Trump ally Tuberville announces run for Alabama governor
Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Tuesday announced his 2026 run for Alabama governor. Tuberville, a top Senate supporter and ally of President Donald Trump, launched a campaign website that touts his “conservative Alabama values.” And the senator made his first appearance after announcing his candidacy on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show.” “I’m doing this to help this country and the great state of Alabama,” Tuberville said in his Fox News Channel appearance. “I’m a football coach, I’m a leader, I’m a builder, I’m a recruiter, and we’re going to grow Alabama.” WHY TOMMY TUBERVILLE IS TAKING AIM AT MAINE’S GOVERNOR The move by the former longtime college football coach — who spent 10 years as head coach at Auburn University in Alabama — ended weeks of speculation about his ambitions to run for governor in his homestate. REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS’ CAMPAIGN CHAIR DETAILS BALLOT BOX GAMEPLAN Just a week ago, Fox News confirmed that Tuberville told donors at recent private meetings that he would be launching a gubernatorial campaign. And a source familiar told Fox News a couple of weeks ago that an endorsement from Trump would be a “done deal” if Tuberville decided to run for governor. Tuberville, in his Fox News interview, said Trump was “fully supportive” of his gubernatorial run. Tuberville, who was elected to the Senate in 2020, is running to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Kay Ivey in the heavily red southern state. And his move sets up an open Senate seat in Alabama in the 2026 midterm elections.
US judge accuses Trump admin of ‘manufacturing chaos’ in South Sudan deportations, escalating feud
A federal judge in Massachusetts chastised senior Trump officials Monday night for failing to comply with his court orders after a group of migrants was deported from the U.S. to South Sudan — the latest dust-up centered on deportations, due process protections and the administration’s willingness, or lack thereof, to comply with federal courts. In a scathing, 17-page order, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy rejected Trump’s request to amend or withdraw the judge’s earlier decision requiring them to keep in U.S. custody six migrants who were deported to South Sudan without due process or notice. On Wednesday, Murphy ordered that the migrants remain in U.S. custody at a military base in Djibouti until each of them could be given a “reasonable fear interview,” or a chance to explain to U.S. officials any fear of persecution or torture, should they be released into South Sudanese custody. As of Monday night, he said, these interviews had not taken place. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP’S REMOVAL OF BIDEN APPOINTEES FROM FEDERAL BOARDS “It turns out that having immigration proceedings on another continent is harder and more logistically cumbersome than defendants anticipated,” Murphy said in his order, noting that the Trump administration is free to return individuals to have the interviews carried out on U.S. soil. He also took aim at Trump officials for attacking the courts, noting Monday night that defendants here have “mischaracterized” the court’s order, “while at the same time manufacturing the very chaos they decry.” The salvo comes as Murphy, a federal judge in Boston, presides over a class-action lawsuit from migrants who are challenging deportations to third countries, including South Sudan, El Salvador and other countries, including Costa Rica, Guatemala and others that the administration has reportedly eyed in its ongoing wave of deportations. In considering the third-country removals, Murphy stressed that he has attempted to strike a delicate balance between due process protections under the U.S. Constitution and the Trump administration’s wave of eleventh-hour removals and deportations. Murphy noted that he allowed the Trump administration to keep the six deported migrants in South Sudan under the custody of U.S. officials, so long as they carry out the so-called “reasonable fear interviews,” and make a determination over whether the migrants’ concerns were adequate. FEDERAL JUDGES IN NEW YORK AND TEXAS BLOCK TRUMP DEPORTATIONS AFTER SCOTUS RULING “The court never said that defendants had to convert their foreign military base into an immigration facility,” Murphy wrote in his order Monday night. “It only left that as an option, again, at defendants’ request.” Murphy also doubled down on his earlier orders as “sensible and conservative,” noting that he had repeatedly attempted to strike the right balance in weighing the Trump administration’s requests for the men to remain in South Sudan against their right to habeas proceedings and due process under the U.S. Constitution. He also cited DOJ’s seemingly fluid position as to what constitutes adequate notice for removals. He said Justice Department attorneys previously told the court that they believe that 24 hours is sufficient and meaningful notice to remove certain migrants, before breaking with that in removing the men to South Sudan. These individuals also do not appear to have any access to counsel. In one case, he said, plaintiffs declared Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had canceled at least one prerescheduled meeting with an attorney and her client. “Class members likewise had no opportunity to learn anything about South Sudan, a nascent, unstable country to which the United States has recently told its citizens not to travel because of crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict,” Murphy said. ‘WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT’: US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO The judge’s order is the latest attempt by federal courts judges to rein in the Trump administration as it continues to deport migrants to third countries, including El Salvador and South Sudan. U.S. judges have repeatedly ruled that the Trump administration has violated due process by failing to notify the migrants of their imminent removals, or afford them any opportunity to challenge their deportations in court— a view reiterated, albeit narrowly, by the Supreme Court four separate times since Trump took office. The judges have repeatedly ordered the Trump administration to facilitate their return to the U.S. To date, the Trump administration has not complied publicly with any of the requests to return the deported individuals. White House officials, meanwhile, have blasted so-called “activist” judges as attempting to enact a political agenda, and have repeatedly rejected the notion that illegal immigrants are not entitled to due process. APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN’S DEPORTATION FLIGHTS IN ALIEN ENEMIES ACT IMMIGRATION SUIT Trump took aim at what he described as “USA hating judges” in a Truth Social post Monday, arguing that they “suffer from an ideology that is sick and very dangerous for our country.” Earlier, he described Murphy as yet another “activist judge” who he said is trying to protect “criminal illegal immigrant monsters.” “The court recognizes that the class members at issue here have criminal histories,” Murphy wrote in an apparent response to these comments Monday night. “But that does not change due process,” he wrote. “The court treats its obligation to these principles with the seriousness that anyone committed to the rule of law should understand.” Murphy added in his order that the Trump administration is welcome to submit its arguments to the court in writing. But he noted, “From this course of conduct, it is hard to come to any conclusion other than that Defendants invite lack of clarity as a means of evasion.” As of Monday, he said, this step had not been completed.
Federal judge blocks Trump’s attempt to kill NYC congestion pricing program
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily halted the Trump administration’s effort to kill New York City‘s controversial congestion pricing program. U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman issued a temporary restraining order barring the administration from getting rid of the program and withholding federal funding if the city failed to nix the program. NEW YORK CITY URGES JUDGE TO BLOCK TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FROM ELIMINATING ITS CONGESTION PRICING PROGRAM Liman’s Tuesday restraining order keeps the tolls in place through at least June 9 and prevents Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy from retaliating against the city. In February, Trump posted an image of himself wearing a crown and wrote, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. The program was launched in January, using electronic license plate readers and charging most drivers a $9 toll during peak periods to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street in an attempt to reduce congestion and raise funds to improve mass transit. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SETS DEADLINE FOR NYC TO SHUT DOWN CONTROVERSIAL CONGESTION PRICING TOLL The city said the program has dramatically reduced congestion on the roadways. There have been about 5.8 million fewer cars than expected in the congestion zone between January and March, or a reduction of about 8% to 13%, officials said. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said the program was better for businesses, the city’s tourism industry and bus and taxi rides. He noted that car crashes, noise complaints and traffic were down.
Biden aides considered ‘undemocratic’ actions to keep cognitive decline hidden, Trump out of power: author
Alex Thompson, co-author of the recently released exposé on former President Joe Biden, told Fox News Sunday that top aides ‘rationalized’ doing ‘undemocratic’ things to hide the president’s cognitive decline, because failing to do so would have been too beneficial to Donald Trump. During an interview with “Fox News Sunday’s” Shannon Bream, Thompson was asked whether any officials close to Biden, such as his cabinet secretaries, expressed remorse for their potential complicity in covering up Biden’s health. “There was definitely a lot of self-reflection about what — if anything — they should have done differently,” Thompson said. “I think there was a feeling — like a lot of members of the Democratic Party that were seeing this, or saw moments of [Biden] seeming out of it — that going public wasn’t going to change his mind. It was only going to help Donald Trump. And I think that’s how a lot of them rationalized it.” AXIOS’ ALEX THOMPSON CALLS DONALD TRUMP’S HEALTH ‘FAIR GAME’ AFTER BEING ‘UNTRANSPARENT’ ABOUT RECORDS “Now, whether or not history will judge them as being right for doing that, we will see. But this is also part of the reason why the White House was shielding [Biden] from as many people as possible, including cabinet secretaries.” Bream went on to question Thompson about an aide he spoke to who said Biden “just had to win and then could disappear” because Biden’s “aides could pick up the slack.” Bream described the quote as essentially “admitting” Biden shouldn’t be running again. EX-DNC CHAIR CALLS BOOK’S CLAIM THAT BIDEN DIDN’T RECOGNIZE HIM A ‘BOLD FACED LIE’ “Who would have been running the White House in a second Biden term?” Bream asked Thompson. “Well, this person went on to say, ‘When you’re voting for president, you’re voting for the aides around him.’ But these aides were not even Senate confirmed aides – these were White House aides, these were unelected people.” Thompson replied. “One of the things that really comes out in our reporting here is that if you believe — and I do think a lot of these people do sincerely believe that Donald Trump was and is an existential threat to democracy — you can rationalize anything, including sometimes doing undemocratic things — which I think is what this person was talking about.” Thompson and CNN’s Jake Tapper have been doing the rounds discussing and promoting their new book titled “Original Sin,” which has garnered a lot of attention for detailing what critics have said shows Biden’s cognitive decline while he was in the White House was even worse than most people suspected. The book has been compounded by other revelations showing Biden’s cognitive abilities were likely hidden from the public by those closest to him.
Israeli forces raid foreign exchange shops in occupied West Bank; one dead
Palestinian groups slam the raids targeting exchanges in several cities in a widespread operation in the territory. Israeli forces have raided money exchanges across the occupied West Bank, using live fire and tear gas as they stormed the city of Nablus, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding more than 30. Exchange shops in the cities of Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron Arrabeh, el-Bireh, Bethlehem, Jenin and Tubas were attacked on Tuesday, residents said. In the northern city of Nablus, Israeli soldiers raided a foreign exchange belonging to the Al-Khaleej company and a gold store, according to local media reports. They also fired smoke bombs in the centre of Jenin, and streets were closed in Tubas and Bethlehem in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Ramallah-based Ministry of Health said one man was killed and eight injured by live ammunition during a raid in Nablus. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it treated 20 people for tear gas inhalation and three injured by rubber bullets. The raids on foreign exchanges came as Israel continued its intensified military campaign in Gaza, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians since the war began on October 7, 2023, as tens of thousands of people starve in the besieged enclave. Advertisement Israeli Army Radio on Tuesday said Israel conducted the raids on foreign exchanges on suspicions that the shops supported “terrorism”. The radio station also said the operation resulted in the confiscation of large amounts of money designated for “terrorism infrastructure” in the West Bank. “Israeli forces are taking action against Al-Khaleej Exchange Company due to its connections with terrorist organisations,” a leaflet left by Israeli forces at the company’s Ramallah location read. Israeli soldiers patrol the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank [Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP] Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said Israeli authorities have not released an official statement yet but an official talked to the Israeli media about the raids. “This official said earlier that Israel ‘believes’ – not that it has any evidence or proof – but ‘believes’ that these cash exchange places are funnelling money to what they call terror organisations,” said Salhut, who was reporting from Amman, Jordan, because Israel has banned Al Jazeera from reporting from Israel and the West Bank. “The people who own these shops say they were not given any sort of proof by the Israeli military,” she added. Salhut said it was the fourth time such raids have taken place since the start of the Israeli genocide in Gaza. “The first time was in December of 2023 when five different cash exchange places were raided by the Israeli military and they seized nearly $3m,” she said. “It happened again in August 2024 and again in September of that same year.” Advertisement Hamas slams raids Hamas denounced the Israeli raids, saying they “constitute a new chapter in the occupation’s open war against the Palestinian people, their lives, their economy, and all the foundations of their steadfastness and perseverance on their land”. “These assaults on economic institutions, accompanied by the looting of large sums of money and the confiscation of property, are an extension of the piracy policies adopted by the [Israeli] occupation government,” the Palestinian group said in a statement, adding that the targeted companies were “operating within the law”. Hamas urged the Palestinian Authority to take measures against the Israeli attacks. Separately, the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement said the raids are “part of the open war against our people, targeting their very existence and cause”. The group also urged the Palestinian Authority to “defend” Palestinians from such attacks and “halt its policy of security coordination” with Israel. Adblock test (Why?)
NPR sues Trump administration for cutting US federal funding
The lawsuit alleges the Trump administration’s move to cut federal funding to public broadcasting is a violation of the US Constitution’s First Amendment. National Public Radio (NPR) and three of its local stations have filed a lawsuit against United States President Donald Trump, arguing that an executive order aimed at cutting federal funding for the organisation is illegal. The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Tuesday in Washington, DC by NPR and three local stations in Colorado — Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio and KUTE Inc – argues that Trump’s executive order to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Trump issued the executive order earlier this month, instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and requiring that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organisations. Trump issued the order after alleging there is “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting spends roughly $500m on public TV and radio annually. PBS and NPR get part of their funding from federal grants: 17 percent and two percent, respectively. Advertisement “The Order’s objectives could not be clearer: the Order aims to punish NPR for the content of news and other programming the President dislikes and chill the free exercise of First Amendment rights by NPR and individual public radio stations across the country,” the lawsuit alleges. “The Order is textbook retaliation and viewpoint-based discrimination in violation of the First Amendment, and it interferes with NPR’s and the Local Member Stations’ freedom of expressive association and editorial discretion,” it said. The White House’s executive order argued that editorial choices – including that NPR allegedly “refused to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story”, and that it ran a “Valentine’s Day feature around ‘queer animals’” – were some of the reasons it wanted to cut federal funding. “This is retaliatory, viewpoint-based discrimination in violation of the First Amendment,” NPR CEO Katherine Maher said in a statement. “NPR has a First Amendment right to be free from government attempts to control private speech as well as from retaliation aimed at punishing and chilling protected speech. By basing its directives on the substance of NPR’s programming, the Executive Order seeks to force NPR to adapt its journalistic standards and editorial choices to the preferences of the government if it is to continue to receive federal funding.” The absence of PBS from Tuesday’s filing indicates the two systems will challenge this separately; PBS has not yet gone to court, but is likely to do so soon. Advertisement The US president’s attempts to dismantle government-run news sources like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have also sparked court clashes. The administration has battled with the press on several fronts. The Federal Communications Commission is investigating ABC, CBS and NBC News. And after The Associated Press refrained from calling the Gulf of Mexico “the Gulf of America”, as Trump directed, the administration restricted the news outlet’s access to certain government events. Adblock test (Why?)
Chaos erupts as Palestinians rush to aid site after months of blockade
NewsFeed Chaos erupted in Rafah as thousands of desperate Palestinians swarmed a new aid distribution site, set up by the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Live ammunition was fired to disperse the large crowds. Published On 27 May 202527 May 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Maryland Democrat Ivey furious not given access to Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador
A Maryland congressman has returned to the U.S. from El Salvador having failed in his attempt to meet deported illegal migrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Rep. Glenn Ivey said he was “stonewalled” in his efforts to check on the welfare of Abrego Garcia, whose deportation in March has become a deeply polarizing issue for Republicans and Democrats. The Trump administration accuses Abrego Garcia of also being a human trafficker and a wife beater, while Democrats say he is a “Maryland man” who was not given his due process in court before being deported. “I was very, not just disappointed, but angry, actually,” Ivey told reporters after returning from his trip Tuesday morning. DEM IMMIGRATION TALKING POINTS FIZZLE AS DARK PICTURE OF ABREGO GARCIA EMERGES Ivey, who said he did not use taxpayer money to fund his trip, said he had arranged with embassies in the U.S. and in El Salvador to meet Abrego Garcia in prison but was met with bureaucratic hurdles when he got there. Ivey said he was told he had to obtain a permit at a location 90 minutes away, which blocked his plans. “And I won’t tell you what I said, but I mean, it’s ridiculous that an international delegation would get that kind of treatment, especially when we’re making this kind of request,” Ivey said. WATCH: Democrat Rep. Glenn Ivey fumes he was not allowed access to Kilmar Abrego Garcia He didn’t say if he attempted to get a permit but added that locals also told them no one—not even families—were getting permits to visit loved ones in detention. “It was a clear run around and not a way that a foreign government should be treating the Congress of the United States,” he said. Ivey said he wanted to see Abrego Garcia to confirm the detainee’s condition, location and ensure he receives due process in U.S. courts. Several other Democrats, including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, have rushed to meet with Abrego Garcia and decried what they said was a lack of due process extended to him. WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BLUNTLY SHOWS WHERE PARTIES STAND ON IMMIGRATION AMID ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION When asked about Abrego Garcia’s condition, Ivey told reporters, “Nothing’s been confirmed along those lines. We believe he is and we believe he’s at Santa Ana. But they didn’t confirm that yesterday. So it was kind of a runaround.” In a video posted to X on Monday, Ivey wrote that he traveled to the Central American country to visit his “constituent” and called on the government there to “cut the crap.” Abrego Garcia was sent in March to El Salvador’s notoriously high-security prison equipped to handle violent gang members, known as CECOT, which sparked Van Hollen to lead the surge of Democrats traveling there. The Trump administration has repeatedly cited court and police documents showing that the El Salvadoran man was not only in the U.S. illegally, but also connected to the MS-13 gang and that his wife had sounded the alarm to police about his violence. Court records show Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, filed a protective order against her husband in August 2020. The order said their shared son and stepchildren needed protection from Abrego Garcia, accusing him of verbal and physical abuse against her and mental abuse against her children. Some Democrats and left-wing media have characterized Abrego Garcia as a “family man” who was wrongly deported back in March and the following weeks. Ivey, meanwhile, also railed over what he said were more than 250 Venezuelans jailed in El Salvador after deportation from the U.S., claiming that around 50 of them have no criminal records and were sent to a country where they have no pending offenses. “That’s un-American. That’s not what we should be doing,” Ivey said. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Dems drop $20M on bizarre ‘American men’ strategy plan study in effort to dig out of 2024 political hole
Democrats are spending $20 million on a study examining how to speak to “American men” after losing ground with the demographic during the 2024 election cycle, The New York Times revealed. “Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan” is a $20 million project crafted by Democrats to “study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces” of male voters, the Times reported Sunday. Known as “SAM,” the study will specifically examine young male voters and how the party can connect with the demographic. Additionally, the study advised rolling out pro-Democrat ads in video games. The study’s revelation was made in an overarching article detailing the uphill battle Democrats face after the 2024 election, which included Democrats scrambling to replace former President Joe Biden as the nominee with just more than 100 days left in the election cycle and ultimately delivering all seven battleground states to President Donald Trump. “The Democratic Party’s tarnished image could not come at a more inopportune moment,” the article detailed. “In this era of political polarization, the national party’s brand is more important and influential than ever, often driving the outcomes of even the most local of races.” DEMOCRATIC PARTY SCRAMBLES TO FIX IMAGE AS MEMBERS ACKNOWLEDGE PARTY ‘LOST CREDIBILITY’ In response, Democrat operatives and donors have gathered at swank hotels to craft plans on how to draw back the working class and male voters, the Times reported. Trump made big in-roads with the male vote during the 2024 election cycle. A Fox News Voter Survey published in November 2024 found that men aged 18–44 supported Trump at 53%, compared to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 45%. While The Associated Press found that more than half of male voters under the age of 30 voted for Trump instead of Harris — including roughly six-in-10 White male voters supporting Trump — about one-third of Black male voters supported Trump, as did about 50% of young Latino male voters. Trump’s support among young Black and Latino male voters jumped by about 20% compared to his 2020 support, the AP reported. Democratic strategist Michael Ceraso told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that he does not take issue with Democrats investing in voter engagement strategies but added that he found it “hilarious” that “people in suits are hanging out at luxury hotels asking how they can talk to day-to-day Americans.” “We’re having an issue with the messenger more than the message,” Ceraso said, arguing that voters support longstanding Democratic policies such as affordable housing, but that “Democrats just need to take a reality check” on how they convey their messaging to voters. “I just don’t understand how, after all these years and all these Democrats who’ve been in the game, how we continue to make those same choices,” he added. “Like Rahm Emmanuel, or all these sort of big names, they’re just like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to figure out how to win in, you know, rural North Carolina by hanging out in a New York hotel.’ That makes no sense to me. And strategically, I don’t care how much money you spend on focus groups, if you’re doing that, you’re just negating any type of investment you’re putting into how to have a conversation with voters.” Democrats spending millions studying American male “syntax” sparked condemnation from conservatives and Democrats alike on social media, Fox News Digital found. FETTERMAN HITS PARTY’S LOSSES AMONG YOUNG MALE VOTERS: ‘IT’S UNDENIABLE THAT DEMOCRATS HAVE LOST A LOT’ “Democratic donors treating men like an endangered species on a remote island they need to study probably won’t rebuild trust,” MSNBC contributor Rotimi Adeoy posted to X in response to the Times’ report. “This kind of top-down, anthropological approach misses the point: people don’t want to be decoded, they want to be understood and met where they are.” “The idea that you can “fix” the male voter problem that exists with Black, Latino, and white men by spending $20 million to study their syntax like they’re a foreign culture is exactly why there’s a disconnect,” Adeoy continued. “These voters aren’t a research subject. They’re citizens.” Chief political analyst at the Liberal Patriot, Michael Baharaeen, posted to X, “This really says it all,” in response to a tweet quoting the article regarding how “Democratic donors and strategists have been gathering at luxury hotels to discuss how to win back working-class voters, commissioning new projects that can read like anthropological studies of people from faraway places.” “The fact that Democrats need to drop $20 million just to figure out how to speak to American men tells you everything you need to know. This is the same move they pull on black people. They don’t care about you they only care about your vote!” conservative podcaster DeVory Darkins posted to X. CRINGEWORTHY PRO-HARRIS AD SHOWCASING MALE SUPPORT FEATURES PROFESSIONAL ACTORS “Democratic donors are planning to spend $20 million to figure out how to talk to dudes,” polster Frank Luntz posted to X. A handful of critics reposted a video from the 2024 campaign cycle that featured men declaring they were “man enough” to support Harris for president. The grassroots ad went viral in October 2024 as social media commenters panned it as “the cringiest political ad ever created” and pointed out it was created by a former producer for Jimmy Kimmel and featured actors vowing support for Harris. The video featured six self-described manly men who claimed they were so masculine that they ate “carburetors for breakfast” and were not “afraid of bears,” while adding they also do not fear women and would support Harris for the Oval Office. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Remember the month before the election and Democrats tried to relate to men?. Now they’re trying again spending $20 million,” one social media commenter posted this week, accompanied by the October 2024 video.
Illegal immigrant healthcare costs in blue state triggers intense budget debate
The Republican minority leaders in California are responding to potential next steps for the highly scrutinized Medi-Cal program, which is insolvent, as some believe the ability for people to enroll “regardless of their immigration status” is a leading cause. The state faces a $12 billion budget shortfall as budget talks continue in Sacramento. The Medi-Cal program went insolvent earlier this year after it went billions over budget, resulting in $3.44 billion in loan requests to salvage the program, which covers low-income Golden State residents. Republicans said it was in large part due to illegal immigrants being allowed to enroll in the program, and Newsom also said that it was part of the spending issue, but not the whole picture, according to KCRA. LAWMAKERS REVEAL WHETHER AMERICANS SHOULD PICK UP THE MEDICAID TAB FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS “That’s going to continue to be a big debate here in California as we’re wrestling with a $12 billion dollar deficit and the cost of providing free healthcare to illegal immigrants is $11.4 billion dollars, so if we just didn’t do that, that would eliminate our budget deficit,” California State Senate Minority Leader Brain Jones said. “Now, there’s lots of other ways we can find $12 billion dollars to eliminate the deficit as well.” Newsom’s May budget revision proposes a pause for adults 19 and older from enrolling in “full-scope coverage” and to start charging a $100 premium each month “for individuals with certain statuses,” Fox News Digital reported earlier this month. “To be very clear, these proposals are the results of a $16 billion Trump Slump and higher-than-expected health care utilization. Because of these outside factors, the state must take difficult but necessary steps to ensure fiscal stability and preserve the long-term viability of Medi-Cal for all Californians,” Elana Ross, deputy communications director for Newsom’s office, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Governor Newsom refuses to turn his back on hardworking Californians, especially when it comes to their basic health care needs,” she added. The proposal from the Newsom administration sparked criticism among some in the legislature, as the Democratic California Legislative Latino Caucus is suggesting a tax hike to pay for the program’s coverage for illegal immigrants, according to KCRA. The question remains whether a $100 premium would be enough to get people to leave the program. LAWMAKERS IN DEEP BLUE STATE DEMAND AUDIT OVER SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE COSTS: ‘ALARMING NATURE’ However, Jones said that Medi-Cal being offered to illegal immigrants might not be quite what Democrats present it as. “It’s just a messaging point for the governor and the Democratic leadership. It’s not an actual thing. Meaning the governor and the Democrat leadership are promising illegal immigrants coverage, and they are on the rolls, but there’s very little access,” he said. “A lot of doctors in California that used to provide Medicare and Medicaid have closed up shop, moved to other states. A lot of other doctors that are still here have stopped taking those kinds of patients, even if they’re here legally or illegally, because the reimbursement rates are so low, the doctors actually lose money when they take a Medicare or Medicaid patient,” Jones continued. NEWSOM CONCEDES SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR ILLEGALS ARE ‘PARTIAL’ CONTRIBUTOR TO MEDICAID PROBLEM Meanwhile, Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher told Fox News Digital in an interview that the budget shortfall is “a total disaster” that “was completely predictable.” “You know, two years ago, Gavin Newsom and the supermajority Democrats decided to fund illegal immigrant healthcare through our Medi-Cal program. And everybody said it’s gonna be billions of dollars. It’s not sustainable. And at the time, Biden was president, and people were coming across the border, millions of people. We had no idea. And I think a lot of them came to California and signed up. And so now we have a completely unsustainable, bankrupted Medi-Cal system that’s required $3.4 billion worth of loans to prop up.” On a federal level, the pending reconciliation bill that recently passed the House of Representatives could also create issues for the state’s Medi-Cal offerings, as it would change the federal “match” from 90% to 80% for care that is not an emergency, which the Newsom administration says could cost the state billions, The Center Square reported. “If Republicans move this extreme MAGA proposal forward, millions will lose coverage, hospitals will close, and safety nets could collapse under the weight,” Newsom stated last week.