Donald Trump Poll News

A leading nonpartisan political handicapper shifted three Senate races toward the Democrats Thursday and predicted that, with just under five months to go until the midterm elections, the Democrats have a “clearer path to winning the Senate majority.”

But Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia adds that, despite the shifts, “we still favor Republicans in the overall race for the Senate.”

Republicans control the Senate 53-47 but are battling stiff political headwinds because the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms. 

The GOP also faces a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns amid persistent inflation and rising gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and President Donald Trump’s underwater approval ratings.

THESE MIDTERM RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS HOLD THEIR SENATE MAJORITY

Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted the race in battleground North Carolina from toss-up to lean Democrat. Former two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is facing off against former Republican National Committee Chair Mike Whatley in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.

It moved the Senate showdown in Alaska, where GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is expected to face off against former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, from lean Republican to toss-up.

And in Ohio, where appointed GOP Sen. Jon Husted is being challenged by former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, it shifted the rating from lean Republican to toss up.

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The movement toward the Democrats in the Ohio race comes a week after a Fox News poll indicated Brown up by eight points, 53%-45%, over Husted.

Democrats need a net gain pickup of four seats in the midterms to win back control of the Senate they lost in the 2024 elections.

Pointing to the four races it now considers toss-ups, Sabato’s Crystal Ball said, “There are now enough Toss-up races to give Democrats a clearer path to winning the Senate majority. … But Republicans can block Democrats by winning just one of the Toss-ups, meaning that they’re still better-positioned to hold the majority.”

The ratings shift by Sabato’s Crystal Ball comes a month after another top nonpartisan political handicapper, the Cook Report, moved its rankings of four key Senate races in favor of the Democrats.

DEMOCRATS EYE NARROW PATH TO CAPTURE SENATE MAJORITY, BUT ONE WRONG MOVE COULD SINK THEM

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chair Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is optimistic Democrats can flip the chamber. Gillibrand told Fox News Digital earlier this year she sees “all the makings of a blue wave.”

Gillibrand’s rival, National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Tim Scott of South Carolina, acknowledged in a Fox News Digital interview earlier this year that “there’s no doubt the climate has gotten more and more difficult.”

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But Scott emphasized he remains “incredibly optimistic, not only about holding the majority, but still expanding the majority.”

And NRSC National Press Secretary Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital Thursday that “no battleground races can be taken for granted. While Democrat candidates lurch further left to appease their radical base, Republicans are staying focused on lowering costs, investing in American workers, and doing the work required to defend the majority.”

A swing-district Democrat disparaged Trump’s landmark overtime tax break despite his national firefighters union’s support, prompting his GOP opponent to accuse him of a “flip flop.”

Nazareth, Pennsylvania’s Bob Brooks — running against Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., in a toss-up seat — is the president of the commonwealth’s firefighters union, setting up an apparent discrepancy with the national council, though the Democrat’s campaign says his concerns about the cuts are more nuanced and that it is the Republican who is harming first responders on the issue.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) provides a maximum annual deduction of $12,500 on qualified overtime compensation, phasing out after $150,000 of gross income or $300,000 for joint filers, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association — which is a subsidiary of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) — criticized the OBBB’s provisions during an appearance on the progressive “Meidas Touch” podcast in May.

“Donald Trump just did it here [in Pennsylvania]. He was up at the [Mount Airy] casino. But literally, he brought a guy up on stage and claimed he was a fireman and profiting from the no-tax-on-overtime, which 90 percent of our guys didn’t get the benefit from anyways, but the guy wasn’t a paid fireman,” Brooks said, referring to a Stroudsburg-area first responder whom Trump introduced at a Mount Pocono rally in December.

FIREFIGHTERS UNION BOSS WINS HOTLY-CONTESTED DEM PRIMARY IN A KEY PENNSYLVANIA SWING DISTRICT

“I just don’t understand how they keep spewing the garbage,” added Brooks, a former Bethlehem firefighter of many years who notably served in top union roles.

The man Trump introduced was indeed a volunteer firefighter but also a paid police officer in Monroe County who would therefore qualify for the no tax on overtime provision in his other first responder role.

Conversely, the IAFF came out in support of Republicans’ tax policies that included the elimination of levies on qualified overtime pay.

“Firefighters and emergency medical workers shouldn’t be penalized for choosing a career in public service,” IAFF president Edward Kelly previously told the New York Post.

Kelly called the new overtime rule a “needed fix” for his 350,000 members whose jobs demand “long hours.”

REPUBLICANS RIP 4 BLUE STATES FOR KEEPING TAXES ON TIPS, OVERTIME AFTER TRUMP REPRIEVE

“President Trump respects the contributions lAFF members make to our country and recognizes the importance of ensuring these brave men and women can keep more of their hard-earned money,” Kelly told the paper.

Meanwhile, the Fraternal Order of Police also wrote an April letter to Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Emilia Sykes, D-Ohio, expressing support for House legislation ending taxes on overtime, noting it positively affects law enforcement officers nationwide.

In response, a spokesperson for Brooks said the Democrat “ran into burning buildings for 20 years [and] knows what hard work is, and he knows that first responders deserve to keep more of their hard-earned money.”

The spokesperson said Brooks does support “no tax on overtime” and “no tax on tips,” saying that instead it is Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa.; his opponent; who doesn’t understand the issue.

“Ryan Mackenzie is a life-long politician who wouldn’t know a hard day’s work if it hit him in the face,” Brooks’ spokesperson said.

A source familiar with the matter said that, despite the IAFF’s endorsement of Trump’s policy, Brooks’ comments to Meidas Touch reflect how some firefighters do not qualify for the benefit, adding that Brooks supports fixing that discrepancy.

They added that Brooks would however not actually support any effort to repeal such no-tax-on-overtime benefits.

In a statement on his website about rural Carbon County being hurt by Washington policies, Brooks said that he would “work to repeal” the OBBB to restore higher SNAP funding, which also included the overtime policy.

The source also accused Mackenzie of voting to cut funding for first responder support through Community Project Funding Grants (CFP) – a contention Mackenzie’s camp denies.

NRCC LAUNCHES AD CAMPAIGN TARGETING DOZENS OF VULNERABLE DEMS WHO VOTED AGAINST KEY TRUMP PROPOSAL

The grants plan preceded Mackenzie’s entering office in 2025, and there was later bipartisan agreement to forgo the spending bill that included the grants in favor of a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded rather than adopt a new framework. The Republican voted in favor of it along with several Democrats.

“No CPF funding was allocated in FY 2025 as a result of the decision by congressional leaders on both sides to support a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution,” Mackenzie said in a statement, noting that Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., supported the same CR.

“Bob Brooks is a proven conman who was found by a court to have stolen over $100,000 from his own family,” Mackenzie said in response to the attacks.

“His latest flip-flop proves once again that this fraudster is only in it for himself.”

“Instead of standing with firefighters and the over 29 million Americans who saw record refunds from tax relief on overtime, Bob Brooks supported repealing these tax cuts and advocating for massive tax increases on everyone. Now he is now trying to trick voters by changing his unpopular position and thinking no one will notice.

The House Republicans’ campaign arm told Fox News Digital that voters can proverbially see the truth through the controversy.

“Bernie Bro Bob Brooks’ radical high-tax agenda would devastate working-class Pennsylvanians. Voters know Brooks wants them to keep less of their hard-earned money.” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Reilly Richardson said.

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Brooks’ website indicated the IAFF has also endorsed Brooks — who enjoys support from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Fox News Digital reached out to IAFF for comment.

Former President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, is facing fierce pushback online after jumping into the growing controversy surrounding Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner’s Nazi-linked tattoo, attempting to defend and explain away the Democrat’s disputed ink.

“The fact that a Biden WH Chief of Staff Democrat is comfortable downplaying a Nazi tattoo from a different Democrat tells you everything you need to know about today’s Democrats,” posted Prager University contributor Shabbos Kestenbaum.

Klain sparked a fight with the Republican Jewish Coalition Wednesday when he defended Platner on the group’s Instagram post condemning the candidate and calling on Democrats to withdraw their support. Platner has denied the tattoo was intended as a Nazi symbol, even as multiple people familiar with the candidate have identified it as an SS skull-and-crossbones design, which he has since covered.

“This is just a partisan attack,” Klain wrote. “The tattoo was a skull and crossbones to remember his fallen comrades from his service in Afghanistan.”

GRAHAM PLATNER BLAMES NAZI TATTOO ON MILITARY ‘CULTURE,’ DRAWS BACKLASH FROM GOP VETERANS

Klain served as Biden’s chief of staff from 2021 to 2023, before becoming Airbnb’s chief legal officer. He was appointed to serve on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council by Biden in January 2025 before President Donald Trump removed him nearly four months later.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Council is the presidentially appointed board that oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The exchange ignited a firestorm on social media, where critics argued Klain’s defense reflected a broader unwillingness among Democrats to distance themselves from Platner amid the growing controversy.

“Here’s former Biden WH Chief of Staff, and @Airbnb Chief Legal Officer, Ron Klain whitewashing Graham Platner’s Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo. This, after hosting a fundraiser for Platner last week. As a former United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council @HolocaustMuseum member, Klain absolutely knows better,” RJC posted to X of the exchange. 

WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE

“This is a disgusting lie from Ron Klain and @Airbnb should be deeply concerned someone this dishonest is working for the company in a sensitive role,” posted Hudson Institute adjunct fellow Josh Block.

“What has become of us when prominent Jews defend Nazi sympathizers? I am disgusted. Ex-Biden chief Ron Klain defends Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo,” wrote former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.

“It was NOT to honor his fallen comrades, which is wildly manipulative lie,” wrote Republican communicator Matt Whitlock on X.

SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT

“You do not have to debase yourself for Platner. Pick your values over partisanship. Focus on other elections. This man is not worth your self-respect,” wrote columnist Alex Zeldin.

“Worse: The highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the U.S., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, still endorses Platner and has refused to revoke his support,” wrote Antisemitism Watch founder Trish Posner.

Several of Platner’s ex-girlfriends have alleged the embattled nominee referred to his tattoo as “my Totenkopf” because of his belief that his unit shared similarities to the Nazi SS paramilitary forces.

During his victory speech Tuesday, Platner acknowledged the controversy that has followed him while on the campaign trail.

“Redemption is not just some simple or easy destination. It’s a journey. I’ve made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret, that I live with, that I continue to learn from and I’m still far from perfect,” said Platner. “But every day I wake up and I try to be a little bit better and a little bit kinder than I was the day before and if you give me the chance, I will be a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator.”

A string of controversies have followed Platner as he eyes to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

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In the heat of the primary race, Reddit posts surfaced detailing his past inflammatory comments, while he was also accused of physical misconduct, including aggressive behavior, with a former romantic partner. Platner denied those accusations.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ron Klain, Airbnb and Graham Platner for comment.

President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled strikes against Iran, saying a deal with Iran is expected soon, hours after promising to attack the Islamic Republic amid tense negotiations. 

“Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, canceled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had called off strikes against Iran while a deal is being worked out.

US ARMY HELICOPTER GOES DOWN, BUT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SAYS ‘PILOTS ARE FINE’

“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others,” he added.

Trump also wrote that the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz—the vital global shipping route that sees 20 percent of world oil and natural gas pass through—will “remain in full force” until a deal is finalized.

The sudden change came after Trump vowed on Wednesday to initiate a forceful response, accusing Tehran of prolonging nuclear negotiations and targeting a U.S. helicopter.

Hours before canceling the strikes, Trump said U.S. forces would be hitting Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT.” In response, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a key figure in U.S.-Iran negotiations, warned against using “wrong strategies and impulsive decisions.”

TRUMP KEEPS FORECASTING AN IRAN DEAL – WHY THE WHITE HOUSE STILL THINKS IT CAN HAPPEN

“Wrong strategies and impulsive decisions will reset the entire board for the worse, explode energy infrastructure and markets, and create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years,” he wrote on X.

“We’re going to be attacking them and attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

On Tuesday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said U.S. forces had completed self-defense strikes against Iran at Trump’s orders in response to the downing of the helicopter.

The two crew members aboard a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache were rescued by American forces after the helicopter went down near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters, CENTCOM said Monday. Both soldiers were safely rescued within two hours.

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Despite being close to a deal, Trump said, Iran has been “tapping us along” and “playing us for suckers.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Justice Department sued The Commonwealth of Virginia on Thursday over two new laws the DOJ says would subject masked federal agents to criminal penalties and threaten local ICE cooperation agreements.

“Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties,” said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in comment provided to Fox News Digital on Thursday. “Virginia’s anti-law enforcement policies regulate the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand.”

The lawsuit, first shared with Fox News Digital, argues Virginia is violating the Constitution by attempting to dictate how federal officers carry out law enforcement operations — including when they can wear masks, what identifying information they must display and whether local agencies can maintain ICE cooperation agreements unless the federal government accepts state-imposed conditions. The DOJ said the laws threaten officer safety, undermine federal immigration enforcement and violate the Supremacy Clause.

At the heart of the suit, are a pair of laws that Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed, which are set to take effect on July, including: one restricting law enforcement officers, including federal officers, from wearing facial coverings while on duty and requiring them to display identifying information, and another imposing state-mandated conditions on federal immigration enforcement agreements.

ICE PRESSURES SPANBERGER AS FAIRFAX MURDER SUSPECTS TRIGGER NEW DETAINERS IN ‘SANCTUARY’ CLASH

The DOJ said federal officers who violate Virginia’s mask and identification law could face a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable under Virginia law by up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.

The lawsuit names Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and left-wing Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano — who was previously backed by groups connected to George Soros. 

The suit claims Virginia’s mask ban is “blatantly unconstitutional” because it attempts to regulate “what federal officers may and may not wear” while carrying out their duties, exposing agents’ identities and increasing risks to them and their families.

“The Department of Justice will steadfastly protect the privacy and safety of law enforcement from unconstitutional state laws like Virginia’s,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the DOJ’s Civil Division in the press release.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS CALIFORNIA LAW FORCING ICE AGENTS TO REMOVE MASKS DURING OPERATIONS

DOJ is seeking a court order to block both laws that begin July 1.

Spanberger, Jones and Descano have all moved to counter the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda in Virginia.

In February, Spanberger issued an executive order that rescinded a Youngkin-era order directing state law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

TOM HOMAN VOWS TO WORK AROUND NEW DEM VA GOV SPANBERGER’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ENDING ICE COOPERATION

“The President told us that we are safer because unaccountable, poorly trained ICE agents are arresting mothers and detaining children. Our broken immigration system is something to be fixed — not an excuse to terrorize our communities,” Spanberger posted on X in response to Trump’s State of the Union.

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The suit comes as there have been ongoing protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in New Jersey where protesters verbally abused ICE agents, obstructed vehicles, allegedly assaulted officers, and made threats leading to multiple arrests.

“Governor Spanberger cannot tell Federal officers how to do their job,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward in the press release. “She certainly cannot prohibit them from ensuring their own safety in conducting Federal law enforcement operations. Our suit today stops those unconstitutional efforts.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Gov. Spanberger and AG Jones for comment.

Congress’ ban on tax dollars flowing to Planned Parenthood is about to lapse, and a Senate Republican wants to investigate piles of taxpayer money that has allegedly been used by the organization to push transgender procedures. 

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital, is demanding that Planned Parenthood be put under a microscope for roughly $1.5 billion in Medicare and Medicaid funding that he alleges “are flowing to an organization that promotes transgender treatments on minors.”

Fox News Digital did not hear back from Planned Parenthood for comment. 

SEN HAWLEY WARNS IT WOULD BE ‘UNCONSCIONABLE’ IF BILLIONS OF TAXPAYER FUNDS FLOW TO TRANS KIDS’ SEX CHANGES

Hawley wants Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services Administrator Mehmet Oz to open an investigation into Planned Parenthood as part of the agency’s continued pursuit to uncover fraud in federally funded healthcare programs. 

“I urge you to direct your investigative efforts toward Planned Parenthood and its role in pushing transgender madness onto minor children,” Hawley said. 

Republicans last year banned federal tax dollars from flowing to abortion providers in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” but that ban is set to lapse on July 4.

UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION: PLANNED PARENTHOOD PRESCRIBING HORMONES TO MINORS WITH MINIMAL OVERSIGHT

Hawley and others have tried to extend the ban, with his attempt to amend the latest budget reconciliation package to keep the ban going failing earlier this year. That amendment would have extended the ban on providing Medicaid funding to abortion providers until 2035. 

His focus now is on uncovering whether the $1.5 billion in funding was directed toward pushing minors toward gender-affirming medication or referring minors for gender-affirming surgical procedures. 

Hawley accused Planned Parenthood of exploiting “legal loopholes to provide these dangerous and irreversible gender-transition drugs to minors without their parents’ consent.” 

TRUMP’S PUSH FOR $350 BILLION ‘ARSENAL OF FREEDOM’ HITS GOP SKEPTICISM

“The organization openly advertises that it provides sex-change drugs and refers for transgender surgeries,” Hawley said. “According to one recent report, Planned Parenthood’s provision of this so-called “gender-affirming care” has exploded — with a 40% year-over-year increase.”

Hawley is pinpointing a stream of money between 2019 and 2022 that was tracked by the Government Accountability Office in a report first published in November 2023. That report did not outline that the money was used to push transgender surgeries nor medication. 

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“In other words, billions of taxpayer dollars have been taken from those in poverty and the elderly and given to Planned Parenthood,” Hawley said. “Moreover, these funds apparently have been used to prop up Planned Parenthood’s provision of transgender procedures to children.”

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that former SEC Chairman and current U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton will be the next permanent director of national intelligence.

The nomination followed a brief stint by acting Director William Pulte, who took over after Tulsi Gabbard stepped down.

“I am pleased to announce the Nomination of very Highly Respected Jay Clayton, former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the former Head of Sullivan & Cromwell, one of the most prominent and successful Law Firms anywhere in the World, and the current United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to be the next Director of National Intelligence and, importantly, to serve in my Cabinet,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay,” he added.

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“I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible,” Trump said.

This is a breaking story. Return for updates.

After months of predicting a nuclear deal with Iran was just around the corner, President Donald Trump appears to be testing whether military pressure can accomplish what diplomacy alone has not.

The strategy was on full display over the past 24 hours. Trump followed through on his threat to strike Iran again overnight, launching a barrage of Tomahawk missiles and fighter jet attacks against Iranian targets while warning that additional bombing would follow unless Iran agreed to a deal. Hours later, however, he announced he had canceled planned strikes for Thursday evening, saying negotiations had been elevated to the highest levels of Iran’s leadership and that the parties had approved the final contours of an agreement.

The rapid sequence of threats, strikes and renewed diplomacy highlights an increasingly familiar pattern in Trump’s approach to Iran: using military pressure to push negotiations forward while keeping a diplomatic off-ramp open. The question is whether the strategy is increasing Washington’s leverage — or reinforcing Iran’s belief that the United States ultimately wants a deal more than continued confrontation.

“He has made so many threats that he has not carried through on and telegraphed on many occasions his strong desire to end this war as soon as possible, that I think Iran does not take these threats seriously,” Michael Eisenstadt, director of the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP KEEPS FORECASTING AN IRAN DEAL — WHY THE WHITE HOUSE STILL THINKS IT CAN HAPPEN

Trump said Iranian officials contacted him during the strikes and asked for the bombing to stop.  

“If they don’t sign the deal, we’ll bomb the sh*t out of them tomorrow night,” he said.

Trump suggested Thursday the campaign could eventually expand to Iran’s energy infrastructure, including Kharg Island, the country’s most important oil export hub.

“At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela.” 

But later, he sounded less certain. 

“My preference has always been to take Kharg Island. I don’t know that America has the stomach for it, to be honest,” Trump said on Fox and Friends. 

Yet even as he promised additional military action, Trump maintained that negotiations had been on the verge of success.

“We’ll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to a deal,” he said earlier Wednesday.

The comments marked a sharp escalation from a president who only days earlier predicted an agreement could arrive within “two or three days” and has repeatedly suggested a breakthrough remains imminent despite months of unresolved disputes over uranium enrichment, sanctions relief and Iran’s nuclear stockpile.

“They keep tapping us along,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “They keep playing us for suckers because you know what? They dealt with some very stupid presidents.”

Trump’s latest actions suggest the administration is still offering Tehran an off-ramp through a negotiated nuclear agreement. The question is whether military pressure strengthens Washington’s hand — or whether Iran has concluded it can withstand the costs and outlast the campaign.

Iran “has more resilience,” said James Robbins, dean of academics at the Institute of World Politics, noting that Iran has been forced to work around global isolation for decades. “They’re kind of used to sanctions. They’re used to economic dislocations, much more so than Americans.”

Behnam Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, argued that mounting pressure does not necessarily make the regime more willing to compromise.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN IS ‘NEGOTIATING ON FUMES,’ BELIEVES REGIME THOUGHT THEY COULD OUTWAIT HIM

“The more desperate the regime becomes, the more aggressive the regime becomes,” Taleblu told Fox News Digital.

He also questioned whether strikes on bridges, power plants and other infrastructure would fundamentally alter Iran’s decision-making, arguing that the regime is primarily concerned with threats to its own hold on power.

“Until those making the key national security decisions, those enforcing the key national security decisions, and those enforcing the regime’s longest war, which is on its own people, so long as those three are not targeted, we’ll be back where we started,” he said.

Eisenstadt argued that Iran may ultimately believe it can absorb sanctions, withstand military pressure and simply wait for political pressures inside the U.S. to grow.

“I think they believe that time is on their side, given domestic criticism of the war and its economic impacts in the United States,” he said.

Trump’s lates strike threats came days after an Iranian drone brought down a U.S. Apache helicopter operating near the Strait of Hormuz, triggering retaliatory U.S. strikes on Iranian radar and air-defense sites and threatening to unravel an already fragile ceasefire.

The administration’s goal has long been that sustained military and economic pressure would eventually force Iran to make concessions that months of negotiations alone have failed to produce. Trump and his advisors have repeatedly argued that sanctions, military operations and the U.S.-led blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has cut off the pathway for roughly 80% of Iran’s oil exports, have left Iran increasingly isolated and economically vulnerable.

Iranian officials publicly rejected the notion that expanding the target set would force Iran to bend.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called Trump’s threat to strike power plants and transportation infrastructure a “sign of desperation.”

“Critical infrastructures are the lifeblood of the people,” Pezeshkian said in a post on X.

Trump repeatedly has rejected the notion that Iran can wait out his administration.

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“They thought they were going to out-wait me, you know. ‘We’ll out-wait him. He’s got the midterms.’ I don’t care about the midterms,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting May 27.

Despite Trump’s repeated assertions that a deal is near, negotiators remain divided over several core issues, including uranium enrichment, sanctions relief and the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Iranian officials have acknowledged progress on some elements of a potential agreement while warning that significant obstacles remain.

Whether the latest round of strikes changes Iran’s calculations may determine whether Trump’s strategy of military pressure succeeds in producing the agreement he insists remains within reach.

President Donald Trump wants Congress to supercharge military funding and pass stalled voter ID and citizenship verification legislation in one fell swoop, but many Republicans aren’t sold on the plan. 

Trump on Wednesday called on congressional Republicans to steer around Democrats’ opposition again and “immediately” pass a third budget reconciliation package, including $350 billion in defense spending coupled with the stalled Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act. 

“This is a GENERATIONAL Investment in our Military, even bigger than President Reagan’s! Recon 3.0 is the ONLY path to the full $1.5 TRILLION DOLLAR Military Budget our Warriors need in order to build THE ARSENAL OF FREEDOM,” Trump said on Truth Social. 

TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE IN THE SENATE DESPITE REPUBLICAN REVOLT

The president’s request came just hours after he signed Republicans’ second budget reconciliation bill into law that would fund immigration enforcement through the rest of his presidency for $70 billion. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act was also passed through budget reconciliation.

But many Republicans are lukewarm at best to the idea of restarting the budget reconciliation process, which would require strict party unity amid a dwindling calendar of legislative days heading into the November midterm elections. 

The GOP has also yet to fully come around to Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense spending request, and some lawmakers have voiced concern about circumventing the normal appropriations process to boost defense spending.

Trump’s plea for a third bite at the apple comes as he and congressional Republicans are increasingly at odds over policy decisions that have made passing legislation on the Hill all the more difficult.

TRUMP SCORES VICTORY DESPITE GROWING GOP DIVIDE AFTER SENATE PASSES $70B ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING PACKAGE

Some Republicans who have pushed for a third attempt at the party-line process have acknowledged that it’s unlikely to work. Further, Congress is unlikely to pass any other bills before the midterm elections in November because of Democratic opposition. 

“I think it’s a very, very long shot that anything passes between now and the midterms,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. “It gives me heartburn to say that, but I think that’s political reality.” 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., didn’t completely close the door on another reconciliation bill, but he noted that there is skepticism among Republicans on moving forward.

“You’ve got to have something that you can win on,” Thune said. “And you’ve heard some of our folks already express their views on another reconciliation bill.”

Earlier in the week, during a contentious Senate Appropriations hearing, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., both agreed that another reconciliation bill was unlikely to happen, particularly as a dumping ground for billions in additional defense spending. 

TRUMP LOCKS IN ICE FUNDING THROUGH END OF PRESIDENCY AFTER HOUSE PASSES $70B PACKAGE

Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said, “Reconciliation is not the best approach.”

“It would be very difficult to get the reconciliation bill approved,” Collins said. 

Discussions on a third reconciliation package were underway in the House prior to Trump’s public endorsement. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has voiced confidence that his chamber will clear a third budget bill by the August recess.

But some GOP lawmakers have questioned its viability amid Republicans’ slim majority and the potential lack of a unifying policy idea to keep the conference together.

“I haven’t quite heard enough policy proposals that lead me to think it’s going to gel, but I’m certainly open-minded,” Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

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Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., a Republican-turned-independent who voted against Trump’s $70 billion immigration enforcement measure, indicated he isn’t likely to support a third attempt.

“We have now gotten to this habit of one party takes power, they do reconciliation bills and the other party does it, and this cycle hasn’t been good,” the California lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “It’s one of the things that fed the cycles of dysfunction that we have around here.”

EXCLUSIVE — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is being asked to strip the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) of its tax-exempt status, after a Republican congressman alleged their funding of extremist groups is “an act of fraud.”

The plea from Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., makes the case that while raking in millions under the guise of fighting hate, the SPLC showed a clear pattern of targeting conservatives on its infamous “Hate Map” while funding the activities of actual extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, as alleged in a Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment.

“The SPLC has reached a point where it’s become extremely obvious that they are certainly not the organization anymore that they were maybe even founded to be, but they’ve become a strong left-wing political organization that is really just funding groups that most Americans are absolutely and would be absolutely appalled to know,” Harris told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday interview.

The lawmaker’s letter to Bessent establishes that a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization “must be organized and operated primarily for charitable, educational, or similar purposes and cannot engage in political activity,” and explains why he thinks the SPLC is bucking that law.

CHIEF OF INDICTED SPLCE FACES HOUSE GRILLING OVER ALLEGED SECRET PAYMENTS TO KKK MEMBERS

“[T]he SPLC has consistently engaged in the partisan targeting of conservative groups by placing them on its so-called ‘hate map,’ alongside organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Brotherhood,” the letter notes.

“Meanwhile, violent left-wing groups such as Antifa and Jane’s Revenge have been widely ignored by the self-described civil rights organization.”

Harris, a pastor, referenced a major Biden-era scandal — the DOJ’s monitoring of what it called “radical traditionalist Catholics.” — in a  House Judiciary hearing in the spring. The Biden administration allegedly used the SPLC’s guidance to justify the monitoring.

HAWLEY PRESSES FBI TO PROBE ALLEGED BIDEN-ERA TARGETING OF CHRISTIANS

The Alabama-based nonprofit also lumped mainstream Christian groups, like the Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom, into its “Hate Map.”

And in 2012, crazed gunman Floyd Lee Corkins II attacked the Family Research Council office in Washington, D.C., and shot a security guard after he found out they were designated as an anti-LGBT organization on the SPLC’s website.

“I mean, we could go on and on and list those groups, but they all have in common that they happen to be just conservative groups in this country that stand on conservative principles,” Harris told Fox News Digital.

The North Carolina representative also tore into the SPLC over allegations the group funneled $4 million donor dollars into shell companies to fund the KKK and other extremist organizations, all while claiming to fight hate.

Harris claimed in his letter to Bessent this was “an act of fraud” rather than charity, and needs to be addressed as such.

NEO-NAZIS, ‘SADISTIC’ BIKERS AND CHARLOTTESVILLE ORGANIZER: 5 OF THE MOST SHOCKING SPLC INFORMANTS

“Through what we’re learning in this indictment by the Department of Justice that even points out how this $4 million has been misused or used, that one example was that they actually funded a Ku Klux Klan rally and funded the cross burning and paid for the gas to burn the cross,” he said.

He accused the SPLC of creating the racism it claimed to fight.

Harris referenced claims from this week’s congressional hearing that the SPLC saw a spike in contributions after the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The group is accused of paying an informant to help plan the rally.

“That’s the way these groups work because, again, it becomes a money-making machine,” said Harris. “If they can keep things stirred up, if they keep things with people fighting, if they could keep people divided … then they accomplish what they want to accomplish, which at the end of the day, is all about the almighty dollar.”

DOJ SAYS SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER FUNNELED $3M+ TO WHITE SUPREMACIST AND EXTREMIST GROUPS

Harris’ letter concluded: “The evidence is clear: the SPLC does not operate as a charitable organization and should therefore lose its tax-exempt status. I respectfully ask that you direct the IRS to examine the SPLC’s Section 501(c)(3) status and take appropriate action to revoke their tax-exempt status.”

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The SPLC has denied the DOJ’s allegations.

The group did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused the Biden administration of turning a “blind eye” to widespread reports of sexual abuse targeting migrants during a Thursday press conference. 

“We’re going to enforce our nation’s laws, and we’re going to right the wrongs that the Biden administration turned a blind eye to,” Mullin said. “It’s horrific to what’s happening right in our own country because of four years of a blind eye that allowed unvetted sponsors to come pick up 450,000 kids on our borders … their own reports [were] reporting that over a third of the females, regardless of age, was sexually assaulted before they made it to their border.”

In May 2025, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, obtained Department of Health and Human Services data showing that 65,605 reports regarding migrant children were ignored or dismissed under President Joe Biden, including 7,346 reports of human trafficking. Within 100 days of assuming power, the Trump administration had opened dozens of legal investigations from the previously inactive reports.

NOEM SAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS LOCATED 127K MISSING MIGRANT CHILDREN LOST UNDER BIDEN

During the press conference, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that three individuals, all purportedly illegal immigrants from Guatemala, had been indicted in the Northern District of Ohio for allegedly conspiring to smuggle more than a dozen children into the United States by “exploiting the loopholes created by the last administration.”

“This is one example, one indictment, but it is not unique. There are over 15,500 super-sponsor cases that we have identified, along with DHS. And again, these sponsor cases are when somebody sponsors more than three children, unrelated,” Blanche said. 

Mullin took an emotional tone later in the press conference.

“What’s inhumane about taking care of our kids?” he asked. “As a father of six with three young girls, I’ll do whatever I have to do, I will. I will move heaven and hell to go find these kids.”

“We’re going to bring you to justice. We’re going to charge you, and we’re going to work side by side with Todd Blanch and DOJ to make sure you pay for your crimes,” Mullin added.

HUNDREDS OF JAILED ILLEGAL ALIENS RELEASED BACK ONTO BLUE-STATE STREETS DESPITE ICE DETAINERS, RECORDS SHOW

A 2021 HHS Office of Inspector General report found that large numbers of child migrant sponsors were not properly vetted before minors were released to them, including 19% of sponsors who authorities never received FBI fingerprint or state child abuse and neglect registry checks.  

ICE SWEEPS UP CHILD PREDATORS, RAPISTS ACROSS US AS MULLIN TAKES HELM OF DHS

While internal government probes uncovered problems in the Biden administration’s processing of migrant children, the administration did take some action in response to abuse concerns and sponsor-vetting failures.

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In July 2024, for instance, the Biden administration sued Southwest Key, a company that operated a processing facility for unaccompanied migrant children, alleging that employees sexually abused and harassed the minors in their care. The administration also accepted recommendations for reform following the 2021 HHS OIG report.  

The DOJ and Biden’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

DHS directed Fox News Digital to Mullin’s comments during the press conference when approached for additional comment. 

“We found 146,000 kids so far. Some of these kids claimed that they were raped over 600 times. I don’t care who you are. If you can’t stand for law enforcement to go find these kids, who are you?” Mullins said during the press conference. 

A key U.S. surveillance program is on the brink of expiring after House Democrats and a group of conservatives sank a temporary extension amid a standoff over President Donald Trump’s intelligence chief pick. 

Lawmakers voted 198-218 on Thursday to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for three weeks, falling well short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage.

The measure, meant to give Congress more time to negotiate a long-term renewal, faced an uphill battle amid widespread Democratic opposition. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., warned he would withhold support for extending the program until Trump reversed his decision to name Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., put the bill on the floor via suspension of the rules, a fast-track procedure that requires a higher threshold to secure passage.

WHY TRUMP PICKED BILL PULTE TO LEAD US INTELLIGENCE AS CRITICS QUESTION HIS QUALIFICATIONS

He indicated he would not keep the House in session before the spy law was scheduled to lapse Saturday at 12:01 a.m.

“I attempted to pass a short-term extension for three weeks. Clean extension, no changes to the law,” Johnson told reporters following the failed vote. And the Democrats … voted against it and applauded themselves as they left the building. What would be the point of me going through this exercise over and over?”

Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., Don Davis, D-N.C., Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Susie Lee, D-N.V., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., were the 7 Democrats to cross party lines and support extending the program through July 2.

Meanwhile, 19 Republicans, who were skeptical of a clean reauthorization of Section 702 without greater privacy guardrails, joined the majority of Democrats in voting down the measure.

Thursday’s vote was a notable setback for Trump, who urged lawmakers to reauthorize the program ahead of the June 12 deadline with no modifications.

Democrats and some Republicans have argued that Pulte, a Trump insider and senior housing official, is unqualified for the top intelligence post.

Trump has largely defended and refused to bow to Democrats’ demands. His comments Wednesday that he is actively looking for a permanent replacement for Pulte, who is expected to begin the job June 19, were not enough to soften Democrats’ opposition. 

The standoff over the critical surveillance tool has led to tensions erupting in the lower chamber with little time to act before the law’s expiration.

Jeffries called Pulte a “malignant clown” during a news conference earlier this week and pledged that House Democrats would probe his tenure at the Federal Housing Finance Agency if they retake power in November. As the agency’s director, Pulte launched investigations into several Trump foes over alleged mortgage fraud.

Meanwhile, Republicans have warned that letting the spy law sunset would leave the United States uniquely vulnerable amid an influx of foreigners into the country with the World Cup underway and as the war with Iran drags on. They argue that Democrats are putting the country at a grave security risk by failing to extend the program into July.

“45 countries descend upon the United States for World Cup games, which just so happens to be the week that Democrats have actively chosen to disallow this critical national security tool from being renewed to allow it to go dark,” House Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford, R-Ark., said Wednesday. “This is unserious, very dangerous behavior on the part of congressional Democrats.”

“You cannot play politics with the security of the American people,” Johnson told reporters. “I am praying that they come to their senses.”

REPS ANDY HARRIS, KEITH SELF, SEN RICK SCOTT: FIX FISA. DON’T SPY ON US

The Section 702 program allows the U.S. government to collect intelligence on foreigners abroad who are using U.S. communication systems. The spy law also allows the government to sweep up the messages of Americans when communicating with foreign suspects, provoking the ire of privacy hawks in both parties.

The program is credited with thwarting a terrorist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Austria in 2024, as well as gathering intelligence used to identify and eliminate a prominent Mexican cartel leader and providing information used to intercept shipments of fentanyl precursors from China. 

Congress passed two consecutive short-term extensions of the law earlier this year, but has yet to strike a deal on a multi-year fix.

Some Democrats have argued Republicans’ warnings are political theater and have pointed to an intelligence court ruling that recertified Section 702 through March 2027.

“Existing law allows Section 702 collection to continue under an order from the FISA court for another year, even without congressional reauthorization,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Wednesday. “Congress can and must take the time to get this right.”

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But GOP lawmakers warned that allowing the government’s warrantless surveillance powers to sunset entails substantial risk, including potential legal challenges.

“If this authority lapses starting on Saturday, we move into uncharted territory,” Crawford said Wednesday. “The implications get worse every single day.”

“While the 702 database would remain available to search, the data in that database will become increasingly out of date, with the potential of provider noncompliance with orders, litigation by providers or outside groups, and even reticence by agency personnel to continue implementing an expired authority for fear of personal liability,” he added.

EXCLUSIVE: A top Trump agency is cutting off funding to the Los Angeles agency responsible for coordinating billions in homelessness spending after accusing it of “obvious fraud,” “wanton mismanagement” and repeated failures to safeguard taxpayer dollars, Fox News Digital has learned.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is a member of the White House fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance, is immediately suspending the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s (LAHSA) federal funding while HUD’s inspector general investigates potential offenses by the agency and its leadership, according to a letter sent to LAHSA’s board chair Wendy Greuel and its CEO Gita O’Neill, which was obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital. 

The letter detailed conflicts of interest, financial mismanagement, fraud, lack of oversight, and more from the homelessness agency, which has faced efforts by the city and county to take it over.

The move puts one of the country’s biggest homelessness bureaucracies under direct federal scrutiny after years of criticism that billions have gone into homelessness programs in Los Angeles while the crisis remains entrenched on the streets. LAHSA receives funding at the city, county, state and federal level, with the group getting nearly $1 billion from just the federal government since 2021, according to HUD.

CALIFORNIA MAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STEALING MILLIONS IN HOMELESS FUNDS

“Suspending LAHSA’s participation in federal government programs is a necessary step in accomplishing that critical mission in Los Angeles,” HUD wrote in the letter. “LAHSA’s failures have been so severe and pervasive that Los Angeles County has withdrawn its funding for the agency, and the City of Los Angeles is considering doing so as well.”

LAHSA’s former top executive, Va Lecia Adams Kellum, resigned last year after she was found to have been a party to directing $2.1 million in federal funds under LAHSA’s control to her husband’s Santa Monica-based nonprofit employer.

HUD says a federal judge last year also concluded that LAHSA had committed “obvious fraud” after it allegedly kept requesting funding for an 88-bed shelter even though it knew the shelter was operating at roughly half-capacity.

EX-NONPROFIT BOSS ALLEGEDLY SWIPED $1.2M MEANT FOR HOMELESS PROGRAMS TO FUND LAVISH LIFESTYLE, DA SAYS

HUD noted in its letter that the judge considered placing LAHSA into receivership as well.

LAHSA’s inability to verify the existence of nearly 2,300 housing sites for which it was responsible is another recent issue that has plagued the homelessness provider, according to HUD, which said 70% of the contracts for those sites did not disclose any expenses over the prior year.

Public audits of LAHSA, meanwhile, found a pattern of routinely paying service providers late and poor record keeping preventing it from monitoring contracts, including $5 million in cash advances sent to five different service providers, according to the Associated Press. In November 2024, the City Controller’s Office found that LAHSA failed to spend $513 million in public funds budgeted in fiscal year 2024, blaming a lack of staff and old technology, according to HUD.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, HUD will fund results, not corrupt failure or the homeless industrial complex,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Year after year, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars were funneled to LAHSA with little accountability. Meanwhile, homelessness skyrocketed. Taxpayers will no longer bankroll an organization that puts its own self-interests ahead of the Americans it was created to serve.”

Other audits concluded that LAHSA’s poor record keeping made it unable to accurately identify or calculate how well its spending has been benefiting the homeless population in Los Angeles.

KAREN BASS GRILLED OVER BROKEN HOMELESSNESS PROMISE, BLAMES BUREAUCRACY FOR SLOWED PROGRESS

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, who is the vice chair of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, praised the leadership on this issue from HUD Secretary Scott Turner, President Donald Trump and Vance, who serves as the chairman of the fraud task force that was established earlier this year. 

“Los Angeles didn’t care about helping the homeless, but the Trump Administration does,” Ferguson told Fox News Digital. “It is unconscionable that Los Angeles has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars that was supposed to be used on housing our nation’s most vulnerable. Instead of providing a roof and care for the homeless, Los Angeles has used these funds to line the pockets of left-wing NGOs. Such a disgrace ends today.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles officials have pointed to recent homeless-count data as evidence that the crisis has begun to improve, with LAHSA reporting that countywide homelessness fell for a second straight year in 2025 and Bass saying it marked the first time in the city’s recent history that homelessness had declined two years in a row.

But the numbers still showed more than 72,000 people experiencing homelessness across Los Angeles County, and critics have continued to argue that modest declines do not erase years of runaway spending, encampments and repeated audit findings that the region’s homelessness system has failed to adequately track whether taxpayer dollars are producing results. 

The federal action from HUD comes after Los Angeles city and county officials had already begun backing away from LAHSA, the Associated Press reported last year.

The city council moved to explore bypassing the agency and contracting directly with providers, while the county moved to redirect hundreds of millions of dollars in annual homelessness funding away from LAHSA and into a new county department, citing the need for stronger accountability after a series of audits.

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“HUD cannot ignore LAHSA’s wanton mismanagement of public funds. HUD’s mission is to reduce the plague of homelessness in America,” the agency’s letter to LAHSA leadership on Thursday stated. “Turning over billions of dollars from American taxpayers to an organization under investigation and suspected of gross misuse of federal funding and “obvious fraud” does nothing to reduce homelessness. Indeed, diverting dollars from worthy programs to LAHSA merely makes the homeless crisis worse.”

Fox News Digital reached out to LAHSA for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of the Interior is cutting 43 partnerships with outside groups it says no longer align with the Trump administration’s priorities, eliminating more than $4 million in planned funding for programs tied to DEI, environmental justice and support services for illegal immigrants.

Led by Secretary Doug Burgum, the department determined the agreements were “operating in direct opposition” to its mission, according to a press release obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.

“Under Secretary Burgum, the Department of the Interior is ending partnerships with groups that no longer represent the priorities of the American people,” the department said. In response, DOI said it is terminating all agreements with the identified groups and removing references to them from its websites.

The terminated agreements supported internship programs, conservation initiatives, research projects and cooperative partnerships.

BURGUM SAYS INTERIOR DEPARTMENT ‘COMPLETELY EMBRACING THE DOGE EFFORT’

A department-wide review launched in March uncovered nearly 3,000 active agreements with about 2,000 outside groups, ranging from NGOs and nonprofits to private entities and educational institutions.

The review later found multiple groups “did not appear to provide a clear benefit” or “did not align with the department’s mission,” according to the department.

ICE SHUTS DOWN PROGRAMS OFFERING SERVICES TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, CITING ‘IMMENSE’ COSTS

Among the groups targeted were the Hispanic Access Foundation, which offers scholarships for illegal immigrant Latino students, and Latino Outdoors, which the department said provided instructions on avoiding detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Latino Outdoors has advocated against oil and gas development, while the Hispanic Access Foundation has worked with the National Park Service “to conduct a variety of educational and cultural support activities,” according to the department.

The department cited the American Alliance of Museums, which it said had a contract with the NPS to build DEI programs across national parks as part of the agency’s Community Engagement initiative. The department pointed to the group’s previous Facing Change initiative, which promoted DEI efforts at museums.

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP HUD SECRETARY CANCELS $4M IN DEI CONTRACTS AFTER LAUNCHING DOGE TASK FORCE

Conservation International, an environmental group that the department said advocates for a “total phase out of fossil fuels,” was also flagged. The department noted the organization’s statements describing fossil fuels as the “leading culprit” of planet-warming carbon emissions, as well as its support for environmental justice and equity-focused climate policies.

Another group on the department’s list was The Cultural Landscape Foundation, which it said has a master cooperative agreement with the NPS “to conduct a variety of educational and cultural support activities.” The organization has opposed several administration initiatives, including suing over changes at the Kennedy Center, criticizing plans for a White House ballroom and highlighting cultural landscapes and historic sites it says are threatened by administration actions through its Landslide 2026: Erasing American History initiative.

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“Under President Trump and Secretary Burgum, the Department of the Interior is taking decisive action to ensure its partnerships and resources support the priorities of this administration and the interests of the American people,” Matthew Middleton, principal deputy communications director and director of research, told Fox News Digital.

“As part of that commitment, the Department is ending relationships with organizations whose advocacy for phasing out baseload energy, defunding law enforcement services, and promoting racially preferential programs directly conflicts with this administration’s priorities. Interior will continue to invest in partnerships that expand access to public lands, promote responsible stewardship, and deliver tangible benefits to the American people.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Hispanic Access Foundation, Latino Outdoors, the American Alliance of Museums, Conservation International and the Cultural Landscape Foundation for comment.

Other groups the DOI is cutting ties with include: The Green Schools Alliance, Doris Duke Foundation, Hispanic Access Foundation, National Wildlife Federation, California Native Plant Society, American Alliance of Museums, Clean Ocean Action and the National Geographic Society.

The move is the latest in a series of administration actions, including efforts to roll back DEI initiatives, strengthen immigration enforcement and expand energy development. The department said it will ensure future partnerships align with the agency’s mission.

President Donald Trump vowed a forceful response against Iran on Wednesday, saying the U.S. would be “attacking them very hard” after accusing Tehran of prolonging nuclear negotiations and targeting a U.S. helicopter.

Trump was asked during the signing of the Secure America Act in the Oval Office what he meant about an earlier social media post in which he wrote that Iran has taken too long to negotiate a deal and “now they will have to pay the price!!!”

“We’re going to be attacking them and attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters, adding that the action is being taken after Iran shot down an American military helicopter.

The two crew members aboard a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache were rescued by American forces after the helicopter went down near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Monday. Both soldiers were safely rescued within two hours.

US ARMY HELICOPTER GOES DOWN, BUT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SAYS ‘PILOTS ARE FINE’

On Tuesday, CENTCOM said U.S. forces completed self-defense strikes against Iran on Tuesday at Trump’s orders in response to the downing of the helicopter.

“We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them again hard today,” Trump said.

Trump said the U.S. and Iran are “really close to a deal,” though accused Tehran of “tapping us along” and “playing us for suckers.”

When asked if the U.S. will strike Iranian power plants and bridges, Trump said he wouldn’t disclose any details.

“We have the strongest military anywhere in the world,” the president said. “And sometimes you’ll have to use it.”

Trump reiterated that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. 

TRUMP KEEPS FORECASTING AN IRAN DEAL – WHY THE WHITE HOUSE STILL THINKS IT CAN HAPPEN

“They’ve agreed to that,” he said, adding that all Tehran has to do is sign the agreement. 

“It’s fully negotiated,” Trump said, “but they’re tapping and tapping. And I say, ‘All right, let’s give them a couple of more days’ … because it’s a meaningful paper. They know when they sign that paper it’s meaningful.”

In a Truth Social post from earlier Wednesday, Trump claimed Iran’s military “is a complete and total mess.”

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“Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore – They have been completely defeated,” the post read. “Iran is all talk and no action. The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!”

President Donald Trump signed the $70 billion Republican-led homeland security bill Wednesday after the Senate-crafted measure narrowly passed the House despite the GOP’s slim majority. 

Speaking from the Oval Office alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and other lawmakers, Trump said he was “thrilled” to fund the Department of Homeland Security and give “heroes of ICE and Border Patrol” needed resources through the end of his term, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

“The bill provides crucial funding for domestic law enforcement investigations and combating child exploitation, continuing our work to restore law and order across our nation, and to protect America’s youth,” the president said. 

TRUMP ON VERGE OF SECURING $70B ICE FUNDING VICTORY AFTER HOUSE CLEARS HURDLE

“For more than 100 days, congressional Democrats tried to block all funding for the Department of Homeland Security in a reprehensible attempt to throw open the borders of the United States of America,” he added. “They want to drag us straight back to chaos and crime of the Crooked Joe Biden administration, one of the most corrupt administrations, probably the most corrupt ever.” 

Trump took shots at former President Joe Biden for his “open border policy” allowing 25 million migrants to illegally enter the U.S. and former Vice President Kamala Harris, named border czar, for not utilizing ICE and border patrol. 

“She never once called them,” Trump said. “She was the border czar for four years, almost four years, and she never went to the border, and she never called up. I used to call them all the time.” 

He said the crossing of fentanyl across the border has been cut by almost 60%, with law enforcement now narrowing in on land crossings “because the sea was tougher.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Tuesday it was imperative that the lower chamber act amid “heightened security threats.”

The $70 billion package initially faced resistance from conservatives who pushed to codify Trump’s immigration-related executive orders, which still lack the full force of law.

“We need to codify what the president has done across the board,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told reporters Tuesday. “So we’re going to fund the people who will try to keep the bad guys out, but we haven’t codified the actions to prevent them to do to come back here in three years or so.”

All Senate Democrats and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski voted against the bill in early June, while the rest of the GOP argued that ICE and Customs and Border Protection must be fully funded through the remainder of Trump’s term.

California Rep. Pete Aguilar, a member of House Democratic leadership, said that giving a “$70 billion blank check to ICE” is the wrong move, claiming the agency has a record of “brutalizing (and) terrorizing” American communities.

Trump initially gave congressional Republicans a June 1 deadline to secure funding for ICE and Border Protection, but intra-party opposition to the president’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” delayed the measure’s passage. Some Republicans feared people convicted of violent offenses, including assaulting police officers, in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot could access taxpayer funds.

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The bill’s passage comes months after Democrats successfully shut down the Department of Homeland Security over objections to Trump’s immigration enforcement actions.

However, the shutdown’s impact was limited because ICE had already been separately funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act the previous November.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional comment.

Senate Republicans are warning that scandal-plagued oysterman Graham Platner could still defeat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, if the party fails to take the race seriously.

Republicans are defending several seats in expectedly close races, including Nebraska, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, while seeking to flip Georgia. Maine is different: Sen. Susan Collins’ seat is the only Republican-held Senate seat in a state won by Kamala Harris in 2024, making it Democrats’ most direct path to returning Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., to the majority leader’s office, Republicans said in a memo circulated Wednesday.

“It is a fatal mistake to assume Platner is too damaged to win,” the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) memo obtained by Fox News — addressed to “Interested Parties” — read.

The NRSC agreed that Maine is the “linchpin” of the 35 seats up this year and that despite Platner’s Nazi tattoo, allegations of misogynist violence, arousal from biocide in port-a-johns, and his socialist policy platform, he remains a credible threat to the middle-of-the-road Collins.

SEE IT: MAINE VOTERS SOUND OFF ON PLATNER’S DIVISIVE CAMPAIGN AS CRUCIAL PRIMARY NEARS: ‘HE’S A DISGRACE’

“Senator Collins has won tough races before and can win this one, but only if we meet this moment with total urgency,” the NRSC said.

“Because Democrats cannot win the majority without [Collins’ seat], they have fully rallied around Graham Platner, an extremely flawed, far-left candidate who secured the nomination last night. Platner has captured his party’s financial backing, outraising Senator Collins in every quarter since entering the race. We must match both the energy and the money to retain the seat,” the memo said.

The NRSC said Democrats don’t view Platner’s race as being about the flawed candidate but rather about usurping power.

COLLINS SECURES GOP NOD IN MAINE SENATE BATTLE THAT COULD DECIDE GOP MAJORITY

The committee said any one of Platner’s multiple scandals would have ended most campaigns, but Democrats remain united around him. The NRSC reported that after former girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield’s allegations against Platner broke, Platner raised $200,000 in one day in what the campaign said was its best haul of the cycle.

“The political fundamentals in Maine remain challenging, and it is a fatal mistake to assume Platner is too damaged to win,” the NRSC said.

Collins is the last remaining federal Republican in New England and the only Republican in the Senate north or east of Pennsylvania.

The NRSC reported that Platner is beating Harris’ own margins by seven points while noting Collins has won tough races in the past, but this one is different.

Collins won her last race against former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon by about eight points, and her last electoral loss was way back in 1994 when now-Sen. Angus King Jr., I-Maine, won the governorship in a four-way contest.

Republicans said in the memo that the biggest story in the past week about Platner is not his latest scandal, but the fact that Democrats are circling the wagons around him even more tightly and “propping him up.”

WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE

They cited Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna visiting Maine to hold a gushy interview-slash-ad with Platner and the fact that Democrats keep claiming Collins and Trump are worse than the left-winger.

“Gotta do what you gotta do,” the NRSC quoted former Biden deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty, while noting that Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse publicly claimed Platner’s foibles are a “lot of nothing.”

They also pointed to one of the most influential Democratic operatives claiming that Platner’s flaws actually bolster his qualifications.

Platner had disparaged former Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Teddy Daniels after video of the Purple Heart recipient being besieged and gravely wounded by the Taliban surfaced several years ago.

“We’ve got a f—ed up guy who could be 100 times more f—ed up than he is and he’d never be as f—ed up as what we’ve got in Washington,” said 1992 Bill Clinton campaign architect James Carville, who suggested that Platner’s apparent PTSD should be a symbol on the Hill as to why neoconservatives have been wrong about war powers.

“This is not a party abandoning its nominee. This is a party rationalizing, accepting, and preparing to fight,” the NRSC said.

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“Republicans need to match that urgency immediately. Define Platner. Defend Collins. Resource Maine,” they said. “Senator Collins has proven time and time again, through her work ethic and commitment to the people of Maine and America, that she will prevail.”

“This race can be won, but it will not win itself.”

NRSC national press secretary Bernadette Breslin exclusively told Fox News Digital that Platner “has become the new face of the Democratic Party, forcing Democrats to own his mounting scandals and socialist wish list.”

“Come November, Mainers will see through his fraudulent working-class persona and reject the political baggage Democrats are now stuck defending,” Breslin said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the DSCC, Platner campaign and Collins campaign for further comment.

Two top Democrat leaders who were hesitant to endorse embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner by name amid his controversies finally relented Tuesday night after he cruised to victory in his primary election.

House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., issued a seemingly half-hearted joint statement backing Platner as he continues to face heat stemming from a multitude of scandals.

“Over the past year, we have created a path to win a Democratic Senate majority and put a stop to the chaos and damage of the Trump administration by defeating the Republicans who enable his harmful agenda,” they wrote in a statement issued by the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) just after Platner was declared the winner.

“In November, Maine voters will elect Graham Platner, and we will win a Senate majority,” they concluded.

In the statement, the New York lawmakers attempted to paint moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, as a radical pro-Trump Republican despite her several breaks with the president.

“Susan Collins has never been more vulnerable after she voted with Trump 96 percent of the time, confirmed his far-right judicial nominees, and took millions from special interests while voting to rip health care away from Mainers,” they listed.

SCANDAL-PLAGUED PLATNER CAPTURES DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINATION

Last week, Platner met with Gillibrand and Schumer, among other Democrats, during a crisis trip to Washington, D.C., in the midst of his latest scandal, which, at the time, was related to revelations of an account on a controversial messaging app. 

After that meeting, Gillibrand refused to say whether she still supported the progressive candidate.

“I’m very confident we are going to win Maine,” she told reporters. “I do. I have confidence that we are going to win Maine and I have no doubt.”

WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE

Schumer also attempted to duck direct questions from reporters at a Capitol Hill press conference following that meeting.

“I met with Graham Platner today, we’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate,” he said. “We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”

After he was asked for the fifth time about the meetings, he begrudgingly used Platner’s name to back the candidate.

WATCH: SCANDAL-PLAGUED PLATNER DODGES QUESTIONS BEFORE DC MEETING WITH DEMOCRATS

“As I said, I endorsed Graham Platner,” he said.

Before that meeting, Platner was embroiled in controversy after it was revealed that he has an active account on Kik, an anonymous chatting platform notorious for lax identification methods that have enabled the proliferation of child sexual abuse material.

Platner used as his profile image on the application a sexually suggestive photo of himself shirtless and wearing only a towel around his waist.

Just days after the meetings in D.C., the candidate was accused of physical misconduct, including aggressive behavior, with a former romantic partner. Platner denies those accusations.

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Platner’s previous scandals include sexually lewd Reddit posts, disrespectful comments made against a Purple Heart-winning combat veteran, a Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest that has since been covered up and reports he exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married.

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper is facing a judicial misconduct complaint from a conservative watchdog group, which argues he should have recused himself from a lawsuit involving President Donald Trump’s effort to rename the Kennedy Center.

The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) alleged that Cooper should have bowed out of the case because his wife, Amy Jeffress, has a history of representing what the group described as “anti-Trump” clients. In May, Cooper ruled against Trump by permanently blocking the renaming of the Kennedy Center after Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, filed a lawsuit.

CASA filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday, alleging Cooper failed to disclose or recuse himself despite what it called significant financial and professional interests stemming from his wife’s involvement in litigation against Trump.

“CASA is filing a judicial complaint against Obama-appointed DC District Court Judge Christopher Cooper for his potentially unethical behavior after his failure to recuse himself from the frivolous Kennedy Center lawsuit filed against President Trump, given his wife’s financial interests in opposing President Trump’s agenda through litigation,” CASA Director of Research and Policy Curtis Schube said in a statement.

JUDGE WITH INTIMATE TIES TO DEM PARTY’S KEY RUSSIA HOAX PLAYERS BEHIND LATEST ANTI-TRUMP DECISION

The complaint comes more than a week after Trump slammed Cooper for having a “conflict of interest,” pointing to Cooper’s wife, Amy Jeffress’, track record of representing Trump’s biggest foes, including former anti-Trump FBI lawyer Lisa Page, and currently representing former President Joe Biden, who is suing Trump’s Justice Department over the release of Robert Hur’s interview recordings.

“Cooper’s wife is longtime Democrat activist and attorney Amy Jeffress. Jeffress is the former counsel to the January 6th committee, works as former President Biden’s personal lawyer, and currently represents Biden in ongoing litigation against President Trump,” Schube said. “There was a clear need for Cooper to recuse himself from this matter, or at the very least disclose these conflicts. By doing neither, Cooper caused — at the very least — an appearance of impropriety, which warrants a full investigation.”

The complaint does not challenge Cooper’s ruling itself, but it argues that his involvement in the case could raise reasonable questions about his ability to be impartial under the federal judiciary’s Code of Conduct.

JONATHAN TURLEY: TRUMP’S KENNEDY CENTER NAME CHANGE WILL KEEP LAWYERS BUSY FOR YEARS

“We are deeply concerned with the fact that a sitting federal judge did not recuse himself, and adjudicated to disposition, a case from which he and his spouse financially benefit,” the complaint states. “Indeed, a large portion of his wife’s business model appears to rely on handling litigation that is anti-Trump in nature.”

CASA argues that Cooper may have violated Canon 1, which requires judges to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary.

Read the complaint below. App users: Click here

“Canon 1 requires that a judge uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary,” the filing states. “Judge Cooper, presumably, goes home every night to his wife whose career is predicated on suing President Trump.”

CASA argued Cooper is in violation of Canon 2, which requires judges to avoid situations that could appear improper, even when no actual misconduct has occurred.

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“More specifically, Canon 2 lists occasions when the appearance of a relationship affects a judge’s ability to adjudicate a case: 1) when public confidence is hampered; and 2) when spousal relationships influence judicial conduct,” the complaint stated. “Both problems are present here.”

The complaint also argues that Cooper violated Canon 3, which requires judges to remain fair and impartial and that recusal may be warranted when a judge’s spouse’s interests or potential partisan influences could reasonably raise questions about that impartiality.

The complaint concludes by urging the D.C. Circuit to investigate Cooper and determine whether disciplinary action is warranted.

Appointed by President Barack Obama, Cooper has served on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., since 2014.

Cooper has long been the target of conflict of interest allegations from Trump and his allies. The judge drew scrutiny during Special Counsel John Durham’s prosecution of former Clinton campaign-linked attorney Michael Sussmann, which was a part of Durham’s broader probe into the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation centered on the now-debunked Russian-Trump collusion theory.

Critics argued then that he should have recused himself because his wife, attorney Amy Jeffress, represented former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, a figure tied to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

Fox News Digital reached out to Cooper and Jeffress for comment.

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., lashed out at Republican efforts to investigate a Democratic fundraising apparatus on Wednesday afternoon, characterizing the ongoing fraud probe as the most recent instance of GOP retribution against Black women in power.

“Over and over again, Donald Trump’s Department of Justice has harassed Black women with bogus lawsuits,” Sewell said on Wednesday morning.

Sewell’s criticisms come as as Republican lawmakers probe ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising and campaign organization, and its CEO and president, Regina Wallace-Jones, for potentially accepting illegal donations.

In particular, House Republicans are demanding that ActBlue turn over international communications, probing whether the organization knowingly misled lawmakers and dodged subpoenas to hide weaknesses in its screening process to weed out illegal, overseas donations.

DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT IN THE HOT SEAT AS GOP LAWMAKERS DEMAND ANSWERS OVER DODGED SUBPOENA

The review by lawmakers coincides with an April request from President Donald Trump to investigate the group.

“There is evidence to suggest that foreign nationals are seeking to misuse online fundraising platforms to improperly influence American elections,” the White House said in a press release.

Wallace-Jones has called the investigation baseless, maintaining that ActBlue applies high scrutiny for its donations processing.

JASMINE CROCKETT CLAIMS TRUMP IS ‘TERRIFIED OF SMART, BOLD BLACK WOMEN’ AFTER PRESIDENT’S ‘LOW IQ’ JAB

“Our approach is multilayered, with checks and confirmations occurring throughout the donation process to verify donors and donor information,” she told Fox News Digital in a statement earlier this year.

Among other safeguards, Wallace-Jones said the organization requires Card Verification Values (CVVs) for credit card donations, uses IP addresses, a kind of digital footprint, to identify foreign-sourced contributions, applies an industry-standard Address Verification System (AVS) and manually reviews donations.

To Sewell, the investigation into ActBlue and Wallace-Jones is tainted by other investigations into black women who have crossed Trump in the past.

“This investigation is just one more example of Republicans and President Trump using power of his office to harass and intimidate anyone willing to challenge him. The Trump Department of Justice has used its power to intimidate and victimize communities of color, especially Black Americans,” Sewell said.

ACTBLUE CHIEF HEADS TO CAPITOL HILL HOT SEAT AS DONOR FRAUD PROBE INTENSIFIES

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“We should not forget the harassment of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook, the harassment of the New York Attorney General, Tish James and the harassment of our colleague Congresswoman LaMonica McIver,” Sewell said, listing off a number of similar cases.

“It is not surprising that this Republican-led committee is now attacking ActBlue and its CEO, Ms. Wallace-Jones,” Sewell said.