Trump Education nominee Linda McMahon says shutting down DOE would ‘require congressional action’
Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Linda McMahon, tapped by President Donald Trump to head the Department of Education (DOE), is facing questions on Thursday morning about her views on the agency’s future amid Trump’s quest to shutter it “immediately.” During the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., first asked McMahon about whether she agrees the DOE would need Congressional approval to close it entirely. “Certainly, President Trump understands that we’ll be working with Congress,” McMahon responded. “We’d like to do this right. We’d like to make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators could get on board with, and our Congress could get on board with, that would have a better functioning Department of Education, but it certainly does require congressional action.” INTO THE RING: TRUMP EDUCATION CHIEF PICK MCMAHON TO TESTIFY ON CUTTING ‘RED TAPE’ AMID DOGE SWEEPS Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., asked McMahon a similar question after a line of questioning about her support for Pell Grants. “Let me just once again, get your feelings on this, that if there is a movement to abolish the Department of Education, it has to go through the United States Congress?” Sanders asked. TRUMP EDUCATION DEPT LAUNCHES PROBE INTO ‘EXPLOSION OF ANTISEMITISM’ AT 5 UNIVERSITIES McMahon responded, “Yes, it is set up by the United States Congress, and we work with Congress. It clearly cannot be shut down without it.” Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, asked McMahon about Maine’s TRIO programs that help first-generation college students from families without higher education experience. Collins questioned how these programs could be maintained if the Department of Education were “abolish[ed]” or “substantially reorganized.” FORMER TRUMP EDUCATION SECRETARY LAYS OUT ‘UNFINISHED BUSINESS’ FOR NEW ADMIN ON SCHOOL REFORMS “These various things, especially the trio program, which we both agreed was just hit with a terrible blow just by regulatory action when some of the students who were applying, their applications were rejected simply because of spacing on a form. And that kind of regulatory control just cannot stand. That is just impossible.” “If I am confirmed to be able to get in and assess programs, how they can have the best oversight possible, how we can really take the bureaucracy out of education,” she said. McMahon, nominated to head the Education Department, is stepping into a role that Trump has suggested he is seeking to eliminate. Trump recently indicated that if McMahon is confirmed, he wants her to “put herself out of a job.” Ahead of McMahon’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Trump reiterated his intention to close the department, calling for it to be shut down “immediately.” “It’s a big con job,” Trump said. “They ranked the top countries in the world. We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department: cost per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked No. 40.”
NIH principal deputy director, who led agency during COVID, resigns abruptly
The No. 2 in command at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak, who served as acting director of the agency during the COVID-19 pandemic, has abruptly resigned. Tabak, 73, has been at the NIH for 25 years, first serving as director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research before eventually becoming the NIH’s principal deputy director in 2010, which is the second-in-command at the agency. Tabak also served during transitional periods as acting director, including during the COVID era when he was regularly grilled by Republicans, alongside Dr. Anthony Fauci, over the NIH’s response. “I write to inform you that I have retired from government service, effective today, 2/11/2025,” Tabak wrote in an email, reportedly circulated to staff at the NIH, earlier this week. The note did not explain the reason for his departure. SENATE DEMOCRATS RAIL AGAINST RFK JR. IN LATE-NIGHT SESSION AHEAD OF VOTE Tabak’s resignation comes amid a shakeup within the Health and Human Services Department, the NIH’s parent agency, that occurred once President Donald Trump took office in January. Under Trump, the agency has faced cuts to programs and reports have indicated the administration has plans to fire a trove of HHS employees. Typically, Tabak would have been promoted to acting director while Trump’s nominee awaited confirmation. However, the position was instead assigned to Dr. Matthew Memoli, a former top researcher at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a known critic of COVID vaccine mandates. Tabak was part of a group of agency leaders, including Fauci and former NIH Director Francis Collins, who congressional investigators accused of trying to manipulate the narrative around the origins of the COVID-19 virus. Through GOP investigations, it was determined Tabak was part of a controversial phone call with Fauci, Collins and several prominent scientists that critics have argued was a catalyst for the publication of a scientific paper that was released positing that it was not plausible the virus originated in a lab. SCIENTISTS EXPECT MAJOR ‘MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS’ DESPITE TRUMP’S CAP ON NIH RESEARCH FUNDING He was also front-and-center when it came to GOP probes into whether risky gain-of-function research was occurring at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, and faced criticism for slow-rolling the release of information requested by Republican investigators for these concerns. Tabak “[dealt] with all of the messy or intractable problem[s]” and was “often… the fall guy when things [went] sideways,” Jeremy Berg, former director of NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences, said on social media following news of Tabak’s resignation. “Larry has shoveled so much s— over the years that he would have been well qualified to work behind the elephants in an old circus.” Fox News Digital reached out to the NIH for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
GOP chairman responds after protesters are tossed from USAID spending hearing
A group of protesters attempted to derail a USAID hearing at the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, demanding that President Donald Trump’s administration restore aid funding. Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., poked fun at the protesters for being behind the times after they interrupted opening statements from witnesses before the committee. “PEPFAR saves lives. Restore AIDS funding now,” the protesters chanted as they were forced out of the chamber. “I guess these guys don’t watch the news. They didn’t realize that PREPFAR was one of the many programs that did prove to be life-saving so the funding was restored,” Mast said. “Somebody better give them a link to, I don’t know, maybe Fox News or something like that.” RUBIO PAUSES FOREIGN AID FROM STATE DEPARTMENT AND USAID TO ENSURE IT PUTS ‘AMERICA FIRST’ PEPFAR is a global AIDS relief program that has been credited with saving over 20 million lives since it was created under President George W. Bush. The program received a waiver from Trump’s administration to continue its work despite the wider funding freeze impacting USAID and state department aid programs. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also created a wider exemption for “life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance, as well as supplies and reasonable administrative costs as necessary to deliver such assistance,” Congressional Republicans noted in a memo. Republicans have blasted the wider wasteful spending at USAID and the state department, however. NONCITIZEN VOTER CRACKDOWN LED BY HOUSE GOP AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS The memo also highlighted funding programs including “$39,652 to host seminars at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on gender identity and racial equality through the State Department” and “$425,622 to help Indonesian coffee companies become more climate and gender friendly through USAID.” Other priorities listed included “$14 million in cash vouchers for migrants at the southern border through the State Department,” “$446,700 to promote the expansion of atheism in Nepal through the State Department” and “$32,000 for an LGBTQ-centered comic book in Peru.”
Obama officials, Trump critics target Hegseth’s Ukraine ‘concessions’ as ‘biggest gift’ to Russia
Obama officials and Trump critics are up in arms after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a return to the Eastern European country’s pre-war borders with Russia is “unrealistic.” Hegseth, speaking to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Belgium on Wednesday, said “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.” He also called for Europe to offer Ukraine security guarantees after the war – not the U.S. Trump administration critics accused the secretary of giving up leverage before the start of peace negotiations with Russia. “Putin is gonna pocket this and ask for more,” Brett Bruen, director of Global Engagement under the Obama White House, told Fox News Digital. RUSSIAN MISSILES RAINED DOWN ON KYIV JUST AHEAD OF TREASURY SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT’S VISIT Hegseth said Wednesday that “durable peace” for Ukraine must “ensure that the war will not begin again.” “The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops,” he said. “If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission and not covered under Article 5. There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact. To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.” While it is little surprise the Trump administration does not currently support Ukraine’s NATO membership, or believe Ukraine can take back all of its territory including Crimea, critics argue that Hegseth vocalizing these beliefs just as President Donald Trump fired the opening salvo in peace negotiations took them off the table as leverage. “Why would you unilaterally surrender on some of those key strategic issues? Even if Trump ultimately wants to give ground, at least get something in return,” Bruen said. ‘NO BETRAYAL’ IN TRUMP MOVE TOWARD UKRAINE WAR NEGOTIATIONS, HEGSETH SAYS “Anyone with any diplomatic experience would have said it is critical that we use this as part of our negotiation, as President Trump wants to have with Moscow. But the idea that we’re simply going to announce all of the things that we are not going to do goes against 70 years of our diplomacy and our military strategy.” Michael McFaul, ambassador to Russia under the Obama administration, asked why the Trump administration appeared to be giving Russian President Vladimir Putin wins for free. “Why is the Trump administration giving Putin gifts – Ukrainian land and no NATO membership for Ukraine – before negotiations even begin?” he asked on X. “I’ve negotiated with the Russians. You never give up anything to them for free.” Alexander Vindman, a Trump impeachment witness and former Europe director at the National Security Council – who continues to be a fierce Trump critic – characterized Hegseth’s comments as “complete capitulation to Putin” that justifies Russia’s wars of aggression going back to Georgia in 2008. “This will embolden Putin and undermine the interests of peace in Ukraine and Europe. A major blow to U.S. national security,” Vindman asserted. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., chimed in that Hegseth’s comments show, “Trump’s foreign policy has always been Russia First. Never America and its allies first.” The defense secretary also called on Europe to “take ownership of conventional security on the continent.” HEGSETH WARNS EUROPEANS ‘REALITIES’ OF CHINA AND BORDER THREATS PREVENT US FROM GUARANTEEING THEIR SECURITY “European allies must lead from the front,” Hegseth said. “Together, we can establish a division of labor that maximize our comparative advantages in Europe and Pacific, respectively.” His comments came just before Trump called both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to Kyiv. On Friday, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The Putin conversation came one day after the release of American Marc Fogel, who had been detained by the Kremlin, which Trump said he saw as a sign of “good faith” by the Russians. Trump, meanwhile, has begun pressuring Ukrainians to turn over access to rare Earth minerals in exchange for security aid. Bessent presented Ukraine with a draft deal exchanging aid for minerals on Wednesday in Kyiv, according to Zelenskyy. “We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday of his call with Putin. “We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.” He announced that he would asked Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to lead negotiations. Trump also said his call with Zelenskyy went “very well.” “It is time to stop this ridiculous War, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!”
Fetterman says there ‘isn’t a constitutional crisis’ with the Trump administration: report
A prominent Democrat is arguing that “there isn’t a constitutional crisis” happening right now with the Trump administration. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., reportedly made the remark to HuffPost on Wednesday, the same day White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared that “the real constitutional crisis is taking place within our judicial branch, where district court judges in liberal districts across the country are abusing their power to unilaterally block President Trump’s basic executive authority.” Just roughly three weeks back in the Oval Office, Trump’s administration has been hit with at least 57 lawsuits working to resist his policies and executive orders. “When it was [President] Joe Biden, then you [had] a conservative judge jam it up on him, and now we have liberal judges that are going to stop these things. That’s how the process works,” Fetterman told HuffPost, adding that “There isn’t a constitutional crisis, and all of these things — it’s just a lot of noise.” WHITE HOUSE SAYS ‘THE REAL CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS IS TAKING PLACE WITHIN OUR JUDICIAL BRANCH’ “That’s why I’m only going to swing on the strikes,” he also said. The comments are a contrast to remarks made earlier this week by fellow Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy, who told CNN “this isn’t hyperbole to say that we are staring the death of democracy in the eyes, right now. “The centerpiece of our democracy is that we observe court rulings. Criminal court rulings, civil court rulings and constitutional court rulings. No one is above the law,” the Connecticut Democrat said Monday. “And whether we like it or not, the courts interpret the law.” On Wednesday, Leavitt said “We believe these judges are acting as judicial activists rather than honest arbiters of the law. “And they have issued at least 12 injunctions against this administration in the past 14 days, often without citing any evidence or grounds for their lawsuits,” she continued. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EXECUTIVE ORDERS “This is part of a larger concerted effort by Democrat activists, and nothing more than the continuation of the weaponization of justice against President Trump,” Leavitt also said. Leavitt alleged that an “extremely dishonest narrative” has been emerging in recent days with media outlets “fearmongering the American people into believing there is a constitutional crisis taking place here at the White House.” “Quick news flash to these liberal judges who are supporting their obstructionist efforts: 77 million Americans voted to elect this president, and each injunction is an abuse of the rule of law and an attempt to thwart the will of the people,” Leavitt added. “As the president clearly stated in the Oval Office yesterday, we will comply with the law in the courts, but we will also continue to seek every legal remedy to ultimately overturn these radical injunctions and ensure President Trump’s policies can be enacted,” she concluded. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Comer, Lee roll out bicameral bill to fast-track Trump’s government reorganization plans through Congress
FIRST ON FOX: House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer and Sen. Mike Lee are introducing bicameral legislation Thursday that would fast-track President Donald Trump’s federal government reorganizations plans through Congress, Fox News Digital has learned. Comer, R-Ky., will introduce the Reorganizing Government Act of 2025 in the House Thursday, while Lee, R-Utah, will roll it out in the Senate. The legislation would ensure Congress takes an up or down vote on the plans submitted to Congress in order to “streamline government operations to better serve the American people.” DOGE SLASHES MILLIONS MORE IN ‘NONSENSE’ CONTRACTS ACROSS SEVERAL FEDERAL AGENCIES It also seeks to renew and extend presidential authority to propose executive branch reorganization plans through December 2026 and restores a reorganization authority that was last in effect in 1984. Congressional aides said the bill aims to “modernize and improve government efficiency.” Under the bill, Congress must vote on Trump’s proposed reorganization plans within 90 days by using an expedited process that cannot be filibustered. It also expands the president’s authority to include entire executive departments – not just agencies. The bill does prohibit, however, reorganization that would increase the size of the federal workforce or its expenditures. “Americans elected President Trump to reform Washington, and his team is working around the clock to deliver on that promise,” Comer told Fox News Digital, adding that the federal bureaucracy “has grown dramatically in size and scope, creating unnecessary red tape.” “We must cut through the inefficiency and streamline government to improve service delivery and save taxpayers money,” he said, adding that “Congress can fast-track President Trump’s government reorganization plans by renewing a key tool to approve them swiftly in Congress.” DOGE SLASHES OVER $100M IN DEI FUNDING AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: ‘WIN FOR EVERY STUDENT’ “The Reorganizing Government Act of 2025 does just that,” Comer said. “We owe it to the American people to make government efficient, effective and accountable.” And Lee told Fox News Digital that the bicameral legislation allows the president to use his constitutional authority to reorganize federal agencies, “eliminate weaponization” and “right-size the government to better serve the American people.” “Congress cannot afford to sit on its hands in this fight,” Lee told Fox News Digital. “Reauthorizing presidential reorganization authority is the most comprehensive tool that the president can use to restore good governance to Washington.” The bill comes amid a significant expansion in the federal government, which GOP lawmakers say has led to “inefficiencies, redundancies, and bureaucratic obstacles.” Its introduction also comes amid a push from the White House to shrink the size of the federal government. Trump signed executive orders on his first day in office to do so. The president also tasked Elon Musk to run the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to reduce government waste, cut the federal workforce and slash costs. The Office of Personnel Management offered employees across the federal government the option to resign with full pay and benefits through September in an effort to cut the workforce. Sources say at least 75,000 federal workers have taken the option to resign. Meanwhile, DOGE has successfully canceled millions of dollars of government contracts that the administration says were a waste of taxpayer dollars. A senior administration official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that DOGE has worked with various agencies to cancel several contracts in the Social Security Administration, the Departments of Homeland Security and Labor, and several other areas.
Senate Democrats rail against RFK Jr. in late-night session ahead of vote
Senate Democrats railed against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a late-night session Wednesday ahead of his confirmation vote to potentially become the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy’s confirmation vote is expected around 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, but Democrat senators spent the evening before condemning former President Donald Trump’s HHS pick on a number of issues. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., described Kennedy as “obviously unqualified,” “obviously fringe,” and as holding views “obviously detrimental to the well-being of the American people.” “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not remotely qualified to become the next Secretary of Health and Human Services,” Schumer said. “Robert F. Kennedy might be the least qualified people the president could have chosen for the job. It’s almost as if Mr. Kennedy’s beliefs, history and background were tailor-made to be the exact opposite of what the job demands.” RFK JR NOMINATION TO SERVE AS TRUMP’S HEALTH SECRETARY CLEARS KEY HURDLE IN SENATE Referencing Kennedy and Tulsi Gabbard, the newly confirmed Director of National Intelligence, Schumer accused Republican senators of “rubber-stamping people no matter how fringe they are.” “The HHS is an agency that depends on science, on evidence and impartiality to ensure the well-being of over 330 million Americans. HHS ensures we eat safe food, purchase reliable medication, oversee Medicare benefits and approve the use of lifesaving vaccines. Most importantly, a good HHS secretary makes sure the American people have access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. Mr. Kennedy, unfortunately, is not qualified to oversee any of these things,” Schumer said. “He is neither a doctor, nor a scientist, nor a public health expert, nor a policy expert of any kind. If Mr. Kennedy is confirmed given that lack of background, I deeply fear that he will rubber stamp Donald Trump’s war against healthcare, meaning we will see more of the disastrous funding cuts of the last few weeks, meaning that more people will lose health coverage, meaning that the interests of for-profit corporations and Big Pharma will come before the needs of working Americans.” On the Senate floor, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., read again the letter from Kennedy’s cousin, Caroline Kennedy, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Australia under the Biden administration. Her letter, which she released ahead of RFK Jr.’s Senate confirmation hearing last month, said, “Now that Bobby has been nominated by President Trump to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, a position that would put him in charge of the health of the American people, I feel an obligation to speak out. Overseeing the FDA, the NIH and the CDC and the centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services agencies that are charged with protecting the most vulnerable among us is an enormous responsibility, and one that Bobby is unqualified to fill. He lacks any relevant government financial management or medical expertise. His views on vaccines are dangerous and willfully misinformed.” Caroline Kennedy went on to write, “I have known Bobby all my life. We grew up together. It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator.” Her letter said, “While he may encourage a younger generation to attend AA meetings, Bobby is addicted to attention and power. Bobby preys on the desperation of parents of sick children, vaccinating his own children while building a following by hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs.” “My view? Robert Kennedy has spent his considerable talent promoting misinformation to vulnerable people who have motives we all have and that is the well-being of people we love. You know, some of the things that Mr. Kennedy said when he’s attacking vaccines, they’re not based at all on science, but they appeal to people’s distrust of the standard medical profession,” Welch said. “He’s promoting it using the magic of the Kennedy name. The credibility that comes from being a member of one of the most starry political families in the history of our country.” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., came to the floor to voice his “strong opposition” to Kennedy. DOGE SUBCOMMITTEE HOLDS FIRST HEARING SLAMMING $36T NATIONAL DEBT, AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS DECLARE ‘WAR ON WASTE’ “Mr. Kennedy says that he’ll always follow the evidence no matter where it leads. Well, if you look at his record, he hasn’t done that,” Hollen said. The senator said Kennedy has “no experience, no qualifications in the vast majority” of the wide range of subjects HHS covers, naming how the department “provides quality control for reproductive health services,” “ensures that contraception are covered under the Affordable Care Act, and it makes sure that Americans can have access to over-the-counter options” and also includes programs for early childhood development, the elderly and the disabled. “I don’t think any of us expect that one Secretary of HHS can know everything. But if you monitored the hearings and listened to Mr. Kennedy’s answers, you can see that Mr. Kennedy knows virtually nothing about all those important subjects,” he said. Van Hollen quoted former President John F. Kennedy, who said more than 60 years ago that he hoped “that the renewed drive to provide vaccination for all Americans, and particularly those who are young, will have the wholehearted support of every parent in America.” “Unfortunately, his nephew, RFK Jr, has spent decades unraveling that hard won legacy by spreading lies and conspiracy theories about vaccines,” Van Hollen said. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., also took issue with the notoriety of the Kennedy name. “I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that there are very few people in this country that are less qualified to run this agency than Robert Kennedy Jr.,” Murphy said. “I say that because there are few people in the country who have been so enthusiastic, so public and so impactful in their ability to take some of the wildest conspiracy theories that are out there on the internet about our health system or about our kids, or about our families, internalize them and then disseminate them in a way that
Trump budget bill hits the rocks with GOP rebels, tax hawks ahead of key vote
The House GOP’s proposal for a massive conservative policy overhaul has already gotten a rocky reception from Republican lawmakers, and with their current majority, Republicans will need to vote in near lock-step to pass anything without Democratic support. “I think it’s probably going to have to be modified in some way before it comes to the floor,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital. Other members of the GOP hardliner group also balked at the bill. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., called it a “pathetic” attempt at cutting spending. “We’ll still be accelerating towards a debt spiral,” Burlison said. SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN House and Senate Republicans are working to use their majorities to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process. By reducing the threshold for passage in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority, which the House is already at, it allows the party in power to pass budgetary and fiscal legislation without help from the opposition. The first step in the process is to advance a framework through the House and Senate budget committees, which then gives directions to other committees on how much funding they get to implement their relevant policy agendas. The Senate Budget Committee approved its own plan on Wednesday night, while the House counterpart is poised to meet on their proposal Thursday morning. It’s not immediately clear if that bill will pass, however. Four conservatives on the House Budget Committee – Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Josh Brecheen – did not commit to voting for the 45-page proposal backed by GOP leaders that was released on Wednesday morning. Roy said he was “not sure” if the legislation could advance on Thursday morning when asked by Fox News Digital. “We’ll see,” Norman said when asked if the bill would pass out of committee. Clyde and Brecheen similarly would not say how they felt about the proposal when leaving the speaker’s office on Wednesday afternoon. If all four voted against the legislation, it would be enough to block the resolution from advancing to the House floor. Other conservatives also expressed reservations. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital, “I’m not super happy with it.” “It just doesn’t do enough to address fiscal cuts,” Crane said. The House’s 45-page bill would mandate at least a $1.5 trillion reduction in federal spending over the next 10 years, coupled with $300 billion in new spending for border security and national defense over the same period. It would also raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion – something Trump had demanded Republicans deal with before the U.S. runs out of cash to pay its debts, projected to happen by the spring if Congress does not act. BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS And while hardline conservatives wanted deeper spending cuts written into the bill, Republicans on the House Ways & Means Committee are uneasy about the $4.5 trillion allocated toward extending Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 – which expires at the end of 2025. “Let me just say that a 10-year extension of President Trump’s expiring provisions is over $4.7 trillion according to CBO. Anything less would be saying that President Trump is wrong on tax policy,” Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., told The Hill earlier this week. A member of the committee, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital, “I have some concerns regarding Ways & Means not being provided with the largest amount to cover President Trump’s tax cuts — especially [State and Local Tax deduction (SALT)] relief and a tax reduction for senior citizens, which are both also priorities of mine.” Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, said he had not read the legislative text but that Smith believed the $4.5 trillion figure was “about a trillion off from where we need to be in order to make it work.” The resolution’s first big test comes at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday. Republicans are aiming to use reconciliation to pass a broad swath of Trump’s priorities, from more funding for law enforcement and detention beds at the U.S.-Mexico border to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages. The Senate’s plan would advance border, energy, and defense priorities first while leaving taxes for a second bill. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called that plan a “nonstarter” this week, however. House leaders are concerned that leaving tax cut extensions for a second bill could allow those measures to expire before lawmakers reach an agreement.
‘No betrayal’ in Trump move toward Ukraine war negotiations, Hegseth says
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump’s move toward negotiations with Russia to end the war with Ukraine was “no betrayal” during a visit to NATO headquarters in Belgium on Thursday. Hegseth replied to a reporter’s question about the U.S. potentially betraying Ukraine after Trump had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin about beginning to negotiate peace without Kyiv’s full involvement. “There is no betrayal there,” Hegseth told reporters. “There is a recognition that the whole world and the United States is invested and interested in peace, a negotiated peace.” Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022, when Russia first invaded its neighboring nation. 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. PUTIN VIEWED AS ‘GREAT COMPETITOR’ BUT STILL A US ‘ADVERSARY’ AS UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS LOOM, LEAVITT SAYS On Wednesday, Trump said he had a “lengthy” call with Putin, which included the Russian leader agreeing to “immediately” begin negotiations over the war in Ukraine. Trump also spoke with Zelenskyy separately. After talks with both leaders, Trump said he would “probably” meet in person with the Russian leader in the near term, possibly in Saudi Arabia. Responding to a separate question, Hegseth referred to the phone calls and pointed to Trump’s ability as a negotiator. “I think you saw from President Trump yesterday, who himself is the best negotiator on the planet, bringing two sides together to find a negotiated peace, which is ultimately what everyone wants,” he said. “So I look forward to the ministerial today with our NATO allies to have honest conversations about where we are.” ‘LET’S DO A DEAL’: ZELENSKYY CALLS TRUMP’S TERMS ACCEPTABLE FOR SECURITY PARTNERSHIP Hegseth also said he believes Trump is the “one man in the world capable of convening the parties together to bring peace.” During his visit to NATO headquarters on Wednesday, Hegseth told allies that “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” as Trump works to bring an end to the war. “He intends to end this war by diplomacy and bringing both Russia and Ukraine to the table. And the U.S. Department of Defense will help achieve this goal,” Hegseth said. “We want a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.” Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Greg Norman, along with The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
DOGE subcommittee holds first hearing slamming $36T national debt, as House Republicans declare ‘war on waste’
The House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency held its first ever hearing Wednesday, as Republicans criticized the soaring $36 trillion national debt, as well as Democrats’ condemnation of Elon Musk’s effort to slash waste. In her opening statement, Chairwoman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-S.C., said the committee must be “brutally honest about how this massive debt came to be in the first place – it came from Congress and from elected presidential administrations.” “We as Republicans and Democrats can still hold tightly to our beliefs, but we are going to have to let go of funding them in order to save our sinking ship,” Greene said. “This is not a time for political theater and partisan attacks. The American people are watching. The legislative branch can’t sit on the sidelines. In this subcommittee, we will fight the war on waste shoulder to shoulder with President Trump, Elon Musk and the DOGE team.” Greene said, “enslaving our nation in debt” is one of the “biggest betrayals against the American people’s own elected government” and vowed that her subcommittee, operating under the House Oversight Committee, would work with President Donald Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is spearheaded by Musk as part of the executive branch. DOGE SLASHES OVER $100M IN DEI FUNDING AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: ‘WIN FOR EVERY STUDENT’ “The federal government, government employees, and unelected bureaucrats do not live by the same rules as the great American people and private businesses,” Greene said. “The federal government’s income is the American people’s hard-earned tax dollars. Their literal blood, sweat and tears and taxes are collected by law at gunpoint. Don’t pay your taxes and you go to jail. The federal government does not have to provide excellent customer service to earn its income. It takes your money whether you like it or not. And federal employees receive their paycheck no matter what.” The subcommittee’s highest ranking Democrat, Rep. Melanie Stanbury of New Mexico, used her opening statement to slam Trump and Musk’s efforts, despite agreeing to a bipartisan approach to “digging into the more than $236 billion in improper payments that we see going out the door every single year,” as well as “putting into place rigorous oversight and controls to prevent fraud and abuse, and, of course, to go after bad actors.” “We can’t just sit here today and pretend like everything is normal and that this is just another hearing on government efficiency,” Stanbury said. “Because while we’re sitting here, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling the federal government, shuttering federal agencies, firing federal workers, withholding funds vital to the safety and well-being of our communities, and hacking our sensitive data systems.” One of the witnesses, Stephen Whitson of the Foundation for Government Accountability, testified that DOGE’s efforts have exposed $59 million paid to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal immigrants, $1.5 million to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces, $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru, $10 million worth of food assistance funneled to al Qaeda and “the list goes on.” “But rather than applauding the work of DOGE, the left has launched a coordinated campaign to try to demonize Mr. Musk with the hope of shifting focus away from the disastrous waste, fraud and abuse that occurred on Biden’s watch. But guess what? It’s not working,” Whitson said. He shifted to the focus of Wednesday’s subcommittee hearing, Medicaid waste and fraud, testifying that more than 80% of improper Medicaid payments are due to eligibility errors, which Congress must address. Whitson testified that one in five dollars spent on Medicaid is improper, and Medicaid fraud and mismanagement is on track to cost U.S. taxpayers $1 trillion in the next 10 years. ‘OBAMA BROS’ ON DOGE: ‘SOME OF THE STUFF WE SHOULD’VE DONE’ Whitson also offered Congress three ways to support Trump’s DOGE effort. The first is for Congress to strengthen the Medicaid program through legislative action. He testified that both the Biden and Obama administrations issued rules and guidance that made it harder for states to verify eligibility for Medicaid. He said repealing Biden’s Medicaid streamlining rule, which restricts eligibility verification that states can perform, would save $164 billion over 10 years. In a later exchange, Whitson said the Biden-era rule prohibits states from verifying eligibility more than once a year and prohibits in-person or phone call interviews to verify the recipient’s identity. It also opens “lengthy reconsideration periods,” opening the door for illegal immigrants to receive benefits. “A state has to wait at least 90 days” before verifying whether a recipient is an illegal immigrant, Whitson said. “And actually what we’re seeing is it’s let some states to wait as long as 13 years.” Secondly, Whitson said Congress could help DOGE by “ensuring that entrenched partisan bureaucrats don’t stand in the way of reform.” To do that, Congress must codify the president’s authority “to fire unproductive or insubordinate agency employees as needed,” as well as grant the president authority to permanently eliminate vacant positions and consolidate nonessential positions across agencies and departments to help promote efficiency, Whitson said. “Personnel is policy, and without competent staff to faithfully execute the president’s agenda, the DOGE project will fail,” he said. Thirdly, Whitson called on Congress to pass the REINS Act to “make President Trump’s DOGE cost-cutting and de-regulatory reforms permanent.” “There’s only one big problem with the DOGE effort. Most of its work can be undone by a future president with the stroke of a pen,” he said, adding that the REINS Act would “return Article One budgetary power of the purse to Congress while promoting deregulation. It would also help lock in the DOGE reforms and cement President Trump’s legacy as the most consequential de-regulatory and cost-cutting president in U.S. history.” At another point in the hearing, Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., played out archived video of former President Bill Clinton in 1997 and former President Barack Obama in 2011 pledging to reduce the