Chicago’s teetering debt is stark warning left-wing mayor is fueling ‘pay later’ doom cycle: expert
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and his administration are presiding over a city in serious financial straits. Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, is facing a corporate fund budget gap of more than $1 billion, while its 2025 fiscal year is projected to close with a roughly $150 million deficit with about two-fifths of the budget going toward debt service and pension costs. Johnson said in April the city was “at a crossroads” and had to “essentially do more with less,” while simultaneously slamming the Trump administration for reportedly threatening federal funding, calling it a “different scenario we weren’t under before.” Austin Berg, executive director of pro-taxpayer research group Illinois Policy Institute, said markets are looking at the true numbers and are “really concerned” about Chicago. RECORDS REVEAL CHICAGO MAYOR’S ‘GIFT ROOM’ WAS CONSTRUCTED AFTER INVESTIGATORS TURNED AWAY “And that’s why you see the spreads on Chicago debt getting wider and wider — the structural issues,” he said. Berg explained that the situation is akin to someone calling financial advisor Dave Ramsey’s radio show to ask what to do while buried in debt. “The solution set is always the same: Stop making bad decisions, and you have to put a structure in place to make better decisions,” Berg said. “So, the bad decisions are things like taking one-time revenues from federal COVID spending and putting it into operations. The bad decisions are borrowing for operations, which this latest bond issue just did. That’s a huge no-no and a red flag for investors.” Chicago also drew scrutiny over former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s 75-year parking meter lease in 2008, a deal critics say has already allowed the private operator to recoup its investment while leaving the city without that revenue stream for decades. Berg pointed to a recent analysis he authored accusing Johnson of extending the city’s “pay later” culture, arguing that the mayor’s $830 million 2025 bond deal, which delays principal payments for 20 years, is his version of Richard M. Daley’s parking meter boondoggle. CHICAGO SUES TRUMP DOJ OVER ‘UNLAWFUL’ DEI RESTRICTIONS ON FEDERAL POLICING GRANTS He also suggested the city take more seriously a plate of $1 billion in potential efficiencies produced in a taxpayer-funded deep-dive by consulting firm EY, formerly Ernst & Young. While Chicago spends 40% of its money on debt service, actual services suffer, Berg said, adding is also the only city besides New York that doesn’t require voter approval of new general obligation debt. CHICAGO MAYOR LASHES OUT AT REPORTER OVER ‘ILLEGAL ALIEN’ TERM: ‘RACIST, NASTY LANGUAGE’ The city lacks a “truly independent” chief financial officer, Berg claimed, saying that the treasurer’s office does not have full auditing authority and that another related agency called COFA is understaffed and lacks resources. “Voters didn’t decide to have all of that debt. And it’s important for voters to be able to decide because those decisions affect Chicagoans 30 years from now. So, shackling them with these political decisions now is just really unfair,” he said. Chicago has also come under fire for expenditures on social justice and other efforts while city services continue to lack. Independent journalist William J. Kelly created a viral moment in January when he questioned Johnson on which type of ICE he should be focused on, immigration officers or snow that inundated the city, as he drove through unplowed streets. “Let me just commend the efforts of the city employees that made sure that our streets were plowed. … I do not personally plow streets. … No one was stuck,” Johnson replied. Berg suggested one outlet for Chicago would be to demand the state of Illinois allow municipalities to declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy, which he said is a rare restriction nationally. He noted he did not want to see Chicago declare bankruptcy but that, without that lever, the city has much less leverage when negotiating with public sector unions for the very liabilities it is drowning in. The City Council successfully killed Johnson’s proposed “head tax,” a per-employee levy on large corporations, which critics said would have driven out or prevented future business and, thereby, sources of revenue in the city. DHS BLASTS CHICAGO MAYOR FOR COMPARING RAID LEADER TO SEGREGATIONISTS, ACCUSING HIM OF ‘TERROR’ The editorial board of the left-leaning Washington Post also slammed Chicago’s straits in a recent op-ed, writing that “it takes a long time to kill a city, and the bigger the city, the longer it takes.” “Chicago’s ‘public servants’ have done a fine job speeding up the process,” the board wrote, while noting the city had its bond rating downgraded in February by both Kroll and Fitch. “The modest tweaks [council] forced [Johnson] to accept in December won’t change the fiscal trajectory,” the paper predicted. Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office for comment.
FBI warns Russian hackers targeting Americans on Signal; thousands of accounts compromised
Russian intelligence-linked hackers are targeting users of popular messaging apps like Signal, gaining access to private messages and impersonating victims in a sweeping global campaign, according to a joint warning from the FBI and U.S. cybersecurity officials. The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the operation has already compromised “thousands of individual” commercial messaging app (CMA) accounts, allowing attackers to read messages, access contact lists and send messages posing as the victim. FBI Director Kash Patel warned the campaign is targeting individuals of “high intelligence value,” including U.S. officials, military personnel and journalists, and has already resulted in widespread account compromises. Patel warned the attackers could exploit compromised accounts to impersonate victims and target others using a trusted identity. MILLIONS OF AI CHAT MESSAGES EXPOSED IN APP DATA LEAK “This global campaign has resulted in unauthorized access to thousands of individual CMA accounts,” the agencies said in a joint public service announcement. “After compromising an account, malicious actors can view the victims’ messages and contact lists, send messages, and conduct additional phishing against other CMA accounts.” Officials said the activity is linked to actors associated with Russian intelligence services. MALICIOUS BROWSER EXTENSIONS HIT 4.3M USERS “RIS actors have compromised individual CMA accounts, but not CMAs’ encryption or the applications themselves,” the FBI and CISA said. The agencies emphasized the activity does not involve breaking Signal’s encryption. Instead, it relies on tricking users through phishing schemes. “Phishing remains one of the most unsophisticated, yet effective means of cyber compromise, often rendering other protections irrelevant, including end-to-end encryption,” the agencies said. SPOTIFY VOTING SCAM EXPOSED According to officials, the hackers often pose as messaging app support or send fake security alerts designed to create urgency, prompting users to click malicious links or share verification codes or PINs. If a user complies, attackers can link their own device to the account or take it over entirely, allowing them to monitor private conversations and impersonate the victim. Patel cautioned that the scheme allows cybercriminals to “conduct additional phishing.” “After gaining access, the actors can view messages and contact lists, send messages as the victim and conduct additional phishing from a trusted identity,” Patel said. The PSA said users who believe they may have been targeted should report incidents to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. The link to “cyber actors” associated with Russian Intelligence was not made more specific in the agencies’ joint PSA. Signal did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The FBI did not provide further comment to Fox News Digital.
GOP whip: ‘America-hating terrorists’ should lose citizenship under SCAM Act
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer says a string of recent terrorist attacks by naturalized citizens exposes serious flaws in U.S. immigration law, arguing it’s “more imperative now than ever” to pass the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation (SCAM) Act to allow the government to remove “America-hating terrorists” from the country. First introduced by Emmer in January, the SCAM Act would expand the U.S. government’s ability to revoke citizenship from naturalized citizens convicted of being involved in terrorism, fraud or espionage. The Senate version of the bill was introduced by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. “This has to be dealt with,” Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, told Fox News Digital. “If you’re going to take advantage of the generosity of Americans, or you are going to associate with known terrorist organizations or commit aggravated felonies or terrorist attacks, even attempted, it doesn’t matter; no more playing games,” said Emmer. “You should be denaturalized and shipped back to wherever the heck you came from.” HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY REPUBLICAN URGES US MUSLIM LEADERSHIP TO ‘ISOLATE EXTREMISTS’ AFTER STRING OF ATTACKS He lamented that under current law, “the standards to denaturalize someone are just too high,” but noted, “we have a solution to fix it.” The bill, which on the House side currently sits in the House Judiciary Committee, allows prosecutors to use crimes committed after naturalization as evidence that an individual falsely claimed good moral character during the citizenship process, effectively arguing their citizenship was invalid from the start. The SCAM Act already has nearly 50 House co-sponsors, according to Emmer. Once it is scheduled for a vote, he believes it will not have an issue passing and may even receive some bipartisan support from Democrats recognizing the gravity of the issue. “It’s really simple,” he said. “The message is, terrorists do not belong on U.S. Soil, naturalized or not.” STRING OF ATTACKS CONNECTED TO NATURALIZED CITIZENS RAISES NATIONAL SECURITY QUESTIONS At the start of March, Senegalese-born naturalized citizen Ndiaga Diagne was killed by police after allegedly killing three people and injuring more than a dozen in a shooting in Austin, police said. Not long after, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, the children of naturalized citizens from Turkey and Afghanistan, allegedly pledged support to ISIS and attempted to bomb an anti-Islam demonstration outside the mayor’s mansion in New York City, according to police. They have been charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, and multiple explosives-related offenses including transporting, receiving and possessing destructive devices. Then, on March 12, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon, allegedly attempted to ram his vehicle into a Michigan synagogue filled with children and teachers, according to authorities. The same day at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone, allegedly opened fire on a class of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) students, killing Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, according to police. He also was killed at the scene. “Clearly something is broken in our immigration system,” said Emmer, adding that terrorists “keep getting into our country and they keep being allowed to stay here at the expense of Americans and American lives.” “We can’t go on like this,” he went on, emphasizing, “It is more imperative now than ever that we get this thing done.” EX-JIHADIST WARNS OF PREDATORY RECRUITMENT AFTER ISIS-INSPIRED BOMB PLOT IN NEW YORK CITY Despite this, Emmer has faced some opposition in Minnesota for his hardline stance. Local outlet MPRNews reported a community activist leader in his district named Abdikadir Bashir, who is executive director of the nonprofit Center for African Immigrants and Refugees Organization, accusing Emmer of “trying to erase us politically.” “The moment citizenship becomes conditional on whether a politician finds us convenient, none of us is safe,” Bashir said, according to the outlet. “Today, it might be the Somali Americans. Tomorrow, it could be another ethnic group.” Though he declined to hazard a guess on a timeline of when the bill might be passed, he said that “as soon as possible would be my plea.” “We have an immigration system that is not requiring these people to actually declare their allegiance to the United States of America and their willingness to be Americans,” he said. “We want anybody and everybody from anywhere who comes here to chase their American dream and become an American … we want you,” he concluded. “If you come here and you don’t intend to become an American, you intend to change America or destroy America, you need to get the heck out.”
Feds launch probe to unravel alleged nonprofit funding behind Antifa-linked violence
The Department of Justice has begun investigating nonprofit groups that the Trump administration says are involved in organizing or funding political violence and destructive protests, including those linked to Antifa, sources familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital. The effort involves the FBI and IRS, the sources said, and stemmed from directives by President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to probe political violence. The Trump administration has contended that the violence is often being perpetrated by self-described Antifa adherents and could be a result of organized and well-funded campaigns by nonprofits. “These movements portray foundational American principles (e.g., support for law enforcement and border control) as ‘fascist’ to justify and encourage acts of violent revolution,” Trump wrote in his memorandum in September, days after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a man who authorities say wrote antifascist phrases on his bullet casings. OVERSIGHT DEMANDS DOJ ANSWERS ON FOREIGN FUNDING OF AGITATOR GROUPS AS IRAN, ANTI-ICE PROTESTS CONTINUE Trump’s directive came after a string of harrowing ideologically-inspired shootings that included Kirk’s killing, an attack on a Dallas ICE facility that killed one detainee and the murder of a health insurance CEO. The DOJ also recently secured convictions for nine members of a Texas Antifa cell for their roles in an attack on an ICE facility in Alvarado last year that involved weapons, explosives and a murder attempt. Bondi, in a memorandum on Dec. 4, directed federal law enforcement to carry out Trump’s memorandum, coined NSPM-7, in part by looking into Antifa’s funding sources and investigating any tax crimes by “extremist groups.” A spokesperson for the IRS Criminal Investigations unit confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agency was working with the FBI on the matter. “In accordance with National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is collaborating with federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, to investigate individuals and entities that may be funding domestic terrorism or political violence,” the spokesperson said, calling it a “coordinated effort.” Antifa, short for antifascist, is a broad term, and its members often promote a range of radical views closely aligned with anarchism, communism or socialism, according to the Congressional Research Center. Trump declared Antifa a “major terrorist organization” last year, drawing criticism from civil rights advocates who said the president was targeting people for their political views. Bondi’s memo carefully noted the DOJ would not investigate “solely for the purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment.” One of the sources familiar with the NSPM-7 probe told Fox News Digital that every U.S. attorney across the country was directed by the DOJ to designate a federal prosecutor in their office to serve as a “district coordinator” for the cases. The DOJ has been urging prosecutors to focus on funding because nonprofits could be funding and coordinating instances of domestic terrorism, the person said. TRUMP CALLS ANTIFA ‘TERRORIST GROUP,’ FUELING FIGHT OVER FREE SPEECH AND LIMITS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT A DOJ spokesperson said in response to a request for comment on the effort that the department was pursuing a wide range of domestic terrorism crimes. “The Department of Justice is fully committed to preserving the rule of law, protecting law enforcement from coordinated attacks, ensuring everyone has the freedom to speak in the public square, participate freely in the electoral process, and practice their faith without fear of violence or harm, and bringing to justice the full range of criminal actors engaged in criminal conduct matching Congress’s definition of domestic terrorism,” the spokesperson said. The FBI declined to comment.
DHS shutdown tied for second-longest ever as Dems again block funding amid airport chaos, terrorism concerns
Long airport lines and rising concerns about threats at home weren’t enough to stop Senate Democrats from blocking Homeland Security funding again Friday. It’s the fifth time Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Republicans have tried to reopen the agency. The latest failed attempt comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown hit its 35th day, tying it for the second-longest shutdown in history. As airport lines stretch for blocks and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents go without pay, and concerns about further attacks in the U.S. increase after two shootings last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus aren’t budging. DEM SENATORS CALL TO FUND DHS AFTER VOTING TO BLOCK IT 4 TIMES AMID SHUTDOWN FIGHT They have tried several times to force votes on standalone funding bills for other portions of DHS that don’t involve immigration operations, including several attempts to pay TSA agents, which have been blocked. “Republicans are saying unless you pass ICE as is without reform, we’re not going to help the TSA workers get paid and reduce the lines at the airport,” Schumer said. Thune told Fox News Digital that Democrats have been beholden to their base and forced into a position to continue blocking government funding in a bid to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “The question is,” Thune said, “[Are] any number of Democrats going to be willing to actually make a deal and have enough respect for the appropriations process and for the job that we have here to keep the government functioning, to step up and do what may be a hard thing, even though their base is, you know, screaming at them to do something else.” DEMS UNMOVED AS WHITE HOUSE REVEALS DHS CONCESSIONS IN SHUTDOWN BATTLE Still, there was slight movement this week that could signal an off-ramp is forming. Democrats, after over two weeks of radio silence, sent the White House another counteroffer. The administration dubbed it an unserious effort by Democrats and, in response, made public a list of five concessions it was willing to offer to reopen DHS. “The parties remain far apart, in large part because the administration has put forward a five-part serious proposal that we are willing to engage in additional conversations on, but that has not been reciprocated in kind,” a senior White House official said earlier this week. But that offer and public counter led to a closed-door meeting with border czar Tom Homan on Capitol Hill on Thursday, where Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Katie Britt, R-Ala.; Angus King, I-Maine; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; and Patty Murray, D-Wash., had the first real face-to-face meeting of the shutdown. That same group is expected to meet again on Friday, Thune said. “I think we’re going to know today whether we’re actually serious about getting a deal,” he said. FIRED DHS CHIEF KRISTI NOEM FACES CRIMINAL REFERRAL FROM CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS It also comes as the Senate is moving to confirm Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., President Donald Trump’s pick to replace embattled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. He eked out a committee approval thanks to support from Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., but faces a hostile Democratic crowd in the Senate. Schumer and Democrats demanded Noem’s firing, and Mullin made concessions during his confirmation hearing that his colleagues across the aisle have been demanding for weeks — most notably his willingness to require judicial warrants for ICE agents to enter homes in most cases. Still, Democrats were unswayed. They plan to force a vote on just funding TSA, which will also likely fail. And Thune isn’t keen on letting lawmakers leave Washington, D.C., again until the government reopens, given that after next week, they’ll get a two-week break for Easter. “It needs to get resolved, you know, by the end of next week,” Thune said. “I can’t see us taking a break if the government is still shut down.”
Fox News Campus Radicals Newsletter: College GOP chapter sues school, leaked docs expose union extremism
FREEDOM BATTLE: College Republicans chapter sues University of Florida over club shutdown following antisemitic allegations OUT IN THE OPEN: Leaked teachers’ union K-12 training presentation rails against Trump administration, red states COURTROOM VICTORY: Chicago Public Schools will now allow Bible college students into its teaching program, after lawsuit SIGN UP TO GET THE CAMPUS RADICALS NEWSLETTER CLASSROOM CRISIS: Illegal immigrant groping case latest allegation of misconduct in Northern Virginia school system BACKLASH ERUPTS: College Republicans of America stands by new political director amid scrutiny of past controversial comments SCHOOL PAYBACK: Scott moves to bypass teachers unions, send federal school funds straight to parents if classrooms close EQUITY EXPERIMENT: Minnesota school districts use taxpayer money for race-based teacher incentives and layoff protections
Pritzker pushes prosecutions of Trump officials as part of Dem ‘Project 2029’ agenda
Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said Democrats should seek criminal prosecution against Trump administration and law enforcement officials who have “broken the law” if they were to gain control of the White House in 2028. Pritzker, who is running for a third gubernatorial term, sat down for an interview with The New York Times and proposed Democrats adopt their own version of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s conservative policy blueprint for presidential administrations released in nearly every election cycle since the 1980s. Pritzker dubbed the Democrats’ counter “Project 2029,” urging it to be quickly implemented to “restore the rule of law.” TRUMP SAYS CHICAGO MAYOR, ILLINOIS GOVERNOR ‘SHOULD BE IN JAIL FOR FAILING TO PROTECT’ ICE OFFICERS “I don’t think you can speak of it in shorthand, but we’ve got to restore the rule of law, and that means holding people accountable who’ve broken the law,” Pritzker said. “I’m talking about the people in this administration who’ve broken the law and federal agents who’ve broken the law.” New York Times reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro asked Pritzker whether this meant Trump officials and law enforcement agents would face criminal prosecution. “Criminally prosecuted, civilly prosecuted,” Pritzker said. “Whatever it is that we can do.” Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker’s office for clarification on who he believes should face criminal prosecution. In response, his office shared a January press release calling on the Illinois Accountability Commission to review the public statements and policy decisions of key leadership in Operation Midway Blitz. The press release followed the removal of top Border Patrol leader Greg Bovino from Minnesota. The release named White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, “Border Czar” Tom Homan, former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin, acting ICE Director Tom Lyons, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott and Corey Lewandowski, who served as a special government employee for DHS, as individuals who “led to the escalation of aggressive enforcement tactics” and should be held accountable. Trump and Pritzker have been at odds over Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda for months. In October, Pritzker filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago. The lawsuit argued that the deployment of the National Guardsmen to the Windy City was “unconstitutional and/or unlawful.” PRITZKER CLAIMS COUNTRY UNDER TRUMP WORSE THAN COVID PANDEMIC WHERE PEOPLE DIED ‘IN DROVES’ U.S. District Judge April Perry issued a temporary restraining order preventing the deployment of National Guard troops to the state as the lawsuit worked its way through the legal system. The Supreme Court also upheld Perry’s decision. The Trump administration withdrew federal troops from the state in January. Pritzker and Trump have also clashed over the tactics used by federal immigration enforcement agents in Illinois. Pritzker has accused federal agents of “waging war on our people” and “acting like jackbooted thugs.” The Trump administration faces another lawsuit stemming from accusations of immigration enforcement agents’ alleged misconduct during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit accused federal agents of violating protesters’ constitutional rights through their use of tear gas and force. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a preliminary injunction barring federal agents’ use of force and tear gas on protesters, but an appeals court overturned her decision earlier this month. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump administration sues Harvard over alleged failure to protect Jewish and Israeli students, seeks billions
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit Friday against Harvard University, alleging that it failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students by essentially enabling antisemitism on campus in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel by Hamas. The 44-page lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts, is the latest in an ongoing battle between the White House and the Ivy League school. The complaint alleges that Harvard has tolerated antisemitic mobs comprised of students, faculty members and visitors opposed to Israel and has acted with indifference by selectively enforcing its campus rules to permit the continuation of the harassment. “Harvard University has failed to protect its Jewish students from harassment and has allowed discrimination to wreak havoc on its campus,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News. “President Trump is committed to ensuring every student can pursue their academic goals in a safe environment.” TRUMP SECURES $221M COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT OVER ALLEGED CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS The administration is seeking to recover billions of taxpayer dollars given to the elite university by federal agencies. “Since October 7, 2023, too many of our educational institutions have allowed antisemitism to flourish on campus – Harvard included,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Today’s litigation underscores the Trump administration’s commitment to demanding better from our nation’s schools and putting an end to discriminatory behavior that harms students.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Harvard spokesperson said the university “cares deeply” about its Jewish and Israeli students and remains committed to making sure they are embraced and respected. “Our actions illustrate this. Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism and actively enforces anti-harassment and anti-discrimination rules and policies on campus,” the statement said. “We also have enhanced training and education on antisemitism for students, faculty, and staff and launched programs to promote civil dialogue and respectful disagreement inside and outside the classroom. Harvard’s efforts demonstrate the very opposite of deliberate indifference.” The school said it will continue to prioritize such work and defend itself, calling the lawsuit “yet another pretextual and retaliatory action by the administration for refusing to turn over control of Harvard to the federal government.” Friday’s lawsuit is another in the protracted battle between Havard and President Donald Trump. In June, the administration said a civil rights investigation had led to a formal finding that Harvard tolerated antisemitism. TRUMP DOJ FILES NEW LAWSUIT ACCUSING HARVARD OF WITHHOLDING RECORDS ON RACE IN ADMISSIONS “Harvard remained deliberately indifferent to a level of hostility on its campus so well-known across the nation that members of Congress were writing about it,” government lawyers wrote. “Harvard also intentionally refused to enforce its campus rules — rules it enforced against others — when the victims were Jews or Israelis. This sent the clear message to Harvard’s Jewish and Israeli community that the indifference was not an accident; they were being intentionally excluded and effectively denied equal access to educational opportunities.” Last year, the school sued the Trump administration over the freezing of federal funds. A judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze Harvard’s federal funds. The Internal Revenue Service was also considering stripping Harvard of its tax-exempt status. Harvard is slated to receive more than $2.6 billion from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Justice Department said. In February, the Trump administration said it was seeking to recover $1 billion in damages from Harvard, the main target in its attempt to leverage federal funding in order to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said institutions that take taxpayer funds are obligated to protect civil rights. “We hold Harvard accountable on the principle that antisemitism has no place in any program funded by the American people,” he said.
Reporter’s Notebook: GOP pushes election security bill despite slim odds, as Trump pressure looms
“We have a unique moment in time here, right now, to address an issue that’s really fundamental,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Tuesday. In just an hour, the Senate would launch debate on the SAVE America Act. Longtime Congressional agriculture reporter Matt Kaye had just asked Thune why the Senate was willing to burn so much time on the bill – despite it apparently lacking the votes to pass. “Floor time is the coin of the realm,” observed Kaye. “How does it help you if you are using up valuable floor time by having an extended debate on this issue?” Kaye then inquired why the Senate wouldn’t toil instead on a possible farm bill or even a supplemental spending plan for the war in Iran. Kaye is on to something. Senate floor time is always at a premium. There are only so many floor hours available each week. But floor time isn’t the issue here. There’s only one thing which is more valuable in politics. And in this particular case for the GOP, it’s staying on the right side of President Trump. TRUMP-BACKED SENATE HOPEFUL GAINS MOMENTUM WITH TOP GOP ENDORSEMENTS BEFORE MULLIN DHS SHIFT On Tuesday, the president proclaimed on Truth Social that the SAVE America Act is one of the “most important and consequential bills” in Congressional history. He added that he wouldn’t endorse any Republican who opposed the legislation. Republicans say ID is essential to prove you’re a valid voter. However, the SAVE America Act goes further than that. It requires proof of citizenship – like a passport or birth certificate. That worries Michael Suggs, who lives in the Bronx, New York. He spoke to Fox’s Chelsea Torres. “Your birth certificate? Social Security number when you show up at the polling place?” asked Suggs. “That might be a little unfair to certain people in this country, including myself. I don’t want to walk around with my birth certificate and my Social Security card. I’m a registered voter. I’ve been voting since I was 18 years old, and now I’m approaching 60. I don’t want that to be some kind of deliberate act to stop me from voting.” The bill is now into its fourth day of debate – even if it’s doubtful the Senate has the votes to pass the measure. Democrats oppose the legislation. But the main problem lingers among members of the president’s party. “Republicans by themselves don’t have the votes to get it passed,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). She cited that some Republicans opposed the bill over differences about mail-in voting. “It’s not a one size fits all process. And those challenges are not only apparent within the Democrat caucus. They’re apparent within the Republican caucus,” said Lummis. There’s been a lot of chatter in the Senate lately about torching the filibuster, so the Senate can pass the bill. Breaking a filibuster requires 60 votes. So if the bill doesn’t have a simple majority, there is simply no universe where the measure can command 60. Yours truly took this up with Thune. “You don’t have 60 votes. Why go through this? Is this basically just a show?” I asked. “We don’t know that we don’t have 60 votes yet. You’re making an assumption,” replied the South Dakota Republican. “Multiple members of your conference say that there aren’t even 51 votes,” I followed up. “Yeah. Well, you’re making an assumption that at the end of this debate that none of the Democrats will be won over. And I’m not saying that. I appreciate your skepticism. But I think it’s an important debate to have because it is an issue that is at the very core of elections in this country,” answered Thune. The “60 vote” issue galls some Republicans. Especially on a subject like this which Republicans believe resonates with the electorate. “If a body of 100 people can’t find 60 votes for an issue that’s an 80-20 issue, that’s a real disgrace,” said Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Penn., on Fox Business. “So we need to put the Democrats on the spot and have them defend this to their voters.” THUNE REVEALS REASON DEMOCRATS ARE ‘SCARED’ TO REOPEN DHS Even if the SAVE America Act is on a parliamentary road to oblivion, one of its feeder ramps has a junction with the midterm election. Republicans believe they have the political upper hand on this. They can again hammer Democrats on illegal immigration – punctuated by what the president cites repeatedly as voter fraud. The GOP hopes to boomerang that on Democrats this fall. Then, there are social issues – which Republicans hope to link to this measure, too. Senate GOPers devised amendments which would block men from playing women’s sports, bar transgender surgeries for kids and nix many forms of mail-in voting. Opponents ask what two of those three have to do with election security. That’s why they could be poison pills. “If those those amendments are made in order, doesn’t that bring down the threshold where you might have a chance of getting 51 votes?” I asked Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. “Let’s continue to work with leadership and see how all of this is going to proceed and what is going to be the best way to get these forward. I think the amendments are good amendments,” said Blackburn, not addressing the question. Remember what Thune said about Republicans potentially peeling off some Democrats? Good luck. “You’re somebody who sometimes bucks your party,” I queried Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn. “Why wouldn’t you side with the Republicans?” “Well, they’ve turned it into an unserious kind of a Christmas tree and attaching all these other things to it. And now bashing mail-in voting. Absolutely, it’s secure. Florida loves it and uses it. Ohio does too,” said Fetterman. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., defended his state’s approach to sending in ballots. “Almost 99 percent of Republican voters in Colorado voted by mail in 2025,” said Hickenlooper. “Vote by mail has proven to be less expensive,
Thune reveals reason Democrats are ‘scared’ to reopen DHS
FIRST ON FOX: The top Senate Republican argued that while Senate Democrats may be the ones voting against reopening the government, they’re not the ones calling the shots. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital in an interview that as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown continues, it’s Democrats’ voters who are pushing them to continue blocking funding for the agency. “The Democrats up here on the Hill are so afraid of their far-left base,” Thune said. “And I think the far-left base, their demand right now, is defund ICE, defund law enforcement, which is not, by any stretch, a reasonable position.” The agency has been shut down for 35 days, putting the latest closure into record-breaking territory. Senate Democrats have, so far, blocked four attempts to reopen the agency over demands for stringent reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and how agents operate in the field. THUNE ACCUSES CRITICS OF ‘CREATING FALSE EXPECTATIONS’ AMID BACKLASH OVER STALLED SAVE AMERICA ACT Negotiations had ground to a halt for several weeks, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus staying quiet on the latest offer from the White House. That communication breakdown began to thaw this week when Democrats responded with an offer the White House dubbed unserious. And signs of a deal further improved on Thursday when a handful of Democratic negotiators sat down for the first time with Senate Republicans and border czar Tom Homan. It also comes as lines at airports stretch for several blocks as workers go unpaid, and concerns of terrorist attacks are at a fever pitch in the wake of the Iran war. Thune will again put a bill to reopen the agency on the floor on Friday, and Democrats are again expected to block it. REPUBLICANS SIGNAL NO RETREAT ON SAVE ACT AS MARATHON SENATE DEBATE KICKS OFF Still, Thune said that the meeting “suggested even more movement” toward breaking the funding logjam but remained wary of Democrats actually wanting to make a deal to end the shutdown. He also noted that until Thursday, Democrats had consistently rejected Republicans’ offers to get into a room and hash it out, and he contended that it was the White House making their offers to Democrats public that likely spurred the latest confab. “My impression is, at least up until now, that the edict has gone out from the paternalistic Democrat fathers that none of their children should be talking to Republicans about how to solve this problem in a way that gets them actual reforms in place,” Thune said, “and funds an important department that has a number of agencies that are really critical, not only to national security, but to emergency management and other things.” DEMS UNMOVED AS WHITE HOUSE REVEALS DHS CONCESSIONS IN SHUTDOWN BATTLE “So it seems to me, at least they are — these guys — they are running scared,” he continued. “They, I think, believe they benefit politically from this.” Several Democrats left the meeting with Homan and Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Katie Britt, R-Ala., declining to comment on the discussion. When asked if lawmakers were any closer to a deal, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said, “No.” Still, Republicans were hopeful that there would soon be a breakthrough to the impasse. “Unfortunately, the Democrats’ list of demands keeps growing and growing, and that makes it difficult,” Collins said. “But the group that was in there is operating in good faith, and I hope we’ll get together again very soon.”