Some Dems already turning on Hogg two weeks into DNC vice chair gig: report
Some Democratic insiders are already expressing concerns over newly elected Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg just two weeks into his tenure in leadership. Hogg has already ruffled some feathers within the DNC for using the committee’s contact list to solicit donations for his own political action committee (PAC), Leaders We Deserve, according to a report from the New York Post. “David Hogg here: I was just elected DNC Vice Chair! This is a huge win for our movement to make the Democratic Party more reflective of our base: youthful, energetic, and ready to win,” reads one of eight texts, which include solicitation links to “Leaders We Deserve,” sent out to a DNC database of phone numbers, according to the report. NEW DNC VICE CHAIR SETS SOCIAL MEDIA ABLAZE AFTER ‘RADICAL’ POSTS EXPOSED: ‘LEARNED ABSOLUTELY NOTHING’ The texts aren’t sitting well with some DNC insiders, who believe the committee’s vast database of numbers and donors should be used to help the future of the party, not a member’s individual PAC. “David Hogg – talk about living up to your name. A trough of DNC dollars all for him and he doesn’t seem to give an oink,” one top Democrat told the Post. Hogg, who first came to prominence as a survivor of the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting, founded the PAC in August 2023, which he said aims to help young progressives get elected to Congress and state legislatures across the country. NEW DNC VICE CHAIR PREVIOUSLY CALLED FOR ICE TO BE ABOLISHED The now 24-year-old DNC vice chair also pockets a salary of over $100,000, the report notes, having last taken a $20,000 salary payment in December, according to the most recent public data. While Hogg’s personal fundraising for his PAC does not break any rules, some within the party have taken exception to the young activist’s use of DNC resources. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It’s especially important for all Democratic national officials to focus on raising support for the party and not using their position to raise money for themselves or their personal political PACS,” a second Democratic Party official told the Post. “It’s a stunning lack of judgment that is concerning to many people.” The DNC did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Democrats loved idea of DOGE before Trump, White House quips
The White House is taking aim at Democratic critics of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), highlighting that the new agency’s work was once championed by prominent Democrats. “To all of the Democrats who are planning to protest this week, here’s an explanation on DOGE, from your party’s own beloved leaders,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X Sunday while sharing a video of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden calling for reforms similar to those being made by DOGE. “Budget reform is not an option, it’s a necessity,” Obama says in the video. “We can’t sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness or exist solely because of the power of politicians, lobbyists or interest groups.” “The American people are entitled to transparency,” Biden says in the video. “They’re entitled to be able to figure out where their dollars are going, and they’re entitled to accountability to make sure that we’re using the dollars for what we said it was for.” TOP TRUMP AGENCY RECOVERS EYE-POPPING SUM AFTER LAUNCHING DOGE TASK FORCE Democrats have ramped up their attacks on DOGE and its leader, billionaire Elon Musk, over the past week, arguing that Trump’s project is a violation of the Constitution and filing several lawsuits in an effort to bring the new department’s momentum to a halt. But Leavitt pointed out that many of DOGE’s priorities used to be the same across the aisle, especially for the two most well-known Democratic leaders. “We are going to go through our federal budget… page by page, line by line, eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those that we do need operate in a sensible, cost-effective way,” Obama says during a speech in one portion of the video. EXPERT REVEALS MASSIVE LEVELS OF WASTE DOGE CAN SLASH FROM ENTITLEMENTS, PET PROJECTS: ‘A LOT OF FAT’ “What should be easy is getting rid of the pointless waste and stupid spending that doesn’t benefit anybody,” Obama says during another point of the video from the Oval Office, where the then-president is seated next to a large stack of papers. “No amount of waste is acceptable, not when it’s your money.” “We hope to be instilling an entire new culture, that not only our administration, but every succeeding administration will in fact pursue,” Biden says at another point in the video. Recent polling shows Americans may side with Trump and Musk on DOGE. In one poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group, 49% of respondents said they approve of DOGE’s efforts compared to 44% who indicated they disapprove. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Similar numbers were seen in a recent Economist/YouGov poll, which shows 42% of respondents view DOGE favorably, while 38% indicated they had an unfavorable opinion of the department.
Trump’s Ukraine envoy pulls no punches with Europe, says EU might not have place in Russia peace talks
President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia hinted that there might not be a place at the table for Europe during peace negotiations with Russia. Asked if Europeans had a role in talks between Russia and Ukraine, Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, said at a security conference in Germany over the weekend that he was “from the school of realism, and that is not going to happen.” The comments come as Trump presses ahead with plans to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia, which includes planned meetings between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia this week. But European allies might not be included in future talks, Kellogg made clear during his remarks in Munich, arguing that too many voices adds to the risk of derailing negotiations for peace. EMMANUEL MACRON CALLS ‘EMERGENCY MEETING’ FOR EUROPEAN LEADERS TO DISCUSS TRUMP: REPORT “What we don’t want to do is get into a large group discussion,” Kellogg said, noting that Trump is pressing to have a deal done within “days and weeks” and not on a longer timetable. “You got to give us a bit of breathing space and time, but when I say that, I’m not talking six months,” he said. The comments come just a day after Vice President JD Vance ripped into European leaders during a speech at the same conference, arguing that European domestic policies limiting free speech were a bigger threat to the continent than Russia. “The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China. It’s not any other external actor,” he said. “What I worry about is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” The remarks by U.S. leaders at the conference have left their European counterparts in shock, according to a report from Reuters, which noted that many European delegates were left worrying about continued U.S. military protection of the continent and the details of a deal brokered in Ukraine with little European involvement. ‘BREATHTAKING SPEED’: TRUMP’S PARIS TRIP MARKS RETURN TO GLOBAL STAGE AS LEADERS TURN ‘THE PAGE’ ON BIDEN Speaking to Newsweek, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said she was still “trying to decipher” the meaning of Kellogg’s remarks over the weekend, though admitted that she found them a “concern.” “This is about Russia, but this is also about Europe,” she said. “It’s also difficult for foreign leaders to be reacting constantly to unsure comments.” “We feel like Ukraine has to be at the table, and Europe does, too,” she added. That sentiment was echoed by Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, who argued that Europe will have to “act more strongly” in response to the U.S. push. “If Trump is negotiating with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin about Europe, then it is impossible to talk about Europe without us,” he told NewsWeek. DAVID MARCUS: TRIUMPHANT TRUMP AT NOTRE DAME SIGNALS AMERICA AND THE WEST ARE BACK French President Emmanuel Macron responded to the developments by calling on European leaders to convene an emergency meeting in Paris, which is expected to center on U.S. efforts to exclude European countries from peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Those expected to be in attendance at the Paris meeting include NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and the leaders of Germany, Italy, the U.K. and Poland, according to a report from the Guardian. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to attend the meetings, though he stressed the importance of keeping the European and U.S. alliance together. “The U.K. will work to ensure we keep the U.S. and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face,” Starmer said, according to the Guardian report. Prospects for a peace deal to end Russia’s nearly three-year-old invasion in Ukraine have seemingly intensified in recent weeks, most notably after Trump held separate phone calls with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At a later event at the conference, Kellogg made clear that European interests would still be considered at the bargaining table, noting that the U.S. would simply hope to serve as an intermediary in talks between Russia and Ukraine, the two main protagonists in the conflict. Meanwhile, Rutte urged European leaders to get serious if they hope to be involved in the peace process. “And to my European friends, I would say, get into the debate, not by complaining that you might, yes or no, be at the table, but by coming up with concrete proposals, ideas, ramp up (defense) spending,” the NATO secretary-general said at the conference. The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
National security advisor says Putin, Zelenskyy agree ‘only President Trump could get them to the table’
As the Trump administration moves to negotiate the end of the Ukraine-Russia war, national security advisor Michael Waltz rejected the notion that European allies are not being consulted on the matter. Talks between the U.S. and Russia are reportedly to begin in Saudi Arabia this week, while French President Emmanuel Macron is reportedly to host what is being billed as an emergency summit on Ukraine between European leaders in Paris starting Monday. Trump said he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, reportedly doing so without consulting NATO members. In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Waltz said that in back-to-back calls, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin separately agreed that “only President Trump could get them to the table, only President Trump could drive peace.” Waltz noted that Trump spoke to Macron last week and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has an upcoming trip to the United States. TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT OFFERS ZELENSKYY AN ECONOMIC INVESTMENT DEAL “We had no less than our vice president, our secretary of state, our secretary of defense, our secretary of treasury, who was in Kyiv personally, and our special envoy {Keith} Kellogg all in Europe this week, all engaging our allies,” Waltz said. “Now, they may not like some of the sequencing that is going on in these negotiations, but I have to push back on any notion that they aren’t being consulted. They absolutely are.” “At the end of the day though, this is going to be under President Trump’s leadership that we get this war to an end,” he added. Among the critics of the Trump administration’s handling of the negotiations was Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the president’s inability to “even identify Ukraine as an equal bargaining power, after the blood Ukraine has shed, [is] just a shocking surrender of American values and interests.” Noting how Zelenskyy said he would not be bound by any deal negotiated between Russia and the U.S., “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream asked Waltz if Kyiv would have a seat at the table. In response, Waltz said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice President JD Vance stressed in talks with Zelenskyy “entering into a partnership with the United States,” and being “co-invested with President Trump, with the American people going forward.” UKRAINE FUNDING WILL COME WITH NEW LEVEL OF ‘TRANSPARENCY,’ TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT SAYS “The American people deserve to be recouped, deserve to have some type of payback for the billions they have invested in this war,” Waltz said. “I can’t think of anything that would make the American people more comfortable with future investments than if we were able to be in a partnership and have the American people made whole. And I’ll point out that much of the European aid is actually in the form of a loan. That is repaid. It’s repaid with interest on Russian assets. So President Trump is rethinking the entire dynamic here. That has some people uncomfortable, but I think Zelenskyy would be very wise to enter into this agreement with the United States. There’s no better way to secure them going forward, and further, there was a question of whether Putin would come to the table. He has now done so under President Trump’s leadership, and we’re going to continue those talks in the coming weeks at President Trump’s direction.” Asked why Ukraine won’t be directly part of the Saudi Arabia talks, Waltz said, “The Ukrainian people have fought valiantly. They have seen entire cities destroyed. The United States and Europe have supported this effort, but the United States unquestionably has borne the brunt of that support over the years, but now President Trump is clear it needs to come to an end.” Waltz added that the negotiations will be driven by “key tenants,” including ensuring that there’s a “permanent end to the war” and that the conflict “can’t be ended on the battlefield.” “This has turned into a World War I-style meat grinder of human beings,” he said, adding that economic integration going forward would be the “best arbiter of peace” and long-term military security guarantees have to be European-led. “When a third of NATO members still are not contributing – a third – are still not contributing the minimum they all committed to a decade ago, I think that leaves a lot of Americans questioning the level of their commitment to back the rhetoric we’re seeing,” Waltz said.
Trump will determine if Putin is ‘serious about negotiations’ to end Ukraine war, Rubio says
President Donald Trump’s prowess as a negotiator will help determine if Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday. Rubio appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” where host Margaret Brennan asked if he could trust that potential negotiations with Russia would be forthright considering how Putin “likes to use diplomacy as a cover to distract while he continues to wage war.” “I don’t think in geopolitics anyone should trust anyone,” Rubio responded. “I think these things have to be verified through actions. I said yesterday that peace is not a noun, it’s a verb. It’s an action. You have to take concrete steps towards it.” Rubio added that there is “no better negotiator in American politics” than Trump, saying that the president “will know very quickly whether this is a real thing or whether this is an effort to buy time.” HOW SAUDI ARABIA’S CROWN PRINCE BECAME A CENTRAL PLAYER IN US-BROKERED PEACE TALKS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE “But I don’t want to prejudge that,” Rubio said. “I don’t want to foreclose the opportunity to end the conflict that’s already cost the lives of hundreds of thousands and continues every single day to be increasingly a war of attrition on both sides.” Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. The fighting has produced heavy casualties on both sides, becoming Europe’s largest military conflict since World War II. Trump had repeatedly said while on the campaign trail that if he was president in 2022, the war would not have broken out — vowing to end it if re-elected. RUSSIA CLAIMS TRUMP, PUTIN TALK BROUGHT WORLD FROM ‘BRINK OF APOCALYPSE,’ EU WARNS OF ‘DIRTY TRICKS’ Trump spoke to Putin in a phone call on Wednesday, telling reporters that he and Putin would likely meet soon to negotiate a peace deal over Ukraine. Trump later assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he also would have a seat at the table. While some officials have indicated that European nations wouldn’t be involved in talks, Rubio on Sunday said that should the leaders reach the point of “real negotiations,” both Ukraine and Europe would be involved. “Ultimately, it will reach a point when you are – if it’s real negotiations, and we’re not there yet – but if that were to happen, Ukraine will have to be involved, because they’re the one that were invaded, and the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on Putin and Russia as well, and they’ve contributed to this effort.” Rubio emphasized that the phone call between Trump and Putin was only a small step in the process towards opening a negotiation to end the war, and that “we have a long way to go.” “We’re just not there yet,” he said. “We really aren’t, but hopefully we will be, because we’d all like to see this war end.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Putin’s a ‘little bit scared’ of Trump as nations begin peace talks, Zelenskyy says
Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “little bit scared” of President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview that aired Sunday. Zelenskyy joined NBC’s “Meet the Press,” recounting that when he spoke to Trump by phone about a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, he told the president that he believes Putin fears the American leader. “I said that [Putin] is a liar,” Zelenskyy recounted of his phone call to Trump. “And he said, ‘I think my feeling is that he’s ready for these negotiations.’ And I said to him, ‘No, he’s a liar. He doesn’t want any peace.’ “But I think he’s really a little bit scared about the President Trump. And I think the president has this chance, and he’s strong. And I think that really he can push Putin to peace negotiations. Yes, I think so. I think he can, but don’t trust him. Don’t trust Putin. Don’t trust just words about ceasefire,” Zelenskyy told NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.” Zelenskyy’s interview follows Trump announcing last Wednesday that Putin had agreed to “immediately” begin peace negotiations to end the war. Trump tapped Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff to lead negotiations with Russia and Ukraine. TRUMP SAYS RUSSIA AGREES TO ‘IMMEDIATELY’ BEGIN NEGOTIATIONS TO END WAR IN UKRAINE PUTIN VIEWED AS ‘GREAT COMPETITOR’ BUT STILL A US ‘ADVERSARY’ AS UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS LOOM, LEAVITT SAYS Zelenskyy said during his interview that he trusts Trump’s leadership amid negotiations to end the war that has raged between Russia and Ukraine since 2022, but that he won’t accept a deal that did not include talks with Ukraine. “I believe and trust only in real steps. And I trust President Trump because he’s the president of the United States, because your people, your people voted for him, and I respect their choice, and I will work with President Trump with trust, which I have to the United States,” Zelenskyy told Welker when asked if he feels Trump values Ukraine at the same level as Russia. FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY “But of course, I want to have [a] real meeting, productive, without just words, with concrete steps, and to hear us, to hear President Trump, to make a common plan, and to share it with allies, then with Russians, and stop this war. I think we need it urgently. We have to do it without basic things, where there are concrete steps.” Zelenskyy added in his interview that he will not accept any negotiation hashed out by just the U.S. and Russia. ‘NO REASON’ FOR NEW NUKES: TRUMP FLOATS DISARMAMENT TALKS WITH CHINA, RUSSIA “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never.… The war in Ukraine is against us, and it is our human losses. And we are thankful for all the support, unity between USA – in USA around Ukraine support, bipartisan unity, bipartisan support, we’re thankful for all of this. But there is no… leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us about us,” he said. Witkoff joined Fox News earlier on Sunday and reported that he and Waltz are heading to Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening to begin negotiations on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Rubio defends Vance’s Munich speech as CBS host suggests ‘free speech’ caused the Holocaust
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Vice President JD Vance’s speech in Germany slamming Europe’s penchant for censorship on Sunday. Rubio clashed with CBS host Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation” after she suggested that free speech had been “weaponized” to bring about the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. Brennan highlighted Vance’s speech to the Munich Security Conference in Germany last week, which criticized European allies for adopting a “soviet”-style approach to censorship. “What did all of this accomplish, other than irritating our allies?” Brennan asked. HEGSETH SAYS HE AND VANCE ARE ‘ON THE SAME PAGE’ DESPITE VP’S REMARK ON US TROOPS IN UKRAINE “Why would our allies or anybody be irritated by free speech and by someone giving their opinion? We are, after all, democracies,” Rubio said. “The Munich Security Conference is largely a conference of democracies in which one of the things that we cherish and value is the ability to speak freely and provide your opinions. And so, I think if anyone’s angry about his words, they don’t have to agree with him, but to be angry about it, I think actually makes his point.” VANCE WARNS THE US WILL USE SANCTIONS, MILITARY ACTION IF PUTIN DOESN’T AGREE TO UKRAINE PEACE DEAL: REPORT “Well, he was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide,” Brennan replied. “He met with the head of a political party that has far-right views and some historic ties to extreme groups. The context of that was changing the tone of it. And you know that.” “Well, I have to disagree with you. No- I have- I have to disagree with you,” Rubio said as the pair talked over one another. “Free speech was not used to conduct a genocide. The genocide was conducted by an authoritarian Nazi regime that happened to also be genocidal because they hated Jews and they hated minorities and they had a list of people they hated, but primarily the Jews.” He added, “There was no free speech in Nazi Germany. There was none. There was also no opposition in Nazi Germany. They were the sole and only party that governed that country. So that’s not an accurate reflection of history.” Rubio went on to reiterate Vance’s point that European leaders should be able to continue working with the U.S. and other like-minded nations despite facing criticism, at which point Brennan ended the segment.
Border Patrol agents to stop wearing body cameras after social media post reveals ‘security risk’
Agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will no longer wear body cameras during field operations after a social media post publicized how to identify individual agents. “All U.S. Border Patrol Agents will cease the use of body-worn cameras (BWC) in all operational environments,” CBP said in a statement to NewsNation, which originally reported the news. The directive comes after a post on Reddit claimed that the mobile application BLE Radar, which uses Bluetooth to scan for low-energy devices such as phones, smartwatches and speakers, can also track CBP body cameras from a distance of 100 yards and can also trigger improvised explosive devices. FRUSTRATED CHICAGOANS BACK ICE DEPORTATIONS, APPLAUD DOJ LAWSUIT TARGETING SANCTUARY POLICIES CBP officials sent out a directive following the post informing agents of a “potential security risk” while immediately pulling body cameras from use in the field. “Pending completion of investigation and risk mitigation, all Agents will stand down the use of their BWCs [body worn cameras] until further notice. Additional guidance and information will be disseminated as it is received,” the directive said. Sources told NewsNation that the cameras used by CBP agents are Avon body cams, which the social media post claims are devices BLE Radar, which was developed by F-Droid, can detect. DAILY AVERAGE OF KNOWN GOTAWAYS AT SOUTHERN BORDER PLUMMETS, DOWN 93% FROM BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HIGHS The directive comes as both CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have ramped up enforcement efforts in the weeks since President Donald Trump took office, an effort that was a cornerstone of the president’s campaign to return to the White House. Since the beginning of February, the daily average of gotaways, or illegal immigrants who successfully enter the U.S. without being apprehended, at the southern border has fallen to just 132 per day, a 93% drop from highs seen under former President Joe Biden, a senior Department of Homeland Security source told Fox News. Data obtained by Fox News showed that during FY 2023, 670,674 known gotaways were recorded by the agency, or more than 1,800 per day. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP CBP did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
White House scorches ‘moron’ left-wing senator for seething over ‘obvious’ Trump family parody account
The White House slammed Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy as a “moron” on social media after the Connecticut lawmaker posted an expletive-riddled admonishment against a Lara Trump parody account he seemingly believed belonged to the president’s daughter-in-law. “You are a moron, Chris. It is obvious this page is not affiliated with President Trump, his family, or the administration. We do, however, support your right to make such a statement, no matter how imbecilic it makes you look,” the White House’s X account, Rapid Response 47, said in a message posted on Friday. The rapid response account is a new White House account that was launched in January to hold “fake news accountable.” The White House was responding to Murphy singling out a social media post he ostensibly believed Lara Trump posted regarding border czar Tom Homan potentially arresting Rep. Alexandira Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Murphy included a screenshot of the alleged Lara Trump tweet, showing the handle for the account belongs to an X page called the “Lara Trump Page,” a parody fan account – not her official X account. HOMAN, AOC CLASH OVER WEBINAR TO HELP IMMIGRANTS ‘EVADE’ ICE RAIDS: ‘I THOUGHT I EDUCATED HER’ “If you support Border Czar Tom Homan arresting AOC for giving illegal aliens instructions on how to avoid deportation, post a [thumbs up emoji] in the comments,” the fan page account posted on Thursday. “Make your voice heard.” Murphy responded to the social media post by arguing the Trump administration has “some f—ing gall” discussing free speech when advocating for the arrest of a Democrat. ‘STUNNING AND BRAVE’: DEM SENATOR MOCKED AFTER HYPING ALL-NIGHTER STUNT IN PROTEST OF TRUMP NOMINEE “It takes some f—ng gall to have Vance lecturing Europe on ‘free speech’ when at the exact same time the Trump regime is threatening Democrats back home with arrest if they even explain people’s rights to them,” Murphy posted to X on Friday. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTS SKYROCKET UNDER TRUMP ICE COMPARED TO BIDEN LEVELS LAST YEAR Murphy’s tweet was hit with a community note, detailing that he was responding to a parody fan account and that Lara Trump did not issue such a tweet. “This is a screenshot of a parody account of Lara Trump. Her real account is below and no such post exists,” the community note states. AOC’S OFFICE ADVISES MIGRANTS ON HOW TO AVOID DEPORTATIONS IN LIVE WEBINAR Fox News Digital reached out to Murphy’s office for comment Sunday morning, but did not immediately reply. The parody account’s message was likely referring to Ocasio-Cortez’s office posting a webinar “Know Your Rights” guide about how illegal immigrants can avoid deportation amid the Trump administration’s border crackdown following the immigration crisis that rocked the U.S. under the Biden administration. Homan, former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and current border czar under the second Trump administration, told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham last week that he asked the Justice Department if Ocasio-Cortez’s guide crossed a legal line. “Is that impeding our law enforcement efforts?” Homan said on the “Ingraham Angle.” “If so, what are we going to do about it? Is she crossing the line? So I’m working with the Department of Justice and finding out. Where is that line that they cross? So maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now.” Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
Trump tariffs spark ‘exciting time’ for Ohio steel plant as CEO eyes adding jobs, boosting productivity
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s tariffs will be a boon for an Ohio-based steel mill and its employees, the CEO of JSW Steel USA, a subsidiary of a massive India-based steel manufacturer, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “It’s a good piece of the formula that results in our company increasing utilization in the next 12 months, from 68% to probably 84%, and beyond that in years to come. So it’s a very exciting time for us,” JSW Steel USA CEO Robert Simon told Fox News Digital of Trump’s tariff plan in a phone interview on Thursday evening. Simon has served as the CEO of JSW Steel USA since March of last year, bringing with him more than 30 years of experience in the steel industry. He spoke to Fox News Digital following Trump announcing his administration’s “fair and reciprocal plan on trade,” which he celebrated during a press conference as a project that will flood the U.S. with jobs as trading partners move their industries to U.S. soil to avoid tariffs. JSW USA is a subsidiary of Mumbai-headquartered JSW Group, which owns India’s second-largest private steel company, JSW Steel. JSW USA has two steel locations in the U.S., one at Mingo Junction, Ohio, and another operation in Baytown, Texas. TRUMP DETAILS HIS RECIPROCAL TARIFF PLANS, ASKS FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO ‘TREAT US FAIRLY’: ‘DELIVER RECIPROCITY’ Simon told Fox News Digital that across his more than 30 years in the industry, U.S. steel manufacturers have complied with strict environmental and safety practices, and paid their employees fairly, while foreign steel manufacturers could skirt U.S. regulations while exporting their goods to the U.S. “We, as steel producers, we paid our employees fair wages, treated them fairly, met some of the most – if not the most strict – environmental requirements in the world, and those practices in our markets, with the simple supply-demand equation establishes market pricing.” “The frustration is, how is it fair that others that don’t treat their employees the same way, don’t follow the same rules, don’t follow environmental practices… they get government subsidies. How is it fair that they can come into our markets and take market share when it’s not an equal playing field?” he said. Simon said the Ohio plant alone will likely see a minimum increase of 100 jobs in the next year under Trump’s tariff plan. “As you look at that increase in utilization coupled with the overall increase in production that we foresee in the next three to five years, we estimate, at a minimum, a 100 jobs increase in the next 12 plus months associated with that utilization rate increase,” he said. WHO GETS HIT HARDEST BY STEEL AND ALUMINUM TARIFFS? Trump’s administration issued a fact sheet last week restoring a 25% tariff on steel, which detailed “domestic steel and aluminum industries and achieving sustainable capacity utilization of at least 80%.” JSW Steel USA told Fox News Digital that they are already on track to increase their utilization rate from 68% to 84% – higher than Trump’s target number of 80%. Under the first Trump administration, JSW Steel USA notably sued the federal government in 2019 over tariffs regarding imported steel-slab materials. The company now makes all domestic steel-slab materials as part of the JSW Group’s belief that its facilities both make products and supply the product in the communities they serve. Simon celebrated in his comments to Fox Digital that Ohio families that had long worked in the steel industry are making a return to the factory as the industry reinvigorates under the first and second Trump administrations. JSW USA purchased the Ohio factory in 2018, after it had operated as a Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel plant, but sat dormant for years. TRUMP ADVISOR TEASES NEW ‘GOLDEN AGE’ OF U.S. STEEL AND ALUMINUM “This is a company that had been shut down for over seven years, when we acquired it. We hired a workforce, trained a workforce, all from the local area. What’s really cool to see is we’ve got employees whose grandparents and great-grandparents worked in this same company, which ended up being shut down, and they’re part now of reviving that company and bringing it to an offering of products that’s extremely competitive and extremely impressive in terms of its value added products,” Simon said. Trump announced a reciprocal tariff plan on Thursday, tapping Howard Lutnick, his nominee for commerce secretary, to produce a report on reciprocal trade relations within 180 days. Lutnik said Thursday that he will have the report ready for Trump by April 1. WHAT ARE TARIFFS, HOW DO THEY WORK AND WHO PAYS FOR THEM? ”On trade, I have decided for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff – meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them no more, no less. In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff and we charge them the exact same tax or tariff. Very simple,” he said at the White House on Thursday. Trump touted that the plan will lead to a job boon in the U.S. as foreign trading partners move operations stateside to avoid the reciprocal tariffs. “They can build a factory here, a plant or whatever it may be, here,” Trump said Thursday afternoon from the Oval Office. “And that includes the medical, that includes cars, that includes chips and semiconductors. That includes everything. If you build here, you have no tariffs whatsoever. And I think that’s what’s going to happen. I think our country is going to be flooded with jobs.” Simon told Fox News Digital that Trump’s business and deal-making abilities are “obvious to everybody” as he whips through dozens of executive actions and orders in just a few weeks back in the Oval Office, remarking that it’s “pretty amazing.” “It’s become obvious to everybody that Mr. Trump is not a politician, right, but, more of a business person stepping in and leading our country, from much more of a business perspective than as a career politician. Like it