Judge denies Democrat-led effort to block DOGE access, citing lack of proven harm
A federal judge on Tuesday declined to block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing government data or firing federal employees. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that plaintiffs – who represented more than a dozen Democratic-led states – failed to show the necessary evidence of harm caused by DOGE’s access in order to be granted a temporary restraining order. The decision from Chutkan, an Obama appointee, is a blow to the coalition of 14 attorneys general who sued last week to temporarily restrict DOGE’s access to federal data personnel information about government employees. Plaintiffs argued that the leadership role held by Musk, a private citizen, represents an “unlawful delegation of executive power” and threatened what they described as “widespread disruption” to employees working across various federal agencies and government contractors. DOGE SCORES BIG COURT WIN, ALLOWED ACCESS DATA ON 3 FEDERAL AGENCIES “There is no greater threat to democracy than the accumulation of state power in the hands of a single, unelected individual,” said the lawsuit, filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez. Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington also joined him in the request. While Judge Chutkan at times appeared sympathetic to the views brought by Torrez and other plaintiffs during Monday’s hearing, she also suggested she was not convinced that plaintiffs had adequately satisfied the high legal standard of “imminent harm” required for a temporary restraining order. “The things I’m hearing are troubling indeed, but I have to have a record and findings of fact before I issue something,” Chutkan said Monday. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS The hearing is the latest in a growing flurry of emergency lawsuits filed across the country seeking to block or restrict DOGE’s access to sensitive government data. Similar legal challenges are playing out in federal courts across the country, from New York and Maryland to Virginia and D.C, with plaintiffs citing fears of privacy breaches, layoffs, and possible retaliation from DOGE. ‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS DOGE, the Musk-led agency, was created via executive order earlier this year. Its status as a temporary organization within the White House gives DOGE and its employees just 18 months to carry out its goals of optimizing the federal government, streamlining its operations, and of course, doing it all at a lower cost. DOGE’s wide-ranging mission, combined with its lack of specifics, have sparked fresh concerns from outside observers, who have questioned how, exactly, the group plans to deliver on its ambitious optimization goals in such a short amount of time. But Musk and his allies have wasted little time racing to do just that. They’ve spent the past month racing to deliver on what they see as one of President Donald Trump’s biggest campaign trail pledges: reducing bloated federal budgets, aggressively slashing government waste, and firing or putting on ice large swaths of federal employees. The Justice Department, for its part, argued on Monday that the DOGE personnel in question are “detailed” U.S. government employees who are entitled to access the government data under provisions of the Economy Act. Recent court victories have also buoyed DOGE’s operations – allowing them, at least for now, to continue carrying out their sprawling operation., As Judge Chutkan noted Monday, fears and speculation alone are not enough to curtail DOGE access: plaintiffs must prove clearly, and with evidence, that their workings have met the hard-to-satisfy test of permanent, or “irreparable” harm. Late last week, U.S. District Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, also rejected a request to block DOGE from accessing records of three government agencies, writing in his own opinion Friday that plaintiffs “have not shown a substantial likelihood that [DOGE] is not an agency.” TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID For plaintiffs, the TRO defeats have made it increasingly unclear what, if any, hope they might have to secure near-term injunctive relief. Plaintiffs representing the 14 Democratic states argued Monday that DOGE’s broad agency access violates the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. That clause requires Cabinet and other high-level leaders in the U.S. government to be nominated by a president and confirmed by a Senate majority vote – a lengthy process designed to help vet an individual’s fitness to perform in the role to which they were appointed. They argued that the “expansive authority” granted to DOGE is not “merely academic.” Already, plaintiffs said, Musk has “cut billions of dollars from agency budgets, fired agency personnel, and that he has moved to, in his words, ‘delete’ entire agencies.” Trump “does not have the constitutional authority to unilaterally dismantle the government,” the attorneys general said. “Nor could he delegate such expansive authority to an unelected, unconfirmed individual.” And while Judge Chutkan appeared to share in plaintiffs’ assertion that at least some of DOGE’s actions appear to be “serious and troubling,” she maintained that a deliberate fear is not enough to grant the request to block their access immediately. “You’re talking about a generalized fear,” she said of their DOGE complaints. “I’m not seeing it so far.”
Task force to expose ‘federal secrets’ on JFK assassination, Epstein, UFOs packed with GOP rebels
Seven House Republicans have been named to a new task force dedicated to weighing the declassification of some of the U.S.’ most infamous “secrets.” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., as expected, will lead the explosive panel – formally known as the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets. It will operate under the House Oversight Committee and its chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. The list, though short, signals House GOP leaders are letting the conference’s conservative wing take the wheel on this investigation. In addition to Luna, the task force will also include members of the often rebellious House Freedom Caucus such as Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and Eric Burlison, R-Mo. FBI UNCOVERS THOUSANDS OF UNDISCLOSED RECORDS CONNECTED TO JFK’S ASSASSINATION Also on the panel is Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has made headlines on several culture war issues over the last year. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who frequently collaborates with Luna on issues relating to unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) in Congress, is on the panel as well, as is first-term Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas. “Bad day to be a classified government secret,” Mace wrote on X. SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN Burlison wrote on the site, “A Government cloaked in secrecy has been a tool for control.” Luna pledged to seek “truth and transparency” in a written statement announcing the task force last week. She pledged to “give Americans the answers they deserve” on the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jeffrey Epstein’s client list, COVID-19, UAPs, and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Luna said when announcing the list of members, “We have assembled a team of dedicated leaders who have consistently fought for transparency and full disclosure.” “Our mission is simple: to ensure these documents are released swiftly and in their entirety, giving the American people the truth they deserve,” Luna said. Comer said of the list, “Ensuring government transparency for the American people is a core mission of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.” “The Republicans on Rep. Luna’s task force are steadfast champions of transparency, and I am confident they will vigorously pursue and deliver the truth on critical issues,” Comer said.
Border arrests hit lowest mark since last time Trump was in office, White House says
Apprehensions at the U.S. southern border hit a low mark not seen since the last time President Donald Trump was in office. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended just 29,116 illegal immigrants along the southern border during the month of January, down from 47,000 in December and hitting a low mark not seen since May 2020, when 32,349 arrests were made at ports of entry, according to a White House press release. Overall, CBP apprehended 61,465 illegal immigrants at the southern border in January, down 36% from the prior month, the release notes, citing new CP data. NEW CARTEL THREATS AGAINST BORDER AGENTS: EXPLOSIVES, DRONES AND WIRELESS TRACKING The numbers, which were shared with ABC News, shifted even more dramatically after Trump took office, with apprehensions falling 85% between Jan. 21 and 31, an 85% reduction from the same time period in 2024. The numbers continue a string of news showing reductions in attempted border crossings under Trump, including a Fox News report last week that revealed the daily average of known gotaways – illegal immigrants who enter the U.S. while avoiding arrest – have fallen to just 132 per day since the beginning of February, at 93% reduction from the highs seen under former President Joe Biden. BORDER PATROL AGENTS TO STOP WEARING BODY CAMERAS AFTER SOCIAL MEDIA POST REVEALS ‘SECURITY RISK’ The improving numbers at the border seemingly began in the first few days of the Trump administration, including a 35% reduction in Border Patrol encounters during the first three days of the new administration compared to the final three days under Biden. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “During the previous administration, the average number of illegal aliens encountered at the southern border in January was 141,710 – the result of dangerous policies that ferried illegal aliens directly into our communities, where they were allowed to stay indefinitely,” reads the White House release. “Now, under President Trump, illegal border crossings are at record lows as illegal aliens are promptly arrested and sent home.”
Euro leaders offended by Vance should ‘have a beer with’ their people to understand concerns: US conservatives
European leaders upset by Vice President JD Vance’s recent remarks in Munich should consider listening to their own citizens’ concerns instead of worrying about fellow elites, say U.S. conservatives who attended a global conference in London. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts spoke to a group of reporters after the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London on Tuesday evening GMT. The conference is intended to bring together those with a vision of citizen empowerment throughout the world and is associated with Canadian psychologist and media commentator Jordan Peterson. Vance had previously told the Bavarian confab of world leaders that “the threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia; it’s not China. It’s not any other external actor – What I worry about is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” TRUMP’S UKRAINE ENVOY PULLS NO PUNCHES WITH EUROPE, SAYS EU MIGHT NOT HAVE PLACE IN RUSSIA PEACE TALKS Vance also criticized what he called “cavalier” and “shocking” fearmongering about a right-wing German party in the upcoming chancellor elections. “What JD Vance was saying to Munich just the other day was a recognition that it is not for our governments to control our lives and in order to make sure that we have the freedom and liberties that we need to order our own lives and make our own decisions,” Hageman said. The Wyoming lawmaker, who unseated Liz Cheney in what was similarly seen as a populist win over the political establishment, spoke of what she called a “new hope” for global conservatism to prevail against “backsliding” governments that put in place onerous regulations instead of listening to the people. GREEN GOVERNANCE IS THE NEW GUISE FOR MERCANTILISM: KEVIN ROBERTS Roberts, meanwhile, offered advice to world leaders like German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who expressed outrage at Vance’s speech – in which the vice president warned of such proverbial backsliding from the West’s “most fundamental values,” like free speech and government responsiveness to the populace. Roberts said the reaction appears limited to a “small number of very vocal European leaders like [Scholz] and unfortunately, is emblematic of what we’ve seen the last few years.” “[Scholz] and particularly [France’s Emmanuel Macron] and a couple of other leaders like to wag their finger at Americans and say we must do more to defend their interests when they themselves don’t make enough sacrifices to spend the requisite spending for defense as part of their annual budgets,” Roberts said. “And that’s the kind of commonsense revolution that [Vance and President Donald Trump] are bringing to both domestic politics and foreign policy.” VANCE SPEAKS AT CPAC Referencing conversations he’s had while in London and at the conference, Roberts said he and Hageman are “translating” American conservative policies outlined by people like Vance to the Europeans – and they are being receptive. “The translation would be easier if more of these European leaders were more engaged in common sense,” he said. “Maybe having a beer with everyday Germans rather than spending so much time in Brussels (at the EU).” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Scholz had expressed outrage at Vance’s nod to the right-wing Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD) party in Berlin’s upcoming elections. The party, while aligning with some of the global right’s economic principles, also has what critics consider select callbacks to the Nazi Party, which was banned in Germany post-World War II. “Today’s democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realization that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats,” Scholz said this week. “And this is why we’ve created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies and rules that do not restrict or limit freedom but protect it.”
Louisiana surgeon general wants to ‘depoliticize medicine’ by ending statewide mass vaccinations
Louisiana’s surgeon general, Dr. Ralph Abraham, said his goal was to get politics out of medicine and improve patients’ informed consent when he decided to issue a directive ending mass vaccination programs in his state. Critics have decried Abraham’s directive as anti-science and hyper-political, while also arguing it could further hamper an already overburdened health sector. Others have suggested the move will actually serve to decrease confidence in public health rather than improve it, as Abraham foresees. But, he argues, the move is a critical step toward keeping patients in control of their healthcare, and serves to “depoliticize medicine” rather than further politicize it. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO BLOCK FEDERAL MONEY FOR SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES WITH COVID VACCINE MANDATES “In my opinion, it is probably not the best thing to just simply go into a herd mentality – just line up – and get a shot,” Abraham said during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “Why would somebody want to do that when they can have that conversation? If you have these mass vaccination events, it takes away that patient-doctor relationship because that conversation then never happens.” Following the announcement of the new directive, a group of Louisiana medical associations accused Abraham of politicizing vaccines. However, Abraham countered that these criticisms were unfounded. “People say, ‘Well, you’re putting politics into medicine.’ No. Politics was in medicine from the get-go, starting with COVID,” Abraham said. “My job and my role and my desire is to depoliticize medicine. And the way you do that is to get that patient and that doctor on a one-on-one.” RFK JR’S HEALTH AGENDA GAINS POPULARITY AMONG STATE LAWMAKERS Abraham, the state’s first surgeon general, ordered his staff last week to stop engaging in media campaigns, community health fairs and other mass vaccination efforts that encourage people to get vaccinated without any prior consultation with a doctor. The move garnered backlash, including from GOP Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician himself. Cassidy said that Abraham’s order was ignoring “the reality of people’s lives,” arguing events like vaccine fairs “keep a child from having to miss school and a mother from having to miss work.” “To say that cannot occur and that someone must wait for the next available appointment ignores that reality,” Cassidy argued. RFK JR. SAYS HEALTH CRISIS ISN’T JUST PHYSICAL, BUT SPIRITUAL Other critics who spoke to ABC News suggested Abraham’s directive aimed, in part, at restoring confidence that has been lost in public health, will serve to continue to diminish it. They also argue that in an industry that has a shortage of healthcare workers, getting rid of mass vaccination programs could actually serve to overburden the industry even more, and potentially cost lives. But Abraham said his critics were “cherry-picking what they want to fuss about.” “If you look at the overall picture that we presented – if they argue with just good common sense, and if they argue with wanting to get that patient-doctor relationship back to where it’s supposed to be, then, you know, they’re just not debating in a very fair and logical manner.” A former member of Congress and supporter of newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Abraham said he was “in no form or fashion” anti-vaccine. He added that as a family medicine physician he “always” recommends childhood immunizations, and called the Tetanus vaccine “life-saving.” BIRD FLU VACCINE GETS ‘CONDITIONAL LICENSE’ FROM USDA, COMPANY ANNOUNCES “There are some vaccines that are good for most people. There are some vaccines that are good for some people. There are some vaccines that are good for a few people. And there are some vaccines that are good for no one,” Abraham said. When asked about how he would respond to critics who would call his and Kennedy’s skeptical views on vaccines anti-science, Abraham said, “I would love to debate them.” “I have science on my side that shows that these things that they are saying work certainly do not work [the way they claim],” Abraham said. “This statement we came out with – that LDH has done – it has certainly promoted conversation about these issues. That’s a good thing.” Abraham told Fox News Digital that the move will not impact vaccine distribution in the state and the Louisiana Department of Health will still provide them as they have in the past. He also said the move will help clear up limited resources.
DHS helicopter patrolling border struck three times by laser from Mexico
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) helicopter that was patrolling the southern U.S. border was targeted by a laser from the Mexican side of the boundary. An AS-350 helicopter patrolling about 13 miles west of McAllen International Airport in Texas was struck three times by a laser that was pointed at the aircraft from a vehicle on the Mexican riverbank last week, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) release. The incident marked the sixth time in the last four months that Air Interdiction Agents have been forced to take evasive maneuvers after being targeted by lasers, the release notes. NEW CARTEL THREATS AGAINST BORDER AGENTS: EXPLOSIVES, DRONES AND WIRELESS TRACKING Another recent incident, also involving an AS-350 helicopter, occurred in Jacksonville, Florida, last month, which resulted in the arrest of an individual who now faces felony charges in the state. “No pilots or crew were injured in these cases, and the laser sightings are being investigated,” the release said. Owning handheld lasers isn’t illegal, but shining the laser into the cockpit of an aircraft is a federal crime that can result in 20 years of prison time and a $250,000 fine, the release notes. BORDER PATROL AGENTS TO STOP WEARING BODY CAMERAS AFTER SOCIAL MEDIA POST REVEALS ‘SECURITY RISK’ “When laser beams are aimed at any piloted aircraft, whether military or commercial, what might seem like a tiny beam on the ground can blind aircrew, potentially causing a midair collision or other incident,” the release warned. Border Patrol personnel have come under continued threats in recent months, including a report earlier this week that revealed agents in the field will no longer wear body cameras after a social media post revealed how to exploit the cameras to track and potentially threaten agents by using a Bluetooth application that can be downloaded to a cellphone. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Pending completion of investigation and risk mitigation, all Agents will stand down the use of their BWCs [body worn cameras] until further notice. Additional guidance and information will be disseminated as it is received,” a CBP directive on that issue read. CBP did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Are more airplanes crashing now in Trump’s presidency than under Biden?
The United States saw double the number of fatal plane crashes under President Joe Biden’s first four weeks in office compared to the same time period under President Donald Trump’s second administration, federal data reviewed by Fox News Digital shows. There were 10 fatal plane crashes in the United States between Jan. 20, 2021, and Feb. 18, 2021, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s Case Analysis and Reporting Online, or CAROL, which has recorded aviation accidents since 1962. There were four fatal plane crashes recorded during the same time period under the second Trump administration — from inauguration day to Feb. 18 — the data shows. A fifth fatal plane crash unfolded in Georgia on Saturday evening, which has not yet been added to the database but is included in Fox Digital’s final tally of five fatal plane crashes in the U.S. since Jan. 20. Though the second Trump administration has seen fewer plane crashes than the first month of the Biden administration, the Washington, D.C., crash in January provided greater national visibility to concern over aviation crashes as it was the deadliest in U.S. history since November 2001, when an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area of New York City, killing 260 people on board and five on the ground. A total of 67 people were killed in January when an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Fox News Digital found that during the Biden administration’s approximate first month in office, there were U.S.-based fatal plane crashes in Janesville, Wisconsin; St. Thomas, Caribbean Sea; Tehachapi, California; Galt, Missouri; Belvidere, Tennessee; Chitina, Alaska; Hackberry, Louisiana; Port Angeles, Washington; Boynton Beach, Florida; Rio Rancho, New Mexico. A total of 18 individuals died in the 10 crashes. TORONTO PLANE CRASH: HARROWING VIDEO SHOWS DELTA PLANE ERUPTING INTO FIREBALL, FLIPPING UPSIDE-DOWN The five fatal plane crashes in the first month of the Trump administration occurred in Nome, Alaska; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Covington, Georgia. A total of 96 people died in the plane crashes. When comparing the two Trump administrations, Fox News Digital found there were 11 recorded fatal plane crashes between Jan. 20, 2017, to Feb. 18, 2017. TORONTO PLANE CRASH TIMELINE: DELTA FLIGHT FROM MINNEAPOLIS FLIPS UPSIDE DOWN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND Fox News Digital also found that the Biden administration saw seven serious — not fatal — plane crashes between Jan. 20, 2021, and Feb. 18, 2021, compared to six serious plane crashes under the same time period for the Trump administration, according to the CAROL database. As for crashes that resulted in “minor” injuries for passengers, the CAROL database recorded seven under the Biden administration’s first month and two under the second Trump administration’s first month, Fox Digital found. SWALWELL DECLARES ‘ALL CRASHES ARE TRUMP’S FAULT’ AS HE DOUBLES DOWN ON PLANE DISASTER BLAME GAME Another plane crash unfolded on Monday in Canada, when a Delta Air Lines CRJ-900 jet originating from Minnesota crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport. None of the 80 passengers or crew were killed, but at least 18 were treated for injuries after the plane crashed, caught on fire and flipped upside down. The Toronto crash unfolded as news mounted that the Trump administration is in the midst of firing a bevy of federal employees across various agencies as part of his administration’s effort to cut government spending fat and weed out corruption and mismanagement, including terminating Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees who have been hired in the past year, according to a union representing the employees. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation told Fox News Digital Monday that the agency continues to hire air traffic controllers and those focused on air safety. PLANE CRASHES SPARK RENEWED FEAR OF FLYING: 10 CAUSES OF AVIATION DISASTERS “The FAA continues to hire and onboard air traffic controllers and safety professionals, including mechanics and others who support them,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The agency has retained employees who perform safety critical functions.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added on X that his predecessor, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, had “failed for four years to address the air traffic controller shortage and upgrade our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system.” “Here’s the truth: the FAA alone has a staggering 45,000 employees,” he said. “Less than 400 were let go, and they were all probationary, meaning they had been hired less than a year ago. Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were let go.” The crash, however, has opened the floodgates of criticism from Democrats and liberal media outlets who have laid blame for the crash at Trump’s feet. “I’m thankful that everyone in the flight incident in Toronto that took off from Minneapolis is safe, but we keep seeing these incidents day after day,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted to X after the Monday crash. “Meanwhile, Trump’s doing massive layoffs at the FAA—including safety specialists—and making our skies less and less safe. Democrats are fighting to protect the flying public.”
Trump nominates Jan. 6 defense attorney for top prosecutor role in DC
President Donald Trump announced Monday that he would be nominating interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin to head the office. Trump announced the nomination in a Truth Social post, writing, “Since Inauguration Day, Ed has been doing a great job as Interim U.S. Attorney, fighting tirelessly to restore Law and Order, and make our Nation’s Capital Safe and Beautiful Again. He will get the job done.” “Congratulations Ed!” Trump wrote. TRUMP NOMINATES JUDGE TO SERVE AS NEXT US ATTORNEY FOR SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA Martin began serving in an interim capacity shortly after Trump’s inauguration. Since taking over the position, Martin has overseen the dismissals of various Jan. 6 cases after Trump pardoned and commuted the defendants. Martin filed a motion to remove all remaining conditions imposed on several defendants with commutations, including restrictions that barred certain individuals from entering Washington, D.C., or the U.S. Capitol building. TRUMP DOJ BRINGS DOWN ‘SOVEREIGN’ DISTRICT OF NEW YORK “If a judge decided that Jim Biden, General Mark Milley, or another individual were forbidden to visit America’s capital – even after receiving a last-minute, preemptive pardon from the former President – I believe most Americans would object,” Martin said in a statement released at the time. “The individuals referenced in our motion have had their sentences commuted – period, end of sentence.” Martin had previously represented three defendants in the Jan. 6 prosecutions and participated in a pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” rally. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR VOWS TO PROTECT DOGE STAFFERS FROM ANY ‘THREATS, CONFRONTATIONS’ TARGETING MUSK TEAM Martin has also expressed that he would “pursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes” the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) work as it seeks to slash unnecessary government spending. Martin penned a letter on the subject shortly after being appointed, where he vowed to hold said individuals accountable. “I recognize that some of the staff at DOGE have been targeted publicly,” Martin wrote to Elon Musk in a letter, which Martin posted to his X account Monday. “At this time, I ask that you utilize me and my staff to assist in protecting the DOGE work and the DOGE workers. Any threats, confrontations or other actions in any way that impact their work may break numerous laws.” Likewise, Martin responded to Elon Musk on Monday, after Musk tweeted out on X against individuals making threats against the president. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Threats against public officials at all levels – whether it be the president or a line federal worker – must stop,” Martin wrote. “Our safe and beautiful capital city cannot be the home of such dangerous conduct from any side, at any time. We are on the case.” Martin is originally from New Jersey and earned his undergraduate degree in English and a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies from the College of the Holy Cross. After studying abroad, Martin pursued his legal and ethics degrees from the St. Louis University. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
NY judge orders Eric Adams, Trump DOJ officials to court over motion to dismiss corruption charges
A federal judge in New York City ordered Mayor Eric Adams and Trump administration Department of Justice (DOJ) officials to court over the motion to dismiss corruption charges filed under the Biden administration. In an order Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho directed both parties to appear before the Lower Manhattan court on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET. The judge also ordered Adams to file his “consent in writing” to the motion to dismiss to the court docket by 5 p.m. ET Tuesday. Ho said the DOJ motion cited how Adams “consented in writing,” but no such document had been submitted to the court. The DOJ motion cites one judicial opinion regarding the federal rule for dismissal, stating “the executive branch remains the absolute judge of whether a prosecution should be initiated and the first and presumptively the best judge of whether a pending prosecution should be terminated,” and “the exercise of its discretion with respect to the termination of pending prosecutions should not be judicially disturbed unless clearly contrary to manifest public interest.” CUOMO RESPONDS AFTER EX-NEW YORK OFFICIAL CALLS FOR HIM TO BE NYC MAYOR Ho, however, cited legal history, noting that a judge has independent obligations once the government has involved the judiciary by obtaining an indictment or a conviction. Additionally, he quoted from one judicial opinion that said a judge must be “satisfied that the reasons advanced for the proposed dismissal are substantial” before approving a dismissal. Adams said four of his deputy mayors resigned on Monday in the fallout from the Justice Department’s push to end the corruption case against him and ensure his cooperation with President Donald Trump’s criminal illegal immigration crackdown. Several top prosecutors in Manhattan and Washington, D.C., also have resigned since the Justice Department filed its motion Friday seeking to drop the case. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday she is weighing removing Adams from office. Her former boss, ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is among those rumored to be considering a challenge to Adams in June’s Democratic mayoral primary, though he has not officially announced his candidacy. Among the candidates already in the race against the first-term mayor is former City Comptroller Scott Stringer and current City Comptroller Brad Lander. Lander, a progressive endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., threatened to initiate a process of removing Adams without the governor’s approval. In a letter to Hochul on Tuesday, Stringer implored the governor to remove Adams, arguing the mayor “has lost the confidence of not only a growing number of other elected leaders and ordinary New Yorkers, but those in closest proximity to him – public servants he hired to aid in managing a massive workforce and budget.” The Justice Department, meanwhile, is investigating alleged “insubordination” among federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. Adams has pleaded not guilty to charges that, while in his prior role as Brooklyn borough president, he accepted over $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and lavish travel perks from a Turkish official and business leaders seeking to buy his influence. The Democratic mayor was indicted at a time when he grew critical of the Biden administration’s response to the worsening immigrant crisis in the Big Apple. NY GOV. HOCHUL TO MEET WITH ‘KEY LEADERS’ TO DISCUSS ‘PATH FORWARD’ AMID ERIC ADAMS TURMOIL With Trump back in office, Adams is cooperating with border czar Tom Homan, allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to once again continue operations at Riker’s Island jail. The upcoming mayoral primary comes at a time when a different judge, Jenny Rivera, of the New York Court of Appeals, considers a law that would allow some 800,000 noncitizens to vote in that race and other city-level contests if implemented. A former Watergate prosecutor on Monday urged the federal judge presiding over Adams’ prosecution to assign a special counsel to help decide how to handle the DOJ motion, while three ex-U.S. attorneys demanded a “searching factual inquiry.” The last week has featured a public fight between Bove, the second-in-command of the Justice Department, and two top New York federal prosecutors: interim Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon and Hagan Scotten, an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan who led the Adams prosecution. Sassoon and Scotten resigned. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
How is a political appointee different from a career federal employee?
Under President Donald Trump’s second administration so far, significant restructuring of the federal workforce has led to widespread layoffs and policy shifts designed to align with his agenda to eliminate bureaucracy. As these changes unfold, the divide between political appointees and career employees has become more apparent. Political appointees, chosen by the president, serve at his discretion and include both Cabinet-level department heads and other senior-level officials. They are tasked with carrying out the administration’s agenda. By contrast, career employees have permanent positions with civil service protections and are tasked with executing policies set by the political appointees above them. “We moved away from the spoils system, which is where the current administration gets to hire everybody in the government, towards a career civil service, in the 1880s,” explained former Bush administration Cabinet member Tevi Troy in an interview with Fox News Digital. TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE “And the idea is that you have a permanent government or permanent bureaucracy that carries out the work of the federal government, whether it’s administering checks or doing the census, whatever it is the government does that is managed by this career bureaucracy,” Troy, also a presidential historian and a senior fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute, said. “They have civil service protection, they are not supposed to set policy. They follow policy that is laid out by the president’s administration.” Troy said there are about 2 million people in the federal workforce, and “at some point there’s a line.” He described the line as “between who is setting policy” and who is “carrying out what the mission of the federal government is supposed to be.” “And this argument is about the Trump administration feeling that at the most senior levels, there are certain career officials that were trying to set policy rather than carry out policy, and that’s where the disagreement is,” he said. JUDGE RESTORES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S BUYOUT OFFER TO FEDERAL WORKERS Trump signed an executive order Tuesday seeking departments to make “large-scale reductions in force.” As such, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has been instrumental in executing mass layoffs across various federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Authority and the Departments of Education, Veterans Affairs and Energy, among others. “Although career employees enjoy significant employment protections, that does not mean that the president, who is the head of the executive branch, cannot eliminate jobs, as long as individuals are not politically targeted,” Rachel Greszler, senior researcher at the Heritage Foundation’s economic Roe Institute, told Fox News Digital. “President Clinton issued an executive order in 1993, instructing agencies to eliminate 100,000 federal positions. While the initial order called for a 4% reduction in workforce, a 10% reduction instead ensued.” TRUMP ADMIN ORDERS AGENCIES TO LAY OFF PROBATIONARY WORKERS IN LATEST PUSH TO SHRINK GOVERNMENT Trump also instructed federal agencies last week to lay off most probationary workers who have not secured civil service protection. An Office of Personnel Management spokesperson told Fox News Digital previously, “the probationary period is a continuation of the job application process, not an entitlement for permanent employment. Agencies are taking independent action in light of the recent hiring freeze and in support of the president’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to better serve the American people at the highest possible standard.” This isn’t the first time a president has sought to shrink the federal government. Ronald Reagan also had the same goal, and particularly cut down the workforce in regulatory agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. Bill Clinton also set out to reduce the size of the federal government, famously declaring in his 1996 State of the Union that the “era of big government is over.”