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President Donald Trump repeated his suggestion that Canada become the 51st on Sunday, noting that it would not be subjected to his incoming tariffs should the country join the U.S.

“We pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars to SUBSIDIZE Canada. Why? There is no reason,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. “We don’t need anything they have. We have unlimited Energy, should make our own Cars, and have more Lumber than we can ever use. Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country. Harsh but true!” 

“Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State,” Trump added. “Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada – AND NO TARIFFS!” 

Trump has for weeks suggested the United States should take control of Canada through economic pressure.

TRUMP IMPOSES TARIFFS ON IMPORTS FROM CANADA, MEXICO AND CHINA: ‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY’

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Citing the flow of illicit drugs across the northern border, Trump signed an order Saturday to implement a 25% tariff on goods entering the United States from Canada. The order, which takes effect Tuesday, also puts a 10% duty on energy or energy resources from Canada. The order states, “gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illicit drugs of all kinds have poured across our borders and into our communities,” adding that “Canada has played a central role in these challenges, including by failing to devote sufficient attention and resources or meaningfully coordinate with United States law enforcement partners to effectively stem the tide of illicit drugs.” 

Trump also said he would implement tariffs of 25% on goods from Mexico, as well as 10% on imports from China due to the flow of drugs across U.S. borders.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses media members after President Donald Trump signed an order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, in Ottawa, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

AMERICAN GAS ASSOCIATION REACTS TO TRUMP ANNOUNCEMENT OF ENERGY TARIFFS ON CANADA, MEXICO

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum both vowed retaliation on Saturday. 

“We categorically reject the White House’s slander of the Government of Mexico for having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention to interfere in our territory,” Sheinbaum said, adding that she instructed her administration officials to implement “tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico’s interests.” 

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a briefing at the White House, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trudeau said Canada would impose 25% tariffs on $155 billion of U.S. goods, including “immediate tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods effective Tuesday, followed by further tariffs on $125 billion worth of American products in 21 days.” 

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“I don’t think we’re not at all interested in escalating, but I think that there will be a very strong demand on our government to make sure that we stand up for the deal that we have struck with the United States,” Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday. 

Tech billionaire Elon Musk ripped alleged “fraudulent” Treasury payments on Saturday as reports circulated that the Department of Government Efficiency has gained acces to the federal government’s payment system as the second Trump administration continues cutting what they say is government fat and overspending. 

“The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups. They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once,” Musk, the chair of DOGE, posted early Saturday morning to X. 

Musk’s post came just ahead of the New York Times reporting Saturday afternoon that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted DOGE personnel access to the payment system. The Treasury spends roughly $6 trillion per year on payments for federal agencies. 

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, posted to social media on Saturday that he has also been informed that DOGE was granted access to the system. 

DOGE ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $1B IN SAVINGS AFTER CANCELING 104 FEDERAL DEI CONTRACTS

Elon Musk is heading the Department of Government Efficiency. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“Sources tell my office that Treasury Secretary Bessent has granted DOGE *full* access to this system. Social Security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors, including those that compete directly with Musk’s own companies. All of it,” Wyden posted to social media site BlueSky on Saturday evening. 

DOGE’s reported access to the payment system comes after the Washington Post reported on Friday that the former acting director of the Treasury, David A. Lebryk, was planning to exit the finance department of the federal government following a clash over granting DOGE access to its payment system. Lebryk oversaw the Treasury Department in the days between President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 and Bessent’s confirmation to lead the department on Jan. 27. 

TOP DOGE LAWMAKER SAYS TRUMP ‘ALREADY RACKING UP WINS FOR TAXPAYERS’ WITH EFFICIENCY INITIATIVES

On Friday, reports also spread that civil servants within the Office of Personnel Management, which works as the federal government’s HR department, were reportedly locked from the office’s computer systems by DOGE. 

Musk quipped on X on Saturday that working over the weekend is a “superpower,” where the “opposing team” disappear for two days. 

“Very few in the bureaucracy actually work the weekend, so it’s like the opposing team just leaves the field for 2 days! Working the weekend is a superpower,” he posted. 

‘DOGE’-MEETS-CONGRESS: GOP LAWMAKER AARON BEAN LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK ‘TAKE ON CRAZYTOWN’

Trump officially created DOGE via an executive order signed on his first day in office. The EO outlines that government agency chiefs provide DOGE with access to internal government platforms such as, “software systems, and IT systems.”

“Agency Heads shall take all necessary steps, in coordination with the USDS Administrator and to the maximum extent consistent with law, to ensure USDS has full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems.  USDS shall adhere to rigorous data protection standards,” the executive order reads. 

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Trump and Musk had long previewed the creation of DOGE while on the campaign trail, championing that the team would weed out overspending and fraud within the federal government. DOGE is not a government department, but instead operates as a team within the Trump administration. 

Before Trump’s win in November, Musk hosted the Republican president for an interview on X in August, where Musk railed against government overspending and inflation that has gripped the nation in recent years. 

President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk arrive to attend a viewing of the launch of the SpaceX Starship rocket on Nov. 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“A lot of people just don’t understand where inflation comes from. Inflation comes from government overspending because the checks never bounce when it’s written by the government. So if the government spends far more than it brings in, that increases the money supply. If the money supply increases faster than the rate of goods and services, that’s inflation,” Musk said during their conversation. 

MUSK RENEWS HARSH REBUKE OF DEMS WHO REJECTED DEPORTING SEX OFFENDERS: VOTE OUT ‘EVERY ONE’

“So really we need to reduce our government spending, and we need to re-examine… I think we need a government efficiency commission to say like, ‘Hey, where are we spending money that’s sensible. Where is it not sensible?’”

Since its official creation last month, DOGE’s X account has provided updates on its work to cut government spending, including announcing last week that it has cut more than $1 billion from federal spending through now-defunct diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and personnel. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Treasury Department on Sunday morning, but did not immediately receive replies. 

Parents are “overjoyed” with the trajectory of the education system under President Donald Trump after years of pushing back on so-called woke practices in schools, a parents’ rights education group told Fox News Digital.

During his first two weeks in office, Trump signed several education-related executive orders on school funding and antisemitism, and launched a federal review of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices in federally funded institutions.

Additionally, the Trump administration launched an investigation into a Colorado school district for allegedly “discriminating against its female students” after a girls’ restroom was reportedly converted into an “all-gender” facility, while the boys’ restroom remained for males only. 

Nicole Neily, the founder and president of Parents Defending Education, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that the investigation will “open the floodgates” of the Trump administration’s expected crackdown on similar policies in schools across the country.

TRUMP PUTS HIGHER EDUCATION ON NOTICE FOR ‘DANGEROUS, DEMEANING, AND IMMORAL’ DEI TEACHINGS

President Donald Trump’s Department of Education has launched a probe into Denver Public Schools over allegedly ‘discriminating against its female students.’ (Evan Vucci)

“I think what it is intended to do is to send a signal to families that obviously there’s a new sheriff in town. This is a priority. This administration, as the executive orders have made clear, actually views the difference in the sexes to be significant,” Neily told Fox News Digital.

On Tuesday, the Department of Education sent a letter to the superintendent of Denver Public Schools to sound the alarm over reports that East High School in Denver was in violation of Title IX after opening up a female-only restroom to all genders. 

“For this to be a very clear signal to families, to students, that if your school has engaged in something similar, this is something that the department is interested in looking into and adjudicating,” Neily said, adding that the investigation is something “families are going to be really encouraged by.” 

File photo shows Denver East High School in Denver. (David Zalubowski)

Neily said that in recent years, parents “have been gaslit by our states, by our local school districts, by the federal government” all because “we want our children to have a colorblind education,” but that the educational system is already undergoing “sorely overdue” change under Trump.

TRUMP’S WRITTEN A DEI GOVERNMENT DEATH SENTENCE. SCHOOL POLICIES SHOULD BE NEXT

During his first week in office, the president launched a federal review of DEI teachings and practices in educational institutions receiving federal funding, in an effort to restore “merit-based opportunity,” according to the White House.

President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Rebecca Noble)

Trump, prior to being sworn in, said he was open to considering abolishing the Department of Education in order to give states more individual control over their schools. Asked about the idea, Neily said she believes that states “know their communities, their needs, their values better than anybody in Washington ever can or would.”

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“I think there’s a real opportunity to make sure that the department is focusing on the things it should be, which is educating children, restoring trust in the system and not doing things like giving out the billion dollars in DEI-focused grants,” she said.

DORAL, Fla. — The lawmaker in charge of House Republicans’ elections arm is feeling confident that the GOP can buck historical precedent and hold onto their majority for the entirety of President Donald Trump’s term.

The 2024 elections saw Republicans make significant inroads with Hispanic and Black voters.

National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said progress would continue heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS

NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson spoke with Fox News Digital about efforts to keep the House in 2026. (Getty Images)

“We’ve done well with African Americans, comparatively,” Hudson told Fox News Digital, referring to years prior. “We’ve put a lot more effort in reaching out to that community as well and letting them know that we want your votes, and we want to represent you, and we care about the issues that matter to you and your family.”

“I think we can do better, and we’ll continue to attempt to do better. But, look, our message, our values, our principles are all universal.”

He said Republicans’ values also lined up with Hispanic and Latino voters, 42% of whom supported Trump, according to the Associated Press.

“We are focused on the issues you care about,” Hudson said the pitch was. “It’s crime in your neighborhoods. It’s education for your children. It’s securing the borders. It’s the price of things for your family. I mean, these are all things we campaigned on. But we deliberately went out into the Hispanic community and said, ‘We want your vote.’ And they responded.”

Earlier in the interview, he credited Trump with delivering on those values in 2024, and argued that Trump’s policies would get Republicans over the line again next year.

Hudson credited Trump with Republicans’ victories in Congress. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Historically, the first midterm after a new presidential term serves as a rebuke of the party in power.

Democrats won the House of Representatives in a “blue wave” in 2018 during Trump’s first term. Four years later, Republicans wrestled it back under former President Joe Biden.

But the circumstances are somewhat different this time, something Hudson noted.

“We’re in a unique time in history, where you had a president serve four years with all his policies, and then he was replaced by another president who had completely different policies. . . . And then the two ran against each other,” Hudson said. “So the American people sort of had a referendum on which president they wanted, which policies they chose, and they overwhelmingly selected Donald Trump.”

NONCITIZEN VOTER CRACKDOWN LED BY HOUSE GOP AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

Trump is in his second term, and Hudson argued that the 2024 presidential race was a referendum between two clear White House records.

“He has a mandate that I think is unique in history. And so this isn’t a first-term president going into his first midterm. I mean, this is someone the American people know, and they’ve chosen,” Hudson said.

Hudson pointed out that just three House Republicans are in districts won by former Vice President Kamala Harris, compared to 13 House Democrats in seats Trump won. (Leigh Vogel/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hudson also pointed out that Democrats will be defending 13 lawmakers whose districts Trump won, while Republicans only had to hold onto three seats that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

“The battlefield out there for us going into 2026 favors Republicans,” Hudson said. 

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He spoke with Fox News Digital at Trump National Doral golf course and resort in South Florida, where Republicans held their three-day retreat to strategize their agenda.

Hudson was one of the senior Republicans who gave a presentation to fellow lawmakers during the event, where his message was: “We’re on offense this cycle.”

“We’re going to lean in. We have a lot of opportunity in those Donald Trump seats,” Hudson said he told colleagues. “We’re going to hold Democrats accountable for their voting against the policies the American people want.”

The Trump administration is implementing tariffs through its new International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

In a statement obtained by Fox News on Saturday, the White House said that the legislation comes amid an “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency.

“President Donald J. Trump is implementing a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% tariff,” the statement read.

REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT CRASH: MILITARY BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER COLLIDES MIDAIR WITH AMERICAN AIRLINES JET

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Saturday elected Minnesota party leader Ken Martin as its next national chair, in the wake of major setbacks up and down the ballot in the 2024 elections.

The election of Martin is the party’s first formal step to try and rebound from the November elections, in which President Donald Trump recaptured the White House, and Republicans flipped the Senate, held on to their fragile majority in the House and made major gains with working-class, minority and younger voters.

“We have one team, one team, the Democratic Party,” Martin said following his victory. “The fight is for our values. The fight is for working people. The fight right now is against Donald Trump and the billionaires who bought this country.”

Martin, over the past eight years, has served as a DNC vice chair and has led the association of state Democratic Party chairs.

FINAL DNC CHAIR DEBATE ROCKED BY PROTESTS 

Minnesota Democratic Party chair Ken Martin (left) and Wisconsin chair Ben Wikler (right), two leading contenders in the Democratic National Committee chair race, at the DNC executive committee meeting, on Dec. 12, 2024, in Washington, D.C.  (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

He topped Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler by over 100 votes among the 428 DNC members who cast ballots as they gathered for the party’s annual winter meeting, which this year was held at National Harbor in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.

Martin O’Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who served as commissioner of the Social Security Administration during former President Biden’s last year in office, was a distant third in the voting.

Among the longshot candidates were Faiz Shakir, who ran the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Marianne Williamson, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 and 2024 Democratic presidential nominations. Williamson endorsed Martin on Saturday, ahead of the vote.

The eight candidates in the race were vying to succeed DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who decided against seeking a second straight four-year term steering the national party committee.

With no clear leader in the party, the next DNC chair could become the de facto face of Democrats from coast to coast and will make major decisions on messaging, strategy, infrastructure and where to spend millions in political contributions.

Candidates for the Democratic National Committee take part in a forum at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., on January 30, 2025. (Fox News Digital/Paul Steinhauser)

“It’s an important opportunity for us to not only refocus the party and what we present to voters, but also an opportunity for us to look at how we internally govern ourselves,” longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley told Fox News Digital.

Buckley, a former DNC vice chair who backed Martin, said he’s “very excited about the potential of great reform within the party.” He emphasized that he hoped for “significantly more support for the state parties. That’s going to be a critical step towards our return to majority status.”

In his victory speech, Martin stressed unity and that the party needed “to rebuild our coalition.”

“We need to go on offense,” Martin said. “We’re going to go out there and take this fight to Donald Trump and the Republicans.”

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who succeeded President Biden last July as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer, spoke with Martin, Wikler and O’Malley in the days ahead of Saturday’s election, Fox News confirmed. But Harris stayed neutral in the vote for party chair.

In a video message to the audience as the vote for chair was being tabulated, Harris said that the DNC has some “hard work ahead.”

But she pledged to be with the party “every step of the way,” which could be a signal of her future political ambitions.

The debate during the three-month DNC campaign sprint mostly focused on the logistics of modern political campaigns, such as media strategy and messaging, fundraising and grassroots organizing and get-out-the-vote efforts. On those nuts-and-bolts issues, the candidates were mostly in agreement that changes are needed to win back blue-collar voters who now support Republicans.

But the final forum included a heavy focus on race and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, issues that appeared to hurt Democrats at the ballot box in November.

A protester is removed by security after heckling at a Democratic National Committee chair election debate at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 2025. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

The forum, moderated and carried live on MSNBC and held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., devolved into chaos early on as a wave of left-wing protesters repeatedly interrupted the primetime event, heckling over concerns of climate change and billionaires’ influence in America’s elections before they were forcibly removed by security.

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The chair election took place as a new national poll spelled more trouble for the Democrats.

Only 31% of respondents in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted over the past week had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, with 57% seeing the party in an unfavorable light.

“This is the highest percentage of voters having an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question,” the survey’s release noted. 

Meanwhile, 43% of those questioned had a favorable view of the GOP, with 45% holding an unfavorable opinion, which was the highest favorable opinion for the Republican Party ever in Quinnipiac polling.

Georgia’s Republican lieutenant governor has introduced a plan similar to the DOGE efforts taking place with the Trump administration that he tells Fox News Digital will bring much-needed government accountability to his state.

“I own my own business employing thousands of people, and I know one of the biggest things that we run into as small business owners is regulatory burdens. And that’s regulatory burdens at the local, state and federal level,” Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones told Fox News Digital of his Red Tape Rollback Act of 2025.

“We’ve been fortunate here in Georgia to be the No. 1 state to do business for 11 years running, and if we want to stay like that, we’re going to have to always be retooling how we do things, improving how we do things, making government more efficient, making it try to work more like business.”

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOGE AND ITS QUEST TO SLASH GOVERNMENT WASTE, SPENDING

Jones introduced the plan last year but was unable to move it through the Georgia Legislature. But he said Trump’s DOGE efforts provided an opportunity to pair the plan with the new DOGE brand that has become increasingly popular with Republicans and some Democrats in Washington, D.C. 

“That’s what the essence or the genesis behind red tape rollback, which is our state version of DOGE that the Trump administration is doing, and I’m excited about what they’re doing with the first week of that administration,” Jones said. 

Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is pushing a statewide plan in Georgia that’s similar to DOGE efforts by the Trump administration. (Getty Images)

Jones explained to Fox News Digital what the priorities of his statewide DOGE plan would entail if successfully passed through the Legislature.

“The first thing we’d like to do is basically have a reset on all regulatory issues at every state agency. And what I mean by that is, instead of always adding more regulations, we’ll start back at zero and then the agencies just add what they need,” Jones said. 

ELON MUSK’S DOGE MAKES ANOTHER HIRING PUSH

“There are so many regulations that are on the books that have been put there from decades worth of, you know, legislative laws that were passed or whatever. What our bill will do is basically have a reset just like you would on a computer game or whatever. 

“And say there’s a lot of things that are unneeded, whether we’re talking about on the educational front, on the environment front, transportation, whatever it might be, just the entire blanket. Have a reset, and then make the agencies tell us what regulations are needed and which ones they’re glad to get rid of.”

Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg)

Jones said in a press release his bill will “also give legislators the ability to request a ‘Small Business Impact Analysis’ for pending legislation to better understand how a bill might impact Georgia’s most important job creators.”

Jones told Fox News Digital that statewide spending waste is at a much “smaller scale” than federal government waste, but he said he hopes his statewide efforts will help shine a light on waste in the federal government. 

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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are heading the Department of Government Efficiency. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“There’s no question D.C. is the elephant, so to speak, in the room that has gotten so bloated through duplicate agencies, duplicate services, whatever it might be,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of ways to trim the fat at the federal level. 

“State government, it won’t be anything like what you have at the federal level, but there’s definitely inefficiencies that need to be addressed, whether it’s in licensing, permitting processes, whatever it might be, regulatory codes and things that need to be repealed. Those are all things that are going to be on the table.”

LGBT activists and groups are already mobilizing to block gender-related executive orders President Donald Trump signed since taking office to fulfill one of his key campaign promises to crack down on “gender ideology extremism.” And more legal challenges are expected in the coming weeks.

The executive orders, signed in late January, include a reinstatement of the ban on transgender troops in the military, a ban on federal funding for sex changes for minors and a directive requiring federal agencies to recognize only “two sexes,” male and female, in official standard of conduct.

“This ban betrays fundamental American values of equal opportunity and judging people on their merit,” Jennifer Levi, director of Transgender and Queer Rights at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law), said in a statement about the trans military ban. 

“It slams the door on qualified patriots who meet every standard and want nothing more than to serve their country, simply to appease a political agenda.”

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS BANNING ‘RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY,’ DEI INITIATIVES IN THE MILITARY

President Trump’s executive orders on transgender issues, including military service, are drawing legal pushback from activists. (20th Air Force/Getty)

GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), were among the first groups to file a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration for its military ban. The lawsuit, Talbott v. Trump, was brought forward on equal protection grounds by six active-duty service members and two individuals attempting to enlist, according to the groups’ announcement.

The plaintiffs include a Sailor of the Year honoree, a Bronze Star recipient and several who were awarded meritorious service medals. They were identified as U.S. Army Reservist Lt. Nicolas Talbott, Army Maj. Erica Vandal, Army Sgt. First Class Kate Cole, Army Capt. Gordon Herrero, Navy Ensign Dany Danridge, Air Force Master Sgt. Jamie Hash, Koda Nature and Cael Neary. The latter two are civilians who are seeking to enlist in the military.

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH SAYS ‘NO MORE DEI AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE’: ‘NO EXCEPTIONS’

The Supreme Court is weighing a challenge to a Tennessee law banning transgender procedures for minors. (Alexander Pohl/NurPhoto via Getty Images | AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Another lawsuit, filed by a transgender inmate receiving taxpayer-funded medical treatments, is challenging Trump’s executive order that ends medical transgender treatments – such as hormones, sex changes and grooming accommodations – for federal prisoners.

The unnamed inmate, who goes by “Maria Moe” in court documents and is represented by GLAD Law, NCLR and Lowenstein Sandler LLP, is claiming Trump and the Bureau of Prisons are violating the Fifth and Eighth amendments and claims to be “at imminent risk of losing access to the medical care she needs to treat her gender dysphoria.”

U.S. District Judge George O’Toole in Boston temporarily blocked BOP officials from transferring “Maria Moe” to a men’s prison, according to a ruling released by the inmate’s attorney Thursday. The temporary restraining order was issued Sunday, the same day the suit was filed.

Prison officials are expected to keep the inmate in the women’s prison general population and maintain her transgender medical treatments, NBC first reported. 

CRACKING DOWN ON TRANS TROOPS: TRUMP ORDER NIXES PREFERRED PRONOUNS, RESTRICTS FACILITY USE

President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning openly transgender personnel serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.  (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Trump’s other executive orders, too, especially Trump’s immigration-related policies. More are expected in the coming weeks. 

A memo released Wednesday by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management provided guidance on directing federal agencies to acknowledge that women are biologically female and men are biologically male, Reuters reported. Trump said last week federal funds would not be used to promote “gender ideology.” 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the litigation but did not hear back before publication.

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

FIRST ON FOX: One of the top Republican lawmakers in the key swing state of Arizona has sent a letter to President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requesting that the administration “prevent California from dictating the country’s energy policy.”

“California’s radical rules will harm Arizona families by increasing costs, impacting jobs, and limiting consumer choice,” Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen said in a letter to the EPA. “By taking swift action, EPA can reverse the Biden Administration’s erroneous approval of California’s extreme rules.”

In the letter, Petersen praised Trump’s reversal of burdensome regulations thus far, saying that his executive orders, including rolling back the EV mandate, are “important energy steps that will help usher in America’s Golden Age.”

However, Petersen warned in his letter that California environmental waivers and regulations create a ripple effect that harms other places in the country, including Arizona.

‘FULL COURT PRESS’: FRESHMAN GOP LAWMAKER REVEALS BLUEPRINT TO FLIP SCRIPT ON GREEN ENERGY MANDATES

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, and Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen. (Getty/Fox News Digital)

“Victims of California’s war on fossil fuels include Arizonans who conduct business or make purchases in California,” Petersen wrote. “California’s radical rules also will indirectly affect Arizonans by increasing the cost, and decreasing the availability, of vehicles and products. Even Governor Katie Hobbs has been forced to recognize that California’s extreme policies can negatively impact Arizonans.”

“California’s radical rules raise serious legal concerns relating to equal state sovereignty19 and the major “questions doctrine, among many others. EPA should take immediate action to remove these legal concerns, starting by submitting the approvals for California’s rules to Congress for evaluation under the Congressional Review Act,” he continued. “According to legal experts, ‘Congress can quickly disapprove the waivers and send a resolution to the White House for presidential signature. Ballgame over.’ As those experts note, Congressional Review Act decisions are final and unassailable in court because the Act expressly provides that ‘[n]o determination, finding, action, or omission under this chapter shall be subject to judicial review.’”

SENATE ADVANCES TRUMP’S ENERGY SECRETARY NOMINEE TO FINAL CONFIRMATION VOTE

A person looks out over the ocean with a view of oil platform Esther and container ships off the coast of Seal Beach, California. (Getty Images)

Petersen’s letter continued, “Like it did during President Trump’s first administration, EPA also should revoke California’s ability to independently regulate greenhouse gases.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Petersen said, “Over the past four years, the State of California and the Biden Administration teamed up to impose a radical environmental agenda on the United States, compromising our energy independence, crushing freedom of choice, and endangering our national security.”

“I, like many of my fellow Arizonans and Americans, am thrilled to see the Trump Administration putting an end to these schemes. The State of Arizona looks forward to assisting our new president, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Members of Congress in their efforts to prioritize and protect our country’s interests,” he said.

Petersen, who has filed paperwork to run for attorney general in Arizona, also sent a letter to Arizona’s congressional delegation voicing the same concerns.

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“As President of the Arizona State Senate, I write to urge you to block radical California rules that ban gas-powered cars and leaf blowers,” he wrote. 

“These policies will harm Arizona families by increasing costs, impacting jobs, and limiting consumer choice. The Congressional Review Act empowers you to reverse the Biden Administration’s last-minute approval of these extreme policies, which I encourage you to do.”

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is continuing his efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he wants answers from Dr. Anthony Fauci.   

In his new position as chairman of the Senate’s Homeland Security committee, Paul issued subpoenas to 14 agencies from the outgoing Biden administration aimed at building on past congressional investigations into the COVID-19 virus and risky taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research. It is unclear who exactly from each agency will ultimately be deposed, but a Fauci deposition is possible. 

“In the wake of Anthony Fauci’s preemptive pardon, there are still questions to be answered,” Paul said in a statement after announcing the issuance of his subpoenas. “Subpoenas were sent from the Committee to NIH [National Institutes of Health] and 13 other agencies regarding their involvement in risky gain-of-function research. The goal of the investigation will be to critique the process that allowed this dangerous research, that may have led to the pandemic, to occur in a foreign country under unsafe protocols and to ensure that there is sufficient oversight and review going forward, making sure a mistake of this magnitude never happens again.”

FORMER NASCAR STAR DANICA PATRICK SUPPORTS TRUMP REVOKING FAUCI’S SECURITY DETAIL

While former President Joe Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci to protect him from political retribution under the new Trump administration, legal experts have questioned the validity of such a pardon. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Baily suggested to Fox News that since Biden’s own Justice Department indicated he lacked the mental faculties to be held criminally liable for improper handling of classified documents, it could be argued he also lacked the mens rea to issue pardons to people like Fauci. Additionally, the pardon Fauci received only covers his actions from January 2014 to the date of his pardon. As a result, a refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena could also potentially result in criminal charges.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., questions former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci during a hearing about the U.S.’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Paul’s investigation will build on a previous bipartisan probe launched by the Senate’s Homeland Security committee last year looking into the national security threats posed by “high-risk biological research and technology in the U.S. and abroad.” 

A second investigation being launched by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., the chairman of the Permanent Select Subcommittee on Investigations, will similarly probe concerns in the new Congress surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and will include a review of email communications from Fauci.  

MISSOURI AG SAYS LEGAL ACTION AGAINST ANTHONY FAUCI IS STILL ON THE TABLE 

Since the pandemic began, Paul has sent dozens of requests for information related to the origins of the COVID-19 virus and gain-of-function research. Last year, his efforts revealed documents that he said show that government officials from at least 15 federal agencies knew in 2018 that China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) was working on creating a coronavirus similar to COVID-19.

Security personnel stand guard outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

The WIV has been a centerpiece in the debate over the origins of COVID-19, as it was eventually discovered that American scientist Peter Daszak’s EcoHealth Alliance was using taxpayer dollars to conduct risky research on the novel bat virus out of the WIV prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services barred Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance from receiving federal funding for five years. 

Meanwhile, Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told Congress in May 2021 that the NIH “has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”

DR. FAUCI SAYS HE APPRECIATES PRESIDENT BIDEN’S PARDON BUT INSISTS ‘NO CRIME’ WAS COMMITTED

Dr. Anthony Fauci is sworn-in before testifying in front of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in Washington, D.C., on June 3, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Trump administration is reportedly preparing an executive order to halt all U.S. funding going towards gain-of-function research. 

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Federal officials remain split on where the COVID-19 virus originated from. Three agencies — the Department of Energy, the FBI and the CIA — have determined that the most likely origin narrative is the lab leak theory, but others in the intelligence community and throughout the federal government say they can either not conclude that a lab leak was the most likely scenario, or they say that a natural origin scenario is most likely. A declassified intelligence report from 2021, published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, posited that if a lab leak did turn out to be the catalyst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was likely the result of an accident.

Representatives for Paul declined to comment for this report, while Fauci did not respond to a request for comment. 

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., whose vote cemented Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation last month, opened up about the effort to corroborate last-minute allegations against President Donald Trump’s nominee.

“Anytime you have an allegation and somebody is willing to put it in sworn testimony, you owe it to the process to review it and not just dispose it out of hand,” the North Carolina Republican told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

“And that’s exactly what I did. And then I arrived at the conclusion that I’d support Pete’s nomination”

DEMS DISMISS CALLS FOR APOLOGY AFTER JEFFRIES VOWS ‘FIGHT’ AGAINST TRUMP AGENDA ‘IN THE STREETS’

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Sen. Thom Tillis walked through his thought process in the hours leading up to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation vote. (Reuters)

Hegseth was confirmed after a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, making the final margin 51-50. 

Three Republicans — senators Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted against Hegseth.

Given the Republican conference’s 53-seat majority, nominees can only afford to lose three votes, assuming all Democrats are opposed and each senator is in attendance. 

ELIZABETH WARREN GRILLED RFK JR. ON DRUG COMPANY MONEY, BUT RECEIVED OVER $5M FROM HEALTH INDUSTRY

Tillis’ decision on whether to back Hegseth was not disclosed until minutes before he cast his vote. If he became the fourth Republican to oppose Hegseth, the confirmation would have failed. 

The senator asked Hegseth several additional questions after the new allegations surfaced and the hours until his confirmation vote wound down. 

The nominee’s response letter, which proved to be to Tillis’ satisfaction, was shared on X by Hegseth during the vote. 

Speaking on the subject with Fox News Digital, the senator explained he had “developed a reputation for completing due diligence” and that he takes his role seriously. 

According to Tillis, he agreed to speak with Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, Danielle, before she filed a sworn affidavit alleging that he made his ex-wife Samantha fear for her safety, in addition to claims of alcohol abuse.

‘OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC’: BIPARTISAN SENATORS TARGET FENTANYL CLASSIFICATION AS LAPSE APPROACHES

Danielle is not the sister of Hegseth’s ex-wife. She is the former wife of his brother. 

The call between the senator and Danielle was about “what conceptually would be in the affidavit,” Tillis said.

“And I said, ‘If that’s true, and it could be corroborated, then it would carry weight,'” Tillis recalled. 

However, he said the lack of corroboration left the allegations without credibility. 

“I could never speak directly to a person who could corroborate the testimony of one person,” he said. 

Tillis cemented Hegseth’s confirmation with his vote. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

After Hegseth’s confirmation, it was reported that sources said Tillis had “personally assured” Danielle that if she provided the affidavit, it would be significant and might persuade Republicans to oppose the defense secretary nominee, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Asked about the report, Tillis emphasized that he gave the caveat that it must be corroborated in his conversation with Danielle. 

“Corroboration means at least two people have to be involved, and they have to be involved in the event, not a bystander. And I was unable to. I attempted to do it, but I was unable to get to that point. And, therefore, I had to make the same judgment that I did with the other allegations,” he explained. 

TENSION BUILDS AROUND TULSI GABBARD’S CONFIRMATION WITH KEY GOP SENATORS UNDECIDED

Hegseth was sworn in shortly after being confirmed.  (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Tillis wouldn’t divulge whether Danielle or her attorney suggested she had been a witness to the alleged events. 

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“I’m not going to get into those discussions because I do know that my conversation was leaked a couple of hours after I had it on Sunday. Clearly, I would have no reason to do it. But I don’t leak private conversations. I don’t even discuss them at any level of detail,” he said.

Multiple requests for comment to Danielle’s attorney, Leita Walker, from Fox News Digital went unanswered. 

The country began to see the effects of President Donald Trump’s policies in his second week in office, with the White House implementing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China; border crossings plummeting; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs shuttering; the federal workforce being faced with the decision to return to the office or to resign; and more. 

As promised, Trump’s administration has been moving at warp speed to implement his agenda — signing more than 200 executive actions just hours after taking the Oath of Office. 

President Donald Trump speaks to the media after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C, on Jan. 23, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump immediately cracked down on immigration, and by the beginning of his second week in office migrant encounters dropped significantly. The number of migrants arriving at the southern border plummeted by 63% as of Monday, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

TRUMP-ERA SOUTHERN BORDER SEES MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS PLUMMET BY OVER 60% AS NEW POLICIES KICK IN

There were 7,287 migrant encounters at the southern border in the first seven days of the Trump administration  — from Jan. 20 through Jan. 26, with a daily average of 1,041 encounters a day.

That compares to 20,086 encounters a day during the final days of former President Joe Biden’s presidency — from Jan. 13 through Jan. 19. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week participated in an immigration enforcement raid in New York City Tuesday targeting “murderers, kidnappers, and individuals charged of assault and burglary.” The operation continued through Friday. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joins an ICE raid in New York City on Tuesday. Noem said communities will be safer because of targeted raids that go after criminal illegal immigrants.  (Department of Homeland Security)

And Border czar Tom Homan said that as of Monday the Trump administration had removed and returned 7,300 illegal immigrants and had deported them to Mexico, Jordan, Brazil and El Salvador. 

The president on Wednesday also signed the Laken Riley Act into law — the first piece of legislation to become law in his second administration. 

President Donald Trump pauses while speaking before signing the Laken Riley Act in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington.  (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)

TRUMP SIGNS LAKEN RILEY ACT INTO LAW AS FIRST LEGISLATIVE VICTORY IN NEW ADMINISTRATION

The measure, which advanced through the House and Senate in January, directs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants arrested or charged with theft-related crimes, or those accused of assaulting a police officer. 

The law also allows states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration.

The law’s name honors a nursing student who was killed during a jog on the University of Georgia’s campus by an illegal immigrant, Fox News Digital previously reported. Jose Ibarra, who previously had been arrested but never detained by ICE, received a life prison sentence for killing 22-year-old Laken Riley. 

Beyond the border, the president’s action to end DEI programs across the federal government has continued. Last week, the Office of Personnel Management ordered agency heads and directors to close their DEI offices. 

On Jan. 27, 2025, an Office of Management and Budget memo was released, which aimed to freeze funding to various federal programs that were focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.  (Fox News Digital-Hannah Grossman)

And over at the Justice Department, Trump administration officials fired more than a dozen key officials who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team prosecuting Trump, after Acting Attorney General James McHenry said they could not be trusted in “faithfully implementing the president’s agenda.” 

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FIRES MORE THAN A DOZEN KEY OFFICIALS ON FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S TEAM

On Monday, an Office of Management and Budget memo was released, which aimed to freeze funding to various federal programs that were focused on DEI. 

The memo issued a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate “wokeness” and the “weaponization of government” to improve government efficiency. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds her first news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 28, 2025, in Washington.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held her first-ever press briefing in the James S. Brady room on Tuesday and fielded many questions from reporters on the memo. She maintained that programs including Social Security benefits, Medicare, food stamps, welfare benefits and other assistance going directly to individuals would not be impacted. 

But by Tuesday evening, a federal judge imposed an administrative stay, pausing the Trump administration’s action. 

And on Wednesday, the White House opted to rescind the memo, but stressed to Fox News Digital that it was committed to freezing federal grants and loans aimed at woke programs.” 

“In light of the injunction, OMB has rescinded the memo to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage,” Leavitt told Fox News on Wednesday. “The Executive Orders issued by the President on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments.” 

Leavitt told Fox News that rescinding the memo “should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the President’s orders on controlling federal spending.” 

WHITE HOUSE STILL COMMITTED TO FREEZING ‘WOKE’ FUNDS DESPITE RESCINDING OMB MEMO

Also this week, the Office of Personnel Management sent a note to federal workers offering them the option to resign and receive full pay and benefits through Sept. 30. That option, which the administration referred to as a “Fork in the Road,” came after the administration demanded that all federal workers return to in-person, in-office work. 

Federal workers have until Feb. 6 to decide if they will return to work or if they will resign. 

The only federal workers who do not have the option are postal workers, members of the military, immigration officials, some national security officials, and any positions agency heads decide to carve out. 

But the rapid changes came to a quick halt on Wednesday night around 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, after an American Airlines plane and Army helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside of Washington, D.C. 

The flight had left Wichita, Kansas, earlier that day. All 67 people onboard both aircraft are presumed dead.

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on the evening of Jan. 30, 2025, addressing aviation, following a deadly D.C. crash. (Reuters/AP)

TRUMP ORDERS ASSESSMENT OF AVIATION SAFETY, NAMES ACTING FAA ADMINISTRATOR AFTER DEADLY DC PLANE CRASH

Those aboard the plane included “several members” of U.S. Figure Skating, including athletes, coaches and family members who had just attended the U.S. Figure Skating Championships held in Wichita, Kansas, from Jan. 20 to Jan. 26. 

Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was confirmed on Tuesday and quickly took charge, immediately getting over to the Federal Aviation Administration building and launching an investigation into the horrific incident. 

The president said that the deadly midair collision was a “confluence of bad decisions that were made and you have people that lost their lives, violently lost their lives.” 

On Jan. 28, 2025, an American Airlines plane and Army helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport outside of Washington, D.C.  (Fox News Digital)

The president signed two executive orders appointing a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) deputy administrator, Chris Rocheleau, and ordering an immediate assessment of aviation safety and an elevation of “competence” over DEI. 

TRUMP TO CREATE TASK FORCE TO PLAN ‘EXTRAORDINARY CELEBRATION’ FOR 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA’S INDEPENDENCE

Meanwhile, the president also signed an executive order to create a Task Force 250 — a White House task force focused on coordinating the plans and activities surrounding the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence. 

The president also signed a memo that would lift the collective bargaining agreements that former President Joe Biden put into effect before leaving office — agreements that White House officials said were designed to “constrain” the Trump administration from reforming the government.  

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP TO SIGN MEMO LIFTING BIDEN’S LAST-MINUTE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS

And as for the Cabinet, Duffy was confirmed as Transportation secretary; Doug Burgum was confirmed as secretary of the Interior; Lee Zeldin was confirmed as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and Scott Bessent was confirmed as Treasury secretary. 

Over in the Senate, Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; nominee for FBI director Kash Patel; and nominee for director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard faced tough questions from senators during confirmation hearings. 

FBI Director nominee Kash Patel, left, Health and Human Services Nominee nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard faced tough questions from senators this week during confirmation hearings.  (Getty Images)

WHITE HOUSE TO IMPOSE TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA AND CHINA DUE TO ‘INVASION OF ILLEGAL FENTANYL’

And, at the end of the week, the White House confirmed that by Saturday the president would roll out tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China. 

The president is imposing a 25% tariff on Mexico; a 25% tariff on Canada, and a 10% tariff on China. 

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“These are promises made and promises kept,” White House press secretary Leavitt said at a press briefing Friday. 

And it’s only the end of week two. 

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw, Diana Stancey, Bill Melugin and Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

Nearly three months after Democrats’ major setbacks up and down the ballot in the 2024 elections, the party gathers on Saturday to choose new leadership.

It’s the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) first formal step to try and emerge from the political wilderness and rebound in upcoming elections after President Donald Trump recaptured the White House and Republicans flipped the Senate, held onto their fragile majority in the House and made major gains with working-class, minority and younger voters.

And with no clear leader in the party, the next DNC chair will become the de facto face of Democrats from coast to coast and will make major decisions on messaging, strategy, infrastructure and where to spend millions in political contributions.

“It’s an important opportunity for us to not only refocus the party and what we present to voters, but also an opportunity for us to look at how we internally govern ourselves,” longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley told Fox News.

DEMOCRATS RALLY AROUND LIGHTENING ROD ISSUE AT FINAL DNC CHAIR DEBATE

The eight candidates vying for Democratic National Committee chair sit for a forum that was repeatedly interrupted by protesters at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 2025. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

Buckley, a former DNC vice chair, said he’s “very excited about the potential of great reform within the party.” And he emphasized he hoped for “significantly more support for the state parties. That’s going to be a critical step towards our return to majority status.”

Eight candidates are vying to succeed DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who decided against seeking a second straight four-year term steering the national party committee.

FIRST ON FOX: AFTER 2024 ELECTION SETBACKS, DEMOCRATS EYE RURAL VOTERS

The next chair, as well as vice chairs and other officers, will be chosen by the roughly 450 DNC voting members gathered for the party’s winter meeting, which is being held this year at National Harbor just outside Washington, D.C.

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin, a DNC vice chair who has led the association of state Democratic Party chairs, is considered to be the frontrunner for chair heading into Saturday’s election, with Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler close behind. 

Minnesota Democratic Party chair Ken Martin (left) and Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler (right), two leading contenders in the Democratic National Committee chair race, at the DNC executive committee meeting Dec. 12, 2024, in Washington, D.C.  (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

Martin recently told Fox News Digital that if he becomes chair, the first thing he would do is “figure out a plan to win. And we need to start writing that plan, making sure we’re looking underneath the hood. How much money do we have at the party? What are the contracts? What contracts do we need to get rid of? And, frankly, bringing all of our stakeholder groups together. That’s the biggest thing.”

DEMOCRATS’ NEW SENATE CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS KEYS TO WINNING BACK MAJORITY IN 2026

Wikler, in a Fox News Digital interview, emphasized that the party needs to show voters “that we’re fighting for them against those who would try to rig the economy for those at the very top and deliver that message in places where people aren’t paying attention to politics much. But they know what they’re struggling with in their own lives.”

Wikler, who pointed to the success of Democrats in his home state, a crucial battleground, added, “That means communicating in clear language in a way that shows people that we see them. And with our actions showing that we’re fighting for them to bring costs down and make sure that working people have a fair shot in this country.”

Also considered competitive is Martin O’Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who served as commissioner of the Social Security Administration during former President Biden’s last year in office.

DEMOCRATS’ HOUSE CAMPAIGN CHAIR TELLS FOX NEWS HER PLAN TO WIN BACK MAJORITY

O’Malley told Fox News Digital he’s running for DNC chair “because I love my country, and the only way we’re going to save the Republic is if the Democratic Party gets itself battle-ready as quickly as possible.” 

Pointing to his past steering the Democratic Governors Association, he noted, “I’m the only candidate that’s actually chaired a national committee — the Democratic Governors — and I’m the only candidate that’s actually run for office and been elected to office, city council, mayor, governor. And we need to recruit people all across the ballot in order to bring our party back.”

Among the longer-shot candidates for chair are late entry Faiz Shakir, who ran the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Marianne Williamson, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 and 2024 Democratic presidential nominations.

“This party’s not going to rise up unless there’s some deeper honesty,” Williamson told reporters Thursday after the final chair election forum, as she took aim at the Democrats’ establishment.

The debate during the three-month DNC campaign sprint has mostly focused on the logistics of modern political campaigns, such as media strategy and messaging, fundraising and grassroots organizing and get-out-the-vote efforts. On those nuts-and-bolts issues, the candidates are mostly in agreement that changes are needed to win back blue-collar voters who now support Republicans.

But the final forum included a heavy focus on systemic racism and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, issues that appeared to hurt Democrats at the ballot box in November.

A protester is removed by security after heckling at a Democratic National Committee chair election debate at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 2025 (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

And the forum, moderated and carried live on MSNBC and held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., devolved into chaos early on as a wave of left-wing protesters repeatedly interrupted the primetime event, heckling over concerns of climate change and billionaires’ influence in America’s elections before they were forcibly removed by security.

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The chair election comes as a new national poll spells more trouble for the Democrats.

Only 31% of respondents in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted over the past week had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, with 57% seeing the party in an unfavorable light.

“This is the highest percentage of voters having an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question,” the survey’s release noted. 

Meanwhile, 43% of those questioned had a favorable view of the GOP, with 45% holding an unfavorable opinion, which was the highest favorable opinion for the Republican Party ever in Quinnipiac polling.

President Donald Trump isn’t worried about American consumers taking a hit after unveiling new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, and said the tariffs will ensure that other countries treat the U.S. “fairly.” 

“There may be temporary, short-term disruption, and people will understand that,” Trump told reporters Friday in the Oval Office. 

Trump also signaled that he also may increase tariffs for European Union countries, and said that the tariffs would make the U.S. “very rich and very strong.” 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced earlier Friday that Trump would roll out tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China starting Saturday.

Trump’s economic plan during his campaign called for extending the 2017 tax cuts and imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 20% on all imported goods. For countries like China, that number could go up to 60%.

TRUMP TREASURY PICK: EXTENDING TRUMP TAX CUTS ‘SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ECONOMIC ISSUE’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds her first news conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

These countries will face these tariffs because they have allowed an “unprecedented invasion of illegal fentanyl that is killing American citizens,” according to Leavitt. 

“The president will be implementing tomorrow a 25% tariff on Mexico, 25% tariffs on Canada, and a 10% tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans,” Leavitt told reporters on Friday at a White House press briefing. “These are promises made and promises kept.”

CANADA READIES TRUMP TARIFFS RESPONSE: ‘IN A TRADE WAR, THERE ARE NO WINNERS’

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that Canada was prepared to respond to any U.S. tariffs. (Dave Chan/AFP via Getty Images)

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that Canada was prepared to respond to any tariffs executed, and warned there could be “disastrous consequences” for American workers and consumers. 

“We’re ready with a response, a purposeful, forceful but reasonable, immediate response,” Trudeau said. “It’s not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act.”

Meanwhile, Leavitt said that the tariffs are not expected to spark a trade war with Canada and that Trump would respond to Trudeau in “due time.” 

“The president is intent on doing this,” Leavitt said. “And I think Justin Trudeau would be wise to talk to President Trump directly before pushing outlandish comments like that to the media.”

When asked if Mexico, Canada or China could offer any concessions to remove these new tariffs, Leavitt said Trump would decide at a later date. 

“If the president at any time decides to roll back those tariffs, I’ll leave it to him to make that decision,” Leavitt said. “The president is intent on ensuring that he effectively implements tariffs while cutting inflation costs for the American people.” 

Leavitt also said that Trump hadn’t determined a timeline for additional tariffs on European Union countries, and said she wouldn’t “get ahead” of Trump on that matter. 

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he’s concerned that the tariffs will only mean cost increases for American consumers. 

“We should be focused on going hard against competitors who rig the game, like China, rather than attacking our allies,” Schumer said in a statement Friday. “If these tariffs go into full effect, they will raise prices for everything from groceries, to cars, to gas, making it even harder for middle-class families to just get by.”

HOUSE DEMS THREATEN TO BLOCK TRUMP’S BIG TARIFF PLANS: ‘UNACCEPTABLE’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump will execute tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China starting Saturday. (Samuel Corum/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

House Republicans moved to reintroduce the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act on Jan. 24, a measure that would permit Trump to unilaterally impose trade taxes on both adversaries and allies. 

Trump previously praised the measure in 2019, claiming it would “give our workers a fair and level playing field against other countries.”

Meanwhile, Democratic Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Don Beyer, D-Va., also introduced their own legislation in January that would block Trump from using emergency powers to implement tariffs, amid concerns that American consumers would end up footing the bill.

“The American people have clearly and consistently said that the high cost of living is one of their top concerns,” DelBene said in a statement on Jan. 15. “Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses.”

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

Congressional Democrats are dismissing the White House’s demand for an apology after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., urged people to “fight” President Donald Trump’s agenda “in the streets.”

“Right now, we’re going to keep focus on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors, and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working class Americans across the country with the bill,” the Democrat said during a press conference. 

“That’s not acceptable. We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We’re going to fight it in the streets,” he continued. 

ELIZABETH WARREN GRILLED RFK JR ON DRUG COMPANY MONEY, BUT RECEIVED OVER $5M FROM HEALTH INDUSTRY

The White House has demanded an apology from Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. (Reuters)

A spokesperson for Jeffries, Christie Stephenson, told Fox News Digital, “The notion that Leader Jeffries supports violence is laughable. Republicans are the party that pardons violent felons who assault police officers. Democrats are the party of John Lewis and the right to petition the government peacefully.”

She also referred to the comments as promoting “nonviolent protest” on X.

‘OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC’: BIPARTISAN SENATORS TARGET FENTANYL CLASSIFICATION AS LAPSE APPROACHES

“You should really get a quote from one of the violent criminals President Trump just let on the streets. Or the one who immediately got picked up on child pornography charges,” a spokesperson for House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told Fox News Digital.

The lawmakers were likely referencing Trump’s recent move to pardon nearly all defendants with charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.

TENSION BUILDS AROUND TULSI GABBARD’S CONFIRMATION WITH KEY GOP SENATORS UNDECIDED

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., is chair of the House Democrats. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Jeffries’ remark was quickly shared by the Trump White House’s rapid response team Friday on X before Republicans began calling for an apology. 

A senior White House official told Fox News Digital, “Hakeem Jeffries must apologize for this disgraceful call to violence.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., also demanded an apology, writing on X, “House Minority Leader [Jeffries] should promptly apologize for his use of inflammatory and extreme rhetoric.

“President Trump and the Republicans are focused on uniting the country; Jeffries needs to stop trying to divide it.”

SCOOP: KEY GOP SENATOR WHO HESITATED ON PETE HEGSETH PUSHES KASH PATEL FOR FBI

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called the comments “deranged.” (Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

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Senate Republican Conference Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told Fox News Digital in a statement, “The Democratic Leader’s comments are deranged but not unexpected. Senate Republicans are fighting to make America safer and more prosperous while the Democrats remain obsessed with protecting criminal illegal aliens, identity politics, and unhinged attacks on President Trump.”

On social media, rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers remained silent on the comment from Jeffries. 

President Donald Trump’s envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, has traveled to Venezuela to deliver an in-person message to socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro about accepting violent criminals deported from the United States.

On a call with reporters Friday, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the U.S. special envoy to Latin America, said Grenell will tell Maduro to take back all the Venezuelan criminals and Tren de Aragua gang members that have been “exported to the United States, and to do so unequivocally and without condition.” 

Grenell will also demand that Venezuela immediately release American hostages being held in that country, Claver-Carone said.

TRUMP TAPS RICHARD GRENELL AS PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR SPECIAL MISSIONS, EDWARD S. WALSH AS IRELAND AMBASSADOR

Ric Grenell, former Acting Director of National Intelligence speaks on Day 3 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 17, 2024.  (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

The trip “focuses on two very specific issues. That we expect that Venezuelan criminals and gangs will be returned, as they are, to every country in the world, without conditions, and two, that American hostages need to be released immediately, unequivocally,” he explained. 

“This is not a quid pro quo. It’s not a negotiation in exchange for anything. President Trump himself has made that very clear.” 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Friday that Grenell had arrived in Venezuela on orders from the president. 

‘WEAPONIZED MIGRATION’: US FACES DEADLY CONSEQUENCES WITH MADURO IN POWER, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION WARNS

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds a news conference at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, July 31, 2024, three days after his disputed reelection.  (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Despite widespread belief among Venezuelans and much of the international community that Maduro lost the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election to opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, he was sworn into his third six-year term earlier this month.

The U.S. does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate head of state of Venezuela.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado has called on Venezuelan citizens to protest the Maduro regime and demand that González be installed as the rightful president of Venezuela.

DETAILS OF VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER’S POSSIBLE ARREST REMAIN UNCLEAR AMID MADURO INAUGURATION RESISTANCE

Still image from social media video shows suspected juvenile Tren de Aragua members based out of the Roosevelt Hotel, who have allegedly been attacking nearby Times Square in a string of robberies. (Obtained by New York Post)

As many as 10 Americans are currently detained in Venezuela, although the State Department has not declared them wrongfully detained. Three are U.S. citizens who allegedly participated in a plot to destabilize the country, according to Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

The State Department has denied any U.S. involvement with a plot to overthrow Maduro. 

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It remains unclear how many Americans are currently held in Venezuela following the significant prisoner swap in 2023 when Washington and Caracas negotiated the release of dozens of prisoners, including 10 Americans, in exchange for Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of Maduro.

Saab was arrested during the first Trump administration on charges related to a $350 million bribery scheme. 

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.

Here’s what’s happening…

–Noncitizen voter crackdown led by GOP ahead of 2026 midterms

-4 of the biggest clashes between Kash Patel, Senate Dems at his confirmation hearing

-Trump health secretary nominee RFK Jr survives heated hearings ahead of crucial confirmation votes

‘Unhinged Violent Rhetoric’

The White House is blasting House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries after pledging to fight Republicans’ agenda “in the streets.”

“While President Trump remains focused on uniting our country and delivering the mandate set by the American people, the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, incites violence calling for people to fight ‘in the streets’ against President Trump’s agenda,” White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai told Fox News Digital.

“This unhinged violent rhetoric is dangerous. Leader Jeffries should immediately apologize.”…Read more

“We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We’re going to fight it in the streets,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said recently, referring to President Donald Trump’s agenda. (Getty Images)

DC Plane Crash

‘CONCERNING’ CRASHES: Military aircraft collisions raise questions about training and equipment, expert says…Read more

‘COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE’: What to know about the mistakes made leading up to the fatal collision…Read more

BUTTI-JUDGMENT: Biden Transportation secretary blasts Trump after president excoriates him in press briefing…Read more

DANGER ZONE: Two planes aborted landings at Reagan National Airport due to helicopters in flight path in week before crash…Read more

A plane flies near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 30, 2025.  (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

‘BAD DECISIONS’: Trump orders assessment of aviation safety, names acting FAA administrator after deadly DC plane crash…Read more

‘CONCERNING’ CRASHES: Military aircraft collisions raise questions about training and equipment, expert says…Read more

White House

NOWHERE TO RUN: Trump’s migrant DHS FBI crackdown leaves killers, rapists nowhere to run…Read more

GETTING THE BOOT: Trump issues unexpected ultimatum to senior FBI ranks…Read more

The FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

NICE TRY: Trump to sign memo lifting Biden’s last-minute collective bargaining agreements…Read more

World Stage

‘VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM’: Trump facing first test in Africa amid bloody battles ‘over electric vehicle battery minerals’…Read more

AMERICAN HOSTAGE: First American hostage to be released from Gaza, Hamas says…Read more

Capitol Hill

‘REFUSE TO BE THEIR PUPPET’: Top 5 moments from Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation hearing…Read more

Tulsi Gabbard testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on her nomination to be US Director of National Intelligence (DNI), on Capitol Hill on January 30, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

CONFIRMED: Trump VA pick Doug Collins advances to full Senate vote…Read more

‘IN THE STREETS’: Trump White House demands apology after Jeffries calls for Dems to fight president’s agenda ‘in the streets’…Read more

Across America 

FARM TEAM: After stinging election defeats, DNC eyes rural voters as key to midterm success…Read more

DRAFT DODGE: New FOIA on migrants potentially avoiding the draft could open new deportation predicate: attorneys…Read more

‘PUSHING RHETORIC’: Chicago mayor lambasts Trump, claims US being run like ‘had the Confederacy won’…Read more

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker slams President Donald Trump’s leadership following the American Airlines crash.  (AP/Getty)

LESSONS NOT LEARNED?: Democrats rally around lightening rod issue during unruly DNC debate despite voter backlash in 2024…Read more

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

A documentary about bridging the political divide in one of the most hotly contested battleground counties in the United States debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this week, leading some to conclude that the historically liberal festival is moving toward the center. 

“One of the things that is fascinating about ‘Bucks County, USA’ being chosen as an official selection at Sundance is it appears, in the era of Trump being re-elected, the well-known left-leaning Sundance Film Festival is moving to the middle,” Paul Martino said. “There is a new openness to dialogue,” 

Martino, the founder of Bullpen Capital, told Fox News Digital about the documentary series “Bucks County, USA” being screened at Sundance, a Utah festival known for screening films promoting liberal causes and being a place for anti-Trump demonstrations.

KELSEY GRAMMER SAYS CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT IS LOOKING ‘MORE ATTRACTIVE’ TO HOLLYWOOD

Martino, who is featured in the film, told Fox News Digital that the five-part docuseries is “all about the political divisions that happen in the United States focused on where I live, Bucks County, USA.”

“It is about all of the post-COVID policies and all of the things that happened at the school board level once a lot of the parents’ rights movement started, and the film dives into a lot of detail about the political division that happened, and it focuses, ironically, on the friendship of my daughter and her best friend, who is what I would describe as my political rival’s daughter,” Martino explained. 

Paul Martino at the Sundance Film Festival (Paul Martino)

Martino, a conservative, told Fox News Digital walking around Sundance was a “fascinating” experience and that he encountered many people who seemed to be open to the movie’s message of listening to the other side.

“Obviously, it is a rather left-leaning crowd in general. But even the people behind Sundance, the people who pick the films this year, said that they felt this film, ‘Bucks County, USA,’ was very important because it was in a Trump re-elected era,” Martino said. 

“Understanding and speaking to the other side and understanding who the other side is is important.

MEL GIBSON DOESN’T ‘BLAME’ CELEBRITIES FLEEING HOLLYWOOD BUT VOWS TO ‘FIX’ AS TRUMP’S SPECIAL AMBASSADOR

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Evan Vucci/AP)

“One of the amazing stories told by one of the filmmakers at Sundance was there’s a guy sitting next to me in a MAGA hat who I would have never talked to on the plane had I not made this movie and realized he had a lot to say to me. And the fact that this film affected even the filmmakers, I think, is a really interesting and important lesson for the rest of the country.”

While many people at Sundance were receptive to the film, Martino told Fox News Digital he did encounter some opposition from people at a question-and-answer session after the screening. 

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The marquee of the Egyptian Theatre during the Sundance Film Festival Jan. 28, 2020, in Park City, Utah.  (AP/Arthur Mola/Invision)

“I would say one of the only disappointments of the experience was I felt that some people in the crowd, you know, it’s an honor to be in the Q&A at the end of the series and, look, we had everybody up there. We had people who really don’t like each other, who disagree vehemently, and I think it was lost on the audience that all of us were standing there,” Martino said. 

“The fact that we all agreed to be part of this, the fact that we were all there and I got asked a question or two that were directed in my direction that I felt were a little bit inflammatory and I kind of chuckled to myself thinking, ‘Did you just watch the movie? And did you just see the fact that we’re all here? Maybe you missed a little something there.'”

The Trump administration put a short pause on most federal government websites Friday evening in an effort to eliminate DEI content and any language opposed to President Trump’s agenda, Fox News Digital has learned. 

A Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that federal government websites went dark at around 5:00 p.m. Friday evening. The websites are now back up and running. 

The purpose was to remove content that is “anti-Trump administration” and against the president’s agenda. 

WHITE HOUSE OPM ORDERS ALL DEI OFFICES TO BEGIN CLOSING BY END OF DAY WEDNESDAY

The move comes after the Office of Personnel Management last week ordered that heads and directors of agencies and departments close all DEI offices. 

That order came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week to eliminate all DEI programs from the federal government.

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The president also signed an order making it “the official policy of the U.S. government to only recognize two genders: male and female.”

Trump issued two other executive actions last week targeting DEI — an executive order to end discrimination in the workplace and higher education through race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of DEI, and a memo to eliminate a Biden administration policy that prioritized DEI hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent a memo to the acting FBI director Friday evening directing him to terminate eight FBI employees and identify all current and former bureau personnel assigned to Jan. 6 and Hamas cases for an internal review, Fox News has learned. 

Bove’s memo to acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, which was obtained by Fox News, asserts the Department of Justice cannot trust the FBI employees to carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda.

The subject of the memo is “Terminations.”

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FIRES MORE THAN A DOZEN KEY OFFICIALS ON FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S TEAM

“This memorandum sets forth a series of directives, authorized by the Acting Attorney General, regarding personnel matters to be addressed at the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Bove wrote. 

Bove, a former Trump defense attorney, directed Driscoll to fire eight specific FBI employees by Monday, Feb. 3, at 5:30 p.m. 

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a former Trump attorney, directed the FBI acting director to fire seven specific employees by Monday. (Angela Weiss/Pool/Getty Images)

“I do not believe that the current leadership of the Justice Department can trust these FBI employees to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully,” Bove wrote in the memo. 

Bove cited comments made by President Trump on his first day back in office, in which Trump accused the Biden administration’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies of going after Biden’s political adversaries.

“The American people have witnessed the previous administration engage in a systemic campaign against its perceived political opponents, weaponizing the legal force of numerous Federal law enforcement agencies and the Intelligence Community against those perceived political opponents in the form of investigations, prosecutions, civil enforcement actions, and other related actions,” Bove’s memo noted. “This includes the FBI.”

ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT RESPONSIBLE FOR OPENING JACK SMITH ELECTOR CASE AGAINST PRESIDENT: WHISTLEBLOWER

Bove said the FBI’s “prior leadership actively participated in what President Trump appropriately described as ‘a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years’ with respect to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“The weaponization of the FBI’s security clearance process is similarly troubling,” Bove continued. “So too are issues relating to the FBI’s reticence to address instructions and requests from, among other places, the Justice Department.” 

The seal for the Justice Department in Washington Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Bove said the problems “are symptomatic of deficiencies in previous leadership that must now be addressed.”

Bove wrote that he “deem[s] these terminations necessary, pursuant to President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order, entitled ‘Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government’ in order to continue the process of restoring a culture of integrity, credibility, accountability, and responsiveness to the leadership and directives of President Trump and the Justice Department.” 

Beyond the terminations of the eight employees, Bove directed Driscoll to identify by noon Tuesday, Feb. 4, “all current and former FBI personnel assigned at any time to investigations and/or prosecutions” relating to “the events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021” and United States v. Haniyeh, a terrorism case against six Hamas leaders charged with planning and carrying out the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel. 

The defendants in that case include Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, high-level Hamas leaders believed to have been assassinated in 2024 by Israeli operatives.

MAJOR FBI CHANGES KASH PATEL COULD MAKE ON DAY 1 IF CONFIRMED AS DIRECTOR

Bove ordered that the lists of employees Driscoll should compile “should include relevant supervisory personnel in FBI regional offices and field divisions, as well as at FBI headquarters.” 

“For each employee included in the list, provide the current title, office to which the person is assigned, role in the investigation or prosecution, and date of last activity relating to the investigation or prosecution,” Bove directed. “Upon timely receipt of the requested information, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General will commence a review process to determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary.” 

Fox News also obtained the letter Driscoll sent to bureau employees Friday evening after receiving Bove’s memo. In it, Driscoll notified employees he was directed to fire the specific employees Bove identified “unless these employees have retired beforehand.” 

“I have been personally in touch with each of these impacted employees,” Driscoll wrote. 

The J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington, D.C.  (Brooks Kraft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

As for the directive to compile a list of FBI employees involved in the Jan. 6 and Hamas cases, Driscoll said that request “encompasses thousands of employees across the country who have supported these investigative efforts.” 

“I am one of those employees, as is acting Deputy Director Kissane,” Driscoll wrote. “As we’ve said since the moment we agreed to take on these roles, we are going to follow the law, follow FBI policy, and do what’s in the best interest of the workforce and the American people — always.

“We will be back in touch with more information as soon as we can. In the meantime, stay safe, and take care of each other.” 

The FBI declined to comment on any personnel matters, including names, titles or numbers.

The DOJ directive comes after Acting Attorney General James McHenry earlier this week fired more than a dozen key officials who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s team prosecuting Trump. Fox News Digital exclusively reported the action Monday. 

Special counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on an indictment, including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Justice Department Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

A DOJ official Monday used similar language to that seen in Bove’s letter, telling Fox News Digital McHenry “does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the president’s agenda.” 

The directive also comes a day after Fox News Digital exclusively reported that whistleblower emails were shared with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, revealing that a former FBI agent, Timothy Thibault, allegedly broke protocol and played a critical role in opening and advancing the bureau’s original investigation related to the 2020 election, tying President Donald Trump to the probe without sufficient predication. 

Bove’s memo also comes a day after President Trump’s nominee to lead the bureau, Kash Patel, testified during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Trump and allies have maintained the law enforcement agency was weaponized against him and conservatives across the nation. 

The House Judiciary Committee, for months, investigated the FBI for the creation of a memo targeting Catholics and parents at school board meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

President Trump on Friday evening denied any involvement in the DOJ directive. 

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“We have some very bad people over there,” Trump said Friday. “They came after a lot of people like me, but they came after a lot of people. No, I wasn’t involved in that.

“I’ll have to see what is exactly going on after this is finished,” he added. “But if they fired some people over there, that’s a good thing, because they were very bad. They were very corrupt people, very corrupt, and they hurt our country very badly with the weaponization. They used, they used the Justice Department to go after their political opponent, which in itself is illegal. And obviously it didn’t work.”