powers.

The brief stay handed down by Roberts is not a final ruling on the reinstatement of the two board members, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member Cathy Harris – two Democratic appointees who were abruptly terminated by the Trump administration earlier this year. 

Both had challenged their terminations as “unlawful” in separate suits filed in D.C. federal court.

But the order from Roberts does temporarily halt their reinstatements from taking force two days after a federal appeals court voted en banc to reinstate them.

APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP FROM FIRING FEDERAL BOARD MEMBERS, TEES UP SUPREME COURT FIGHT

National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris sued the administration after they were terminated from their posts. (NLRB; AP Photo; US District Court)

Judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted 7-4 Monday to restore Wilcox and Harris to their respective boards, citing Supreme Court precedent in Humphrey’s Executor and Wiener v. United States as the backing for their decision. 

They noted that the Supreme Court had never overturned or reversed the decades-old precedent regarding removal restrictions for government officials of “multimember adjudicatory boards” – including the NLRB and MSPB. “The Supreme Court has repeatedly told the courts of appeals to follow extant Supreme Court precedent unless and until that Court itself changes it or overturns it,” judges noted in their opinion. 

Monday’s ruling from the full panel was expected to spark intense backlash from the Trump administration, which has lobbed accusations of so-called “activist judges” that have slowed or halted some of Trump’s executive orders and actions.

The Trump administration appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court almost immediately. 

TRUMP’S AUTHORITY TO FIRE OFFICIALS QUESTIONED IN COURT BATTLE OVER NLRB SEAT

Members of the Supreme Court (L-R) associate justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M. Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Associate Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Elena Kagan, and Brett M. Kavanaugh pose in the Justices Conference Room prior to the formal investiture ceremony of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Sept. 30, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images)

The en banc decision was the latest in a dizzying flurry of court developments that had upheld, then blocked, and upheld again the firings of the two employees, and came after D.C.-based federal judges had issued orders blocking their terminations. 

“A President who touts an image of himself as a ‘king’ or a ‘dictator,’ perhaps as his vision of effective leadership, fundamentally misapprehends the role under Article II of the U.S. Constitution,” U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who oversaw Wilcox’s case, wrote in her opinion. 

Likewise, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras, who was presiding over Harris’s case, wrote that if the President were to “displace independent agency heads from their positions for the length of litigation such as this, those officials’ independence would shatter.”

Both opinions cited the 1935 Supreme Court precedent, Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, that notably narrowed the president’s constitutional power to remove agents of the executive branch, in support of Wilcox’s and Harris’s reinstatements. 

Back in February, Trump’s Justice Department penned a letter to Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin stating that it was seeking to overturn the landmark case. 

“To the extent that Humphrey’s Executor requires otherwise, the Department intends to urge the Supreme Court to overrule that decision, which prevents the President from adequately supervising principal officers in the Executive Branch who execute the laws on the President’s behalf, and which has already been severely eroded by recent Supreme Court decisions,” Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in the letter. 

In February, Trump’s Justice Department penned a letter to Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin saying it was seeking to overturn the landmark case.  (Getty Image)

The Trump administration appealed the orders to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel ruled 2-1 in favor of the Trump administration, allowing the firings to proceed. 

Wilcox and Harris – now as a consolidated case – filed a motion for an en banc hearing, requesting the appeals court hear the case again with the entire bench present. 

In an en banc ruling issued on April 7, the D.C. Circuit voted to block the terminations, reversing the previous appellate holding. 

SUPREME COURT RULES ON STATUS OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FIRED PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES

Hampton Dellinger, a Biden appointee previously tapped to head the Office of Special Counsel, also sued the Trump administration over his termination. (U.S. Office of Special Counsel/Handout via Reuters )

The judges voted 7-4 to restore Wilcox and Harris to their posts. 

Harris’s and Wilcox’s cases are just several legal challenges in a grander scheme of cases attempting to clearly define the executive’s power. 

Hampton Dellinger, a Biden appointee previously tapped to head the Office of Special Counsel, also sued the Trump administration over his own termination. Dellinger filed suit in D.C. district court after his Feb. 7 firing. 

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He had maintained the argument that, by law, he could only be dismissed from his position for job performance problems, which were not cited in an email dismissing him from his post. 

Dellinger ultimately dropped his suit against the administration after the D.C. appellate court issued an unsigned order siding with the Trump administration. 

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch 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…

-Homeland Security to scan migrants’ social media posts for antisemitism: ‘No room for terrorist sympathizers’

-Elon Musk, conservatives drag Trump-appointed justice following Venezuelan deportations ruling

–Biden aides ‘scripted’ everything, allowed his faculties to ‘atrophy,’ new book claims

Number Crunch

Americans’ concerns over the economy, and specifically inflation and tariffs, appear to be partially fueling the downward trend of President Donald Trump’s approval ratings in a new national poll.

Trump stands at 41% approval and 53% disapproval in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted April 3-7 and released on Wednesday.

The president stood at 46%-43% approval/disapproval in a Quinnipiac poll conducted during his first week back in the White House, in late January. And Trump was slightly underwater at 45%-49% in mid-February. But the president’s approval ratings are basically unchanged from Quinnipiac’s previous survey, which was in the field early last month…Read more

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 3: U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on April 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump spoke a day after announcing sweeping new tariffs targeting goods imported to the U.S. on countries including China, Japan and India.(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (Getty Images )

White House

‘DARK-ARTS OPERATION’: Harris launched ‘dark-arts operation’ against opponents for VP spot in 2020, new book claims

BLOCKING BIDEN: Federal judge blocks Biden nursing home staffing mandate

SURVEILLANCE BALLOON: Biden officials coordinated with Beijing on Chinese spy balloon days before informing US public, officials say

The White House said on Friday President Joe Biden would not shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon, despite calls from lawmakers and others. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/Larry Mayer/The Billings Gazette via AP/Keith Tsuji/Getty Images)

TRADE POWER STRUGGLE: Trump pushes back on ‘rebel’ Republicans over tariffs: ‘You don’t negotiate like I negotiate’

AI IN THE WHITE HOUSE: WH rolls out implementation of AI for federal employee records

World Stage

CRIME AND COMPENSATION: U.S.-recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzales promises to give financial reparations to Americans hurt by crimes of Tren de Aragua

SHOOTING FOR THE MOON: Astronauts stand alongside NASA Administrator nominee Jared Isaacman at Senate confirmation hearing

‘FIRST AND FREE’: ​​Hegseth says Panama agreed to allow US warships to travel ‘first and free’ through canal

SINGLED OUT: Bessent singles out Beijing amid tariff pause: ‘They are the problem for the rest of the world’

Scott Bessent, US treasury secretary, departs following a tariff announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Capitol Hill

HUCKABEE ADVANCES: Mike Huckabee confirmed as US ambassador to Israel in bipartisan vote

SCHIFF TIFF: Schiff fires back after Trump rips ‘watermelon-head’ Democrat at GOP dinner

‘PIECE OF THE ACTION’: Elon Musk scraps with Chuck Schumer, suggesting the senator profits from government fraud

‘POLITICAL PETTINESS’: VP Vance blasts McConnell’s vote against Trump Pentagon nominee: ‘Political pettiness’

‘TANKING OUR ECONOMY’: Dem takes aim at Trump in 2026 Senate launch video for ‘tanking our economy’

APPROVED: Senate approves Peter Hoekstra as next US ambassador to Canada

Senate approves Peter Hoekstra as ambassador to Canada. 4/9/25 (Background image: Photo by Lyle Stafford/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, Image of Trump: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesImage of Heokstra: Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

‘YOU SOUND IGNORANT’: Greene and Garcia clash over RFK Jr. and vaccines, measles outbreak

INCOMING: Senators formally introduce bill to eliminate U.S. Department of Education

‘FEELING THE HEAT’: Schumer says Trump ‘feeling the heat’ after reciprocal tariff pause

Across America

JUSTIFYING VIOLENCE: Violent attacks from anti-Musk, anti-Trump protesters plague nation, compel GOP lawmakers to take precautions

The protesters’ goal, according to the organization’s website, is to send a crystal clear message that they are against Tesla CEO Elon Musk, describing itself as a decentralized grassroots movement that will “protest Tesla for as long as Elon Musk continues to shred public services.” Organizers plan to hold rallies at over 200 Tesla location across the U.S. (Getty Images)

STANDING ALONE: California sheriff vows to defy statewide sanctuary law: ‘This is common sense’

DEM WALKOUT: Trump’s border czar gets GOP cheers, Democratic tears at Arizona state capitol

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

Fox News Digital has learned that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will post an updated Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) at the close of business Wednesday that paves the way for artificial intelligence to improve government efficiency and enhance the federal record-keeping process. 

This will be the first time the United States government has applied the use of artificial intelligence for federal employee record-keeping after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January to “solidify [America’s] position as the global leader in AI and secure a brighter future for all Americans.”

A senior White House official spoke with Fox News Digital, outlining the implementation process, detailing that the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)-approved AI system will be used to drastically speed up the retirement process for the roughly 2.3 million federal employees and improve the accuracy of what is now mostly paper-based record keeping.

WHITE HOUSE: US WILL LEAD IN AI, BUT CHINA IS CATCHING UP

Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk and seven other members sit down for an exclusive interview on ‘Special Report.’ (Fox News)

While the AI system will not be immediately operational, updating the PIA is the first step in opening the door to a full-scale roll-out. The senior White House official explained that the artificial intelligence program has already been tested to 100% accuracy in a simulated environment, but that no testing on actual data can be completed without the updated PIA.

Part of the inspiration for using AI to improve federal record keeping comes from Elon Musk’s DOGE keying in on a decommissioned, underground mine in Boyers, Pennsylvania. The mine, which is home to more than 400,000,000 personal records for federal employees, is heavily reliant on an ineffective paper-based system. 

Though federal employee records are now filed through OPM’s electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF), there is also a duplicate paper record printed as a PDF that is stored at the Pennsylvania mine.

Operating under the current system, processing the retirement of a federal employee can take weeks or months, per file, and there is still room for human error.

With the implementation of artificial intelligence, the senior White House official told Fox it could take less than one second to finalize a federal employee’s retirement.

SECURING THE AI FUTURE: HOW PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ACTION PLAN CAN POSITION AMERICA FOR SUCCESS

General view of the White House garden tour in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, April 6, 2025. (Yuri Gripas for Fox News Digital)

While there is no intention to digitize or remove the hundreds of millions of files that exist in the mine, the AI system would ensure that no new paper files would be added to the already overwhelming number of physical copies that exist. 

Outdated filing systems have placed a burden on the efficiency of federal record keeping, as many of the files are old, illegible PDFs that can take several employees days or weeks to review, and the results have a higher chance of being inaccurate.

“Antiquated, inefficient, and slow are words synonymous with government, all of which ended the day President Trump took office,” Harrison Fields, Principal White House Deputy Press Secretary, told Fox News Digital, “Today’s action follows the president’s historic AI Executive Order and will usher in historic efficiency at the Office of Personnel Management, streamlining the organization tasked with serving as the human resources agency and personnel policy manager for the Federal Government.”

THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO BECOME THE ‘LEADER’ IN AI, GOP LAWMAKER ARGUES

President Donald Trump sits for an interview with Fox News. (Fox News / Hannity)

The White House also issued an AI-focused concentrated fact sheet Tuesday, establishing federal “Agency Chief AI Officer roles” who “are tasked with promoting agency-wide AI innovation and the adoption of lower-risk AI, mitigating risks for higher-impact AI, and advising on agency AI investments and spending.”

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The senior White House official clarified to Fox News Digital that despite the AI implementation, federal employees will still be able to self-review and assess personal records at their discretion.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Adam ‘Schifty’ Schiff – can you believe this guy?” Trump said. “He’s got the smallest neck I’ve ever seen – and the biggest head: We call him Watermelon-Head.” Trump went on to ruminate about how Schiff’s “big fat face” could “stand on a neck” the size of the president’s finger. 

“It’s the weirdest thing – it’s a mystery; no one can understand it.”

Trump went on to call Schiff “one of the most dishonest human beings I’ve ever seen,” and wondered aloud how people like Schiff could be able to run for office.

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

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

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

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

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

Sen. Adam Schiff. (Getty)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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