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The recent wave of preliminary injunctions from federal judges has stymied President Donald Trump’s early agenda in his second White House term, prompting new questions as to how far the administration might go if it opts to challenge these court orders. 

Federal judges across the country have blocked Trump’s ban on transgender persons serving in the U.S. military, ordered the reinstatement of core functions of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, and halted Elon Musk’s government efficiency organization, DOGE, from oversight and access to government agencies, among other things. They’ve also temporarily halted deportations, or attempted to, so judges can consider the relevant laws.

Combined, the wave of rulings has been met with outrage from Trump administration officials, some of whom said they plan to appeal the rulings to the Supreme Court, if needed. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has used her podium to rail against “radical left-wing judges,” who she has alleged are acting with a political agenda to block Trump’s executive orders.

“These judicial activists want to unilaterally stop President Trump from deporting foreign terrorists, hiring and firing executive branch employees, and determining the readiness of our troops,” Leavitt said on X, expanding on remarks made Wednesday at a press briefing.

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“They MUST be reined in,” she added.

Some of Trump’s supporters in Congress have threatened judges who block the president’s agenda with impeachment, while his critics worry the president’s attacks on the judiciary will collapse the constitutional system, bringing to the fore an impassioned debate over the separation of powers in the Constitution. 

Here’s a rundown of where things stand. 

Courts block Trump agenda 

U.S. District Court Judge Theodore Chuang, an Obama appointee, ruled on Tuesday that DOGE’s efforts to dismantle USAID “on an accelerated basis” likely violated the U.S. Constitution “in multiple ways” and ordered the partial restoration of the agency’s functions, including reinstatement of personnel access to email and payment systems.

Chuang’s preliminary injunction is believed to be the first to directly invoke Musk himself. It said Musk could interact with USAID employees only after being granted “express authorization” from an agency official, and it blocked DOGE from engaging in any further work at USAID.

Hours later, U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction barring the Pentagon from enforcing Trump’s order on transgender persons serving in the military.

Reyes, the first openly gay member of the court, wrote in a scathing 79-page ruling that the Trump administration failed to demonstrate that transgender service members would hinder military readiness, relying on what she described as “pure conjecture” to attempt to justify the policy and thus causing undue harm to thousands of current U.S. service members.  

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Both rulings are almost certain to be challenged by the Trump administration. In fact, Reyes was so confident that the Justice Department would file an emergency appeal that she delayed her ruling from taking force until Friday to allow the Trump administration time to file for an emergency stay.

Reyes wasn’t wrong. Senior administration officials vowed to challenge the wave of court rulings, which they said are an attempt by the courts to unduly infringe on presidential powers.

“We are appealing this decision, and we will win,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on social media.

“District court judges have now decided they are in command of the Armed Forces…is there no end to this madness?” White House policy adviser Stephen Miller said later in a post on X. 

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Several other high-profile cases are playing out in real time that could test the fraught relationship between the courts and the executive branch, and next steps remain deeply uncertain.

U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg warned the Trump administration on Wednesday that it could face consequences for violating his court order temporarily blocking it from invoking a little-known wartime law to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals from U.S. soil, including alleged members of the gang Tren de Aragua, for 14 days. 

Boasberg handed down the temporary restraining order Saturday evening, around the time that the Trump administration proceeded to deport hundreds of migrants, including Venezuelan nationals subject to the Alien Enemies Act, to El Salvador. He also ordered in a bench ruling shortly after that any planes carrying these individuals return to the U.S. 

But at least one plane with migrants deported by the law in question touched down later that evening in El Salvador.

“Oopsie, too late,” El Salvador’s president said in a post on X.

In the days since, government lawyers citing national security protections have refused to share information in court about the deportation flights and whether the plane (or planes) of migrants knowingly departed U.S. soil after the judge ordered them not to do so.

The White House has repeatedly asserted that lower court judges like Boasberg should not have the power to prevent the president from executing what it argues is a lawful agenda, though the judges in question have disagreed that the president’s actions all follow the law.

“A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft carrier full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil,” Leavitt told Fox News.

Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said in an interview on “Fox & Friends” this week: “We are not stopping.”

“I don’t care what the judges think. I don’t care what the left thinks. We’re coming,” Homan said, adding, “Another fight. Another fight every day.”

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Relief on the way?

The administration’s appeals, which are all almost guaranteed, may have a better chance of success than previous cases that reached appellate courts, including one in which the Supreme Court ruled against the president.

There are two types of near-term relief that federal judges can offer plaintiffs before convening both parties to the court for a full case on the merits: a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order, or a TRO. 

A TRO immediately blocks an action for 14 days to allow more time for consideration. But it’s a difficult test for plaintiffs to satisfy: they must prove that the order in question would pose immediate and “irreparable harm”– an especially burdensome level of proof, especially if it hinges on an action or order that has not yet come into force. 

The outcomes, as a result, are very narrow in scope. One could look to the TRO request granted by U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali earlier this month, which required the Trump administration to pay out $2 billion in owed money for previously completed USAID projects. 

Since it did not deal with current contracts or ongoing payments, the Supreme Court, which upheld Ali’s ruling, 5-4, had little room to intervene.

The request for a preliminary injunction, however, is a bit more in depth. Successful plaintiffs must demonstrate to the court four things in seeking the ruling: First, that they are likely to succeed on the merits of the claim when it is heard later on; that the balance of equities tips in their favor; that the injunction is considered within the sphere of public interest; and finally, that they are “likely” to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of court action.

This wider level of discretion granted to the district courts in a preliminary injunction ruling invites much more scrutiny, and more room for the government to appeal the ruling to higher courts should they see fit. 

It’s a strategy both legal analysts and even Trump himself dangled as a likely possibility as they look to enforce some of their most sweeping policy actions. 

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Trump suggested this week that Boasberg, tasked with overseeing the escalating deportation fight, be impeached, describing him in a post on Truth Social as a “crooked” judge and someone who, unlike himself, was not elected president.

“He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING!” Trump said.

The post earned the rebuke of Chief Justice John Roberts, who noted that it broke with 200 years of established law. And on Thursday, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, James Blair, appeared to punt the issue to Congress.

He told Politico in an interview that Trump’s remarks were shining “a big old spotlight” on what it views as a partisan decision, but noted impeaching a judge would be up to Republicans in Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who he said would ultimately “figure out what can be passed or not” in Congress.

“That’s the speaker’s job. And I won’t speak for what the speaker’s opinion of that is,” he said. “I think the thing that is important right now is the president is highlighting a critical issue.”

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to halt the planned deportation of a Georgetown University scholar arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Monday over allegations he spread Hamas propaganda online.

Judge Patricia Giles ordered that Badar Khan Suri, an Indian citizen, “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order.”

Suri was detained in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Suri, a postdoctoral scholar student in the United States on a student visa, was accused of “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” a senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official said in a statement.

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“Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”

The agency did not name the suspected terrorist or Hamas advisor.

However, The New York Times reported that Suri’s wife is Palestinian American. Her father is Ahmed Yousef, a former advisor to Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader Israel assassinated last year in Iran. 

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In a voice message, Yousef said Suri is his son-in-law, adding Suri was not involved in any “political activism,” including on behalf of Hamas, the Times report states. 

Yousef lives in Gaza but said he left his position in the Hamas-run government more than a decade ago. He doesn’t hold a senior position with the terrorist group and has publicly criticized Hamas’ decision to attack Israel Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the group’s ongoing war with Israel. 

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On March 15, Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined Suri’s activities and presence in the U.S. “rendered him deportable” under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a senior official said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Suri’s attorney. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday labeled the violent streak of vandalism against Tesla vehicles and showrooms as “domestic terrorism” — an issue Democrats have rallied against for years. Fox News Digital asked 13 Democrats who sponsored legislation to combat domestic terrorism if they agreed with Bondi’s distinction. None of the lawmakers responded. 

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the ongoing Tesla attacks across the U.S. From Oregon to Massachusetts, Tesla cars and facilities have been vandalized in at least seven locations. What began as protests against Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have escalated into violent incidents, including shots fired at a building, destroyed dealership windows and charging stations set on fire. 

Former President Joe Biden’s administration launched the first-ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism in 2021, identifying domestic terrorism as a major national security threat, particularly in the aftermath of the U.S. Capitol attacks on Jan. 6. Congressional Democrats led their own legislative efforts to combat domestic terrorism during the Biden administration. 

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and 10 Senate Democrats introduced the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2023, which was designed to enhance the government’s ability to prevent domestic terrorism. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022 also targeted domestic terrorism, with a focus on combating “white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration.”

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Despite Democrats leading activism against domestic terrorism during the Biden administration, the Democratic response to the ongoing Tesla attacks has been noticeably silent. One Democrat, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., urged his colleagues to condemn the Tesla vandalism in an X post last week. 

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“There is zero tolerance for acts of vandalism against Tesla. Spraying the words “nazi cars” or lighting fire to dealership and chargers is wrong. Period. All Democrats should condemn it,” he said. 

While now refusing to condemn Tesla vandalism, Democrats have not missed an opportunity to vocalize their opposition to domestic terrorism in the past. 

“As I have said on many occasions, I condemn all violence, regardless of ideology,” Durbin said in 2023 while urging colleagues to support the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act.

“We have to act decisively to address the poison of white supremacy and domestic terrorism in America. It’s a poison, it’s a cancer, it’s destroying our society. It shouldn’t be a partisan issue. It’s not a Democratic issue or Republican issue, dealing with the crisis of violent white supremacy. It is an American issue,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in 2022. 

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“We are deeply concerned about the financing of domestic violent extremist activities in the U.S.,” Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; and former Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., said in 2022 while calling for a review into how domestic extremists are funded. 

Waters is yet to call for an investigation into how Tesla protests are being funded as many conservatives are pointing the finger at liberal activist groups, including Musk, who recently blamed left-wing billionaire George Soros, billionaire Democratic mega-donor and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and others, claiming they are bankrolling the destructive “protests.”

In 2021, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in a Facebook post, “Domestic terrorism is one of the gravest threats to America.”

“When violence fueled by homegrown, hateful ideology poses a more immediate threat to the safety and security of Americans on American soil than an international terrorist organization, it’s time for our laws to catch up,” Schiff said in 2019.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said last summer following the first assassination attempt on President Donald Trump that “all political violence” should be condemned, adding she was the victim of political violence herself. 

Following the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on X: “We must do more to fight terrorism at home and abroad.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., demanded accountability in 2022 for those who perpetrate White supremacy, which is considered a form of domestic terrorism. 

“White supremacy has cost countless lives from El Paso to Mother Emanuel and now Buffalo. Our hearts break for the victims. And we demand accountability for those in Congress and in social media that perpetrate this deadly ideology,” she said on X after questioning Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. 

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel seemed to mock Tesla vandalism during his show on Tuesday. 

“People have been vandalizing Tesla vehicles, new Tesla vehicles. Please, don’t vandalize, don’t ever vandalize Tesla vehicles,” Kimmel said, pausing and looking into the camera for a dramatic pause as the audience laughed. 

A conservative social media account posted the clip and said: “Jimmy Kimmel wants more Tesla attacks.”

“He’s such an unfunny jerk,” Musk replied to the post. 

Bondi on Tuesday said that the Tesla attacks are “nothing short of domestic terrorism” and the Department of Justice has already made several charges. 

“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism. The Department of Justice has already charged several perpetrators with that in mind, including in cases that involve charges with five-year mandatory minimum sentences. We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes,” Bondi said in a statement. 

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While no serious injuries have been reported, anti-Musk cyberattackers posted an interactive map of Tesla owners’ names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mails. Bondi told Fox News’ Will Cain on Wednesday that the Justice Department believes the attacks are part of an organized effort. 

“We are coming after you,” Bondi said on “The Will Cain Show.” “We believe these are organizers, and these are not individuals out there throughout the country doing this on their own. They’re targeting Tesla owners. They’re targeting Tesla dealerships. They’re targeting Elon Musk, who is out there trying to save our country. And it will not be tolerated. We are coming after you. We will find you. And if you are an organized group who is funding this, we’re going to find you, too. You better look out, and you better stop it.”

Violence against Tesla car owners and facilities has skyrocketed over the past few weeks, as anti-Elon Musk protesters continue to vandalize and destroy electric vehicles in a violent string of crimes against the Trump ally’s company.

Videos circulating on social media show footage of individuals spitting on, keying or setting ablaze Tesla vehicles across the country. “Smile, you’re on camera,” Tesla wrote Thursday in a post on X, revealing that there are “at least 7 cameras all around each of our cars” capturing the crime.

One victim, Avi Ben Hamo, a Jewish man from New York, recently called for hate crime charges against a man who he caught drawing a Nazi symbol on his Cybertruck.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denounced the “heinous violence” against Tesla and called on Democrats to condemn the attacks.

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“Democrats were big supporters of Tesla and of electric vehicles until Elon Musk decided to vote for Donald Trump. So we would like Democrats to also come out and condemn this heinous violence that we have seen,” Leavitt said during a press briefing on Wednesday. “And I believe the attorney general has said she’s investigating these incidents as acts of domestic terrorism.”

Three individuals were charged in federal cases after they used Molotov cocktails to violently attack Tesla properties around the country in acts of “domestic terrorism,” Bondi announced Thursday.

“The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” Bondi said. “Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.”

Fox News Digital’s Emma Woodhead and Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE – DOGE subcommittee Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA, is investigating “gross negligence” and “rampant cronyism” at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, a government media agency run by former legacy media executives.

Greene told Fox News Digital that abuses at the U.S. Agency for Global Media – USAGM – pose a “direct threat to national security.”  

USAGM is a government-funded international media agency that oversees several radio, TV and digital media outlets worldwide, including Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 

Founded in 1999, the agency has been primarily staffed by journalists from mainstream media outlets, with former CEOs coming from agencies such as MSNBC and NPR.

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Kari Lake, the Trump administration’s senior advisor overseeing USAGM, has previously bashed the agency as “not salvageable,” saying that “from top-to-bottom, this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer—a national security risk for this nation—and irretrievably broken.”

Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” commanding the dismantling of USAGM, as well as six other government offices.  

Before the agency is entirely shut down, however, Greene is requesting Lake give Congress access to key records from the agency to shed further light on “serious allegations of corruption, financial mismanagement, and national security failures.”

In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital addressed to Lake, Greene said that over the past decade, the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have uncovered “gross negligence and intentional defiance of national security protocols, resulting in unfettered and unauthorized access of sensitive information by federal employees.”

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Greene pointed to a further “full-scale investigation” launched in 2020 by independent law firm McGuireWoods that confirmed whistleblower testimonies about severe mismanagement and corruption within the agency.

According to Greene, abuses included unlawfully granting J-1 visas and awarding millions of dollars in contracts through the Open Technology Fund to friends and individuals with whom there were conflicts of interest.

Greene said that other “egregious abuses” uncovered by the McGuireWoods investigation included senior officials at the agency erasing entire laptop hard drives before turning them in to investigators.  

Despite the individuals responsible being fired under the first Trump administration, Greene said that “nearly all” of those involved in the wrongdoing were rehired under the Biden administration, “allowing them to resume their previous activities with zero consequences.”  

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The congresswoman is demanding access to information regarding all grant agreements awarded through the Open Technology Fund, all settlement agreements for individuals implicated in the McGuireWoods report and any additional communications or information that Lake deems relevant.

“For years, USAGM engaged in rampant cronyism, issuing corrupt contracts to friends and family through the Open Technology Fund (OTF), while senior officials bypassed security protocols, mishandled sensitive information, and obstructed investigations,” a statement by Greene’s office said.

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Greene told Fox News Digital that she considers the Biden administration’s decision to rehire the officials responsible for the abuse not only an “insult to taxpayers” but also a “direct threat to national security.”

“We will not allow the former Biden regime to cover up illegal activity and shield bad actors from accountability,” she said.

Fox News Digital politics reporter Emma Colton contributed to this report.

House GOP leaders have little appetite to launch a full-scale impeachment process against judges who have been blocking President Donald Trump’s agenda, sources said Thursday.

Three people – two senior House GOP aides and one source familiar with leadership’s discussions – told Fox News Digital that House leadership does not see impeachment as the most effective way to hold accountable those they view as “activist” judges.

Republican leaders are still looking into it, however, after Trump himself called for the impeachment of U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg over the weekend. Boasberg issued an emergency 14-day injunction on the Trump administration’s deportation of suspected Tren De Aragua gang members under the Alien Enemies Act.

But impeachment would largely be a symbolic gesture, even if such a move passed the House.

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“I don’t think we know if we have the votes, and it’s another intense whipping process for something that won’t move at all in the Senate,” one senior House GOP aide said. “I think our focus is to do something that is easier to get votes for and could actually get all the Republicans in the Senate.”

A second senior House GOP aide was more blunt with Fox News Digital: “It’s likelier that President Trump will acquire Canada as our 51st state than the U.S. House of Representatives impeaching federal judges.”

“This is an impossible task,” the second senior aide said.

A third source familiar with House GOP leadership discussions said, “The impeachment route isn’t anyone’s favorite on this.”

It’s being pushed by a faction of conservatives primarily in the House Freedom Caucus, however – and they appear buoyed by Trump’s support for impeaching Boasberg.

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, introduced a resolution to impeach Boasberg for abuse of power. 

Gill told Fox News Digital earlier this week that Boasberg was a “rogue” judge who was “overstepping” his authority.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who previously told Fox News Digital that all options were on the table, suggested in multiple media interviews this week that the committee could hold a hearing on the matter.

Reps. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., are pushing resolutions to impeach other federal judges who blocked Trump policies as well.

However, with just 53 Republican senators, any impeachment resolution would need the help of Democrats to reach the two-thirds threshold required for removal after a Senate trial – which is highly unlikely to happen. 

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the Constitution, said all options should be available to Republicans. 

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“We ought to look at [impeachment], we ought to look at jurisdiction-stripping, we ought to look at every option that needs to be addressed about judges that are actively taking steps to try to undermine the presidency,” Roy told Fox News Digital in a brief interview on Thursday.

He also pointed out that an impeachment by the House is in itself a punishment, although symbolic – though Roy noted he was not “for or against” any one specific path right now.

It’s worth noting that former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas remains the second-ever Cabinet secretary impeached, a permanent note on his legacy even though the then-Democrat-controlled Senate quickly dismissed a trial.

But getting the Mayorkas impeachment resolution passed through the House was a messy political affair, when the GOP was dealing with a similarly slim margin. It took two House-wide votes to pass that measure, with Republicans falling one vote short on the first attempt and then narrowly passing the resolution with three GOP defections on the second.

GOP leaders have had more success with critical votes this year, however, with Trump in the White House pressing holdouts on key legislation.

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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is not ruling anything out right now, at least publicly. A spokesperson for Johnson told Fox News Digital that he would look at all options available to take on “activist judges.”

“Activist judges with political agendas pose a significant threat to the rule of law, equal justice, and the separation of powers. The speaker looks forward to working with the Judiciary Committee as they review all available options under the Constitution to address this urgent matter,” the spokesperson said.

Two other sources told Fox News Digital that another option Trump showed support for was a bill by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to block federal district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions.

President Donald Trump praised his youngest son, Barron Trump, as a “smart guy” with an affinity for technology ahead of Barron’s 19th birthday on Thursday. 

The president said his teen son has a knack for technology when asked whether Barron had more of a talent for business or politics during an exclusive interview on “The Ingraham Angle” this week.

“Maybe technology,” Trump said. “He can look at a computer. I try I turn it off. As I turn it off I turn off his laptop. I said, oh good. And I go back. Five minutes later, he’s got his laptop. I say, how did you do that? None of your business, dad. No. He’s got an unbelievable aptitude in technology.”

“Barron’s a very smart guy,” the president said.

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Barron Trump is a first-year student at New York University (NYU) in the Stern School of Business.

During the inaugural parade at Capital One Arena, Barron Trump was acknowledged by his father for his role in the 2024 presidential election results — as he reportedly guided the president on how to target the youth vote through podcasts hosted by Joe Rogan, Theo Von and others.

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The 2024 presidential race was the first election in which Barron Trump was eligible to vote and his mother, First lady Melania Trump, shared a photo of her son on Election Day while he was casting his ballot at the voting booth.

Trump went on to praise all his other four children – Eric, Donald Jr., Tiffany and Ivanka – during the interview, telling Ingraham that they’re “very smart” and were “always good students.”

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“I’m lucky,” the president said. “Look, you have to be a little bit lucky, too.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.

The Trump administration said the United States Institute of Peace is on the “right path” to enforce the president’s executive actions after a judge ruled in the administration’s favor following the office’s standoff with a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team. 

“The ruling by a U.S. District Court affirms the President’s clear authority to appoint and remove board members, ensuring that the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) operates in alignment with executive directives,” a Trump administration official told Fox News Digital Thursday following the order. “This decision reinforces the President’s commitment to accountability, transparency, and effective governance.” 

District Judge Beryl Howell on Wednesday denied a request from the USIP to grant a temporary restraining order that claimed DOGE committed “literal trespass and takeover by force … of the Institute’s headquarters building on Constitution Avenue.”

The USIP lawsuit sought “the immediate intervention of this Court to stop Defendants from completing the unlawful dismantling of the Institute and irreparably impairing Plaintiffs’ ability to perform their vital peace promotion and conflict resolution work as tasked by Congress.”

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The Institute of Peace is an independent, national institution funded by Congress that was established in 1984 under the Reagan administration to promote peace and diplomacy on the international stage. The institute hit national headlines recently after the Trump administration fired 11 of its 14 board members after the government-funded office failed to comply with a Trump executive order from February requiring it to reduce its size to the statutory minimum. 

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“President Trump signed an executive order to reduce USIP to its statutory minimum,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. “After noncompliance, 11 board members were lawfully removed, and remaining board members appointed Kenneth Jackson acting president.”

The remaining board members include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and National Defense University President Peter Garvin, who on Friday fired acting president and CEO of the institute, George Moose. 

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Moose is a Clinton-era diplomat who served as assistant secretary of state for African affairs during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The board replaced Moose with Kenneth Jackson, a State Department official, as acting president. 

Jackson and a DOGE team attempted to enter the Institute of Peace’s building in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, but were denied access by employees of the institute, an administration official told Fox News Digital. 

The standoff heightened on Monday, when Jackson and the DOGE team again attempted to gain entry to the building, while Moose accused them of breaking into the building. 

The Metropolitan Police Department reported it had received a call from the United States Attorney’s Office at about 4 p.m. that day regarding an ongoing incident at the institute and reported to the scene. 

“MPD members met with the acting USIP President, and he provided the MPD members with documentation that he was the acting USIP President, with all powers delegated by the USIP Board of Directors to that role,” the police department said in a news release of Monday’s incident. “The acting USIP President advised MPD members that there were unauthorized individuals inside of the building that were refusing to leave and refusing to provide him access to the facility.” 

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“MPD members went to the USIP building and contacted an individual who allowed MPD members inside of the building,” the release stated. “Once inside of the building, the acting USIP President requested that all the unauthorized individuals inside of the building leave.” 

Jackson was able to enter the building upon police intervention. Moose left the building without incident and no arrests were made, police said. 

“With Mr. Jackson lawfully appointed as Acting President, USIP is now on the right path to fully comply with the President’s February 19th Executive Order and uphold its responsibility to the American people,” the administration official told Fox Digital Thursday. 

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Wednesday’s news conference that staffers physically barricaded themselves in the building. 

“There was a concerted effort amongst the rogue bureaucrats at the United States Institute of Peace to actually physically barricade themselves essentially inside of the building to prevent political appointees of this administration who work at the direction of the president of the United States to get into the building,” she said. 

“They barricaded the doors. They also disabled telephone lines, internet connections and other IT infrastructure within the building. They distributed fliers internally, encouraging each other to basically prevent these individuals from accessing the building,” Leavitt continued. “It’s a resistance from bureaucrats who don’t want to see change in this city. President Trump was elected on an overwhelming mandate to seek change and implement change. And this is unacceptable behavior.” 

WHITE HOUSE SAYS FEDERALLY FUNDED NEWS SERVICE ‘SPENDS YOUR MONEY TO PROMOTE FOREIGN PROPAGANDA’

A similar standoff recently occurred between DOGE and the U.S. African Development Foundation when bureaucrats barred the acting head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Peter Marocco, and DOGE members from the building. The foundation is an independent government agency established in 1980 by Congress to support “African-owned and African-led enterprises,” according to its website. 

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U.S. African Development Foundation President Ward Brehm, who was fired by the administration in mid-March, subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking a district court to bar the administration from removing him from his position. 

A federal judge denied Brehm’s request. Marocco was named acting chairman of the U.S. African Development Foundation’s board. 

From one blue-state parent to another, activists in California are warning Illinois families about a bill advancing through their state legislature that would create more regulations, and penalties, for homeschooling parents. It’s the latest high-profile battle dealing with school choice, a campaign issue President Donald Trump ran on.

“Illinois, California, Colorado, they all compete with each other. They’re coming after homeschooling, just like they’ve been coming after public schools,” California parents rights activist Sonja Shaw said in a video posted to X on Wednesday. “They’re attacking families, stripping parental rights, and pushing their radical agendas while our kids are failing at reading, writing and math.”

At issue is HB2827, the Homeschool Act, which would charge parents with a misdemeanor if they fail to register their kids in a “homeschool declaration form” to the nearest public school they would otherwise be attending. Failure to do so would be considered truancy, and parents could face up to 30 days in jail with fines. 

The bill passed a major hurdle passing out of the Democrat-dominated House education committee in a party-line vote on Wednesday, despite having upward of 50,000 witness slips in opposition and only 1,000 in support, including the Illinois State Board of Education.

ILLINOIS PARENTS, LAWMAKERS SOUND ALARM OVER PROPOSED HOMESCHOOLING BILL: ‘DIRECT ASSAULT ON FAMILIES’

California parents opposed a similar bill that failed to make it out of committee in the state legislature in 2018, AB 2756, only after hearing three hours of testimony from parents and homeschoolers. Opponents say the Democrat-led bill would have mandated all homeschooling families in the state to adhere to involuntary home inspections, after the Turpin-family child abuse case.

“This is calculated. This is how they do it. They do it in increments, slowly taking control away while people sit back thinking that their kids are safe and it doesn’t affect them,” said Shaw, who is a school board member in Chino and running for state superintendent of public instruction. “Every parent needs to be in this fight. If we don’t stand up now together, there will be nothing left to fight for our kids in their future. Please get involved. Please speak up. Please show up, because our children are worth this fight.”

KAROLINE LEAVITT VOWS TRUMP WILL KEEP MALES OUT OF GIRLS LOCKER ROOMS AMID ILLINOIS SCHOOL CONTROVERSY

Will Estrada, senior counsel for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, told Fox News on Wednesday that the bill’s language was left “open-ended for unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats to be able to write different sections of regulations.” 

“If this bill is passed into law, it’s going to be expanded in future years to put even more restrictions on homeschool and private school families,” Estrada said after testifying at Wednesday’s hearing. “The record of homeschoolers shows that we do well academically, socially, emotionally and so why are we messing with them? That’s the question. This bill is a solution in search of a problem.” 

HHS’ CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE FINDS MAINE IN VIOLATION OF TITLE IX FOR ALLOWING BIOLOGICAL MALES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

Democrats say the bill – which contains a portion that requires parents to hand over teaching materials if its suspected the child isn’t being educated properly – will strengthen oversight of homeschooling. 

Democratic state Rep. Terra Costa Howard introduced the bill following an investigative story by Pro Publica, which has a left-leaning bias according to the nonpartisan news rating company AllSides, entitled, “How Illinois’ Hands-Off Approach to Homeschooling Leaves Children at Risk.”  The report included cases of abuse that went unnoticed because children were not in school.

But opponents of the bill pushed back, saying in the hearing that there’s no correlation between homeschooled students being more at risk of abuse than those in the public school system.

“I believe this bill will help protect abused and neglected children and leave in place the freedom of parents to decide how to best meet the educational needs of their children,” Tanner Lovett, an opponent of the bill, said Wednesday.

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The Illinois homeschool bill will now head to the state House of Representatives for a floor vote. If passed by the House and Senate, it would land on the desk of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat considered a potential 2028 presidential hopeful. 

The bill passed out of the committee as President Trump is expected to sign an executive order Thursday dismantling the federal Department of Education. 

Republican Minnesota state Sen. Justin Eichorn has been charged with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota noted in a press release.

An affidavit signed by an FBI special agent details how Eichorn, who had actually been corresponding with law enforcement, allegedly arranged to pay for sex.

“Bloomington Police Department detectives communicated with the man who thought he was talking to a 17-year-old female. On March 17, a detective arranged to meet with the male at a location near the 8300 block of Normandale Avenue in Bloomington,” a press release on the bloomingtonmn.gov website states.

“The male, identified as Justin David Eichorn, age 40, of Grand Rapids, Minn. was observed arriving in the area by pickup truck. Eichorn was arrested without incident outside of his vehicle by uniformed Bloomington Police Officers.”

MINNESOTA REPUBLICANS TO INTRODUCE BILL DEFINING ‘TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME’ AS MENTAL ILLNESS

Fox News Digital reached out to Eichorn’s office on Thursday to request a comment from the state lawmaker, but no comment was provided by publication time.

The affidavit notes that “the undercover law enforcement phone number received text messages from XXX-XXX-9711 (hereinafter, the Suspect). These texts included, ‘Hey [fictitious name] I saw your post and [sic] chance you are still available tonight?’ and later, ‘What’s a guy gota [sic]do to get with the hottest girl online tonight.’”

The suspect continued communication even after an undercover law enforcement officer posing as the girl said she was 17 years old.

The affidavit states that “after again inquiring about the undercover officer’s age, the Suspect wrote, ‘Ok will ya send me a naught pic of you to show me your real?'”

SANCTUARY CITY LAWYERS PLOT TO HELP ILLEGAL MIGRANTS EVADE ICE IN EXPOSED GROUP EMAIL

Other texts showed the suspect asking about pricing and setting up a meeting. 

Police found cash and an unopened condom in Eichorn’s truck, the affidavit notes.

“As a 40-year-old man, if you come to the Orange Jumpsuit District looking to have sex with someone’s child, you can expect that we are going to lock you up,” Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said, according to the press release. 

PROPOSED BILL WOULD REQUIRE LAW ENFORCEMENT IN BLUE STATE TO COOPERATE WITH ICE: ‘A LINE OF COMMUNICATION’

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“I have always advocated stiffer penalties for these types of offenses. The recent case involving Michael Gillis who was arrested in Bloomington is a prime example of why we need stronger penalties. We need our state legislature to take this case and this type of conduct more seriously.”

Senate Republicans planned to move on Thursday morning to expel Eichorn from the state Senate, according to a Senate Republican statement provided to Fox News Digital by the caucus spokesperson.

“There is no question that these charges merit expulsion,” Senate Republican Leader Mark Johnson noted. “We owe it to the public to hold our members to the highest standards, and this violation of the public trust is so severe we must act. It is my hope that this quick resolution gives Senator Eichorn time to focus on his family.”

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is refusing to address reports he is romantically involved with a former Democratic political operative running a Soros-funded media network masquerading as independent media.

Murphy, who recently announced separation from his wife after nearly two decades together, was recently photographed having a cozy dinner with Tara McGowan, the founder and publisher of Courier Newsroom, a progressive media group that has received millions of dollars in funding from liberal mega-donors such as George Soros.

Fox News Digital recently asked Murphy on Capitol Hill about his involvement with McGowan. 

“I’m not going to talk about that,” Murphy responded.

SEVERAL DEMOCRATS TO BOYCOTT TRUMP’S ‘PEP RALLY’ SPEECH TO CONGRESS

McGowan has long held ties with the Democratic Party, working on former President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign before serving in top positions at Priorities Action USA, a Democratic super PAC, and ACRONYM, a Democrat-focused digital advocacy group.

The Murphy-tied strategist founded Courier Newsroom, a left-leaning media group that has received millions from the Fund for Policy Reform, an advocacy group founded by Soros.

In 2021, Gabby Deutch, who the Washington Post described as “the Washington correspondent for NewsGuard, a New York-based nonpartisan organization that reviews news sites to combat misinformation,” penned an op-ed criticizing Courier Newsroom as a “political operation” and argued it is “exploiting the widespread loss of local journalism to create and disseminate something we really don’t need: hyperlocal partisan propaganda.”

‘STUNNING AND BRAVE’: DEM SENATOR MOCKED AFTER HYPING ALL-NIGHTER STUNT IN PROTEST OF TRUMP NOMINEE

Fund for Policy Reform provided Courier Newsroom with three grants totaling $5 million in 2021 and 2022 to “support its non-partisan journalism, which aims to further the common good and general welfare of U.S. communities by providing access to information,” its grant database shows, as previously reported by Fox News Digital. 

McGowan was also in close quarters with former President Joe Biden’s administration, visiting the Biden White House nearly 20 times by April 2024.

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Murphy and McGowan were spotted getting close at a Washington, D.C., watering hole earlier this month, according to the New York Post, with a source telling the outlet the pair was getting “cutesy.”

The outlet reported that Murphy is still married to his wife, Washington, D.C., lawyer Cathy Holahan, and that neither has filed for divorce in Connecticut nor Washington, D.C. The couple did announce they were separating in November, shortly after Murphy won re-election. 

Murphy has positioned himself as one of the most prominent Democrat critics of President Donald Trump, which has caused many to speculate he is interested in a run for the White House in the future.

“Chris Murphy Emerges as a Clear Voice for Democrats Countering Trump,” a recent New York Times headline read with an article that was reposted on Murphy’s website. 

Fox News Digital reached out to McGowan for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this post.

Maine’s primary governing body for high school athletics claims it isn’t liable for Title IX violations since it receives no federal funding, but Title IX legal experts call that argument “weak.”

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) determined earlier this week that the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) and Greely High School in Cumberland violated Title IX by continuing to allow biological males to compete in women’s sports. However, in a formal response to HHS’ finding, the MPA asserted that it could not be investigated for violating Title IX because it does not receive federal funds, either “directly” or “indirectly.” 

“This is an incredibly weak argument by the Maine Principals’ Association. It is no different than any one of the pass through funding options we’ve seen with Title IX in the past,” said Sarah Perry, a senior legal fellow with the Heritage Foundation who has experience litigating Title IX issues. Perry pointed to the NCAA as an example, noting that courts have found it liable under Title IX because it manages billions in sports revenue in its role overseeing schools that receive direct federal funding.  

HHS EXPANDS TITLE IX PROBE IN MAINE TO INCLUDE STATE ASSOCIATION GOVERNING ATHLETICS, EMBATTLED HIGH SCHOOL

“The NCAA is a secondary recipient of federal funding because all of its member organization schools are themselves recipients of federal funding and that is precisely the basis for which Riley Gaines and a number of other NCAA swimmers sued the NCAA for violation of Title IX,” Perry pointed out. 

Kristen Waggoner is president and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative, Christian legal advocacy group and nonprofit. She also has experience litigating Title IX issues and called the MPA’s argument “weak.”

“Courts have consistently held that sports associations must comply with Title IX, even if they don’t directly pocket federal dollars. In fact, if an association has ‘controlling authority’ over entities that receive federal funds, courts have concluded Title IX still binds the association,” Waggoner said. “In this situation, it appears the MPA has significant control over sports in the state, as schools have delegated authority to them. The MPA isn’t simply a bystander.”

TRUMP ADMIN PAUSES $175M IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO UPENN OVER INCLUSION OF TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

In a separate statement from MPA following HHS’ determination it had violated Title IX, the association said the issue of transgender athletes’ participation in sports was a “policy question” that needed to be decided by the Maine legislature and by Congress. They added that their only intention was to follow the law, and currently their legal counsel was advising them to follow Maine’s Human Rights law, which requires athletic participation be determined by one’s preferred gender identity. 

Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, has backed the argument that officials should follow state law in determining athletic eligibility for transgender athletes. She has also directly challenged President Donald Trump over his push to keep males and females separate in sports. 

Last month, Mills and Trump got into a public battle over the matter during a meeting with various governors at the White House, during which Mills told Trump she would “see [him] in court.” 

Perry said she anticipates it will take future litigation to iron out the issue completely, telling Fox News Digital that until the Supreme Court clarifies that Title IX terminology on sex means only male and female, “we’re going to continue to have these governors who are going to weigh in, and they’re going to find every which way from Sunday” to prevent the federal government from stripping funds.  

JUDGE RULES AGAINST FEMALE ATHLETES SEEKING MANDATORY GENDER TESTING IN NCAA TO COMBAT TRANS INCLUSION

“Maine has made very clear – Minnesota, Michigan have made very clear – all under Democratic leadership and governorship – that they are going to fight tooth and nail to prevent the loss of their federal funds, but also to continue to promote what is the prevailing narrative on gender identitarianism.” 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly slammed the MPA for choosing to assert “it has the legal power to discriminate against biological women” rather than “simply protect women’s sports.”  

“The Trump administration is committed to upholding common sense and rejecting gender insanity,” she said.

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State Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, echoed Kelly’s sentiment in a statement to Fox News Digital, blasting Maine’s leaders for “continu[ing] to pass the buck instead of taking responsibility for allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports.” 

“Rather than focusing on legal loopholes to avoid accountability, the MPA should prioritize fairness, safety, and equal opportunity for Maine’s female athletes,” Libby said. “Every girl in Maine deserves a level playing field, and the MPA’s refusal to uphold that standard is a disservice to them.”

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said he was “skeptical” of Dr. Mehmet Oz’s views, particularly on transgender procedures for minors and abortion, and released a series of questions Wednesday that he plans to ask President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) during his road to confirmation. 

“I’ve been reading up on Dr. Oz – I see he’s praised trans surgeries for minors and supported hormone treatments & puberty blockers for kids in the past,” Hawley wrote on X on Wednesday. “And has also criticized state laws protecting life. I hope he’s changed his views to match President Trump! We need the Trump agenda at CMS.” 

In a series of written questions for Oz, Hawley asked the former heart surgeon and TV personality if his views have changed since hosting a television show. 

DR. OZ BATS BACK DEMOCRATIC ATTEMPTS TO PAINT HIM AS A ‘SNAKE OIL’ SALESMAN IN SENATE HEARING

Hawley noted that Oz had on his show “various transgender advocates as well as a surgeon who performed transgender surgery” and “also invited children to discuss switching genders and praised parents for helping their children ‘transition’.”  

“Do you support President Trump’s position that gender transition procedures for minors should be banned?” one question directed at Oz and shared by Hawley’s press office asked. 

The senator also asked if Trump’s nominee supported the president’s executive order barring biological men from competing in women’s sports. 

“Do you believe that CMS has a role in promoting or supporting gender transition surgery in any way?” Hawley asked. 

The senator asked Oz if he would commit to never issuing a National Coverage Determination at CMS for “gender reassignment surgery” or equivalent procedures, including the use of hormone and puberty blockers, in line with Trump’s policies. He also asked if Oz would support Trump’s efforts to halt federal funding to hospitals that provide so-called “gender-affirming care” to minors.

Hawley noted Oz had stated in the past that he did not want to “interfere” with doctors prescribing puberty blockers for minor children and asked if that was still his position. 

“Do you believe the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which every Justice appointed by President Trump supported, was correctly decided?” Hawley asked. 

The senator questioned whether Oz’s position has changed since he in 2019 opposed state limitations on abortion related to fetal heartbeat by describing it as “little electrical exchanges in the cell that no one would hear or think about as a heart.” 

In 2019, Oz predicted a state would face a “big sucking sound of business leaving” over its pro-life law, the senator noted, asking Trump’s nominee to answer if he would allow his decisions as head of CMS to be “influenced by corporate preferences.” 

Oz testified last week that CMS would abide by the Hyde Amendment, which bars federal taxpayer dollars from funding abortions.

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

“As a physician, I’ve been in the room when there’s some difficult conversations happening. I don’t want the federal government involved with that at all,” Oz stated in 2022, according to Hawley’s office. The senator cited how Oz also said he did not want the federal government “impinging” on actions the states may make regarding abortion.

“But many federal laws and regulations implicate life issues,” Hawley said. “President Trump’s administration has opposed federal funding for abortion, for example, at home and abroad. Will you support the President’s position and commit to upholding existing laws that prevent federal funds from being used for abortions?” 

Hawley asked Oz if he would uphold protections for conscience rights related to abortion, including under the Weldon, Church and Coats-Snowe Amendments. 

The senator noted that CMS under Trump approved waivers allowing states to exclude abortion-performing clinics from the Medicaid program and asked Oz if he would support the president’s policy and back similar waivers if he is confirmed by the Senate. Hawley questioned whether Oz would “support action at the federal level to directly exclude abortion providers from the Medicaid program.” 

“The Biden administration issued guidance via CMS suggesting that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) required hospitals to perform abortions, overriding state laws,” Hawley noted. The senator asked Oz if he would return to the Trump policy and “clarify that EMTALA does not mandate abortions.” 

Finally, Hawley noted that CMS under Trump required separate billing plans that covered abortion in Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketing plans and the Biden administration eliminated that requirement. He asked if Oz would support returning Trump’s policy of “transparent billing practices and ensure that consumers pay properly separate charges for abortion.” 

The 64-year-old was a respected heart surgeon who turned into a popular TV pitchman. He sold everything from supplements to private health insurance plans on “The Dr. Oz Show,” which ran for 13 seasons and helped him amass a fortune.

If confirmed, Oz will oversee health insurance for about 150 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid or ACA coverage. As CMS administrator, he could wield significant power over most health companies operating in the U.S., because he can make decisions about who and what is covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

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Oz faced over two and a half hours of questioning Friday before the Republican-controlled Senate Finance Committee, which has yet to vote on whether to forward his nomination to the full Senate for consideration. Hawley is not a Finance Committee member and did not question Oz during the hearing last week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A House GOP lawmaker’s town hall devolved into chaos minutes after it began this week, and he’s now responding to hecklers who criticized his concerns about the national debt.

“We heard from a lot of Nebraskans last night that voiced their concerns about Elon Musk. And I basically said I support [the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE], I support what Elon Musk is doing,” Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., told Fox News Digital in an interview on Wednesday.

“What I asked people to do is think about our debt, not as a red or blue issue, it’s an American issue. It’s going to take all of us to solve it. And what I said last night is we need to balance the budget. I was booed. That is not the right response.”

Flood illustrated his focus on the national debt, which is over $36 trillion, with a massive graphic that hung above him in a Columbus, Nebraska, high school auditorium for most of the town hall. 

BLUE STATE GOP CHAIR UNLEASHES ON GOVERNOR FOR ‘GRANDSTANDING’ WITH SPECIAL DEMAND OF TRUMP ADMIN

But any mention of government spending cuts spurred jeers from the crowd, particularly in the context of Musk’s DOGE efforts.

Multiple people raised specific concerns about medical programs and veterans funding, which Flood said he was in favor of protecting.

“What I told my constituents last night was, ‘Hey, if you have a concern about a federal agency or a federal program or a specific spending item, communicate that with me,’” Flood said.

“I heard a lot last night about the [Department of Veterans Affairs]. We have made a promise to these veterans. … If there’s a hiccup in the system, I’ll do what I’ve always done, and that is I’ll interface with the VA. I’ll advocate on behalf of the veterans and will ensure that they receive the care that they’re entitled to.”

At one point, a woman who said she lost her sister to breast cancer accused Flood of supporting cuts to critical cancer research programs while noting his wife grappled with the disease.

SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE STICKS SPLASHDOWN LANDING AS NASA ASTRONAUTS RETURN HOME AFTER MONTHS STUCK IN SPACE

Flood said he supported medical research funding but also supported efforts to find more efficiency in government, again citing the national debt.

He attempted to continue his answer multiple times as people booed, prompting him to incredulously ask, “How can you be against a balanced budget?”

Democrat groups had advertised their presence ahead of the packed event. MoveOn promoted a “Musk or Us” protest at the same time and location as Flood’s event. Nebraska Democratic Party staff were also onsite, a top official wrote on X.

Flood said Democratic Party staffers were handing out leaflets to attendees outside the event.

“I, like every other member of Congress right now, am dealing with a lot from the Democrats. … And last night was an extension of the same at the end of the day,” he said. “I represent them, so I’m happy to visit with them. I’m happy to explain where I am on the issues, but it was obviously fairly coordinated among certain folks last night. Ultimately, we had an exchange of ideas, and that’s what’s important.”

The Nebraska Republican was the lone House GOP lawmaker whose office held a formal town hall this week while Congress is in recess.

House Republican leaders warned their conference to refrain from in-person events as anti-DOGE demonstrations escalate.

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But Flood said he would persist and hold his next town hall in Lincoln, Nebraska, in August.

“We have to explain to the people we represent every single day that $36 trillion national debt is a national security issue. It’s a ticking time bomb. And I think confronting the issue by raising it at a town hall, there’s a lot of value to that,” Flood said. 

“I think last night, the best part of it was that I got the chance to explain and connect the dots for people as to why I’m so supportive of some of the spending cuts that we are engaged in right now.”

The judicial branch has been behaving “erroneously,” according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, after several judges have blocked various executive orders from President Donald Trump.

“I would like to point out that the judges in this country are acting erroneously,” Leavitt said in a Wednesday news briefing. “We have judges who are acting as partisan activists from the bench.”

On Saturday, Judge James Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order halting the Trump administration from deporting migrants allegedly part of the Tren de Aragua gang under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The law permits deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing.

However, flights carrying the migrants continued to El Salvador, and Leavitt said Sunday the order had “no lawful basis” since Boasberg issued it after the flights departed from U.S. airspace.

THESE ARE THE JUDGES GOING TOE TO TOE AGAINST TRUMP’S AGENDA 

Meanwhile, Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment in a social media post Tuesday, prompting Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a rare statement condemning Trump’s remarks. 

Specifically, Roberts said that “it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision” for more than two centuries. 

In response, Leavitt said Wednesday that the Supreme Court needs to “rein in” judges who are behaving as “partisan activists” and are “undermining” the judicial branch, while also asserting that Trump does respect Roberts. 

Efforts to oust Boasberg also have been launched in Congress. For example, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, unveiled an impeachment resolution against Boasberg on Tuesday, claiming that Boasberg was “guilty of high crimes” in a post on social media. 

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS JUDGE FOR ATTEMPTING TO HALT DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO EL SALVADOR: ‘NO LAWFUL BASIS’

“It’s incredibly apparent that there is a concerted effort by the far left to judge shop, to pick judges who are clearly acting as partisan activists from the bench in an attempt to derail this president’s agenda,” Leavitt said. “We will not allow that to happen.” 

Leavitt said that while flights to deport illegal immigrants to El Salvador are currently not scheduled, the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign will continue as litigation continues on this case. 

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“We don’t have any flights planned specifically, but we will continue with the mass deportations,” Leavitt said. “And I would just like to point out that the judge in this case is essentially trying to say that the President doesn’t have the executive authority to deport foreign terrorists…That is an egregious abuse of the bench.” 

Boasberg has requested the Trump administration provide more details regarding the timing of the flights departing U.S. soil, when they left U.S. airspace, and when they landed in El Salvador, among other things. The Trump administration has until Thursday to respond. 

Trump has signed more than 90 executive orders since returning to the White House in January, spurring more than 125 lawsuits against his administration. Additionally, the odds of impeaching a judge are slim, as it would require 67 senators to vote for a conviction. Currently, Republicans only have a majority of 53 lawmakers in the upper chamber. 

Trump told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham in an interview Tuesday that he has never defied a court order — and wouldn’t — but that the judicial system is full of “crooked” judges. 

“No, you can’t do that,” Trump said about defying court orders. “However, we have bad judges. We have very bad judges. These are judges that shouldn’t be allowed. I think at a certain point, you have to look at what do you do when you have a rogue judge.”

Other recent legal losses for the Trump administration include U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes blocking Trump’s executive order to bar transgender individuals from serving in the military.

Reyes wrote in her 79-page opinion released Tuesday that the ban “is soaked in animus.” The injunction takes effect on Friday, providing a window for the Trump administration to appeal the order. 

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report. 

A state bill protested by hundreds of homeschooling families at the Illinois state Capitol advanced out of committee on Wednesday and will head to the state House floor for a vote, likely sometime next week, Fox News has learned. 

House Bill 2827, known as the Homeschool Act, passed out of the Education Policy Committee by a vote of 8-4. If it passes a House floor vote, the bill will then go to the full House for a vote, followed by the Senate and then onto the desk of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 

Pritzker, a Democrat, has not publicly taken any position on the bill. Fox News reached out to his office multiple times asking if he supports the bill and if he plans to sign it if it reaches his desk but has not received a response so far.

The bill would establish requirements for parents to meet to homeschool their children and if they do not comply, they could face up to a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail. Hundreds of homeschooling families gathered inside the state Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois, earlier Wednesday, condemning the bill as an overreach by lawmakers.

Will Estrada, senior counsel for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, told Fox News that the bill’s language was left “open-ended for unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats to be able to write different sections of regulations.” 

“If this bill is passed into law, it’s going to be expanded in future years to put even more restrictions on homeschool and private school families,” Estrada said after testifying at Wednesday’s hearing. “The record of homeschoolers shows that we do well academically, socially, emotionally and so why are we messing with them? That’s the question. This bill is a solution in search of a problem.” 

ILLINOIS PARENTS, LAWMAKERS SOUND ALARM OVER PROPOSED HOMESCHOOLING BILL: ‘DIRECT ASSAULT ON FAMILIES’

“We became homeschoolers in 2020 upon seeing all the government overreach, so the fact that they are now coming for us again with government overreach, I feel like it’s an attack on parental rights,” one homeschooling mother who showed up to the state Capitol protest, Michelle Langworthy, told Fox News. “There’s a part of the bill that says the school will be the one that will get to determine where the child’s records go that the parent no longer has that right.” 

“That is a such a gross overreach of what the state should be allowed to do. And they also say that the student should be educated to serve the state. That’s absurd,” Langworthy said. “I don’t align with the state. I don’t want what the state prioritizes to be the priority of my family. We have a different value system. We are not ownership of the state.” 

“We’re fine. We’re scoring high. We’re doing great. We’re involved in the community,” she said, condemning sexual abuse and harassment allegations within the Chicago Public Schools system. “They have no right coming to our side of the lane.” 

Another homeschooling parent, Luke Schurter, told Fox News at the state Capitol Wednesday that the bill is “taking a step back for homeschool freedom, not a step forward.” 

CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, TEACHERS UNION REAFFIRM BEING A ‘SANCTUARY SPACE’ AHEAD OF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

“We want to choose what we teach our kids, how we raise our kids, how we instruct them, so we’re concerned that this is cracking that door open and then the next thing is going to be more requirements on ‘hey, we need to look and see, we need to dictate what the subjects you are teaching are, we need to dictate how much time you’re spending,'” the father of three said. “This would circumvent those efforts and bring them back under the authority and the watchful eye of the public school system.” 

The bill would require the State Board of Education to create a “Homeschool Declaration Form,” which a homeschooling parent must submit to essentially register their child in the nearest public school. The children of parents who do not submit the form would be “considered truant, with penalties applying,” according to a synopsis of the bill. 

A regional office of education or a school district could also request that homeschooling parents hand over an “education portfolio,” or a set of their child’s records, including writing samples, workbooks, worksheets or other logs of curricular materials. 

The portfolio would serve “as evidence that the homeschool administrator’s homeschool program provides a course of instruction that is sufficient to satisfy the education requirements set forth in Sections 26-1 and Section 27-1 of the School Code that is at least commensurate with the standards prescribed for public schools,” according to the bill text. Section 26-1 sets the compulsory school age at between 7 and 17 unless the child has already graduated from high school, while Section 27-1 is intended to ensure the areas of education taught in public schools do not discriminate on account of the sex of the student. 

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The bill would also require homeschooling parents of children who participate in public school activities on or off school grounds to “submit proof that the child has received all required immunizations and health examinations or a signed Certificate of Religious Exemption.” 

Fox News’ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.

The head of Oklahoma’s public school system is backing President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the federal Department of Education, saying that Trump will “go down in history as the president that saved education.”

Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced a dramatic “reduction in force” of the federal Department of Education and detailed plans to reduce the size of the agency by over 50% from around 4,133 to around 2,183 employees.

Trump has previously said he wants to “close up the Department of Education” entirely and “move education back to the states.”

As Democrats and media outlets sound the alarm that Trump’s changes mean doom for education in America, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is saying that Trump’s move is exactly what students, parents and the entire country need right now.

“This is a historic moment,” he said. “I think President Trump is going to go down in history as the president that saved education and the future of the country.”

RANDI WEINGARTEN ‘SPITTING MAD’ ABOUT ‘EVISCERATION’ OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Walters said that rather than helping to implement effective education systems, the Department of Education had long been co-opted by radical teachers’ unions like the American Federation of Teachers, which he said has been pushing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and other leftist ideologies in states, including Oklahoma.

“The disruption of education was the federalization of education and the unionization of education. That’s what got us away from the concept of schools that valued the community, value the family, value the individual,” he said. “You have thousands of bureaucrats that are up there that are pushing a left-wing agenda, the most radical agenda the country has ever seen. They’re teaching kids to hate the country. They’re teaching kids to hate their faith.”

“You can talk to teachers about the types of trainings the feds were requiring them to go to,” he continued. “These were not helping them drive student achievement in their classroom. It was to push a left-wing agenda on kids.”

DEMOCRAT-LED STATES SUE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT PURGE

After taking office in January 2023, Walters said he had to immediately deal with the Biden Department of Education using federal funding as leverage to push concepts like DEI and gender ideology in classrooms.

“I was very sharp in my responses of why are we talking about transgenderism in an Algebra One class? Like there’s no connection between the two, but it shows you how far they were willing to go with their woke ideology, with the strategy to undermine American society, undermine the family unit,” he said.

The result, Walters said, has shown in students’ test scores.  

“All the test scores have shown that they’ve all gotten worse since this disruption occurred,” he explained. “Nearly every society factor has gotten worse. You look at teenage suicide. You look at teenage drug use. You look at the disintegration of the family unit. All of these things coincided in part with the creation of the federal Department of Education and the rise of the teachers’ unions.”  

TEXAS PRIVATE SCHOOL INTEGRATES AI, REPORTS STUDENTS LEARNING ‘FASTER’

Walters anticipates that cutting the Education Department will free up huge sums of funds that, instead of paying bureaucrats’ salaries, will instead go straight to students’ education and teachers.

He pointed to cuts he made to the Oklahoma Education Department in which he reduced the state’s bureaucracy by 150 employees, which he claimed saved millions, creating opportunities for tutoring programs and offering more competitive salaries to hire top-talent teachers.  

“You’re going to see that, times a thousand with the federal Department of Education,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tiffany Justice, co-founder of the parents’ rights group Moms for Liberty, assured parents that “your children’s education will not be affected by any of these things.”

ILLINOIS MOM SPEAKS OUT OVER SCHOOL’S TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM POLICY

“Don’t believe the union talking point, fearmongering lies,” Justice said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Abolishing the Department of Education or dismantling it, cutting back on half the staff, only means more power to the parents, which is why the unions are concerned.”

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“Since the creation of the Department of Education, student achievement has only declined,” she said. “We’ve got a real crisis on our hands. I think the fact that the majority of American children are not learning to read is one of the biggest national security threats that we face as a nation.”

“If you’re watching mainstream media or the fake news, as President Trump likes to say, you’re hearing those union fearmongering talking points. They’re saying, ‘Oh, this is going to hurt teachers. This is going to hurt services.’ Nothing could be further from the truth,” she went on. “Every state has a department of education, and I think every state and every state leader should really be looking at this as an opportunity to be able to show what their vision is for education, and then to execute on that vision and really make sure that kids in their states are learning,” said Justice.

Nearly two dozen Democrat attorneys general are currently suing the Trump administration to stop the cuts to the Department of Education. 

Speaking with Fox News, Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said it is “outrageous” that the Trump administration is “set on gutting the Department of Education.” She claimed that this move amounts to “neglecting our students, and our parents, our communities and… the future of this country.” 

FIRST ON FOX: An energy watchdog group is calling on the Trump administration to investigate whether former President Joe Biden used an autopen to sign energy-related executive orders and if such actions “were instituted with the president’s knowledge.”

Power the Future, a pro-energy group, sent a letter to the attorney general’s office raising questions regarding the “propriety and legitimacy” of several major orders signed by the Democratic president during his term.

“In light of the mounting evidence of significant executive actions with serious economic and national and global security implications being undertaken in President Biden’s name apparently without his knowledge by unelected officials, we respectfully request that you investigate whether former President Biden authorized the LNG pause, or whether any documentation reflecting the White House’s position was instead prepared or signed by staff,” the group wrote in a letter to Bondi, shared first with Fox News Digital.

The letter comes after President Donald Trump declared Biden’s 11th hour pardons “void” over claims that they were signed by an autopen and that the former president “did not know anything about them.”

TRUMP CLAIMS BIDEN PARDONS ARE ‘VOID,’ ALLEGING THEY WERE SIGNED VIA AUTOPEN

Power the Future points to Biden’s January 2024 order pausing permits for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities and his ban on new drilling on 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters – both orders that Trump immediately moved to lift after assuming office.

“In connection with recent revelations that many actions purportedly taken by the former president may not have been approved or signed by him, but instead promulgated over his signature using an ‘autopen,’ and especially in light of the Speaker’s public statements that Mr. Biden was not even aware of the LNG pause and the reporting that a particular White House ‘advisor’ was ‘the person behind [it,]’ it does not require a great leap to wonder whether the LNG pause was itself promulgated by an advisor with an autopen, rather than by the former President himself,” the group wrote.

The letter, raising concerns over the president’s knowledge of his executive orders, refers to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who, in January, shared that Biden, during a meeting, appeared to forget that he signed an order to pause LNG exports.

TRUMP UNDOES STACK OF ‘HARMFUL’ BIDEN EXECUTIVE ORDERS, SHRINKS MULTIPLE AGENCIES

“I cannot answer this from my constituents in Louisiana,” Johnson said he told Biden. “Sir, why did you pause LNG exports to Europe? Liquefied natural gas is in great demand by our allies. Why would you do that? Cause you understand we just talked about Ukraine, you understand you are fueling Vladimir Putin’s war machine, because they gotta get their gas from him.”

Biden, according to Johnson, responded by saying, “I didn’t do that.”

The letter also notes the involvement of John Podesta, the former White House senior advisor to the president for clean energy innovation and implementation, in the major decision to pause LGN exports. 

In March 2024, a group of GOP lawmakers hand-delivered a letter to Podesta expressing concern over his “driving” the LNG pause.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office and the DOJ for comment. 

The presidential autopen has been in focus this week after Trump claimed on Sunday that the courts must decide whether Biden’s use of an autopen for executive orders and pardons means they are void. 

An autopen is a device that physically holds a pen and is programmed to replicate a person’s signature. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel determined in 2005 that the president is permitted to use an autopen to sign bills into law, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a ruling in February that said the absence of “a writing does not equate to proof that a commutation did not occur.”

The majority of official documents signed by Biden allegedly used the same autopen signature, reinvigorating concerns over the former president’s mental acuity and if he “actually ordered the signature of relevant legal documents,” a recent report published by an arm of the Heritage Foundation found.

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and Emma Colton contributed to this report

The NASA astronauts who were stranded at the International Space Station were stuck in space for so long because the Biden administration lacked “urgency” in securing their return to Earth, according to the White House press secretary.

Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams launched from their Boeing Starliner spacecraft in June 2024 for a mission set to last only eight days. But when the spacecraft encountered technical issues, NASA decided it was unsafe for it to arrive back on Earth with the astronauts on board.

As a result, Wilmore and Williams remained stranded at the International Space Station — until Tuesday when they parachuted down to Earth, off the coast of Florida. 

“These two incredible astronauts were only supposed to be up there for eight days, but because of the Biden administration’s lack of urgency, they ended up spending nine months in space,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday at the White House. “Joe Biden’s lack of courage to act boldly and decisively was a big reason why Butch and Suni did not make it back until yesterday. But President Trump doesn’t waste time.”

SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE STICKS SPLASHDOWN LANDING AS NASA ASTRONAUTS RETURN HOME AFTER MONTHS STUCK IN SPACE

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

Leavitt said that after taking office in January, Trump directed SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk to hash out a plan to rescue the astronauts with NASA. Wilmore and Williams returned to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon capsule. 

Musk issued his congratulations to the SpaceX team and NASA for successfully pulling off the rescue, and also thanked Trump for prioritizing the mission.

STRANDED ASTRONAUT SAYS HE BELIEVES MUSK’S CLAIMS THAT BIDEN REFUSED TO CONDUCT RESCUE MISSION

“Thanks to the excellent work of the SpaceX team working with NASA, the astronauts are now safely home,” Musk said Tuesday during an exclusive interview on “Hannity.” “And so congratulations to the SpaceX NASA teams on excellent work.”  

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Musk, who is also heading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), previously said in an interview with Hannity in February that he had offered to work with the Biden administration to return the astronauts, but that his offer was rejected for “political reasons.” 

Wilmore said in an interview in March that he trusted Musk’s assessment of the situation, although he said he did not know the nature of the private discussions. 

“I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says, is absolutely factual… I believe him,” Wilmore said March 4 during an in-orbit press conference, according to the New York Post.

Still, Wilmore said he wasn’t involved in the discussions, and so he couldn’t personally verify what the conversations entailed. 

“We have no information on that, though, whatsoever,” Wilmore said. “What was offered, what was not offered, who it was offered to, how that process went. That’s information that we simply don’t have.”

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

Here’s what’s happening…

-Progressive leader says Schumer faces ‘uphill’ climb to win back Democrats’ trust

-Study found US gas exports did not impact climate change, so Biden admin buried it, officials say

-Israeli official thanks Trump administration as the country resumes war in Gaza

DeSantis Urges Congress to ‘Strip’ Judges of Immigration Jurisdiction

As aspects of President Donald Trump’s agenda are stymied by judges amid legal challenges, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suggested that Congress could strip federal courts of jurisdiction.

“Congress has the authority to strip jurisdiction of the federal courts to decide these cases in the first place. The sabotaging of President Trump’s agenda by ‘resistance’ judges was predictable — why no jurisdiction-stripping bills tee’d up at the onset of this Congress?” DeSantis wrote in a Wednesday post on X.

When someone responded by asking how such a move could pass when 60 votes would be needed to push it through the Senate, DeSantis replied, “Attach it to a ‘must pass’ bill…”…Read more

White House

JUDICIAL REBUTTAL: Federal judge blocks Trump’s transgender military executive order

SECURE THE SEAS: Trump’s use of warship for border enforcement a ‘smart’ use of military force, expert says

CHOPPING BLOCK: Trump fires Democratic FTC commissioners

‘UNLIKELY TO BE SERIOUSLY QUESTIONED’: Successful legal challenges to Biden’s pardons over autopen signature ‘vanishingly low’

JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP: Judge blocks Trump’s EPA from terminating $14 billion in ‘green bank’ grants after accusations of fraud

‘F—ING CRAZY’: JD Vance recalls his wife texting him under table at Silicon Valley dinner

FIRST ON FOX: Judge who blocked key Trump executive order has long history of left-wing activism, Dem donations

World Stage

‘JUDICIAL COUP’: El Salvador’s Bukele weighs in after Trump’s call to impeach judge

PROGRAM ENDED: Trump administration ends program to track kidnapped Ukrainian children in Russia, lawmakers say

‘WE WILL NOT GO FOR IT’: Zelenskyy wants details after Trump-Putin call, lays out ‘red line’ for Ukraine

DESPERATION PLAY?: Iran trying to bolster its ‘battered deterrence’ with response to Trump threats against Houthis, expert says

HARD NEGOTIATIONS: What’s next in the Russia, Ukraine ceasefire talks?

Capitol Hill

INFO DUMP: Lawmakers cheer Trump’s JFK files release: ‘Restoration of the people’s trust’

‘DOGE-BAGS’: Dem governor slams Trump’s ‘authoritarian rule’ during ‘better way forward’ speech

‘I’M THE FUTURE’: House Dem Green’s GOP challenger dishes on campaign after outburst during Trump speech

‘WHAT CAN WE DO?’: Dems forecast ‘Trump recession,’ as Republicans say it’s time to double down

‘PART OF THE GAME’: House Dems stage coordinated ‘Town Halls’ on GOP colleagues’ turf

SMALL BUSINESS CALL: House panel asks Trump’s small business chief to provide info on alleged Biden-era electioneering project

Across America

‘RESISTANCE’: DeSantis proposes solution as Trump’s agenda is stymied by judges

‘RESTORE ORDER’: Trump admin demands NYC ‘restore order’ amid rampant crime or face billions in funding cuts

DOGE AT DOD: Pentagon to cut up to 60,000 civilian jobs, but fewer than 21,000 have voluntarily resigned

CLIMATE COVER-UP: Study found US gas exports did not impact climate change, so Biden admin buried it, officials say

‘BAD IDEA’: Conservatives warn red state data center bill will derail Trump’s vision of energy ‘golden age’

‘LET GOOD COPS BE’: Patel says FBI has captured its 3rd most wanted fugitive since Trump took office: ‘Let good cops be good cops’

NOURISHING A GENERATION: RFK Jr targets companies making baby formula after shortages rocked Biden administration

CRIME CRISIS: Chicago police solve only 6% of non-fatal shootings, review finds, as mayor faces mounting criticism

SPEAKING OUT: Mahmoud Khalil blames ‘anti-Palestinian racism’ for arrest in first statement since ICE detainment

BLUE WALL: Chaos erupts at GOP lawmaker’s town hall after left-wing groups promote protests 

WOAH, BABY: Hospital questionnaire sparks outrage over newborn sexual orientation question

‘START RUNNING NOW’: Blue sanctuary state operating as ‘control’ center for vicious migrant gang: acting DEA chief

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

Nearly two months into his second term, President Donald Trump’s approval rating matches his all-time high. 

Congressional Republicans also enjoy record ratings, while views of congressional Democrats tumble near an all-time low, according to the latest Fox News Poll.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT DOGE, EVEN AS THEY SEE NEED FOR CUTS

Half of voters, 49%, approve of the job Trump is doing as president, matching his high from April 2020. That’s also better than at the same point in his first term (43% approved in March 2017). He is at high marks among key groups, including women, Black voters and voters under age 30. (For reference, in January, a 52% majority of voters approved of the job Trump was doing handling the presidential transition.)

Nine in 10 Republicans approve of Trump, while the same number of Democrats disapprove. Six in 10 Independents disapprove of his job performance.

FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP IS THE MOST POPULAR HE’S EVER BEEN

Overall, 51% disapprove of the job Trump is doing, including 45% who strongly disapprove.

Trump has issued more than 90 executive orders in his first 60 days in office and about 7 in 10 voters are concerned these actions may permanently alter the country’s system of checks and balances. That’s similar to how voters felt about former President Barack Obama’s use of executive actions in December 2014 (68% concerned).

Predictably, a decade ago, more Republicans were concerned, while now it’s Democrats — roughly 9 in 10, respectively. Independents feel about the same as they did 10 years ago (about three-quarters concerned).

FOX NEWS POLL: OVER HALF SAY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION MADE THE ECONOMY WORSE

Congressional Republicans hit their highest approval rating ever this month, as 43% of voters approve and 55% disapprove. While that is upside down by 12 points, it still constitutes a significant improvement from the 36-point net negative rating in October 2023 and the 55-point low a decade ago. 

News across the aisle isn’t as rosy. For Democrats in Congress, 66% disapprove of the job they are doing, with only 30% approving — nearly matching their record low of 29% approval in November 2013. The current 36-point deficit represents a marked decline from the 23-point difference in October 2023, the last time the question was asked (37% approve, 60% disapprove), and the high of +10 in April 2009 (50-40%).

The boost to the GOP approval is primarily attributable to more Republicans backing their party today (88%) than in October 2023 (54%). Again, the partisan contrast is striking, as only 49% of Democrats approve of their party’s lawmakers today vs. 74% in 2023.

“Democrats are united in their antipathy toward Trump, but they aren’t happy with their own party, either,” says Daron Shaw, a Republican who conducts the survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. “As Democratic elites argue over whether to be more confrontational or accommodating toward Trump, their voters are unhappy with what they see as an uneven, disjointed response.”

A few more things…

Vice President JD Vance’s job rating is in negative territory by 8 points: 45% approve, 53% disapprove. Among Republicans, his approval (85%) is slightly lower than Trump’s (92%) and Congressional Republicans’ (88%).

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By an 18-point margin, voters disapprove of the job Elon Musk is doing at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) (40% approve, 58% disapprove). Most Republicans (78%) approve, while nearly all Democrats disapprove (93%).

Secretary of State Marco Rubio breaks even with 47% both approving and disapproving. He is the only administration official who receives double-digit approval from Democrats (11%).

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Conducted March 14-17, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 994 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (123) and cellphones (648) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (223). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error associated with results among subgroup is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.