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Sen. Graham responds in kind to Trump’s joke about wanting to be pope: ‘Keep an open mind’

Sen. Graham responds in kind to Trump’s joke about wanting to be pope: ‘Keep an open mind’

After President Donald Trump joked about wanting to be the pope, Sen. Lindsey Graham asked for the papal conclave and Catholics to maintain an “open mind” about the idea in apparent jest. “I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope. This would truly be a dark horse candidate, but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility!” the senator wrote on X while sharing video of Trump’s comments.   “The first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides. Watching for white smoke…. Trump MMXXVIII!” Graham added. TRUMP JOKES HE’D LIKE TO BE POPE, ‘NUMBER 1 CHOICE’ – THEN NAMES A REAL CONTENDER Fox News Digital reached out to Graham’s office for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Trump jokingly said earlier on Tuesday that his “number one choice” for the new pope would be himself. CONSERVATIVE BACKLASH ERUPTS AFTER TRUMP’S GRAHAM ENDORSEMENT: ‘I AM NOT WITH TRUMP AT ALL WITH THIS ONE’ He then went on to say he has “no preference,” adding, “we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York, who’s very good.”  The president appeared to be referring to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who serves as Archbishop of New York. CONCLAVE TO PICK NEXT POPE TO BEGIN MAY 7, VATICAN SAYS Trump has endorsed Graham for re-election, though the move sparked conservative backlash.

‘Hard no’: Millionaire tax hike proposal has House Republicans divided

‘Hard no’: Millionaire tax hike proposal has House Republicans divided

House Republicans are split over whether they would consider raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans as GOP lawmakers negotiate ways to pay for President Donald Trump’s multitrillion-dollar agenda. “Personally, I think that that should be on the table if we’re not going to make spending cuts, but I hope we make spending cuts,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital Monday. On the other side of the debate, Republicans like Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., has said, “I’m a hard no on any [tax hike]. The problem is not that the government does not have enough money. The problem is the government spends too much money.” Congressional Republicans have begun work in earnest to craft a massive piece of legislation aimed at advancing Trump’s agenda on a broad array of issues — border security, immigration, national defense, domestic energy production, the debt limit and taxes. WHITE HOUSE QUIETLY FLOATS MILLIONAIRE TAX HIKE PROPOSAL IN CONGRESS AS GOP LEADERS SIGNAL OPPOSITION The tax portion alone could cost as much as $4.5 trillion over the next 10 years, according to House Republicans’ framework for the bill. Conservative fiscal hawks have, in return, demanded at least $1.5 trillion in spending cut offsets. And with the deadline to act on the debt limit expected to hit sometime this summer, Republicans are on the clock to reach an agreement between the House and Senate and send it to Trump’s desk.  A possible increase in taxes on wealthy Americans is just one avenue Republicans are looking at to help pay for Trump’s newer policies that include eliminating taxes on tips, overtime wages and retirees’ Social Security. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., a member of the House’s tax writing panel, the Ways and Means Committee, suggested a small tax increase could be considered. “There’s potentially some talk about a tax hike on wealthier Americans. I think our goal in this committee, and the president’s goal, has been to provide tax relief for the working and middle class,” she said. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., signaled to Fox News Digital he would be open to it too but acknowledged the risks. “I’m open-minded to what the president or the treasury secretary may have in mind. And I would want to see some numbers behind it and how it would have an effect on the economy,” Stutzman said. “What I’ve heard from people in the upper tax brackets is, you know, they’re willing to pay more as long as they know that it’s paying the debt down. They don’t want to see it go towards more spending.” He added, however, that with financial markets still wrestling with reactions to Trump’s tariffs, “raising taxes is probably not a good conversation to have.” In addition to Trump’s new tax policies, Republicans are seeking to extend his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Many of its provisions expire at the end of this year. Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, another Ways and Means Committee member, pointed out that failing to pass a bill altogether and allowing TCJA to expire would lead to a tax hike for millions. “I do not support raising taxes across the board at all. I want to keep those taxes low,” Moran said. “But if we don’t do anything, inaction will bring the largest tax hike in American history. We cannot let that happen.” SCOOP: PENCE URGES REPUBLICANS TO HOLD THE LINE ON TAX HIKES FOR THE RICH AS TRUMP WEIGHS OPTIONS Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, did not specifically weigh in on tax hikes when asked but said Republicans would fall short of their tax goals if proper spending cuts were not found. “All I care is that we actually do math with reasonable models based on reasonable assumptions. And so, look, to the extent that my colleagues are unwilling to do the shrinking and reduction of government that is necessary, then we’re going to have to deal with the tax side of things,” he said. “And that means not being able to get full 10-year [extensions], not being able to get every single tax extension that you want, not getting some of the new tax cuts that we want. So, all those things will end up being on the table if we don’t do our job.” Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., said, “I don’t support tax hikes. I support spending cuts.” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., would not share any details of the forthcoming plan when asked about a possible tax hike. “There’s a lot of things that I’ve been reading in the press that have not been accurate, but I’m not going to say whether it’s accurate or not, and they’ll see the bill whenever we deliver it right before markup,” Smith told Fox News Digital. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “But what I will say is, is that we will have a tax bill that is pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-family, pro-small business and pro-workers. And Republicans believe in making sure that Americans keep more of their hard-earned dollars, and you’ll see a tax package that does that.” He said Americans would likely get to see that plan in a matter of “days, not months.” When reached for comment on the possibility of tax hikes in Trump’s agenda bill, a senior White House official told Fox News Digital, “The president is reviewing a wide range of tax cut proposals for inclusion in the reconciliation bill. He is most focused on tax policy that will help create more good-paying jobs in America and delivering the major tax cuts he campaigned on for working and middle-class Americans.”

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff says Trump’s ‘chaos and uncertainty’ leading to economic challenges

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff says Trump’s ‘chaos and uncertainty’ leading to economic challenges

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said the economic challenge sparked by President Donald Trump’s “chaos and uncertainty” is the biggest issue facing the Peach State, stressing that the president’s uncertain economic policy is impacting how businesses and residents make decisions for the future. Ossoff, preparing to run for re-election in 2026, potentially against Georgia’s popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who has yet to announce if he will join the race. Ossoff is the only Democrat seeking reelection who represents a state that Trump won last year, making him a top target for Republicans hoping to maintain their Senate majority. “I am more than prepared for any challenger,” Ossoff, 38, told The Associated Press on Saturday while declining to comment on any potential opponents. Ossoff defeated incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue in a runoff in 2021, helping Democrats flip control of the Senate and hold onto the chamber’s majority for four years during the Biden administration. SENATOR JOINS GROUP OF FAR-LEFT LAWMAKERS WHO THINK TRUMP HAS — AGAIN — COMMITTED IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES During his first four years, Ossoff attempted to establish a reputation as a senator working to advance Georgia’s traditional interests, including its farmers and military bases. He says he will attempt to work with Republicans to deliver for Georgia. The senator, who has recently intensified his criticisms of Trump, warned Saturday that businesses and households in Georgia are struggling to plan for the future because of constant changes in the federal government’s trade and economic moves. “Businesses are unable to invest with an understanding of what the rules of international trade will be from one hour or week or month to the next,” Ossoff told The Associated Press. “Households are unable to plan their annual budgets because there’s so much chaos and uncertainty in the implementation of federal economic policy.” “This administration needs to clearly define its economic objectives, and it needs to competently implement its plan, whatever that plan may be,” he continued. “The fact that the White House does not even know what its policy is, and is with such unpredictability and chaos, lurching from one policy to the other, is putting the state’s economy at serious economic risk.” STACEY ABRAMS CONSIDERS 3RD RUN FOR GEORGIA GOVERNOR DESPITE BACK-TO-BACK DEFEATS Ossoff also expressed concerns about Trump’s authoritarian and “un-American” executive action since returning to the White House in January, pointing to the president’s attempts to go after his political opponents. “We have never seen a president try to wield the federal government to crush his critics and political adversaries,” Ossoff said. “That’s something new in American history, and it is, in my view, un-American. And it’s something that should chill us to the bone, no matter our politics, no matter our policy preferences.” The lawmaker urged Republicans to remember that eventually a Democrat will be president again and “the shoe will be on the other foot.” “This is about checks and balances,” he said. “This is about whether or not the executive branch is constrained as designed by our Constitution, by judicious legislators who can put their partisanship aside to protect the public interest.” Ossoff explained that, while Democrats have limited power without control of the White House or either chamber of Congress, a big part of his job at the moment is to inform the people of Georgia that Trump’s policies are not in the state’s best interest. In addition to his criticism of Trump, Ossoff has cited shortcomings during the Biden administration, particularly when it comes to border security. He was one of 12 Democrats who voted for the Laken Riley Act, named after a Georgia nursing student murdered by Venezuelan migrant Jose Antonio Ibarra. The law requires illegal migrants accused — even without a conviction — of theft or violent crimes to be detained by the Department of Homeland Security. “My view is that the American people expect and deserve secure borders,” Ossoff said. “And I think the Biden administration failed in its border policies. The American people expect and deserve for people who enter this country illegally and may pose a threat to public safety or national security to be apprehended by the authorities.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “But the American people don’t support and don’t expect federal police raids on elementary schools and hospitals and churches,” he continued, referring to the Trump administration’s controversial immigration enforcement actions. “And [the American people] don’t expect our military installations to become mass prison camps for immigrants and don’t want entire families rounded up with no due process. We just learned yesterday about a two-year-old U.S. citizen — a two-year-old girl — who was deported without due process. Our immigration policy needs to be responsible and serious. It also needs to be humane.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New York Assembly passes bill to legalize assisted suicide for the terminally ill

New York Assembly passes bill to legalize assisted suicide for the terminally ill

The New York State Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill that would legalize medically assisted suicide for terminally ill people, sending the measure to the state Senate. The Medical Aid in Dying Act passed the Assembly by an 81-67 vote. The measure would allow a mentally competent adult who has been given six months or less to live the option of being prescribed lethal drugs. The bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, said she was motivated to introduce the legislation after her sister died of ovarian cancer. “I don’t know whether she would have availed herself of this medication if she had the opportunity, but I can tell you that when she died, I wasn’t there,” Paulin, a Democrat, told reporters, according to the New York Post. MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS PROPOSE CONTROVERSIAL MEDICALLY-ASSISTED SUICIDE BILL “When she died, my other sisters were not there, and that was her wish,” she continued. Democrat Assemblywoman Karines Reyes, a registered nurse, said the bill would allow people to die with dignity. “If you don’t believe in it, then don’t avail yourself of that choice, but I think it is inhumane for us to tell people that we are forcing them to continue their suffering,” Reyes said. Medically-assisted suicide has been gaining support in New York over the last decade, but opponents of the measure argue it is akin to state-sponsored assisted suicide. “I watched my mom die. I watched my daughter die. And I know that for a fact that none of us are getting out of here alive. At some point or the other, we’re all going to go, but I don’t believe there should be a combination of six drugs offered to someone to end their life,” Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, a Democrat, said on the Assembly floor, according to the New York Post. TERMINALLY ILL MISSOURI WOMAN, 79, TAKING TRIP TO SWITZERLAND FOR ASSISTED SUICIDE  Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, a Republican, said “each and every life has value” in arguing against the proposal. “Progress may not be on a straight line and will look different to each of us, but this idea of giving up and dying is not excelsior, ever upward. It’s incredibly sad,” she said, referring to the state motto, “Excelsior” which means “ever upward.” State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said she would discuss the bill with senators, but she did not say whether she would bring it up for a floor vote. “The conversation had begun in earnest last year. So I think we have time to look at it seriously,” she told reporters. It is unclear if Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul would sign the measure if it passed the state legislature. There are 10 U.S. states with legalized physician-assisted suicide. Several other countries, including Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, have also legalized assisted suicide.

Elon Musk no longer working on DOGE efforts from White House: report

Elon Musk no longer working on DOGE efforts from White House: report

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is starting to transition from his role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and is no longer working regularly from the White House, according to a report from the New York Post. His impending exit is no surprise, as the White House confirmed earlier this month that the plan was always for Musk to refocus on Tesla once he completed “his incredible work at DOGE.” The Tesla CEO was appointed as an unpaid special government employee under DOGE and remains involved in the agency remotely. MUSK NOT LEAVING YET, WRAPPING UP WORK ON SCHEDULE ONCE ‘INCREDIBLE WORK AT DOGE IS COMPLETE’: WHITE HOUSE Fox News’ Bret Baier previously asked the DOGE leader during an interview with him and members of his team if he would be working past the 130 days typically expected of special government employees. To which Musk responded, “I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that timeframe.”  Musk has also reportedly told his investors that he would be “allocating far more of my time to Tesla” in the coming months during a Tesla earnings call. Although the exact amount of money DOGE has recovered is unknown, Musk has said that he believes enough work has been done to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told The NYP that Musk working remotely “really doesn’t matter much” when it comes to accomplishing goals. “Instead of meeting with him in person, I’m talking to him on the phone, but it’s the same net effect. He hasn’t been here physically, but it really doesn’t matter much,” Wiles said. DOGE SLASHES OVER $100M IN DEI FUNDING AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: ‘WIN FOR EVERY STUDENT’ Wiles also said Musk’s team is still working from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the West Wing. “He’s not out of it altogether… He’ll be stepping back a little, but he’s certainly not abandoning it,” she told the outlet.