Disputed DOD nominee is ‘best person’ to implement Trump and Hegseth agenda, key conservative group says
FIRST ON FOX: An influential conservative group is throwing its weight behind Elbridge Colby’s nomination to serve in a top position at the Defense Department. The Heritage Foundation said, in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital, that Colby is “without question the most influential defense policy thinker in over twenty years.” “For far too long, the United States has employed the Department of Defense – and the men and women of the U.S. military – to engage in activities that were not central to American interests,” the letter read. “From peacekeeping operations in far-flung theaters, to nation-building among cultures riddled with ethno-sectarian and religious strife, to democracy building in areas with no history of the rule of law, the Department of Defense has spent much of the post-Cold War era expending resources and American lives in conducting operations that are tangential to U.S. interests.” TOP GOP SEN. COTTON TO MEET WITH EMBATTLED TRUMP DEFENSE NOMINEE AS DOUBTS SWIRL MAGA loyalists have muscled Republicans who are hesitant of Colby’s nomination to serve as undersecretary of defense for policy, mostly over his realist worldview. Colby has suggested that the U.S. living with a nuclear Iran is more plausible than countering the country’s nuclear assets, a position that has reportedly prompted concern among Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a member of the Armed Services Committee, which will vote on Colby’s nomination first. Colby is “the single best person to implement President Trump’s and Secretary Hegseth’s policies within the Department of Defense and ensure that American lives and resources are used judiciously against prioritized threats,” according to Heritage. The current acting undersecretary of defense for policy, Alex Velez-Green, was plucked for the administration while working as a policy advisor for the Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense. MAGA LOYALISTS TAKE AIM AT GOP SENATOR AS KEY TRUMP DEFENSE POST SPARKS CONTROVERSY: ‘WHY THE OPPOSITION?’ Vice President JD Vance expressed support for the Trump nominee, writing that “Bridge has consistently been correct about the big foreign policy debates of the last 20 years.” “He was critical of the Iraq War, which made him unemployable in the 2000s era conservative movement. He built a relationship with [the Center for a New American Security] when it was one of the few institutions that would even hire a foreign policy realist,” Vance said. Colby, who worked at the Pentagon under Trump’s first term, has long asserted the U.S. should limit its resources in the Middle East and refocus on China as the bigger threat. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Ala., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told Roll Call Colby’s nomination posts “a concern to a number of senators.” Colby served in the first Trump administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development and was the primary author of the 2018 U.S. National Security Strategy. Donald Trump Jr. wrote of Colby in an op-ed for Human Events on Tuesday: “He starts off in exactly the right place – with the concrete interests of the American people, not abstractions like ‘the rules based international order’ or spreading democracy in the Middle East.” Meanwhile, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk accused Cotton over the weekend of “working behind the scenes” to kill Colby’s nomination. “Colby is one of the most important pieces to stop the Bush/Cheney cabal at DOD,” Kirk wrote in a post on X. “Why is Tom Cotton doing this?” Elon Musk echoed Kirk’s post: “Why the opposition to Bridge? What does he think Bridge will do?” Cotton will meet with Colby in the coming days before making up his mind on how to vote, sources told Fox News Digital. Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to confirming Kash Patel and the marathon Senate voting session to tee up Trump era
The Senate votes late Thursday morning to break a filibuster on the nomination of Kash Patel to run the FBI. Senators will vote to confirm him around 1:45 p.m. ET, with the final result due after 2 p.m ET. He will be confirmed along party lines. Then the Senate returns to the budget framework to advance parts of President Donald Trump’s policy agenda. TRUMP APPROVAL RATING HITS 47%, AS AMERICANS NAME HIS MOST SIGNIFICANT MOVE SO FAR: POLL The Senate began its 50-hour debate on the the budget Tuesday night. The budget process is lengthy and arduous. It culminates in a marathon vote series – known as a vote-a-rama Thursday night through Friday – if not the wee hours of Saturday morning. The last such vote-a-rama consumed 41 consecutive votes and took more than a day in real time to complete. This onerous exercise is all to get to that final product that enables Republicans to bypass the Senate filibuster later. However, the proposal must be fiscal in nature and not add to the deficit over a 10-year period. LAWMAKER WHO LOST SON TO SUICIDE WARNS SENATE THAT ‘BIG TECH IS THE BIG TOBACCO OF THIS GENERATION’ Here’s something important to know: The mechanics just spelled out create nothing more than a shell. This is a legislative “chassis.” BOTH the House and Senate must have this in place to eventually debate substantive and “binding” provisions of legislation down the road – be it border security or massive tax cuts. No “chassis,” then no final bill. So this is an important phase in moving the president’s agenda, but not the end result. House Republicans will try to advance their own plan next week. It focuses more on tax cuts and has the blessing of the president. But the House and Senate must still get on the same page. And so far, they are working at cross purposes.
Dept of Ed spending soared 749% despite downsizing, new DOGE-inspired initiative reveals
FIRST ON FOX: A new initiative is tracking government agency spending in comparison to growth, and a conservative fiscal watchdog group has discovered what it deems to be an alarming trend. According to OpenTheBooks, staff levels at the Department of Education have decreased since 2000, but the agency’s spending grew by 749%. OpenTheBooks says the calculation is “even more galling” after recent statistics from the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that student achievement has still not recovered since it saw big drops during the COVID-19 pandemic. OpenTheBooks’ data on the Department of Education is part of a wider initiative being unveiled by the group on Thursday to chart agency outlays versus agency spending in an effort to provide the public with “a clearer picture of the government as it stands.” As OpenTheBooks tracked agency spending versus size, it found that federal agency spending has far outpaced the rate at which these agencies have grown over time. In a report announcing the new initiative, the fiscal watchdog group cited complaints about purported cost-saving efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its leader, tech billionaire Elon Musk, questioning the need for spending cuts in the face of a federal workforce that has largely remained static in terms of size. In some cases, such as with the Department of Education, the group found as much as a sevenfold increase in spending while staff headcounts remained relatively static or even went down. At the National Institutes of Health, for example, staff levels appreciated by 21.5%, but spending grew 301%. TRUMP ISSUES WARNING ABOUT WASTEFUL SPENDING, ORDERS ‘RADICAL TRANSPARENCY’ AMID DOGE PROBES, REVELATIONS Savannah Newhouse, a Department of Education spokesperson, slammed past administrations for “frivolously spending taxpayer dollars on priorities that do nothing to help our students learn.” Newhouse cited programs such as “DEI training in teacher prep programs and ‘Equity Assistance Centers,’” at the department, adding that the agency’s lack of focus on student outcomes was evidenced by recent data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. “Under President Trump, the department is aggressively auditing our spending to ensure maximum impact for students and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” she said. In addition to tracking outlays versus agency growth, OpenTheBooks also found that at least 75 federal agencies listed in the Federal Register are effectively “defunct or obsolete,” as they have become subsumed by other entities, renamed or in some cases no longer even exist. The group noted that records of these “defunct” agencies are frequently out of date, making it hard for the public to ascertain a complete picture of the federal government. “In many federal agencies, spending has outpaced not just inflation but also growing headcounts – often many times over. This begs an important question: Where is the money going?” OpenTheBooks CEO John Hart said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Taxpayers deserve to see the growth in spending in each agency so they can decide how many we need … If the excessive waste and fraud we’ve uncovered over the years — and DOGE is highlighting — is any guide, taxpayers may be better served by far fewer than 441 agencies, including the ones that are defunct.” ‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS So far, OpenTheBooks has charted 50 federal agencies as far back as the data goes, and the group has created an accessible database that gives the public “a clearer picture of the government as it stands.” As the group charts more agencies, it will periodically release their findings. Other notable examples the fiscal watchdog group highlighted include the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Agency for International Development (USAID). At FEMA, staffing levels grew roughly 290% over the last quarter-century, but spending ballooned more than seven times faster at a rate of 2,096%. At USAID, staffing levels grew roughly 218% while spending grew about 468%.
Group of DEI workers sue to stop Trump executive orders
A group of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) workers and civil rights organizations are suing to stop a series of President Donald Trump’s executive orders intended to restore merit back to American institutions. Earlier this month, a coalition of higher education officials, restaurant workers, and the City of Baltimore filed a federal lawsuit challenging what Democracy Forward lawyers described as Trump’s “crusade to erase” DEI and accessibility from the U.S. Plaintiff and Justice Department attorneys were in Maryland federal court regarding the complaint on Wednesday, the same day a second federal lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia targeting Trump’s DEI executive orders. The new complaint was filed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Lambda Legal on behalf of non-profit advocacy organizations. In what has become a familiar refrain over the past three weeks, the plaintiffs in the Maryland case, represented by Democracy Forward are seeking injunctive relief. Specifically, they want U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson to issue a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction, pausing any action connected to Trump’s Executive Order, “Ending Radical Government DEI Programs.” FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY STOPS TRUMP ADMIN FROM FIRING 11 INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO DEI PROGRAMS The plaintiffs claim they are not challenging the president’s ability to set policy priorities, rather the constitutional limits on the president’s power. Tey further claim the executive order violates the Constitution and that terminating programs which are statutorily mandated is unlawful. After Wednesday’s hearing, Abelson took no action to pause the Trump DEI executive orders, at least for now. Abelson questioned Justice Department lawyer Pardis Gheibi, who maintained it would be a “remarkable proposition” that the judicial branch would stop the president from asking the U.S. Attorney General to come up with a strategy regarding DEI programs, contracts, and grants over the next three months. The judge asked Gheibi why he shouldn’t pause the termination of DEI contracts and grants until the government’s policy is made clear. Earlier in the hearing, Aleshadye Getachew, arguing for the plaintiffs, told Abelson the Trump administration’s executive orders on DEI are having a “chilling” effect on the First Amendment rights of her clients. “Speech was chilled almost immediately after these orders were issued,” Getachew said. Abelson seemed to agree with the plaintiffs at least on that point, stating: “What they’re saying is, we are being precluded from engaging in all kinds of speech … inclusivity, or the history of our country … being chilled from engaging in speech that we would otherwise be engaged in.” Ultimately, Abelson said he would take the motion under advisement and that he is “not in a position to rule at this time.” The judge added that he will endeavor to move as quickly as he can to address all the arguments that everyone has raised. TRUMP SCORES BIG LEGAL WIN AGAINST PULITZER PRIZE BOARD MEMBERS AS LAWSUIT MOVES TO DISCOVERY Meanwhile, the new 101-page lawsuit filed in D.C. federal court on Wednesday alleges the executive orders violate the First and Fifth Amendments, as well as constitute discrimination against Black and transgender people. Specifically, plaintiffs cite executive orders, “Ending Radical and Wasteful DEI Programs and Preferencing,” “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” “Without evidence or support, the Trump Administration is using the power and resources of the federal government to launch a fullscale assault on DEIA – not only within federal agencies, but throughout the private sector in contravention of the Constitution and other federal laws,” the complaint says. “People of color, women, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities served by Plaintiffs’ equity programs will be directly harmed by the Trump Administration’s discriminatory actions, as Plaintiffs face censorship of speech and termination of funding and activities that support and benefit vulnerable communities.” The plaintiffs reference the May 2020 in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis that prompted mass demonstrations and riots across the country. “As evidenced during his first term in office by his response to the mass demonstrations against systemic anti-Black racism after the police killing of George Floyd, President Trump has sought to quell any ensuing efforts to advance racial justice, including through DEIA initiatives,” the lawsuit says. “That singular focus has continued to his current Administration: the recent Executive Orders also suggest that DEIA programs are inconsistent with merit, and do so through their text, the aggressive messaging around them, and the way the Administration has implemented them.” The plaintiffs argue that Trump’s emphasis on merit “relies on longstanding stereotypes that Black people and other underrepresented groups are inherently unqualified and lack merit despite their accomplishments.” “Rather than acknowledging the need for DEIA programs to remove unfair barriers to opportunity for Black people and other excluded groups, the Executive Orders rely on these false stereotypes to support the baseless assertion that those programs provide racial preferences to unqualified Black people and other people of color. The Executive Orders simultaneously codify preferences for white people by suggesting that efforts to address racial inequity – for example, by ‘promoting diversity’ – are, by definition, reverse discrimination.” White House spokesman Harrison Fields said both lawsuits represented “nothing more than an extension of the left’s resistance,” adding in a statement to the New York Times that the administration was “ready to face them in court.” “Radical leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda,” Fields said.
Trump approval rating hits 47%, as American name his most significant move so far: poll
President Donald Trump’s approval rating remains higher than at any point during his first term in office, according to a new poll from CNN. The Thursday poll shows Trump at 47% approval rating with 52% disapproval. The poll found that a plurality of Americans, 28%, say Trump’s “single most significant” action has been securing the border, followed by his slashing of government with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency at 12%. Meanwhile, many Americans say they want Trump to do more to address everyday prices. According to the poll, 62% of Americans say he hasn’t gone far enough on the issue, including 47% of Republicans, 65% of independents and 73% of Democrats. CNN conducted its poll from Feb. 13-17, surveying 1,206 U.S. adults in both English and Spanish. The poll advertises a margin of error of 3.1%. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING CNN’s poll comes on the heels of three other polls that were released Wednesday. Forty-five percent of voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey said they approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, with 49% disapproving. That’s down from a 46%-43% approval/disapproval in a Quinnipiac poll conducted in late January, during the president’s first week back in office following his inauguration. CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS COVERAGE OF TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS Another national poll from Gallup indicated the president at 45% approval and 51% disapproval, down from 47%-48% approval/disapproval late last month. And according to a Reuters/Ipsos national survey also released on Wednesday, the president stood at 44% approval and 51% disapproval. Trump registered at 45%-46% approval/disapproval in the previous poll by Reuters/Ipsos, which was conducted late last month during the first week of the president’s second administration. The latest Quinnipiac poll was conducted Feb. 13-17, with Gallup in the field Feb. 3-16, and Reuters/Ipsos conducting their survey Feb. 13-18. New surveys this week from other polling organizations indicate Trump’s approval ratings remain above water. Trump has kept up a frenetic pace during his opening weeks back in the White House, with an avalanche of executive orders and actions. His moves not only fulfilled some of his major campaign trail promises, but also allowed the returning president to flex his executive muscles, quickly put his stamp on the federal government, make major cuts to the federal workforce, and also settle some longstanding grievances. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Trump floating returning 20% of DOGE savings to American people
President Donald Trump floated the idea of delivering 20% of savings from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) directly to the American people on Wednesday. Trump said 20% of the savings could be delivered to U.S. citizens in personal checks to taxpaying households, while another 20% would be used to pay down the national debt. “There’s even under consideration a new concept where we give 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens, and 20% goes to paying down debt, because the numbers are incredible,” Trump told reporters during an event at Miami Beach, Florida. Users on X, formerly Twitter, first pitched the idea of a “DOGE dividend” to Elon Musk earlier this week, suggesting payouts of $5,000. The billionaire Tesla owner said he would “check with the president” about the plan. DC FEDERAL WORKERS IN A ‘PANIC’ OVER NOVEL EXPERIENCE OF JOB INSECURITY WITH JOB CUTS A reporter asked Trump about the proposal directly during Wednesday night’s event in Florida. “I love it,” Trump said. “A 20% dividend, so to speak, for the money that we’re saving by going after the waste, fraud and abuse and all of the other things that are happening. I think it’s a great idea.” TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE Trump went on to suggest that the dividend could serve as an incentive for Americans to report government waste on their own, according to NBC News. DOGE so far claims to have saved some $55 billion via cuts to USAID, the Department of Education, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Some of DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts are under legal challenge, however. DOGE is currently planned to exist only through July 4, 2026, after which the organization will be dissolved. Trump has not clarified what his administration would do with the remaining 60% of DOGE savings if he moves forward with the plan.
Liz Cheney lambastes Trump over Russia/Ukraine, branding him ‘the antithesis’ of all ‘Reagan stood for’
Former Rep. Liz Cheney lambasted President Donald Trump in a tweet on Wednesday, asserting that he is the “antithesis” of all that Ronald Reagan, America’s 40th president, “stood for.” She claimed that Trump “is aligning” the U.S. with the opponents of liberty. “Trump – with his devotion to Putin, abandonment of Ukraine, and lies about history- is the antithesis of everything Ronald Reagan stood for. He is aligning America with the enemies of the very freedom that generations have fought and died to defend,” Cheney declared in the post on X. TRUMP CALLS UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY A ‘DICTATOR WITHOUT ELECTIONS’ AS RIFT WIDENS “History will not be kind to those who are helping him, especially those who call themselves Reagan Republicans while they pretend not to see what’s happening,” she added. The former congresswoman, who was one of the House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, has been a vociferous Trump critic over the years. Her post on Wednesday came after Trump excoriated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a Truth Social post, referring to the foreign figure as “A Dictator without Elections,” who “has done a terrible job.” TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY WAR OF WORDS HEATS UP EVEN AS US LOOKS TO WIND DOWN WAR IN UKRAINE The U.S. has doled out billions worth of aid to assist Ukraine as the Eastern European nation has warred against Russia in response to a 2022 Russian invasion. “You shoulda never started it. You could’ve made a deal,” Trump said on Tuesday. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who served alongside Trump during the president’s first term in office, pushed back in a post on Wednesday. GOP SENATORS BACK TRUMP’S DEMAND FOR UKRAINE ELECTIONS, BUT WON’T CALL ZELENSKYY ‘DICTATOR’ “Mr. President, Ukraine did not ‘start’ this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The Road to Peace must be built on the Truth,” Pence tweeted.
Lawmaker who lost son to suicide warns Senate that ‘big tech is the big tobacco of this generation’
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). South Carolina House Rep. Brandon Guffey gave powerful testimony in Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Children’s Safety in the Digital Era. Guffey knows the dangers facing children online all too well. Nearly three years ago, Guffey lost his teenage son, Gavin, to suicide in an apparent sextortion scheme. “Protecting youth from online dangers and holding big tech companies responsible is now my life’s mission,” Guffey told the committee. He also issued a stark warning, saying “big tech is the big tobacco of this generation.” SOUTH CAROLINA LAWMAKER EXPOSES DANGERS OF ‘SEXTORTION’ AFTER TEENAGE SON’S SUICIDE In his testimony, a visibly emotional Guffey recounted the night his son took his own life and the fallout. A scammer posing as a girl convinced Gavin to turn on “vanish mode” and send explicit photos in an Instagram chat. “Vanish mode” allows messages to disappear once they are received. The scammer then threatened to release the photos unless he received money from Gavin, who sent the online predator $25, saying it was all he had in his account. This wasn’t enough for the scammer, who continued to demand more money. Tragically, Gavin took his own life as a result. The predator, however, was not done with the Guffey family. The state lawmaker told the committee that the scammer proceeded to harass himself, his son and his teen cousin. Guffey says this is because Meta took down the account that tormented his son Gavin and left the rest of the scammer’s accounts up. AFTER MICHIGAN TEEN’S SUICIDE, NIGERIAN BROTHERS PLEAD GUILTY TO PLANNING DEADLY SEXTORTION SCHEME Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, who was indicted by a Grand Jury in October 2023, was extradited to the United States from Lagos, Nigeria. He faces the possibility of life in prison. Within a few months of taking office, Guffey was able to pass a law bearing his son’s name. Gavin’s Law makes sextortion, the act of blackmailing someone using explicit images or videos, a felony in South Carolina. The offense can be upgraded to an aggravated felony if the victim is a minor or if there are other mitigating circumstances, which are outlined in the law. Additionally, Gavin’s Law requires South Carolina schools to teach students about the dangers of sextortion. “Sextortion is now taught throughout the State and every kid at least has some awareness so they don’t feel alone like my son did that night,” Guffey told the Senate committee on Wednesday. Guffey does not have faith in Big Tech’s ability to reform itself. He recalled attending a January 2024 hearing in which Mark Zuckerberg offered what he called “a forced, pathetic apology.” PENNSYLVANIA FATHER HELPS FBI TRACK DOWN SCAMMING SUSPECTS WHO LED HIS SON TO SUICIDE Guffey is demanding lawmakers take action on Section 230, which he believes will “go down as one of the greatest disasters.” Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act distinguishes Big Tech platforms from those that would be treated as a “publisher.” This absolves online platforms of legal liability for what users post. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle discussed the need for legislation to create new industry standards for Big Tech aimed at protecting America’s children. While Guffey is advocating for federal legislation, he is also calling for a cultural shift. “I believe that in this country we’ve lost grace, and we have too often kicked people for the mistakes that they make, and we tell our kids that ‘everything you do online will stay with you forever.’ Well, imagine if you just took your darkest moment and posted it online,” Guffey said to the committee. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) says it received more than 26,710 reports of financial sextortion in 2023. NCMEC says it has seen “an overwhelming increase in reports of sextortion from children and teens.” The center advises parents to talk to their kids about the dangers of sextortion, but also to let them know that they need to get help and not immediately pay or comply with the blackmailer.
Shelters, Jesus, and Miss Pac-Man: US judge grills DOJ over trans policy in dizzying line of questioning
A federal judge in D.C. peppered Justice Department lawyers with hypothetical questions and video game references as she presided over the second day of oral arguments about the Trump administration’s attempt to restrict or ban transgender U.S. service members in the military. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes searched in vain for answers to key questions about the nature of a Jan. 27 executive order signed by President Donald Trump that requires the Defense Department to update its guidance regarding “trans-identifying medical standards for military service” and to “rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness.” Though Trump has instructed that “radical gender ideology” be banned from all military branches, the executive order did not explain how the Pentagon should do this – a lack of clarity that Judge Reyes, a Biden appointee, zeroed in on Wednesday. For a second day, Judge Reyes led the court through a dizzying-fast line of questions that whipsawed between real and hypothetical, fact and fiction, and was flecked with her own sarcastic quips and observations. FIRST OPENLY GAY DC FEDERAL JUDGE RAKES TRUMP ADMIN OVER MILITARY TRANS BAN At one point, Judge Reyes ticked through a list of actions the Trump administration has taken in the past three weeks against transgender persons, including moving to revoke a regulation that ensured trans-identifying individuals have equal access to homeless shelters. Judge Reyes then asked the Justice Department lawyers to tell her whether, in their view, such actions are discriminatory. “What do you think Jesus would say,” Reyes proceeded to ask, about an action that revokes a transgender person’s access to homeless shelters? “Do you think he’d say ‘sounds right to me’ or ‘WTF, let them in?’” LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS Jason Lynch, the Justice Department lawyer, told the court that the government did not have an answer as to what Jesus would think. The pace of the back-and-forth kept both plaintiffs for the transgender service members and the Trump administration’s lawyers on their toes, even if it did little, in the near-term, to effectuate an actual court ruling or answer any outstanding questions about the executive order, which is extremely scant on details. The Trump administration and DOJ lawyers have declined to answer Reyes’s questions over whether they can ensure plaintiffs in the case will not be removed from their roles in the military or face discrimination as a direct result of the executive order. The Justice Department, for its part, has described the order as not a ban but a pause, which Lynch said will allow the Defense Department time to align its policy with Trump’s order. During the second day of oral arguments, Reyes appeared exasperated and did little to disguise her displeasure with the order itself, which she described as expressing “unadulterated animus” towards transgender service members. Reyes did concede that there is an obvious national interest in ensuring the U.S. military is prepared. “It is the greatest fighting force this world has ever seen, and we want to keep it that way – I’ve got that part,” the judge said. “So how does this executive order effectuate that policy?” “By telling the Department of Defense to issue a policy within 30 days,” Lynch responded. “Oh, okay, any policy?” Judge Reyes quipped. She then outlined a hypothetical situation in which she, as head of the Pentagon, issued a policy that all DOD units be equipped with Miss Pac-Man machines – a game she noted she has in her own chambers, and plays from time to time to let off steam. DOGE SCORES BIG COURT WIN, ALLOWED ACCESS DATA ON 3 FEDERAL AGENCIES “So I’m now Secretary of Defense, I’m thinking about how to make my military best prepared,” Reyes said. “And I think people need to let off steam every once in a while. So I’m going to issue a policy that Miss Pac-Man machines should be in every unit.” “Would that be consistent,” she challenged Lynch, with the 30-day policy? Lynch said that would be for the president to decide. Putting aside whether the order discriminates on the basis of sex, Reyes asked the DOJ attorneys, “you agree the order penalizes on basis of sex, right? How is that not a sex-based classification?” The judge has made clear she will not rule on the executive action until the Trump administration outlines its policy – including how, or to what extent, transgender service members might be impacted. But she continued to probe Lynch, whom she reminded Tuesday is technically acting as the legal representative for the Trump administration. “I mean, I have no one else to ask, right?” Judge Reyes asked Lynch, before amending the question mark in her voice. “You are the person I have to ask,” she told him. The transgender military policy is slated to take effect Feb. 28, and the court has set a March 3 hearing date to consider the executive order. Fox News’s Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
First on Fox: VP Vance to tout Trump’s historic first month in speech to MAGA faithful
EXCLUSIVE – Vice President JD Vance is expected to spotlight President Donald Trump’s avalanche of activity since returning to the White House a month ago, as he kicks off the Conservative Political Action Conference, better known by its acronym CPAC. Vance is no stranger to CPAC, but on Thursday morning at the opening session at National Harbor, Maryland, just outside the nation’s capital, he’ll address the confab for the first time since his inauguration last month as Vice President of the United States. “The Vice President is expected to emphasize the historic rate of achievement during President Trump’s first month in office,” a source familiar shared first with Fox News ahead of Vance’s CPAC appearance. According to the source, the vice president is expected to focus on the Trump/Vance administration’s efforts towards “securing the homeland and deporting violent illegal immigrants, unleashing American energy & fueling our economy, protecting American workers & promoting domestic manufacturing,” and “re-establishing American strength at home & abroad.” The vice president will make his points as he takes part in a fireside chat with Mercedes Schlapp, the veteran Republican political and communications strategist who is a senior fellow at the American Conservative Union, the group that hosts CPAC. Vance has been a regular at the conference in recent years, dating back to his successful 2022 campaign for the Senate in Ohio. And last October, as he crisscrossed the national campaign trail as Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate, Vance also spoke at a CPAC-hosted townhall in battleground Arizona. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS’ REPORTING, ANALYSIS, OPINION ON VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE CPAC, which dates back to 1974, is the nation’s oldest and largest annual gathering of conservative leaders and activists. In the years since Trump first won the White House in 2016, it has been dominated by legions of MAGA loyalists and America First disciples who hold immense sway over the GOP. Vance, who served two years in the Senate before being elected vice president, has been considered a key player in helping the GOP-controlled chamber confirm Trump’s Cabinet nominees at a brisk pace. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON CPAC And Vance made major headlines earlier this month at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, when he used his first major speech as vice president to deliver a blistering address directed at Europe’s political class. Trump’s naming last summer of Vance – a former venture capitalist and the author of the bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” before running for elective office – as his running was seen as a sign that the now 40-year-old politician was the heir apparent to Trump and his movement. Trump praised Vance in a recent interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on “Special Report” for “doing a fantastic job,” WATCH: TRUMP SITS DOWN WITH FOX NEWS’ BRET BAIER ON “SPECIAL REPORT” But asked by Baier if he viewed Vance as his successor and the Republican nominee in 2028, the term-limited Trump said, “No, but he’s very capable.” “It’s too early. We’re just starting,” Trump added. Questions about 2028 may be hanging over Vance at CPAC, which has long held a closely watched GOP presidential nomination straw poll. Vance, in an interview earlier this month with FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures,” was asked about the next White House race. “We’ll see what happens come 2028, but the way I think about this is the best thing for my future is actually the best thing for the American people, which is that we do a really good job over the next three and a half years,” the vice president said. Vance noted that “we’ll cross that political bridge when we come to it. I’m not thinking about running for president. I’m thinking about doing a good job for the American people and I think the best way to do that is to make sure that President Trump is a success.” CPAC announced on Wednesday night what was widely expected, that Trump will close out the conference with a Saturday address, where he’ll likely take a victory lap for his convincing 2024 presidential election victory, which cemented his massive grip over the Republican Party. The president, long a major draw at CPAC, returns in triumph thanks to his recapturing of the White House, along with the GOP’s flipping the Senate majority from blue to red, and the party’s successful defense of their fragile control of the House. Trump has been a regular at CPAC since 2011, since the then business mogul and reality TV star gave his first speech at the confab, in what would be an appetizer for his first White House campaign four years later. Trump used his 2011 speech to tease a potential 2012 presidential run that never materialized, telling the crowd that if he did run, “our country will be great again.” “CPAC is where he developed his antennae. He appeared for several years while he was the host of ‘The Apprentice,’” former longtime CPAC communications director Ian Walters noted. “He learned how to arouse the crowd, how to toss red meat.” And Trump, at an extreme political low point after leaving the White House in January 2021 following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters aiming to upend congressional certification of former President Biden’s 2020 election victory, gave his first post-presidency speech at CPAC. Walters told Fox News that the address, where Trump teased a 2024 White House run, “provided him a reliable and predictable opportunity with an audience largely of his supporters.”