New voluntary deployment lets DOD civilian workers back Homeland Security efforts amid immigration crackdown
The Defense Department (DOD) is starting a voluntary program for its civilian employees to go to the southern border to support Department of Homeland Security (DHS) efforts there. The agency released a memo Monday authorizing its civilian employees to volunteer to travel and support border operations. NOEM MAKES AGGRESSIVE NEW MOVE TO RAMP UP ARRESTS, DEPORTATIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS “Protecting our homeland from bad actors and illegal substances has been a focus of the President and of the Secretary of Defense since Day One of this Administration,” said Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesperson. “Whether on the border or in our communities, allowing qualified DoD civilian employees to support DHS will accelerate the progress already made by Service members in achieving our national security goals.” This voluntary program was at the request of DHS, a U.S. official told Fox News. NOEM, DHS OUTLINE NEXT STEP TO SPEED UP DEPORTATION PROCESS It was not clear how many DOD civilian employees are expected to volunteer or what kind of work they will do. Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOD and DHS. The memo, authored by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, reads, “Detail assignments may be either reimbursable or non-reimbursable. US MILITARY STATIONED AT THE BORDER IN NEW MEXICO NATIONAL DEFENSE AREA CAN DETAIN ILLEGAL MIGRANTS “Non-reimbursable details are authorized where the expected benefit of a detail would be comparable to training or development programs that otherwise would be conducted at a DoD Component’s expense.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP News of the voluntary program comes as the Trump administration continues to crack down on illegal immigration and target criminal illegal immigrants for deportation.
DOJ Civil Rights Division sets Title IX deadline for California on transgender athletes in girls’ sports
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Justice is demanding that California’s public high schools confirm by next week that they do not allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports, escalating a federal inquiry into the state over its compliance with Title IX. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the DOJ Civil Rights Division, said in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital that public school districts must “certify in writing” by June 9 that they will not abide by the California Interscholastic Federation’s gender identity rules. “Knowingly depriving female students of athletic opportunities and benefits on the basis of their sex would constitute unconstitutional sex discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause,” Dhillon wrote in the letter. CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOLER BEGS STATE OFFICIALS TO BAN TRANS ATHLETES FROM GIRLS’ SPORTS AT CONTENTIOUS MEETING The California Interscholastic Federation governs public and private high school sports in the state and has a bylaw that requires its members to recognize gender identity in sports. All students should be able to participate in school sports “in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records,” the bylaw states. Dhillon, a former California-based conservative attorney, said the certifications she is seeking from the public school districts will “ensure compliance” with Title IX and help them to “avoid legal liability.” Her demand pits public school districts against the California Interscholastic Federation, the entity that schools are required to comply with to participate in state sports competitions. DOJ INTERVENING IN CALIFORNIA TRANS ATHLETE CONTROVERSY AS TRUMP MONITORS GIRLS’ TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP Fox News Digital reached out to the California Interscholastic Federation’s executive director for comment. Dhillon’s move comes after she and the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California announced last week that they were investigating the California Interscholastic Federation and other public entities over whether the state’s laws conflicted with Trump’s interpretation of Title IX. When Trump took office, he ordered federal agencies to enforce Title IX in a manner that excluded gender identity after the Biden administration attempted to reinterpret the statute. Title IX, passed in 1972, is a landmark civil rights law designed to prevent sex discrimination in schools. Former President Barack Obama made the first, albeit unenforceable, attempt to reinterpret Title IX at the end of his term by directing schools that received federal funds to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and participate in sports that corresponded to their gender identities. Trump quashed those efforts in his first term and, in coordination with former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, began a lengthy process of creating new rules within the Education Department to require schools to adhere to the long-held meaning of Title IX. Former President Joe Biden made embracing gender identity and reimagining Title IX a pillar of his presidency by moving to unravel the Trump administration’s new rules. Biden was, however, met with numerous injunctions and never able to get his version of Title IX off the ground. TRUMP DOJ, EDUCATION DEPT FORM TASK FORCE TO PROTECT FEMALE ATHLETES FROM ‘GENDER IDEOLOGY’ IN SCHOOLS, SPORTS Now, Trump has aggressively sought to enforce his first term’s rules. He signed a string of executive orders focused on, as one order described it, the “biological reality of sex,” and his agencies have sent demand letters and opened federal inquiries into states that are resistant to the administration’s efforts. In addition to targeting California, the DOJ sued Maine over Title IX, arguing that its state Education Department was out of compliance with federal law, citing a transgender athlete who won a girls’ pole-vaulting competition in February. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, has downplayed the matter, telling local news at one point that there were “like two” transgender athletes in her state. Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, has shown an openness to Trump’s position that transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports is unfair, to the chagrin of some of Newsom’s liberal base. Newsom also recently said he supported a new pilot initiative by the California Interscholastic Federation to allow any female track and field athlete who would have qualified for an upcoming state championship to compete if they had been displaced by a transgender athlete.
Schumer, Democrats plot coordinated resistance to Trump’s ‘one ugly bill’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is coordinating with his colleagues in the House to push back against Senate Republicans’ efforts to ram President Donald Trump’s wish list of policy desires through the Senate. In a letter to Senate Democrats on Sunday, Schumer, D-N.Y., laid out a multipronged strategy to inflict as much pain on Republicans as possible in the budget reconciliation process, the legislative strategy the GOP is employing to sidestep negotiating with Democrats to advance the president’s priorities. SENATE REPUBLICANS EYE CHANGES TO TRUMP’S MEGABILL AFTER HOUSE WIN While congressional Republicans don’t need Democrats to move the colossal bill to Trump’s desk, Schumer wants to make the process as uncomfortable as possible as Senate Republicans begin a roughly monthlong sprint to put their fingerprints on what Trump deemed a “big, beautiful bill.” The top Senate Democrat is coordinating with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and the top Democrats on crucial House committees to “share firsthand insight from their process and key Republican fault lines” with their Senate counterparts. “Based on Senate Republicans’ public comments, it’s clear that if this reckless reconciliation bill passes the Senate it is very likely to contain changes, forcing it to be sent back to the House of Representatives,” Schumer wrote. “That’s why we must be united with our House Democratic colleagues to fight this assault on working families.” Indeed, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said much of the debate and subsequent tweaks to the bill would focus on finding deeper spending cuts. The House’s offering set a goal of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, but some Senate Republicans want to hit $2 trillion, while a smaller cohort of fiscal hawks want to go even deeper. DEMS CALL BUDGET BILL ‘BUREAUCRATIC WATER TORTURE’ AS GOP ‘GLAD TO HAVE THE BALL IN OUR COURT’ Thune said that Republicans’ main focus during the next month would be ensuring that Trump’s first-term tax cuts are made permanent with the massive bill and not allowed to expire by the end of the year on the Senate floor, marking the Senate’s return on Monday. “We are not going to let that happen, and our biggest focus this month is completing this tax relief legislation with the goal of getting the final bill to the president before the Fourth of July,” he said. “It’s going to be a very busy month, Mr. President.” In all, 10 Senate committees will be tasked with sifting through the massive bill’s contents, which include the president’s policy desires on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. FETTERMAN DEFIES ‘PUNITIVE’ PUNISHMENT FOR BREAKING WITH DEMOCRATIC PARTY DURING BIPARTISAN DISCUSSION Schumer’s edict comes as those committees gear up to make their own revisions to the bill to, in part, fall in line with their own policy and spending desires and to also comply with Senate rules. He noted that Senate Democrats have been working “overtime” to target a litany of policies in the GOP’s plan that “are in clear violation of the reconciliation rules and, in some cases, an assault on our very democracy.” Some Republicans already have issues with certain policies in the bill, like cuts to Medicaid or the plan to move up the timeline to phase out green energy tax credits ushered in by the Biden administration. Schumer also prodded Democrats to continue aggressively denouncing the bill on the ground in their home states and districts, arguing that “if the American people truly knew how deeply devastating, damaging, and deceitful this Republican plan is, they will reject it.” “Republicans’ ‘One Ugly Bill’ is a farce; an attack on the values that make America great,” he wrote. “We know the first four months of Donald Trump’s presidency have been catastrophic for the American people. It is our duty to fight for American families, to stop the damage, and make certain Republicans are held accountable.”
Largest ever ICE operation results in nearly 1,500 illegals arrested in blue state
Operation Patriot, the largest ever ICE operation, resulted in the arrest of nearly 1,500 illegals, including murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and child sex predators, in the deep blue sanctuary city-heavy state of Massachusetts. Operation Patriot concluded on Saturday after netting 1,461 illegal aliens throughout the Greater Boston area and the state of Massachusetts, which includes numerous sanctuary jurisdictions. Sources at ICE told Fox News that 790 of those arrested had criminal convictions or charges and 277 had final removal or deportation orders. The sources said that all the targeted criminals were roaming the streets of Massachusetts cities freely before being apprehended. The operation ran throughout May and included ICE teams from other states in the Northeast and authorities from the FBI, DEA, and ATF. 36 CHINESE, TAIWANESE NATIONALS ARRESTED AFTER ICE RAIDS UNDERGROUND NIGHTCLUB IN LOS ANGELES Fox News was embedded with ICE Boston on Thursday as part of this operation. While Fox News was embedded with ICE, agents arrested a murderer, two child rapists, including one living next to a playground, one fentanyl trafficker, one adult rapist, and one child sexual assaulter, all within the span of a few hours. Prior to this, the largest ICE operation was Operation Tidal Wave in Florida, which netted 1,120 arrests. Fox News was told Operation Patriot was significantly more difficult because, unlike Florida, ICE received no local assistance from Massachusetts sanctuary jurisdictions. Sources said the operation was in direct response to leaders in the city of Boston and Massachusetts refusing to cooperate with ICE. The sources said “hundreds” of the arrested targets had been released by local sanctuary jurisdictions with ICE detainers ignored. ICE also said it encountered daily interference from anti-ICE activist groups throughout Massachusetts. ‘RAMPANT’ ABUSE IN BLUE STATE MIGRANT SHELTER SYSTEM, SAYS FORMER DIRECTOR: ‘COLOSSAL MESS’ Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey has responded to ICE’s operations in her state with outrage. Healey took to social media on Sunday evening to demand answers after ICE agents arrested 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes, who was an illegal and a junior at Milford High School in Milford, Massachusetts. In her post, Healey says she is “disturbed and outraged” and that she wants answers immediately explaining why the student was taken into immigration enforcement’s custody. Healey asserted that “the Trump Administration continues to create fear in our communities, and it’s making us all less safe.” HOMELAND SECURITY REMOVES ‘SANCTUARY JURISDICTIONS’ LIST FROM ITS WEBSITE Speaking during a press conference on Monday, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons commented on the resistance from Massachusetts leaders, saying: “If sanctuary cities would change their policies and turn these violent criminal aliens over to us into our custody instead of releasing them into the public, we would not have to go out to the communities and do this.” Lyons said the operation “just showed we need to come back and we’re going to keep coming back because ICE is going to make sure that we keep our community safe and keep our neighborhood safe from these sex offenders and these criminal aliens.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE The press conference was held the same day that an illegal alien in Massachusetts named Lorenzo Lopez Alcario was arraigned on charges of raping a child with force. A copy of the charges obtained by Fox News Digital alleges that the child was tied during the rape. Commenting on the arraignment and on Operation Patriot, Jon Fetherston, a former Massachusetts migrant shelter director, told Fox News Digital that Democratic Governor Maura Healey’s resistance to federal immigration enforcement operations is “not only unsafe for ICE agents, it’s unsafe for all of us.” Fetherston added that Healey’s policies are “creating a climate of lawlessness, where even convicted criminals are shielded from federal enforcement.” “That’s not compassion — it’s recklessness,” he said. Healey’s office did not immediately respond to a request by Fox News Digital for comment.
ICE expands illegal immigration tip line after Colorado terrorist attack: ‘Public safety threats’
Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be directing more resources to its 24/7 tip line after the antisemitic Boulder, Colorado, terrorist attack, as the suspect overstayed his visa. “For four years, the Biden Administration allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens – including terrorists, gang members, and other violent criminals – to pour into our country,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement on Monday. “Yesterday’s terrorist attack by a suspect illegally in our country, underscores the importance of getting these illegal aliens out of our country,” McLaughlin added. BOULDER TERROR ATTACK PUTS BIDEN-ERA IMMIGRATION POLICIES IN THE HOT SEAT: ‘MUST BE FULLY REVERSED’ “Secretary Noem is revamping ICE’s illegal alien tip line to devote more resources and personnel to help remove these criminal illegal aliens from our country. To report suspicious criminal activity, call 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) – help President Trump, Secretary Noem and our brave law enforcement remove these public safety threats from our communities and to make America safe again.” According to a news release, the tip line is being used so ICE can gather information from the public and authorities from around the country, and more staff will be added as part of the revamp. On Sunday, 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly burned eight people, including a Holocaust survivor, who were rallying for the return of hostages in Gaza. ALLEGED BOULDER TERRORIST OVERSTAYED VISA, GRANTED WORK PERMIT BY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION The attack has brought renewed attention to the long-term impacts of Biden-era immigration policies, as the suspect was granted work authorization in the United States after applying for asylum in 2022 while in the country on a tourist visa. He was permitted to work a month after his visa expired in March 2023, and the work permit expired in March 2025. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller posted to X on Sunday, “Suicidal migration must be fully reversed.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “Yesterday’s horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America,” President Donald Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. “He came in through Biden’s ridiculous Open Border Policy, which has hurt our Country so badly. He must go out under ‘TRUMP’ Policy. Acts of Terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law. This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland.” He is now facing federal hate crime charges, and he is charged with attempted murder in Colorado. TRUMP SAYS BOULDER TERROR ATTACK ‘WILL NOT BE TOLERATED,’ DEPORTATIONS MUST CONTINUE “The Department of Justice has swiftly charged the illegal alien perpetrator of this heinous attack with a federal hate crime and will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims and our Jewish community across the world,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “This vile antisemitic violence comes just weeks after the horrific murder of two young Jewish Americans in Washington, D.C. We will never tolerate this kind of hatred. We refuse to accept a world in which Jewish Americans are targeted for who they are and what they believe,” she continued. The tip-line announcement also comes as the Trump administration is boosting its daily goal to 3,000 illegal immigrant arrests, as ICE continues to conduct sweeps in cities throughout the country, including arresting those with additional criminal records.
Ukraine’s surprise attack shows it may take a ‘major drone strike’ to change US defense policy, experts say
Ukraine’s surprise Sunday attack on Russian offensive weapons caches may be a good time for the U.S. to reflect on its own weaknesses, should one of its adversaries attempt a similar strike. Col. Seth Krummrich, a retired Army Special Forces commander and vice president at the Virginia-based security firm Global Guardian, warned that the U.S. remains vulnerable to drone attacks. “Interestingly, it is not a technological gap, it is a policy/authority process to engage and deny drone attacks,” Krummrich said. “I assess it will take a major drone strike in the U.S. to change policy.” DRONE ACTIVITY NEAR TRUMP-BEDMINSTER, ARMY ARSENAL SPURS NJ FLIGHT RESTRICTION: FAA Even civilian operations have a tough time getting approval for drone-interception-authority protections, the NFL excepted, he said. “Ukraine proved how easy it is to hide a drone swarm in a truck bed, get close to the target, then swarm and destroy targets in a minute or two. “Drones are cheap and easy to lethally modify. This know-how is readily available to all State and non-state enemy actors.” America’s best snipers will have trouble downing a target moving at 35mph, as quadcopter-drones can reach, according to Krummrich. He noted the panoply of threat-groups that could harness drone warfare, from China and North Korea to homegrown threats like Antifa and environmental extremists — and laid out how a villainous actor could carry-out a strike on a sporting event from 1,000 miles away with proper planning and orchestration. Gen. David Grange, a retired veteran of the 101st Airborne, recently returned from Ukraine where his Osprey Relief Foundation team of elite military vets conducted a “point-of-need” assessment and supply delivery to field hospitals and the like. Grange said Ukraine’s use of drones is a “textbook example of asymmetric warfare” – jargon depicting the proverbial David v. Goliath scenario. “If a similar drone-based attack were launched on U.S. soil, it would be extremely difficult to intercept once set forth in motion, much like the events of 9/11,” Grange said. The general estimated that there are 3,000 gang members, terrorists and/or sleeper agents of hostile nations already stateside – and drone actions would be inexpensive and difficult to detect at present. But, the feds are aware there are vulnerabilities and actively working to prepare for a potential scenario, he added: “It’s not a matter of complacency — it’s a matter of catching up to a rapidly evolving threat landscape.” BEDMINSTER DRAFTS VIP SECURITY PLAN AFTER TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT Last year, civilians and officials alike appeared flummoxed by repeated sightings of suspicious drones in the Mid-Atlantic – including near the U.S. Army garrison at Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, N.J., and President Donald Trump’s nearby golf club. Several “spy balloons” allegedly launched by China crossed over the Arctic, Great Plains and sandhills in 2023. One balloon was downed and recovered off the Grand Strand, while remnants of another were scooped up in Lake Huron. Grange said the New Jersey situation was a “critical wake-up call.” “Incidents like that underscore the importance of shifting from reactive posture to proactive deterrence,” he said. “We’re not starting from zero, but we are in a race to close the gap between emerging threats and our ability to counter them.” The idea of an impenetrable North America is not sustainable, he said – warning not to panic but instead to surgically address those vulnerabilities. “Solving this challenge will require an all-hands-on-deck approach: federal, state, and local governments must work hand-in-hand with private industry, research institutions, and technology developers to close the gaps in our homeland defense posture,” Grange said, adding the Ukraine-Russia conflict illustrates “the new face of warfare.” At a December hearing, House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, warned that, “in the wrong hands, drone technology can negatively impact American national security while disrupting critical infrastructure.” “We must secure our skies from unauthorized aerial systems, but most importantly the homeland from foreign adversaries.” Pentagon brass testified NORTHCOM would’ve downed any drone that appeared to pose any imminent physical threat. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Kelly Siegel, CEO of National Technology Management, a Michigan-based cybersecurity firm, told Fox News Digital the Ukraine operation reminds us that more than three-quarters of all drones are made in China. Drone and cyber-related threats to the homeland overlap, he said. “Just like drones have rapidly become critical weapons, causing about 65% of Russian battlefield losses, cyber threats evolve at lightning speed. Staying disciplined and ahead of emerging tech is vital.” Russia has already disrupted American-supplied guided weapons by electronically jamming them – an example of something that mirrors current threats to U.S. critical infrastructure and security systems, he added. In response to the concerns, a defense department official told Fox News Digital the Pentagon “routinely conducts threat assessments as the operational environment continues to evolve.” “Our objective is to enable tailored response options to protect our service members and installations. Specific implementation details are not disclosed for operational security reasons.” Israel, a key U.S. ally, is known for its “Iron Dome” missile defense system – backed by more than $2 billion in U.S. funding. The system has played a crucial role in intercepting rocket attacks from Hamas and other malign actors. The U.S. currently lacks a similar system, though Trump proposed what he calls a “Golden Dome” system. Canada can join the “Golden Dome” for $61 billion, or become the 51st state and join for free,” Trump quipped Friday on Truth Social.
Tariff fight escalates as Trump appeals second court loss
The Trump administration is fighting to pause a second court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump‘s sweeping and so-called reciprocal tariffs, the signature economic policy of his second term. The administration’s new appeal, filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, comes less than a week after a very similar court challenge played out in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) in New York, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington. At issue in both cases is Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to enact his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariff plan. The plan, which Trump announced on April 2, invokes IEEPA for both his 10% baseline tariff on most U.S. trading partners and a so-called “reciprocal tariff” against other countries. TRUMP TARIFF PLAN FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE AS COURT BATTLES INTENSIFY Trump’s use of the emergency law to invoke widespread tariffs was struck down unanimously last week by the three-judge CIT panel, which said the statute does not give Trump “unbounded” power to implement tariffs. However, the decision was almost immediately stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals, allowing Trump’s tariffs to continue. But in a lesser-discussed ruling on the very same day, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras, an Obama appointee, determined that Trump’s tariffs were unlawful under IEEPA. Since the case before him had more limited reach than the case heard by the CIT – plaintiffs in the suit focused on harm to two small businesses, versus harm from the broader tariff plan – it went almost unnoticed in news headlines. But that changed on Monday. TRUMP DENOUNCES COURT’S ‘POLITICAL’ TARIFF DECISION, CALLS ON SUPREME COURT TO ACT QUICKLY Lawyers for the Justice Department asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit – a Washington-based but still separate court than the Federal Court of Appeals – to immediately stay the judge’s ruling. They argued in their appeal that the judge’s ruling against Trump’s use of IEEPA undercuts his ability to use tariffs as a “credible threat” in trade talks, at a time when such negotiations “currently stand at a delicate juncture.” “By holding the tariffs invalid, the district court’s ruling usurps the President’s authority and threatens to disrupt sensitive, ongoing negotiations with virtually every trading partner by undercutting the premise of those negotiations – that the tariffs are a credible threat,” Trump lawyers said in the filing. Economists also seemed to share this view that the steep tariffs were more a negotiating tactic than an espousal of actual policy, which they noted in a series of interviews last week with Fox News Digital. TRUMP TARIFF PLAN FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE AS COURT BATTLES INTENSIFY The bottom line for the Trump administration “is that they need to get back to a place [where] they are using these huge reciprocal tariffs and all of that as a negotiating tactic,” William Cline, an economist and senior fellow emeritus at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said in an interview. Cline noted that this was the framework previously laid out by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had embraced the tariffs as more of an opening salvo for future trade talks, including between the U.S. and China. “I think the thing to keep in mind there is that Trump and Vance have this view that tariffs are beautiful because they will restore America’s Rust Belt jobs and that they’ll collect money while they’re doing it, which will contribute to fiscal growth,” said Cline, the former deputy managing director and chief economist of the Institute of International Finance. “Those are both fantasies.” What comes next in the case remains to be seen. The White House said it will take its tariff fight to the Supreme Court if necessary. Counsel for the plaintiffs echoed that view in an interview with Fox News. But it’s unclear if the Supreme Court would choose to take up the case, which comes at a time when Trump’s relationship with the judiciary has come under increasing strain. In the 20 weeks since the start of his second White House term, lawyers for the Trump administration have filed 18 emergency appeals to the high court, indicating both the pace and breadth of the tense court battles.
Florida Republican’s bill would make Trump orders permanent in bid for US ‘dominance’ in key industry
FIRST ON FOX: A Republican Florida congressman is looking to codify several of President Donald Trump’s executive actions pertaining to domestic energy production through legislative action he took Monday. Rep. Byron Donalds, who has been endorsed by Trump to replace term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, introduced the “Strengthening American Nuclear Energy Act” in an effort to codify four of the president’s executive actions related to boosting nuclear energy production and use in the United States. Trump signed the orders late last-month. “In November, the American people granted us an unprecedented mandate to implement President Trump’s America First Agenda. Now more than ever, it’s up to Congress to hold up our end of the bargain,” Donalds told Fox News Digital. “Energy security is national security, and it’s imperative that our nation re-asserts our dominance in the nuclear space.” On May 23, Trump signed four executive orders aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of nuclear energy in the United States. NUCLEAR ENERGY IS ONE OF THE ‘MOST IMPORTANT THINGS’ TRUMP HAS FOCUSED ON: RICK PERRY One of those orders, the “Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security,” directs the Army to build a nuclear reactor “at a domestic military base or installation” by September 30, 2028. The order also directs the Secretary of Energy to establish artificial intelligence data centers that run on nuclear energy at Department of Energy facilities across the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia, with the goal of having the first one completed within the next 30-months. Finally, in addition to these measures and others, the wide-ranging executive order directs the country to pursue at least 20 new international nuclear cooperation agreements. Meanwhile, another one of the orders that Donalds’ legislation seeks to codify compels the Secretaries of Defense, Transportation and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to prepare a comprehensive report within 240 days of when the order was signed. The report is supposed to include a national strategy to support the management of spent nuclear fuel and other “high-level waste,” an evaluation of the current reprocessing and recycling efforts related to spent nuclear fuel and recommendations on how to improve it, and a program to develop methods and techniques for transporting used and unused nuclear fuel. 5 PRIORITIES CRUCIAL TO SUCCESS OF TRUMP’S ENERGY COUNCIL The order also includes several other timelines, including one for the publication of a report on how to strengthen domestic uranium conversion capacity and enrichment capabilities. It also imposes timelines for the government to update its nuclear energy policies to spur production, and says that at least 10 large nuclear reactors must be under construction no later than 2030. The final two orders from Trump, which Donalds is seeking to codify, are largely aimed at reducing regulatory burdens surrounding nuclear energy production. The first of the two seeks to reform the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in order to help accelerate domestic nuclear energy production. The order aims to do away with what it describes as the NRC’s excessive caution that has hindered the growth of nuclear energy in the United States. TRUMP CAN POWER THE US INTO THE FUTURE WITH A MUSCULAR NUCLEAR ENERGY POLICY The second regulatory-focused nuclear energy directive from Trump is aimed at reforming the Department of Energy’s nuclear reactor testing, in an effort to speed up the development of nuclear power plants. For instance, the order requires officials at the Energy Department to revise internal procedures to ensure that new reactors can become operational within two years of when builders apply to construct it. The safety risks of nuclear energy have long been a debate among energy policymakers in Washington. Part of Trump’s orders are to expedite some of the safety regulations which his administration claims have been stifling domestic nuclear energy production. However, nuclear energy experts, such as Ernest Moniz, an Obama-era energy secretary and nuclear physicist, have said Trump’s move to reform the NRC could be problematic. “Reorganizing and reducing the independence of the NRC could lead to the hasty deployment of advanced reactors with safety and security flaws,” Moniz told the Washington Post. “A major event would, like those in the past, increase regulatory requirements and set back nuclear energy for a long time.” Others, such as Paul Dickman, a former senior staffer on the NRC, have said Trump’s reforms have “no scientific foundation.” “You can’t just do this by fiat,” Dickman told the Post.
Judge halts deportation of Venezuelan migrant under Alien Enemies Act
A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from deporting a Venezuelan migrant under the Alien Enemies Act, saying it hasn’t provided adequate notice or due process for it to be challenged. U.S. District Court Judge John Holcomb, a Trump appointee, ruled that those subject to deportation under the Alien Enemies Act have to be given a chance to challenge the move. “The Government is hereby preliminarily ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from removing or transferring out of this district any member of the putative class pursuant to the Proclamation pending further Order of this Court regarding the amount of notice and process that is due prior to removal,” Holcomb wrote. In a win for Trump, Holcomb also said the president has “unlimited” authority to invoke the AEA, which is being challenged separately. Monday’s ruling came amid a complaint by Darwin Antonio Arevalo Millan, a Venezuelan citizen being held at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Adelanto, California. TRUMP ASKS SCOTUS TO STRIP PROTECTED STATUS FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS In his lawsuit, Arevalo said he is a “vocal dissident” of the Venezuelan government who was granted a permit authorizing him to work and reside in the U.S. pending the review of his asylum application. He was arrested after he reported for a scheduled ICE check-in, his lawsuit states. The arrest was premised upon his status as a Venezuelan with allegedly basketball-related tattoos, which could indicate that Arevalo is affiliated with the notorious Venezuelan Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang, it said. Arevalo’s complaint was filed on behalf of himself and other Venezuelan citizens subjected to Trump’s AEA executive order proclamation. He is asking a judge to require the government to provide at least 30 days’ notice before any removal or transfer. SUPREME COURT BLOCKS NEW DEPORTATIONS OF VENEZUELANS IN TEXAS UNDER 18TH CENTURY ALIEN ENEMIES ACT Monday’s ruling came days after the Supreme Court handed Trump a win by staying a lower court order that blocked the administration from deporting roughly 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The order stays the lower court ruling that halted Trump’s plans to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for some migrants living in the U.S. TPS allow certain individuals to live and work in the U.S. legally if they cannot work safely in their home country due to a disaster, armed conflict or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions.” The TPS program is typically extended to migrants in 18-month increments, most recently under the Biden administration toward the end of his presidency. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP However, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in February attempted to end protections for a specific group of Venezuelan citizens, saying they were not in the national interest. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
SCOOP: House Freedom Caucus draws battle lines as White House readies $9.4B DOGE spending cuts
FIRST ON FOX: The House Freedom Caucus is demanding the House of Representatives vote on the White House’s impending $9.4 billion federal spending cut proposal the same week it lands on Capitol Hill. The conservative group, led by Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., is drawing its line in the sand on Monday with an official position on the coming package, which is expected to call for clawing back government funding for NPR, PBS and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). “When the White House submits its first rescissions package to enact [Department of Government Efficiency] spending cuts to Congress, the House of Representatives should immediately move this to the floor for swift passage,” the Freedom Caucus position said. “The House Freedom Caucus strongly supports these critical rescissions, and we will support as many more rescissions packages as the White House can send us in the coming weeks and months. These first DOGE cuts target taxpayer-funded public broadcasters notorious for their liberal bias like NPR and PBS, as well as billions in wasteful foreign aid dollars.” SCOOP: HOUSE GOP MEMO HIGHLIGHTS REPUBLICAN WINS IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ It comes as Elon Musk’s time leading President Donald Trump’s DOGE effort comes to an end, with the tech billionaire shifting his focus back to Tesla and his other private ventures after his billions of dollars in proposed spending cuts drove a partisan wedge through Congress. “Passing this rescissions package will be an important demonstration of Congress’ willingness to deliver on DOGE and the Trump agenda,” the statement continued. “While the Swamp will inevitably attempt to slow and kill these cuts, there is no excuse for a Republican House not to advance the first DOGE rescissions package the same week it is presented to Congress then quickly send it for passage in the Republican Senate, so President Trump can sign it into law.” The White House is expected to send its $9.4 billion spending cuts package to Congress on Tuesday. The proposal is called a “rescissions package,” a vehicle for the president to block funds that were already allocated by Congress in its yearly appropriations process. Once transmitted to Capitol Hill, lawmakers have 45 days to take it up before it’s voided. MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, ‘BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE And GOP officials have made clear that it’s the first of several such proposals that could come from the White House. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Fox News Channel last week that there will “100%” be further rescissions packages coming from the White House. Bringing the first package to a House-wide vote within a week would require quick political maneuvering. Under House GOP conference rules, lawmakers must get 72 hours to read a bill before the chamber weighs in – a provision that conservatives also fought for – putting a possible vote on Friday at the earliest and possible into the weekend. But the House Freedom Caucus is not the only GOP group pushing for a swift vote. Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, said on Friday, “This brings fairness and accountability back to taxpayers who are sick of funding government waste while making progress towards our crushing $36 trillion national debt. Congress must promptly cement these cuts in law through rescissions and the FY26 appropriations bills.” It comes just over a week after House Republicans pushed through Trump’s multitrillion-dollar tax and immigration bill via the budget reconciliation process. That bill is now being considered by the Senate, and will have to go back to the House if the upper chamber makes any changes. Republican leaders are hoping to have that bill on Trump’s desk by Fourth of July. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., noted both deadlines in an appearance on NBC News’ “Meet The Press” on Sunday. “We’re going to have a second budget reconciliation bill that follows after this, and we’re beginning next week the appropriations process, which is the spending bills for government. And you’re going to see a lot of the DOGE cuts and a lot of this new fiscal restraint reflected in what Congress does next. So stay tuned, this is not the end-all, be-all,” he said of the reconciliation bill. Johnson said on X Friday that “Congress is working with the White House to codify DOGE savings to stop government misuse and misspending of our tax dollars.”