Abolish property taxes? DeSantis endorses the idea and explains how it could be done in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed the idea of abolishing property taxes throughout the Sunshine State, but explained that it would require a constitutional amendment. The governor, who is currently serving his second term after a decisive re-election victory in Florida’s 2022 gubernatorial contest, was responding to someone on X who advocated abolishing property taxes in the state and asked what would need to be done to make that happen. “Property taxes are local, not state. So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them,” DeSantis noted. FLORIDA’S PROGRESSIVE ABORTION AMENDMENT FAILS FOLLOWING DESANTIS PUSH AGAINST ‘BAIT AND SWITCH’ LEGISLATION “We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that 60%,” he continued. “I agree that taxing land/property is the more oppressive and ineffective form of taxation,” the governor added. FLORIDA SHERIFF ASKS TRUMP’S ICE TO REMOVE BIDEN-ERA ‘SHACKLES’ Eric Trump, one of President Donald Trump’s sons, shared DeSantis’ post, and hailed the idea, declaring, “Florida leading the way! This is amazing!” The governor’s tweet has amassed more than 50,000 likes so far since he shared it on Thursday evening. DESANTIS’ CHOSEN RUBIO REPLACEMENT MOODY WANTS TO TACKLE INFLATION, SPENDING, BORDER: ‘AUDIT THE FED!’ DeSantis mounted a presidential bid in 2023, but dropped out and endorsed Trump in early 2024 after finishing in a distant second place in the Iowa Republican presidential caucus.
Trump budget bill with $4.5T in tax cuts survives key hurdle despite House GOP infighting
A mammoth bill advancing a broad range of President Donald Trump’s policy goals survived a key hurdle on Thursday, putting Republicans closer to their goal of passing a bill by sometime in May. The legislation passed the House Budget Committee on a party-line 21 to 16 vote and is expected to be taken up by the entire chamber for a floor vote later this month. It comes despite eleventh-hour negotiations that had the bill’s eventual passage in question even as the committee met to discuss the text on Thursday morning. The 45-page resolution directs various House committees to find a sum of at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, with $300 billion in new spending allocated toward the border, national defense and the judiciary. BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS It also directs $4 trillion toward raising the debt limit, and it includes $4.5 trillion to extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and other tax provisions pushed by the president for the next 10 years. House and Senate Republicans are aiming to use the budget reconciliation process to pass a broad range of Trump policy goals, from border security to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority, it will allow the GOP to use their razor-thin majorities to get legislation signed into law with zero Democratic support, provided the measures included relate to the budget and other fiscal matters. Conservative spending hawks on the House Budget Committee had demanded assurances that Republicans would seek to cut spending as deeply as possible in the reconciliation process, particularly to offset new spending on Trump’s tax priorities. House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told reporters early Thursday afternoon that committee Republicans came to an agreement on an amendment that would win over holdouts, however. The proposal would mandate a corresponding reduction in the $4.5 trillion tax allocation if Republicans failed to cut at least $2 trillion in spending elsewhere. Conversely, if spending cuts exceeded $2 trillion, it would increase the amount of money directed toward tax cuts by the same amount. “The amendment that will come up is a good amendment,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a Budget Committee fiscal hawk who had issues with the original text, told Fox News Digital. “It’s common sense. It’s doing what we said we’d be doing.” SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN The House advanced its proposal after being forced to punt the committee vote last week in the face of disagreements over where to set the baseline floor for spending cuts. Senate Republicans advanced their own plan in the meantime, passing a narrower bill on Wednesday night that included new funding for the border and defense but would leave Trump’s tax cuts for a second package. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called that bill a “nonstarter” in the House. But while the House’s bill passed a critical test on Thursday, it’s just the first step in a long process. Passing a budget resolution then sends instructions to other committees to seek cuts and policy changes in their respective jurisdictions, before those proposals are added back to one large bill. The House and Senate must also agree on a compromise between their two versions and pass identical pieces of legislation before they can be sent to Trump’s desk. Republicans have a three seat majority in the Senate and a one seat majority in the House, meaning they can afford precious little dissent among themselves to pass a final bill.
Senate Majority Leader Thune says this is the reason why he and Trump are working well together
EXCLUSIVE: Senate Majority Leader John Thune is getting a tough job done. “Senate Republicans have been committed to getting President Trump’s nominees through,” Thune, who’s been on the job steering the Senate for six weeks, told Fox News in an exclusive national digital interview. Thune was interviewed ahead of Brooke Rollins’s confirmation as secretary of agriculture, which brought to 16 the number of Trump nominees approved by the Senate. Only 11 Cabinet nominees were approved by this date eight years ago during Trump’s first term in the White House. SENATE CONFIRMS ANOTHER CONTROVERSIAL TRUMP CABINET NOMINEE And on this date four years ago, the Senate had confirmed only seven of then-President Biden’s Cabinet nominees. Rollins’ confirmation followed the confirmations of two of Donald Trump’s most controversial nominees: former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services. Gabbard and Kennedy were confirmed on near party-line votes in a chamber the GOP controls with a 53-47 majority. “I think that the Senate Republicans have proven that we are united,” the South Dakota Republican said. Thune, a two-decade Senate veteran who served in GOP leadership the past few years before succeeding longtime leader Sen. Mitch McConnell as the top Republican in the chamber, emphasized the team effort. HEAD HERE FOR LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS BACK IN THE WHITE HOUSE “What you try and do is just try and make the people around you better,” Thune said. “We’ve got a lot of talent in the Senate, people who … we want to deploy and utilize and let them use their gifts and talents [to] get things done around here that need to be done.” The senator pointed to his father, a former college athlete and coach, who he said would advise him to “make the extra pass if somebody’s got a better shot. So what we’ve been trying to do is look for an opportunity to make the extra pass. And I think that it does really utilize the great talent we have here in the Senate.” Thune says he’s been meeting “fairly regularly” with the president, in person, on the phone and through text. “It’s a regular pipeline,” he said. “His team has been really good, too, about working with our team here. I think we’ve had a very constructive working relationship. And I tell people, our incentives are aligned. We all want to get to the same destination.” Thune hasn’t always had a constructive relationship with the often unpredictable Trump. Trump was critical of Thune in the years after his first term and briefly considered backing a primary challenge against the senator as he ran for re-election in 2022. Thune said that “like a lot of people,” he’s had “differences with the president in the past.” “But I think right now, we understand the things that we want to get done in the course of his term and the opportunity that we have, which is rare in politics, to have unified control of the government, House, Senate and White House. We need to maximize that, and in order to do that, we’ve got to have a very constructive relationship in which there’s regular communication,” Thune emphasized. McConnell was the only Senate Republican to vote against confirming Kennedy and Gabbard. McConnell, who suffered from polio as a child and is a major proponent of vaccines, was critical of Kennedy’s history of high-profile vaccine skepticism. “I’m a survivor of childhood polio. In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” McConnell said after the Kennedy vote. Trump, who’s long criticized McConnell, took aim again. “I have no idea if he had polio. All I can tell you about him is he shouldn’t have been a leader. He knows that. He voted against Bobby. He votes against almost everything. He’s a very bitter guy,” Trump charged. Thune, interviewed after Gabbard’s confirmation and ahead of the final vote on Kennedy, said the 82-year-old McConnell is “still active up here and still a strong voice on issues he’s passionate about, including national security.” “So when it comes to those issues, he has outsized influence and a voice that we all pay attention to,” Thune said. “He’s got views on some of these nominees that maybe don’t track exactly with where I or other Republicans have come down, but we respect his positions on these, some of these noms, and I know that on a lot of big stuff ahead of us, he’s going to be with us. He’s a team player.” Thune added, “I’ve had plenty of consultations with him through the years and in recent months and weeks, and we’ll continue to reach out to him when we think it makes sense to get a lay of the land that, based on his experience, he can help us navigate.” While he’s enjoyed a slew of confirmation victories this week, Thune is realistic. “I feel good about how it’s gone so far, but we’ve got some really hard sledding ahead. We know that, and we just have to keep our heads down and do the work,” he cautioned. While confirming Trump’s Cabinet is currently job No. 1, Thune is juggling numerous tasks. “Obviously, most of our time has been occupied moving the president’s team and getting his nominees confirmed, and we’ll continue to do that. But as we go about that process, we’re looking for windows, too, to move important legislation,” he said. He pointed to the Laken Riley Act, quickly passed by the Senate and the House and signed into law by Trump. The controversial measure, which is named after a nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant while jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus, requires federal immigration
Top moments from Linda McMahon’s confirmation hearing
Linda McMahon’s Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday was marked by disruptive protesters, debate over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, discussion on the participation of biological men in women’s sports and scrutiny over spending cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. Several protesters disrupted and were removed from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing, with one individual shouting, “Protect trans kids, protect immigrant students, protect our schools!” Addressing the disruptions, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., complained about the “outburst of some of the protesters in the room,” prompting a blue state Democrat to speak out in their defense. TRUMP EDUCATION NOMINEE LINDA MCMAHON SAYS SHUTTING DOWN DOE WOULD ‘REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION’ “A number of them have told us that they’re … teachers. Can you imagine them teaching these people, teaching our kids in classrooms across America, and they come here and act like children with outbursts?” Banks said. Newly elected Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., hit back at the Republican senator, saying that the protesters are “exactly the kind of people who we want teaching our children.” In January, Trump declared that legal protections under Title IX, the 1972 federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination for recipients of federal education funding, would be based on the basis of biological sex, not gender identity, in K-12 schools and higher-learning institutions. Regarding Trump’s reversal of the Biden administration’s regulations, McMahon said she is “happy” to see the law “back to what Title IX was originally established to do, and that was to protect social discrimination.” DEMS SPAR OVER DOGE CUTS WITH TRUMP EDUCATION NOMINEE LINDA MCMAHON “And women should feel safe in their locker rooms. They should feel safe in their spaces. They shouldn’t have to be exposed to men undressing in front of them,” she said. The Trump nominee also said that if confirmed, she will “make sure the law is enforced” on campuses that try to defy the law. McMahon faced further questioning on the impact of DEI programs during her Senate confirmation hearing. She criticized the programs, claiming that though they were intended to promote diversity, they have instead contributed to further dividing America’s kids rather than being inclusive. “DEI has been – I think has been, it’s a program that’s tough,” McMahon said. “It was put in place ostensibly for more diversity, for equity and inclusion. And I think what we’re seeing is it is having an opposite effect. We are getting back to more segregating of our schools instead of having more inclusion in our schools.” INTO THE RING: TRUMP EDUCATION CHIEF PICK MCMAHON TO TESTIFY ON CUTTING ‘RED TAPE’ AMID DOGE SWEEPS She pointed to instances where DEI programs led to separate graduation ceremonies for Black and Hispanic students, arguing that such measures went against the goal of inclusion: “When their DEI programs say that Black students need separate graduation ceremonies or Hispanics need separate ceremonies, we are not achieving what we wanted to achieve with inclusion,” she added. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., countered with an example of Department of Defense schools that had canceled programming for Black History Month. He asked, “So if a school in Connecticut celebrates Martin Luther King Day and has a series of events and programming teaching about Black history, are they in violation of a policy that says schools should stop running DEI programs?” McMahon disagreed, saying that events like Black History Month celebrations should be celebrated across all schools. “In my view, that is clearly not the case,” she said. “That celebration of Martin Luther King Day in Black History Month should be celebrated throughout all of our schools. I believe that, you know, Martin Luther King was one of the strongest proponents of making sure that we look at all of our populations when he said that he would hope that his children wouldn’t be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.” Musk’s government spending cuts also sparked debate, with Democratic lawmakers pressing McMahon on whether she supports the dramatic cuts made by DOGE. “I believe the American people spoke loudly in the election last November to say that they want to look at waste, fraud and abuse in our government,” said McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment. FORMER TRUMP EDUCATION SECRETARY LAYS OUT ‘UNFINISHED BUSINESS’ FOR NEW ADMIN ON SCHOOL REFORMS Pressed by Democrats, including Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, if she would follow through with cuts suggested by the “DOGE brothers,” McMahon said she can be counted on to follow congressional statute “because that’s the law.” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., also asked if McMahon believes DOGE should have access to “private student data,” suggesting that their probes “should frighten everyone.” “It is my understanding that those employees have been onboarded as employees of the Department of Education, and therefore, they operate under the restraints of utilizing access of information,” McMahon said. “That’s not my understanding,” Murray shot back. “That’s my understanding,” McMahon responded. Murray said it was “deeply disturbing” that DOGE staffers aren’t “held accountable” and that it should “frighten everyone” if they have access to students’ private information. McMahon’s confirmation vote in the Senate HELP Committee is scheduled for Feb. 20.
Some drones over US bases may have been conducting surveillance: NORTHCOM General
A senior U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) official told members of the Senate that some of the 350 drones that flew over military installations and sensitive areas last year may have been conducting surveillance. U.S. Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, who is commander of NORTHCOM and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), was questioned about the drones during a Senate Armed Services Committee Budget hearing on Thursday. Drones were spotted flying all over the country last year, though most notably in New Jersey. They were also flying over military installations, including Joint Base Langley, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Vandenberg Space Force Base. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., asked Guillot about the threat the unmanned aircraft pose to military operations, facilities and personnel. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SHARES UPDATE ON DRONES SEEN FLYING OVER NEW JERSEY “Senator, the primary threat I see for them in the way they’ve been operating is detection and perhaps surveillance of sensitive capabilities on our installations,” Guillot said. “There were 350 detections reported last year on military installations, and that was 350 over a total of 100 different installations of all types and levels of security.” He confirmed that base commanders at sensitive sites like nuclear bases have the authority to protect their airspace from drone incursions, adding that those particular military sites account for about half of what the U.S. operates. Cotton was flabbergasted that only about half of the bases have the ability to protect themselves from drones. TRUMP VOWS ANSWERS ON MYSTERY DRONE SIGHTINGS AS EXPERT MAKES EERIE PREDICTION He said base commanders at every base in the U.S. have the ability to protect their ground if a terrorist drove a dump truck though the front gate of a military facility, which Guillot agreed. Cotton also raised concerns that at the southern border last week, Mexican cartels were reportedly authorized to use drones equipped with explosives against U.S. Border Patrol agents. He asked Guillot if the Department of Defense needed authorization to share information with the Department of Homeland Security and other border patrol agencies about drone incursions and was told that was the case. ORLANDO DRONE SHOW CRASH CAUSED BY ‘COMBINED ERRORS’ THAT LED TO MISALIGNED FLIGHT PATH: NTSB REPORT Guillot advocated for an expansion of military capabilities when it comes to drones, especially when it comes to protecting bases and being able to exchange data with other government agencies about drones, seamlessly. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters late last month that the drones seen flying over New Jersey in large numbers recently were “authorized by the FAA for research and various other reasons.” In addition to those authorized by the FAA, other drones flown by hobbyists were sighted, and that number increased as curiosity about the phenomenon grew, the White House said. FBI SEARCHING FOR OPERATOR OF PRIVATELY OWNED DRONE THAT PUNCHED HOLE IN CANADIAN FIREFIGHTING PLANE “This was not the enemy,” Leavitt said. The drone sightings in November and December originally raised public concerns and even attracted the attention of the FBI. “The FBI Newark, NJ State Police, and NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness are asking for the public to report any information related to the recent sightings of possible drones flying in several areas along the Raritan River,” a Dec. 3 FBI statement noted. The Federal Aviation Administration even issued temporary flight restrictions after the large number of sightings, prohibiting drone flights over parts of New Jersey. Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
WATCH: Dem lawmakers answer USAID funding questions after bombshell report
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers said they do not support cutting funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) when confronted by Fox News Digital about controversial spending, such as money ending up in the hands of terrorist-linked groups. The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, recently started cutting funding from USAID as they slash costs across the federal government. During their sweep, it was revealed that U.S. dollars were ending up in the hands of terror-linked groups, such as funds reportedly providing “full funding” for al Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki to attend college in Colorado, unearthed documents apparently show. Fox News Digital asked Democratic lawmakers their thoughts about the controversial USAID funding, specifically the funding going to some terrorist-linked groups. “USAID funding is authorized spending. Republicans and Democrats have agreed to those levels. We should honor those deals,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told Fox. USAID INSPECTOR GENERAL FIRED DAYS AFTER PUBLISHING REPORT CRITICAL OF AID PAUSE Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said that while USAID funds “should never go to terrorist organizations,” he added that “Elon Musk has a real credibility gap” and that “almost all the claims as it relates to efficiency have been proven false.” According to an analysis by the Middle East Forum, a U.S. conservative think tank, the USAID and State Department have funneled at least $122 million to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters. The think tank reported that among its top findings, USAID was found to have given more than $900,000 to a “Gaza-based terror charity” called Bayader Association for Environment and Development. A White House report also identified millions of taxpayer dollars being spent on contraceptives and condoms that ended up in the hands of the Taliban, a terrorist group. ‘DESIGNATED TERRORISTS’: EXTREMIST GROUPS RAKED IN MILLIONS FROM USAID, MULTIYEAR STUDY REVEALS “There’s no one in Congress who hates waste more than me,” Swalwell added. “And there’s nobody in Congress who wants to defeat the terrorists around the world more than me. So I will always be open-minded.” “USAID funding right now is being raided by Elon Musk, and I think we have to do a much better job of ensuring that funding isn’t cut,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. “Cutting any funding is horrific, and, of course, nobody wants to fund terrorism.” Progressive Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, a member of “the Squad” of progressive lawmakers, said it is “perfectly reasonable” to look at specific USAID funding but that he opposes gutting the entire department. “When people ask about specific programs and parts of USAID or other federal programs, we should look into those. We can have oversight. We can look, we can go and edit the budget and say we don’t want to spend on this, because this didn’t work and we do want to spend on that.” “The problem that we have right now happening in this country isn’t just about USAID. It’s not just about the Department of Education. It’s that you have Elon Musk, a billionaire who makes billions of dollars off of the federal government, going and shutting down programs without a vote, without any transparency,” Casar said. Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey did not fully answer the question and walked away. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Vance says Trump wants productive Russia-Ukraine negotiations but notes ‘range’ of options
Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said President Donald Trump wanted productive negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, but noted that the U.S. had a “range of options” if President Vladimir Putin didn’t come to the negotiating table on a deal that would guarantee peace for Ukraine. In speaking with The Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report on Vance’s comments, the vice president said President Trump was willing to employ a broad range of options to negotiate a peace deal. “If you look at President Trump’s approach to this, the range of options is extremely broad, and there are economic tools of leverage,” Vance told The Journal. “There are, of course, military tools of leverage. There’s a whole host of things that we could do. But fundamentally, I think the President wants to have a productive negotiation, both with Putin and with Zelenskyy.” He added: “I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that’s going to shock a lot of people.” ‘NO REASON’ FOR NEW NUKES: TRUMP FLOATS DISARMAMENT TALKS WITH CHINA, RUSSIA Vance’s comments came a day before the vice president is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich. The discussions will be closely watched by European leaders to gauge where President Trump stands on negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which is nearing three years. President Trump had what he described as a “lengthy” phone call with Putin on Wednesday, which included the Russian leader agreeing to “immediately” begin negotiations over the war in Ukraine. RUSSIA CLAIMS TRUMP, PUTIN TALK BROUGHT WORLD FROM ‘BRINK OF APOCALYPSE,’ EU WARNS OF ‘DIRTY TRICKS’ Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the two leaders “agreed to work together, very closely.” “We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now. I have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, to lead the negotiations which, I feel strongly, will be successful.” Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are scheduled to lead the U.S. delegation to the Munich Security Conference where the future of Ukraine will be the top item on the agenda. Trump has been vague about his specific intentions — other than suggesting that a deal will likely result in Ukraine being forced to cede territory that Russia has seized since it annexed Crimea in 2014. RUSSIA LAUNCHES FRESH DRONE ATTACK AGAINST UKRAINE SHORTLY AFTER TRUMP-PUTIN PHONE CALL “The Ukraine war has to end,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “Young people are being killed at levels that nobody’s seen since World War II. And it’s a ridiculous war.” Both Trump and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dashed Ukraine’s hopes this week of becoming part of NATO, which the alliance said less than a year ago was “irreversible,” or getting back its territory captured by Russia, which currently occupies close to 20%, including Crimea. “I don’t see any way that a country in Russia’s position could allow … them to join NATO,” Trump said Thursday. “I don’t see that happening.” When asked what he thought Russia should give up to reach a deal, he noted that talks have not yet begun and that “maybe Russia will give up a lot, maybe they won’t.” At NATO headquarters, Hegseth reiterated Thursday that “simply pointing out realism like the borders won’t be rolled back to what everybody would like them to be in 2014 is not a concession to Vladimir Putin.” He said it’s a recognition of realities on the ground. He added, though, that neither Russia nor Ukraine will “get everything that they want” and stressed that “any negotiation that’s had will be had with both.” Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Vance warns US will use sanctions, military action if Putin doesn’t agree to Ukraine peace deal: report
Vice President JD Vance on Thursday reportedly warned that the U.S. wouldn’t rule out tough sanctions or even potential military action against Russia if President Vladimir Putin didn’t come to the negotiating table on a deal that would guarantee peace for Ukraine. In speaking with The Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report on Vance’s comments, the vice president said sending U.S. troops to Ukraine was “on the table” if Russia failed to negotiate in good faith. Vance said there are “economic tools of leverage [and] there are, of course, military tools of leverage” that the U.S. could use against Putin. “I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that’s going to shock a lot of people,” Vance told The Journal. ‘NO REASON’ FOR NEW NUKES: TRUMP FLOATS DISARMAMENT TALKS WITH CHINA, RUSSIA Vance’s comments came a day before the vice president is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich. The discussions will be closely watched by European leaders to gauge where President Trump stands on negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which is nearing three years. President Trump had what he described as a “lengthy” phone call with Putin on Wednesday, which included the Russian leader agreeing to “immediately” begin negotiations over the war in Ukraine. RUSSIA CLAIMS TRUMP, PUTIN TALK BROUGHT WORLD FROM ‘BRINK OF APOCALYPSE,’ EU WARNS OF ‘DIRTY TRICKS’ Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the two leaders “agreed to work together, very closely.” “We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now. I have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, to lead the negotiations which, I feel strongly, will be successful.” Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are scheduled to lead the U.S. delegation to the Munich Security Conference where the future of Ukraine will be the top item on the agenda. Trump has been vague about his specific intentions — other than suggesting that a deal will likely result in Ukraine being forced to cede territory that Russia has seized since it annexed Crimea in 2014. RUSSIA LAUNCHES FRESH DRONE ATTACK AGAINST UKRAINE SHORTLY AFTER TRUMP-PUTIN PHONE CALL “The Ukraine war has to end,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “Young people are being killed at levels that nobody’s seen since World War II. And it’s a ridiculous war.” Both Trump and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dashed Ukraine’s hopes this week of becoming part of NATO, which the alliance said less than a year ago was “irreversible,” or getting back its territory captured by Russia, which currently occupies close to 20%, including Crimea. “I don’t see any way that a country in Russia’s position could allow … them to join NATO,” Trump said Thursday. “I don’t see that happening.” When asked what he thought Russia should give up to reach a deal, he noted that talks have not yet begun and that “maybe Russia will give up a lot, maybe they won’t.” At NATO headquarters, Hegseth reiterated Thursday that “simply pointing out realism like the borders won’t be rolled back to what everybody would like them to be in 2014 is not a concession to Vladimir Putin.” He said it’s a recognition of realities on the ground. He added, though, that neither Russia nor Ukraine will “get everything that they want” and stressed that “any negotiation that’s had will be had with both.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for a response to Vance’s comments. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Judge orders temporary reversal of Trump admin’s freeze on foreign aid
A federal judge late Thursday issued an order compelling the Trump administration to lift its three-week funding freeze on U.S. foreign aid. Judge Amir Ali issued the order Thursday in U.S. district court in Washington in a lawsuit brought by two health organizations that receive U.S. funding for programs abroad. In his order, Ali noted that the Trump administration argued it had to shut down funding for the thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development aid programs abroad to conduct a thorough review of each program and whether it should be eliminated. TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID But the judge said that Trump officials failed to explain why a “blanket suspension” of foreign aid programs was necessary before the programs were more thoroughly reviewed. USAID was established in 1961 under the Kennedy administration, operating as an independent agency that works closely with the State Department to allocate civilian foreign aid. Under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency could be abolished after its reorganization over the coming days, he said in a letter to bipartisan lawmakers on Feb. 3. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump’s Justice Department order to drop charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams sparks resignations
Several senior Justice Department officials resigned in protest Thursday rather than comply with an order to drop a bribery case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The acts of resistance came amid President Donald Trump’s effort to overhaul the agency, which he said has been weaponized against political opponents. The six resignations include Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, Trump’s pick to temporarily lead the office prosecuting Adams, who resigned her post on Thursday, according to the memorandum by Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a Trump appointee. SENATE CONFIRMS PAM BONDI AS US ATTORNEY GENERAL “I remain baffled by the rushed and superficial process by which this decision was reached,” Sassoon wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Adams, a Democrat who said he was targeted by the Biden administration, has been willing to work with the Trump administration crackdown to curb illegal immigration. Adams pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted bribes from Turkish officials. “Rather than be rewarded, Adams’s advocacy should be called out for what it is: an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case,” Sassoon wrote to Bondi. Adams’ lawyer Alex Spiro said in an email to Reuters that the charges against his client are a “sham.” “If SDNY had any proof whatsoever that the mayor destroyed evidence, they would have brought those charges—as they continually threatened to do, but didn’t, over months and months,” Spiro wrote. “This newest false claim is just the parting shot of a misguided prosecution exposed as a sham.” In his Thursday memo, Bove wrote that Sassoon had refused to comply with what he called his office’s finding that the case against Adams amounted to weaponization of the justice system. “Your resignation is accepted…you lost sight of the oath that you took when you started at the DOJ,” he wrote. “Your office has no authority to contest the weaponization finding,” wrote Bove, Trump’s former personal criminal defense lawyer. “The Justice Department will not tolerate the insubordination.” DOJ DIRECTS FBI TO FIRE 8 TOP OFFICIALS, IDENTIFY EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN JAN. 6, HAMAS CASES FOR REVIEW After Sassoon refused to dismiss the case, the Trump administration directed John Keller, the acting head of the Justice Department’s public corruption unit, to do so, according to people familiar with the matter. Keller also resigned on Thursday, two people familiar with the matter said, as well as Kevin Driscoll, a senior official in the department’s criminal division. Three other deputies in the Justice Department’s public corruption unit – Rob Heberle, Jenn Clarke, and Marco Palmieri – also resigned on Thursday over the Adams case, a person familiar with the matter said. A Justice Department official confirmed Keller’s and Driscoll’s resignations, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the other three. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House. Since taking office in January, Trump has fired more than a dozen federal prosecutors who pursued cases against him. In a statement to Fox News, Bove said he concluded that the prosecution against Adams had to be dismissed in order to “prioritize national security and public safety over continuing with a case that has been tainted from the start by troubling tactics.” “There is no room at the Justice Department for attorneys who refuse to execute on the priorities of the Executive Branch – priorities determined by the American people,” he said. “I look forward to working with new leadership at SDNY on the important priorities President Trump has laid out for us to make America safe again.” Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.