Rubio spearheads massive State Dept. reorganization set to eliminate, merge more than 300 offices
FIRST ON FOX: New State Department reorganization plans will cut or consolidate more than 300 of the agency’s offices and bureaus as part of a massive overhaul seeking to streamline the department, according to agency officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio first announced plans in April to restructure the agency because the department was “bloated, bureaucratic, and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission.” The State Department submitted a notice to Congress Thursday disclosing plans for the overhaul — the largest restructuring for the agency since the Cold War, senior State Department officials told Fox News Digital. The agency’s overhaul aims to cut red tape so the department can respond to threats more quickly, place greater emphasis on the agency’s “primary mission” representing the U.S. abroad and eliminate “bureaucratic overgrowth” in Washington, the congressional notice said. “We have too many god—n offices,” a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital. “We’re trying to shrink offices rather than create them.” RUBIO OVERHAULING ‘BLOATED’ STATE DEPARTMENT IN SWEEPING REFORM The State Department’s plans will slash or merge 311 existing domestic offices, ultimately eliminating up to roughly 3,400 State Department personnel, who make up between 15% and 20% of the agency’s domestic headcount, according to State Department officials. The agency currently boasts roughly 700 offices, meaning the reorganization will cut or join more than 40% of the offices. “We are really addressing a significant portion of the department’s domestic offices and sort of merging them, combining them, trying to make them more efficient,” the senior State Department official said. Staff have not received notifications regarding the reduction in force yet, but are expected to receive an update on reductions in force by July 1. Whereas three offices overseeing sanctions issues previously existed, the overhaul will merge all of those branches together to make it more clear who to report to, according to the official. But a few additions are in the works. The plans also include adding approximately nine new offices, the State Department officials said. New positions include a deputy assistant secretary for democracy and Western values, as well as new immigration security offices under the agency’s bureau of population, refugees and migration to tackle President Donald Trump’s immigration priorities. Likewise, the restructuring adds a new bureau of emerging threats that will address issues pertaining to artificial intelligence, hypersonic weapons and space. “So we’re not just cutting these things,” the senior State Department official said. “We’re re-imagining them to advance the administration’s agenda.” The reorganization structure only affects domestic offices, and also seeks to cut down on the layers of bureaucracy in Washington to give more power to the embassies abroad, according to State Department officials. The State Department has domestic offices all across the U.S., ranging from the East Coast in Boston, all the way to San Francisco and Honolulu. The State Department has more than 270 diplomatic posts outside of the U.S. WHITE HOUSE PROPOSAL AXES UN, NATO FUNDS AND HALVES STATE DEPARTMENT BUDGET The status quo hampered the department’s ability to push out policy because there were so many channels of approval that must be cleared first as part of a “horizontal reporting structure,” they said. Under the new structure, regional bureau offices that handle global U.S. bilateral relationships will take on greater responsibility and oversee policy management of nearly all non-security foreign assistance, according to the congressional notice. “We’re really shifting the focus towards our embassies out in the field, our ambassadors out in the field, giving them the tools … so that they can effectively implement the ‘America First’ diplomacy out there in the field,” another senior State Department official told Fox News Digital. The officials said that Rubio has instructed that the new structure be implemented by July 1, and that the agency is so far on track to meet that goal. Rubio told lawmakers on the Senate appropriations subcommittee overseeing foreign affairs May 20 that the restructuring “is not designed to either cripple the department or in any way — it’s not even a cost savings endeavor.” Rather, Rubio said the change aims to “empower” regional bureaus and embassies. Specifically, Rubio said that he receives up to 15 cables each morning from embassies around the world and that’s where the “best innovations” originate. TRUMP ADMIN TO DIRECT AGENCY HEADS TO PREP FOR ‘LARGE-SCALE REDUCTIONS IN FORCE,’ REORGANIZATION BY MARCH 13 “They are identifying problems and opportunities well in advance of some memo that works its way to me,” Rubio told lawmakers. “We want to get back to a situation or we want to get to a situation where we are empowering ideas and action at the embassy level and through our regional bureaus. Those are literally the front lines of American diplomacy. And so we have structured a State Department that can deliver on that.” Meanwhile, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., voiced caution about the reforms in April after Rubio’s initial announcement and said any changes “must be carefully weighed with the real costs to American security and leadership.” “A strong and mission-ready State Department advances American national security interests, opens up new markets for American workers and companies and promotes global peace and stability,” Shaheen said in her April statement. “It remains to be seen how the administration’s latest proposals will achieve that goal.”
21 Democrats who may try to succeed Trump in the 2028 presidential election
It has been just over four months since President Donald Trump returned to power in the White House, and the very early moves in the 2028 presidential race are already underway by some Democrats with likely national ambitions. This upcoming weekend, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was the Democrats’ 2024 vice presidential nominee, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who says he is not laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential run, will make separate appearances in South Carolina, the state the Democratic National Committee anointed to hold the lead-off primary in their 2024 nominating calendar. Two weeks later, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who ran for the White House in 2020, will headline a major Democratic state party dinner in New Hampshire, which for a century has held the first presidential primary. Two weeks ago, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who later served as Transportation secretary in former President Joe Biden’s administration, headlined a town hall with veterans and military families in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. SUCCEEDING TRUMP IN 2028: SIX REPUBLICANS TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON Iowa’s caucuses for half a century kicked off both major political parties’ presidential nominating calendars until the DNC demoted the Hawkeye State on their 2024 schedule. Another potential contender, two-term Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, late last month, gave the keynote address at a major state party fundraising gala in New Hampshire. Also making noise is two-term Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who said recently he would consider running for president if he felt he could successfully unite the country. WHAT BERNIE SANDERS SAID IN A FOX NEWS DIGITAL INTERVIEW Additionally, progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York grabbed plenty of attention the past couple of months, co-headlining a slew of large rallies across the country with longtime progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, which sparked plenty of 2028 speculation. The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since last November’s election setbacks, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate and defended their fragile House majority. Republicans additionally made gains among Black and Hispanic voters as well as younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party’s base. Since Trump’s return to power, an increasingly angry and energized base of Democrats has been pushing for party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against the president’s sweeping and controversial agenda during the opening months of his second administration. EFFORT BY DEMOCRATS TO STOP THE SLIDE RIDICULED Democrats are not only looking ahead to next year’s midterms, when they hope to make ballot box gains, but also to the next presidential race. “There was a sense of hopelessness earlier this year among Democrats, as Trump came in with his wrecking ball, and it seemed like there was nothing but futile opposition to him,” longtime Democratic strategist Chris Moyer told Fox News. “So thinking about a presidential race with potential candidates is a way to get some hope back and look towards a future that doesn’t include Trump.” Moyer, a veteran of a handful of Democratic presidential campaigns, said the race is “wide open, and it won’t be long before we see clear maneuvering from a litany of candidates.” The results of the 2026 midterm elections will have a major impact on the shape of the next White House race. For now, however, here are 20 Democrats considered potential presidential contenders to watch on the road to 2028. After lying low when the Biden administration came to a close, former Vice President Kamala Harris has picked up the political pace of late, including headlining a recent major DNC fundraiser in New York City, with another in San Francisco next week. Among her campaign options that she is weighing is a 2026 run for the open governor’s seat in her home state of California and another bid in 2028 for the White House. A source in the former vice president’s political orbit confirmed to Fox News Digital two months ago that Harris had told allies she would decide by the end of summer on whether to launch a 2026 gubernatorial campaign. Harris served as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and represented the Golden State in the U.S. Senate before joining Biden’s 2020 ticket and winning that election as vice president. Additionally, Harris would be considered the clear frontrunner for governor in heavily blue California in the race to succeed term-limited Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom. However, early polling in the 2028 Democratic nomination race indicates that Harris would be the frontrunner, thanks in part to her name recognition within her party. While there are plenty of voices within the party who would like to move on from the Biden/Harris era following Trump’s sweeping victory, and there is little history of Democrats yearning for past defeated presidential nominees, Trump has re-written the rules when it comes to defeated White House contenders making another run. Potential buyers’ remorse of a second Trump administration could boost the 60-year-old Harris in the years to come. The progressive “rock star” and best-known lawmaker among the so-called “Squad” of diverse House Democrats in October turned 35, the minimum age to run for president. Some Democrats argue that a riveting messenger with star power is needed as the party’s next nominee, and Ocasio-Cortez is guaranteed to grab plenty of attention if she ultimately decides to run. There is also speculation the four-term federal lawmaker from New York City may primary challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York when he is up for re-election in 2028. California Gov. Gavin Newsom was a top surrogate for Biden during the president’s re-election bid. With the blessing of the White House, the two-term California governor debated then-Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year on Fox News. Newsom’s travels on behalf of Biden brought him to New Hampshire and South Carolina, two crucial early voting states on the Democratic Party’s nominating calendar. After Harris, his friend and fellow Californian, replaced Biden atop
What’s next for DOGE after Elon Musk’s departure? ‘Only just begun’
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk bid farewell to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a Wednesday night X post, ending his tenure as the face of the agency as it shifts to a new phase in President Donald Trump‘s second term. “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk said on X. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.” Musk has been the public face of DOGE since Trump signed an executive order establishing the office on Jan. 20. DOGE has since ripped through federal government agencies in a quest to identify and end government overspending, corruption and fraud. After Musk’s departure, a senior White House official told Fox News Digital that DOGE will operate as it has always operated and that the agency is “part of the DNA of this federal government.” OBAMA-NOMINATED JUDGE ALLOWS LAWSUIT TARGETING MUSK’S ROLE WITH DOGE TO PROCEED, DROPS CLAIMS AGAINST TRUMP The official added that DOGE now operates in “nearly every federal government agency department” with the “sole job” of cutting waste, fraud and abuse with the goal of efficiency. “The DOGE employees at their respective agency or department will be reporting to and executing the agenda of the president through the leadership of each agency or department head,” the official said. In a post on X, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller said, “The work DOGE has done to eliminate government waste and corruption — the rot embedded deep within Washington — is among the most valuable services ever rendered to government. And the work has only just begun.” While Musk has been the public face of DOGE for months, he was not an employee of the United States DOGE Service and did not report to the acting DOGE administrator, Amy Gleason, according to a court filing in March that shed additional light on the internal workings of the office. ‘BUREAUCRATIC AND WASTEFUL’: DOGE SNIFFS OUT EYE-POPPING SPENDING ON BIDEN DEI EFFORTS IN KEY AGENCY Gleason, who has been described by her peers as a “world-class talent,” previously worked for the United States Digital Service, which was founded in 2014 by former President Barack Obama as a technology office within the Executive Office of the President. DOGE is a temporary cross-departmental organization that was established to slim down and streamline the federal government. The group itself will be dissolved on July 4, 2026, according to Trump’s executive order. Musk’s tenure with DOGE resulted in an estimated $175 billion in savings through a combination of asset sales, contract cancellations, fraud payment deletion and other cost-cutting measures, according to the agency’s website, which was last updated on May 26. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The savings amount to $1,086.96 per taxpayer, according to the website. Amid Musk’s work with DOGE, Democrats and activists have staged protests against the tech billionaire and his companies, including working to tank Tesla stocks. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Elizabeth Pritchard contributed to this report.
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger releases first ad, slams ‘political nonsense’
The Virginia Democrat running to replace Gov. Glenn Youngkin released her first TV ad Thursday slamming what she described as “political nonsense” in public service. “Too many politicians talk when they should listen. And divide instead of unite. Enough is enough. I’m Abigail Spanberger. I believe that public service is too important for political nonsense,” the former U.S. House representative said. “When I was in law enforcement and then working counterterrorism at CIA, we didn’t do politics. We did our jobs. I broke down some of the divides, stood up to both parties and was named the most bipartisan member of Congress from Virginia,” she added. “As governor, I’ll work to lower costs, let people keep more of their money and make Virginia schools the best in the nation.” Spanberger is running against Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican, in this November’s gubernatorial race. Representatives for both Youngkin and Earle-Sears did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment from Fox News Digital. DEMOCRAT GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE BLASTED FOR MELTDOWN OVER ‘SHOCKING’ ICE ARREST OF 2 CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Spanberger has faced pushback from both Earle-Sears and the Department of Homeland Security after condemning the “shocking” execution of an ICE raid at a Virginia courthouse in April that netted two criminal illegal immigrants. “I think what we’ve seen most shocking, including here in Charlottesville, has been cases where people haven’t provided identification and have been in some cases masked and in plain clothes,” Spanberger told the Daily Progress earlier this month, after an ICE raid at Albemarle County Courthouse led to the arrest of two illegal immigrants. FORMER CONGRESSWOMAN TURNED VA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ACCUSED OF ETHICS VIOLATION Earle-Sears press secretary Peyton Vogel later told Fox News Digital that “Abigail Spanberger’s outrage over criminal illegal immigrants being taken off our streets is everything Virginians need to know about what kind of governor she’d be — criminals first, victims last.” The Earle-Sears campaign has also accused Spanberger of failing to include her role as a trustee in financial disclosure reports while she was a member of Congress. The campaign for Earle-Sears called the incomplete disclosures “a calculated lie,” not an “accident.” But, according to Spanberger’s campaign, the only asset contained in the trust is Spanberger’s personal residence, which is not required to be disclosed. Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
Riley Gaines challenges ex-ESPN host to race after he says she was a ‘worse swimmer’ than she is ‘MAGA stooge’
FIRST ON FOX: Riley Gaines clapped back at former ESPN and MSNBC host Keith Olbermann with an official challenge for charity on Wednesday after he said Gaines “was, somehow, a worse swimmer than she is a MAGA stooge.” Olbermann, the ex-host of both MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann and ESPN’s SportsCenter, quoted an X post of Education Secretary Linda McMahon telling Fox News’ America Reports that Gaines “would have clearly won” her race if Gaines didn’t have to compete against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. CALIFORNIA TRACK STAR’S FAMILY REACTS TO TRUMP SHAKING UP GIRLS’ CHAMPIONSHIP MEET AMID TRANS ATHLETE DRAMA “[Riley Gaines] finished 85th in the Olympic Trials,” Olbermann posted to X. “She finished tied for 5th in the only race including a transgendered athlete. If there had been none she MIGHT have finished tied for 4th, or had 5th place to herself.” The 12-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American responded on X, noting she “placed 85th at Olympic trials when I was 15/16.” “I was one of the youngest there,” Gaines explained. “And I placed 5th *in the nation* in a sport measured in .01s of a second without going a best. Would you say the 5th best college football player is objectively bad at their sport?” LIA THOMAS’ FORMER TEAMMATES SPEAK OUT AGAINST UPENN AMID TITLE IX VIOLATION The “Gaines for Girls” podcast host told Fox News Digital she is now officially challenging Keith Olbermann to a race for charity. The event would be a 200-yard freestyle at a location of Olbermann’s choice sometime before August 31 of this year. The winner of the race will pick which charitable organization the proceeds would go to and the total wager to be donated would be set if Olbermann agrees. The 25-year-old University of Kentucky alumnus told Fox that Olbermann “could do a 150” yard freestyle, while she still swims 200 yards, if it incentivized him to compete in the charitable challenge. A spokesperson for Olbermann did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM While Gaines and Olbermann sparred on X, President Donald Trump blasted California governor Gavin Newsom earlier this week as the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) cleared the way for a transgender athlete to compete in a women’s state championship track meet this upcoming weekend. “California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum, continues to ILLEGALLY allow “MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS.;” Trump posted to Truth Social. “This week a transitioned Male athlete, at a major event, won “everything,” and is now qualified to compete in the “State Finals” next weekend.” President Trump signed an Executive Order on Feb 5th in an attempt to outright ban men from competing in women’s sports. Trump went on to explain that if the Golden State did not comply with this executive order, federal funding could be revoked. “THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,” the president continued in his post. “Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to.” Newsom’s office released a statement supporting the transgender athlete’s participation in the upcoming state championship.
Federal judge sides against copyright leader who claimed Trump was wrong to fire her
President Donald Trump scored a legal win on Wednesday when a federal judge declined to grant an emergency request for reinstatement as the fired head of the U.S. Copyright Office. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that Shira Perlmutter failed to meet the legal burden of showing she would suffer irreparable harm if not immediately reinstated, according to the Associated Press. In a lawsuit against the Trump administration, Perlmutter argued that neither the president nor his subordinates had the authority to fire her, as her position falls under the Library of Congress. Trump fired Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress and the person who appointed Perlmutter back in 2020. Perlmutter claims in the suit that only the Librarian of Congress can hire or fire the head of the U.S. Copyright Office. TRUMP ADMIN FIRES TOP US COPYRIGHT OFFICIAL DAYS AFTER TERMINATING LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS Trump appointed U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting Librarian of Congress earlier this month after removing Hayden over allegations that she had pushed DEI initiatives. However, Perlmutter and her attorneys claim that the president lacks the authority to appoint a Librarian of Congress, as the position is under the legislative branch, not the executive. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP’S REMOVAL OF BIDEN APPOINTEES FROM FEDERAL BOARDS Lawyers representing Blanche made the opposite argument in a court filing. “The President had the power to remove the Librarian and designate an acting replacement. The Library of Congress is not an autonomous organization free from political supervision,” the filing read. “It is part of the Executive Branch and is subject to presidential control…” Trump is facing resistance from within his own party over the move, according to Politico. The outlet reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have privately questioned the president’s actions toward the Library of Congress, citing three individuals granted anonymity. Johnson and Thune have reportedly expressed skepticism over Trump’s authority to name Library officials. Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) has been a vocal opponent, rejecting Perlmutter’s firing in a statement. “Donald Trump’s termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis. It is surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk’s efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models,” Morelle said in a statement. While Perlmutter’s emergency request was denied, her lawsuit is still ongoing. According to Politico, Kelly indicated that he would hear arguments in the coming weeks.
Lindsey Graham draws Democratic Senate challenger who previously lost congressional race
A South Carolina pediatrician and former Democratic House candidate announced Wednesday that she is now running to replace Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham in the upper chamber of Congress. Dr. Annie Andrews, who lost by about 14 percentage points to Mace in the 2022 election, announced her campaign through a roughly three-and-a-half-minute political ad in which she describes Graham as “full of s—.” Andrews, wearing scrubs and seen interacting with young patients, says she has been a pediatrician in South Carolina for about two decades, and that parents trust her to “treat their kids for just about everything you can imagine.” She then points to a series of X-rays. SEN. GRAHAM RESPONDS IN KIND TO TRUMP’S JOKE ABOUT WANTING TO BE POPE: ‘KEEP AN OPEN MIND’ “This is an X-ray of a kid with measles pneumonia, a condition easily prevented by vaccines. This is a kid with cancer, one of the diseases the NIH doesn’t have the funding to study anymore, and this is a kid who’s been shot, which despite being the number one cause of death for children in America is no longer classified as a public health crisis,” Andrews says. She then shows a final X-ray image of a child with constipation. “And this kid, and there’s really no other way to say this, is quite literally full of s—,” Andrew says, before showing a video of Graham. “And this is an adult who is also completely and unequivocally full of s—. Roll the tape.” The ad plays several conflicting clips of Graham in which he criticizes President Donald Trump, including by describing him as a “kook” and telling him to “go to hell,” and then videos showing Graham supporting him. Graham was initially critical of Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, but the senator later became one of Trump’s most vocal supporters. “It’s embarrassing, and South Carolina deserves better,” Andrews says, announcing her campaign for U.S. Senate. She then goes on to criticize several Trump allies and Cabinet secretaries, including DOGE adviser Elon Musk, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “An unelected billionaire is taking a chainsaw to Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ healthcare. The vaccine-denying brain worm guy is gutting our nation’s healthcare system. The wrestling lady is elbow dropping the Department of Education,” Andrews says. “And a guy who can’t even organize a text thread is running the Department of Defense.” “And Lindsey Graham voted to confirm every single one of these people,” Andrews claims, despite the Senate not voting to confirm Musk, who was a “special government employee.” The ad cuts to Andrews banging her head on a table, saying, “It’s a lot.” MACE SOUNDS OFF ON STOCK TRADING IN CONGRESS, PELOSI REMAINS SILENT: ‘SOMETHING DOESN’T ADD UP’ “All while backing Trump’s plan to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires while raising yours,” she continues, showing footage of Graham speaking with Meta CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. Andrews says Graham, 69, has been a senator for half of her lifetime and “as it turns out, most senators don’t get better with age.” “Lindsey is going to tell you that I’m radical, I’m crazy because that’s what weak men do when they feel threatened by strong women,” Andrews says. “But here’s the thing, I’m literally a busy mom and a pediatrician who plays peek-a-boo with my patients, watches Bluey with my kids – I love Bluey – and spends most of my free time shuttling them to dance, taekwondo and football.” “Say hi kids,” Andrews says to her children in the back of her vehicle. They respond, “Hi, kids!” and Andrews tells the camera, “So radical.” “I also just happen to be someone who isn’t afraid of a fight,” Andrew says. “And like so many of you, I’m worried about what the future holds for our kids and our state.” “Everything from failing schools to closing hospitals. The climate crisis and rising prices. To tariffs hurting our ports and auto industry. Worrying won’t do anything, but stepping up to join me in this fight just might. A fight where we put common sense over culture wars and hope over hate. Right now, Lindsey Graham is counting on all of us to stay quiet. And that means one thing, it’s time to get loud.” Fox News Digital reached out to Graham’s office for comment on Thursday. In an interview with The Hill, Andrews reportedly said Graham “changed his position on nearly every issue” throughout his 22 years in the Senate and doesn’t “stand for anything other than himself.” Graham last won re-election in 2020, defeating Democratic challenger Jamie Harrison by 10 percentage points. Harrison had raised more than $100 million to unseat Graham but was unsuccessful. Andrews told The Hill that Harrison “ran a great campaign, but it was in the middle of the COVID pandemic which really hamstrung their ability to have an effective field operation.” She said the country now was in a “very different moment,” pointing to issues that she described as “attacks on our health care system” and “attacks on the social safety nets that are really the bedrock and foundation of this country.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Andrews worked at the Medical University of South Carolina for about 15 years until 2023. She told The Hill she currently has a part-time role at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. and a faculty appointment at George Washington University. She has medical licenses in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina. She told The Hill she plans to renew her license in South Carolina, which is set to expire next month. If elected to the Senate, she told The Hill, she wants to prioritize making the child tax credit permanent.
Trump’s drastic NSC cuts spark debate: Does fighting the ‘Deep State’ put national security at risk?
As the White House trims over 100 aides from its National Security Council staff, some former officials and analysts are asking if the smaller team can meet the demands of a fast-moving and dangerous global security environment. Roughly half of the NSC’s 350-person team will depart in what the White House is calling a “right-sizing” of a historically bureaucratic body composed largely of career diplomats – many of whom are seen as out of step with the president’s agenda. Aides originally on loan from agencies like the State Department and the Pentagon are being sent back to their home departments. Political appointees placed on administrative leave have been told the White House will find other roles for them elsewhere in the administration. Some former NSC officials told Fox News Digital it’s too early to tell whether the overhaul will result in a more efficient agency – or one ill-equipped to deliver timely intelligence for national security decisions. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLANS TO OVERHAUL NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, WEEKS AFTER WALTZ’S DEPARTURE Privately, national security sources questioned whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is currently serving as interim national security advisor, might be paring back the agency to avoid internal power struggles once he returns to his original post. Michael Allen, a former senior director at the NSC, said the staffing changes reflect President Donald Trump’s desire for direct control over key decisions. “I think he wants people to bring decisions to him earlier than previous presidents,” Allen told Fox News Digital. The NSC has charted rocky waters since it lost national security advisor Mike Waltz following the inadvertently publicized Signal chat. His deputy, Alex Wong, also recently departed the agency, and other aides who had a large impact on the administration’s early foreign policy decisions were pushed out in Friday’s restructuring. Eric Trager, the senior director for Middle East issues who traveled with envoy Steve Witkoff for some of his Iran negotiations, is out. So is Andrew Peek, senior director for Europe and Eurasia, who helped coordinate the approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Additionally, the restructuring will move Andy Barker, national security advisor to Vice President JD Vance, and Robert Gabriel, assistant to the president for policy, into roles serving as deputy national security advisors. “This happens naturally on NSCs, the kind of stasis we saw in the Biden administration is highly untypical,” said Victoria Coates, former deputy national security advisor to Trump. She noted that President Ronald Reagan had six national security advisors over two terms as president, in addition to two acting NSAs. “For the president, he has legitimate concerns about the NSC from the first term, given what happened, and then, you know, there’s no sugar-coating it: the situation with Signalgate was a problem for NSA Waltz,” Coates went on. “The president is taking actions to get the NSC into a condition that he would have complete confidence in it.” With a slimmer NSC, the president is expected to lean more heavily on Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard for his daily intelligence briefings. “One thing that makes this administration unique is that it’s the president himself and a small circle of advisors who truly matter and make decisions,” said Brian Katulis, a former NSC official and fellow at the Middle East Institute. “They just don’t see the need for ongoing interagency meetings like in previous administrations.” Katulis added that the biggest risk isn’t necessarily a lack of intelligence – but a lack of coordination. “Rather than gaps in intel or knowledge, what I’d worry more about is whether different agencies are singing from the same sheet of music,” he said. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment on Friday’s cuts and their intent. ONE-MAN CABINET: MARCO RUBIO WENT FROM RIVAL TO TRUMP’S POINT MAN, BUT CAN HE HANDLE IT Others argue that the NSC has become bloated and is in need of a reset. “The NSC under Democratic presidents grows to 300, 400 people,” said former Trump NSC official Alex Gray. “It becomes its own department.” “When I was there, we took it down to about 110 people doing policy – and it could probably go down another 50 and still be effective,” he said. “Do you want an NSC that formulates and directs policy, or one that gives the president advice, lets him decide, and then implements it? You don’t need hundreds of people to do that.” But the NSC is the primary agency tasked with making sure other agencies are in line with the president’s agenda. “Rather than preparing options for him, they should take his direction and implement it,” said Coates. But, she added, “if you take it down too far, it’s not going to have the manpower to implement those directions from the White House into the departments and agencies which are always bigger and better funded than the NSC.” “How many heads do you have to bash together to get them to do what the president wants them to do? Our experience was in the first term that we needed a fair amount of heft on our end to get them to do stuff they didn’t want to do, like designate the IRGC as an FTO, for example,” Coates added. Even with a leaner staff, the NSC remains responsible for managing critical global challenges – from Iran nuclear talks and the war in Ukraine to military competition with China. That puts added pressure on Rubio, who will bear the blame if any crucial intelligence slips through the cracks. “The big issue is the national security advisor needs to make sure the president has all the information he needs to make a decision,” Allen said. Fox News’ Diana Stancy contributed to this report.
Can the Trump administration deport green card holders? Here’s what rights they have in the US
The Trump administration is targeting international students with student visas and permanent residents who hold a green card as part of its immigration crackdown. And while green card holders may legally remain in the U.S. indefinitely, work in the country, and are protected by U.S. laws, the Trump administration has made clear that the demographic is not off limits from its mass-deportation agenda. Can the federal government deport those who are green card holders and are here in the U.S. legally? Yes. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, green card holders are only protected if they “do not commit any actions that would make you removable under immigration law.” Green card holders are “required to obey all laws of the United States and localities,” file taxes annually, register for the draft if the green card holder is a male between the ages of 18 and 25, and are also “expected to support the democratic form of government,” per U.S. Citizenship and Immigraion Services. Should a green card holder violate certain provisions included in the Immigration and Nationality Act, they could face deportation. LAWYERS FOR COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST MAHMOUD KHALIL BLAST RUBIO EVIDENCE LETTER: ‘TWO PAGES, THAT’S IT’ Reasons a green card holder could be deported include the termination of conditional permanent resident status, knowingly helping someone enter the U.S. illegally, committing crimes including rape, murder or fraud, according to Berardi Immigration Law, a business immigration law firm that handles work permits and green cards for international employees working in the U.S. Other reasons also include committing an aggravated felony, being convicted of drug or firearms crimes, and engaging in criminal activity that jeopardizes public safety or national security issues, per Berardi Immigration Law. Furthermore, those who face convictions for these crimes may only face deportation after an immigration judge hears their case, according to Penn State Law School. A green card allows an individual already in the U.S. who is not an American citizen to remain in the country, while a student visa allows those outside the U.S. to study in the country for a specific amount of time at an academic institution. Eligibility for a green card is possible through several avenues, including being an immediate family member of a U.S. citizen like a spouse or parent, finding employment here in the U.S., or qualifying as a refugee or someone seeking asylum. TRUMP COLLEGE CRACKDOWN: LIST OF STUDENTS DETAINED AMID ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUSES The possibility of deporting green card holders attracted increased scrutiny after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil in March. Khalil, who is a Palestinian raised in Syria and a permanent U.S. resident with a green card who first came to the U.S. on a student visa in 2022, played a major role in the protests against Israel while at Columbia University as a graduate student. The Department of Homeland Security said Khalil was arrested to protect U.S. national security, and claimed that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” Additionally, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time any Hamas supporters in the U.S. would suffer similar fates and have their green cards pulled, and face deportation. Likewise, President Donald Trump said in a social media post in March following Khalil’s arrest that it was “the first arrest of many to come.” But Democrats claim the Trump administration is out of line and the arrest was an assault on freedom of speech. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats said Khalil’s arrest amounted to “straight up authoritarianism” in a post on X in March. An immigration judge in Louisiana ruled in April that the Trump administration was at liberty to deport Khalil, claiming she didn’t have the authority to challenge the Trump administration’s assessment that Khalil posed a national security threat. But Khalil, who is currently stuck at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, has yet to see whether he will face deportation. Another federal judge in New York has blocked the Trump administration from removing Khalil from the U.S. while his case plays out in court. Separately, the Trump administration is also eyeing ways to beef up vetting for those entering the U.S. on student visas — particularly for those who’ve publicly supported Palestine, like Khalil. For example, the State Department is also bracing itself to ramp up social media screening for those applying for student visas. The State Department announced Tuesday that it is temporarily suspending new student and exchange visitor visa interviews as it evaluates enhanced social media screenings for the application process. CONGRESS ‘ENTITLED’ TO ‘REGULATING THE CONDUCT’ OF VISA HOLDERS, EXPERT SAYS AMID DEPORTATION PUSH Rubio told lawmakers May 20 that he expects that the State Department has already pulled thousands of visas since January following Trump’s inauguration. That’s up from the 300 the administration had revoked as of late March. Rubio also said that his agency would continue to pull student visas, stating that a visa is not a right, it’s a “privilege.” “I don’t know the latest count, but we probably have more to do,” Rubio told lawmakers on the Senate appropriations subcommittee overseeing foreign affairs. “We’re going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education facilities.”
US judge blocks Trump from suspending Biden-era migrant ‘parole’ programs
A U.S. federal judge has inflicted another blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to end a multiple Biden-era parole program for hundreds of thousands of migrants from Afghanistan, Latin America and Ukraine. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to resume processing applications from those migrants who are seeking work permits or renewing their status. Talwani, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, rejected the Trump administration’s claim that suspending the parole programs was within its broad discretion to direct immigration policy. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM REVOKING TEMPORARY LEGAL STATUS OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS Federal law still requires agencies under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to follow a lengthy process for granting or denying parole and other immigration relief, she wrote in siding with migrants pursuing a class action lawsuit. Talwani also certified a nationwide class, temporarily protecting all individuals in several humanitarian parole programs while the case proceeds. “This court emphasizes, as it did in its prior order, that it is not in the public interest to manufacture a circumstance in which hundreds of thousands of individuals will, over the course of several months, become unlawfully present in the country, such that these individuals cannot legally work in their communities or provide for themselves and their families,” the judge wrote. “Nor is it in the public interest for individuals who enlisted and are currently serving in the United States military to face family separation, particularly where some of these individuals joined the military in part to help their loved ones obtain lawful status.” Some of the applicants were paroled into the U.S. after working with the U.S. military as translators. TRUMP ADMIN PULLING LEGAL STATUS FOR MORE THAN 530K MIGRANTS The migrants were granted a two-year “parole” to live in the country under programs established by former President Joe Biden. The programs let migrants and their immediate family members fly to the United States as long as they had sponsors in America. Then, they would be placed on parole for two years. However, the Trump administration has been trying to end all parole programs as part of its immigration crackdown and has already asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 directing the government to end “all categorical parole programs” set up during the Biden administration. Last month, Talwani blocked the administration’s effort to revoke parole and work authorization en masse for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, ruling that such actions required case-by-case determinations. Anwen Hughes, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at Human Rights First, said in a statement that they are pleased with the ruling. “This ruling reaffirms what we have always known to be true: our government has a legal obligation to respect the rights of all humanitarian parole beneficiaries and the Americans who have welcomed them into their communities,” Hughes said. “We share the judge’s hope that the government will adhere to this order and immediately resume adjudicating our clients’ applications for relief.” Reuters contributed to this report.