EXCLUSIVE: Epstein emails released as DOJ says no criminal or inappropriate conduct by Trump
FIRST ON FOX: The Justice Department released more than 3 million Jeffrey Epstein records including his personal emails Friday, with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche telling Fox News Digital that “in none of these communications, even when doing his best to disparage President Trump, did Epstein suggest President Trump had done anything criminal or had any inappropriate contact with any of his victims.” “During the course of our investigation, we seized years and years’ worth of Epstein’s personal emails,” Blanche told Fox News Digital. “These are communications with hundreds and hundreds of individuals discussing intimate details of Epstein’s and others’ lives.” EPSTEIN FILES EXPLODE OPEN AS DOJ DETAILS DISCOVERY OF POWERFUL FIGURES AND MORE THAN 1,200 VICTIMS “In none of these communications, even when doing his best to disparage President Trump, did Epstein suggest President Trump had done anything criminal or had any inappropriate contact with any of his victims,” Blanche told Fox News Digital Friday morning. Fox News Digital first obtained newly declassified emails from the Epstein case Friday morning. The Justice Department is expected to release more than 3 million pages of records from the files Friday, Blanche said. The new records mentioning the president largely show Epstein showing his disdain for Trump and criticizing him during his first administration. But one email reviewed by Fox News Digital was from March 2016, between Epstein and author and reporter Michael Wolff. In the email, Wolff is encouraging Epstein to come up with an “immediate counter narrative” to James Patterson’s book about him, “Filthy Rich: A Powerful Billionaire, the Sex Scandal that Undid Him, and All the Justice that Money Can Buy.” “You do need an immediate counter narrative to the book,” Wolff writes. “I believe Trump offers an ideal opportunity. It’s a chance to make the story about something other than you, while, at the same time, letting you frame your own story.” “Also, becoming anti-Trump gives you a certain political cover which you decidedly don’t have now,” he continues. In another email, three years later, in January 2019, Epstein writes to Wolff: “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.” In another email, in February 2019, Epstein writes a long email to Wolff, noting that (REDACTED) worked at Mar-a-Lago, and that “Trump knew of it and came to my house many times during that period.” “He never got a massage,” Epstein writes. Epstein then goes on to discuss a business arrangement involving Trump relating to a friend who was having “financial difficulty with assisted living homes.” In another email to Wolff in January 2018, Epstein is complaining about the president, saying that he “doesn’t take advice,” and that “his children have little experience and poor judgment.” “There are huge discrepancies re his real net worth,” Epstein writes to Wolff. “Full disclosure would make it clear.” Epstein, also in January 2018, continues mocking Trump, calling him “dopey Donald or demented Donald,” and complains about his finances and acquisitions and relationship with Deutsche Bank. Meanwhile, in emails between Epstein and Thomas Landon of The New York Times in January 2018, Landon asks if Epstein still is in touch with Wolf, who had published his book “Fire and Fury” about Trump. “Yup,” Epstein replies. Landon writes: “Have to say, he is looking/sounding increasing unhinged—Are you tempted to take any money off the table in the markets?” “No. But no question Donalds statement is goofy,” Epstein replies. It is unclear which Trump statement he is referring to. “Early dementia?” Landon replies: “You be judge—wasn’t here a time when he at least completed sentences?” Epstein writes back: “No, he was always stupid.” This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Reporter’s Notebook: Senate funding deal hits snag as Graham presses sanctuary city vote
Expect a major floor speech by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., around 11:30 a.m. ET Friday about why he’s holding up the revised government funding package. Graham tells Fox News he will lift his hold on the bill if he gets an agreement to have a vote on his bill to criminalize the conduct of local officials who operate sanctuary cities. Graham and other Republican senators believe they have the home field advantage when they talk about the causes that led to the border crisis and illegal immigration. He and other GOPers believe the two-week funding window for DHS gives Republicans the opportunity to reclaim the issue. HOUSE CONSERVATIVES SKEPTICAL AS SENATE DEAL SACRIFICING DHS SPENDING REACHED: ‘NON-STARTER’ Secondly, Graham wants a vote to expand the pool of up to 190 groups or individuals who were surveilled by former Special Counsel Jack Smith to give them the right to sue Smith. TENSIONS BOIL IN HOUSE OVER EMERGING SENATE DEAL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN A provision giving certain Republican lawmakers whose phone records were targeted by Smith the right to sue for $500,000 was stripped from the minibus spending package by the House. So Graham wants to broaden the pool of those who can sue for damages. He also wants to restrict investigations from acquiring future telephonic metadata of House and Senate members, unless they are facing a criminal investigation themselves. This would bar future “fishing expeditions.”
GOP lawmaker moves to block welfare recipients from sending money overseas: ‘Abuse ends now’
FIRST ON FOX: A newly introduced Senate bill from Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno would prohibit individuals receiving public assistance from sending money overseas through remittance transfers, a move aimed at ensuring taxpayer-funded benefits are spent inside the United States and not exported abroad. The legislation, titled the “Stopping Transfers of Public Funds Abroad Act,” would require anyone applying for or receiving federal public assistance to sign a written declaration stating they will not send money through remittance transfers while receiving benefits. Under the proposal, anyone who violates that declaration would face a civil fine of up to $100,000. The bill directs federal agencies that administer public assistance programs to enforce the restriction during both initial applications and reapplications for benefits. Recipients would be required to certify, under penalty of perjury, that they are not transferring funds via remittance services while receiving aid. BESSENT BLAMES WALZ AS TREASURY PROBES WHETHER MINNESOTA FRAUD FUNDS REACHED TERROR GROUP AL-SHABAB “For decades, Washington’s failed welfare program rewarded dependency while enabling fraudsters and criminals to exploit the system to take advantage of American taxpayers,” Moreno told Fox News Digital. “If an individual has enough cash to send money overseas, they have no business taking welfare benefits from hardworking Americans. The abuse ends now.” Remittances, or money transfers sent by individuals — typically immigrants — in the United States to recipients in foreign countries — typically through banks, wire services, mobile apps, or money service businesses — have drawn increased scrutiny in recent years and further amplified after the Minnesota fraud scandal, primarily in the Somali community, came to light nationally. In many cases, remittances are funded through ordinary wages. However, critics say there is little visibility into whether some transfers are financed with taxpayer-funded benefits, particularly cash-based assistance programs. Because funds from public assistance and personal income are often deposited into the same accounts, tracing the source of remittance money can be difficult, raising concerns among lawmakers about oversight and accountability. “Importantly, no single remittance transfer is hostile,” senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation Ammon Blair wrote in a Fox News Digital opinion piece earlier this month titled, “Mass immigration is economic warfare and few Americans understand why.” “No individual immigrant constitutes an act of aggression. Many immigrants are seeking better lives for themselves and their families, and remittances often provide support to vulnerable communities abroad.” EXCLUSIVE: SENATE BILL TARGETS MINNESOTA-STYLE ‘RUNAWAY FRAUD’ TO FORCE SCAMMERS TO REPAY TAXPAYERS Blair continued, “But modern conflict is not defined by individual intent. It is defined by aggregate effects. When mass migration and financial flows reach industrial scale and persist over time, they can impose real strategic pressures on host nations, regardless of motivation.” Blair explained that the United States is the world’s largest source of outbound remittances and experiences annual outflows estimated between $80 billion and $90 billion based on World Bank and Federal Reserve analyses of IMF balance-of-payments data. Several countries, according to Blair, gather a significant share of their national income from remittances, including Somalia, where remittances reached approximately 25% of the GDP in 2024. “At this scale, remittances are no longer incidental household transfers; they become macroeconomic pillars,” Blair wrote. “Governments that rely so heavily on these inflows face reduced incentives to facilitate the return of their citizens, including those unlawfully present in the United States, since large-scale repatriation would disrupt a critical revenue stream while reintroducing unemployment, fiscal strain and political pressure at home.”
Hegseth says Department of War ‘will be prepared to deliver’ whatever Trump wants following Iran warning
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said his department will “be prepared to deliver whatever this president expects” following a warning to Iran about its nuclear program. Hegseth made the remark Thursday during a Cabinet meeting, one day after President Donald Trump told Iran that “time is running out” to strike a deal. “They should not pursue nuclear capabilities. So we will be prepared to deliver whatever this president expects of the War Department, just like we did this month,” Hegseth said before describing the Jan. 3 U.S. military operation that captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. “No other military in the world could have executed the most sophisticated, powerful raid, not just in American history, I would say, in world history. What those men did going downtown, another country, the most secure place in the most secure base in the middle of the night without anybody knowing until those simultaneous bombs dropped three minutes before the helicopters dropped. No other country could coordinate that,” Hegseth continued. “No other president would have been willing to empower those warriors that way to be that effective.” IRAN RESPONDS TO TRUMP PRESSURE WITH WARNING OF RETALIATION: ‘FINGERS ON THE TRIGGER’ “And that sends a message to every capital around the world that when President Trump speaks, he means business. And we are reestablishing deterrence at the War Department,” Hegseth also said. The secretary of War also told the Cabinet that Trump has had to “rebuild the perception of America” during his second term. “And at the Department of War, that meant reestablishing deterrence. What happened in Afghanistan. What happened in Ukraine, a war that never would have occurred. What happened on Oct. 7 in Israel — never would have happened under President Trump. So as a result, we’re having to rebuild how our enemies perceive us,” he said. “And when President Trump said, ‘We’re not getting a nuclear Iran, you won’t have a nuclear bomb,’ he meant it. And we sent those B-2s halfway around the world, and they never noticed.” RUBIO REVOKES IRANIAN OFFICIALS’ US TRAVEL PRIVILEGES OVER DEADLY PROTEST CRACKDOWN KILLING THOUSANDS “When you said, Mr. President, we’re securing the border, the military was proud to do their part alongside Homeland Security to do that. Same thing with Iran right now, ensuring that they have all the options to make a deal,” Hegseth added. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump said, “A massive Armada is heading to Iran.” “It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela. Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary. Hopefully, Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!” the president warned. “As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added. Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
Cash surge: House GOP smashes fundraising records as Republicans gear up to defend slim majority
House Republicans are breaking fundraising records as they build resources to defend their razor-thin majority in November’s midterm elections. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which is the campaign arm of the House GOP, on Friday highlighted its robust fundraising last year, as well as “record” hauls by House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Majority Whip Tom Emmer. The fundraising surge is much needed, as Republicans face a rough political climate due to persistent inflation, which is fueling President Donald Trump’s negative approval ratings. And as the party in power in the nation’s capital, the GOP is also up against traditional political headwinds in the midterms. HOUSE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR WANTS TRUMP ‘OUT THERE ON THE TRAIL’ IN MIDTERM BATTLE FOR MAJORITY The Trump administration and Republicans are also facing political backlash following the fatal shootings this month by federal enforcement agents of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota who were protesting the government’s unprecedented crackdown on illegal immigration. Democrats, meanwhile, are energized following their ballot box successes last year as they rebound from their 2024 election setbacks and need a net gain of just three House seats in the midterms to capture the majority. DOUBLING DOWN: TOP HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS FOCUS ON HIGH PRICES ‘ABSOLUTELY GOING TO CONTINUE’ The NRCC showcased that it raked in $117.2 million last year, their best-ever off-election year haul other than 2021, when Democrats controlled the White House and Congress. The fundraising figures were first reported by Axios. The committee also highlighted that Johnson brought in over $82 million for House Republicans in 2025, the most money ever raised in one year by a House speaker. The NRCC also noted that Scalise’s $35.5 million haul marked his strongest off-year fundraising performance, and that Emmer brought in nearly $30 million, a record. And the committee also noted that the Congressional Leadership Fund and the American Action Network, the top two outside political groups aligned with the House GOP, combined raked in a record $136 million. THE CITIES TRUMP, GOP, ARE EYEING TO HOST FIRST-EVER REPUBLICAN MIDTERM CONVENTION “House Republicans are building an unprecedented war chest because voters are buying what we’re selling. We’re all in on growing the majority, and our fundraising numbers prove we have the resources to win across the map,” NRCC Spokesman Mike Marinella emphasized in a statement to Fox News Digital. The rival Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has yet to announce their fourth quarter fundraising figures. But DCCC spokesperson Justin Chermol highlighted, “No amount of money can rescue this hopeless, directionless, and extreme House Republican majority.” The latest Fox News national polling in the midterms, conducted Jan. 23–26, indicates Democrats holding a 52%-46% margin over Republicans in the so-called generic ballot question, which asks respondents whether they’d vote for the Democrat or Republican in their district without offering specific candidate names.
Missouri launches sweeping lawsuit to block census from counting illegal immigrants: ‘hijack representation’
FIRST ON FOX: Missouri filed a sweeping federal lawsuit on Friday arguing the Census Bureau’s practice of counting illegal immigrants and visa holders is unconstitutional because it dilutes U.S. citizens’ votes and bolsters blue states’ representation in Congress. The lawsuit, led by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, alleges that Missouri was robbed of one congressional seat after the 2020 census because the apportionment process, conducted every ten years, involves counting certain foreigners living in the United States. Missouri lawyers made an ambitious demand that the Census Bureau redo its population count from 2020 and exclude illegal immigrants and visa holders, and then recalculate how many seats each state should have in the House. BATTLEGROUND GOP LAWMAKER MOVES TO BLOCK WHAT HE CALLS DEMOCRATIC REDISTRICTING ‘POWER GRAB’ The demand comes ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, as President Donald Trump is staring down the possibility of Democrats regaining House control. The policy “steals federal representation from Missourians, and transfers it to States who artificially inflate their population by harboring illegal aliens,” Missouri lawyers wrote in the complaint, filed in federal court. Including all people living in a state in the apportionment process, which determines how many seats a state gets to have in the House, is a centuries-old practice that has seen various court challenges in recent decades. Those challenges have been unsuccessful, though the Supreme Court has declined to weigh in on the matter directly. The Constitution says states’ representation in Congress should be based on the “whole number of persons in each State,” which Missouri lawyers said in their lawsuit makes for a “tainted apportionment base.” President Donald Trump in 2020 issued a presidential memorandum that directed the Commerce Department to exclude “illegal aliens from the apportionment base.” The memo was immediately met with lawsuits and blocked by a three-judge panel. The Supreme Court did not rule on the matter before President Joe Biden took office, and Biden revoked Trump’s memo. HOUSE OVERSIGHT PROBE PUTS MINNESOTA ELECTIONS UNDER SCRUTINY OVER NONCITIZEN VOTING CONCERNS The lawsuit also comes days after the U.S. Census released its 2024 population estimates, showing gains in red states and losses in blue states. A GOP-founded research group called the American Redistricting Project compiled maps based on recent Census data that showed red states would gain more seats in 2030 if only U.S. citizens were included in the population count. White House deputy chief of staff James Blair raised alarm on social media this week about the group’s maps, highlighting how they showed that red states would significantly benefit if the population count included only U.S. citizens. “Translation: not counting illegals in the census for purposes of apportionment (E.g., doing it the Constitutional way) moves a net 22 House Seats & Electoral Votes from Blue States to Red States,” Blair wrote. Missouri’s lawsuit alleged that the estimated millions of immigrants living in the country illegally are concentrated in blue states, making their populations appear bigger in the U.S. Census and allowing the states to gain more representation in Congress. Democrats have widely rejected excluding illegal immigrants from the population counts. Missouri lawyers also suggested that blue states are incentivized to implement policies that benefit illegal immigrants because the immigrants’ presence bolsters their population numbers and therefore the number of representatives they can have in Congress. “Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the fact they gain political power due to the presence of more illegal aliens, States like California and New York now intentionally undermine federal authority by defending the interests of illegal aliens,” the Missouri attorneys write. In a statement, Hanaway said Missouri voters “can no longer ignore the ongoing denial of their right to self-government and fair representation.” “The framers of the Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment never intended an absurd system where 15 million illegal trespassers can hijack representation in the federal government and commandeer the path to the White House,” Hanaway said. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Commerce for comment.
House conservatives threaten extended shutdown over election integrity measure
House conservatives are mounting a push that could extend the looming partial government shutdown if the Senate does not accept a key election integrity measure backed by many on the right. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital on Thursday evening that she and a “handful” of House Republicans are pushing to get the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act added to the spending compromise that’s expected to pass the Senate and be sent to the House on Friday. The legislation, which was introduced by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and passed the House in April 2025, would require proof of citizenship in the voter registration process. “I know for a fact that if the SAVE Act is a standalone vote in the Senate, just like every other good piece of legislation, it’s going to die,” Luna told Fox News Digital. SENATE REPUBLICANS TEE UP KEY SHUTDOWN TEST VOTE AS DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON DHS FUNDING She declined to say how many House GOP lawmakers supported her effort but said, “It’s definitely a number that’s big enough to completely halt all floor proceedings.” “There’s some Republicans that are just straight-up coming out saying, ‘We’re going to basically be with Luna, and we will not be voting for any piece of legislation, specifically on these appropriations, that does not include the SAVE Act because of the fact that we know it’s not going to survive in the Senate,’” Luna said. Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., who is also backing the effort, told Fox News Digital, “If the Democrats can play this game and shut the government down yet again, I think that we need to hold their feet to the fire.” HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS DRAWS LINE ON DHS, ICE FUNDING AS MINNEAPOLIS UNREST FUELS SHUTDOWN RISK “The American people want us to do our job. Government shutdowns are terrible, and so if [Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.] is going to shut the government down, I think it’s appropriate to…say this is your shutdown, and here’s the way to reopen,” Timmons said. The push could cause complications in the House, which is expected to consider the Senate’s federal funding compromise early next week. Senate Democrats walked away from a bipartisan deal to fully fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2026 amid fallout over President Donald Trump’s surge of federal law enforcement in Minneapolis. TENSIONS BOIL IN HOUSE OVER EMERGING SENATE DEAL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN Federal officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in the Midwest city during separate demonstrations against Trump’s immigration crackdown. In response, Democrats threatened to hold up a massive federal funding bill that also includes dollars for the departments of War, Labor, Health and Human Services, Transportation and others unless funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was stripped out. The deal reached would fund all but DHS through Sept. 30, while funding DHS with a two-week extension of current spending levels to give Congress time to hash out a compromise that would include stricter guardrails on immigration enforcement agencies under the department’s purview. With some conservatives already complaining about the deal, it’s likely that Democratic support will be needed to pass the legislation back in the House. It’s not clear if attaching the SAVE Act to that package will alienate Democrats, however. On the other side, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will need nearly all Republicans to move in lockstep for the package to survive a procedural hurdle called a “rule vote.” It’s a House-wide test vote of sorts that allows for debate and final consideration of a measure, but normally falls along party lines. Luna would only need a small group of Republicans to tank the rule, which could extend the partial shutdown that’s already expected to happen beginning Feb. 1. House GOP leaders could sidestep the rule vote altogether, however, by putting the bill up under suspension — a mechanism for fast-tracking legislation in exchange for raising the threshold for passage from a simple majority to two-thirds. “I don’t think that they would do that. I mean, that would be really problematic for them,” Luna said. But if successful, the bill would have to be sent back to the Senate for another vote.
Conservative group rolls out multimillion-dollar ad blitz backing ICE ‘patriots’
FIRST ON FOX: American Sovereignty, a conservative nonprofit focused on border security and community safety, will launch a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign over the weekend to press for support for ICE. The ad spots aim to remind the public that ICE agents are family men and women who are part of the fabric of their communities on and off the job — and among those who put themselves in the most danger to protect the homeland. The two ads — which will run nationally, with an additional focus on the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Michigan and Georgia — are entitled “Criminals” and “Patriots.” NOEM PRAISES DHS OFFICERS ON LAW ENFORCEMENT APPRECIATION DAY AS ATTACKS ON FEDERAL AGENTS SPIKE NATIONWIDE The “Patriots” ad will highlight how ICE agents and staff are often neighbors down the block, family or friends, and people who should be able to do their jobs without being sabotaged by organized violent demonstrations and agitators. “They’re friends and neighbors. Sons, fathers. They’re Little League coaches and veterans. They’re people who love this country,” the narrator says as relevant imagery crosses the screen. ABC, NBC AND CBS DELIVERED 93% NEGATIVE COVERAGE ON ICE AFTER FATAL RENEE GOOD SHOOTING, STUDY FINDS A group is seen hiking, veterans are seen walking, and children carry flags as a drone captures imagery of a church-like building and a downtown square with a fluttering American flag. “These are Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. They are removing violent criminals from our streets and neighborhoods. It’s dangerous and difficult work, but ICE has one mission: to make America a safer place to live,” the ad continues. “And that’s what they’re doing. This is law enforcement. This is ICE.” MOTHER OF OFFICER KILLED BY ILLEGAL MIGRANT CRITICIZES MINNESOTA LEADERS’ ‘WARPED VIEW’ OF POLICE While “Patriots” strikes an uplifting tone, “Criminals” begins from the opposite perspective. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement has removed thousands of criminal illegal aliens from the U.S.,” the narrator says in “Criminals.” As he speaks, mugshots of several captured illegal immigrant criminals flash across the screen — denoted in large letters with their most serious convictions. “Kidnapping, child pornography, rape, child molestation…” the shots read as snippets from news articles describing violent crimes appear over their faces. “They entered the United States illegally and committed violent crimes against our mothers, children, and friends. Every day, Immigration and Customs Enforcement takes them off our streets — every removal makes us safer and America stronger. This is what ICE does. This is Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
Graham blocks Trump-backed spending plan, calls it a ‘bad deal’ as shutdown nears
The Senate has a deal to fund the government, but Republican anger over the nature of the deal, earmarks and what changes could come to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) derailed its progress Thursday night. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and President Donald Trump agreed to strip out the much-maligned DHS funding bill from a broader, six-bill funding package, and instead fund the agency with a two-week continuing resolution (CR), while lawmakers haggled over tweaks to the bill. Even though there is a deal backed by the White House that has key Democratic buy-in, there will still be a partial government shutdown this weekend, given that the House must weigh in on the package. TRUMP, SCHUMER REACH GOVERNMENT FUNDING DEAL, SACRIFICE DHS SPENDING BILL IN THE PROCESS Toward the end of the night, Republicans had blasted through hold after hold, amendment request after amendment request, but one lawmaker stood in the way: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Without his buy-in, the package couldn’t move forward. Graham told reporters as he walked into Thune’s office late Thursday night that the package was a “bad deal.” He was angered by the treatment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Graham argued that ICE agents “are not infallible, but I appreciate what they’re doing. I’ve never been more offended than I am right now by what’s being said about these folks.” Graham was just one of many Senate Republicans who were not unified in their view of the deal or the underlying original package, which failed a key test vote Thursday afternoon — seven Republicans joined all Senate Democrats to spike it. Once the deal crystallized and Trump publicly announced his support of it, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and his leadership team went to work trying to quell resistance among their ranks Thursday night, but to no avail. “Tomorrow’s another day, and hopefully people will be in a spirit to try and get this done tomorrow,” Thune told reporters as he left the Capitol Thursday night. SENATE GOP HOLDOUTS REFUSE TO BUDGE AS SHUTDOWN TALKS CONTINUE Typically, when a package like the Trump-backed proposal is rushed to the Senate floor, it goes through what’s known as the hotline process in the Senate. That allows lawmakers to weigh in with approval, concerns, requests for amendments, or in some cases outright block the package from moving forward. Sources familiar with Senate Democrats’ planning told Fox News Digital that as of Thursday night, their side of the aisle had not started the process as they waited for Senate Republicans to figure out their next move. 7 REPUBLICANS JOIN DEMS TO BLOCK MAJOR GOVERNMENT FUNDING PACKAGE AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS Part of the DHS funding bill included a repeal of a controversial provision that allowed senators whose phone records were subpoenaed during former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost probe to sue for up to $500,000 for each infraction. Graham has been a strong proponent of the provision, scuttling several attempts by Senate Democrats to repeal it over the last few months. When asked if his hold was related to its expected repeal, Graham said no and noted that he reached an agreement with the Senate Ethics Committee that wouldn’t allow him to financially gain from a lawsuit. “We can find out a way forward, but not this way,” Graham said.
GOP senator vows to block Trump’s Fed chair pick unless Powell probe is dropped
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he will oppose Trump’s next pick to chair the Federal Reserve until the administration ends its probe of the current one. Tillis, who hasn’t shied away from clashing with the Trump administration — and who won’t be pursuing re-election — announced he would block the confirmation of Kevin Warsh in a post to X on Friday morning. “Kevin Warsh is a qualified nominee with a deep understanding of monetary policy,” Tillis wrote. “However, the Department of Justice continues to pursue a criminal investigation into Chairman Jerome Powell based on committee testimony that no reasonable person could construe as possessing criminal intent.” JEANINE PIRRO FIRES BACK AT FED CHAIR POWELL, SAYS ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ AMID CENTRAL BANK PROBE “I will oppose the confirmation of any Federal Reserve nominee, including for the position of Chairman, until the DOJ’s inquiry into Chairman Powell is fully and transparently resolved.” Powell, who has led the Fed since Trump nominated him to the post in 2017, is under investigation by the DOJ for his management of a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters and statements he made under oath before the Senate about its construction. The Trump administration is investigating whether Powell knowingly misled lawmakers about the project’s length and expenses. Although the investigation formally has nothing to do with Powell’s responsibilities as Fed chair, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has interpreted the probe as a way for Trump to put pressure on Powell to cut interest rates. THUNE WARNS DOJ’S PROBE OF FED CHAIR POWELL ‘BETTER BE REAL’ AND ‘SERIOUS’ AMID POLITICAL BACKLASH Trump has repeatedly called for such a change and Powell has resisted so far, citing a need for the agency to protect its independent operations. The Fed maintains U.S. financial stability by governing the U.S. money supply and credit conditions to keep inflation under control and maximize employment — a mission Powell has said needs to be separate from the political goals of any given administration. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., a top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, believes there’s a clear connection between the DOJ probe and frustrations Trump has over Powell’s refusal to slash rates. “Look, there are lots of federal buildings being built. Trump doesn’t have an opinion on how efficiently they’re being built. Nobody believes that this is about testimony before the Senate committee,” Sherman said earlier in January when the DOJ announced its investigation. “It’s simply outrageous,” he added. At the time, Tillis similarly condemned the DOJ probe and promised to block any new nomination for the Fed chair position until the administration dropped that probe. “Protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable. My position has not changed,” Tillis said.