Biden’s Middle East coordinator praises Trump team for handling of Iranian conflict: ‘Best place we can be’

The U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities Saturday have rendered ideal results for addressing the crisis between Iran and Israel, according to former President Joe Biden’s National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. “Bottom line, this is about the best place we can be,” Brett McGurk said in a CNN interview late Monday. “I give extremely high marks to this national security team and President Trump for managing this crisis and getting where we are.” Additionally, McGurk said that the Trump administration has an opportunity to pursue a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza amid ongoing attempts for months to secure one. “There’s a chance for diplomacy here,” McGurk said. “Not only on the Iran side, but also in Gaza. Those talks are also going on back channel in Cairo; there’s a Hamas delegation there. Try to get that ceasefire in place. And you can come out of this in a place that is far better than we would have anticipated 10 nights ago.” TRUMP SLAMS RUSSIA’S CASUAL THREAT TO ARM IRAN WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS: ‘THAT’S WHY PUTIN’S THE BOSS’ While McGurk most recently served in the Biden administration, he’s been part of both Republican and Democrat administrations. He previously served on former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s National Security Councils. He also served as the special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during both the Obama administration and President Donald Trump’s first term. However, he resigned from that post in 2018 following Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, along with then-Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis for the same reason. EX-CLINTON OFFICIAL APPLAUDS TRUMP’S ‘COURAGEOUS’ IRAN CALL, DOUBTS HARRIS WOULD’VE HAD THE NERVE In addition to McGurk, other officials who served in Democratic administrations also weighed in to support Trump’s handling of the Iran conflict, including Jamie Metzl, who previously served as former President Bill Clinton’s director for multilateral affairs on the National Security Council. Metzl said that while he’s been critical of Trump and voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, he doesn’t believe Harris could have pulled off the strikes against Iranian targets like Trump did. “Iran has been at war with the United States for 46 years,” Metzl said in a post on X Sunday. “Its regime has murdered thousands of American citizens. Its slogan ‘death to America’ was not window dressing but core ideology. It was racing toward a nuclear weapon with every intention of using it to threaten America, our allies, and the Middle East region as a whole.” RUSSIAN LEADER CLAIMS MULTIPLE COUNTRIES PREPPED TO PROVIDE IRAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOLLOWING US STRIKES “Although I believe electing Kamala Harris would have been better for our democracy, society, and economy, as well as for helping the most vulnerable people in the United States and around the world, I also believe VP Harris would not have had the courage or fortitude to take such an essential step as the president took last night,” Metzl said. The U.S. launched strikes late Saturday targeting key Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. The mission involved more than 125 U.S. aircraft, including B-2 stealth bombers, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. While Trump said early Tuesday that a ceasefire had gone into effect between Israel and Iran, Trump issued tough words for both countries later Tuesday morning amid accusations from both sides that the other had violated the agreement. ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT: LIVE UPDATES Trump told reporters both Israel and Iran failed to follow the terms of the agreement, which he said is still in effect. “I’m not happy with them,” Trump said at the White House Tuesday morning. ‘I’m not happy with Iran either, but I’m really unhappy with Israel going out this morning.” “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing,” he said.
Reporter’s Notebook: Marathon weekend awaits Senate as Johnson prepares House for ‘big, beautiful bill’ battle

This is cobbled together from a variety of sources, with a timeline of how the Senate will try to pass President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” this weekend, and the House will try to align next week. Fox is told the Senate will likely not move to take a procedural vote to formally get on the bill until Friday. That will require 20 hours of debate/clock time run in the Senate once they get onto the bill. The procedural vote only needs a simple majority. The 20 hours of debate/clock time is split. Democrats will probably burn all 10 of their hours. Republicans will use a few. So, the Senate probably begins its “vote-a-rama” on the bill late Friday night or into the wee hours of Saturday morning. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHO REALLY DECIDES WHEN AMERICA GOES TO WAR? THE ANSWER ISN’T SO CLEAR A “vote-a-rama” is where the Senate takes hours and hours of consecutive roll call votes on the package. It’s likely the Senate starts this lengthy voting sequence late Friday, early Saturday morning (meaning just after midnight) and continues until late Saturday, if not the early hours of Sunday morning. It would culminate with passage of the bill in the Senate late Saturday or early Sunday. SENATE GOP AIMS TO APPROVE MAJOR LEGISLATION NEXT WEEK AS TRUMP TOUTS PARTY UNITY Not that it is impossible to figure out when this could happen. But, frankly, a final vote could come at any time of the day or night all weekend long – if not early Monday. The most recent vote-a-rama ran just under ten hours. A 2021 vote-a-rama consumed 14 hours and 48 minutes, with the Senate considering a total of 40 amendments. We believe this vote-a-rama might be on the longer end. The question is whether a war powers resolution by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., might delay starting the vote to get onto the “big, beautiful bill.” Kaine’s resolution may not come up until Friday. Here’s the other wild card: How fast can the House pivot to pass the bill and align with the Senate? If the Senate OKs the bill on Saturday or Sunday, there is one scenario where the House tries to move very quickly and maybe even wraps it up late Sunday or in the wee hours of Monday morning. They don’t want members sitting around without much to do. Also, I should point out that the “72-hour rule” to allow the House to read the bill before voting does not apply. The Senate is sending back to the House an “amendment” to the original House plan. Thus, the “72-hour rule” does not count under these circumstances. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., may face political pressure to let members consider the bill for a day or two. That could potentially delay passage in the House until Tuesday or Wednesday. But remember, this all centers around whether things go swimmingly. A host of outstanding issues remain. So, that could push back passage in both bodies. Fox is told that the biggest holdup in the entire process is trying to massage the spending/spending cut numbers. When asked what the single most complicated issue was, Fox was told its SALT, the reduction of state and local taxes for high-tax states. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox is told the Senate may try to go to the House level of “40,000” for the deduction, “if nothing else for optics.” But the key is if the Senate phases out the income cap to take advantage of that tax break. In other words, the Senate might try to place a ceiling on how much taxpayers can earn before qualifying for the SALT break. But members of the SALT caucus signaled that’s not acceptable. They want the straight $40,000 deduction. There is currently a $10,000 deduction in the Senate bill. That is a non-starter for New York and California Republicans who are pushing for the substantial SALT deduction.
New data reveals border crossings reach record lows amid Trump admin’s crackdown

EXCLUSIVE: Southern border numbers continue to be significantly lower compared with the previous administration with record low numbers, according to new U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by Fox News. Between June 1 and June 22, there have been 5,414 apprehensions at the border, with the busiest sector being El Paso. During that same timeframe, there have been 986 known “gotaways.” Both numbers are the lowest ever recorded. In May, there were just under 9,000 apprehensions of illegal immigrants at the border, compared with roughly 118,000 the year prior under the Biden administration by CBP. SOUTHERN BORDER APPREHENSIONS PLUNGE MORE THAN 90% FROM YEAR AGO IN APRIL, CBP SAYS The number began to tick down slightly in June of last year with 83,532 migrant encounters, then just roughly 56,000 in July 2024, but the numbers are still much higher than what is being seen under the current administration. The decrease last year was the result of an order signed by former President Joe Biden to regulate crossings into the U.S., even though migrant encounters were extraordinarily high for three years prior. When President Donald Trump took office in January, the first 11 days saw only 9,086 encounters, and then the numbers have been roughly similar or lower since then. ‘MAIN HOTSPOT’ AT NORTHERN BORDER RECORDS 95% DROP IN ILLEGAL MIGRANT APPREHENSIONS IN MARCH: WHITE HOUSE In 2023, there were points when roughly 10,000 migrants were crossing into the U.S. illegally daily, as many people were able to apply for asylum through the CBP One app. Gotaway numbers are now averaging 46 per day, compared to the average of 1,833 per day at one point under Biden in 2023. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE The CBP One app was quickly turned into the CBP Home app by the Trump administration, and it is now used for “non-criminal” individuals who seek to self-deport. The Department of Homeland Security is offering a $1,000 stipend and free travel out of the U.S. for those who opt to leave on their own. BORDER CROSSINGS HIT RECORD LOW IN MARCH THANKS TO ‘VIGILANT’ WORK OF AGENTS: REPORT Meanwhile, deportation efforts have been underway by the administration, with protests and even riots taking place in Los Angeles and throughout the country earlier this month. On the messaging front, DHS and ICE have primarily touted the arrests of people with criminal charges and convictions. In terms of long-term efforts, the administration is touting the border and immigration provisions in the reconciliation bill in the Senate, including hiring more federal authorities and funding for more beds in detention centers.
128 Democrats join House GOP to block progressive’s bid to impeach Trump

The House of Representatives voted along bipartisan lines to quash a lone progressive lawmaker’s bid to impeach President Donald Trump on 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. A majority of House Democrats joined Republican lawmakers to kill Green’s resolution, a sign of how politically caustic the effort appears to be. Just 79 Democrats voted to proceed with the impeachment vote, while 128 voted to halt it in its tracks. ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ CRACKS DOWN ON BIDEN’S STUDENT LOAN ‘SCHEME,’ TOP REPUBLICAN SAYS Green, who has threatened to impeach Trump before, said his latest bid is aimed at the president’s strikes on Iran from over the weekend. “I did not come to Congress to be a bystander while a president abuses power and devolves American democracy into authoritarianism with himself as an authoritarian president,” Green said in a statement on Tuesday morning. “President Trump’s unauthorized bombing of Iran constitutes a de facto declaration of war. No president has the right to drag this nation into war without the authorization of the people’s representatives.” Other progressives, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called for Trump’s impeachment over the strikes in Iran. Trump mocked those progressives in a lengthy Truth Social post Tuesday, taunting them to “make my day.” “She better start worrying about her own Primary, before she thinks about beating our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, whose career is definitely on very thin ice!” Trump wrote. “She and her Democrat friends have just hit the Lowest Poll Numbers in Congressional History, so go ahead and try Impeaching me,” he posted. The push has put House Democratic leaders in a difficult spot as well. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sidestepped questions on progressives calling to oust Trump during a press conference on Monday. REPUBLICANS CHALLENGE ‘IRRELEVANT’ BUDGET OFFICE AS IT CRITIQUES TRUMP’S ‘BEAUTIFUL BILL’ “A tool that’s on the table right now is to continue to demand that the administration present itself before the United States Congress and make the case to the American people as to why this extraordinary step has been taken. That’s step one,” Jeffries said. “Step two is for the War Powers Resolution, whether that’s the one that has already been introduced or others that may subsequently be introduced, for those resolutions to be debated on the House floor, as should have occurred already. And then we’ll see where we’re at thereafter.” Pressed again on whether he was taking calls for Trump’s impeachment seriously, Jeffries said, “This is a dangerous moment that we’re in, and we’ve got to get through what’s in front of us. And what’s in front of us right now is the Trump administration has a responsibility to come to Congress, justify actions for which we’ve seen no evidence to justify its offensive strength in Iran.”
Trump pressures Congress to pass ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,’ insisting ‘NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE’

President Donald Trump pressured Congress to pass the “BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL” as soon as possible on Tuesday, while also continuing to lob broadsides against Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. “Now that we have made PEACE abroad, we must finish the job here at home by passing “THE GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” and getting the Bill to my desk, ASAP,” the president declared in a Truth Social post. “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. Work with the House so they can pick it up, and pass it, IMMEDIATELY. NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE. Everyone, most importantly the American People, will be much better off thanks to our work together. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” the president declared. Trump, who targeted Massie in Truth Social posts on Sunday and Monday, continued lambasting the congressman on Tuesday, claiming that the lawmaker is “very bad for the Constitution,” and “votes, ‘NO!’ on everything, because he thinks it makes him cool, but he’s not cool, he’s a LOSER!” THOMAS MASSIE SAYS HE FEELS ‘MISLED’ BY TRUMP AFTER IRAN STRIKES: ‘HE’S ENGAGED IN WAR’ Massie replied to Fox News Digital’s comment request on Tuesday by sharing the 2022 endorsement message in which Trump called him “a first-rate Defender of the Constitution” and “a Conservative Warrior for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District!” The congressman also shared a screenshot of the statement on X and wrote, “For those who want to know what @realDonaldTrump really thinks of me, this should clear things up…” Last month Massie was one of the two House Republicans who voted against passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act when it cleared the chamber. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHO REALLY DECIDES WHEN AMERICA GOES TO WAR? THE ANSWER ISN’T SO CLEAR The congressman declared on Saturday in a post on X that the president’s strikes against Iran were “not Constitutional.” Trump unloaded on Massie in a Truth Social post on Sunday, indicating that he will campaign against the lawmaker. “MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague! The good news is that we will have a wonderful American Patriot running against him in the Republican Primary, and I’ll be out in Kentucky campaigning really hard,” Trump declared amid the anti-Massie diatribe. TRUMP SLAMS REPUBLICAN MASSIE AS ‘NOT MAGA’ FOLLOWING CONGRESSMAN’S CRITICISM OF IRAN STRIKES “GET THIS ‘BUM’ OUT OF OFFICE, ASAP!!!” Trump exclaimed in a follow-up post on Monday.
Navy using munitions at ‘alarming’ speed to defend Israel

The U.S. Navy used its munitions at an “alarming rate” to defend Israel from recent Iranian strikes, a military official said Tuesday, raising questions from lawmakers about how it intends to replace and maintain stockpiles amid global threats. Admiral James Kilby, Naval Operations acting chief, made the remark in his testimony during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Navy’s budget in Washington when Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, asked about the Navy’s available munitions to defend against global threats. “The latest round of conflict in the Middle East utilized large amounts of munitions to defend Israel from Iranian strikes,” Schatz said. “Does the Navy currently have all the SM-3s it needs for global threats?” “We do, sir,” Kilby responded, “but we are, to your point, using them at an alarming rate. As you know, those are missiles procured by the Missile Defense Agency and then delivered to the Navy for our use. And we are using them quite effectively in the defense of Israel.” OPERATION MIDNIGHT HAMMER: HISTORIC B-2 BOMBER MISSION FLEW FROM MISSOURI TO STRIKE IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT: LIVE UPDATES An SM-3, or Standard Missile 3, are missiles that the Navy uses as a defense to intercept and destroy short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. “We need more munitions, air defense interceptors, long-range fires, artillery,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said during the hearing. “Recent conflict tells us we need a lot more of them.” US STRIKE DAMAGE TO IRAN’S NATANZ, ISFAHAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES CAPTURED IN SATELLITE IMAGES McConnell asked how the Navy and Marine Corps were addressing the challenge of these munitions not being produced fast enough. John Phelan, secretary of the Navy, said this was a main concern that officials were focusing on to “get fixed.” “We are looking at a number of different avenues, including other parties and different ways of making some of these munitions,” Phelan said. “This is a huge priority from both the secretary of defense and the president, and we are putting as much effort and time into this as we are in shipbuilding.”
More Iranians with criminal histories arrested by ICE in Trump’s security sweep: ‘Worst of the worst’

EXCLUSIVE: At least five more Iranian nationals were arrested on Monday in addition to the 11 announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday morning. On Monday, 45-year-old Mohammad Hassanpoor was arrested by officers in Baltimore and given a “Third County Notice.” He was previously criminally convicted of “assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury,” where he was sentenced to just under a year behind bars. He was also previously sentenced roughly three months behind bars for “battery: spouse/ex sp/date/etc.” and sentenced to two years for stalking. Kaveh Abedi, 45, was arrested in Chicago on Monday for “violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act” and had a 2001 conviction for selling cocaine. HOSPITALS IN SANCTUARY CITIES COULD BE MOST VULNERABLE TO IRAN TERROR ATTACKS, WARNS EXPERT Arish Rustami was also arrested and has a prior sex offense, and Abdolmohammad Raghibzadeh was taken into ICE custody on Monday. He’s had a deportation order since November 2005 from an Arizona immigration judge, and he’s currently an Iranian citizen, according to ICE. In 1999, he previously faced arrests for “domestic violence, vandalism and intimidation” and faced 90 days behind bars and five years of probation as a result. He faced two other arrests and jail time for “violations of probation of the previous crimes.” In May 2006, Raghibzadeh could not get proper paperwork to go back to Iran, so he was given an “order of supervision” and then released. But in 2007, he was arrested again by sheriffs in Santa Ana, Calif., for not following probation and had to spend the rest of it at the California Chino Detention Center, according to ICE. Sahand Yousefinasrabadi was arrested Monday by federal authorities “during targeted enforcement action” in Forth Worth, Texas. Yousefinasrabadi was convicted in Sept. 2013 of aggravated sexual assault of a child, and he was asked in October 2013 to leave the U.S. by an immigration judge. EX-ICE CHIEF WARNS BIDEN’S BORDER CRISIS LIKELY FUELED IRANIAN SLEEPER THREAT IN US The arrests come amid concerns about Iranian sleeper cells in the United States following the strikes on nuclear sites in the Middle Eastern nation. While there is currently a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, DHS noted the arrests made since Sunday. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “Under Secretary Noem, DHS has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement about the initial 11 arrests that were publicly announced. “We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are. We don’t wait until a military operation to execute; we proactively deliver on President Trump’s mandate to secure the homeland,” McLaughlin added. CALIFORNIA SHERIFF SAYS NEWSOM ‘ENCOURAGED’ LA RIOTS AS ICE ARRESTS VIOLENT ILLEGAL ALIENS Notably, Yousef Mehridehno was arrested by ICE on Sunday in Mississippi and was on a “known or suspected” terror watchlist as of February. Former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member Mehran Makari Saheli was arrested by ICE in Minnesota, and DHS said he has “admitted connections to Hezbollah” and stayed in the U.S. despite being court-ordered to leave in June 2022. During the Biden administration alone, 729 out of the roughly 1,500 Iranian nationals that came into the country illegally were released into the U.S.
Most Republicans support Trump ordered military strike on Iran’s nuclear program: poll

More Americans say they oppose rather than support this past weekend’s U.S. military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to a new national poll. However, the Reuters/Ipsos survey points to a wide partisan divide, with most Republicans supporting President Donald Trump’s decision to launch aerial attacks against Iran in order to prevent the Islamic State from acquiring nuclear weapons. Thirty-six percent of adult Americans questioned said they supported the airstrikes, with 45% opposed and 18% unsure or skipped answering the question. CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS LIVE UPDATES ON THE AFTERMATH OF THE U.S. AIRSTRIKES ON IRAN However, among Republicans, support for the military strikes stood at 69%, with 17% opposed. Only 13% of Democrats supported the attack, with nearly three-quarters opposed. Among independents, support stood at 29%, with nearly half opposed. The survey was conducted on Sunday and Monday following the attacks, which the president announced to the nation on Saturday evening. The airstrikes came after more than a week of daily exchanges between Iran and Israel, sparked by an initial Israeli attack on Iranian territory. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS Just over a third of those surveyed (35%) said they approved of how Trump is handling Iran, with half saying they disapprove. There was an expected partisan divide, with 70% of Republicans but only 10% of Democrats and 28% of independents giving the president a thumbs up on his handling of Iran. Trump announced following the attacks that “the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.” AMERICANS AGREE WITH TRUMP THAT IRAN POSES NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT TO U.S. – POLL However, some independent experts say that commercial satellite imagery of Iran’s facilities after that attack suggests that Tehran’s nuclear program is far from destroyed. The poll also indicated that six in 10 believe U.S. airstrikes on Iran will not make America safer, with 36% saying they will make the nation safer. As with the previous questions, there is a wide partisan divide, with just 12% of Democrats, 29% of independents and two-thirds of Republicans saying the strikes will make America safer. The poll also indicates that four in five worry that Iran may target U.S. civilians in response to the airstrikes. The Reuters/Ipsos poll questioned 1,132 adult Americans, with an overall sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Bondi vows to ‘protect every religion in this country’ after Wray-era controversy

Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) efforts to protect religious freedom rights during a House hearing Monday and indicated to lawmakers that she was focused on a range of religions, from Judaism to Islam. “It’s not only Catholics, it’s every religion, and even mosques that were slow-walked under the Biden administration and not allowed to open,” Bondi said. “We will protect every religion in this country.” The attorney general’s remarks came in response to questions from Rep. Riley Moore, R-W. Va., who asked what budget resources Bondi needed to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” in the department. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN ON ANTISEMITISM AS DOJ OFFICIAL EXPOSES ‘VIOLENT RHETORIC’ OF PROTESTERS Bondi also referenced recent high-profile incidents that appeared to be rooted in antisemitism, including the murder of two people who worked at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. The pair were gunned down in May outside the Capitol Jewish Museum by a man who shouted “free Palestine!” as he was arrested. Bondi’s nod to mosques was an apparent reference to a handful of blue-leaning states closing all religious buildings as part of their COVID-19 protocols in 2020 during the Trump administration. The attorney general said she talks “almost daily” with the DOJ Civil Rights Division, which handles discrimination cases, and she commended division head Harmeet Dhillon, who has upended the division and shifted its focus, in part, to religious freedom. “They are working to protect people of all religions,” Bondi said. SUSPECT CHARGED WITH MURDERING ISRAELI EMBASSY STAFF COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY Moore also broached a controversial internal memo that originated in the FBI Richmond Field Office under former FBI Director Christopher Wray. The memo, which Congress made public in 2023 after receiving it from an FBI whistleblower, offered a threat assessment of “radical-traditionalist Catholics.” The internal document laid out what the FBI perceived as a pattern of extremism among a small group of Catholics, identifying them as those who opposed modern-day popes, held “extremist ideological beliefs,” and “engaged in violent rhetoric.” The document pointed to three real-life examples of criminal suspects who identified with that sect of Catholicism to illustrate its point, and it used the Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-leaning nonprofit, to bolster its assessment. In response to backlash, the FBI retracted the memo. Wray later said he admonished employees involved with making it but also said he did not uncover any “bad faith conduct” among them. Bondi said during Monday’s hearing that under her tenure, the DOJ will not use the Southern Poverty Law Center as a resource.
‘Golden Dome’ comprehensive weapons defenses in the works as lawmakers make Trump dream a reality

EXCLUSIVE – With the Iran situation intensifying, senators will put forward a bill Tuesday that creates the “Golden Dome” missile defense system modeled off Israel’s Iron Dome that President Donald Trump asked for at the beginning of his term. Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., came together to craft the Ground & Orbital Launched Defeat of Emergent Nuclear Destruction and Other Missile Engagements (Golden Dome) Act, a $21 billion congressional authorization split among more than two dozen individual defensive strategies. It comes after Trump ordered in January that a defense system be realized in response to the “threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks.” Trump later confirmed his plan to seek construction of the Golden Dome at a May White House appearance with Sullivan. “The escalating missile threats we’ve witnessed from the Iranian terrorist regime and the rapidly evolving hypersonic, cruise missile and drone threats from Russia, China, and other adversaries demonstrate why we need to develop a robust, modernized missile defense system to protect the entire country—which the Golden Dome Act will do,” Sullivan told Fox News Digital. IN ONLY STATE BORDERING RUSSIA, GOVERNOR SAYS DEFENSES ARE STRONG “The three prongs of successful policy in D.C. are presidential leadership, appropriated funding and comprehensive authorizing legislation.” Trump’s order cited former President Ronald Reagan’s so-called “Star Wars” plan to build laser-based nuclear defense systems against the Soviet Union, while Sullivan and Cramer took a big step Tuesday toward creating something even more comprehensive. Similar to “Star Wars,” the Golden Dome plan calls for the development and deployment of space-based weapons sensors, as well as research into another orbital component, Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. Sullivan’s state of Alaska is home to some of North America’s most important extant defense systems, particularly at Clear Space Force Base near Fairbanks and Fort Greely in Delta Junction. The latter is home to Alaska Army National Guard members who provide “operational control and security for the nation’s ground-based interceptors,” according to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. There are about 80 interceptors at-the-ready at Fort Greely. The Golden Dome plan builds on such defenses, by creating, maintaining and/or revitalizing other sites as well, including the Cobra Dane – a land-based “passive electronically scanned array” radar system positioned in the Aleutian Chain. “Alaska is a big part of [missile defense] because the location is sort of perfect,” Trump said. As both the easternmost and westernmost state in the union, Alaska is also the commercial and defensive gateway to Asia, state officials have noted. Specifics of the Golden Dome Act would focus first on present situations the U.S. can respond to in the near-term, including upgrading systems and replenishing munitions short-in-supply like PAC-3 “Patriot” missiles. AK SENATOR LITERALLY TEARS UP BIDEN’S ENERGY ORDERS, BOOSTS WH EFFORTS TO LEVERAGE ARCTIC LNG IN ASIA TRADE The second piece of the puzzle is forward-looking, according to a source familiar with the effort, focusing on technologies like space-based interceptors and air-moving-target indicators — capabilities the U.S. has yet to fully master. Some assets for use in any China-Taiwan contingency are already in Alaska, foreshadowing that the components of the Golden Dome would be subject to a robust testing regime. The Golden Dome would also include a battle-management system, allowing Trump or a future commander in chief to have visibility and the panoply of options at his fingertips if an attack on the U.S. surfaces. The Golden Dome would also include the AEGIS Ashore missile range in Kauai, Hawaii, and, in Cramer’s state, the Perimeter Acquisition Radar System at Cavalier Space Force Base. Additional mobile launch systems would be created across the country, as well as an “early warning” radar installation to be developed somewhere in the South. “The GOLDEN DOME Act increases our national security by enhancing all-domain awareness — eyes and ears upon which any missile-defense architecture relies; bolstering missile and drone defeat capacity to meet the peer and near-peer threat; and accelerating new capabilities to the force to counter future threats to the homeland,” Sullivan and Cramer’s plan read. “Despite this increasing threat, United States homeland missile defense policy has been severely limited to staying ahead of rogue nation threats and accidental or unauthorized missile launches.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Cramer, whose state was subject to suspicious Chinese land purchases near a sensitive military base, said U.S. adversaries’ weapons tech has advanced, so the U.S.’ defense should stay ahead of them. “We have to act in order to defend against the evolving and complex threat landscape. Senator Sullivan and I introduced the GOLDEN DOME Act to build a layered missile defense system, which protects our homeland from catastrophic attacks from modern missiles,” Cramer said. Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., who will lead companion legislation in the House, added that the U.S. “must stand ready to prevent nuclear weapons from harming our citizens.”