Texas governor reveals reason why he and Trump have been working together so closely
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, whose National Guard troops were recently deployed in support of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Chicago, revealed the “substantive reason” why he has such a good working relationship with the president: “We both believe in the rule of law.” “President Trump and I have a good, long-standing, working relationship, and there’s a substantive reason behind that. We both believe in the rule of law. We both believe in public safety. We both believed in securing the borders,” he explained. Abbott said that he and President Donald Trump are “operating very closely aligned in ensuring that our country’s going to be safe.” “I’m more than happy to be a partner with the federal government, making sure that we keep our country as safe as possible,” he added. LONG-HELD SCOTUS PRECEDENTS COULD UNDERCUT PORTLAND, CHICAGO NATIONAL GUARD LAWSUITS This comes as some 200 Texas National Guard troops are currently deployed to the Chicago area, tasked with protecting federal law enforcement officers as they carry out immigration enforcement operations. For the past several weeks, the Chicago area has been rocked by anti-ICE demonstrations that have on several occasions boiled over into violent disruption. Large crowds of what DHS has called “violent rioters” have gathered outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, and have repeatedly blocked federal vehicles from exiting and entering the facility. Earlier this month, federal agents were rammed and trapped by 10 vehicles, where anti-ICE crowds had gathered for days. Nearly a dozen people were arrested. Despite this, DHS has said its agents have received little to no support from Democrat leaders in Illinois or local and state law enforcement. Against this backdrop, Abbott authorized Trump to deploy 400 of his Texas National Guard troops to trouble spots across the country under Title 10 authority. So far, only about half of those troops have been deployed to Illinois as a legal case against the deployment makes its way through federal court. HOMAN CONFIRMS TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD ‘ON THE GROUND’ IN ILLINOIS, WARNS ANTI-ICE RHETORIC FUELING ‘BLOODSHED’ Speaking with Fox News Digital, Abbott said the deployment of Texas National Guard troops, who have gained experience keeping the peace through deployments to the southern border, was “only natural.” “What the National Guard is trained and skilled at doing is dealing with civil unrest like that. They dealt with civil unrest along the Texas border for the past four years while Joe Biden was president. They’ve dealt with civil unrest even in locations in the state of Texas, when I thought it was important to call them out and make sure that we did not have any unrest in our state. So, these are National Guard troopers who are very well-trained at being able to deal with this type of environment,” he said. “It’s only natural that, by extension, that if there’s a need for that elite National Guard to provide assistance anywhere in the entire country, that it would be the [Texas] National Guard called upon.” Again, Abbott emphasized that the Trump administration shares a common vision with Texas, making them apt partners. “What Texas is trying to do is the same thing the United States is trying to do. And that is very simply, carrying out the functions of the federal government. One of them is immigration enforcement, and another is public safety. The National Guard from Texas, they’re not there to police the city of Chicago or any other place. They are there to ensure the safety and security of the ability of federal officials to fulfill their constitutional duty to enforce the laws of the United States.” PRITZKER SUES TRUMP TO BLOCK NATIONAL GUARD ACTION IN ILLINOIS Though he gave no indication of what other collaborations Texas might undertake with the Trump administration in the future, he said that Texas remains ready for whatever is needed. “No one can accurately predict exactly what’s going to happen in the future. What I can predict is how Texas will respond. And that is, whenever the country is in time of need, Texans will step up and help out any way we possibly can.”
Senate set for new vote to end shutdown, but gridlock over Obamacare subsidies remains
The Senate is set to return on Tuesday to again vote on whether to reopen the government, but like many times before, the plan is expected to fail again as a deal remains elusive. Lawmakers in the upper chamber are expected to vote for an eighth time on the House GOP’s continuing resolution (CR), as the government shutdown inches closer to its third week. But after a long weekend away from Washington, D.C., it’s unlikely either party has shifted from their positions. Senate Republicans want to pass the House’s “clean” short-term funding extension, which would reopen the government until Nov. 21. Included are millions in spending for lawmaker security and a budget fix for D.C.’s local government. TRUMP DIRECTS HEGSETH TO PAY TROOPS DURING ONGOING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN STANDOFF AS HE RAILS AGAINST SCHUMER But Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., remain adamant that they will not provide Republicans and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., the needed votes to reopen the government unless there is a firm deal to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies. Both sides are talking, breaking up into small groups that are focused on some of the Democrats’ demands, like extending the subsidies or putting guardrails on future rescissions and impoundments of federal funding. Still, no concrete negotiations or an off-ramp out of the shutdown have materialized. “I think Leader Schumer’s checked out,” Thune told reporters on Friday. “I don’t think this is going to happen. I think this is going to happen organically with enough reasonable Senate Democrats who care enough about doing the right thing for their country and not what’s in the best interests of their left-wing political base to come forward and help us find a solution.” So far only three Senate Democratic caucus members, Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Angus King, I-Vt., have consistently crossed the aisle to reopen the government. SENATE LEAVES WASHINGTON AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN NEARS 3RD WEEK, MILITARY PAY AT RISK One key deadline, which was expected to make Democrats squeamish as the shutdown continued on, was met over the weekend. While lawmakers were away, President Donald Trump authorized Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to use “all available funds” to pay military service members by Oct. 15. But Schumer has remained steadfast that he and Democrats want more than just a guarantee on the expiring subsidies and demands that Thune, Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., come to the negotiating table. “We Democrats want to end this shutdown as quickly as we can,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “But Donald Trump and Republicans need to negotiate with us in a serious way to fix the health care premiums crisis. We can and should do both. It’s not either or, like Republicans think.” SENATE DEMOCRATS BLOCK GOP PLAN AGAIN TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT AS MILITARY PAY DEADLINE LOOMS But Senate Republicans have countered throughout the shutdown that Democrats routinely voted for CRs under former President Joe Biden, and that the only difference between then and now is that Trump is in office. “A political game is being played by the Democrats because they think that every day gets better for them,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said. “And this isn’t right versus left. This is right versus wrong. That’s what we’re facing in this country today.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP And there’s still another deadline on Capitol Hill fast approaching, this time to pay Senate staff. “I’m concerned about everybody going without pay,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said. “We need to open the government back up, and I think people need to sit down and talk to each other. And so far, the president has been unwilling to talk, the leadership in both houses have been unwilling to talk.”
Senate Republicans target Obama-era trucking rule with new English proficiency bill
FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to add stricter English proficiency requirements for truck drivers after an Obama-era rule change loosened standards. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., plans to introduce legislation that would add more stringent English proficiency rules for commercial truck drivers and an enforcement mechanism that would deem them “out of service” should they not meet the proposed standards. The bill would add several standards, including ensuring that truck drivers can converse with the public, understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, respond to official inquiries and make entries on reports and records. GOP REP TARGETS TRUCKER’S ENGLISH SKILLS AFTER ILLEGAL MIGRANT CHARGED IN DEADLY FLORIDA CRASH “Wyoming families and travelers deserve safe highways,” Lummis said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “I’m introducing this commonsense legislation to ensure commercial truck drivers operating heavy vehicles can simply read signs, understand traffic laws and communicate effectively with law enforcement and emergency responders.” The bill also comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s executive order from earlier this year, which similarly added stricter English language requirements. Trump’s order and Lummis’ bill would also require that a person driving a commercial motor vehicle who does not meet those standards will be deemed out of service, a move meant to add enforcement following a change made in 2016 under then-President Barack Obama. ‘ENGLISH ISN’T OPTIONAL’: SENATE GOP BILL TAKES AIM AT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKERS AFTER FLORIDA CRASH “This legislation will correct the major mistake the Obama administration made in undermining these rules and will codify President Trump’s Executive Order to make our highways safer for all Americans,” Lummis said. While English proficiency requirements have existed for truck drivers for decades, a 2016 memo from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration instructed inspectors to give warnings and citations to commercial vehicle drivers who did not meet the English proficiency requirements, rather than place them out of service. Lummis’ bill, which she and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., plan to introduce, also has a companion version in the House, introduced by Rep. Harriet Haggeman, R-Wyo. TRUMP ADMIN THREATENS TO CUT MILLIONS IN FEDERAL FUNDING FROM 3 STATES OVER TRUCKER ENGLISH LANGUAGE RULES Both are named Connor’s Law, after 18-year-old Connor Dzion was killed in standstill traffic in Florida in 2017 when a Canadian truck driver, Yadwinder Sangha, slammed into the gridlocked vehicles. There was a similar incident earlier this year when Harjinder Singh, an illegal immigrant from India, allegedly struck and killed three people in a tractor-trailer while making an illegal U-turn on a Florida highway on Aug. 12. The trailer jackknifed and collided with a minivan, killing all three of its passengers. Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., introduced legislation that would crack down on commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) going to illegal immigrants and bolster English proficiency requirements to get a commercial license.
Trump credits Iran nuclear strikes for kickstarting Israel-Hamas peace deal
President Donald Trump told Fox News in an exclusive interview Monday that he credits the U.S. strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites for making the Israel-Hamas peace deal possible. Trump made the comments to Fox News’ Trey Yingst in Israel after Hamas freed the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages from captivity in Gaza. “I think it really started when we took out the nuclear capability of Iran,” Trump said, referring to the June strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. “When you look at what they had, you couldn’t have made this deal with someone sitting over there with a nuclear weapon over your head.” Trump said that other countries around the Middle East were “fantastic” in helping the U.S. broker the peace deal, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Egypt. TRUMP WRITES MESSAGE TO ISRAELIS AFTER ALL LIVING HOSTAGES RELEASED BY HAMAS “That’s the amazing thing,” Trump said. “Everybody came together at this point. If you go back six months or seven months you would have said a thing like this was impossible.” Trump added that even with his impact as the U.S. president, the deal wouldn’t have happened if the dozens of countries that make up the Middle East did not want it to. “They all wanted this to happen,” Trump said, “and it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.” Yingst said Trump emphasized that the Gaza deal is only the beginning of what he hopes will become a wider movement toward peace across the Middle East. When asked about the state of Iran’s nuclear program today, Trump said it is nonexistent. “They don’t have a nuclear program,” Trump said of Iran. “It was obliterated.” In June, the U.S. launched Operation Midnight Hammer, the longest large-scale B-2 bombing mission in history, striking Iran’s nuclear sites with 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs. Trump had immediately proclaimed Iran’s nuclear program had been “completely and totally obliterated,” though skeptics and opponents of the strikes voiced caution about declaring the mission a success before a final damage assessment was finished. TRUMP HERALDS ‘GOLDEN AGE OF THE MIDDLE EAST’ IN ADDRESS TO ISRAELI KNESSET HOURS AFTER HOSTAGES COME HOME Trump arrived in Israel Monday morning to coincide with the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas. The 20 living Israeli hostages were released as part of an agreement intended to end the conflict that began with the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas terrorists. Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,200 people and took around 240 hostages in southern Israel during the attack. Two years of fighting in Gaza followed, which resulted in tens of thousands estimated dead. In exchange for the remaining living hostages, Israel began releasing around 2,000 Palestinian detainees, including approximately 250 identified as terrorists. This is a breaking news story; check back for updates. Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mamdani raises money for UN organization that employed Oct 7 terrorists
New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani spent Sunday night raising money for a United Nations organization that employed Oct. 7 terrorists, just hours before the final living Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity. Mamdani ran in the NYC Gaza 5K, a fundraiser for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The organization was infamously found to have employed terrorists in Gaza who participated in the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. “This morning I ran the NYC Gaza 5K in Prospect Park for the third time, alongside the Harlem Run Club, to raise money for UNRWA USA, which delivers critical humanitarian aid and services to Palestinians in Gaza,” Mamdani wrote on social media. “I hope you’ll join me in donating,” he added. IDF KILLS HAMAS TERRORIST IT SAYS WORKED FOR UNRWA, LED CHARGE ON REIM BOMB SHELTER MASSACRE Mamdani included a donation link for his followers to send money to UNRWA. The State Department issued a devastating report to Congress on UNRWA in August, determining that the agency needs to be abolished and is beyond reform. UNRWA’s stated goal is to provide aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, but the report argues the organization “is irredeemably compromised” According to the State Department document, the Trump administration demanded in March 2025 that UNRWA “return all remaining unspent balances of U.S. funding in its accounts.” The UNRWA Washington office said it would do so, “but has not yet completed the action.” In May, the State Department said it is working “to cease U.S. participation in all working-level UNRWA bodies” at the United Nations. UN ACCUSED OF DOWNPLAYING HAMAS TERRORISTS’ USE OF GAZA HOSPITALS AS NEW REPORT IGNORES IMPORTANT DETAILS The U.S. government pulled the plug on UNRWA funding in January 2024 and has not resumed aid to the agency. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s move calling for the wholesale dissolution of UNRWA added a new layer of pressure on the U.N. and key donor nations to UNRWA, such as Japan and Germany, to reassess the viability of UNRWA. The Biden administration had given UNRWA $1 billion in U.S. taxpayer funding since 2021 before the freeze in 2024 went into effect. Former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said in February 2024 that dozens of individuals employed by UNRWA were directly involved in the atrocities carried out against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023. Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon told the U.N. in January that UNRWA must close its operations in Jerusalem. In August 2024, Fox News Digital reported the U.N. fired nine employees from UNRWA who likely participated in the Hamas slaughter of 1,200 people, including more than 30 Americans, on Oct. 7 in southern Israel. Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.
Kremlin warns it ‘could end badly for everyone’ if US supplies Ukraine long-range missiles
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that if the U.S. supplies Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, that “could end badly for everyone … most of all, for Trump himself,” according to a Google translation of his Russian-language Telegram post. “It’s been said a hundred times, in a manner understandable even to the star-spangled man, that it’s impossible to distinguish a nuclear Tomahawk missile from a conventional one in flight,” Russian Security Council Deputy Chair Medvedev noted. KIM JONG UN SHOWS OFF ‘MOST POWERFUL’ BALLISTIC MISSILE AS FOREIGN LEADERS WATCH NORTH KOREA MILITARY PARADE While speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, President Donald Trump raised the prospect of supplying Ukraine with the long-range weapons if the Russia-Ukraine war is not going to be settled. The U.S. commander in chief described Tomahawks as a “very offensive weapon,” noting, “honestly, Russia does not need that.” TRUMP MULLS TOMAHAWK DELIVERIES TO UKRAINE IF RUSSIA KEEPS WAR GOING Trump has been seeking to help broker peace between the two warring foreign nations. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment. ZELENSKYY TOUTS ‘PRODUCTIVE’ TALKS WITH TRUMP ON STRENGTHENING UKRAINIAN AIR DEFENSE, LONG-RANGE CAPABILITIES CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP During an appearance on the Fox News Channel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that Tomahawks would be utilized for “only military goals,” asserting that Ukraine never attacks Russian civilians.
GOP lawmaker pushes bill to punish cities that ditched Columbus Day after Trump proclamation
A new House GOP proposal would withhold funding from U.S. jurisdictions that celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day. It comes after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation last week declaring Oct. 13 Columbus Day in honor of the famed explorer as well as the heritage of Italian Americans across the U.S. “This is about every son and daughter of Italy, every Knights of Columbus, every pasta dinner on Sunday, and every communion — everything that makes our culture who we are, from Philadelphia to San Francisco,” Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Every Little Italy neighborhood of this country celebrates Christopher Columbus. It’s so much more than the man. It’s the people.” CABINET SPONTANEOUSLY APPLAUDS AS TRUMP SIGNS COLUMBUS DAY PROCLAMATION: ‘WE’RE BACK, ITALIANS’ Rulli’s new bill would both reaffirm Columbus Day as a federal holiday and punish cities and states that replaced the celebration of it with Indigenous Peoples Day. “We are not going to allow any American municipality to think that they have power over the federal government,” he said. In 2021, then-President Joe Biden formally recognized the second Monday in October as both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day. The move was lauded by progressive activists and historians who saw Christopher Columbus as the harbinger of a genocide against the land’s indigenous people, millions of whom were killed amid American colonization. But Rulli argued that Columbus Day was about honoring Italian Americans’ heritage, pointing out that part of the motivation for its founding in 1892 was the extrajudicial lynching of 11 Italian Americans in New Orleans after the death of a local police chief. He added his legislation was not meant to undercut the significance of Native Americans — whom he said deserve their own day of significance. “I mean, the Native Americans are some of the most amazing, dynamic cultural people that make up the fabric of America. But they need their own special day,” Rulli said. “And I would be willing to do that. I’m saying right now, I would be willing to get the indigenous people their own day, but not this day.” MAMDANI TAKES AIM AT TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION POLICIES IN FIERY STATEN ISLAND SPEECH: ‘WE ARE FIGHTING TO KEEP NYC A SANCTUARY CITY’ He further accused the Biden administration of undercutting the legacy of both peoples by declaring both holidays on the same day, while praising Trump for restoring Columbus Day’s original meaning. “I don’t care what party you’re in … if you come from Italian American descent, you love what President Trump did. It was a wonderful olive branch to all Italian Americans,” Rulli said. “By no means, no way, shape or form, is this bill meant to offend any of the indigenous people. They deserve their own day. We will get them their own day, but not Columbus Day. This has already been embedded in our fabric for 130 years,” he said.
Netanyahu to skip Trump’s Middle East peace summit in Egypt as new regional dynamics take shape
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend Monday’s peace conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will host more than 20 world leaders in a bid to cement an end to the war in Gaza. Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister was “unable to attend due to time constraints ahead of the start of the holiday.” October 13–15 marks Shemini Atzeret, followed by Simchat Torah on October 15. Leader of Israel’s left-wing Democrats, Yair Golan, condemned the decision. “I am appalled by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to skip this historic event orchestrated by President Trump. Let it be clear: Netanyahu’s refusal to attend the peace summit in Egypt is driven purely by narrow political interests,” he said in a statement to Fox News. “After two years of Israel’s most difficult war, we can not afford a leader guided by his personal interest.” WHITE HOUSE TURNS TO EXPANDING ABRAHAM ACCORDS AFTER ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASEFIRE The summit, set in the Red Sea resort town, is expected to draw leaders from Turkey, Jordan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and top representatives from the United Nations and the European Union. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is also slated to attend as regional powers press for a role in stabilizing postwar Gaza. The conference comes amid a renewed push by the Trump administration to expand the Abraham Accords framework once the conflict in Gaza is resolved. Four nations joined the normalization agreements with Israel during Trump’s first term, and senior White House officials have signaled optimism that additional Arab and Muslim-majority countries could follow. NETANYAHU CALLS TRUMP ISRAEL’S ‘GREATEST FRIEND’ AS FINAL LIVING HOSTAGES RELEASED Adding to that momentum, Israeli media reported Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto—the leader of the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation—was expected to visit Israel on Tuesday, raising speculation that Indonesia could be next to pursue an Abraham Accords-style peace and normalization agreement with Jerusalem. But Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono told Indonesian media “no such plan” is in place for a visit. Subianto surprised observers with unusually warm remarks toward Israel during his address to the United Nations General Assembly last month, closing his speech with the Hebrew word “Shalom.” “We must also recognize, we must also respect, and we must also guarantee the safety and security of Israel,” Subianto said. “Only then can we have real peace.” Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this report.
Chip Roy and other Republicans push bill to block and deport Sharia law-adherent aliens: ‘Existential threat’
GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas and several other House Republicans are pushing a bill to prohibit Sharia-law-adherent aliens from entering the U.S. and remove any such individuals who are present within the country. “America is facing an existential threat – the spread of Sharia Law. From Texas to every state in the union, instances of Sharia Law adherents have threatened the American way of life, seeking to replace our legal system and Constitution with an incompatible ideology that diminishes the rights of women, children, and individuals of different faiths,” Roy said, according to a press release. “Europe should be a wakeup call to America, showing what the spread of Sharia law looks like – the erosion of the West. America’s immigration system must be fortified to counter the importation of Sharia adherents – the preservation of our constitutional republic and its people depend on it,” he asserted. TRUMP ACCUSES LONDON OF WANTING ‘SHARIA LAW’ IN UN SPEECH, MAYOR HITS BACK Roy is currently running for Lone Star State attorney general. “The Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Attorney General, as applicable, shall deny any immigration benefit, visa, immigration relief, or admission to the United States to any alien who adheres to Sharia law,” the text of the measure declares. “Any alien in the United States found to be an adherent of Sharia law by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, or Attorney General shall have any immigration benefit, immigration relief, or visa revoked, be considered inadmissible or deportable, and shall be removed from the United States.” REPUBLICAN LABELS MAMDANI AS ‘LITTLE MORE THAN A MUSLIM TERRORIST,’ ADVOCATES YANKING CITIZENSHIP, DEPORTATION “Any alien who provides false statements under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 to the Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, Attorney General, or any Federal agency, or in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, about the alien’s adherence to Sharia Law shall have the alien’s immigration benefit, immigration relief, or visa revoked, be considered inadmissible or deportable, and shall be removed from the United States,” the proposal declares. Original cosponsors of the legislation include Republican Reps. Randy Fine of Florida, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, and Keith Self of Texas. PATRICIA HEATON WARNS AMERICA COULD FACE ‘ANOTHER 9/11’ IF NATION IGNORES RISING ANTISEMITISM, RADICAL ISLAM CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP GOP Reps. Barry Moore of Alabama, Mary Miller of Illinois, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Sheri Biggs of South Carolina, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma and Andrew Clyde of Georgia have joined as cosponsors, according to congress.gov.
Instead of impeachment, Dems are using Article II challenges to impede Trump this time
Democrats tenaciously working to thwart the second Trump administration seemingly have thrown out their playbook from the president’s first administration — abandoning repeated attempts to impeach President Donald Trump in favor of broadening their focus on leveraging Article II of the Constitution to impede MAGA policies. Democrats, since the early days of Trump’s second presidency, have accused him of taking steps that amount to a “gross overreach of presidential authority” or launching “illegal power grabs,” most notably in response to some of the more than 200 executive orders the president has signed this term. Lawsuits challenging the administration also have focused language on claims Trump is exceeding his executive authority, sparking some policies to get tied up in the courts. Article II of the Constitution lays out the foundation for the balance of power between the office of the president and other branches of the government, including establishing the executive branch. Section II of Article II details the duties and powers of a president. WHITE HOUSE REBUKES ‘EGREGIOUS’ COURT ORDER BLOCKING TROOP DEPLOYMENTS AMID PORTLAND UNREST Political foes have turned to Article II in their legal battles against Trump, repeatedly claiming he has exceeded his authority. But the White House says that’s not true. “Trump Derangement Syndrome takes on many forms — despite the Democrats’ failure to stop President Trump’s incredibly popular agenda in his first term, they’re trying a new strategy this time and failing again,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital Thursday when asked about the increase in claims and cases claiming Trump is overstepping his presidential bounds. “The Trump Administration’s policies have been consistently upheld by the Supreme Court as lawful despite an unprecedented number of legal challenges and unlawful lower court rulings from far-left liberal activist judges,” she continued. “The president will continue implementing the policy agenda that the American people voted for in November and will continue to be vindicated by higher courts when liberal activist judges attempt to intervene.” Trump’s first administration was underscored by two impeachment efforts, which landed Trump as the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice. Trump was acquitted by the Senate both times. The first impeachment effort in 2019 accused Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to allegedly seeking foreign interference from Ukraine to boost his re-election efforts in 2020. The focus of that impeachment focused on a July 2019 phone call in which Trump pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to launch investigations into the Biden family’s business dealings in Ukraine, including Hunter Biden’s business dealings with Burisma holdings company. Biden was under federal investigation at the time. NEWSOM WARNS AMERICANS ‘YOU WILL LOSE YOUR COUNTRY’ UNDER TRUMP AT CALIFORNIA SUMMIT The House impeached Trump on both articles of impeachment in December 2019, with the Senate voting to acquit Trump on both articles of impeachment in February 2020. Months later, Democrats teed up another Trump impeachment after the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump notched another first, when the Senate tried a former president after the House voted to impeach him just a week before Joe Biden was inaugurated as the nation’s 46th president. The Senate ultimately acquitted Trump in the case. The second impeachment focused on the breach of the U.S. Capitol by throngs of Trump supporters when the Senate and House convened to certify Biden’s 2020 election win. Trump was accused of working to overturn the results of the election and that he incited an insurrection with rhetoric regarding the election ahead of the Capitol breach. “I will never forgive the people who stormed the Capitol for the trauma that they caused in our young people, our members of the press who were covering that day, our staffers, the maintenance crew, the people who keep the Capitol neat and clean,” then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said in an interview on MSNBC in 2022. “This was a disgrace. And the president instigated an insurrection, refused to stop it and as those films show, would not, in a timely fashion, allow the National Guard to come in and stop it. And that is sinful,” she continued. The Senate acquitted Trump of the impeachment charge of inciting an insurrection in February 2021. The impeachment efforts followed Democrats threatening and vowing to impeach Trump at various points throughout his first administration. “I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to call for the impeachment of the President of the United States of America for obstruction of justice. I do not do this for political purposes, Mr. Speaker. I do this because I believe in the great ideals that this country stands for — liberty and justice for all, the notion that we should have government of the people, by the people, for the people,” Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green declared in May 2017 in regard to former FBI Director James Comey’s investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. TRUMP HAS NOW BEEN IN OFFICE FOR SIX MONTHS, FOR THE SECOND TIME. HERE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS “The time has come to make clear to the American people and to this president that his train of injuries to our Constitution must be brought to an end through impeachment,” Tennessee Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen said in November 2017 over claims Trump obstructed justice when he fired Comey in May 2017. Trump’s four years after his first administration were riddled with a handful of civil and criminal cases, including standing trial in New York when he was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024. District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office worked to prove that Trump falsified the business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged 2006 affair with Trump. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case, and was sentenced after his election win to an unconditional discharge, meaning he faced no prison time or fines. Trump also was indicted