DOJ sues four blue states over ‘unconstitutional’ climate laws threatening US energy security
The Justice Department (DOJ) has filed lawsuits against four Democrat-led states: Hawaii, Michigan, New York and Vermont, over what it calls unconstitutional climate policies that threaten U.S. energy independence and national security. The move follows President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14260, Protecting American Energy from State Overreach, directing federal action against state laws that burden domestic energy development. “These burdensome and ideologically motivated laws and lawsuits threaten American energy independence and our country’s economic and national security,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “The Department of Justice is working to ‘Unleash American Energy’ by stopping these illegitimate impediments to the production of affordable, reliable energy that Americans deserve.” DOGE SAYS IT’S REFERRED DOZENS OF POTENTIAL VOTER FRAUD CASES TO DOJ The DOJ filed complaints Tuesday against New York and Vermont over newly passed “climate superfund” laws, which would impose strict liability on fossil fuel companies for alleged contributions to climate change. New York’s law alone seeks $75 billion in damages from energy firms. According to the DOJ, these laws are preempted by the federal Clean Air Act, violate the Constitution, and infringe on federal foreign affairs powers. “These state laws assess penalties on businesses for global activities that Congress has not authorized states to regulate,” the DOJ argued in its filings. REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SEEK TO STRIP DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OF ITS SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES Separate lawsuits were filed Monday against Hawaii and Michigan to block those states from suing fossil fuel companies in state court over past climate harms. The DOJ argues that those states’ litigation would place unconstitutional burdens on energy producers. “When states seek to regulate energy beyond their constitutional or statutory authority, they harm the country’s ability to produce energy and they aid our adversaries,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson. “The Department’s filings seek to protect Americans from unlawful state overreach that would threaten energy independence critical to the wellbeing and security of all Americans.” The Justice Department is asking federal courts to declare the four states’ laws unconstitutional and prevent their enforcement. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The DOJ did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump tells University of Alabama graduates not to be a ‘victim,’ says in America ‘we reject that idea’
President Donald Trump spoke at the University of Alabama on Thursday night ahead of their official commencement ceremonies starting Friday, and urged students not to consider themselves a “victim” in their futures, noting that far too many young people think that way. The special address to graduates also included remarks from the university’s president, Stuart R. Bell, and former Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach, Nick Saban. Trump touted success during his first 100 days as president, and took a few opportunities to jab at his political opponents as well. But Trump’s message was largely focused on the graduating class, which he acknowledged as “the first graduating class of the Golden Age of America.” TRUMP CLAPS BACK AT COURTS FOR ‘INTERFERING’ WITH JOB, ASKS ‘HOW YOU CAN GIVE DUE PROCESS’ TO ILLEGAL MIGRANTS “Don’t consider yourself a victim. Consider yourself a winner. In recent years, too many of our young people have really been taught to think of themselves as victims and blame people and be angry. Don’t be angry,” Trump said. “In America, we reject that idea that anyone is born a victim. Our heroes are the ones who take charge of their own destiny, make their own luck, and determine their own fate despite the odds, despite all odds.” Trump shared a range of other advice with the graduating class in addition to touting his political agenda. In between slamming federal judges for blocking him from doing his job and questioning Democrats’ defiance of his directives to keep men out of women’s sports, Trump urged students to beat the odds – hearkening back to his November election victory – and preserver through difficult challenges. “Graduates of the Alabama class of 2025 standing here before you in this magnificent arena, it is clear to see the next chapter of the American story will not be written by the Harvard Crimson. It will be written by you – The Crimson Tide,” Trump told the students as he concluded his address. “Because this is Alabama. And in Alabama you fight, fight, fight and you win, win win. That’s what you know how to do.” TRUMP MOCKS TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS TO ROARING APPLAUSE AT ALABAMA COMMENCEMENT SPEECH Trump’s address was the first at the University of Alabama by a sitting president. It was met with pushback from both students and non-students. The university’s College Democrats chapter held a “Tide Against Trump” rally that featured former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke and former Alabama senator Doug Jones. The chapter also released a statement several days before Trump’s visit to campus, expressing their “shock” and “disgust” that the “unpopular, divisive, and authoritarian President will be involved in commencement.” The Alabama NAACP slammed Trump’s appearance at the University of Alabama as well, comparing the president’s rhetoric to “the segregationist rhetoric of George Wallace” in comments about his address on their website.
Trump claps back at courts for ‘interfering’ with job, asks ‘how you can give due process’ to illegal migrants
During a special commencement address to students at the University of Alabama, President Donald Trump questioned how you can give due process to people who have illegally entered the United States, in a rebuke to judges who Trump said were “interfering” with his efforts to do his job as president. Trump’s comments came the same day a federal judge permanently barred his efforts to use the centuries-old Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport illegal alien gang members. “As you’ve been reading, the courts are trying to stop me from doing the job that I was elected to do,” Trump said during his address to graduates. “They have to let us do the job that the voters want us to do. Judges are interfering, supposedly based on due process. But how can you give due process to people who came into our country illegally? They want to give them due process. I don’t know.” ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH WEAPONS CONVICTION ARRESTED IN CALIFORNIA AS ICE TARGETS CRIMINALS Trump issued a proclamation in March asserting the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua could be deported under the AEA. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration began deporting hundreds of alleged gang members, including one Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Opponents of Trump’s deportation efforts have insisted Abrego Garcia was illegally deported and is not a gang member. However, evidence has surfaced of Abrego Garcia involved in gang-like criminal activity. TENNESSEE BODYCAM OF ‘MARYLAND MAN’ TRAFFIC STOP SHOWS TROOPERS’ HANDS TIED DESPITE SMUGGLING CLUES Body cam footage from troopers in Maryland show Abrego Garcia being involved in an alleged human trafficking incident in 2022. In the footage, officers can be heard building the case that Abrego Garcia was engaged in human smuggling, which the troopers refer to as “hauling” in the video. Vice President J.D. Vance said in an interview with Fox News that the Trump administration is aggressively appealing the federal court order blocking their deportation efforts. “The judge doesn’t make that determination, whether the Alien Enemies Act can be deployed,” Mr. Vance told Fox News anchor Brett Baier. “I think the President of the United States is the one who determines whether this country is being invaded.”
Jasmine Crockett sets sights on top Democratic seat on Oversight Committee: reports
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, is looking for support from fellow Democrats with her eyes on a possible run for the top Democratic spot on the House Oversight Committee, according to reports. Although Semafor first reported about Crockett’s plans, Politico also reported that two people familiar with the matter claim the congresswoman has been making calls, sending text messages and having conversations on the floor in search of support for her quest to take the seat held by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. Connolly is reportedly planning to step aside as he fights a resurgence of esophageal cancer, though he has not made an official announcement, Politico reported. Still, Crockett reportedly told her colleagues she is “made for the moment,” the sources told the publication, referring to the Democratic Party’s desire to resist President Donald Trump in a more forceful way. JASMINE CROCKETT ROASTED FOR WORRYING ABOUT EFFECT OF DEPORTATION ON OTHER COUNTRIES Crockett did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Politico reported that Crockett told the outlet in a text message that even though a vacancy does not currently exist, “knowing that Rep Connolly doesn’t plan to seek re-election & knowing that our oversight powers are broad, I’m ready to shine a light on the very dark things taking place in our country under this administration.” Crockett, a first-term progressive, has made headlines for several controversial comments this year. SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS OVER JASMINE CROCKETT ‘GASLIGHTING’ ABOUT CALLING ABBOTT ‘GOVERNOR HOT WHEELS’ Her most recent comments came this week as she expressed sympathy for countries that may be affected by mass deportations from the U.S. after remaining largely silent on millions of migrants pouring into the country under the Biden administration. “As far as I’m concerned, you randomly kidnapping folk and you throwing them out of the country against their civil rights, against their constitutional rights,” Crockett said in a video posted to her Instagram page, which has 1.3 million followers. “And, frankly, how would they feel if some other country decided that they were gonna just start throwing people randomly in our country? Like that is absolutely insane.” Crockett lambasted Republicans who had voted down an amendment to a massive budget bill being hammered out by lawmakers that aims to clarify that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot detain or deport U.S. citizens under any circumstances. REP. JASMINE CROCKETT SAYS DEMOCRATS NEED TO BE ‘OK WITH PUNCHING’ IN RACES AGAINST TED CRUZ, REPUBLICANS The Republicans’ actions incensed Crockett, who cited a case last week when a U.S. citizen child was deported with her noncitizen mother. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the child and her siblings were deported because their mothers are not citizens and wanted to take them with them back to Honduras. Crockett made the comments alongside Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who also panned Republicans. “Literally they just voted, they being the other ones, not us, because we were all on the right side of history,” Crockett said. “They just voted to give Trump the legal ability to deport U.S. citizens. That is what they voted for. A bunch of elected U.S. representatives, that is how they voted, Am I telling a lie Eric or not?” She also made news in March after she called her fellow Texan, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, “Governor Hot Wheels.” She later claimed her words were misunderstood. Crockett continues her viral media streak with incendiary comments aimed at those on the other side of the aisle, including saying DOGE head Elon Musk should be “taken down” and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, should be “knocked over the head, like, hard.” Fox News’ Michael Dorgan, Rachel del Guidice, Elizabeth Elkind and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
University of Texas at Austin sued over arrests during 2024 pro-Palestinian protests
The two graduates and two current students who are also suing UT trustees and other officials say they were unlawfully targeted because they expressed pro-Palestinian views.
Trump DHS slams more ‘sob story’ reporting after Tren de Aragua gang members send SOS signal
The Trump Department of Homeland Security is slamming Reuters for what it is calling “sob story” reporting about illegal gang members after the outlet reported on suspected Tren de Aragua members forming an “S-O-S” sign at a Texas detention center. The DHS released a statement on Wednesday saying that “the mainstream media’s latest attempt at a criminal gang sob story includes a self-admitted member of Tren de Aragua” and that “the real story here is that the previous administration was releasing gang members into American communities.” Tren de Aragua – also known as “TdA” – is a brutal international criminal group linked to Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro. The group is linked to some of the most high profile migrant crime cases in recent years including the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley and the seizure of an entire apartment building in Aurora, Colorado. The Trump State Department has declared Tren de Aragua a “foreign terrorist organization.” Reuters reported on Wednesday that 31 Venezuelan illegals and suspected TdA members formed an SOS sign in the yard of the Bluebonnet illegal immigrant detention center in Anson, Texas. TRUMP TO NAME HAITIAN GANGS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS: REPORT According to the outlet, the men at the facility are facing possible deportation and had been set to be deported to the high-security Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador before a judge’s ruling delayed that fate. Despite this, Reuters wrote that the “Venezuelan detainees in Texas fear the Trump administration will send them to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT maximum security prison.” The outlet identified two of the migrants in the detention center as Diover Millan Leon, 24, and Jeferson Escalona Hernandez, 19. Reuters interviewed Escalona Hernandez, who claimed, “I fear for my life here” and “they’re making false accusations about me.” Reuters also reported Millan Leon’s wife saying, “he is desperate” and that he “sat down and looked at the sky and asked God to get him out of there soon.” DHS pushed back against this characterization of the situation, identifying both men as confirmed members of Tren de Aragua. ‘PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT’: TRUMP CELEBRATES FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE WITH HIGH ENERGY MICHIGAN RALLY The statement said that Escalona Hernandez is a “self-admitted Tren de Aragua member” who illegally entered the U.S. in 2024. DHS said that the Biden administration “released this gang member into our country” and that he was later arrested for felony evading arrest with a vehicle and put in a Denton County, Texas, jail. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Meanwhile, DHS said that Millan Leon is a documented member of Tren de Aragua who illegally entered the U.S. on an unknown date and location. The department said that U.S. Border Patrol arrested Millan Leon on May 3, 2023, near Brownsville, Texas, but he was given a notice to appear and released on his own recognizance. Nearly two years later, ICE officers operating under the Trump administration arrested Millan Leon in Lawrenceville, Georgia, on March 12, 2025. Commenting on the story, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that “Tren De Aragua is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet earth,” adding that “they rape, maim, and murder for sport.” FORMER DEA AGENT WARNS TREN DE ARAGUA GANG ‘SPREADS LIKE A VIRUS’ “The previous administration released these gang members into our communities,” she went on. “President Trump and Secretary Noem have ended catch and release and will not allow criminal gangs to terrorize American citizens.” McLaughlin called Reuters’ reporting “irresponsible,” asking: “Why do they continue to peddle the sob stories of these gang members but ignore their American victims?” Fox News Digital reached out to Reuters for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Acting ICE director says agency will ‘ramp up’ raids if sanctuary jurisdictions don’t cooperate
EXCLUSIVE: Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said his agency will “ramp” up raids in sanctuary cities if they refuse to cooperate with his agents. Todd Lyons sounded off on the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda and a range of other issues, saying ICE agents were going to go after criminal illegal immigrants regardless of sanctuary policies. “The more they’re going to double down or triple down, we’re going to ramp it up more,” he told Fox News. “We want to work with you, but if you don’t want to work with the federal government, if you don’t want to work with ICE, then we’re going to make sure that we’re doing all we can do to bring our law enforcement resources to that jurisdiction. And we’re going to take care of those public safety threats. BIDEN DOJ HANDLED JUDGE AIDING ILLEGAL TO EVADE ARREST DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT THAN TRUMP ADMIN “If you don’t want to work with us, we’re going to handle the problem,” he added. Lyons, however, did praise California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently said his state will work with ICE. A sanctuary state, California generally doesn’t cooperate with immigration authorities, but Newsom said it would be willing to work with the agency to honor detainer requests. That followed outrage over a Fox News story about an illegal immigrant convicted of vehicular manslaughter who will be released from prison July 19, over six years before his full sentence is up. DEPORTED ‘MARYLAND MAN’ CHAMPIONED BY DEMS WAS PULLED OVER DRIVING CAR BELONGING TO HUMAN SMUGGLER “I really applaud the governor for that,” Lyons said. “When people see exactly the individual that ICE is dealing with, how could you not work with ICE in a case like that? “We actually saw the details behind this case,” he added. “It’s a commonsense approach to work with ICE to get these public safety threats out of here.” In the first 100 days of the Trump administration, ICE has arrested more than 6,000 illegal immigrants, the agency said this week. The agency is going to continue to “remove the worst of the worst,” Lyons said. “How can anyone argue with you when you’re deporting violent gang members, sex offenders and fentanyl traffickers,” he said. “ICE is out there protecting communities, taking these public safety threats away from our neighborhoods, protecting our children.” As Congress ponders giving ICE funding for 10,000 agents, Lyons said the additional money would be a “game changer.” “I’ll give you an example. When we did the operation in Boston, we had targeted enforcement when we knew these criminal aliens that had been released from jails, from courts, from sanctuary jurisdictions where detainees weren’t honored,” he said. “But while the teams were out there conducting this operation, in real time, more criminal aliens were being released.”
Kaine breaks into Spanish as Dems force vote targeting Trump-El Salvador alliance over deportations
Top Democrats announced an effort Thursday to force the Trump administration to provide a report on how it is specifically complying with a court order to facilitate the return of wrongfully deported U.S. residents to El Salvador. The resolution to do so from Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Charles Schumer of New York, Alex Padilla of California and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is “privileged,” – meaning it will require a full Senate vote. Kaine cited the specific code under a 1961 foreign assistance law that allowed such. If passed, and the White House fails to abide by it, U.S. security assistance to El Salvador would be immediately frozen, Schumer, Kaine and Van Hollen said. NOT A MARYLAND MAN: GOP BLASTS DEMOCRAT SENATOR FIGHTING FOR RETURN OF SALVADORAN NATIONAL At a press conference outside the Capitol, the three men laid out how the vote would work, and one lawmaker later disclosed a separate effort to schedule a vote on sanctions against El Salvador over President Nayib Bukele’s work with Trump. “I also send a message to the government of El Salvador,” Kaine said during his remarks, breaking into Spanish midway. “You might think it’s cute right now to grab attention by a bromance with President Donald Trump. He’s going to be a president for poco mas (a short time) – tres anos mas (three years more).” Continuing in Spanish, Kaine said the two countries will always have relations, before transitioning back to English to say that the U.S. will not soon forget “you violating the human rights of American citizens, you’re wrong.” “We will remember this forever,” Kaine pledged. “And there will be significant and challenging downstream consequences for any nation that violates the rights of Americans.” KILMAR GARCIA NOW GETS 5 TOTAL DEM PROPONENTS IN EL SALVADOR The move was spurred by the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a suspected MS-13 gang member who was deported from Maryland to his home country last month. Van Hollen later said the privileged resolution was not expressly about Garcia, but instead the greater idea that such people could be deported and/or treated without due process. Echoing Kaine on repercussions for San Salvador’s government from Washington, Van Hollen spoke of plans to also seek a sanctions vote against Bukele “and all those who are part of his government conspiring with Donald Trump to deprive residents of the United States of their constitutional rights.” Returning again to speaking bilingually, Kaine responded to a reporter’s question by summing up the privileged resolution in Spanish. “We have a guarantee of a vote after ten days on El Salvador and we are sending a message to President Trump that he needs to follow the law. And we are also sending a message to President Bukele that we are not going to forget if the government of El Salvador is violating American human rights,” he said. In a statement in English aside from the conference, Kaine said Bukele “has rounded up tens of thousands of Salvadorans without due process and jammed them indefinitely into overpopulated torture centers. And now he’s trying to do the same to people living in the United States,” Kaine said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital prior to the conference. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We will use this resolution to force accountability,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, a House supporter of the resolution – though Kaine said it does not require their blessing. Van Hollen, who took a junket to El Salvador to attempt to bring Garcia to Maryland – where his family lives – said Trump has failed to comply with the order to facilitate his return. Both Trump and Bukele appeared to agree in an Oval Office meeting last month that returning Garcia would be “preposterous” and that the court order didn’t quite say what critics said it did. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., for comment.
Join the TribCast team June 11 in Austin or online to discuss session’s impact on Texas schools
We’ll explain what happened, look ahead toward the impact on Texas schools and libraries, and hear from experts about what comes next
House Republicans subpoena USA fencing chairman with history of supporting trans competitors in women’s sports
House Republicans have subpoenaed USA Fencing (USFA) board chair Damien Lehfeldt in an effort to compel him to testify in front of Congress during a hearing examining the participation of transgender women in biologically women’s sports. The subpoena comes after USA Fencing’s Chief Executive Officer Phil Andrews told the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, which intends to hold the hearing on May 7, that Lehfeldt would be unavailable to testify for unspecified reasons, according to a letter sent in tandem with the subpoena. Lehfeldt’s apparent refusal to cooperate comes after he allegedly made public statements online indicating he had intended to be present at the hearing. “Under the Ted Stevens Act, an [National Governing Body]—such as USFA—is required to provide equal opportunities to athletes regardless of sex when engaged in developing interest and participation in the sport it governs throughout the United States,” the letter accompanying the subpoena, signed by GOP House Oversight Chairman James Comer. “The Subcommittee is concerned that the policies of USFA may not uphold these obligations and that the underlying law is not accomplishing its intended purpose. Therefore, the Subcommittee is investigating whether additional legislation regarding requirements of NGBs of amateur sports, like USFA, is necessary to address these issues.” FEMALE FENCER DEFENDS PROTEST AGAINST TRANSGENDER OPPONENT Lehfeldt and Andrews have both publicly expressed their support for allowing transgender women to compete on biological women’s sports teams. House Republicans’ decision to subpoena Lehfeldt follows an incident when a female fencer named Stephanie Turner was punished by USA Fencing for refusing to compete against a transgender competitor earlier this year. Turner, during a regional meet in March, refused to compete against a transgender competitor who previously had competed in the men’s division. A video of her taking a symbolic knee at the start of the match, eventually earning her a “black card,” fencing’s most severe penalty, went viral following the incident. ENGLAND SPORTS GOVERNING BODY BANS TRANSGENDER ATHLETES FROM WOMEN’S SOCCER FOLLOWING UK COURT RULING “In fencing, personally, I see it quite often,” Turner said following the incident. “I have witnessed transgender fencers in women’s tournaments and girls’ tournaments in different age categories, specifically Y-14 (the youngest age group).” Fox News Digital reached out to USA Fencing for comment but did not immediately receive a response.