A US judge partially blocked Trump’s election integrity order from taking force. Is that legal?
Last month, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., blocked key parts of President Donald Trump’s executive order on election integrity – a move that underscores how deeply divided the country remains over what “election integrity” really means.. Though the executive order Trump signed was titled, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” the Democratic National Party (DNC), which led a group of plaintiffs in challenging the order in federal court, argued that it was an attempt to encroach on elections and disenfranchise voters. In the end, both sides won out – sort of, and at least for now. Here’s what to know about the case in question: TRUMP ASKS SCOTUS TO STRIP PROTECTED STATUS FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ultimately left in place three key parts of Trump’s executive order, including a provision requiring states not to count mail-in ballots received after Election Day, in a partial victory for the Trump administration. But she sided with Democratic plaintiffs in blocking, for now, both a new proof-of-citizenship requirement for federal voter registration forms and a provision directing election officials to verify the citizenship of would-be voters. Unequivocally, yes. That’s exactly the problem modern presidents face when trying to make lasting policy changes through executive orders – a tactic increasingly favored by both Democrats and Republicans. It’s a risky way to govern for two reasons. The first is that these orders can just as easily be overturned by the next commander-in-chief (as has been on display under the last four administrations). They also risk being halted in federal courts, where U.S. judges are explicitly tasked with serving as a check on the president, and are free to pause or halt such orders from taking force, should they determine they are outside the scope of the executive branch’s authorities. That also doesn’t mean that district courts need to have the final say on the matter. TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON VOTING BLOCKED BY FEDERAL JUDGES AMID FLURRY OF LEGAL SETBACKS Kollar-Kotelly stressed last month that voter registration laws and the ability to regulate elections are set by Congress and by individual states, not the executive branch. Both states and Congress can pass laws so long as they do not “needlessly impose” an undue burden on voters under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. But the executive branch, which does not share in these abilities to make and pass election-related laws, is not entitled to the same standard of legal review, according to the judge. “Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States – not the President – with the authority to regulate federal elections,” Kollar-Kotelly said in her ruling. JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA The Trump administration is, of course, free to appeal the decision to higher courts, should it choose to do so. “President Trump will keep fighting for election integrity, despite Democrat objections that reveal their disdain for commonsense safeguards like verifying citizenship,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in response to the ruling last month. But its next steps remain unclear. To date, the administration has not appealed the matter, and officials have not said definitively whether they plan to do so.
Top Senate Armed Services Republican says Trump OMB’s budget ‘shreds to the bone’ military capabilities
The Senate’s top Armed Services Republican eviscerated President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shortly after the White House released details of its government funding proposal for fiscal year 2026. “President Trump successfully campaigned on a Peace Through Strength agenda, but his advisers at the Office of Management and Budget were apparently not listening,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said in a statement. “The Big, Beautiful Reconciliation Bill was always meant to change fundamentally the direction of the Pentagon on programs like Golden Dome, border support, and unmanned capabilities – not to paper over OMB’s intent to shred to the bone our military capabilities and our support to service members. BILLIONS SPENT, WARFIGHTERS WAIT: INSIDE THE PENTAGON’S BROKEN BUYING SYSTEM AND THE PLAN TO FIX IT The Trump OMB’s “skinny budget,” released on Friday, proposes cuts to non-defense funding by $163 billion but increases defense funding from $893 billion to $1.01 trillion – a 13% increase. That includes $892.6 billion in discretionary spending, but will be supplemented by $119.3 billion in mandatory spending that is expected to be passed in the upcoming reconciliation bill. Senior officials told Fox News the Trump administration needed to get creative to get a $1 trillion-plus budget over the finish line: Republican majorities have historically been forced to offer one-to-one increases in non-defense spending to secure increases in defense spending. However, by keeping discretionary defense spending at $892.6 billion, the same level as fiscal year 2025, the budget that would be presented to Democrats would essentially reflect an unchanged defense discretionary budget with a smaller non-defense discretionary budget of about $557 billion – a 22.6% decrease. The White House and congressional Republicans would then pursue the reset of the defense spending through the budget reconciliation process that is linked to the tax cut package. HEGSETH ORDERS SWEEPING ARMY OVERHAUL AND CONSOLIDATION AIMED AT COUNTERING CHINA AND GOLDEN DOME CAPABILITIES But Wicker isn’t satisfied. “OMB is not requesting a trillion-dollar budget. It is requesting a budget of $892.6 billion, which is a cut in real terms. This budget would decrease President Trump’s military options and his negotiating leverage,” he said. “I have said for months that reconciliation defense spending does not replace the need for real growth in the military’s base budget.” OMB Director Russ Vought said in a post on X: “The President wants to increase defense spending to $1 trillion, a 13% increase to keep our country secure. This budget provides that level while ensuring that only Republican-votes are needed by using reconciliation to secure those increases without Democrats insisting on increasing wasteful government.” To account for spending decreases across government, all departments were asked to provide recommended budget cuts except for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Transportation, which were excluded to protect veterans’ services as well as NASA and space exploration programs. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Congress will have to hammer out its own budget plan – which could take months – with the White House’s framework as a suggestion. Wicker has long aimed to grow U.S. defense spending to 5% of the GDP, up from around 3.5 percent. The Mississippi senator suggested he would ignore the OMB guidelines and work to achieve “real growth” within the defense budget. Fox Business’ Edward Lawrence and Eric Revell contributed to this report.
AOC draws spotlight with Queens town hall as 2028 White House talk swirls
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is hosting an in-person town hall in Jackson Heights, Queens, on Friday night amid speculation she is considering a 2028 presidential run. After speaking at a May Day protest in New York City on Thursday, rejecting Trump’s agenda and warning protesters that Republicans “are going after Medicaid next,” Ocasio-Cortez is returning home to New York’s 14th congressional district to “share updates on her work in D.C., provide important constituent updates, and take questions from the audience.” Ocasio-Cortez has been jet-setting across the United States with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. The campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital that Friday night’s town hall was originally scheduled for the April congressional recess, but had to be rescheduled because Ocasio-Cortez was sick. She posted an Instagram story two weeks ago apologizing for canceling. Earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations when asked by Fox News Digital about the viral video that had pundits guessing whether she were soft-launching her campaign. WATCH: AOC LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR 2028 PRESIDENTIAL BID AS CAMPAIGN BUZZ SOARS “I think what people should be most concerned about is the fact that Republicans are trying to cut Medicaid right now, and people’s healthcare is in danger. That’s really what my central focus is,” the New York Democrat said when asked whether she is considering a run for president, despite President Donald Trump’s assurances that he wouldn’t cut Medicaid. AOC CLAIMS ‘WE ARE ONE’ IN CAMPAIGN-STYLE VIDEO DESPITE YEARS OF INVOKING RACE, GENDER IN POLITICS “This moment isn’t about campaigns, or elections, or about politics. It’s about making sure people are protected, and we’ve got people that are getting locked up for exercising their First Amendment rights. We’re getting two-year-olds that are getting deported into cells in Honduras. We’re getting people that are about to get kicked off of Medicaid. That, to me, is most important,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Capitol Hill on Trump’s 100th day in office. Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign account posted a video on X last week that invigorated those rumors as the four-term Democrat from New York City and a progressive leader proclaimed, “We are one.” “I’m a girl from the Bronx,” Ocasio-Cortez said on a campaign-style stage in Idaho. “To be welcomed here in this state, all of us together, seeing our common cause, this is what this country is all about.” Americans reposted Ocasio-Cortez’s video across X, pointing to the video as proof of her 2028 presidential ambitions. “Get ready America. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will almost undoubtedly run for president in 2028,” political reporter Eric Daugherty said in response to the video. ‘WE ARE ONE’: AOC CAMPAIGN VIDEO SWIRLS 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RUMORS As rumors swirl over Ocasio-Cortez’s ambition for higher office, back at home in New York, a Siena College poll found that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s favorability is down, at 39% among New York state voters questioned in the poll, which was conducted April 14 through 16. Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez’s favorability soared to 47%. The longtime senator from New York faced pushback from the Democratic Party in March for supporting the Republican budget bill backed by Trump that averted a government shutdown and stirred up outrage among congressional Democrats who planned to boycott the bill. POLLSTER NATE SILVER CALLS OCASIO-CORTEZ MOST LIKELY TO BE 2028 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE That growing disapproval among Democrats was reflected in the poll, and the shifting perception comes as DNC vice chair David Hogg, through his political arm, Leaders We Deserve, faced blowback from the DNC for investing $20 million into electing younger Democrats to safe House Democrat seats. Ocasio-Cortez raked in a massive $9.6 million over the past three months. The record-breaking fundraising haul was one of the biggest ever for any House lawmaker. Ocasio-Cortez’s team highlighted that the fundraising came from 266,000 individual donors, with an average contribution of just $21. “I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy. Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities,” Ocasio-Cortez emphasized in a social media post. Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about the 2028 presidential speculation.
Brown University in GOP crosshairs after student’s DOGE-like email kicks off frenzy
FIRST ON FOX: A brewing controversy over a “DOGE-like” email at one of America’s top universities has gotten the attention of Capitol Hill. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, wrote to Brown University on Friday morning urging the school to reconsider any disciplinary action against Alex Shieh, a sophomore who sent an email mirroring the style of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that asked non-faculty university workers what they did “all day.” “Reports indicate that Mr. Shieh engaged in a journalistic act of contacting university administrative employees to inquire about their roles and responsibilities. This action, it appears, stemmed from his perspective as a student paying a substantial tuition fee and experiencing concerns regarding university facilities, leading him to question the allocation of administrative resources,” Nehls wrote. “Penalizing a student for what appears to be an attempt to understand the university’s administrative structure raises serious questions about the institution’s commitment to open inquiry and the tolerance of dissenting viewpoints.” BROWN UNIVERSITY STUDENT ANGERS NON-FACULTY EMPLOYEES BY ASKING ‘WHAT DO YOU DO ALL DAY,’ FACES PUNISHMENT He also demanded more information on how Brown uses its $7.2 billion endowment to lower tuition and better the lives of students. It comes at a time when American Ivy Leagues have been thrust under the microscope by the Trump administration, both for their soaring tuition rates and controversies surrounding antisemitism on campus. Shieh had created a database of the 3,805 non-faculty employees who worked at Brown University and emailed them to ask, “What do you do all day?” He wrote on X that he had been given a disciplinary hearing after being “charged with misrepresentation and violating the IT policy.” Tuition alone at Brown University for the 2025 to 2026 academic year is $71,700. Fees, food, and housing charges bring that up to about $93,000 per year, according to the school’s website – and with indirect charges, annual costs are estimated at nearly $96,000. “I urge you to reconsider any disciplinary action taken against Mr. Shieh and to reaffirm Brown University’s commitment to protecting the free expression of all its students,” Nehls wrote. “Additionally, below you can see screenshots from Brown’s website showing the performance of its $7.2 billion endowment, boasting a 10% annual return. Please explain how these funds are used to improve the student experience or bring down the cost of tuition.” Nehls previously introduced a bill that would significantly hike excise taxes on most larger colleges’ endowment funds from 1.4% to 21%, in line with the corporate tax rate. A Brown University official declined to comment on Nehls’ letter directly when reached by Fox News Digital, but denied free speech was the larger issue. TRUMP ADMIN HALTING MORE THAN $500M IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO BROWN UNIVERSITY OVER ANTISEMITISM RESPONSE “In spite of what has been reported publicly framing this as a free speech issue, it absolutely is not,” Brian Clark, vice president for news and strategic campus communications, said in an email statement to Fox News Digital. “At the center of Brown’s review are questions focused on whether improper use of non-public Brown data, non-public data systems and/or targeting of individual employees violated law or policy.” “Brown has detailed procedures in place to investigate alleged conduct code violations, resolve them and implement discipline in instances when students are found responsible, and these will continue to guide our actions,” Clark added. “Students have ample opportunity to provide information and participate directly in that process to ensure that all decisions are made with a complete understanding of the circumstances.” Fox News Digital’s Rachel del Guidice contributed to this report.
Trump asks SCOTUS to strip protected status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants
The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to override a lower court ruling and let it move forward with ending protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan nationals in the U.S. The government is asking the high court to block, for now, a March ruling from U.S. District Judge Edward Chen that delayed President Donald Trump‘s plans to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for some 350,000 Venezuelan nationals living in the U.S. Those protections would have otherwise expired in April. U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer asked justices on Thursday to allow the administration to proceed, accusing Chen of improperly intruding on the executive branch’s authority over immigration policy. “The district court’s reasoning is untenable,” Sauer told the high court, adding that the program “implicates particularly discretionary, sensitive, and foreign-policy-laden judgments of the Executive Branch regarding immigration policy.” FEDERAL JUDGES IN NEW YORK AND TEXAS BLOCK TRUMP DEPORTATIONS AFTER SCOTUS RULING “The decision to delay the Secretary’s actions effectively nullifies them, tying them up in the very judicial second-guessing that Congress prohibited,” he said of the lower court order. “The district court’s ill-considered preliminary injunction should be stayed.” At issue is the TPS program, which allows 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.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem terminated the program for Venezuelan nationals on Feb. 1, prompting the emergency lawsuit and Chen’s order that postponed it from taking force. The lower court judge sided with plaintiffs from the National TPS Alliance in ruling that the termination of the TPS program, which is extended in 18-month increments, is “unprecedented,” and suggested that the abrupt termination may have been “predicated on negative stereotypes” about Venezuelan migrants – something Sauer bitterly disputed in their appeal. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE “Forceful condemnations of gang violence and broad questioning of the integrity of the prior administration’s immigration practices, including potential abuses of the TPS program, do not evince discriminatory intent,” Sauer said, describing Judge Chen’s descriptions as “cherry picked” and “wrongly portrayed” as “racially tinged.” A Supreme Court stay would allow the Trump administration to move forward with plans to immediately remove these migrants, which Sauer argued they should be able to do. Plaintiffs have until Thursday to respond to the Supreme Court.
Fla. AG to rebuff judge who ordered halt to state immigration enforcement: ‘The court has overstepped’
EXCLUSIVE: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier will rebut a judge’s demand that his office order state law enforcement to halt enforcement of a state immigration law she ordered paused under suspicion of unconstitutionality. The law allows for misdemeanor charges against illegal immigrants who enter Florida and hope to avoid federal immigration officials. “The judge wants me to put my stamp of approval on an order prohibiting all state law enforcement from enforcing Florida’s immigration laws when no law enforcement are party to the lawsuit,” he said, as the ACLU’s suit is being adjudicated before Obama-appointed Miami federal judge Kathleen Williams. “I’m just not going to do that. We believe the court has overstepped and lacks jurisdiction there, and I will not tell law enforcement to stop fulfilling their constitutional duties,” Uthmeier told Fox News Digital. “I do not believe an AG should be held in contempt for respecting the rule of law and appropriate separation of powers. The ACLU is dead set on obstructing President Donald Trump’s efforts to detain and deport illegals, and we are going to fight back. We will vigorously defend our laws and advance President Trump’s agenda on illegal immigration.” FLORIDA AG LAUNCHES OFFICE OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, LENDING LEGAL FIREPOWER TO DFEEND PARENTS’ ‘GOD-GIVEN RIGHT’ The lawsuit that spurred the injunction alleges Florida’s law violates the Supremacy Clause that designates federal laws and authorities as taking precedence over state laws. Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, told the AP that politicians in Tallahassee “tried to turn fear into policy and made it a crime simply to exist as an immigrant in this state.” “The court rightly reminded them: immigration enforcement is a job for the federal government, not a political weapon for states to use,” Jackson said in a statement. On Wednesday, Uthmeier asked the court to let FHP continue to enforce the law, after Williams was reportedly enraged that arrests continued to occur as the law awaits appeal in Atlanta’s 11th Circuit. FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO STOP ENFORCING NEW IMMIGRATION LAW “That law does nothing more than exercise Florida’s inherent sovereign authority to protect its citizens by aiding the enforcement of federal immigration law,” Uthmeier wrote Wednesday. That circumstance was precipitated by an April 23 memo from Uthmeier to FHP, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, sheriffs and police chiefs, in which he wrote that Williams was incorrect in asserting all Florida law enforcement agencies were bound by the order. “I explained that I believed her after-the-fact expansion of her order to nonparties was wrong, and that my office would be arguing as much in short order. Today, my office filed a brief explaining why her order cannot possibly restrain Florida’s law enforcement agencies from enforcing Florida Statutes Sections 811.102 and 811.103. We will continue to argue that position—including on appeal as soon as possible,” Uthmeier wrote in the memo, obtained by Fox News Digital. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Uthmeier told the agencies that Williams ordered him to inform them of the “evolving scope” of the order, but added he cannot prevent them from enforcing the new law. Williams said Tuesday she planned to issue a preliminary injunction against the statute, adding that she was “surprised and shocked” by Uthmeier’s actions. “What I am offended by is someone suggesting you don’t have to follow my order, that it’s not legitimate,” Williams said. A source familiar with the situation said the memo was sent after FHP was added to the court order despite plaintiffs not expressly including the police force in their original filing; suggesting that state police would not be party to any injunction in that case. A source familiar with the case said that if Uthmeier were to be brought before the judge, the court would likely need the assistance of U.S. Marshal Greg Leljedal of the Northern District of Florida. A Thursday tweet from Uthmeier showed the two men smiling in his office, with the AG commenting on their “great meeting.” Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Trump’s surgeon general pick touted as ‘fierce’ MAHA advocate before confirmation hearing
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump‘s pick for U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, garnering support ahead of her upcoming confirmation hearing, with senators describing her as a “fierce” advocate for the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement. Sources familiar with her confirmation hearing prep told Fox News Digital that Nesheiwat has had many “productive meetings” on Capitol Hill regarding her nomination. TRUMP PICKS DR. JANETTE NESHEIWAT AS NATION’S NEXT SURGEON GENERAL Nesheiwat recently met with the staff for the Senate HELP Committee, along with all the health policy GOP staffers. Sources said those staffers have expressed support for her nomination as medical director in the Public Health Service and surgeon general. Nesheiwat also met with Democrat Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, along with Democrat Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. Sources told Fox News Digital that Blackburn is supportive of Nesheiwat. Details of Nesheiwat’s meetings with Hickenlooper and Alsobrooks were not immediately clear. The sources said various topics were discussed during those meetings, including fighting chronic illness, diseases, opioids, the mission of MAHA, vaccines, good nutrition, educating Americans with science-backed data, combating healthcare provider shortages, mental health, food deserts and the government’s role in tracking health crises and emerging health threats. Sources said the conversations have been “positive, productive conversations.” Nesheiwat has met, so far, with all the Republican senators on the Senate HELP Committee except for Sen. Josh Hawley. A source told Fox News Digital that Sen. Katie Brit of Alabama, who is not on the committee, wants to meet with Nesheiwat in early May. Nesheiwat, formerly a Fox News contributor, is double-board certified in family medicine and urgent care medicine. Nesheiwat, a daughter of Jordanian immigrants, led frontline medical teams during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, along with her past work managing public health responses during flu epidemics, the opioid crisis, the monkeypox outbreak and other major health challenges. She also was named the first female medical director for CityMD in Manhattan — one of America’s largest urgent care systems. SHORT QUESTIONS WITH DANA PERINO FOR DR. JANETTE NESHEIWAT Upon nominating Nesheiwat to the position, Trump said she is a “fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health.” “I am proud to announce that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the Nation’s Doctor as the United States Surgeon General. Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives,” he said. “She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives.” Trump praised Nesheiwat’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying she “worked on the front lines in New York City treating thousands of Americans and helped patients in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s Historic Operation Warp Speed that saved hundreds of millions of lives.” He also praised her “expertise and leadership” after New Orleans’ Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornadoes. The president said Nesheiwat “will play a pivotal role in MAKING AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!” Meanwhile, after meeting with Nesheiwat, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy said Nesheiwat is “aware of the issues facing our nation and how they relate all the way down to counseling a patient in an exam room.” “A very good meeting,” he said. As for the MAHA movement led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Republicans say Nesheiwat represents the vision of the Trump administration. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said Nesheiwat “understands the MAHA movement.” “With the Trump admin, American health is no longer taking a back seat,” Banks said. Additionally, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said that “Making America Healthy Again starts with having strong leadership” within Health and Human Services. “I know that @DoctorJanette, President Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, will be a fierce MAHA advocate and will work with @SecKennedy to increase transparency in our healthcare system,” Tuberville said. Nesheiwat began her medical education at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. She completed her initial curriculum at the school’s Saint Maarten campus. She then went on to complete her clinical rotations at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Metropolitan State Hospital, Guy’s & St. Thomas Hospitals and Medway Maritime Hospital. Nesheiwat completed her family medicine residence at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Area Health Education Center, and was elected chief resident during her final year. In 2009, Nesheiwat achieved board certification in family medicine for the American Board of Family Medicine, and in 2020 achieved board certification in urgent care medicine with the American Board of Urgent Care Medicine. Nesheiwat’s hearing is set for May 8 at 10:00 a.m., when senators on the Senate HELP Committee, will question her ahead of her confirmation vote.
REAL ID renews America’s age-old dread of the DMV
A stricter identity verification requirement for U.S. residents is slated to take force next week after 20 years of delay. And for many, the law will require a visit to one of the nation’s most notorious, time-honored places of dread: the Department of Motor Vehicles. These facilities can vary slightly both in name and in acronym: Texans, for example, have a Department of Public Safety or DPS; Floridians dub theirs the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or HSMV. (Add to the mix the DDS, the BMV and the MVD, it’s a veritable alphabet soup.) Despite the different names, each of these state-run facilities serves the same purpose: to license drivers and issue identification cards to residents living in the state. They share the same wait times and inspire the same feelings of burden and loathing. But for individuals in some states, things are about to get a lot worse, fast. ‘DRACONIAN’ AND DANGEROUS: FORMER TRUMP NAT SEC ADVISOR SOUNDS ALARM ON BIDEN-ERA DOJ’S PLANS FOR GOOGLE On May 7, all U.S. residents will be required to show a “REAL ID-compliant” form of identification to board any flights, including international and domestic travel, or to enter any federal buildings in compliance with a long-stalled federal law passed by Congress in 2005. A REAL ID is a state-issued driver’s license or state-issued identification card that meets certain federal standards, and it requires individuals to provide additional documentation, such as several documents proving current state residency – a utility agreement and lease, for example – as well as a certified birth certificate, among other things. REAL IDs are now issued by all state DMVs (or BMVs or HSMVs) in anticipation of the fast-approaching enforcement date. REAL ID-compliant ID cards and licenses are marked with a star or other symbol in the right-hand corner, and some states, including Texas and Florida, have been issuing them for years. But because DMVs are operated at a state and not federal level, compliance with the tighter verification standards has until recently been optional. That’s prompted a patchwork of compliance across the U.S. and a recent, frenzied panic from residents in states whose DMVs have not met the REAL ID standards. NEED REAL ID IN A HURRY? HERE ARE SOME OPTIONS OUTSIDE THE DMV In the final days before the new law takes effect, some U.S. residents are learning for the first time, to their horror, that their IDs are not up to snuff. That’s prompted a surge of last-minute appointments in some states as drivers frantically look to obtain these new IDs. In others, appointments are nearly impossible to come by. New Jersey, for example, currently has no appointments available at any of its DMV facilities in the state. That could be a major problem for travelers in the Garden State, whose REAL ID compliance is the lowest in the country at 17% last month, according to data compiled by CBS News. Other nearby states are reporting similar compliance rates, with Pennsylvania at 26% compliance and New York with 43%, which is less than half of all residents living in the state. For individuals in these states, the REAL ID compliance standards amount to what could be a travel nightmare, especially ahead of the summer holiday season when airports brace for a sharp uptick in traffic. As of January 2024, just 56% of state-issued drivers’ licenses and identification cards were compliant with the new REAL ID requirements, according to DHS estimates. It’s unclear how much that percentage has changed in the last year. “DHS anticipates that a significant number of individuals seeking to use their DL/ID for a REAL ID official purposes on and after May 7, 2025, may not have a compliant DL/ID,” the agency said in a memo last September. In January, DHS issued a slightly more optimistic projection in the Federal Register, anticipating that by May 7, up to 66% of U.S. ID holders would have the new legally required ID. But in the final days before the law takes force, it’s hard to ascertain exactly where things stand. Horror stories persist in some states of drivers struggling to obtain the new ID, and in others, state lawmakers are hoping to be granted a delay. In Kentucky, a group of state lawmakers led by Senate Transportation Committee Chair Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, urged DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to delay the REAL ID enforcement date, citing “growing concerns” from state residents who have been unable to access driver’s licensing services due to “limited appointment availability and long lines for walk-ins.” “This simple request is to protect Kentuckians from bureaucratic burdens,” Higdon said in the letter. “Rural residents, seniors, and families still have hurdles in front of them, and in a lot of cases, may not be aware of their options. Only about 40 percent of our residents have a REAL ID, but I would also like more time to help Kentuckians understand that they may not need a REAL ID. Kentucky has made a good faith effort, but we just aren’t there yet.” TSA has warned that individuals who don’t have the right ID before that date could be subject to significantly longer wait times or other disruptions to travel. This could impact travel plans for millions of Americans ahead of what is expected to be a busy summer traveling season. Others could be barred from accessing certain federal buildings. And the problem persists in other states as well: CBS News found in its April survey that at least 17 states have compliance rates of 50% or less, with 30 states at less than 70% compliance.
Billions spent, warfighters wait: Inside the Pentagon’s broken buying system and the plan to fix it
The Pentagon’s procurement system has kept American forces stocked with some of the most iconic military hardware in history – from the battle-hardened Humvee to the cutting-edge Apache helicopter. But according to the Army’s top technology officer, it’s also trapped in a cycle of outdated thinking and bloated paperwork that could hinder the U.S. in the next great-power conflict. “We still have just over 100,000 Humvees,” Alex Miller, the Army’s Chief Technology Officer, told Fox News Digital, speaking about the legacy vehicle first introduced in the 1980s. “Even though during the global War on Terror, we saw the threat change.” Miller pointed to roadside bombs, or IEDs, which devastated troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as a turning point. “There were lots of reports that if a Humvee rolled over an IED, it just was not a good situation for soldiers,” he said. Still, the Army continued buying Humvees, even as it rushed to field more survivable vehicles like MRAPs and Strykers. That, Miller said, highlights the larger issue: not a single acquisition failure, but a systemwide problem in how the military does business. HEGSETH ORDERS SWEEPING ARMY OVERHAUL AND CONSOLIDATION AIMED AT COUNTERING CHINA AND GOLDEN DOME CAPABILITIES “We’re playing by the same post-Cold War rules that told us if you have a requirement, you’re going to keep on buying it,” Miller said. “Because the requirements process and the acquisition process and the fielding process sort of never changed, we find ourselves in this conundrum where we still have just over 100,000 Humvees.” Despite introducing newer vehicles like the JLTV – designed to replace the Humvee with better armor and mobility – Miller says the rapid pace of technological change and emerging threats have left even those newer systems at risk of becoming obsolete. “Even though we continue to buy them and have them in the budget,” he said, “that might not be the right answer either.” Miller laid out the Army’s plans to solve a decades-long issue at the Pentagon, bringing new weapons systems from the proposal stage to the battlefront before technology renders them outdated – just as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a new memo directing an overhaul of the Army’s acquisitions process. “To build a leaner, more lethal force, the Army must transform at an accelerated pace by divesting outdated, redundant, and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems,” Hegseth wrote. NEW ARMY SECRETARY PRAISES TRUMP, HEGSETH FOR CREATING ‘A LANE FOR CHANGE’ AS HE ZEROES IN ON CUTTING WASTE Miller warned that some of the Army’s marquee weapons platforms may not be suited for the battlefields of the future. “Ukraine has not asked for a single Apache,” he noted. “Our Apaches are a great platform. It’s amazing. But … looking at more unmanned systems is probably the way to go.” He also raised questions about the utility of legacy artillery platforms like the Paladin howitzer. Although artillery is dominating the war in Ukraine, the Army is stockpiling more Paladins largely to meet a “minimum sustainment rate” — not because commanders are asking for them. That kind of bureaucratic inertia, Miller suggested, is exactly what needs to be upended. In an effort to modernize more rapidly, the Army is now slashing red tape and rewriting regulations. Under a new initiative called “Transforming in Contact,” Army leaders have sent requirement writers into the field to live and train alongside soldiers, gathering real-time feedback instead of drafting 300-page documents back in Washington. “Rather than trying to define what types of things they need, how about we just listen to them for a change?” Miller said. “We started that last year … and that has been wildly successful.” Units heading to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, Louisiana next week will be equipped with some of the most advanced gear in the Army, including autonomous infantry vehicles built with Silicon Valley partners, advanced battery tech and hundreds of drones. “All because our leadership just said, go do the right thing, rather than trying to check boxes,” Miller said. Now, according to Miller, the requirements documentation for things like next-generation unmanned aerial vehicles has been whittled down from between 200 and 300 pages to 10. In other cases, modernization isn’t always necessary, according to Abigail Blanco, defense expert and professor at the University of Tampa. Up until a few years ago when it was finally retired, one of the primary reconnaissance systems in the War on Terror was the RQ-4 Global Hawk. The RQ-4 had an impressive payload capacity of 3,000 pounds and advanced reconnaissance capabilities – at an enormous cost. Each one was originally slated to cost $20 million but wound up costing $220 million per unit. “If you look at reports from the Air Force, they repeatedly stated that instead of the [RQ-4], they preferred the U-2 spy plane, which, to be clear, is a relic in military terms. It’s from the Cold War period. And so it’s not always clear that the modernization piece is desirable.” Some lawmakers and defense officials initially resisted the Army’s push to streamline systems. “The OSD comptroller pushed back really hard. Some parts of the Hill pushed back really hard,” Miller said. “But we ran a really aggressive ground game.… We’re not asking for more money. We’re asking to spend taxpayer dollars better.” The problem, according to Blanco, is Congress has long continued to budget for equipment way beyond its point of usefulness. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “If you are an elected representative and your district manufactures Humvees or tanks, you have a really strong vested interest in ensuring that that technology continues to be produced, regardless whether or not it’s operationally necessary.” In the end, Miller said, acquisition reform isn’t about cutting corners – it’s about keeping pace with an adversary who doesn’t care about red tape. “The environment, the threat, and the reality change so fast,” he said. “We have permission to just be ruthless about working with commercial entities …
Doug Burgum unveils major deregulatory shift to boost Gulf oil and gas production
EXCLUSIVE: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Friday will update a Biden-era federal rule regarding energy development as a major cost-saving measure to private firms, one day after taking a visit to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on the Gulf Coast. A source familiar with the workings of the rule said it essentially will “massively deregulate” a rule passed between the two Trump administrations and should further bolster Gulf Coast oil and gas production by providing lower startup costs for energy firms. The rule outlines criteria that producers and grantholders must provide as financial assurance, with a 2024 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) estimate that $6.9 billion in new supplemental assurance would be required to protect against oil lessees’ default. The Interior Department said that $6.9 billion added up to the $665 million in estimated additional insurance premiums for energy companies, which stifled how much they could spend to expand their operations and pursue what President Donald Trump has called “American energy dominance.” BURGUM SAYS INTERIOR DEPARTMENT COMPLETELY EMBRACING DOGE EFFORT Burgum told Fox News Digital that the rule revision will “enable our nation’s energy producers to redirect their capital toward future leasing, exploration, and production all while financially protecting the American taxpayer. “Cutting red tape will level the playing field and allow American companies to make investments that strengthen domestic energy security and benefit Gulf of America states and their communities,” he said. DAKOTAS PRIMED FOR NEWFOUND POLITICAL PROMINENCE AS SENATE, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LEADERS PICKED FROM HEARTLAND CROP BOEM will continue to require lessees on the outer continental shelf to provide financial assurances, while the Trump administration writ large works toward more balanced regulations, the department said in an exclusive statement. During Burgum’s visit to the Gulf, he met with energy workers at the LNG facility and discussed how the department under his leadership wants to better support the industry. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Gulf of America currently produces approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude oil daily and 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.