Gov. Newsom will veto California bill blocking prisons from cooperating with ICE: report
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is vowing to veto a bill that would block his state’s prison system from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a report says. Assembly Bill 15 argues that “when California’s jails and prisons voluntarily and unnecessarily transfer immigrant and refugee community members eligible for release from state or local custody to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for immigration detention and deportation purposes, they subject these community members to double punishment and further trauma.” “The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall not detain on the basis of a hold request, provide an immigration authority with release date information, or respond to a notification request, transfer to an immigration authority, or facilitate or assist with a transfer request any individual who is eligible for release,” reads some of the language of the bill. However, Newsom’s office told KCRA 3 that the governor would veto the bill if it ever lands on his desk this year. Currently, the legislation has been referred to the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee, the station added. CALIFORNIA CITY PASSES SWEEPING HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT BAN ON ALL PUBLIC PROPERTY A spokesperson for Newsom did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Friday. The bill is sponsored by Mike Gipson, a Democratic lawmaker who represents Los Angeles. Two years ago, Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 1306, which called for similar actions. “This bill prohibits the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from providing any information or responding to a request for coordination from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal law enforcement agency, regarding the imminent release of an incarcerated non-citizen, if the person is being released under specific circumstances,” Newsom wrote at the time. TRUMP-SUPPORTING CALIFORNIA SHERIFF TO LAUNCH REPUBLICAN BID FOR GOVERNOR IN RACE TO SUCCEED NEWSOM: SOURCES “The bill would prevent information sharing and coordination upon a person’s release from CDCR custody for a significant number of people and, as a result, would impede CDCR’s interaction with a federal law enforcement agency charged with assessing public safety risks,” he continued. “I believe current law strikes the right balance on limiting interaction to support community trust and cooperation between law enforcement and local communities. For this reason, I cannot sign this bill,” Newsom concluded. More than 10,500 California inmates have been transferred into ICE custody since Newsom took office in 2019, KCRA 3 reported, citing prison system data.
GOP lawmaker seeks to slam brakes on Biden’s ‘woke and wasteful’ EV tax credit
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are taking steps to repeal the “climate-crazed” Biden administration’s tax credit for electric vehicles (EVs) that “ran up the bill on the American people to the tune of billions of dollars,” Fox News Digital learned exclusively. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, on Friday will introduce the Eliminating Lavish Incentives to Electric Vehicles Act, a bill that aims to eliminate the Biden-era tax credit for new and used EVs and slash “woke and wasteful spending.” “Under President Biden and the most climate-crazed administration in the history of our country, Democrats ran up the bill on the American people to the tune of billions of dollars, strapping tax subsidies for expensive electric vehicles to the failed Inflation Reduction Act,” Arrington, who currently serves as chair of the House Budget Committee, told Fox News Digital in a statement. TRUMP REVERSES BIDEN CRACKDOWN ON LIGHTBULBS AND DISHWASHERS, RETURNING TO ‘COMMON SENSE STANDARDS’ Former President Joe Biden implemented a tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of EVs under the Inflation Reduction Act in an effort to push auto buyers to select greener alternatives. However, President Donald Trump has been walking back the Biden-era green energy policies, and the Republican-led Congress is seeking to end the use of taxpayer dollars for EV purchases. TRUMP ADMIN HITS BRAKES ON $5B ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION PROGRAM Arrington’s legislation aims to stop taxpayer money from subsidizing the purchase of luxury electric vehicles and close the “loophole” that allows for individuals to get a tax credit for leasing an EV. “I will remain on mission to repeal Green New Deal climate handouts along with other woke and wasteful spending programs while we restore fiscal sanity, reignite prosperity, and Make America Great Again,” the congressman said. The bill, joined by several members of the Ways and Means Committee, aligns with an executive order recently issued by Trump ending Biden’s mandate that 50% of all new car sales be EVs by 2030. Amid rumblings that Trump was considering eliminating the EV credit in November, Tim Stewart, president of the U.S. Oil & Gas Association, a group promoting public policy on behalf of the natural gas industry, suggested that behind the scenes, automotive groups and consumers could feel relieved if the EV credit was repealed. “Losing $70,000 on an EV is not a winning business model and U.S. automakers know that,” Stewart told Fox News Digital. “The EV tax credit was the only way to entice consumers to ‘maybe’ purchase something they really didn’t want, but told by the Biden folks they had to buy.” Stewart said axing the EV tax credit gives members of the auto industry the opportunity to shift back to traditional production lines. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is heading Trump’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, revealed in July that he supports getting rid of the credit. “Take away the subsidies,” Musk posted to X, saying “it will only help Tesla.” Companies that are financially sound, such as Tesla, could benefit if the playing field for electric vehicles is narrowed, while the smaller companies that rely on the tax credit for consumer affordability could face setbacks, analysts have suggested.
Expert reveals massive levels of waste DOGE can slash from entitlements, pet projects: ‘A lot of fat’
As Democrats blast Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts as a “constitutional crisis,” Fox News Digital spoke to a government spending expert who explained that many departments, including entitlements, are ripe with fat that can and should be cut. James Agresti, president of the nonprofit research institute Just Facts, spoke to Fox News Digital about some of the opportunities to make cuts to entitlements and pointed to $2 billion worth of improper payments at the Social Security Administration (SSA) in 2022, which was enough to pay 89,947 retired workers in 2023. “It’s hard to wrap your head around a figure like that,” Agresti said. “There’s a lot of fat in Social Security, as there are in almost all entitlement programs.” The SSA sent roughly 7,000 federal employees disability benefits in 2008 while they were still taking wages from federal jobs, according to a 2010 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). HOUSE DEM FUMES OVER MUSK’S DOGE CRACKDOWN DURING FIERY INTERVIEW: ‘I’M PISSED’ The GAO estimated that about 1,500 of those individuals “may have improperly received benefits” since their wages went beyond maximum income thresholds. The GAO investigation also found that over 71,000 “stimulus checks” were sent by the Obama administration to people who were deceased, including 63,481 people whose deaths had been previously reported to the agency. President Donald Trump and Musk have signaled concerns about illegal immigrants with Social Security numbers contributing to fraud at SSA, which Agresti said are concerns backed up by facts. “In 2010, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration did a study of this problem, and it found that there were 800,000 noncitizens who had Social Security numbers and were working under them, which means they can receive benefits on them, and they obtain those Social Security numbers by submitting false birth certificates to the Social Security Administration,” Agresti said. DOGE SUBCOMMITTEE HOLDS FIRST HEARING SLAMMING $36T NATIONAL DEBT, AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS DECLARE ‘WAR ON WASTE’ Agresti explained that there are similar problems at the Internal Revenue Service “where they’re doling out child tax credits for the children of illegal immigrants, and they are basically accepting anything that’s thrown at them.” “There was an investigation back several years ago where the same birth certificate was issued, it was given to them in numerous cases to get these child tax credits, and they just gave it to them,” Agresti said. “There was absolutely no accountability. In fact, the order from management was just get it done, get it off your desk. Don’t worry about investigating whether or not it’s legit and this is quite frankly, it’s theft.” “It’s stealing from the US taxpayers, it’s stealing from the government. And certain people have just come to tolerate it. And quite frankly, I just think that’s ridiculous. We would never tolerate this in our regular life. Somebody ripping us off for 10, 20% of our income.” Agresti told Fox News Digital that Social Security is “actually one of the better ones” when compared to other entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid, where the improper payments are “astronomical” and “sometimes five, 10, 15%, 20% with the Children’s Health Insurance Program.” Speaking about the IRS, Agresti said it has essentially become a “welfare program” with the “introduction of congressional laws that issue refundable tax credits” and said there are “massively” high improper payments in the agency, particularly with the earned income tax credit and child tax credit. Democrats have been vocally railing against Trump and Musk’s DOGE efforts, particularly when it comes to entitlement programs, where they argue that the administration is attempting to strip legitimate earned benefits owed to taxpayers. Agresti told Fox News Digital that “nothing could be further from the truth” and when it comes to social security, DOGE is “trying to make sure that your Social Security check is there and not lost to fraud.” “I think we’re seeing one big obstacle right now, the Democratic Party, which is going after it and demonizing Trump and Musk for making a good faith effort to fix this kind of problem, and I don’t see the reason for it,” Agresti said. “I don’t see the motivation for it. But it’s ridiculous that they’re misconstruing what they’re doing.” “The federal government is a behemoth, and it’s got a lot of tentacles. A lot of employees and governments are infamous for having very low accountability for their employees. It’s just the way it’s always been.”
How Saudi Arabia’s crown prince became a central player in US-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine
Saudi Arabia has emerged as a central player in the pursuit of a U.S.-brokered peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, in large part due to the political capital it wields with its massive oil reserves. President Donald Trump suggested Riyadh as a meeting place to kick off face-to-face talks between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin agreed the location was acceptable. To some it might seem a curious choice, but the Middle Eastern kingdom has reasons to involve itself in finding an end to the conflict happening thousands of miles from its borders. For Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, mediating peace negotiations would help to solidify his standing as a global leader. It also offers him a leg up on Qatar, which was heavily involved in negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Qatar has also, since 2023, helped facilitate the return of dozens of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war. Trump cited both his and Putin’s relationship with the Saudis in his remarks. “We know the crown prince, and I think it’d be a very good place to be,” he said. RUSSIAN-AMERICAN BALLERINA ‘IN TRANSIT’ AFTER US SAYS SHE WAS WRONGFULLY DETAINED, BOYFRIEND SAYS It’s why Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has taken a front-row seat to the U.S. dealings in Eastern Europe. Witkoff jetted off to Moscow this week and returned home with Marc Fogel, an American teacher who had been detained by the Kremlin on charges of bringing medical marijuana into Russia in 2021. Witkoff credited Prince Mohammed for his “instrumental” role in mediating the release. Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday he’d designated Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Witkoff to lead peace negotiations but failed to mention the special envoy he originally hired for the task, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg. The post came after he spoke by phone with both Putin and Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy. The Saudi kingdom is the largest exporter of oil in the world and plays a critical role in setting global prices. Higher oil prices generate more revenue for the Kremlin from Russia’s own exports. In 2024, Russia made $108.22 billion from oil and gas sales, 26% more than the previous year, according to Reuters. Trump has repeatedly pressed nations in the OPEC alliance to flood the market with oil and lower the global price, believing Russia would be more open to negotiations if its war coffers are hit. “Right now the price is high enough that that war will continue,” Trump told executives at the World Economic Forum at Davos last month. “You got to bring down the oil price,” he said. “That will end that war. You could end that war.” The Trump team is far closer to the Saudis than the Biden administration was, though relations may strain over Trump’s plan to move Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip and into neighboring nations and take over the territory. Still, bin Salman has pledged to invest as much as $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY Trump, who spoke to bin Salman just ahead of his Davos remarks, said he would be asking “the Crown Prince, who’s a fantastic guy, to round it out to around $1 trillion.” The Saudis and Ukraine have a common enemy in Iran, which has long been providing Russia with Shahed drones and other munitions. “The [Iran-backed] Houthis have deployed Iranian weaponry against Saudi Arabia, targeting critical infrastructure, including oil pipelines and airports,” said Daniel Balson of the advocacy group Razom for Ukraine. “In fact, repeated Houthi attacks against highly urbanized targets like Khamis Mushait in Saudi Arabia have served as a prelude for Russia’s use of drone warfare against Ukrainian cities.” In May 2023, bin Salman invited Zelenskyy to speak at a meeting of Arab leaders in Jeddah. Later that year, Zelenskyy and bin Salman held closed-door talks with diplomats from 40 countries on ending the war, but Russia did not participate. Putin thanked Saudi Arabia in August for its role in negotiating the most extensive prisoner swap since the Cold War, securing the release of 26 people.
Abolish property taxes? DeSantis endorses the idea and explains how it could be done in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed the idea of abolishing property taxes throughout the Sunshine State, but explained that it would require a constitutional amendment. The governor, who is currently serving his second term after a decisive re-election victory in Florida’s 2022 gubernatorial contest, was responding to someone on X who advocated abolishing property taxes in the state and asked what would need to be done to make that happen. “Property taxes are local, not state. So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them,” DeSantis noted. FLORIDA’S PROGRESSIVE ABORTION AMENDMENT FAILS FOLLOWING DESANTIS PUSH AGAINST ‘BAIT AND SWITCH’ LEGISLATION “We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60%,” he continued. “I agree that taxing land/property is the more oppressive and ineffective form of taxation,” the governor added. FLORIDA SHERIFF ASKS TRUMP’S ICE TO REMOVE BIDEN-ERA ‘SHACKLES’ Eric Trump, one of President Donald Trump’s sons, shared DeSantis’ post, and hailed the idea, declaring, “Florida leading the way! This is amazing!” The governor’s tweet has amassed more than 50,000 likes so far since he shared it on Thursday evening. DESANTIS’ CHOSEN RUBIO REPLACEMENT MOODY WANTS TO TACKLE INFLATION, SPENDING, BORDER: ‘AUDIT THE FED!’ DeSantis mounted a presidential bid in 2023, but dropped out and endorsed Trump in early 2024 after finishing in a distant second place in the Iowa Republican presidential caucus.
Trump budget bill with $4.5T in tax cuts survives key hurdle despite House GOP infighting
A mammoth bill advancing a broad range of President Donald Trump’s policy goals survived a key hurdle on Thursday, putting Republicans closer to their goal of passing a bill by sometime in May. The legislation passed the House Budget Committee on a party-line 21 to 16 vote and is expected to be taken up by the entire chamber for a floor vote later this month. It comes despite eleventh-hour negotiations that had the bill’s eventual passage in question even as the committee met to discuss the text on Thursday morning. The 45-page resolution directs various House committees to find a sum of at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, with $300 billion in new spending allocated toward the border, national defense and the judiciary. BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS It also directs $4 trillion toward raising the debt limit, and it includes $4.5 trillion to extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and other tax provisions pushed by the president for the next 10 years. House and Senate Republicans are aiming to use the budget reconciliation process to pass a broad range of Trump policy goals, from border security to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority, it will allow the GOP to use their razor-thin majorities to get legislation signed into law with zero Democratic support, provided the measures included relate to the budget and other fiscal matters. Conservative spending hawks on the House Budget Committee had demanded assurances that Republicans would seek to cut spending as deeply as possible in the reconciliation process, particularly to offset new spending on Trump’s tax priorities. House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told reporters early Thursday afternoon that committee Republicans came to an agreement on an amendment that would win over holdouts, however. The proposal would mandate a corresponding reduction in the $4.5 trillion tax allocation if Republicans failed to cut at least $2 trillion in spending elsewhere. Conversely, if spending cuts exceeded $2 trillion, it would increase the amount of money directed toward tax cuts by the same amount. “The amendment that will come up is a good amendment,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a Budget Committee fiscal hawk who had issues with the original text, told Fox News Digital. “It’s common sense. It’s doing what we said we’d be doing.” SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN The House advanced its proposal after being forced to punt the committee vote last week in the face of disagreements over where to set the baseline floor for spending cuts. Senate Republicans advanced their own plan in the meantime, passing a narrower bill on Wednesday night that included new funding for the border and defense but would leave Trump’s tax cuts for a second package. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called that bill a “nonstarter” in the House. But while the House’s bill passed a critical test on Thursday, it’s just the first step in a long process. Passing a budget resolution then sends instructions to other committees to seek cuts and policy changes in their respective jurisdictions, before those proposals are added back to one large bill. The House and Senate must also agree on a compromise between their two versions and pass identical pieces of legislation before they can be sent to Trump’s desk. Republicans have a three seat majority in the Senate and a one seat majority in the House, meaning they can afford precious little dissent among themselves to pass a final bill.
Senate Majority Leader Thune says this is the reason why he and Trump are working well together
EXCLUSIVE: Senate Majority Leader John Thune is getting a tough job done. “Senate Republicans have been committed to getting President Trump’s nominees through,” Thune, who’s been on the job steering the Senate for six weeks, told Fox News in an exclusive national digital interview. Thune was interviewed ahead of Brooke Rollins’s confirmation as secretary of agriculture, which brought to 16 the number of Trump nominees approved by the Senate. Only 11 Cabinet nominees were approved by this date eight years ago during Trump’s first term in the White House. SENATE CONFIRMS ANOTHER CONTROVERSIAL TRUMP CABINET NOMINEE And on this date four years ago, the Senate had confirmed only seven of then-President Biden’s Cabinet nominees. Rollins’ confirmation followed the confirmations of two of Donald Trump’s most controversial nominees: former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services. Gabbard and Kennedy were confirmed on near party-line votes in a chamber the GOP controls with a 53-47 majority. “I think that the Senate Republicans have proven that we are united,” the South Dakota Republican said. Thune, a two-decade Senate veteran who served in GOP leadership the past few years before succeeding longtime leader Sen. Mitch McConnell as the top Republican in the chamber, emphasized the team effort. HEAD HERE FOR LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS BACK IN THE WHITE HOUSE “What you try and do is just try and make the people around you better,” Thune said. “We’ve got a lot of talent in the Senate, people who … we want to deploy and utilize and let them use their gifts and talents [to] get things done around here that need to be done.” The senator pointed to his father, a former college athlete and coach, who he said would advise him to “make the extra pass if somebody’s got a better shot. So what we’ve been trying to do is look for an opportunity to make the extra pass. And I think that it does really utilize the great talent we have here in the Senate.” Thune says he’s been meeting “fairly regularly” with the president, in person, on the phone and through text. “It’s a regular pipeline,” he said. “His team has been really good, too, about working with our team here. I think we’ve had a very constructive working relationship. And I tell people, our incentives are aligned. We all want to get to the same destination.” Thune hasn’t always had a constructive relationship with the often unpredictable Trump. Trump was critical of Thune in the years after his first term and briefly considered backing a primary challenge against the senator as he ran for re-election in 2022. Thune said that “like a lot of people,” he’s had “differences with the president in the past.” “But I think right now, we understand the things that we want to get done in the course of his term and the opportunity that we have, which is rare in politics, to have unified control of the government, House, Senate and White House. We need to maximize that, and in order to do that, we’ve got to have a very constructive relationship in which there’s regular communication,” Thune emphasized. McConnell was the only Senate Republican to vote against confirming Kennedy and Gabbard. McConnell, who suffered from polio as a child and is a major proponent of vaccines, was critical of Kennedy’s history of high-profile vaccine skepticism. “I’m a survivor of childhood polio. In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” McConnell said after the Kennedy vote. Trump, who’s long criticized McConnell, took aim again. “I have no idea if he had polio. All I can tell you about him is he shouldn’t have been a leader. He knows that. He voted against Bobby. He votes against almost everything. He’s a very bitter guy,” Trump charged. Thune, interviewed after Gabbard’s confirmation and ahead of the final vote on Kennedy, said the 82-year-old McConnell is “still active up here and still a strong voice on issues he’s passionate about, including national security.” “So when it comes to those issues, he has outsized influence and a voice that we all pay attention to,” Thune said. “He’s got views on some of these nominees that maybe don’t track exactly with where I or other Republicans have come down, but we respect his positions on these, some of these noms, and I know that on a lot of big stuff ahead of us, he’s going to be with us. He’s a team player.” Thune added, “I’ve had plenty of consultations with him through the years and in recent months and weeks, and we’ll continue to reach out to him when we think it makes sense to get a lay of the land that, based on his experience, he can help us navigate.” While he’s enjoyed a slew of confirmation victories this week, Thune is realistic. “I feel good about how it’s gone so far, but we’ve got some really hard sledding ahead. We know that, and we just have to keep our heads down and do the work,” he cautioned. While confirming Trump’s Cabinet is currently job No. 1, Thune is juggling numerous tasks. “Obviously, most of our time has been occupied moving the president’s team and getting his nominees confirmed, and we’ll continue to do that. But as we go about that process, we’re looking for windows, too, to move important legislation,” he said. He pointed to the Laken Riley Act, quickly passed by the Senate and the House and signed into law by Trump. The controversial measure, which is named after a nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant while jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus, requires federal immigration
Top moments from Linda McMahon’s confirmation hearing
Linda McMahon’s Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday was marked by disruptive protesters, debate over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, discussion on the participation of biological men in women’s sports and scrutiny over spending cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. Several protesters disrupted and were removed from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing, with one individual shouting, “Protect trans kids, protect immigrant students, protect our schools!” Addressing the disruptions, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., complained about the “outburst of some of the protesters in the room,” prompting a blue state Democrat to speak out in their defense. TRUMP EDUCATION NOMINEE LINDA MCMAHON SAYS SHUTTING DOWN DOE WOULD ‘REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION’ “A number of them have told us that they’re … teachers. Can you imagine them teaching these people, teaching our kids in classrooms across America, and they come here and act like children with outbursts?” Banks said. Newly elected Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., hit back at the Republican senator, saying that the protesters are “exactly the kind of people who we want teaching our children.” In January, Trump declared that legal protections under Title IX, the 1972 federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination for recipients of federal education funding, would be based on the basis of biological sex, not gender identity, in K-12 schools and higher-learning institutions. Regarding Trump’s reversal of the Biden administration’s regulations, McMahon said she is “happy” to see the law “back to what Title IX was originally established to do, and that was to protect social discrimination.” DEMS SPAR OVER DOGE CUTS WITH TRUMP EDUCATION NOMINEE LINDA MCMAHON “And women should feel safe in their locker rooms. They should feel safe in their spaces. They shouldn’t have to be exposed to men undressing in front of them,” she said. The Trump nominee also said that if confirmed, she will “make sure the law is enforced” on campuses that try to defy the law. McMahon faced further questioning on the impact of DEI programs during her Senate confirmation hearing. She criticized the programs, claiming that though they were intended to promote diversity, they have instead contributed to further dividing America’s kids rather than being inclusive. “DEI has been – I think has been, it’s a program that’s tough,” McMahon said. “It was put in place ostensibly for more diversity, for equity and inclusion. And I think what we’re seeing is it is having an opposite effect. We are getting back to more segregating of our schools instead of having more inclusion in our schools.” INTO THE RING: TRUMP EDUCATION CHIEF PICK MCMAHON TO TESTIFY ON CUTTING ‘RED TAPE’ AMID DOGE SWEEPS She pointed to instances where DEI programs led to separate graduation ceremonies for Black and Hispanic students, arguing that such measures went against the goal of inclusion: “When their DEI programs say that Black students need separate graduation ceremonies or Hispanics need separate ceremonies, we are not achieving what we wanted to achieve with inclusion,” she added. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., countered with an example of Department of Defense schools that had canceled programming for Black History Month. He asked, “So if a school in Connecticut celebrates Martin Luther King Day and has a series of events and programming teaching about Black history, are they in violation of a policy that says schools should stop running DEI programs?” McMahon disagreed, saying that events like Black History Month celebrations should be celebrated across all schools. “In my view, that is clearly not the case,” she said. “That celebration of Martin Luther King Day in Black History Month should be celebrated throughout all of our schools. I believe that, you know, Martin Luther King was one of the strongest proponents of making sure that we look at all of our populations when he said that he would hope that his children wouldn’t be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.” Musk’s government spending cuts also sparked debate, with Democratic lawmakers pressing McMahon on whether she supports the dramatic cuts made by DOGE. “I believe the American people spoke loudly in the election last November to say that they want to look at waste, fraud and abuse in our government,” said McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment. FORMER TRUMP EDUCATION SECRETARY LAYS OUT ‘UNFINISHED BUSINESS’ FOR NEW ADMIN ON SCHOOL REFORMS Pressed by Democrats, including Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, if she would follow through with cuts suggested by the “DOGE brothers,” McMahon said she can be counted on to follow congressional statute “because that’s the law.” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., also asked if McMahon believes DOGE should have access to “private student data,” suggesting that their probes “should frighten everyone.” “It is my understanding that those employees have been onboarded as employees of the Department of Education, and therefore, they operate under the restraints of utilizing access of information,” McMahon said. “That’s not my understanding,” Murray shot back. “That’s my understanding,” McMahon responded. Murray said it was “deeply disturbing” that DOGE staffers aren’t “held accountable” and that it should “frighten everyone” if they have access to students’ private information. McMahon’s confirmation vote in the Senate HELP Committee is scheduled for Feb. 20.
Some drones over US bases may have been conducting surveillance: NORTHCOM General
A senior U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) official told members of the Senate that some of the 350 drones that flew over military installations and sensitive areas last year may have been conducting surveillance. U.S. Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, who is commander of NORTHCOM and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), was questioned about the drones during a Senate Armed Services Committee Budget hearing on Thursday. Drones were spotted flying all over the country last year, though most notably in New Jersey. They were also flying over military installations, including Joint Base Langley, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Vandenberg Space Force Base. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., asked Guillot about the threat the unmanned aircraft pose to military operations, facilities and personnel. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SHARES UPDATE ON DRONES SEEN FLYING OVER NEW JERSEY “Senator, the primary threat I see for them in the way they’ve been operating is detection and perhaps surveillance of sensitive capabilities on our installations,” Guillot said. “There were 350 detections reported last year on military installations, and that was 350 over a total of 100 different installations of all types and levels of security.” He confirmed that base commanders at sensitive sites like nuclear bases have the authority to protect their airspace from drone incursions, adding that those particular military sites account for about half of what the U.S. operates. Cotton was flabbergasted that only about half of the bases have the ability to protect themselves from drones. TRUMP VOWS ANSWERS ON MYSTERY DRONE SIGHTINGS AS EXPERT MAKES EERIE PREDICTION He said base commanders at every base in the U.S. have the ability to protect their ground if a terrorist drove a dump truck though the front gate of a military facility, which Guillot agreed. Cotton also raised concerns that at the southern border last week, Mexican cartels were reportedly authorized to use drones equipped with explosives against U.S. Border Patrol agents. He asked Guillot if the Department of Defense needed authorization to share information with the Department of Homeland Security and other border patrol agencies about drone incursions and was told that was the case. ORLANDO DRONE SHOW CRASH CAUSED BY ‘COMBINED ERRORS’ THAT LED TO MISALIGNED FLIGHT PATH: NTSB REPORT Guillot advocated for an expansion of military capabilities when it comes to drones, especially when it comes to protecting bases and being able to exchange data with other government agencies about drones, seamlessly. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters late last month that the drones seen flying over New Jersey in large numbers recently were “authorized by the FAA for research and various other reasons.” In addition to those authorized by the FAA, other drones flown by hobbyists were sighted, and that number increased as curiosity about the phenomenon grew, the White House said. FBI SEARCHING FOR OPERATOR OF PRIVATELY OWNED DRONE THAT PUNCHED HOLE IN CANADIAN FIREFIGHTING PLANE “This was not the enemy,” Leavitt said. The drone sightings in November and December originally raised public concerns and even attracted the attention of the FBI. “The FBI Newark, NJ State Police, and NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness are asking for the public to report any information related to the recent sightings of possible drones flying in several areas along the Raritan River,” a Dec. 3 FBI statement noted. The Federal Aviation Administration even issued temporary flight restrictions after the large number of sightings, prohibiting drone flights over parts of New Jersey. Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
WATCH: Dem lawmakers answer USAID funding questions after bombshell report
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers said they do not support cutting funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) when confronted by Fox News Digital about controversial spending, such as money ending up in the hands of terrorist-linked groups. The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, recently started cutting funding from USAID as they slash costs across the federal government. During their sweep, it was revealed that U.S. dollars were ending up in the hands of terror-linked groups, such as funds reportedly providing “full funding” for al Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki to attend college in Colorado, unearthed documents apparently show. Fox News Digital asked Democratic lawmakers their thoughts about the controversial USAID funding, specifically the funding going to some terrorist-linked groups. “USAID funding is authorized spending. Republicans and Democrats have agreed to those levels. We should honor those deals,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told Fox. USAID INSPECTOR GENERAL FIRED DAYS AFTER PUBLISHING REPORT CRITICAL OF AID PAUSE Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said that while USAID funds “should never go to terrorist organizations,” he added that “Elon Musk has a real credibility gap” and that “almost all the claims as it relates to efficiency have been proven false.” According to an analysis by the Middle East Forum, a U.S. conservative think tank, the USAID and State Department have funneled at least $122 million to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters. The think tank reported that among its top findings, USAID was found to have given more than $900,000 to a “Gaza-based terror charity” called Bayader Association for Environment and Development. A White House report also identified millions of taxpayer dollars being spent on contraceptives and condoms that ended up in the hands of the Taliban, a terrorist group. ‘DESIGNATED TERRORISTS’: EXTREMIST GROUPS RAKED IN MILLIONS FROM USAID, MULTIYEAR STUDY REVEALS “There’s no one in Congress who hates waste more than me,” Swalwell added. “And there’s nobody in Congress who wants to defeat the terrorists around the world more than me. So I will always be open-minded.” “USAID funding right now is being raided by Elon Musk, and I think we have to do a much better job of ensuring that funding isn’t cut,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. “Cutting any funding is horrific, and, of course, nobody wants to fund terrorism.” Progressive Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, a member of “the Squad” of progressive lawmakers, said it is “perfectly reasonable” to look at specific USAID funding but that he opposes gutting the entire department. “When people ask about specific programs and parts of USAID or other federal programs, we should look into those. We can have oversight. We can look, we can go and edit the budget and say we don’t want to spend on this, because this didn’t work and we do want to spend on that.” “The problem that we have right now happening in this country isn’t just about USAID. It’s not just about the Department of Education. It’s that you have Elon Musk, a billionaire who makes billions of dollars off of the federal government, going and shutting down programs without a vote, without any transparency,” Casar said. Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey did not fully answer the question and walked away. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.