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Trump’s House allies unveil bill ‘hand in hand’ with DOGE crackdown

FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is pushing to give President Donald Trump more control over the federal spending process, as his administration continues to crack down on funding that does not align with the GOP agenda. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is leading legislation to repeal the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 Nixon-era law aimed at stopping the president from having unilateral say over government spending. It would give Trump greater ability to accomplish his goals for Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Clyde told Fox News Digital in an interview. SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN “I think it goes hand in hand with what DOGE is doing right now and with what the president has in mind to do, and that is to make our government more effective and more efficient,” Clyde said. “They’re simply bringing the fraud, waste and abuse to light. And, then the rest of us, you know, the president and the executive need to take action on it. And then Congress needs to look at that and say, hey, we need to codify that into law to make sure that it stays beyond just this presidency.” His legislation has more than 20 House GOP co-sponsors and a companion bill in the Senate led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Clyde told Fox News Digital that he intends to raise his bill with members of the Trump administration, which has also driven significant pushback against the Impoundment Control Act. Russell Vought, Trump’s recently confirmed director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has previously called the Impoundment Control Act unconstitutional. Trump himself has made similar arguments. “Since the Empowered Control Act of ‘74, we have seen a tremendous increase in spending. And I think that’s part of the problem right there. The president is required now by law to spend the exact amount that Congress authorizes or appropriates for a specific program,” Clyde said. ‘WE’RE THE GOLD STANDARD’: GOP LAWMAKER CALLS FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARING OVER DC PLANE CRASH “Well, as a small business owner, I understand the rules of business. And I think that if you can accomplish the same goal and be more financially efficient, I think you should be allowed to do that. And I think the president has always had the authority to do that under the Constitution.” Trump has already exercised significant control over existing federal spending commitments. He paused most foreign aid funding soon after taking office last month, as well as other funding streams his administration said necessitated review.  Parts of Trump’s federal funding freezes have been challenged in court, with a federal judge ordering the White House just this week to comply with an earlier legal order directing them to reinstate funding.

$1,300 coffee cups, 8,000% overpay for soap dispensers show waste as DOGE locks in on Pentagon

President Donald Trump‘s team of zealous cost-cutters under Elon Musk will soon set their sights on the U.S.’s largest discretionary budget.  With an annual budget of $850 billion, the Pentagon has long been plagued by accusations of waste and inefficiency in its defense programs and recently failed its seventh straight audit. “We’re going to find billions, hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud and abuse,” Trump predicted in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on Sunday.  Congress appropriates the Department of Defense (DOD) budget each year in great detail, and urging lawmakers to trim costs may be where Republicans publicly break with Musk and his burn-it-all-down style.  Here is a look at where the Department of Government Efficiency team could set their sights. MUSK’S NEXT TARGET? TRUMP SAYS DOGE WILL LOOK AT DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, PENTAGON FUNDING The inclination of Musk and his team seems to be to cull federal employees, but cost-cutting advocates argue that outsourcing work to contractors could have the opposite effect. Typically, around half the Pentagon’s budget goes to contractors, corporations that have a profit motive unlike the government itself. The government relies on contractors for software support, training, weapons and to act as paramilitary forces in foreign missions.  “A major driver of Pentagon waste is actually service contracting for what are really core government functions and administrative capacities, like simple things [such] as IT support,” said Julia Gledhill, a researcher at the Stimson Center’s National Security Reform program.  “It might run contrary to their larger project based on efforts to cut the civilian workforce, but there are a lot of areas to cut Pentagon waste by actually building up government capacity to do basic administrative functions rather than outsourcing them at a very high cost.”  HEGSETH WELCOMES IN ELON MUSK’S DOGE FOR ‘LONG OVERDUE’ DOD SPENDING OVERHAUL In 2015, the Defense Business Board, at the request of DOD leaders, found that the Pentagon could save $125 billion over five years by renegotiating service contracts, streamlining the bureaucracy through attrition and early retirements, and consolidating IT processes.  The report found the Pentagon was paying an eye-watering 1,014,000 contractors to fill back-office jobs far away from the front lines. The DOD currently only lists around 1.3 million active duty troops.  However, the plan was never widely implemented, and Pentagon leaders took steps to “bury” it for fear of budget cuts, according to a Washington Post report.  In October 2024, a two-year audit by the Defense Department Inspector General found Boeing overcharged the Air Force by 8,000% for soap dispensers that the service branch paid $149,072 over market price for. Of a selected 46 spare parts that were scrutinized by the audit, the report found the Air Force overpaid about $1 million for 12 of them for its C-17 transport planes.  That followed a 2018 congressional inquiry that revealed the Air Force was spending $1,300 for each reheatable coffee cup on its KC-10 aircraft – and then replacing them instead of repairing them when their handles broke. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, found the Air Force spent $32,000 replacing 25 cups.  Musk has suggested that he will look to eliminate the F-35 stealth fighter jet program, long dogged by cost overruns, glitches and delays. In posts on X, he called it the “the worst military value for money in history,” and the jet itself “an expensive & complex jack of all trades, master of none” and added that “manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway.” However, doing away with the F-35 has run into opposition in Congress every time it has been suggested.  A recent report put out by Taxpayers for Common Sense, Quincy Institute and Stimson called for retiring the F-35 jets and eliminating a ballistic missile program.  Halting the F-35 fighter jet program, dogged by cost overruns, glitches and delays, as some have advocated for, would trim $12 billion per year, according to the joint report.  But Congress would need to get on board with defunding the F-35 in its yearly defense bill, and Lockheed Martin produces the plane’s parts in many states across the country, where lawmakers have constituents with jobs at risk. “Defunding weapons that are overpriced, underperforming, and out of step with current missions, like the F-35 combat aircraft and the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, would allow us to invest more in real priorities while also tackling the nation’s tremendous debt,” said Gabe Murphy of Taxpayers for Common Sense. TRUMP DOD CREATES TASK FORCE TO ABOLISH DEI OFFICES THAT ‘PROMOTE SYSTEMIC RACISM’ “The ICBM no longer necessarily the most accurate, you know, weapon we have in our nuclear arsenal,” added Gledhill.  “We have our sea and air legs of the nuclear triad that are just as accurate and, you know, not as vulnerable as our ICBMs are because, you know, ICBMs are in the ground, we know where they are. It’s public knowledge.” The report found that eliminating the Sentinel ICBM program would save $3.7 billion per year. The Stimson report found that “targeted closures and realignments” of U.S. military bases could save another $3-5 billion per year. “Even if say I accept all the missions we have now in the world, you could probably cut some overseas bases without even really rethinking strategy,” said Ben Friedman, policy director at Defense Priorities.  “If you accept that we’re trying to manage the Middle East through US military troop presence or at least the ability to deploy troops and say, okay, we could do with fewer bases.”  The Trump team is reportedly considering shutting down its presence in Syria, where 2,000 troops are currently stationed.  In the 1980s, under President Ronald Reagan, the government took up an effort known as Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), a post-Cold War process to coordinate the end of force postures that are no longer needed. Five rounds of BRAC shut down 350 installations at a savings of $12 billion, but the last BRAC process ended in 2011.  Some of the Pentagon’s $143.2 billion budget for research may also come under scrutiny.  Lawmakers last

Noem, Hegseth, Bondi plead with Congress for more border funding amid large-scale deportations

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump‘s newly sworn-in top Cabinet members are asking Congress to provide more resources to continue the administration’s full court press to secure the border and facilitate large-scale deportations.  Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi penned a letter to top appropriators in the House and Senate, pleading with them to designate more funds to the cause of securing the U.S. southern border.  “The American people strongly support sealing our borders and returning to a lawful immigration system,” Noem, Hegseth and Bondi told the lawmakers in the letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.  LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER: THE LITTLE-KNOWN TRUMP NOMINEE WHO MAY NEED TO RELY ON DEMS “Even if the price of some of these measures may seem high, they are nothing when compared to the costs our country is facing in the long term of continuing the status quo,” they explained.  According to the Trump Cabinet officials, their departments need a variety of resources to continue securing the border at the current level.  These include additional law enforcement officers; military personnel, including Active Duty and State and National Guard; aircraft and additional means of transportation to facilitate deportations; both materials and workers to finish construction of “a permanent barrier” at the border; additional immigration judges to quickly decide cases and clear the backlog; and more facilities to detain illegal immigrant waiting for deportation.  TRUMP NOMINEE TULSI GABBARD CLEARS LAST HURDLE, HEADS FOR FINAL CONFIRMATION VOTE The correspondence to congressional leaders comes as a March 14 spending bill deadline approaches, and the chambers are expected to lay out a new spending deal to avoid a partial government shutdown.  Passing a spending bill next month with satisfactory border funding could prove difficult, however, because 60 votes will be needed in the Senate. That means the Republican conference cannot pass it single-handedly and will need the support of several Democrats to get it done.  SCHUMER REVEALS DEM COUNTER-OFFENSIVE AGAINST TRUMP’S DOGE AUDIT The letter from Noem, Hegseth and Bondi also coincides with congressional Republicans’ efforts to put together a budget deal with provisions for border security and pass it in an expeditious manner. However, the House and Senate GOP have begun to butt heads on how to go about the key budget reconciliation process and whether to pursue one big bill with all of Trump’s priorities or to use a two-bill approach, with another being passed later in the year to address Trump’s tax agenda.  By lowering the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51 out of 100, reconciliation allows the party in power to skirt its opposition to advance its agenda – provided the items included relate to budgetary and other fiscal matters. The House of Representatives already has a simple majority threshold. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Senate Committee on the Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said, “Without new funding, President Trump’s bold border security plan will hit a wall. The administration needs the funding now and without delay.” He pointed to the $175 billion being allocated for border security measures in his recently-unveiled first reconciliation bill that will go through his committee this week.  “Importantly, these necessary investments will be paid for by making spending cuts to other areas of the federal government,” Graham explained.   “$175 billion is a fraction of the cost of an out of control illegal immigration system that’s poisoning America and allowing violence to reign. It’s the best money we could ever spend – and it will be paid for,” the senator concluded.  TRUMP’S KEY TO CABINET CONFIRMATIONS: SENATOR-TURNED-VP VANCE’S GIFT OF GAB Fox News Digital reached Senate Committee on Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Ranking Member Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Senate Committee on the Budget Ranking Member Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and Ranking Member Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., but did not immediately receive responses. 

‘We can teach children AI but…’: Sudha Murty urges govt to provide funds to schools to promote…

She stressed that children should be taught values to make them good citizens.

Judge blocks Trump order limiting ‘indirect’ NIH research costs after public outcry

A judge temporarily halted a directive by the Trump administration that imposed a cap on overhead costs that go to universities and other institutions that host federally funded research projects. The directive, which went into effect Monday, sparked an outcry of criticism from research institutions that argued the new rule would have devastating consequences. It was immediately challenged in court by 22 Democratic state attorneys general, as well as by several leading research universities and related groups in a second lawsuit.  U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley subsequently ruled in favor of the 22 state attorneys general, granting their request for a temporary restraining order that prohibits agencies from taking any steps to implement, apply or enforce the new rule that imposed a cap on facilities and administrative costs that are part of federally funded research grants. ‘WHAT A RIPOFF!’: TRUMP SPARKS BACKLASH AFTER CUTTING BILLIONS IN OVERHEAD COSTS FROM NIH RESEARCH GRANTS The rule capped overhead costs associated with National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research grants at 15%.  When a grant is awarded to a scientist by the NIH, an additional percentage, on top of the allocated research funding, goes to the facility housing their work to cover these “indirect costs.” According to an announcement about the new funding cap from the Trump administration, that percentage has historically been around 27% to 28% for each grant. But in some cases, negotiated rates can be even higher, such as at the University of Michigan where the negotiated rate for indirect costs is 56%. The lawsuit from the attorneys general argued the move violated federal law governing the procedures federal agencies must follow when implementing new regulations. They also argued that the move usurped the will of Congress, which, in 2018, passed legislation prohibiting the NIH or the Health and Human Services Department from unilaterally making changes to current negotiated rates, or implementing a modified approach to the reimbursement of indirect costs. UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR HAILS THAT SCIENCE ‘THRIVED’ UNDER HITLER IN ATTACK ON TRUMP’S NIH CUTS Kelley’s temporary restraining order requires the Trump administration agencies that are impacted by the new rule to file reports within 24 hours to confirm the steps they are taking to comply with her order. Meanwhile, Kelley set an in-person hearing date on the matter for Feb. 21. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the restraining order, but did not hear back at press time. However, after the directive went into effect on Monday, White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Fox News Digital, “Contrary to the hysteria, redirecting billions of allocated NIH spending away from administrative bloat means there will be more money and resources available for legitimate scientific research, not less.”  Earlier on Monday, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell said the Trump administration had violated his order halting a federal aid funding freeze that sought to pause “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance,” to ensure federal disbursements aligned with the president’s executive actions. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP  McConnell ordered the government to “immediately restore frozen funding,” noting that plaintiffs had provided adequate evidence to show the Trump administration “in some cases [has] continued to improperly freeze federal funds and refused to resume disbursement of appropriated federal funds,” despite his “clear and unambiguous” order lifting the freeze.

‘Deregulatory flavor’: JD Vance lays out vision in Paris for the future of AI under Trump

Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) systems must not become tainted with “ideological bias” and cautioned against coordinating with “hostile foreign adversaries” on AI capabilities.  Vance appeared Tuesday at the AI Action Summit in Paris, where world leaders, top tech executives and policymakers teamed up to hash out tech policy and its intersection with global security, economics and governance. The appearance marked his first foreign trip as vice president.  While the Trump administration has signaled it plans to take an approach that favors deregulation of AI, Vance’s appearance at the summit coincides with recent attempts from the European Union to enforce harsher regulations aimed at promoting greater safety.  Meanwhile, the U.S. and the UK abstained from signing an international document at the conference signed by 60 other countries that aims to prioritize “ensuring AI is open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy.” It was immediately unclear why both countries chose not to sign the document.  Here is what is known from Vance’s remarks about the Trump administration’s priorities for the future of AI. First, Vance called for AI systems developed in the U.S. to remain free of “ideological bias” and vowed that the U.S. would “never restrict our citizens’ right to free speech.”  That is because Vance said he trusted Americans to create their own thoughts and opinions, absorb information and exchange those thoughts in the “open marketplace of ideas.” VANCE TELLS WORLD LEADERS AI MUST BE ‘FREE FROM IDEOLOGICAL BIAS,’ AMERICAN TECH WON’T BE CENSORSHIP TOOL  “We feel very strongly that AI must remain free from ideological bias and that American AI will not be co-opted into a tool for authoritarian censorship,” Vance said Tuesday.  Vance also pushed for a “deregulatory flavor” to emerge at the conference while cautioning against the pitfalls of “excessive regulation” that could hamper a transformative industry. He also vowed that the U.S. would back pro-growth AI policies.  “We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off, and we’ll make every effort to encourage pro-growth AI policies and I’d like to see that deregulatory flavor making its way into a lot of the conversations at this conference,” he said.  Other world leaders who attended the AI Action Summit include French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Shri Modi and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing.    Vance also issued a warning to other foreign governments about “tightening the screws” on U.S. tech companies with international footprints, claiming the Trump administration would not tolerate such limitations. He also cautioned against working with adversaries who have “weaponized A.I. software to rewrite history, surveil users and censor speech.”  Vance said Tuesday that the U.S. will block such efforts, and ensure that American AI and chip technology is protected from theft and misuse.  ELON MUSK AND TECH LEADER SAM ALTMAN GET INTO WAR OF WORDS OVER AI INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT “I would also remind our international friends here today that partnering with such regimes — it never pays off in the long term,” Vance said.  While Vance said that the U.S. wants to partner with other nations on this front, Macron said Europe could take a “third way” approach in AI innovation and not rely on either the U.S. or China. Macron also called for enhanced “international governance” on AI policy.  “We want a fair and open access to these innovations for the whole planet,” Macron said.  Vance’s comments coincide with some recent actions from the Trump administration to advance AI in the U.S.  In January, Trump unveiled a new $500 billion AI infrastructure project called Stargate, a datacenter joint venture between investment holding company Softbank, and tech companies OpenAI and Oracle that Trump labeled the “largest AI infrastructure project in history.”  The project includes an initial investment of $100 billion that is slated to grow to $500 billion over Trump’s term in office, and will build “colossal” data centers in the U.S. to power AI.  The Associated Press and Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

Steven Bannon pleads guilty to scheme to defraud in border wall fundraiser, avoids jail time

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge that he defrauded donors who gave money to a private campaign to build a wall along the U.S. southern border. Bannon pleaded guilty to one scheme to defraud count and was sentenced to three years conditional discharge. He will avoid jail time as part of a plea agreement as long as he stays out of trouble.  When reporters asked Bannon how he felt as he left the courtroom, he responded: “Like a million bucks.” Bannon’s lawyer told reporters outside the court that there was no way his client could get a fair trial. TRUMP ALLY STEVE BANNON PLEDGES TO ‘TAKE… DOWN’ ELON MUSK Another condition of the plea agreement states Bannon is barred from fundraising for or serving as “an officer, director, or in any other fiduciary position” for any charitable organization with assets in New York state. He also cannot use, sell or possess any data gathered from donors to the “We Build the Wall” scheme. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, praised the plea agreement. “This resolution achieves our primary goal: to protect New York’s charities and New Yorkers’ charitable giving from fraud,” Bragg said in a statement.  He added: “New York has an important interest in rooting out fraud in our markets, our corporations, and our charities, and we will continue to do just that.” BONDI’S DOJ DAY 1 DIRECTIVES: FIGHT WEAPONIZATION OF JUSTICE, ELIMINATE CARTELS, LIFT DEATH PENALTY BAN Bannon, 71, pleaded not guilty in September 2022 to a state court indictment charging him with money laundering, fraud and conspiracy in the border wall scheme. He was accused of falsely promising donors that all money given to the We Build the Wall campaign would go toward building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Instead, prosecutors alleged the money was used to enrich Bannon and others involved in the project. After Trump pardoned Bannon during the final hours of his first term in office in 2021, Bragg charged Bannon in state court on the same allegations. The plea comes days after Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the Justice Department to investigate what the president called the “weaponization of prosecutorial power” – cases she said appear to have been motivated by “political objectives or other improper aims,” including Bragg’s pursuit of criminal charges against Trump. Speaking to reporters outside court, Bannon called on Bondi to begin an immediate criminal investigation into Bragg and New York Attorney General Leticia James. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

GOP lawmakers set sights on PBS, NPR amid Trump’s DOGE crackdown

FIRST ON FOX: Republicans lawmakers are renewing efforts to gut federal funding to NPR and PBS amid the Trump administration’s upheaval of the federal bureaucracy. Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., is leading a bill in the House of Representatives that would halt taxpayer dollars from going to either media broadcaster and reroute existing federal funds to reducing the national debt, according to legislative text previewed by Fox News Digital. “As a former newspaper owner and publisher, I understand the vital role of balanced, non-partisan media. Unfortunately, these taxpayer-funded outlets have chosen advocacy over accuracy, using public dollars to promote a political agenda rather than report the facts,” Tenney told Fox News Digital. SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN The legislation’s Senate counterpart is being led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who told Fox News Digital, “Americans have hundreds of sources of news and commentary, and they don’t need politically biased, taxpayer-funded media choosing what they should see and hear. PBS and NPR are free to compete in the marketplace of ideas using donations, but their public subsidy should end.” Republicans have long targeted NPR and PBS, accusing both outlets of sharing a liberal bias while receiving government funding. Less than 1% of NPR’s funding comes directly from the federal government, though other funding comes indirectly from grants and dollars allocated to local member stations who then pay fees back to NPR. More than a third of its funding comes from corporate sponsorships. PBS also gets a mix of federal funds through other avenues. However, the GOP’s demands to end federal allocations to both outlets now come at a time when the executive branch is fervently searching for places to block government spending that does not align with the Trump administration’s agenda. Elon Musk, who is leading Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, has been critical of NPR in the past. “Defund NPR. It should survive on its own,” Musk wrote on his X platform earlier this month. ‘WE’RE THE GOLD STANDARD’: GOP LAWMAKER CALLS FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARING OVER DC PLANE CRASH Soon after he acquired X, Musk briefly hit NPR with a “State-Affiliated” media label, which is normally reserved for the media arm of authoritarian governments. Tenney’s bill is one of multiple efforts targeting NPR and PBS during this Congress. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who chairs the DOGE subcommittee under the House Oversight Committee, said she wants the heads of each organization to come testify before her new panel.

More than half a million law enforcement personnel back Patel as FBI director

FIRST ON FOX: More than 680,000 law enforcement personnel have urged the Senate to confirm President Donald Trump‘s FBI director nominee, Kash Patel, as quickly as possible – a show of support that comes as Democrats on the panel have moved to delay his confirmation ahead of a planned vote this Thursday. The total number of supporters from law enforcement agencies was shared exclusively with Fox News Digital, and includes state, local and federal backers from groups including the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National Police Association and more than 370,00 members of the national Fraternal Order of Police, which announced their support for Patel Monday night. “Throughout the course of his federal career, Mr. Patel has become very well acquainted with our national security apparatus and the threats the United States faces abroad,” the group said in the letter to the Republican chairman and top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. This group touted Patel’s experience as a trial attorney for the Justice Department’s National Security Division, at the National Security Council and later at the Department of Defense, where he previously served as chief of staff to the department’s acting secretary.  DEMS DELAY PATEL COMMITTEE VOTE, DERIDE TRUMP FBI PICK AS DANGER TO US SECURITY They also cited a “broad-ranging conversation” the group had with Patel, in which they said he “made a compelling case about his commitment to public safety and ways in which the FBI can support state and local law enforcement agencies.” “He has committed to building on the level of trust and collegiality the FBI enjoys with the law enforcement community, and we will all benefit from the enhanced impact the FBI can have on public safety in our communities.” The groups have praised what they described as Patel’s “unwavering commitment” to upholding the rule of law, defending justice, and protecting the American people. BONDI SWORN IN AS ATTORNEY GENERAL WITH MISSION TO END ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT The endorsements come just days before the Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to vote to advance Patel’s nomination to be FBI director – a vote that has come under fresh scrutiny from Judiciary Democrats, who have cited recent efforts by the Trump administration to investigate FBI personnel involved in the Jan. 6 investigations.  Trump also touched off new concerns and criticism last week when he said he planned to fire at least some of the FBI officials involved in the Jan. 6 investigation, telling reporters that at least some of the agents, in his view, “were corrupt.” “Those people are gone, or they will be gone,” Trump said of the agents, adding that it will be done “quickly and very surgically.”  The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on what, if any, new information Trump had received about the allegedly corrupt activity of the bureau, or the number of personnel that could be impacted. FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION  Patel, for his part, used his confirmation hearing late last month to assure lawmakers he would protect agents against political retribution or efforts to weaponize the bureau.  “All FBI employees will be protected against political retribution,” Patel told Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., during that hearing.  Last week, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee succeeded in temporarily postponing Patel’s confirmation hearing – pushing the committee vote to Thursday, Feb. 13 – as they demanded a second hearing from the Trump-aligned former Defense Department official seeking clarity on his previous remarks and his candor.  Democrats criticized Patel for both his previous actions and his remarks made on podcasts, social media and in his book, saying that in their view, Patel failed to assuage any of their concerns last week during his confirmation hearing – primarily, questions of whether he would take moves to ensure the bureau can continue to act without political interference.  Still, the opposition has been sharply contested by the panel’s chairman, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. Grassley chastised attempts by Democrats to force Patel to testify again in a statement last week, dismissing the effort as “baseless.” He noted that Patel had already sat through a nearly six-hour Senate confirmation hearing, submitted “thousands of pages” of records to the panel, and nearly 150 pages of responses to lawmakers’ written questions. Barring any unexpected opposition, Patel is expected to clear both the committee vote Thursday morning and the full vote in the Republican-led chamber.

Federal appeals court dismisses classified records case against former Trump co-defendants

A federal appeals court dismissed the appeal charges brought against President Donald Trump aides Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira by former Special Counsel Jack Smith in his classified documents case, Fox News Digital has learned.  The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case against Nauta and De Oliveira on Tuesday morning, two weeks after the Justice Department moved to drop the charges. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FIRES MORE THAN A DOZEN KEY OFFICIALS ON FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S TEAM Nauta, Trump’s valet, and De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, had pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging they conspired to obstruct the FBI investigation into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.  The Justice Department had filed a motion in January to drop all criminal proceedings against Nauta and De Oliveira, putting an end to Smith’s probe more than two years after it began. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith, a former Justice Department official, as special counsel in November 2022.  Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief to the DOJ’s public integrity section, led the investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government’s investigation into the matter.  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MOVES TO DROP PROSECUTION OF MAR-A-LAGO STAFF IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCS CASE Smith also was tasked with overseeing the investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.  Smith charged Trump in both cases, but Trump pleaded not guilty. The classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.  Smith charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request.  Both cases were dismissed.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Justice Department, in January, fired more than a dozen key officials who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team prosecuting the president, after then-Acting Attorney General James McHenry said they could not be trusted in “faithfully implementing the president’s agenda.”  Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has also directed acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll to identify agents involved in Jan. 6 prosecutions for internal review.