CA Republicans urge Trump admin to fight state’s attack on natural gas: ‘It’s sick’
California’s top Republican leaders are asking the Trump administration “to intervene” against their own state’s push to get rid of traditional energy sources, especially gas, with one lawmaker telling Fox News Digital the push to ban gas appliances was particularly “sick” of the state’s liberal leadership. In a letter sent to the Department of Energy Secretary Christopher Wright, California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher and state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones urged the DOE to look at California’s efforts to “ban natural gas and gas appliances” and “evaluate these actions and their impact on issues of energy sufficiency, energy independence, and national security.” “It’s a sick philosophy that tells fire victims we’re going to control how you build your home, we’re going to tell you all the things that you can and cannot have,” Gallagher told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “This also has a lot of huge implications for the cost of living in California,” Gallagher said. “Let’s once and for all decide that you cannot ban gas appliances. People need these. They like having these. They’re more affordable. Let’s make sure that this is not going to get any further down the road.” ‘DEI ACTIVISM’: REPUBLICAN AGS PRAISE TRUMP SEC MOVE TO REVERSE BIDEN CLIMATE RULE THEY FOUGHT IN COURT California has intensified efforts to phase out natural gas appliances in recent years for what lawmakers claim will cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve indoor air quality. In 2022, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a plan to ban the sale of new gas-powered space and water heaters by 2030, requiring homes and businesses to transition to zero-emission alternatives like electric heat pumps. The state’s 2023 energy code also encourages all-electric construction, making it more costly for developers to install gas appliances. “I hope the federal government weighs in and restores consumer choice in California,” Gallagher said. “We should be able to choose whether or not we want electric or gas, and we especially need to make those choices so we can ensure that we can afford to live in this state, because right now, electricity, because of [Gov.] Gavin Newsom and the Democrats policies, has exploded the prices through the roof.” The Republicans are also requesting that the DOE “engage legally with any California jurisdiction violating EPCA [Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975] in order to enforce the federal preemption of any state or local gas bans.” “In light of these actions by a number of California state agencies, local governments, and regulatory bodies, we ask the Department of Energy to intervene where appropriate to overturn these overreaching policies,” the letter stated. PRESIDENT TRUMP’S PRO-ENERGY AGENDA WILL UNLEASH AMERICAN JOBS AND ENERGY SECURITY Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has directed the DOE to implement policies to bolster natural gas production and exports. Late last month, he signed an executive order declaring a national energy emergency, which includes measures to enhance domestic energy production. “Expanding consumer choice and removing burdensome restrictions on household appliances is a key component of President Trump’s agenda for reducing costs for the American people,” DOE spokesperson Ben Dietderich told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. While California — which has been a beacon of progressive environmental policies for other liberal states — participates in the federal government’s Appliance Standards Program, in some cases, the state’s stringent standards exceed federal requirements. Dietderich said the department is “conducting a comprehensive review and is working to advance a commonsense approach that prioritizes affordability and choice for all Americans” when asked about the California Republicans’ letter. “Any standards should include a cost-benefit analysis considering the upfront cost of purchasing new products and reflecting actual cost savings for American families,” Wright said in a statement last week while announcing his first secretarial order. NEW YORK ‘POLLUTERS PAY’ LAW BACKCHARGING OIL, GAS COMPANIES FACES REPUBLICAN AGS’ LAWSUIT: ‘DEVASTATING’ More than 70 cities in the Golden State, starting with Berkeley in 2019, enacted local ordinances prohibiting natural gas hookups in new buildings. However, a 2024 federal court ruling overturned Berkeley’s ban, prompting some municipalities to reconsider their policies. Meanwhile, the state legislature passed a bill requiring warning labels on gas stoves, citing health risks linked to indoor emissions. If signed into law, California would become the first state to ban gas appliances. And California’s Democratic majority has the backing of Gov. Gavin Newsom. In recent years, Newsom signed laws restricting new oil and gas wells near certain sites and signed off on neighborhoods to transition to all-electric systems. Additionally, in December 2024, state regulators approved a plan to reduce reliance on a major natural gas storage facility. In a recent interview with CNN’s Pamela Brown earlier this month, Newsom said homeowners who lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires “can’t rebuild the same, so we have to rebuild with science, we have to rebuild with a climate reality in mind […].” Fox News Digital did not hear back from Newsom’s office by time of publication.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… –DOGE exposes millions more in canceled ‘nonsense’ contracts across several federal agencies -RFK Jr nomination to serve as Trump’s health secretary clears key hurdle in Senate -GOP bill takes aim at visa lottery allowing ‘faceless computer code’ to dish out green cards President Donald Trump continued his successful Cabinet confirmation roll on Wednesday, with Tulsi Gabbard officially being approved by the Senate to become his director of national intelligence (DNI). She became his 14th Cabinet confirmation following the 52-48 vote on Wednesday. The vote was party-line, except for former GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who opposed Gabbard. After an uphill battle during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the former Democratic representative managed to come back and get key Republicans to support her in her bid to oversee the nation’s intelligence agencies…Read more ‘LENGTHY AND HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE’: Trump says Russia agrees on call to ‘immediately’ begin negotiations to end war in Ukraine…Read more JUDICIAL SUPREMACY: 6 times judges blocked Trump executive orders…Read more LOVE AND HATE: Which Trump policies Americans love and hate…Read more ‘LAMENTING’: Obama bros on DOGE: ‘some of this is stuff we should have done’…Read more ‘LIVING IN FEAR’: Dozens of religious groups sue to stop Trump admin from arresting migrants in places of worship…Read more LAWSUIT BLITZ: New resistance battling Trump’s second term through onslaught of lawsuits taking aim at EOs…Read more KYIV ATTACKED: Russian missiles rained down on Ukraine just ahead of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s visit…Read more STEP UP EUROPE: Hegseth warns Europeans ‘realities’ of China and border threats prevent US from guaranteeing their security…Read more ‘WELCOME THE STRANGER’: Pope blasts Trump admin over mass deportation plan, directs ire at Vance’s religious defense for policies…Read more ‘TOUGH TO WITNESS’: Ex-NY Giants player is helping deported migrants in Guatemala, blames Biden for the problem…Read more ZOMBIE DRUG: Democrat looks to codify new AG Bondi’s crackdown on ‘zombie drug’ xylazine…Read more GREER ADVANCES: Trump US trade rep pick Jamieson Greer advances out of Senate Finance Committee…Read more SPENDING WARS: House, Senate Republicans clash over mammoth Trump budget bill seeking $1.5T in cuts…Read more FIRST ON FOX: Patel camp derides Durbin accusations as ‘politically motivated’ attempt to derail FBI confirmation…Read more ‘SAVE FACE’: Officials at Liz Warren’s pet project agency dismissed despite telling media they resigned…Read more ‘MEDICAL INCIDENT’: Complex partial seizure ruled as cause of pausing episode during House floor speech, Dem congressman says…Read more GET OUT: DRAIN THE SWAMP Act seeks to move DC bureaucracy ‘out of Crazy Town,’ House DOGE leader says…Read more DEFYING TRUMP: Maine sports governing body says trans athletes can still compete in women’s sports despite Trump order…Read more ‘COMMON SENSE’: Republican AGs praise Trump SEC move to reverse Biden climate rule they fought in court…Read more FIRST ON FOX: Key government agency pushes back against media reporting of DOGE chaos: ‘Categorically untrue’…Read more MINE CRAFT: Elon Musk describes limestone mine used for processing federal workers’ retirement papers: ‘Like a time warp’…Read more STAFFING UP: RNC brings on new senior leadership to ‘work around the clock’ to support Trump agenda, elect Republicans…Read more ‘I WILL NOT REST’: Border state gubernatorial showdown expected as Trump-backed candidate enters race…Read more ‘SHOCKING WORDS’: Top hospital hit with blistering ad exposing ‘political agenda’…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Putin viewed as ‘great competitor’ but still a US ‘adversary’ as Ukraine negotiations loom, Leavitt says
The Trump administration simultaneously views Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “great competitor” and “adversary” as it hashes out negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Wednesday press conference. “I believe this nation views Putin and Russia as a great competitor in the region, at times an adversary,” Leavitt said when asked how President Donald Trump views Russia and Putin. “But as the president has said, as well, he enjoys having good diplomatic relations with leaders around the world. Finding that common ground, also calling them out when they are wrong. Leading from a position of peace through strength. That’s the president’s greatest strength.” Just ahead of the Wednesday afternoon press conference, Trump announced on Truth Social that he had spoken to Putin on the phone and the two had agreed to begin negotiations over ending the war in Ukraine. “We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “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.” TRUMP SAYS RUSSIA AGREES TO ‘IMMEDIATELY’ BEGIN NEGOTIATIONS TO END WAR IN UKRAINE Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022, when Russia first invaded its neighboring nation. Trump has said while on the 2024 campaign trail that he would end the war if re-elected, while claiming it would never have begun if he had been in the Oval Office at the time. Leavitt was peppered with a handful of questions surrounding the negotiations, including why the Trump administration’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg was not included on Trump’s list of U.S. officials leading the negotiations. Kellogg “remains a critical part of this team in this effort,” Leavitt said. “He’s played a tremendous role in getting the negotiations to this point, and he’s very much still part of the Trump administration.” “The president, in his Truth following the phone call with Vladimir Putin, said that he has asked Secretary of State Rubio, the Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, our national security advisor here at the White House, Michael Waltz and Steve Witkoff, to lead the negotiations,” she said. FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY The Kremlin posted a Russian language readout of the phone call with Trump on Wednesday, which was translated into English, and it reported Putin invited Trump to Moscow. Leavitt said she did not have any details to share on a potential visit to the country. Trump posted a follow-up Truth Social post on Wednesday that he also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, remarking the conversation “went very well.” AMERICAN MARC FOGEL RELEASED FROM RUSSIAN CUSTODY “He, like President Putin, wants to make PEACE,” Trump wrote. “We discussed a variety of topics having to do with the War, but mostly, the meeting that is being set up on Friday in Munich, where Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the Delegation. I am hopeful that the results of that meeting will be positive. It is time to stop this ridiculous War, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!” The announcement of the initiation of peace negotiations follows the return of Marc Fogel to the U.S. on Tuesday. Fogel is a grade school teacher from Pennsylvania who was arrested in Russia in 2021 for possession of marijuana in an airport. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison before the U.S. secured his release. “I want to thank President Putin for his time and effort with respect to this call, and for the release, yesterday, of Marc Fogel, a wonderful man that I personally greeted last night at the White House,” Trump added of the release in his Truth Social post earlier Wednesday. “I believe this effort will lead to a successful conclusion, hopefully soon!”
Tulsi Gabbard sworn in at White House hours after Senate confirmation
President Donald Trump’s new Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard, was sworn in at the White House on Wednesday, just hours after being confirmed by the Senate. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during her briefing, “Senate Republicans continued to confirm President Trump’s exceptionally qualified nominees, most recently Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who will be joining us later at the White House for her swearing-in ceremony.” DEM LOOKS TO CODIFY NEW AG BONDI’S DESIRED CRACKDOWN ON ‘ZOMBIE DRUG’ XYLAZINE “It’s imperative that the remainder of the president’s Cabinet nominees are confirmed as quickly as possible,” she added. Gabbard was sworn in by Attorney General Pam Bondi in the Oval Office. The event took place just after 4 PM and Trump was in attendance for the ceremony. The Senate confirmed Gabbard in a 52-48 vote. The divide was along party lines, with the exception of former GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who opposed her. “In my assessment, Tulsi Gabbard failed to demonstrate that she is prepared to assume this tremendous national trust,” McConnell said in a lengthy statement on his vote. TRUMP LANDS KEY TULSI GABBARD CONFIRMATION FOLLOWING UPHILL SENATE BATTLE “The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the president receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment.” Gabbard notably faced scrutiny over her past meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, her previous FISA Section 702 stance and her past support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. SENATE DOGE CHAIR SAYS SHE SPEAKS WITH ELON MUSK ‘EVERY FEW DAYS’ AS TRUMP ADMIN SLASHES SPENDING But those concerns were mostly quelled by Gabbard herself, in coordination with the significant efforts of Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Vice President JD Vance, who worked behind the scenes to get party members on board. She is the 14th Cabinet official to be confirmed in Trump’s second term. DEMOCRAT SENATOR BACKS TRUMP’S ‘COMMON SENSE MOVE’ TO FIRE THE PENNY Next up will be Trump’s similarly controversial pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is nominated to be secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). He will get a vote early Thursday morning after clearing his last procedural hurdle Wednesday afternoon.
‘Makes sense’: GOP, Dems unite behind Trump’s plan to fire the penny
Washington D.C. – Democratic and Republican lawmakers found consensus about President Donald Trump in his decision to eliminate the penny, telling Fox News Digital on Capitol Hill that it “makes sense” to stop making cents. Trump announced on Sunday that he was instructing the Treasury Department to stop producing new pennies, writing in a Truth Social post that it costs more than two cents to mint a single one-cent coin. Fox News Digital asked members of Congress for their two cents about Trump eliminating the coin, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle saying they agree with his decision. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., speaking to Fox News Digital, said eliminating the penny “might be the best” thing Trump has done since taking office. HOW TRUMP MIGHT GET RID OF THE PENNY – AND WHAT COULD COME NEXT FOR YOUR POCKET CHANGE “In all the things he’s done in his first month in office, that might be the best,” Moskowitz told Fox. “We haven’t printed the penny since 2023, so I’m good with him eliminating it.” DEMOCRAT SENATOR BACKS TRUMP’S ‘COMMON SENSE MOVE’ TO FIRE THE PENNY Standing with Moskowitz was Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. “I agree with eliminating the penny,” he said. “It costs more to make a penny than it’s worth, so if that’s what he wants to do, that’s fine,” another Democrat, Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., said. According to the U.S. Mint, the government agency that makes coins, the Treasury Department lost more than $85 million on the pennies they produced in 2024. “If it takes two cents to make one cent, it kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?” Rep. Carlos Giménez, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., said it “makes financial sense” given that the cost to make a penny is more than the coin is worth. Rep. George Latimer, D-N.Y., said he is talking to local businesses in his communities, and will support the route that best accommodates them. “I’ve talked to some local businesses in our community to see how that affects them. And the question would be, does it make their life easier or more difficult?” Latimer said. “If they tell me, it’s easier, then it’s a good decision. They tell me it’s more difficult when they have to calculate sales tax and things that don’t even out to zeros or fives, then it’s not a good idea.”
DOGE ‘playbook’ unveiled by GOP senator as Musk-led agency shakes up federal government
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., debuted his annual book of “federal fumbles” that he believes can provide additional ideas for the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as it continues to aggressively slash federal agency spending. The founding Senate DOGE Caucus member filled 26 pages with examples of what he believes are government shortcomings and inefficiencies, as well as the money they waste. In a letter to readers, Lankford wrote, “My goal is to create a roadmap for DOGE, identifying key areas within the federal government and solutions to fix them.” DEM LOOKS TO CODIFY NEW AG BONDI’S DESIRED CRACKDOWN ON ‘ZOMBIE DRUG’ XYLAZINE One of the fumbles cited was related to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which was recently dismantled by DOGE. Lankford pointed to a May 2024 report from the Special Inspector General from Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) that showed $11 million in taxpayer cash had gone to the terrorist group the Taliban since 2021, the year President Joe Biden oversaw the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. This was revealed after USAID had claimed in its own report that no money had been intercepted by the Taliban. TRUMP LANDS KEY TULSI GABBARD CONFIRMATION FOLLOWING UPHILL SENATE BATTLE Lankford prescribed implementing a “tougher, more comprehensive screening process to vet organizations and partners receiving aid” to avoid this in the future. Another area highlighted by the Senate DOGE Caucus member was the news broadcasting entities, the U.S. Agency of Global Media (USAGM) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which he said undercut the U.S. on the world stage and at home despite receiving money from Congress. He noted that “956 million was spent showcasing United States government scandals and weaknesses within our country” on Voice of America (VOA) and the office of CUBA Broadcasting (OCB), which serve to provide information to regions with limited freedom of the press. The two organizations are overseen by USAGM. SENATE DOGE CHAIR SAYS SHE SPEAKS WITH ELON MUSK ‘EVERY FEW DAYS’ AS TRUMP ADMIN SLASHES SPENDING Additionally, the Republican remarked that CPB, a private organization which receives money from Congress, in turn provides significant funds to NPR and PBS. The two outlets have long been criticized for a perceived bias against Republicans. In fact, an editor publicly called out NPR last year for its bias, citing examples like Hunter Biden’s laptop and its lack of coverage. This led to a renewed effort from Republicans in Congress to defund CPB. The “Playbook for DOGE” also addressed what it labeled “Biden’s Biggest Fumble.” DEMOCRAT SENATOR BACKS TRUMP’S ‘COMMON SENSE MOVE’ TO FIRE THE PENNY “Arguably the biggest fumble of the Biden administration was the way they handled the southern border. Specifically, how the U.S. Customs and Border Protection released hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens into this country with a piece of paper asking them to self-report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for processing anywhere in the country,” it reads, referring to the immigrants paroled into the country. To address this, Lankford called to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which the Trump administration has indicated it will do. He stressed that “Congress must still pass legislation to prevent any future president from allowing illegal aliens into the country with no vetting and to close the asylum loophole.”
Biden administration slow-walked Marc Fogel designation as ‘wrongful detainee,’ Republicans say
The Biden administration slow-walked its designation of American Marc Fogel as a “wrongful detainee” in Russia, Republicans and officials who previously worked on the effort to free Fogel told Fox News Digital. “Marc Fogel was viewed by the Biden administration as just an average White guy from flyover country in Western Pennsylvania,” House Chief Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “He didn’t have any celebrity status; he wasn’t a military veteran; he wasn’t a journalist. So, the Biden administration overlooked him, and I think that’s absolutely appalling.” FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY Fogel, an American teacher from Western Pennsylvania, returned to the United States late Tuesday, after President Donald Trump secured his release. Fogel had been arrested at an airport in Russia in 2021 for possession of medical marijuana and was sentenced to 14 years in a Russian prison. The Biden administration did not designate Fogel a wrongful detainee until October 2024 and did not make that designation public until December 2024 – weeks after Trump was elected and the month before his inauguration. Reschenthaler was first notified in 2021 of Fogel’s detention and began leading efforts with congressional colleagues to work with the Biden administration to bring Fogel home. Along with a group of bipartisan lawmakers from Pennsylvania – including Reps. Brendan F. Boyle, Mike Doyle, Dwight Evans, Fred Keller, Mike Kelly, Conor Lamb, Dan Meuser, Glenn “GT” Thompson, Susan Wild, and Sen. Pat Toomey — Reschenthaler penned an August 2022 letter to then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to classify Fogel as having been “wrongfully detained.” MOTHER OF FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL THANKS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: ‘HE KEPT HIS PROMISE’ The lawmakers argued that Fogel’s case was similar to that of WNBA player Brittney Griner, who had been imprisoned for a drug offense in Russia in February 2022. Griner, however, quickly was designated as being wrongfully detained and was returned home in December 2022. Reschenthaler told Fox News Digital he spoke to Blinken “multiple times” about Fogel but said the secretary of state “refused to give me or my colleagues any kind of explanation for why (Fogel) was not put on wrongfully detained status.” When determining whether an American is wrongfully detained, the individual’s case is measured against criteria established by the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act. There were 11 criteria established by that law, and lawmakers said Fogel had met at least six of the criteria. But the secretary of state has discretion over designations. “There are a lot of things that President Trump brings to the table that secured the release of Fogel,” Reschenthaler told Fox News Digital. “For one, the Biden administration knew that Marc Fogel was going to be put on wrongfully detained status under Trump – and they didn’t want to give him the win, so they went ahead and did it on their way out the door.” But Reschenthaler said Trump “has a lot more gravitas in talking to foreign leaders and adversaries.” “Because when President Trump talks – when he makes a threat or draws a red line – he will actually deliver on that promise,” Reschenthaler said. “Biden would not make bold assertions, and there was nothing to back them off. The Russians did not take Biden or Tony Blinken seriously – and there was nothing to compel them to release Fogel.” A former Biden administration official pushed back and defended Biden and Blinken’s work. FLASHBACK: AMERICAN HELD IN RUSSIAN PENAL COLONY FOR MONTHS BUT STILL NOT LABELED ‘WRONGFULLY DETAINED,’ FAMILY SAYS “Whether someone is designated or not doesn’t change our level of advocacy, which is how we brought home over 70 people who’d been detained abroad,” the former official told Fox News Digital. “We fought day after day to secure Marc’s release and we celebrate his return home.” By June 2023, two years into Fogel’s detention without the wrongful detainee designation, Reschenthaler, Rep. Mark Kelly, R-Pa., and Pennsylvania Democrat Reps. Chris Deluzio and Brendan Boyle introduced the Marc Fogel Act, which would require the State Department to provide Congress with copies of documents and communications on why a wrongful determination had or had not been made in cases of U.S. nationals detained abroad within six months of arrest. “When you talked to career State Department officials, they understood what they were waiting for was a green light from the executive branch – but they could never say why they wouldn’t do these things,” Kelly told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “They would say, ‘Well, we’re working on it. We’re working on it.’ But the stopping point was that they would not designate him the right way, and it seemed like they had no interest in getting it at all.” Kelly told Fox News Digital that, within the “political State Department,” there “just didn’t seem to be any energy toward getting that designation done.” FLASHBACK: GOP REP INTRODUCES BIPARTISAN ‘MARC FOGEL ACT’ PUSHING STATE DEPT FOR ANSWERS ON AMERICANS JAILED OVERSEAS “There have been so many things since I’ve been in Congress that you get stonewalled on, and that was just one of those things I felt at the beginning – we were just getting stonewalled,” Kelly said. “They were just giving us conversation.” Kelly said, though, that he could “feel that the career State Department personnel wanted to do something.” “But the political State Department was disinterested,” Kelly said. It wasn’t just Republican and Democratic lawmakers trying to aid the Biden administration in securing the return of Fogel to the United States. Former White House national security advisor Robert O’Brien, who served during the first Trump administration, also got involved. O’Brien told Fox News Digital that he sent a letter to the Russian ambassador as “a humanitarian gesture.” “I sent a letter to the Russian ambassador during the Biden years asking if they would consider a humanitarian release of Mr. Fogel,” O’Brien told Fox News Digital. “The Russian ambassador sent a cordial,
‘Mr. Brexit’ advocates for UK DOGE over ‘complete waste’ of taxpayer money
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has dominated headlines during President Donald Trump’s second term. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK party leader who initiated Britain’s departure from the European Union, has been taking notes. Farage posted a social media video on Tuesday proclaiming, “Britain needs its own DOGE!” He said it was the “first in a series” of videos that will highlight the misuse of British taxpayer money. “Do you ever wonder where your taxes go, whether your money is being spent properly?” Farage asked. “Well, have a look at what’s come across my desk. Oh, you’ll like this. The environmental impact of filmmaking using Star Wars to improve sector sustainability practices. No, I’m not even making it up – over £200,000. Try this. The cultural legacies of the British Empire, classical music’s colonial history 1750-1900 – £1.2 million funded by U.K. Research and Innovation, a non-departmental government body.” Farage said Elon Musk’s DOGE investigations inspired him to reevaluate where British taxpayer money is going. Farage said programs, like studying the impact of Star Wars on the environment, are a waste of federal funds and keep workers “in jobs who don’t deserve them.” TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE “When you see what they’re doing in America, do you get the feeling we ought to be doing it here? This is all a complete waste of your taxpayer money. It’s keeping people in jobs who don’t deserve to have them.” NIGEL FARAGE RESPONDS AFTER ELON MUSK DECLARES HE ‘DOESN’T HAVE WHAT IT TAKES’ TO LEAD REFORM UK PARTY In December 2024, The Times of London first reported Musk was considering a $100 million donation to Farage’s Reform UK Party. A photo at Mar-a-Lago of Musk, Farage and Nick Candy, the party’s treasurer, released by Reform UK confirmed talks were underway. On Jan. 5, Musk created a rift when he advocated for the release of Tommy Robinson, a British political figure controversial for his views on free speech. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is imprisoned for releasing a documentary with defamatory comments about a Syrian refugee. Farage was quick to distance himself from Musk’s view on Robinson, maintaining that “Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform.” In response, Musk called for a new leader of Reform, saying Farage “doesn’t have what it takes.” Despite the social media tension, Farage was one of several European political leaders at Trump’s inauguration in January. He joined Éric Zemmour of France, Tom Van Grieken of Belgium and former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Washington, D.C. Farage’s post aligns with the growing “woke waste” movement in the United Kingdom, a group advocating for government transparency and a DOGE of their own. Since the end of 2024, The Procurement Files has been searching through over 300,000 contracts on the United Kingdom’s public government database to show Brits where their taxpayer money is going. Operating much like DOGE’s X account, The Procurement Files searches the government’s database to reveal wasteful spending. Much like we’ve seen play out with Musk cutting DEI and USAID spending, many posts spotlight spending on sustainability initiatives and international humanitarian aid. One post revealed U.K. taxpayers spent £50,000 to study “shrimp health in Bangladesh.” Another post highlighted a £15.5 million U.K. investment in a “Climate Smart Jobs Programme in Uganda.” Charlotte Gill, who runs DOGE UK on social media, is working alongside The Procurement Files to reveal government waste and misuse of taxpayer money. Trump granted Musk the executive authority to investigate and implement the DOGE agenda to “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” Gill has created an online community in the absence of an official DOGE UK. When Mete Coban, the deputy mayor of London for environment and energy, announced a program giving away 70,000 trees, Gill took her frustration to social media. The United Kingdom proposed government spending regulations in November 2024. With a goal of saving £1.2 billion by 2026, the new plan increases government oversight to cut unnecessary spending. “We’re taking immediate action to stop all non-essential government consultancy spend in 2024-25 and halve government spending on consultancy in future years, saving the taxpayer over £1.2 billion by 2026,” Georgia Gould, parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet Office, announced in November. “It comes alongside our work to develop a strategic plan to make the Civil Service more efficient and effective, with bold measures to improve skills and harness digital technology.” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer referenced Trump’s long-standing commitment to “draining the swamp” during a speech promising “change and reform” for the United Kingdom in December 2024. “I don’t think there’s a swamp to be drained here, but I do think too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline,” Starmer said. DOGE UK, Farage and Starmer did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
‘Ridiculous’: Bondi personally strips DOJ walls of Biden, Harris, Garland portraits
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday personally stripped the Justice Department’s walls of portraits of former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and her own predecessor, former Attorney General Merrick Garland, saying it was “ridiculous” for the portraits to hang nearly three weeks into President Donald Trump’s tenure Bondi’s role in personally removing the portraits, first shared on X by the New York Post’s Miranda Devine, was confirmed to Fox News Digital by a Justice Department official. Bondi “saw portraits of Garland, Biden, Harris were still up, and she took the initiative to take them off the walls herself and stack them in the corner,” the official told Fox News. BONDI SWORN IN AS ATTORNEY GENERAL WITH MISSION TO END ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT The actions come after Bondi, who was sworn in earlier this month, vowed during her confirmation hearing in January not to politicize the Justice Department. Bondi, a longtime state prosecutor in Florida and two-time state attorney general, used her roughly five-hour confirmation hearing last month to vow that, if confirmed, the “partisanship, the weaponization” at the Justice Department “will be gone.” FBI AGENTS SUE TRUMP DOJ TO BLOCK ANY PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED ON JAN. 6 INVESTIGATIONS “America will have one tier of justice for all,” she said. Trump, for his part, praised Bondi during her swearing-in ceremony earlier this month as “unbelievably fair and unbelievably good,” and someone who he said will “restore fair and impartial justice” at the department. “I know I’m supposed to say, ‘She’s going to be totally impartial with respect to Democrats,’” Trump told reporters then, “and I think she will be as impartial as a person can be.”
Venezuelans linked to ‘violent cases’ were on radar of Aurora authorities months before viral video: emails
FIRST ON FOX: Authorities in Aurora, Colorado have traced a surge in Venezuelan-linked crime as early as the summer of 2023 in two apartment blocks, new emails show — nearly a year before the rise of Tren de Aragua activity came to light. Emails obtained by America First Legal and provided to Fox News Digital show communications between state and local officials about the threat posed by Venezuelan nationals, including those who may have ties to the bloodthirsty Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. A February email chain between state and local officials included comments from an Aurora Police Department official about “possible Venezuelan ties in Aurora.” The official mentions two apartment blocks. TOM HOMAN BELIEVES ICE RAID LEAKS ARE ‘COMING FROM INSIDE’ AS AURORA LEAKER CLOSER TO BEING IDENTIFIED “Both of those addresses are currently having Venezuelan refugees placed there and we have had multiple violent cases involving those addresses with Venezuelan suspects since about June of 2023,” one email said. The email chain, of which the subject was “Venezuelans stealing and selling stolen vehicles and using fake plates,” included the APD official saying “it’s difficult to ID people who have no history in the U.S. yet.” The APD would also say in January that a group called the Papagayo Foundation had been allowed “to place Venezuelan refugees in these properties, most likely leading to possible TdA members moving to Aurora according to HSI,” referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. At another apartment block, the Aurora PD crime request said that there had been a “consistent increase” in calls for service from the police, “nearly doubling from 2022 to 2023 and on track to double again between 2023 and 2024.” “APD investigated 41 crimes in 2022, 84 crimes in 2023, and 66 crimes in 2024 through July 31. The crimes included various motor vehicle crimes, robbery, drugs, trespass, sexual assault and aggravated assault,” it said, also disputing claims that Aurora Police would not patrol the area or send officers to the complex. FEDERAL COURT BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM SENDING DETAINED VENEZUELAN IMMIGRANTS TO GUANTÁNAMO BAY “The city and the APD are also aware of concerns at the national level that members of a Venezuelan prison gang have arrived in the United States and established organized crime cells in cities throughout the country,” it said. “APD leadership shares in those concerns and is actively working with law enforcement agencies across the metro area to conclusively determine if indeed there is a connection between metro criminal activity and a specific group or organization.” In a separate document tracking incidents through apartments owned by CBZ management, which owns 11 complexes in Colorado, alleged crimes included an assault on a property manager, the arrest of two men who were armed and allegedly on their way to kill a property manager, a stabbing, and multiple incidents involving armed men. CBZ said last year that TdA members have commandeered entire buildings in Arurora by threatening employees and trying to extort it for rent money. Local authorities have said those claims were exaggerated. “Gangs have taken control of several of our properties in Aurora, Colorado,” the company wrote in a thread on X last year. “In an attempt to discredit this fact for political purposes and avoid governmental accountability, some have spread false information about our situation.” Another email in February 2024 outlined how APD had contacted ICE HSI to identify suspects who may be in TdA or be Venezuelan, including wearing red 23 jerseys or having gang tattoos. The revelations come after months of reports about a growing Venezuelan and TdA presence in Colorado, and the violent consequences inflicted upon people living there. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE A viral video of alleged Venezuelan gang members carrying guns through an Aurora apartment complex last August put a spotlight on immigration in the Denver area. Then-President-elect Donald Trump visited the city during his re-election campaign last fall, detailing his “Operation Aurora” to expedite the removal of “savage gangs.” At the height of the controversy last August, then-APD interim Chief Heather Morris attempting to downplay the issue, arguing that “gang members” had not “taken over” the apartment complex. “I’m not saying that there’s not gang members that don’t live in this community,” she said. “But what we’re learning out here is that gang members have not taken over this complex.” AURORA POLICE REACT TO ALLEGED VENEZUELAN GANG PRESENCE AT APARTMENTS: ‘HAVE NOT TAKEN OVER’ But a former resident of the complex, Cindy Romero, disputed that characterization during an appearance on Fox News last year, arguing that the viral incident was in no way an “isolated” one. “It is not by any means an isolated occurrence, unfortunately. I have months, almost a year and a half worth of footage, from six separate cameras,” the former resident said, adding that some attempts to call police before suspected gang activity broke out were met with little response “unless something happened.” Recently, the Trump administration launched an ICE raid in and around Aurora, but the leaking of details of the raid is believed to have sent gang members into hiding. Administration officials say the leak is being investigated. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Progressive politicians have been gaslighting the American people for the last four years regarding the presence of illegal migrant criminal gangs,” Michael Ding, America First Legal Counsel said in a statement. “While the Trump Administration has immediately gotten to work to clean up our communities, America First Legal will continue to investigate why state and local sanctuaries have not done more to help deport these dangerous individuals,” he said. Fox News Digital reached out to Aurora police and the Papagayo Foundation. Fox News’ Christina Coulter contributed to this report.