Judge grants 19 AGs preliminary injunction against DOGE access to Treasury payment system
A federal judge on Friday granted an injunction requested by 19 attorneys general to prevent the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from having access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas extends the pause by issuing a preliminary injunction, a legal step that blocks access to the records while the case is litigated on the merits. In her 64-page decision, Vargas noted she was granting the preliminary injunction preventing DOGE from accessing the payment records because of the possible disclosure of the states’ bank records. However, she also said the plaintiffs “have not demonstrated that they are entitled to the broad and sweeping relief they seek, which would far exceed the scope of the present TRO (Temporary restraining order).” TRUMP ISSUES WARNING ABOUT WASTEFUL SPENDING, ORDERS ‘RADICAL TRANSPARENCY’ AMID DOGE PROBES, REVELATIONS Vargas is giving Trump administration attorneys the chance to fix any defects so that the sensitive information will be protected. A report is due March 24. Last week, a federal judge extended a temporary order to block DOGE from accessing Treasury payment systems. A lawsuit filed by the 19 AGs claims DOGE illegally accessed the Treasury Department’s central payment system at the Trump administration’s behest. The payment systems have information about Americans’ Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ benefits; tax refund information; and much more. Lawyers for the administration argued that the temporary restraining order “causes ongoing constitutional harm to the Treasury Department’s ability to make management decisions within its lawful discretion.” TREASURY ‘MISTAKENLY’ GAVE MUSK DOGE WORKER ABILITY TO CHANGE PAYMENTS SYSTEM: COURT DOCS Defense attorneys argued that there is nothing unlawful about the Treasury Department’s actions. Treasury officials have denied violating privacy laws, saying only two members of the DOGE team had been given “read-only” access to information in the payment systems. The lawsuit was filed in New York by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, a vocal Trump critic. It includes attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. “We just won a court order stopping DOGE and unauthorized, unelected, and unvetted individuals like Elon Musk from accessing people’s private data and blocking federal funds,” James wrote Friday on X. “We will keep fighting to protect all Americans from this administration’s destruction.” The AGs argue that granting DOGE access to the payment system puts Americans’ sensitive, personal information, such as bank account details and Social Security numbers, at risk. Fox News’ William Mears and Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Karoline Leavitt offers words of wisdom to young women at CPAC: ‘Just believe in yourself’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered words of wisdom to young women across the nation from the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday evening, urging them to “stay strong, speak the truth,” and believe in themselves. Leavitt sat down for a fireside chat hosted by former White House communications director Mercedes Schlapp, who served during the first Trump administration. ELON MUSK MAKES CPAC DEBUT AS A SURPRISE GUEST Schlapp said young women across the country admire Leavitt, who is the youngest White House press secretary in United States history and are inspired by her. Schlapp asked Leavitt what her message to young women is. “Stay strong, speak the truth and don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t achieve your dream, or you can’t get to that next step. Just believe in yourself,” Leavitt said. ‘WHO IS KAROLINE LEAVITT?’ NEW FOX NATION SPECIAL CHRONICLES THE RISE OF THE GEN Z PRESS SECRETARY “Because there will be a lot of people who don’t believe in you—who cast doubt on you, who talk bad about you,” Leavitt said. “Screw ‘em,” she said, drawing laughter and applause from the CPAC audience. “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.” Leavitt, 27, served in the first Trump administration as a White House press aide. She then worked for Rep. Elise Stefanik, and later launched her own campaign for New Hampshire’s 1st congressional district in 2022. Leavitt served as national press secretary for the 2024 Trump campaign. But Leavitt also praised the “amazing” women working in the second Trump administration. VP JD VANCE SPEAKS ON ‘FUNDAMENTAL GOAL’ OF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AT CPAC ADDRESS “Look at the White House and look at the exceptional Cabinet President Trump has put together,” Leavitt said. “While we don’t care about identity politics…the president has appointed Susie Wiles, our first female chief of staff in United States history; Brooke Rollins heading up as our secretary of agriculture—look across the entire Cabinet. There are incredible women—Linda McMahon, leading the Department of Education—the list goes on and on.” “The White House is full of working women,” she continued. “In fact, I was going up the staircase in the West Wing today and saw two of my female colleagues, both of whom are pregnant having babies this year and they are working and they are saving America because President Trump believes in the best people for the job—the brightest people for the job.” Leavitt is also a new mother to a seven-month-old baby boy. “It is the best thing ever,” Leavitt said of being a mother. When asked why she is doing what she is doing, Leavitt replied: “For him and for all of the other children in this country.” “We have a country to save,” Leavitt said. “I want my son to grow up in a free and patriotic America that we can be proud of.”
Slashing energy development red tape, beating China in ‘AI arms race’ top priorities for nations’ governors
“It shouldn’t take longer to approve an [energy] project than it takes to build it,” said National Governors Association Vice Chair Kevin Stitt at Friday’s conference in Washington. That, the Oklahoma Republican said, is the collective picture painted of all the problems with government bureaucracy at all levels that imperils the U.S.’ ability to stay ahead of China in terms of cyberthreat-prevention and energy dominance. Permitting reform is one of the most important things to address with a new administration and new state government sessions beginning, the governors collectively expressed. There was bipartisan consensus at the NGA that America must move responsibly toward a future secure from malign foreign actors in both cybersecurity and energy development. NJ RESIDENTS HIT WITH DOUBLING BILLS AS LAWMAKERS FUME OVER MURPHY’S ‘ENERGY DISASTER PLAN’ “Permitting reform is one of those issues where both Republicans and Democrats recognize the problem, we largely agree on solutions,” Stitt said, adding it is a national security issue that the U.S. must streamline permitting. “Our allies need affordable, reliable energy and the US has the resources to provide that,” he said. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum spoke at length on that matter, saying America is in competition with foreign rivals like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea whether they like it or not. “It’s key that we win the AI arms race with China,” he said, citing bot-powered attacks that can be much more effective than human hackers. “They would have the ability to take down the electric grid. They have the ability to disrupt everything that we know in our country. And they wouldn’t have to put a single soldier on the ground, but it could completely disrupt us and our economy. So, winning that AI arms race doesn’t just take software developers, it takes more electricity.” “We’re in a competition… against other countries that aren’t slowing themselves down with the level of bureaucracy that we have,” Burgum said, citing the threat of cyberattacks from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Burgum and the governors discussed the promise of nuclear energy and new technology that allows for the portability of such operations, where plants that generate power can be placed much closer to where that power is needed. Stitt remarked that when Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro issued an order mandating his own government to rule on infrastructure permit applications within two weeks or give the applicant their money back, he didn’t want to get “beat by a Democrat” in that idea so he quickly issued his own order. HOCHUL DOES APPARENT ABOUT-FACE ON NATURAL GAS AS NYC UTILITY SIGNALS MAJOR RATE HIKES Shapiro also said Pennsylvania conducted an audit of permit applications earlier in his term and found 3,400 – leading him to order there be cataloging going forward. Despite Bethlehem Steel’s stacks laying dormant 25 years on, and the massive St. Nicholas Breaker coal processor long gone, Pennsylvania remains the nation’s second-largest energy net-exporter – a fact noted by the governor. The first North American discovery of oil occurred in the mid-1800s in Venango County, and some of the longest-producing wells remain active in Pennsylvania, though the Commonwealth has been far surpassed in that regard by Texas, Alaska and other states. “We’re proud of our legacy as a national energy leader,” Shapiro said. “We’ve got to get to-market quickly [regarding] energy projects.” Pennsylvania produced more than 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2023. But there has been a push-pull effect of former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell banning fracking on state parkland, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett reversing that, and Shapiro’s Democratic predecessor Tom Wolf then restoring Rendell’s moratorium. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Shapiro indicated Friday he would be taking a more measured approach to responsibly developing the Commonwealth’s resources. He cited the bipartisan SPEED Act out of Harrisburg, which provides for third-party permitting review while also accelerating the overall process. Burgum called the work of a governor one of the hardest, but remarked that it is about to “become more fun than it’s ever been” with the accessibility of the Trump administration. In that regard, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster described how cabinet secretaries had shared their own personal contact information following a Friday White House meeting – and that President Donald Trump invited calls as well but did not share his own number. “I’ve got it, but I’m going to hold onto it,” he joked.
Maine female athlete ‘grateful’ for Trump’s focus on trans competitors after local leaders ‘failed’ girls
A high school female track and field athlete is praising President Donald Trump for doing what she said state lawmakers won’t: protect women from biological males competing against them in sports. Zoe, who competed in shot put at Maine’s Class B state indoor championship meet on Monday, said she is “grateful” for the president’s announcement that he will be cutting federal funding to Maine over its defiance of Trump’s order to keep men out of women’s sports, adding that leaders in the state “have failed our female athletes.” “State leaders have failed our female athletes and there needs to be repercussions for their neglect,” Zoe said. “We feel seen and heard because of this announcement and hope that steps will continue to be made to protect women’s sports in Maine.” ESPN STAR STEPHEN A SMITH MAKES STANCE ON TRANS INCLUSION IN WOMEN’S SPORTS CLEAR During the state championship meet, Katie Spencer, who competed as a male named John Rydzewski in pole-vaulting as recently as June 2024, out-jumped every other female by half a foot. Spencer’s winning pole vault was pivotal in helping Spencer’s track and field team at Greely High School in Cumberland, Maine, win the Class B state championship meet by just a single point. Following news of what happened, Trump announced that Maine would lose public funding until “they clean that up.” Republican Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby began sounding the alarm after Spencer won the women’s pole-vaulting state championship on Monday. In an interview with Fox News Digital, she reiterated Zoe’s concern that without some sort of federal intervention nothing was going to change. Several years ago, the state amended its state Human Rights Act to include protections for gender-identity, and since Democrats control both chambers of the legislature and the governor’s office, Libby said there is “a 0% chance” they will repeal it. CA LAWMAKERS INTRODUCE BILL PROTECTING GIRLS FROM TRANS ATHLETES AFTER STATE REFUSES TO FOLLOW TRUMP’S ORDER Following Trump’s Feb. 5 executive order threatening to end public funding to schools that do not keep men out of women’s sports, the Maine Principals’ Association, the primary governing body for high school athletics in the state, said that the president’s order conflicts with state law aimed at protecting human rights. As a result, the association said it will defer to the latter when it comes to determining athletic eligibility. Sarah Perry, a civil rights attorney who has extensive experience litigating Title IX issues, said that in addition to Trump’s executive order, the association is also flouting directives from the Department of Education and previously established precedent from a slew of cases that challenged former President Joe Biden’s Title IX regulations allowing athletic eligibility to be determined by one’s preferred gender identity. Perry noted that besides the obvious risk of losing funding, these states also open themselves up to federal Title IX investigations, something she said could potentially force them to comply with Trump’s demands. Fox News Digital reached out to the Maine Principals’ Association for comment but did not receive a response by publication time. NCAA RESPONDS AS CRITICS CALL OUT POTENTIAL LOOPHOLES IN ITS NEW TRANS-ATHLETE POLICY “It is absolutely reprehensible that people in a position of power would allow this against children who are trying to compete,” Libby said. “There will not be enforcement from the state level, that is absolutely clear. So the only mechanism of enforcement that we have is for the administration to intervene.” Libby noted that after posting about Spencer’s state championship title on social media, a young female competitor at the meet commented that she and her teammates did not even know they would be competing against a biological male until they arrived at the state championship meet on Monday. “It was so disheartening to find out, because, you immediately know the result,” Libby told Fox News Digital. Libby also pointed out that it was illustrative of a larger problem in Maine when it comes to protecting women’s rights in athletics. TRANS ATHLETE AND ‘UNCOMFORTABLE’ OPPONENT SPEAK OUT AFTER ALLEGED INCIDENT PROMPTS CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT “This is not a first-time scenario here,” she said. “There is another boy who has been running girls’ cross-country for several fall seasons now. He was a mediocre athlete as a boy, but as a girl he is doing extremely well. This is increasing in Maine. And unless something is done at the federal level, I think we’re just going to see more and more of it.” Due to the win, Spencer has now automatically qualified for the multistate regional championships, taking the spot that would have been awarded to the female athlete who garnered second place had Spencer competed in the boys’ division. Trump on Thursday said that Maine will not receive federal funding until it complies with his executive order requiring schools and athletic associations to ensure biological males do not compete on women’s sports teams. “I heard men are still playing in Maine,” the president said Friday during a speech at the annual National Governors Association conference in Washington, D.C. “I hate to tell you this, but we’re not going to give any federal money. They are still saying, ‘We want men to play in women’s sports,’ and I cannot believe they are doing that… so we’re not going to give them any federal funding, none whatsoever, until they clean that up.” ‘LIGHT IT ON FIRE AND THROW IT IN THE GARBAGE’: FORMER ALL-AMERICAN TENNIS PLAYER SLAMS NCAA’S TRANSGENDER POLICY Trump met with governors at the White House on Friday, including Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, amid the conference taking place in the nation’s capital. For a brief moment, Trump and Mills got into a verbal skirmish over his move to slash the state’s federal funding due to its defiance against Trump’s executive order barring men from competing in women’s sports. “You better do it because you’re not going to get federal funding,” Trump said to Mills, to which she responded: “We’re going to follow the law, sir. We’ll see
Alleged fentanyl-smuggling immigrants lead police on dangerous cornfield chase
New exclusive video obtained by Fox News reveals intense moments from a high-speed vehicle chase as law enforcement pursued two illegal immigrants suspected of carrying fentanyl through a cornfield in Grundy County, Illinois, late last year. A Grundy County official told Fox News that Illinois sanctuary state policies allowed the two Honduran illegal immigrants to travel through the county unchecked. Grundy is a primarily rural county northwest of Chicago. The footage, taken Oct. 24, shows the two immigrants, Roybin Barahona, 18, and Cristhian Anahel Erazo Velasquez, 23, swerving in a vehicle through the cornfield, and authorities rammed a vehicle into their car to get them to stop. After their car was rammed, the two men fled their sedan, and officers continued their pursuit. ACTIVISTS IN MEXICO REPORT FLOW OF MIGRANTS HAS ‘ENORMOUSLY DECREASED’ ONE MONTH INTO TRUMP ADMIN Footage taken later shows law enforcement discovering a deadly payload of seven pounds of fentanyl in the immigrants’ burned-out vehicle. Both were charged with controlled substance trafficking, possession with intent to deliver fentanyl and resisting arrest, according to local outlet WSPY News. Due to the Illinois SAFE-T Act, which abolished Illinois’ cash bail system in 2023, Barahona was released without bail, after which he allegedly fled to California. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Velasquez, meanwhile, remains in custody, and the Department of Homeland Security has filed a detainer against him. Despite the detainer, Illinois sanctuary laws continue to prevent local law enforcement from sharing information with federal immigration officials about Velasquez. Speaking with Fox News, Grundy County Board Chairman Drew Muffler voiced his frustration with the Illinois sanctuary law. He said that “because we are a sanctuary state, it allowed for illegal bad actors to be traveling with seven pounds of fentanyl through our county. PRESIDENT TRUMP: FOUNDING FATHERS ‘SPINNING IN THEIR GRAVES’ BECAUSE OF BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ABUSE “I don’t agree with putting handcuffs on law enforcement and preventing them from working effectively with federal authorities,” he said. “By restricting law enforcement’s ability to enforce the law, we are undermining public safety.” Grundy County was the first of several dozen counties in Illinois that defied the state by enacting a non-sanctuary ordinance. This comes after an influx of over 51,000 immigrants were bussed to Chicago since the summer of 2022. During the migrant crisis, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has doubled down on the city’s sanctuary policies, saying in a recent ABC 7 Chicago interview, “We will always remain a welcoming and sanctuary space.” Johnson vowed to resist the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and called the decision to allow ICE to carry out enforcement and removal operations on church and school properties “unconscionable and reprehensible.”
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Outside the Maine-stream
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… -White House protector and most-decorated K-9 in US history dies: ‘A very good boy’ -Noem makes aggressive new move to ramp up arrests, deportations of illegal immigrants –Luigi Mangione’s CEO murder case raises concerns activist jurors may ignore evidence President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he will cut off federal funding to the state of Maine if it continues to defy his executive order preventing trans athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. “I heard men are still playing in Maine,” Trump said to a gathering of Republican governors in Washington on Thursday. “I hate to tell you this, but we’re not going to give them any federal money, they are still saying ‘we want men to play in women’s sports’ and I can not believe that they’re doing that… So we’re not going to give them any federal funding, none whatsoever, until they clean that up.”…Read more NO TROs: Trump’s DOGE stays on track after pair of federal judge rulings…Read more ‘PARDON CZAR’: Trump appoints Alice Marie Johnson ‘pardon czar’ during Black History Month event at White House…Read more NOT LEAVING?: Group of Venezuelans sue Trump admin for temporary immigration protections…Read more MIDDLE EAST: Hamas claims remains of mother of two young boys mixed with other human remains after Israeli airstrike…Read more ‘VERY FRUSTRATED’: US turns up pressure on Ukraine to reach peace deal as Trump’s frustrations with Zelenskyy escalate…Read more PUTTING UP A WALL: Joint Chiefs chairman heads to US-Mexico border to review troops…Read more ‘BRAZEN VIOLATION’: Israel’s Netanyahu calls for ‘revenge’ after Hamas returns wrong remains…Read more SENATE OUT-HUSTLES HOUSE: Senate border budget triumphs after all-night session while Trump-backed House bill lags…Read more WHO LET THE DOGE OUT?: Red state governor says DOGE aligns with GOP’s ‘fiscal sanity’…Read more CUT THE ‘BS’: Defense Sec. Hegseth on working with DOGE…Read more TRUMP WEIGHS IN: Trump says this congressman would have his ‘Total Endorsement’ if he runs for Florida governor…Read more ‘OUT OF CONTROL’: Chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk makes ‘Dark MAGA’ appearance with Javier Milei at CPAC…Read more ‘FULL TRANSPARENCY’: Kash Patel lays out FBI’s top priorities in letter to subordinates…Read more ‘KICKED OUT’: AG Bondi on how to deal with violent anti-Israel student protesters in the US on visas…Read more DOGE DISCIPLE: Sec. Doug Burgum says Interior Dept. is ‘completely embracing the DOGE effort’…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Anti-Trump measure ignores ‘rising crime’ and ‘cost of living,’ blue state GOP officials charge
Colorado lawmakers spent hours Friday afternoon considering a Democrat-led resolution to condemn President Donald Trump’s pardons of Jan. 6 prisoners while the state grapples with an estimated $1.2 billion budget shortfall for the 2025-26 fiscal year. “With skyrocketing costs, a $1 billion budget deficit, rising crime and an affordability crisis pushing families to the brink, it is appalling that the majority is more focused on passing meaningless, partisan resolutions instead of addressing the real concerns of Coloradans,” Republican minority leader Rep. Rose Pugliese told Fox News Digital in a statement. Pugliese also called the resolution “political theater” to “divide rather than deliver results for our communities.” The measure passed by a 41-23 vote in the Democrat-controlled state House of Representatives. Rep. Lisa Feret, a Democrat, voted against the resolution. COLORADO POISED TO BAN SALE OF AR-15S, OTHER RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS WITH EXTENDED MAGS Republicans, who spent time providing public comment against the bill, also turned their chairs around to face away from the assembly speaker during the hearing. Lawmakers tried to introduce several amendments to the resolution to change some of the phrasing used in the bill, but they were rejected. “To Hell with your concerns about cost of living, crime, and other important issues,” Republican state Rep. Jarvis Caldwell wrote on X. “Democrats are running another January 6th resolution. We turned our chairs in protest, and now we’re having a debate about it.” State Republican Rep. Ryan Gonzalez also posted on X, saying, “The majority, instead of addressing issues the voters sent us to do—are instead passing messaging resolutions aimed *indirectly* at the sitting President.” The Colorado House GOP X account posted that “not one life in Colorado will be saved by this resolution.” Another X post said, “Democrats could be working on real solutions to our 1 BILLION dollar budget deficit. Instead, they are playing political games.” Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican who represents Colorado’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House, tweeted, “Will Colorado Dems playing partisan politics lower the cost of eggs?” The measure, sponsored by state Democratic senators Nick Hinrichsen and Matt Ball, passed along party lines in the state Senate earlier this month in a 21-12 vote. The Democratic lawmakers condemned Trump’s pardons and the mass firings of FBI agents assigned to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Democratic representatives Sean Camacho and Michael Carter were the sponsors of the state House version. “Colorado House Republicans have now launched a full-throated defense of the January 6th rioters,” state Rep. Steven Woodrow, a Democrat, wrote on Bluesky Social, an X-like social media platform favored by progressives. “They can turn their backs on America—but we see them, and we know the truth.” DAS MAY TRY TO CHARGE JAN. 6 PARTICIPANTS GRANTED CLEMENCY BY TRUMP WITH NEW CRIMES ON STATE, LOCAL LEVELS Democratic state Rep. Lorena Garcia also wrote on Bluesky Social saying, “While this resolution will pass, today is a wake up call to all Coloradans who believe in freedom, that the republican party is not a party that believes in freedom. It is the party of authoritarianism, it’s the party of fascism.” All the Jan. 6 defendants — more than 1,500 — were pardoned by Trump as one of his first executive actions in January.
South Texas bakery owners housed undocumented workers next to business before ICE raid, feds allege in hearing
Before federal agents arrested them, the couple who runs the bakery in Los Fresnos said they “knew this would happen one day,” a federal agent testified at court hearing.
Kash Patel sworn in as ninth FBI director
Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the FBI, was sworn in on Friday after a narrow Senate confirmation vote Thursday. Patel was sworn in at the Eisenshower Executive Office Building by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the ninth-ever FBI director, succeeding Christopher Wray. Patel, who is Indian-American, is the first person of color to become FBI director. “I am living the American dream,” Patel said after taking his oath of office. “And anyone that thinks the American dream is dead: just look right here. You’re talking to a first-generation Indian kid who’s about to lead the law enforcement community of the greatest nation on God’s green earth. That can’t happen anywhere else.” FBI NOMINEE KASH PATEL CONFIRMED IN NARROW SENATE VOTE Patel also made a promise to the lawmakers who confirmed him and those who opposed his nomination. “There will be accountability within the FBI and outside of the FBI, and we will do it through rigorous constitutional oversight starting this weekend.” Patel has been a longtime Trump ally and a fierce opponent of the investigations into the president. During his confirmation hearing last month, Patel vowed he would not engage in political retribution against agents who worked on the Trump classified documents case and other politically sensitive matters. He faced a rocky path to confirmation – similar to other fellow Trump picks – despite the Republican-majority chamber. Democrats on the panel used their political weight to delay Patel’s confirmation vote earlier this month. TRUMP FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE KASH PATEL PICKS UP SUPPORT FROM KEY GOP SENATOR On the Senate floor, top Judiciary Democrat Dick Durbin claimed Patel had been behind recent mass firings at the FBI. Durbin cited what he described as “highly credible” whistleblower reports that indicated Patel had personally directed the ongoing FBI employee purge prior to his confirmation. Patel brings to the office an extensive background in national security and intelligence. He previously engaged in personally carrying out dangerous missions in the Middle East in an effort to bring home U.S. hostages and also implemented counterterrorism strategies against America’s most-wanted terrorists. 4 OF THE BIGGEST CLASHES BETWEEN PATEL, SENATE DEMS AT HIS CONFIRMATION HEARING Current and former U.S. national security officials and lawmakers told Fox News Digital previously that he, “objectively,” is “one of the most experienced people ever to be nominated” to lead the bureau. Patel’s confirmation to head the office comes at a time when the FBI’s activities are under extreme scrutiny for possible political motivations, including its own leadership and decisions. Previously, thousands of FBI agents as well as their superiors were ordered to fill out a questionnaire detailing their roles in the Jan. 6 investigation, prompting concerns of retaliation or retribution. “There will be no politicization at the FBI,” Patel said during his confirmation hearing. “There will be no retributive action.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Patel previously served as deputy assistant to the president and as senior director for counterterrorism under the first Trump administration, wherein he worked on presidential missions aimed at decimating al-Qaeda senior leadership and ISIS command and control. Patel was also involved in planning the mission to take out Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, among others. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Morgan Phillips, and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
FEC clears Ted Cruz of wrongdoing over podcast syndicator’s donations to super PAC
The agency dismissed a campaign finance watchdog complaint after finding no evidence Cruz “solicited, directed, received, transferred, or spent the funds.”