Navy torpedoes Biden-era climate agenda to focus on lethality
The Navy will no longer pursue a zero-emissions goal instituted under the Biden administration, Secretary John Phelan announced on Wednesday. “We need to focus on having a lethal and ready naval force, unimpeded by ideologically motivated regulations,” Phelan said in a video announcing he would rescind the Navy Climate Action 2030 Plan. The plan had called for the Navy to use 100% emissions-free vehicles by 2035 and to use 100% carbon pollution-free electricity sources by 2030, with a 65% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. HEGSETH MAINTAINS WHITE HOUSE BACKING AMID ‘SMEAR CAMPAIGN’ ALLEGING LIKELY OUSTER Naval installations all along the coast are threatened by rising sea levels and increased storms, Meredith Berger, the former assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment, argued at the time. “2030 is the marker that we laid down initially because the scientific community and others have said that this is the decade of decisive action, and so we’re taking that very seriously,” she told reporters. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth applauded Phelan’s move in a post on X: “Well done.” DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH REBUFFS NEW GROUP CHAT ALLEGATIONS AS ATTEMPT TO ‘SABOTAGE’ TRUMP’S AGENDA Under Biden’s Navy secretary, Carlos del Toro, the service branch produced a 32-page document deeming climate change “one of the most destabilizing forces of our time.” It laid out a series of climate change-related threats to the Navy: destructive storms, black flag days at or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit where strenuous training is curtailed, and strains on the energy grid as people compete for power. The document followed Biden’s own bold plan to make the U.S. economy net-zero-emissions by 2050. During the Obama administration, then-Navy Sec. Ray Mabus launched an effort dubbed the “Great Green Fleet,” aimed at renewable energy sources for warships. The effort was canned by the first Trump administration in 2017. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In February, Hegseth ordered Pentagon agencies to identify 8% of their budget that could be cut, “low-impact and low-priority” Biden-era programs, and the funding redirected to Trump priorities. Programs that could be on the chopping block include “so-called ‘climate change’ and other woke programs, as well as excessive bureaucracy,” according to Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses.
GOP DA trades barbs with Newsom after being blamed for bad ‘plea deal’ for illegal immigrant felon
Orange County, California, District Attorney Todd Spitzer said there was not a “plea deal” made in the case of an illegal immigrant convicted of manslaughter in the death of two teens after new scrutiny over the man’s early release from a California prison. “A convicted felon who was twice previously deported is being released after serving just a fraction of his sentence for killing two 19-year-olds because California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature refuse to hold criminals accountable,” the Republican said in a news release Wednesday. “This was not a plea deal. This was a defendant who pled to the court and was sentenced by a judge under California law, over the objection of Orange County prosecutors, who unsuccessfully argued for the maximum sentence. TWO FEDERAL JUDGES MAY HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT AS HE DEFIES COURTS IN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN “California’s creative concoction of good time, education and other credits has resulted in criminals being released quicker than ever before, fulfilling Gov. Newsom’s plot to empty California’s prisons and put dangerous and violent felons back on the street,” Spitzer added. Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano was driving drunk and high and speeding at nearly 100 mph on the 405 freeway in Orange County in November 2021, when he crashed into a car carrying 19-year-old Anya Varfolomeev and Nicholay Osokin. Both were killed and burned alive. In the spring of 2022, he was convicted of two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. The victims’ families were notified Easter Sunday that Ortega-Anguiano would be released early on July 19, over six years before his 10-year sentence is up. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CONVICTED OF KILLING TEENS IN HIGH-SPEED CRASH TO BE RELEASED EARLY: ‘IT’S DISGUSTING’ However, after Fox News’ reporting, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said it would comply with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer and transfer him into federal custody. The Department of Justice announced it was filing federal charges against him, and border czar Tom Homan said his agency would do everything possible to keep him in custody. “After being deported in 2013, this individual unlawfully re-entered the US & committed heinous crimes. A GOP DA then gave him a plea deal instead of pursuing 2nd-degree murder. [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation] will again coordinate with ICE — as they have w/ 10,000+ inmates — to transfer him before release,” the governor’s press account tweeted Wednesday afternoon. In response to Spitzer’s comment, the governor’s office told Fox News on background that district attorneys get a say in what charges are prosecuted in cases. The governor’s office said it was the Orange County District Attorney’s office that dropped great bodily injury enhancements and other charges. Still, it does not play a role in the fact that the individual was scheduled to be released several years sooner, which could have been a part of the state’s credit system to get out early. “For safety and security reasons, CDCR cannot provide information on an incarcerated person’s release date or location in advance of their release. Incarcerated persons may earn credits for participating in rehabilitative programming, which may move their parole dates to an earlier date,” the corrections department previously told Fox News. TOP TRUMP OFFICIALS FILE CHARGES AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT AFTER FOX NEWS EXPOSES EARLY RELEASE PLANS On Thursday morning, Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, told “America’s Newsroom” why the DOJ is pursuing federal prosecution. “This is what happens when you have an open border policy like we did in the prior administration. But those days are over. Under this administration, our borders are closed,” Essayli said. “I’ve made it a top priority in my office, and I know throughout the United States, to enforce our immigration laws. So this defendant, he’s not gonna get free. He’s not going to be deported. He’s coming to my jurisdiction, and we’re gonna prosecute him. And once he’s convicted, he’s gonna spend many years in federal prison, and then he’ll be deported again.”
SCOOP: Inside progressives’ plan to have ‘thousands’ protest vulnerable Republican’s town hall
EXCLUSIVE: Leaders of a progressive group in the New York City suburbs are looking to protest a front-line House Republican’s town hall on Sunday night – and Fox News Digital got an inside look at their plans. Footage from the Indivisible Rockland Organizing Committee’s monthly meeting on Wednesday shows one of the group’s leaders discussing “potentially [having] thousands of people out front” of the event in West Nyack being held by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., this weekend. “It is a long street, and we’re trying to fill the entire street, so everyone coming into the rally will see people there and recognize it’s not going to be all, like, sunshine and daisies,” organizer Pascale Jean-Gilles can be seen saying. Jean-Gilles is also a local elected official in Lawler’s district, serving on the Nyack Village Board of Trustees and as deputy mayor. SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES “We want to be able to push back on some of the rules that we feel like are really cutting and chilling our First Amendment rights, like saying that we can’t record it. It’s a public meeting,” Jean-Gilles said. The demonstration outside Lawler’s town hall will be a joint-organized effort as well, Jean-Gilles said, with “local unions” and other groups. And while she made clear that her group was only behind the demonstration outside Lawler’s rally, the local elected official appeared to endorse disruptions inside the event as well. She said the rally rules made it “very clear you cannot whoop or shout or yell,” but added, “There will be things we’re not gonna want to hear from him, and we should be able to make it known.” “I think that it looks poorly upon him if he’s kicking people out for just booing him, because that is, as people have seen through thousands of Supreme Court cases, that’s an acceptable form of dissent, and it’s covered under First Amendment rights,” Jean-Gilles said. “Now, if people are shouting slurs and hate speech, that’s where I absolutely draw the line . . . that only feeds into his argument that we’re all crazy leftists and liberals, as opposed to people who live in this community.” Jean-Gilles said she and other activists would also prepare suggested questions for town hall attendees. “We are prepared, and this will be something we may hand out on the day of – a couple of us have been working on just questions that we think that folks will either want to ask, or maybe want to add their own personal twist to,” the official said. “So we’ll have those prepared for people, that just in case their number gets called, if you didn’t already think of one yourself, have a question that you can be prepared to ask.” Indivisible is a national left-wing organization whose local offshoots have been targeting Republican town halls for much of this year, encouraging activists to disrupt the events from both inside and outside. An event listed by Indivisible on the organizing platform Mobilize is advertising a full-day event beginning in New York City and ending at Lawler’s town hall on Sunday. “Republicans are planning to cut Medicaid, SNAP, and other vital programs to fund massive tax cuts for billionaires. Congress will be home for April Recess and must hear from us,” the event summary read. “Join other activists to inform constituents in NY17/Tarrytown of this outrageous bill, urge them to phone Rep. Lawler to oppose it as well as attending Rep. Lawler’s Town Hall on April 27. We’ll be taking Metro North to Tarrytown.” Democrats are poised to pour enormous time and resources into New York’s 17th Congressional District, where Lawler is widely seen as one of the most vulnerable House Republicans of the 2026 election cycle. MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE When reached for comment on plans to disrupt the upcoming town hall, Lawler spokesman Ciro Riccardi told Fox News Digital, “It is deeply disappointing that far-left radical groups like Indivisible Rockland are planning to disrupt the upcoming town hall.” “These actions undermine our democratic process by stifling civil debate, harming the very constituents who attend to discuss critical voter issues. We remain committed to fostering open, respectful dialogue and will take precautions to ensure a safe environment for all attendees,” Riccardi said. Jean-Gilles referred Fox News Digital to the Indivisible Rockland Organizing Committee for comment. When reached, the group’s steering committee said it had received “hundreds” of messages from constituents who could not get into Lawler’s town hall. “In response, we decided to organize a peaceful demonstration outside the venue. This demonstration is meant to give voice to those who were excluded from the room but still want to be part of the democratic process. We want to make it clear that we are not organizing or endorsing any protest activity inside the town hall,” Indivisible Rockland said. “It is also important to recognize the truth of the matter: This so-called town hall offers very limited opportunities for real public engagement. That is not right, it is not fair, and, in fact, it goes against the spirit of the Constitution.” Regarding Jean-Gilles, specifically, the group noted she was hosting the event in a personal capacity unrelated to her government role. “Her comments during what was a private organizing meeting reflected the consensus of our group and not her official role or anything related to the governance of Nyack. She accurately underscored our values of free expression and clear boundaries against hate speech and harassment,” the group said. “We hope Congressman Lawler does more than just see this demonstration. We hope he listens. The people showing up are his constituents. They are families, workers, students and neighbors who care deeply about this community and are demanding to be heard. This demonstration is not just a sign of civic involvement, it is a message: We are watching, we are engaged, and we expect better from those in power.”
Yale drops alleged Hamas-tied student group’s status after ‘disturbing antisemitic conduct’
Yale University revoked the status of a registered pro-Palestinian student group this week, saying it “flagrantly violated the rules” and set up an unauthorized encampment to protest Israel and blocked Jewish students from crossing. Students for Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) chapter at Yale, Yalies4Palestine, rallied others to join the blockage over social media, the university said in a statement. SJP, which described the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel as a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance,“ has come under scrutiny in the last year for its alleged ties to Hamas. The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) released a report last year alleging that SJP receives funding linked to organizations accused of supporting Hamas. The report also claimed that SJP endorsed violence against Israelis and collaborated with terrorist groups. A federal lawsuit was also filed against SJP and its affiliate, the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), alleging they acted as collaborators and propagandists for Hamas. HAWLEY TAPS DOJ TO INVESTIGATE PRO-PALESTINIAN STUDENT GROUPS’ POTENTIAL TIES TO HAMAS Lawmakers have been skeptical of the group, too. In 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directed state universities to disband SJP chapters, alleging that the organization illegally supported Hamas. “Concerns have been raised about disturbing antisemitic conduct at the gathering,” Yale’s statement said. “The university is investigating those concerns, as harassment and discrimination are antithetical to learning and scholarship. Yale condemns antisemitism and will hold those who violate our policies accountable through our disciplinary processes.” The university added that it supports “free expression on campus” that complies with the school’s “time, place, and manner rules.” The student group posted videos of the demonstration on its Instagram account, and videos posted to X showed a group linking arms and blocking a Jewish student from passing through the area. Protesters were heard chanting, “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLANS TO PULL $1 BILLION IN FUNDING FROM HARVARD AMID CLASH WITH UNIVERSITY: REPORT The disciplinary action comes nearly a year after anti-Israel protests erupted across Ivy League campuses, with Yale being one of the universities with major disruptions and arrests, including a massive graduation walkout. Yale University’s president during the 2024 pro-Palestine protests was Peter Salovey. Maurie McInnis succeeded him June 30. Yale maintains it took disciplinary action against the students appropriately this week and kept a “calm campus.” The removal of the student group’s official status comes a few months after President Donald Trump clamped down on antisemitism on college campuses. In January, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to report on actions taken to address antisemitism in public education and to analyze complaints related to campus antisemitism after the Oct. 7 attacks. But not all schools are falling in line with Trump’s order. Harvard University announced this week a lawsuit against the Trump administration for freezing billions of dollars in research funding to the Ivy League school. The complaint argues the administration can’t make a “rational connection” between antisemitism on the campus and the federal funding it receives.
Trump admin blasts NY Times over ‘sob’ story on deported kidnapper
The Trump Department of Homeland Security slammed the New York Times for publishing “sob stories” about deported criminal illegal immigrants while ignoring their victims. The department criticized the outlet for publishing such an account about Nascimento Blair, a 44-year-old Jamaican national who was removed from the country by ICE on Feb. 27 after being convicted of kidnapping. On Thursday, The New York Times published an extensive story about Blair in which the outlet claimed that he was a “changed man” who “had been rebuilding his life and seeking redemption.” The Times reported that, in addition to kidnapping, Blair had been selling marijuana and had been accused of kidnapping, “pistol-whipping” and demanding money from a teenager who had stolen some of his supply. After being convicted of kidnapping, The Times said that Blair used his time in prison to get bachelor’s and master’s degrees and that after his release, he got involved with his community and volunteered. DEPORTED ‘MARYLAND MAN’ CHAMPIONED BY DEMS WAS PULLED OVER DRIVING CAR BELONGING TO HUMAN SMUGGLER The outlet wrote that “to Mr. Blair and his supporters, his life story was one of rehabilitation, nuanced and filled with qualities that they believe Mr. Trump’s deportation machine disregards as it flies out immigrants en masse.” Slamming The Times’ coverage, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin asked, “Why does the New York Times continue to peddle sob stories about criminal illegal aliens and ignore their victims?” According to a statement by ICE, Blair entered the U.S. in 2004 and then violated the terms of his admission. A year after his arrival, Blair was arrested by the Mount Vernon Police Department for first-degree kidnapping. He was convicted of the crime and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The agency said that an immigration judge ordered Blair removed from the U.S. on Aug. 4, 2008. However, Blair was allowed to stay in the country after the New York State Department of Corrections released him on parole on April 9, 2020. TRUMP ADMIN FILES FIRST RACKETEERING CHARGES AGAINST MASSIVE MIGRANT TERRORIST GROUP PRESENT IN US ICE’s New York City field office finally arrested him on Feb. 3, 2025. McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that it was “because of the previous administration’s open border policies, this criminal illegal alien was released onto the streets of New York.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE She said, “Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, this kidnapper was arrested and is now out of our country.” “President Trump and Secretary Noem have made it clear that we are prioritizing arresting and deporting the worst of the worst,” said McLaughlin. PRESIDENT TRUMP BLASTS COURTS FOR GETTING IN THE WAY OF DEPORTATION AGENDA “That includes convicted kidnappers,” she continued, adding, “We are restoring commonsense to our immigration system.” In response to the DHS criticism, a New York Times spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “Mr. Blair’s history is central to our reporting, and prominently described throughout the story.”
Federal judge partially blocks Trump’s effort to deny funding to pro-DEI public schools
A federal judge in New Hampshire on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from cutting funding to public schools that maintain diversity programs, a setback to its broader crackdown on DEI. U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty said the effort by Trump’s Education Department to block federal funding to public schools that continue to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs likely violates the First Amendment, presenting what she described as “textbook viewpoint discrimination.” At issue is a memo sent by the Education Department this month to public schools nationwide, threatening to withhold Title I federal funds from public schools that continue to “unfairly” promote DEI views or programs. The effort sparked an immediate wave of concern, and lawsuits, across the country from education groups that cited the importance of Title I funds as a critical source of funding for many low-income public schools. TRUMP-APPOINTED JUDGE ORDERS ADMINISTRATION TO RETURN SECOND DEPORTED MIGRANT The DEI-slashing effort was met with a wave of court challenges, including a lawsuit filed by the National Education Association, the group’s New Hampshire affiliate chapter, and the Center for Black Educator Development, who challenged the case in New Hampshire’s federal court. Two other U.S. courts are slated to hear similar challenges to the Education Department’s effort, with one case in Washington, D.C., expected to be heard as early as this week. McCafferty’s ruling stopped short of issuing a nationwide injunction to block the policy in all 50 states. Rather, it blocks the Trump administration from halting the disbursement of Title I funds to any schools that employ or contract with plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “The right to speak freely and to promote diversity of ideas and programs is … one of the chief distinctions that sets us apart from totalitarian regimes,” McCafferty said in her 82-page opinion, adding that the actions taken by the Education Department “threate[n] to erode these foundational principles.” TRUMP URGES SUPREME COURT TO LET TRANS MILITARY BAN PROCEED She also said the Trump administration failed to provide the court with a sufficient definition of the DEI programs that were at risk as a result of the anti-DEI push. The order comes after the Trump administration and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit reached a short-term agreement to delay the policy from taking force. That agreement was slated to expire Thursday, prompting the court to rule on the matter.
White House torches Tim Walz’s speech about Trump’s ‘gulags,’ ‘chaos’: ‘His largest city burned to the ground’
The White House hit back hard Thursday at Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s state of the state address in which Kamala Harris’ former running mate slammed President Donald Trump over his immigration policies and other “chaos.” “It’s rich of Tim ‘Jazz Hands’ Walz to decry chaos when he let his largest city burn to the ground while his wife opened their mansion’s windows to savor the fumes,” White House deputy press secretary, Harrison Fields, said in a statement to Fox News Digital, referring to the Minneapolis George Floyd riots of 2020. “Walz also willingly served alongside Vice President Harris, who presided over one of the most chaotic administrations in American history.” The former Democratic vice presidential candidate used his state of the state address on Wednesday to criticize Trump and his administration for moving to deport illegal immigrants, including suspected gang members, as well as terrorist sympathizers. “The president has also chosen, and I stress this, chosen, to tear up the values that once made America the shining light of the world. In this land of the free and home of the brave, we have university students being swept up, shoved into unmarked vans, and fathers being tossed into Salvadorian gulags without a hint of due process,” Walz claimed. “I want to be real clear about this. If you say you love freedom, but you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it’s privilege,” the governor said, garnering a standing ovation on the Minnesota House floor. FEDERAL JUDGE DECLARES TRUMP ADMIN BLOCKING FEDERAL MONEY TO SANCTUARY CITIES UNCONSTITUTIONAL Walz appeared to indirectly reference the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia – an illegal immigrant and suspected member of MS-13, which the administration newly designated a foreign terrorist organization. The administration admitted to mistakenly deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, though Trump and federal officials have doubled down on Abrego Garcia’s alleged ties to the violent Mexican gang, as well as a domestic violence case involving his wife claiming he beat her. Abrego Garcia was initially suspected of human smuggling during a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop but was not charged. Democrats, categorizing Abrego Garcia as a “Maryland father,” meanwhile, have traveled to El Salvador to visit him while urging the administration to comply with Supreme Court and other court orders instructing that he be returned to the U.S. Abrego Garcia was initially held at the El Salvadoran megaprison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), but he has since been transferred to the lower security Centro Industrial Penitentiary facility in Santa Ana, El Salvador. The State Department said in court filings he remains held there “in good conditions and in an excellent state of health.” Waltz also appeared to excoriate how federal immigration authorities have taken into custody foreign students whose visas were rescinded by the Trump administration for allegedly organizing anti-Israel demonstrations at U.S. college campuses. Though Waltz did not mention anyone by name, another group of House Democrats traveled to Louisiana detention facilities holding Tufts University fifth-year doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk and former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil this week. FEDERAL JUDGE ALLEGES ‘WILLFUL AND BAD FAITH REFUSAL’ TO COMPLY IN ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION CASE The Democratic governor also took jabs at Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, claiming that the Trump administration wants to take Medicaid coverage away. “I can’t help but point out that we also gather at a moment of great uncertainty for our nation. And let’s be honest, this uncertainty, this chaos is no accident,” Waltz said. “The President of the United States has chosen, chosen to destroy the federal government’s ability to help people. He literally hired the richest man in the world to take a chainsaw to the basic services that Minnesotans rely on to build better lives. His plan leaves nobody there working to prevent the next pandemic, nobody to pick up the phone at the Social Security office, nobody making sure kids with special needs get the quality education they deserve.” Walz also slammed Trump over his reciprocal tariffs policies, alleging the Republican president is out of touch with working-class Americans.
Democrats’ vice chair gets ultimatum: stay neutral in primaries or step down from party leadership
Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin, aiming to quell a raging firestorm in the party, is making it crystal clear the DNC will stay neutral in intra-party primaries. “No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger,” the recently elected national party chair said during a conference call with reporters on Thursday. Martin’s comments were directed at DNC vice chair David Hogg, who last week pledged to shell out $20 million through his outside political group, Leaders We Deserve, to primary-challenge some older Democrats in blue districts. Hogg’s effort is aimed at helping to elect younger Democrats and includes supporting primary challengers to House Democrats in safe seats who Hogg argues “are asleep at the wheel.” DEMOCRATS’ VICE CHAIR IGNITES CIVIL WAR, TARGETING ‘ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL’ INCUMBENTS IN PRIMARIES David Hogg, the 25-year-old survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, drew sharp attention by spending money against fellow Democrats—a move a DNC official called unprecedented. The action has deepened internal party tensions that have simmered since President Donald Trump’s decisive election last November. DAVID HOGG DONATES $100K TO DCCC AFTER PLAN TO PRIMARY ‘INEFFECTIVE’ DEMOCRATS IGNITED CIVIL WAR IN PARTY “I have great respect for David Hogg. I think he’s an amazing young leader who’s done so much already to help move our movement forward,” Martin said. But the DNC chair added that while he understands what Hogg is trying to do, “I’ve said to him, if you want to challenge incumbents, you’re more than free to do that, but just not as an officer of the DNC, because our job is to be neutral arbiters. We can’t be both the referee and also the player at the same time.” “It’s important for us to maintain the trust that we have built with Democratic voters and to keep our thumb off the scale as party officers,” Martin added. Jane Kleeb, the president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC) who joined Martin on the call, noted, “I, too, have a deep relationship with David. I was just talking with him this morning. We hope that he realizes that he got elected to be an officer of the DNC, which means that we remain neutral.” The move by Hogg comes as the party’s base is angry and energized in fighting back against Trump’s sweeping and controversial moves since returning to the White House three months ago. That anger is directed not only at Trump and Republicans, but also at Democrats. Many in the party’s base feel they haven’t been effective or vocal enough in pushing back against the president. The energy has been evident at town halls this past winter and early spring held by both Democratic and Republican members of Congress. And progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York have drawn large crowds to their “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies across the country over the past six weeks. JAMES CARVILLE CALLS DAVID HOGG’S PLAN TO PRIMARY ‘INEFFECTIVE’ DEMS THE ‘MOST INSANE THING’ HE’S EVER HEARD Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, and other politicians who are leading the fight against Trump — including Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut — have seen a surge in their fundraising over the past three months. Another leader on the left who has been among those vocal in their resistance to the Trump administration, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, said in a Fox News Digital interview that “we have to have a whole rebrand of the Democratic Party with a coherent platform and a future-oriented platform, and many leaders need to do that, new leaders, not the old guard. And I hope to be part of that.” In a social media post, Khanna said last week he supports Hogg’s primary plan and urged Democrats to “embrace a new generation of leadership & competition!” But while Democrats are increasingly energized to resist Trump, a slew of national polls this year indicated the favorability ratings of the Democratic Party sinking to all-time lows. Martin’s comments on DNC neutrality in primaries came as he and Kleeb announced a $1 million investment in Democratic state parties. The chair called the investment “historic” and said that it “will remake how we do business and how we achieve sustained political power in the Democratic Party.” “I ran for this job to get the DNC out of the D.C. . . . I don’t think it benefits Democrats to sit in Washington and gaze at the problem and expect solutions to present themselves. Everyone here just wants to win the argument. I want to win elections, and you win elections in the States. So, that’s where the DNC will invest our resources,” Martin said. Kleeb said that “the reform package that Ken Martin is bringing forward, that he will be discussing over the next several months that he ran on as chair is not a reaction to David, but is a step in the right direction of reforms that we’ve been fighting for, for 15 years. So I just wanted to make sure that that was clear.” Former DNC Chair Howard Dean, who instituted a previous 50-state strategy when he steered the national party committee two decades ago, praised the new plan, saying “this is a really critical move that’s being made here.” “The DNC’s job has got to shift outside of Washington. We cannot be a Washington-centric party and expect to win,” Dean added. Democratic politicians and pundits have criticized Hogg’s brutal strategy, alongside his political organization, Leaders We Deserve, to spend millions of dollars to primary-challenge older Democrats in blue districts. During an interview with CNN last week, longtime Democratic strategist James Carville ripped Hogg for challenging those within his own party when he could be investing those same funds to “take on a Republican.” “The most insane thing I ever heard is the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee is spending $20 million running against other Democrats.
Trump has his own deadline, ‘no allegiance to anybody’ in Ukraine-Russia peace deal
President Donald Trump said he is sticking to his own timeline when it comes to hashing out a peace deal to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Trump’s remarks coincide with a Thursday visit from Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store at the White House, and following Wednesday comments saying there was a high likelihood that a peace agreement would emerge within the next several days. “I have my own deadline,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “And we wanted to be fast. And the Prime Minister’s helping us.” “He wants it to be fast, too,” he said. “And I think everybody in this, at this time in NATO, they want to see this thing happen.” “I think it has a very good chance of getting done,” Trump said. TRUMP TELLS PUTIN TO ‘STOP’ AFTER DEADLY RUSSIAN STRIKES ON KYIV The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital requesting details on Trump’s self-imposed deadline. Following criticism of both Russia and Ukraine in recent days, Trump said his only priority is to save lives by securing a peace deal. “I have no allegiance to anybody,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. “I have allegiance to saving lives.” Trump voiced his displeasure with Russia for continuing Thursday strikes on Kyiv, which killed at least 10 and injured at least 90, including children, according to Ukraine. “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing,” Trump said Thursday in a social media post. “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!” Additionally, Trump signaled in the Oval Office that he would consider additional sanctions on Russia if Moscow were to continue to launch strikes against Ukraine. “I’d rather answer that question in a week. I want to see if we can have a deal. No reason to answer it now, but I won’t be happy. Let me put it that way. Things, things will happen,” he said. Despite these attacks from Russia, Trump also told reporters that “we are thinking very strongly that they both want peace, but they have to get to the table.” Even so, Trump said in a Wednesday post on Truth Social that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s opposition to certain concessions related to territorial control of Crimea would only stall peace negotiations. Vice President JD Vance disclosed on Wednesday that a proposal is on the table — but if neither party agrees, the U.S. will disengage from advancing the peace talks. Vance said the deal would require both Russia and Ukraine to give up some of their territory, but that the lines would remain “close to where they are today.” TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL “We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes or for the U.S. to walk away from this process,” Vance told reporters on Wednesday. “We’ve engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy, of on-the-ground work.” The Trump administration has recently signaled that a deal may be on the horizon, and Trump expressed optimism Sunday that Ukraine and Russia could nail down an agreement that would pave the way for them to start conducting “big business” with the U.S. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump has promised since the campaign trail that he would move to end the conflict between the two countries. Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
Pro-Trump shop owner backs Schumer on tariffs: ‘This has to be rectified’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., held a press conference alongside a business owner and supporter of President Donald Trump, who is speaking out against the president’s tariff agenda. On Long Island on Thursday, Schumer stood with Tandy Jeckel, the owner of TandyWear, a women’s clothing shop in Suffolk County. “No matter what your vantage, if you’re a business, if you are a consumer, if you are in the industry, the tariffs are one giant mess,” Schumer said. Jeckel told Fox News Digital that she is the exemplar of a split-ticket voter – consistently supporting Trump, while also praising Schumer’s years of work on behalf of Long Islanders, including after Superstorm Sandy. BIDEN EFFECT HITS THE SENATE: WAVE OF RETIREMENTS CLEARS PATH FOR YOUNGER DEMS When asked how she would grade Trump, she told Fox News Digital, “I would give him an 8 – it’s absolutely not a fail.” “I would say an A,” she added, when asked for a letter grade. “But, with the tariffs, that’s my only issue… because I have a small business. So it’s not really political, it’s just something that – this has to be rectified for our small business, because how long can we go on with this for my small business?” Tariffs, she told Fox News Digital, bring uncertainty to both businessowners and customers, adding that customers are “resistant to buy” these days “because of this shaky uncertainty.” She declined to answer a handful of questions that were political in nature. Jeckel told Fox News Digital that, in the long run, the Trump economy is “going to be great – once we get this situation with the tariffs” considered. Meanwhile, Schumer also announced he would force a vote next week to end what he called Trump’s trade war, and called on the House of Representatives to act in-kind. SCHUMER SAYS TRUMP ‘FEELING THE HEAT’ AFTER RECIPROCAL TARIFF PAUSE Long Island, though a suburban area of a blue state, is remarkably red for its environs – with particularly the eastern half of the island solidly Republican for more than a decade. Long Island lawmakers in Congress have real sway to pressure Republicans to act, Schumer suggested in a release prior to the event. The event was billed as one where Schumer “st[ood] with Long Island Trump voters who love MAGA, but hate tariffs. . . . “ Schumer claimed Nassau County, the central part of the island abutting Queens, could lose nearly 11,000 jobs, and Suffolk could see 24,000 disappear. His new bill to force an end to the tariffs, he said, was co-sponsored by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Peter Welch, D-Vt. “On Monday I was in restaurants in Syracuse and Albany,” he said of cities 300 miles to the northwest. “They’re having the same problem: paying more for their goods, less money in people’s pockets. So, it’s all across the state.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He also expressed hope that the House will take up a Senate-passed resolution to nix tariffs directed specifically at Canada, an issue Welch brought up in recent comments to Fox News Digital as well. When asked for a response, the White House said through a spokesman that Schumer wasn’t being forthright about his prior criticisms of unfair trade practices by other countries. “[He] railed against America’s historic and persistent trade deficits with China for years until President Trump took historic action to actually do something about China’s unfair trade practices and cheating,” spokesman Kush Desai said. “As always, Democrats are playing political games instead of working with the Trump administration to do what’s right,” he added.