House, Senate lawmakers move to slap limits on NGOs aiding illegal immigrants amid Trump funding crackdown
FIRST ON FOX: Two lawmakers in the House and Senate are introducing separate bills to slap limits on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) they believe are undermining U.S. immigration law – coming amid broader questions about funding of NGOs and a funding crackdown by the Trump administration. Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas is reintroducing the “Protecting Federal Funds from Human Trafficking and Smuggling Act,” while Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is introducing the Fixing Exemptions for Networks Choosing to Enable Illegal Migration (Fence) Act. Hagerty’s bill would end tax-exempt status for organizations that help illegal immigrants, requiring that exempt organizations do not engage in a pattern of providing assistance, benefits, services or other support to those who they know “to be unlawfully present in the United States.” TRUMP’S ICE LIMITS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RELEASES AMID MOVES TO SHAKE OFF BIDEN ‘HANGOVER’ “Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right, and these organizations will be able to preserve their tax-exempt status simply by ceasing these activities,” his office said in a release. Gooden’s bill would prevent federal contracts and grants being awarded to NGOs unless they certified to the Office of Management and Budget that they are not involved in human trafficking or smuggling. It also would yank tax-exempt status from organizations who knowingly violate federal law. The bill also requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a written strategy and best practices guide for non-profits to ensure they are in compliance with the law. It also requires NGOs to go through a verification process to ensure illegal immigrants are not receiving benefits. “For years, non-governmental organizations have exploited taxpayer dollars to facilitate illegal immigration under the guise of ‘humanitarian aid,’” Gooden said in a statement. “The exploitation of the American taxpayer will end under the Trump Administration. This bill ensures that not a single cent of hard-earned American tax dollars will fund organizations complicit in human trafficking and illegal border crossings.” TRUMP DOJ SLAPS ILLINOIS, CHICAGO WITH LAWSUIT OVER SANCTUARY LAWS It comes amid longstanding concern about the role of NGOs in assisting the government during the 2021-2024 migration crisis at the southern border, where millions of dollars went to NGOs that would receive migrants, assist them and potentially give them shelter and travel to their final destination. The funding is provided via contracts and grants from DHS, Health and Human Services and the State Department. Gooden has introduced a number of pieces of legislation on the matter, and has been working for years to bring attention to the issue. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced Wednesday that it has stopped funding nonprofits, saying they have been facilitating illegal immigration. It is part of a broad effort by the administration to ramp up border security and crack down on illegal immigration. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “Many of these NGOs actually have infrastructure and operations set up in Mexico, on that side of the border, and are telling those illegal immigrants to come to them, and they will get them across the border,” Noem said on Fox News Channel’s “Will Cain Show.” “So they’re not just operating in the United States, they’re operating outside the United States to help make it easier for those who want to break our laws.” Until an evaluation is completed, Noem said the department is “not spending another dime to help the destruction of this country.” Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order demanding a review of all federal funding going to NGOs. These two pieces of legislation would enshrine limits beyond this administration. Meanwhile, the administration has also frozen USAID as the agency’s funding is being reviewed over concerns about how the funding is being used. Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
5-figure ad buy urges states to crack down as China floods market with illicit vapes: ‘Trump was right’
FIRST ON FOX: The Protecting America Initiative (PAI), a Trump-aligned anti-CCP group, has launched a five-figure ad encouraging states to crack down against what they call illicit Chinese vapes in order to counter the communist country’s growing influence in the United States. “It’s hip, it’s cool, but look closely on the box,” the new ad from PAI, which describes itself as a coalition of concerned public policy experts dedicated to combating China’s influence, starts out. “It says, right there, made in China. New data shows the market is being flooded with unregulated e-cigarettes. Most vape products are made in China, and they’re not always regulated. They’re getting these products from China, where they can be tainted with God knows what. It’s been a struggle to keep illegal e-cigarettes from reaching young people.” PAI says the ad is meant to remind viewers that “Trump in 2019 was right about the dangers of illicit Chinese vapes and of Biden’s failure to protect Americans from these unregulated illicit products.” VAPING ADVOCATE WARNS DEM CRACKDOWN ON ‘COMMON SENSE’ TOBACCO ALTERNATIVES COULD BACKFIRE IN SWING STATES “You watch prohibition, you look at, you know, with the alcohol, if you don’t give it to them, it’s going to come here illegally. But instead of legitimate companies, good companies, making something that’s safe, they’re going to be selling stuff on a street corner that could be horrible,” Trump is quoted as saying in the ad. The ad will run on digital platforms in targeted markets across the country. TRUMP ADMIN’S FDA WITHDRAWS PROPOSED FEDERAL RULE TO BAN MENTHOL CIGARETTES “Despite the warnings, Biden failed and China won,” the ad states. “Trump predicted this.” “States are taking action against illicit Chinese vapes. More state leaders can act now to fight with Trump against illicit Chinese vapes.” Although the rate of youth smoking cigarettes is now at an all-time low, according to the CDC, youth usage of Chinese vapes has increased dramatically since 2020.
Elon Musk embraces X platform as key tool in DOGE transparency amid onslaught of attacks from Dems
President Donald Trump’s first term revolutionized the online relationship between the president and the public, but self-proclaimed “White House Tech Support” Elon Musk is ushering a chronically online generation into Trump’s second term. Trump has been using Truth Social in his second term like he used Twitter during his first, blasting off posts at all hours of the day to roll out policy announcements and comment on his favorite – or least favorite – news shows. Truth Social reads like Trump’s own stream of consciousness, and most Truth users are loyal Trump supporters who use the social media platform to rally around his policies. Musk’s X account reads more like a political debate. Buried in the steady stream of memes and AI edits, “special government employee” Musk uses X as a way to meet Americans where they are – confirming and denying information about his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in real time. It is easy to get lost in Musk’s 69,000 posts, but the richest man in the world does not miss a beat. This week, as an unrelenting news cycle focused on DOGE’s United States Agency for International Development (USAID) investigation, Musk used X to confirm reporting as misinformation circulated. HOUSE DEMOCRAT LEAVES CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS, SAYING MUSK IS ‘BLOWING THINGS UP’ “All @DOGE did was check to see which federal organizations were violating the @POTUS executive orders the most. Turned out to be USAID, so that became our focus,” Musk explained in a post on Monday. On Wednesday, Musk confirmed reporting by the Wall Street Journal that DOGE is investigating the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, posting: “Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening.” DEMOCRATS TRY TO ENTER DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AMID OUTRAGE OVER POSSIBLE DOGE CUTS Musk invites his followers to engage in the Democratic process right through the app, asking,”Bring back @DOGE staffer who made inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym?” Musk asked his X followers in an X poll on Friday morning. Musk polled his followers on Tuesday as well, asking if DOGE should audit the IRS. Between the polls and DOGE confirmations, Musk floods his account with political commentary and quick reactions to trending posts. Musk simply responded with a bullseye emoji when an X user posted, “If you’re more angry that a handful of 22 year old software engineers are writing code to uncover fraudulent government spending than at the people who are fraudulently spending your hard earned taxes, it’s time to do some soul searching.” Musk also embraces his platform as a vehicle to spark political debate with Democratic leaders. In recent days, Democrats in Congress have unleashed attacks on Musk, including Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., who said, “Elon Musk is a Nazi nepo baby, a godless lawless billionaire, who no one elected” at a rally outside the Treasury Department, where protesters were speaking out against DOGE. “Elon, this is the American people. This is not your trashy Cybertruck that you can just dismantle, pick apart, and sell the pieces of,” she continued. “We are gonna be in your face, we are gonna be on your a–es, and we are going to make sure you understand what democracy looks like, and this ain’t it,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said at the same rally. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was also in attendance and told the crowd that Musk’s DOGE efforts are “taking away everything we have.” The official DOGE account has a more formal tone and often doubles down on Musk’s posts to verify new information. DOGE has over 3 million followers on X. As the owner of X, Musk is the most followed person on the app with a staggering 216.4 million followers. Musk has more followers on X than Trump has on Truth Social (8.83 million) and X (100.4 million) combined. These days, Trump follows a Truth Social first media strategy. During his presidential transition, Trump announced his cabinet nominations on Truth Social before the transition team hit send on the press release. The press release that arrived several minutes later simply directed reporters back to the Truth Social post. Musk’s constant posts landed him at odds with Trump last week when Musk said OpenAI does not have the money for The Stargate Project’s $500 billion investment in AI over the next four years. Musk said he had it on “good authority” that “SoftBank has well under $10B secured” for the investment, soon after Trump finished a press conference announcing the project. Trump shrugged off Musk’s comments later that week, telling the press Musk “hates one of the people in the deal.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Musk have a long-standing legal feud. While Trump is using X again, he is more likely to post a screenshot of his Truth Social post than break any news on Musk’s platform. Trump was banned from Twitter after Jan. 6 and launched Truth Social in 2022. His account was reinstated after Musk bought Twitter and renamed it X. Musk said he bought Twitter to “help humanity” and committed to protecting free speech. While liberal ideology dominated Twitter, X is more likely to lean conservative. A Pew Research Center survey in 2023 found Republicans are more likely to view the site positively since Musk arrived on the scene, while Democrats are more likely to say X has a ne gativeimpact on American democracy. Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report
Trump DOJ calls judge’s DOGE order ‘anti-constitutional’
President Donald Trump’s Justice Department pushed to undo an “anti-Constitutional” ruling from a federal judge that blocked Elon Musk and any of his close associates from accessing Treasury Department data on Monday. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer’s Saturday ruling blocked Department of Government Efficiency officials from accessing personal data such as social security numbers and bank account numbers. While the Trump administration says it has “substantially complied” with the order, the DOJ has attacked the order as “anti-constitutional.” The White House noted that the Senate-confirmed Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, is also prohibited from accessing the data under the order. Vice President JD Vance argued that ruling was unconstitutional on X, saying it was an example of judicial overreach. MEET THE YOUNG TEAM OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERS SLASHING GOVERNMENT WASTE AT DOGE: REPORT “If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Vance wrote Sunday. ELON MUSK OUTLINES ‘SUPER OBVIOUS’ CHANGES DOGE AND TREASURY HAVE AGREED TO MAKE Other White House officials echoed Vance’s statement over the weekend, arguing the judge was blocking DOGE’s legitimate efforts to purge government waste. “What we continue to see here is the idea that rogue bureaucrats who are elected by no one, who answer to no one, who have lifetime tenure jobs, who we would be told can never be fired, which, of course, is not true, that the power has been cemented and accumulated for years, whether it be with the Treasury bureaucrats or the FBI bureaucrats or the CIA bureaucrats or the USAID bureaucrats, with this unelected shadow force that is running our government and running our country,” Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller said on “Sunday Morning Futures.” Musk himself condemned Engelmayer as a “corrupt judge protecting corruption” and called for him to be impeached. Trump weighed in on the issue later Sunday on his way to the Superbowl in New Orleans, telling reporters that he is “very disappointed” in the ruling, but adding that “we have a long way to go. “No judge should frankly be allowed to make that kind of a decision,” he said. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit claims Musk’s DOGE is seeking access to the data to “illegally block” payments to “essential programs.”
Russ Vought offers one-word response after his alma mater deletes message congratulating him on confirmation
Wheaton College deleted its message congratulating alumnus Russell Vought on his Senate confirmation to serve as Office of Management and Budget director. “On Friday, Wheaton College posted a congratulations and a call to prayer for an alumnus who received confirmation to a White House post. The recognition and prayer is something we would typically do for any graduate who reached that level of government,” the school noted in a post on Facebook. “However, the political situation surrounding the appointment led to a significant concern expressed online. It was not our intention to embroil the College in a political discussion or dispute. Our institutional and theological commitments are clear that the College, as a non-profit institution, does not make political endorsements. Wheaton College’s focus is on Christ and His Kingdom.” RUSS VOUGHT, TAPPED AS CFPB’S ACTING DIRECTOR, DIRECTS BUREAU TO ISSUE NO NEW RULES, STOP NEW INVESTIGATIONS Responding to the school’s move, Vought tweeted, “SAD!” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., slammed Wheaton’s move. “This is ridiculous – @WheatonCollege had it right the first time. @russvought is a highly accomplished alumni who should be celebrated. It’s absurd that the smallest minority of detractors come away victorious yet again.” Hillsdale College, which also shared a message congratulating Vought on being confirmed, tweeted in an apparent response to Wheaton, “Trigger warning: We will not be deleting our earlier post congratulating @RussVought.” Fox News Digital reached out to request comment from Wheaton College on Monday, and the school indicated that the removal of the message was not an apology for the sentiments it had conveyed. RUSSELL VOUGHT CONFIRMED TO HEAD GOVERNMENT’S LEADING BUDGET OFFICE AFTER DEMS HOLD 30-HOUR PROTEST “The social media post led to more than 1,000 hostile comments, primarily incendiary, unchristian comments about Mr. Vought, in just a few hours. It was not our intention to embroil the College or Mr. Vought in a political discussion or dispute. Thus, we removed the post, rather than allow it to become an ongoing online distraction. This was in no way an apology for having expressed congratulations or for suggesting prayers for our alumnus,” the school’s statement noted. Vought, who previously served as OMB director during a portion of President Donald Trump’s first term in office, was confirmed last week in a party-line vote, with all 53 Senate Republicans voting to confirm, and the the whole Senate Democratic caucus voting against confirmation. SENATE DEMOCRATS SPEAK ALL NIGHT AGAINST TRUMP OMB NOMINEE, DELAYING CONFIRMATION VOTE “God be praised. Grateful to the President and the US Senate. Incredibly thankful for all the many who prayed me through. Now. Let’s. Go,” Vought tweeted after being confirmed.
Trump says he is pulling security clearances for people he does not ‘respect’
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has revoked the security clearances of people he does not respect, which includes his political enemies. “There are people that we don’t respect. If there are people that we thought that were breaking the law, that came very close to it in previous years, we do it. And we’ve done it with some people,” Trump told reporters, according to The Hill. This comes after Trump on Friday pulled former President Joe Biden’s security clearance and stopped his daily intelligence briefings. ‘JOE, YOU’RE FIRED’: PRESIDENT TRUMP REVOKES BIDEN’S SECURITY CLEARANCES, INTEL BRIEFINGS “We’ve done it with Biden himself. Biden himself. We think our country is not as safe when you gave him clearance,” Trump said on Sunday. “We don’t think he knows what he’s doing and what he’s done to this country is a disgrace, and what he’s done in terms of allowing criminals, murderers, drug lords into our country, people from mental institutions into our country, he should be ashamed of himself,” he added. The president argued that there is no need for Biden to receive a security clearance or receive daily intelligence briefings. He had cited former special counsel Robert Hur’s report last year into Biden’s handling of classified materials. The report highlighted the former president’s frequent memory lapses and led to increased scrutiny from Republicans about his mental fitness. “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. “Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings.” “He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents,” Trump’s post continued. “The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information. I will always protect our National Security — JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” TRUMP REMOVED ANTONY BLINKEN, LETITIA JAMES, ALVIN BRAGG’S SECURITY CLEARANCES, AMONG OTHERS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump has also revoked the clearances of former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. He also pulled Secret Service protection for his former national security adviser John Bolton last month and security protection for his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, despite both men facing threats from Iran over their hawkish foreign policy positions towards the country.
Trump admin files motion to vacate restraining order prohibiting DOGE access to Treasury payment systems
The Trump administration has filed a motion to vacate or modify a court’s temporary restraining order blocking the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and political appointees from accessing sensitive Treasury Department payment records. In the motion, Cloud Software Group, Inc. CEO Tom Krause argued that “it is important that high-level political appointees, such as the Treasury Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Chief of Staff, and Under Secretaries, retain the ability to attend briefings concerning information obtained from the data or systems from Treasury employees with appropriate access to the data or systems in order to perform their job duties.” Although Krause, who was working at Treasury as a special government employee, admitted that “these high-level officials do not ordinarily need to receive access to or review data from such systems,” he said an event could conceivably occur that could warrant them needing access. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in a temporary restraining order on Saturday that “political appointees, special government employees and any government employee detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department access to Treasury Department payment systems or any other data maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information.” FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS LIMITED DOGE ACCESS TO SENSITIVE TREASURY DEPARTMENT PAYMENT SYSTEM RECORDS Anyone covered under those categories who was given previous access to the sensitive data must “immediately destroy any and all copies of material downloaded from the Treasury Department’s records and systems,” the judge said. This comes after a group of 19 attorneys general filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, the U.S. Treasury and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent alleging that the Trump Administration illegally provided DOGE with unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s payment systems. Kollar-Kotelly had earlier said in a temporary restraining order on Thursday that Treasury officials “will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained within the [Treasury] Bureau of Fiscal Service,” a program that handles an estimated 90% of federal payments. Thursday’s order came a day after the Justice Department agreed in a proposed court order to limit access to the sensitive records to only two special government employees within DOGE who will have read-only permission. Kollar-Kotelly approved the motion in a brief order on Thursday. The case in the Thursday order was brought by several government employee unions that sued over who could access the material as part of a government-wide evaluation of programs and systems led by DOGE. It argued that Bessent allowed DOGE improper access. ‘AMERICA HAS DOGE FEVER’: STATES FROM NEW JERSEY TO TEXAS DRAFT SIMILAR INITIATIVES AS FEDERAL LEADERS CELEBRATE Under that order, only Krause and Marko Elez — an engineer and former Musk company employee — were allowed continued access to Treasury’s Fiscal Service, but that changed with Saturday’s order. Krause and Elez were both named as special government employees in the Department of the Treasury, but Elez has since resigned.
Trump’s key to Cabinet confirmations: Senator-turned-VP Vance’s gift of gab
Vice President JD Vance has emerged as a key player in President Donald Trump’s effort to close the deal with senators and move his Cabinet nominees through the at-times difficult confirmation process. Vance is becoming an increasingly trusted voice among Republican senators, sources familiar shared with Fox News Digital. Republicans in the upper chamber also view the vice president as an honest broker in their talks about how to push Trump’s agenda forward, sources added, noting that this had established trust in Vance. TRUMP, GOP SENATORS TO DINE AT MAR-A-LAGO BEFORE CAMPAIGN RETREAT When it came to getting two of Trump’s most controversial nominees past their respective committees, Vance stepped up to assist, sources said. Both Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nominee Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced uncertainty ahead of key hurdles in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Committee on Finance, respectively. Each committee housed potentially hesitant Republicans, who expressed initial uncertainty about the nominees. During the crucial committee-level votes, Gabbard and Kennedy could not afford to lose even one Republican’s support. INSIDE SEN. TOM COTTON’S CAMPAIGN TO SAVE TULSI GABBARD’S ENDANGERED DNI NOMINATION Ultimately, Gabbard earned the support of moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in addition to the last-minute backing of Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. Similarly, Kennedy managed to snag Young’s support before the committee vote, and holdout Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a doctor, announced his plan to vote for the nominee just minutes before it took place. To lock down these votes, a significant effort was underway behind closed doors — which included Vance’s crucial counsel to the senators. The vice president spoke to both Young and Cassidy several times in the days leading up to the recent committee votes that saw Gabbard and Kennedy advance to the Senate floor, the sources told Fox News Digital. In those conversations, Vance talked through any remaining concerns the senators had with the nominees. LEADER THUNE BACKS SENATE GOP BID TO SPEED PAST HOUSE ON TRUMP BUDGET PLAN A number of other administration officials had phone calls with Young and Cassidy, as well, also helping to parse through their lingering doubts. Vance’s conversations proved persuasive, in part because of his long-maintained relationships with both senators, whom he served with up until January, the sources detailed. “I think he’s been tasked with this role because of his preexisting relationship with us,” Young told reporters. According to the senator, Vance was respectful and actually “listened a lot more than he talked.” FORMER GOP LEADER MCCONNELL FALLS WHILE EXITING SENATE CHAMBER AFTER TURNER CONFIRMATION VOTE The vice president was also “effective” in getting the necessary concessions that Young, in particular, needed to get to a yes on the nominees. “He came through, he delivered for me, and I’m grateful for that,” Young said, noting he also delivered for Trump. The Indiana senator further explained he has “a certain affinity for Senator Vance,” adding, “He’s a Midwesterner. He is a U.S. Marine. And we share a lot of concerns about people who are left behind and overlooked and underprivileged.”
Here’s how Trump’s tariffs on China could impact drug pricing and other healthcare costs
President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China have raised significant concern over their potential impact on healthcare costs, but while the move could have a broad effect on the industry, it is likely they will not produce the devastating results that some may be expecting, health policy and trade experts say. A survey by market research group Black Book Research found that 84% of the healthcare consumers they questioned said they expect to see higher costs due to increased pricing on medical treatments and drugs as a result of Trump’s new tariffs. But health policy expert Chris Pope posited that healthcare is “not a very highly tradable sector” and that the sectors that do rely on trade relations, like pharmaceutical drugs or medical devices, will hinge on the magnitude of any Trump tariffs. “There’s not much international trade for most of healthcare. The biggest parts of healthcare – physician services, these are all provided domestically already, and hospitals are a domestic part of healthcare, so you take out those two things, and you’ve kind of ruled out almost three-quarters of all healthcare spending,” Pope said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “So, for the most part, we’re talking about drugs and devices, which are, at most, about a quarter of healthcare spending.” DEMS CLAIM TRUMP TARIFF COULD ‘DRIVE UP’ COSTS DESPITE DEFLECTING BLAME FROM BIDEN’S INFLATION “In terms of prices for the industry, whether it’s absorbed in their margins, or they do less research and development, or they pass it on to consumers … it’s not completely devastating, but it’s definitely annoying,” said Christine McDaniel, a senior economist at George Mason University’s Mercatus Institute. Experts told Fox News that drug prices are among the most vulnerable aspects of the healthcare system, largely due to the U.S.’ reliance on China for certain precursor chemicals and compounds that are essential for producing important medications. However, Pope said that the impact will likely only affect generic drugs and not branded drugs that are based on demand rather than supply. Generic drugs are already relatively cost-efficient, with many of them ranging under $10, he said. Monica de Bolle is an immunologist and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. She painted a bleaker picture of how many drugs could be impacted by the tariffs. ‘MAKING AMERICA EXPENSIVE AGAIN’: DEMOCRATS FIND A TAX THEY DON’T LIKE IN TRUMP TARIFFS “If you go through a list of the kinds of things that we import from China when it comes to active drug ingredients, or anything else that goes into the making of over-the-counter drugs, everything is in there. If you look at the list, it basically spans the range of potential medications that anyone takes at any point in their lives,” said de Bolle. “It includes things like over-the-counter NSAIDS, so non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs, things like Motrin, ibuprofen, even Tylenol, because Acetaminophen is on that list.” She added that drugs that are more dependent on China include medications for anxiety and other psychiatric disorders, such as antidepressants, and following Trump’s tariffs, “those prices are going to go up, for sure,” she said. Experts say costs in healthcare could also rise due to disruptions in the supply chain for medical devices, but they noted that the impact will be a lot harder to generalize, compared to the impact on drug pricing. “Maybe before [the supply chain] was broken up into five stages. Well, now maybe they’ve broken it up into six or seven stages. So there are certain things that they have to stay in China for, or they have to source from China, but then they do the next step in India or another nearby country . . . which is going to be more expensive,” McDaniel said. ‘THIS IS ABOUT FENTANYL’: TARIFFS ARE CRUCIAL TO COMBATING ‘DRUG WAR,’ TRUMP AND CABINET OFFICIALS SAY However, Pope argued that prices could change, depending on the device and the magnitude of Trump’s tariffs. “It’s going to vary a lot, according to where the devices are manufactured, where the components are manufactured, what kind of subsidies are available from other countries and domestically, and the degree of retaliation,” he said. While Trump’s tariffs might be new, the experts say that getting out of China is not. Reducing the U.S.’ dependency on Chinese products tied to healthcare, particularly drugs like antibiotics, has been talked about among lawmakers for some time due to the potential national security risks. Parallel to these discussions, companies have been preparing for future tariffs in light of increased geopolitical tensions. “There has been a lot of discussion coming from both the Democratic camp, as well as the Republican one, about the necessity to bring some of the production of certain types of drugs back to the U.S. to reduce dependency on China,” said de Bolle. “This whole deal about drugs and medical equipment and all of that that was under discussion before Trump. So, it’s not even Trump-related.” “In essence, you know what’s happening now with the tariffs that Trump imposed isn’t any different from the sorts of things that these people were thinking of doing anyway.”
‘Free speech and transparency’: White House launches Rumble account as social media presence grows
FIRST ON FOX: The White House is launching a Rumble account as its presence on social media grows larger, Fox News Digital exclusively learned. A White House official told Fox Digital that it will launch a Rumble account on Monday morning similar to its YouTube account as part of President Donald Trump’s plan “to reach the American people where they are and provide unparalleled transparency and accountability in government.” Rumble is a video platform founded in 2013 as an alternative to YouTube, which has a long track record of accusations surrounding censoring and limiting conservative content. “We thank President Trump and his entire team for their commitment to free speech and transparency, and we are extremely proud that Rumble is now a small part of White House outreach to the people of America and the world. At Rumble, we fight every day for the innate human right of self-expression, and we connect people directly to the marketplace of ideas to avoid the screeners and censors of Big Tech, the corporate media and governments around the globe,” Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski told Fox News Digital. TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ROLLS OUT SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT TO HOLD ‘FAKE NEWS ACCOUNTABLE’ Rumble is a publicly traded company that most recently reported hosting 67 million monthly users in the third quarter of 2024, which is roughly a 26% increase from 53 million users in its previous quarter. On election night alone, the platform saw a peak of 1.8 million concurrent viewers, Fox Digital learned. The Rumble initiative comes as the White House’s social media engagement has increased under the Trump administration compared to President Biden’s tenure. TRUMP ADMIN TOUTS PURGING ‘WORST’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINALS FROM US STREETS: ‘WORKING TIRELESSLY’ The Trump administration’s White House accounts on X and Instagram racked up 4,685,265 total engagements in the first two weeks, compared to the Biden administration’s 4,134,845 during its first two weeks, according to data provided to Fox Digital. The figures reflect a 13% increase in social media engagement in Trump’s first two weeks or a difference of 550,420 engagements. A White House official noted that when the Biden administration began in 2021, the White House account on X, which was at the time known as Twitter, began with a running start of 1.6 million followers. Under new X rules, however, the second Trump administration’s X account began with zero followers. “Despite this 1.6M follower advantage, our engagement still surpassed theirs,” the White House said of the difference. TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S ‘HANNITY’ INTERVIEW Long before Trump jumped into politics ahead of the 2016 election, the real estate tycoon’s love of social media, specifically Twitter, had long been on display. Trump would frequently weigh in on pop culture, politics, the media and even Diet Coke on the social media platform ahead of taking office for his first administration. He remarked after his 2016 win that Twitter was crucial to speaking directly to voters. “Twitter is a wonderful thing for me, because I get the word out. … I might not be here talking to you right now as president if I didn’t have an honest way of getting the word out,” he said in 2017. TRUMP’S ‘SHOCK AND AWE’: FORGET FIRST 100 DAYS, NEW PRESIDENT SHOWS OFF FRENETIC PACE IN FIRST 100 HOURS In his second administration, the White House has further leaned into social media to reach voters, including launching a new social media account in January aimed to hold “fake news accountable.” “Welcome to the official Rapid Response account of the Trump 47 White House. We will be supporting President Donald J. Trump’s America First agenda and holding the Fake News accountable for their lies. Let’s Make America Great Again!” the X account, Rapid Response 47, posted in its first message on Jan. 27. The account has since posted dozens of interview clips highlighting what the White House describes as false rhetoric about the administration from Democrat lawmakers, “misleading” articles promoted by mainstream outlets, and touting work the administration has accomplished.