SCOOP: Judge Boasberg impeachment push gains support despite House GOP leaders’ resistance
FIRST ON FOX: A resolution to impeach U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg is still gaining support despite House GOP leaders’ hesitation to move on such a measure. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, introduced an article of impeachment against Boasberg last month after he issued an emergency order temporarily halting the Trump administration’s deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act. Reps. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., signed onto the bill as co-sponsors last week, Fox News Digital was told, despite House GOP leaders signaling around the same time that they have little appetite to pursue that route. The resolution now has 22 total co-sponsors – suggesting the effort is still alive and well among conservatives in the House Republican conference. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? President Donald Trump is using the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected Tren De Aragua gang members to a detention facility in El Salvador. Boasberg’s standoff with the Trump administration, which includes accusations the White House ignored his initial order that the administration has denied, has sent shock waves through Capitol Hill. Republicans see it as one of the most egregious examples of “rogue judges” blocking Trump’s agenda. Trump himself singled out Boasberg and called for his impeachment over the legal showdown. ‘WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT’: US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO More than a dozen injunctions have been levied against various Trump policies, with targets ranging from birthright citizenship reform to the Department of Government Efficiency. However, House GOP leaders are hesitant to support impeachment as a method to target Boasberg and other judges – believing it to be a less effective route to accountability. Several rank-and-file Republican lawmakers suggested to Fox News Digital last month that they would not support such a move, giving it long odds of success in the House. Gill’s resolution accused Boasberg of abusing his power. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He could still force a House-wide vote on the measure by reintroducing it as a “privileged resolution,” giving leaders two legislative days to hold at least one procedural vote. As of last week, however, Gill told Fox News Digital he had no plans to do so. It comes as House Republicans coalesce around legislation by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to limit district judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions. That bill is expected to get a vote on Wednesday afternoon.
EXCLUSIVE: GOP firebrand dares Dems to condemn attacks on Elon Musk’s Tesla
EXCLUSIVE: Amid an ongoing spate of violent attacks, threats and vandalism against Tesla owners and dealerships and widespread “Tesla Takedown” protests across the country, the GOP is challenging Democrats to condemn the attacks as domestic terrorism. Republican firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is introducing a resolution in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. The measure slams unnamed members of the Democratic Party, who it says, “have made calls for their supporters to incite and engage in domestic terrorism by attacking Tesla vehicles and facilities to protest Elon Musk,” and it condemns the wave of “domestic terrorism attacks” targeting Tesla cars and dealerships. “The definition of terrorism is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. That is exactly what has been going on across the country at Tesla dealerships, and it is what innocent Americans who chose Tesla as their preferred vehicle are facing in the wake of violence from Radical Left-Wing domestic terrorists who hate President Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” Boebert told Fox News Digital. OVER 200 ‘TESLA TAKEDOWN’ PROTESTS ERUPT NATIONWIDE The resolution cites “at least” 80 incidents of arson or vandalism against Tesla vehicles and 10 incidents of vandalism against Tesla dealerships, charging stations and facilities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Incidents include individuals setting fire to cars and equipment by throwing Molotov cocktails, shooting up buildings and vehicles, and marking private property with words like “Nazi” and “Long Live Ukraine.” Among the incidents cited by the resolution is the March 18, attack in Las Vegas, in which a person dressed in black shot at Tesla cars at a Tesla collision center, ignited several of them with Molotov cocktails, and spray-painted the word “Resist” on the front doors of the shop. A suspect, Paul Hyon Kim, 36, has been arrested by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in connection with the incident. Kim has been charged with multiple crimes ranging from destruction of property, arson and possessing a fire device, according to jail records. TIM WALZ SAYS HE WAS JOKING WHEN HE MOCKED TESLA’S FALLING STOCK: ‘THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO SENSE OF HUMOR’ The resolution also mentions the Mach 6 attack near Portland, Oregon, when at least seven gunshots were fired into a Tesla showroom in the middle of the night, shattering windows, damaging three cars and destroying equipment. Despite these incidents, few Democrats have unequivocally denounced the violence, even as the FBI has launched a task force to crack down on Tesla crime, the Justice Department announced charges against arson suspects and Attorney General Pam Bondi labeled the attacks “domestic terrorism” – an issue Democrats have railed against for years. Many Democrats have actually doubled down on their inflammatory rhetoric against DOGE-chief Musk, labeling him a “threat to democracy” and a “Nazi.” THE LOUDEST SILENCE: TOP DEMOCRATS REMAIN MUM AMID VIOLENT ATTACKS ON TESLA The measure condemning the spate of domestic terrorism against Tesla owners and dealers currently has the support of eight staunchly conservative co-sponsors, Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Brandon Gill, R-Texas, Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Barry Moore, R-Ala., Troy Nehls, R-Texas, Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and Greg Steube, R-Fla. “The American people deserve to know where their representatives stand when it comes to condemning domestic terrorism,” said Boebert. “My House resolution will make clear where all members of Congress stand: Do they condemn domestic terrorism against Tesla, or do they endorse it completely?”
Trump allies scrutinize Judge Boasberg’s DC connections as high-stakes legal battles escalate
Federal Judge James Boasberg is facing mounting criticism from President Donald Trump and his allies as he presides over multiple high-profile lawsuits targeting the Trump administration – cases that have now brought the judge’s personal and professional ties under fresh scrutiny. Boasberg, who was previously appointed to the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and reportedly once roomed with Justice Brett Kavanaugh at Yale, has become a flashpoint for conservatives who accuse the judiciary of bias against the Trump administration. Now the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Boasberg’s recent orders halting deportations of violent illegal immigrants and overseeing cases tied to leaked internal communications have amplified claims of partisanship and drawn fierce rebukes from Trump and his allies. “The Chief Justice handpicked DC Obama Judge Jeb Boasberg to serve on the FISA court,” said Mike Davis, president of the Article III Project. “The DC federal judges are in a cozy little club, and they protect their own.” His comments echo a broader sentiment on the right that Boasberg’s judicial decisions – and his close ties within the legal establishment – reflect a partisan tilt against the president. Boasberg, a Washington, D.C., native, earned an advanced degree in Modern European History from Oxford University in 1986 and later attended Yale Law School, where he lived with Kavanaugh, according to multiple reports. TRUMP UNLOADS ON JUDGE BOASBERG, ‘RADICAL LEFT JUDGES’ FOR HALTING DEPORTATIONS OF VIOLENT ILLEGAL ALIENS He graduated in 1990 and clerked for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before joining Keker & Van Nest in San Francisco as a litigation associate from 1991 to 1994. He later worked at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd & Evans in Washington from 1995 to 1996. After serving in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Boasberg was appointed in 2002 by then-President George W. Bush to serve as an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the local trial court for the District. In 2011, then-President Barack Obama nominated him to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where he was confirmed by the Senate and received his commission on March 17, 2011. Boasberg was appointed to serve a seven-year term on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA Court, by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The FISA Court is made up of 11 federal judges, all of whom are hand-selected by the chief justice. After undergoing rigorous background checks, FISA Court judges are then responsible for approving surveillance requests and wiretap warrants submitted by federal prosecutors, law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Most of the court’s work remains classified. Boasberg served as the court’s presiding judge from 2020 to 2021 before returning to the D.C. District Court. After Boasberg on March 15 ordered the Trump administration to halt its deportations of illegal immigrants under a 1798 wartime authority, Trump took to Truth Social to call for his impeachment. The president’s remarks echoed a growing chorus of conservatives who have recently called for the impeachment of federal judges overseeing his administration’s legal battles. JUDGE IN CROSSHAIRS OF TRUMP DEPORTATION CASE ORDERS PRESERVATION OF SIGNAL MESSAGES “I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote in the post. In an unprecedented move by the nation’s high court, Roberts released a public statement shortly thereafter, denouncing impeachment as an appropriate response to judicial disagreements. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,” he said in the statement released in mid-March. Trump once again unloaded on Boasberg in a March 30 Truth Social post after the judge extended his restraining order on March 28. The extension will run through April 12. “People are shocked by what is going on with the Court System. I was elected for many reasons, but a principal one was LAW AND ORDER, a big part of which is QUICKLY removing a vast Criminal Network of individuals, who came into our Country through the Crooked Joe Biden Open Borders Policy! These are dangerous and violent people, who kill, maim and, in many other ways, harm the people of our Country,” Trump wrote on the social media platform. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? “The Voters want them OUT, and said so in Record Numbers. If it was up to District Judge Boasberg and other Radical Left Judges, nobody would be removed, the President wouldn’t be allowed to do his job, and people’s lives would be devastated all throughout our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,” he continued. Boasberg came under additional fire after he was randomly assigned to preside over a lawsuit involving the Trump administration’s leaked Signal chat. After Boasberg was assigned to the case, Trump again took to Truth Social and accused Boasberg of “grabbing the ‘Trump Cases’ all to himself.” Davis also took to social media, writing, “Judge Jeb Boasberg is lighting on fire his legitimacy over an unnecessary, lawless, and dangerous pissing match with the President Jeb will lose. “Let’s hope the Chief Justice doesn’t light the entire federal judiciary’s legitimacy on fire by siding with his personal buddy Jeb,” Davis wrote. At the start of the March 27 hearing, Boasberg emphasized that he was randomly assigned to the case through a docket computer system. “That’s how it works, and that’s how all cases continue to be assigned in this court,” Boasberg said during the hearing. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, the Supreme Court, and the D.C. District Court for additional comment. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Emma Colton and Alex Nitzberg
Second COVID nursing home death’s case against Cuomo tossed
A federal judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit accusing former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his administration of being responsible for the deaths of their loved ones in nursing homes during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Polk Failla wrote on Monday that although what happened was heartbreaking, the families’ legal arguments didn’t meet the standard for suing in federal court. Cuomo, who was governor at the time, issued a March 2020 directive that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients who had tested positive for COVID-19. The directive was aimed at freeing up beds for overwhelmed hospitals. NYC MAYOR SAYS CUOMO SHOULD ‘ANSWER’ COVID NURSING HOME ALLEGATIONS More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients were released from hospitals into nursing homes under the directive, which was later rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated outbreaks. The eight plaintiffs in the case argued that their loved ones contracted COVID-19 in nursing homes and died as a result of the directive. They accused Cuomo and his administration of being civilly liable for their deaths as well as being liable for failing to accurately report the number of nursing home deaths in New York state that resulted from the virus. Failla, an Obama appointee, said the government wasn’t directly responsible for the deaths, even if its policies had tragic consequences. “The Court’s sympathy for Plaintiffs and their loved ones simply cannot supplant governing law,” Failla wrote. She wrote that the plaintiffs’ arguments did not meet the high bar of “shocking the public conscience” which is needed for this type of lawsuit and that officials acted during a fast-moving crisis. The family members accused the defendants of violating the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. They also brought state law claims including wrongful death and gross negligence under New York law. Failla dismissed most of the claims on jurisdictional grounds and without prejudice. “The Court does not question the sincerity or depth of Plaintiffs’ loss,” she wrote. “But the law, as it currently stands, does not permit recovery against the Defendants for the harms alleged.” She also emphasized that the case was dismissed based on legal standards, not a denial that harm occurred. FORMER GOV. ANDREW CUOMO LAUNCHES NYC MAYORAL BID Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi welcomed the ruling and noted it was the second such case to be tossed on similar grounds. “Anytime this issue gets taken out of the press or the political arena and into the courts, the truth wins,” Azzopardi said. Azzopardi said the case follows three separate probes by the Justice Department as well as the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. “Once again, justice has prevailed.” Cuomo, who is currently running for New York City Mayor, has previously said that the directive was based on Center for Diseases and Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance at the time. A report released in March 2022 by the New York state comptroller found Cuomo’s Health Department “was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes” and it “understated the number of deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%” during some points of the pandemic. The former governor was grilled by Republican lawmakers last year about following which House Republicans subsequently recommended the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against him. They accused him of intentionally lying to Congress during the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the excessive number of nursing home fatalities. A state report later commissioned by Cuomo’s successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, found that while the policies on how nursing homes should handle COVID-19 were “rushed and uncoordinated,” they were based on the best understanding of the science at the time. Cuomo ultimately resigned from office in August 2021 following sexual harassment allegations, which he denies. Fox News’ Greg Norman Bradford Betz, Maria Paronich and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump commutes prison sentence of Hunter Biden’s ‘fall guy’ Jason Galanis
President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of Jason Galanis, a convicted ex-business associate of Hunter Biden, whom Trump officials described as the “fall guy” for the former first son’s business dealings. Galanis was sentenced in 2017 to 189 months, or 14 years, in prison, after pleading guilty to securities fraud based on bonds issued by a company affiliated with a Native American tribe in South Dakota. The funds were reportedly supposed to be used for certain projects, but were instead used for his personal finances. HUNTER BIDEN: A LOOK AT HOW THE SAGA SPANNING OVER SIX YEARS UNFOLDED A Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that Galanis served eight years and eight months of his sentence and had an “unblemished record while in prison.” The official also said Galanis was sexually assaulted by a security guard while in prison. The Trump official told Fox News Digital that Galanis “basically was the fall guy for Hunter Biden and Devon Archer.” The official noted Galanis was “extremely cooperative” during the 2024 House impeachment inquiry into the Biden family. “After serving eight years and eight months in prison on good behavior, the administration felt it was time for him to regain his liberty and go on into his private life,” the official told Fox News Digital. Congressional investigators interviewed Galanis while he was in prison to gather information on the Biden family’s business dealings and any “access” to then-Vice President Joe Biden. Galanis testified that Joe Biden was considering joining the board of a joint venture created by Hunter Biden and his business associates with ties to the Chinese Communist Party after he left the vice presidency. JOE BIDEN ALLEGEDLY CONSIDERED JOINING BOARD OF CCP-LINKED COMPANY, WITNESS TESTIFIES FROM PRISON Galanis said Joe Biden’s involvement would have brought “political access in the United States and around the world.” Galanis testified that he worked with Archer and Hunter Biden between 2012 and 2015. Their business together, he said, included the acquisition of Burnham & Co, a division of Drexel Burnham Lambert, combined with “other businesses in insurance and wealth management.” Galanis testified the three “owned and acquired with total audited assets of over $17 billion.” “Our objective was to build a diversified private equity platform, which would be anchored by a globally known Wall Street brand together with a globally known political name,” Galanis testified. “Our goal — that is, Hunter Biden, Devon Archer and me — was to make billions, not millions.” Galanis testified that “the entire value-add of Hunter Biden to our business was his family name and his access to his father, Vice President Joe Biden. EXCLUSIVE: BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ ‘DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY’: HOUSE GOP REPORT “Because of this access, I agreed to contribute equity ownership to them — Hunter and Devon — for no out-of-pocket cost from them in exchange for their ‘relationship capital,’” he told investigators. Hunter Biden served as vice chairman of the Burnham group “and brought strategic relationships to the venture, including from Kazakhstan, Russia and China.” Meanwhile, Archer was tied to the scheme that put Galanis in prison and was convicted in 2018 for defrauding the Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars in connection with the issuance of bonds by the tribal entity and the subsequent sale of those bonds through fraudulent and deceptive means. The president pardoned Archer in March. TRUMP PARDONS FORMER HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE DEVON ARCHER “Many people have asked me to do this. They think he was treated very unfairly. And I looked at the records, studied the records. And he was a victim of a crime, as far as I’m concerned. So we’re going to undo that. … Congratulations, Devon,” Trump said ahead of signing the pardon. Archer thanked Trump ahead of officially receiving the pardon Tuesday, arguing he was “the victim of a convoluted lawfare effort.” “I want to extend my deepest thanks to President Trump,” Archer said in a comment to the New York Post regarding the pardon. “I am grateful to the president for recognizing that I was the victim of a convoluted lawfare effort intended to destroy and silence me. “Like so many people, my life was devastated by the Biden family’s selfish disregard for the truth and for the peace of mind and happiness of others. The Bidens talk about justice, but they don’t mean it,” he said. “I am grateful that the American people are now well aware of this reality.” Galanis and Archer testified as part of the House impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden. The House of Representatives found, after months of investigating, that Biden had engaged in “impeachable conduct.” In their nearly 300-page report, House lawmakers said he had “abused his office” and “defrauded the United States to enrich his family.” BIDEN PARDONS SON HUNTER BIDEN AHEAD OF EXIT FROM OVAL OFFICE Republicans said there is “overwhelming evidence” that Biden had participated in a “conspiracy to monetize his office of public trust to enrich his family.” They alleged that the Biden family and their business associates had received tens of millions of dollars from foreign interests by “leading those interests to believe that such payments would provide them access to and influence with President Biden.” Before leaving office, President Biden announced a blanket pardon that applied to any offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2024. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” President Joe Biden said. “There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here.
Blue state sheriff vows to ‘eliminate’ major tax if elected governor: ‘We will work immediately’
A candidate for California governor suggests scrapping the state’s income tax altogether, a move that could send a political earthquake through the Golden State. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, said in a video last week that it could be a strong way to get people and businesses that left in the wake of the pandemic and high costs in the state to return. “What a better way to bring all of my friends back, bring all the businesses back that have left to eliminate California income tax. Other states have done it. There’s nine states that don’t have a state income tax. So why does the greatest state in the country have an income tax?” he asked. BLUE STATE SHERIFF ISSUES STARK WARNING FOR ACTIVISTS WHO DEFY ICE, RIPS MEDIA ‘FEAR MONGERING’ “I believe that our hard workers in California could spend their money far better than our current government,” the sheriff continued. There is a national conversation underway about tax reform, as nationwide cuts are anticipated under the Trump administration and Republican Congress. Additionally, Mississippi just passed a law that will completely eliminate their income tax in the coming years, and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte is supporting state legislation to cut taxes in his state further. The California legislature currently has a Democratic supermajority, meaning that Bianco could have an uphill battle with his proposal. COMEDY INFLUENCER RIPS CALIFORNIA LAW DOUBLING HIS AMBULANCE BILL AFTER HE PROVIDED PROOF OF INSURANCE Many California taxpayers also deal with high gas taxes at the pump and high property taxes if they are homeowners. Regarding the gas tax, many have called for a holiday to provide temporary relief for drivers in the Golden State. Tennessee, Florida, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Nevada, Wyoming, Alaska, Washington and Texas do not have an individual income tax. “So, as your governor, we will work immediately on eliminating California income tax for all of Californians,” the sheriff said, adding that he plans to announce more details at a later date on the execution of the proposal. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is not able to run for re-election in 2026, which is fueling speculation about a potential 2028 White House bid. While the state is largely considered deep blue, a recent poll provided some silver linings for Republicans. TRUMP ALLIES MAKE PUSH FOR PERMANENT TAX CUT PLAN IN CONGRESS Forty-eight percent of “likely voters” said they would consider voting red in the governor’s race next year, according to a survey conducted by Columbia University pollster David Wolfson and Republican firm Madison McQueen, the Sacramento Bee reported. On the Democratic side, former Rep. Katie Porter and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis are among the names in the race, but former Vice President Kamala Harris could also hop in following her presidential bid loss.
Trump-backed bills targeting activist judges, noncitizen voting head for House-wide votes
Two key bills backed by President Donald Trump are expected to get a vote this week as Republican lawmakers continue their first 100-day sprint of trying to enact the White House’s agenda. The No Rogue Rulings Act (NORRA Act) by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., would limit district court judges’ ability to issue orders blocking Trump policies nationwide. Additionally, the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is aimed at requiring proof of citizenship in the voting registration process. It signifies Trump’s continued dominance over congressional Republicans’ agenda, at a time when Democrats are struggling to coalesce around a singular message or leader. MIGRANT INFLUENCER MOCKS US TAXPAYERS WHO ‘WORK LIKE SLAVES’ WHILE WAVING CASH IN LATEST VIDEOS The former legislation is a response to Trump’s ongoing standoff with judges paralyzing his agenda, while the latter is a bill that the president and his allies have long pushed for. The bills advanced through the House Rules Committee on Tuesday in an expected party-line vote. An original plan to have the bills voted through the panel on Monday night was upended after House GOP leaders attempted to insert language into the joint “rule” that would have killed an unrelated bid by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., to install remote voting for new parents in the House. It led to a brief hold-up on Tuesday morning before the language blocking Luna was ultimately included in the measure. The Rules Committee acts as the final gatekeeper to legislation before it’s considered House-wide. The next step will be a procedural “rule” vote expected on Tuesday afternoon. If passed, that will set up lawmakers to debate both bills before voting sometime this week. Issa’s bill is coming for a House-wide vote on Wednesday afternoon as Trump is pushing his congressional allies to fight back against what Republicans view as “activist judges” trying to block their agenda. Two people familiar with discussions said earlier this month that Capitol Hill aides were told Trump “likes” the bill. Meanwhile, Roy’s bill has been pushed by both Trump and various conservative groups since before the 2024 election. Democrats have argued that if passed, it would disenfranchise women by making it harder for married women who have changed their last names to vote. Republicans say it is a necessary crackdown to prevent illegal immigrants from voting in federal elections, which is already against the law. The SAVE Act passed the House with five Democrats voting in favor of the bill in July last year, but was never taken up by the Senate, then controlled by now-Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. PROPOSED BILL IN CONGRESS TO COMBAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SQUATTING WOULD MAKE PRACTICE A DEPORTABLE OFFENSE House GOP leaders called on lawmakers on both sides to support this bill this week, however. It’s expected to come for a House-wide vote on Thursday morning. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “American citizens – and only American citizens – should decide American elections,” House GOP leaders said in a joint statement. “This legislation cements into law President Trump’s executive action to secure our voter registration process and protect the voices of American voters. We urge all our colleagues in the House to join us in doing what the overwhelming majority of people in this country rightfully demand and deserve.”
SCOTUS rulings this term could strengthen religious rights protections, expert says
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday heard the first of three major religious rights cases this spring, with an expert telling Fox News the high court has the opportunity to further clarify the free exercise clause’s scope in protecting religious Americans from government interference. “I think it’s fair to say here that all three cases involve questions that have been lingering in courts for a long time, or that raise issues that are especially pressing right now around the country,” Thomas More Society attorney Michael McHale told Fox News Digital in an interview. “To me, it seems clear these cases, at least potentially, could stand for the principle that as long as someone’s acting out of a sincerely motivated religious beliefs or sincerely held religious beliefs that triggers the First Amendment, and it requires the government to show a really good reason why the government interests should override that belief,” he added. POPE FRANCIS’ DOCTORS CONSIDERED ENDING TREATMENT, SAID ‘THERE WAS A REAL RISK HE MIGHT NOT MAKE IT’: REPORT On Monday, the high court heard a case brought by a Wisconsin-based Catholic charity group’s bid for tax relief, which could alter the current eligibility requirements for religious tax exemptions. At issue in that case is whether the Wisconsin branch of Catholic Charities, a social services organization affiliated with Catholic dioceses across the country, can successfully contest the state’s high court determination that it is ineligible for a religious tax exemption because it is not “operated primarily for religious purposes.” “Today’s case involving Catholic Charities in Wisconsin involves questions that we’ve seen a number of times in different contexts,” McHale said. “The question is essentially, can states determine how religious an organization is in order to ultimately determine whether they qualify for a religious exemption that’s already available?” SUPREME COURT APPEARS LIKELY TO SIDE WITH CATHOLIC CHURCH AND TRUMP IN KEY RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION CASE McHale said the issue is similar to the one faced during the Obama administration with the HHS contraceptive mandate under the Affordable Care Act, which required most employers, including religiously affiliated organizations, to provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives at no cost to employees. “I think what the Supreme Court says in this case will probably resolve to a great extent, or at least shed a lot of light on how those other issues should be resolved,” he said. The other two cases deal with school choice. One involves a case about whether parents can excuse their children from LGBTQ-themed storybooks on religious grounds, and the other is whether a Catholic online school can become the first religious charter school in the U.S. “Again, we just see these issues arising around the country time and again,” McHale said of the cases. SOTOMAYOR COMPARES TRANS MEDICAL ‘TREATMENTS’ TO ASPIRIN IN QUESTION ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS DURING ORAL ARGUMENTS GOP AG PREDICTS WHICH SIDE HAS ADVANTAGE IN HISTORIC SCOTUS TRANSGENDER CASE WITH ‘DIVIDED’ JUSTICES “The Oklahoma charter school case seems to be a natural development from the religious school choice cases the Supreme Court’s dealt with over the last 10 or so years,” McHale said. Regarding Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Maryland case about excusing children from LGBTQ material, McHale said “while there is an opt-out statute in state law, the school initially abided it,” but “the school decided to yank the opt-out exception, so to speak, and it really triggered the issue of whether the Constitution requires an opt-out in that circumstance.” “For the Fourth Circuit to say there was no religious burden, it really seems radical, and given how pressing that issue of school curriculum on sexual orientation, gender identity is, I think it raises an issue worth the Supreme Court’s attention,” he said. While President Donald Trump signed several gender-related executive orders to stamp out progressive gender ideology from institutions and the federal government earlier this year, McHale said it could likely reduce the infringement on religious rights in situations involving gender ideology, like schools requiring teachers to use students’ preferred pronouns. “The hope is Trump’s executive orders and the shifting political ends ease those burdens outside the courts,” McHale said. “We’ll have to see how it all makes sense.”
Melania Trump to focus on love as a ‘universal language’ at International Women of Courage Awards
EXCLUSIVE: First lady Melania Trump will recognize courageous women from all corners of the world at the State Department Tuesday and is expected to celebrate “the extraordinary strength of women who embody love in action around the globe.” The first lady is returning to the State Department for her fifth year participating in the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Awards. MELANIA TRUMP SPEAKS ON CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST TIME IN ROUNDTABLE FOCUSED ON PUNISHING REVENGE PORN The event will recognize women from around the globe who have “bravely stood up for many of the values we cherish here in the United States.” The first lady is expected to focus on “love as a source of strength” during her remarks Tuesday and is expected to call love a “universal language.” The first lady is also expected to honor the courageous and “extraordinary” women who will receive the annual awards. “Mrs. Trump will highlight the profound connection between the love and courage shown by this year’s honorees,” first lady spokesman Nick Clemens told Fox News Digital. “She looks forward to celebrating the extraordinary strength of women who embody love in action around the globe.” MELANIA TRUMP ANNOUNCES RETURN OF WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL Recipients include women from Burkina Faso in West Africa, Israel, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and Yemen. One of the recipients, Amit Soussana, was taken hostage by Hamas in Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack. Soussana is an advocate for the hostages that remain under Hamas control. The IWOC Award is in its 19th year and recognizes women from around the world who have demonstrated “exceptional courage, strength, and leadership — often at great personal risk and sacrifice.” The State Department said that since 2007, it has recognized more than 200 women from more than 90 countries with the IWOC Award. U.S. diplomatic missions overseas nominate one woman of courage from their respective host countries, and finalists are selected and approved by senior Department officials.
Trump threatens Iran over nukes as DNI Gabbard claims Tehran is not building bombs
As President Donald Trump edges closer to potentially bombing Tehran, Iran, the intelligence community does not yet believe Iran is moving toward a nuclear weapon. “If they don’t do a deal, there will be bombing,” Trump said Sunday. It was not clear whether that meant Israel or the U.S. would bomb Tehran. “There’s a chance that if they don’t make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago,” he added. Secondary “tariffs,” or sanctions, would mean slapping financial penalties on any country that does business with Iran. TRUMP CAUTIONS ‘BAD THINGS’ IN STORE IF IRAN WON’T NEGOTIATE AS ISLAMIC REPUBLIC TOUTS ‘MISSILE CITY’ However, Trump’s threat of direct war on Tehran comes just after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard insisted last week Iran is not building a nuclear weapon – at least not yet. “The IC [intelligence community] continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapon program that he suspended in 2003,” Gabbard told a worldwide threat hearing held by the Senate Intelligence Community last week. Experts believe Iran is enriching uranium to 60%, which puts it just below the 90% needed for a nuclear weapon, and have said there is no civilian use for 60% enriched uranium. “The IC continues to monitor closely if Tehran decides to reauthorize its nuclear weapons program. In the past year we’ve seen an erosion in the decades-long taboo in Iran of discussing nuclear weapons in public, likely emboldening nuclear weapons advocates within Iran’s decision making apparatus,” Gabbard said. She added that Iran’s uranium enrichment was “at its highest levels” and is “unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons.” The IC’s annual threat assessment, released in conjunction with the hearing, predicted Iran would continue efforts to threaten U.S. citizens and conduct operations inside the U.S. “Tehran will try to leverage its robust missile capability and expanded nuclear program, and its diplomatic outreach to regional states and U.S. rivals to bolster its regional influence and ensure regime survival,” the report said. “However, regional and domestic challenges, most immediately tensions with Israel, are seriously testing Iran’s ambitions and capabilities.” The report detailed the “lethality” of Iran’s missiles and UAV systems but said little else about the threat of Iran’s nuclear program. TRUMP THREATENS TO BOMB IRAN UNLESS THEY END NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM AND BEGIN TALKS ON NEW DEAL It assessed Iran’s capabilities, degraded by Israel, would be able to deter further offensive Israeli actions. “The IC assesses Iran’s prospects for reconstituting force losses and posing a credible deterrent, particularly to Israeli actions, are dim in the near-term,” the report said. JINSA President and CEO Michael Makovsky offered a separate assessment, telling Fox News Digital, “Their enrichment program is about as far as you can get, so that part is done. So the question is the weapons part.… the issue today is less weaponization and more about opportunity.” Behnam Ben Taleblu, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, added a broader critique. “When the IC, reporters or open-source analysts fail to connect the dots between strategy, capability and intention when looking at Iran’s atomic infrastructure … they do a public disservice to the public national debate.” He said that worldwide threat assessments “should but be politicized,” but “intelligence officials must be asked, if Iran isn’t building a weapon, why has it invested so much time, labor and capital into this quest?” Tehran’s moves toward an atomic weapon is not a dash, but a “slow and steady quest to develop the world’s most dangerous weapons as safely as possible,” said Taleblu. The renewed threat comes as the U.S. is bolstering its forces in the Middle East. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently sent a second aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, to join the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, whose deployment was also extended. The U.S. also recently deployed two B-2 stealth bombers to the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean, a warning to Iran and Yemen’s Houthi militia. The planes are capable of carrying 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs and are now situated within range of Iran. In his first term, Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal signed by then-President Barack Obama, deeming it a “bad deal” that did not curb Iran’s nuclear program. He has already ordered his administration to bring “maximum pressure” back to Tehran, choking them financially from every lever of government.