Vance compares Harvard to North Korea as he takes aim at school’s ‘ideological diversity’
Vice President JD Vance accused Harvard University of having a lack of “ideological diversity,” comparing the academic institution to North Korea amid the Trump administration’s continuing battle against the school. Vance said Tuesday that he estimated, without evidence, that “probably” 95% of Harvard’s faculty voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, and said that universities have become these “almost quasi-theocratic, or quasi-totalitarian societies.” “Right. Very brilliant. Kamala Harris, of course,” Vance said at the American Compass anniversary gala in Washington. “But if you ask yourself a foreign election, a foreign country’s election, you say 80% of the people voted for one candidate, you would say, ‘Oh, that’s kind of weird, right? That’s like, not a super healthy democracy.’ If you said, ‘Oh, 95% of people voted for one party’s candidate,’ you would say, ‘That’s North Korea, right… That is impossible in a true place of free exchange for that to happen.’” Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. TRUMP ADMIN ASKING FEDERAL AGENCIES TO CANCEL REMAINING HARVARD CONTRACTS The Trump administration has been at odds with Harvard as it’s pushed for the academic institution to install changes to its governance and admissions process in response to incidents of bias on campus targeting Jewish students since October 2023. But Harvard University President Alan M. Garber said in April that the Trump administration included additional requests for reform that go beyond addressing antisemitism on campus, and the institution would not comply because the demands were unconstitutional. WHITE HOUSE SLAMS IVY LEAGUE INSTITUTIONS FOR ‘EGREGIOUS ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR’ AMID TRUMP FEUD WITH HARVARD Specifically, Garber said the new requests “direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard,” including auditing viewpoints of students, faculty and staff members on campus, and eliminating all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, offices and initiatives at Harvard. “It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner,” Garber wrote in an April letter. “We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement.” Since then, the Trump administration has warned it will pull all federal funding from the school, amounting to a total of $100 million in contracts. That’s on top of the $3.2 billion in grants and contracts the administration has previously frozen. TRUMP ADMIN SLASHES OVER $2.2B IN FUNDING TO HARVARD AFTER SCHOOL DEFIES DEMANDS
US judge dismisses DNC election commission lawsuit, in a victory for Trump
A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) claiming President Donald Trump’s executive orders had threatened the independence of the Federal Election Committee (FEC), a significant – albeit rare – court victory for the president. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, said the DNC failed to demonstrate “concrete and imminent injury” – or the burden needed to justify their request for a preliminary injunction. He said that the concerns raised by the party about the FEC’s independence as a result of Trump’s executive order were far too speculative to satisfy the court’s higher bar for emergency relief. At issue in the case was the executive order Trump signed on Feb. 18, titled, “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies.” JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA Democrats filed the lawsuit just 10 days after the order was signed, arguing that the order threatened to encroach on the independence of the FEC and risked subjecting it to the whims of the executive branch. The lawsuit focused largely on the claim that the FEC is an independent regulatory agency and argued that the credibility of the entire regulatory enterprise would be “fatally undermined if the party controlling the White House can unilaterally structure campaign rules and adjudicate disputes to disadvantage its electoral competitors.” WHO IS JUDGE AMIR ALI? THE BIDEN-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S USAID BATTLE Notably, Ali said Tuesday that he had not found any evidence to date that the White House or the Trump administration had taken steps to change or undermine how the FEC interprets federal election law, or target its independent role. The “possibility that the president and attorney general would take the extraordinary step of issuing a directive to the FEC or its Commissioners purporting to bind their interpretation of FECA is not sufficiently concrete and imminent to create Article III injury,” Ali said Tuesday. Should that change, however, Ali said the DNC was welcome to submit an amended filing to the court to reconsider the case. “This Court’s doors are open to the parties if changed circumstances show concrete action or impact on the FEC’s or its Commissioners’ independence,” Ali said.
Trump tax leaker takes 5th in House inquiry into Biden DOJ plea deal
FIRST ON FOX: A man serving in prison for leaking President Donald Trump’s and thousands of others’ confidential tax records recently asserted his Fifth Amendment right to the House Judiciary Committee and declined to testify before the panel, Fox News Digital has learned. A public defender wrote to the Republican-led committee on behalf of Charles Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor serving out a five-year sentence in Illinois, that because Littlejohn was appealing his sentence, he did not have to testify before Congress. “The testimony that you seek from Mr. Littlejohn directly implicates his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination,” the public defender wrote on Saturday. “Mr. Littlejohn validly exercises that Constitutional right in declining to testify.” EX-IRS CONTRACTOR WHO LEAKED TRUMP’S TAX RETURNS SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON The Republican-led House committee is investigating a plea deal Littlejohn reached with the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2023. Littlejohn admitted to prosecutors as part of the plea bargain that he carried out an elaborate scheme to access and disclose Trump’s tax information and the tax returns of thousands of the wealthiest U.S. citizens to the New York Times and ProPublica. Among those targeted were Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett. In return, Littlejohn was charged with and pleaded guilty to a single count of unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and received the maximum 60-month sentence for the charge. At the time, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, questioned the wisdom of DOJ’s decision to charge Littlejohn with one charge when thousands had been affected by his actions, saying she was “perplexed” and “troubled” by the plea deal. “The fact that he is facing one felony count, I have no words for,” Reyes said during his sentencing hearing. IRS LEAKER SOUGHT CONSULTANT ROLE WITH EXPRESS PURPOSE OF LEAKING TRUMP’S TAX RETURNS, DOJ SAYS Many Republicans also piled onto the Biden DOJ for the perceived leniency of the plea agreement. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said during the sentencing hearing it “makes no sense” and “should be called the plea deal of the century.” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) criticized prosecutors for failing “to deter future IRS employees from leaking sensitive taxpayer information.” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) wrote a letter Tuesday to the Trump administration’s DOJ, obtained by Fox News Digital, requesting all communications and other records surrounding Littlejohn’s prosecution and accusing the prior administration’s DOJ of failing to provide “any substantive” information. Jordan said he learned from the IRS that Littlejohn’s breach was far more expansive than what had been established in court. “After President Trump took office, the IRS disclosed to the Committee that over 405,000 taxpayers were victims of Mr. Littlejohn’s leaks and that ‘89 [percent] of the taxpayers [we]re business entities,’” Jordan wrote. “While it is now clear that Mr. Littlejohn’s conduct violated the privacy of hundreds of thousands of American taxpayers, it remains unclear why the Biden-Harris Justice Department chose to allow him to plead guilty to only a single felony count.” A DOJ spokesman declined to comment on Jordan’s request.
Trump DOJ takes ‘unprecedented’ step admonishing foreign judge in free speech case centered on Rumble
The Department of Justice (DOJ) sent an unprecedented letter to a Brazilian Supreme Court justice in May, admonishing the judge for ordering American-based video platform Rumble to restrict the free speech of a user on U.S. soil, describing the orders as international overreach that lack enforceability. Rumble, a popular U.S.-based video-sharing platform that bucks censorship efforts frequently found on other video and social media platforms, is at the center of an international battle to protect free speech that has been ongoing for months. Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of Rumble in the South American country back in February over claims the U.S. company did not comply with court orders, including removing the accounts of a Brazilian man living in the U.S. and seeking political asylum. “If you look at what’s happening around the world, it’s clear we’re living through a perilous moment for anyone who believes in freedom of expression — a fundamental human right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and recognized globally, even by the United Nations,” Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski exclusively told Fox News Digital Tuesday following the DOJ’s May letter. RUMBLE, TRUMP MEDIA DECLARE ‘COMPLETE VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH’ IN WIN AGAINST BRAZILIAN JUDGE “The fact that Rumble has become a central player in this global fight for free speech is a powerful validation of our mission. We’re proud to stand at the front lines of this effort and grateful that President Trump and his administration have made this battle a foreign policy priority.” Moraes is now in the U.S. government’s crosshairs after the DOJ sent a letter to him in May outlining his reported international overreach into U.S. law affecting the First Amendment, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealing in a congressional hearing that the Brazilian judge could face U.S. sanctions. Moraes had ordered Rumble to remove a user from its platform as he stands accused of spreading false information online and is considered a fugitive in Brazil. Rumble refused and was threatened with financial penalties for the lack of cooperation. TRUMP-BACKED MEDIA COMPANY SUES BRAZILIAN SUPREME COURT JUSTICE, CLAIMS HE’S ILLEGALLY CENSORING FREE SPEECH The DOJ letter, dated May 7 and made public Thursday, argued that Moraes’ orders are not enforceable in the U.S. “These purported directives to Rumble are made under threat of monetary and other penalties,” the letter, signed by DOJ official Ada E. Bosque, reads. “We take no position on the enforceability of the various orders and other judicial documents directing Rumble to act within the territory of Brazil, which is a matter of Brazilian law. However, to the extent that these documents direct Rumble to undertake specific actions in the United States, we respectfully advise that such directives are not enforceable judicial orders in the United States.” The DOJ did not have additional comment to provide when approached about the letter Tuesday. Pavlovski described to Fox Digital that the letter is “unprecedented” and draws a clear line to foreign nations that they cannot attempt to thwart U.S. laws and the First Amendment. “The letter from the U.S. Department of Justice to a foreign judge over censorship orders is unprecedented,” Pavlovski said. “It draws a bright red line: foreign officials cannot issue censorship orders that violate the First Amendment or bypass U.S. law. That kind of extraterritorial overreach is incompatible with American sovereignty. And that’s good news, not just for Americans, but for free societies everywhere.” RUMBLE REVEALS CENSORSHIP DEMANDS FROM SURPRISING LIST OF COUNTRIES AS CEO TO TESTIFY ON FREE SPEECH THREATS The letter continued that there are established channels for international legal proceedings, which the DOJ said the judge bypassed, and directed the Brazilian judge to various proper procedures he could take regarding the court orders. Rumble facing restrictions in foreign nations is hardly new, with the platform currently disabled in China, Russia and France, as well as Brazil. It has also previously received censorship demands in nations such as the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, but has maintained its free speech objective. The DOJ’s letter comes as Rubio revealed in a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing in May that the State Department is considering sanctions against Moraes under the Magnitsky Act. The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act authorizes the U.S. government to sanction individuals overseas if determined responsible for human rights abuses or corruption. “We’ve seen pervasive censorship, political persecution targeting the entire opposition, including journalists and ordinary citizens,” Republican Florida Rep. Cory Mills asked Rubio at the hearing in May. “What they’re now doing is imminent, politically motivated imprisonment of former President Bolsonaro. This crackdown has extended beyond Brazil’s borders, impacting individuals on U.S. soil., the 2023 Financial Times article actually talked about this. What do you intend to do? And would you be looking at Supreme Court justice sanctioning of Alexandre de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act?” BRAZILIAN EX-PRESIDENT BOLSONARO ORDERED TO STAND TRIAL OVER ALLEGED COUP PLAN Rubio responded, “That’s under review right now, and it’s a great, great possibility that will happen.” Days later, Rubio posted to X that the State Department will roll out visa restrictions on foreigners found “complicit” in censoring Americans. “For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights,” Rubio wrote on X. “Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life — a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority.” “Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of Americans should not enjoy the privilege of traveling to our country,” Rubio added, not naming specific individuals responsible for such actions. “Whether in Latin America, Europe, or elsewhere, the days of passive treatment for those who work to undermine the rights of Americans are over.” Moraes is also overseeing the upcoming trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of allegedly attempting
Hawley clashes with UPenn law professor over judicial injunctions
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., clashed Tuesday with a University of Pennsylvania law professor over the number of nationwide judicial injunctions imposed by district judges against President Donald Trump’s executive actions on matters including deportations, tariffs, and cuts to federal funding and the federal workforce. During the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing titled “The Supposedly ‘Least Dangerous Branch’: District Judges v. Trump,” Hawley displayed a bar chart to argue that nationwide injunctions against the executive branch, which had not been used until the 1960s, surged when Trump came into office for his first term and then dramatically dropped again during former President Joe Biden’s time at the White House. “Now, you don’t think this is a little bit anomalous?” Hawley asked University of Pennsylvania law professor Kate Shaw. TRUMP CRITICIZES RAND PARL OVER TAX BILL OPPOSTION: ‘VOTES NO ON EVERYTHING’ Shaw, a Supreme Court contributor for ABC News who previously worked for former President Barack Obama’s White House Counsel’s Office, responded, “A very plausible explanation, senator, you have to consider is that [Trump] is engaged in much more lawless activity than other presidents. Right?” “This was never used before the 1960s,” Hawley said. “And suddenly Democrat judges decide we love the nationwide injunction. And then when Biden comes office, no, no.” Shaw cited Mila Sohoni, a Stanford Law School professor, as suggesting that the first nationwide injunction came in 1913 and others were issued in the 1920s. “The federal government was doing a lot less until 100 years ago,” she said. “There’s many things that have changed in the last hundred or the last 50 years.” “So as long as it is a Democrat president in office, then we should have no nationwide injunctions?” Hawley shot back. “If it’s a Republican president, then this is absolutely fine, warranted and called for? How can our system of law survive on those principles?” Shaw said she believes a system where there “are no legal constraints on the president is a very dangerous system of law,” but the Republican from Missouri contended that’s not what the law professor believed when Biden was president. “You said it was a travesty for the principles of democracy, notions of judicial impartiality and the rule of law,” Hawley said. “You said the idea that anyone would foreign shop to get a judge who would issue a nationwide injunction was a politician, just judges looking like politicians in robes. Again, it threatened the underlying legal system. People are just trying to get the result they wanted. It was a travesty for the rule of law. But you’re fine with all of that if it’s getting the result that you want.” JUDGE TO BLOCK TRUMP ADMIN’S HARVARD FOREIGN STUDENTS BAN Hawley cited Shaw’s stance in a specific abortion pill ruling during Biden’s presidency. In April 2023, U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction on the Biden Food and Drug Administration’s mifepristone rules, which Shaw described at the time as “a travesty for the principles of democracy, notions of judicial impartiality and the rule of law.” Hawley said she had failed to offer a legitimate principle for issuing nationwide injunctions now. “I understand you hate the president,” the senator told Shaw. “I understand that you love all of these rulings against him. You and I both know that’s not a principle. You’re a lawyer. What’s the principle that divides when issuing a nationwide injunction is OK and when it is not? When the Biden administration was subject to nationwide injunctions, you said that they were travesties for the principle of democracy.” “When it’s Biden, it’s OK. When it’s Biden, oh, it’s a travesty. When it’s Trump in office, it’s a no holds barred, whatever it takes,” the senator added. Hawley said Shaw and his Democratic colleagues were raising “very principled injunctions” to nationwide injunctions issued against Biden just nine months ago and “all that’s changed in nine months is the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.” “I realize that my colleagues on this side of the aisle very much dislike that individual,” Hawley said, referring to Trump. “And I realize that you think that the rulings that he has lost are fundamentally sound.” “I disagree with all of that, but we can put that to one side. The question we’re talking about here is, ‘Should judges, single judges, district court judges be able to bind nonparties who are not in front of them?’ And you used to say no. Now you say yes,” he said. “Let’s be consistent. I would just suggest to you our system of government cannot survive if it’s going to be politics all the way down.” Shaw responded that “democracy is not as simple as majority rule,” but Hawley interjected, saying, “You would have it as simple as majority rule. When you get the majority you like, you’re for the nationwide injunction. When you don’t, you’re not.”
Radical new DOGE transparency powers could hit Congress after Elon Musk exit
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is pushing to grant Congress vast new oversight powers over real-time federal spending to pick up where Elon Musk left off with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). A new bill that Roy is introducing on Wednesday would give lawmakers access to Treasury Department invoices larger than $25,000 in real time. It would also grant lawmakers the ability to see payments to individual recipients of federal benefits and federal employees, according to bill text previewed by Fox News Digital. HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANOTHER DEM OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF BLOCKING ICE AMID DELANEY HALL FALLOUT It comes roughly a week after Musk announced he was stepping away from his federal government role – followed by his criticism of congressional Republicans’ spending legislation on the way out the door. “DOGE lifted up the hood of federal government spending and put on full display the massive programs and inefficiencies wasting American taxpayer dollars,” Roy told Fox News Digital. “Billions were splurged on waste, fraud and abuse – but also on programs that clearly do not align with the core values of the American people. Regardless of which party controls the White House, the mission of DOGE in identifying wasteful spending must continue.” He said his legislation would give Congress “the best tools available to identify this ridiculous spending in real time and allow us to reform government spending well into the future.” Fiscal hawks like Roy are already looking to the next steps even as Congress begins consideration of a $9.4 billion spending cut proposal sent by the White House on Tuesday. MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, ‘BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE The mechanism, known as a rescissions package, gives Capitol Hill 45 days to approve the blockage of funds – which were previously greenlit by Congress – while lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage on it from 60 votes to 51. The package, which Republican leaders signaled could be the first of several, targets federal funding to NPR, PBS and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). House GOP leaders said that package would get a vote next week.
Key SCOTUS parental rights cases draw McMahon, Moms for Liberty to rally on court steps
Education Secretary Linda McMahon and the conservative group Moms for Liberty took to the Supreme Court steps Tuesday to recognize the 100-year anniversary of a landmark case that they said gave parents more control over their children’s education. But advocates who spoke at the event are also anticipating decisions in two other pivotal cases that could affect the conservative-led parental rights movement. Rosalind Hanson, who is part of a group of plaintiffs in Mahmoud v. Taylor, told Fox News Digital in an interview after the rally that she is optimistic about a forthcoming decision from the high court on the key religious liberty case. She said it came from Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland refusing to allow parents to opt their elementary school children out of being exposed to books containing gender and sexuality concepts. “We are not trying to change the curriculum,” Hanson said. “We are not trying to say what you teach.… The majority of states across the country have said you can have an opt-out for these very sensitive issues and topics, especially because of the religious component, but also because of the age appropriateness.” SUPREME COURT LIKELY TO SIDE WITH PARENTS IN LETTING THEM OPT OUT OF LGBTQ STORYBOOKS, EXPERT SAYS Montgomery County Public Schools attorneys argued to the Supreme Court that courts have long held that “mere exposure to controversial issues in a public-school curriculum does not burden the free religious exercise of parents or students.” Still, the attorneys stood by the school system’s decision to incorporate what they described as a “handful of storybooks featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer characters” for use in language arts lessons. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case in April, and a decision is expected in the coming weeks. Also on Moms for Liberty’s radar is United States v. Skrmetti, one of the most closely watched cases of the court’s term. The case arose from the Biden administration suing over a bill Tennessee passed in 2023 to ban puberty blockers and hormone therapy as treatments for minors who identify as transgender. The Supreme Court is now poised to decide within the next few weeks if states can restrict such medical treatments for minors. MARYLAND MOM TAKING FIGHT TO OPT CHILD OUT OF LGBTQ STORY BOOKS BEFORE SUPREME COURT Scarlett Johnson, who has a leadership role in Moms for Liberty, called the case a “big one” and told Fox News Digital she also urges members of her group to advocate legislation that “will protect children from the puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for minors regarding the issue of gender identity.” McMahon, meanwhile, reflected on Pierce v. Society of Sisters, a landmark decision issued 100 years ago that struck down Oregon’s law requiring all children to attend public school. McMahon called it “one of the most impactful education-related cases in American history” but said the parental rights movement remains necessary. WATCH LIVE: MOMS FOR LIBERTY RALLY WITH LINDA MCMAHON AT SUPREME COURT “Special interest and progressive activists still try to agitate for the government to override moms and dads in education,” McMahon said. “Whether it’s through ideological indoctrination, sexually explicit curriculum, or hiding health and safety risks from parents, the progressive left always wants to come between you and your kids.” The speakers’ remarks could be heard clearly over livestreams online, but in person in front of the Supreme Court building, they were drowned out entirely by a single protester screaming profanities and bashing a string of officials, including McMahon, Justice Clarence Thomas and President Donald Trump. Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., elicited laughs when she thanked the protester, who was holding a sign reading “Let’s TACO ‘bout tariffs,” a reference to an acronym Democrats’ adopted for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” “I’d also like to thank our lone protester for highlighting the mental health crisis in our country. Bless your heart, as we would say in the South,” Cammack said.
Former Navy SEAL whose nonprofit helps catch child sex traffickers sets sights on US Senate seat
Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL who indicated that his anti-human trafficking organization works to train law enforcement and set up operations that lead to the arrest of those seeking to “buy or sell kids for sex,” is running for U.S. Senate. “That is our primary goal,” Hudson, who founded Covenant Rescue Group with his wife, told Fox News Digital during an interview on Monday, noting that he maintains his law enforcement credentials with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office and that the nonprofit is also involved in training authorities about targeting people who traffick adults for sex. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., announced a gubernatorial bid, leaving the Yellowhammer State’s upcoming 2026 Senate contest wide open. In a post on X, Hudson declared that he is “running for U.S. Senate in Alabama to help secure the border, crush the woke agenda, and defend our Christian values.” FORMER NAVY SEAL MOUNTS SENATE BID TO ‘CRUSH THE WOKE AGENDA’ AS TUBERVILLE SEEKS GOVERNORSHIP Republicans are currently divided over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that cleared the House chamber last month. When asked whether he would vote for the measure if he were in the U.S. Senate now, Hudson indicated that, based on what he knows about it, he would support passage in order to avoid tax rate increases due to the expiration of the “Trump tax cuts.” Fox News Digital also asked Hudson about his positions on U.S. aid to Ukraine and Israel, and whether he believes America should remain in NATO. “I’m not for any new unnecessary wars,” he said, after noting that he has gone to war for the U.S., lost friends and shot people on America’s behalf. “I am for whatever is gonna increase national security,” he said, noting that “if that means positively supportin’ some of our allies, absolutely.” TRUMP ALLY TUBERVILLE ANNOUNCES RUN FOR ALABAMA GOVERNOR He said that U.S. involvement with NATO is not a problem but indicated that the issue concerning NATO is the matter of whether America is being treated fairly. He indicated other nations in the alliance should do their part and America should not shoulder the “full burden.” “I think we should remove as much government out of people’s lives as possible,” he said when asked if there are any federal entities he believes should be abolished, describing “decreasing the size of government” as “vitally important.” House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., has spoken highly of Hudson. HOUSE REP. ELI CRANE SAYS THERAPY DOGS SHOULD BE MANDATORY AT HEARINGS AFTER JOKE ABOUT DEMS’ MENTAL STABILITY “Really glad to see men like Jared jumping into one of the toughest fights on earth. I served with Jared at Team 3. He is a very good man, who loves the Lord and his family,” Crane noted in a post on X. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, has also thrown his hat into the ring in the U.S. Senate race. The state’s gubernatorial and U.S. Senate contests will take place in 2026.
Trump’s DHS says Biden released ‘barbaric’ illegal immigrant now accused of heinous crime
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had issued a detainer in Massachusetts for a criminal illegal immigrant charged with raping a child with force in a crime that was captured on video. Lorenzo Lopez Alcario, a 30-year-old Guatemalan national accused of tying up and brutally sexually assaulting a young girl in a video that was ultimately found by the girl’s mother, had the ICE detainer placed on him this week, according to a press release from DHS. The press release states that Alcario first entered the United States illegally on an unknown date before being arrested in 2017 in Arlington, Virginia, for drug possession. Later that year, in September, Alcario was ordered by a judge to be removed by the United States and was deported by aircraft on Sept. 28, 2017. AOC FUNDRAISES ON TRYING TO ABOLISH ICE AMID TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION However, according to DHS, Alcario re-entered the United States in June 2022 and was released into the country by the Biden administration despite his criminal history and previous deportation. In a statement, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin made the case that Alcario should never have been allowed back into the United States and that the ICE detainer is aimed at ensuring Alcario does not victimize anyone else in the future. TENNESSEE REP SAYS NASHVILLE MAYOR’S ICE POLICIES AMOUNT TO ‘AIDING AND ABETTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION’ “Lorenzo Lopez Alcario is a pedophile illegal alien from Guatemala who should’ve never been in the U.S. in the first place,” McLaughlin said. “Despite his previous criminal charges and deportation, President Biden released this barbaric criminal into American communities in 2022. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE lodged a detainer to ensure this criminal illegal alien will not be allowed to terrorize American citizens and will deport this child predator to prevent further victims.” ICE has been active in Massachusetts in recent weeks, including via Operation Patriot, which resulted in the arrest of nearly 1,500 illegals, including murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and child sex predators, in the deep blue sanctuary city-heavy state. Sources at ICE told Fox News that 790 of those arrested had criminal convictions or charges and 277 had final removal or deportation orders. The sources said that all the targeted criminals were roaming the streets of Massachusetts cities freely before being apprehended. Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
Massive Russia sanctions package stalls as Trump pushes for Ukraine peace talks
Senators are growing antsy to move ahead with a massive sanctions package against Russia, and the only thing standing in the way is President Donald Trump. In the midst of the extremely partisan budget reconciliation process, nearly the entire upper chamber has coalesced behind the sanctions package from Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., which would slap up to 500% “bone-breaking” tariffs on countries buying energy products from Moscow. UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE TALKS YIELD NO CEASEFIRE, ZELENSKYY WARNS PUTIN SHOULD NOT BE ‘REWARDED’ The measure is designed to place Russia’s war machine into a chokehold by imposing duties on oil, gas, uranium and other exports largely purchased by China and India, which account for nearly three-quarters of Moscow’s energy business. Trump has pushed for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, which have so far not yielded an end to the three-year conflict, and has begun to sour on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reluctance to find a peaceful end to the ongoing conflict. He recently questioned “what the hell happened” to the Russian leader. The latest round of negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey, ended without a ceasefire, and Putin’s recent demands for large chunks of territory in exchange for peace have been nonstarters for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A successful surprise drone attack by Ukraine and fears of a retaliatory strike by Russia have lawmakers growing increasingly anxious to sanction Russia into oblivion, but the president has yet to give Graham — a top ally of Trump’s — and Blumenthal’s bill his blessing. “If President Trump asked me my opinion, I would tell them, ‘let’s go now,’” Sen. John Kennedy, R-L.a., one of the 82 co-sponsors of the bill, told Fox News Digital. US READIES RUSSIA SANCTIONS OVER UKRAINE, UNCLEAR IF TRUMP WILL SIGN, SOURCES SAY And Graham, who traveled to Ukraine with Blumenthal to meet with Zelenskyy during the Senate’s Memorial Day recess, wants to see his sanctions levied against Russia by as early as next week when world powers gather in Italy for the upcoming G7 Summit to “deliver an unequivocal message to China.” “The theme of this engagement was that we appreciate President Trump’s earnest efforts to bring about peace and entice Putin to come to the table,” Graham said in a statement after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. “It is our view Putin is not responding in kind, he is not interested in peace and that he plans to continue to dismember Ukraine.” Blumenthal believed that Trump “has been played” by Putin and accused the Russian leader of being “totally unserious” about the negotiations with Ukraine. The lawmaker confirmed to Fox News Digital that he and Graham would hold a briefing for all 100 Senators on the current state of affairs in Ukraine on Wednesday. He said there was “no question” that Trump’s input would be significant for the bill’s fate, but noted that even House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-L.a., came out in support of levying strict sanctions on Russia, which suggested a bicameral desire to inflict monetary pain on Moscow and its allies. “We have 82 senators, evenly divided, bipartisan, which I think speaks volumes,” Blumenthal said. “If it’s given a vote, it will pass, and obviously President Trump’s views will matter as to whether it’s given a vote.” TRUMP WARNS PUTIN IS ‘PLAYING WITH FIRE’ AFTER DECLARING THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT HAS ‘GONE ABSOLUTELY CRAZY’ Still, Senate Republican leadership is waiting for a green-light from the White House before making any decisions to put the bill on the floor. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., countered on the Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox Radio that his team and the White House were working together to make sure that the sanctions package “from a technical standpoint” hit the mark of what the president wanted to do. “We’re trying to give [President Trump] as much space and room as necessary for him to try and negotiate the best possible outcome and get a peaceful solution in Ukraine,” Thune said. “And if the sanctions contribute to that, then yeah, we’re available and ready to move.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Meanwhile, lawmakers don’t see the sanctions package as undermining any ongoing efforts from the White House to broker a peace deal. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-S.C., believed that the legislation would instead act as a “real enabler” for the Trump administration. And Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va, similarly believed that the sanctions bill could give Trump a “stronger hand” in negotiations. “These are sanctions that would be very punishing to the Russian economy,” he told Fox News Digital. “And we think the president can say, ‘Look, this is going to be very serious, but it can be avoided if we reach an accord right now that’s a cease fire.’”