As Democrats regroup outside DC, GOP attorneys general adopt new playbook to defend Trump agenda
GOP state attorneys are taking on a renewed role during President Donald Trump’s second administration as “freedom’s front line,” Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) incoming executive director Adam Piper told Fox News Digital, arguing that Democrats – deflated from losing control of both houses of Congress – are turning to left-leaning state attorneys to “undermine” the White House’s America First agenda. Right now, there are 29 Republican attorneys general in the United States who are “uniquely qualified to be the tip of the spear, to be freedom’s front line and be a foundation for the future and a foundation for freedom every single day,” Piper told Fox News Digital. “These men and women are working tirelessly to ensure their states are the safest places possible. But they’re also working tirelessly to defend freedom, to help President Trump to ensure the American people have the system of government they voted for, they expect, and they deserve one that is free and one that is fair.” In Trump’s first three weeks in office, Democratic attorneys general have sued the Trump administration on several matters related to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). That includes New York Attorney General Letitia James leading 19 state attorneys in suing over DOGE leader Elon Musk’s access to Treasury Department records. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction in that case Saturday. TRUMP HAS HIGHER APPROVAL RATING THAN AT ANY POINT DURING FIRST TERM: POLL Democratic attorneys general also partnered with the country’s largest federal labor unions to sue over Trump’s deferred resignation offer that would allow workers eight months of paid leave if they agree to leave their jobs voluntarily. In turn, Montana’s Republican attorney general, Austin Knudsen, led 22 states in an amicus brief Sunday asking the court to deny a motion for a temporary restraining order and allow Trump to manage the federal workforce how he sees fit. U.S. District Judge George O’Toole in Boston federal court on Monday proceeded to push back the deadline a second time on Trump’s “Fork in the Road Directive,” which gives most federal employees the option to resign with pay and benefits until Sept. 30. “During the Biden administration, Republican AGs were the last line of defense. We were the goal line stand, keeping the equivalent of a ‘tush push’ out of the end zone,” Piper told Fox News Digital. “During the Trump administration, we have to play offense, defense and special teams,” he continued. “We have to be freedom’s front line. Working with the administration to ensure this DOGE regulatory reform agenda gets done, that we return to America’s Golden Age. But we also have to play defense and special teams. You’re going to see Democratic AGs take our playbook, bastardize it, and push back on the Trump administration. You will see states like New York and California get more aggressive, and Republican AGs are there to defend the rule of law, to promote freedom, and to ensure we work with President Trump to return America’s Golden Age.” As for the DOGE injunction led by James, Piper said it equates to “partisan gamesmanship from Democratic attorneys general who want to do everything possible to thwart President Trump’s agenda.” “This is why Republican attorneys general are so critical to the success of the Trump administration in pushing back against Democratic attorneys general and their attempts to crowbar what President Trump and his team are trying to accomplish in Washington, D.C., which is returning freedom to the American people, returning government efficiency, eliminating fraud, waste and abuse,” he said. REPUBLICAN AGS BACK TRUMP FEDERAL EMPLOYEE BUYOUT AS JUDGE DECIDES ‘FORK IN THE ROAD’ DIRECTIVE’S FATE Regarding James, in particular, Piper noted how New York’s attorney general led cases against Trump during his 2024 re-election campaign that are now defunct and have failed. “A lot of her push back on the Trump administration is more about political theater than it is the rule of law in a court of law,” he said. “And today and moving forward, you will see Republican attorneys general being President Trump’s best friend from a policy standpoint. We will be his best champion from a policy standpoint. There’s no more effective elected official in the United States than the state attorney general. We’re more effective than the members of Congress, more effective than U.S. senators, more effective than even governors… You know, we can push back on some of this lawfare that you’ll see from Democratic attorneys general.” The Republican Attorneys General Association has seen alumni advance to the federal level in the Department of Justice. Most notably, that includes the newly sworn-in U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Piper said he also hopes to see the Senate confirm Aaron Rice, an alum of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, to join the DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy. He noted 51 Republican attorneys general or staff alumni held Senate confirmed positions in the first Trump administration. “Republican attorneys general and their staffs are truly America’s farm team. You know where the best incubator of talent to ensuring President Trump has known conservative fighters who are willing to fight every day for the American people,” Piper said. “And from Attorney General Bondi. There’s no better person to be the attorney general of the United States of America.” As RAGA looks ahead, Virginia Attorney General Jason Myares is defending his office this year in what’s expected to be a competitive race, and then 30 attorneys general races will be on the ballot in 2026. “There’s an urban myth that Richmond goes the opposite way of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We are going to make sure that myth is just an urban myth and just a fable. Attorney General Jason Myers is truly one of our best when you look at the issues across the board. We will have probably an uphill battle,” Piper said. “Virginia is a state the Republicans carried by two points four years ago. We have to have a good ground game. We
Heritage president reacts to ‘Project 2025′ promptly dropping from liberals’ lips as DOGE takes ax to DC
FIRST ON FOX: In the heat of the 2024 election cycle, the name Project 2025 was on the lips of Democrats and mainstream media figures everywhere, until it was not. President Donald Trump’s win ushered in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its de-facto leader, Elon Musk. At the same time, Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, launched DOGE committees in Congress, and Project 2025 appeared to fall to the political wayside. Trump himself repeatedly dispelled allegations he and Project 2025 – a thousand-page policy proposal product of the conservative Heritage Foundation – were joined at the political hip. Meanwhile, Heritage leaders past and present, like Reagan Attorney General Edwin Meese and Heritage President Kevin Roberts, rejected claims there has been anything radical about Project 2025. The quadrennial work has been published under various titles and compositions since the 1980 presidential cycle, with some exceptions. PROJECT 2025 REMAINS NONPARTISAN, TRUE TO 1980S GOOD-GOVT INCEPTION DESPITE WILD OUTCRY: KEY FIGURES Roberts, who wrote the foreword to Project 2025, said voters’ collective voices ushered in Trump and DOGE’s current work, not necessarily the policy proposals of Washington’s conservative “do-tank” or scholars inside-the-beltway writ-large. “The American people delivered a clear mandate in November: dismantle the bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy that is the Deep State. And the latest polling – a 53% approval rating – confirms overwhelming support for President Trump’s efforts to do just that,” he said. When asked about liberals’ panic over Project 2025 and how it has been muted with the rise of DOGE, Roberts suggested the left will latch onto anything to make an issue out of it if they believe they can make gains. “The Left has no new ideas—just unpopular ones. When they fail to win on substance, they simply choose to attack. First, it was Project 2025. Now, it’s DOGE. Different name, same baseless fearmongering,” Roberts said in a Monday interview. “But make no mistake: the American people are ready for real change, and we’re not backing down.” Nonetheless, Project 2025 became styled as a “right-wing boogeyman” talking point on the left. TRUMP PLANS FIRST PRESIDENTIAL VISIT TO HELENE-RAVAGED NC Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., founded the “Stop Project 2025 Task Force” last year, comparing the project to a “Blitzkrieg” and saying that lawmakers must understand it and “prepare ourselves accordingly.” At the Democratic National Convention, both Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, held up copies of Project 2025 on stage. “It is a radical plan to drag us backwards, bankrupt the middle class, and raise prices on working class families like yours and mine,” said Kenyatta, who has since been elected DNC vice chairman along with gun control activist David Hogg. The Project’s rumored reputation became fodder for constituents at town halls as well, including in one swing-seat congressional race where a Republican’s incredulous response led to a viral moment, according to Politico. PROJECT 2025 ISSUES BLISTERING RESPONSE TO HARRIS VIA DOZENS OF INDEPENDENT FACT CHECKS New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr. was asked about Project 2025 at such an event and responded he had never read the document. “The first time I’ve ever heard of being supportive of it was when I was accused of supporting it,” Kean reportedly replied. One of Trump and Musk’s more recent major endeavors – taking an ax to USAID – is more a project of DOGE, while Project 2025 suggests a more measured approach to rein in the agency’s expenditures and politicization. That project section, authored by former agency COO Max Primorac, describes USAID as having been “deformed” by the Biden administration to pursue a “divisive political and cultural agenda.” Primorac suggests the next administration “scale back” USAID’s global footprint and return it to pre-COVID budget levels while “deradicalizing” its programs and cutting its international affairs accounts. Additionally, former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli wrote in Project 2025 that the president should “pursue legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security” and that it has not “gelled into one DHS” as was its goal when founded after 9/11. DOGE MEETS CONGRESS: GOP LAWMAKER LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK ‘TAKE ON CRAZYTOWN’ Cuccinelli had argued that breaking up DHS along “mission[-related] lines” would lead to a more effective government apparatus. Instead, Trump and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem have expanded DHS’ role versus the Biden administration, including the addition of former ICE acting Director Tom Homan as border czar. DOGE’s ruminations about reforming or trimming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – which have enraged the likes of its proverbial “founder” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. – were, however, mirrored in the policy proposal anthology. “Elon Musk and the guy who wrote Project 2025, Russ Vought, are trying to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” Warren said Monday. “If they succeed, CEOs and Wall Street will once again be free to trick, trap and cheat you.” Vought did not write Project 2025. He was credited as the author for Chapter 2, which analyzes the executive office of the president. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Former Chase-Manhattan Bank Vice President Robert Bowes called CFPB “highly politicized, damaging, and utterly unaccountable” in a section of the project he authored. “It is unconstitutional. Congress should abolish the CFPB and reverse Dodd–Frank Section 1061, thus returning the consumer protection function of the CFPB to banking regulators,” Bowes wrote. Recent media headlines have tried to tie DOGE to the project, with critical stories headlined “Project 2025 Architect” in reference to people like Vought. Roberts said Trump’s team should be the beneficiary of such headlines, in that “he and his team deserve the credit” – and that it is a welcome sight that people who embody Heritage’s guiding principles are being tapped for top positions in the new administration. “Heritage is thrilled to see President Trump appoint so many hardworking patriots who put America First. Russ is one of the great statesmen of our age—a brilliant, principled leader with the vision and intellect
Trump meets with Jordan’s king amid tense talks about resettling Palestinians
President Donald Trump welcomed Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday, a visit that comes amid contentious discussions between the U.S. and Arab nations about relocating Palestinian refugees to Jordan and other neighboring Arab countries to rebuild Gaza. Trump unveiled plans on Feb. 4 that the U.S. would seek to “take over” the Gaza Strip in a “long-term ownership position” to deliver stability to the region during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, Trump’s proposal prompted swift backlash from Arab countries, including Jordan, and Egypt announced plans on Sunday for an emergency Arab Summit to discuss “new and dangerous developments” regarding the resettling of Palestinians on Feb. 27. Trump doubled down on his plans though in an interview that aired Monday with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier and said that he expects Abdullah ultimately will choose to let in Palestinians. “I do think he’ll take, and I think other countries will take also,” Trump told Baier. “They have good hearts.” TRUMP NOT COMMITTING TO PUTTING US TROOPS ON THE GROUND IN GAZA, WHITE HOUSE SAYS However, Trump also issued a warning that withholding aid to Jordan could happen should Jordan refuse to take in Palestinian refugees. The U.S. distributed nearly $1.7 billion in foreign aid to Jordan in fiscal year 2023, according to the State Department. “Yeah, maybe, sure why not,” Trump said when asked. “If they don’t, I would conceivably withhold aid, yes.” Trump welcomed Netanyahu to the White House on Feb. 4 and disclosed his plans to turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,” Trump told reporters. “Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” Trump said. “Do a real job. Do something different. Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.” He also said “all” Palestinians would be removed from Gaza under his plan, although White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the next day their removal would be “temporary” during the rebuilding process. Even so, Trump told Fox News on Monday that Palestinians would not return to Gaza under his plan. TRUMP SAYS US WILL ‘TAKE OVER’ GAZA STRIP, REBUILD IT TO STABLIZE MIDDLE EAST Lawmakers on Capitol Hill shared mixed reactions to the plan. “I’m speechless, that’s insane,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told Jewish Insider on Feb. 4. However, Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., did not appear fazed by the remarks. “I think he wants to bring a more peaceful, secure Middle East and put some ideas out there,” Thune told reporters on Wednesday. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
House Dems organize rapid response task force and litigation group to combat Trump agenda
House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sent House Democrats a letter Monday announcing the formation of a rapid response team and litigation group to “push back against the far-right extremism” since President Donald Trump took office. In the “Dear Colleague” letter, Jeffries wrote, “I write with respect to our ongoing effort to push back against the far-right extremism that is being relentlessly unleashed on the American people.” Jeffries characterized the political landscape as “a multifaceted struggle to protect and defend everyday Americans from the harm being inflicted by this administration.” The letter states House Democrats have as a result officially established a Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group chaired by Colorado Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse. DEMS FLIRT WITH GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN THREAT DESPITE PAST FUROR OVER SPENDING CLIFF Jeffries said that Democrats would continue to be “committed to driving down the high cost of living for everyday Americans.” He criticized House Republicans for continuing to “launch far-right attacks on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public safety and the education of our children,” saying the American people were “counting” on Democrats to stop them. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, Jeffries’ office and Neguse’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back. SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS HOUSE WILL MATCH TRUMP’S PACE AS DEMOCRATS ARE LEFT ‘FLAILING’ Jeffries responded to a Fox News inquiry about the task force, saying, “It’s been an ongoing effort to push back against far-right extremism.” Jeffries told Fox that “not a single thing that [Republicans have] actually done is a matter of law right now” and said such actions suggest Republicans are “in disarray.” Jeffries, along with House Democrat colleagues, have unveiled efforts to resist the president’s agenda since Trump took office in mid-January. Just last week, House Democrats announced legislation that seeks to secure the personal data of Americans amid the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) spending sweep. HOUSE DEMOCRAT LEAVES CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS, SAYING MUSK IS ‘BLOWING THINGS UP’ The legislation, titled the Taxpayer Data Protection Act, was revealed Thursday to “shield the American people from this out-of-control power grab, permanently, and make sure that the financial, personal, medical, and confidential information of the American people is protected.” Elon Musk’s DOGE team has spent the last several weeks identifying “wasteful” spending within various governmental agencies. DOGE became the target of various lawsuits in the weeks following its establishment. A federal New York judge on Saturday ruled to block DOGE officials from accessing personal data such as social security numbers and bank account numbers. Trump’s Justice Department railed against the order, calling it an “anti-Constitutional” ruling. Vice President JD Vance also called the ruling unconstitutional on X, saying it was an example of judicial overreach. “If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Vance wrote Sunday. Fox News’ Kelly Phares, Tyler Olson, Aubrie Spady, and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
Trump’s House allies unveil bill ‘hand in hand’ with DOGE crackdown
FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is pushing to give President Donald Trump more control over the federal spending process, as his administration continues to crack down on funding that does not align with the GOP agenda. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is leading legislation to repeal the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 Nixon-era law aimed at stopping the president from having unilateral say over government spending. It would give Trump greater ability to accomplish his goals for Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Clyde told Fox News Digital in an interview. SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN “I think it goes hand in hand with what DOGE is doing right now and with what the president has in mind to do, and that is to make our government more effective and more efficient,” Clyde said. “They’re simply bringing the fraud, waste and abuse to light. And, then the rest of us, you know, the president and the executive need to take action on it. And then Congress needs to look at that and say, hey, we need to codify that into law to make sure that it stays beyond just this presidency.” His legislation has more than 20 House GOP co-sponsors and a companion bill in the Senate led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Clyde told Fox News Digital that he intends to raise his bill with members of the Trump administration, which has also driven significant pushback against the Impoundment Control Act. Russell Vought, Trump’s recently confirmed director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has previously called the Impoundment Control Act unconstitutional. Trump himself has made similar arguments. “Since the Empowered Control Act of ‘74, we have seen a tremendous increase in spending. And I think that’s part of the problem right there. The president is required now by law to spend the exact amount that Congress authorizes or appropriates for a specific program,” Clyde said. ‘WE’RE THE GOLD STANDARD’: GOP LAWMAKER CALLS FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARING OVER DC PLANE CRASH “Well, as a small business owner, I understand the rules of business. And I think that if you can accomplish the same goal and be more financially efficient, I think you should be allowed to do that. And I think the president has always had the authority to do that under the Constitution.” Trump has already exercised significant control over existing federal spending commitments. He paused most foreign aid funding soon after taking office last month, as well as other funding streams his administration said necessitated review. Parts of Trump’s federal funding freezes have been challenged in court, with a federal judge ordering the White House just this week to comply with an earlier legal order directing them to reinstate funding.
$1,300 coffee cups, 8,000% overpay for soap dispensers show waste as DOGE locks in on Pentagon
President Donald Trump‘s team of zealous cost-cutters under Elon Musk will soon set their sights on the U.S.’s largest discretionary budget. With an annual budget of $850 billion, the Pentagon has long been plagued by accusations of waste and inefficiency in its defense programs and recently failed its seventh straight audit. “We’re going to find billions, hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud and abuse,” Trump predicted in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on Sunday. Congress appropriates the Department of Defense (DOD) budget each year in great detail, and urging lawmakers to trim costs may be where Republicans publicly break with Musk and his burn-it-all-down style. Here is a look at where the Department of Government Efficiency team could set their sights. MUSK’S NEXT TARGET? TRUMP SAYS DOGE WILL LOOK AT DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, PENTAGON FUNDING The inclination of Musk and his team seems to be to cull federal employees, but cost-cutting advocates argue that outsourcing work to contractors could have the opposite effect. Typically, around half the Pentagon’s budget goes to contractors, corporations that have a profit motive unlike the government itself. The government relies on contractors for software support, training, weapons and to act as paramilitary forces in foreign missions. “A major driver of Pentagon waste is actually service contracting for what are really core government functions and administrative capacities, like simple things [such] as IT support,” said Julia Gledhill, a researcher at the Stimson Center’s National Security Reform program. “It might run contrary to their larger project based on efforts to cut the civilian workforce, but there are a lot of areas to cut Pentagon waste by actually building up government capacity to do basic administrative functions rather than outsourcing them at a very high cost.” HEGSETH WELCOMES IN ELON MUSK’S DOGE FOR ‘LONG OVERDUE’ DOD SPENDING OVERHAUL In 2015, the Defense Business Board, at the request of DOD leaders, found that the Pentagon could save $125 billion over five years by renegotiating service contracts, streamlining the bureaucracy through attrition and early retirements, and consolidating IT processes. The report found the Pentagon was paying an eye-watering 1,014,000 contractors to fill back-office jobs far away from the front lines. The DOD currently only lists around 1.3 million active duty troops. However, the plan was never widely implemented, and Pentagon leaders took steps to “bury” it for fear of budget cuts, according to a Washington Post report. In October 2024, a two-year audit by the Defense Department Inspector General found Boeing overcharged the Air Force by 8,000% for soap dispensers that the service branch paid $149,072 over market price for. Of a selected 46 spare parts that were scrutinized by the audit, the report found the Air Force overpaid about $1 million for 12 of them for its C-17 transport planes. That followed a 2018 congressional inquiry that revealed the Air Force was spending $1,300 for each reheatable coffee cup on its KC-10 aircraft – and then replacing them instead of repairing them when their handles broke. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, found the Air Force spent $32,000 replacing 25 cups. Musk has suggested that he will look to eliminate the F-35 stealth fighter jet program, long dogged by cost overruns, glitches and delays. In posts on X, he called it the “the worst military value for money in history,” and the jet itself “an expensive & complex jack of all trades, master of none” and added that “manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway.” However, doing away with the F-35 has run into opposition in Congress every time it has been suggested. A recent report put out by Taxpayers for Common Sense, Quincy Institute and Stimson called for retiring the F-35 jets and eliminating a ballistic missile program. Halting the F-35 fighter jet program, dogged by cost overruns, glitches and delays, as some have advocated for, would trim $12 billion per year, according to the joint report. But Congress would need to get on board with defunding the F-35 in its yearly defense bill, and Lockheed Martin produces the plane’s parts in many states across the country, where lawmakers have constituents with jobs at risk. “Defunding weapons that are overpriced, underperforming, and out of step with current missions, like the F-35 combat aircraft and the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, would allow us to invest more in real priorities while also tackling the nation’s tremendous debt,” said Gabe Murphy of Taxpayers for Common Sense. TRUMP DOD CREATES TASK FORCE TO ABOLISH DEI OFFICES THAT ‘PROMOTE SYSTEMIC RACISM’ “The ICBM no longer necessarily the most accurate, you know, weapon we have in our nuclear arsenal,” added Gledhill. “We have our sea and air legs of the nuclear triad that are just as accurate and, you know, not as vulnerable as our ICBMs are because, you know, ICBMs are in the ground, we know where they are. It’s public knowledge.” The report found that eliminating the Sentinel ICBM program would save $3.7 billion per year. The Stimson report found that “targeted closures and realignments” of U.S. military bases could save another $3-5 billion per year. “Even if say I accept all the missions we have now in the world, you could probably cut some overseas bases without even really rethinking strategy,” said Ben Friedman, policy director at Defense Priorities. “If you accept that we’re trying to manage the Middle East through US military troop presence or at least the ability to deploy troops and say, okay, we could do with fewer bases.” The Trump team is reportedly considering shutting down its presence in Syria, where 2,000 troops are currently stationed. In the 1980s, under President Ronald Reagan, the government took up an effort known as Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), a post-Cold War process to coordinate the end of force postures that are no longer needed. Five rounds of BRAC shut down 350 installations at a savings of $12 billion, but the last BRAC process ended in 2011. Some of the Pentagon’s $143.2 billion budget for research may also come under scrutiny. Lawmakers last
Noem, Hegseth, Bondi plead with Congress for more border funding amid large-scale deportations
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump‘s newly sworn-in top Cabinet members are asking Congress to provide more resources to continue the administration’s full court press to secure the border and facilitate large-scale deportations. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi penned a letter to top appropriators in the House and Senate, pleading with them to designate more funds to the cause of securing the U.S. southern border. “The American people strongly support sealing our borders and returning to a lawful immigration system,” Noem, Hegseth and Bondi told the lawmakers in the letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital. LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER: THE LITTLE-KNOWN TRUMP NOMINEE WHO MAY NEED TO RELY ON DEMS “Even if the price of some of these measures may seem high, they are nothing when compared to the costs our country is facing in the long term of continuing the status quo,” they explained. According to the Trump Cabinet officials, their departments need a variety of resources to continue securing the border at the current level. These include additional law enforcement officers; military personnel, including Active Duty and State and National Guard; aircraft and additional means of transportation to facilitate deportations; both materials and workers to finish construction of “a permanent barrier” at the border; additional immigration judges to quickly decide cases and clear the backlog; and more facilities to detain illegal immigrant waiting for deportation. TRUMP NOMINEE TULSI GABBARD CLEARS LAST HURDLE, HEADS FOR FINAL CONFIRMATION VOTE The correspondence to congressional leaders comes as a March 14 spending bill deadline approaches, and the chambers are expected to lay out a new spending deal to avoid a partial government shutdown. Passing a spending bill next month with satisfactory border funding could prove difficult, however, because 60 votes will be needed in the Senate. That means the Republican conference cannot pass it single-handedly and will need the support of several Democrats to get it done. SCHUMER REVEALS DEM COUNTER-OFFENSIVE AGAINST TRUMP’S DOGE AUDIT The letter from Noem, Hegseth and Bondi also coincides with congressional Republicans’ efforts to put together a budget deal with provisions for border security and pass it in an expeditious manner. However, the House and Senate GOP have begun to butt heads on how to go about the key budget reconciliation process and whether to pursue one big bill with all of Trump’s priorities or to use a two-bill approach, with another being passed later in the year to address Trump’s tax agenda. By lowering the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51 out of 100, reconciliation allows the party in power to skirt its opposition to advance its agenda – provided the items included relate to budgetary and other fiscal matters. The House of Representatives already has a simple majority threshold. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Senate Committee on the Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said, “Without new funding, President Trump’s bold border security plan will hit a wall. The administration needs the funding now and without delay.” He pointed to the $175 billion being allocated for border security measures in his recently-unveiled first reconciliation bill that will go through his committee this week. “Importantly, these necessary investments will be paid for by making spending cuts to other areas of the federal government,” Graham explained. “$175 billion is a fraction of the cost of an out of control illegal immigration system that’s poisoning America and allowing violence to reign. It’s the best money we could ever spend – and it will be paid for,” the senator concluded. TRUMP’S KEY TO CABINET CONFIRMATIONS: SENATOR-TURNED-VP VANCE’S GIFT OF GAB Fox News Digital reached Senate Committee on Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Ranking Member Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Senate Committee on the Budget Ranking Member Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and Ranking Member Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., but did not immediately receive responses.
Judge blocks Trump order limiting ‘indirect’ NIH research costs after public outcry
A judge temporarily halted a directive by the Trump administration that imposed a cap on overhead costs that go to universities and other institutions that host federally funded research projects. The directive, which went into effect Monday, sparked an outcry of criticism from research institutions that argued the new rule would have devastating consequences. It was immediately challenged in court by 22 Democratic state attorneys general, as well as by several leading research universities and related groups in a second lawsuit. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley subsequently ruled in favor of the 22 state attorneys general, granting their request for a temporary restraining order that prohibits agencies from taking any steps to implement, apply or enforce the new rule that imposed a cap on facilities and administrative costs that are part of federally funded research grants. ‘WHAT A RIPOFF!’: TRUMP SPARKS BACKLASH AFTER CUTTING BILLIONS IN OVERHEAD COSTS FROM NIH RESEARCH GRANTS The rule capped overhead costs associated with National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research grants at 15%. When a grant is awarded to a scientist by the NIH, an additional percentage, on top of the allocated research funding, goes to the facility housing their work to cover these “indirect costs.” According to an announcement about the new funding cap from the Trump administration, that percentage has historically been around 27% to 28% for each grant. But in some cases, negotiated rates can be even higher, such as at the University of Michigan where the negotiated rate for indirect costs is 56%. The lawsuit from the attorneys general argued the move violated federal law governing the procedures federal agencies must follow when implementing new regulations. They also argued that the move usurped the will of Congress, which, in 2018, passed legislation prohibiting the NIH or the Health and Human Services Department from unilaterally making changes to current negotiated rates, or implementing a modified approach to the reimbursement of indirect costs. UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR HAILS THAT SCIENCE ‘THRIVED’ UNDER HITLER IN ATTACK ON TRUMP’S NIH CUTS Kelley’s temporary restraining order requires the Trump administration agencies that are impacted by the new rule to file reports within 24 hours to confirm the steps they are taking to comply with her order. Meanwhile, Kelley set an in-person hearing date on the matter for Feb. 21. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the restraining order, but did not hear back at press time. However, after the directive went into effect on Monday, White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Fox News Digital, “Contrary to the hysteria, redirecting billions of allocated NIH spending away from administrative bloat means there will be more money and resources available for legitimate scientific research, not less.” Earlier on Monday, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell said the Trump administration had violated his order halting a federal aid funding freeze that sought to pause “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance,” to ensure federal disbursements aligned with the president’s executive actions. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP McConnell ordered the government to “immediately restore frozen funding,” noting that plaintiffs had provided adequate evidence to show the Trump administration “in some cases [has] continued to improperly freeze federal funds and refused to resume disbursement of appropriated federal funds,” despite his “clear and unambiguous” order lifting the freeze.
‘Deregulatory flavor’: JD Vance lays out vision in Paris for the future of AI under Trump
Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) systems must not become tainted with “ideological bias” and cautioned against coordinating with “hostile foreign adversaries” on AI capabilities. Vance appeared Tuesday at the AI Action Summit in Paris, where world leaders, top tech executives and policymakers teamed up to hash out tech policy and its intersection with global security, economics and governance. The appearance marked his first foreign trip as vice president. While the Trump administration has signaled it plans to take an approach that favors deregulation of AI, Vance’s appearance at the summit coincides with recent attempts from the European Union to enforce harsher regulations aimed at promoting greater safety. Meanwhile, the U.S. and the UK abstained from signing an international document at the conference signed by 60 other countries that aims to prioritize “ensuring AI is open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy.” It was immediately unclear why both countries chose not to sign the document. Here is what is known from Vance’s remarks about the Trump administration’s priorities for the future of AI. First, Vance called for AI systems developed in the U.S. to remain free of “ideological bias” and vowed that the U.S. would “never restrict our citizens’ right to free speech.” That is because Vance said he trusted Americans to create their own thoughts and opinions, absorb information and exchange those thoughts in the “open marketplace of ideas.” VANCE TELLS WORLD LEADERS AI MUST BE ‘FREE FROM IDEOLOGICAL BIAS,’ AMERICAN TECH WON’T BE CENSORSHIP TOOL “We feel very strongly that AI must remain free from ideological bias and that American AI will not be co-opted into a tool for authoritarian censorship,” Vance said Tuesday. Vance also pushed for a “deregulatory flavor” to emerge at the conference while cautioning against the pitfalls of “excessive regulation” that could hamper a transformative industry. He also vowed that the U.S. would back pro-growth AI policies. “We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off, and we’ll make every effort to encourage pro-growth AI policies and I’d like to see that deregulatory flavor making its way into a lot of the conversations at this conference,” he said. Other world leaders who attended the AI Action Summit include French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Shri Modi and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing. Vance also issued a warning to other foreign governments about “tightening the screws” on U.S. tech companies with international footprints, claiming the Trump administration would not tolerate such limitations. He also cautioned against working with adversaries who have “weaponized A.I. software to rewrite history, surveil users and censor speech.” Vance said Tuesday that the U.S. will block such efforts, and ensure that American AI and chip technology is protected from theft and misuse. ELON MUSK AND TECH LEADER SAM ALTMAN GET INTO WAR OF WORDS OVER AI INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT “I would also remind our international friends here today that partnering with such regimes — it never pays off in the long term,” Vance said. While Vance said that the U.S. wants to partner with other nations on this front, Macron said Europe could take a “third way” approach in AI innovation and not rely on either the U.S. or China. Macron also called for enhanced “international governance” on AI policy. “We want a fair and open access to these innovations for the whole planet,” Macron said. Vance’s comments coincide with some recent actions from the Trump administration to advance AI in the U.S. In January, Trump unveiled a new $500 billion AI infrastructure project called Stargate, a datacenter joint venture between investment holding company Softbank, and tech companies OpenAI and Oracle that Trump labeled the “largest AI infrastructure project in history.” The project includes an initial investment of $100 billion that is slated to grow to $500 billion over Trump’s term in office, and will build “colossal” data centers in the U.S. to power AI. The Associated Press and Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
Steven Bannon pleads guilty to scheme to defraud in border wall fundraiser, avoids jail time
Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge that he defrauded donors who gave money to a private campaign to build a wall along the U.S. southern border. Bannon pleaded guilty to one scheme to defraud count and was sentenced to three years conditional discharge. He will avoid jail time as part of a plea agreement as long as he stays out of trouble. When reporters asked Bannon how he felt as he left the courtroom, he responded: “Like a million bucks.” Bannon’s lawyer told reporters outside the court that there was no way his client could get a fair trial. TRUMP ALLY STEVE BANNON PLEDGES TO ‘TAKE… DOWN’ ELON MUSK Another condition of the plea agreement states Bannon is barred from fundraising for or serving as “an officer, director, or in any other fiduciary position” for any charitable organization with assets in New York state. He also cannot use, sell or possess any data gathered from donors to the “We Build the Wall” scheme. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, praised the plea agreement. “This resolution achieves our primary goal: to protect New York’s charities and New Yorkers’ charitable giving from fraud,” Bragg said in a statement. He added: “New York has an important interest in rooting out fraud in our markets, our corporations, and our charities, and we will continue to do just that.” BONDI’S DOJ DAY 1 DIRECTIVES: FIGHT WEAPONIZATION OF JUSTICE, ELIMINATE CARTELS, LIFT DEATH PENALTY BAN Bannon, 71, pleaded not guilty in September 2022 to a state court indictment charging him with money laundering, fraud and conspiracy in the border wall scheme. He was accused of falsely promising donors that all money given to the We Build the Wall campaign would go toward building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Instead, prosecutors alleged the money was used to enrich Bannon and others involved in the project. After Trump pardoned Bannon during the final hours of his first term in office in 2021, Bragg charged Bannon in state court on the same allegations. The plea comes days after Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the Justice Department to investigate what the president called the “weaponization of prosecutorial power” – cases she said appear to have been motivated by “political objectives or other improper aims,” including Bragg’s pursuit of criminal charges against Trump. Speaking to reporters outside court, Bannon called on Bondi to begin an immediate criminal investigation into Bragg and New York Attorney General Leticia James. The Associated Press contributed to this report.