Dems ridicule bill aimed at abolishing TSA, suggest ‘Bin Laden’ and ‘the Ayatollah’ would support it
Two House Democrats appeared to ridicule Sen. Mike Lee’s, R-Utah, bid to abolish the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). “Who supports my bill to abolish TSA?,” Lee asked in a post on X. “Bin Laden,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., wrote in response to Lee’s question. “The Ayatollah, probably,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., replied to Lee. REPUBLICANS LOOK TO ABOLISH TSA IN FAVOR OF PRIVATE SECURITY AT AIRPORTS The TSA was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. “The attacks resulted in the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, designed to prevent similar attacks in the future,” according to the agency’s website. “The Aviation and Transportation Security Act, passed by the 107th Congress and signed on Nov. 19, 2001, established TSA.” Lee and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., introduced the “Abolish TSA Act of 2025” last week. MIKE LEE CONTINUES CALLING FOR ABOLITION OF TSA The measure calls for shifting the performance of airport security screenings to private companies. “The TSA has not only intruded into the privacy and personal space of most Americans, it has also repeatedly failed tests to find weapons and explosives,” Lee said. “Our bill privatizes security functions at American airports under the eye of an Office of Aviation Security Oversight, bringing this bureaucratic behemoth to a welcome end. American families can travel safely without feeling the hands of an army of federal employees.” The measure would call for the Homeland Security secretary, in consultation with the Transportation secretary, to submit to Congress a plan to create an Office of Aviation Security Oversight in the Federal Aviation Administration — the office would oversee and regulate aviation security activity. FLIGHT PASSENGER, 106, SAYS AIRPORT PERSONNEL CONTINUE TO FLAG HER AGE: ‘NOT SOME STUPID OLD LADY’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The secretary would also need to furnish plans to shift aviation security activity and equipment to private companies, and “to transfer to the Department of Transportation any functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Administration with respect to surface transportation, including activities relating to mass transit, freight rail, highway motor carriers, and pipelines,” according to the measure.
Trump says Zelenskyy wants to back out of mineral deal, addresses 3rd term during gaggle
President Donald Trump said Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is trying to back out of a rare earth deal with the U.S., adding if he does that he is going to have “some problems.” “I think Zelenskyy, by the way, he’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal, and if he does that, he’s got some problems – big, big problems,” Trump said while speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. “We made a deal on rare earths, and now he’s saying, ‘well, you know, I want to renegotiate the deal.’ He wants to be a member of NATO. Well, he was never going to be a member of NATO. He understands that, so, if he’s looking to renegotiate the deal, he’s got big problems.” Zelenskyy said last month that Ukraine is ready to sign an agreement on minerals and security with the U.S. at any time, noting that the agreement is seen as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees. Zelenskyy’s statement came after a visit to the White House where the two leaders were expected to sign an agreement on rare Earth minerals. But the visit turned sour, and Zelenskyy was kicked out of the president’s home with no deal in hand. TRUMP SAYS INTEL PAUSE ON UKRAINE HAS BEEN ‘JUST ABOUT’ LIFTED; SAYS TARIFFS WILL MAKE AMERICA RICH While speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said he and his team were making progress on a ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia. One reporter asked if Trump would say his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin was at its lowest point. The president said no, adding he did not think Putin was going to go back on his word for a partial ceasefire. He also said deals are made with people whether you like them or not. TRUMP EXEMPTS MEXICO FROM TARIFFS FOR USMCA GOODS UNTIL APRIL 2 Trump explained that Putin had said some things over the last few days about Zelenskyy not being credible, adding he was not happy about that. But, Trump added, he thinks Putin is going to be good. He also said he would not want to put secondary tariffs on Russia. The U.S. put secondary tariffs on Venezuela, which Trump said has had a “very strong impact.” “You know that every ship just got out and left. A lot of them left. They dropped the hoses right into the ocean, and they left. They didn’t want to be there for a minute because they didn’t want those tariffs to catch on,” Trump said. “But they didn’t want me to see them there. So, Venezuela and secondary tariffs, all secondary tariffs, are very strong, because essentially it says if you disobey our orders, you cannot do business in the United States of America, and that’s the catch.” Trump said he plans to hit all the countries across the board with tariffs. TRUMP TO PUT TARIFF EXEMPTIONS ON CERTAIN GOODS FROM CANADA, MEXICO “If you look at the history, and you look at what’s happened to us…take a look at trade with Asia, and I wouldn’t say anybody is doing it as fairly or nicely,” Trump said. “We’re…going to be much more generous than they were to us.” Trump also addressed questions about possibly running for a third term, which earlier in the day he said he was “not joking” about. Initially, Trump told reporters he was not looking at a third term, noting that people have spoken with him about a possible third term. EMMANUEL MACRON CALLS ‘EMERGENCY MEETING’ FOR EUROPEAN LEADERS TO DISCUSS TRUMP: REPORT He said the 2020 election, in which he lost to now former President Joe Biden, was “totally rigged,” but he would not take credit for a third try. Trump also said his administration has had the best 100 days than any other president. “I was with some very important people today, and they said they’ve never seen turnaround as fast as this,” he said. As reporters continued to press him about a third term, though, Trump quickly shot them down. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he told one reporter. “I don’t want to talk about a third term now. We have a long time. We have almost four years to go.”
Wisconsin Supreme Court rejects Democrat AG’s attempt to block Elon Musk’s $1M giveaway to voters
The Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously decided not to hear a last-minute attempt by a state attorney general seeking to prevent Elon Musk from giving away million-dollar checks on Sunday. The news came just before the Tesla CEO was set to host an America PAC town hall in Green Bay on Sunday night, where he is slated to hand over $1 million checks to two voters. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul had asked the 4-3 liberal-majority court to reach a decision “as soon as possible but no later than the planned event on Sunday evening.” “Wisconsin law prohibits offering anything of value to induce anyone to vote,” Kaul’s filing stated. “Yet, Elon Musk did just that.” DOGE DEPUTY, TREASURY SECRETARY DISH ON CRUSADE TO PULL THE IRS OUT OF ITS ‘REALLY BIG HOLE’ In court filings, Musk’s attorneys maintain that the payments are “intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate.” This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
Trump announces plan to chop down magnolia tree purportedly planted by Andrew Jackson: ‘Must come to an end’
President Donald Trump announced plans to chop down a tree that was said to have been planted by former President Andrew Jackson. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said that he was working with “the wonderful people at the National Park Service” to make “tremendous enhancements to the White House, thereby preserving and protecting History!” “One of the interesting dilemmas is a tree planted many years ago by the Legendary President and General, Andrew Jackson,” Trump described. “It is a Southern Magnolia, that came from his home, The Hermitage, in Tennessee. That’s the good news!” “The bad news is that everything must come to an end, and this tree is in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed,” he continued. TRUMP NOMINATES SUSAN MONAREZ TO BECOME THE NEXT CDC DIRECTOR, SAYS AMERICANS ‘LOST CONFIDENCE’ IN AGENCY The historic tree will be chopped down in coming days, and Trump wrote that it will be replaced “by another, very beautiful tree.” “The Historic wood from the tree will be preserved by the White House Staff, and may be used for other high and noble purposes!!!” the president added. Jackson, who served as president from 1829 to 1837, reportedly planted two magnolia trees near the White House in honor of his wife Rachel, who died in 1828. But according to the National Park Service’s (NPS) website, the trees’ connection to Old Hickory is debatable. “Historical photographic documentation shows that magnolias first appeared at this location near the South Portico in the 1860s, still the trees are attributed to President Jackson,” the agency explained. IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES HIT JUDGE WHO ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP DEPORTATION FLIGHTS “In 2006, the trees were designated as Witness Trees by the National Park Service, having borne witness to many ‘significant historic and cultural events,’” the NPS described. “The base of the trees also took the brunt of a Cessna airplane crash which targeted the White House in September 1994 and were subject to significant branch removal and pruning in December 2017.” Initial reactions to Trump’s announcement were mixed on social media, though supporters of the president largely supported the decision. “I am a tree expert by trade, I’ve worked with trees for three decades now… these [magnolia] trees have notoriously soft wood that can become dry and brittle with age,” one X user wrote. “I wouldn’t be anywhere near that thing.” “Be prepared for the left to treat this like WW3,” another joked. “He is trying to lie his head off and rewrite or destroy history!” a Trump critic wrote. “The tree is much more important than Trump will EVER be!”
HUD chief showcases how private-public partnerships uplift economically neglected areas in Philly tour
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner is reinvigorating the private sector’s role in aiding economically distressed areas that have been neglected for decades – including touring areas of Philadelphia that have seen massive development since he served in the first Trump administration. “The last five years have brought $84 billion of private investment. One million people have gotten lifted off the poverty rolls. Home values and Opportunity Zones have risen, while rents did not go up. And so the Opportunity Zones initiative is not only about economic development, but it’s about community development. Families are able to build brand-new foundations for their lives,” Turner told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview from Philadelphia. Turner traveled to the City of Brotherly Love on Thursday to meet with local community and business leaders to discuss and tour recently revitalized areas of the city and Opportunity Zone projects, which are defined as economically distressed areas across the nation that incentivize investment and economic development through federal tax benefits to investors. Opportunity Zones were created under the first Trump administration through the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Turner served as the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during the first Trump administration, as well as led the Opportunity Zones Initiative. HUD CHIEF PUTS ILLEGAL ALIENS LIVING IN GOVERNMENT-FUNDED HOUSING ON NOTICE: AMERICANS ARE ‘OUR ONLY PRIORITY’ Now that Turner is serving as the secretary of HUD in the second Trump administration, he previewed his excitement over “Opportunity Zones 2.0” that will make the program “even better than before.” “I’m very excited about the extension, the continuation of Opportunity Zones. And Opportunity Zones 2.0, if you will, and my estimation will be even better. So I’m looking forward to working with Sen. Tim Scott, Congress, the White House, and our private partners to make this even better than before,” he said. Turner spent Thursday meeting with local leaders at the Philadelphia Housing Authority, before touring a grocery store built in a North Philadelphia neighborhood, Sharswood-Blumberg, that has historically been rocked by crime and economic struggles. The grocery store, called Grocery Outlet, is part of a mixed-use development project that came about after HUD announced a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Grant in 2020 that attracted an additional $517 million in private and public investments. The development includes a community center that houses the Philadelphia Housing Authority, a health clinic and additional housing. HUD ENDS FHA MORTGAGES FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: ‘SHOULD BENEFIT AMERICANS WHO PLAY BY THE RULES’ Turner also toured a newly completed building in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood, called The Battery, which is an Opportunity Zone Development that has provided nearly 200 apartment units nestled along the Delaware River with views of Philadelphia’s skyline. The building is also home to a luxury boutique hotel called Riversuites at The Battery. HUD TERMINATES OBAMA-ERA HOUSING RULE THAT TRUMP WARNED WOULD ‘DESTROY’ HOME VALUES The building previously served as a power plant that was built just after World War I, before it was shuttered and sat vacant for decades with no hope of revitalization due to its lofty costs and work to rehab, according to investors and local development leaders who joined Turner on his tour of the building. The building’s prospects turned around in 2020, as the area’s Opportunity Zone designation and tax incentives to preserve historic properties attracted $154 million in investments. Now, the building showcases modern living spaces, while preserving its turn-of-the-century architecture in an area of Philadelphia that had previously been neglected for housing and economic opportunities. “I’m very excited. We’re here at the Battery in Philadelphia, which is an Opportunity Zone project. It’s a mixed-use development. This is an old factory that they repurposed this building to bring mixed-use, economic development and community development using the Opportunity Zone initiative. I’m so excited to see,” Turner told Fox News Digital from The Battery’s rooftop, which boasts the energy plant’s old smokestacks that have been transformed into private terraces. HUD OFFICES BECAME AS VACANT AS A ‘SPIRIT HALLOWEEN’ STORE UNDER BIDEN: ADMIN SOURCES “There’s living space here. There’s commercial space here. And people in this area now can utilize this… 50 years this place was dilapidated and closed. And now, through the investment of Opportunity Zones… this is a thriving place that Philadelphians can once use again,” he added. Turner explained to Fox Digital that developments in Opportunity Zones impact families and entire communities, while also rallying economic opportunities for private investors. “Philadelphia has done a great job as it pertains to Opportunity Zones… And I would say, and I will say, there’s a lot of excitement from our private development people, and partners around the country about the extenuation of Opportunity Zones. Families are impacted. We’re mission-minded at HUD. It’s economic development, it’s community development. Our mission is to be a blessing to the people that we serve. Having public-private partnerships allows us and helps us to do this for the people of America, and Opportunity Zones is a major factor in that,” he said. Philadelphia has been rocked by crime, fentanyl addiction and homelessness in recent years, which were three issues that spiraled nationwide amid and following the coronavirus pandemic. Turner highlighted to Fox News Digital that “government is not the answer” to issues related to America’s housing crisis, homelessness, drug addiction and crime, but instead must operate as a “partner” to the private sector, faith-based programs and nonprofits. “Homelessness is a big deal in our country,” he said. “It went up 18% in the last year – over 770,000 people on one single night in January of 2024 were homeless, and that’s unacceptable. With record funding coming from HUD, we still have a homelessness crisis in our country.” LIBERAL NORTH CAROLINA CITY’S DEI PLAN FOR HURRICANE RELIEF SHUT DOWN BY HUD SECRETARY “Public-private partnerships are vital to eradicating homelessness,” he continued. “Faith-based institutions, nonprofit institutions that are doing the work on a daily basis, we have to partner. The federal government is not the answer.
Trump teases running for a third term: ‘Not joking’
President Donald Trump teased he might run for a third term, explaining to NBC News that he enjoys working and is “not joking” about making another run for the Oval Office. “A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview on Sunday. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.” For now, he’s “focused on the current” term, but told the outlet he was “not joking” about making a run for a third term. “It is far too early to think about it,” he added. LAWMAKER UNVEILS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO GIVE TRUMP THIRD TERM The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution, which was ratified in 1951, prevents individuals from serving more than two terms as president. The amendment was ratified after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected as president for four terms. TRUMP UNLOADS ON JUDGE BOASBERG, ‘RADICAL LEFT JUDGES’ FOR HALTING DEPORTATIONS OF VIOLENT ILLEGAL ALIENS Roosevelt died during his fourth term and Vice President Harry Truman assumed the presidency. FDR is the only president in the nation’s history who has been elected and served more than two terms, which was largely due to the political and economic climate at home and abroad, with his presidency unfolding amid the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II. “There are methods which you could do it,” Trump said when asked about how he could go about running for a third term. The outlet floated a possible method where Vice President JD Vance could run for the presidency, win and pass the torch to Trump. The president said such a scenario is one of the methods he could use to serve a third term. TRUMP RELEASES POWERFUL VIDEO HIGHLIGHTING US-GREENLAND BOND AFTER DEADLY NAZI ATTACK “But there are others too,” Trump added, without elaborating. “I like working,” he told the outlet when asked if he wants to serve another term. Trump has previously teased running for a third term, asking Republican lawmakers in January during a retreat, “Am I allowed to run again?” While Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., a top Trump congressional ally, introduced a resolution just days after Trump’s inauguration in January to allow a president three terms in office, but no more than two consecutive four-year stints. The amendment would read, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” Ogles told Fox Digital in January that Trump “has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation’s decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal.” “To that end, I am proposing an amendment to the Constitution to revise the limitations imposed by the 22nd Amendment on presidential terms,” Ogles said. “This amendment would allow President Trump to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs.” Fox Digital reached out to the White House for additional comment on Sunday afternoon, but did not immediately receive a reply. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Energy chief envisions US nuclear renaissance: restoring ‘pit’ production, localizing nuke power
In a wide-ranging interview last week, Energy Secretary Chris Wright discussed how the U.S. can bring nuclear power to the fore for both energy and defense purposes, starting with rebooting otherwise dormant “pit” production. Under the first Trump administration, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) sought to meet the Pentagon’s goal of manufacturing 80 such pits – spherical hulls of plutonium sized from a grapefruit to a bowling ball – according to the UK Guardian. Wright suggested he wants to see the plan realized, as the same Energy Department laboratory in New Mexico where J. Robert Oppenheimer helped develop the atom bomb is reportedly working to return to earnest pit production. The U.S. has never imported plutonium pits but also hasn’t done any such major manufacturing since the end of the Cold War. ENERGY CHIEF SLASHES RED TAPE EARLY IN TERM “But those existing weapons stockpiles, like anything else, they age with time. And so, we’ve realized we’ve got to restore the production of plutonium pits in our complex,” Wright said. “We’ve built one in the last 25 years, and we’ll build more than 100 during the Trump administration,” he pledged. Bolstering pit production along with a less military-minded nuclear technology are a priority of Wright’s tenure, he said. Wright said he is working to reopen the shuttered Palisades nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan, which closed a few years ago. Another major plant, Indian Point on the Hudson River opposite Haverstraw, N.Y., that had helped power New York City was notably closed under then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. There has been little effort there, however, to see a reopening. In addition to the large-scale plants, Wright said the Energy Department seeks to forward SMR or Small Modular Reactor technology, which he said could be groundbreaking in terms of powering underserved communities and important or sensitive sites that may be far from established large-scale plants. “Nuclear weapons and nuclear power started in the United States. We built a whole bunch of power plants. And by the mid-80s, we essentially stopped building them,” he said. RFK JR TALKS KENNEDY HISTORY ON FIRST TRIP AS HHS CHIEF “Part of our goal is to bring this to make it more efficient to build things in America again. But one thing with nuclear technology is things that you have to build on-location have become slower to build, and therefore way more expensive to build.” SMRs alleviate that pressure, as materials needed to build the plants can be shipped and assembled on-site on a much smaller scale, but with a potential for per-capita greater power output. Unlike “stick-building a house” in terms of a large-scale plant, implements for an SMR can be made in a factory and are more mobile. A data center, military base or state concern could essentially file to have an SMR installed on-site, giving a greater domestic power source and a better overall grid. “There’s great private capital, capital that’s been around the innovations to design these plants. But again, you got this slow-moving, bureaucratic central government that’s still got to permit them and allow them to approve. So the nuclear renaissance has been talked about for years. And the Trump administration were actually going to start it,” Wright said. “That is, simplifying the regulatory regime. We just sent out a request for a proposal to fund efforts to speed these along. And actually there was a similar one sent out a while ago for the Biden administration. They hadn’t gotten responses back.” States that seek to benefit from SMRs have been vocal in support of that technology. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed a bill in 2022 seeking to promote the construction of SMRs, saying that “micronuclear technology has a potential role to play in providing low-cost, reliable power for communities, remote villages and resource development projects.” “This bill will update state law to allow us to pursue the possibilities.” Asked about opposition to nuclear energy, including the closure of Indian Point, Wright said that like almost any other topic, it is vulnerable to politicization. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It just makes no sense at all,” he said. “It has by far been the safest way to produce energy in the entire history of the American nuclear industry.” “I know exactly how many people have died from nuclear energy: Zero.” Wright said nuclear power has an “incredibly small footprint,” and echoed President Donald Trump’s criticisms of relying too heavily on wind and solar. “You get the energy whether the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. But like any industry, it needs to be alive and vigorous so that supply chain is going; and not building nuclear plants in our country for decades means we’ve lost that industrial capacity. So, we’ve got to stand it back up again.”
AG files last-minute appeal to block Musk from gifting $2 million to voters in high-stakes WI court race
Wisconsin’s attorney general filed a last-minute appeal to the state Supreme Court days after an appellate court denied his request to prevent billionaire DOGE leader Elon Musk from giving $1 million checks to two individuals at Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel’s Green Bay rally on Sunday evening. An appeals judge rejected Democrat Joshua Kaul’s bid for an emergency injunction Saturday, as Schimel – a Republican former state attorney general and current Waukesha judge – faces liberal jurist Susan Crawford in the officially nonpartisan race to fill a seat on the blue-trending court. Kaul asked the 4-3 liberal-majority court to reach a decision “as soon as possible but no later than the planned event on Sunday evening.” Musk has publicly backed and contributed millions of dollars toward Schimel, and Kaul argued the giveaway violates state election laws. The tech mogul also came under fire for making a similar offer in Pennsylvania during the 2024 presidential election. BIG-MONEY WI COURT RACE COULD HAVE NATIONAL EFFECTS ON REDISTRICTING, UNIONS, TRANS ISSUES There, Gov. Josh Shapiro told NBC during the campaign season he found Musk’s behavior “deeply concerning.” The former commonwealth attorney general added such offers are something police should “take a look at.” In Kaul’s filing, he is requesting the Wisconsin Supreme Court for an injunction, alleging “[r]espondents’ offer to pay $1 million to two Wisconsin electors, conditioned on their having voted in the upcoming election, is a violation of Wisconsin Statute § 12.11, which prohibits offering ‘anything of value’ in exchange for “vot[ing] or refrain[ing] from voting.” The emergency basis of his injunction request is therefore rational, Kaul argued. BRETT FAVRE HAS ONE-WORD RESPONSE TO WISCONSIN GOV’S PROPOSAL THAT WOULD REPLACE WORD ‘MOTHER’ IN STATE LAW “This Court should grant the petition for original action and issue an immediate temporary injunction (1) prohibiting Respondents from further promoting the million-dollar giveaway to attendees of the planned event on Sunday, March 30, 2025, (2) prohibiting Respondents from making any payments to Wisconsin electors to vote, and (3) prohibiting all actions by Respondents taken in furtherance of a planned violation of Wis. Stat. § 12.11.” Musk said in a statement Friday that he wished to “clarify a previous [X] post” on the matter. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “[E]ntrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges. I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition,” Musk said. Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel it appeared Musk deleted a prior post to cover up “evidence of his crime.” The key off-year race, scheduled for Tuesday, could have national implications, according to both sides. Schimel supporters previously warned Fox News Digital that two Republican congressmen – House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil of Kenosha and Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Prairie du Chien – could see their districts intentionally redrawn in a backdoor attempt to oust them from office next cycle if Crawford wins. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump admin’s Signal leak shows ‘profound’ risk of uncontrolled communications: former intelligence official
The Trump administration’s Signal chat leak represents the “profound” risk of “uncontrolled communication,” which could have implications on future operations, a former national intelligence official said Sunday. Sue Gordon, the former principal deputy national intelligence director during President Donald Trump’s first term, reacted to the leak during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “I’m glad the operation was successful,” Gordon said, referring to the U.S. military strikes on Houthi terrorist targets. “Now we need to deal with the fact that this should not have happened, there is consequence when it does and you can’t be sure that there’s no persistent risk that follows it.” Gordon said that while there have been errors in the past concerning the protection of a partner’s information, this leak is different due to the Trump administration’s reaction of “there was nothing to see here.” TRUMP ADMIN’S ‘SLOPPY’ SIGNAL LEAK PUT DEMOCRATS BACK ON OFFENSE, SEN WARNER SAYS “I don’t think we should rest on the fact that nothing bad happened this time,” Gordon said. “We don’t know whether that communications path has been penetrated, so we don’t know whether state actors that have lots of resources are just sitting and lurking now knowing we do important things on [Signal].” Signal, an encrypted messaging app, is now under the spotlight after it was revealed that top national security leaders had been in a group chat discussing plans to strike terrorists in Yemen, which also included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg. The chat was made public by a first-hand account of the group chat published by Goldberg in an article Monday. DEMS HAVE LONG HISTORY OF SUPPORTING ENCRYPTED SIGNAL APP AHEAD OF TRUMP CHAT LEAK The Trump administration has maintained that no classified information was shared in the chat, doubling down on Wednesday that The Atlantic’s story was a “hoax” after Goldberg published specific texts from the chat. The messages included Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth outlining that combat aircraft were set to take off and strike drones were ready for the operation, which were accompanied by timestamps. Ret. Gen. Frank McKenzie, former CENTCOM commander, also appeared on the program Sunday, saying that while he was “surprised” at the communications leak, he believed the “larger story” was how the U.S. had “finally begun to strike the Houthis hard,” at a speed “that, frankly, eluded the previous administration.” McKenzie said he “wouldn’t take anything off the table” about how the U.S. would confront the Iranian-backed terror group. “I think we have the capability — actually, right now, in Iran’s weakened state — to threaten them very strongly,” the retired general said. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Tesla hypocrisy: Dems continue investing in Elon Musk company despite painting him as villain
As the spate of violent attacks, vandalism and doxxings against Tesla owners and workers continues, some Democrats continue to invest in the company despite their party villainizing Elon Musk as corrupt and a “Nazi.” In the last several weeks, a Tesla dealership in Las Vegas was firebombed, a man rammed a four-wheeler into multiple Teslas in Texarkana, Tesla vehicles across the country have been keyed, and a website called “DOGEQUEST” has been set up to dox Tesla owners, seeming to encourage violence against everyday Americans. Democrats have largely ignored these attacks and continued to hit Musk with personal attacks such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., calling him “sympathetic to Nazis” and “one of the most unintelligent billionaires I have ever met.” Despite their rhetoric, some Democrats are investors in the company currently bearing the brunt of the Musk hatred. Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., have all purchased Tesla shares since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. TESLA VEHICLES AND DEALERSHIPS THREATENED BY VANDALISM AMID LEFT’S BACKLASH AGAINST ELON MUSK As of March 2025, several other House Democrats, including Reps. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Dwight Evans, D-Pa., also remain invested in Tesla. One month into the new Trump administration, Cisneros went on Forbes Breaking News to slam Musk and President Donald Trump, calling the first month of the administration “atrocious” and saying that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is “causing destruction.” He also slammed Musk personally, saying, “He basically bought himself the presidency of the United States” and “I have no doubt he is the one calling the shots.” Just days later, however, Cisneros purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of Tesla stock as the company faced a protracted decline in value, likely due to Musk’s sudden wane in popularity. ELON MUSK, DOGE TEAM OFFER UNPRECEDENTED PEAK BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF TRUMP’S COST-CUTTING DEPARTMENT On Feb. 11, Gottheimer issued a statement in which he went full scorched earth on Musk, saying, “the risks to Americans’ privacy and financial security from Musk’s unchecked access are not only unacceptable, but also outright dangerous.” “My constituents are deeply concerned about Elon Musk having unrestricted access to their Social Security numbers, tax refunds, health, and bank account information,” said Gottheimer, adding, “To be clear: No one elected Elon Musk or entrusted him with keeping sensitive data from falling into the hands of our adversaries.” Around the same time, however, Gottheimer disclosed he purchased up to $45,000 in Tesla stock. This month, as anti-Musk rhetoric and attacks began bursting into literal flames, Gonzalez, who said “DOGE’s action is incredibly concerning,” purchased between $65,000 and $150,000 worth of Tesla stock. EXCLUSIVE: GOP MOVES TO DEFUND ‘CHRONICALLY BIASED’ NPR, PBS AFTER DISASTROUS HEARING As Musk and his brands continue to take hits, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt came to his defense, saying last week that “the Democrats used to be the greatest cheerleaders for electric vehicles and for Tesla the company until Elon Musk decided to support and vote for Donald Trump.” “It is getting dangerous, and the White House wholeheartedly condemns it, and we applaud Attorney General Pam Bondi for investigating these acts as domestic terrorism because that is what they are,” said Leavitt. “It’s very clear that the Democrat Party no longer stands for anything; they only stand against Donald Trump, even if it means contradicting themselves.”