Tom Cotton demands FDA probe into illegal Chinese ingredients in US weight loss drugs
FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican is demanding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigate whether illegal Chinese ingredients are making their way into weight loss drugs in the United States. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called on FDA Commissioner Martin Makary to probe how far unregulated and illegal Chinese active pharmaceutical ingredients have penetrated the U.S. supply chain — and whether they have ended up in popular weight loss drugs. “China’s access to America’s pharmaceutical supply chain presents national security risks as well as significant health risks to American patients,” Cotton wrote in a letter to Makary first obtained by Fox News Digital. JELLY ROLL’S WIFE SAYS WEIGHT LOSS DRUG SENT HER INTO ‘WORST SUICIDAL DEPRESSION’ Cotton’s concern follows recent reports from the FDA and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that between September 2023 and January 2025, authorities intercepted 195 illegal shipments of active pharmaceutical ingredients. He noted that the ingredients were “likely used in compounded weight loss medications” that entered the U.S. market. Of those shipments, roughly 60 originated from China and Hong Kong. “It is estimated that as of January 2026, up to 1.5 million American patients could be using unregulated compounded weight loss medications that may contain potentially dangerous ingredients from Chinese manufacturers,” Cotton wrote. EXAMINING THE NEXT THREAT FROM COMMUNIST CHINA: OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM The ingredients are typically used in compounded versions of GLP-1 weight loss drugs that are marketed as alternatives to FDA-approved medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy. Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it would refer telehealth company Hims & Hers to the Justice Department for “potential violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act” over its planned sale of a compounded, non-FDA-approved weight loss drug. Makary similarly said the FDA would “take decisive steps to restrict GLP-1 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) intended for use in non-FDA-approved compounded drugs that are being mass-marketed by companies — including Hims & Hers and other compounding pharmacies — as alternatives to FDA-approved drugs.” FETTERMAN BUCKS DEMOCRATS, SAYS PARTY PUT POLITICS OVER COUNTRY IN DHS SHUTDOWN STANDOFF The company announced last week that it would remove its weight loss pill, billed as a cheaper alternative to Wegovy, from the market following mounting pressure from federal agencies. Cotton acknowledged that move and called for similar investigations going forward. “I encourage further investigations into other entities that expose American patients to dangerous, unregulated Chinese APIs,” Cotton wrote.
How Trump’s order to have the military buy coal would actually work
President Donald Trump says the military will start “buying a lot of coal” as part of a new push to boost domestic coal production and strengthen what he describes as the reliability of the U.S. power grid. Turning that pledge into reality, however, will require navigating Pentagon procurement rules, congressional funding limits and the physical constraints of the electric grid. A new executive order, signed Wednesday, directs the secretary of war to “seek to procure” power from coal-fired facilities through long-term power purchase agreements serving military installations and other mission-critical facilities. It also calls on the Department of Energy to help keep certain coal plants online. But executive orders set policy direction — they do not automatically create new funding or rewrite electricity market rules. The order itself states that implementation must be consistent with applicable law and “subject to the availability of appropriations.” “Executive orders can’t drive appropriations,” said Jerry McGinn, a former Pentagon official and now executive director of the Baroni Center for Government Contracting at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. LIZ PEEK: TRUMP WHITE HOUSE FIRED UP ABOUT KING COAL’S RETURN TO POWER What the War Department can do is direct its contracting offices to pursue agreements with coal-fired plants where feasible. The military routinely enters into long-term electricity supply agreements to power individual installations, including projects at bases such as Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and Fort Cavazos in Texas, where on-site generation has been developed through third-party contracts. In theory, it could structure deals with nearby coal facilities if officials determine the contracts enhance grid reliability, fuel security or mission assurance — priorities outlined in the order. “They have a great amount of flexibility,” McGinn said, noting that energy sourcing decisions would depend on what is workable at individual installations. That flexibility, however, operates base by base — not nationwide. The War Department does not regulate regional electricity markets. It can sign contracts for power serving specific installations, but it does not set dispatch rules for grid operators or dictate fuel choices for civilian utilities. Most military bases are connected to regional grids, where electricity from multiple sources — natural gas, nuclear, renewables and coal — is pooled together and dispatched according to market rules. Even if the Pentagon signs a contract with a specific coal plant, the electricity physically delivered to a base would still come from the broader grid mix. In practice, such agreements would function primarily as financial commitments to particular facilities rather than a literal rerouting of coal-generated power. TRUMP’S ENERGY DOMINANCE REWRITES THE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE AFTER BIDEN DRAWDOWNS Scale presents another constraint. Coal plants are large generators, often producing far more electricity than a single installation consumes. While military bases use significant power, contracts would need to be sizable and long term to meaningfully sustain entire commercial facilities. If shifting energy sourcing at certain bases requires infrastructure changes or new contractual arrangements, that could require additional Defense or Energy Department investment, McGinn said. “It would sort of be a determination on where does this make sense, where can we do this easily, and where do we want to invest,” he said. Any significant expansion of contracts or infrastructure spending would likely involve Congress. Utility costs for bases are typically paid through operations and maintenance accounts approved by lawmakers. If implementing the policy requires new construction, transmission upgrades or higher long-term energy costs, additional appropriations could be required. The administration says the directive is meant to ensure uninterrupted, on-demand baseload power for military installations and critical defense facilities, grounded in the belief that coal provides reliable and resilient energy that intermittent sources do not, according to the White House fact sheet. The fact sheet also explicitly ties the policy to broader aims of energy security, economic stability and “energy dominance.” Trump and his team repeatedly have described the move as part of a broader push to revitalize coal production and protect coal jobs — including the $175 million in Department of Energy funding for coal plant upgrades and “beautiful, clean coal” rhetoric at the signing event. At that event, he said the military will be “buying a lot of coal” and framed the actions as support for hard-working miners and “reliable power.” The White House is pursuing a parallel strategy to revive certain coal plants that have shut down or face retirement. Trump said the Department of Energy would issue funds to facilities in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky to keep them operating or restart idled units. Recommissioning a coal plant can vary significantly depending on its status. Facilities that have been temporarily idled or “mothballed” may be able to return to service in months. Fully retired plants, however, can require extensive equipment repairs, environmental compliance reviews, workforce rehiring and transmission readiness upgrades — a process that can take considerably longer. The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on how the directive would be implemented. Ultimately, the impact of Trump’s directive will depend on execution. Targeted contracts near specific installations could provide limited support to certain facilities. A broader effort to use military purchasing power to sustain multiple commercial coal plants would likely require substantial funding, careful contract structuring and congressional backing.
Battle for the House runs through Virginia as court OKs high-stakes redistricting vote
In a crucial decision on Friday, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that a high-stakes referendum scheduled for April 21 on congressional redistricting can go forward. It’s a victory for Democrats in Virginia, who are fast-tracking a proposed new congressional map that would give the competitive state up to four more left-leaning U.S. House districts in time for this year’s midterm elections. Virginia is the latest battleground, with Florida on deck, in the ongoing crucial battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to alter congressional maps ahead of November’s elections. Republicans are defending their razor-thin House majority in the midterms, and Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to win back control of the chamber. That means the redistricting efforts in Virginia and other states may very well decide which party controls the House next year. VIRGINIA JUDGE STRIKES BLOW TO DEMOCRATS REDISTRICTING PUSH But the proposed map in Virginia, which the Democrat-controlled legislature is expected to give final approval in the coming days, followed by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signing it, still needs the approval of voters in the Commonwealth. Republicans had challenged the validity of the referendum, arguing that Democrats had erred procedurally when the legislature approved amendments to the state Constitution. And last month, a lower court ruled in the GOP’s favor. But the ruling by the state Supreme Court greenlights the ballot measure, which asks voters to give the legislature, rather than Virginia’s current non-partisan commission, redistricting power through the 2030 election. “Today’s order is a huge win for Virginia voters,” Dan Gottlieb, spokesperson for Democrat-aligned Virginians for Fair Elections, said in a statement. “The Court made it clear that nothing in this case stops the April 21 referendum from moving forward and that Virginians will have the final say.” Early voting on the referendum is scheduled to start on March 6. Friday’s ruling on the referendum doesn’t mean the legal challenges are over. Democrats are still defending their ability to redraw the maps, and the state Supreme Court may schedule arguments in that case. Republicans charge that the Democrats’ redistricting effort is an “unconstitutional power grab.” Virginians for Fair Maps, a Republican-aligned group that opposes the redistricting push, has highlighted that “Virginians came together to pass bipartisan redistricting reform — a process that took the power to draw maps out of politicians’ hands. Now, politicians in Richmond want to undo that progress.” And the Republican National Committee has called the Democrats’ push in Virginia a “power grab.” But Democrats have countered that it’s a necessary step to balance out partisan gerrymandering already implemented in other states by the GOP. Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, Trump last spring first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting. The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Trump’s first target was Texas. BIG WIN FOR TRUMP AS SUPREME COURT GREENLIGHTS TEXAS’ NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP When asked by reporters last summer about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map. But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country. Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature. That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps. The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California. Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio, and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push. In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms. But Utah Republicans have appealed to the state Supreme Court to block a new court-ordered map for this year’s elections. Meanwhile, Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House. The showdown in the Indiana statehouse grabbed plenty of national attention. Florida’s next up. Two-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers in the GOP-dominated legislature are hoping to pick up an additional three to five right-leaning seats through a redistricting push during a special legislative session in April. But the bid by DeSantis and Republicans in Tallahassee last week drew its first lawsuit, from a group aligned with Florida Democrats. The lawsuit contends that the governor and Secretary of State Cordy Byrd don’t have the legal authority to reshape election laws, after Byrd pushed back congressional qualifying dates from April to June. Democrats in solidly blue Maryland are also pushing redistricting, which could result in one extra left-leaning congressional seat. But the effort, pushed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and green-lighted by state House Democrats, is facing opposition from Senate President Bill Ferguson, a fellow Democrat. Lastly, Republicans in South Carolina, Nebraska, Kansas and New Hampshire, and Democrats in Illinois and Washington State are also exploring possible bids to redraw the maps. Hovering over the redistricting wars is the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in Louisiana v. Callais, a crucial case that may lead to the overturning of a key provision
‘They were spying’: Sullivan sounds alarm on joint Russia-China moves in US Arctic zone
Joint Russian and Chinese military aircraft and vessels have entered the U.S. Arctic air defense identification zone (ADIZ) near Alaska dozens of times in recent months, Sen. Dan Sullivan said in an interview with Fox News Digital, warning the activity amounts to coordinated pressure on America’s northern defenses. Sullivan, R-Alaska, said data compiled by his office shows mostly airborne incursions — and at times joint patrols — along with several naval and “research” vessels operating inside the ADIZ, a buffer zone where aircraft must identify themselves but are not automatically denied access. “They were spying on us,” Sullivan said, arguing the missions amount to strategic surveillance and have accelerated efforts to reopen the Navy base at Adak and expand Arctic infrastructure. Sullivan led a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing last month that secured $25 billion in new Coast Guard funding, including $4.5 billion for infrastructure upgrades such as a deepwater port in Nome — one of the closest U.S. cities to Russia — and additional Arctic icebreakers. The U.S. currently operates two icebreakers, one of which is out of service, compared with Russia’s reported 54. RUSSIA, CHINA SQUEEZE US ARCTIC DEFENSE ZONE AS TRUMP EYES GREENLAND Among the projects is a plan to reopen the military base on Adak Island near the end of the Aleutian chain, roughly 6,000 miles from Washington but on Russia’s doorstep. Adak played a key role during World War II, when Japanese forces attacked parts of the Aleutians, and it later served as a Cold War outpost monitoring Soviet activity in the North Pacific. “We have Adak Navy Base being reopened. We have this strategic deepwater port of Nome that’s finally being built [where] every essential Navy or Coast Guard asset with the exception of an aircraft carrier can port, and the icebreaker Storis being homeported in Juneau. There’s a lot going on,” Sullivan said. “We’re continuing to press it, and you know what I like to do with all the military services is press, press, press, press.” TRUMP SAYS GREENLAND’S DEFENSE IS ‘TWO DOG SLEDS’ AS HE PUSHES FOR US ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY Adak also hosts a 20-million-gallon fuel repository, Sullivan said, adding that revitalizing the compound would give U.S. destroyers and other vessels a crucial waypoint as malign activity heats up. Sullivan said the incursions should concern all Americans, dismissing any suggestion the vessels were conducting benign research or trying to “save the whales.” “They were there spying on us and looking at submarine routes, looking at cables,” he said, pointing to trans-Pacific communication lines that pass through Alaska. “That’s really, really strategic.” He added that joint Russian-Chinese naval task forces operating in the U.S. ADIZ — alongside coordinated bomber patrols with armed fighters — is “unprecedented” in American territory. NATO AMBASSADOR SAYS EUROPE ‘HAS A TENDENCY TO OVERREACT’ OVER GREENLAND DISPUTE When incursions occur, U.S. aircraft are dispatched from bases as far as 1,000 miles away, including Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, a logistical stretch similar to sending New York City responders to a fire in Chicago. The Nome port, Adak base and other new infrastructure will slash response times, increase defensive presence and keep America safer, he said. “We are the Arctic part of America, but we’re America. And when our adversaries are pressing into us, we need to respond with force and infrastructure and capabilities. Our military’s doing it. We’re building that up with the Coast Guard, with the Air Force, with the Army,” he said. TRUMP EYES ACTION ON GREENLAND, SETTING UP WHITE HOUSE FACE-OFF WITH DENMARK A recent report from The Wall Street Journal detailing a Chinese vessel that transited the Bering Strait, icebreaking along Russia’s Arctic coast before docking in Poland, as further evidence of Beijing’s expanding Arctic reach. Sullivan called the merchant vessel’s junket a prime example of why action is needed now to bolster America’s Arctic. USAF Gen. Alexus Grynkewich — NATO’s top military official — told The Wall Street Journal the alliance sees China “being more and more aggressive” across the Arctic. “It’s our territory, right? And we just need to be ready to defend it and have assets that can monitor whether that’s a merchant ship or a spy ship,” Sullivan added. “The good news is with the Trump administration, with the Budget Reconciliation Bill, the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, and you saw the president before, and he wants a top line number for our military of about $1.5 trillion, that’s sending a message to China, Russia and all of our adversaries that we’re not going to let incursions into our airspace and our waters happen on a regular basis without forceful responses from the U.S. military.” Sullivan said another development is expanding capacity at Point Barrow — at the “top of North America” — which, along with Adak, would allow the U.S. to intercept malign aircraft more quickly. The dynamic is also shaping global geopolitics, he said, as NATO shifts toward an “Arctic-capable alliance” — with allies Finland, Sweden and Norway similarly cognizant of the threats. Finland and Sweden recently joined NATO, he noted, which has been key to this situation. Looking at the globe from above — rather than straight on — places the U.S., Canada and Scandinavia directly across from Russia and, increasingly, China, which has declared itself a “Near-Arctic power.” Fox News Digital’s Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.
GOP Arizona governor candidate drops out but doesn’t endorse
Karrin Taylor Robson dropped out of the Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary despite being one of the two candidates in the race backed by President Donald Trump. “After deep reflection, prayer, and many conversations with my family, I have decided to suspend my campaign for Governor,” Robson said in a statement posted to X on Thursday. She explained that she does not want to contribute to a contentious GOP primary. HOCHUL PRIMARY CHALLENGER ANTONIO DELGADOO ENDS CAMPAIGN FOR NEW YORK GOVERNOR “We cannot afford a divisive Republican primary that drains resources and turns into months of intraparty attacks. It only weakens our conservative cause and gives the left exactly what they want: a fractured Republican Party heading into November. With so much on the line in 2026, I am not willing to contribute to that outcome,” she noted in the statement. Robson did not make an endorsement. “I remain committed to helping Republicans win in 2026 and to ensuring Arizona remains strong, safe, and free for generations to come,” she noted in the statement. Trump had pledged to support her for governor in 2024. “Are you running for governor? I think so, Karrin, cuz if you do, you’re gonna have my support,” Trump said at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in December 2024. ADAM SCHIFF MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN CALFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., launched a gubernatorial bid in January 2025, and Robson launched her bid in February 2025 — but in April 2025, Trump made the unorthodox move of announcing that he endorsed both of them. “I like Karrin Taylor Robson of Arizona a lot, and when she asked me to Endorse her, with nobody else running, I Endorsed her, and was happy to do so. When Andy Biggs decided to run for Governor, quite unexpectedly, I had a problem — Two fantastic candidates, two terrific people, two wonderful champions, and it is therefore my Great Honor TO GIVE MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT TO BOTH. Either one will never let you down. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump declared in an April 2025 Truth Social post. In 2022, Robson lost the GOP gubernatorial primary in Arizona to Kari Lake, who went on to lose the general election to Democrat Katie Hobbs. TRUMP BACKS REPUBLICAN RIVALS IN ARIZONA GOVERNOR’S RACE AFTER REP. BIGGS ENTERS CONTEST: ‘I HAD A PROBLEM’ Hobbs is seeking re-election this year. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Arizona, is another Republican seeking the Grand Canyon State governorship.
Billions in foreign cash tied to US climate network draws scrutiny from Republican AGs
FIRST ON FOX: Nineteen Republican attorneys general on Friday asked the Department of Justice to investigate dozens of U.S.-based nonprofits for potential violations of federal foreign agent laws after receiving nearly $2 billion in foreign funding over the past decade. The state attorneys general urged Attorney General Pam Bondi and the DOJ’s national security division head, John Eisenberg, to open the probe after the nonprofits accepted the funding from five foreign-based climate foundations, according to a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital. The funding may have been used to improperly influence U.S. energy policies without the nonprofits registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the attorneys general wrote. CLIMATE GROUP SCRUBS JUDGES’ NAMES FROM WEBSITE AFTER UNEARTHED CHATS UNMASKED COZY TIES The attorneys general identified more than 150 U.S.-based organizations the DOJ should investigate, saying there was “substantial evidence” that many of them were violating FARA by “engaging in coordinated funding and advocacy efforts to influence U.S. energy policy and undermine American energy independence.” The five foreign groups named in the letter, the Oak Foundation, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Quadrature Climate Foundation, KR Foundation and Laudes Foundation, were found by the conservative watchdog Americans for Public Trust to have funneled the money to the smaller organizations over the past decade. The letter was led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. Fox News Digital reached out to the five groups for comment. The attorneys general alleged the foreign foundations used funding to “direct climate activism and influence energy policy in the United States, including by funding U.S. policy fights, litigation, research, protests, and lobbying to advance an extreme, foreign, activist agenda.” BOMBSHELL REPORT SHOWS FOREIGN CHARITIES DUMPED BILLIONS INTO US POLITICAL ADVOCACY GROUPS, ‘ERODE’ DEMOCRACY’ At least one of the foreign groups, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, “has documented ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” the attorneys general said. They noted a separate December 2025 request from more than two dozen state attorneys general seeking a FARA investigation into two U.S.-based groups connected to CIFF. Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment. Under the FARA statute, entities must register if they act as an “agent” of a “foreign principal” and engage in certain political activities. The attorneys general argued the foreign foundations qualified as foreign principals because they are incorporated in Switzerland, Denmark and the United Kingdom. They also said the nonprofits’ activities did not appear to fall under any exemptions under the law, adding that the “burden of establishing the availability of an exemption from registration under the Act shall rest upon the person for whose benefit the exemption is claimed.”
Fetterman bucks Democrats, says party put politics over country in DHS shutdown standoff
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., the lone Senate Democrat to join the GOP to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), accused his colleagues of choosing party over country in their shutdown vote. Senate Democrats dug their heels in against funding the agency on Thursday in their pursuit of stringent reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good during immigration operations in Minnesota. But Fetterman believed that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his party were missing the point. GOVERNMENT TO SHUT DOWN AT MIDNIGHT AFTER DEMS, WHITE HOUSE FAIL TO STRIKE DHS DEAL “This shutdown literally has zero impact on ICE functionality,” Fetterman said in a post on X. “Country over party is refusing to hit the entire Department of Homeland Security. Democracy demands a way forward to reform ICE without damaging our critical national security agencies.” Senate Democrats’ refusal to fund DHS this week has made a partial government shutdown affecting only DHS inevitable. The deadline to strike a deal is midnight Friday, and the likelihood of that happening is nearly nonexistent. That’s because both chambers of Congress quickly fled Washington, D.C., on Thursday, with many in the upper chamber leaving the country altogether for the Munich Security Conference in Germany. DHS SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS WITHOUT PAY, WHAT HAPPENS TO AIRPORTS AND DISASTER RESPONSE Schumer and his caucus argued that the White House and Republicans weren’t serious about reforms to ICE or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and contended that the GOP’s counteroffer to their own list of demands didn’t go far enough to earn their votes. But to Fetterman’s point, shutting down DHS won’t halt the cash flow to immigration operations. That’s because congressional Republicans last year injected roughly $75 billion into the agency for ICE with President Donald Trump’s marquee “big, beautiful bill.” That money is spread across the next four years, meaning that a shutdown now will have little, if any, effect on ICE’s core functions. DEMS DIG IN, GUARANTEE SHUTDOWN WITH BLOCK OF DHS FUNDING But other functions under DHS’ purview, like TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard and more, will experience the brunt of the partial shutdown. Negotiations on striking a deal are expected to continue in the background, and Senate Democrats have signaled that they’re considering offering a counteroffer to the White House in response to the GOP proposal. Still, a vote to reopen and fund the agency won’t happen until early next week at best.
Trump DOJ files new lawsuit accusing Harvard of withholding records on race in admissions
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that its Civil Rights Division lodged a new lawsuit against Harvard University, alleging that the Ivy League institution illegally withheld admissions material needed to decide whether the school is continuing to discriminate in the admissions process despite a 2023 Supreme Court ruling. “Under President Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice is demanding better from our nation’s educational institutions,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “Harvard has failed to disclose the data we need to ensure that its admissions are free of discrimination — we will continue fighting to put merit over DEI across America.” Fox News Digital reached out to Harvard for comment on Friday. TRUMP SEEKS $1 BILLION IN DAMAGES FROM HARVARD UNIVERSITY OVER ‘SERIOUS AND HEINOUS ILLEGALITIES’ The suit was filed on Thursday, according to the DOJ. “The lawsuit alleges that Harvard repeatedly slow-walked the pace of production and refused to produce pertinent data and documents requested by the DOJ, including individualized applicant admissions data, admissions policies, and correspondence related to race; ethnicity; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and Students for Fair Admissions,” the DOJ’s press release explains. “The suit alleges that Harvard — a recipient of DOJ funding — violated Title VI by failing to comply with the DOJ’s request for sufficient document production for compliance review. The suit also notes that by failing to make timely and complete document productions or otherwise permitting the DOJ to access Harvard’s applicant-level admissions data, Harvard breached a material term of DOJ federal financial assistance,” the release notes. HEGSETH ENDING MILITARY EDUCATION TIES WITH HARVARD AMID TRUMP FEUD: ‘WE TRAIN WARRIORS, NOT WOKESTERS’ The suit aims to force the school to turn over documents pertaining to the consideration of race in admissions, but “does not accuse Harvard of racial discrimination,” according to the DOJ. In a 2023 ruling, the Supreme Court objected to Harvard’s and the University of North Carolina’s consideration of race in admissions. “For the reasons provided above, the Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause. Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today,” the opinion declared. HARVARD SLASHES A GRADES BY NEARLY 7 PERCENTAGE POINTS AFTER FACULTY CRACKDOWN ON GRADE INFLATION CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The Justice Department will not allow universities to flout our nation’s federal civil rights laws by refusing to provide the information required for our review,” Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division Harmeet K. Dhillon noted in a statement. “Providing requested data is a basic expectation of any credible compliance process, and refusal to cooperate creates concerns about university practices. If Harvard has stopped discriminating, it should happily share the data necessary to prove it,” she added.
Battleground states shoulder burden of Trump’s tariffs as midterm messaging ramps up
Some of the most hotly contested states in this year’s elections are also footing the nation’s steepest tariff bills, according to an analysis of U.S. Census trade data. That convergence creates a new economic pressure point at a time when affordability dominates the national midterm debate and the cost of everyday goods remains a top voter concern. Candidates in both parties are campaigning on promises to rein in the cost of groceries, housing and other everyday goods. All 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats are on the ballot this year, putting Republicans’ slim majorities at risk. Democrats need four seats to reclaim the Senate, while Republicans can afford to lose just two in the House. US TARIFF REVENUE UP 300% UNDER TRUMP AS SUPREME COURT BATTLE LOOMS Tariffs factor directly into those costs. Tariffs are taxes the federal government places on imported goods. While American importers pay those duties at the border, economists say businesses often pass the added costs along, raising prices as the expense moves through supply chains. California and Texas — the nation’s two largest state economies — top the list in tariff totals at $38 billion and $21 billion, driven by the volume of imports flowing through major ports and industrial supply chains. Among the states with the most consequential Senate races are Georgia and Michigan, both of which carry sizable tariff burdens, underscoring how deeply their economies are intertwined with international trade. Other states bearing the brunt of hefty tariff bills include Illinois ($9.6 billion), Ohio ($6.5 billion), Pennsylvania ($6.3 billion), North Carolina ($5 billion), South Carolina ($5.2 billion) and Kentucky ($4 billion). Even as states shoulder billions in tariff costs, collections nationwide have climbed 300% since President Donald Trump’s return to office, significantly boosting federal revenue. January collections hit $30.4 billion, a 275% jump from a year earlier, pushing fiscal-year revenue to $124 billion, more than triple last year’s pace. TRUMP CALLS TARIFF WINDFALL ‘SO BEAUTIFUL TO SEE’ AS CASH SAILS IN The surge in revenue has become a cornerstone of Trump’s economic agenda, with the administration arguing tariffs can fund domestic priorities, chip away at the nation’s $38 trillion debt and finance a proposed $2,000 dividend check for Americans. Trump has promoted the policy as a strategy to revive domestic industry and extract concessions from foreign trading partners. But the policy faces a pivotal test at the Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on whether the tariffs fall within Trump’s authority. A decision against the government could jeopardize a key source of federal revenue and reshape the administration’s trade strategy. With billions in revenue at stake and control of Congress hanging in the balance, the court’s ruling could reverberate far beyond Washington.
Government to shut down at midnight after Dems, White House fail to strike DHS deal
With little time and no deal in sight to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a partial government shutdown by midnight is all but guaranteed. The battle to prevent the third government shutdown under President Donald Trump in less than six months was lost in the Senate on Thursday. Now, with Congress scattered across the U.S. and several senators headed abroad, there’s no chance that a shutdown will be averted. Senate Republicans were unable to smash through Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats’ unified front to pass a full-year DHS funding bill, nor were they able to do yet another short-term, two-week extension. DHS SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS WITHOUT PAY, WHAT HAPPENS TO AIRPORTS AND DISASTER RESPONSE “The idea of not even allowing us to have an extended amount of time to negotiate this suggests to me, at least, that there isn’t a high level of interest in actually solving this issue,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. The final fight on the floor Thursday wasn’t with every lawmaker present, but between Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., over giving lawmakers a little more time to keep the agency open while negotiations continue. Senate Democrats argued that Republicans offered their legislative proposal in the dead of night, giving little time to actually move toward a compromise. DEMS DIG IN, GUARANTEE SHUTDOWN WITH BLOCK OF DHS FUNDING “We had plenty of time to get a deal in the last two weeks,” Murphy said. “And the lack of seriousness from the White House and from Republicans not getting language until last night has put us in the position we are in today.” And with the expected shutdown, Democrats’ main targets — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — won’t see their cash flow dry up because of billions injected into the agency by Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Instead, agencies like TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard and several others will suffer the brunt of the shutdown. “There is no way that you can’t say we’re working in good faith. We want to continue this conversation,” Britt said on the Senate floor. “But yet you’re penalizing a TSA agent. A TSA agent is going to go without a paycheck. Why? So that you can posture politically? I’m over it.” DHS FUNDING BILL FAILS AFTER SCHUMER REJECTS TRUMP’S ICE REFORM OFFER “Everybody on that side of the aisle knows that ICE and CBP will continue to be funded,” she continued. “They’re going to continue to enforce the law just as they should. Who’s going to pay the price?” The final floor argument was a microcosm of what the week had devolved into. Senate Republicans argued that Democrats had burned too much time producing their list of demands, while Senate Democrats contended that they weren’t given enough time by the White House. And as is typical during the string of shutdowns in the last several months, it has devolved into a public blame game. When asked about the effects a shutdown would have on the agencies not involved in immigration enforcement, Schumer pointed the finger at the GOP and the White House. “Talk to the Republicans, OK? We’re ready to fund everything,” Schumer said. “We’re ready to have good, serious proposals supported by the American people. They’re not; they’re sort of dug in the ground, and they’re not moving forward.” But neither side is willing to divulge publicly what the exact sticking points are in their ongoing negotiations. And Senate Democrats now appear to be considering a counteroffer to the White House, a sign that negotiations aren’t totally dead in the water. “Negotiations will continue, and we will see in the course of the next few days how serious they are,” Thune said.