‘Only takes 3’: Dems push personal data protection to turn GOP against Elon Musk’s DOGE
House Democrats have a new coordinated pressure campaign aimed at restricting Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), based on leveraging the GOP’s razor-thin majority. Recent days have seen Democratic lawmakers take to both traditional and social media to publicly urge “just three House Republicans” to cross the aisle and vote for a bill designed to stop Musk from accessing U.S. citizens’ records in the Department of Treasury. “I’m supporting the Taxpayer Data Protection Act because it will protect Americans’ private data from Elon Musk and his reckless DOGE employees,” Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., wrote on X. “Republican leadership has to let us vote. If they don’t, it only takes three lone Republicans to join us and make it happen.” Generally, legislation needs to have the blessing of majority party leaders to get a House-wide vote. BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS But Lee’s comments appear to signal that House Democrats are prepared to use a discharge petition to end-run GOP leaders’ likely opposition. It’s a mechanism to force legislation up for a House-wide vote, provided the petition gets signatures from a majority of House lawmakers. Meanwhile, in an MSNBC interview earlier this week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., suggested Democrats’ highlighting of Republicans’ thin majority could be a running theme in the 119th Congress. “What we’ve been saying to our Republican colleagues is that on any issue that the American people are concerned about, it only takes three Republicans to break with the other side of the aisle, join the 215 Democrats, and we can stop them in their tracks. It only takes three,” Jeffries said. “Meanwhile, they’re in the witness protection program as it relates to the things that are taking place – don’t want to take a stand, don’t want to offend Elon Musk, don’t want to offend Donald Trump, but they’re really offending the people that they were elected to represent.” SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN He stopped short of endorsing any specific legislation, however. Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ office to ask if he would be supportive of a discharge petition. Other Democrats were more targeted in their approach, like progressive Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., who wrote on X, “It’s not rocket science: an unelected billionaire should NOT have access to your personal financial info!” “If just three House Republicans join us, we can pass a bill that stops Musk from accessing your private info. But the [House GOP] is siding with their favorite billionaire donor over everyday Americans,” Pocan wrote on Tuesday. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., said on the site, “This isn’t complicated: allowing access to these sensitive IRS records by an unelected businessman is dangerous. We can protect your privacy if just three House Republicans join us to pass legislation that stops accessing your private information.” It will likely be an ongoing theme for the next two years as Republicans navigate a majority of less than a handful of House seats. The number three also coincides with how many House Republicans won districts that former Vice President Kamala Harris prevailed over Trump in last year. Those Republicans – Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Don Bacon, R-Neb. – are likely to be main targets for Democrats. The vast majority of House Republicans have been supportive of Musk’s DOGE efforts, however, even as Democrats sound alarm bells about the billionaire’s lack of government experience and accuse him of possible conflicts of interest. Republicans have argued that the $36 trillion national debt amounted to a fiscal crisis that called for extraordinary measures.
Rekha Gupta named Delhi Chief Minister, set to succeed Atishi
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named as Delhi Chief Minister, who is set to succeed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal.
Who is Rekha Gupta, the new Chief Minister of Delhi?
Elected from Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh seat, Gupta is recognised for her grassroots engagement and organisational skills within the party.
Major K Street players previously skeptical of Trump now pledging to work together with him
President Donald Trump‘s return to the White House appears to have sparked a change in tune on K Street, the heart of lobbyist influence in Washington, D.C., as several prominent lobbyist voices are now pledging to work with the new president after previously criticizing him. “Manufacturers are ready to work with @realDonaldTrump to roll back the federal regulatory onslaught, unleash American energy and build on the success of the pro-growth Trump Tax Cuts,” Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), posted on X after Trump’s victory, adding in a press release that he congratulates Trump on “on his historic victory and strong performance across manufacturing intensive states.” The praise of Trump comes after years of vigorously criticizing him, including after the January 6 riot, when he said that Trump “incited violence in an attempt to retain power, and any elected leader defending him is violating their oath to the Constitution and rejecting democracy in favor of anarchy.” Additionally, Timmons called on then-Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office. NEW POLL REVEALS WHICH TRUMP POLICIES AMERICANS LOVE AND HATE “What we saw on January 6th was absolutely one of the most horrifying things that any of us who love America could have ever witnessed,” Timmons said. Timmons also said that Trump’s handling of the coronavirus appeared to have been “weaponized, and it became a political tool.” Timmons also had a long history of praising the Biden administration for its accomplishments, saying that he “built a substantial legacy” in four years and celebrating Biden’s work on the coronavirus when he was elected by saying “it is fantastic to have a partner in the White House”, adding that “we felt like we were fighting this fight, frankly, all alone for the last year.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, a NAM spokesperson said, “President Trump wants to grow manufacturing in the United States. The NAM is working with him to do that.” Shortly after Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race, NAM put out a press release saying that Biden “Has Rallied the World to the Cause of Democracy.” SETH ROGEN EXPLAINS TRUMP VICTORY BY SAYING PEOPLE GOT ‘SICK OF F—ING HIPPIES DOING ACID’ IN THE STREETS Stephen Ubl, president and chief executive officer of PhRMA, also spoke out about January 6, calling it “appalling,” and took issue with some aspects of Trump’s agenda items, including his executive order push to “Buy American,” which Ubl said would create “even more barriers to innovation and efforts to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.” Ubl’s company, along with other organizations, filed a lawsuit in 2020 “against the Trump administration’s new rules for lowering drug prices.” Ubl, who has donated at least $15,000 to Democrats, has struck a more positive tone since Trump’s victory, posting on X that he is “committed to working with the Trump administration and the new Congress to make our health care system work better for patients while preserving our unique ecosystem that enables greater innovation and lower costs for patients.” Ubl met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in early December, and PhRMA donated funds to Trump’s inauguration. “With President Trump now officially sworn into office, I look forward to working with his administration to address key challenges facing our industry and fighting for solutions to help patients access and afford the treatments they need,” Ubl posted on X in January. Neil Bradley, the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, said after January 6 that Trump’s words and actions “have no place in a free and Democratic society” and the New York Times reported that he said the chamber is “evaluating how lawmakers voted last week during the electoral vote certification process and how they vote in the coming days when the House moves to impeach Mr. Trump when making decisions about donations.” Bradley was also critical of President Trump’s decision to end DACA, saying in 2017 that it “runs contrary to the president’s goal of growing the U.S. economy.” Bradley, a Democratic donor who donated to former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney after she voted to impeach Trump, said after Trump’s election that “his actions are a long overdue change in direction that will help unleash the American economy, resulting in more innovation and faster growing paychecks for American workers.” Shortly after Trump’s victory, the Business Roundtable (BRT) put out a press release saying that it “congratulates President-elect Donald Trump on his election as the 47th President of the United States.” “We look forward to working with the incoming Trump Administration and all federal and state policymakers.” Before Trump’s re-election, several members of the BRT were highly critical of Trump, including CEO Joshua Bolten, who called Trump unfit for office in 2016, before he joined BRT in 2017, and donated to prominent Trump critic Liz Cheney in 2021 and 2022. Bolten also donated to Trump critic and former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger in 2021 after he voted to impeach Trump. Kristen Silverberg, president and COO of BRT, signed a letter opposing Trump’s election in 2016, before she joined BRT in 2019, and donated several thousand dollars to Cheney’s re-election efforts after she voted to impeach Trump, FEC records show. Records also show that Silverberg donated multiple times to Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign against Trump in the Republican primary in 2023, as well as Chris Christie’s campaign in the same primary. BRT hosted President Trump twice during CEO Quarterly Meetings with Bolten and Silverberg at the helm, and the group also met with then-vice presidential candidate JD Vance during their Q3 2024 meeting with CEOs in September. The organization pointed to Bolten and Silverberg making no public anti-Trump statements since 2016 and said they have worked “closely” with both Trump administrations on important policy initiatives. The organization also said that donations to Cheney, a former colleague, were for her reelection and not her anti-Trump efforts. “Business Roundtable worked with President Trump to advance tax reform and USMCA during his first term, and we look forward to working
Federal judge temporarily stops Trump admin from firing 11 intelligence officers assigned to DEI programs
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from firing 11 CIA employees linked to DEI programs Thursday. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga’s order delays the employees’ firing for at least five days. Former CIA officer Kevin Carroll, a lawyer representing the CIA employees, filed the lawsuit on Monday, noting that the 11 officers were on temporary assignments relating to DEI initiatives and that none of them had received poor performance reviews. The order allows Trenga more time to weigh the legal arguments on both sides of the case and is not a definitive ruling on the lawsuit. “These people are being fired just because of an assumption that’s been made that they are leftists,” Carroll said in a statement. TRUMP SCORES BIG LEGAL WIN AGAINST PULITZER PRIZE BOARD MEMBERS AS LAWSUIT MOVES TO DISCOVERY The 11 officials are among 51 CIA employees who were placed on administrative leave shortly after Trump gained office and signed an executive order purging DEI programs across the federal government. The 51 officers were summoned to the visitors center, outside the agency’s high-security perimeter in Langley, Virginia, and had their identification badges “seized,” Carroll said. DOGE SCORES BIG COURT WIN, ALLOWED ACCESS DATA ON 3 FEDERAL AGENCIES They were given three options that they were ordered to accept by 5 p.m. on Wednesday: retirement by Oct. 1, resignation effective on Tuesday or termination on May 20, according to copies of unclassified notices the officers were given that Reuters reviewed. Trump’s administration is facing legal challenges against many of its efforts to combat DEI initiatives as well as purge government waste. Trump has also sought to cut funding for federal programs that aren’t in line with his administration’s priorities, leading to further legal battles. JUDGE RESTORES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S BUYOUT OFFER TO FEDERAL WORKERS The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), working closely with Elon Musk, has also drawn a slew of lawsuits from Democrats and fired federal employees. Reuters contributed to this report.
Misgendering trans people on their death certificates could be jailable offense under blue-state bill
A bill before the Colorado state legislature would require a deceased person’s gender identity be recorded on their certificate of death under penalty of a fine and/or jail time for anyone who “knowingly and willfully violates” the measure, which one critic told Fox News was an “insane” effort that compels speech. Under the proposed law – sponsored by Democratic state Reps. Karen McCormick and Kyle Brown and state Sen. Mike Weissman – if a document memorializing the decedent’s gender identity is presented, the individual completing the death certificate must record the decedent’s sex based on that identity. If this is thwarted in any way, the penalty is a class 2 misdemeanor, which in Colorado is punishable by up to 120 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $750. “The state registrar must also amend the certificate of death to reflect a legal name change if the appropriate legal name change documentation is submitted to the state registrar,” the bill states. COLORADO COUNCILWOMAN ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO ‘REPORT’ ICE ACTIVITY TO HELP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AVOID CAPTURE If there is no official document showing the decedent’s gender identity, and the person who is responsible for managing the decedent’s remains such as a family member or legal representative disagrees with the sex recorded on the death certificate, they have the right to request a change, the bill states. Specifically, before the death certificate is officially filed, the person in charge of the remains can inform the individual completing the death certificate of their objection. If this happens, the person completing the certificate must update the record to reflect the gender identity that the individual controlling the remains states, rather than the biological sex. TRUMP BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN VOWS TO PROBE LEAK THAT STIFLED ICE RAID TARGETING VENEZUELAN GANG IN COLORADO Current law allows coroners, medical examiners, forensic pathologists and other “qualified individuals” to determine the cause of death and complete the death certificate. State rules define “qualified individuals” as a physician or the chief medical officer of the institution where the death occurred. Other liberal states have passed similar laws in recent years, but do not have a criminal penalty tacked onto it. California’s law allows for the update of gender on death certificates, but it does not specifically include criminal penalties for failing to record gender identity properly. If a death certificate is incorrectly issued, the family or legal representative can request an amended certificate. New York, Washington and Oregon also have these laws. TRUMP’S ‘TWO SEXES’ ORDER SPURS STATE-LEVEL EFFORTS TO CRACK DOWN ON TRANS TREATMENTS FOR MINORS “And the idea that it’s under compulsion, that’s unprecedented,” Dr. Travis Morrell, a Colorado physician and fellow with the conservative medical coalition Do No Harm, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Although the misdemeanor is maybe a new little feature that they’ve added, it’s kind of situation normal here in Colorado.” Morrell said he plans to speak at the bill’s hearing next week. “This is very much in line with Colorado’s overall war on reality and war on scientific truth,” he said. “The idea that not only does a doctor or mortician have to lie, they’re being tried with jail, that’s insane. It’s compelled speech.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The bill comes on the heels of President Donald Trump declaring that there are only “two sexes” in an executive order last month, as well as a slew of other gender-related executive actions seeking to weed out “radical gender ideology.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the legislators for comment but did not hear back by time of publication.
Trump admin lays out who exactly was cut at HHS in face of ‘Democrat hysteria’
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) still employs more people than it did in 2019, despite “Democrat hysteria” over recent cuts within the department’s agencies, Fox News Digital exclusively learned. A senior Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that there have been 6,000 departures from HHS since Jan. 20, Inauguration Day. The agency, however, still employs nearly 6,000 more people than it did in 2019, including more than 2,000 employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relative to 2019 numbers, and 1,200 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hiring at HHS ballooned between fiscal year 2019 and 2024, the senior Trump administration official said, with 17% more full-time employees by 2024. Fifty percent of overall jobs in the U.S. that were created in 2024 were indirect or direct government jobs, the official added. “Democrat hysteria about essential offices in HHS being culled — again, every operating division has either more or roughly stagnant headcount relative to” fiscal year 2019, a senior Trump administration official told Fox News Digital. ACADEMIC UNIONS PLAN DEMONSTRATIONS OUTSIDE HHS BUILDING, AT MED SCHOOLS, TO PROTEST TRUMP RESEARCH CUTS Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed and sworn-in as the nation’s 26th secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday, when President Donald Trump also signed an executive order creating the Make America Healthy Again Commission, which is “investigating and addressing the root causes of America’s escalating health crisis.” The commission initially will focus its investigations into childhood chronic diseases, such as autism. News reports spread shortly after Kennedy’s confirmation that widespread layoffs were headed to HHS employees, including within the CDC and FDA. The Trump administration is in the midst of working to streamline the federal government by cutting overspending and stamping out potential fraud or mismanagement, which has included mass layoffs at various agencies. RFK JR’S HEALTH AGENDA GAINS POPULARITY AMONG STATE LAWMAKERS The head of the FDA’s food division, Jim Jones, submitted his resignation letter Monday, according to various news reports, arguing the administration’s “indiscriminate firing” of staff in his division will be a “roadblock to achieving the Secretary’s stated objectives of making America healthy again.” “I was looking forward to working to pursue the Department’s agenda of improving the health of Americans by reducing diet-related chronic disease and risks from chemicals in food,” Jones said. “It has been increasingly clear that with the Trump Administration’s disdain for the very people necessary to implement your agenda, however, it would have been fruitless for me to continue in this role.” Federal employees also staged a protest outside HHS in Washington, D.C., on Friday, while a cohort of academic unions around the country are rallying the science community to join another protest outside HHS on Wednesday, billed as a “National Day of Action.” TRUMP’S ‘MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN’ COMMISSION TO TARGET AUTISM, CHRONIC DISEASES The Trump administration explained to Fox News Digital that those who were terminated over the weekend included probationary employees — who are individuals recently hired by the agency and still under consideration for long-term employment. “Not people carrying longtime essential ‘institutional’ knowledge,” the admin official said of those terminated. The recent HHS culling over the weekend did not include key personnel focused on emergency preparedness and response within the Administration for Strategy Preparedness and Response (ASPR), the CDC and other divisions of HHS, nor did it cull research scientists at the CDC or National Institutes of Health, or frontline healthcare providers at the Indian Health Service, employees working on Medicare and Medicaid at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or those reviewing and approving drugs or conducting inspections at FDA. Additionally, employees working on refugee resettlement within the Administration of Children and Families were exempt from the weekend layoffs. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO BLOCK FEDERAL MONEY FOR SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES WITH COVID VACCINE MANDATES “Cuts we made at HHS over the weekend did not compromise health and safety of Americans,” the admin official added. Kennedy vowed during his Senate confirmation hearings that he would scrutinize the department’s previous modus operandi, remove potential financial conflicts and ensure tax dollars were spent on both bolstering healthy foods for Americans, and providing “unbiased” scientific reports. “We will make sure our tax dollars support healthy foods. We will scrutinize the chemical additives in our food supply. We will remove the financial conflicts of interest in our agencies,” he told the Senate Finance Committee in describing his goals. “We will create an honest, unbiased, science-driven HHS, accountable to the president, to Congress, and to the American people.” Both Kennedy and Trump pledged on the campaign trail to “Make America Healthy Again,” including directing their focus on autism among youths in recent years. The recently minted MAHA commission will investigate chronic conditions for both adults and children, including those related to autism, which the White House said affects one in 36 children. The commission is expected to publish “an assessment that summarizes what is known and what questions remain regarding the childhood chronic disease crisis, and include international comparisons,” within 100 days of the commission’s founding. Within 180 days, it is expected to “produce a strategy, based on the findings of the assessment, to improve the health of America’s children,” Fox Digital reported. Since Kennedy’s confirmation, state-level lawmakers have introduced a wave of bills aimed at advancing priorities championed by Kennedy and the MAHA movement, including prohibiting junk food like candy and soda from school lunches and other bills aimed at amending state vaccine rules. Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
Meet man, who topped IIT-JEE Advanced 2018 with AIR 1, now lives abroad, works at…
Even before succeeding in the JEE exam, Pranav had been doing exceptionally well in academics. He secured a perfect Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 10 in Class 10th. He went on to top the Tricity area – a collective name for Chandigarh, Panchkula, and Mohali – in the CBSE Class 12th non-medical exams.
NHAI clarifies on new FASTag rules, says customers can recharge…
NHAI said that all National Highway toll plazas operate on ICD 2.5 protocol which gives real-time tag status. Therefore, customers can recharge their Fastag anytime.
Casey DeSantis favored in Florida governor’s race, poll finds
Florida first lady Casey DeSantis is favored to succeed her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis, as governor of the Sunshine State, according to a new poll released Tuesday. The University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL) asked 871 active registered voters across Florida about potential candidates for Florida’s 2026 gubernatorial race, finding that 57% of Republicans had a favorable opinion of Casey DeSantis – a higher rating than other names floated as possible candidates. “Casey DeSantis was the top early pick for potential Republican primary candidates when we asked back in late 2023, albeit with only 22% support,” said Dr. Michael Binder, PORL faculty director and professor of political science. Overall, 30% of respondents were favorable of the first lady, 22% unfavorable and 33% had never heard of her, according to the poll, which was conducted from Feb. 5–14. TRUMP ALLY RAMASWAMY TO MAKE MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT HIS POLITICAL FUTURE “She likely enjoys some favorability by association as Florida’s first lady,” Binder added, “but most of these potential candidates suffer from a lack of recognition—some suffering more than others. That said, I expect we’ll see a few of them become household names by the time the August 2026 primary rolls around.” The other speculative gubernatorial candidates included in the poll’s question included former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Sen. Ashley Moody, Rep. Byron Donalds and Florida commissioner of agriculture Wilton Simpson. Gaetz garnered a 39% unfavorable opinion from respondents, with 18% favorable and 33% who said they had never heard of him. Gaetz, however, received a more favorable response among Republican respondents, with 33% favorable and 23% unfavorable. Gaetz resigned from Congress abruptly last year after President Donald Trump tapped him to be his attorney general, though Gaetz eventually withdrew himself from consideration amid growing Republican opposition. The resignation also came as the House Ethics Committee had been preparing its report on allegations against Gaetz that included illicit drug use and sex with a minor, all of which he has denied. TRUMP SUPPORTING CALIFORNIA SHERIFF LAUNCHES REPUBLICAN RUN FOR GOVERNOR IN RAE TO SUCCEED NEWSOM Most respondents said they never heard of Moody (54%), Donalds (66%) and Simpson (79%), though those familiar with them found Moody and Donalds more favorable than unfavorable, and Simpson was split at 4% in both categories, the poll found. Moody, the former state attorney general, was selected in January to fill Sen. Marco Rubio’s seat in the U.S. Senate after Trump tapped Rubio to lead the State Department. Donalds has been a staunch ally of Trump, who gave the lawmaker a shout-out during inaugural events in Washington, saying, “Stand up, Byron. What a future this one has.” Gov. Ron DeSantis has previously shot down rumors surrounding a potential bid for office from his wife. “If I had to characterize her interest in getting into the political thicket as a candidate, I would say, I would characterize it as zero,” DeSantis told reporters in May. “But, you know, I think it’s because she has had a front row seat on all the nonsense that goes on when you do it.”