Federal judge blocks Trump’s transgender military executive order
A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction barring the Pentagon from enforcing Trump’s order, which asserted “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.” The order, issued Jan. 27, instructed the Department of Defense (DOD) to update its medical standards for military service and pronoun policies, stating that “beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.” Reyes said that the executive order likely poses constitutional rights violations. “The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes,” Reyes wrote, delaying her order until Friday morning to allow time for the Trump administration to appeal. “We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect.” VA RESCINDS 2018 DIRECTIVE ON TRANSGENDER TREATMENTS, ALIGNING WITH TRUMP ‘TWO SEXES’ EO Transgender individuals were considered unfit for U.S. military service until the DOD changed its policy during former President Barack Obama’s second term. In her 79-page ruling, Reyes in part cites Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “Hamilton” to justify blocking the ban on transgender troops. “Women were ‘included in the sequel’ when passage of the Nineteenth Amendment granted them the right to vote in 1920,” Reyes wrote in the footnotes, adding, “That right is one of the many that thousands of transgender persons serve to protect.” READ THE JUDGE’S ORDER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: Reyes said plaintiffs “face a violation of their constitutional rights, which constitutes irreparable harm.” “Indeed, the cruel irony is that thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed – some risking their lives – to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the Military Ban seeks to deny them,” the judge wrote, adding that the defendants, on the other hand, “have not shown they will be burdened by continuing the status quo pending this litigation, and avoiding constitutional violations is always in the public interest.” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller condemned Reyes’ ruling on X, writing, “District court judges have now decided they are in command of the Armed Forces…is there no end to this madness?” Reyes was the second judge of the day to rule against the Trump administration. Trump called for impeaching a third judge who temporarily blocked deportation flights, drawing a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts. TRANSGENDER SAILORS, MARINES OFFERED BENEFITS TO VOLUNTARILY LEAVE SERVICE OR FACE BEING KICKED OUT “Unelected rogue judges are trying to steal years of time from a 4 year term. It’s the most egregious theft one can imagine: robbing the vote and voice of the American People,” Miller wrote in another X post. In response to Trump’s executive order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy on Feb. 26 that presumptively disqualifies people with gender dysphoria from military service. The policy says, “a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service.” Plaintiffs’ attorneys contend Trump’s order violates transgender people’s rights to equal protection under the Fifth Amendment. Government lawyers argue that military officials have broad discretion to decide how to assign and deploy service members without judicial interference. Reyes said she did not take lightly her decision to issue an injunction blocking Trump’s order, noting that “Judicial overreach is no less pernicious than executive overreach.” However, she said, it was also the responsibility of each branch of government to provide checks and balances for the others, and the court “therefore must act to uphold the equal protection rights that the military defends every day.” Thousands of transgender people serve in the military, but they represent less than 1% of the total number of active-duty service members, according to The Associated Press. In 2016, a DOD policy permitted transgender people to serve openly in the military. During Trump’s first term, he issued a directive to ban transgender service members. The Supreme Court allowed the ban to take effect. Biden, a Democrat who served as Obama’s vice president, scrapped it when he took office. Six service members and two people wanting to enlist in the military sued the government in January over Trump’s executive order. About a dozen others, including nine people on active duty, have since joined the lawsuit. Their attorneys, from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLAD Law, said transgender troops “seek nothing more than the opportunity to continue dedicating their lives to defending the Nation.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Dem governor slams Trump’s ‘authoritarian rule’ during ‘better way forward’ speech
Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., during “A Better Way Forward” conversation at the Center for American Progress, urged Democrats to fight and defend America’s constitutional republic from the “incompetence” and “treachery” of President Donald Trump. Pritzker, widely considered a 2028 presidential contender, has emerged as a leader in the Democrats’ opposition to Trump during his second term. The Democratic governor, who compared our current political climate to Nazi Germany during his State of the State address in February, once again warned of Trump’s “authoritarian rule” on Tuesday. “Americans are experiencing the cruelty that comes with authoritarian rule. Donald Trump has handed over the reins of power to Elon Musk and his fellow DOGE-bags, so that they can find trillions of dollars that they need to give themselves a massive tax break. Think about that. What Musk and Trump are doing isn’t about efficiencies or about cost savings. It is about cruelty. They’re intentionally breaking the system and giving themselves the authority to rebuild it in their own interest.” While the event was called “A Better Way Forward,” Pritzker focused much of his remarks on the threat of Trump and Elon Musk, telling the crowd the “only way out is through.” He began by thanking the Center for American Progress for their leadership during “these first two months of President Musk’s administration.” BLUE STATE GOP CHAIR UNLEASHES ON GOVERNOR FOR ‘GRANDSTANDING’ WITH SPECIAL DEMAND OF TRUMP ADMIN “The meme lords and the minions in the White House conceive of themselves as kings and nobles who have the divine right to order the world in a way that best suits them and their fellow kleptocrats. People’s lives are a game to them. I really think that’s how they think,” Pritzker said. ‘UNFIT TO LEAD’: BLUE STATE GOVERNOR LASHES OUT AT TRUMP FOR TARGETING DEI POLICIES AFTER DC PLANE CRASH Pritzker, however, acknowledged that Democrats need “to be honest with ourselves” and accept that a majority of Americans elected Trump to deliver his agenda. As Democrats have struggled to find their footing and agree on a messaging strategy in the aftermath of the 2024 election, Pritzker delivered a clear message to his Democratic colleagues on Tuesday. “If we want to regain the trust of the voters that we stand for, Democrats have to deliver. For sure, we have to call out the B.S. that Republicans have been selling. But meanwhile, Democrats have to make people’s lives better,” Pritzker said. Pritzker touted his accomplishments as governor of Illinois, including expanded access to child care, a universal preschool program, expanding financial aid, corporate expansion, enshrining abortion rights and ending book bans. As the world’s 18th largest economy, Pritzker even joked that maybe Illinois should become its own independent country. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) investigations have reported billions in federal savings while cutting government programs and laying off thousands of workers. While Republicans across the United States have embraced DOGE’s efforts and worked to incorporate its strategies into their own departments and governments, Democrats have protested DOGE since Trump’s first week in office. Prtizker called it the “scam of their lives.” “There’s no grand master strategy to improve the lives of everyday Americans. This is true villainous cruelty by a few idiots who are trying to figure out how to pull off the scam of their lives. They’re armed with the power of the presidency and their sights are aimed on working people, many of whom voted for them, never imagining what this would turn out to be. Here we are. Things are bad, and they’re getting worse.” The blue state governor lamented over the dysfunction of Congressional Democrats and Republicans who are worried about getting primaried. Pritzker said he supported Senate Democrats’ rejecting the Republicans’ bill to fund the government last week, adding that he’s “disappointed” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sided with the Republicans and voted to avert a government shutdown. Acknowledging his inability to change or enact federal laws, Pritzker said he’s relied on legal authority to reject Trump’s agenda, with the support of Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Pritzker signed a letter last month that called for the White House to release $1.88 billion in approved federal funding that he said the Trump administration is withholding from his state. Pritzker also vowed to reject Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship in the initial days of his second term. DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR’S TRIP TO THIS KEY STATE SPARKING 2028 SPECULATION Pritzker’s comments on Tuesday are the latest in a long-standing feud between the two. Trump often evoked Pritzker’s name on the campaign trail as an example of the downfall of Democrat-run states. “Sloppy J.B. Pritzker… has presided over the destruction and disintegration of Illinois at levels never seen before in any State,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last year. “Crime is rampant and people are, sadly, fleeing Illinois. Unless a change is made at the Governor’s level, Illinois can never be Great Again!” Pritzker will headline the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s annual fundraising gala, sparking 2028 speculation. Trips to New Hampshire, which, for over a century, has held the first primary in the race for the White House, are seen as an early indicator of a politician’s interest in running for the presidency in the next election. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about Pritzker’s remarks on Tuesday.
‘I’m the future’: House Dem Green’s GOP challenger dishes on campaign after outburst during Trump speech
EXCLUSIVE: Deddrick Wilmer, who is running to unseat longtime Democratic Congressman Al Green in Texas, spoke to Fox News Digital about why he decided to enter the race and what his priorities will be if elected. Wilmer, running as a “compassionate conservative” Republican against Green in Texas’ 9th Congressional District, told Fox News Digital that “the difference between myself and the incumbent is that I’m out to provide solutions and bringing people together versus, you know, the outburst on the floor.” Green dominated the headlines after being removed from President Trump’s speech to Congress earlier this month, and Wilmer told Fox News Digital he “wouldn’t have reacted that way” but that he is focused on what his constituents want in terms of policies. “They want the future,” Wilmer said. “My incumbent has served this community well for over the years, but it’s time for the future. You know and again, I stress this, it’s all about coming up with policies and opportunities for jobs, lowering the cost of food and services, building relationships across the aisle. This is about the 9th District. This is not about my incumbent. This is about the 9th district. Sometimes, when we focus on national issues, sometimes we neglect, you know, our constituents and our citizens in our home district. Charity begins at home.” REP. AL GREEN BLAMES ‘INVIDIOUS DISCRIMINATION’ FOR BEING CENSURED AFTER DISRUPTING TRUMP’S SPEECH Wilmer told Fox News Digital that he plans to campaign on “kitchen table issues,” including lowering healthcare premiums, implementing more flood protections in Houston, lowering the cost of living and bringing businesses to his district. Green, who has served in Congress since 2005, has cruised to victory in all of his re-election campaigns, including a 50-point win the last time he went head-to-head with a Republican in 2022. Wilmer told Fox News Digital that Green has served the district “well” but that when he talks to residents in the district he sees a desire for change. HOUSE DEM PUSHES TO CENSURE BOEBERT OVER TV INTERVIEW ABOUT AL GREEN “I’m the future, he’s the past,” Wilmer said. “At the core of it all, we must ask ourselves what is our true calling?” Wilmer told Fox News Digital. “What is the meaning and purpose of life? Our founding Fathers built this great nation on the principle that we must go beyond simply helping ourselves. We must also support those who cannot care for themselves. That means prioritizing our sick and elderly, standing by our military and veterans, ensuring that every man, woman and child is protected by the laws and leadership that guide our country forward.” “America has always been an experiment, a nation striving for perfection. Excellence. Has she always been perfect? No. Far from it. But like a determined spirit, she constantly strives to be better. To set an example for the world. That is why I love this country. That’s why I call her my America. Because she is mine. Always has been. Always will be. Together we will move Texas forward. Together we will move America forward.” Fox News Digital reached out to Green’s office for comment. Green, who has filed multiple articles of impeachment against President Trump, was censured by Congress for his outburst during Trump’s speech. “I think that on some questions, questions of conscience, you have to be willing to suffer the consequences,” Green said about his outburst, which he says was focused on potential cuts to Medicaid. “And I have said I will. I will suffer whatever the consequences are, because I don’t believe that in the richest country in the world, people should be without good healthcare.”
Biden buried gov’t study on US gas exports that cut against climate goals, officials say
EXCLUSIVE — The Biden administration buried for more than a year a final draft report that failed to prove that an increase in U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals was linked to a meaningful impact on greenhouse gas emissions, according to a copy of the findings, previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital. The Biden administration stalled the release of the information, senior Trump administration officials told Fox News Digital, delaying sharing the data with House Oversight Committee Republicans. The impact new U.S. LNG exports had on the environment and the economy had been reviewed by U.S. Energy Department scientists and federal contractors, who by September 2023 had completed their work and had a draft final report ready for publication. Fox News independently reviewed a copy of that draft study, titled, “Energy, Economic, and Environmental Assessment of U.S. LNG Exports.” That report and its findings were slated for publication in 2023 — months before then-President Joe Biden, who was still seeking re-election at the time, announced a pause on all new U.S. LNG export terminals in January 2024, citing the need to better consider environmental and economic impacts. The draft report found that across all modeled scenarios, an increase in U.S. LNG exports and natural gas production did not change global or U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, nor did it correlate with a strong uptick in energy prices for consumers, Trump administration officials said. “Secretary Granholm, and Biden White House told Americans that the increase in LNG exports would disproportionately increase prices for American consumers as well as from the environment,” an official said. “And both these claims were refuted in the report that the Biden administration hid from Congress and the American public,” the official said. A copy of the report was shared Wednesday morning with the House Oversight Committee, which had been requesting the Energy Department to share its findings on LNG since March 2024. The 2023 findings present the most definitive data to date that the Biden administration, and then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, misrepresented the impact LNG exports would have on the U.S. At the time, Biden was facing mounting criticism from progressives in the party to scale back LNG exports, which during his term rose to an all-time high. The U.S. became the world’s largest energy exporter in 2023, underpinned by new demand in the EU, following Russia’s war in Ukraine, and its abrupt cutoff of nearly all piped gas supplies to the bloc. To help alleviate the deep energy security concerns, the U.S. ramped up exports to Europe to a record-high, supplying more than 50% of their LNG, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That prompted fierce pushback from progressive Democrats, including Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., which put new pressure on the administration for the pause. However, rather than come forward with the report, the Biden administration continued to stall on releasing the study and declined to comply with requests from the House Oversight Committee to testify or share their findings, Trump administration officials said. That’s far less significant than the data eventually released by the Biden administration in December 2024, after the presidential election, which suggested the rise in exports could cause consumer prices to rise by as much as 30% in the coming years. That sparked fierce backlash from both industry groups and Republicans, who panned the study as exaggerated and failing to justify the administration’s 10-month pause. Fox News Digital has emailed a Biden office spokesperson for comment.
Trump’s use of warship for border enforcement a ‘smart’ use of military force, expert says
President Donald Trump’s decision to send a Navy warship to assist with security at the southern border sends a strong message of deterrence to those who might be thinking of crossing into the U.S. by sea, one expert says. “It’s unusual, normally you see land forces, but it’s still smart,” Alfonso Aguilar, a former chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship and the director of Hispanic engagement at the American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital. The comments come as the USS Gravely, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, is being deployed to assist in border security efforts under Trump’s executive order, the Navy said in a statement Saturday. “Gravely’s sea-going capacity improves our ability to protect the United States’ territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot of U.S. Northern Command, which has been in charge of military operations at the border. PENTAGON DEPLOYS NAVY WARSHIP THAT FOUGHT HOUTHIS TO NEW US SOUTHERN BORDER MISSION IN LINE WITH TRUMP ORDER The primary mission of the USS Gravely, which has already departed Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Virginia, for the border mission, will be to patrol the Gulf of America on the lookout for drug smugglers, military officials said. The USS Gravely deployment shows the Navy’s dedication to “combating maritime-related terrorism, weapons proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, environmental destruction, and illegal seaborne immigration,” Navy officials said, adding that the warship will enhance “maritime efforts” and “fill critical capabilities gaps” for Department of Homeland Security operations on the border. “It’s not only vital for the United States to have control of our border via land,” Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell told reporters Monday. “It’s equally important to control our territorial waters, and this deployment directly supports U.S. Northern Command’s mission to protect our sovereignty.” Aguilar noted that the military has already played a large role in helping secure the southern land border, making the Navy’s involvement at sea the next natural step. TRUMP PUTTING TROOPS ON BORDER WAS GAME CHANGER, SAN DIEGO SECTOR CHIEF SAYS: ‘FORCE MULTIPLIER’ “It’s what the military calls force projection,” Aguilar said. “It’s a great way to dissuade those who want to try to come to the U.S. through the sea … it’s a show of force.” Aguilar argued that the Navy’s deployment will help supplement operations already being carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard and will also enhance the Coast Guard’s capability, covering more sea and sending a strong message to those turning to the seas as an alternative to land crossings. “Like the forces on land that are providing a supportive balance role to the Border Patrol … the Navy will be doing the same thing, providing support to the Coast Guard in doing interdiction and enforcing … immigration activities on the high seas,” Aguilar said. Aguilar also noted the timing of the deployment, arguing that it fits with what land forces have already accomplished on the border under Trump. “The numbers have gone down, even the number of people trying [to cross the border] by sea, but it’s still a route,” Aguilar said. “What we have seen is that every time we close the door, they try to find another way to get in. So we have to close our land border, but we also have to close those sea entries to the U.S.” Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Dems forecast ‘Trump recession,’ as Republicans say it’s time to double down
As Democrats on Capitol Hill slam President Donald Trump’s tariffs and forecast a coming “Trump recession,” Republicans say it is time to double down and deliver on the new administration’s agenda. Senator Ted Cruz, R-TX, describes the last four years under the Biden administration as a “war on American energy” whose effects continue to impact Americans daily. To undo the damage, he believes the Senate needs to work “hand in hand” with the Trump administration to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda. “The Biden administration did enormous damage to our economy. They waged war on American energy, and in particular on Texas oil and gas,” he told Fox News Digital. “That war on American energy ended on January 20th,” he added, referring to Trump’s return to the White House. TRUMP’S APPROVAL RATING MATCHES HIS ALL-TIME HIGH, NEW POLL FINDS “I think we have a mandate coming out of the election, a mandate to secure the border and mandate to unleash American energy, a mandate to extend the 2017 tax cuts and a mandate to fight for small businesses and jobs,” he said. “I believe we’re going to do all of that working hand-in-hand with President Trump,” he explained, adding, “It’s been an incredible first 50 days. We’ve got a lot more work to do.” Meanwhile, Democrats are pushing hard on the message that Trump’s tariffs – which include 25 percent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico and a sweeping 25 percent tariff on aluminum and steel from around the world – are behind the high prices Americans are seeing in stores and gas stations. Senator Jeff Merkley, D-WA, believes that Trump is intentionally creating chaos to assert more control over the federal government and country. “The Trump recession is on its way,” Merkley predicted. TRUMP SAYS US ‘SUBSIDIZES’ ITS ’51ST STATE,’ CANADA “He’s firing people left and right with no thought about what works and doesn’t,” he told Fox News Digital. “It’s not about efficiency; it’s about tearing down and replacing professionals with lackeys.” “Trump is driving us into a recession,” he continued. “He is doing it deliberately, cultivating complete chaos in everything he does. These tariffs are on, these tariffs are off, stock market is diving, people don’t know where and how to invest.” Meanwhile, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-WA, suggested that; “Trump could stop being so irresponsible about the economy and make sure we’re driving costs down instead of up and stop the trade wars with indiscriminate sweeping tariffs.” Though Americans continue to face high prices, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said the country is “in a period of transition” in which Trump is “implementing the formula that we know works.” “Look at President Trump’s results in his first term,” said Leavitt. “If people are looking for certainty, look at the record of this president, that’s why the American people re-elected him back to this office.” MR. WONDERFUL TALKS ‘EXCITEMENT’ AROUND CRYPTOCURRENCY UNDER TRUMP: AMERICA IS IN A ‘NEW PHASE’ Sen. Ed Markey, D-MA, however, said that Trump “has to avoid his indiscriminate ham-handed tariffs that are absolutely frightening the markets and frightening small businesses all across our country.” He also bashed the changes brought about by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. “He has to just stop with his indiscriminate cuts to programs, which actually provide the economic incentive for the creation of jobs in our society,” he said. Asked what can be done to avoid a recession, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA, answered simply: “Don’t have tariffs.” GOP LAWMAKER SAYS HE DOESN’T THINK TRUMP TARIFFS WILL ‘PLUNGE’ US ECONOMY INTO RECESSION Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-CO, said that “we better get cracking” to reverse course. “I think we should do less tariffs. I think we need to recognize that government plays a role in the economy, but I certainly hope that we can make positive steps to make sure we don’t get a recession, the last thing anybody needs,” he said. Speaking with Fox News Digital at a healthcare protest just outside the Capitol building, “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-MI, refused to answer whether the U.S. was heading into a recession, instead insisting “we should talk about Medicaid.” “Medicaid is one of the most important things,” said Tlaib. “It’s actually very American. Most American thing you can ever like support because people don’t plan to get sick. We got to protect Medicaid.” On the other side of the aisle, Sen. John Husted, R-OH, told Fox News Digital that Trump’s “early aggressive approaches” will “cause a little disruption, but in the end, I’m hopeful we’ll get through those.” LARA TRUMP: SHIFTING THE STATUS QUO FOR THE ECONOMY TAKES A MULTI-FRONT EFFORT “The Biden administration did put us in a terrible box with their policies on immigration, the runaway government spending that led to inflation, their anti-energy policies that really made the cost of energy inputs in every product higher. The president’s trying to unravel that,” said Husted. “That will lead to some stability going forward, that will help create jobs and get the American economy moving forward.” Freshman Sen. Jim Justice, R-WV, meanwhile, said he does not think the U.S. is recession-bound. “I really don’t think we’re headed into a recession. I don’t think that at all,” he said. “[But] the Senate stands ready to work with President Trump in every way [and] I surely stand ready to work with him on everything.” Come what may, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO, said that the best way to avoid a recession is to “implement the president’s agenda” and help working families. “Under Joe Biden, their wages went down, the prices went up,” he said. “We need to pass tax relief for working families and get more of their hard-earned money, put it back into their pockets. It’s vital.” FORBES CHAIRMAN LAYS OUT TAX PLAN FOR ‘GOLD ON THE HORIZON’ “What can we do?” he continued. “Open up American energy production, we can get fair and equal trade deals, we’ve got to get wages up for our people,
Trump fires Democratic FTC commissioners
President Donald Trump fired two Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, both of whom now say they plan to sue to get their jobs back. The firings hit Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter, who represent the Democratic minority in the five-member commission. The White House did not immediately confirm Trump’s firing of the officials to Fox News Digital, but both Bedoya and Slaughter released public statements saying they intend to sue to return to their roles. “I’m a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me,” Bedoya wrote on social media, arguing Trump wants the FTC to “be a lapdog for his golfing buddies.” Slaughter released a similar statement saying Trump “illegally fired” her, arguing the move was “violating the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent.” RUBIO HEADS TO PANAMA, LATIN AMERICA TO PURSUE TRUMP’S ‘GOLDEN AGE’ AGENDA “We are still commissioners. We’re suing to make that clear for everyone,” Bedoya said in a follow-up statement. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, a Republican first appointed to the commission by President Biden and then made chairman by Trump, said he saw no issues with the firings on Tuesday. “President Donald J. Trump is the head of the executive branch and is vested with all of the executive power in our government,” Ferguson wrote. “I have no doubts about his constitutional authority to remove commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government.” “I wish Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya well, and I thank them for their service,” he added. The FTC firings are only the latest battle over the limits of Trump’s executive authority. His administration is facing numerous lawsuits from disgruntled former employees across the federal government, and several federal judges have sought to hamper his administration’s efforts. TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW BAN ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP Last week, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg verbally issued a 14-day restraining order to immediately halt the Trump administration’s Tren de Aragua deportation plan. Trump was deporting the gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, and the order could have forced two planes full of TdA gang members to return to U.S. soil. Trump’s efforts to trim the federal government with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have also led to a litany of legal challenges. Reuters contributed to this report.
‘Bad idea’: Conservatives warn red state data center bill will derail Trump’s vision of energy ‘golden age’
Conservatives on social media and in the public square are increasingly speaking out about a bill being mulled in the Texas legislature they say threatens President Donald Trump’s goal of ushering in a “golden age” of American energy and AI dominance. Some conservatives are rebelling over a proposal in the Texas Senate that will give the state broad authority to control new data centers in the state. SB6, or “the data center bill,” caused an online ruckus recently, with conservative opposition to the bill gaining momentum, arguing that the bill, should it pass, will impose a major roadblock to the Trump administration’s “Golden Age” of American energy production. Texas, long believed to be an ideal location for the AI fueling data centers, is a major location for President Trump’s multibillion-dollar Stargate plan and is considered a finalist for numerous other multibillion-dollar projects and investments over the next decade. Provisions in SB6, however, issue regulations giving the state broad authority to control both the data centers’ use and cost measures that could eat into data center producer margins, which critics say makes the state a far less appealing location for these investments and potentially gives China the upper hand in the race to dominate AI. SECURING THE AI FUTURE: HOW PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ACTION PLAN CAN POSITION AMERICA FOR SUCCESS “AI data centers use a LOT of power – and while huge AI firms will be able to brunt these costs, smaller firms will have a harder time building,” Florida Voice News assistant director Eric Daughtery posted on X. “Texas Republicans need to think this through. Conservatives should NOT favor disincentivizing competition.” “President Trump’s quest for AI dominance is about to be derailed by a bill being offered up in the Texas State Senate,” conservative commentator Grant Stinchfield posted on X. “SB6 could literally cost Texas the $500 billion Stargate project. I can’t believe I’m telling Texas how bad overregulation actually is!” “Texas Senate Bill 6 (SB6) is a bad idea. It threatens to challenge President Trump’s vision for AI dominance and the need for the US to invest in domestic data centers,” conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong posted on X while tagging the state’s Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. “If you want China to win and stifle American innovation, this seems like the bill to do it.” AI ‘DIGITAL TWINS’ ARE WARPING POLITICAL REALITY, LEAVING DEEPFAKE VICTIMS WITH FEW OPTIONS FOR LEGAL ACTION “Every family + business that uses electricity will be impacted by SB6, which was voted out of committee today,” the Texas Consumer Association posted on X. “Read our full statement here. Big takeaway: as written, it’s anti-consumer–despite the glitter some are sprinkling around it. We’ll work to fix.” Vance Ginn, Ph.D., senior fellow at the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, told Fox News Digital that the bill “expands government control by imposing unnecessary regulations on large energy consumers using more than 75 megawatt hours of electricity, restricting competition and driving up costs.” “Instead of regulating electricity use and propping up energy sources through tax breaks and subsidies, Texas should focus on getting government out of the way to ensure true energy abundance and a thriving economy,” Ginn said. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Patrick said his agenda is in line with President Trump’s. “We have made clear we are in lockstep with the President on his goal to make America number one, and dominate China, on AI, data centers, and cryptocurrency,” Patrick said. “Just a few weeks ago we passed SB 21, the Texas Bitcoin Reserve, making us the largest red state in the country to create a Bitcoin reserve in line with the President. No other state can even come close to Texas on these important issues.” “Texas is the only state with its own power grid. SB 6 will strengthen, expand, and secure our grid to meet the significant growth needed to meet these goals. More data centers are under construction in Texas, including for the President’s Stargate plan, than any state in the country. At the same time, we are investing billions of dollars in our Texas grid to supply the power needed for the homes and businesses in the fastest growing state in the country.” Patrick, who listed SB6 as one of his top legislative priorities in 2025, previously told Fox News Digital that there is “no daylight” between himself and President Trump when it comes to energy and AI projects. “I totally support the president and his Stargate Plan. We are completely aligned in our desire to see Texas and America lead in AI, data centers and crypto,” Patrick said. “These industries understand they will have to supply their own power needs and are diligently working toward that goal so costs are not disproportionally shifted onto residential and small businesses customers.” Supporters of the bill make the case that changes to Texas’ power grid are necessary to protect it from vulnerabilities which have been a major concern after a winter storm brought the grid to its knees in 2021, resulting in the deaths of hundreds. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Successful legal challenges to Biden’s pardons over autopen signature ‘vanishingly low’: Turley
Concerns are mounting around former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen to sign presidential pardons and other official documents across his four years in office, though the chances of successfully challenging in court the use of an autopen on presidential pardons are “vanishingly low,” constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley said. “Many are suggesting that the Biden pardons may now be challenged in light of the disclosures of Biden’s use of an autopen,” Turley, a Fox News contributor, wrote on X Tuesday. “The chances of such challenges succeeding are vanishingly low. Presidents are allowed to use the autopen and courts will not presume a dead-hand conspiracy.” “Many of these were high-profile pardons, including for his own son, that Biden acknowledged publicly,” he added. “There is also a problem with standing unless the issue comes up in a government effort to indict a recipient. That does not mean that the disclosures are not deeply troubling.” Autopen signatures are ones that are automatically produced by a machine, as opposed to an authentic, handwritten signature. TRUMPS TAKES JAB AT BIDEN OVER ‘AUTOPEN SIGNATURE’ FOLLOWING CONCERNING REPORT OVER WHO RAN THE WHITE HOUSE President Donald Trump has been sounding the alarm on Biden’s prevalent use of an autopen for official presidential documents, most notably for official presidential pardons before he left office in January. On Monday morning, Trump posted on Truth Social that Biden’s pardons for individuals connected to the Jan. 6 select committee investigation another are “void.” “The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” Trump wrote. “In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level,” he added. At the heart of the issue over the use of an autopen, which have been frequently used by presidential administrations across the decades, is concern over Biden’s mental acuity when he served in the White House. Trump said Sunday that though he uses the autopen for documents such as letters, he does not use an autopen for legally binding documents. BIDEN’S ‘AUTOPEN SIGNATURE’ APPEARS ON MOST OFFICIAL DOCS, RAISING CONCERNS OVER WHO CONTROLLED THE WH: REPORT Trump’s declaration that Biden’s pardons are now “void” sparked a wave of legal questions to swirl — with many legal experts reporting that this is uncharted legal territory. “This dog will not hunt,” Turley added on X. “It may be worthy of investigation by Congress, but the pardons are unlikely to be seriously questioned by the courts.” Michael O’Neill, the vice president of legal affairs at Landmark Legal Foundation — a conservative legal advocacy group that works to defend the Constitution — told Fox News Digital that, to his knowledge, “there hasn’t been a case where the limits of this power have been challenged.” “Biden’s pardons at the end of his term certainly test whether there are any limits to the presidential pardon power,” O’Neill said. “Can a president issue blanket pardons encompassing any crime an individual may be accused of over ten years? This is a legitimate question that has yet to be addressed by the courts because no president has abused this authority until Biden. Another question is whether the pardons are valid if executed without the president’s knowledge — i.e. via autopen.” “If an individual who has received a pardon is indicted, they would, most likely, assert pardon as an affirmative defense,” he added. “Lower courts would, most likely, uphold the dismissal, leaving it to SCOTUS to define the contours of the pardon power. How SCOTUS decides such a case is unknown.” LIES ABOUT BIDEN’S AGE, HEALTH DURING HIS PRESIDENCY IS A ‘SCANDAL OF EPIC PROPORTIONS,’ SCOTT JENNINGS SAYS The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project first sounded the alarm on Biden’s use of an autopen earlier in March, reporting that an autopen signature was used on the vast majority of official documents researchers reviewed, except for the signature on Biden’s official announcement that he was dropping out of the presidential race in 2024. Heritage’s Project Oversight posted a memo on its ongoing investigation into the matter Monday, reporting that researchers are wading through copious amounts of “public documents discharging non-delegable Presidential powers containing former President Joseph R. Biden’s signature.” The memo determined that “individuals in the Biden Administration other than the President appear to have used a device called an autopen to affix the President’s signature onto some of the most controversial clemency warrants of his Presidency.” The Project Oversight memo offered a legal explanation that “if President Biden’s non-delegable official actions were not his own, then they are invalid.” “Start with the Constitution,” the memo reported. “Multiple Constitutional provisions, like the pardon power, vest those powers solely in the President. In those cases, the President affixing his signature is his execution of the acts as President.” “The Founding Fathers contemplated these issues when writing the Constitution. For example, Article I, Section 7, Clause 2 of the Constitution lays out the role of the President to sign or veto legislation. Early debates at the Constitutional Convention concerning this provision made it clear that regardless of the structure of the Executive Branch, the President would maintain a necessary affirmative approbation of legislation presented to him. The act of the President affixing his signature manually to a bill is his consent and is the very act that causes a bill to become law; it is in no way ministerial. Until he signs, there is no law,” the legal explanation continued. The Justice
El Salvador’s Bukele weighs in after Trump’s call to impeach judge: ‘The U.S. is facing a judicial coup’
After U.S. President Donald Trump called for the impeachment of a judge, President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele asserted in a post on X that “The U.S. is facing a judicial coup.” Elon Musk agreed with the foreign leader, sharing the tweet and commenting, “1000%.” In a post on Truth Social, Trump, apparently referring to Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, called the judge a “Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator,” noting that he had been nominated by President Barack Obama. TRUMP CALLS FOR JUDGE IN DEPORTATION LEGAL BATTLE TO BE IMPEACHED “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY,” Trump declared in the post. Trump recently issued a proclamation that pointed to the Alien Enemies Act as providing the authority to remove Venezuelan citizens 14 and older who belong to Tren de Aragua if they are not naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the U.S. In response to a legal challenge regarding Trump’s move, Judge Boasberg sought to temporarily block the removal of such individuals pursuant to the proclamation. SCOOP: IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES HIT JUDGE WHO ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP TREN DE ARAGUA DEPORTATION FLIGHTS But flights that had reportedly departed prior to the judge’s order did not reverse course. The administration recently transported 261 illegal aliens to El Salvador, of whom 137 were deported under the Alien Enemies Act, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted on Monday. Bukele announced on Sunday that “the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country,” adding that “the U.S. has also sent us 23 MS-13 members wanted by Salvadoran justice, including two ringleaders.” US PAID EL SALVADOR TO TAKE VENEZUELAN TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBERS: ‘PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS Trump raised the issue again in a post shortly after midnight. “If a President doesn’t have the right to throw murderers, and other criminals, out of our Country because a Radical Left Lunatic Judge wants to assume the role of President, then our Country is in very big trouble, and destined to fail!” he declared in the post shared just minutes into Wednesday.