FBI email instructs employees not to promote Pride Month on bureau time: ‘Focused only on our core mission’
FIRST ON FOX: Agents and directors at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received an email from leadership on Thursday instructing them not to participate in Pride Month in their professional capacity, a departure from the tone of the Biden administration’s bureau. “I’ve received several questions about the FBI’s stance on Pride Month and what related activities FBI divisions and employees should or should not participate in,” FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson said in an email obtained by Fox News Digital addressed to assistant directors in charge and special agents in charge on Thursday morning. “So, I want to take the opportunity to make FBI leadership’s expectations clear: There should be no official FBI actions, events, or messaging regarding Pride Month.” The email explains that employees are “free to do as you like” in their “personal capacity” or “on your own time.” ‘RADICAL’ FBI PRACTICES ON DEI ‘ENDANGERED’ AMERICANS, BLACKBURN SAYS IN LETTER DEMANDING ANSWERS FROM WRAY “But on FBI time, using FBI resources and your Bureau affiliation, you and your divisions are expected to take no official actions or issue any specific messaging,” Williamson said, adding that the “stance in no way lessens the FBI’s commitment to serve and protect every American in our country or welcoming colleagues from all walks of life.” “What it does mean is ensuring that the American people see we are focused only on our core mission.” TRUMP DOJ MOVES FUNDS USED FOR TRANSGENDER PROJECTS, DEI TO SUPPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT The FBI did not respond to a request for comment. Shifting away from official celebrations of Pride Month represents a shift from messaging during the Biden administration, which saw several examples of the bureau promoting the month, including taking part in a Kansas City Pridefest and mentioning Pride Month in press releases. The Biden administration faced criticism from conservatives in recent years after the White House and departments vocally supported Pride Month, which is observed for the month of June, with formal celebrations. Then-President Joe Biden hosted a “Pride Month 2023” event on the White House lawn, decorating the area with rainbow motifs and the “Progress Pride flag.” “Today, the #FBI raised the #pride flag at our headquarters in support of our #LGBTQ colleagues,” the FBI posted on social media in June 2021. “We thank them for their contributions to the FBI and the country. #PrideMonth.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The email comes after the Trump administration has shifted away from diversity, equity and inclusion messaging and programs in federal government, instead focusing on meritocracy and the individual missions of departments. “Let good cops be cops—and rebuild trust in the FBI,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in his first statement after being sworn in to lead the bureau.
85-year-old longtime House Democrat facing primary challenger who’s making age a key issue
Longtime Democratic Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer has yet to announce whether he will seek re-election next year for a 24th two-year term in Congress. If he does, he will face a primary challenger who is making Hoyer’s age – the congressman turns 86 next month and would be 89 at the end of his next term – a centerpiece of his campaign. Harry Jarin, 35, a volunteer firefighter and emergency services’ consultant, said Thursday in a new video announcing his candidacy, “If you live here in southern Maryland, I want to ask you a tough question. Do you really think that Steny Hoyer, at 89-years-old, is the best person to represent us?” Jarin argued that “we’re in a moment of real crisis. Radical Republicans are burning down our country around us. Our friends and family who work in the government are losing their jobs. We keep sending politicians like Steny Hoyer back to Congress again and again. Tired politicians like Steny can’t put up a fight that we need.” PARTY VICE CHAIR IGNITES FIRESTORM WITH PUSH TO PRIMARY CHALLENGE OLDER HOUSE DEMOCRATS “Here’s the bottom line: you don’t put out a fire by sending in the same people who let it spread. Send in a firefighter,” Jarin said. “Maryland deserves a new generation of leadership, and I’m ready to take up the fight.” Fox News reached out to Hoyer’s office for a response, but a spokesperson declined to respond. Hoyer, who first won his seat in Congress in a 1981 special election, from 2003 to 2023, was the second ranking House Democrat behind Rep. Nancy Pelosi. He served as House Majority Leader from 2007-2011 and from 2019-2023, when the Democrats controlled the chamber. Along with Pelosi, Hoyer stepped down from his longtime leadership position at the end of 2022 but remained in Congress. DEMOCRATS PREDICT HOUSE REPUBLICANS WILL PAY PRICE FOR PASSING TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ “I think all of us have been around for some time and pretty much have a feel for the timing of decisions. And I think all three of us felt that this was the time,” Hoyer told CNN at the time, as he referred to the moves by the top three House Democrats – Pelosi, Hoyer and Rep. Jim Clyburn – to step down from their leadership roles. Hoyer has long been a major backer of the Democrats’ top issues, and during his second tenure as House Majority Leader, he played a crucial role in the passage of then-President Joe Biden’s so-called American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. He represents Maryland’s Democrat-dominated 5th Congressional District, which covers a region known as Southern Maryland, and includes the suburbs south and east of Washington D.C., a sliver of suburban Baltimore and Annapolis, as well as rural areas farther south. Hoyer, who suffered a minor stroke last year, is the latest high-ranking House Democrat to face a primary challenge from a younger opponent. Pelosi and Reps. Brad Sherman of California and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois have drawn primary challenges, with Schakowsky later announcing that she will no longer run for re-election. The primary challenges come as Democrats are still trying to regroup following last November’s election setbacks, when the party lost control of the White House and their Senate majority, and came up short in their bid to win back the House. The party’s base is angry and energized to push back against the sweeping and controversial moves by President Donald Trump in the four months since he returned to the White House. Additionally, while much of that anger and energy is directed at fighting the White House and congressional Republicans, some of it is targeted at Democrats whom many in the party’s base feel aren’t vocal enough in their efforts to stymie Trump. Concurrently, other longtime and older House Democrats in safe blue districts are facing the possibility of primary challenges. This, after newly elected Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg last month pledged to spend millions of dollars through his outside political group to back primary challenges against what he called “asleep at the wheel” House Democrats – lawmakers he argued have failed to effectively push back against Trump. The move by the 25-year-old Hogg, a survivor of the horrific shooting seven years ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida, to spend money against fellow Democrats ignited a firestorm within the party.
Biden White House aides face Oversight deadline amid threat of subpoenas
Today is the deadline for President Joe Biden’s former White House physician and four aides to respond to House Oversight Committee interview requests. Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is demanding the high-ranking staffers in former President Joe Biden’s White House appear for transcribed interviews on their suspected roles, working “behind the scenes” to “cover up” the former president’s mental decline during his term. Comer sent interview requests to four key Biden White House aides — former director of the Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden, former assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini, former senior adviser to the first lady Anthony Bernal and former deputy director of Oval Office operations Ashley Williams. KEY BIDEN STAFFERS ASKED TO TESTIFY ON ALLEGED ROLE IN MENTAL DECLINE ‘COVER-UP’ FOX is told lawyers for Neera Tanden, Anthony Bernal, Annie Tomasini and Ashley Williams have contacted the committee, but no interviews are confirmed or scheduled. So far, there’s been no contact with physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor. While the Bidens have stayed silent on the latest congressional probe, Jill Biden’s former press secretary is pushing back. GOP PUSH FOR NEW HOUSE COMMITTEE TO PROBE BIDEN DECLINE ‘COVER-UP’ GAINS STEAM With regards to Chairman Comer…he spent two years trying to take on the Biden family and came up with nothing. He went fishing in a dry lake,” said Michael LaRosa. If they don’t commit by day’s end, the committee said it is ready to issue subpoenas immediately. “We believe these are the staffers that were responsible for using the autopen… We want to ask them, ‘Who gave you the authority to use Joe Biden’s signature?’” Comer said on “Hannity.”
Supreme Court limits judges’ authority to block infrastructure projects over environmental concerns
The Supreme Court on Thursday limited the authority of judges to block infrastructure projects due to environmental concerns. The nine justices handed down the lone decision Thursday morning, slightly curbing judicial authority at a time when President Donald Trump’s administration is loudly complaining about alleged judicial overreach. The case, Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, relates to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the requirement for environmental impact statements (EIS) in infrastructure projects supported by the federal government. “NEPA does not allow courts, ‘under the guise of judicial review’ of agency compliance with NEPA, to delay or block agency projects based on the environmental effects of other projects separate from the project at hand,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the opinion of the court. “Courts should afford substantial deference and should not micromanage those agency choices so long as they fall within a broad zone of reasonableness,” the opinion continued. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE Kavanaugh went on to state that agencies should not be expected to consider the environmental impact of any project aside from the one they are currently working on, “even if” the environmental impacts “might extend outside the geographical territory of the project or materialize later in time.” “The fact that the project might foreseeably lead to the construction or increased use of a separate project does not mean the agency must consider that separate project’s environmental effects,” the court ruled. Thursday’s decision was an 8-0 ruling, with Justice Neil Gorsuch taking no part in the consideration of the case. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett joined with Kavanaugh’s opinion. Meanwhile, Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a separate concurring opinion, onto which joined Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Trump, having a history in major construction projects, has repeatedly complained about environmental impact statements and the roadblocks they can cause. NUMBER OF INJUNCTIONS HALTING TRUMP POLICIES TROUNCES PREDECESSORS BY DOUBLE Republicans have also widely criticized what they see as judicial overreach in federal judges unilaterally blocking major aspects of Trump’s agenda. “Universal injunctions are an unconstitutional abuse of judicial power,” Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital earlier this month. “Just this past week, a D.C. district judge issued a universal injunction blocking the president’s executive order requiring voter ID or proof-of-citizenship prior to voting in national election,” he continued. “Judges are not policymakers.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Supreme Court is considering the wide use of universal injunctions in a separate case that will be handed down in the coming weeks.
Judge to block Trump admin’s Harvard foreign students ban
A federal judge in Boston said Thursday that she plans to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from revoking Harvard University’s certification to host foreign students. Judge Allison D. Burroughs – who was appointed by former President Barack Obama – already granted Harvard University a temporary restraining order last week, preventing the government from revoking the Ivy League school’s certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. The program permits the university to host international students with F-1 or J-1 visas to study in the U.S. At Thursday’s hearing, Burroughs said the block on the Trump administration would stand for now. In its lawsuit, Harvard said the revocation would impact more than 7,000 visa holders – more than a quarter of its student body. Homeland Security Investigations doubled on its intent to withdraw Harvard’s certification of its Student Exchange Visitors Program. Justice Department lawyers submitted to the docket a letter by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons addressed to Harvard’s leadership on Wednesday. Lyons listed several “compliance issues,” citing the university’s failure to follow reporting requirements, failure to “maintain a campus environment free of violence and antisemitism” and “practices with foreign entities raising national security concerns.” The letter says a joint-government task force found that Harvard “has failed to confront pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus.” Lyons says evidence obtained by the Department of Homeland Seucirty shows “Jewish students on campus were subject to pervasive insults, physical assault, and intimidation, with no meaningful response from Harvard University’s leadership.” “Meanwhile, pro-Hamas student groups that promoted antisemitism after the October 7 attacks remained recognized and funded,” Lyons wrote. The letter says DHS also obtained evidence that “creates serious concerns that Harvard University has coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and other foreign entities adverse to national security.” Since January 2020, Harvard has received $151 million from foreign governments – making up more than 13% of the total $1.1 billion received from foreign donors over the same period, according to the filing. About 18% of Harvard’s total international student population last year was Chinese, according to reports. DHS said Harvard has 30 calendar days to explain why the school’s certification should not be withdrawn despite the cited evidence. “Providing materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent information may subject you to criminal prosecution,” Lyons wrote. Lawyers representing Harvard said in Thursday’s hearing that international students are “terrified” and are “facing real harm in real time.” This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Former Navy SEAL mounts Senate bid to ‘crush the woke agenda’ as Tuberville seeks governorship
Former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson is running for the U.S. Senate, as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., seeks the governorship in the Yellowhammer State. Tuberville, who has served in the U.S. Senate since early 2021, announced a gubernatorial bid this week, leaving Alabama’s 2026 U.S. Senate race wide open since there will not be an incumbent in that contest. “President Trump needs fighters, not career politicians. I’m a former Navy SEAL, not a swamp insider — and I’m running for U.S. Senate in Alabama to help secure the border, crush the woke agenda, and defend our Christian values,” Hudson noted in a post on X. RED STATE OFFICIAL RECOUNTS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF BEING ‘DEBANKED’ AND WHY IT ‘HAS TO BE STOPPED’ House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Eli Crane spoke highly of Hudson when sharing the candidate’s post on X. “Really glad to see men like Jared jumping into one of the toughest fights on earth. I served with Jared at Team 3. He is a very good man, who loves the Lord and his family,” the congressman said in a post. TRUMP ALLY TUBERVILLE ANNOUNCES RUN FOR ALABAMA GOVERNOR “Eli Crane is a friend & God-fearing patriot,” Hudson posted in response to Crane’s comments. “We need more warriors like him in Congress — representatives who don’t quit & serve the people, not the Swamp. That’s why I’m running. I’ll provide reinforcements for Eli & Pres. Trump in the fight to Make America Great Again!” Hudson and his wife founded the nonprofit organization Covenant Rescue Group, according to the group’s website. TRUMP TELLS UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA GRADUATES NOT TO BE A ‘VICTIM,’ SAYS IN AMERICA ‘WE REJECT THAT IDEA’ “They saw a lack of skills and funding to properly rescue victims and arrest criminals involved in human trafficking and child exploitation,” the site notes. “Sharing a passion for children who fall victim to these crimes globally, they decided to become active. They organized their passion, training, and expertise to bring this wicked organized enterprise to an end.”
Elon Musk criticism of Trump tax bill frustrates some Republicans: ‘No place in Congress’
Elon Musk’s criticism of House Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” has left some GOP lawmakers frustrated at the tech billionaire. “This is why Mr. Musk has no place in Congress,” one House GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital. “He wants to codify discretionary cuts. He didn’t find enough waste, fraud, and abuse to fund [the Small Business Administration], let alone reduce our debt.” “This was a gimmick. He got used. He’s now upset. He played the game, he got what he wanted, then he ended up like everyone else who gets too close.” House Republicans passed a broad-ranging bill last week advancing President Donald Trump‘s agenda on tax, immigration, defense, and energy. Congressional Republicans are hoping to pass it via the budget reconciliation process, a mechanism for passing fiscal legislation while waiving the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and sidelining the minority party. MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, ‘BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE Musk told “CBS Sunday Morning” the legislation “undermines the work” done by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He called it a “massive spending bill” that “increases the budget deficit.” However, Republican supporters of the bill have contended that the kind of spending cuts Musk is looking for, and the kind DOGE outlined, cannot be done via the reconciliation process. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., himself pledged in a public statement after Musk’s comments that House Republicans would tackle DOGE cuts – albeit in a different vehicle than the “big, beautiful bill.” Reconciliation primarily deals with mandatory government funding that Congress must change by amending the law itself, like federal safety net programs. The White House is also planning to send a package of proposed spending cuts to Congress next week, including cuts outlined by DOGE, that target discretionary government spending. Discretionary spending refers to the cash flows that Congress controls annually via the budget appropriations process. Other supporters of the bill, like Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said its focus was on people outside of Musk’s wealth class. “The bill strikes the proper balance between rooting out fraud to achieve savings and not impacting citizens who rely on government programs. The biggest winners for a change are not billionaires like Musk but middle-class families who will see the bulk of savings returned to them in the form of real tax relief,” Malliotakis told Fox News Digital. “That’s who President Trump and House Republicans set out to help.” A second House Republican who requested anonymity to speak freely told Fox News Digital that Musk did “put a lot of work in” with DOGE but argued he was wrong on the facts. “I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time that he didn’t really have a handle on the process,” the House Republican said. “So, you know, we really have to bake the DOGE cuts into the budget rather than through reconciliation.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Musk for comment via Tesla but did not immediately hear back. On the other side of the House GOP Conference, fiscal hawks who also had issues with the legislation rallied around Musk’s comments. “I share Mr. Musk’s concerns about the short-term adverse effect on the federal deficit of the limited spending reductions in the BBB. Debt markets remain concerned about US total debt and annual deficits,” said House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md. The Maryland Republican voted “present” on the reconciliation bill last week. SCOOP: HOUSE GOP MEMO HIGHLIGHTS REPUBLICAN WINS IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ “Hopefully the Senate will take those concerns into consideration as the legislative process moves forward,” Harris said. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, the lone House Republican to vote against the bill, posted on X, “Hopefully, the Senate will succeed where the House missed the moment. Don’t hope someone else will cut spending someday, know it has been done this Congress.” “Despite pleas to step back and look at the sum of the parts passed by 11 different committees, this bill was rushed to the floor when it should have been fixed,” Davidson said. Musk announced late on Wednesday that he was stepping away from his federal government role because his “scheduled time as a Special Government Employee” was coming “to an end.”
Rubio spearheads massive State Dept. reorganization set to eliminate, merge more than 300 offices
FIRST ON FOX: New State Department reorganization plans will cut or consolidate more than 300 of the agency’s offices and bureaus as part of a massive overhaul seeking to streamline the department, according to agency officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio first announced plans in April to restructure the agency because the department was “bloated, bureaucratic, and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission.” The State Department submitted a notice to Congress Thursday disclosing plans for the overhaul — the largest restructuring for the agency since the Cold War, senior State Department officials told Fox News Digital. The agency’s overhaul aims to cut red tape so the department can respond to threats more quickly, place greater emphasis on the agency’s “primary mission” representing the U.S. abroad and eliminate “bureaucratic overgrowth” in Washington, the congressional notice said. “We have too many god—n offices,” a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital. “We’re trying to shrink offices rather than create them.” RUBIO OVERHAULING ‘BLOATED’ STATE DEPARTMENT IN SWEEPING REFORM The State Department’s plans will slash or merge 311 existing domestic offices, ultimately eliminating up to roughly 3,400 State Department personnel, who make up between 15% and 20% of the agency’s domestic headcount, according to State Department officials. The agency currently boasts roughly 700 offices, meaning the reorganization will cut or join more than 40% of the offices. “We are really addressing a significant portion of the department’s domestic offices and sort of merging them, combining them, trying to make them more efficient,” the senior State Department official said. Staff have not received notifications regarding the reduction in force yet, but are expected to receive an update on reductions in force by July 1. Whereas three offices overseeing sanctions issues previously existed, the overhaul will merge all of those branches together to make it more clear who to report to, according to the official. But a few additions are in the works. The plans also include adding approximately nine new offices, the State Department officials said. New positions include a deputy assistant secretary for democracy and Western values, as well as new immigration security offices under the agency’s bureau of population, refugees and migration to tackle President Donald Trump’s immigration priorities. Likewise, the restructuring adds a new bureau of emerging threats that will address issues pertaining to artificial intelligence, hypersonic weapons and space. “So we’re not just cutting these things,” the senior State Department official said. “We’re re-imagining them to advance the administration’s agenda.” The reorganization structure only affects domestic offices, and also seeks to cut down on the layers of bureaucracy in Washington to give more power to the embassies abroad, according to State Department officials. The State Department has domestic offices all across the U.S., ranging from the East Coast in Boston, all the way to San Francisco and Honolulu. The State Department has more than 270 diplomatic posts outside of the U.S. WHITE HOUSE PROPOSAL AXES UN, NATO FUNDS AND HALVES STATE DEPARTMENT BUDGET The status quo hampered the department’s ability to push out policy because there were so many channels of approval that must be cleared first as part of a “horizontal reporting structure,” they said. Under the new structure, regional bureau offices that handle global U.S. bilateral relationships will take on greater responsibility and oversee policy management of nearly all non-security foreign assistance, according to the congressional notice. “We’re really shifting the focus towards our embassies out in the field, our ambassadors out in the field, giving them the tools … so that they can effectively implement the ‘America First’ diplomacy out there in the field,” another senior State Department official told Fox News Digital. The officials said that Rubio has instructed that the new structure be implemented by July 1, and that the agency is so far on track to meet that goal. Rubio told lawmakers on the Senate appropriations subcommittee overseeing foreign affairs May 20 that the restructuring “is not designed to either cripple the department or in any way — it’s not even a cost savings endeavor.” Rather, Rubio said the change aims to “empower” regional bureaus and embassies. Specifically, Rubio said that he receives up to 15 cables each morning from embassies around the world and that’s where the “best innovations” originate. TRUMP ADMIN TO DIRECT AGENCY HEADS TO PREP FOR ‘LARGE-SCALE REDUCTIONS IN FORCE,’ REORGANIZATION BY MARCH 13 “They are identifying problems and opportunities well in advance of some memo that works its way to me,” Rubio told lawmakers. “We want to get back to a situation or we want to get to a situation where we are empowering ideas and action at the embassy level and through our regional bureaus. Those are literally the front lines of American diplomacy. And so we have structured a State Department that can deliver on that.” Meanwhile, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., voiced caution about the reforms in April after Rubio’s initial announcement and said any changes “must be carefully weighed with the real costs to American security and leadership.” “A strong and mission-ready State Department advances American national security interests, opens up new markets for American workers and companies and promotes global peace and stability,” Shaheen said in her April statement. “It remains to be seen how the administration’s latest proposals will achieve that goal.”
21 Democrats who may try to succeed Trump in the 2028 presidential election
It has been just over four months since President Donald Trump returned to power in the White House, and the very early moves in the 2028 presidential race are already underway by some Democrats with likely national ambitions. This upcoming weekend, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was the Democrats’ 2024 vice presidential nominee, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who says he is not laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential run, will make separate appearances in South Carolina, the state the Democratic National Committee anointed to hold the lead-off primary in their 2024 nominating calendar. Two weeks later, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who ran for the White House in 2020, will headline a major Democratic state party dinner in New Hampshire, which for a century has held the first presidential primary. Two weeks ago, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who later served as Transportation secretary in former President Joe Biden’s administration, headlined a town hall with veterans and military families in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. SUCCEEDING TRUMP IN 2028: SIX REPUBLICANS TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON Iowa’s caucuses for half a century kicked off both major political parties’ presidential nominating calendars until the DNC demoted the Hawkeye State on their 2024 schedule. Another potential contender, two-term Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, late last month, gave the keynote address at a major state party fundraising gala in New Hampshire. Also making noise is two-term Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who said recently he would consider running for president if he felt he could successfully unite the country. WHAT BERNIE SANDERS SAID IN A FOX NEWS DIGITAL INTERVIEW Additionally, progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York grabbed plenty of attention the past couple of months, co-headlining a slew of large rallies across the country with longtime progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, which sparked plenty of 2028 speculation. The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since last November’s election setbacks, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate and defended their fragile House majority. Republicans additionally made gains among Black and Hispanic voters as well as younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party’s base. Since Trump’s return to power, an increasingly angry and energized base of Democrats has been pushing for party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against the president’s sweeping and controversial agenda during the opening months of his second administration. EFFORT BY DEMOCRATS TO STOP THE SLIDE RIDICULED Democrats are not only looking ahead to next year’s midterms, when they hope to make ballot box gains, but also to the next presidential race. “There was a sense of hopelessness earlier this year among Democrats, as Trump came in with his wrecking ball, and it seemed like there was nothing but futile opposition to him,” longtime Democratic strategist Chris Moyer told Fox News. “So thinking about a presidential race with potential candidates is a way to get some hope back and look towards a future that doesn’t include Trump.” Moyer, a veteran of a handful of Democratic presidential campaigns, said the race is “wide open, and it won’t be long before we see clear maneuvering from a litany of candidates.” The results of the 2026 midterm elections will have a major impact on the shape of the next White House race. For now, however, here are 20 Democrats considered potential presidential contenders to watch on the road to 2028. After lying low when the Biden administration came to a close, former Vice President Kamala Harris has picked up the political pace of late, including headlining a recent major DNC fundraiser in New York City, with another in San Francisco next week. Among her campaign options that she is weighing is a 2026 run for the open governor’s seat in her home state of California and another bid in 2028 for the White House. A source in the former vice president’s political orbit confirmed to Fox News Digital two months ago that Harris had told allies she would decide by the end of summer on whether to launch a 2026 gubernatorial campaign. Harris served as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and represented the Golden State in the U.S. Senate before joining Biden’s 2020 ticket and winning that election as vice president. Additionally, Harris would be considered the clear frontrunner for governor in heavily blue California in the race to succeed term-limited Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom. However, early polling in the 2028 Democratic nomination race indicates that Harris would be the frontrunner, thanks in part to her name recognition within her party. While there are plenty of voices within the party who would like to move on from the Biden/Harris era following Trump’s sweeping victory, and there is little history of Democrats yearning for past defeated presidential nominees, Trump has re-written the rules when it comes to defeated White House contenders making another run. Potential buyers’ remorse of a second Trump administration could boost the 60-year-old Harris in the years to come. The progressive “rock star” and best-known lawmaker among the so-called “Squad” of diverse House Democrats in October turned 35, the minimum age to run for president. Some Democrats argue that a riveting messenger with star power is needed as the party’s next nominee, and Ocasio-Cortez is guaranteed to grab plenty of attention if she ultimately decides to run. There is also speculation the four-term federal lawmaker from New York City may primary challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York when he is up for re-election in 2028. California Gov. Gavin Newsom was a top surrogate for Biden during the president’s re-election bid. With the blessing of the White House, the two-term California governor debated then-Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year on Fox News. Newsom’s travels on behalf of Biden brought him to New Hampshire and South Carolina, two crucial early voting states on the Democratic Party’s nominating calendar. After Harris, his friend and fellow Californian, replaced Biden atop
What’s next for DOGE after Elon Musk’s departure? ‘Only just begun’
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk bid farewell to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a Wednesday night X post, ending his tenure as the face of the agency as it shifts to a new phase in President Donald Trump‘s second term. “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk said on X. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.” Musk has been the public face of DOGE since Trump signed an executive order establishing the office on Jan. 20. DOGE has since ripped through federal government agencies in a quest to identify and end government overspending, corruption and fraud. After Musk’s departure, a senior White House official told Fox News Digital that DOGE will operate as it has always operated and that the agency is “part of the DNA of this federal government.” OBAMA-NOMINATED JUDGE ALLOWS LAWSUIT TARGETING MUSK’S ROLE WITH DOGE TO PROCEED, DROPS CLAIMS AGAINST TRUMP The official added that DOGE now operates in “nearly every federal government agency department” with the “sole job” of cutting waste, fraud and abuse with the goal of efficiency. “The DOGE employees at their respective agency or department will be reporting to and executing the agenda of the president through the leadership of each agency or department head,” the official said. In a post on X, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller said, “The work DOGE has done to eliminate government waste and corruption — the rot embedded deep within Washington — is among the most valuable services ever rendered to government. And the work has only just begun.” While Musk has been the public face of DOGE for months, he was not an employee of the United States DOGE Service and did not report to the acting DOGE administrator, Amy Gleason, according to a court filing in March that shed additional light on the internal workings of the office. ‘BUREAUCRATIC AND WASTEFUL’: DOGE SNIFFS OUT EYE-POPPING SPENDING ON BIDEN DEI EFFORTS IN KEY AGENCY Gleason, who has been described by her peers as a “world-class talent,” previously worked for the United States Digital Service, which was founded in 2014 by former President Barack Obama as a technology office within the Executive Office of the President. DOGE is a temporary cross-departmental organization that was established to slim down and streamline the federal government. The group itself will be dissolved on July 4, 2026, according to Trump’s executive order. Musk’s tenure with DOGE resulted in an estimated $175 billion in savings through a combination of asset sales, contract cancellations, fraud payment deletion and other cost-cutting measures, according to the agency’s website, which was last updated on May 26. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The savings amount to $1,086.96 per taxpayer, according to the website. Amid Musk’s work with DOGE, Democrats and activists have staged protests against the tech billionaire and his companies, including working to tank Tesla stocks. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Elizabeth Pritchard contributed to this report.