Disgraced ex-Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years in bribery case
A judge sentenced disgraced former Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez to 11 years in prison on Wednesday, concluding his trial for a “long-running bribery and foreign influence scheme of rare gravity.” The sentence is the harshest ever handed down to a U.S. senator. Breaking down in tears, Menendez pleaded with U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein for mercy in a New York City courtroom. “I have lost everything,” he said. “Other than family, I have lost everything I care about. Every day I am awake is punishment. I am far from a perfect man… in half-century of public service, I have done far more good than bad.” Before handing down his punishment, Stein said: “I take no pleasure in this sentence.” DEMOCRATIC SEN. BOB MENENDEZ GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES IN FEDERAL CORRUPTION TRIAL “You are quite right about your work. You worked your way up to a senator, to the chair of foreign relations committee,” Stein told Menendez. “You were successful, powerful, stood at apex of political system. All letters are proof. Somewhere along the way, you lost your way.” Prosecutors had requested a 15-year sentence for Menendez, 71, after he was convicted on July 24 on 16 counts of bribery, extortion, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He is the first U.S. Senator in American history to be convicted of working as a foreign agent. His co-defendants, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, were also sentenced to 8 years and 7 years respectively. “As proven at trial, the defendants engaged, for years, in a corruption and foreign influence scheme of stunning brazenness, breadth, and duration, resulting in exceptionally grave abuses of power at the highest levels of the Legislative Branch of the United States Government,” prosecutors wrote. Menendez’ conviction came after a nine-week-long trial. The former Democratic lawmaker was accused of accepting gifts totaling more than $100,000 in gold bars as well as cash. The disgraced Democrat was accused and convicted of participating in a yearslong bribery scheme involving the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Menendez’s wife, Nadine, who is set to go on trial on March 18, also allegedly participated in the scheme. She is accused of receiving paychecks for a job that did not exist. BOB MENENDEZ TO RESIGN FROM SENATE AMID DEMOCRATIC PRESSURE AFTER GUILTY VERDICT “Menendez, who swore an oath to represent the United States and the state of New Jersey, instead put his high office up for sale in exchange for this hoard of bribes,” prosecutors wrote ahead of the sentencing. Menendez, who was charged in 2023, made history in July 2024 when he became the first US senator to be convicted of acting as a foreign agent. His conviction came after a nine-week-long trial. The former Democratic lawmaker was accused of accepting gifts totaling more than $100,000 in gold bars as well as cash. Jamie Joseph, Rachel Wolf, and Maria Paronich contributed to this report
Trump’s ultimatum to federal workers: Return to office ‘or be terminated’
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that federal employees must return to in-person work by early February or “be terminated,” the latest in a string of actions announced by the new administration as it looks to crack down on remote work. Trump addressed the changes Wednesday at the White House shortly before signing into law the immigration-focused Laken Riley bill. Asked about the new requirements for federal workers, Trump said, “We’re requiring them to show up to work or be terminated.” WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOGE AND ITS QUEST TO SLASH GOVERNMENT WASTE, SPENDING His remarks come just hours after the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, began emailing roughly 2 million federal employees on Tuesday, offering them the equivalent of a buyout if they do not return to in-person work within a specified time frame. Employees have until Feb. 6 to decide whether to take the buyouts, OPM said, noting that most employees will be required to show up in person five days a week. Those who choose not to continue their roles in person would be provided with what the email said would be a “dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program.” Employees who resign were also told they will retain all pay and benefits regardless of workload and will be exempt from in-person work requirements until Sep. 30, 2025. “We think a very substantial number of people will not show up to work, and, therefore, our government will get smaller and more efficient,” Trump told reporters of the plan Wednesday. “And that’s what we’ve been looking to do for many, many decades.” ‘GET BACK TO WORK’: HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK IN 1ST HEARING OF NEW CONGRESS He also suggested federal employees may be asked to “prove” they did not have another job during the period of remote work, a difficult issue to correct for given that an estimated 8.6 million U.S. residents work multiple jobs, or roughly 5.2% of the U.S. workforce, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “We may ask these people to prove that they didn’t have another job during their so-called employment with the United States of America, because if they did, that would be unlawful,” Trump said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “A lot of people are getting paychecks, but they’re actually working other jobs, so they’ll have to prove that to us that they weren’t,” Trump said. Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this article.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: RFK Jr slams Dem senator’s ‘dishonest’ narrative
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -White House still committed to freezing ‘woke’ funds despite rescinding OMB memo -Conservatives hammer Dem senator’s ‘droning monologue’ during RFK Jr hearing –Justice Department moves to drop prosecution of Mar-a-Lago staff in Trump classified docs case HHS Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden were involved in a tense exchange on Capitol Hill where Kennedy accused the senator of intentionally misrepresenting his past comments. Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, which held a confirmation hearing for Kennedy on Wednesday, pressed the nominee on comments made on podcasts in recent years. “During a podcast interview in July of 2023, you said, ‘no vaccine is safe and effective.’ In your testimony today, in order to prove you’re not anti-vax, you note that all your kids are vaccinated, but in a podcast in 2020, you said, and I quote, ‘you would do anything pay anything to go back in time and not vaccinate your kids,’” Wyden said to Kennedy…Read more FIGHTING BACK: Trump’s new legal team begins appeals process for Manhattan conviction…Read more ‘EXTRAORDINARY CELEBRATION’: Trump to create task force to plan ‘extraordinary celebration’ for 250th anniversary of America’s independence…Read more ‘MY BOSS LOVES’ THEM: RFK Jr. vows he won’t take cheeseburgers away, just highlight health issues…Read more ‘CORRECTED IT MANY TIMES’: RFK Jr rips Dem senator for pushing ‘dishonest’ narrative on past vaccine comments: ‘Corrected it many times’…Read more BONDI AT BAT: Trump AG pick Pam Bondi clears Judiciary Committee, will get confirmation vote in Senate…Read more DEEPSEEK DANGER: GOP Sen Josh Hawley seeks to cut off all US-China collaboration on AI development…Read more ‘RAW DEAL’: Thomas Massie and Mike Lee advocate for US to dump NATO…Read more HAMAS, SMELL YOU LATER: President Donald Trump to deport Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, defund CRT with new executive orders…Read more ‘TREATED UNFAIRLY’: Howard Lutnick, Trump Commerce secretary pick, says it’s ‘nonsense’ that tariffs cause inflation…Read more SCORCHED EARTH: RFK Jr.’s former running mate threatens political war against confirmation opponents…Read more ‘COMMUNITY IS SAFER’: Noem says ‘worst of the worst’ arrested in NYC raid targeting criminal illegal immigrants…Read more SMELT TEST: Trump order overrides California’s fish-protecting rules to maximize water supply…Read more CAUGHT ON CAM: Los Angeles wildfires: Lawsuit alleges video shows what started Eaton Fire…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Trump to sign executive order to prepare Guantanamo Bay for 30K ‘criminal illegal aliens’
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would sign an executive order for the Pentagon to prepare Guantanamo Bay to detain 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens.” “Today I’m also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000 person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay,” Trump said. “Most people don’t even know about it.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOUTS 969 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTS IN ONE DAY: ‘HERE ARE SOME OF THE WORST’ He said they need 30,000 beds to house the detainees, adding that putting them there will ensure they do not come back. “It’s a tough place to get out of,” Trump added.
No 2 Republican Steve Scalise lays out government funding strategies, with fiscal deadlines looming
DORAL, Fla. — House Republicans have their work cut out for them in the coming weeks, with three fiscal deadlines looming and President Donald Trump pushing for a very active first 100 days of his administration. Congressional GOP leaders are working on a massive conservative policy overhaul via the reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to a simple 51-seat majority, it allows the party in power to advance their policy goals into law, provided those policies deal with budgetary and other fiscal matters. “We want to deliver on all the things that President Trump talked about during the campaign… including no tax on tips, which was one of those early items that the president talked about, but also ensuring no tax increases happen. We can fully fund our border security needs, making sure we build the wall out, that we give more technology and tools to our Border Patrol agents,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Digital. “We can produce more energy in America… try to get rid of some of these crazy rules and regulations that add so much cost for no good reason to families.” TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS Scalise said it would be “much more robust” than Republicans’ last reconciliation bill passed in 2017 – the last time the GOP controlled Congress and the White House. His optimism comes as congressional Republicans still appear divided over how best to enact their plans. Senate Republicans and some GOP hardliners in the House have argued that trying to pass a bill with border and energy policies first would give Trump a quick win, while allowing more time for more complex issues like taxes. But House leaders are concerned that, given Republicans last passed two reconciliation bills in one year in the 1990s with much larger majorities, the two-track strategy could allow Trump’s 2017 provisions to expire and raise taxes on millions of families. “You have to start somewhere. We’re starting with one package,” Scalise said. “No disagreement on the details of what we’re going to include.” Meanwhile, lawmakers are also contending with the debt ceiling being reinstated this month after it was temporarily suspended in a bipartisan deal during the Biden administration. At least one projection suggests Congress will have until mid-June or earlier to deal with it or risk financial turmoil that comes with a downgrade in the U.S.’s national credit rating. And coming on March 14 is the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, which Congress has extended twice since the end of the previous fiscal year on Oct. 1. The No. 2 House Republican floated the possibility of combining those latter two deadlines. “The Appropriations Committee, which is not directly involved in budget reconciliation, is simultaneously having a negotiation with the Senate on government funding, you know, working with the White House to make sure it meets President Trump’s priorities,” Scalise said. WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOGE AND ITS QUEST TO SLASH GOVERNMENT WASTE, SPENDING “I would imagine the debt ceiling could very well be a part of that conversation in that negotiation.” Scalise spoke with Fox News Digital at the House GOP’s annual retreat, held this year at Trump’s golf club in Doral, Florida. Lawmakers huddled behind closed doors for three days to hash out a roadmap for grappling with their multiple deadlines and enacting Trump’s agenda. They also heard from the president himself, as well as Vice President JD Vance. Trump has on multiple occasions called on Republicans to act on the debt limit to avoid a U.S. credit default. Vance told Republicans on Tuesday that Trump wanted them to do so without giving leverage to Democrats – a weighty task given some GOP hardliners’ opposition to raising or suspending the limit over the U.S.’s $36 trillion national debt. House GOP leaders can currently only afford one defection to still pass a bill along party lines. They’ve been forced to seek Democratic support on government funding multiple times, including most recently in December. With no topline agreement reached and roughly 19 days in session before the March 14 deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, it’s becoming increasingly likely that congressional leaders will have to combine all 12 annual appropriations bills into one massive “omnibus,” a move also generally opposed by GOP hardliners. “I think we’re getting closer,” Scalise said of a topline number for fiscal year 2025 spending. “The House and Senate were apart by a pretty sizable amount of money. They’re trying to negotiate that down to get a resolution.”
Trump signs Laken Riley Act into law as first legislative victory in new administration
President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law Wednesday, marking the first piece of legislation to become law in his second administration. “This horrific atrocity should never have been allowed to happen,” Trump told reporters Wednesday ahead of signing the legislation. “And as president, I’m fighting every single day to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.” The measure, which advanced through the House and Senate in January, directs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants arrested or charged with theft-related crimes, or those accused of assaulting a police officer. The law also allows states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration. CONGRESS SENDS LAKEN RILEY ACT TO TRUMP’S DESK AS FIRST BILL OF GOP’S WASHINGTON TAKEOVER The law’s name honors a nursing student who was killed during a jog on the University of Georgia’s campus by an illegal immigrant. Jose Ibarra, who previously had been arrested but never detained by ICE, received a prison life sentence for killing 22-year-old Laken Riley. Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, expressed her gratitude at the signing for everyone who pushed to advance the legislation. “We also want to thank President Trump for the promises he made us,” Phillips said. “He said he would secure our borders and that he would never forget about Laken. And he hasn’t. He’s a man of his word.” Riley’s father, John, and sister, Lauren, also were present at the signing. The measure received support from all House Republicans and 48 Democrats, and all Senate Republicans and 12 Senate Democrats. Trump touted the bipartisan effort Wednesday. “With today’s action, her name will also live forever in the laws of our country,” Trump said. “And this is a very important law. This is something that has brought Democrats and Republicans together. That’s not easy to do. Laken did it. Laken did it. America will never, ever forget Laken Hope Riley.” Meanwhile, critics of the measure claim that the law will pave the way for mass detention, including for those who’ve committed minor offenses like shoplifting. Sarah Mehta, senior border policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement after the Senate voted to advance the measure ahead of a final vote, “This is an extreme and reactive bill that will authorize the largest expansion of mandatory detention we have seen in decades.” LAKEN RILEY ACT PASSES HOUSE WITH 48 DEMS, ALL REPUBLICANS “While we are disappointed this bill will pass the Senate, it is notable that so many senators opposed it and recognized the need for actual immigration reform — not the chaos and cruelty this legislation will unleash,” Mehta said. Trump promised to crack down on illegal immigration during his campaign, and declared a national emergency at the southern border following his inauguration. He also immediately ordered the expulsion of migrants without the possibility of asylum. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cautioned foreign nationals considering entering the U.S. that they will be detained and kicked out of the country. TIDAL WAVE OF BORDER SECURITY BILLS HIT HOUSE AS REPUBLICANS MOVE FAST ON DC TAKEOVER “So to foreign nationals who are thinking about trying to illegally enter the United States, think again,” Leavitt told reporters Tuesday at the White House press briefing. “Under this president, you will be detained and you will be deported. Every day, Americans are safer because of the violent criminals that President Trump’s administration is removing from our communities.” Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
RFK Jr tells lawmakers that ‘every abortion is a tragedy’ at confirmation hearing
Every abortion is a “tragedy,” President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told lawmakers Wednesday. While Kennedy previously voiced support for abortion even in the late stages of pregnancy, Kennedy told the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday he would carry out Trump’s policy priorities concerning abortion. “I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy,” Kennedy said at his confirmation hearing. “I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year. I agree with him that the states should control abortion. President Trump has told me that he wants to end late-term abortions, and he wants to protect conscience exemptions.” “I serve at the pleasure of the president,” Kennedy said. “I’m going to implement his policies.” MULTIPLE OUTBURTS ERUPT AT RFK JR HEARING: ‘YOU ARE’ According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 625,978 abortions were reported from 48 areas in 2021. Trump has said on multiple occasions that he supports abortion in certain instances, and said that “powerful exceptions” for abortion would remain in place under his administration. Meanwhile, Kennedy has altered his position on abortion several times in the past year. Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran as an independent presidential candidate in the 2024 election, has historically stated that he doesn’t believe the government should step in with a woman’s choice to end a pregnancy, despite his “personally pro-life” stance. RFK JR RIPS DEM SENATOR FOR PUSHING ‘DISHONEST’ NARRATIVE ON PAST VACCINE COMMENTS: ‘CORRECTED IT MANY TIMES’ In May, Kennedy said he supported abortions in the third trimester, although he later followed up and said he does back some restrictions. Kennedy’s views appeared at odds with one another, and Democratic lawmakers said they were “confused” by his answers on abortion. “Mr. Kennedy, I’m confused. You have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values. The question is, do you stand for that value or not?” Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., said during the confirmation hearing. “When was it that you decided to sell out the values you have had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump?” RFK JR. LIKELY TO BE CONFIRMED AS HEALTH SECRETARY, DR. SIEGEL SAYS Other lawmakers voiced concerns about Kennedy’s nomination, including Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. “Frankly, you frighten people,” Whitehouse said, after claiming that there was a measles outbreak in Rhode Island for the first time since 2013 amid a broader discussion about Kennedy’s stance on vaccines. Kennedy pushed back on “news reports” that he is anti-vaccine and anti-industry in his opening statements Wednesday, noting that all his children are vaccinated. He also has previously said that he isn’t interested in taking “away anybody’s vaccines.” Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
TikTok suppressed content critical of Trump and 2020 election controversy, exclusive report alleges
EXCLUSIVE: As the Trump administration works to keep TikTok legally available in the United States, the wildly popular app has suppressed content critical of President Donald Trump, according to a new report shared exclusively with Fox News. TikTok maintains the report has reached a false conclusion, and that the researchers used terms subjected to additional safety measures because they’ve been associated with election misinformation or profanity. The report, from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) at Rutgers University, contained findings that “highlight TikTok’s ability to act as a powerful influence tool, adaptable to partisan politics, but with no inherent incentive for transparency or accountability.” CHINESE AI STARTUP DEEPSEEK FACING HACK, BLOCKS QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMUNIST PARTY TIES “What you’re seeing is not sweeping policies around content moderation that can be battle tested by the public or by researchers,” said Adam Sohn, an NCRI board member. “TikTok seems to be just sort of picking and choosing their policies based on political expediency, and that’s a big concern.” NCRI said it analyzed TikTok, X, and Instagram “to evaluate their handling of specific hashtags associated with the 2020 election controversy” and that researchers received a response that “explicitly indicated content suppression based on TikTok’s enforcement of its community standards.” The group said terms such as “#RiggedElection,” “#VoterFraud,” “#StopTheSteal,” and “#StolenElection” returned no results on TikTok in the U.S. Researchers said that when they searched using software that swapped their domestic location for one overseas, those terms produced video results. Screen grabs provided by NCRI show a Jan. 24 TikTok search for “#F***JoeBiden” that returned 37,000 results. A search the same day for “#F***Trump” returned none. Three days later, Fox News replicated the search and there were videos listed under both. REPUBLICAN STATE AGS AWAIT TRUMP-BROKERED TIKTOK DEAL, REMAIN SKEPTICAL ON APP SAFETY “The concern is that the Chinese Communist Party and Bytedance and TikTok itself can consistently tweak its algorithm to cover up its tracks,” Sohn said. “Our policies and algorithms haven’t changed in the last week,” said a TikTok spokesperson. The company maintains hashtags regarding the 2020 election controversies have promoted election misinformation, which is why they’ve been unavailable. TikTok contends that because the anti-Trump and anti-Biden search terms contain profanity, the app can limit those results. The company also says it’s experiencing technical issues as it’s trying to return its service to normal. Last year, Congress passed a bipartisan law that would ban TikTok if its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, failed to sell the app by Jan. 19. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law. ByteDance still owns TikTok, but Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban’s enforcement for 75 days while his administration tries to negotiate an agreement for the app to comply with the law and keep it operating in the U.S. NCRI has issued several reports on TikTok, concluding its search algorithm produced results to construct a favorable view of China’s government. TikTok has denied that allegation, calling NCRI’s work “flawed” and “clearly engineered to reach a false, predetermined conclusion.” In its arguments against TikTok, the Justice Department under the Biden administration cited NCRI’s reports. Cybersecurity experts told Fox that algorithms for apps like TikTok are held closely by their parent companies and can be difficult to evaluate. “Doing sort of this community management of these vast social media platforms, especially TikTok, which is so popular, is a Herculean task,” said Theresa Payton, a cybersecurity expert and the White House Chief Information Officer in the George W. Bush administration. “It could be that as they were making tweaks to handle capacity, to be able to more closely evaluate things that could be perceived as election interference, things that are considered hate speech.” Others note social media companies have sizable teams working with automated software to moderate content on their platforms. “Someone interprets something as in terms of a violation [that] may not match with someone else – it all sort of has to add up to a pattern,” said Pete Pachal, the Founder of The Media Copilot, a newsletter on AI changing media and journalism. “In the report, they do a very good job of showing that this pattern of supposed repression … content not appearing in searches does tend to happen more in one direction, and that should arouse a certain amount of suspicion.”
Democrats coordinate multi-state response to Trump’s funding freeze
Morally indignant Senate Democrats piled on President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze Wednesday, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announcing a coordinated response with Democratic governors to come. The Office of Management and Budget issued a memo on Monday issuing a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate “wokeness” and the “weaponization of government” to improve government efficiency. The memo claims nearly $3 trillion was spent in 2024 on such assistance programs. The White House insists this freeze does not touch programs including Social Security, Medicare, or other entitlement payments, but Schumer called Trump’s action “chaotic,” “careless,” and “cruel” at the Democratic leadership’s weekly press briefing. “In one instant, in the blink of an eye, in the dark of night, Donald Trump committed one of the cruelest actions that I have seen the federal government do in a very long time,” Schumer said, claiming Trump had shut off “billions, maybe trillions of dollars that average American families need.” FEDERAL JUDGE PAUSES TRUMP ADMIN’S TEMPORARY FEDERAL GRANTS, LOANS FREEZE The minority leader said there are ongoing discussions between Capitol Hill Democrats and various Democratic governors on a coordinated response to Trump’s action. Two dozen blue state attorneys general have already announced legal action to keep the federal grant, loan and other aid flowing. Democrats said they have received an avalanche of phone calls from local officials, non-governmental organizations, charities and individual constituents demanding to know if OMB’s memo meant taxpayer dollars they rely on to serve people were about to disappear. “Chaos reigned. I got calls from a whole lot of Republican town supervisors and mayors, asking, what about flood prevention? What about sewer construction projects?” Schumer said. He recounted additional calls from food bank operators, nonprofit groups that treat addiction and church groups worried they would not be able to make payroll. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that the OMB memo would not impact individuals who receive direct assistance from the federal government. She described the pause as “temporary” and likened it to simultaneous efforts by the Trump administration to freeze hiring and regulations in an effort to shrink the government. FACT OR FICTION: WILL TRUMP’S FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE IMPACT STUDENT LOANS, GRANTS? “Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” the memo, obtained by Fox Digital, reads. A federal judge on Tuesday imposed a stay on Trump’s action, delaying it until Monday as a torrent of lawsuits against the administration were announced this week. New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday led a coalition of 22 other attorneys general suing to stop the implementation of the memo. In a statement from James’ office, she said the policy “puts an indefinite pause on the majority of federal assistance to states” and would “immediately jeopardize state programs that provide critical health and childcare services to families in need, deliver support to public schools, combat hate crimes and violence against women, provide life-saving disaster relief to states, and more.” ‘ANSWERED THIS QUESTION FOUR TIMES’: LEAVITT PUSHES BACK ON MEDIA’S ‘UNCERTAINTY’ ABOUT FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE Republicans have mostly backed Trump, insisting that the new presidential administration has a right to examine how taxpayer dollars are spent. “This is not unusual for an administration to pause funding and to take a hard look and scrub of how these programs are being spent and how they interact with a lot of the executive orders that the president signed,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters, though he expressed hope that the White House would “further clarify what exactly will be impacted by this.” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democratic appropriator, said Trump’s actions have endangered chances for a bipartisan spending agreement when the government funding deadline arrives in March. “It is extremely difficult to agree to a compromise on anything if the White House is going to assert that they control the funds, we don’t,” Murray said. “So this is really putting that in jeopardy.”
President Donald Trump to deport Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, defund CRT with new executive orders
President Donald Trump is expected to order a law enforcement crackdown on antisemitism on college campuses, including removing pro-Hamas activists with student visas from the country, Fox News has learned. Trump’s directive gives all federal agencies a 60-day window to identify civil and criminal authorities available to combat antisemitism and deport anti-Jewish activists who broke any laws. “Immediate action will be taken by the Department of Justice to protect law and order, quell pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation, and investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities,” a White House fact sheet obtained by Fox News states. Additionally, Trump is expected to sign two education-related executive orders: one that will strip federal funding from K-12 schools that teach Critical Race Theory or radical gender ideology and another that will support school choice. COACH SUSPENDED AFTER HANGING UP PALESTINIAN FLAG, REFUSING TO SHAKE HANDS WITH JEWISH COACHES House Republicans released report last month that urged the federal government to do more to combat antisemitism, including by conditioning federal aid to colleges to incentivize more strict policies against anti-Jewish bias, the New York Post reported. The report came after Columbia University and other major schools were host to anti-Israel encampments on campus, where numerous antisemitic incidents were reported in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks in southern Israel. Republicans accused Biden’s State Department and Department of Homeland Security of stonewalling requests for the number of visa holders among those anti-Israel agitators, the GOP report said, according to the Post. “Immediately after the jihadist terrorist attacks against the people of Israel on October 7, 2023, pro-Hamas aliens and left-wing radicals began a campaign of intimidation, vandalism, and violence on the campuses and streets of America,” the Trump White House fact sheet states. WASHINGTON POST CRITICIZES PRO-PALESTINIAN GROUP US GOVERNMENT DECLARED A ‘SHAM CHARITY’ FOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION The White House said the previous administration turned a “blind eye” to campus antisemitism and a “coordinated assault on public order” that Trump has promised to reverse. His selection of Israel ally Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has already signaled strong support for the Jewish state against Israel’s critics around the world. Since 2023, Stefanik has served as a conservative firebrand who has repeatedly grilled “morally bankrupt” college leaders over their handling of antisemitism on campus following the Hamas terror attacks on Israel. Most notably, Stefanik grilled Ivy League college administrators from Penn and Harvard, her alma mater, in December 2023 regarding whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” violates the respective school’s codes of conduct. The school leaders, however, waffled in their responses. ISRAELI COLUMBIA PROFESSOR WANTS TRUMP TO BLOCK CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS FROM RECEIVING FEDERAL FUNDING “It can be, depending on the context,” Harvard’s then-President Claudine Gay responded when asked if “calling for the genocide of Jews” violated school conduct rules. “Antisemitic speech when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation – that is actionable conduct, and we do take action,” Gay said when pressed to answer “yes” or “no” if calls for the genocide of Jews breaks school rules. Both Gay and Penn’s then-President Liz Magill resigned from their high-profile positions shortly after the hearing, while footage of the exchanges spread like wildfire on social media. Trump’s attempt to crack down on funding for schools that fail to fight antisemitism or promote Critical Race Theory comes amid intense controversy over an Office of Management and Budget memo announcing a temporary freeze to all federal aid and assistance programs – with potentially trillions of taxpayer dollars halted. A federal judge on Tuesday paused the freeze in response to a lawsuit brought by nearly two dozen Democratic attorneys general. In his first term, Trump threatened to strip federal funding from cities that failed to stop anti-police riots that followed the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, but he left office before he could make good on that threat, the Post reported.