Trump cancels $4.9B foreign aid, pushes DC death penalty, touts Kim ties
President Donald Trump closed out his week by informing Congress he is revoking nearly $5 billion in foreign aid that Congress already had approved as the legislative branch faces an Oct. 1 deadline to fund the government or deal with a shutdown. Trump is rescinding the funding using a pocket rescission. Unlike a typical rescission request that allows Congress to sign off on nixing the approved funding within 45-days, a pocket rescission sidesteps Congress because it’s so close to the end of the fiscal year that the legislative branch can’t act accordingly. “Last night, President Trump CANCELED $4.9 billion in America Last foreign aid using a pocket rescission,” the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said on X on Friday. “[President Donald Trump] will always put AMERICA FIRST!” WHITE HOUSE MOVE TO CANCEL $4.9B FOREIGN AID WITH ‘POCKET RESCISSION’ BLASTED AS ILLEGAL Included in the slashed funds are roughly $520 million from the contributions to international organizations account, more than $390 million to the contributions for international peacekeeping activities account, $322 million from the democracy fund, $445 million from the Peacekeeping Operations account and more than $3 billion from development assistance. Meanwhile, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle aren’t happy about Trump’s decision to pull the funding. “Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law,” Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a Friday statement. Here’s what also happened this week: Trump kicked off the week Monday meeting with South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae Myung. However, during the summit, he touted his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said the two would meet “someday.” Trump met with Kim on three occasions during his first term in office for denuclearization talks — the first time in Singapore in 2018, and then twice in 2019 in Vietnam and within North Korea. TRUMP TOUTS KIM JONG UN RELATIONSHIP AMID SOUTH KOREA SUMMIT “I have very good relationships with Kim Jong UN, North Korea,” Trump told reporters at the White House Monday. “I mean, a lot of people would say, ‘Oh, that’s terrible.’ No, it’s good. In fact, someday I’ll see him. I look forward to seeing him. He was very good with me. We had two meeting — we had two summits. We got along great.” Although the current Trump administration has signaled ongoing interest in renewing denuclearization talks with North Korea, Pyongyang has not shown interest in denuclearizing. Trump disclosed that he plans to seek the death penalty in Washington for those convicted of murder as he continues his crime crackdown in the nation’s capital. “If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, D.C., we’re going to be seeking the death penalty,” Trump told reporters during a Tuesday Cabinet meeting. “And that’s a very strong preventative. And everybody that’s heard it agrees with it. I don’t know if we’re ready for it in this country, but we have it. … We have no choice.” The Supreme Court ruled in 1972 in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty violated the Eighth Amendment’s provision barring cruel and unusual punishment. Additionally, the D.C. Council officially rescinded the death penalty in 1981, according to the nonprofit organization the Death Penalty Information Center. DEATH PENALTY COULD RETURN IN NATION’S CAPITAL UNDER TRUMP’S DC CRIME CRACKDOWN It’s unclear exactly how the White House intends to launch this effort and no additional details were immediately available. The White House referred Fox News Digital back to Trump’s comments at the Cabinet meeting. However, Trump signed an executive order in January titled “Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety.” The order instructs the attorney general to “pursue the death penalty for all crimes of a severity demanding its use.” “Capital punishment is an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens,” the order said. “Before, during, and after the founding of the United States, our cities, States, and country have continuously relied upon capital punishment as the ultimate deterrent and only proper punishment for the vilest crimes.” Trump also waded into the discussion about whether Cracker Barrel should update its logo, and urged the restaurant chain to reverse its decision to change its logo to remove “Uncle Herschel.” “Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before,” Trump said in a Tuesday social media post. Later Tuesday, Cracker Barrel announced that it had listened to customers and that the new logo was “going away” and the previous one that had been in place since 1977 would remain. The White House appeared to take credit for igniting the change, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X, “8 hours ago…” with a screenshot of Trump’s original social media post, in response to Cracker Barrel’s update about reverting to the previous logo. “Congratulations ‘Cracker Barrel’ on changing your logo back to what it was. All of your fans very much appreciate it,” Trump said in a subsequent social media post Tuesday. Fox News’ Alex Miller contributed to this report.
Top DNC official demands Dems be ‘more aggressive,’ compares Trump admin to popular carjacking video game
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta is among the party’s leaders calling for Democrats to become “more aggressive in making life better for people.” It was a common theme as more than 400 DNC committee members from all 50 states and seven territories huddled this past week for their summer meeting, which was held in Minnesota’s largest city. As Democrats hunger for more forceful resistance against President Donald Trump’s sweeping and controversial agenda, DNC Chair Ken Martin kicked off the three-day confab by targeting the president, arguing Trump’s acting as “a dictator-in-chief” and that his second administration is “fascism dressed in a red tie.” Martin, pointing to the forceful response by Democrats to moves this summer by Trump and Republicans to create more right-leaning U.S. House seats in states across the country through rare mid-decade congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s midterm elections, told committee members that he’s “sick and tired of this Democratic Party bringing a pencil to a knife fight.” DNC CHAIR DEMANDS DEMOCRATS ‘STOP BRINGING A PENCIL TO A KNIFE FIGHT’ “We cannot be the only party that plays by the rules anymore,” he urged. Kenyatta, a 35-year-old state lawmaker from battleground Pennsylvania who was elected as a DNC vice chair in February, is echoing that message. “We’ve been playing checkers. They’re playing Grand Theft Auto,” Kenyatta said about the Trump administration and the Republicans, as he referred to the long-running and popular action-adventure video game series that revolves around carjacking and shooting. “They’ve stolen their next car, and they’re running over the fire hydrant.” DEMOCRATS DIVIDED: TENSIONS FLARE OVER WAR IN GAZA Kenyatta, who has traveled extensively across the country in his new role, emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview on the sidelines of the DNC meeting that Democrats “have to engage in a level of fight, not power for power’s sake, but we have to fight hard because we understand what’s at stake for working people and working families.” He claimed that while Democrats work “to make life better for workers” and are “in this for the people, Donald Trump, the Republican Party, are in this for the billionaires. They can say differently, but if you look at what they do when they’re in power, they make life better for billionaires. Make life suck for us.” And Kenyatta, pointing to Trump’s immense dominance over the GOP, argued that Democrats “don’t have a leader that demands fealty, who throws up Kim Jong Un-style signs of himself around our nation’s capital. There are no signs hanging around here of Ken Martin or of me, or of anybody else.” But Democrats face a multitude of problems as they try to escape the political wilderness. Democrats are aiming to rebound after last year’s elections, when the party lost control of the White House and the Senate and fell short in their bid to win back the House majority. And Republicans made gains with voters who make up key parts of the Democratic Party’s base. And the situation has only deteriorated for the Democrats in the 10 months since last year’s election setbacks, according to key metrics. DNC MEMBERS RALLY AROUND PRO-DEI RESOLUTION The Democrats’ brand is deeply unpopular, especially with younger voters, as the party’s poll numbers continue to drop to all-time lows in national surveys. And the DNC faces a massive fundraising deficit at the hands of the rival Republican National Committee (RNC), as well as concerns over lagging party registration. Former RNC chair Michael Whatley, who formally stepped down earlier this month as he runs for the Senate, argued in a Fox News Digital interview that the Democrats “are moving further and further and farther to the left. They are walking away from Main Street right now. They are beholden to left-wing radical woke policies.” “They haven’t learned a single thing from their election losses in 2024,” Whatley claimed. But Kenyatta is optimistic heading into next year’s midterm elections, when the Democrats will try to win back majorities in Congress, and Republicans, as the party in power, may face the traditional political headwinds. Pointing to Trump, Kenyatta said the “Democratic Party is going to stand in his way every single step of the way. And we’re going to do it by winning elections up and down the ballot. And we’re certainly going to do it by winning back the House of Representatives in 2026.”
‘Nonsensical’ illegal immigrant tuition policy scrapped in Kentucky, Bondi lawsuit deal
A lawsuit brought by Attorney General Pam Bondi against Kentucky’s public education apparatus over in-state tuition for illegal immigrants resulted in an agreement to end the practice, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman told Fox News Digital in a Thursday interview. Coleman said the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (KCPE) agreed to change state policy two months after the Justice Department first took the commonwealth to court over a provision in state law 13 KAR 2:045. The suit alleged Kentucky’s policy violated 18 USC 1623, which states that “notwithstanding any other provision of law, an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a state for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit … without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.” The DOJ originally had named Kentucky Gov. Andrew Beshear as the defendant, but Beshear’s office previously told Fox New Digital that the KCPE is independent of the governor’s office. KENTUCKY WANTED THIS FIGHT: FORMER AG BACKS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TUITION LAWSUIT AS VOTER-APPROVED Coleman noted that governors do, however, have a role in appointing members to the council. “Under current federal law, any illegal immigrant is barred from eligibility for postsecondary education benefits, like in-state tuition, unless the same benefits are offered to every U.S. citizen,” Coleman said. Bondi noted in a statement obtained by Coleman’s office that “no state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens.” In his interview, Coleman said that the decision is not quite official until the federal district judge signs the agreement between the parties — which he stressed is just a formality. “Nonsensical is not a term that I didn’t expect to use as often as I have the last year,” he said of the case. “It’s a term from a Harry Potter book or a Roald Dahl book, but nonsensical is spot on and what we’re dealing with here,” Coleman said of what he called putting illegal immigrants and noncitizens before Americans. DISCOUNTED COLLEGE TUITION FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS POLICY LEADS DOJ TO SUE KENTUCKY Coleman said the original policy incentivized noncitizens to come to Kentucky over other states that may not offer them the same leg up. “There is a joint motion for what is known as a consent judgment,” he said, adding that he has not formally put out any statement on the case as of yet in due respect to the judge who has to sign the consent agreement. In Fox News Digital’s prior reporting, a spokesperson for Beshear noted the governor has no authority over KCPE, but Coleman appeared not entirely convinced of the dynamic. Beshear “won’t hesitate to take credit for any positive policy that comes out of KCPE,” he said. “He appointed most members of the KCPE and in real world you’re responsible for those that you appoint to these roles, that you have influence on those you appoint to these role, but yet of course who wants to walk away from that because of the nonsensical nature of this.” Coleman, who was a former U.S. attorney before becoming the commonwealth’s top lawman, said it should not have taken Bondi and the Trump administration to put an end to in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in the Bluegrass State. “I do applaud the fact that (KCPE) did the right thing and followed the law, but it took the Justice Department and all of its legal leverage and the chief law enforcement officer of the state opining on the legality before they did right thing,” he said. “That’s disappointing.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “They should be stewards of these institutions,” he said. “What they do is important and we have great universities in this commonwealth. They need to be focusing on incentivizing. The best and the brightest to come to this commonwealth, not incentivizing those that are out of status, that are violating our laws.” He also said he hopes Bondi will continue pursuing others of the more than a dozen states with similar policies. “I’m fully on board with common sense returning and whether it is protecting girls from men playing in their sports to enforcing federal law in the immigration context,” he said. “I’m for our universities supporting our best and brightest and not perpetuating this incentive for those that are out of status to fill seats in the classrooms.” “That is not only unlawful, it comes back to the notion of just head-scratching and nonsensical.” Fox News Digital reached out to Beshear’s office, the Justice Department and a representative for KCPE for comment.
Trump says he will require voter ID with executive order
President Donald Trump says he plans to sign an executive order aimed at requiring voter ID in elections across the country. Trump made the statement on social media late Saturday night, saying he is also seeking other reforms to how U.S. elections take place. “Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS! I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!! Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military. USE PAPER BALLOTS ONLY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump previously attempted to impose voter ID via an executive order earlier this year in a wider election integrity action. TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON VOTING BLOCKED BY FEDERAL JUDGE AMID FLURRY OF LEGAL SETBACKS In April, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down the portions of that order that related to voter identification requirements. CITIZENSHIP VOTER REGISTRATION BILL IS ‘COMMON SENSE,’ GOP LAWMAKER ARGUES Kollar-Kotelly maintained that Trump did not have the authority to issue such an order, as the Constitution delegates control of election regulations to Congress and states. “Consistent with that allocation of power, Congress is currently debating legislation that would affect many of the changes the President purports to order,” Kollar-Kotelly, a Clinton appointee, wrote in her order. “No statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress’s deliberative process by executive order.” Nevertheless, requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship remains widely popular among Americans, according to a poll from Gallup taken just before the 2024 elections. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RESURRECTS ‘NEIGHBORHOOD CHECKS’ FOR CITIZENSHIP APPLICANTS LAST USED IN FIRST BUSH-ERA The poll found that 84% of U.S. adults were in favor of requiring voters to show identification and 83% supported requiring proof of citizenship when registering for the first time. When broken down by party, 67% of Democrats, 84% of Independents and 98% of Republicans were in favor of mandating voter ID. The party breakdown over proof of citizenship was similar, with 66% of Democrats, 84% of Independents and 96% of Republicans supporting the idea. Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report
Trump nominees squeezed between ‘blue slips’ and blue obstruction
President Donald Trump has attacked the Senate for blocking his preferred nominees from being confirmed to key positions, but lawmakers and people familiar with the process say the Senate is not necessarily to blame. Trump has faulted the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, an unwritten rule requiring nominees for judge, U.S. attorney and U.S. marshal to obtain home state senators’ approval prior to being confirmed. He said blue state senators will only greenlight “Democrats or maybe weak Republicans.” The president called on Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to abolish the practice, and he threatened to sue over it. But Grassley and other Republicans are unbudging in their position that blue slips are an indispensable part of the confirmation process. Blue slips have been used for more than a century. Past presidents have gotten many nominees confirmed under the system, suggesting other factors are contributing to Trump’s struggle to secure blue slips from Democrats. TRUMP TELLS GRASSLEY TO TELL DEMOCRATS ‘GO TO HELL’ OVER BLOCKED JUDICIAL NOMINEES IN SENATE Trump and his allies escalated attacks on the blue slip process this week, accusing Grassley of blocking nominees by maintaining it. “This is because of an old and outdated ‘custom’ known as a BLUE SLIP, that Senator Chuck Grassley, of the Great State of Iowa, refuses to overturn,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The president threatened to sue over what he said was a “gentlemen’s agreement,” though it is unclear whom the government would sue and on what grounds. “It’s not based on law, and I think it’s unconstitutional, and I’ll probably be filing a suit on that pretty soon,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Asked about the possible lawsuit and why Trump’s nominees in blue states are struggling with confirmation, the White House told Fox News Digital in a statement the holdup must be addressed. “Senate Democrats have led a campaign of historic obstruction against President Trump and his nominees,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “The left’s partisan, obstructionist agenda is only hurting the American people and it must end.” Trump appointed his former personal defense lawyer Alina Habba as “interim” U.S. attorney, which carries a 120-day term limit that federal judges have the ability to extend under federal vacancy laws if no one has been confirmed by the Senate to the position by then. Judges have opted to extend Trump’s nominees, like in Jay Clayton’s case in the Southern District of New York. But in an unusual move, the federal judges of New Jersey rejected Habba. The judges selected someone else, whom Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi promptly fired. Trump and Bondi then used a series of legal maneuvers to reinstall Habba to another temporary term, but a federal judge ruled the moves unconstitutional. The Trump administration is appealing that decision in a case that could now make its way to the Supreme Court and force the justices to weigh in on what has become a pattern of Trump end-running around the Senate. ALINA HABBA SAYS SHE ‘WON’T BE INTIMIDATED’ AFTER SENATE CUSTOM HINDERS US ATTORNEY NOMINATION John Sarcone in the Northern District of New York faced a situation similar to Habba’s, and he is now serving as “acting” U.S. attorney. Bill Essayli in the Central District of California, who has taken on a vocal pro-Trump stance amid high-profile deportation cases in his district, has also transitioned from “interim” to “acting” U.S. attorney. Acting U.S. attorneys also carry a temporary term of 210 days. It is unclear how Trump will proceed once those terms expire. Carl Tobias, University of Richmond law professor, said the workarounds defy the spirit of the Constitution, which says nominees must be confirmed “with the advice and consent” of the Senate. “It’s good to have that scrutiny from the Judiciary Committee and then on the floor, and so hopefully they could return to something like that, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen, and so I think it is troubling,” Tobias told Fox News Digital. The administration must engage with the Senate during the nomination process, including by consulting early on with home state senators about possible nominees. Former President Joe Biden secured blue slips from opposing parties for 49 nominees, including 27 U.S. attorneys, while Trump’s first administration was able to secure confirmations for nearly all the U.S. attorneys the president nominated. The blue slip, to senators, is a crucial negotiating tool, one that Article III Project founder Mike Davis said is not going away, despite Trump’s intensifying objections to it. Davis, a staunch Trump supporter, served as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee and oversaw nominations under Grassley in the prior Trump administration. “It’s not going away. Why would it? Why would senators give up their power? They’re not going to do it,” Davis told Fox News Digital, adding that blue slips to the Senate are “the sacred china that’s never going to get broken.” Nominees must also provide the Senate Judiciary Committee with a questionnaire, an FBI background check and financial disclosures. A source familiar with the process told Fox News Digital the committee did not receive Habba’s paperwork to begin vetting her. Habba has said she could not begin the process because Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim of New Jersey, would not give blue slip approval. It is unclear if and when the Trump administration approached the pair of senators about Habba. Habba, like Trump, blamed Grassley. “The blue slip TRADITION prevents a nominee from getting to the point of making that case to the committee and Senate floor. You know who can get rid of it? YOU @ChuckGrassley,” Habba wrote on X. She told Grassley “this is a time for leadership, not deflection” and that the chairman should not be “doing the dirty work of Thom Tillis, Corey Booker and Andy Kim.” Booker’s and Kim’s offices did not respond to a request for comment. Grassley went on a tear on social media this week, defending his decision to maintain
Chicago police will not collaborate with National Guard, federal agents if Trump moves on deployment: mayor
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, signed an executive order on Saturday prohibiting city police officers from collaborating with National Guard troops or federal agents if President Donald Trump follows through on his threats to deploy them to the Windy City. “This executive order makes it emphatically clear that this president is not going to come in and deputize our police department,” Johnson said at a news conference with other city leaders. The mayor’s order affirms that Chicago police officers will continue to enforce state and local laws, but will not work with the National Guard or federal agents on patrols, arrests, immigration enforcement or other law enforcement actions. “We will protect our Constitution, we will protect our city, and we will protect our people,” he said. “We do not want to see tanks in our streets. We do not want to see families ripped apart. We do not want grandmothers thrown into the back of unmarked vans. We don’t want to see homeless Chicagoans harassed or disappeared by federal agents.” PRITZKER SAYS ‘ACTION WILL BE MET WITH A RESPONSE’ AFTER TRUMP THREATENS TO SEND NATIONAL GUARD TO CHICAGO The order also instructs city police to wear their official police uniforms, continue to identify themselves, follow body camera procedures and to not wear masks so they can be clearly distinguished from any federal operations. “The Chicago Police Department will not collaborate with military personnel on police patrols or civil immigration enforcement,” Johnson said. “We will not have our police officers who are working hard every single day to drive down crime deputized to do traffic stops and checkpoints for the president.” The order states that the deployment of federal military forces in Chicago without the consent of local authorities “undermines democratic norms, violates the City’s sovereignty, threatens civil liberties, and risks escalating violence rather than securing the peace.” This order comes as Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker have been feuding with Trump over the potential of National Guard troops being deployed to Chicago to address crime in the city. Johnson has cited data showing that violent crime has declined in the last year, including homicides and robberies dipping by more than 30%, and shootings dropping by nearly 40%. Pritzker has also warned Trump that “action will be met with a response” and that a federal deployment without the state’s request would be “unconstitutional” and “un-American.” CHICAGO MAYOR CALLS TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD PLAN ‘MOST FLAGRANT VIOLATION OF OUR CONSTITUTION’ Trump responded to the Democratic leaders last week by saying that Pritzker is “incompetent” and Johnson “no better.” The White House dismissed Johnson’s order on Saturday, claiming that Democrats were attempting to make efforts to reduce crime a partisan issue. “If these Democrats focused on fixing crime in their own cities instead of doing publicity stunts to criticize the President, their communities would be much safer,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Reuters. Johnson said on Saturday that he was considering any legal and legislative measures to stop the federal government, including possible lawsuits. “We will use the courts if that’s necessary,” Johnson said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Previous deployments of the National Guard to Chicago were coordinated with local officials, according to Reuters. The president’s authority to deploy troops is limited under U.S. law, although there are no restrictions on sending ICE agents or other federal law enforcement officers. Trump’s threat to deploy troops to the Windy City comes after he boosted the presence of federal law enforcement in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to cut down on crime. Hundreds of federal agents and National Guard troops have been deployed to the streets of D.C. as part of the federal takeover of the district. Reuters contributed to this report.
Trump appointee exits US foreign aid agency after four-month sprint: ‘Mission accomplished’
Dr. Sohan Dasgupta, appointed earlier this year as the political head of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), told Fox News Digital he is stepping down after a four-month sprint, declaring his mission to preserve and reposition the U.S. agency as a strategic foreign policy tool as “accomplished.” Created by Congress in 2004, MCC delivers five-year infrastructure and energy compacts to developing nations that meet strict governance standards. Unlike traditional aid, its investments are structured to drive long-term economic growth and open markets for U.S. companies. Since its creation under President George W. Bush, MCC has often been grouped with other U.S. aid programs. Career staff have long emphasized development goals like poverty reduction, education, and infrastructure, but unlike USAID, MCC was established as a corporate body with a fiduciary duty to ensure effectiveness. CDC OFFICIAL WHO BLASTED TRUMP’S ‘WEAK SCIENCE’ LED POLITICIZED BIDEN-ERA MONKEYPOX RESPONSE A White House official, speaking on background to Fox News Digital, argued the agency too often presented itself as aid rather than investment before President Donald Trump took office. Dasgupta pushed staff to adopt a different lens, pressing them to evaluate projects based on the return on investment for the United States, the degree of strategic alignment with partner countries, and whether MCC compacts could be used to strengthen U.S. leverage in negotiations. A Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report this spring argued that MCC is not a traditional aid agency but an “investment” tool uniquely suited for an “America First” agenda. The authors warned shuttering it would hand China “diplomatic and economic wins” while leaving half-built projects abroad, and noted Trump-era partner selections, from Nepal to Côte d’Ivoire to the Pacific Islands, were strategically chosen to counter Chinese influence. “The United States and the world are safer, stronger, and more prosperous with the MCC model than without it,” the report concluded. OBAMA OFFICIAL SAYS DEMOCRATIC PARTY ‘AFRAID OF ITS OWN FUTURE,’ WANTS IT TO EMBRACE MAMDANI STRATEGY MCC’s current portfolio under Trump includes some of its largest-ever compacts: a $500 million deal in Nepal funding nearly 200 miles of transmission lines, a $480 million compact in Sierra Leone expanding electricity access and a $202 million program in Kosovo focused on grid-scale battery storage. Other investments include $536 million in Côte d’Ivoire, $537 million in Mozambique and a water compact in Mongolia. Dasgupta told Fox News Digital that his role was to press MCC staff to think in terms of U.S. national security and economic benefits. “Reforming MCC into a vital national security and foreign policy asset” was how he described his “mission accomplished” moment. A May 9 email from the White House Liaison to MCC staff, obtained by Fox News Digital, shows Dasgupta was appointed as a Schedule C senior advisor “assuming political leadership for the agency.” MCC’s Fiscal Year 2026 Candidate Country Report, released this month, lists Kosovo, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Mongolia, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Tonga among its eligible partner nations. “Service has many forms. My goal was to carry out particular projects and missions, then make way for others,” Dasgupta said. On China, he added: “Critical minerals and rare earth elements are a vital part of American strength… MCC has really understood that.” Kosovo’s ambassador to the U.S., Ilir Dugolli, praised Dasgupta’s responsiveness. “We worked closely soon after he arrived at MCC… I respect him enormously for the way he handled his portfolio and how professional he was,” Dugolli told Fox News Digital. On energy security, Dugolli said: “Kosovo fully aligns with U.S. foreign policy… Batteries are extremely important, especially after last year’s terrorist attack on the Iber-Lepenc canal. The compact is the single most critical investment for our country’s energy security and economic resilience.” Dasgupta’s departure also comes as the Trump administration pursues cuts to traditional U.S. foreign aid programs and seeks to reframe America’s global engagement under its “America First” policy. While agencies such as USAID have faced reductions and restructuring, Dasgupta argues the MCC has been preserved as a leaner, investment-driven tool aligned with the administration’s emphasis on strategic deals and competition with China. Analysts estimate China controls about 70% of global rare earth mining and nearly 90% of processing capacity, according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Between 2023 and 2025, China imposed export restrictions on strategic minerals, according to CSIS. Dasgupta argues MCC’s work in allied nations can help diversify supply chains and strengthen resilience, though MCC has not publicly described critical minerals as a formal focus of its work. “We want independence in every sense of the word… these are the premises and predicates of American strength,” Dasgupta said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Quick wins” like Kosovo’s battery project and Nepal’s power lines, Dasgupta said, show how American aid can advance prosperity abroad while reinforcing security at home. With his departure, MCC continues compacts in dozens of countries worldwide. The MCC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump touts ‘worker-first’ economy on Labor Day as internet speculation of his whereabouts spirals
President Donald Trump used Labor Day weekend to tout “nearly $10 trillion” in new investments for American workers, a sweeping White House claim delivered as unfounded online rumors about his well-being and whereabouts spread over the holiday weekend. His appearance on his Trump National Virginia golf course with family on Saturday quickly put the speculation to rest. “President Trump believes that American workers are the heart and soul of our economy, which is why he’s championed an agenda that always puts them first — from signing the largest middle-class tax cuts in history to securing nearly $10 trillion in new investments to create high-paying jobs across our country,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News. Fact-checkers note the White House’s $10T claim includes previously announced projects. The White House describes its list as “non-comprehensive.” TRUMP CAPS OFF 29TH WEEK IN OFFICE WITH PEACE DEAL, CELEBRATING 200TH DAY OF SECOND PRESIDENCY The administration pitched what it calls a “Golden Age of Prosperity,” citing job growth, rising wages, new apprenticeship programs and regulatory rollbacks. White House officials pointed to more than 183,000 apprentices starting this year, $84 million in new training grants, and an AI Action Plan aimed at preparing workers for a tech-driven economy. The White House cites corporate pledges as evidence of momentum. At an “Investing in America” event in April, NVIDIA promised $500 billion for U.S. chipmaking, Apple pledged $500 billion to expand factories, and IBM committed $150 billion for AI research. SoftBank announced a $700 billion infrastructure project. In all, Trump said more than $8 trillion has been pledged since the election. They also touted half a million new jobs in 2025, $61 million for homeless and at-risk veterans and Labor Department efforts to lower health care costs through price transparency. TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CELEBRATES LATEST CHAPTER OF WINS AT 200-DAY MARK The rollout, however, was overshadowed by social media speculation about Trump’s well-being and whereabouts. On Friday night and Saturday morning, hashtags like #WhereIsTrump and #TrumpIsDead trended on X, fueled by a blank public schedule and recycled photos showing bruising. Account Buzzing Pop on X posted, “Donald Trump reportedly has not been seen in days, with no public appearances scheduled this weekend.” The rumors spread until Trump surfaced in public on Saturday. On Saturday, he was photographed with some of his grandchildren outside the White House and at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. He was spotted wearing a white polo shirt and red MAGA hat. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP While the White House hoped Labor Day would spotlight Trump’s economic record, the weekend may be remembered just as much for his golf outing and putting online speculation to rest.
Trump slams Pritzker on Chicago crime; governor’s reported weight loss fuels 2028 speculation
President Donald Trump is intensifying his feud with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker after another bloody weekend in Chicago, blasting the Democrat for rejecting federal help as six people were killed and more than two dozen shot. In a fiery Truth Social post Saturday, Trump called Pritzker “incompetent” and warned the governor to “straighten it out, fast, or we’re coming.” The broadside comes just weeks after Trump signed sweeping executive actions to restore law and order in Washington, D.C., federalizing the Metropolitan Police and mobilizing the National Guard in the nation’s capital. JB PRITZKER CLAIMS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLANNING AN ‘INVASION’ WITH US TROOPS Now, Trump is warning Chicago could be next and pointing out that even Pritzker’s recent weight loss looks like a telltale sign of a possible 2028 presidential run. Trump also mocked Pritzker personally earlier in the week, saying he “ought to spend more time in the gym, actually.” “Six people were killed, and 24 people were shot, in Chicago last weekend, and JB Pritzker, the weak and pathetic Governor of Illinois, just said that he doesn’t need help in preventing CRIME,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “He is CRAZY!!! He better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming!” Pritzker is pushing back hard, calling Trump’s approach “unconstitutional” and “a dangerous power grab.” He also mocked Trump’s personal attacks on his physique, quipping that “it takes one to know one on the weight question.” Republican strategist Mark McKinnon told Politico Pritzker’s slimmer look “looks like he’s getting ready for a fight,” while consultant David Kochel noted weight loss is increasingly part of a political makeover: “If you want to look younger and healthier, it makes total sense.” PRITZKER SAYS ‘ACTION WILL BE MET WITH A RESPONSE’ AFTER TRUMP THREATENS TO SEND NATIONAL GUARD TO CHICAGO Figures like Chris Christie and Mike Pompeo have also shed pounds before mounting national campaigns. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed a sweeping executive order Friday rejecting Trump’s threat to deploy federal troops or the National Guard. “We do not need nor want an unconstitutional and illegal military occupation of our city,” Johnson said, vowing that Chicago would “do everything in our power to defend our democracy and protect our communities.” The feud benefits both men politically. Trump seizes on Chicago as a symbol of Democratic failure and bolsters his law-and-order brand with executive muscle, while Pritzker gets to portray himself as standing up to a president he calls a bully. Behind the two men’s political theater, Chicago has led the nation in total homicides for 13 straight years, according to the White House. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Pritzker’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News’ Hanna Panreck and Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Sen. Bernie Sanders calls on RFK Jr. to resign following departure of CDC officials
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is demanding that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. resign after multiple senior officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention departed the agency. The Trump administration announced the removal of CDC Director Susan Monarez earlier this week, less than a month after she was confirmed, after she refused Kennedy’s directives to adopt new limitations on the availability of some vaccines, including for approvals for COVID-19 vaccines. Four other senior CDC officials resigned in protest after Monarez’s ouster, pointing, in part, to anti-vaccine policies pushed by Kennedy. Hundreds of workers at the agency also walked out of the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta in support of their former colleagues. In response to the departures, Sanders wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times that Kennedy is “endangering the health of the American people now and into the future” and accused the secretary of firing Monarez because she refused “to act as a rubber stamp for his dangerous policies.” BIPARTISAN FURY AT CDC: SENATORS DEMAND PROBE, REJECT VACCINE GUIDANCE AS ILLEGITIMATE “Despite the overwhelming opposition of the medical community, Secretary Kennedy has continued his longstanding crusade against vaccines and his advocacy of conspiracy theories that have been rejected repeatedly by scientific experts,” Sanders wrote in the piece published Saturday. “It is absurd to have to say this in 2025, but vaccines are safe and effective,” he added. “That, of course, is not just my view. Far more important, it is the overwhelming consensus of the medical and scientific communities.” Sanders also noted that vaccines for diseases like polio and COVID-19 have saved hundreds of millions of lives around the world. Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate’s health committee, opposed Kennedy’s confirmation earlier this year. The secretary was sworn in back in February. Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill was selected to be the acting director of the CDC after Monarez’s termination. CDC DIRECTOR SUSAN MONAREZ REFUSES TO BE FIRED AS OTHER OFFICIALS CALL IT QUITS The Trump administration has defended Monarez’s ouster, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying Thursday the president has the “authority to fire those who are not aligned with his mission.” “The president and Secretary Kennedy are committed to restoring trust and transparency and credibility to the CDC by ensuring their leadership and their decisions are more public-facing, more accountable, strengthening our public health system and restoring it to its core mission of protecting Americans from communicable diseases, investing in innovation to prevent, detect and respond to future threats,” Leavitt told reporters. Sanders earlier this week called for an investigation into Monarez’s ouster, criticizing the move as “reckless” and “dangerous.” In the op-ed, he wrote that Kennedy “has profited from and built a career on sowing mistrust in vaccines,” adding that the secretary is now “using his authority to launch a full-blown war on science, on public health and on truth itself.” He also said it will become harder for Americans to obtain “lifesaving vaccines” with Kennedy leading HHS. “The danger here is that diseases that have been virtually wiped out because of safe and effective vaccines will resurface and cause enormous harm,” Sanders wrote, stressing that the U.S. needs to be better prepared in the case of another pandemic. “Secretary Kennedy is putting Americans’ lives in danger, and he must resign,” Sanders wrote. “In his place, President Trump must listen to doctors and scientists and nominate a health secretary and a C.D.C. director who will protect the health and well-being of the American people, not carry out dangerous policies based on conspiracy theories.” Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for comment. Reuters contributed to this report.