Longtime Trump loyalist flips on GOP’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
Trump-loyalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., dropped a bombshell this week, revealing that she had not read the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in its entirety and no longer supports it. Greene joins the growing list of President Donald Trump’s staunchest House GOP allies who have come out in opposition of the bill they voted for two weeks ago. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., another loyal MAGA member, said Elon Musk was “right to call out House Leadership” this week. “I wish I had a nickel for every time the @freedomcaucus sounded the alarm and nobody listened, only to find out the hard way we were right all along. We expect MASSIVE improvements from the Senate before it gets back to the House,” Perry said, referring to the bill he voted for. MUSK AGREES WITH MASSIE THAT BILL IS ‘DEBT BOMB TICKING’ AND ‘MISSED OPPORTUNITY’ FOR CONSERVATIVES The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by one vote in the House after weeks of overnight committee debates and last-minute huddles in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office. Coined by Trump himself, he has championed the legislation to fulfill his key campaign promises, including border security, American energy production and tax cuts. ELON MUSK WARPATH AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ RATTLES HOUSE GOP The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is under consideration by both a Republican-led White House and Congress. But it’s faced hiccups in the Senate this week as Republicans have indicated they do not support the bill in its current form. Leading the charge against Trump’s champion legislation is Musk, who has been a fixture of the second Trump administration through his leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk was a “special government employee” until his leadership timeline expired last week. And Musk’s newfound freedom from the executive branch seems to have inspired him to speak out about Trump’s bill. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” Musk revealed on Tuesday. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed a question from Fox News’ Peter Doocy this week about how angry Trump would be at Musk for undermining his legislation. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SOUNDS ALARM OVER AI PROVISION IN ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ACT: ‘I WOULD HAVE VOTED NO IF I HAD KNOWN’ “Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it,” Leavitt said. Much of the discontent over the bill is rooted in Republicans’ reluctance to increase the United States’ national debt. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Wednesday reported that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cut taxes by $3.7 trillion while raising deficits by $2.4 trillion over a decade. Meanwhile, the national debt rose to $36,215,207,426,690.65 as of June 4, according to the latest numbers published by the Treasury Department. That is up about $806 million from the figure reported the previous day. However, Greene’s newfound issue with the bill has to do with its 10-year restriction on states regulating artificial intelligence (AI). The provision reads, in part: “Except as provided in paragraph (2), no State or political subdivision thereof may enforce, during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, any law or regulation of that State or a political subdivision thereof limiting, restricting, or otherwise regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems entered into interstate commerce.” Greene, who voted in favor of the bill two weeks ago, said on X: “Full transparency, I did not know about this section on pages 278-279 of the OBBB that strips states of the right to make laws or regulate AI for 10 years. I am adamantly OPPOSED to this, and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there.” Not only does she regret her vote, but Greene is urging the Senate to remove the provision, or she won’t vote for the bill when it returns to the House. “We have no idea what AI will be capable of in the next 10 years, and giving it free rein and tying states’ hands is potentially dangerous. This needs to be stripped out in the Senate. When the OBBB comes back to the House for approval after Senate changes, I will not vote for it with this in it,” Greene said. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Greene for comment. Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
FCC Commissioner Simington expected to abruptly leave agency, potential replacement revealed
FIRST ON FOX: Federal Communications Commissioner, Nathan Simington, is leaving the agency, as revealed in an internal memo obtained by Fox News Digital. Gavin Wax, a 31-year-old New York native and outspoken political ally of President Donald Trump, is being floated as a likely replacement. He would be the youngest commissioner in U.S. history, and also the youngest presidential nominee ever confirmed by the Senate. “Gavin Wax is being seriously considered by the White House to fill the vacancy that will be left by Commissioner Simington’s departure,” a source close to the FCC told Fox News Digital. “He’s seen as a strong conservative voice on tech and media policy, with close ties to key figures in both the policy and political arenas.” FCC PLANS MAJOR DEI CRACKDOWN WITH HELP OF CONSERVATIVE FIREBRAND Wax’s relationship with the White House goes beyond his role at the agency, as he previously served as President of the New York Young Republican Club, which holds an annual holiday gala Trump has attended in person and virtually in previous years. The young Republican published an op-ed just last week touting the work of Vice President JD Vance and alluded to the goals the former Ohio senator would accomplish should he run for president after Trump’s term ends. If selected, President Trump would nominate Wax, which would initiate the official senate confirmation process. VANCE COMPARES HARVARD TO NORTH KOREA AS HE TAKES AIM AT SCHOOL’S ‘IDEOLOGICAL DIVERSITY’ Simington’s term expired last year, but he was expected to remain as FCC Commissioner until the end of 2025. There are five commissioners that run the FCC. The most one party can have at the agency is three. With Simington out, Wax would replace the vacant GOP commissioner seat. THIS LOCAL NPR CEO IS SPEAKING OUT AS TRUMP ORDER THREATENS FUNDING FOR PUBLIC STATIONS The FCC is responsible for regulation and oversight of all media, television, broadcast, and radio in the country, as well as internet access and broadband, national emergency communications, spectrum management, and consumer protection. The agency was established as part of the Communications Act of 1934. Fox News Digital reached out to Simington and the White House, but did not receive responses.
Laken Riley’s sister says family has ‘hope’ after Trump immigration changes: ‘Still a lot to be done’
EXCLUSIVE: Laken Riley’s sister said she and her family have “hope” due to the immigration policies President Donald Trump has put in place, telling Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that, while there is “still a lot to be done,” continuing in the direction of the new administration “will be very beneficial to our country.” Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was brutally assaulted and murdered by an illegal migrant while on a morning run in February 2024. FLASHBACK: TRUMP SAYS HE SPOKE TO ‘DEVASTATED’ PARENTS OF LAKEN RILEY, BLASTS BIDEN FOR BORDER CRISIS ‘LIKE A WAR’ Her sister, Lauren Phillips, told Fox News Digital that she will always speak out in honor and remembrance of her older sister, and will continue to advocate for “securing our borders.” “I think it’s important that we keep reminding people of the importance of securing our borders and what can happen when it’s not secure,” Phillips told Fox News Digital. “We definitely feel hope – we just need to keep talking about it and keep everyone aware of what happens when nothing is done,” she continued. “And I think a lot has been done so far, and I am grateful for that, but there is still a lot to be done.” She added: “I think that continuing in the direction that the new administration is going will be very beneficial to our country.” Phillips, on Thursday, was featured in the first video launched by the American Border Story (TABS), a national initiative dedicated to exposing the human impact of America’s border crisis through storytelling. “I really feel it’s important because it didn’t stop with Laken – it keeps happening,” Phillips told Fox News Digital. “I feel like just telling what’s happening to all of these people isn’t enough.” TRUMP SIGNS LAKEN RILEY ACT INTO LAW AS FIRST LEGISLATIVE VICTORY IN NEW ADMINISTRATION “People aren’t realizing what’s truly being lost every single time something like this happens,” she said. The TABS video is the first in a series that aims to bring “the truth to light.” “Truth the media and politicians too often ignore,” Nicole Kiprilov, executive director of TABS, told Fox News Digital. “Laken Riley’s story is not just a tragedy – it’s a wake-up call.” Kiprilov said TABS is “honored to stand with her sister Lauren and brave families across America who are turning pain into purpose.” “This documentary is about more than remembrance – it’s about demanding accountability, restoring safety and putting the American people first,” Kiprilov said. Phillips, in the video, spoke about her sister, their relationship and Riley’s faith, while stressing that protecting the border “should be common sense.” “I could talk about her forever,” Phillips told Fox News Digital. “I think Laken is just the type of person that you want to be around. She’s the type of person that shows up and she wasn’t just my sibling – she was my best friend.” “A lot of people would say her presence brought so much comfort and strength and peace, and I carry a lot of what she taught me in my everyday life,” she continued. “She had a light that is so impossible to ignore.” Meanwhile, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law just days after taking office. It was the first piece of legislation he signed in his second administration. The measure directs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants arrested or charged with theft-related crimes, or those accused of assaulting a police officer. The law also allows states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration. But Phillips told Fox News Digital that despite changes to federal law, it is “terrifying to have to walk around the same city where such a tragic thing happened to my sister.” Riley was murdered near the University of Georgia campus in Athens, which is considered an unofficial sanctuary city. “The laws that were not put in place are still not put in place in a city where something so tragic happened,” Phillips said. “I thought what happened to Laken would change that, but nothing has changed there, so I think continuing to talk about it, not backing down, not staying quiet, hopefully, will do something.” In addition to being vocal on immigration and honoring the life of her sister, Phillips said she and her family have created the Laken Hope Foundation. “I thank God every day that I have the space to share, and that he gave me Laken for the time that he did, and I thank him for her faith and his faithfulness to know that none of this compares to what we’re going to be given and where she is.”
Supreme Court sides with US gunmakers in case centered on Mexican cartel violence
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday in favor of seven U.S. gun manufacturers who were sued by the Mexican government over allegations they aided and abetted illegal gun sales to Mexican cartels. The high court’s decision in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos was unanimous, finding that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, a statute that protects gun makers from lawsuits, did not include exceptions that gave the Mexican government the ability to sue. “The kinds of allegations Mexico makes cannot satisfy the demands of the statute’s predicate exception,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court. Kagan noted the exceptions in the law would allow a lawsuit against the gun makers if they “proximately caused” Mexico harm. SUPREME COURT TO CONSIDER LAWSUIT AGAINST US GUN MANUFACTURERS “Mexico’s complaint, for the reasons given, does not plausibly allege such aiding and abetting,” Kagan wrote. “So this suit remains subject to PLCAA’s general bar: An action cannot be brought against a manufacturer if, like Mexico’s, it is founded on a third party’s criminal use of the company’s product.” The justices concluded that the “proximate cause” standard meant the U.S. manufacturers could not be sued when the complex commerce pipeline goes from them to wholesalers, distributors, rogue retail dealers, straw purchasers, smugglers, and then to the Mexican cartels. The case came before the high court during a delicate time for both countries, politically and diplomatically. The Trump administration has pushed the Mexican government to better patrol its border to block drugs and migrants from entering the United States, while Mexican officials have demanded the U.S. stop military-style firearms from ending up in Mexico – fueling the very drug crisis both sides seek to end. During the proceedings, attorneys for Mexico, which has strict gun sale restrictions, argued the country should be allowed to file a $10 billion civil suit in U.S. courts. The gun makers countered that their standard business practices were being unfairly targeted and that they had no awareness that their products have been illegally transported into Mexico. This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
‘Climate cult’ on notice as lawmakers push to let feds hop blue-state roadblocks to ‘US energy dominance’
EXCLUSIVE: The left-wing “climate cult,” as one lawmaker put it, will have fewer avenues to throw roadblocks in front of domestic energy production and President Donald Trump‘s efforts to obtain “American energy dominance” if a landmark effort between members of both the House and Senate is successful. “I am an energy guy from an energy-rich state,” West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice told Fox News Digital on Thursday before introducing a bill to prevent state governments less supportive than Charleston from getting in the way of the development, transmission and distribution of reliable energy sources. His House counterpart in the effort, Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., hails from such a place. Langworthy said that, in contrast to lawmakers in Justice’s state, New York Democrats have “waged an extremist crusade” against developing a crucial multi-state natural gas deposit ironically named for a town in the Empire State. The Energy Choice Act has drawn 37 co-sponsors across the House and Senate and gained backing from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who has been touring Alaska this week promoting similar energy development goals. WV LAWMAKER ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO KILL ENTIRE REGION’S DELEGATION OVER CAUCUS BEEF The bill would prohibit state and local governments from placing restrictions on the connection, re-connection, modification, installation, transportation, distribution, or expansion of a source of energy that is sold in interstate commerce and/or is to be delivered to an end-user. Justice, when he served as governor, signed multiple bills boosting his state’s own renowned coal industry, including slashing severance taxes, and said the U.S. energy crisis is “too great” to allow the “luxury of picking the winners and losers.” “Americans ought to have the right to choose what is best for their energy needs.” Tens of thousands of square miles of the massive Marcellus Shale formation runs through New York, but development has been under a state-sanctioned ban for more than a decade. Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, meanwhile, continue to develop their major caches of Marcellus Shale gas, while the piece of the formation in the Maryland panhandle also remains off-limits. Those bans, according to Langworthy, have sent home energy costs “through the roof” in places like New York, which he said is “teetering on the edge of an energy crisis—all to satisfy the radical fantasies of the far-left climate cult.” “New York has been ground-zero for the Green New Deal, where common sense goes to die and working families get stuck with the bill,” said the lawmaker, a former NYSGOP chairman. FLASHBACK: JUSTICE IN THE SENATE – WV GOVERNOR VERY INTERESTED IN CHALLENGING JOE MANCHIN That disparity led him to draft the House version of the bill, hoping, in his words, to “restore sanity” to U.S. energy policy and give Americans the choice of affordable and reliable power. They should not be “forced into rolling blackouts to please eco-activists who don’t live in the real world,” he quipped. “I thank Senator Justice for introducing this bill in the Senate and urge its swift action.” Meanwhile, Justice’s state remains the second-largest coal producer in the nation, and his Senate counterpart, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, also signed onto the bill. “America needs more energy, and our state and local governments shouldn’t discriminate against baseload energy generation that increases security, affordability, and creates good paying jobs across the country, simply because it doesn’t align with their political agendas,” she told Fox News Digital. Alabama’s Black Warrior Basin is another area of the country home to a vast coal power potential developed over several decades. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Gov. Kay Ivey in 2025 signed the Powering Growth Act seeking to streamline the permitting process in the Yellowhammer State, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville – who hopes to succeed the term-limited governor – is another top sponsor of the bill. “Energy security is national security,” Tuberville has said. “For four years, Joe Biden and woke Democrats took a sledgehammer to American energy production. We need to rein-in blue states who caved to the climate cult and imposed ridiculous regulations that are deeply unpopular with hardworking Americans,” he said.
Trump touts ‘very positive’ breakthrough with Xi after slamming China for trade violation
President Donald Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday in a lengthy call amid economic and national security friction regarding trade between Washington and Beijing. “I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal,” Trump said in a Thursday Truth Social post. “The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries.” Trump said the conversation focused “almost entirely” on trade, and that Xi invited the U.S. president and first lady Melania Trump to visit China. Trump also said he extended an invitation to Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan. Chinese media first reported the call between the two leaders Thursday, and claimed that the call occurred per Trump’s request. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett had told ABC News Sunday that Trump was expected to talk with the Chinese president this week. The call comes nearly a week after Trump condemned China for violating an initial trade agreement that the U.S. and China hashed out in May, and a day after Trump said Xi was “extremely hard to make a deal with” in a Truth Social post. The negotiations led both countries to agree that the U.S. would ramp down its tariffs against Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, and China would cut its tariffs against U.S. imports from 125% to 10%. But Trump accused China on Friday of not holding up its end of the bargain, although he refrained from disclosing specifics. “The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” Trump said in a social media post Friday. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” ‘NO REASON’ FOR NEW NUKES: TRUMP FLOATS DISARMAMENT TALKS WITH CHINA, RUSSIA U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday in an interview with CNBC that China had failed to lift its non-tariff barriers, as outlined in the deal. “The United States did exactly what it was supposed to do, and the Chinese are slow-rolling their compliance, which is completely unacceptable and has to be addressed,” Greer said Friday. Meanwhile, China pressed the U.S. to reverse course and address its own mistakes. “China once again urges the US to immediately correct its erroneous actions, cease discriminatory restrictions against China and jointly uphold the consensus reached at the high-level talks in Geneva,” Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a Friday statement. But Trump later indicated that the two leaders ironed out their differences. “We had a very good talk, and we’ve straightened out any complexity, and it’s very complex stuff, and we straightened it out,” Trump said Thursday during an Oval Office press briefing with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “I think we’re in very good shape with China and the trade deal,” Trump said. “We have a deal with China, as you know, but we were straightening out some of the points … I would say we have a deal, and we’re going to just make sure that everybody understands what the deal is.” Meanwhile, Trump’s invitation to Xi and Peng to visit the U.S. comes as Trump’s administration cracks down on student visa holders in the U.S. and as Trump has threatened to “aggressively” rescind visas of students from China. On Thursday, Trump appeared to take a softer approach though and said that he did want foreign students to come to the U.S. — he just wants them to undergo proper vetting. “We want to have foreign students, but we want them to be checked,” Trump said from the White House. TRUMP SIGNALS CHINA ‘VERY MUCH’ INTERESTED IN SECURING TRADE DEAL AHEAD OF SWITZERLAND NEGOTIATIONS
Trump, China’s Xi invite each other on state visits amid trade fight, US president says
President Donald Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday in a lengthy call amid economic and national security friction regarding trade between Washington and Beijing. “I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal,” Trump said in a Thursday Truth Social post. “The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries.” Trump said that the conversation focused “almost entirely” on trade, and that Xi invited the U.S. president and first lady Melania Trump to visit China. Trump also said he extended an invitation to Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan. Chinese media first reported the call between the two leaders Thursday, and claimed that the call occurred per Trump’s request. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett had told ABC News Sunday that Trump was expected to talk with the Chinese president this week. The call comes nearly a week after Trump condemned China for violating an initial trade agreement that the U.S. and China hashed out in May, and a day after Trump said Xi was “extremely hard to make a deal with” in a Truth Social post. The negotiations led both countries to agree that the U.S. would ramp down its tariffs against Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, and China would cut its tariffs against U.S. imports from 125% to 10%. But Trump accused China on Friday of not holding up its end of the bargain, although he refrained from disclosing specifics. “The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” Trump said in a social media post Friday. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” ‘NO REASON’ FOR NEW NUKES: TRUMP FLOATS DISARMAMENT TALKS WITH CHINA, RUSSIA U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday in an interview with CNBC that China had failed to lift its non-tariff barriers, as outlined in the deal. “The United States did exactly what it was supposed to do, and the Chinese are slow-rolling their compliance which is completely unacceptable and has to be addressed,” Greer said Friday. Meanwhile, China pressed the U.S. to reverse course and urged the U.S. to address its own mistakes. “China once again urges the US to immediately correct its erroneous actions, cease discriminatory restrictions against China and jointly uphold the consensus reached at the high-level talks in Geneva,” Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a Friday statement. Meanwhile, Trump’s invitation to Xi and Peng to visit the U.S. comes as Trump’s administration cracks down on student visa holders in the U.S. and as Trump has threatened to “aggressively” rescind student visas from those from China. TRUMP SIGNALS CHINA ‘VERY MUCH’ INTERESTED IN SECURING TRADE DEAL AHEAD OF SWITZERLAND NEGOTIATIONS
Supreme Court rules unanimously in favor of straight Ohio woman who claimed discrimination
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of an Ohio woman who claimed she was discriminated against for job promotions in favor of gay candidates on Thursday. The ruling, Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, finds that members of majority groups in protected classes do not need to meet a higher standard of evidence in order to establish discrimination. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote the opinion of the court in the 9-0 decision. “The Sixth Circuit has implemented a rule that requires certain Title VII plaintiffs—those who are members of majority groups—to satisfy a heightened evidentiary standard,” Jackson wrote. “We conclude that Title VII does not impose such a heightened standard on majority group plaintiffs. Therefore, the judgment below is vacated.” The woman in the case, Marlean Ames, is a heterosexual woman who had worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services since 2004. She argued she was discriminated against on the basis of her sexual orientation after she was passed over for a promotion in 2019 in favor of a lesbian woman, and was then later replaced in her own role by a gay man. SCOTUS TO HEAR STRAIGHT WOMAN’S DISCRIMINATION CASE THAT COULD RESHAPE EMPLOYMENT LAW “Ames was qualified, had been denied a promotion in favor of a gay candidate, and was later demoted in favor of another gay candidate—evidence that would ordinarily satisfy her prima facie burden—before it specifically faulted Ames for failing to make the ‘requisite showing of “background circumstances.”‘” Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Thursday’s ruling strikes down the Sixth Circuit Court’s “background circumstances” rule, which had required majority groups in protected classes to show special evidence of discrimination. Thursday’s order does not fully resolve the case in Ames’ favor, however. The court notes that Ohio had “alternative arguments” for why the Ohio government’s treatment of Ames was justified. The justices said they are not weighing in on those alternative arguments, merely striking down the “background circumstances” rule. “We granted review to consider the validity of the “background circumstances” rule, and we reject that rule for the reasons set forth above. We leave it to the courts below to address any of Ohio’s remaining arguments on remand,” Jackson wrote. Ames’ case was supported by the Justice Department, the American First Legal Foundation and the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation. The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund was among the major groups backing Ohio in the case.
Migrant deported to third country returned to US after Trump admin yields to judge’s order
A Guatemalan man who was deported to Mexico by the Trump administration was returned to the U.S. this week, his lawyers confirmed to Fox News on Thursday, marking the first known instance of the Trump administration complying with a judge’s orders to return an individual removed from the U.S. based on erroneous information. The individual, identified only as O.C.G, was returned to the U.S. via commercial flight, lawyers confirmed, after being deported to Mexico in March. The news comes one week after lawyers for the Justice Department told U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy that they were working to charter a plane to secure the return of the individual, identified only as O.C.G., to U.S. soil. Murphy had ruled that O.C.G., a Guatemalan migrant, had been deported to Mexico earlier this year without due process and despite his stated fears of persecution, and ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return. TRUMP FOE JUDGE BOASBERG RULES DEPORTED MIGRANTS CAN CHALLENGE REMOVALS, IN BLOW TO ADMIN Additionally, Murphy told laywers for the administration that O.C.G. had not been given the chance to contest his removal to a country where he could face threats of torture, a right afforded under U.S. and international law. O.C.G. was previously held for ransom and raped in Mexico but was not afforded the chance to assert those fears prior to his removal, Murphy noted in his order, citing submissions from O.C.G.’s attorneys. “In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped,” Murphy said earlier this month, noting that the removal process “lacked any semblance of due process.” US JUDGE ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF ‘MANUFACTURING CHAOS’ IN SOUTH SUDAN DEPORTATIONS, ESCALATING FEUD “The return of O.C.G. poses a vanishingly small cost to make sure we can still claim to live up to that ideal,” Murphy said in his order. Lawyers for the Trump administration told the court last week that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations Phoenix Field Office made contact over the weekend with O.C.G.’s attorneys and are “currently working with ICE Air to bring O.C.G. back to the United States on an Air Charter Operations (ACO) flight return leg.” That appears to have happened, and O.C.G. was flown via commercial airline to the U.S. on Wednesday. The news comes amid a broader court fight centered on Trump’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act – an 18th-century wartime law it invoked earlier this year to deport certain migrants more quickly. Many were sent to CECOT, El Salvador’s maximum-security prison. To date, the Trump administration has not complied with federal court orders to facilitate the return of those individuals to the U.S., even individuals who were deported in what the administration has acknowledged was an administrative error. Unlike the migrants at CECOT, however, O.C.G. had not been detained in Mexico. The Trump administration did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. They did not immediately respond to questions about whether the administration plans to follow suit in other cases in which a federal judge ordered the administration to return an individual deemed to have been wrongfully deported. The news comes just hours after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to provide all migrants removed to CECOT under the Alien Enemies Act an opportunity to seek habeas relief to contest their removal, as well as the opportunity to challenge their alleged gang status, which was the basis for their removal under the law. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? Judge Boasberg also gave the Trump administration one week to submit to the court information explaining how it plans to facilitate the habeas relief to migrants currently being held at CECOT. That ruling is almost certain to provoke a high-stakes legal standoff with the administration, and comes as Trump officials have railed against Judge Boasberg and others who have ruled in ways seen as unfavorable to the administration as so-called “activist judges.” Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment earlier this year, prompting Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a rare public statement of rebuke. “America’s asylum system was never intended to be used as a de facto amnesty program or a catch-all, get-out-of-deportation-free card,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement over the weekend.
Supreme Court rules Wisconsin unconstitutionally discriminated against Christian charity
The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a Wisconsin-based Catholic charity group in a case centered on unemployment tax credits for religious institutions – delivering a victory for faith-based institutions, who argued that the state’s decision had violated the religious clauses under the First Amendment. In a unanimous opinion, justices on the high court agreed that the state had engaged in an “unnecessary entanglement” in attempting to define whether religious groups should be entitled to an otherwise-available tax exemption based on the state’s criteria for religious behavior. “When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, writing for the majority. 100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT “Because Wisconsin has transgressed that principle without the tailoring necessary to survive such scrutiny, the judgment of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.” The decision could clear the way for more states to broaden their tax-exempt status for religious organizations, with ripple effects that could stretch far beyond Wisconsin. The Catholic Charities Bureau asked the Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling that had required them to pay Wisconsin’s unemployment tax, after the state determined the group’s activities were “primarily charitable and secular,” and therefore not subject to the exemptions. Lawyers for the Catholic Charities Bureau argued the ruling was an unconstitutional violation of religious freedoms and amounted to viewpoint-based discrimination, and argued that “gospel values and the moral teaching of the church.” SUPREME COURT RULES UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR OF STRAIGHT OHIO WOMAN WHO CLAIMED DISCRIMINATION The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the group must pay the tax since the nature of their work was primarily secular, since it was not “operated primarily for religious purposes,” and serves and employs non-Catholics. “There may be hard calls to make in policing that rule, but this is not one,” Sotomayor said on Thursday. “When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny.” The decision comes as the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has, in recent years, ruled in favor of religious institutions, including in cases like this one, which center on allowing taxpayer funds to be allocated to some religious organizations to provide “non-sectarian services.”