Meet man, Indian-origin tech CEO, who claims he was shot at twice in US
He detailed the incident in a series of posts on X, saying he was pursued by the assailant(s) who chased him.
Conservative backlash erupts after Trump’s Graham endorsement: ‘I am not with Trump at all with this one’
President Donald Trump earned a wave of backlash from the political right after endorsing Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. for re-election last week. A torrent of replies flooded Trump’s Truth Social post as people disagreed with the president’s move, including retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who very briefly served as national security advisor during Trump’s first term. “Not someone I can get behind. I’ll go to the gates with you but I won’t take one step forward with him,” Flynn wrote. Trump declared in the Truth Social post that Graham has his “Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election” and that the senator “WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN.” Negative sentiment about the senator and Trump’s endorsement also appeared on X. TRUMP ENDORSES SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM FOR RE-ELECTION: ‘HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN’ “Sorry… I am not with Trump at all with this one. Not one bit,” conservative commentator and crack Trump impressionist Shawn Farash tweeted. “Just say NO to Lindsey Graham,” conservative commentator Chad Prather wrote. Townhall columnist Scott Morefield opined, “Trump endorsing Lindsey Graham, in a state where an eggplant with an R beside their name would win, with the promise that he ‘will not let us down’ no less, while at the same time castigating real, non-RINO conservatives like Chip Roy, Bob Good & Thomas Massie, just shows that, while we should appreciate how he’s running the country, his ‘endorsements’ should be taken with a heavy grain of salt.” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., hauled in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations this month after Trump trashed him on Truth Social for opposing a government-funding measure to avert a partial government shutdown. “HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him,” Trump vowed. “He reminds me of Liz Chaney [sic] before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!)” In a statement to Fox News Digital on Thursday, Massie likened Graham to former Rep. Liz Cheney. “I don’t begrudge anyone for an endorsement, but Senator Graham is objectively the ideological twin of Liz Cheney,” Massie said in the statement. Graham’s campaign manager Mark Knoop said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday, “Senator Graham shares President Trump’s frustration with Rep. Massie. Rep. Massie has become the most reliable vote for Democrats on critical issues opposing President Trump’s agenda.” TRUMP PLEDGES TO ‘LEAD THE CHARGE’ AGAINST REP. MASSIE, LIKENS HIM TO LIZ CHENEY Trump attacked conservative House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, last year, declaring in a Truth Social post, “The very unpopular ‘Congressman’ from Texas, Chip Roy, is getting in the way, as usual, of having yet another Great Republican Victory – All for the sake of some cheap publicity for himself.” While Trump wanted the debt ceiling raised, Roy indicated in a December tweet, “Currently, I’m against raising the debt ceiling without major spending cuts/reform. Congress needs to feel the pain of their actions and confront reality.” Fox News Digital reached out to request a comment from the congressman, but no comment was provided by his office. The White House also declined to provide comment on the president’s endorsement of Graham. “There’s no bigger endorsement than President Trump’s and Senator Graham is honored to have his support. He has earned it. Senator Graham looks forward to playing golf this weekend with Trey Gowdy and President Trump. When it comes to conservative organizations endorsing Senator Graham, stay tuned,” Knoop said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday. Figures from pro-life groups are slated to appear at a press conference on Monday as the groups back Graham’s re-election bid, according to a campaign press release provided to Fox News Digital. IF PLUG IS PULLED ON UKRAINE IT WILL BE ‘WORSE THAN AFGHANISTAN,’ SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM SAYS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Graham, who thanked Trump for the endorsement in a post on X, has also shared another post with a video highlighting the president’s support. “President Trump is on team Graham,” a voiceover declares during the video, describing Graham as “a conservative leader, trusted by Trump, endorsed by Trump.” But while Trump, who previously endorsed Graham in 2020, is on the senator’s side, time will tell whether voters share the same sentiments. While Graham decisively won his 2020 primary with more than 67% of the vote, he was met with a chorus of boos when he spoke at a Trump rally in his own state of South Carolina in 2023. The lawmaker, who has served in the Senate for more than two decades, is up for re-election in 2026.
Trump admin breaking modern presidential staffing records, hiring ‘thousands of America First warriors’
The Trump administration is breaking all modern presidential staffing records since taking office in January, bringing in “thousands of America First warriors” to fight for President Donald Trump’s agenda, the head of presidential personnel told Fox News Digital. “My Administration is breaking all modern Presidential Staffing Records since taking Office on January 20th,” Trump posted Friday on his Truth Social. “The Presidential Personnel Office has made over 2,200 offers, all accepted, to exceptionally qualified Candidates, who are helping us MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.” TRUMP ORDERS CABINET SECRETARIES TO WORK WITH DOGE ON STAFFING, USE A ‘SCALPEL’ ON PERSONNEL DECISIONS Trump added, “We have sent more Nominations to the Senate than anyone ever before, and will continue to hire America First Patriots as we work together to unleash our Nation’s, Golden Age!” The Trump administration has sent more nominations to the Senate by Trump’s 65th day in office, 277 and counting, than the previous record-holder, former President Barack Obama, sent by his 150th day in office, Sergio Gor, the director of the Presidential Personnel Office, told Fox News Digital. Trump officials have made more than 2,300 offers to “exceptionally qualified and aligned candidates across the Trump administration,” Gor said. Gor also said 1,800 appointees are already at work — and almost every agency is more than half-filled, with many over two-thirds full. “Every day we are focused on finding thousands of America First warriors to join this administration and fight for the agenda President Trump ran and won on,” Gor told Fox News Digital. “We have made incredible, record-breaking progress by not only hiring the right people, but also keeping the Washington Swamp out of this administration.” Gor added, “With President Trump’s historic leadership, this is the team that will usher in the new Golden Age of America.” Trump’s Cabinet was confirmed in record time, with officials noting that none of his Cabinet-level nominees failed in committee or on the Senate floor for confirmation. MUSK TELLS CABINET THAT DOGE EMAIL WAS ‘PULSE CHECK’ FOR WORKERS, WARNS US WILL ‘GO BANKRUPT’ WITHOUT ACTION On day 67 of the Trump administration, 41 total Trump nominees have been confirmed, including 21 of the 22 Cabinet level positions and 20 sub-Cabinet positions. By comparison, on the 67th day of the Biden administration, 13 Cabinet-level nominees had been confirmed. By Friday, March 28, a total of 238 Trump administration nominations had been sent to the Senate. By March 28, 2021, 150 Biden nominees had been sent to the Senate for confirmation. Officials say that they have not only maximized the speed of their personnel selection process, but are also recruiting “the most talented bench of nominees in Republican presidential history.” The record-breaking hiring comes while the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, is also shrinking the size of the federal workforce, to slash government spending and eliminate bureaucrats working against the Trump agenda. Earlier in March, the president directed his Cabinet secretaries to work with DOGE and to use a “scalpel” when deciding which workers will remain in their jobs. ELON MUSK, DOGE TEAM OFFER UNPRECEDENTED PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF TRUMP’S COST-CUTTING DEPARTMENT “As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go. We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet,’” Trump posted on Truth Social in early March. However, the Trump administration is touting the “incredible America First slate of candidates” that have been confirmed to their posts, pointing specifically to FBI Director Kash Patel, who officials say is a “fierce advocate for American law enforcement and a critic of Washington corruption,” border czar Tom Homan, whom officials call “the most respected immigration law enforcement official in modern history” and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, whom officials call a “widely respected physician and healthcare reformer.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Just as important as hiring the right people is keeping the wrong people out of this administration,” a personnel official told Fox News Digital. “With the mandate President Trump has given this Presidential Personnel Office we are only hiring aligned and capable supporters of the president and his agenda in these critical roles.”
Oliver Stone to testify at JFK files House hearing
Filmmaker Oliver Stone will be one of the witnesses at a Tuesday congressional hearing regarding the recent release of materials pertaining to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The long-concealed materials on the assassination of the American president were released after President Donald Trump issued an executive order that also called for a plan to release records on the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Stone, who was behind the 1991 film “JFK,” said in a statement given to the Hollywood Reporter in January that Trump deserved “praise” for the order regarding release of the JFK assassination files. OLIVER STONE SAYS ‘LAWFARE’ BEING USED AGAINST TRUMP: ‘NEW FORM OF WARFARE’ “Those files should have been released in October of 2017. President Trump deserves further credit for going beyond that, and ordering the release of still classified files on the Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinations,” Stone said in the statement, according to the outlet. “No one expects there to be a smoking gun ‘he did it’ document in those files. But from what previous writers understand, there will be information that will contribute to a more informed mosaic of what happened in those cases,” Stone noted. DIRECTOR OLIVER STONE DECLARES HE ‘MADE A MISTAKE’ WHEN HE VOTED FOR BIDEN, SAYS HE MAY START ‘WORLD WAR 3’ Fox News Digital reached out to Stone’s office to request a comment from the filmmaker on Monday. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. “After conducting some 25,000 interviews and running down tens of thousands of investigative leads, the FBI found that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone,” the federal law enforcement agency notes on its website. But Oswald was killed shortly after the Kennedy assassination. LAWMAKERS CHEER TRUMP’S JFK FILES RELEASE: ‘RESTORATION OF THE PEOPLE’S TRUST’ “By investigating the newly released JFK files, consulting experts, and tracking down surviving staff of various investigative committees, our task force will get to the bottom of this mystery and share our findings with the American people,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., chair of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, in a press release. “Our hearing is the first step and we look forward to hearing from our witnesses.”
Delhi: Teen car driver crushes two-year-old girl outside her home, family’s Eid turns tragic
The vehicle involved belongs to a neighbour of the victim’s family.
Trump privatizing student loan system would spur higher-ed reform, lower costs: expert
Since its establishment in 1979, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has shaped federal student loan policies, which have, in turn, influenced the rising cost of an education and the loans to pay for it. As President Donald Trump moves to significantly downsize, and eventually shutter, the DOE, one expert says a completely private loan system would work better than shifting administration to other government agencies. “The Clinton administration introduced the direct loan program, so this was kind of the competitor to the quasi public-private system, where now the government was going to be the one issuing the loans, and both systems kind of coexisted for a couple years, until 2010, when we got Obamacare, and that basically used some of the paper profits from switching all the loans to government loans to help pay for Obamacare,” Cato Institute expert Andrew Gillen told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And so, ever since 2010, we’ve been in the government-lending exclusively area,” he added. CALIFORNIA UNDER INVESTIGATION BY TRUMP ADMIN FOR ALLEGEDLY HIDING ‘GENDER IDENTITY’ OF KIDS Initially, after Trump signed an executive order in March dismantling the DOE, the administration proposed transferring the $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration (SBA). However, recent developments indicate that the Treasury Department may assume responsibility for federal student loans. The Trump administration is also proposing to transfer Pell Grants and Title I funding to other federal agencies, effectively reducing the department’s role in overseeing major educational programs. “If we just transfer student loans to the Treasury and don’t change anything else about the system, I don’t think this would have any real impact,” Gillen said. “So, all of these loan terms are already set by Congress, and so simply changing the administrative home of who oversees the paperwork in the background, that’s not going to have any impact.” The current system encourages “bad investments” by funding students or education without a realistic expectation of repayment, Gillen said. Instead, private lenders, who prioritize repayment risk, would likely avoid financing such loans. He suggested that moving to a private system would provide better incentives for both colleges and students, as universities would face pressure to produce students who can repay their loans, and students would be more likely to choose fields that lead to successful careers. NEWSOM’S ‘UNFAIR’ REMARK ON GIRLS’ SPORTS BELIES RECORD AS GOVERNOR: ‘ABSOLUTE BULLS—‘ The government has made it difficult to discharge student loans through bankruptcy, Gillen added, with only a few exceptions, but this rule doesn’t apply to private lenders. “There are a couple of things we can do to encourage private lenders to basically be willing to make those loans. So, one is clarifying how bankruptcy law works with these income-driven loans,” he said. Some lawmakers have made efforts to address this issue. Democratic Reps. Steve Cohen, Danny K. Davis, and Eric Swalwell reintroduced the Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act, seeking to make private student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy, similar to other types of consumer debt. STUDENT LOANS, PELL GRANTS WILL CONTINUE DESPITE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT DOWNSIZING, EXPERT SAYS Currently, the government can garnish wages without needing to go through a lawsuit, making the process more efficient and less costly, which would be beneficial for private lenders as well. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The 1990s saw the introduction of income-driven repayment plans, starting with the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan in 1994 under former President Bill Clinton. These plans allowed borrowers to repay loans based on their income, extending the loan term and increasing the total interest paid. While they provided immediate financial relief, they also led to higher long-term costs for some borrowers. By fiscal year 2024, the DOE held approximately $1.6 trillion in student loan debt, issuing $85.7 billion in new loans, with $45.3 billion allocated for undergraduate education and $40.4 billion for graduate education.
Who are the most vulnerable Senate Republicans in 2026?
There are 35 U.S. Senate seats up for election in 2026, with at least four battleground states expected to decide the balance of power – and whether Republicans maintain control of all three branches of government during the second half of President Donald Trump‘s term. In 2025, Republicans control the Senate 53-47, including two independent senators who caucus with the Democrats. Republican Sens. Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Jon Husted, John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy could all face fierce fights to maintain their U.S. Senate seats next year. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) announced in January that Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., will chair the DSCC with Sens. Mark Kelly, Adam Schiff and Lisa Blunt Rochester as vice chairs during the 2026 election cycle. The DSCC has not yet announced their target races for next year. “Democrats have a Senate map that is ripe with offensive opportunities, particularly when coupled with the building midterm backlash against Republicans. Republicans have more seats to defend, and they’re doing it in a hostile political environment,” DSCC Spokesman David Bergstein said in a statement to Fox News Digital. GOP GEARS UP TO CHALLENGE GEORGIA’S DEM SENATOR IN STATE TRUMP WON BY 2% As the party in power tends to struggle more during the midterm elections, Democrats are already identifying “offensive opportunities” to regain Republican Senate seats. “I am confident that we will protect our Democratic seats, mount strong challenges in our battleground races, and look to expand our efforts into some unexpected states. Over the course of my career, I’ve won in red and purple places, and I look forward to helping the next generation of Senate candidates do the same,” Gillibrand said when she was named DSCC chair. ‘WE ARE BULLISH’: HOUSE GOP TAKES AIM AT THESE 26 DEM SEATS IN MIDTERMS Sen. Thom Tillis was censured by the North Carolina Republican Party in 2023 for reportedly veering from Republican ideology on gun control policies, LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights. Tillis is considered a moderate Republican for his commitment to Ukraine funding, support for gun control legislation that expanded background checks and implemented red flag laws, voting to codify same-sex marriage and supporting legal pathways for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. The bipartisan senator was first elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2020. He went against his more conservative colleagues by voting to certify former President Joe Biden‘s victory over Trump in 2020. Tillis has fallen in line with Republicans in 2025 by voting to confirm Trump’s cabinet nominees, even as some expressed concern over his more controversial picks. However, that does not mean Tillis has been able to escape the ire of Trump’s orbit. “Thom Tillis is running 20 points behind DJT in North Carolina. We’re going to need a new senate candidate in NC unless we want to hand the gavel back to Schumer,” a political advisor to Donald Trump Jr., Arthur Schwartz, said on X earlier this month. The Cook Political Report, a top nonpartisan political handicapper, rated Tillis’ 2026 re-election bid as “lean Republican.” Maine has long been a political outlier as one of only two states to split its electoral votes for the presidential election. Former Vice President Kamala Harris won Maine in 2024, but Trump still secured one electoral vote for winning Congressional District 2. Republican Sen. Susan Collins is considered another moderate Republican – which could serve her once again in the politically split state. Collins voted against the Senate confirmations of Trump’s nominees for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel. She has not shied away from criticizing Trump either, slamming his Jan. 6 pardons and proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health grants. Collins has been a U.S. senator since 1996, surviving many primary and general election challenges from both sides of the political aisle. She became the first Republican woman to win a fifth term in the Senate in 2020. She is already facing two 2026 challengers – Democrat Natasha Alcala and Independent Phillip Rench. Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who sparred with Trump over transgender athletes playing in women’s sports, has not ruled out a run for Collins’ Senate seat. The Cook Political Report also rated Collins’ race “lean Republican.” Ohio’s Republican Sen. Jon Husted finds himself in a unique position heading into the 2026 midterms. He was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine on Jan. 17, 2025 to fill the vacancy left by Vice President JD Vance. Husted is Ohio’s former lieutenant governor. He also served as Ohio’s secretary of state and as a state legislator. Because Husted was not elected U.S. senator, he will need to campaign in 2026 for the special election. If he wins, Husted will retain his seat and complete the remainder of Vance’s term – through 2029. Rumors swirled that DeWine could choose Trump-ally Vivek Ramaswamy to replace Vance this year, but the moderate Republican governor ultimately chose his politically similar ally. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy has launched his own bid for Ohio governor. The race is rated “likely Republican” by The Cook Political Report. Sen. John Cornyn has been the senator for Texas since 2002. While Cornyn is solidly conservative and has supported Trump, he has expressed private disagreement with the president on issues such as budget deficits and border security. Cornyn is already gearing up for tough potential primary challenges from Trump-ally Rep. Wesley Hunt and conservative Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Both Hunt and Paxton have not formally announced campaigns to primary the long-time Texas senator, but both candidates would set up a competitive race for Cornyn to keep his seat. The race is ranked “solid Republican” by The Cook Political Report with some GOP infighting expected if Hunt or Paxton announce Senate campaigns. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy is also expected to face a tough primary challenge in 2026. John Fleming, the Louisiana state treasurer and former representative, has declared a Senate bid. Rep. Clay Higgins, who was also expected to challenge Cassidy, announced on Thursday that he will not pursue a Senate
Elon Musk hands out million-dollar checks amid ‘super important’ Wisconsin judicial race
Billionaire Elon Musk handed out a pair of $1 million checks to voters in Wisconsin on Sunday in an effort to galvanize conservatives ahead of the state’s Supreme Court elections on Tuesday. Musk handed out the checks at a town hall in Greenbay, Wisconsin, after the state Supreme Court declined to intervene in the giveaway. The recipients of the checks were each voters who had signed a petition calling for an end to “activist judges.” “Judges should be simply interpreting the law and not making the law,” Musk said at the rally. “We just want judges to be judges, you know, which is the reasonable thing to ask for. We’re obviously seeing some crazy stuff in D.C. where, you know, it seems like any federal judge can stop any action by the President of the United States. This is insane. This has got to stop.” Wisconsin Democrats had sought to prevent Musk from handing out his checks, arguing he was illegally buying votes. State Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, was struck down by two lower courts on the issue before the state’s supreme court declined to even hear the case. The court has a 4-3 liberal majority. DOGE DEPUTY, TREASURY SECRETARY DISH ON CRUSADE TO PULL THE IRS OUT OF ITS ‘REALLY BIG HOLE’ Wisconsin voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to decide the court’s new makeup in an election that Musk has described as “super important.” Musk’s attorneys argued in court filings that the payments are “intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate.” The effort echoed Musk’s similar program of offering $1 million checks in battleground states ahead of the presidential election last year. In that case, a judge in Pennsylvania similarly said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through Election Day. Musk’s campaign is in support of Brad Schimel, Republican former attorney general. Schimel told “Fox News Sunday” that he does not control “any of the spending from any outside group, whether it’s Elon Musk or anyone else.” ELON MUSK, DOGE TEAM OFFER UNPRECEDENTED PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF TRUMP’S COST-CUTTING DEPARTMENT CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “That’s exactly what I’ve committed to anybody, whether it’s President Trump, Elon Musk or any donors and donors or supporters or voters in Wisconsin,” the candidate added. “That’s my commitment.” The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz and Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
Trump’s 11th week in office set to focus on tariffs as president touts ‘Liberation Day’
President Donald Trump’s 11th week in office is slated to focus heavily on tariffs, including the roll-out of the president’s promised “Liberation Day,” when his reciprocal tariffs will be announced. “Liberation Day, I call it Liberation Day in America,” Trump said from the White House last week, previewing April 2. “You’ll be seeing tariffs. And I think I’ve been very fair. I have them set. But I think I’ve been very fair to countries that have really abused us economically for many, many decades.” For weeks, April 2 has been touted as the day when Trump’s trade policy emphasizing “America First” will be laid out in earnest and end the U.S.’ reliance on goods made overseas. He is expected to roll out his reciprocal tariff plan on Wednesday, which will likely match other countries’ higher tariff rates and aims to counter other trade barriers like burdensome regulations, value-added taxes, government subsidies and exchange rate policies and to negotiate with some countries to reduce those barriers. “For DECADES we have been ripped off and abused by every nation in the World, both friend and foe. Now it is finally time for the Good Ol’ USA to get some of that MONEY, and RESPECT, BACK. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social of April 2 earlier in March. HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED DURING TRUMP’S 10TH WEEK IN OFFICE The tariffs on Wednesday follow Trump already leveling a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico, and a 20% tariff on goods from China. Another 25% tariff on all cars imported into the U.S. will also take effect late Wednesday of this week. TRUMP SAYS HE ‘COULDN’T CARE LESS’ IF FOREIGN AUTOMAKERS RAISE PRICES OVER TARIFFS: ‘WE HAVE PLENTY’ Trump is also expected to hold another conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week after the two world leaders also spoke last week as Trump and his administration continue working to help hash out a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine amid the ongoing war. On Sunday, however, Trump told NBC News that he is “pissed off” with Putin after the Russian president slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s leadership last week. Russia also carried out a series of attacks on Ukraine over the weekend amid ongoing talks to reach a potential peace agreement. TRUMP SAYS HE IS ‘PISSED OFF’ WITH PUTIN OVER LACK OF PEACE PROGRESS: REPORT “If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump told NBC News. “That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” he continued. “There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.” Trump added that his anger will “dissipate quickly” if Putin “does the right thing.” This week, Trump is also expected to assess options for his “Golden Dome” missile-defense project, according to Defense One. Trump signed an executive order in January to build a “a next-generation missile defense shield for the United States against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks.” Trump dubbed the system the “Golden Dome” earlier this month, which is a play on Israel’s air defense system, called the “Iron Dome.” Trump’s 11th week in office follows a break-neck pace of executive orders and actions since Jan. 20. Trump has signed at least 106 executive orders alone, which surpasses the number of executive orders signed by his predecessors in their respective first years in office since the Carter administration. Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Eric Revell contributed to this report.
Top Five takedowns: Kash Patel’s FBI hits the ground running with major early victories
Kash Patel has spent his first month as FBI director cracking down on some of the Trump administration’s top law enforcement priorities, including violent crime, gang activity and drug trafficking – all while managing to avoid much of the high-profile controversy that has embroiled some other senior national security officials. His early moves have earned him accolades from Republicans in Congress, who have been quick to praise Patel’s first weeks in office, including his effort to move quickly and share certain documents long requested by majorities on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. “Under the leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Bureau is working aggressively each and every day to find violent criminals, no matter where they are, and bring them to justice,” Patel told Fox News Digital in reflection on his first few weeks heading up the bureau. “Any success thus far is a credit to the brave men and women of the FBI and our state and local law enforcement partners who do amazing work to execute the mission,” he added. Just five weeks after his confirmation as FBI director, here are some of Patel’s earliest – and most significant – wins. JUDGE FIGHTING TRUMP OVER EL SALVADOR DEPORTATIONS ASSIGNED TO LAWSUIT OVER SIGNAL CHAT LEAK The FBI this week announced the arrest of the top U.S. MS-13 leader, 24-year-old Salvadoran national Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos. Santos was captured in Woodbridge, Virginia, and was charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. Officials told Fox News this week that Santos is one of the top three leaders of the MS-13 gangs in the U.S. Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, and Patel both watched the arrest take place from a nearby tactical operation center. In an interview with Fox News, Bondi praised the team for executing a “clean, safe operation” and credited FBI personnel for getting “one of the worst of the worst of the MS-13 off the streets this morning.” Patel announced last week that since Jan. 20, the FBI has apprehended three fugitives from the FBI’s top 10 Most Wanted list – an achievement that he said on social media is the result of good leadership and hard work from bureau personnel. The individuals captured include Arnoldo Jimenez, accused of murdering his wife in Burbank, Illinois, in 2012; Donald Eugene Fields II, charged with child sex trafficking and child rape charges in federal and state court, respectively; and Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, another MS-13 leader arrested in Mexico last week and extradited to the U.S., where he was charged with racketeering, conspiracy, conspiracy to provide and conceal material support and resources to terrorists, narco-terrorism conspiracy and alien smuggling conspiracy. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION INVOKES STATE SECRETS ACT ON HIGH-PROFILE DEPORTATION CASE Roman-Bardales had been a fugitive for nearly three years prior to his arrest and is believed to be a founding member of the MS-13 leadership structure in the U.S., where he helped direct the group’s unlawful activities in the U.S., El Salvador, and elsewhere for roughly 20 years. Patel praised the arrests in a post on X, noting that the successes of the FBI are “not an accident.” “When you let good cops be good cops, this is what happens,” he said. “This administration is giving the new FBI and AG Bondi the resources to get the job done — and we won’t stop.” The FBI under Patel successfully raided and arrested 22 members of a narcotics trafficking ring in Lubbock, Texas, believed to be tied to violent drug cartels based in Mexico. The operation comes as Patel and Bondi have moved to crack down on narcotics and drug trafficking as part of Trump’s agenda for his second White House term. In a post on X, Patel praised the work of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. “These are the operations that mean safer streets for American families,” Patel said. “And we are just getting started.” MORE THAN HALF A MILLION LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL BACK PATEL AS FBI DIRECTOR The FBI and U.S. Department of Justice have worked in tandem to crack down on a wave of vandalism targeting Tesla dealerships, charging stations, and individual Tesla cars in the U.S. – actions that Bondi described in a press conference earlier this month as acts of “domestic terrorism” punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Individuals have been arrested in recent weeks for setting fire to, and shooting at, Tesla cars and dealerships across the country, vandalizing charging stations and carving graffiti, including anti-Trump messages, into personal vehicles. The crimes have prompted a federal crackdown pursued by FBI and DOJ leadership. Most recently, authorities on Thursday announced federal charges against a 36-year-old Las Vegas resident accused of setting fire to vehicles at a Tesla collision business in Nevada earlier this month. Video footage obtained by authorities shows an individual using Molotov cocktails to set the Teslas on fire, using an AR-30 rifle to shoot bullets into the vehicles, and spray-painting the word “resist” onto the individual cars. Las Vegas authorities described the crime as a “targeted” attack on the Tesla facility. “As promised, acts of violence and vandalism will not be tolerated, and today law enforcement personnel acted quickly to arrest an individual on charges including arson,” Patel said Thursday in a press release announcing the federal charges. “Under Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, we will continue to pursue these investigations with the full force of law and will bring to justice anyone responsible for these attacks.” This week, the Department of Justice announced the successful disruption of a major cryptocurrency financing scheme believed to be used to launder money to Hamas – a significant victory for the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division and Cyber Division and the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office, which ran point on the investigation. The financing ring purportedly controlled by Hamas was used by the terrorist group to launder more than $1.5 million in virtual cryptocurrency from donors since October 2024, according to