White House sending $9.4B DOGE cuts package to Congress next week
The White House is expected to send a federal spending cut proposal to Congress next week, two Republican sources told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. It is the latest move by Republican officials to make good on promises to slash government spending, a project spearheaded by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The proposal is called a “rescissions package,” a vehicle for the president to block funds that were already allocated by Congress in its yearly appropriations process. Once transmitted to Capitol Hill, lawmakers have 45 days to take it up before it’s voided. An Office of Management and Budget (OMB) official told Fox News Digital the package is expected to total roughly $9.4 billion. MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, ‘BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE It will primarily target federal funding to NPR, PBS and the U.S. Agency for International Development, the official said, confirming details first reported by Axios. A third GOP source told Fox News Digital that House GOP leaders had asked the White House to wait until their chamber finished their consideration of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” to send its spending-cut package. The House passed the massive piece of tax-and-spending legislation last week after an all-night session of debate and procedural votes, sending it to the Senate for further consideration. SCOOP: HOUSE GOP MEMO HIGHLIGHTS REPUBLICAN WINS IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ That bill, which is being advanced under the budget reconciliation process, primarily deals with mandatory government funding that Congress must change by amending the law itself. A rescissions package targets discretionary government funding, which Congress sets the levels of every year in its annual appropriations process. The White House referred Fox News Digital to OMB when reached for comment. The package is expected to get to Congress just as Musk is beginning to step away from his role leading DOGE – but is apparently still keeping a close eye on governmental affairs. The billionaire tech founder criticized Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” on “CBS News Sunday Morning,” saying in a preview clip that he was “disappointed” by it. “I think a bill can be big, or it could be beautiful. But I don’t know if it could be both,” Musk said. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., vowed the House would do more to codify DOGE cuts in a statement after Musk’s message. “The House is eager and ready to act on DOGE’s findings so we can deliver even more cuts to big government that President Trump wants and the American people demand. We will do that in two ways,” Johnson wrote on X. “1. When the White House sends its rescissions package to the House, we will act quickly by passing legislation to codify the cuts. 2. The House will use the appropriations process to swiftly implement President Trump’s 2026 budget. In the meantime, we have been working around the clock as we prepared for those processes. The House made sure to build on DOGE’s success within the One Big Beautiful Bill.” Musk’s commentary, meanwhile, divided House Republicans on Wednesday. “This is why Mr. Musk has no place in Congress. 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,” one House GOP lawmaker granted anonymity to speak freely told Fox News Digital. “This was a gimmick, he got used, he’s now upset.” Meanwhile, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., who voted “present” on the legislation last week, told Fox News Digital that he believed Musk was right. “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,” Harris said. The House is expected to begin working on fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations next week, though the rescission package deals with FY 2025 funding. Additionally, the 45-day deadline for that is not the only marker on the horizon – identical FY 2026 spending bills must pass the House and Senate by the end of the current fiscal year on September 30 to avert a partial government shutdown.
DHS video honors Marine killed by Mexican cartel, touts Trump’s crackdown on ‘terrorists’
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security released a video honoring late Marine Corps veteran Nicholas Quets and highlighting his death at the hands of the Sinaloa Cartel, which the department says it is taking “decisive action” to address. “Drug cartels are being called what they truly are: foreign terrorist organizations,” the two-and-a-half-minute video states before showing an interview with retired Army Lt. Col. Warren D. Quotes Jr. and Patricia Quets, whose son Nicholas was shot and killed at a Sinaloa Cartel checkpoint on his way to Rocky Point, Mexico, with friends on Oct. 18, 2024. The cartel members attempted to steal Quets’ pickup truck before shooting him in the back through the heart, ending his life at 31 years old. “I felt validated and vindicated,” Quets’ father says in the video, explaining how Trump spoke with him about his son’s death after receiving no feedback from the Biden administration or the Kamala Harris campaign. TRUMP SANCTIONS ARE ‘FULL-FRONTAL ASSAULT’ ON ORGANIZED CRIME AT THE BORDER, EXPERT SAYS “Designating all those organizations as foreign terrorist organizations, it makes things safer for us and puts them on the defensive. We want to send a message that targeting Americans anywhere has legal consequences. I thank President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem for dedicating their lives to protecting others and for being good stewards of the American taxpayers’ dollars, efforts and resources.” Quets’ mother says in the video, “I want to thank everybody for putting this together and giving us a voice.” In a press release, DHS outlined the ways it has “taken decisive action to dismantle drug cartels,” including the president signing an executive order on his first day in office to “designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations,” giving law enforcement the ability to “crack down” on sex trafficking operations from the cartels in the United States. SINALOA CARTEL LEADERS CHARGED WITH NARCO-TERRORISM AFTER AUTHORITIES SEIZE 1.65 TONS OF FENTANYL Additionally, on what would have been Quets’ 32nd birthday, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on six individuals and seven entities that were allegedly operating a money-laundering scheme that supported the Sinaloa Cartel. “Nicholas Quets was a patriot who served our country honorably and was killed by these cartel cowards who shot him in the back. President Trump and Secretary Noem are honoring his memory by dismantling the Sinaloa cartel and other drug cartels that profit from trafficking, violence, and lawlessness,” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “President Trump’s strong leadership and these arrests and prosecutions of scum-of-the-earth cartel leaders are delivering results. The days of unchecked cartel violence are over.” In an interview with Fox News Digital leading up to the presidential election, Quets’ father said, “I do believe in Donald Trump as a man of his word – not the TV character, not the billionaire – but a person who I looked at face to face and talked with.” “America got a little bit weaker. My family was destroyed, but America got a little bit weaker. Mexico got a little bit weaker. Those cartels got a little bit stronger. And the only way to reverse that is to go after these people.” Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
Russia says ‘Trump is not being sufficiently informed’ after calling Putin ‘absolutely CRAZY’
Russia is claiming President Donald Trump is “not being sufficiently informed” about the war in Ukraine after he recently said Russian President Vladimir Putin has “gone absolutely CRAZY!” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov made the remark in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin, according to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency. “Trump says a lot of things. We, naturally, read and follow all of this. But in many ways, we come to the conclusion that Trump is not being sufficiently informed about what is really happening in the context of the Ukrainian-Russian confrontation,” Ryabkov reportedly said. Ryabkov added that Trump is not being kept up to date with Ukrainian strikes on Russian cities – which he described as “terrorist attacks” — and said Trump also “does not fully understand that the Russian Federation is striking exclusively at Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities or military-industrial complex facilities,” the news agency reported. TRUMP WARNS PUTIN IS ‘PLAYING WITH FIRE’ AFTER DECLARING THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT HAS ‘GONE ABSOLUTELY CRAZY’ The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Trump has unsuccessfully been aiming to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. GOP LAWMAKER BLASTS ‘DUMB’ TRUMP COMMENT ON ZELENSKYY DESPITE ‘PERFECT’ CRITICISM OF PUTIN “Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever. I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia! Likewise, President Zelenskyy is doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop,” Trump continued. “This is a War that would never have started if I were President. This is Zelenskyy’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not ‘Trump’s,’ I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires, that have been started through Gross Incompetence and Hatred,” Trump also said.
AOC fundraises on trying to abolish ICE amid Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration
Republicans are ripping progressive New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for renewing her call to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a recent fundraising email. “I believe that ICE, an agency that was just formed in 2003 during the Patriot Act era, is a rogue agency that should not exist,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a fundraising email obtained by Fox News Digital. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, criticized the potential 2028 presidential candidate in an X post for fundraising on wanting to abolish ICE, a progressive rallying cry that rejects President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. “House Democrat Minority Leader AOC is doubling down on their party’s most extreme, unhinged agenda, while the rest of her party is bending their knee to the radical wing. At this rate, the Democrat platform in 2026 will be a fever dream of defunding the police, wide open borders, and far-left hellscapes,” NRCC Spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital in a statement. TRUMP BORDER CZAR FIRES BACK AT AOC OVER DOJ PROBE REMARKS: ‘WHY DOESN’T SHE PASS SOME LEGISLATION?’ “Why are you considered to be extreme?” Ocasio-Cortez asked in the fundraising email. It’s a strategy often deployed by the progressive New Yorker, according to a Fox News Digital review of Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign emails. ICE TOUTS RECORD-BREAKING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS Ocasio-Cortez says she is considered “extreme” because she supports Medicare for All, champions the Green New Deal, challenges Democratic Party leadership, believes in “democratic socialism,” is funded by small-dollar donations and believes ICE should “not exist.” The potential 2028 candidate was at the forefront of the “abolish ICE” movement, a rejection of Trump’s immigration policies in his first administration, during her 2018 congressional campaign when she unseated longtime Democrat incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley. While older, moderate Democrats haven’t been as vocal about abolishing ICE, another young progressive, who has faced heat within his party for a plan to primary challenge older Democratic incumbents in safe blue districts who are “asleep at the wheel,” DNC vice chair David Hogg, has also called to “abolish ICE.” “We must acknowledge the terrifying moment that we are in right now, and that what we are hearing and seeing with our own eyes is, in fact, happening. We are watching as our neighbors, students and friends are being fired, targeted and disappeared. It is real. People we love are being targeted and harassed for being LGBTQ. Our co-workers, U.S. citizens and immigrants alike are being disappeared off the street by men in vans with no uniform,” Ocasio-Cortez told a crowd in Montana on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” Tour. Ocasio-Cortez has an ongoing feud with Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, as the New York congresswoman instructs her constituents how to impede ICE arrests. Ocasio-Cortez is facing a potential Department of Justice probe for a webinar she hosted in February on how to handle ICE agents. The Trump administration has led a robust crackdown on illegal immigration since returning to the White House this year. During the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, ICE arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants and removed 65,682, according to ICE. The agency said three in four of those arrests of illegal immigrants involved someone accused of committing a crime. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Fox News Voter Analysis in 2024 found that 52% of voters said Trump was the better candidate to handle immigration, while just 36% said Harris. Additionally, it was a top issue for voters, with 20% saying it was the most important issue facing the country. Ocasio-Cortez, Homan, DHS and the DCCC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
Jeanine Pirro sworn in as interim US attorney, pledging ‘no more mercy for criminals’
Jeanine Pirro took the oath of office to serve as the interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. during an event in the Oval Office on Wednesday. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi administered the oath alongside President Donald Trump. Pirro is serving as the interim U.S. attorney following the resignation of Ed Martin, Trump’s initial pick to serve in the role. “We need to send a message that justice will be honored in the District of Columbia,” Pirro said after taking the oath. “My voice should be heard loud and clear: No more. No more tolerance of hatred. No more mercy for criminals.” “Violence will be addressed directly with the appropriate punishment, and this city will again become a shining city on a hill in an America that President Trump has promised to make great again and will make safe again,” Pirro added. WHERE TRUMP STANDS WITH AMERICANS 4 MONTHS INTO HIS 2ND TERM Trump tapped “The Five” co-host for her new role earlier this month. Pirro has left Fox News Channel and a rotation of Fox News personalities will fill her seat on “The Five” until a new co-host is named. The president noted Pirro’s career in both the legal and media spaces ahead of her swearing in. “Jeanine Pirro has been a wonderful addition to The Five over the last three years and a longtime beloved host across FOX News Media who contributed greatly to our success throughout her 14-year tenure. We wish her all the best in her new role in Washington,” a spokesperson for FOX News Media said in a statement. DEMOCRATS EYE 2028 JUST MONTHS INTO TRUMP’S 2ND TERM Pirro remarked on the recent murder of two Israeli embassy staffers on the streets of Washington during her address. She vowed justice would be brought to the “cold blooded murderer” who was responsible. FOX NEWS CHANNEL FINISHES HIGHEST-RATED FIRST 100 DAYS IN CABLE NEWS HISTORY WITH DOMINANT APRIL Pirro served as the assistant district attorney and district attorney in New York’s Westchester County and became the first woman to serve as a judge in Westchester County Court. She joined Fox News Channel in 2006 and hosted “Justice with Judge Jeanine” for 11 years before joining “The Five,” which has emerged as the most-watched show on cable news. This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.
Federal judge refuses to reconsider order to facilitate deportee’s return to US
A federal judge denied a request from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reconsider his order calling for the Trump administration “to take all immediate steps” to return a Guatemalan deportee to the U.S. The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts comes after he issued a ruling last week saying that the removal of the individual – identified only as O.C.G. – “lacked due process.” “In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped,” Murphy wrote Friday. “Defendants are hereby ORDERED to take all immediate steps, including coordinating with Plaintiffs’ counsel, to facilitate the return of O.C.G. to the United States,” he added. US JUDGE ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF ‘MANUFACTURING CHAOS’ IN SOUTH SUDAN DEPORTATIONS, ESCALATING FEUD In the filing, Murphy described O.C.G. as a native and citizen of Guatemala who first entered the U.S. “without proper authorization” in March 2024. “O.C.G. alleges that he presented himself for asylum at the border and was denied an interview. In any event, he was deported shortly thereafter to Guatemala. In April 2024, O.C.G. decided to try again and crossed Mexico on his way to the United States. There, he was raped and held hostage until a family member paid ransom,” the filing said. READ THE JUDGE’S ORDER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: “In May 2024, O.C.G. again arrived at the United States and was arrested by Border Patrol. This time, however, he was referred to an asylum officer after expressing fear of return to Guatemala. That officer determined that O.C.G. had a credible fear of persecution or torture and initiated withholding-only proceedings, where an immigration judge agreed and determined that it was more likely than not that O.C.G. would be persecuted or tortured if sent back to Guatemala. Accordingly, O.C.G. was granted withholding of removal from Guatemala,” it continued. “Two days after being granted withholding of removal, and with no advanced warning, O.C.G. was put on a bus and sent to Mexico. According to O.C.G., he begged the officers to let him call his attorney but was refused,” according to the filing. NY AG, 19 OTHERS FILE 2 LAWSUITS AGAINST TRUMP ADMIN, ALLEGING FEDERAL MONEY TIED TO IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT “In Mexico, O.C.G. was given the option of being detained indefinitely while trying to obtain asylum there — a country where he has consistently maintained that he faces a significant risk of violence — or of being sent back to Guatemala — the very country from which an immigration judge awarded him withholding from removal due to the risk of persecution that he faced. O.C.G. chose Guatemala. He remains there today,” Murphy said in the filing. “Just yesterday, O.C.G. submitted a declaration informing the Court of his current status. He reports living in constant fear of his attackers, being unable to leave the place where he is staying, not being able to rely on the police to protect him, and not being able to see his mother for fear of exposing her to violence, among other hardships,” Murphy also wrote. DHS said in response to the decision that “America’s asylum system was never intended to be used as a de facto amnesty program or a catch-all, get-out-of-deportation-free card. “The person in question was an illegally present alien who was granted withholding of removal to Guatemala. He was instead removed to Mexico, a safe third option for him, pending his asylum claim. Yet, this federal activist judge is ordering us to bring him back, so he can have an opportunity to prove why he should be granted asylum to a country that he has had no past connection to,” the department wrote on X in response to a news article about Murphy’s decision. “The Trump administration is committed to returning our asylum system to its original intent,” it declared. MARYLAND REP. IVEY BACK FROM EL SALVADOR AFTER FAILING TO MEET KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA The order from Murphy to return O.C.G. came in response to a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of him and three other plaintiffs, identified as immigrants from Cuba, Ecuador and Honduras who are residents of Massachusetts and Texas. “Plaintiffs and proposed class members are noncitizens with final removal orders resulting from proceedings in which they have been notified that they could be deported to a designated country of removal (usually their country of origin) and, in some cases, an alternative country of removal (usually a country of which they are a citizen or in which they hold status) and had an opportunity to contest removal to the designated country based on a claim of fear,” read a complaint filed in March. “They bring this class action to challenge the policy or practice of the Department of Homeland Security of deporting, or seeking to deport, them to a third country — a country never designated for removal — without first providing them with notice or opportunity to contest removal on the basis that they have a fear of persecution, torture, and even death if deported to that third country,” the complaint added. “DHS’ policy or practice of failing to afford these basic, minimal protections violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and the treaty obligations of the United States,” it also said. Attorneys representing the four plaintiffs did not immediately respond Wednesday to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Longtime Democrat senator’s daughter takes aim at Trump, Musk, RFK Jr, in launch for key House swing seat
The eldest daughter of longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire is taking a step to follow in her mother’s political footsteps. Stefany Shaheen on Wednesday declared her candidacy for the U.S. House in the open seat race in New Hampshire’s competitive 1st Congressional District. The younger Shaheen wasted no time in targeting President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, who has been steering Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, and Republicans in Congress. In a campaign launch video, Shaheen spotlighted her efforts as a healthcare advocate for her daughter Elle, who has Type 1 diabetes. Shaheen said the diagnosis turned her “into a fierce fighter for medical research and innovation to help Elle and millions like her.” MARINE VET JUMPS INTO RACE FOR KEY HOUSE SEAT IN 2026 BATTLE FOR MAJORITY “So, when I see Donald Trump crushing medical research and slashing health care for kids, seniors and veterans to give tax breaks to billionaires and corporations, I have to fight back. That’s why I’m running for Congress,” Shaheen said in a statement.. “No one fights harder than a mom for her kids, and that’s how I will fight for your family, too. I’ll never give up.” Shaheen, in her video, also charged that Musk has been “chasing out our best scientists and doctors” and claimed that Kennedy is “allowing measles to run rampant because he believes in conspiracy theories instead of proven vaccines.” The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House GOP’s campaign arm, took aim at Shaheen over her famous family’s political pedigree. THIS LONGTIME DEMOCRATIC SENATOR IS NOT RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION IN 2026 “Nepo baby Stefany Shaheen is a DC elitist who is committed to the Democrats’ radical agenda that makes life more expensive and less safe. Granite Staters will resoundingly reject her and her out of touch policies,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole argued in a statement to Fox News. Shaheen is running for the seat currently held by four-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is campaigning to succeed the elder Shaheen, the first woman in U.S. history to be elected both as a governor and a U.S. senator. The 78-year-old senator announced in March that she would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2026. The move by the younger Shaheen, who previously served on the Portsmouth City Council and the Portsmouth Police Commission, sets up a likely blockbuster primary with Maura Sullivan, a New Hampshire Democratic Party vice chair. Sullivan is also a Marine veteran who served in the Iraq War and was the 2018 Democratic primary runner-up to Pappas in the 1st District. Sullivan launched a congressional campaign last month. New Hampshire’s 1st District, which covers the eastern half of New England’s only battleground state and includes the cities of Manchester and Portsmouth, was once one of the nation’s premiere swing congressional districts. Republicans are aiming to flip the seat in next year’s midterm election, and the race is likely to be competitive and expensive. However, no Republican has won the district since 2014. In the race for the GOP congressional nomination, facilities management executive Chris Bright, who ran unsuccessfully in 2024 for the seat, has declared his candidacy. Former state Sen. Russell Prescott, the 2024 nominee who lost to Pappas, is mulling another run for Congress. So are New Hampshire GOP Vice Chair Hollie Noveletsky and Joe Kelly Levasseur, who, along with Bright, came in behind Prescott in the 2024 GOP primary. State Attorney General John Formella is also thought to be a possible contender for the GOP nomination.
Rubio urged to punish Iraq with ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions for its ‘complete subjugation’ by Iran
FIRST ON FOX: A pair of House Republicans are urging Secretary Marco Rubio to punish Iraq with sanctions for its “complete subjugation” by Iran as part of the U.S.’s “maximum pressure” policy toward Tehran. “More than 4,400 American service members sacrificed their lives since the start of the Iraq War, yet today, Iraq stands as nothing more than a puppet of Tehran,” Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Greg Steube, R-Fla., wrote in a letter to the secretary of state and interim national security advisor. The letter laid blame on the Obama administration, arguing former President Barack Obama and his Iraq envoy Brett McGurk “propped up” Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose leadership was marred by brutal political crackdowns and led to the rise of ISIS. “The Obama administration doubled down on its mistakes, relying on Iranian-backed militias to fight ISIS,” the letter read. “The consequences of those failed decisions are now undeniable: Iran-backed forces wield unchecked power over Iraq’s government and security services.” TRUMP ADMIN ENDS WAIVER ALLOWING IRAQ TO BUY IRANIAN ELECTRICITY AS PART OF ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ CAMPAIGN Since 2015, the U.S. has offered Iraq’s forces $1.25 billion in foreign military financing, in addition to billions more for the interior ministry and defense ministry. Iran’s influence over Iraq was on full display when, in 2021, Iraq issued an arrest warrant for President Donald Trump for the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, even as the U.S. still has 2,500 forces on the ground in Iraq to partner with local forces and fight ISIS. Steube and Wilson called on the U.S. to cut all foreign aid to Iraq until it comes out from under Iran’s influence. The letter calls for the U.S. to sanction Iraq’s importation of Iranian gas. Currently, only payment for the gas is under sanction, meaning Iran gives fuel to Iraq without charge but expects repayment in other ways. The Trump administration ended a waiver that allowed Iraq to buy Iranian electricity in March. GOP REP. JOE WILSON TRUMPETS ‘MAKE IRAQ GREAT AGAIN!’ MESSAGE The lawmakers called for designating the Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iranian-backed paramilitary group operating in Iraq, and its financial backers as foreign terrorist groups and sanctioning Iraq’s state banks that financially support Iran. It also called for sanctions on Iraq’s political figures that allow Iranian influence to flourish. “We urge you to take immediate action to implement these necessary policies and ensure that American resources are no longer used to prop up Iran’s control over Iraq.” The U.S. initially invaded Iraq in 2003, toppling Saddam Hussein’s regime and drawing down its troop presence from wartime levels in 2007 and leaving altogether in 2011, before returning in 2014 at the head of the coalition to fight the Islamic State. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Other nations, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, also contribute hundreds of troops to the coalition. In September, reports emerged that the Biden administration was working on a plan to draw down the U.S. troop presence in Iraq within the year, but no set-in-stone decision was made. Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department and the Iraqi Embassy for comment.
Rubio announces visa restrictions for foreigners ‘complicit’ in censoring Americans
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new visa restrictions the Trump administration is implementing against foreign authorities who it says are “complicit” in censoring Americans. “For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights,” Rubio wrote on X. “Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life – a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority.” TRUMP ADMIN ASKING FEDERAL AGENCIES TO CANCEL REMAINING HARVARD CONTRACTS “Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of Americans should not enjoy the privilege of traveling to our country,” America’s top diplomat added. “Whether in Latin America, Europe, or elsewhere, the days of passive treatment for those who work to undermine the rights of Americans are over.” The United States has long condemned censorship and repression by the Chinese Communist Party, Russia, and the Iranian and Cuban regimes, but the Trump administration more recently has added criticism against allies in the European Union. Vice President JD Vance argued that the EU’s Digital Services Act could effectively export European-style censorship to the U.S. through pressure against American tech companies. In February, Vance accused European leaders at the Munich Security Conference of suppressing dissenting opinions by categorizing those views as “misinformation” and “disinformation.” The vice president specifically cited the United Kingdom’s prosecution over silent prayer outside an abortion clinic, the annulment of the Romanian 2024 presidential election results over alleged foreign interference, the conviction of a Christian activist in Sweden for burning a Quran and Germany policing anti-feminist views online. “What I worry about is the threat from within—the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values,” Vance said at the time. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Watchdog finds ‘no evidence’ Biden knew of crucial climate EOs, demands answers on who signed autopen
FIRST ON FOX: A pro-energy group is renewing its call for an investigation into over half a dozen Biden administration executive actions related to climate that it believes should be deemed null and void due to them being signed by an autopen without any public comment from former President Joe Biden confirming his knowledge of them. Power the Future, a nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs, reviewed eight Biden executive orders that it says were significant shifts in domestic energy policy and said it found no evidence of the president speaking about any of them publicly, raising concerns that the orders were signed by autopen and that he was not aware of them. “These are not obscure bureaucratic memos; these were foundational shifts in American energy policy, yet not once did Joe Biden speak about them publicly,” Daniel Turner, founder and executive director of Power The Future, told Fox News Digital. The executive orders reviewed by Power the Future include an Arctic drilling ban in 2023, a 2021 executive order committing the federal government to net-zero emissions by 2050, an executive order mandating “clean energy” AI centers and an offshore drilling ban executive order shortly before leaving office in 2025. PRO-ENERGY GROUP URGES AG BONDI TO PROBE BIDEN’S AUTOPEN ON CRUCIAL DECISIONS THAT DEVASTATED INDUSTRY Finding no evidence of Biden publicly speaking about the executive orders on climate, Power the Future sent letters this week to the DOJ, EPA, DOI, DOE, along with the House and Senate Oversight Committees, calling for an investigation to determine who made the decisions, drafted the executive orders and ultimately signed them. “In light of the growing evidence that actions purportedly taken by the former president may not have been approved or signed by him, but instead promulgated by a small coterie of advisers in his name without his knowledge or over his signature using an ‘autopen,’ the need for congressional access to information has grown in importance with these revelations,” the letter to GOP House Oversight Chair James Comer states. “Congress deserves to know how or whether these executive actions were authorized, and whether the former President was aware of such orders before they were implemented by the federal bureaucracy. Were these actions taken on behalf of the president and purporting to execute his authority undertaken with the president’s knowledge and approach? It appears incumbent upon Congress to inquire, about all parties involved in these actions, who instructed them to do what, when.” WHAT IS AN AUTOPEN? THE SIGNING DEVICE AT THE HEART OF TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON BIDEN PARDONS Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for comment but did not hear back by press time. The presidential autopen has been a topic of conversation with Republicans in recent weeks and months as questions continue about Biden’s mental acuity during his presidency, particularly the last few years, which have faced increased scrutiny after the release of Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book “Original Sin.” “Power The Future remains concerned that key policies of major economic and national security significance directed by the White House during the Biden administration may have been undertaken without presidential awareness and approval, but perhaps instead by a small coterie of staff,” the letter states. “Although this likelihood has become more apparent by claims made in a recent book titled Original Sin, those claims merely support information that had already emerged.” An autopen is a device that physically holds a pen and is programmed to replicate a person’s signature. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel determined in 2005 that the president is permitted to use an autopen to sign bills into law, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a ruling in February that said the absence of “a writing does not equate to proof that a commutation did not occur.” In March, President Donald Trump claimed that Biden’s pardons of lawmakers who served on the House Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, and others, are “VOID,” alleging that they had been signed via an autopen and that Biden did not even know about them. DAVID MARCUS: OLD MAN BIDEN’S AUTOPEN PARDONS SHOULD BE NULL AND VOID Despite Trump’s concerns over the validity of Biden’s pardons due to the alleged use of an autopen, constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital that the odds of successfully legally challenging them in court are “vanishingly low.” “Presidents are allowed to use the autopen, and courts will not presume a dead-hand conspiracy,” Turley said. Power the Future’s letter references House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who in January shared that Biden, during a meeting, appeared to forget that he signed an order to pause LNG exports. A report published by an arm of the Heritage Foundation claimed that the majority of official documents signed by Biden were allegedly an autopen signature. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “During the Biden administration, hundreds of billions of dollars were funneled towards pet green projects, while the American fossil fuels industry was punished, and there is no evidence that Biden ordered it, directed it, or was even aware it was happening in his name,” Turner told Fox News Digital, adding that the American people “deserve to know” who was signing the executive orders “behind closed doors.” “This autopen scandal is evidence that these green EOs are invalid, and the instigators should be thoroughly investigated by the DOJ for violating the trust of the American people and perpetuating a great fraud on the nation.” Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy contributed to this report.