Red state leader defends decision to include 2020 election ‘discrepancies’ in high school curriculum
Facing criticism from the media and even from his state’s governor, the head of Oklahoma’s education system is defending a recently approved high school history curriculum that teaches about irregularities and “discrepancies” in the 2020 election. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, a Republican, said that the state is “in the middle of a dramatic turnaround” in education, made possible by President Donald Trump’s dismantling of the federal Department of Education. According to Walters, the changes are being spurred on by Oklahoma parents and grandparents, who he says are demanding the state “get back to the basics” of education and eliminate any left-wing or legacy media-driven narratives in school curricula. “We want these parameters around our standards so that we know our kids are going to be taught facts, not have a left-wing agenda pushed on them,” he said. “I think that that’s going to continue to be what parents and grandparents here demand. So, I think that we need to be listening to them.” EDUCATION LEADERS SAY TRUMP DISMANTLING KEY GOVERNMENT AGENCY ‘SAVED EDUCATION’ Perhaps the most controversial change among the state’s educational reforms is a recently approved set of Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies document that instructs high school teachers to instruct students to “identify discrepancies in 2020 elections results by looking at graphs and other information, including the sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, the security risks of mail-in balloting, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of ‘bellwether county’ trends.” The change has been widely lambasted by the media and by some leaders in the state. The New York Times reported state Rep. John Waldron, who is vice-chair of the Oklahoma House Democratic caucus, slammed Walters, saying the “superintendent campaigned to end indoctrination in our schools, but what he is doing instead with these new standards is promoting his own brand of indoctrination.” Meanwhile, a representative for Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt told Fox News Digital that the change is “just another distraction from making sure kids can read.” EXCLUSIVE: RED STATE SUING SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR ILLEGALLY TEACHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY Walters, however, is refusing to budge. He claimed that by including discussion about the 2020 election, the state is not pushing a particular viewpoint but rather encouraging students to be “critical thinkers.” “The left doesn’t want kids to look at the numbers, look at the data and ask questions about the election. Look, we’ve never had an election like 2020. I mean, literally all of the processes were changed leading up to it. Our kids need to do a deep dive in that,” he said. “We’re going to make sure when our kids study history, they’re looking at numbers, are looking at data, they’re looking at what the historical records show us.” Walters believes this is a “crucial step in ensuring when teachers talk about the 2020 election, [they tell students to] look at the numbers, look at the data.” “Let students do that deep dive. I think it makes them better students. I think it makes them more well-rounded people,” he said. “I also think it teaches them to think for themselves when you move into the future. Hey, don’t take anybody’s word for it. Do your own research. Do your own study. I think that’s a really important message that we’ve got to get across to our kids.” LINDA MCMAHON: MY VISION FOR ELIMINATING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Though already approved by the state Board of Education, the standards still need approval from the legislature or governor. While he said he is “optimistic” the legislature will approve the curriculum, Walters took aim at Stitt, accusing him of being a “never Trumper.” “It’s really unfortunate,” he said. “If the governor wants to come out and force students and tell them that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and that he doesn’t want them to look at facts or think about it, that’s way out of step with Oklahomans.” SCOOP: HOUSE REPUBLICAN MOVES TO CODIFY TRUMP ORDER TO DISMANTLE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION In response, Abegail Cave, a representative for Stitt, said the governor was more concerned about declining test scores in the state. She accused Walters and some members of the education board of being “more focused on making headlines and political wins than they were actually making sure Oklahoma kids could read.” Cave called the idea that Stitt is a never Trumper “ridiculous.” “He voted for Donald Trump and he’s not a never Trumper. That’s again Ryan Walters trying to spin the narrative and muddy the waters for no reason,” she said. Cave pointed out Stitt’s recent public appearances praising Trump’s actions against the federal Department of Education, saying “the governor is a firm believer that we should leave education to the states.”
Dem House candidate’s resurfaced posts call for trans children to have ‘free’ access to medical services
A Democratic candidate for Congress in Florida is being criticized for pushing “radical gender ideology” after resurfaced social media posts show him advocating for children to receive gender transition treatment. “Banning health care for any human being is a violation of human rights,” Josh Weil, Democratic candidate for Congress in FL-06 posted on X, then known as Twitter, in March 2021. “#TransRightsAreHumanRights and while we’re at it #MedicareForAll so that all trans children have free, and safe access to the medical services they need.” Weil was responding to a post from the ACLU that said, “BREAKING: Arkansas has become the first state to ban health care for trans youth.” TRUMP ADMIN ASKS FEDERAL JUDGE TO DISSOLVE INJUNCTION BARRING TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN In another post, Weil objected to a bill in Iowa that, according to the user he responded to, “would require teachers to give parents 7-days notice if they plan to ask their kids about their preferred pronouns.” “In addition to all the harm this will do to trans and enby youth, this bill will 100% result in a loss of teachers,” Weil posted on X. “Every time, in every state, whenever lawmakers try to drop their baggage and bs on teachers, teachers leave.” FORMER NCAA RUNNER DEMANDS ‘STOLEN’ CHAMPIONSHIP BE RETURNED AFTER LOSS TO BIOLOGICAL MALE Fox News Digital reached out to the Weil campaign but did not receive a response. “Democrats have learned absolutely nothing,” NRCC Spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole told Fox News Digital. “Not only are they lighting donors’ money on fire by investing in a district where they have no path to victory, but they’re also choosing to invest in a candidate who has pushed radical gender ideology that is wildly unpopular with voters. Josh Weil is so dangerous, even AOC and David Hogg – the vice chair of the DNC – are running from him.” Weil, a public school teacher from Orlando, is running against Republican State Sen. Randy Fine to replace former GOP Rep. Michael Waltz, who moved into the Trump administration to serve as the president’s national security adviser. Early voting has started in the election, which will be held on Tuesday, April 1.
Tesla trouble in Ontario: Dozens of vehicles damaged in one location
Dozens of Tesla vehicles were damaged at a dealership in Ontario, Canada, Hamilton Police Service (HPS) confirmed to Fox News Digital. Authorities said that the incident occurred overnight on March 18, and that the “damage included deep scratches and punctured tires.” HPS told Fox News Digital that officers are still working on getting footage from the Tesla vehicles as, “some vehicle camera systems were recording during the mischief incident.” They were also able to obtain “limited” footage from the area. As of Saturday, it was still too early in the investigation for HPS to determine a motive or how many people were involved. HPS said they do not have any suspects. The night before this incident, police in London, Ontario, were reportedly called to the scene of a fire that is allegedly being investigated as suspicious. On March 17, a Tesla was set on fire, causing an estimated $140,000 in damage, London Police Service said in a press release. PRESIDENT TRUMP SUGGESTS SENDING TESLA VANDALS TO EL SALVADOR’S NOTORIOUS PRISONS Vandalism and attacks on Tesla vehicles and dealerships have been on the rise over the last few weeks. Many of the attacks appear to be politically motivated acts against Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk due to his work with the Department of Government Efficiency. The Trump administration began cracking down on Tesla vandals earlier this week, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying the string of attacks was “nothing short of domestic terrorism.” She vowed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would “continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks.” TESLA VEHICLES, DEALERSHIPS TARGETED WITH ARSON, GUNFIRE AND VANDALISM IN AT LEAST 9 STATES: FBI On Thursday, the DOJ announced that three individuals were charged in connection with the “violent destruction of Tesla properties.” The defendants face charges that carry a minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, but could face up to 20 years behind bars. “The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” Bondi said in a DOJ statement. “Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP On Friday, President Donald Trump floated the idea of Tesla vandals serving time in El Salvadorian prisons in a post on Truth Social. “I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla,” Trump wrote. “Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!” Since January 2025, Tesla vehicles have been targeted in at least nine states, according to the FBI. The bureau has urged the public to “exercise vigilance” near Tesla properties. Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
‘Chaos and confusion’: How Democrats infiltrated ‘thunderous’ GOP town halls
Large campaign rallies and town halls are pillars of election year politics, but two months into President Donald Trump‘s second term, town halls are erupting across the country. While Republicans have largely been told to stay home, Democrats seem to be driving the narrative for the first time since Trump returned to the White House. Democrats last week launched a coordinated effort to host “People’s Town Halls” in all 50 states after disruptive protests led Republican leadership to advise against hosting in-person town halls. The first week of town halls brought a new wave of political drama and engagement resembling that of an election year. “When folks get out of the DC bubble and into communities across the country, there is one undeniably clear trend emerging: Americans are feeling betrayed by Republicans. Across party lines, people are furious that their lives, jobs, retirement, and health care are being cast aside to enrich the already ultra-wealthy. The reception to the People’s Town Halls has been thunderous — and we’re keeping them going through all 50 states. Americans want to be heard and Democrats are listening,” DNC Chair Ken Martin told Fox News Digital in a statement. CHAOS ERUPTS AT GOP LAWMAKER’S TOWN HALL AFTER LEFT-WING GROUPS PROMOTE PROTESTS Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., rallied nearly 12,000 Arizonans in Tempe on Thursday night on the second stop of a three-state West Coast swing. Thousands of supporters have cheered on Sanders at each stop of his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. The rallies reject Trump’s executive reach and Elon Musk’s efforts to slash federal bureaucracy through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Sanders argues is wreaking havoc and turning the country into an oligarchy. Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., the former vice presidential candidate, has been crisscrossing the country himself, targeting Republican districts where he says representatives are refusing to meet with their constituents. Walz exchanged barbs with Musk this week after he joked about regularly checking Tesla’s stock for an ego boost, which was down 41.4% year-to-date as of March amidst a string of violence against Tesla. “Sometimes when I need a little boost, I look at the @JDVance portrait in the White House and thank the Lord,” Musk replied on X to Walz’s comment at the “The People vs Musk” event on Tuesday. FLORIDA DEMS STAGE TOWN HALLS IN GOP DISTRICTS FEATURING ‘MISSING’ POSTERS OF THEIR COLLEAGUES Democrats have been without a clear party leader since Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris in November 2024. While Sanders’ rallies began last month, Walz launched his own town hall-style event after Politico first reported that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) advised House Republicans against hosting in-person town halls. Progressive protest groups last month organized disruptions at Republican-held town halls and local legislative offices, effectively shutting them down. Some lawmakers, including Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., reported safety concerns following threats of violence. Many Republicans have opted for tele-town halls as a result, citing productivity in a controlled environment. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson joined the Republican town hall deterrence, telling reporters that Republicans shouldn’t give “professional protesters” a forum to sell their soundbites and make headlines. Trump called the protesters ‘paid troublemakers’ and said it was ’all part of the game for the Democrats.’ After two months of playing defense, it seems Democrats have the ball in their court. BERNIE SANDERS, AOC TAKE AIM AT TRUMP AND MUSK, AS WELL AS DEMOCRATS, AT WESTERN RALLIES Like Walz, Democrats individually capitalized on the narrative that Republicans aren’t showing up for their constituents, and town halls began popping up in red districts across the country. Following their big November losses, the Democrats’ town halls have become an opportunity for lawmakers to score points with the slew of Americans infuriated with Trump’s second term and Musk’s DOGE cuts. Last Friday, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) seized the chance to present a united front following weeks of Republican criticism that Democrats lack clear messaging during Trump’s second term. The DNC’s coordinated effort includes the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC) and Democratic state parties to “hold vulnerable Republican members of Congress accountable for their refusal to face their constituents and answer for their votes to put billionaires above working people.” The DNC’s initial launch included at least nine town halls in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Pennsylvania. As of Friday, there were at least 11 more town halls scheduled this weekend and next week. The DNC and Democratic state parties have held a total of 22 events so far in 13 states, the DNC tells Fox News Digital. As Democrats’ town halls find their way to every corner of the United States, David McIntosh, president of Club for Growth, a top conservative group, is now urging Congressional Republicans to participate in town halls, Fox News confirmed. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., was the only House GOP lawmaker whose office set up an in-person town hall this week while Congress is in recess. It ended in chaos on Tuesday night as angry Democratic protesters accused Republicans of trying to gut critical government programs. The audience questions accused Trump and Flood of not supporting the “rule of law.” The crowd repeatedly booed any mention of Musk or DOGE. DEM LEADER SWINGS THROUGH GOP-HELD DISTRICTS AFTER ‘CLOWN SHOW PROTESTS’ HALTED TOWN HALLS But Democrats’ town halls haven’t been without their own political theater. The Florida Democratic Party created “missing” posters of Republican representatives for their town halls. One by one in Clearwater on Saturday, Pinellas County constituents took turns addressing a “missing” poster of Rep. Ana Paulina Luna, R-Fla. Conservatives on social media slammed the “missing” posters as “nothing authentic or compelling.” “I have never seen the national Democratic Party in such chaos and confusion. Whether it’s childish stunts on the floor of Congress or performance art with their fake town halls, there is nothing authentic or compelling about their message, their tactics, or their delivery,” Republican consultant Frank
White House thanks UAE for agreeing to 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has agreed to a 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework, the White House announced on Friday, saying it will “substantially increase the UAE’s existing investments in the U.S. economy.” The White House said the investments would be in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy, American manufacturing and more. The White House said in a press release that the UAE agreed to the framework after President Donald Trump hosted the UAE National Security Advisor, HH Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for a meeting in the Oval Office. IRAN’S LEADER WARNS US COULD RECEIVE ‘SEVERE SLAPS’ FOLLOWING TRUMP’S THREAT TO HOUTHIS STUDENTS WHO SAW CAMPUSES DEVOLVE INTO ANTI-ISRAEL CHAOS WITNESS FIRST-HAND SUCCESSES OF ABRAHAM ACCORDS The sheikh thanked Trump for “the warm welcome and hospitality” in a post on X. He said their discussions focused on the future of U.S.-UAE relations. “The UAE remains committed to strengthening its economic ties with the U.S. by accelerating investments in artificial intelligence, advanced technology, infrastructure, energy, and healthcare – key pillars for sustainable growth and development,” Sheikh Tahnoon added. According to the White House, investments in the framework include Abu Dhabi-based MGX, BlackRock, Microsoft and Global Infrastructure Partners working with NVIDIA and xAI to support “U.S. AI leadership.” The group will mobilize up to $100 billion to support the build-out. Additionally, Emirates Global Aluminum is expected to invest in America’s first new aluminum smelter in 35 years. “These significant investments underscore the close ties between the United States and the United Arab Emirates, and the strong relationship between President Trump and President Sheikh Mohamed,” the White House wrote. While in D.C., Sheikh Tahnoon met with several members of the Trump administration, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. TRUMP HOLDS ‘VERY GOOD’ CALL WITH ZELENSKYY FOLLOWING DEAL WITH PUTIN Trump also wrote about the meeting in a post on Truth Social, saying, “UAE and the U.S. have long been partners in the work to bring peace and security to the Middle East and the world. Discussions also included ways for our countries to increase our partnership for the advancing of our economic and technological futures.”
Trump floats idea of convicted Tesla arsonists serving sentences in El Salvador prisons: ‘Lovely conditions’
President Donald Trump suggested that convicted Tesla arsonists serve out their expected decades-long sentences in El Salvador prisons. “I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla,” Trump wrote Friday on TRUTH Social. “Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!” the president added. TRUMP WARNS OF JAIL TIME FOR TESLA VANDALS, ANYONE FUNDING THE ATTACKS: ‘WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!!!’ The message comes as the FBI is investigating an uptick in attacks against Tesla vehicles and facilities nationwide of domestic terrorism, as top Trump adviser Elon Musk’s company has become a target of protesters and arsonists. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also facing pushback in federal court over deportation flights to El Salvador. Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele announced last week that the first 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, a U.S. designated terror group, had arrived, releasing video of Salvadorian troops transferring men from planes to his Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT. He said they’d stay for one year, though that was “renewable.” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi on Thursday announced charges against three individuals accused of using Molotov cocktails to set fire to Tesla cars and charging stations. “The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” Bondi said in a statement. “Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.” The Justice Department said one defendant, also armed with a suppressed AR-15 rifle, was arrested after allegedly throwing approximately eight Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership located in Salem, Oregon. Another was arrested in Loveland, Colorado after allegedly attempting to light Teslas on fire with Molotov cocktails. Authorities said that defendant was later found in possession of materials used to produce additional incendiary weapons. In Charleston, South Carolina, a third defendant wrote “profane messages” against Trump around Tesla charging stations before lighting the charging stations on fire with Molotov cocktails, the Justice Department said. TESLA VEHICLES, DEALERSHIPS TARGETED WITH ARSON, GUNFIRE AND VANDALISM IN AT LEAST 9 STATES: FBI The DOJ said each defendant faces serious charges carrying a minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison. “People that get caught sabotaging Teslas will stand a very good chance of going to jail for up to twenty years, and that includes the finders,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social Thursday, adding: “WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!!!” Tesla vehicles and dealerships have been subjected to arson, vandalism and gunfire in at least nine states, and some of the most prominent cases were reported in left-leaning cities in the Pacific Northwest, like Portland, Oregon, and Seattle. An Oregon man faces charges after allegedly throwing several Molotov cocktails at a Tesla store in Salem, then returning another day and shooting out windows. In the Portland suburb of Tigard, more than a dozen bullets were fired at a Tesla showroom last week, damaging vehicles and windows, the second time in a week that the store was targeted. Four Cybertrucks were set on fire in a Tesla lot in Seattle earlier this month. On Friday, witnesses reported a man poured gasoline on an unoccupied Tesla Model S and started a fire on a Seattle street. In Las Vegas, several Tesla vehicles were set ablaze early Tuesday outside a Tesla service center where the word “resist” was also painted in red across the building’s front doors. Authorities said at least one person threw Molotov cocktails — crude bombs filled with gasoline or another flammable liquid — and fired several rounds from a weapon into the vehicles. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Was this terrorism? Was it something else? It certainly has some of the hallmarks that we might think – the writing on the wall, potential political agenda, an act of violence,” Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI office, said at a press conference. “None of those factors are lost on us.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump revokes security clearances of former opponents Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton
President Donald Trump revoked the security clearances of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Liz Cheney and several other opponents who either severely criticized or acted against him. The White House released a memo on Friday that read: “I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information: Antony Blinken, Jacob Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Mark Zaid, Norman Eisen, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, Andrew Weissmann, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Cheney, Kamala Harris, Adam Kinzinger, Fiona Hill, Alexander Vindman, Joseph R. Biden Jr., and any other member of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s family.” TRUMP STRIPS SECURITY CLEARANCES FROM LAW FIRM TIED TO JACK SMITH CASES Earlier this month, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced that she had revoked the security clearances of several people listed in Trump’s memo and blocked them from having access to classified information. She said “the 51 signers of the Hunter Biden ‘disinformation’ letter” also had their clearances rescinded. “The President’s Daily Brief is no longer being provided to former President Biden.” In addition to having their security clearances revoked, the individuals listed in Trump’s memorandum have had their “unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities” rescinded. TRUMP REVOKES SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION FOR ADULT BIDEN CHILDREN HUNTER AND ASHLEY Several people listed in Trump’s memo mostly dismissed it in social media posts reacting to the news. Both Zaid and Eisen said it was “like the third time” their security clearances were revoked. Kinzinger posted a video saying that he “retired a year ago from the military” and doesn’t have a clearance before calling the president a “dumba–.” The security clearance memo comes just days after Trump announced that he was stripping Hunter and Ashley Biden of their Secret Service protection. “Hunter Biden has had Secret Service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the United States Taxpayer. There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection. Likewise, Ashley Biden who has 13 agents will be taken off the list.” While under federal law, former presidents and their spouses receive life-long Secret Service protection, but that protection ends for members of their immediate family when they leave office. According to the Associated Press, both Trump and Biden extended protection for their children before leaving office.
Here’s what happened during Trump’s ninth week in office
President Donald Trump signed more executive orders this week — including one to upend the Department of Education — battled the judicial branch, and spoke to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On Thursday, Trump announced plans to work with Congress to upend the Department of Education. Closing down an agency requires the approval of Congress, according to the U.S. Constitution. “We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven’t for a long time,” Trump said Thursday before signing the executive order. A White House fact sheet on the executive order said the directive aims to “turn over education to families instead of bureaucracies” and instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.” Trump said Thursday programs for Pell Grants, student loans for undergraduate students, and others that provide resources for children with special needs would continue to exist, just under different agencies. “They’re going to be preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments that will take very good care of them,” Trump said. Those in favor of shuttering the agency have pointed to the “Nation’s Report Card,” the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released every two years, released on Jan. 27. The exam tests fourth and eighth grade students and found almost stagnant math scores for eighth graders compared to 2022. Reading scores dropped two points at both grade levels. As a result, Trump said without evidence that new efforts to upend the Department of Education would allow states like Texas to provide education comparable to countries like Norway, Denmark and Sweden. “And then you’ll have some laggards, and we’ll work with them,” Trump said. “And we can all tell you who the laggards will be, right now, probably, but let’s not get into that.” Here’s also what Trump did this week: Trump called for the impeachment of Judge James Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in a social media post Tuesday, prompting Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a rare statement condemning Trump’s remarks. Trump’s pushback stems from Boasberg issuing an order on Saturday halting the Trump administration from deporting migrants allegedly part of the Tren de Aragua gang under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The law permits deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing. The flights carrying the migrants continued to El Salvador, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Sunday the order had “no lawful basis” since Boasberg issued it after the flights departed from U.S. airspace. JUDGES BLOCKING TRUMP’S ORDERS ARE ACTING ‘ERRONEOUSLY,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS In response to Boasberg’s order, Trump said the judge should be impeached. However, Roberts said that “it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.” Boasberg’s order is one of multiple injunctions issued against the Trump administration, blocking various executive orders he’s signed since taking office in January. The White House has accused judges of behaving as partisan activists to stop Trump’s agenda. “I would like to point out that the judges in this country are acting erroneously,” Leavitt said in a Wednesday news briefing. “We have judges who are acting as partisan activists from the bench.” Trump also announced that Boeing had won out among defense companies for a contract to build the Air Force’s next-generation fighter jet, known as the F-47. “I’m thrilled to announce that at my direction the United States Air Force is moving forward with the world’s first sixth-generation fighter jet,” Trump said Friday in the Oval Office at the White House. “Nothing in the world comes even close to it, and it’ll be called the ‘F-47,’ the generals picked that title.” BOEING TO BUILD NEXT-GEN ‘F-47’ US FIGHTER JET, TRUMP ANNOUNCES The Next Generation Air Defense initiative that the Biden administration put on the back burner will oversee the effort. The Trump administration revived the program, a move that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Friday “sends a very direct, clear message to our allies that we’re not going anywhere, and to our enemies that we will be able to project power around the globe.” An experimental version of the jet has been covertly flying for “years,” according to Trump. “The F-47 will be the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built,” Trump said. Trump also spoke with both Putin and Zelenskyy this week over the phone, amid ongoing efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Following the calls, both Russia and Ukraine agreed to a limited ceasefire against energy. The next step is for respective teams to conduct meetings to navigate how to reach a full ceasefire, according to the White House. “Technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss broadening the ceasefire to the Black Sea on the way to a full ceasefire,” the White House said in a statement Thursday. “They agreed this could be the first step toward the full end of the war and ensuring security. President Zelenskyy was grateful for the President’s leadership in this effort and reiterated his willingness to adopt a full ceasefire.” The Associated Press and Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
New polls reveal what Americans think about Trump months into his second term
President Donald Trump, with the stroke of a pen, signed an executive order this week to begin the longstanding conservative goal of demolishing the Department of Education. “Today we take a very historic action that was 45 years in the making,” Trump said at a White House signing ceremony. “It’s about time.” Trump has been on a tear since returning to the White House two months ago, flexing his political muscles to expand presidential powers as he’s upended longstanding government policy and made major cuts to the federal workforce through a flurry of executive orders and actions. Trump has signed close to 100 executive orders since his inauguration, according to a count from Fox News, which far surpasses the rate of any recent presidential predecessors during their opening weeks in office. CHECK OUT WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL SAYS ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP The president touts that “a lot of great things are happening” and that “things are doing very well,” but it’s clear that Americans are divided on the job Trump’s doing so far in his second tour of duty in the White House. Trump’s approval rating stood at 49% in the latest Fox News national survey, with 51% giving the president a thumbs down in the survey, which was conducted March 14-17. PROBLEMATIC POLL NUMBERS FOR THE DEMOCRATS The Fox News poll is the latest national survey to Trump’s approval rating slightly underwater, and it’s also the latest to indicate a massive partisan divide over the president and his agenda. Ninety-two percent of Republican respondents approved of the president’s performance, while an equal percentage of Democrats gave Trump a big thumbs down. More than six-in-ten independents said they disapproved of the job Trump is doing. The president’s 49% overall approval rating matches the all-time high for Trump in Fox News polling, which he last reached in April 2020, near the end of his first term in office. And that’s six points higher than where he stood at this point in his first administration (43% approval in March 2017). Trump’s poll numbers were almost entirely in negative territory in most surveys for the entirety of his first term in office. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING “The difference is largely a function of the consolidation of the Republican base,” Daron Shaw, who serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and is the Republican partner on the Fox News Poll, noted. “The party’s completely solidified behind him,” added Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas, who noted that Trump’s current rock-solid GOP support wasn’t the case at the start of the first term, when he had troubles with some Republicans. Shaw highlighted that “Democrats were consolidated against Trump in 2017. They’re consolidated against him now.” Pointing to recent polls indicating Democratic Party favorability at all-time lows, he said “they don’t like their own party very much, but they all agreed that they don’t like Trump.” While Trump’s poll numbers are superior to where he stood eight years ago, there’s been a bit of slippage. An average of all the most recent national polls indicates that Trump’s approval ratings are just below water. Trump has seen his numbers edge down slightly since returning to the White House in late January, when an average of his polls indicated the president’s approval rating in the low 50s and his disapproval in the mid-40s. Contributing to the slide – the economy and jitters that Trump’s tariffs on both foes and friends will spark further inflation, which was a pressing issue that kept former President Biden’s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency. The latest Fox News poll as well as other recent surveys point to growing skepticism about Trump’s economic actions and policies. Shaw says it all comes down to independents. “If the Republicans are locked down in favor of Trump and Democrats locked down in opposition, it’s just independents,” he said. Polls indicate independents are currently giving Trump a thumbs down on his handling of the economy. But Shaw offered that “if inflation comes down a bit, if there’s some growth, those numbers are going to flip. That’s what independents do. They go with the times.”
Trump admin pulling legal status for more than 530K migrants
The Trump administration will revoke the temporary legal status of more than half a million migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who entered the U.S. legally, according to a notice posted Friday in the Federal Register. The roughly 532,000 migrants have been told to leave the country before their humanitarian parole and accompanying work permits are canceled on April 24, giving them a month from when the notice is formally published on March 25. The migrants were allowed to fly directly to the U.S. after applying from abroad under a policy started during the Biden administration that was designed to open legal migration pathways, but President Donald Trump suspended the program when he returned to office in January. The program, CHNV, allowed the migrants and their immediate family members to fly into the U.S. if they had American sponsors. They could then remain in the country for two years under a temporary immigration status known as parole. DHS’ KRISTI NOEM SAYS TRUMP ADMIN WILL RESUME CONSTRUCTION OF 7 MILES OF SOUTHERN BORDER Launched in 2022, the program first applied to Venezuelans before it was expanded to additional countries. The Biden administration had argued that CHNV would help reduce illegal crossings at the southern border and allow better vetting of people entering the country amid an influx of migrants entering through the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump’s Department of Homeland Security criticized the Biden administration on Friday, arguing that the program failed to achieve its goals, the BBC reported. The agency said in a statement that Biden officials had “granted them [migrants] opportunities to compete for American jobs and undercut American workers; forced career civil servants to promote the programs even when fraud was identified; and then blamed Republicans in Congress for the chaos that ensued and the crime that followed.” But the notice in the Federal Register said some migrants in the U.S. under CHNV may be allowed to remain in the country on a case-by-case basis. CHNV helped about 213,000 Haitians enter the U.S. amid deteriorating conditions in their home country, as well as more than 120,700 Venezuelans, 110,900 Cubans and more than 93,000 Nicaraguans, according to the BBC. Last month, DHS announced plans to end another immigration designation, temporary protected status, or TPS, for 500,000 Haitians living in the U.S. legally. TPS was given to migrants from designated countries facing unsafe conditions, including armed conflict. The agency also ended TPS for Venezuelans living in the U.S., although this is being challenged in court. JUDGE GIVES MAHMOUD KHALIL LEGAL TEAM MORE TIME TO REVIEW IMMIGRATION CASE Trump’s efforts to remove legal and illegal migrants from the U.S. since taking office in January as part of his immigration agenda have faced numerous legal obstacles. The Trump administration is also reportedly dismantling internal watchdogs for DHS, including its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which investigated allegations of abuse and discrimination within immigration enforcement, according to Bloomberg News.