Fox News Politics Newsletter: Targeting TdA
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… –House Freedom Caucus chair urges Johnson to change course on Trump budget bill -Noem’s Homeland Security ‘unapologetic’ about using lie detector test on suspected intel leakers -Trump administration begins new wave of international student visa revocations: ‘No one has a right to a visa’ EXCLUSIVE: A House Resolution affirming the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to crack down on those suspected to be Tren de Aragua gang members was introduced on Monday. “Coloradoans already know the truth: Tren de Aragua (TdA) is a terrorist organization active in our communities right now,” Rep. Jeff Crank, who’s introducing the resolution, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. “I fully support President Trump’s executive order to designate them as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and to begin deporting these horrific terrorists. It is essential to our national security that known terrorists are quickly detained and deported out of our country by our law enforcement professionals,” the Republican, who took office in January, continued…Read more BENCH SLAP: Appeals court blocks Trump from firing federal board members, tees up Supreme Court fight ‘HANG TOUGH’: Trump’s 12th week in office to be dominated by tariffs fallout, Netanyahu visit SURVEY SAYS: Where Trump stands with Americans 11 weeks into his second White House term AMERICA FIRST: Trump says US not willing to make deal with China unless trade deficit is solved CRITICAL CANDIDATE: Trump hints he’d back longtime critic’s bid to flip Dem Senate seat in 2026: ‘I hope he runs’ FISCAL CLIFF: Johnson faces uphill battle keeping GOP divisions from derailing Trump budget bill HOUSE SHOWDOWN: House plows ahead on Trump agenda after Johnson strikes deal with GOP rebels who paralyzed House ‘CHIEF’S WORST NIGHTMARE’: 16-year-old firefighter in Missouri killed in line of duty ‘HANDCUFFED’: OP candidate rips blue state directive meddling in police force’s cooperation with ICE PAJAMA POLICE: Florida man impersonates ICE agent, threatens to deport 2 men, police say MINNESOTA ICE: Blue state sheriffs combine forces to fight back against sanctuary laws ‘FLORIDA DOGE’: Gov. DeSantis’ new DOGE task force gains momentum as universities, localities commit to being audited ‘WHOLLY LAWLESS’: Federal judge calls deportation of Salvadoran man in Maryland ‘wholly lawless’ TRAFFIC STOPS: New York proposal would ban police from making traffic stops for minor violations to pursue ‘racial equity’ PARTNERED UP: RFK Jr makes Texas stop to visit family of 6-year-old girl who died from measles; encourages MMR vaccine ‘DEPORT HER’: Undocumented anti-Trump activist boasts of being ‘unafraid’ and ‘queer’ at rally ‘NO IDEA WHY THEY’RE EVEN THERE’: Musk slams ‘puppetmasters’ after protesters struggle to explain why they call Trump a ‘fascist’ in viral vid Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Top lawmaker asks Trump admin to scrap report cracking down on cops: ‘Destructive and costly’
EXCLUSIVE: Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen is asking the Department of Justice to scrap a report that could lead to intense federal oversight of the Phoenix Police Department. In a letter to newly sworn-in Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, Petersen asked the DOJ to retract a report from the Biden administration about civil rights issues within the department. The report would essentially try to get the city of Phoenix to agree to high federal involvement through the DOJ. The June 2024 report said that the department and the city “engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law,” including “excessive force” and discriminatory practices against minorities and homeless people. NEW YORK PROPOSAL WOULD BAN POLICE FROM MAKING TRAFFIC STOPS FOR MINOR VIOLATIONS TO PURSUE ‘RACIAL EQUITY’ “The DOJ’s report contained a host of biased and inaccurate findings against the City’s Police Department, putting Phoenix on a path for a destructive and costly consent decree that would discourage our brave men and women in blue from reducing crime and protecting innocent Phoenicians. It would also have a tremendous impact on the agency’s ability to recruit and retain enough officers to service our communities report,” Petersen wrote. Petersen argued that if the police department went under a consent decree with the DOJ, it would create similar challenges to what the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deals with now after coming under a consent decree in 2015, which is expected to exceed a $310 million price tag in the coming months, the Republican lawmaker argued. “Former Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone, a Democrat, resigned from his position last year, in large part, due to frustration from the consent decree hanging over his office. He said, ‘I’ll be damned if I do three terms under federal court oversight, for a debt I never incurred, and not be able to serve this community in the manner that I could if you took the other hand from being tied behind my back. Because the future without law enforcement doesn’t look good,’” he said. BLUE STATE SHERIFFS COMBINE FORCES TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST SANCTUARY LAWS He acknowledged that the department has pushed for reforms on their terms, saying that there should be accountability for issues with “rogue police agencies or officers,” but noted that this is not the way to go about it. “In short, these consent decrees are nothing more than backhanded attempts to hijack police departments and bring them under the control of the federal government,” he added. “The consent decrees are unconstitutional and exploited by overreaching presidential administrations.” Before being elected to the Senate, Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego used his official House office to write to the Biden DOJ voicing opposition to a consent decree in August. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CHARGED IN NIKE SHOE HEIST AS CARTELS ROB US CARGO TRAINS “I strongly urge DOJ to consider entering into a technical assistance letter with the City of Phoenix rather than continue to pursue a consent decree,” Gallego wrote. “While the DOJ raises several valid points in its findings report, both PPD and the City of Phoenix already welcome reforms to advance the mission to protect Phoenix’s residents from crime and safeguard their civil rights.” While Biden was still in office, many progressives in the state argued that there should be federal accountability for the agency. “Phoenix PD needs federal oversight,” the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted in October 2024 following an incident in which officers allegedly severely mistreated a deaf, disabled Black man, Tyron McAlpin, who is now suing the city and the offices involved. His charges were scrapped, and the officers received a 24-hour suspension, according to Fox 10 Phoenix. The DOJ did not respond in time to Fox News Digital for comment.
Colorado Dems ram abortion, transgender bills through on limited Sunday session debate: ‘Unprecedented’
The Colorado Democratic House majority pushed through a slate of controversial gender and abortion bills on Sunday, curtailing floor debate in what Republican lawmakers called an “unprecedented” tactic. “It should alarm every American that Colorado’s Majority used a Sunday — a day typically reserved for family and prayer — to force through four of the most extreme bills of the session,” Republican House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese told Fox News Digital on Monday. Pugliese said while “weekend work” is a “tactic the majority uses to punish the minority,” it was especially “unprecedented” this time because of the highly controversial nature of the bills. CONCERNED PARENTS OF TRANS KIDS COMPARED TO ‘HATE GROUPS’ BY COLORADO DEM: WOULDN’T ‘ASK THE KKK’ FOR OPINION “There was no filibuster, no delay — just a determined effort to shut down discussion on legislation that directly affects parental rights, public safety, and the use of taxpayer dollars,” she said. The bills that were passed include SB25-183, which requires taxpayers to fund abortion services; HB25-1309, mandating insurers cover transgender procedures regardless of age; HB25-1312, which imposes state-mandated gender policies on schools and considers it “coercive control” in child custody cases when a parent does not affirm a child’s gender identity; and SB25-129, which prohibits cooperation with out-of-state investigations on transgender procedures and abortion services. According to state House Majority Democrat Leader Monica Duran, the four bills were debated on the floor for more than 12 hours last week. TRANS INMATE IN PRISON FOR KILLING BABY MUST GET GENDER SURGERY AT ‘EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY’: JUDGE “The minority offered dozens of amendments in that time,” Duran told Fox News Digital. “Ultimately, Coloradans elected significant Democratic majorities with clear mandates, and with only 120 days in session, we will use every day we need to do the people’s work.” “Yesterday that included passing legislation to implement voter-approved Amendment 79, which protects abortion rights and passed with nearly 62% of the vote last November.” Other Democrats in the legislature, who authored the passage of the bills, see them as a way to shield the Centennial State from the Trump administration’s policies. TRUMP DOJ, EDUCATION DEPT FORM TASK FORCE TO PROTECT FEMALE ATHLETES FROM ‘GENDER IDEOLOGY’ IN SCHOOLS, SPORTS “It’s time to fight back against out-of-state interference and Trump administration threats to restrict abortion and health care for LGBTQ+ Coloradans,” Democratic state Rep. Karen McCormick, D-Longmont, sponsor of SB25-129, said in a statement. Democrat Rep. Lorena Garcia, sponsor of SB5-183, also said, “Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle abortion access or restrict funding altogether, Coloradans believe it’s your constitutional right to access the reproductive health care you need.” “This bill will expand access to life-saving reproductive health care, including abortion,” Garcia said in a statement. The bills now head to the Democratic-dominated state Senate for consideration.
Reporter’s Notebook: Power player on Capitol Hill
Whether or not congressional Republicans are able to pass President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” of tax and spending cuts may hinge on one person. Not a swing vote. Not someone like Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., or Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who occasionally bucks their party. But someone you’ve probably never heard of. After all, Washington is stocked with power players. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. But how about Elizabeth MacDonough? HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR URGES JOHNSON TO CHANGE COURSE ON SENATE VERSION OF TRUMP BUDGET BILL I ventured outside the Capitol onto the plaza near the Library of Congress to see if any of the tourists visiting Washington for the spring cherry blossoms had heard of Elizabeth MacDonough. There I came across Billy Coman from Dublin, Ireland, visiting Washington for the first time. “Here’s a name that sounds kind of Irish,” I said to Coman. “Who is Elizabeth MacDonough?” Coman pondered the question for a moment. “Elizabeth MacDonough,” Coman said with an Irish lilt. “Is that the comedian?” I asked a woman named Shirley from Anchorage, Alaska, if she knew the name. TRUMP TAX CUTS ‘TOP PRIORITY’ FOR CONGRESS SAYS TOP HOUSE GOP LEADER “Oh s—. I don’t know,” she replied. I posed the same question to Julia Lowe from Washington state. “Have you ever heard the name Elizabeth MacDonough?” I asked. “It sounds familiar to me,” answered Lowe. “Do you know who she is?” I countered. “A historical figure possibly or someone currently in government?” responded Lowe. Well, Elizabeth MacDonough is in fact in government. And when it comes to Congress, she’s one of the most powerful people you’ve never heard of. MacDonough is the Senate parliamentarian. A sort of referee who decides what’s allowed in the big, beautiful bill pushed by President Trump — based on special Senate budget rules. “The parliamentarian is pretty important,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. “But parliamentarians don’t have the last word to say about (the bill). The Senate governs the Senate. Not the parliamentarian.” That’s why Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., forged ahead on the Senate’s latest framework for the tax cut package. Graham felt he didn’t need to make his case before MacDonough for this phase. “As Budget Chairman, under Section 312 of the Congressional Budget Act, I have the authority to determine baseline numbers for spending and revenue,” said Graham. “Under that authority, I have determined that current policy will be the budget baseline regarding taxation.” In other words, Graham felt he didn’t need MacDonough to tell him the “baseline” to determine whether this package comports with special budgetary provisions in the Senate. But the next step in passing the tax cut bill could be trickier. Everyone will watch what MacDonough rules is in or out. In fact, her calls could alter the trajectory of the president’s “big, beautiful bill.” “We are in conversations, as you know, with the parliamentarian about the best way to get budget reconciliation we’re trying to help across the finish line,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. Otherwise, the bill could face a Senate filibuster and likely die. So there’s an advantage for Senate Republicans to handle their framework within the parameters of the unique budget rules — lest they run afoul of an adverse ruling from the parliamentarian. In fact, consulting with the parliamentarian mirrors football. Case in point, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. Tuberville was the head football coach at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech and Cincinnati before coming to Capitol Hill. “You’ve worked the refs before, and I’ve seen people work the parliamentarian,” said yours truly to Tuberville. “We’ve had to work the parliamentarian since I’ve been here,” replied Tuberville. “Sometimes you might get a surprise. But you’ve got to have a referee in the game. You can’t just freelance.” House conservatives are aiming to implement especially steep spending cuts in the tax cut package. But those special Senate budget rules make it hard for GOP senators to go as deep as the House would like. Some on the right are mystified about the role of the Senate parliamentarian. “It is an unusual thing that one unelected official has so much authority,” said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo. House members struggle to understand the purpose and power of the Senate parliamentarian. Some of that stems from the customary rivalry and suspicion between the House and Senate, which dates back nearly to the beginning of the republic. “The parliamentarian. Who is she? Who elected her? I don’t know,” mused House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Tex. “Where is it in the Constitution?” Well, Article I, Section 5 to be precise. That provision grants the House and Senate the right to create their own rules and standards of operation. The parliamentarian plays a key role in the budget reconciliation process — the mechanism Republicans are using to advance their tax cut and spending reduction bill. The Senate stuck around into the wee hours of Saturday morning, approving the latest budget framework crafted by Graham for the legislation. It’s now onto the House. House GOP leaders would like to tackle the bill Wednesday. But they’re starting midway through the week on the bill in case there are hiccups. Or worse. More than a handful of House Republicans say they oppose the Senate’s latest framework. The House and Senate must approve the same blueprint in order to actually do the bill itself. That’s key because the Senate needs a unified framework in place to use the budget reconciliation process to avoid a filibuster. And MacDonough’s rulings on whether various provisions fit into this bill — in compliance with the Budget Act — could have sway. Budget rules do not allow the legislation to add to the deficit over a 10-year window. Tariffs are not in the bill. But Democrats claim tariffs and tax cuts are linked. “They’re using tariff revenue to balance out the money that they’re going to shovel
JD Vance honors his mother at White House for reaching 10 years sobriety
Vice President JD Vance honored his mother, Beverly Aikins, at the White House Monday to commemorate her reaching 10 years of sobriety. “I remember when I gave my (Republican National Committee) convention speech, which was the craziest thing, and I even said during the speech that we would have your 10-year medallion ceremony at the White House,” Vance said in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, according to the Washington Examiner. VANCE’S ‘AMERICA FIRST’ APPROACH GOES GLOBAL, TAKES HARDLINE MESSAGE TO GREENLAND “Well, here we are,” Vance said. “And you made it, and we made it. And most importantly, you’re celebrating a very, very big milestone. And I’m just very proud of you.” Vance outlined his mother’s battle with sobriety and substance abuse in his book, “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” published in 2016. Specifically, the book chronicles Aikins’ struggle with opioid addiction. Those who joined Vance at the White House on Monday include his wife, Usha Vance, as well as the couple’s three children, according to the Examiner. This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Maryland lawmakers closer to passing roadblock to ICE deportation effort
The Maryland House of Delegates passed a bill that will prohibit agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) from entering sensitive locations without a warrant. The legislation, Senate Bill 828, which will ban ICE agents from schools, libraries and churches unless the agency is able to obtain a warrant, passed the Democratic-dominated House of Delegates on a 98-39 vote. It now returns to the state Senate where, if approved as amended, it will proceed to Democratic Gov. Wes Moore’s desk. The bill comes as President Donald Trump has ramped up deportation efforts across the country, seeking to make good on a campaign promise that became central to his third bid for the White House. BLUE STATE SHERIFFS COMBINE FORCES TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST SANCTUARY LAWS That effort has led to over 100,000 deportations between when Trump took office on Jan. 20 and the end of March, according to numbers provided to Newsweek, a number that was already over a third of the 271,000 deported during the final year of the Biden administration. But Maryland lawmakers are putting a roadblock in front of that effort, with the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature arguing that ICE tactics have spread fear through local communities. “People in my community have been afraid for far too long,” Democratic Delegate Karen Simpson told Fox affiliate WBFF. “I am thankful to everyone in this body who has voted for this so that we can get rid of 287(g) who has scared our community.” The new legislation also incorporates Maryland’s House Bill 1222, which seeks to eliminate ICE’s 287(g) program from being used in the state. That program allows local law enforcement agencies to partner with ICE and assist in immigration enforcement efforts, including cooperating with ICE detainers that instruct local jurisdictions to hold illegal immigrants in jail until they can be apprehended by ICE for deportation proceedings. JD VANCE TORCHES MEDIA, DEMS’ ‘DISGRACEFUL SET OF PRIORITIES’ ON DEPORTATION OF ACCUSED MS-13 GANG MEMBER The legislation was opposed by Republican Delegate Kathy Szeliga, who told WBFF that the bill was nothing more than “fear mongering by the left” that is “stirring up the immigrant community.” Szeliga was able to successfully add an amendment to the legislation that would ensure that criminal illegal aliens who are on the state’s sex offender registry would be turned over to ICE, though that provision would not go into effect until June 1. The legislation will not return to the Senate, where Szeliga believes it will pass despite opposition to such amendments. “I hear that the Senate doesn’t love the bill the way it’s been amended. But I believe that they will pass this bill,” Szeliga said. The Maryland Senate has until midnight tonight to vote on SB 828 before the Maryland General Assembly adjourns for the year. If passed, it heads to Moore’s desk. Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for ICE said the agency does not comment on legislation.
Harris team crafted federal judge ‘death-pool roster’ to swear her in should Biden die as president, book says
A communications director for former Vice President Kamala Harris created a so-called “death-pool roster” of federal judges appointed by a Republican that could swear in Harris as president – in the event that President Joe Biden suddenly died, according to a new book. The book, “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,” published Tuesday by William Morrow and Company, claims that Harris’ White House communications director Jamal Simmons crafted an entire communications strategy to employ in the event of Biden’s death. The book, authored by political journalists Jonathan Allen of NBC News and Amie Parnes of the Hill, said Simmons imagined that losing Biden unexpectedly would be akin to when Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on Air Force One following John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. But he worried people would question her legitimacy as president, and was specifically concerned that “Trump people” would go “apes—” if Harris became president, the book claims. TENSIONS ALLEGEDLY RISE BETWEEN BIDEN WHITE HOUSE AND HARRIS CAMPAIGN: ‘TOO MUCH IN THEIR FEELINGS’ “Simmons believed Harris would be strengthened by an institutional stamp of approval if she were sworn in hurriedly because Biden had died unexpectedly,” Allen and Parnes wrote. “Her legitimacy might be questioned, he worried, recalling the January 6 effort to stop Biden from being certified as president.” As a result, Simmons created a spreadsheet of various judges nominated by a Republican who might be equipped to help bolster her legitimacy. “The strongest validator, he believed, would be a federal judge who had been appointed by a Republican other than Trump,” Allen and Parnes wrote. “He compiled a spreadsheet of those jurists across the country, down to a city-by-city breakdown, and carried it with him when he traveled with Harris.” Simmons said he never told Harris about the so-called “death-pool roster” before his departure with her communications team in January 2023, however he instructed colleagues to notify him immediately if something did happen to Biden so he could implement the communications strategy. Ultimately, Simmons left the spreadsheet with another Harris staffer, according to the book. The book did not specify which judges were included on the list. Harris, who previously served as a senator from California, is now a speaker with CAA Speakers, which represents high-profile celebrities. CAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. KAMALA HARRIS WAS ‘VERY ANNOYED’ WITH OBAMA AS SHE SOUGHT HIS ENDORSEMENT, BOOK REVEALS The book also includes details revealing how former President Barack Obama remained hesitant to back Harris in the 2024 election to replace Biden, amid concerns about his mental fitness, while also doubting Biden and Harris’ political abilities. According to the book, Obama didn’t believe Harris could beat now-President Donald Trump in the November 2024 race – an issue that frustrated Harris. “Fight” chronicles how Trump secured the White House for a second term and the ramifications of his victory on the Democratic Party. Allen and Parnes conducted interviews with more than 150 political insiders for the book, according to the book’s description.
EXCLUSIVE: Trump tax cuts ‘top priority’ for Congress, says top House GOP leader
EXCLUSIVE – Following President Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs announcement, a top House GOP leader is pushing for Congress to extend the president’s 2017 tax cuts, which he says is the next “top priority” for Republicans. The passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was the first major legislative victory for the first Trump administration and represented one of the most significant achievements of his term. Now, after the Senate passed a resolution Saturday night setting up a process known as reconciliation to bypass any potential Democratic filibuster, it’s up to the House to take the next step in making the cuts permanent. Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota and who holds one of the most influential roles in the House, told Fox News Digital that extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts is one of the party’s major points of focus, both in Congress and in the White House. Emmer is holding an “Invest in America” roundtable discussion with Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) CEO Jay Timmons and other manufacturing leaders from across the country on Tuesday to discuss the importance of solidifying the cuts now. According to Emmer’s office, the roundtable discussion will also highlight financial literacy month and emphasize the need to give all Americans the tools to succeed financially. SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES Emmer’s office told Fox News Digital that the roundtable will be centered on the importance of Congress preserving the 2017 tax cuts through reconciliation. Reconciliation is a way to fast-track legislation on issues like taxes, the debt limit and federal spending by bypassing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for passage, instead lowering it to a simple 51-vote majority. “Following Liberation Day, there is a hunger for even more action to put American workers, businesses and production first,” a representative for Emmer said in a statement. “Continuing the Trump tax cuts does that, and this discussion will display the urgency and importance of getting it done.” There are key aspects of the 2017 tax cuts related to manufacturing that are set to sunset at the end of the year. Emmer believes that if that happens it would result in the “largest tax hike in American history.” SPEAKER JOHNSON MOVES ON SENATE’S TRUMP BUDGET BILL AS HOUSE GOP REBELS THREATEN TO DEFECT “House Republicans and the Trump administration know the stakes are high for Americans regarding tax reform,” said the representative. Emmer’s office pointed to a NAM study that found a sunset on these tax reforms at the end of 2025 would cost America 6 million jobs, including over 1.1 million manufacturing jobs, as well as $540 billion in lost wages and $1.089 trillion in lost GDP. While Trump’s tariff policy centers on increasing American productivity and manufacturing, the study posits that if Congress fails to extend the cuts, the country would be placed back in an uncompetitive international tax regime that “disincentivizes investment in the U.S. and hampers manufacturers’ ability to compete on the world stage.” NAM CEO Jay Timmons told Fox News Digital that he is calling on Congress to make the pro-manufacturing reforms in Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, saying “every day without action harms manufacturers’ ability to invest in America and plan for the future.” SENATE’S BUDGET PROPOSAL IS ‘WOEFULLY SHORT OF WHERE THEY NEED TO BE,’ GOP REP SAYS “Current economic conditions make renewal of the 2017 tax reforms even more urgent,” said Timmons. “Passage of the original law ignited job creation, wage growth and investment across the country. And as a result, manufacturers kept our promises by expanding operations, boosting wages and benefits and hiring at record levels. But now key provisions have already expired, and others are set to lapse at the end of this year.” “It is past time to make these reforms permanent and more competitive,” he added. “When manufacturing wins, America wins.” For his part, Emmer told Fox News Digital that extending the tax reforms is a “top priority for House Republicans, the Trump administration, and American manufacturers alike.” “The American people are hungry for an economic boom that is already underway,” he said. “But [it] will only be fully realized if Congress acts to continue the 2017 Trump tax cuts through reconciliation.” EXCLUSIVE: HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR URGES JOHNSON TO CHANGE COURSE ON SENATE VERSION OF TRUMP BUDGET BILL Meanwhile, Bessent told Fox News Digital that “making President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent will help to secure the stable business environment that investors are seeking.” “Stability in tax policy fosters certainty, and extending the TCJA will drive growth and managements, investment, and hiring as we enter America’s new economic golden age,” he went on, adding, “I look forward to continuing this important conversation with Majority Whip Emmer and members of Congress to deliver on these important reforms for the American people.”
Campus activists push for anti-Trump ‘mutual defense compact’ of major universities
A group of universities, many of which receive significant federal funding, could soon rebel against President Donald Trump’s executive orders clamping down on progressive initiatives in public education, if campus activists have their way. Members of a Rutgers University advisory board recently passed a resolution for establishing a “Mutual Defense Compact” to pool legal and policy resources of the member institutions within the Big Ten Academic Alliance in opposition to the Trump administration’s orders. The resolution calls on Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway to spearhead the effort and to “take a leading role in convening a summit of Big Ten academic and legal leadership to initiate the implementation of this Compact.” One professor who spoke with Fox News Digital quipped in response that “the left has discovered free speech.” “These are the same people who had who would punish other members of the university community for using the wrong pronouns for so-called microaggressions,” Dr. Kevin Jon Williams, a cardiovascular sciences professor at Temple University, told Fox News Digital in an interview. TRUMP DOJ, EDUCATION DEPT FORM TASK FORCE TO PROTECT FEMALE ATHLETES FROM ‘GENDER IDEOLOGY’ IN SCHOOLS, SPORTS “They banned conservative speakers and engage in violence to stop conservative speakers from coming to campus, they would rescind offers to prospective applicants who had been accepted based on someone finding something they had done maybe when they were 11 or 12 years old,” Williams said. “I mean, they were totally vicious and totally against any sort of freedom of expression.” Williams was one of the professors the measure – formally titled the Resolution to Establish a Mutual Defense Compact for the Universities of the Big Ten Academic Alliance in Defense of Academic Freedom, Institutional Integrity, and the Research Enterprise – was initially sent to before it was passed by the Rutgers University Senate. The resolution states that “recent and escalating politically motivated actions by governmental bodies pose a significant threat to the foundational principles of American higher education, including the autonomy of university governance, the integrity of scientific research, and the protection of free speech,” and as such, the “Trump administration and aligned political actors have signaled a willingness to target individual institutions with legal, financial, and political incursion designed to undermine their public mission, silence dissenting voices, and/or exert improper control over academic inquiry.” The defense-compact resolution was drafted by the Big Ten Academic Alliance, an organization composed of more than a dozen universities of the Big Ten Conference, which includes both public and private institutions. Originally known as the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the alliance was established to foster research collaboration and shared resources. CONCERNED PARENTS OF TRANS KIDS COMPARED TO ‘HATE GROUPS’ BY COLORADO DEM: WOULDN’T ‘ASK THE KKK’ FOR OPINION “I don’t think they’re hypocrites, I think they’re liars,” Williams added. “I think what they’re doing is they’re hiding behind the cloak of free speech, which they do not believe in, to try to maintain their control over the university environment. It’s a ploy. It’s a strategy, and we should not take them seriously when they say that they’re interested in free speech, because they demonstrated that they are most certainly opposed to free speech.” Under the proposal, participating universities would contribute to a shared defense fund to provide immediate support for what they determine are legal and political infringements. It’s unclear which universities in the Big Ten may support the resolution. The resolution will also “be transmitted to the leadership of all Big Ten universities and their respective governing boards and shared governance bodies,” while the president of Rutgers University “take a leading role in convening a summit of Big Ten academic and legal leadership to initiate the implementation of this Compact.” BAN ON TAXPAYER-FUNDED SEX CHANGES FOR PRISONERS SPARKS DEM WALKOUT IN GEORGIA HOUSE VOTE “This is a remarkably politically partisan document,” said Williams, who is also a fellow for the conservative Do No Harm medical advocacy group. “This is a broad brush condemnation of the Trump administration. Now, for sure, by free speech, they absolutely have the right to do that, but if they do that, they cease being nonpartisan, and I would bring their tax-exempt status into question.” Many Big Ten universities have historically received federal grants for research from agencies like the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. The resolution comes at a time when the Trump administration has taken a critical look at universities receiving federal funding. In March, the administration revoked $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University, citing concerns over antisemitism on campus following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. This action was part of a broader initiative scrutinizing elite universities for alleged civil rights violations, particularly toward Jewish students. The administration has also shifted its focus to eliminating universities’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to align with Trump’s executive orders while also banning biological males from women’s sports. The Department of Education announced investigations into over 50 colleges for alleged racial discrimination, challenging race-based admissions and scholarships in February. Trump also signed an executive order significantly reducing the size of the Department of Education in March. While the department’s operations are scaled back, it retains control over critical functions such as Title I funding, Pell grants, student loans and special education funding.
GOP candidate rips blue state directive meddling in police force’s cooperation with ICE: ‘Handcuffed’
FIRST ON FOX: An email sent to New Jersey State Police staff revealed that officers were asked not to comply with federal arrest warrants, bringing attention to the state’s “sanctuary” policies. The email sent on March 24 was made public by Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who said he does not fault the head of the department, Col. Patrick Callahan, but the state’s policies that are in place, as well as Democratic leaders. “The fact that my campaign received this email is evidence that brave and courageous law enforcement officers throughout New Jersey are angry about being handcuffed by liberal Democrat policies in Trenton, making our communities less safe,” Ciattarelli said in a statement. BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SAYS HE WOULD ‘SEEK PROSECUTION’ IF NJ GOVERNOR SHELTERED ILLEGAL MIGRANT IN HOME “The blame goes to Governor Murphy, Attorney General Platkin, and the Democrat legislature for mandating absurd policies like the Immigrant Trust Directive,” the Republican continued. “We will be partners with the Trump Administration in fixing our immigration system and restore law and order,” he said if elected governor in November, as Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy will be termed out of office after serving two terms. The email from Callahan, which was obtained from the Ciattarelli campaign and reviewed by Fox News Digital, said his team is not legally permitted to follow “Outstanding Administrative Warrants of Removal from the United States,” as 27,000 “hits” were recently added to the National Crime Information Center. DEMOCRAT MAYOR ARRESTED FOR DUI SEEN ON BODYCAM DEMANDING OFFICERS CALL POLICE CHIEF “Taking law enforcement action by arresting a subject based solely on an ‘Outstanding Administrative Warrant’ would violate the Attorney General’s Immigration Trust Directive,” the email states. The email, which was sent out to police personnel, “operational dispatch units” and “public safety telecommunicators,” also noted that NJSP employees cannot reach out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement through the phone number given. NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR SUGGESTS HE’S HOUSING A MIGRANT AT HIS HOME, TELLS FEDS ‘GOOD LUCK’ TRYING TO GET HER The directive from the Attorney General’s Office says authorities in New Jersey, at any level of government besides federal, can help federal law enforcement “when the sole purpose of that assistance is to enforce federal civil immigration law.” In the state governor’s race, many of the Democratic candidates’ views differ from the Trump administration’s illegal immigration policies. During a recent debate, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and Rep. Josh Gottheimer disagreed on the Laken Riley Act, federal bipartisan legislation signed by President Donald Trump that expands the crimes that could get somebody into custody of the Department of Homeland Security. NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR SUGGESTS HE’S HOUSING A MIGRANT AT HIS HOME, TELLS FEDS ‘GOOD LUCK’ TRYING TO GET HER “The Laken Riley Act served to undermine the authority of the attorney general here in New Jersey,” Fulop said at the time. “It is a very dangerous piece of legislation as it relates to autonomy of the governor and the attorney general here, and it should not have been supported.” Last month, Murphy suggested he had a migrant living with him and it was unclear if the person was in the country legally. “Tammy [Murphy] and I were talking about – I don’t want to get into too much detail, but there is someone in our broader universe whose immigration status is not yet at the point that they are trying to get it to. And we said, you know what? Let’s have her live at our house above our garage,” the Democratic governor told Blue Wave New Jersey. “And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her,” he continued. Attorney General Matt Platkin explained his perspective on the directive in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our number one priority is keeping New Jerseyans safe. The Immigrant Trust Directive ensures that New Jersey police officers spend their time tackling pressing public safety issues like violent crime, gun violence, and drug trafficking, while also ensuring that victims of crime and witnesses can safely come forward to police and report crime regardless of their immigration status,” he stated. “Under the Immigrant Trust Directive, state and local law enforcement have and will continue to work with federal authorities to remove violent criminals from this country. Plain and simple, there is no ‘sanctuary’ for criminals in New Jersey.” “The directive was drafted and is enforced with the support and cooperation of law enforcement leaders. The Office of the Attorney General, the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey, and the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police, together, recently released guidance for law enforcement on the Immigrant Trust Directive and its importance,” the attorney general continued. Murphy’s office and DHS did not comment in time for publication.