Stacey Abrams-founded nonprofit faces crackdown threat from House GOP’s top tax writer
FIRST ON FOX: The House of Representatives’ top lawmaker on taxation is urging the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to revoke the tax-exempt status of a nonprofit linked to former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. The Abrams-founded group, New Georgia Project, was recently fined $300,000 for violating state election laws in a ruling by the Georgia Ethics Commission. House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., called it “the largest penalty in the Ethics Commission’s history and possibly the largest ethics fine ever issued in the United States” in his letter to IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause. The commission unanimously charged the New Georgia Project with failing to disclose more than $4 million in campaign contributions and more than $3 million in expenditures while backing Abrams’ failed 2018 gubernatorial campaign. ‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS “As you know, under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), organizations are strictly prohibited from participating in or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office,” Smith wrote. “The IRS may revoke an organization’s tax-exempt status or assess excise taxes for certain types of violations if it determines the organization is noncompliant as it relates to political campaign intervention.” Abrams founded the New Georgia Project in 2013 to help boost voter registration efforts in the Peach State. However, she has not been involved with the group since 2017, and Smith pointed out that groups registered as 501(c)(3) nonprofits are prohibited from participating in or advocating for specific political candidates. TRUMP TO SIGN EXECUTIVE ORDER INSTRUCTING AGENCIES TO HUNT DOWN REGULATIONS THAT VIOLATE CONSTITUTION The New Georgia Project’s affiliated group, the New Georgia Project Action Fund, is able to endorse candidates, but donations are not tax-exempt. “The New Georgia Project’s intervention in the 2018 election cycle in support of Stacey Abrams and other candidates’ campaigns amounts to a clear violation of their tax-exempt status,” Smith wrote. “The GSEC’s findings show that the New Georgia Project has participated in activities and events outside of the organization’s tax-exempt purpose and should therefore lose its tax-exempt status and be reclassified as an ‘action organization.’” Smith conceded that such nonprofits are allowed “to engage in certain nonpartisan voter education activities that do not constitute prohibited political campaign activity, including public forums and publishing voter education guides,” but argued “it is clear that the New Georgia Project crossed the line into prohibited activity by intervening in the 2018 election cycle on behalf of Stacey Abrams and several other candidates.” “I request that you use your authority to make this referral a priority and make certain the IRS moves quickly to examine and revoke the tax-exempt status of the New Georgia Project,” he wrote. Fox News Digital reached out to the New Georgia Project and the IRS for comment but did not hear back by press time. New Georgia Project attorney Aria Branch told NBC News at the time of the commission’s ruling, “While we remain disappointed that the federal court ruling on the constitutionality of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act was overturned on entirely procedural grounds, we accept this outcome and are eager to turn the page on activities that took place more than five years ago.”
Grassley, 91, waves and smiles to booing, cursing protesters
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley was captured on video waving and smiling to booing protesters who were chanting “stand up to Trump” and repeatedly yelling “f— you!” outside of his town hall event. Footage posted on social media showed the 91-year-old Republican grinning and waving his arms as he waded into a hostile crowd that gathered outside the Franklin County Courthouse in Hampton on Friday. “Stand up to Trump! Stand up to Trump!” the crowd could be heard chanting as Grassley exited the building following the event, flanked by two men who appeared to be security members. An irate woman could then be heard yelling “traitor!” and “f— you!” over and over toward Grassley, who at one point gives a double thumbs up in response to the reaction. ‘CHAOS AND CONFUSION’: HOW DEMOCRATS INFILTRATED ‘THUNDEROUS’ GOP TOWN HALLS Grassley eventually stepped into a waiting vehicle as the crowd continued to boo and jeer him. More than 100 people attended the town hall event, during which Grassley was asked questions on topics including tariffs, annexing Canada and the future of Social Security and other federal programs, according to Radio Iowa. GOP REP SOUNDS ALARM OVER DEMOCRATS ‘INCITING FAR-LEFT ACTIVISTS’ AFTER PRIVATE LUNCHEON PROTEST TURNS PHYSICAL “Well, I think you can draw the conclusions, I win by landslides, but I don’t win by 100% of the vote, so having people disagree with you is what democracy is all about,” he was quoted by the outlet as saying. The incident happened following other recent protests at Republican town hall events, including one in North Carolina two weeks ago during which a man who identified himself as a veteran stood up and started shouting at Rep. Chuck Edwards, yelling “you don’t give a f— about me!” before being escorted away by police. “I just watched our GREAT Republican Congressman from North Carolina, CHUCK EDWARDS, hold a Town Hall in Asheville. He was a total gentleman, but the room was ‘littered’ with Radical Left Lunatics, mostly Democrats, and all they did was scream, shout and use filthy language,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social yesterday. “They were largely paid agitators, with fake signs and slogans, and were only there to make TROUBLE! Chuck put up with it, and was WONDERFUL!”
‘Corrupt, dangerous’: GOP Rep moves to impeach judge who blocked Trump federal funds freeze
FIRST ON FOX: Georgia Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde is formally introducing his articles of impeachment against a Rhode Island judge who previously ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funds. The articles, first shared with Fox News Digital, charge Chief U.S. District Judge John James McConnell Jr. with abuse of power and conflicts of interest, stating he “knowingly politicized and weaponized his judicial position to advance his own political views and beliefs.” If McConnell is found guilty of such charges, the articles read, he should be removed from office. SCOOP: IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES HIT JUDGE WHO ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP TREN DE ARAGUA DEPORTATION FLIGHTS McConnell is currently overseeing a lawsuit brought by 22 states and the District of Columbia that challenges the Trump administration’s move to withhold federal grant funds. After McConnell ordered the administration to comply with a restraining order, the government appealed to the First Circuit – which refused to stay the orders. “The American people overwhelmingly voted for President Trump in November, providing a clear mandate to make our federal government more efficient,” Clyde told Fox News Digital. “Yet Judge McConnell, who stands to benefit from his own injunction, is attempting to unilaterally obstruct the president’s agenda and defy the will of the American people. Judge McConnell’s actions are corrupt, dangerous, and worthy of impeachment.” COURT ORDER HALTING DEPORTATION FLIGHTS ‘UNCONSTITUTIONALLY IMPEDES’ EXECUTIVE BRANCH, TRUMP ALLIES ARGUE Clyde announced plans to draft impeachment articles in early February, after McConnell ordered the Trump administration to reinstate paused federal grants and loans. The articles formalize the charges. McConnell has also come under fire from Trump supporters and conservatives in recent weeks after a 2021 video resurfaced in which he warned that courts must “stand and enforce the rule of law … against arbitrary and capricious actions by what could be a tyrant or could be whatnot.” The articles cite that video, claiming McConnell “has allowed his personal, political opinions to influence his decisions and rulings,” and that he has demonstrated a “bias that would warp his decision” in the federal freeze case. In a statement, Clyde said “judicial activism” is “the Left’s latest form of lawfare.” REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: IMPEACHAPALOOZA IS HERE TO STAY “Congress bears the responsibility and the constitutional authority to hold activist judges accountable through impeachment,” he continued. “I applaud the work of my colleagues to hold other rogue judges accountable, and I hope we see swift action on this critical matter in the House very soon.” When contacted, the court declined to comment. Clyde’s impeachment resolution follows a similar move by Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who earlier filed articles of impeachment against U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg. The Washington, D.C.-based federal judge is overseeing a separate case challenging President Donald Trump’s use of an 18th-century wartime law to deport Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador who were linked to the violent gang Tren de Aragua. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Gill accuses Boasberg of abusing his power by pausing the deportation order under the 1789 law. The mounting criticism of lower court judges who have ruled against the Trump administration prompted U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to issue an unusual statement in response this month. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.” Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Trump calls ’60 Minutes’ George Clooney segment a ‘puff piece’
President Donald Trump dismissed George Clooney’s interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” as a “puff piece” after the actor-director lodged criticisms at the commander-in-chief in between discussing his debut on Broadway. “Why would the now highly discredited 60 Minutes be doing a total ‘puff piece’ on George Clooney, a second rate movie ‘star,’ and failed political pundit,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. “He fought hard for Sleepy Joe’s election and then, right after the Debate, dumped him like a dog. Later, I assume under orders from the Obama camp, pushed all out for ‘Kamala,’ only to soon realize that that was not going to work out to well.” Trump continued, “60 Minutes even fraudulently inserted Fake answers into her disastrous interview, aired just before Election Day, in one of the most embarrassing and dishonest events in broadcast history.” “And now George Clooney again?” Trump asked. “His press agent should be making a fortune!!!” TRUMP MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN ‘IMPORTANT’ WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT RACE Clooney, a lifelong Democrat who joined the chorus of those calling for former President Joe Biden to end his re-election campaign last summer, sat down with “60 Minutes” to talk about his debut on Broadway playing American journalist Edward R. Murrow in an adaptation of his 2005 film “Good Night, and Good Luck.” The play focuses on Murrow’s challenge to the McCarthy administration, a theme that Clooney argued mirrored what journalists are facing under Trump’s second term. “Here’s where I would tell you where we differ from what Murrow was doing. Although McCarthy would try to pose things, show up a blank piece of paper and say ‘I got a list of names.’ That was his version of fake news,” Clooney told “60 Minutes.” “We are now at a place now where we’ve found that it’s harder and harder and harder to discern the truth. Facts are now negotiated.” Clooney also defended his decision to pen a New York Times opinion piece calling for Biden’s ouster from the race just weeks after the A-lister and other Hollywood stars helped garner $30 million in donations for Biden at a Los Angeles fundraiser. “I was raised to tell the truth,” Clooney said when asked about the essay. “I had seen the president up close for his fundraiser and I was surprised, and so I feel as if there were a lot of profiles in cowardice in my party through all of that. And I was not proud of that, and I also believed I had to tell the truth.” Trump is seeking $20 billion in damages from “60 Minutes” and CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, over an Oct. 7, 2024, interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris leading up to the 2024 presidential election. The lawsuit, initially filed in October shortly before Trump won a second term, and later expanded last month, accuses the program of “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference” for the way it edited the interview and aired different clips of Harris’ responses. MUSK THREATENS TO SUE AFTER DEMOCRAT EX-REP JAMAAL BOWMAN CALLS HIM A ‘NAZI’ AND ‘THIEF’ DURING TV APPEARANCE An unedited transcript and raw footage were released in February amid an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission. Different answers from Harris about Israel were aired on “60 Minutes” and CBS’ “Face the Nation,” but the network claimed the discrepancy was “not doctored or deceitful.” Despite asking the court to dismiss the case, corporate leaders are considering whether to settle. The “60 Minutes” segment also showed Clooney leading a Broadway table read with the play’s cast. “ABC has just settled a lawsuit with the Trump administration and CBS News is in the process,” Clooney is heard telling the table read at Winter Garden Theater in the heart of Broadway, before the reporter’s voice-over cuts him off. The reporter, Jon Wertheim, then categorizes Trump’s lawsuit against CBS as making the “unfounded allegation” of election interference. In December, Disney agreed to pay $16 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit against ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. “We’re seeing this idea of using government to scare or fine or use corporations to make journalists smaller,” Clooney also told “60 Minutes.” “Governments don’t like the freedom of the press. They never have, and that goes for whether you are a conservative or a liberal or whatever side you’re on, they don’t like the press.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It’s a fight that is for the ages,” the actor-director said. “Journalism and telling truth to power has to be waged like war is waged. It doesn’t just happen accidentally. You know, it takes people saying we’re going to do these stories, and you’re going to have to come after us. And that’s the way it is.”
Byron Donalds leads bipartisan effort to punish federal workers for failure to report foreign gifts
FIRST ON FOX: Two prominent House lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle are teaming up to push for greater transparency on the gifts or perks that representatives of the federal government receive from foreign entities. Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and Jared Golden, D-Maine., introduced the Gift, Accountability, Reporting, and Disclosures (GARD) Act late last week, aimed at strengthening the government’s guardrails against foreign influence. The bill would vastly expand the definition of a “foreign” gift, while imposing heightened requirements on what kind of details must be disclosed and when. TESLA VEHICLES, CHARGING STATIONS TARGETED AS PROTESTERS DENOUNCE DOGE, ELON MUSK Federal employees who file reports more than 30 days after a foreign gift is received would be slapped with a $200 fine. Golden and Donalds’ collaboration on the issue is notable in today’s hyper-partisan climate. Federal employees, the president, the vice president, members of Congress, other officials and their families are generally expected to report foreign gifts that amount to $480 or more – though that baseline can be lower for certain government entities. The State Department’s chief of protocol, a politically appointed role, is tasked with gathering such information and issuing a report due 11 days after a presidential term has ended. There is also currently no deadline for that data to be made public in the Federal Register, which has been amended with Donalds and Golden’s new bill. TRUMP ‘HOPES’ PUTIN AGREES TO CEASEFIRE AS MOSCOW SIGNALS NO TRUCE YET The GARD Act would mandate the State Department to publish its foreign gift list within 30 days of receiving the information. The designation of “foreign” would also grow to include non-U.S. businesses and nonprofits. It also would standardize reporting of foreign gifts given to adult children and relatives of government officials at a $480 baseline. Additionally, instead of a political appointee at the State Department gathering the information, that would now be taken on by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Both Republicans and Democrats have accused recent party leaders and families of enriching themselves on foreign business. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP It is not immediately clear if House GOP leaders have shown interest in the bill, but it comes amid talks of both of its leaders potentially seeking higher office. Donalds announced earlier this year that he is running for governor of Florida, and he is endorsed by President Donald Trump for the role. Meanwhile, the Portland Press Herald held up Golden – a moderate Democrat who represents a district Trump won in 2020 and 2024 – as a potential candidate for governor in Maine.
Clean air mandates exacerbating dearth in gas tax revenues used for roads, bridges, infrastructure: Expert
As gas tax revenues plunge, several states are scrambling to fund basic infrastructure repairs—a crisis made worse by clean air mandates pushing automakers toward electric vehicles, according to an energy policy expert. States primarily use gas tax revenues to fund the maintenance of infrastructure, like bridges and roads. In Oregon, a state with aggressive climate goals, the Department of Transportation has anticipated that it will face an estimated $350 million budget shortfall due in part to declining gas tax revenues. California, which requires auto manufacturers to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles, is looking at a potential loss of $5 billion – or 64% – over the next decade, according to analysts. Jason Isaac is the founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute, a trade organization representing mainly oil and gas companies. He told Fox News Digital that states are losing about $2,506 in gas tax revenue per every EV sold. Isaac said that, in his view, strict EV mandates are exacerbating the dearth in gas tax revenues. DOGE LAWMAKERS LOOK TO DEFUND BIDEN’S ANEMIC-PACED $3B EV POSTAL TRUCK ‘BOONDOGGLE’ “The regulations and requirements from the federal government for automobile manufacturers to make and sell electric vehicles is having a profound impact on revenue collection for states and the federal government to fund our highway infrastructure,” Isaac said. In particular, he pointed to clean air fuel economy requirements. “Automobile manufacturers are all losing billions of dollars making EVs. The only company that’s making money selling EVs is Tesla, and they’re making money because they’re selling fuel emissions credits to other automobile manufacturers,” Isaac said. “Tesla would just break even, maybe a little bit of profit, if it wasn’t for the selling of the credits to Ford and GM, Stellantis, and other automobile manufacturers that are forced to buy fuel economy credits because of requirements from the federal government.” As a result, Isaac said, gas-powered car manufacturers are compelled to make more electric vehicles in an effort to keep up with government mandates. “It’s really destroying the market,” he said. EPA ADMINISTRATOR ROLLS BACK 31 BIDEN-ERA REGULATIONS Meanwhile, Isaac posited, fuel economy mandates and the ongoing credit-buy-back system have generated a “multi-billion dollar market out of nothing that’s not improving fuel economy.” “There’s bipartisan support to get rid of these credits,” he said, adding that the move would help auto manufacturers relying on the system “to make a comeback and truly improve fuel economy and vehicles, because they won’t be wasting billions of dollars from vehicles that people just overwhelmingly don’t want. The rates of repurchases are decreasing significantly.” According to McKinsey & Co.’s 2024 Mobility Consumer Pulse, 46% of EV owners in the U.S. said they were “very” likely to switch back to owning a gas-powered vehicle in their next purchase, due mainly to a lack of charging infrastructure and range limitations. STUDY FOUND US GAS EXPORTS DID NOT IMPACT CLIMATE CHANGE, SO BIDEN ADMIN BURIED IT, OFFICIALS SAY The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said this month that it was beginning the process of rolling back automotive pollution and fuel economy standards set under former President Joe Biden, part of a broader initiative to peel back green energy initiatives. In January, President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, also issued an order directing regulators to review the current Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Different solutions are being considered by states to supplement their lost gas tax revenues, including mile-based road usage charges, taxes on EV charging stations, and increased registration fees for EVs. A debate has also emerged over raising the federal gas tax—which has not increased since 1993—as a potential solution. Isaac said that in addition to amending federal fuel economy standards, he noted that raising the registration fee for EVs is a good solution. He said putting a tax on electric-vehicle charging stations would likely not generate enough funds to make up for the lost revenue. Isaac also posited that he was not very keen on the implementation of a vehicle-mile travel tax. He suggested that it could serve as a “regressive” tax on lower-income people who are struggling with the cost of housing, because they will have to move out of urban areas to rural or suburban areas, increasing the amount of miles they need to travel for work and other activities. Isaac is not a proponent of raising the federal gas tax either. “We don’t need to raise the tax, we just need to spend our dollars more efficiently,” Isaac said. “I think DOGE is going to help with that efficiency, so that dollars are truly making it to the maintenance of our nation’s infrastructure.”
DeSantis pushes Florida surgeon general for CDC director role
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants President Donald Trump to tap Sunshine State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director. DeSantis contends that the public health official could do more for the state at the CDC than he can now. “Overhauling the CDC would be beneficial to FL. Joe could do more for FL as CDC Director than as FL Surgeon General,” the governor said in a post on X. DESANTIS PROPOSES SOLUTION AS TRUMP’S AGENDA IS STYMIED BY JUDGES DeSantis agreed with someone who suggested that Ladapo “as CDC Director is the right pick, the transformative pick, the history making pick, the pick that would save the Republic.” “Dr. Joe Ladapo is all of those things and has the courage and determination to do what’s right when it’s not easy,” the governor declared in a tweet. “Lapado as CDC Director means that MAHA [Make America Healthy Again] is not just an empty slogan.” President Donald Trump announced that he was tapping former U.S. Rep. Dr. Dave Weldon for the role last year, but earlier this month, the White House pulled his nomination, so the president now needs to tap someone else for the post. “Twelve hours before my scheduled confirmation hearing in The Senate, I received a phone call from an assistant at the White House informing me that my nomination to be Director of CDC was being withdrawn because there were not enough votes to get me confirmed,” Weldon said in a statement that has been posted online by the New York Times and Washington Post. DESANTIS SAYS FLORIDA RETURNED $878M IN TAXPAYER FUNDS TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AFTER MEETING WITH MUSK, DOGE “I then spoke to HHS Secretary Bobbie Kennedy who was very upset. He was told the same thing and that he had been looking forward to working with me at CDC. He said I was the perfect person for the job.” Last year, DeSantis floated Ladapo for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services before Trump announced Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for that role. DESANTIS FLOATS FLORIDA SURGEON GENERAL DR. JOSEPH LADAPO AS CANDIDATE FOR TRUMP’S HHS SECRETARY CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Retweet if you’d like to see this man — Dr. Joseph Ladapo — serve as the Secretary of HHS in the new Trump administration,” DeSantis tweeted in November, sharing Ladapo’s photo in the post.
Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments in high-profile deportation suit involving Venezuelan nationals
The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments Monday on whether a lower court can properly address the Trump administration’s efforts to deport Venezuelan nationals via a 1798 wartime law. The administration asked for a stay pending appeal shortly after an initial March 15 order was issued, calling it a “massive, unauthorized imposition on the Executive’s authority to remove dangerous aliens who pose threats to the American people.” The Trump administration had attempted to invoke a 1798 wartime authority to deport Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of the gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), for a period of 14 days. COURT ORDER HALTING DEPORTATION FLIGHTS ‘UNCONSTITUTIONALLY IMPEDES’ EXECUTIVE BRANCH, TRUMP ALLIES ARGUE Last week, Obama-appointed, D.C.-based Judge James Boasberg issued an order to immediately halt any planned deportations of Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador. A plane carrying hundreds of U.S. migrants, including Venezuelan nationals removed under the law, arrived in El Salvador hours later despite the order. Boasberg held a Monday evening fact-finding hearing, where he ordered the Trump administration to submit more information on the flights, including information on how planes departed the U.S. that were carrying any people who were deported “solely on the basis” of that proclamation, how many individuals were on each plane, where the planes landed and what time each plane took off from the U.S., and from where. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TELLS FEDERAL JUDGE IT MIGHT INVOKE STATE SECRETS ACT ON HIGH-PROFILE DEPORTATION CASE Boasberg imposed a Tuesday noon deadline to submit the information and also ordered the parties to appear in court again on Friday. In a reply brief submitted to the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday, the government said “the district court is continuing to attempt to pry sensitive information from the Government. All of the district court’s orders should be stayed, and the Executive Branch’s standing as a coequal branch of Government should be respected.” The Trump administration called the additional requests “intrusive inquiries that could hamper negotiations in the future.” The government repeatedly failed to comply with the order to submit additional information, citing national security issues. Boasberg then said the government could submit the information under seal by Thursday. JUDICIAL HALT OF DEPORTATION FLIGHTS PUTS US FOREIGN POLICY AT RISK, CAREER STATE DEPT OFFICIAL CLAIMS In a Thursday evening order, Boasberg slammed the administration after it missed his deadline, saying it “again evaded its obligations” to submit the requested information. Boasberg wrote in his order that the government had, instead, sent a six-paragraph declaration from a regional ICE office director in Harlingen, Texas, which notified the court that Cabinet secretaries are “actively considering whether to invoke the state secrets [act] privileges over the other facts requested by the Court’s order.” Boasberg called the submission “woefully insufficient.” Judges Karen Henderson, Patricia Millett and Justin Walker will preside over the Monday oral arguments. Two of the three judges were nominated by Republican presidents, with Henderson appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and Walker by Trump in 2020. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Millett was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch and David Spunt contributed to this report.
First on Fox: Republican senators urged to ‘go on offense’ on DOGE goals, highlight work with Trump, Musk
EXCLUSIVE: The Senate Republican campaign committee is calling on GOP senators to showcase the mission of President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk to “eliminate wasteful spending” by the federal government. In a memo shared first with Fox News on Monday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is urging senators to spotlight that Trump’s recently created Department of Government Efficiency, better known by its acronym DOGE, is pushing to “streamline federal operations, eliminate wasteful spending, and reduce the size of the bloated federal bureaucracy.” The memo points to recent national surveys, including the latest Fox News poll, that indicate majority support by Americans to tackle federal waste and fraud and downsize the government. WHAT AMERICANS SAY ABOUT DOGE IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL But those same surveys also point to the public’s dissatisfaction with how DOGE is carrying out its mission, including major cuts to the federal government workforce. And the polls indicate that Americans hold an unfavorable view of Musk, the world’s richest person and the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, whom Trump picked to steer DOGE. WHAT RATE THE JOB TRUMP’S DOING TWO MONTHS INTO HIS SECOND TOUR OF DUTY IN THE WHITE HOUSE DOGE has swept through federal agencies during the first two months of the Trump administration, rooting out what the White House argues was billions in wasteful federal spending. Additionally, it has taken a meat cleaver to the federal workforce, resulting in a massive downsizing of employees. The moves by DOGE grabbed tons of national attention and have triggered a slew of lawsuits in response. The Democratic National Committee as well as congressional Democrats have repeatedly targeted both DOGE and Musk. “Trump’s Firing Spree Devastates Veterans, Children with Disabilities – and His Own Supporters,” the subject line of a recent DNC email to supporters claimed. But the NRSC, pointing to the polls which indicate the popularity of the DOGE mission, calls on GOP senators to “drive the message that President Trump and Senate Republicans are undoing the Biden-Harris spending that drove inflation and higher costs of living.” HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING The NRSC also emphasizes that senators and their communications staff should highlight the “overall popularity of cutting wasteful spending” and offer “numerous examples of egregious waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the federal government.” The NRSC also calls on senators and their staff to “work with Musk, the DOGE team, and Cabinet secretaries to identify any mistakes, request quick action, and communicate as one team.” And Senate Republican communications staff are urged to “make suggestions about potential cuts publicly and privately. Be a leader on cuts your Senator is passionate about through regional and new media.” Looking ahead to next year’s midterm elections, when the GOP aims to expand its 53-47 majority in the chamber, the NRSC emphasizes that “Senate Republicans have one job: lock arms with the White House, amplify this fight, and ride this wave to victory in 2026.” And the NRSC warns that “the alternative – fracture, waffling, silence – cedes trust, voters, and the narrative to Democrats.”
Hollywood takes shots at Trump while celebrating Conan O’Brien amid Kennedy Center shake-up
Members of Hollywood took shots at President Donald Trump on Sunday while gathered in Washington, D.C., for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to honor television host and comedian Conan O’Brien, weeks after Trump unveiled sweeping changes to the structure of the Kennedy Center. Trump, who removed the Kennedy Center’s leadership in February, is now serving as the Kennedy Center Board Chair. New members on the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees include second lady Usha Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino. Comedian Sarah Silverman took aim at Trump several times on Sunday at the Mark Twain event, specifically citing a 2016 appearance of hers on Conan on TBS where she dressed up as Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. “They wrote a bit where Conan interviews Hitler, who comes on because he’s embarrassed that he’s being compared to Donald Trump,” Silverman said. “I am actually not an obvious choice for Hitler. I mean, I am an obvious choice for Hitler,” said Silverman, who is Jewish. “Not an obvious choice to play Hitler. But they chose me, and it’s this way of thinking that makes Conan great again. I just really miss the days when you were America’s only orange a–hole.” ‘HAMILTON’ STAR PUT ON NOTICE BY TRUMP’S KENNEDY CENTER PRESIDENT AFTER ANTI-GOP ‘PUBLICITY STUNT’ Silverman also recalled when she took a sideways photo of O’Brien’s mouth, and placed the image on her phone between her legs during an appearance on Conan in 2012, prompting TBS to censor the image because of its resemblance to female genitalia. She then instructed the audience to look under their seat, where they would find a copy of the image of O’Brien’s pursed lips. “You can go ahead and leave those photos on your seat when you go – the guy who took over loves grabbing pussy,” Silverman said, a reference to the leaked Access Hollywood tape where Trump bragged about kissing and groping women due to his fame. The tape, originally filmed in 2005, leaked ahead of the 2016 election. Silverman wasn’t the only comedian to poke fun at Washington at the ceremony. John Mulaney also directly referenced Trump’s Kennedy Center shake-up, joking that the president would rename the building after Roy Cohn, Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel who supported the Wisconsin senator investigating suspected communists. Cohn also had ties to Trump, and served as an attorney for Trump in the 1970s and 1980s. “It’s an honor to be here at the Kennedy Center, or as it will be known next week, the Roy Cohn Pavilion for Big, Strong Men Who Love Cats,” Mulaney said. Comedian Will Ferrell, who previously won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2011, also took a jab at Trump’s executive order on Thursday to upend the Department of Education. “I don’t have time for this. You know what I’m supposed to be doing right now?” Ferrell said. “Do you have any idea? I’m supposed to be shutting down the Department of Education.” Comedian Nikki Glaser, who hosted the Golden Globes in January, told reporters on the red carpet it would be “insane” to not address Trump’s shake-up at the event, while also remembering that the purpose of the night was to celebrate O’Brien. KENNEDY CENTER SHAKE-UP WILL USHER IN ‘GOLDEN AGE OF THE ARTS’ UNDER TRUMP, RIC GRENELL PREVIEWS “I think it’s insane not to address the elephant in the room. And it’s like, it’s insane comedically, to not do that, because it’s, it’s right there,” Glaser said. Glaser said the current political atmosphere provides comedians with an opportunity to seize a “rebellious moment.” “It’s an easy laugh to just say anything about it, but also you get to say something and have a little bit of a rebellious moment, which is always a fun thing to work in,” Glaser told reporters on the red carpet. “But I’m not going to make a meal of it…that’s not what it’s about.” Glaser also told reporters she previously didn’t want to discuss politics because she didn’t want to alienate any audience members, and while she is more inclined to do so now, she’s concerned about death threats and being doxxed. O’Brien also addressed the Kennedy Center’s shake-up, and thanked the Kennedy Center’s former president Deborah Rutter and chairman David Rubenstein, as well as other staff members “who are worried about what the future might bring.” “Thanks to my people who invited me here a few months ago: Deborah Rutter and David Rubenstein,” O’Brien said. O’Brien also paid homage to author Mark Twain, whom the award is named after, claiming that “Twain was a patriot in the best sense of the world.” KENNEDY CENTER SHAKE-UP WILL USHER IN ‘GOLDEN AGE OF THE ARTS’ UNDER TRUMP, RIC GRENELL PREVIEWS “He loved America, but knew it was deeply flawed,” O’Brien said. “Twain wrote, patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.” O’Brien, who hosted the Oscars this month and is slated to host the event next year as well, told reporters on the red carpet that his material for next year’s awards will depend on current events, and that ideas for content are always changing leading up to such events. “I could no more tell you what next year’s Oscars would be now than I could three months out of it, you know, nine months from now,” O’Brien said. Other comedians who’ve won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor include Ferrell, Tina Fey, Dave Chappelle, Ellen DeGeneres, Adam Sandler and Kevin Hart. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.