Trump says China agrees to ‘fully’ open country’s markets to US businesses
China has agreed to “open itself up to American business” following trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing Saturday, according to President Donald Trump. The arrangement arguably was the most significant development stemming from the trade negotiations, Trump told reporters Monday at the White House. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent launched trade negotiations with China in Geneva Saturday, resulting in a deal that would temporarily ease up on tariffs for 90 days. This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
‘Enough is enough’: GOP senator unleashes bill with severe consequences for harming police
FIRST ON FOX: Ohio freshman GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno has introduced legislation that would increase the criminal penalties for harming a police officer after a sheriff’s deputy was killed in the line of duty in Cincinnati, Ohio, earlier this month. Moreno’s Larry Henderson Act, being introduced this week, would update existing law stating that anyone who forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any law enforcement officer engaged in official duties be required to face one to eight years in prison, depending on the severity. Moreno’s bill would up that mandatory minimum to 20 years. The bill also “establishes federal jurisdiction over these crimes as exclusive and preemptive, superseding state or local prosecution for federal officers.” COP KILLER DIES AFTER ‘BOTCHED’ FIRING SQUAD EXECUTION; WITNESS IN THE ROOM REVEALS HOW IT HAPPENED “Enough is enough,” Moreno told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Anyone who assaults one of our men or women in blue needs to face severe consequences, period. Deputy Larry Henderson should be alive today, and that’s why I’m introducing legislation – in his honor – to protect our law enforcement officers.” POLICE GROUP SLAMS GOFUNDME FOR OHIO FATHER ACCUSED OF KILLING DEPUTY LARRY HENDERSON The bill is named after Hamilton County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Henderson, who was killed when he was struck by a car while directing traffic near the University of Cincinnati during a graduation ceremony. Authorities have charged Rodney Hinton with attempted murder and say he intentionally struck Henderson shortly after Hinton’s 18-year-old son was shot and killed by officers after allegedly fleeing in a stolen car while armed, according to prosecutors. Ohio Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President Jay McDonald said in a statement that Ryan’s father, Rodney Hinton Jr., “intentionally murdered a retired deputy who was working special duty at a graduation just because he was a police officer.” Henderson was a 33-year officer with the HCSO and had served in multiple specialized units since 1991, including the dive team, HCPA SWAT, FBI Task Force Officer and the HCSO Bomb Unit. “In Deputy Henderson’s early tenure as a Sheriff’s Deputy, I recognized his talent for teaching and presentation,” Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said in a statement after Henderson’s death. “Larry began his journey as a Sheriff’s Office trainer early in his career. He developed an expertise and became an excellent trainer. Subsequently, he trained divisions of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office that included hundreds of deputy sheriffs. His ability to relate to and touch officers’ lives was extraordinary. We will continue to honor Larry’s life of service.” Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin contributed to this report
Legal expert reveals why centuries-old law is crucial for Trump admin in immigration fight
As the Alien Enemies Act continues to be a focal point of the immigration debate in the early days of President Donald Trump’s second term, Republican attorney Mehek Cooke told Fox News Digital about why the White House is making use of the 1798 law. Some federal judges have disagreed with the Trump administration’s decision to use the act to send suspected MS-13 and Tren De Aragua gang members outside the United States, including to El Salvador’s CECOT prison. Trump designated those two groups as foreign terrorist organizations shortly after taking office. “Under this act, it allows us to detain, apprehend, and deport alien enemies,” Cooke said. BOASBERG GRILLS DOJ OVER REMARKS FROM TRUMP AND NOEM, FLOATS MOVING MIGRANTS TO GITMO IN ACTION-PACKED HEARING “This immediately allowed under the Alien Enemies Act for President Trump and his administration to accelerate deportations of individuals from Venezuela and gang members,” she later added. Earlier last week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg asked the Justice Department about public comments Trump and other Cabinet officials made about deportation proceedings under the Alien Enemies Act and floated the idea of moving some migrants to Guantánamo Bay. During the hearing, Boasberg specifically pressed Justice Department lawyers about statements made by Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about CECOT, the maximum-security prison in El Salvador where the U.S. has deported hundreds of migrants, and the White House’s ability to secure someone’s release. KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA’S LAWYERS ASK FOR MORE TRUMP ADMIN OFFICIALS TO TESTIFY, POSSIBLY FROM WHITE HOUSE Cooke noted that the debate over due process has to do with the perspective of who gets those rights in the U.S. “I think today, when we talk about due process, people have to understand there’s American citizens that deserve due process under our Constitution,” she said. “There’s illegal aliens that are in our country that we have given a sliding scale of due process. And then there are terrorists that deserve very little process, as we’re expediting their removal. Our immigration judges and our courts don’t have enough time to stand there with every single individual that’s a Tren de Aragua member and bicker back and forth,” Cooke continued. DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO LIBYA WOULD VIOLATE COURT ORDER WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE, FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS The Republican attorney said that from her perspective, many federal judges are questioning the president’s ability to actually decide what is considered an alien enemy. “What’s happening today is courts through judicial activism are actually challenging that. So what they’re saying is that the president can’t designate somebody an alien enemy. They can’t designate Tren de Aragua an alien enemy. And more importantly, courts are pushing and saying that these individuals that are illegal terrorists in our country deserve due process,” Cooke explained. Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: Biden ATF promoted agents involved in ‘illegal’ scheme to inflate salaries, GOP senators say
Two Senate Republicans are calling for immediate corrective action at the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), accusing agency officials of substantial misconduct, mismanagement, abuse of power and potential criminal misconduct after supervisory staff allegedly disregarded federal directives and standards in order to inflate their salaries. What’s more, instead of being disciplined, the supervisory agents who allegedly turned a blind eye to the misconduct – and in some cases allegedly retaliated against whistleblowers trying to expose it – were promoted under the Biden administration, the senators say. “As a result of ATF’s illegal conduct, ATF staff assigned to these positions performed administrative work but unlawfully received enhanced law enforcement pay and benefits to which they were not entitled, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars,” Iowa’s Republican senators, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, wrote in a letter transmitted Friday to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and ATF acting Director Daniel Driscoll. ARMY SECRETARY DAN DRISCOLL TO LEAD ATF, REPLACING FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL In their letter, the senators cited two internal investigations from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which concluded in 2020 and ultimately suspended the ATF’s classification authority, and the ATF Internal Affairs Division (IAD), which was completed in early 2024. Despite the suspension from OPM in 2020, which was lifted in 2023, ATF officials disregarded OPM directives and continued to re-classify agency employees improperly, according to the senators. In their letter, Grassley and Ernst singled out two supervisory agents, Lisa Boykin and Ralph Bittelari, who they say the IAD audit shows not only allowed the continuance of this misclassification scheme – despite knowing it violated OPM directives and standards – but also retaliated against whistleblowers trying to expose it. Furthermore, the senators claim, Boykin and Bittelari were promoted before President Joe Biden left office and continue to work at the ATF under President Donald Trump. In one instance, according to the senators, Bittelari and Boykin decided to move forward with the relocation of an ATF law enforcement officer in Phoenix to an administrative position at ATF headquarters in Washington, D.C., despite OPM identifying the position as misclassified. The IAD report allegedly shows Bittelari initially agreed to rescind the job offer, but following a subsequent conversation with Boykin decided to move forward with the unauthorized relocation anyway. SENATOR WARNS OF ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ JUDICIAL OVERREACH AHEAD OF SCOTUS SHOWDOWN Furthermore, the senators alleged in their letter that the IAD report shows Bittelari attempted to hide the “unlawful assignment” by submitting the promotion directly to payroll for processing. During another instance when Bittelari sought to improperly classify a position description for the chief of ATF’s Workforce Wellness and Services Division (WWSD) as law enforcement, the senators said a human resources classification specialist was threatened with insubordination after recusing herself from the matter and sending an email notifying staff it was a violation of OPM directives and standards. The senator’s letter also highlighted Boykin’s “troubling lack of candor” regarding the installation of the chief of WWSD. According to the senators, Boykin told IAD investigators she was unsure if the chief of WWSD had been installed prior to the position description ever being adequately approved. However, the senators said, Boykin’s emails showed the individual attended meetings and functions with Boykin as WWSD chief prior to receiving approval, and a draft position description was created jointly by the pair weeks before the official WWSD chief position description was approved. “The findings in the IAD report present clear evidence that corrective action must be taken for, at minimum, Ms. Boykin’s and Mr. Bittelari’s gross misconduct,” the senators wrote. “Yet, the Biden ATF and DOJ leadership not only failed to hold Boykin or Bittelari accountable for their gross misconduct, but legally protected whistleblower disclosures provided to our offices show these career DOJ bureaucrats were promoted after the conclusion of the IAD investigation that harshly criticized their actions.” The senators point out in their letter that Boykin was promoted to chief diversity officer under Biden, but in January 2025 her title was switched to “Senior Executive.” Meanwhile, the senators also pointed out Bittelari was promoted to senior advisor at the Justice Department’s Justice Management Division (JMD), and later acting deputy director of human resources within JMD. ATF ACCUSED OF ‘CIRCUMVENTING’ TRUMP ORDER TO PLACE DEI STAFF ON PAID LEAVE “In closing, the findings in the IAD and OPM audit reports further substantiate the claims whistleblowers made to our offices that senior ATF bureaucrats, Ms. Boykin and Mr. Bittelari, engaged in gross and substantial waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct at the expense of taxpayers in furtherance of ATF’s illegal misclassification scheme, retaliated against whistleblowers for exposing it, and then were promoted for it,” stated Grassley and Ernst’s letter to Bondi and Driscoll. “Their complete disregard for the law despite being ‘fully aware of the potential consequences’ show Boykin and Bittelari should not have leadership positions at the Justice Department or its components.” In addition to calling for corrective action, Grassley and Ernst requested that no later than May 23 the Justice Department submit a response on how it plans to address the issues laid out in the IAD report and their letter. The Justice Department declined to comment for this article, while the ATF did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiries.
Trump China tariff truce ignites stock markets – will it also pump up president’s poll numbers?
Global stock markets are soaring in the wake of the trade truce between the U.S. and China. The agreement, announced early Monday, implements a 90-day cooling-off period between the world’s two largest economic superpowers, bringing a temporary end to their tariff war that last month triggered a massive financial market sell-off. U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, which were jacked to 145% last month as President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on countries around the world, will be scaled down to 30%, with Beijing lowering its tariffs from a retaliatory 125% to just 10%. “We both have an interest in balanced trade, the U.S. will continue moving towards that,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after talks with Chinese officials in Switzerland. WHAT’S IN THE TRADE TRUCE WITH CHINA White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in an appearance on “Fox and Friends,” said the agreement was “an extraordinary step in the right direction,” and a White House press release described it as “a historic trade win for the United States.” While the initial agreement brought instant relief to the stock markets, for a president aiming to pass a sweeping agenda through Congress and hold onto his congressional majorities in next year’s midterm elections, it is the potential political payoff that may be of upmost importance. The truce with China follows days after an initial trade deal with the United Kingdom – which is the first since Trump implemented tariffs last month. The president touted that the agreement with London would be “the first of many.” “It’s a positive first step,” veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News. COMMERCE SECRETARY SAYS MORE DEALS TO COME FOLLOWING US-UK TRADE AGREEMENT: ‘GOING TO DRIVE OUR ECONOMY’ Trump’s approval ratings have been sliding since he returned to power in the White House nearly four months ago and are now underwater in most national polling. Most, but not all, of the most recent national public opinion surveys indicate Trump’s approval ratings in negative territory, which is a deterioration from the president’s poll position when he started his second tour of duty in the White House in late January. Fueling the drop in Trump’s poll numbers are increased concerns by Americans over the economy and inflation, which were pressing issues that kept former President Joe Biden‘s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency. Trump stood at 44% approval and 55% disapproval in the most recent Fox News national poll, which was conducted April 18-21. Additionally, getting past the top lines, the president’s approval registered at 38% on the economy and just 33% on inflation and tariffs. Front and center is Trump’s blockbuster tariff announcement in early April, which sparked a trade war with some of the nation’s top trading partners and triggered a massive sell-off in the financial markets and increased concerns about a recession. POLL POSITION: WHERE TRUMP STANDS 15 WEEKS INTO HIS SECOND PRESIDENCY In discussing his tariffs soon after he announced them on what he called “Liberation Day,” the president touted that “these countries are calling us up, kissing my a–.” “They are dying to make a deal. ‘Please, please, sir, make a deal. I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything, sir!’” Trump claimed. A month later, Trump finally has a chance to show tangible results. The president touted, “NO INFLATION!!! LOVE, DJT” in a social media post Monday morning. “President Trump has argued that his agenda requires time for an adjustment and deal making. He’ll be given a period of time to execute deals to prove that his plans are working and the first major trade deal with a nation like the UK is at least a sign that some of the work has been going on behind the scenes thus and is starting to bear fruit,” Williams said last week, following the announcement of the deal with the United Kingdom. Williams added that the president will “have to back it up with more, but it is a positive first step for him in securing other deals.”
‘I don’t love it’: Trump’s $1,000 self-deportation plan draws mixed reaction from House GOP
A proposal to give illegal immigrants $1,000 to self-deport is drawing a somewhat mixed reaction from Republicans in the House of Representatives. No GOP lawmakers opposed the idea, but some had questions about its feasibility. Others, however, emphatically backed the proposal as a cost-effective and humane way to achieve the Trump administration’s deportation goals. “It’s a smart, compassionate, and cost-effective way to tackle immigration issues,” Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital. “Instead of costly detentions and deportations, this plan offers financial help and safe travel for people to return home. It’s a win-win, fair to those involved and saves American taxpayers millions.” Meanwhile, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., conceded it “will help get the [deportation] numbers up” but argued it would likely largely affect people who wanted to leave the country anyway. SCOOP: REPUBLICANS DISCUSS DEFUNDING ‘BIG ABORTION’ LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN TRUMP AGENDA BILL “We’re not gonna lose any gangbangers like that or any criminals, I think people that are trying to figure out a way to get back,” Burchett said. He added as another point, “Where will the money come from? Again, any money we spend now we’re just borrowing, so that’s a concern.” President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said earlier this week that it would soon begin giving $1,000 stipends and travel aid to illegal immigrants who self-deport. DHS said it was far cheaper than the cost of arresting someone and detaining them while their deportations are processed – an average cost of $17,000 according to the department. “I think it is pathetic that we’re in a position where we have to pay for people and pay for their flights and remove them and then give them money,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “But at the end of the day, everything is a calculation, at this point, on how you remove people and get sanity in our system. So I’m going to give the administration a lot of deference on that.” Roy summarized his sentiments: “I don’t love it, but I also don’t love the situation we’re in.” Reps. Mike Flood, R-Neb., and Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., both noted the argument of cost-effectiveness. “I mean, the message it sends to me is he’s looking at every option to reduce and deport, to deport people that are here illegally, and my sense is they feel this can work, and it may be a lot cheaper in the long run if we can make it happen,” Flood said. Clyde told Fox News Digital, “If it costs less to send them home that way, I think that’s a very creative option for the president.” BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT’S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY “I think what we’ll probably find is it costs us a whole lot more than $1,000 to go arrest them, put them in detention, and then physically deport them,” Clyde said. But others, like Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., just wanted to know that studies were being done on the plan’s potency. “Do we have any studies on the efficiency?” he posed. “Also, how do you stop any type of scamming of the system – come across, go back, come across? It should be done by the math.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and DHS for comment.
House GOP unveils Medicaid work requirements in Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
House Republicans released a sweeping plan late on Sunday to curb who gets Medicaid coverage and roll back former President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle (EV) mandate, among other measures. The Energy & Commerce Committee, which has broad jurisdiction, including over federal health programs, telecommunications and energy, was tasked with finding at least $880 billion in spending cuts to pay for other priorities in President Donald Trump‘s “big, beautiful bill.” Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., told House Republicans on a lawmaker-only call on Sunday night that the panel had found “north of $900 billion” in savings, however – a significant victory for House GOP leaders who weathered attacks from Democrats about significant cuts to welfare programs like Medicaid. However, Republicans largely avoided the deep cuts to Medicaid that were sought by some fiscal hawks in the House GOP Conference, a win for moderate Republicans who were more politically vulnerable to Democratic attacks over the issue. ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION The legislation would put a new 80-hour-per-week work requirement on certain able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid, aged 19 through 64. It would also put guardrails on states spending funds on their expanded Medicaid populations. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed states to expand Medicaid coverage to adults who make up to 138% of the poverty level. More specifically, states that provide Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants could see their federal Medicaid reimbursement dollars diminished, putting more of that cost on the state itself. The bill would also require states with expanded Medicaid populations to perform eligibility checks every six months to ensure the system is not being abused. HOUSE REPUBLICANS RELEASE TAX PLAN FOR TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ Guthrie told House Republicans on a Sunday night call that the legislation was “ending” the former Biden administration’s EV mandate. He said $105 billion in savings could be found in ending the mandate to have EVs account for two-thirds of all new car sales by 2032. Other savings are found in rescinding unspent funds in a variety of Biden green energy tax programs established via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It is not a full repeal of the IRA, however, as some conservatives had been pushing Republicans to do. That had been another point of contention ahead of the bill’s release, with GOP lawmakers who have businesses in their districts that have benefited from the green energy subsidies pushing back on significant cuts. On the other end of the energy divide, the bill would also boost Trump’s non-green energy goals by establishing a fast-tracked natural gas permitting route. The permit applicant would be required to pay $10 million or 1% of the project’s cost to be on the expedited track. There is also a victory for social conservatives in a measure that would make certain large abortion providers ineligible for Medicaid funding. That measure was pushed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., himself, and was backed by anti-abortion groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. However, it could run into opposition from moderate Republicans – Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., called the provision “problematic” and warned colleagues they were “running into a hornet’s nest” on the matter in the Sunday night call. The legislation does provide exceptions for places that provide abortions in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at stake. It’s not necessarily clear, however, if providing voluntary abortions would disqualify those locations. The Energy & Commerce Committee’s legislation accounts for the bulk of Republicans’ $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion spending cuts they are hoping to find in the budget reconciliation process. House Republicans currently have a razor-thin three-vote margin, meaning they can afford to have little dissent and still pass anything without Democratic support. They are hoping to do just that, with virtually no Democrats currently on board with Trump’s massive Republican policy overhaul. The budget-reconciliation process lowers the Senate’s passage threshold from 60 votes to 51, lining up the House’s own simple majority threshold. Reconciliation allows the party in power to effectively skirt the minority and pass broad pieces of legislation – provided they address taxes, spending or the national debt. Trump wants Republicans to use the maneuver to tackle his priorities on the border, immigration, taxes, defense, energy and raising the debt ceiling. To do that, several committees of jurisdiction are working on their specific portions of the bill, which will then be put together in a massive vehicle to pass the House and Senate. GOP leaders hope to have that final bill on Trump’s desk by Fourth of July.
House Democrat calls for ‘immediate’ ethics probe of Qatari plane gift to Trump
A Democratic congressman is calling for an ethics investigation over President Donald Trump’s plans to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar that would temporarily serve as Air Force One before being allotted to Trump’s presidential library after he leaves office. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote to the Government Accountability Office on Sunday, noting that the plane would be the single most expensive gift ever received by a U.S. president. Torres derided the deal as a “flying grift,” arguing it violates the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which “explicitly prohibits any person holding public office from accepting ‘any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.’” “I am writing to express alarm over reports that President Donald Trump is poised to accept a luxury aircraft — a Boeing 747-8 — from the government of Qatar. The plane, so opulent it has been described as a ‘palace in the sky,’ is set to be made available to President Trump for official use as Air Force One and then for private use once he leaves office,” Torres wrote. “This ‘flying grift’ is merely the latest chapter in a tawdry tale of presidential profiteering unprecedented in American history,” Torres added. TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY, VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ AHEAD OF MIDDLE EAST TRIP, CARNEY SAYS HE’S ‘ON EDGE OF MY SEAT’ Trump described the deal in his own words on social media in a post Sunday night. “So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,” he wrote. “Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!” he added. TRUMP STAFFERS LOAD BOXES OF ITEMS SEIZED BY FBI IN 2022 MAR-A-LAGO RAID ONTO AIR FORCE ONE ABC News reported that Trump toured the plane in West Palm Beach earlier this year. While the deal is set to be announced during Trump’s trip to the Middle East this week, the actual transaction is not expected to be made until later. Qatari officials say they expect to donate the plane through the Pentagon. “The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made,” Qatari embassy official Ali Al-Ansari told ABC News. Presidents have for decades circumvented the Emoluments Clause by classifying gifts they receive while in office as gifts to the office of the president. Those gifts are then cataloged and stored as part of their presidential libraries after leaving office. While presidents maintain some level of access to the items in their libraries, they do not own them directly and must purchase them from the federal government in order to secure private ownership. TRUMP STAFFERS LOAD BOXES OF ITEMS SEIZED BY FBI IN 2022 MAR-A-LAGO RAID ONTO AIR FORCE ONE If the jet were to enter Trump’s presidential library, it is unclear how costs would be apportioned for maintenance and usage costs. When not in office as president, Trump has traveled in his private Boeing 757 jet, dubbed Trump Force One. That jet is famously emblazoned with Trump’s last name and was frequently seen in the backdrop of campaign rallies.
Trump’s 17th week back in office to focus on Middle East trip, admin leaders ironing out China trade talks
President Donald Trump‘s 17th week back in the Oval Office will see him focus on his visit to the Middle East, which will mark the first major overseas trip of his second term. “President Trump will return to [the Middle East to] re-emphasize his continued vision for a proud, prosperous and successful Middle East where the United States and Middle Eastern nations are in cooperative relationships and where extremism is defeated in place of commerce and cultural exchanges,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday. “This trip ultimately highlights how we stand on the brink of the golden age for both America and the Middle East, united by a shared vision of stability, opportunity and mutual respect, the president greatly looks forward to visiting with our brave men and women in uniform at our U.S. air base in Qatar throughout this trip.” Trump is slated to depart Washington, D.C., on Monday for visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president disclosed last week, when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House, that he would be making “a very, very big announcement” ahead of his departure for the Middle East, but has not shared additional details. TRUMP AND CHINA CLOSE IN ON TRADE DEAL AFTER PRODUCTIVE TALKS, BESSENT SAYS “We’re going to have a very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “And I won’t tell you on what… and it’s very positive.” “It is really, really positive. And that announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday or Monday before we leave,” Trump added. “But it’ll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject, very important subject. So you’ll all be here.” ISRAEL SAYS TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST VISIT IS THE ‘WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY’ FOR HOSTAGE DEAL Trump’s four-day trip abroad comes amid continuing war between Israel and Hamas, ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and reported plans to broaden his first administration’s Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab League nations such as the United Arab Emirates. “Eight years ago, President Trump’s first trip was to this same region of the world, where he introduced his bold peace-through-strength foreign policy strategy. On that trip, the president laid out his goal of eradicating terrorism and extremism in the region, which he successfully accomplished over the course of his administration with the total defeat of ISIS and the historic signing of the Abraham Accords,” Leavitt told the media on Friday. TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY, VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ AHEAD OF MIDDLE EAST TRIP, CARNEY SAYS HE’S ‘ON EDGE OF MY SEAT’ Under his first administration, Trump made his maiden voyage as president in 2017 to Saudi Arabia and Israel, before also traveling to Europe. The trip to the Middle East this week is billed as Trump’s first major overseas travel as president, though Trump also visited Rome late last month for Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican. As Trump prepares to depart for the Middle East, administration officials spent the weekend in Geneva negotiating with Chinese counterparts to iron out a potential trade agreement. Early Monday morning, the U.S. and China released a joint statement revealing that “the United States and China will each lower tariffs by 115% while retaining an additional 10% tariff,” according to the White House. The U.S. imposed tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods earlier this year as the president looks to bring parity to the nation’s chronic trade deficit with foreign countries. The tariffs on China followed Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” trade announcement, when he unveiled his reciprocal tariff plan on dozens of nations, including China. He paused all the reciprocal tariffs except on China later that month as countries requested to make trade deals. China, meanwhile, imposed their own tariffs on the U.S., including a 125% duty tax on U.S. goods. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese trade officials in Switzerland this weekend, where Trump said “great progress” was made between the two countries. “Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner. We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!” he posted on Truth Social on Saturday. TRUMP SAYS 80% TARIFF ON CHINA ‘SEEMS RIGHT’ AHEAD OF WEEKEND TALKS WITH BEIJING Bessent added on Sunday that the leaders from both countries held “productive” talks, before revealing early Monday that tariffs imposed on both countries would be reduced for a 90-day period. PIVOTAL TRADE TALKS WITH BEIJING LOOM AS TRUMP SWEARS IN NEW US AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: ‘WHAT TIMING’ The Trump administration is slated to begin welcoming White Afrikaners from South Africa to the U.S. this week as they face “unjust racial discrimination” in their home country, according to the administration. “What’s happening in South Africa fits the textbook definition of why the refugee program was created,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters Friday. “This is persecution based on a protected characteristic – in this case, race. This is race-based persecution.” Trump signed an executive order in February that cut U.S. funds to the South African government as well as an offer to Afrikaners allowing them to move to the U.S. under refugee status. TRUMP TO BRING WHITE AFRIKANERS TO US AS REFUGEES FROM SOUTH AFRICA, IN WAKE OF EXPROPRIATION LEGISLATION Trump signed the EO targeting South Africa after the country enacted a law allowing the government “to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation” and the country taking “aggressive positions toward the United States and its allies, including accusing Israel.” “The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take appropriate steps, consistent with law, to prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners
‘Nonpartisan’ CBO’s health division overwhelmingly staffed by Dems, GOP-aligned group says
EXCLUSIVE: A division of the Congressional Budget Office, the agency charged with providing budget and economic information to lawmakers, is stacked with liberal Democrats, putting into question its long-standing reputation of being nonpartisan. The American Accountability Foundation, a conservative government research nonprofit, found that much of the CBO’s Health Analysis Division is made up of Democrats or Democratic donors. Of the 32 staff members in the division, 26 of them, or 84%, have “clearly” verified liberal partisan biases, being either a Democrat donor, a registered Democrat, or a Democratic primary voter, the group said in a memo outlining its findings, which come ahead of potential scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s budget request. NPR, PBS CHIEFS SET TO CLASH WITH GOP LAWMAKERS DURING DOGE SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING “The CBO likes to call itself ‘nonpartisan’ in an attempt to disguise its role as an undercover leftist think tank,” AAF President Tom Jones said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “In fact, the CBO is institutionally progressive, with 84% of its professional healthcare staff members being registered Democrats. These same staff members, who are on record donating to radicals like Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton, ‘score’ legislation and present it to the American people like it’s sacrosanct.” Jones accused the CBO staffers of not just voting left, but using their influence to promote progressive policy changes. DOGE SUBCOMMITTEE INVITES NPR, PBS CHIEFS TO TESTIFY ON THEIR FEDERAL FUNDING, ‘SYSTEMICALLY BIASED CONTENT’ “The Health Analysis Division has been overtaken by liberal group think,” the memo states. “As policymakers consider pronouncements and scores from CBO over the coming weeks, they should regard those from the Health Care Analysis Division with deep suspicion and should likely disregard them as the product of a politically biased policy shop, much as they would analysis from an institution like the Center for American Progress.” The HAD is tasked with analyzing federal programs and policies that include Medicare, Medicaid and subsidies provided through health insurance exchanges. Its staffers produce reports on policy issues and play a key role in certain estimates of proposed changes in health care programs, the CBO website states. The report noted that the CBO works to “cultivate” a reputation as a “non-partisan scorekeeper, just balls and strikes.” That reputation is so entrenched, the AAF said, that 1,358 different news media stories in the last year alone have appended the word “nonpartisan” to the beginning of the office’s name, reporting on the “nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.” “While the CBO has spun a narrative through the mainstream media that it’s a neutral scorekeeper, it’s one big gaslighting campaign to distract from the office’s fundamentally progressive roots.” Jones said. “They know the next few months with reconciliation are crucial and will do everything they can to slam and stall the Trump administration’s policies.” CBO employees are barred from engaging in political activity if it would “identify, or appear to identify, CBO with a political campaign, candidate, officeholder, or cause,” its website states. “The specific positions taken are irrelevant; rather, the potential harm to CBO’s reputation for objectivity comes from association with political activity or public advocacy,” it adds. The agency doesn’t hire employment candidates based on their political affiliation, it said. Research conducted by the group found that Health Analysis Director Chapin White is a Democratic donor, having given money to former Secretary of State John Kerry. White made a $300 donation to Kerry’s failed presidential bid in 2004, according to Federal Election Commission data. White referred Fox News Digital to the CBO, which declined to comment. TRUMP FCC CHAIR TARGETS NPR, PBS FOR INVESTIGATION AHEAD OF CONGRESSIONAL THREATS TO DEFUND One analyst has donated to several Democratic elected officials, including former President Joe Biden and various members of Congress, according to the FEC. Many others are registered Democrats or have donated to Democratic pollical candidates, the think tank said. Much of the data gathered by the AAF was obtained through public campaign finance reporting agencies or from voter registration offices, noting that many CBO employees live in Virginia, which doesn’t have partisan registration, the nonprofit said. Virginia also restricts access to voter history records via the state’s Freedom of Information Act, making it challenging to ascertain whether voters cast ballots in Democratic or Republican primaries, it said. However, the AAF said it obtained Virginia voting history information from a trusted third-party source. “There were four staff members for whom AAF was unable to secure voting history or registration information,” it said. “AAF strongly suspects if the staffers listed as ‘Data on Definitive Partisan Bias Unavailable’ were asked whether they vote in Democrat or Republican primaries (or if they had voted for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump) very few, if any, will respond that they are Republicans.”