Dem senator plows ahead with war powers resolution despite ceasefire
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., plans to move full steam ahead with his war powers resolution, despite a fragile ceasefire reached Tuesday between Israel and Iran. The fresh ceasefire deal between the warring countries faced early hiccups, with President Donald Trump accusing both sides of breaking the truce, but it has so far held, despite widespread skepticism over its longevity on Capitol Hill. ‘NOT OUR ROLE’: LAWMAKERS CAUTIOUS OVER MIDDLE EAST PEACE, NOT READY FOR REGIME CHANGE And Kaine argued that the halt in fighting actually gave his resolution more credence. “I think the ceasefire actually gives us the ability to have the conversation without the pressure of like, ‘Oh, you know, [Trump’s] got to do a bombing run tomorrow night,’” he said. “The combination of the ceasefire and the Israelis saying that the nuclear program has been sent back at least two or three years opens up — you can really have the deliberate discussion that this merits,” Kaine continued. ‘NOT CONSTITUTIONAL’: CONGRESS EVOKES NEW WAR POWERS RESOLUTION TO REJECT TRUMP’S STRIKES ON IRAN Kaine’s war powers resolution is designed to both put a check on Trump’s power and reaffirm Congress’ constitutional authority to declare war. However, whether a strike like the one over the weekend constituted an act of war that required congressional approval was a hot topic of debate among lawmakers last week. The Constitution divides war powers between Congress and the White House, giving lawmakers the sole power to declare war, while the president acts as the commander-in-chief directing the military. A similar bipartisan resolution cropped up in the House, too, but one of its co-sponsors, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital that he is ready to stand down if the ceasefire lasts. “If the ceasefire becomes a truce and holds, we won’t press for the vote,” he said. “We need to hear from Iran and Israel, and also whether our own president is satisfied that the predicate for his first attack, nuclear weapons, no longer exists.” ‘INSTINCTS FOR RESTRAINT’: SENATE DIVIDED OVER WHO GETS TO DECLARE WAR Kaine’s bill could hit the floor by Friday in the Senate, but whether it survives is another question. “Bring it up. Let’s vote it down,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital. The resolution does have the backing of Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who told Fox News Digital that before the strikes there were up to eight Republicans that supported it. “I support Tim,” Durbin said. “His approach to this is entirely consistent with the Constitution, and I wish the Senate would stand up as a body for its own rights and authority under the Constitution.”
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Al Green’s Push to Impeach Trump Flops
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… – Trump’s Israel-Iran ceasefire nearly collapses hours after announcement – Jasmine Crockett drops out of race for top House Oversight Committee Democrat – Marathon weekend awaits Senate as Johnson prepares House for ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ showdown The House of Representatives voted along bipartisan lines to quash a lone progressive lawmaker’s bid to impeach President Donald Trump Tuesday afternoon. Lawmakers agreed to table the measure in a 344–79 vote. A vote to table is a procedural mechanism allowing House members to vote against consideration of a bill without having to vote on the bill itself. The resolution was offered by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who was infamously ejected from Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress earlier this year for repeatedly interrupting the president… READ MORE. POWER GRAB: Trump’s Iran strikes follow long pattern of presidents sidestepping Congress BASE BACKS FORCE: Most Republicans support Trump ordered military strike on Iran’s nuclear program: poll CLOSED FOR BUSINESS: New data reveals border crossings reach record lows amid Trump admin’s crackdown ‘SECURE THE HOMELAND’: More Iranians with criminal histories arrested by ICE in Trump’s security sweep ‘MAKE MY DAY’: Trump dares AOC to try to impeach him: ‘Make my day’ DEEP STATE GUTTED: Trump admin ‘obliterated’ Iranian nuclear facilities with slimmed down NSC team, Rubio juggling multiple jobs PEACE ON A TIGHTROPE: Trump’s Israel-Iran ceasefire nearly collapses hours after announcement TOP PRIORITY: Navy using munitions at ‘alarming’ speed to defend Israel PEACE ON THE BRINK: UN chief praises Trump for Iran-Israel ceasefire days after condemning US strikes HISTORY IN MOTION: Exiled prince warns Iranian military of ‘final chance’ to stand up to the regime BROKEN PROMISES: Iran-Israel ceasefire teeters as IDF accuses Tehran of violations FOREIGN THREAT ALERT: DOJ on ‘high alert’ for Iranian nationals living illegally in US, Bondi says DEFENSE GOES ORBITAL: ‘Golden Dome’ comprehensive weapons defenses in the works as lawmakers make Trump dream a reality GOOD FAITH: Bondi vows to ‘protect every religion in this country’ after Wray-era controversy BABY BATTLE RAGES ON: Pro-life movement confronts high abortion rates three years after Dobbs FEELING BLUE: Jasmine Crockett drops out of race for top House Oversight Committee Democrat DECLINE TO COMMENT: Top Biden officials summoned to testify about alleged cover-up of former president’s mental fitness CLOCK TICKING: Marathon weekend awaits Senate as Johnson prepares House for ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ showdown ‘GET THE DEAL DONE’: Trump pressures Congress to pass ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,’ insisting ‘NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE’ RETURN TO POWER: Scandal-plagued former Gov. Andrew Cuomo aims to pull off political comeback in the nation’s biggest city JUST DOGE IT: South Carolina AG mounts gubernatorial bid, advocates for abolishing state income tax, DOGE-ing governments Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
House conservatives go to war with Senate over Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
The House’s conservative fiscal hawks are warning that President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” could run into serious problems after the Senate made key changes to the legislation. “There’s real problems with it,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “We’re on board with the president… but we’re concerned about the changes.” He and other members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus are particularly incensed by the Senate’s decision to defer the expiration of certain green energy tax credits from the former Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — which those conservatives have dubbed “the Green New Scam.” They’re also wary of additional dollars being spent on raising the debt limit, which Trump has directed GOP lawmakers to do before the U.S. runs out of cash to pay its obligations sometime this summer. TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ CRACKS DOWN ON BIDEN’S STUDENT LOAN ‘SCHEME,’ TOP REPUBLICAN SAYS The Senate’s version of the bill increases the U.S. debt limit by $5 trillion, whereas the earlier House version hiked it by $4 trillion. Congressional Republicans are working to pass Trump’s agenda on tax, immigration, defense, and energy in one massive bill via the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, reconciliation allows the party in power to pass sweeping legislation while sidelining the minority – in this case, Democrats – provided the measures included fall within a strict set of budgetary rules. The House passed its own version of the bill late last month by just one vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has pleaded with his Senate counterparts to change as little as possible, citing his razor-thin majority. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is also grappling with a small majority of Republicans – and his chamber’s product has made several key updates to please the GOP conference there. “The changes that we’re hearing about are not good. And Mike Johnson told the Senate, ‘Don’t send us back a revised bill, a significantly revised bill, because we passed it with a one-vote margin in the House,’” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital he would vote against the bill if the Senate’s product was returned in its current form – though he did not discuss the parliamentarian’s further changes. Harris voted “present” on the bill when it passed the House in May, telling reporters he had some lingering concerns but would not vote “no,” in order to keep Trump’s agenda moving. “The currently proposed Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill weakens key House priorities – it doesn’t do enough to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid, it backtracks on the Green New Scam elimination included in the House bill, and it greatly increases the deficit – taking us even further from a balanced budget,” Harris said in a statement. “If the Senate tries to jam the House with this version, I won’t vote ‘present.’ I’ll vote NO.” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., similarly said in a statement that he would oppose the bill if it came back to the House in its current form. The Missouri Republican voted to advance the bill in May. Freshman House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., who also voted for the House version of the bill, said in a public statement, “In the many moving pieces and rumors of how the Senate’s One Big Beautiful Bill is shaping up, I get more concerned each day!” 148 DEMOCRATS BACK NONCITIZEN VOTING IN DC AS GOP RAISES ALARM ABOUT FOREIGN AGENTS And Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, the Freedom Caucus policy chair, wrote on X, “Rumor is Senate plans to jam the House with its weaker, unacceptable OBBB before 7/4. This is not a surprise, but it would be a mistake…I would not vote for it as is.” Republican leaders have set a goal of getting a bill to Trump’s desk by Fourth of July. The president ordered congressional Republicans to remain in Washington until the legislation is passed in a lengthy Truth Social post on Tuesday. “To my friends in the Senate, lock yourself in a room if you must, don’t go home, and GET THE DEAL DONE THIS WEEK,” Trump wrote. “Work with the House so they can pick it up, and pass it, IMMEDIATELY. NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE.” While right-wing conservatives rail against the bill, other moderate Republican factions within the House GOP have demanded changes to the Senate’s revisions to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction and Medicaid, specifically tweaks to the provider tax rate, among others. Compounding issues for House Republicans are a slew of cost-saving provisions that have been ruled out by the Senate Parliamentarian during a process called the “Byrd bath,” which tests whether an item in the bill comports with reconciliation rules that stipulate policy has to deal directly with budgetary and spending effects. Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., scoffed at the House GOP’s threats. REPUBLICANS CHALLENGE ‘IRRELEVANT’ BUDGET OFFICE AS IT CRITIQUES TRUMP’S ‘BEAUTIFUL BILL’ “‘We’ll do better than what you did,’ is what I would tell them,” he said. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital that a bill of the magnitude that Republicans were trying to pass would be hard to build a complete consensus around. He noted in particular complications around tax negotiations, as Republicans work to extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). “Follow your heart. Take your brain with you,” Kennedy said. “Don’t impose the largest tax increase in history on the American people. Look, it’s undeniable that everybody’s not going to be completely happy. I’m not completely happy with where we are, and we’re not there yet. We’re making progress.” When asked his thoughts on conservatives bashing the bill, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said, “Everybody’s got to thump their chest a little bit, gotta stake their ground.” “But at the end of the day,
FBI launches probes into 3 children’s hospitals for alleged genital mutilation of minors
FIRST ON FOX: The FBI has initiated criminal investigations of three children’s hospitals after commitments from Attorney General Pam Bondi that the Trump administration would enforce federal statutes outlawing female genital mutilation to protect children from often irreversible sex-change surgeries. The investigations target providers who work at Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Colorado and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, according to a source familiar with the investigation who spoke to Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity. These hospitals have been among some of the foremost providers of sex change procedures for minors in America over the last several years, according to the source. Just days after taking office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing all federal agencies to work toward terminating the ability for children under 18 to receive “irreversible medical interventions” as a treatment for gender dysphoria. Part of that effort included Attorney General Bondi issuing a memorandum several weeks later, directing Justice Department personnel to enforce 18 U.S.C. § 116, which is a federal statute that makes female genital mutilation against the law. FBI CALLS FOR PUBLIC TIPS ON CHILDREN HURT IN ‘GENDER-AFFIRMING’ SURGERIES “I am putting medical practitioners, hospitals and clinics on notice: In the United States, it is a felony to perform, attempt to perform or conspire to perform female genital mutilation (“FGM”) on any person under the age of 18,” Bondi’s memo said. “That crime carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years per count. I am directing all U.S. Attorneys to investigate all suspected cases of FGM — under the banner of so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ or otherwise — and to prosecute all FGM offenses to the fullest extent possible.” Bondi also said in the memo that the Justice Department would be launching a new Coalition Against Child Mutilation, which will partner with state attorneys general to build cases against hospitals and practitioners violating federal or state laws banning female genital mutilation. The memo added that the Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs is drafting legislation establishing a private right of action for children and parents of children “whose healthy body parts have been damaged by medical professionals through chemical and surgical mutilation” so they can hold hospitals and providers retroactively liable. Amid the Trump administration’s focus on banning irreversible transgender medical treatments for minors, numerous hospitals have amended their policies for who can obtain gender transition treatments and surgeries. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE PUSHES BILL TO PUNISH THOSE WHO PERFORM GENDER TRANSITION MEASURES ON MINORS Earlier this month, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles announced it would permanently close its Center for Transyouth Health and Development, effective July 22, 2025. The decision was attributed to “significant operational, legal and financial risks stemming from the shifting policy landscape at both the state and federal levels,” according to CBS News. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles did not respond to Fox News Digital’s repeated requests for comment. Children’s Hospital Colorado initially suspended its transgender medical treatments for patients under 19 in response to the president’s executive order directing hospitals to halt irreversible transgender treatments for minors. But after a judge’s ruling blocking Trump’s order, the hospital announced it would resume providing puberty blockers and hormone-based treatments to minors. In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Children’s Hospital Colorado noted that it has “never” provided transgender surgeries for those under 18, adding that, two years ago, the hospital stopped providing these surgeries for patients over 18. Instead, starting in 2023, the hospital decided to begin referring patients to outside providers for such services, according to Colorado Newsline. Boston Children’s Hospital continues to operate its Gender Multispecialty Service (GeMS) program, according to publicly available information. While the hospital only provides gender-change surgeries for patients over 18, its GeMS program does offer transgender hormone therapy, puberty blockers and social transitioning for patients under 18. It also provides referrals for gender-transition surgeries to minors as well. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Boston Children’s said it had not yet received any notice from the FBI regarding alleged violations of federal law. The FBI said that, as a matter of policy, it “declines to confirm or comment on investigations.”
Dem mayoral candidate in major American city linked to rabid anti-Israel activism: report
New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has very deep ties to activism against one of America’s closest allies, a report by antisemitic watchdog group Canary Mission found. With New York City’s mayoral primary election on Tuesday and the Israeli-Iran conflict still fresh, Canary Mission is warning that “a vote for Mamdani is a vote for anti-Israel chaos in NYC.” Mamdani, who has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is one of the top candidates for the Democratic mayoral nomination in New York City. He is facing off against former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo. The current mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, is running for re-election as an independent. According to a new report by Canary Mission, Mamdani is a regular and prominent figure in New York City’s anti-Israel protest scene, who, as a New York state assemblyman, introduced legislation to crack down on non-profits sending money to Israel. COLBERT GRILLS DEM SOCIALIST NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI ON ISRAEL, ANTISEMITISM The report stated that Mamdani joined protests against Israel just days after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack that killed 1,200 Israelis. According to Canary Mission, Mamdani “didn’t stumble into anti-Israel activism—he was raised in it.” The report details how Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, to Muslim-Indian parents Mahmood Mamdani and Mira Nair, both of whom are also outspoken anti-Israel activists. Mamdani’s father, Mahmood, is a professor of anthropology at New York’s Columbia University, which has been at the epicenter of the pro-Palestine protests in the U.S. Canary Mission calls Mahmood a “Marxist” professor who is “known for his anti-Israel views and obsession with ‘colonialism.’” According to the report, in a recent course titled “Settlers and Natives,” Mahmood promoted the concept of “the necessity of violence in anticolonial struggle.” ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS TORCH DIPLOMAS OUTSIDE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ON GRADUATION DAY The report also said that Mahmood was one of the Columbia faculty members who donned an orange vest and locked arms in attempts to keep Avi Weinberg, an economics student at Columbia, and a small group of Jewish classmates from entering a pro-Palestine encampment on Columbia’s campus. Faculty refused to answer when asked why the students were not being let on the lawn. Members of the crowd suggested it was unfair that faculty were determining who could and could not go into the area, when it is part of the university campus they pay to attend. NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI DEFENDS BDS SUPPORT AMID ISRAEL CONTROVERSY Meanwhile, Mamdani’s mother, Mira Nair, is a filmmaker who just this year signed onto an open letter calling on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to forbid Israeli actress Gal Gadot from attending the Oscars, according to the report. Both of Mamdani’s parents are supportive of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which encourages economic pressure against the state of Israel for its alleged “genocide” against Palestinians. Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment but received no response by publication deadline.
GOP bill would grant Trump right to deploy National Guard for immigration enforcement
FIRST ON FOX: New legislation aims to codify the president’s authority to deploy National Guard units for immigration enforcement, as part of a broader effort to crack down on illegal immigration and stiffen penalties for those who assault immigration officers. The bill, authored by Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., would allow the president to federalize and deploy the National Guard when states refuse to cooperate, like Gov. Gavin Newsom in California. It also stipulates that those who assault immigration officers receive the death penalty or life in prison if an officer is killed. Under current law, the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of federal military forces for domestic law enforcement purposes. However, the GUARD Act proposes a narrowly tailored exception permitting the National Guard — while under Title 10 or 32 federal orders — to be used “exclusively” for enforcing federal immigration law. That includes apprehending and detaining individuals in the U.S. unlawfully, as well as executing removal orders and conducting border security operations. The proposal comes amid growing Republican frustration with so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies — and after an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in Los Angeles led to widespread rioting. NATIONAL GUARD AUTHORIZED TO DETAIN ICE ATTACKERS, DHS SAYS Trump sent in the National Guard to respond to anti-ICE protests, and later deployed U.S. Marines. California sued over the deployment, but so far the courts have allowed Trump to keep control of the Guard. “The GUARD Act makes one thing clear: When state and local leaders refuse to enforce federal immigration law, the President has the authority — and the responsibility — to act,” said Harrigan. NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS DETAIN ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS IN LOS ANGELES UNDER TRUMP’S ORDERS “Sanctuary policies have turned entire cities into safe havens for violent criminals, and now some governors are actively blocking National Guard deployments that protect American communities. What unfolded in Los Angeles isn’t isolated. It’s exactly why this bill is needed. Public safety cannot depend on whether a governor feels like obeying federal law.” In addition to capital punishment for killing an immigration officer, the bill mandates a minimum of five years in prison and 10 years if the assault causes bodily injury. The proposed penalties mirror similar statutes that protect federal law enforcement officers but extend explicit coverage to immigration enforcement personnel.
16 states back Trump in court battle against Harvard over funding freeze for antisemitism response
EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump’s legal defense in a major lawsuit from Harvard got a major boost from a slew of state prosecutors who formally joined his side on Monday. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led 15 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of Trump after the Massachusetts institution sued the administration to prevent billions in federal funding from being stripped from its coffers over its lax response to antisemitism on campus. Bird argues there’s precedent for Trump’s actions, pointing to another popular Republican president who, in the 1980s, challenged a South Carolina college over its ban on interracial relationships. The Trump-Harvard case, Bird said, “is not the first time the federal government has [altered] funding because a university wasn’t following anti-discrimination laws.” HARVARD UPDATES LAWSUIT AFTER TRUMP CANCELS ADDITIONAL $450M IN FUNDING “That’s exactly what’s happening here with Harvard; they’re not following anti-discrimination laws, and they’re not stopping antisemitism on campus or protecting Jewish students and Israeli students, and so, because of that, there’s a big parallel.” Bird noted that Harvard has the nation’s largest endowment at around $50 billion, in addition to billions more in government grants that are conditional. “One of those conditions for that type of funding is that they’re going to follow anti-discrimination-wise,” she said, adding that Iowa is relevant and now involved in the case because Iowans’ taxes fund those federal grants, and that if Harvard is allowed to let antisemitism run rampant, other colleges farther west may be able to do so to. LEGAL EXPERT BACKS TRUMP ADMIN’S CRACKDOWN ON HARVARD: ‘ACCOUNTABILITY MUST BE ENFORCED’ While Harvard has shown some improvement since Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., grilled its president and the University of Pennsylvania’s then-president last year, a clear message must still be sent that their conduct was unacceptable, Bird said. “President Trump has shown that he is leading and he is making sure that our college campuses that are funded with taxpayer dollars will not engage in discrimination against Jewish students or against people from Israel. And so I think he has taken a strong step here. And I think the law is on his side.” Like the Harvard case, Bob Jones — an Evangelical college in Greenville, South Carolina — saw its tax-exempt status stripped, which similarly affected its bottom line. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The original IRS policy change banning discrimination went into effect under former President Richard Nixon, but it wasn’t until 1983 that the government — then run by former President Ronald Reagan — won a similar lawsuit. The Supreme Court ruled there that the public interest in preventing discrimination trumped any related invocation of religious freedom. Following the Bob Jones case, then-college president Bob Jones III went on national television in 2000 to declare the university was wrong in its prior race-based policies and officially lifted the ban on interracial dating. On its website, the college explained, “Our sincere desire is to exhibit a truly Christ-like spirit and biblical position in these areas. Today, Bob Jones University enrolls students from all 50 states and nearly 50 countries, representing various ethnicities and cultures.”
Iran vowed ‘death to America’ and its leaders for decades before Trump wiped out nuclear facilities
Iranian leaders have for decades called for “death to America” while working to quietly build the country’s nuclear program before President Donald Trump ordered strikes on a trio of nuclear facilities and secured a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. “Yes, it will happen. Death to America will happen,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared in 2022, the Middle East Media Research Institute reported at the time. “Some people say: By chanting ‘Death to America,’ you bring America’s animosity upon yourself. I say that this is not true. When America began its hostility towards Iran, nobody had been chanting ‘Death to America.’” “Death to America,” or “marg bar Amreeka” in Farsi, is a slogan that originated back in the 1970s, the Associated Press previously reported. Protesters chanted the slogan amid the Iranian Revolution, when the country’s shah was overthrown in 1979 and Iran’s monarchy was abolished and replaced by its current government, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The slogan has remained a fixture of Iran’s views of the U.S. across the following decades, most notably after the deaths of various Iranian military leaders and as the U.S. looked to strike nuclear deals with the nation. US AIRSTRIKE ON NUCLEAR FACILITIES FOLLOWS YEARS OF IRANIAN PLOTS ON AMERICAN SOIL “The hatred and rage of the Muslim people is directed toward America, the infidel Satanic regime,” Iranians chanted in 2007 ahead of a speech by then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “Saying ‘Death to America’ is easy. We need to express ‘Death to America’ with action,” Ahmadinejad’s successor, former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, said in 2013. Iranian lawmakers chanted “death to America” while in the Parliament in 2019, and again in 2020, after Trump ordered a strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, while “death to America” chants have also broken out on U.S. soil following Hamas’ war on Israel that began in 2023. Iranians additionally commonly chant the phrase during their annual “Death to America Day” each November, videos show. Iran agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with world powers such as the U.S. in 2015 that aimed to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the U.S., U.N. and European Union lifting sanctions on the country. Trump pulled out of the JCPOA in 2018, arguing it was weak and would not prevent Iran from building its nuclear program, and instead reinstated sanctions on the country. IRAN’S KHAMENEI LAUNCHES BLISTERING ATTACK ON TRUMP AFTER MIDDLE EAST VISIT Amid the 2015 discussions on the JCPOA, Khamenei declared again, “death to America” while rallying support for the agreement, the New York Post reported in March 2015. “Sanctions must be lifted immediately,” Khamenei said to crowds of people that year as he endorsed the agreement. The crowd broke out into chants of “death to America,” sparking Khamenei to respond: “Of course, yes, death to America, because America is the original source of this pressure.” Following the signing of the agreement in July 2015, Khamenei attempted to argue that the slogan did not mean literal death to American citizens, but the death of U.S. policies. “Your ‘Death to America’ slogan, and the cries by the Iranian nation, have strong logical support behind them,” he told Iranians in Tehran, according to the Associated Press. “Obviously by ‘Death to America’, we don’t mean death to the American people. The American nation is just like the rest of the nations. It … means death to U.S. policies and its arrogance.” The ayatollah, however, doubled-down in 2019 that “death to America” meant the deaths of U.S. leaders such as Trump. “‘Death to America’ means death to Trump and John Bolton and Pompeo,” Khamenei said in 2019, according to the New York Times, referring to Trump’s then-national security advisor John Bolton, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “It means death to American leaders, who happen to be these people at this time,” he added. The slogan has been accompanied by similar “death” calls on Israel and protesters burning American flags on the streets of Tehran while holding photos honoring Khamenei. IRANIAN DICTATOR’S MOUTHPIECE INCITES FIRING BULLETS INTO TRUMP’S ‘EMPTY SKULL’ The slogan most recently has been used since Israel launched preemptive strikes on Iran on June 12 following months of stalled negotiations related to Iran’s nuclear program and mounting concern the Islamic Republic would imminently have their hands on a nuclear weapon. The U.S. did not actively participate in the strikes on June 12 and the subsequent days, but warned Iran the U.S. could become involved if Iran did not make a deal for peace. “The US President threatens us,” Khamenei wrote on X of Trump June 18. “With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him. They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats.” “It isn’t wise to tell the Iranian nation to surrender. What should the Iranian nation surrender to?” he continued. “We will never surrender in response to the attacks of anyone.” Iranians were seen on the streets of Tehran in June chanting “death to Israel and America” ahead of the U.S.’ strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump announced Saturday evening in a surprise Truth Social post that the U.S. had successfully executed strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, which he said were “obliterated” and backed the country into a corner to strike a peace deal. TRUMP ADDRESSES NATION ON ‘SPECTACULAR MILITARY SUCCESS’ OF US STRIKES ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES “A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan,” Trump said from the White House in an address to the nation just hours after the Truth Social announcement. “Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity, and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to
Experts gauge success of ‘bunker buster’ bombs dropped by US on Iran nuclear sites
While President Donald Trump has asserted that the military’s weekend strike against Iran “completely and totally obliterated” its nuclear weapon-making capabilities, there are still questions about whether the ground-penetrating “bunker buster” bombs used to attack Iran’s key enrichment sites were enough to stop the rogue country from developing a nuclear bomb. A report released last week by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) explains that the special “bunker buster” bombs the U.S. used in Iran over the weekend that everyone is talking about, known as GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, or MOPs, might not be able to fully destroy the Iranian nuclear facility at Fordow. Fordow, which Trump said was “gone” now following the strike, is considered central to Iran’s nuclear weapon-making capabilities. Meanwhile, a satellite imagery expert relayed to Reuters that confirmation of below-ground destruction could not be determined via pictures alone, because the facility’s hundreds of centrifuges are too deeply buried in order to make an accurate determination. EXPERT CONFIDENT IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM IS ‘NO LONGER’ AFTER MASSIVE US STRIKE “I actually have a little bit of a rosier view on things,” Andrea Stricker, Deputy Director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program, told Fox News Digital. “I think that because of the massive damage and the shock wave that would have been sent by 12 Massive Ordnance Penetrators at the Fordow site, that it likely would render its centrifuges damaged or inoperable.” Stricker noted that centrifuges are “very delicate” and the kind of shock wave coming from the MOPs would at least put them “out of commission.” She also said if any centrifuges did survive the blasts, it would be likely that they would be inaccessible by Iranian authorities for several months. “Underground facilities present a difficult target, not only for destruction, but also in terms of follow-on battle damage assessment,” added Wes Rumbaugh, a fellow in the Missile Defense Project at CSIS. “The United States and Israel will likely need to invest additional intelligence resources to determine the true extent of the damage from the U.S. strikes and their long-term effect on Iranian nuclear infrastructure.” SATELLITE IMAGE SHOWS FORDOW NUCLEAR FACILITY AFTER MASSIVE BOMB STRIKE In addition to Fordow, the U.S. used its MOPs at an Iranian enrichment facility called Natanz, where, according to Stricker, at least 1,000 centrifuges are located, as well as an above-ground enrichment plant and other labs capable of making uranium metal. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the above-ground labs had previously been damaged by Israeli airstrikes, destroying the plant’s electrical infrastructure. Meanwhile, satellite imagery following the U.S.’s decision to drop two MOPs on Natanz show two craters located where the site’s underground enrichment facilities are reportedly located. However, it is still not clear if the U.S. attacks completely destroyed the underground nuclear infrastructure. Either way, Striker noted, the significant damage to Iran’s Natanz facility will create a “bottleneck” in the country’s supply chain for weapons-grade uranium, which will significantly impact Iran’s nuclear weapon-making capabilities. The third site targeted by the U.S.’s airstrikes was Iran’s Isfahan nuclear enrichment facility, but MOPs were not used at that site. Instead, the U.S. used Tomahawk cruise missiles, which the IAEA confirmed caused significant damage. Satellite imagery reportedly shows Isfahan’s above-ground facilities were taken out, but it remains unclear the extent of the damage to the site’s underground sections. US STRIKE DAMAGE TO IRAN’S NATANZ, ISFAHAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES CAPTURED IN SATELLITE IMAGES One of the biggest outstanding questions regarding the success of the United States’ weekend strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, is whether authorities in the country were able to move their nuclear materials from the targeted sites before the U.S. launched its missiles at them. But, according to CSIS’s Bumbaugh, even if that is the case and Iran moved their nuclear materials, the chaos would still make it hard for Iran to “sprint to a nuclear weapon.” “Having to move these assets to new facilities likely degrades Iran’s immediate ability to sprint to a nuclear weapon but makes it likely that Iran will go to great lengths to conceal their new location,” Bumbaugh said. “This movement of nuclear infrastructure or material would make follow-on strikes difficult if intelligence is unable to find all of the new hidden facilities.” “There’s a lot of alarmism right now about whether Iran could sprint to a bomb,” Stricker added. “Israel has done so much damage to their ability to make nuclear weapons [and] the weaponization supply chain. So the facilities, the components that [Iran] would need, the equipment, and then up to 14 nuclear scientists, I think, if they did want to build a bomb quickly, they’re really stymieing – they don’t have access to all of all that, all of those assets they would need. And so, I think in the short to medium term, we don’t need to be overly concerned that they could get there.” Fox News Digital reached out to both the Pentagon and the Air Force to glean more details about the success of the weekend strike on Iran, but no new information was gleaned. An Air Force spokesperson did confirm to Fox News Digital that, in total, U.S. forces deployed 75 “precision guided weapons” targeting Iran over the weekend, including 14 30,000 pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators. On Monday, Rafael Grossi, head of the IAEA, appealed for immediate access to the targeted Iranian nuclear sites in order to assess the damage that is likely “significant,” according to the United Nations.
‘I’m just a silly girl’: AOC fires back after Trump calls her ‘stupid’
Progressive New York Democrat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, fired back at President Donald Trump’s Truth Social rampage on Tuesday after the two traded barbs following Saturday night’s U.S. strikes on Iran. “Mr. President, don’t take your anger out on me – I’m just a silly girl,” Ocasio-Cortez responded Tuesday after the president dubbed her “Stupid AOC.” “Take it out on whoever convinced you to betray the American people and our Constitution by illegally bombing Iran and dragging us into war,” she said. Ocasio-Cortez emerged as one of Trump’s fiercest congressional critics after the U.S. attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran on Saturday night. While Democrats raged against Trump, calling his actions unconstitutional, Ocasio-Cortez went as far as to call for his impeachment. TRUMP DARES AOC TO TRY TO IMPEACH HIM: ‘MAKE MY DAY’ “It only took you 5 months to break almost every promise you made,” the 35-year-old Democratic socialist, who is considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said Tuesday, before adding, “Also, I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully.” She was responding to a lengthy post from the president in which he referred to her as “Stupid AOC” and “one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress.” 128 DEMOCRATS JOIN HOUSE GOP TO BLOCK PROGRESSIVE’S BID TO IMPEACH TRUMP Trump criticized Ocasio-Cortez for “now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before.” During Trump’s first term, he was impeached twice. First, in 2019, Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over allegations that he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to interfere in U.S. elections. Following the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump was impeached for inciting an insurrection. The Senate acquitted Trump in both instances. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas., who advocated for Trump’s impeachment during his first term and was censured for disrupting Trump’s joint address to Congress earlier this year, introduced articles of impeachment against Trump last month for “devolving democracy within the United States into authoritarianism.” Green once again introduced articles of impeachment against Trump after the U.S. strikes against Iran, which he said violates Article I of the U.S. Constitution, saying only Congress has the authority to declare war. The House voted to dismiss Green’s resolution Tuesday afternoon in a 344–79 vote, including support from 128 Democrats. “It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment,” Ocasio-Cortez said Saturday night, responding to Trump’s announcement that the U.S. had successfully struck Iran’s nuclear facilities. Several Democrats joined Ocasio-Cortez’s call for impeachment, but Trump focused his criticism on fellow progressive “Squad” members in his lengthy Tuesday post. After insulting Ocasio-Cortez’s intelligence, Trump said she is “far more qualified than Crockett, who is a seriously Low IQ individual, or Ilhan Omar, who does nothing but complain about our Country.” He also said, “AOC should be forced to take the Cognitive Test that I just completed at Walter Reed Medical Center, as part of my Physical.” And Trump dared Ocasio-Cortez, “Go ahead and try Impeaching me, again, MAKE MY DAY!” after telling her to go back home to her district in Queens, where Trump was raised, and “straighten out her filthy, disgusting, crime-ridden streets, in the District she ‘represents,’ and which she never goes to anymore. She better start worrying about her own Primary.” In her social media rebuttal, the New York Democrat also fired back at Vice President JD Vance, who said on X, “I wonder if other VPs had as much excitement as I do.” “Maybe that’s because you advised the president to illegally bomb Iran,” Ocasio-Cortez replied. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.