MAGA rival attempts to push longtime Trump ally out of Senate
A top Senate ally of President Donald Trump is facing a primary challenge from the right. Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is running for the Senate in 2026, mounting a Republican primary challenge against longtime GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham. “Lindsey Graham has lost his way, and South Carolinians deserve a true conservative fighter to represent them in the United States Senate – 100% guaranteed,” Bauer, a wealthy developer and longtime Trump backer, charged in a statement early Wednesday, as he declared his candidacy. Graham in February kicked off his campaign for a fifth six-year term representing the red state of South Carolina in the Senate. ON U.S. STRIKE ON IRAN, GRAHAM SAYS TRUMP SHOWED THERE’S ‘A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN’ The senator was endorsed by Trump in March and this week he announced that veteran Republican consultant Chris LaCivita, who served as co-chair of the president’s 2024 campaign to win back the White House, was coming on board as his re-election campaign’s senior advisor. Bauer – who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2010 (in an election won by now-former governor, former ambassador to the U.N. and 2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley) and Congress in 2012 after serving eight years as the Palmetto State’s lieutenant governor – touted his Trump and MAGA credentials. FIRST ON FOX: FORMER TRUMP AMBASSADOR LAUNCHES SENATE BID “One of the first leaders in the country to endorse Trump in early 2016, André has been on the front lines of the America First movement, and has stood firmly with Trump on every issue,” his campaign touted in their email release. “André is a proven conservative fighter who will unapologetically stand with President Trump and put South Carolina first.” Bauer stood alongside Trump at the South Carolina Statehouse in January 2023, as the former president announced his leadership team in the key early-voting primary state. Trump, at the time, called Bauer “a friend of mine, somebody that could I think run for almost any office and win.” Graham, along with Republican Gov. Howie McMaster of South Carolina, also stood alongside Trump at that event. Eight years earlier, Graham was highly critical of Trump as he was part of a large field of rivals who ran against the real estate mogul and reality TV star for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. But Graham became a close friend and top ally to Trump during the president’s first term. The senator has survived primary challenges from the right in his past re-election campaigns, and has been attacked for his more moderate stances on the issues of illegal immigration and climate change, as well as his advocacy for a muscular U.S. national security and foreign policy. Ahead of last month’s U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Graham urged Trump to “go all-in” to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Bauer, in his campaign launch, attacked the senator as “Globalist Lindsey Graham” and charged that he “has spent three decades sending your tax dollars overseas and funding regime change wars all over the world instead of helping South Carolinians. Lindsey voted over and over again for big spending and that has grown the national debt by trillions.” Bauer also argued that “Graham has repeatedly called for amnesty for illegal immigrants.” Graham, on Tuesday, hours ahead of Bauer’s launch, spotlighted his efforts to help Trump’s so-called “big beautiful” landmark spending and tax cut bill pass the Senate by a razor-thin one-vote margin. “I just had a great phone call with President @realDonaldTrump about his excitement regarding the Senate’s passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill,” Graham wrote in a social media post. And he highlighted that he’s “incredibly proud to have led the fight to move President Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ through the Senate Budget Committee and onto full passage by the United States Senate.” Graham re-election campaign spokeswoman Abby Zilch also took aim at Bauer. “Andre Bauer has spent his career chasing titles to feed his ego, running for five different offices and even trying to leverage Senator Graham and the White House for an ambassadorship. When that failed, he launched his sixth campaign – proving once again, this is all about Making Andre Great Again,” Zilch claimed in a statement. Republicans dominate statewide elections in South Carolina and the winner of next year’s GOP Senate primary will be considered the clear frontrunner in the 2026 general election.
Trump vows to ‘save New York City’ from Zohran Mamdani: ‘I hold all the levers’
President Donald Trump vowed to “save New York City” from mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday. Trump made the statement from his Truth Social account, blasting the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayor and claiming that he has the power to step in and take action if he chooses. “As President of the United States, I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York,” Trump wrote. “Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it ‘Hot’ and ‘Great’ again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!” The post was only Trump’s latest salvo against Mamdani, who has faced intense criticism from conservatives and even some Democrats over his socialist policies and refusal to condemn terrorism-linked rhetoric. HAKEEM JEFFRIES SAYS NYC HOPEFUL MAMDANI NEEDS TO ‘CLARIFY’ HIS POSITION ON ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump had previously threatened to pull federal funding from the city, saying in a Fox News interview that aired Sunday, “I can tell you this – whoever’s mayor of New York is going to have to behave themselves, or the federal government is coming down very tough on them financially.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that Mamdani would “crush” New York City if he is elected mayor. Fox News’ White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Leavitt about recent calls for Mamdani to be deported, citing calls from one lawmaker who said Mamdani should be denaturalized. “I haven’t heard him say that. I haven’t heard him call for that. But certainly he does not want this individual to be elected. I was just speaking to him about it and [Mamdani’s] radical policies that will completely crush New York City, which is obviously a city that the president holds near and dear to his heart,” Leavitt responded. SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND URGES ZOHRAN MAMDANI TO DENOUNCE ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ RHETORIC Leavitt went on to say that Trump would be willing to work with Mamdani if he is elected, though she predicted that the relationship would be difficult. “Look, the president is always willing to work with everyone. He’s working with Democrats across the country, Democrat governors. And he said he’ll work with people on the far left. He works with Republicans. He works with people in the middle. He wants to do what’s right for America,” Leavitt said. “But surely someone who holds these values and is quite literally a communist and condemns every value that makes this country great: common sense, law and order, low taxes, working hard, and earning your keep in this country. He’s against all of that. And I think the president would find it difficult to work with someone like that, if he is elected. I’m sure you’ll hear more from the president on that, but we’ll have to see. Hopefully, the voters of New York City choose wisely,” she finished. Mamdani made waves earlier this week for refusing multiple times to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” during an appearance on MSNBC.
Inside ‘Alligator Alcatraz’: The new migrant detention facility erected at an abandoned Everglades airport
President Donald Trump on Tuesday visited “Alligator Alcatraz” — the newest illegal immigrant detention facility in the nation that’s located in the Florida Everglades and surrounded by swamplands teeming with alligators and pythons. “It’s known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ which is very appropriate because I looked outside, and that’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon,” Trump said Tuesday during his tour. “But very soon this facility will have some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.” “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” the president added. “And a lot of these people are self-deporting back to their country where they came from.” Trump toured the facility, which opens Wednesday, alongside Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. He was also joined by Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and other local and federal leaders. FLORIDA BUILDING ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ WHERE ICE DETAINEES FACE NATURE’S OWN SECURITY SYSTEM Trump was taken to where the illegal immigrants will sleep and toured the common areas before their deportation from the U.S. Noem remarked that the facility’s remote location adds an extra layer of security protection, while celebrating the detention center is air-conditioned. TRUMP TAUNTS NEWSOM TO VISIT ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ AND ‘LEARN SOMETHING’ ABOUT IMMIGRATION DeSantis authorized the construction of the illegal immigrant detention center on a 30-square-mile property in the Everglades’ swamplands of Miami–Dade County under an emergency order in June. The property is a former airport that has been outfitted with sturdy tent structures to house 5,000 illegal immigrants amid the Trump administration’s deportation blitz to remove the millions of illegal migrants who flooded the nation during the Biden administration. The detention center earned its name due to its location in the heart of the Everglades, which is home to massive reptiles such as alligators and pythons.
ICE flips script on Los Angeles mayor after telling authorities to ‘go home’
Immigration and Customs Enforcement clapped back at Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after she suggested that federal immigration authorities “go home.” “We would like for the ICE raids to stop. We would like the array of federal officials or civilians dressed as federal officials to go home,” she said at a news conference on Tuesday held in response to the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the city’s sanctuary policies. When asked if there could be a deal made between ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, she doubled down. LA MAYOR BASS CLAIMS IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT CREATING GHOST TOWN EFFECT COMPARABLE TO COVID LOCKDOWNS “I don’t know if there’s a deal to be made. Like I told you, the deal that needs to be made is for them to go home,” the Democrat said. ICE directly responded, noting that they will continue their operations in the city and in the region. “ICE isn’t going anywhere and will continue to do what Mayor Bass has utterly failed to do – protect the citizens of Los Angeles. If she wants distance from federal law enforcement, I’m sure there is an upcoming diplomatic trip to Ghana,” Emily Covington, assistant director, ICE Office of Public Affairs, said in a statement to Fox News. LA MAYOR HITS BACK AT TRUMP MARINE DEPLOYMENTS SAYING ‘WE DON’T WANT THEM HERE’ The comment hearkened back to the mayor’s controversial visit to the African country earlier this year, which she visited to attend the country’s presidential inauguration. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE She returned from the trip as fires were ripping through the city of Los Angeles, which destroyed significant portions of the beach-side community of Pacific Palisades. The National Weather Service warned about the fire risk before she left on the trip, and the Los Angeles Times reported that her staff were aware that fires were possible. Bass later expressed regret over the trip, saying it was a mistake to travel at the time. “Absolutely it is, and I think that I have to demonstrate that every day by showing what we’re doing, what is working, what are the challenges,” Bass said in an interview with NBC Los Angeles in February. MAYOR KAREN BASS’ HANDLING OF LA RIOTS ADDS TO DECADES OF POLITICAL BAGGAGE The mayor re-entered the national spotlight in June as anti-ICE protests and riots broke out in the city, amid news that the agency was conducting illegal immigration sweeps in the area. President Donald Trump then deployed the National Guard, which resulted in a legal challenge from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Bass said ICE and the National Guard served as instigators for the civil unrest, which she condemned the violent elements of while encouraging peaceful protest. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Last Thursday, ICE entered our city and provoked the city by chasing people through Home Depots and car washes and showing up at schools and, today, showing up at emergency rooms and homeless shelters,” Bass said last month. “ICE intervened as a pretext to federalize the National Guard, and then, in the White House, the National Guard was complimented for the work that they did to keep peace in the city Saturday night. But I will tell you, the Guard didn’t even arrive here until Sunday. They used this as a pretext to send the U.S. Marines into an American city, which will target our own citizens,” she added.
NY Dems who have yet to endorse Mamdani unite in his defense against Trump
New York Democrats, who have been reluctant to endorse socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani after he secured the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, united to defend him Tuesday when President Donald Trump threatened to arrest him if he didn’t comply with federal immigration officials. “I don’t care if you’re the president of the United States, if you threaten to unlawfully go after one of our neighbors, you’re picking a fight with 20 million New Yorkers — starting with me,” Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., fired back at Trump on Tuesday evening. The New York governor has sparred with Trump since he returned to the White House this year on issues like education, abortion and immigration. More than a week after Mamdani declared victory in the Democratic primary, Hochul has yet to endorse the socialist mayoral candidate. New York Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres, who endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary and has yet to endorse Mamdani in the general, said on Wednesday, “For a sitting president to causally threaten to arrest and deport a US citizen who won a major-party nomination is disgraceful. Free societies do not arrest, deport, and otherwise weaponize government against their political opponents.” MAMDANI OFFICIALLY WINS NYC DEM PRIMARY BY 12 POINTS OVER CUOMO, WHO’S STAYING IN THE RACE FOR NOW Mamdani also hit back in a statement on Wednesday, responding to Trump’s comments. “His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy, but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation,” Mamdani said. MAMDANI’S POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE ROCKS DEMOCRATS, DIVIDING PARTY ON PATH FORWARD Veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital, “The only people that matter in this election are the people of New York.” “Trump’s rhetoric will only serve to solidify support for Mamdani in the city. Trump is trying to nationalize the New York City mayoral race in an attempt to distract from the horrific policies he is peddling in Washington,” Caiazzo added. “Look, we don’t need a Communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over them very carefully on behalf of the nation,” Trump said Tuesday, as he expressed willingness to arrest him. Trump doubled down on his disdain for Mamdani in a Truth Social post Wednesday, vowing to “save New York City.” “As President of the United States, I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York. Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards,” Trump said. Trump’s jabs at Mamdani are the latest from Republicans working to paint him as the poster boy of far-left politics. Following his primary victory last week, Republicans instantly attacked Mamdani’s platform, which calls for free rides on city buses, freezing the rent on rent-stabilized apartments, offering free early childcare and setting up city-owned grocery stores. The president went as far as to call Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic.” Mandani has also been targeted for his criticism of Israel and over his age and inexperience at just 33 years old. Mamdani surged to a primary victory thanks to an energetic campaign that put a major focus on affordability and New York City’s high cost of living. Endorsements by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive rock star and New York City’s most prominent leader on the left, and by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up, helped Mamdani consolidate support on the left. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Mamdani made smart use of social media platforms, including TikTok, as he engaged low-propensity voters. He proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) “tuition-free,” freezing rents on municipal housing, offering “free childcare” for children up to age 5, and setting up government-run grocery stores.
Trump to begin enforcing birthright citizenship order as early as this month, DOJ says
Trump administration lawyers told a federal judge Tuesday that they could begin enforcing President Donald Trump‘s executive order ending birthright citizenship before the end of July — moving quickly to enforce the controversial order just days after a landmark Supreme Court ruling. Lawyers for the administration told U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman that they would not enforce Trump’s executive order before July 27, in recognition of a 30-day stay ordered by the Supreme Court in its ruling last week. “The Court’s stay thus allows Defendants to immediately begin to ‘develop and issu[e] public guidance about the executive’s plans to implement the executive order,” Justice Department attorney Brad Rosenberg said Tuesday in a court filing. JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA The update comes after Trump officials testified Monday at an emergency hearing in Maryland, where Boardman grilled government lawyers for details on how they plan to enforce the president’s order. Trump’s order, signed on the first day of his second White House term, directs all U.S. government agencies to refuse to issue citizenship documents to children born to illegal immigrants, or who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen of lawful permanent resident. It was almost immediately blocked by lower courts, before eventually making its way to the Supreme Court, which reviewed the case in May. The high court’s 6-3 ruling Friday narrowly focused on the authority of lower courts’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions and did not wade into the legality of Trump’s executive order, which served as the legal pretext for the case. In the ruling, the justices said plaintiffs seeking nationwide relief must file their cases as a class action lawsuit — prompting a flurry of action from the ACLU, CASA and other immigrant advocacy groups who amended their filings over the weekend. In Monday’s emergency hearing, Boardman demanded specifics from the administration. ‘WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT’: US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO “Just to get to the heart of it,” she said. “I want to know if the government thinks that it can start removing children from the United States who are subject to the terms of the executive order.” Rosenberg responded in the filing that July 27 “is the earliest date on which defendants may begin to apply” under the Supreme Court’s stay. Lawyers for the Trump administration also stressed that the Supreme Court’s ruling last week, which centered on universal injunctions, does not preclude it from taking other actions before that date, and said it plans to “immediately” begin developing and issuing public guidance on the order. The high court’s ruling touched off a flurry of new lawsuits from the ACLU and other immigration advocacy groups, who re-filed class action lawsuits in federal courts in Maryland and New Hampshire. NINTH CIRCUIT REJECTS TRUMP’S BID TO REINSTATE BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER The order, signed by Trump on his first day in office, was immediately challenged in January by more than 22 U.S. states and immigrants’ rights groups, which argued the effort to end birthright citizenship was both unconstitutional and “unprecedented,” threatening more than 100 years of legal precedent. It also sparked deep and unyielding concerns from critics, who noted that roughly 150,000 children in the U.S. are born annually to parents of noncitizens. Advocates have warned possible fallout from the order could prove “catastrophic.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I think one thing we have documented in the record is the incredible stress, anxiety and fear that our plaintiffs are experiencing because they’re not lawyers,” CASA attorney William Powell said Monday. “It is confusing to them, and we can’t really assure them the order is fully blocked, because it’s not.”
Blue state GOP lawmaker says major sanctuary city lawsuit is ‘encouraging,’ but urges further crackdown
California Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley praised the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Los Angeles’s sanctuary policies as “encouraging” while stressing the underlying need for more congressional action in the wake of the anti-ICE protests and riots in the city. The DOJ on Monday announced the lawsuit, which makes the argument that the city’s policies “impede” federal immigration authorities and that ICE agents are specifically discriminated against. “I think that the lawsuit is encouraging, because, when you just look at what’s going on here, you have a state policy, and in the case of LA, a city policy, that’s whole purpose is to interfere with the operations of the federal government, pursuant to the policies of a duly enacted president, which is not the way our system works,” the Republican told Fox News Digital in an interview. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SUES LOS ANGELES OVER SANCTUARY POLICIES THAT ‘IMPEDE’ ICE OPERATIONS “Immigration is under the province of the federal government. That is the constitutional responsibility of the federal government, and the supremacy clause suggests that states and localities cannot act to contravene the federal government in enforcing federal law,” Kiley added. The civil unrest in Los Angeles in June as ICE conducted operations in the region prompted Kiley to introduce the “No Tax Dollars for Riots Act,” specifically taking aim at nonprofit groups that received taxpayer dollars, but he says could have played a role in “organizing unlawful riots.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “It’s called the No Tax Dollars for Riots Act. Pretty common sense idea. Really not something we should have to legislate on, but unfortunately, we have seen examples like we just witnessed in L.A.,” he said, adding that groups found “aiding and abetting riots” would lose their ability to get taxpayer-funded grants and lose their tax-exempt status under his bill. LA ANTI-ICE RIOTERS FACE NEW CHARGES AS VIOLENCE RAGES The Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) is now the subject of a GOP-led congressional investigation, as the group strongly denies any ties to the violence that unfolded on the streets of LA. Kiley specifically pointed to the group’s $34 million in taxpayer funding, largely from the Golden State, as inspiration for the legislation. “Let us be clear, these congressional letters are a coordinated effort to prevent us from doing the good and peaceful work that’s part of the CHIRLA way since its inception in 1986 — when we were founded to serve, represent, and uplift immigrants in the United States with the purpose of ensuring justice for all. The CHIRLA way has been visible daily since day one but now we represent a threat to the current administration’s racist and anti-immigrant agenda,” Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, said in a statement on Monday about the congressional investigation. “These threats, including the false and baseless allegations of wrongdoing, will not stop our momentum. We will remain visible, undeterred, and more committed than ever to our mission. Our mandate is to serve the community because they need and deserve it. That has been and will continue to be the CHIRLA way,” she continued. LEFT-WING ADVOCACY GROUPS IN THE HOT SEAT AS ANTI-ICE RIOTS TRIGGER INVESTIGATION: ‘NOT PROTECTED SPEECH’ President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Kiley’s proposal on Saturday. “CONGRESSMAN KEVIN KILEY’S, ‘NO TAX DOLLARS FOR RIOTS’ legislation, should be passed immediately. I am hereby instructing my Administration not to pay ANY money to these radicalized groups, regardless of the legislation. They get paid to incite riots, burn down or destroy a city, then come back to the trough to get money to help rebuild it. NO MORE MONEY!!!” the president posted to Truth Social.
Trump could arm Israel with US B-2s and bunker busters if Iran tries to go nuclear under new proposal
FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan pair of lawmakers has proposed authorizing President Donald Trump to transfer B-2 stealth bombers and 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs to Israel if Iran is found to still be developing a nuclear weapon after last week’s strikes. Proposed by Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., the Bunker Buster Act would allow Trump to “take actions to ensure Israel is prepared for all contingencies if Iran seeks to develop a nuclear weapon.” B-2 bomber pilots launched 14 bunker buster bombs on Iran’s top three nuclear sites, in a move that Trump claims “totally obliterated” the Iranian regime’s nuclear program. Israel, for its part, hit a number of Iranian sites and took out top military brass. However, it doesn’t possess the 30,000-pound GBU 57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, precision-guided munition bombs developed for the U.S. Air Force. The 20-foot-long weapons can travel 200 feet deep inside a target before exploding. TRUMP WOULD STRIKE IRAN ‘WITHOUT QUESTION’ IF IT RESTARTS NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM As of 2024, the U.S. had 19 B-2s in operation. It does not transfer custody of its B-2 stealth bombers to any of its allies. “Iran, the leading state sponsor of terror, and one of America’s top enemies, can never have a nuclear weapon. That’s why I strongly supported our military actions earlier this month. Iran has killed scores of Americans, including our service members, and repeatedly attacked our key democratic ally, Israel. Israel must be able to defend herself against Iran, and ensure that Iran cannot rebuild its nuclear capabilities,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “This bill gives the President the authority to equip Israel with the tools and training they need to deter Tehran and make the world a safer place,” said Lawler. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Chair Rafael Grossi told Radio France Internationale the centrifuges at Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear site are “no longer operational,” after the U.S. strikes. EXPERTS GAUGE SUCCESS OF ‘BUNKER BUSTER’ BOMBS DROPPED BY US ON IRAN NUCLEAR SITES However, some have questioned whether Iran may have attempted to move its stock of enriched uranium away from the sites that were targeted, but Grossi told CBS over the weekend that Iran may again begin enriching uranium in a “matter of months.” “The capacities they have are there. They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that. But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there,” he said. WHY ONLY BUNKER BUSTER BOMBS COULD REACH IRAN’S UNDERGROUND FORDOW NUCLEAR FACILITY “It is clear that there has been severe damage, but it’s not total damage,” Grossi added. “Iran has the capacities there; industrial and technological capacities. So if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.” Meanwhile, after a Houthi strike on Israel, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested the U.S. send B-2 bombers to Yemen to strike Houthi targets. “We thought we were done with missiles coming to Israel, but Houthis just lit one up over us in Israel. Fortunately, Israel’s incredible interception system means we go to the shelter & wait until all clear. Maybe those B2 bombers need to visit Yemen!” B-2 bomber planes traveled to Yemen to strike Houthi targets in October 2024.
Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ clears final hurdle before House-wide vote
The House Rules Committee has teed up President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” for a chamber-wide vote Wednesday after a nearly 12-hour-long session debating the massive piece of legislation. It now heads to the entire chamber for consideration, where several Republicans have already signaled they’re concerned with various aspects of the measure. Just two Republicans voted against reporting the bill out of committee – Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Chip Roy, R-Texas, conservatives who had expressed reservations with the bill earlier on Tuesday. No Democrats voted to advance it, while the remaining seven Republicans did. The majority of Republican lawmakers appear poised to advance the bill, however, believing it’s the best possible compromise vehicle to make Trump’s campaign promises a reality. NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER: AMERICAN TAXPAYERS (YOU) ARE NOW ON THE HOOK FOR OVER $36,215,806,064,740.36 “This bill is President Trump’s agenda, and we are making it law. House Republicans are ready to finish the job and put the One Big Beautiful Bill on President Trump’s desk in time for Independence Day,” House GOP leaders said in a joint statement after the Senate passed the bill on Tuesday. The House Rules Committee acts as the final gatekeeper before most pieces of legislation get a chamber-wide vote. Democrats attempted to delay the panel’s hours-long hearing by offering multiple amendments that were shot down along party lines. They criticized the bill as a bloated tax cut giveaway to wealthy Americans, at the expense of Medicaid coverage for lower-income people. Democrats have also accused Republicans of adding billions of dollars to the national debt, chiefly by extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. “I don’t know what it means to be a fiscal hawk, because if you vote for this bill, you’re adding $4 trillion to the debt,” Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Calif., said during debate on the measure. “Republicans have gone on TV for months and months and months solemnly insisting to the American people that this bill is going to cut the debt, that this will not hurt anybody on Medicaid, just those lazy bums and, you know, unworthy people.” REPUBLICANS CHALLENGE ‘IRRELEVANT’ BUDGET OFFICE AS IT CRITIQUES TRUMP’S ‘BEAUTIFUL BILL’ But Republicans have said the bill is targeted relief for middle and working-class Americans, citing provisions temporarily allowing people to deduct taxes from tipped and overtime wages, among others. “If you vote against this bill, you’re voting against the child tax credit being at $2,200 per child. At the end of this year, it will drop to $1,000. That makes a huge impact to 40 million hardworking Americans. And it’s simply, when they vote no, they’re voting against a $2,200 child tax credit, and they’re okay with $1,000,” House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., said. “If you listen to the Democrats here, they say this is all about billionaires and millionaires. No tax on tips, no tax on overtime work. How many millionaires and billionaires, Madam Chair, work by the hour?” The bill numbers more than 900 pages and includes Trump’s priorities on taxes, the border, defense, energy and the national debt. An initial version passed the House in May by just one vote, but the Senate has since made multiple key modifications to Medicaid, tax cuts and the debt limit. Moderates are wary of the Senate measures that would shift more Medicaid costs to states that expanded their programs under ObamaCare, while conservatives have said those cuts are not enough to offset the additional spending in other parts of the bill. Several key measures were also removed during the “Byrd Bath,” a process in the Senate where legislation is reviewed so that it can be fast-tracked under the budget reconciliation process – which must adhere to a strict set of fiscal rules. Among those conservative critics, Reps. Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., introduced resolutions to change the Senate version to varying degrees. Ogles’ amendment would have most dramatically changed the bill. If passed, it would have reverted the legislation back to the House version. Perry’s amendments were aimed at tightening the rollback of green energy tax credits created by the former Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. Another amendment by Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., would have restored certain Second Amendment-related provisions stripped out by the Byrd Bath. Any changes to the legislation would have forced it back into the Senate, likely delaying Republicans’ self-imposed Fourth of July deadline to get the bill onto Trump’s desk. The full House is expected to begin considering the bill at 9 a.m. ET Wednesday. Sometime that morning, House lawmakers will vote on whether to begin debating the bill, a procedural measure known as a “rule vote.” If that’s cleared, a final vote on the bill itself is expected sometime later Wednesday. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., conceded on Tuesday evening that poor weather in Washington that forced a number of flight delays could also weigh on Wednesday’s attendance – depending on how many lawmakers are stuck outside the capital. “We’re monitoring the weather closely,” Johnson told reporters. “There’s a lot of delays right now.” With all lawmakers present, Republicans can only afford to lose three votes to still advance both the rule vote and the final bill without any Democratic support.
Cities near LA abandon July 4th celebrations as Trump’s immigration crackdown takes hold
Los Angeles and several surrounding cities are canceling — or postponing — Fourth of July celebrations in response to increased activity by federal immigration officials in the area. The County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation postponed a summer movie and concert series, while canceling this year’s East Los Angeles Rock’n 4th of July celebration “out of caution and in response to recent ICE enforcement activity.” One of the city’s biggest Fourth of July events that drew thousands in 2024, the Gloria Molina Grand Park Summer Block Party, has been indefinitely postponed due to “the ongoing circumstances impacting the region.” Other communities surrounding Los Angeles also reportedly decided to cancel their Fourth of July events in light of the ongoing federal immigration enforcement in the area, including the cities of Bell Gardens, Boyle Heights, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Whittier and the town of El Sereno. TRUMP DOJ SUES LOS ANGELES OVER SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES In Huntington Park, the cancellation goes beyond just the Fourth of July holiday and includes a 30-day pause on “certain public summer events,” according to a statement released by the city. “Reports of unmarked vehicles and unidentified federal agents have created widespread anxiety, particularly among immigrant and mixed-status families,” according to the Huntington Park statement. “Many residents have expressed fear and uncertainty, leading them to remain indoors, refrain from work, and withdraw from daily public life. Our priority is and will continue to be the safety and peace of mind of our community.” Officials from these communities halting their Independence Day events have been outspoken against the Trump administration’s decision to ramp up federal immigration enforcement. TRUMP ADMIN APPROVES NEWSOM’S REQUEST TO ‘BAIL HIM OUT’ OF DAMAGE LEFT BY VIOLENT LA RIOTS: SBA Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores has described the increased prevalence of ICE raids in and around Los Angeles as a “campaign of domestic terror” and “psychological warfare that I’ve only seen in theaters of war,” according to The Guardian. Meanwhile, the vice mayor of the City of Cudahy allegedly called on gang leaders in a now-deleted TikTok post to defend their territory from ICE. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A report Monday by The New York Times found that, since June 6, “agents from several federal agencies have arrested about 2,000 immigrants in the Los Angeles region,” according to documents obtained by the outlet, which added that the arrests have “been one of the reasons so many are on edge.” This week, the Pentagon released 150 California National Guard troops from their federal security mission in Los Angeles to help fight wildfires.