Fetterman says there ‘isn’t a constitutional crisis’ with the Trump administration: report
A prominent Democrat is arguing that “there isn’t a constitutional crisis” happening right now with the Trump administration. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., reportedly made the remark to HuffPost on Wednesday, the same day White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared that “the real constitutional crisis is taking place within our judicial branch, where district court judges in liberal districts across the country are abusing their power to unilaterally block President Trump’s basic executive authority.” Just roughly three weeks back in the Oval Office, Trump’s administration has been hit with at least 57 lawsuits working to resist his policies and executive orders. “When it was [President] Joe Biden, then you [had] a conservative judge jam it up on him, and now we have liberal judges that are going to stop these things. That’s how the process works,” Fetterman told HuffPost, adding that “There isn’t a constitutional crisis, and all of these things — it’s just a lot of noise.” WHITE HOUSE SAYS ‘THE REAL CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS IS TAKING PLACE WITHIN OUR JUDICIAL BRANCH’ “That’s why I’m only going to swing on the strikes,” he also said. The comments are a contrast to remarks made earlier this week by fellow Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy, who told CNN “this isn’t hyperbole to say that we are staring the death of democracy in the eyes, right now. “The centerpiece of our democracy is that we observe court rulings. Criminal court rulings, civil court rulings and constitutional court rulings. No one is above the law,” the Connecticut Democrat said Monday. “And whether we like it or not, the courts interpret the law.” On Wednesday, Leavitt said “We believe these judges are acting as judicial activists rather than honest arbiters of the law. “And they have issued at least 12 injunctions against this administration in the past 14 days, often without citing any evidence or grounds for their lawsuits,” she continued. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EXECUTIVE ORDERS “This is part of a larger concerted effort by Democrat activists, and nothing more than the continuation of the weaponization of justice against President Trump,” Leavitt also said. Leavitt alleged that an “extremely dishonest narrative” has been emerging in recent days with media outlets “fearmongering the American people into believing there is a constitutional crisis taking place here at the White House.” “Quick news flash to these liberal judges who are supporting their obstructionist efforts: 77 million Americans voted to elect this president, and each injunction is an abuse of the rule of law and an attempt to thwart the will of the people,” Leavitt added. “As the president clearly stated in the Oval Office yesterday, we will comply with the law in the courts, but we will also continue to seek every legal remedy to ultimately overturn these radical injunctions and ensure President Trump’s policies can be enacted,” she concluded. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Comer, Lee roll out bicameral bill to fast-track Trump’s government reorganization plans through Congress
FIRST ON FOX: House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer and Sen. Mike Lee are introducing bicameral legislation Thursday that would fast-track President Donald Trump’s federal government reorganizations plans through Congress, Fox News Digital has learned. Comer, R-Ky., will introduce the Reorganizing Government Act of 2025 in the House Thursday, while Lee, R-Utah, will roll it out in the Senate. The legislation would ensure Congress takes an up or down vote on the plans submitted to Congress in order to “streamline government operations to better serve the American people.” DOGE SLASHES MILLIONS MORE IN ‘NONSENSE’ CONTRACTS ACROSS SEVERAL FEDERAL AGENCIES It also seeks to renew and extend presidential authority to propose executive branch reorganization plans through December 2026 and restores a reorganization authority that was last in effect in 1984. Congressional aides said the bill aims to “modernize and improve government efficiency.” Under the bill, Congress must vote on Trump’s proposed reorganization plans within 90 days by using an expedited process that cannot be filibustered. It also expands the president’s authority to include entire executive departments – not just agencies. The bill does prohibit, however, reorganization that would increase the size of the federal workforce or its expenditures. “Americans elected President Trump to reform Washington, and his team is working around the clock to deliver on that promise,” Comer told Fox News Digital, adding that the federal bureaucracy “has grown dramatically in size and scope, creating unnecessary red tape.” “We must cut through the inefficiency and streamline government to improve service delivery and save taxpayers money,” he said, adding that “Congress can fast-track President Trump’s government reorganization plans by renewing a key tool to approve them swiftly in Congress.” DOGE SLASHES OVER $100M IN DEI FUNDING AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: ‘WIN FOR EVERY STUDENT’ “The Reorganizing Government Act of 2025 does just that,” Comer said. “We owe it to the American people to make government efficient, effective and accountable.” And Lee told Fox News Digital that the bicameral legislation allows the president to use his constitutional authority to reorganize federal agencies, “eliminate weaponization” and “right-size the government to better serve the American people.” “Congress cannot afford to sit on its hands in this fight,” Lee told Fox News Digital. “Reauthorizing presidential reorganization authority is the most comprehensive tool that the president can use to restore good governance to Washington.” The bill comes amid a significant expansion in the federal government, which GOP lawmakers say has led to “inefficiencies, redundancies, and bureaucratic obstacles.” Its introduction also comes amid a push from the White House to shrink the size of the federal government. Trump signed executive orders on his first day in office to do so. The president also tasked Elon Musk to run the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to reduce government waste, cut the federal workforce and slash costs. The Office of Personnel Management offered employees across the federal government the option to resign with full pay and benefits through September in an effort to cut the workforce. Sources say at least 75,000 federal workers have taken the option to resign. Meanwhile, DOGE has successfully canceled millions of dollars of government contracts that the administration says were a waste of taxpayer dollars. A senior administration official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that DOGE has worked with various agencies to cancel several contracts in the Social Security Administration, the Departments of Homeland Security and Labor, and several other areas.
Senate Democrats rail against RFK Jr. in late-night session ahead of vote
Senate Democrats railed against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a late-night session Wednesday ahead of his confirmation vote to potentially become the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy’s confirmation vote is expected around 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, but Democrat senators spent the evening before condemning former President Donald Trump’s HHS pick on a number of issues. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., described Kennedy as “obviously unqualified,” “obviously fringe,” and as holding views “obviously detrimental to the well-being of the American people.” “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not remotely qualified to become the next Secretary of Health and Human Services,” Schumer said. “Robert F. Kennedy might be the least qualified people the president could have chosen for the job. It’s almost as if Mr. Kennedy’s beliefs, history and background were tailor-made to be the exact opposite of what the job demands.” RFK JR NOMINATION TO SERVE AS TRUMP’S HEALTH SECRETARY CLEARS KEY HURDLE IN SENATE Referencing Kennedy and Tulsi Gabbard, the newly confirmed Director of National Intelligence, Schumer accused Republican senators of “rubber-stamping people no matter how fringe they are.” “The HHS is an agency that depends on science, on evidence and impartiality to ensure the well-being of over 330 million Americans. HHS ensures we eat safe food, purchase reliable medication, oversee Medicare benefits and approve the use of lifesaving vaccines. Most importantly, a good HHS secretary makes sure the American people have access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. Mr. Kennedy, unfortunately, is not qualified to oversee any of these things,” Schumer said. “He is neither a doctor, nor a scientist, nor a public health expert, nor a policy expert of any kind. If Mr. Kennedy is confirmed given that lack of background, I deeply fear that he will rubber stamp Donald Trump’s war against healthcare, meaning we will see more of the disastrous funding cuts of the last few weeks, meaning that more people will lose health coverage, meaning that the interests of for-profit corporations and Big Pharma will come before the needs of working Americans.” On the Senate floor, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., read again the letter from Kennedy’s cousin, Caroline Kennedy, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Australia under the Biden administration. Her letter, which she released ahead of RFK Jr.’s Senate confirmation hearing last month, said, “Now that Bobby has been nominated by President Trump to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, a position that would put him in charge of the health of the American people, I feel an obligation to speak out. Overseeing the FDA, the NIH and the CDC and the centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services agencies that are charged with protecting the most vulnerable among us is an enormous responsibility, and one that Bobby is unqualified to fill. He lacks any relevant government financial management or medical expertise. His views on vaccines are dangerous and willfully misinformed.” Caroline Kennedy went on to write, “I have known Bobby all my life. We grew up together. It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator.” Her letter said, “While he may encourage a younger generation to attend AA meetings, Bobby is addicted to attention and power. Bobby preys on the desperation of parents of sick children, vaccinating his own children while building a following by hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs.” “My view? Robert Kennedy has spent his considerable talent promoting misinformation to vulnerable people who have motives we all have and that is the well-being of people we love. You know, some of the things that Mr. Kennedy said when he’s attacking vaccines, they’re not based at all on science, but they appeal to people’s distrust of the standard medical profession,” Welch said. “He’s promoting it using the magic of the Kennedy name. The credibility that comes from being a member of one of the most starry political families in the history of our country.” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., came to the floor to voice his “strong opposition” to Kennedy. DOGE SUBCOMMITTEE HOLDS FIRST HEARING SLAMMING $36T NATIONAL DEBT, AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS DECLARE ‘WAR ON WASTE’ “Mr. Kennedy says that he’ll always follow the evidence no matter where it leads. Well, if you look at his record, he hasn’t done that,” Hollen said. The senator said Kennedy has “no experience, no qualifications in the vast majority” of the wide range of subjects HHS covers, naming how the department “provides quality control for reproductive health services,” “ensures that contraception are covered under the Affordable Care Act, and it makes sure that Americans can have access to over-the-counter options” and also includes programs for early childhood development, the elderly and the disabled. “I don’t think any of us expect that one Secretary of HHS can know everything. But if you monitored the hearings and listened to Mr. Kennedy’s answers, you can see that Mr. Kennedy knows virtually nothing about all those important subjects,” he said. Van Hollen quoted former President John F. Kennedy, who said more than 60 years ago that he hoped “that the renewed drive to provide vaccination for all Americans, and particularly those who are young, will have the wholehearted support of every parent in America.” “Unfortunately, his nephew, RFK Jr, has spent decades unraveling that hard won legacy by spreading lies and conspiracy theories about vaccines,” Van Hollen said. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., also took issue with the notoriety of the Kennedy name. “I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that there are very few people in this country that are less qualified to run this agency than Robert Kennedy Jr.,” Murphy said. “I say that because there are few people in the country who have been so enthusiastic, so public and so impactful in their ability to take some of the wildest conspiracy theories that are out there on the internet about our health system or about our kids, or about our families, internalize them and then disseminate them in a way that
Trump budget bill hits the rocks with GOP rebels, tax hawks ahead of key vote
The House GOP’s proposal for a massive conservative policy overhaul has already gotten a rocky reception from Republican lawmakers, and with their current majority, Republicans will need to vote in near lock-step to pass anything without Democratic support. “I think it’s probably going to have to be modified in some way before it comes to the floor,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital. Other members of the GOP hardliner group also balked at the bill. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., called it a “pathetic” attempt at cutting spending. “We’ll still be accelerating towards a debt spiral,” Burlison said. SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN House and Senate Republicans are working to use their majorities to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process. By reducing the threshold for passage in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority, which the House is already at, it allows the party in power to pass budgetary and fiscal legislation without help from the opposition. The first step in the process is to advance a framework through the House and Senate budget committees, which then gives directions to other committees on how much funding they get to implement their relevant policy agendas. The Senate Budget Committee approved its own plan on Wednesday night, while the House counterpart is poised to meet on their proposal Thursday morning. It’s not immediately clear if that bill will pass, however. Four conservatives on the House Budget Committee – Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Josh Brecheen – did not commit to voting for the 45-page proposal backed by GOP leaders that was released on Wednesday morning. Roy said he was “not sure” if the legislation could advance on Thursday morning when asked by Fox News Digital. “We’ll see,” Norman said when asked if the bill would pass out of committee. Clyde and Brecheen similarly would not say how they felt about the proposal when leaving the speaker’s office on Wednesday afternoon. If all four voted against the legislation, it would be enough to block the resolution from advancing to the House floor. Other conservatives also expressed reservations. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital, “I’m not super happy with it.” “It just doesn’t do enough to address fiscal cuts,” Crane said. The House’s 45-page bill would mandate at least a $1.5 trillion reduction in federal spending over the next 10 years, coupled with $300 billion in new spending for border security and national defense over the same period. It would also raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion – something Trump had demanded Republicans deal with before the U.S. runs out of cash to pay its debts, projected to happen by the spring if Congress does not act. BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS And while hardline conservatives wanted deeper spending cuts written into the bill, Republicans on the House Ways & Means Committee are uneasy about the $4.5 trillion allocated toward extending Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 – which expires at the end of 2025. “Let me just say that a 10-year extension of President Trump’s expiring provisions is over $4.7 trillion according to CBO. Anything less would be saying that President Trump is wrong on tax policy,” Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., told The Hill earlier this week. A member of the committee, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital, “I have some concerns regarding Ways & Means not being provided with the largest amount to cover President Trump’s tax cuts — especially [State and Local Tax deduction (SALT)] relief and a tax reduction for senior citizens, which are both also priorities of mine.” Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, said he had not read the legislative text but that Smith believed the $4.5 trillion figure was “about a trillion off from where we need to be in order to make it work.” The resolution’s first big test comes at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday. Republicans are aiming to use reconciliation to pass a broad swath of Trump’s priorities, from more funding for law enforcement and detention beds at the U.S.-Mexico border to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages. The Senate’s plan would advance border, energy, and defense priorities first while leaving taxes for a second bill. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called that plan a “nonstarter” this week, however. House leaders are concerned that leaving tax cut extensions for a second bill could allow those measures to expire before lawmakers reach an agreement.
‘No betrayal’ in Trump move toward Ukraine war negotiations, Hegseth says
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump’s move toward negotiations with Russia to end the war with Ukraine was “no betrayal” during a visit to NATO headquarters in Belgium on Thursday. Hegseth replied to a reporter’s question about the U.S. potentially betraying Ukraine after Trump had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin about beginning to negotiate peace without Kyiv’s full involvement. “There is no betrayal there,” Hegseth told reporters. “There is a recognition that the whole world and the United States is invested and interested in peace, a negotiated peace.” Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022, when Russia first invaded its neighboring nation. Trump had repeatedly said while on the campaign trail that if he was president in 2022 the war would not have broken out — vowing to end it if re-elected. PUTIN VIEWED AS ‘GREAT COMPETITOR’ BUT STILL A US ‘ADVERSARY’ AS UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS LOOM, LEAVITT SAYS On Wednesday, Trump said he had a “lengthy” call with Putin, which included the Russian leader agreeing to “immediately” begin negotiations over the war in Ukraine. Trump also spoke with Zelenskyy separately. After talks with both leaders, Trump said he would “probably” meet in person with the Russian leader in the near term, possibly in Saudi Arabia. Responding to a separate question, Hegseth referred to the phone calls and pointed to Trump’s ability as a negotiator. “I think you saw from President Trump yesterday, who himself is the best negotiator on the planet, bringing two sides together to find a negotiated peace, which is ultimately what everyone wants,” he said. “So I look forward to the ministerial today with our NATO allies to have honest conversations about where we are.” ‘LET’S DO A DEAL’: ZELENSKYY CALLS TRUMP’S TERMS ACCEPTABLE FOR SECURITY PARTNERSHIP Hegseth also said he believes Trump is the “one man in the world capable of convening the parties together to bring peace.” During his visit to NATO headquarters on Wednesday, Hegseth told allies that “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” as Trump works to bring an end to the war. “He intends to end this war by diplomacy and bringing both Russia and Ukraine to the table. And the U.S. Department of Defense will help achieve this goal,” Hegseth said. “We want a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.” Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Greg Norman, along with The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
DOGE subcommittee holds first hearing slamming $36T national debt, as House Republicans declare ‘war on waste’
The House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency held its first ever hearing Wednesday, as Republicans criticized the soaring $36 trillion national debt, as well as Democrats’ condemnation of Elon Musk’s effort to slash waste. In her opening statement, Chairwoman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-S.C., said the committee must be “brutally honest about how this massive debt came to be in the first place – it came from Congress and from elected presidential administrations.” “We as Republicans and Democrats can still hold tightly to our beliefs, but we are going to have to let go of funding them in order to save our sinking ship,” Greene said. “This is not a time for political theater and partisan attacks. The American people are watching. The legislative branch can’t sit on the sidelines. In this subcommittee, we will fight the war on waste shoulder to shoulder with President Trump, Elon Musk and the DOGE team.” Greene said, “enslaving our nation in debt” is one of the “biggest betrayals against the American people’s own elected government” and vowed that her subcommittee, operating under the House Oversight Committee, would work with President Donald Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is spearheaded by Musk as part of the executive branch. DOGE SLASHES OVER $100M IN DEI FUNDING AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: ‘WIN FOR EVERY STUDENT’ “The federal government, government employees, and unelected bureaucrats do not live by the same rules as the great American people and private businesses,” Greene said. “The federal government’s income is the American people’s hard-earned tax dollars. Their literal blood, sweat and tears and taxes are collected by law at gunpoint. Don’t pay your taxes and you go to jail. The federal government does not have to provide excellent customer service to earn its income. It takes your money whether you like it or not. And federal employees receive their paycheck no matter what.” The subcommittee’s highest ranking Democrat, Rep. Melanie Stanbury of New Mexico, used her opening statement to slam Trump and Musk’s efforts, despite agreeing to a bipartisan approach to “digging into the more than $236 billion in improper payments that we see going out the door every single year,” as well as “putting into place rigorous oversight and controls to prevent fraud and abuse, and, of course, to go after bad actors.” “We can’t just sit here today and pretend like everything is normal and that this is just another hearing on government efficiency,” Stanbury said. “Because while we’re sitting here, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling the federal government, shuttering federal agencies, firing federal workers, withholding funds vital to the safety and well-being of our communities, and hacking our sensitive data systems.” One of the witnesses, Stephen Whitson of the Foundation for Government Accountability, testified that DOGE’s efforts have exposed $59 million paid to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal immigrants, $1.5 million to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces, $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru, $10 million worth of food assistance funneled to al Qaeda and “the list goes on.” “But rather than applauding the work of DOGE, the left has launched a coordinated campaign to try to demonize Mr. Musk with the hope of shifting focus away from the disastrous waste, fraud and abuse that occurred on Biden’s watch. But guess what? It’s not working,” Whitson said. He shifted to the focus of Wednesday’s subcommittee hearing, Medicaid waste and fraud, testifying that more than 80% of improper Medicaid payments are due to eligibility errors, which Congress must address. Whitson testified that one in five dollars spent on Medicaid is improper, and Medicaid fraud and mismanagement is on track to cost U.S. taxpayers $1 trillion in the next 10 years. ‘OBAMA BROS’ ON DOGE: ‘SOME OF THE STUFF WE SHOULD’VE DONE’ Whitson also offered Congress three ways to support Trump’s DOGE effort. The first is for Congress to strengthen the Medicaid program through legislative action. He testified that both the Biden and Obama administrations issued rules and guidance that made it harder for states to verify eligibility for Medicaid. He said repealing Biden’s Medicaid streamlining rule, which restricts eligibility verification that states can perform, would save $164 billion over 10 years. In a later exchange, Whitson said the Biden-era rule prohibits states from verifying eligibility more than once a year and prohibits in-person or phone call interviews to verify the recipient’s identity. It also opens “lengthy reconsideration periods,” opening the door for illegal immigrants to receive benefits. “A state has to wait at least 90 days” before verifying whether a recipient is an illegal immigrant, Whitson said. “And actually what we’re seeing is it’s let some states to wait as long as 13 years.” Secondly, Whitson said Congress could help DOGE by “ensuring that entrenched partisan bureaucrats don’t stand in the way of reform.” To do that, Congress must codify the president’s authority “to fire unproductive or insubordinate agency employees as needed,” as well as grant the president authority to permanently eliminate vacant positions and consolidate nonessential positions across agencies and departments to help promote efficiency, Whitson said. “Personnel is policy, and without competent staff to faithfully execute the president’s agenda, the DOGE project will fail,” he said. Thirdly, Whitson called on Congress to pass the REINS Act to “make President Trump’s DOGE cost-cutting and de-regulatory reforms permanent.” “There’s only one big problem with the DOGE effort. Most of its work can be undone by a future president with the stroke of a pen,” he said, adding that the REINS Act would “return Article One budgetary power of the purse to Congress while promoting deregulation. It would also help lock in the DOGE reforms and cement President Trump’s legacy as the most consequential de-regulatory and cost-cutting president in U.S. history.” At another point in the hearing, Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., played out archived video of former President Bill Clinton in 1997 and former President Barack Obama in 2011 pledging to reduce the
DOGE boasts dozens of contract cancellations on Wednesday, totaling over $150M in savings
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced the cancellation of at least 58 contracts on Wednesday, resulting in more than $150 million in savings for the American taxpayer. In a Wednesday evening post on X, the agency headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk said the contracts canceled fell under the media, DEI and consulting categories at various agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation. “58 cancellations with savings of >$150M in categories including Media, DEI, and Consulting. This includes $405K at DHS for ‘resilience, energy, and sustainability management program support services’ and ~4M at DoT for ‘DEIA program and project management support services,’” the post said. DOGE SLASHES MILLIONS MORE IN ‘NONSENSE’ CONTRACTS ACROSS SEVERAL FEDERAL AGENCIES Later Wednesday evening, DOGE also confirmed the Department of Education slashed its budget by canceling around $9 million in contracts that left students “no better off.” Those contracts included $4.6 million to coordinate zoom and in-person meetings, $3 million to write a report that showed prior reports were not utilized by schools, and $1.4 million to physically observe mailing and clerical operations, according to the DoE. DOGE described the aforementioned cancellations as a “good start.” “We want to ensure that every dollar being spent is directed toward improving education for kids – not conferences and reports on reports,” the DoE posted on X. ‘CATEGORICALLY UNTRUE’: KEY GOVERNMENT AGENCY PUSHES BACK AGAINST MEDIA NARRATIVES OF DOGE CHAOS DOGE also announced its website creating transparency in government spending officially launched under the URL doge.gov. Though certain aspects on the website are not yet available, the homepage includes all of DOGE’s posts on X, while other tabs feature a “consolidated government org chart” and a “summary of the massive regulatory state, including the unconstitutionality index ratio.” Two other highly anticipated categories, a running description of each cost reduction with receipts and an overall savings scoreboard, will hopefully be live by Valentine’s Day, DOGE said. “We will constantly be working to maximize the site’s utility and transparency. Please let us know what else you want to see!” DOGE said on X. President Donald Trump, who established DOGE via an executive order to “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity,” has praised the agency’s efforts thus far by acknowledging “massive amounts” of fraud, waste, incompetence and abuse have been located and addressed.
Into the ring: Trump education chief pick McMahon to testify on cutting ‘red tape’ amid DOGE sweeps
FIRST ON FOX: Linda McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Education, will testify before the Senate on Thursday, centering her opening remarks around creating “a better future for every American learner.” The Trump nominee, who was tapped in November, will kick off her confirmation process during a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Thursday morning. Republican Sens. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Katie Britt of Alabama will introduce McMahon before the hearing, Fox News has learned. McMahon will focus her remarks on enacting Trump’s vision with the idea that “education is the issue that determines our national success and prepares American workers to win the future,” according to an excerpt of her opening remarks, shared first with Fox News Digital. “I would like to thank President Trump for his confidence in me to lead a Department whose mission and authority were a special focus of his campaign. He pledged to make American education the best in the world, return education to the states where it belongs, and free American students from the education bureaucracy through school choice,” McMahon will say in her opening remarks. TRUMP EDUCATION DEPT LAUNCHES PROBE INTO ‘EXPLOSION OF ANTISEMITISM’ AT 5 UNIVERSITIES McMahon is being boosted to head the department that Trump has suggested he wants to dismantle during his term, recently saying that if McMahon is confirmed, he wants her to “put herself out of a job.” Trump said Wednesday just hours ahead of McMahon’s hearing that he wanted to close the Education Department “immediately.” “It’s a big con job,” he said. “They ranked the top countries in the world. We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department: cost per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked No. 40.” His comments came as Trump’s executive agency, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) run by Elon Musk, continues its financial audit of the federal government. TRUMP’S KEY TO CABINET CONFIRMATIONS: SENATOR-TURNED-VP VANCE’S GIFT OF GAB McMahon previously served as the administrator of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term before stepping down in 2019 to “return to the private sector.” She plans to say during her opening remarks Thursday, “My experience as a business owner and leader of the Small Business Administration, as a public servant in the state of Connecticut, and more than a decade of service as a college trustee has taught me to put parents, teachers, and students, not bureaucracy, first.” “Outstanding teachers are tired of political ideology in their curriculum and red tape on their desks. This is why school choice is a growing movement across the nation: it offers teachers and parents an alternative to classrooms that are micromanaged from Washington, D.C.” The Trump nominee also plans to highlight antisemitism in schools and the issue of biological males competing in women’s and girls’ sports. “If I am confirmed, the department will not stand idly by while Jewish students are attacked and discriminated against,” her remarks read. “It will stop forcing schools to let boys and men into female sports and spaces. And it will protect the rights of parents to direct the moral education of their children.” In her opening remarks, McMahon will note that “many Americans today are experiencing a system in decline” but that “the opportunity before us these next four years is momentous.” “It is my great honor to announce that Linda McMahon, former Administrator of the Small Business Administration, will be the United States Secretary of Education,” Trump said in his nomination announcement in November. Before being tapped to head the Education Department, McMahon founded WWE with her husband in 1980, which has grown into a global wrestling entertainment network. “As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families,” the press release added. “Linda served for two years on the Connecticut Board of Education, where she was one of fifteen members overseeing all Public Education in the State, including its Technical High School system.” After McMahon’s confirmation hearing, the committee will schedule a vote on whether to advance her nomination to a full floor vote.
EPA administrator Zeldin demands return of $20B in taxpayer money wasted by Biden administration
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin said Wednesday that his team has located $20 billion in tax dollars that the Biden administration purposely wasted. “An extremely disturbing video circulated two months ago, featuring a Biden EPA political appointee talking about how they were ‘tossing gold bars off the Titanic,’ rushing to get billions of your tax dollars out the door before Inauguration Day,” Zeldin said in a video posted to X, citing another video from December. “The ‘gold bars’ were tax dollars and ‘tossing them off the Titanic’ meant the Biden administration knew they were wasting it.” Zeldin said the EPA has plans to recover the “gold bars” that were found “parked at an outside financial institution,” which he does not mention by name. He said that “this scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history, and it was purposefully designed to obligate all the money in a rush job with reduced oversight” before Inauguration Day. TRUMP TAPS FORMER NEW YORK REP LEE ZELDIN TO LEAD EPA Zeldin said “there is zero reason to suspect any wrongdoing by the bank,” but he thinks agreement with the institution “needs to be instantly terminated” and all the money should be immediately returned. He also said the EPA needs to reassume responsibility for all of these funds, adding that his team will “review every penny that has gone out the door.” THROUGH THE EPA, WE CAN PURSUE ENERGY DOMINANCE, LEE ZELDIN SAYS | FOX NEWS VIDEO “The days of irresponsibly shoveling boatloads of cash to far-left activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over,” Zeldin said. “The American public deserves a more transparent and accountable government than what transpired these past four years.” He also said that he would be referring this matter to the inspector general’s office and that he would work with the Department of Justice to assist President Donald Trump in regaining control. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Now we will get them back inside of control of government as we pursue next steps. As President Trump has vowed, we’re going to usher in a new Golden Age of American success for the citizens of every race, religion, color and creed,” Zeldin said at the end of the video. Elon Musk also commended Zeldin on X for an “awesome job” saving taxpayer money.
Judicial pushback against Trump’s agenda will likely lead to one final face-off, experts say
President Donald Trump’s agenda has been met with a wave of lawsuits since he took office in January, and legal experts say many of them will likely end up in the Supreme Court’s hands. “President Trump is certainly being aggressive in terms of flexing executive power and not at all surprised that these are being challenged,” John Malcolm, vice president of the Institute for Constitutional Government at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. Trump kicked off his second term with a flurry of executive orders and directives that have since been the targets of a flood of legal challenges. Since Trump’s day 1, more than 40 lawsuits have been filed over the administration’s actions, including the president’s birthright citizenship order, immigration policies, federal funding freezes, federal employee buyouts, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and legal action against FBI and DOJ employees. “Many of these cases may end up on the Supreme Court, but certainly the birthright citizenship,” Malcolm said. “If there ends up being a split among the courts, that issue will certainly be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court.” FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ADMIN TO RESTORE PUBLIC HEALTH WEB PAGES Erwin Chemerinsky, dean at UC Berkeley School of Law, said Trump “has issued a myriad of orders violating the Constitution and federal laws” and noted that “Many already have been enjoined by the courts.” “The crucial question is whether the president will defy these orders,” Chemerinsky told Fox News Digital. “Almost without exception, throughout American history, presidents have complied with Supreme Court orders even when they strongly disagree with them.” In one of the most recent developments, a Rhode Island federal judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funds, claiming the administration did not adhere to a previous order to do so. The Trump administration appealed the order to the First Circuit shortly thereafter, which was ultimately denied. AS DEMOCRATS REGROUP OUTSIDE DC, GOP ATTORNEYS GENERAL ADOPT NEW PLAYBOOK TO DEFEND TRUMP AGENDA “Judges ordering the federal government to spend billions of dollars when the administration is saying that that is not in the best interests of the United States, I would expect that issue to be on a fast track to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Malcolm said. Many of these lawsuits have been filed in historically left-leaning federal court jurisdictions, including Washington federal court and D.C. federal court. Various challenges have already been appealed to the appellate courts, including the Ninth and First Circuits, which notably hand down more progressive rulings. The Ninth Circuit, in particular, has a higher reversal rate than other circuit courts. “Judge shopping is nothing new,” Malcolm said. “So I’m not at all surprised that these lawsuits challenging the Trump administration are being filed, for the most part, in the bluest of blue areas where the odds are high that the judge who’s going to be considering the issue has a liberal orientation.” HOUSE DEMS ORGANIZE RAPID RESPONSE TASK FORCE AND LITIGATION GROUP TO COMBAT TRUMP AGENDA Despite the variety of ongoing legal challenges, Malcolm said he believes the Trump administration is on more solid footing when it comes to cases concerning firing political appointees. On Monday, Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden to lead the Office of Special Counsel, sued the Trump administration in D.C. federal court after he was fired on Friday. Malcolm said Trump’s second term will continue to see a wave of litigation as he continues to implement his agenda, similar to his predecessors, including Biden. Malcolm particularly noted the Biden administration’s efforts to redefine sex in Title IX as “gender identity.” A Kentucky federal judge blocked the Biden administration’s attempt in early January. “There are a lot of these issues that end up coming up,” Malcolm said, looking back on Biden’s Title IX legal challenges. “And I suspect that the same sorts of issues will come up during the Trump administration, and they’ll be full employment for lawyers throughout his entire term.”