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Medicaid is quickly emerging as a political lightning rod as House Republicans negotiate on a massive bill to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Some Republican lawmakers are worried about the level of spending cuts being sought by fiscal hawks to offset the cost of Trump’s policies, arguing the current deal could force potentially unworkable cuts on Medicaid and other federal safety net programs.

“I’m concerned that $880 billion out of [the House Energy & Commerce Committee] is likely very steep cuts to Medicaid – and it’s the very thing President Trump asked us not to do,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

GOP lawmakers are working to pass a broad swath of Trump policies – from investments in defense and border security to extending his 2017 tax cuts and eliminating taxes on tips – via the budget reconciliation process. The mechanism allows the party in control of both houses of Congress to pass a tax and budget bill without help from the opposing party.

KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

Speaker Mike Johnson must navigate his perilously slim majority to pass President Trump’s agenda. (Getty Images/Fox News Digital illustration)

But conservative spending hawks are looking for deep cuts in federal dollars to offset money going toward Trump’s priorities. The current resolution advancing through the House would aim to cut government spending by at least $1.5 trillion, while allocating $4.5 trillion toward Trump’s tax cuts.

An amendment added after conservatives balked at that deal would cut funding going toward Trump’s tax cuts by $500 billion if at least $2 trillion total spending cuts were not reached. 

Even before the additional cuts, however, some Republicans like Bacon are concerned that the $880 billion that the Energy & Commerce Committee is tasked with cutting will negatively impact their constituents.

Conservatives have pushed back, arguing that significant cuts could be found in Medicaid work requirements. But skeptics of that argument say that the level of spending cuts being sought go past what work requirements can cover.

“We want to ensure that it’s not going to hurt… our hospitals, or our organizations that serve the developmentally disabled, and we’re asking for clarity on where the $880 billion in savings come from,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., the only House Republican representing part of New York City, told Fox News Digital.

She did agree with GOP rebels that there was “mismanagement” and waste to root out in those programs.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis is uneasy with a new amendment that could hinder Trump’s tax cut extensions. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Malliotakis and other Republicans on the Ways & Means Committee tasked with writing tax policy are also uneasy about the new amendment that could cut funds allocated to their panel.

“I don’t think that is doable without affecting beneficiaries, and I’ve expressed that concern to leadership and in talking to some of my colleagues,” Malliotakis said.

Another House Republican who declined to be named told Fox News Digital that “there’s a bunch of us” who think the proposed cuts “are too big.”

“They’re trying to sell us $1.5 trillion, but in reality, there’s another $500 billion attached to it that they’re trying to cut. And it’s not going to pass,” the GOP lawmaker said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., who unseated a Democrat in a close race last year, wrote on X over the weekend, “I ran for Congress under a promise of always doing what is best for the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania. If a bill is put in front of me that guts the benefits my neighbors rely on, I will not vote for it.”

GOP LAWMAKER CALLS FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARING OVER DC PLANE CRASH

The budget reconciliation process allows legislation to advance with only GOP votes by lowering the threshold for Senate passage from two-thirds to a simple 51-seat majority. The House already operates on a simple majority.

But currently, Republicans can lose just one vote in the House to pass anything on party lines – meaning they can afford almost no dissent to get their reconciliation bill over the line.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a conservative on the House Budget Committee who would not have supported the resolution last week without the last-minute amendment, told reporters last week, “Medicaid’s got to be in it. You don’t get to the [$1.5 trillion figure], much less two, without it.”

Rep. Ralph Norman is pushing for Medicaid work requirements. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“And it’s not cuts to Medicaid. Work requirements have an $800 billion savings on it… able-bodied 40-year-old men who can work don’t need to be on Medicaid,” Norman said.

Democrats are waiting to pounce on the discord.

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The House Majority PAC, which is aligned with House Democratic leadership, released a memo on Tuesday accusing Republicans of seeking to make “deep cuts” to Medicaid “to fund $4.5 trillion in tax cuts to Elon Musk and other billionaires.”

“In battleground congressional districts across the country, House Republicans are putting Medicaid on the chopping block – a move that would rip life-saving health care away from tens of thousands of their own constituents – roughly half of whom are children,” the memo said.

But according to Ways & Means Republicans, the average American household could see taxes raised by over 20% if the Trump tax cuts expired.

Bipartisan Virginia lawmakers are putting forward a criminal justice reform bill proponents say is modeled after a 2022 Florida law that featured the unlikely pairing of Gov. Ron DeSantis and rap mogul Jay-Z.

State Del. Wren Williams, R-Stuart, is spearheading the effort that already garnered the support of the entire Democratic majority in Virginia’s lower House earlier this month.

The Democratic-majority state Senate is set to vote on its version of the legislation on Wednesday, after which it will then be conferenced into a final bill for Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s review.

Williams’ legislation will offer convicts on supervised probation the ability to fulfill certain criteria in exchange for lighter treatment.

One example is that probates who can prove they are holding a job, seeking educational opportunities or partaking in rehabilitation programs for several months could see their probationary period shortened.

Those provisions and others in the bill are similar to DeSantis’ legislation from three years ago that had been championed by the Jay-Z-founded criminal justice “REFORM Alliance.”

The Florida law, authored by a Tampa Republican, allows probates to earn education and workforce credits that in turn get them out of the system faster, according to Axios.

In Virginia, Williams told Fox News Digital he was inspired both by Florida’s law and the fact that reform initiatives like the First Step Act on the federal level have been key priorities for President Donald Trump.

YOUNGKIN TO DRAFT SANCTUARY CITY BAN, MAKING STATE FUNDING CONTINGENT ON COOPERATION

“Virginia [is] offering conservative solutions that emphasize rehabilitation and second chances,” Williams said.

“Virginia’s approach mirrors Florida’s successful model, focusing on providing individuals under supervision the opportunity to reduce their probation terms by engaging in rehabilitative programs like job training, education, and mental health services.”

While typically viewed as a liberal or Democratic bailiwick, Williams added that Virginia’s legislation proves conservatives can create a consensus on reforms that also align with their values while remaining compassionate.

“By focusing on rehabilitation and offering individuals the chance to prove their commitment to change, the state has demonstrated that reducing recidivism, lowering costs, and promoting public safety are achievable goals,” he said.

Crime and reform were top issues in the last gubernatorial election, with Youngkin and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe trading barbs, including about Democrats’ “defund the police” group that had endorsed the Democrat and purportedly “criminals-first” appointees McAuliffe had made to the parole board.

YOUNGKIN INVITES NEW TRUMP ADMIN TO SETTLE IN VA OVER DC, MD

Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, the front-running Republican gubernatorial candidate in November’s race, heartily endorsed the legislation in comments to conservative radio host John Fredericks this week.

“What I’m talking about is we have about 50,000 men and women who are on probation. And if we can give them incentives, we can get them engaged, get them education; then if you have a job, of course, then there’s something about work that dignifies the soul,” Sears said. 

“And all work, of course, is dignified. This is America, where dreams come to see the realization of it. It’s where you can say to your children, ‘You can make it in America.’”

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“So I’m all for lifting up that soul,” Sears concluded.

Top Democratic candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, has also been a proponent of some criminal justice reforms, vociferously supporting the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act while in Congress.

A spokesperson for Youngkin told Fox News Digital the “governor will review any bills that come to his desk.”

In 2024, he vetoed a similar bill, HB-457, which would decrease probationary periods and establish criteria for reduction of such.

The first openly gay federal judge in D.C. spent hours Tuesday grilling the Trump administration over its attempt to codify terms of service for transgender service members in the U.S. military, seeking to determine the extent of potential harm to transgender military personnel.

At issue is a Jan. 27 executive order signed by President Donald Trump requiring the Defense Department to update its guidance regarding “trans-identifying medical standards for military service” and to “rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness.” 

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes harshly questioned the Trump administration at length over the order, demanding to know whether it was a “transgender ban” and if the government’s position is that being transgender is an “ideology.” 

Civil rights groups this month sued to block the order on behalf of six transgender U.S. service members, arguing that the order is discriminatory and unconstitutional. They alleged it threatens U.S. national security as well as years of training and financial investments by the Department of Defense.

JUDGE DENIES DEMOCRAT-LED EFFORT TO BLOCK DOGE ACCESS, CITING LACK OF PROVEN HARM

The E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse is seen after Donald Trump’s arraignment on August 3, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Sha Hanting/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

Tuesday’s court hearing focused largely on how, or to what extent, the order might cause harm to transgender service members. While Trump has instructed that “radical gender ideology” be banned from all military branches, the executive order stopped short of detailing how the Pentagon should do this, prompting a flurry of questions and concerns from plaintiffs and the judge.

Reyes, a Biden appointee, spent much of the hearing Tuesday asking how the order would be implemented and whether the transgender service members named in the lawsuit would be removed from their roles or separated from their units.

LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“Can we agree that the greatest fighting force that world history has ever seen is not going to be impacted in any way by less than 1% of soldiers using a different pronoun than others might want to call them,” she asked DOJ attorney Jason Lynch. 

At another point in the hearing, she challenged lawyers for the Justice Department to find her a declarant or any commissioned officer who would get on the stand and tell the court that they’ve been harmed by the pronoun use of transgender military members. 

“I’ll get you a box of cigars,” Reyes told Lynch.

“If you can find someone who will tell me we’re less prepared because we have to use pronouns for a few thousand people … have at it.”

 DOGE SCORES BIG COURT WIN, ALLOWED ACCESS DATA ON 3 FEDERAL AGENCIES

The Pentagon (DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)

Lynch noted in response that the administration is awaiting further guidance on the terms of the transgender executive order, which will determine its impact on personnel, including the six transgender plaintiffs named in the case.

That answer did little to assuage concerns of Reyes, who told Lynch the government must inform the court by Wednesday whether they can ensure that the named service members would not be removed from their roles in the military or face discrimination as a direct result of the executive order.

Should they fail to do that, the judge said, the court will reconvene Friday to consider plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order.

Beyond the facts of the case, Reyes did little to disguise her displeasure with the order itself.

At one point during the hearing, she posed a hypothetical to the Justice Department’s attorney by asking, “If you were in a foxhole” with another service member, “you wouldn’t care about their gender ideology, right?”

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She went on to suggest Lynch would be happy to be next to someone with their commendations and bravery.

Lynch agreed he doubted that gender identity would be on his mind in that situation.

The Senate confirmed Howard Lutnick on Tuesday to serve as President Donald Trump’s secretary of commerce. 

The Republican-controlled Senate voted to confirm Lutnick on Tuesday, less than a week after senators voted to invoke cloture on his nomination. He needed a simple majority for a full Senate confirmation, getting confirmed on a 51- 45 tally on Tuesday.

Lutnick passed his procedural vote last week after the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee voted 16-12 to motion for cloture on Feb. 5. 

Lutnick said he aligns with Trump’s “trade and tariff agenda,” which seeks to remedy trade imbalances by imposing reciprocal tariffs. His confirmation indicates a milestone for Trump’s America First policy agenda. 

US WILL BE ‘FLOODED WITH JOBS’ AS FOREIGN NATIONS AVOID TARIFFS, TRUMP SAYS

Howard Lutnick and President Donald Trump are shown on Feb. 10, 2025. (Getty)

Lutnick, chair and CEO of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, is one of the wealthiest people to serve in a presidential administration. Lutnick vowed to divest his financial interests upon confirmation to remain impartial. 

TRUMP’S BILLIONAIRE COMMERCE SECRETARY PICK VOWS TO SELL ALL HIS BUSINESS INTERESTS IF CONFIRMED

“My plan is to only serve the American people. So I will divest, meaning I will sell all of my interests, all of my business interests, all of my assets, everything,” Lutnick said. “I’ve worked together with the Office of Government Ethics, and we’ve reached agreement on how to do that, and I will be divesting within 90 days upon my confirmation.”

During his confirmation hearing on Jan. 29, Lutnick said he would sell his businesses and elect someone else to lead them once confirmed. Lutnick aligned closely with Trump’s trade and tariff policies during the hearing. He said it’s “nonsense” that tariffs create inflation and advocated for reciprocity. 

Howard Lutnick testifies during his Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 29, 2025. (Reuters)

“We are treated horribly by the global trading environment. They all have higher tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and subsidies. They treat us poorly. We need to be treated better. We can use tariffs to create reciprocity,” Lutnick said.

Trump last week directed federal agencies to explore the implementation of reciprocal tariffs to remedy tariff imbalances imposed by countries that sell American products. The presidential memorandum directed Lutnick to study reciprocal trade relations within 180 days. Lutnick said Thursday he will have the report ready by April 1. 

Trump also announced last week a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports from all countries, adding up to a 35% tariff for Chinese steel and aluminum imports. The tariffs are set to begin March 12. 

Trump nominated Lutnick to serve as commerce secretary two weeks after he was elected. Lutnick was a co-chair of Trump’s 2024 presidential transition team. 

Howard Lutnick (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

“I am thrilled to announce that Howard Lutnick, Chairman & CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, will join my Administration as the United States Secretary of Commerce. He will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative,” Trump said in the announcement.

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Trump praised Lutnick’s leadership during the presidential transition and said he “created the most sophisticated process and system to assist us in creating the greatest Administration America has ever seen.”

The Senate voted Tuesday along party lines to advance the nomination of Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director, clearing a procedural hurdle to set up a final vote on the controversial Trump ally to lead the federal law enforcement agency.

Lawmakers in the Upper Chamber voted 48-45 to advance Patel’s nomination, as Democrats hold concerns that he would operate as a loyalist for the president and target the administration’s political enemies.

This sets up a final confirmation vote later in the week. Some of Trump’s other more controversial picks — including new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — have received enough support from Republican lawmakers seeking to fall in line to push the president’s agenda.

KASH PATEL’S NOMINATION TO LEAD FBI CLEARS FIRST MAJOR SENATE HURDLE

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

A former intelligence and Defense Department official in Trump’s first term, Patel has supported reshaping the FBI, including by expanding its role to carry out Trump’s mission targeting immigration.

He has been a vocal critic of past FBI investigations into Trump, including on Trump’s mishandling of classified documents, his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and debunked allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Patel has been panned for his lack of management experience compared to past FBI directors and for his many incendiary past statements, including calling investigators who probed Trump “government gangsters” and claiming that at least some defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot were “political prisoners.”

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Democrats have also criticized Patel for supporting false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election and his refusal to affirm that former President Joe Biden defeated Trump in that year’s election. But Patel has still received support from many Republicans, including moderates.

“I’ve spoken to multiple people I respect about Kash Patel this weekend—both for and against. The ones who worked closely with Kash vouched for him. I will vote for his confirmation,” Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy said Tuesday on X.

PATEL CAMP DECRIES DURBIN ACCUSATIONS AS ‘POLITICALLY MOTIVATED’ ATTEMPT TO DERAIL FBI CONFIRMATION

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Patel said at his confirmation hearing last month that Democrats were taking some of his comments out of context or misunderstanding his point, including when he proposed shutting down the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. and turning it into a museum for the “deep state.” Patel also denied the accusation that his book’s inclusion of a list of government officials who he claimed were part of the “deep state” constituted an “enemies list,” pushing back on that allegation as a “total mischaracterization.”

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The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines last week to advance his nomination to the full Senate.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DOGE’s Elon Musk opened up in an interview alongside President Trump with Fox News Sean Hannity about a dinner party where he said he realized how “real” Democratic animosity toward Trump can be.

“I happened to mention the president’s name and it was like they got shot with a dart in the jugular that contained like methamphetamine and rabies,” Musk said in the Tuesday night interview while recounting a situation where he mentioned Trump’s name at a dinner party and quickly received pushback.

Musk imitated people at the party going crazy and questioned why they couldn’t have a normal conversation.

“It’s like they’ve become completely irrational,” Musk said, adding in the interview that he didn’t realize the severity of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” was until he attended that dinner party.

ELON MUSK SAYS MILLIONS IN SOCIAL SECURITY DATABASE ARE BETWEEN AGES OF 100 AND 159

President Donald Trump and DOGE head Elon Musk sit down with Fox News host Sean Hannity for their first joint interview. (Fox News)

During another point in the interview, Hannity asked if Musk would recuse himself from DOGE efforts if there was ever a conflict of interest.

“If there’s a conflict he won’t be involved,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t want that and he won’t want it.”

EXPERT REVEALS MASSIVE LEVELS OF WASTE DOGE CAN SLASH FROM ENTITLEMENTS, PET PROJECTS: ‘A LOT OF FAT’

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk takes his seat at the inauguration ceremony. (Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

“Right, and also I’m getting sort of a daily proctology exam,” Musk added. “It’s not like I’ll be getting away for something in the dead of night.”

Musk and Trump sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Hannity where they discussed the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) work, the first 100 days of the Trump administration and more. It marks the duo’s first joint television interview.

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President Donald Trump walks with his granddaughter Carolina as he attends the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Daytona Beach, Fla.  (Pool via AP)

“He’s been so unfairly attacked,” Musk said of Trump during the interview. “It’s really outrageous.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time with the President, and not once have I seen him do anything mean or cruel or wrong.”

DOGE chief Elon Musk revealed details about his thought process on endorsing President Trump during a sit-down interview with Trump and Fox News anchor Sean Hannity on Tuesday night that the president said he had not heard before.

“I was going to do it anyway,” Musk said during the interview that aired Tuesday night when Hannity mentioned that his endorsement of Trump came after an attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania on the campaign trail.

“That was it?” Hannity said.

“That was a precipitating event,” Musk said. 

KAROLINE LEAVITT: TRUMP, ELON MUSK’S DOGE TEAM ARE DOING WHAT DEMOCRATS PROMISED ‘FOR DECADES’

Musk endorsed Trump shortly after the assassination attempt on his life (AP/Gene J. Puskar/Julia Nikhinson)

“That sped it up a little bit?” Trump then said to Musk. “I didn’t know that.”

Musk responded, “It sped it up, but I was going to do it anyway.”

EXPERT REVEALS MASSIVE LEVELS OF WASTE DOGE CAN SLASH FROM ENTITLEMENTS, PET PROJECTS: ‘A LOT OF FAT’

Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Images)

Musk announced that he “fully supports” former President Trump after gunshots rang out at his Pennsylvania rally in July in a move that many, including some Democrats, believe played a significant role in Trump’s campaign.

“Not even just that he has endorsed [Trump], but the fact that now he’s becoming an active participant and showing up and doing rallies and things like that,” Dem. Sen. John Fetterman told the New York Times in October, explaining that the enormously successful Tesla and SpaceX CEO is an attractive figure for the kinds of voters Harris needs to win.

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US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after landing at the Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida on February 16, 2025 (ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)

“I mean, [Musk] is incredibly successful, and, you know, I think some people would see him as, like, a Tony Stark,” said Fetterman, referencing the popular Marvel Comics character. “Democrats, you know, kind of make light of it, or they make fun of him jumping up and down and things like that. And I would just say that they are doing that at our peril.”

In an interview with CNN, Fetterman added, “Endorsements, they’re really not meaningful often, but this one is, I think. That has me concerned.”

Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report

In a lawsuit filed on Monday, multiple taxpayer and union groups alleged Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) violated multiple laws in its quest to unearth and eliminate wasteful government spending.

The groups claim DOGE launched a “sweeping campaign to access highly-sensitive information systems” and violated laws that limit executive power, protect civil servants, and guard citizens’ data held by the government.

The agency, which was created by an executive order earlier this year, remains a temporary organization within the White House and is tasked with optimizing the federal government, streamlining operations, and slashing spending in just 18 months.

U.S. President Donald Trump is joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and his son, X Musk, during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS

Noting recent DOGE action at the Treasury, Labor, Education and Health departments, as well as at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Personnel Management and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the suit alleges DOGE’s access to sensitive information systems “lacks statutory authority.”

Specifically, it claims DOGE violated the Tax Reform Act, Privacy Act and Administrative Procedures Act.

“The results have already been catastrophic,” according to the suit.

About 100 DOGE protesters gathered, fearing DOGE would cut the workforce at the Bureau of Fiscal Service. (Fox News Digital)

Without the court’s intervention, the groups said they were concerned about DOGE having access to sensitive information including social security numbers, individuals’ finances, and bank account information.

The lawsuit also asserted DOGE will have access to confidential business information, tax records and IRS investigations, which “could include investigations or reports pertaining to Mr. [Elon] Musk’s businesses or those of his competitors.”

“No other business owner on the planet has acces to this kind of information on his competitors, and for good reason,” lawyers wrote in the suit.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Co-Chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on December 05, 2024 in Washington, DC. Musk and his Co-Chair, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy are meeting with lawmakers today about DOGE, a planned presidential advisory commission with the goal of cutting government spending and increasing efficiency in the federal workforce.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

DOGE SCORES BIG COURT WIN, ALLOWED ACCESS DATA ON 3 FEDERAL AGENCIES

The groups — the Center for Taxpaper Rights, Main Street Alliance, National Federation of Federal Employees, and Communications Workers of America — are seeking a temporary restraining order to maintain the status quo until the court has an opportunity to review DOGE and Musk’s actions.

Following the review, plaintiffs asked the court to declare DOGE’s access unlawful, halt its use of IRS systems, order that information obtained illegally be deleted, and establish new security protections.

The lawsuit was filed prior to a federal judge’s ruling on Tuesday to not block DOGE from accessing government data or firing federal employees. 

Demonstrators rally in support of federal workers outside of the Department of Health and Human Services, Friday, Feb. 14, in Washington.  (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected a request for a temporary restraining order, pointing to the absence of evidence showing the agency’s access caused “irreparable harm.”

However, Chutkan did question what “appears to be the unchecked authority of an unelected individual,” referencing Musk.

She also expressed concerns about DOGE’s accountability to Congress.

‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS

Protesters demonstrate in support of federal workers outside of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Feb. 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Organizers held the protest to speak on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Last week, more than a dozen Democratic state attorneys general sued to temporarily restrict DOGE’s access to federal data about government employees, citing concerns about Musk’s access and power.

“There is no greater threat to democracy than the accumulation of state power in the hands of a single, unelected individual,” according to the lawsuit, filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez.

Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington also signed onto the suit.

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

West Virginia lawmakers on Monday introduced a bill that bans “woke words” and agendas from state government content, citing concerns about the terms being “sexist” and “exclusionary.”

The changes, which center around “accurate, female-affirming alternatives,” would restrict wording used in state government documents, websites, literature and in-person, according to legislators.

Specific terms included in the bill include using “pregnant women” instead of “pregnant people,” using “woman” instead of “womxn or womyn,” and using “woman” instead of “birth-giver.”

Wording changes would affect typically female-related topics. (iStock)

LGBT ACTIVISTS MOBILIZE TO CHALLENGE TRUMP’S ‘EXTREME GENDER IDEOLOGY’ EXECUTIVE ORDERS

The phrases were designed for gender inclusivity, as some people do not identify with their biological anatomy.

Other wording changes noted in the bill relate to breastfeeding and other pregnancy-related topics.

Legislators suggested using “breastfeeding” as opposed to “chestfeeding,” “breast fed” as opposed to “body fed” or “person fed,” and “breast milk” instead of “human milk.”

(Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

While supporters claim the gender-neutral terminology can “streamline” communication about various topics, critics allege the wording is “made up” and can lead to confusion.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2023 posted advice on its website for transgender and non-binary people wishing to “chestfeed” their children.

Portions of the guidance detailed instructions for those who had breasts removed in gender-reassignment surgery or for biological men taking hormones to grow breasts on how to feed their newborns.

Several doctors criticized the information, claiming the CDC failed to gauge the risks posed to children drinking milk produced by chemicals used in gender-reassignment medical operations.

FEDS SPENT MILLIONS STUDYING TRANS MENSTRUATION, STRENGTHENING GAY RIGHTS IN THE BALKANS, DATABASE REVEALS

House Bill 2406, which is sponsored by 11 delegates, would take effect on June 1.

On Feb. 7, CDC researchers were told to remove words frequently associated with gender ideology from research manuscripts that they intend to publish.

A screenshot of a leaked internal email sent out to CDC staff, obtained by the newsletter Inside Medicine, showed a list of terms and phrases that must be removed from scientific manuscripts produced by the agency’s researchers and intended for publication. 

Those terms included: “gender,” “transgender,” “pregnant person,” “pregnant people,” “LGBT,” “transsexual,” “non-binary,” “nonbinary,” “assigned male at birth,” “assigned female at birth,” “biologically male” and “biologically female.” According to the Washington Post, the list includes about 20 terms. They indicated that the directive also ordered the removal of any use of “they/them.”

The bill will affect language relating to pregnancy and women. (iStock)

West Virginia University is the latest education institution to curb its diversity, equity and inclusion office due to reverse-discrimination claims.

The delegates did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

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Fox News Digital’s Gabriel Hays and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump directed the Justice Department to fire all U.S. attorneys left over from the Biden administration.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the agency has been “politicized like never before.”

“Therefore, I have instructed the termination of ALL remaining “Biden Era” U.S. Attorneys. We must ‘clean house’ IMMEDIATELY, and restore confidence,” Trump wrote. “America’s Golden Age must have a fair Justice System – THAT BEGINS TODAY!”

Terminating U.S. attorneys from previous administrations is generally standard procedure. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Justice Department. 

This story is breaking. Please check back for updates. 

Governor Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., met with “key leaders” in New York City on Tuesday to discuss the “path forward” for Mayor Eric Adams, D-N.Y., following a slew of City Hall resignations after the Justice Department dropped bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy charges against Adams last week. 

Protesters gathered outside Hochul’s Manhattan office during her meetings on Tuesday, chanting: “Governor Hochul, fight back, remove Eric Adams.”

City Hall sources tell Fox News that Hochul met with the City’s Inability Committee as pressure mounts for Hochul to use her constitutional powers to remove Adams. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, City Comptroller Brad Lander, Rev. Al Sharpton and other community leaders met with Hochul this afternoon. 

Lander, a 2025 mayoral candidate, told Fox News he discussed with Hochul whether Adams could even do his job anymore, given the controversy surrounding his office and the logistical imperative of four deputy mayor resignations. 

NY GOV. HOCHUL TO MEET WITH ‘KEY LEADERS’ TO DISCUSS ‘PATH FORWARD’ AMID ERIC ADAMS TURMOIL

Governor Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., is considering the “path forward” for Mayor Eric Adams, D-N.Y., after four deputy mayors resigned following the Justice Department dropping bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy charges against him.  (Getty/AP)

“I do think the mayor should resign,” Lander said outside Hochul’s office on Tuesday. “The mayor is not able, in my opinion, to devote his full-time and attention to the needs of New Yorkers.”

NY JUDGE ORDERS ERIC ADAMS, TRUMP DOJ OFFICIALS TO COURT OVER MOTION TO DISMISS CORRUPTION CHARGES

Sharpton, the civil rights activist, said he is also concerned with Adams’ ability to govern, telling Fox News Hochul will continue to deliberate with city leaders and see what the judge decides tomorrow. 

U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho ordered a status conference on Wednesday to discuss why the Justice Department filed a motion to drop indictment charges against Adams on Friday. Adams has maintained his innocence throughout legal proceedings, claiming the trial was politically motivated. 

“Despite our pleas, when the federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party and politics. I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, that I would be a target — and a target I became,” Adams said following his indictment on Sept. 27, 2024. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul presents her 2025 executive state budget in the Red Room at the state Capitol on Jan. 16, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Adams was critical of President Joe Biden’s handling of the migrant crisis, particularly as New York City struggled to keep up with the busloads of migrants entering the city’s overwhelmed shelter system. Adams said opposition to Biden’s leadership on the migrant crisis made him a target of political persecution.

Adams’ chief campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs’ home was raided in connection to Adams’ indictment charges in Nov. 2023. Adams was on his way to Washington, D.C., for a meeting with Biden White House officials to discuss the migrant crisis when news of the raid broke. Adams canceled his meetings and abruptly returned to New York City before those meetings could happen. 

“Through all the negative headlines, rumors and criticism, I have remained clear: I’m not stepping down, I’m stepping UP. No matter what you read, no matter what you see – they may want to fight me, but I’m always fighting for you,” Adams said on Sunday. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a news conference outside Gracie Mansion, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in New York. The Mayor has been  indicted after an investigation into campaign corruption. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

Adams, who has developed a relationship with Trump and held private meetings with the president down in West Palm Beach, met with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan on Friday. Homan and Adams sat for a joint interview with Fox & Friends to discuss their plans to crackdown on illegal immigration in New York City. 

Homan said he would hold Adams to his commitments, telling Fox & Friends: “If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City, and we won’t be sitting on the couch. I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?'”

New York City leaders did not appreciate the remark, questioning on Tuesday if Adams’ was still aligned with their views on immigration. 

“I’m very concerned that Mr. Homan came in here and acted like he could make Adams do what he wants, or he’d be up his butt. I can’t believe someone would say that on national television,” Sharpton said. 

“It’s one straightforward test of where his loyalties lie: with New Yorkers or with Donald Trump?” Lander added. 

Mayor Eric Adams and border czar Tom Homan joined “Fox & Friends” together to discuss their recent meeting on border security and policies. (Getty Images/Photo illustration)

In Dec. 2024, Trump said he would “look at” a pardon for Adams, claiming he was “treated pretty unfairly” by federal prosecutors and compared Adams’ indictment to his own “political persecution.”

As Hochul decides whether to remove Adams as mayor, she said the “alleged conduct at City Hall” over the past two weeks cannot be ignored. 

Fox News contributor Byron York questioned why Hochul would choose now to consider removing Adams as mayor. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a lawsuit last week against Hochul for allowing illegal immigrants to obtain a driver’s license and restricting the DMV from releasing their information to immigration authorities without a warrant. 

Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department as attorney general, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

“She didn’t seek to remove him before he was indicted. Not after the indictment, either. But the prospect of Adams not resisting enforcement of federal immigration law is just too much,” Fox News contributor Byron York said in a post. 

“The calls for Mayor Adams’ removal now reek of political maneuvering,” What has changed since September until now? Comptroller Brad Lander must recuse himself from any discussions on the mayor’s status, including any role in the Inability Committee if it convenes. These decisions must be free from political bias. I also urge the Department of Investigation and the Conflicts of Interest Board to examine Lander’s apparent misuse of city resources. Using official letterhead and staff to draft a politically charged letter that benefits his own mayoral ambitions is a clear abuse of public trust. New Yorkers deserve better.”

Hochul, who has the authority under New York State law to remove Adams as mayor, said the resignation of four deputy mayors in New York City on Monday raised “serious questions about the long-term future” of Adams’ administration. 

“I recognize the immense responsibility I hold as governor and the constitutional powers granted to this office. In the 235 years of New York State history, these powers have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor; overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly. That said, the alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored,” Hochul said. 

Eric Adams, mayor of New York, center, during the 60th presidential inauguration in Emancipation Hall of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Donald Trump’s Monday swearing-in marks just the second time in US history that a president lost the office and managed to return to power – a comeback cementing his place within the Republican Party as an enduring, transformational figure rather than a one-term aberration. (Al Drago/Pool via Reuters)

The deputy mayors submitted their resignations on Monday in the fallout of the Justice Department dropping Adams’ corruption case, leaving a gap in Adams’ governing ability. Torres-Springer served as First Deputy Mayor; Joshi as Deputy Mayor for Operations; Williams-Isom as Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, and Chauncey Parker as Deputy Mayor for Public Safety. 

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“I spoke with First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer to express my gratitude for her years of service to New York City,” Hochul said. “She, along with Deputy Mayors Anne Williams-Isom, Meera Joshi and Chauncey Parker, have been strong partners with my Administration across dozens of key issues. If they feel unable to serve in City Hall at this time, that raises serious questions about the long-term future of this Mayoral administration.”

Fox News’ Kirill Clark and Kitty Le Claire contributed to this report.

After being attacked by an immigrant rapist, Jon Fetherston, a former Massachusetts migrant shelter director, is blowing the whistle about the “rampant” abuse in the Massachusetts migrant shelter system, which he said is “just a big, colossal mess.”

Fetherston, who served as the director of the Marlborough migrant shelter from 2023 to 2024, said that the amount of crime, domestic abuse and child neglect that takes place in the Massachusetts migrant shelter system is “mind-boggling.” In an interview with Fox News Digital, Fetherston revealed that he was grabbed and attacked by a Haitian immigrant after he was confronted about raping and impregnating his own teenage daughter.

The Maine Wire first broke the story about the Haitian migrant, Ronald Joseph, 42, impregnating his then 13-year-old daughter. Joseph repeatedly raped and impregnated his daughter while staying at a government-funded migrant shelter at a Holiday Inn in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

MASSACHUSETTS SHELTER PROGRAM THAT HOUSES MIGRANTS HAS HAD OVER 300 ‘SERIOUS INCIDENT’ REPORTS THIS YEAR

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and former Marlborough migrant shelter director Jon Fetherston.  (Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images and Jon Fetherston)

A report by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities obtained by Fox News Digital says that after being informed he would lose access to his daughter, Joseph “got very agitated and started yelling” at Fetherston that “this was all his fault, and he was to blame.”

Fetherston told Fox News Digital that as soon as Joseph heard he was losing custody of his daughter, he “reached across the table and grabbed me and got angry with me and started cursing and yelling and screaming and swinging at me because he realized what was happening.”

“I’m going to be honest; the entire experience has shaken me to my core,” said Fetherston.

MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT CONDEMNS RIGHT-TO-SHELTER LAW TURNING BAY STATE INTO ‘DESTINATION FOR MIGRANTS’

Meshach Little of Northill Wilkston Security Firm walks the perimeter of the main living area at the state’s new emergency overflow shelter for migrants at the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

He clarified that “it’s not so much the lunging at me and swinging” but rather the conversation that jarred him the most.

“The conversation was probably the most jarring conversation I’ve ever had in my life,” he said. “His justification for having sex with his daughter was — and he did say it through an interpreter; he didn’t say it in English — that in his country — which his country of origin was Haiti — if a woman bled, meaning if she had her period, you could have sex with her and that was his justification for having sex with his daughter.”

Rather than arresting Joseph immediately, Fetherston was directed by authorities to order the immigrant a Lyft ride to another shelter in Worcester County. Joseph was not arrested until eight months later when Marlborough police finally apprehended him earlier this month.

“The Marlborough police came and calmed him down and actually had me transfer him to another shelter,” he explained. “I asked the Marlborough police like: ‘Why isn’t he being arrested? He admitted to this. At least why aren’t you just detaining him at the very least?’ And they’re like: ‘We’ll figure it all out.’ It took them eight months to figure it all out.”

BLUE STATE FACES SPIKE IN MIGRANT SEX CRIMES AS TOP CITY PLEDGES RESISTANCE TO TRUMP DEPORTATIONS

ICE agents are pictured arresting a man. ICE agents arrested an Indian citizen following his convictions for child sex abuse.  (ICE ERO El Paso/X)

Though this case was particularly egregious, Fetherston said that “there is a lot of undocumented violence that goes on” and that rape, domestic violence, sex trafficking, drug dealing and other crimes are so commonplace in the Massachusetts shelter system that many incidents simply fall through the cracks.

“I will tell you, unfortunately, that it happens a lot,” he said. “There were times when I was running the shelter that there probably should have been times when I should have done more reporting, you just didn’t have the time to do it.”

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“It’s just a big, colossal mess,” Fetherston added. “I’ve been in public service most of my adult life, either through elective office or volunteering. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the migrant shelters would be the chaos that it is… It’s a systematic problem, that there is chaos in these communities and the public has the right to know what is going on.”

The former shelter director said that before quitting his job he brought his concerns about the widespread abuse to Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll — both Democrats — but neither gave him the time of day. Although Healey recently vowed to reform the shelter system and begin mandatory background checks on residents, Fetherston said there have yet to be any real changes.

ICE ARRESTS ‘PREDATOR’ MIGRANT CONVICTED OF SECRETLY RECORDING OTHERS IN BATHROOM

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey visit the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex, which was being used to house more than 300 migrants. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Despite promises of reform, the legislature renewed shelter funding at $425 million through June with no new changes.

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“People are frustrated from top to bottom,” he said. “The governor has spent over $3.5 billion just of the taxpayers’ money just on the migrant hotels [and]… just last week the Senate and House passed [a bill] to fund this migrant program until July of this year, zero reform, zero mandatory checks.”

“The governor says that all this stuff is coming,” he concluded, “and ultimately, at the end, there was no reform put in the package. It was just the approval to fund the shelters through the end of July. So, there is no reform.”

Initial discussions between Trump administration officials and Russia in Saudi Arabia Tuesday marked a “significant milestone” in securing peace between Russia and Ukraine, according to the White House press secretary. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met in Riyadh with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov to hash out ways to end the conflict. Ukraine was absent from the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide specifics about the discussions, but she said the Trump administration was committed to brokering a peace deal to end the conflict between the two countries. 

“What I will tell you is that today, sitting down at the table was a significant first step toward peace,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. 

‘MAKE NATO GREAT AGAIN’: HEGSETH PUSHES EUROPEAN ALLIES TO STEP UP DEFENSE EFFORTS 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration was committed to brokering a peace deal to end the conflict between the two countries.  (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday that an invitation to the talks wasn’t extended to Ukraine and that he was postponing a scheduled trip to Saudi Arabia until March. 

Zelenskyy has stressed that Ukraine must be involved in negotiations, and said Sunday that Ukraine wouldn’t accept a peace deal if his country were absent from negotiations. 

But Leavitt said that everyone would have a seat at the negotiating table — including other European allies — as the Trump administration seeks to advance a peace deal. 

“We’re ensuring that all parties are heard,” Leavitt said in an interview with Fox New’s “America Reports” Tuesday. “But you have to speak to both sides of the war in order to truly negotiate a deal and problem solve. And this is a significant first step toward peace.”

TOP RUSSIAN, US OFFICIALS MEET IN SAUDI ARABIA TO BEGIN TALKS ON UKRAINE WAR WITHOUT OFFICIALS FROM KYIV

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, sits next to National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, right, and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 18, 2025. (The Associated Press)

Leavitt said that President Donald Trump was in correspondence with Zelenskyy, and spoke with other European allies like French President Emmanuel Macron Monday. Additionally, she said that Trump will meet with the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House next week. 

Trump and Zelenskky also spoke over the phone Wednesday about the negotiations, and Zelenskyy said he relayed that he believes Putin isn’t interested in peace with Ukraine. 

“I said that [Putin] is a liar,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday. “And he said, ‘I think my feeling is that he’s ready for these negotiations.’ And I said to him, ‘No, he’s a liar. He doesn’t want any peace.'”

While Zelenskyy voiced gratitude for U.S. support, he said that there is no “leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us, about us.” 

“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said on “Meet the Press.” 

PUTIN’S A ‘LITTLE BIT SCARED’ OF TRUMP AS NATIONS BEGIN PEACE TALKS, ZELENSKYY SAYS 

President Donald Trump (center), Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right). (Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto via Getty Images | Contributor/Getty Images | Scott Olson/Getty Images)

But Trump has offered reassurances that Zelenskyy would be involved in peace conversations, and told reporters Sunday on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida that Ukraine would get a seat at the negotiating table. 

The first action the U.S. plans to take following the meetings with Russian officials is to “reestablish the functionality of our respective missions in Washington and in Moscow,” Rubio told reporters from The Associated Press and CNN. 

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“For us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic facilities that are operating and functioning normally,” Rubio said, according to a State Department transcript. 

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump vowed on the campaign trail in 2024 that he would work to end the conflict if elected again. 

Fox News’ Emma Colton and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report. 

European leaders upset by Vice President JD Vance’s recent remarks in Munich should consider listening to their own citizens’ concerns instead of worrying about fellow elites, say U.S. conservatives who attended a global conference in London.

Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts spoke to a group of reporters after the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London on Tuesday evening GMT. The conference is intended to bring together those with a vision of citizen empowerment throughout the world and is associated with Canadian psychologist and media commentator Jordan Peterson.

Vance had previously told the Bavarian confab of world leaders that “the threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia; it’s not China. It’s not any other external actor – What I worry about is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” 

TRUMP’S UKRAINE ENVOY PULLS NO PUNCHES WITH EUROPE, SAYS EU MIGHT NOT HAVE PLACE IN RUSSIA PEACE TALKS

Vance also criticized what he called “cavalier” and “shocking” fearmongering about a right-wing German party in the upcoming chancellor elections.

“What JD Vance was saying to Munich just the other day was a recognition that it is not for our governments to control our lives and in order to make sure that we have the freedom and liberties that we need to order our own lives and make our own decisions,” Hageman said. 

The Wyoming lawmaker, who unseated Liz Cheney in what was similarly seen as a populist win over the political establishment, spoke of what she called a “new hope” for global conservatism to prevail against “backsliding” governments that put in place onerous regulations instead of listening to the people.

GREEN GOVERNANCE IS THE NEW GUISE FOR MERCANTILISM: KEVIN ROBERTS

Roberts, meanwhile, offered advice to world leaders like German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who expressed outrage at Vance’s speech – in which the vice president warned of such proverbial backsliding from the West’s “most fundamental values,” like free speech and government responsiveness to the populace.

Roberts said the reaction appears limited to a “small number of very vocal European leaders like [Scholz] and unfortunately, is emblematic of what we’ve seen the last few years.”

“[Scholz] and particularly [France’s Emmanuel Macron] and a couple of other leaders like to wag their finger at Americans and say we must do more to defend their interests when they themselves don’t make enough sacrifices to spend the requisite spending for defense as part of their annual budgets,” Roberts said.

“And that’s the kind of commonsense revolution that [Vance and President Donald Trump] are bringing to both domestic politics and foreign policy.”

VANCE SPEAKS AT CPAC

Referencing conversations he’s had while in London and at the conference, Roberts said he and Hageman are “translating” American conservative policies outlined by people like Vance to the Europeans – and they are being receptive.

“The translation would be easier if more of these European leaders were more engaged in common sense,” he said.

“Maybe having a beer with everyday Germans rather than spending so much time in Brussels (at the EU).”

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Scholz had expressed outrage at Vance’s nod to the right-wing Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD) party in Berlin’s upcoming elections. The party, while aligning with some of the global right’s economic principles, also has what critics consider select callbacks to the Nazi Party, which was banned in Germany post-World War II.

“Today’s democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realization that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats,” Scholz said this week.

“And this is why we’ve created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies and rules that do not restrict or limit freedom but protect it.”

The United States saw double the number of fatal plane crashes under President Joe Biden’s first four weeks in office compared to the same time period under President Donald Trump’s second administration, federal data reviewed by Fox News Digital shows. 

There were 10 fatal plane crashes in the United States between Jan. 20, 2021, and Feb. 18, 2021, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s Case Analysis and Reporting Online, or CAROL, which has recorded aviation accidents since 1962. There were four fatal plane crashes recorded during the same time period under the second Trump administration — from inauguration day to Feb. 18 — the data shows. 

A fifth fatal plane crash unfolded in Georgia on Saturday evening, which has not yet been added to the database but is included in Fox Digital’s final tally of five fatal plane crashes in the U.S. since Jan. 20. 

Though the second Trump administration has seen fewer plane crashes than the first month of the Biden administration, the Washington, D.C., crash in January provided greater national visibility to concern over aviation crashes as it was the deadliest in U.S. history since November 2001, when an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area of New York City, killing 260 people on board and five on the ground. 

A total of 67 people were killed in January when an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 

Fox News Digital found that during the Biden administration’s approximate first month in office, there were U.S.-based fatal plane crashes in Janesville, Wisconsin; St. Thomas, Caribbean Sea; Tehachapi, California; Galt, Missouri; Belvidere, Tennessee; Chitina, Alaska; Hackberry, Louisiana; Port Angeles, Washington; Boynton Beach, Florida; Rio Rancho, New Mexico. A total of 18 individuals died in the 10 crashes. 

TORONTO PLANE CRASH: HARROWING VIDEO SHOWS DELTA PLANE ERUPTING INTO FIREBALL, FLIPPING UPSIDE-DOWN

The United States saw double the number of fatal plane crashes under President Joe Biden’s first four weeks in office compared to the same time period under President Donald Trump’s second administration. (Getty Images)

The five fatal plane crashes in the first month of the Trump administration occurred in Nome, Alaska; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Covington, Georgia. A total of 96 people died in the plane crashes. 

When comparing the two Trump administrations, Fox News Digital found there were 11 recorded fatal plane crashes between Jan. 20, 2017, to Feb. 18, 2017. 

TORONTO PLANE CRASH TIMELINE: DELTA FLIGHT FROM MINNEAPOLIS FLIPS UPSIDE DOWN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND 

Fox News Digital also found that the Biden administration saw seven serious — not fatal — plane crashes between Jan. 20, 2021, and Feb. 18, 2021, compared to six serious plane crashes under the same time period for the Trump administration, according to the CAROL database. 

As for crashes that resulted in “minor” injuries for passengers, the CAROL database recorded seven under the Biden administration’s first month and two under the second Trump administration’s first month, Fox Digital found. 

A Delta Air Lines plane is upside down on its roof after crashing upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto on Feb. 17, 2025. (Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images)

SWALWELL DECLARES ‘ALL CRASHES ARE TRUMP’S FAULT’ AS HE DOUBLES DOWN ON PLANE DISASTER BLAME GAME 

Another plane crash unfolded on Monday in Canada, when a Delta Air Lines CRJ-900 jet originating from Minnesota crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport. None of the 80 passengers or crew were killed, but at least 18 were treated for injuries after the plane crashed, caught on fire and flipped upside down.  

The Toronto crash unfolded as news mounted that the Trump administration is in the midst of firing a bevy of federal employees across various agencies as part of his administration’s effort to cut government spending fat and weed out corruption and mismanagement, including terminating Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees who have been hired in the past year, according to a union representing the employees. 

President Donald Trump listens as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation told Fox News Digital Monday that the agency continues to hire air traffic controllers and those focused on air safety. 

PLANE CRASHES SPARK RENEWED FEAR OF FLYING: 10 CAUSES OF AVIATION DISASTERS

“The FAA continues to hire and onboard air traffic controllers and safety professionals, including mechanics and others who support them,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The agency has retained employees who perform safety critical functions.” 

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added on X that his predecessor, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, had “failed for four years to address the air traffic controller shortage and upgrade our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system.”

A police boat patrols the water and guards the crash scene on Jan. 30, 2025, after an American Airlines plane collided midair with a military helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“Here’s the truth: the FAA alone has a staggering 45,000 employees,” he said. “Less than 400 were let go, and they were all probationary, meaning they had been hired less than a year ago. Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were let go.” 

The crash, however, has opened the floodgates of criticism from Democrats and liberal media outlets who have laid blame for the crash at Trump’s feet. 

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“I’m thankful that everyone in the flight incident in Toronto that took off from Minneapolis is safe, but we keep seeing these incidents day after day,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted to X after the Monday crash. “Meanwhile, Trump’s doing massive layoffs at the FAA—including safety specialists—and making our skies less and less safe. Democrats are fighting to protect the flying public.” 

Under President Donald Trump’s second administration so far, significant restructuring of the federal workforce has led to widespread layoffs and policy shifts designed to align with his agenda to eliminate bureaucracy. As these changes unfold, the divide between political appointees and career employees has become more apparent.

Political appointees, chosen by the president, serve at his discretion and include both Cabinet-level department heads and other senior-level officials. They are tasked with carrying out the administration’s agenda.

By contrast, career employees have permanent positions with civil service protections and are tasked with executing policies set by the political appointees above them.

“We moved away from the spoils system, which is where the current administration gets to hire everybody in the government, towards a career civil service, in the 1880s,” explained former Bush administration Cabinet member Tevi Troy in an interview with Fox News Digital.

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE

Elon Musk heads up the Department of Government Efficiency, a watchdog President Donald Trump set up to look for waste in federal spending. (Alex Brandon/AP Images)

“And the idea is that you have a permanent government or permanent bureaucracy that carries out the work of the federal government, whether it’s administering checks or doing the census, whatever it is the government does that is managed by this career bureaucracy,” Troy, also a presidential historian and a senior fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute, said. “They have civil service protection, they are not supposed to set policy. They follow policy that is laid out by the president’s administration.”

Troy said there are about 2 million people in the federal workforce, and “at some point there’s a line.”

He described the line as “between who is setting policy” and who is “carrying out what the mission of the federal government is supposed to be.”

“And this argument is about the Trump administration feeling that at the most senior levels, there are certain career officials that were trying to set policy rather than carry out policy, and that’s where the disagreement is,” he said.

JUDGE RESTORES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S BUYOUT OFFER TO FEDERAL WORKERS

Trump signed an executive order Tuesday seeking departments to make “large-scale reductions in force.” As such, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has been instrumental in executing mass layoffs across various federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Authority and the Departments of Education, Veterans Affairs and Energy, among others.

“Although career employees enjoy significant employment protections, that does not mean that the president, who is the head of the executive branch, cannot eliminate jobs, as long as individuals are not politically targeted,” Rachel Greszler, senior researcher at the Heritage Foundation’s economic Roe Institute, told Fox News Digital. “President Clinton issued an executive order in 1993, instructing agencies to eliminate 100,000 federal positions. While the initial order called for a 4% reduction in workforce, a 10% reduction instead ensued.”

TRUMP ADMIN ORDERS AGENCIES TO LAY OFF PROBATIONARY WORKERS IN LATEST PUSH TO SHRINK GOVERNMENT

President Trump has used executive orders to enact sweeping changes within the federal bureaucracy in his first few weeks in office. (Reuters)

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Trump also instructed federal agencies last week to lay off most probationary workers who have not secured civil service protection. 

An Office of Personnel Management spokesperson told Fox News Digital previously, “the probationary period is a continuation of the job application process, not an entitlement for permanent employment. Agencies are taking independent action in light of the recent hiring freeze and in support of the president’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to better serve the American people at the highest possible standard.”

This isn’t the first time a president has sought to shrink the federal government. Ronald Reagan also had the same goal, and particularly cut down the workforce in regulatory agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. Bill Clinton also set out to reduce the size of the federal government, famously declaring in his 1996 State of the Union that the “era of big government is over.” 

Local governments which defy President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown could soon face the wrath of their governor under a bill making its way through the Indiana legislature.

Indiana House Bill 1531, which allows local law enforcement agencies the ability to carry out federal immigration laws and threatens to withhold funding from local governments who fail to comply with federal immigration laws, passed through the committee on a party line vote after hours of tense testimony and now moves to the full House, according to a report from the Indy Star Monday.

The bill would also allow the state’s attorney general to impose civil penalties if a local government agency fails to comply with a federal immigration detention request, requires state judges to report any non-U.S. citizen convicted of a crime to federal authorities, prohibits employers from recruiting or hiring illegal immigrants and grants immunity to government bodies or employees for action taken on immigration detainer requests.

RED STATE AG PROMISES LEGAL FIGHT WITH ICE-RESISTING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents walk down a street during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“We’ve been doing as much as we can with existing authority under labor trafficking laws to go after this issue of illegal aliens being employed in the state,” Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Blake Lanning told the Indy Star. “But in many ways, Indiana law was not designed for this problem, to address this problem.”

Lanning said the attorney general’s office worked closely with the state’s GOP legislature to craft the bill, which comes after Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita threatened to sue local jurisdictions who do not comply with federal immigration orders.

“Now that’s a problem in Indiana, particularly because there’s an Indiana state statute that I enforce that says what you have got to give, whatever level of cooperation is allowed by federal law, you shall give it as a state or local law enforcement official,” Rokita told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday. 

“And, so, that’s what’s happening here. That defiance I need to look into now.”

‘CLAWED BACK’: DHS CHIEF NOEM SECURES EYE-POPPING SUM SENT TO NYC FOR MIGRANT HOTELS

Local law enforcement cooperation with ICE is a point of contention in many liberal-leaning jurisdictions, even in red states. (ICE)

DOGE PUTS DEI ON CHOPPING BLOCK WITH TERMINATION OF OVER $370M IN EDUCATION DEPARTMENT GRANTS 

The push comes as Trump has intensified efforts to both secure the border and deport immigrants already in the country illegally. However, some of those efforts have been hindered by so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, which ban local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

Indiana’s legislation faces stiff opposition from Democrats and outside groups, who question the constitutionality of the bill.

“This is unprecedented to have this many anti-immigrant bills in one legislative session for Indiana. So it really is kind of a race to be the most racist. Any argument against that is just disingenuous,” Carolina Castoreno, the co-founder of the Alliance for Latino Migrant Advocacy, told the Indy Star after testifying against the bill.

President Donald Trump on Jan. 31, 2025, with an executive order on his desk. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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“The rhetoric that they are continuing to use in these rooms — the mentioning of cartels, the mentioning of Hispanic men, talking about the Spanish speaking language,” Castoreno added. “They’re not talking about Ukrainian immigrants. They’re not talking about immigrants from any other part of the world, except for Latin America.”

However, efforts to defeat the legislation face an uphill battle in Indiana, where Republicans enjoy supermajorities in both the state House of Representatives and Senate as well as control the governor’s office.

The Department of Education (DOED) is pulling the plug on the use of taxpayer dollars to fund “divisive” and “inappropriate” training programs for educators, announcing hundreds of millions in cuts as the Trump administration cleans house on “wasteful” spending within the federal government.

On Monday, the DOED announced the cancelation of $600 million dollars in grants funding programs that teach educators “divisive ideologies” such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the “instruction on White privilege and White supremacy.”

The latest spending cut comes just days after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk to cut government spending, announced the slashing of over $370 million in DEI training programs from the Education Department.

The grants that were terminated included funding for training programs “requiring practitioners to take personal and institutional responsibility for systemic inequities (e.g., racism) and critically reassess their own practices,” according to the DOED.

DOGE PUTS DEI ON CHOPPING BLOCK WITH TERMINATION OF OVER $370M IN EDUCATION DEPARTMENT GRANTS

The Department of Education terminated $600 million in DEI funding. (Getty Images)

Also slashed in the cost-cutting sweep was funding to one program that provided “spaces for critical reflection to help educators confront biases and have transformative conversations about equity,” and another that worked on “building historical and sociopolitical understandings of race and racism to interrupt racial marginalization and oppression of students in planning, instruction, relationship building, discipline and assessment.”

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PROBING SOME VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICTS OVER GENDER IDENTITY POLICIES

“Less money on DEI nonsense means more money to make sure teachers know how to teach students to read! #MakeAmericaLiterateAgain,” Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice said in a post on X.

The move also received a thumbs up from Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, who expressed her support on social media.

The Department of Education building. (iStock)

According to the DOED, many of the grants also included teacher and staff recruiting strategies that were “implicitly and explicitly based on race.”

“The Department of Education has canceled $600 million in ‘teacher training grants,’ which do little more than promote left-wing race and gender ideologies,” Chris Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, said of the announcement. “It’s time to shut it all down.”

Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (AP Images)

President Donald Trump‘s administration has made axing DEI programs in education a focal point of their efforts to reform the department, ordering all 50 state education departments last week to remove DEI policies within 14 days or risk losing federal funding.

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The president has signaled his intention to eventually abolish the department during his term to allow individual states to make decisions about their own education departments.

The Trump administration clarified in a late-night Monday court filing that Elon Musk is not a DOGE employee, and instead serves as a White House advisor, in a similar vein as former Biden advisor Anita Dunn. 

The filing comes after D.C. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan heard remarks in the case filed by 14 state attorneys general against Musk and the Trump administration. The states argue that Musk and the administration have engaged in illegal executive overreach. 

Chutkan expressed that she wasn’t convinced by the arguments on Monday after asking what harm the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) imposed, as well as whether any federal employee terminations took place at the end of last week.

DOGE SAYS IT FOUND NEARLY UNTRACEABLE BUDGET LINE ITEM RESPONSIBLE FOR $4.7T IN PAYMENTS

Following the remarks, Joshua Fisher, director of the Office of Administration, submitted a signed declaration clarifying that Musk “is an employee of the White House Office,” where he holds the position of “a non-career Special Government Employee.”

The Trump administration clarified in a late-night Monday court filing that Elon Musk is not a DOGE employee, and instead serves as a White House advisor, in a similar vein as former Biden advisor Anita Dunn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“In that job, Mr. Musk is a Senior Adviser to the President,” Fisher wrote. “It is not uncommon for the President to have Senior Advisors who are SGEs.”

Fisher compared Musk’s White House role to that of former top Biden advisor Anita Dunn. Dunn, who has longtime ties to former President Barack Obama, left the Biden White House in 2024 to join a top Democratic super PAC to support its efforts to elect Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 2024 election.

DOGE’S ACCESS TO CRITICAL IRS SYSTEM CONTAINING TAXPAYER INFORMATION IS IMMINENT

Dunn served as a political strategist and advisor to Biden on his 2020 campaign and in the White House.

Fisher continued on to say that Musk “has no greater authority than other senior White House advisors” and, as such, has no “actual or formal authority” to make government decisions. 

A protester holds up a “NO MUSK” sign at the “No Kings on Presidents Day” protest in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 17, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)

“Mr. Musk can only advise the President and communicate the President’s directives,” Fisher wrote. 

Fisher clarified that DOGE is a separate entity from the White House, continuing on to state that Musk is “not an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization.”

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE WHO BECAME TRUMP RIVAL DURING ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE OVERSEEING PIVOTAL DOGE HEARING

At issue in the case are DOGE’s actions within seven federal agencies, the Office of Personnel Management and the Departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Energy, Transportation and Commerce.

The state AGs announced they were filing the suit last week, in which they are “challenging the unlawful delegation of executive power to Elon Musk,” according to a statement released at the time. (Getty Images)

The state AGs announced they were filing the suit last week, in which they are “challenging the unlawful delegation of executive power to Elon Musk,” according to a statement released at the time. 

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“Empowering an unelected billionaire to access Americans’ private data, slash funding for federal student aid, stop payments to American farmers and dismantle protections for working families is not a sign of President Trump’s strength, but his weakness,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in the statement. 

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich, Anders Hagstrom, Bill Mears, and Jake Gibson contributed to this report. 

Progressive groups across the country once again protested President Donald Trump on Monday. The “Not My Presidents Day” or “No Kings Day” protests were organized by the 50501 Movement, a coalition of activists united against Trump’s “executive overreach.”

From Austin, Texas, to Orlando, Florida, and Boston to Phoenix, demonstrators gathered in cities across the United States holding handmade signs, singing songs of resistance and chanting in protest. More than a thousand gathered at the Capitol Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., this Presidents Day. 

“On Monday, we call on organizations and activists across the nation to once again stand united,” Sarah, a 50501 Movement and Voices of Florida organizer, said in a statement ahead of Presidents Day. “We will not cede ground to fascism quietly. We will fight back against Project 2025, and we will fight for the future of all of our beautiful communities.”

Protesters at the nation’s capitol on Monday carried signs calling to “impeach” Elon Musk, resist the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and save our republic. Fox News Digital spoke with several protesters in Washington, D.C., about why they felt compelled to protest. Protesters said they gathered to reject Elon Musk and DOGE.

TOP TRUMP AGENCY RECOVERS EYE-POPPING SUM AFTER LAUNCHING DOGE TASK FORCE

A protester holds a flag with a sign saying “We The People Serve No King,” during the “No Kings Day” protest on Presidents Day against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 near the Capitol in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

“I’m here to protest the president, protest Elon Musk, and protest all the executive orders. He is not our president. Everything he’s done is a destruction of this country. He only cares about himself and his pockets and the pockets of his cronies. He’s not here to help any of the working Americans. Everything he’s doing is mass destruction. He is a weapon of mass destruction,” Jennifer, a protester in Washington, D.C., said. 

PROTESTS ERUPT AROUND THE COUNTRY AGAINST THE NEW TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S POLICIES

Jennifer said Trump might be president, but he is not a president for the people. Mary Hart, an educator at the protest, said her immigrant and trans students have been targeted by the administration, and she wanted to be a part of the resistance. 

“I’m an educator, and I’m scared for my immigrant students,” Hart said. “I’m scared for my trans students. I’m scared for my country. I just had to show up and be part of the resistance. They’re being targeted and dehumanized by multiple people in this government. They’re coming to school scared, interrupting their learning. They’re being targeted and bullied by people who are emboldened by this administration, and it’s not right.”

Jerome Bobowski, a girl dad from Detroit, led a “Where is Congress?” chant at the Washington, D.C., rally. He said he protested to protect his daughters’ rights. 

Thousands gathered at the Capitol Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., for the “No Kings on Presidents Day” protest on Feb. 17, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)

“My kids are power women, and they have to have as many rights as my wife, who is a power woman too. We want justice. We don’t want a country without laws. That’s why they all come here. Because we have rules. We are not kings,” Bobowski said. 

Protesters said they were afraid of losing personal liberties, but the White House told Fox News Digital that Trump is a “leader for all Americans.” Responding to the “Not My Presidents Day” protests, the Trump administration emphasized his “resounding mandate” from the American people on Election Day and his commitment to delivering on his campaign promises. 

“This Presidents Day, we honor the leadership of President Trump. He received a resounding mandate from the American people and swiftly took action to deliver on his promises of restoring common sense policies, strengthening the economy and re-establishing America’s dominance on the world stage. President Trump is a leader for all Americans, and he will continue to prioritize America’s interests in every decision,” principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said. 

A protester holds up a “NO MUSK” sign at the “No Kings on Presidents Day” protest in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 17, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)

The 50501 Movement, which means 50 protests in 50 states on one day, began with a Reddit post, Sarah, who is a national core member of 50501, explained. From there, #buildtheresistance and #50501 gained traction on social media. On Feb. 5, they mobilized over 20,000 people across the country to protest Trump’s policies and Project 2025. 

“All of this happened very organically and very fast,” Sarah told Fox News Digital. “I think that people didn’t know where to put their feelings. They didn’t know how to move. I think that they were just shell shocked, and when that Reddit post happened, it gave people the power to go make their voices heard.”

The 50501 Movement is taking a decentralized approach, allowing individual groups and cities across the country to articulate their own mission. Sarah is also the executive director of Voices of Florida, which emphasizes reproductive rights, immigrant rights and queer rights. 

Demonstrators join more than a thousand people protesting the policies of the Trump administration marched from the Boston Common past City Hall to the North End on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 in Boston. (AP/Michael Casey)

“It goes down to what the states and the smaller groups want. We don’t tell people what their demands should be. To sum it up in a broad way, it’s to push back against Project 2025 and give the power back to the people,” Sarah added. 

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The 50501 is not affiliated with a political party, and there is no clear leader of the organization. At the protest in Washington, D.C., the organizers preached peace and emphasized civil disobedience was not welcome.