Vance to meet with Duffy, aviation leaders as shutdown ‘gravely’ impacts crucial industry
FIRST ON FOX: Another aviation-related union is demanding lawmakers reopen the government as Vice President JD Vance prepares to hold a roundtable with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and airline industry leaders Thursday as shutdown woes mount, Fox News Digital learned. The roundtable will be held at the White House Thursday afternoon, and will include Airlines for America CEO and former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and other airline leaders, a White House official told Fox News Digital. The roundtable comes as the “Democrat Shutdown” has “gravely” impacted the aviation industry, according to the White House official, including air traffic controllers officially missing their first full paycheck, and unions calling on lawmakers to pass a clean continuing resolution. Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, an independent union representing aircraft maintenance technicians and other related employees, called on lawmakers on Wednesday to pass a “clean continuing resolution” and reopen the government. FLIGHT DELAYS WORSEN AS UNPAID AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS FEEL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN PAIN “On behalf of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) and our 4,400 members in the Unites States representing the aircraft maintenance technicians at Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Horizon Air, Spirit Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines, we urge Congress to end the government shutdown by passing a clean Continuing Resolution,” AMFA National President Bret Oestreich said in a press release published Wednesday. “We stand with our brothers and sisters in air traffic control and TSA who continue to ensure the safety of the flying public while working for no pay,” he continued. “It’s time for Congress to reconvene in a bipartisan manner to pass a clean CR and support all the men and women in aviation who contribute to the safest National Airspace System for us all to travel.” The government shutdown has persisted since Oct. 1, when Senate lawmakers failed to reach a funding agreement before a midnight deadline. The Trump administration and Republicans have since pinned blame for the shutdown on Democrats, claiming they worked to include taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants. Democrats have denied the claims and argue that Republicans refused to negotiate on healthcare demands. “We need to end this shutdown as soon as possible,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in floor remarks Oct. 9. “Every day that Republicans refuse to negotiate to end this shutdown the worse it gets for Americans, and the clearer it becomes who’s fighting for them.” Vance has hammered the argument that Democrats are to blame for the shutdown, including during his remarks at a Turning Point USA event Wednesday at the University of Mississippi. “The reality here is that there’s a very simple bill that just reopens the government,” he said. “It does it through pretty much the end of the year. That got every single Republican in the House of Representatives to support it, and then it got 52 Republicans in the Senate and three Democrats in the Senate to support it. But because of weird Senate procedural rules, it requires a 60 vote threshold.” SEAN DUFFY WARNS OF RECORD STRAIN ON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS AHEAD OF FIRST MISSED PAYCHECK “When you have every single Republican with like two exceptions in both houses of Congress, I feel pretty confident. I know that I’m partisan,” he added. “I know I have an R next to my name, but I feel pretty damn good saying the shutdown is the Democrats’ fault because we voted again and again to open.” The shutdown comes as Americans prepare to travel for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, with the White House previously telling Fox News Digital that as the shutdown continues it “threatens to ruin the holidays.” The Air Line Pilots Association, the world’s largest airline pilot union, called on lawmakers to reopen the government earlier in October. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association issued a similar statement later in October, urging lawmakers to pass a “clean Continuing Resolution” and reopen the federal government while pointing to the state of air traffic controllers during a shutdown. The shutdown has rocked families as they prepare to temporarily lose federal food assistance, while small business owners are losing out on billions in Small Business Administration-backed funding, and an estimated 750,000 federal employees have been furloughed. AMERICANS COULD FACE AIRPORT CHAOS IF DEMS DON’T END SHUTDOWN, TRUMP OFFICIAL WARNS As for air travel, massive hubs such as Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Newark, New Jersey, have seen delays in recent weeks, as air traffic controllers, who are employed by the Federal Aviation Administration, cope with staffing shortages. Air traffic controllers lost their first full paychecks beginning Tuesday. “I’ve made clear to our air traffic controllers: they need to show up for work. They do really important work for our country, and they need to show up. But I’m not going to lie to anybody to not say that they’re not feeling the stress,” Transportation chief Duffy said during a press conference at LaGuardia Airport in New York City Tuesday. “The fact that they are working, and oftentimes, they are head of households, they’re the only income earners in their homes, and they have families, and they’re having a hard time paying their bills.”
Vance tells Republicans to stop fearing federal power, says Democrats pioneered weaponizing it
Vice President JD Vance told a Turning Point USA audience Wednesday that Republicans shouldn’t fear using federal power, arguing the left has already weaponized it in the past. Vance was responding to a question from an audience member at the University of Mississippi, also known as “Ole Miss,” who asked whether Republicans risk “abusing that power” if they use the federal government aggressively when governing. “We cannot be afraid to do something because the left might do it in the future,” Vance said. “The left is already going to do it, regardless of whether we do it. That is the takeaway of the last 40 years.” ERIKA KIRK DELIVERS RAW, FAITH-FILLED TRIBUTE TO LATE HUSBAND AT OLE MISS: ‘I SLEPT ON HIS SIDE OF THE BED’ Vance sarcastically prefaced his answer by saying, “What if Joe Biden sent the Federal Bureau of Investigation to start arresting his political opponents,” a dig at the criminal cases brought against former President Donald Trump over the last few years. The Trump administration has deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Memphis, Tenn., with plans to send troops to as many as 19 states to support immigration enforcement and fight crime. VANCE ISSUES MIDTERM WARNING, SAYS DEMOCRATS’ ANGER COULD DRIVE 2026 TURNOUT “If Joe Biden wanted to deploy the National Guard to a red state in a place where the murder rate was twice what it is in third-world countries to actually go after murderers, that would be a great use of the National Guard,” Vance continued. “Unfortunately, I don’t think Joe Biden would use it like that,” the vice president added. “What I’m worried about, frankly, is what the far left already did with American law enforcement — and that is the thing we have to prevent against.” He said that preventing future misuse of federal power requires holding those responsible to account. “And the answer to that question is, you make sure the people who did it face penalties for using the federal power against American citizens,” he said. “And by the way, that’s exactly what we’re trying to do.”
Lawmakers race to stop ‘next fentanyl crisis’ with crackdown on nitazenes synthetic opioids
FIRST ON FOX: A trio of Republican senators is introducing a coordinated slate of legislation to crack down on nitazenes — a class of synthetic opioids that are little known to the public but increasingly viewed by law enforcement and health officials as potentially the next fentanyl-level crisis. Sens. Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania unveiled three new bills aimed at addressing the growing spread of nitazenes through law enforcement, technology and foreign policy measures. The push represents one of the most aggressive congressional efforts yet to get ahead of what experts warn could be a deadly new chapter in America’s opioid epidemic. Schmitt’s Detection Equipment and Technology Evaluation to Counter the Threat of Nitazenes Act of 2025, or DETECT Nitazenes Act, directs the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Drug Enforcement Administration to develop and deploy new technology capable of detecting trace amounts of nitazenes. The bill also updates the Homeland Security Act to explicitly include nitazenes in federal efforts to identify and disrupt illicit substances. Ricketts and Schmitt joined McCormick and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) in introducing the Nitazene Control Act, which would permanently classify nitazenes as Schedule I controlled substances under federal law — the same category as heroin, fentanyl and LSD. DEADLY DRUG MIX DRIVES STAGGERING RISE IN OVERDOSE DEATHS AMONG SENIORS And in a third measure, Ricketts, Schmitt and McCormick rolled out the Nitazene Sanctions Act, which targets the Chinese supply chain behind the synthetic opioids. The bill would expand sanctions on persons and entities in Communist China that support the manufacturing of nitazenes and require the State and Justice Departments to develop a coordinated strategy to cut off the flow of precursor chemicals into the United States. “Nitazenes could become the next fentanyl crisis if not stopped,” Ricketts said. “It’s already killed thousands of Europeans, and it’s quickly making its way to our shores. The Nitazene Sanctions Act will unleash sweeping sanctions against those in Communist China who are helping to poison and kill Americans.” Schmitt echoed that warning. “Nitazenes are powerful synthetic opioids which overwhelmingly originate from Communist China. The Nitazene Sanctions Act will combat this deadly drug by unleashing devastating sanctions against any entity in Communist China that is manufacturing this deadly drug to poison and kill American citizens,” he said. DEA MAKES MASS ARRESTS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE FENTANYL AND METH BUST TIED TO SINALOA CARTEL McCormick added that the scope of the problem should serve as a wake-up call. “The fact that nitazenes are oftentimes more deadly than fentanyl, which killed nearly 4,000 Pennsylvanians last year alone, should be a wake-up call to us all,” he said. “We must target nitazenes before they become the next drug epidemic. These illicit drugs are extremely potent and difficult to detect.” Nitazenes belong to a class of synthetic opioids known as benzimidazole-opioids. First developed in the 1950s as experimental painkillers, they were never approved for medical use due to their extreme potency and risk of overdose. The most common forms are estimated to be five to nine times stronger than fentanyl, and some variants can be up to 40 times more potent, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Once obscure laboratory compounds, nitazenes began appearing around 2019 in seizures and toxicology reports across North America, Europe and beyond. Because they often contaminate counterfeit pills or powders without users’ knowledge, even trace amounts can be lethal. Recent data from the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) highlight the rapid rise of nitazene-related overdoses across the country. Between January 2023 and April 2025, emergency medical services recorded 18,449 encounters tied to nitazene use — 99.4% non-fatal and 0.6% fatal — with the highest rates concentrated in the Southeast. The DEA’s Houston office has also warned of a spike in fatal poisonings involving nitazenes in Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The true scale of the crisis, however, remains difficult to measure. Many state toxicology systems and CDC overdose tracking programs do not yet distinguish nitazenes from other synthetic opioids, leaving significant blind spots in federal data. Unlike opium-based narcotics, nitazenes and other synthetic opioids can be produced anywhere using widely available precursor chemicals. U.S. officials have warned that Chinese chemical manufacturers can easily synthesize these compounds — and that Mexican cartels could exploit their supply networks with Chinese partners to funnel nitazenes into the U.S. Together, the three new Senate bills — the DETECT Nitazenes Act, Nitazene Control Act, and Nitazene Sanctions Act — mark a coordinated Republican effort to confront the emerging threat from multiple angles: technology, law enforcement and international pressure. While fentanyl remains the leading driver of America’s overdose epidemic, lawmakers and health officials are increasingly concerned that nitazenes could represent a new and even deadlier frontier in the synthetic-opioid crisis — one that the GOP senators say must be confronted before it spirals out of control.
Republican senators blast FDA for expanding abortion pill access
Republican senators on Wednesday urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to tighten safety standards and reconsider partnerships tied to abortion pills, accusing the agency of expanding access without adequate oversight. On the call, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., expressed frustration that the agency hadn’t already overhauled safety parameters around abortion pills — and that it had instead expanded its partnerships with producers of the drugs that make chemical abortions available. “My plea to the FDA is to follow the science to put back safety guardrails,” Hawley said. “I’ve called on the director of the FDA to take these steps. The public deserves to have answers.” HAWLEY BLASTS FDA APPROVAL OF NEW ABORTION DRUG, CITES SAFETY AND TRUST CONCERNS The press conference held by the senators indicates that abortion policy is still a mainstay priority for some Republican lawmakers — even as President Donald Trump has previously signaled contentment with leaving questions about abortion policy at the state level. Hawley and Cassidy both questioned the safety of chemical abortions and their proliferation. Notably, Republicans passed a short-term prohibition of Medicaid funding from going to nonprofit organizations that provide abortions as part of its One, Big Beautiful Bill Act that became law earlier this year. But that change hasn’t stopped Hawley and other lawmakers from torching the FDA for announcing a partnership with Evita Solutions, looking to create a new version of the key abortion drug, mifepristone. “When I heard the FDA approved another generic form of misoprostol, I was upset,” Sen. Cassidy said, referring to the drug often used in conjunction with mifepristone. “I call them up, ‘Why are you doing this?’” Cassidy joined 17 other Republican senators in sending a letter to the FDA earlier this month, demanding to know why the agency had approved a new form of the abortion drug. They asked for an answer by Oct. 30. Cassidy said the group has not received anything from the agency. “They have not responded, but the government’s been shut down, and so I’m sure they would say, ‘Well, we can’t respond,’ but we will have the FDA commissioner to come in and speak to FDA issues.” Without mifepristone and misoprostol, most of the country’s abortions would be impossible. The pair of compounds undermine the vitality of a pregnancy and prompt the body to expel pregnancy tissue. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a sexual health and reproductive rights organization, mifepristone was used to induce 63% of all U.S. abortions in 2023. ARREST WARRANT ISSUED FOR CALIFORNIA DOCTOR IN LOUISIANA ABORTION PILL CASE “This is shocking,” Hawley said in a post to X earlier this month. “FDA just approved ANOTHER chemical abortion drug, when evidence shows chemical abortion drugs are dangerous and even deadly for the mother. And of course, 100% lethal to the child.” Hawley claimed on Wednesday that 11% of women who use a chemical abortion experience some sort of adverse health event. “The science is really quite significant. We’ve just had one of the largest studies ever performed of claims relating to chemical abortions based on insurance data. It came out this summer — 865,000 insurance claims that were made and analyzed,” Hawley said. The Ethics & Public Policy Center published findings in April that evaluated 865,000 medical abortions prescribed between 2017–2023. It concluded that the rate of serious side effects was 22 times higher than indicated by the FDA label. “That’s a sanitized way of saying they’re in very serious danger,” Hawley said. Critics of the study have said it lacks context and may overlook unrelated, complicating factors. Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion advocacy group, shares Hawley’s concern about the pill’s safety. She also believes abortion pills are an easy way for women to access abortion — even in states that have passed restrictions on them. “This abortion pill is an instrument of beating back [state] sovereignty. State laws are being undermined. The abortion rate overall in this nation has gone up since Dobbs because of the abortion pill,” Dannenfelser said, referring to the landmark 2022 case Dobbs v. Jackson that overturned a federal right to an abortion. MAJOR PRO-LIFE GROUP DEMANDS INVESTIGATION INTO ABORTION PILL BILLBOARDS IN FLORIDA Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America was one of the key groups calling on Republicans to cut Medicaid funding for abortions through Trump’s One, Big Beautiful Bill Act. Anti-abortion advocates have zeroed in on access to mifepristone as a way to continue pushing back against abortion access — especially since the FDA approved remote prescriptions of the drug in the wake of COVID-19. In June, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge brought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), arguing that the FDA had improperly approved mifepristone for use back in 2001, skirting safety requirements. Since then, mifepristone has remained widely available, but the Supreme Court’s ruling left the door open to future challenges to the FDA’s certification of the drug. Like other critics of chemical abortions, Hawley has urged the FDA to undergo its own evaluation of whether abortion pills are safe, reliable products — a priority shared with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “We need to have a full and thorough review of the data related to mifepristone [and] the health risks related to mifepristone. We need to see the reinstatement of safety guardrails that have historically accompanied this drug,” Hawley said. The FDA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
2025 Election Day survival guide: Your last-minute roadmap to voting across the nation
While 2025 is considered an “off-year election,” without the high-profile presidential showdown of last year or the competitive midterm elections that could shift the congressional balance of power next year, there are more than a dozen local races across the U.S. Election Day is just five days away. From New Jersey’s and Virginia’s gubernatorial races, to the New York City mayoral election and California’s special election, here’s everything you need to know to exercise your right to vote. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ELECTION DAY 2025: CRITICAL ELECTIONS, BALLOT MEASURES AND MORE Most people who vote on Election Day choose to vote in person at a voting location, according to the U.S. government’s official voting guidance website. First things first, confirm your voter registration status here. Once confirmed, you can find your polling site on the website for the National Association of Secretaries of State. When you arrive at the voting location on Election Day, an election worker will help distribute your paper ballot or electronic voting device. Opening and closing times for voting locations vary by jurisdiction. Check state or local election offices for any questions about polling sites. HERE’S WHEN 2025 ELECTION DAY EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING COMES TO A CLOSE ACROSS THE US Most states or territories now offer early in-person voting, but timing and duration vary. Check your local election office for early voting dates. Some polling locations might change for early voting. Each state has its own guidance on absentee voting or voting by mail. Check local guidance on submitting absentee ballots. Some states come with prepaid return envelopes, while others require adding postage to your envelope, according to the U.S. voting guidance website. Be sure to follow the directions carefully to avoid a mistake on your mail-in ballot that could cost you your vote. If dropping off a mail-in ballot in-person at your polling site or a local drop box, no stamp is required. FIRST TIME VOTING? HERE IS THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BALLOT BOXES, CRITICAL ISSUES ON ELECTION DAY While each state and territory follows its own rules on voter ID, most states require voters to bring identification to vote in person. You can learn more about your state’s ID requirements by checking the National Conference of State Legislatures. If English isn’t your primary language, contact your state or local election office to learn what support is available, including whether voting information and materials are available in your language, whether a poll worker can communicate in your language or if a family member can help translate. Visit the U.S. government’s website to learn more. According to the U.S. government’s voting guidance website, anyone with a disability has the legal right to accessible voting materials, such as ballots with larger print or audio formats. For those voting in-person, voters have the right to accessible voting equipment and an accessible voting location. And if your local election website or polling site is not accessible, voters have the right to request accommodations. Voters can once again reach out to their local election officials for more guidance. Many state and local election offices post sample ballots online to review ahead of casting your vote. Study up on who is running for elected office in your area to make the most informed decision on Election Day.
How to watch 2025 Election Day coverage with Fox News on Nov. 4
Fox News Channel and Fox News Digital will be your source for up-to-the-minute election coverage as voters head to the polls in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and beyond. Follow Fox News Digital online for breaking coverage as Virginia and New Jersey decide their next governors, New York City picks a new mayor and Pennsylvania voters decide whether to retain three Democratic Supreme Court justices up for re-election. Tune into Fox News Channel on your cable or streaming service provider. You can also access Fox News Channel content on the new FOX ONE app. FIRST TIME VOTING? HERE IS THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BALLOT BOXES, CRITICAL ISSUES ON ELECTION DAY Then, on Tuesday, tune in for up-to-the-minute election coverage all day on Fox News Channel. Fox News Digital will also provide election updates at FoxNews.com and on the Fox News app. Start your day with “Fox & Friends First” at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT. Then join Brian, Ainsley, Lawrence and Steve for “Fox & Friends” at 6 a.m. ET. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ELECTION DAY 2025: CRITICAL ELECTIONS, BALLOT MEASURES AND MORE At 9 a.m. ET, Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino will cover current events, with guests pertinent to the news topics, including the crucial elections, on “America’s Newsroom.” At 11 a.m., Harris Faulkner will provide her analysis on the races and other news of the day on “The Faulkner Focus.” At noon, Faulkner joins the panel on “Outnumbered” to continue breaking coverage of all things election-related. After that, at 2 p.m., John Roberts and Sandra Smith anchor “America Reports,” followed by “The Story with Martha MacCallum” at 3 p.m. Will Cain picks up the mantle at 4 p.m., offering his take on what has transpired so far on Election Day before “The Five” takes over at their eponymous hour. Continue to get up-to-the-minute breaking news and a roundup of the day’s stories from Bret Baier and his team on an Election Day edition of “Special Report.”
Federal appeals court cancels daily Border Patrol chief check-ins
The Department of Homeland Security is celebrating a victory after an “act of judicial overreach has been paused.” On Wednesday, an appeals court blocked an order issued on Tuesday that required a senior Border Patrol official to give unprecedented daily briefings to a judge about immigration sweeps in Chicago. U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis had ordered the meetings after weeks of tense encounters and increasingly aggressive tactics by government agents working on Operation Midway Blitz, which has resulted in more than 1,800 arrests and complaints of excessive force. While Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino told Fox News earlier Wednesday that he was eager to talk to Ellis, government lawyers were appealing her decision at the same time, calling it “extraordinarily disruptive.” ICE AGENTS BREAK CAR WINDOW TO ARREST RESISTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IN EXCLUSIVE FOX NEWS RIDE-ALONG “The order significantly interferes with the quintessentially executive function of ensuring the Nation’s immigration laws are properly enforced by waylaying a senior executive official critical to that mission on a daily basis,” the Justice Department argued. “We are thrilled this act of judicial overreach has been paused,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to The Associated Press. OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE SAYS SHE WANTS BODY CAMERAS FOR FEDERAL AGENTS AMID CHICAGO ANTI-ICE CLASHES On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released footage on X that appears to show Border Patrol agents under siege during an immigration raid in Chicago’s Little Village, a Southwest Side neighborhood often referred to as “La Villita” and home to one of the largest Mexican American communities in the Midwest. “VIDEO EVIDENCE,” DHS wrote in the post with the video attached. Last week, on Oct. 22, three illegal immigrants and six U.S. citizens were arrested on charges on what DHS dubbed “one of the most violent days” of Operation Midway Blitz. Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump inches closer to DC federal property sell-off with Ernst’s help
FIRST ON FOX: Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst introduced legislation Thursday that would clear the way for Trump administration officials to sell underutilized federal buildings, Fox News Digital learned. “Despite President Trump calling federal employees back to work, vacant government buildings could easily be mistaken as future locations for Spirit Halloween stores,” Ernst said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “For too long, the entrenched bureaucracy has used red tape to prevent these ghost towns from being sold off,” she continued. Her Disposal Act “immediately lists six prime pieces of D.C. real estate on the auction block and slashes through pointless regulations to fast-track the sale of the government’s graveyard of lifeless real estate to generate hundreds of millions of dollars and save taxpayers billions.” Ernst is the founder and chair of the Senate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus, and first exposed the federal government’s lack of use of its federal buildings back in 2023 when she released a “naughty list of no-show federal agencies” following the pandemic, when federal employees worked from home amid government-mandated shutdowns. SHUTDOWN FACES TAXPAYER RECKONING AS LAWMAKER WORKS TO EXPOSE ‘TRUE COST OF DEMOCRATS’ POLITICAL STUNT’ Dubbed the “Disposing of Inactive Structures and Properties by Offering for Sale And Lease (DISPOSAL) Act,” the legislation works to renew efforts to sell six pieces of underutilized federal properties in Washington, D.C., that headquarter various federal agencies. The legislation specifically calls on the General Services Administration to sell the Frances Perkins Federal Building, home to the Department of Labor; the Department of Energy’s James V. Forrestal Building; the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building, which is home to the Office of Personnel Management; Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, where Housing and Urban Development was headquartered before announcing in June it planned to move; Department of Agriculture’s headquarters at its South Building; and the Hubert H. Humphrey Federal Building, headquarters of Health and Human Services. ERNST DEMANDS $2T IN FEDERAL CUTS, URGES TRUMP TEAM TO ‘MAKE DC SQUEAL’ AMID SHUTDOWN FIGHT There are an estimated 7,700 vacant federal buildings nationwide and another 2,265 that are largely sitting empty, according to Ernst’s office. The Office of Management and Budget reported in 2023 that the annual cost of operating federal buildings deemed “underutilized” sits at $81.346 million, while the General Services Administration reported in 2025 that deferred maintenance and repair backlogs at federal buildings exceeds $6 billion and will balloon to more than $20 billion in five years. The General Services Administration identified hundreds of “non-core” federal properties across the nation in March that could be put up for sale. Mold, cockroaches and undrinkable water also have plagued the federal buildings, according to various recent media reports. HOUSING COSTS ARE CRUSHING FAMILIES – HERE’S THE WAY OUT The legislation would clear the path for the Trump administration to make additional sales down the line, should it pass. Sales of federal buildings are wrapped in red tape and procedures, with the bill working to streamline the process by mandating the sale of up to 20 additional federal buildings per calendar year, and charging the GSA chief with determining whether a sale or ground lease would be in the “best interests of the United States.” President Donald Trump‘s DOGE efforts to slim down the size of the federal government and remove overspending have been a hallmark of his second administration. Trump repeatedly has railed against federal employees who stopped reporting to the office since the pandemic, vowing during his joint address to Congress in March that “unaccountable bureaucracy” will end. “We have hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have not been showing up to work,” he said. “My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy, and we will restore true democracy to America again. Any federal bureaucrat who resists this change will be removed from office immediately.” Ernst and DOGE successfully mandated the sale of the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in June, which headquartered Voice of America in a 1.2 million-square-foot building. Only 72 people worked in the building as of 2024, Fox News Digital previously reported. Fox News Digital reported in February that the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) headquarters in D.C., which can accommodate roughly 6,000 people, had become so desolate of employees during the Biden administration that it looked like an off-season Spirit Halloween store. Administration officials confirmed to Fox News Digital at the time that one HUD office even still had a business card left over from the first Trump administration still tacked on a white board when officials with the second administration reported to work following Trump’s inauguration. Ernst’s October legislation follows a bill she introduced in June that called for the sale of six federal properties that would yield at least $400 million in revenue while canceling roughly $2.9 billion in overdue maintenance at the buildings.
Ex-FBI agents say bureau used internal probes to punish whistleblowers
The FBI has a longstanding pattern of using its internal review processes to dissuade whistleblowers, a former special agent told Fox Digital. What started in 2021 as a workplace conflict for Special Agent Valentine Fertitta snowballed into a yearslong dispute when Fertitta escalated concerns about his treatment, his wife said. Emily Fertitta, who also served in the bureau under the Biden administration, believes that’s emblematic of a larger problem. “A very simple equal employment opportunity case has grown into this huge whistleblower case that has implications for everybody,” she said. “National security retaliation is huge for so many whistleblowers.” HOUSE REPUBLICANS ACCUSE BIDEN’S FBI OF RETALIATING AGAINST WHISTLEBLOWER WHO EXPOSED MISCONDUCT After a deployment overseas, Valentine Fertitta returned home with serious injuries that limited his participation at work for the FBI. After a manager took issue with his reduced productivity, the agency blocked him from consideration of a promotion in 2021 — a decision Valentine Fertitta believed violated the FBI’s policies and federal employment law, according to the family’s attorney. “Val’s supervisor at the time — this guy is just obsessed with statistics,” Matthew Crotty, the Fertitta family’s legal counsel said. “He was a troublemaker, really obsessed with advancing in his career.” But that was only the beginning of Valentine Fertitta’s conflict with the FBI. TERRY ROZIER’S ATTORNEY ACCUSES FBI OF SEEKING ‘MISPLACED GLORY’ WITH NBA PLAYER’S ARREST Believing that his management had violated government protections against injured employees among other employment safeguards for veterans, Valentine Fertitta filed a whistleblower complaint. Not long after, he received his first-ever negative work performance review, was denied access to trainings, was asked to provide past, present and future medical records and more, according to his wife. Exasperated, Valentine Fertitta appealed his case to the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management (OARM) — the FBI’s internal body charged with acting as a backstop against whistleblower retaliation. Less than a month later, the FBI opened an evaluation of his security clearance, according to their lawyer. “The key thing is the timing,” Crotty said. “Within two weeks of Val starting this OARM process, the FBI starts to investigate Val’s suitability to hold a top secret security clearance.” “The way the FBI can essentially fire you without saying ‘you’re fired’ is to just revoke your clearance,” Crotty added. Emily Fertitta explained that the process carries with it some punitive effects. Among them: suspension of pay during the time of review. Emily Fertitta said the investigation also put pressure on her. As a part of the security clearance evaluation, she said the bureau asked her to testify against her husband in what was going to be a three-day interview. When she asked for legal counsel, she said the FBI denied her request. Emily Fertitta decided to quit the agency. She said her husband’s clearance dispute is ongoing. FBI AGENTS FIRED AFTER KNEELING AT GEORGE FLOYD PROTEST IN 2020: REPORTS The Supreme Court has granted the FBI broad powers to make decisions about its employees and their security clearances, with few exceptions. That means that for their duration at the bureau, FBI agents have no external recourse to appeal a clearance dispute. Crotty said that goes for a lot of the internal review measures inside the FBI. “It doesn’t matter who’s in the White House. It’s a structural FBI thing. It’s been going on since Hoover,” Crotty said, referring to the FBI’s original director. “This is an agency that makes loyalty part and parcel to its core — and if you go against it by trying any of these internal processes — [they] are going to get back at you.” “This is what lawmakers need to know,” Crotty said. Emily Fertitta said other whistleblowers face similar opposition, pointing to public reporting provided by the FBI. The OARM, the body that Valentine Fertitta had appealed to shortly before his clearance evaluation began, records complaints that the FBI has received from whistleblowers who believe they’ve faced some sort of retribution. In the past 10 annual reports submitted to Congress, OARM has received 107 complaints. In that time, OARM identified nine cases of retaliation. “This is much bigger than Val and Emily. It applies to so many other people who just don’t have the ability to speak up,” Emily Fertitta said. She said the Biden administration did little to address the issue and hopes that, amid Trump’s openness to retool government structures, the new administration will follow through on promises of reform. “Congress could fix this without costing the taxpayer a dime by saying hey, if you’re a reservist at the FBI, you can go to federal court — just like an Amazon worker can — you can make that claim before a federal jury in federal court. That’s what needs to change,” Crotty said. “Having a couple of jury verdicts that nail the FBI on retaliation; once the FBI starts cutting checks for millions of dollars in jury verdicts, that’s how stuff gets fixed,” he added. According to Crotty, the Fertitta family has a pending civil case against the FBI. That litigation faces delays amid pending internal FBI deliberations over Mr. Fertitta’s security clearance, he said. The FBI declined to comment on the Fertitta case.
Why is Donald Trump so interested in rare earth minerals?
The US president has struck a number of deals in his tour of Asia this week. Since coming back to the White House earlier this year, President Donald Trump has made rare earth minerals one of his top priorities. He’s focused on securing enough supply for the United States economy. In March, Trump went as far as signing an executive order, where he invoked wartime powers to increase the production of rare earths. And this week, he signed several agreements with a number of Asian countries, in the hopes of gaining access to the minerals. This is all to counter China’s global dominance in this sector and Beijing’s recent restrictions on rare earth exports. So, why are these minerals so crucial for the US economy? And can Trump break China’s monopoly? Presenter: Bernard Smith Guests: Brian Wong – Assistant Professor in Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. Gracelin Baskaran – Mining Economist and Director of the Critical Minerals Security program at Center for Strategic and International Studies. Huiyao Wang – President and Founder of Center for China and Globalization. Published On 29 Oct 202529 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)