Pete Marocco, mastermind behind dismantling of USAID projects, leaves State Department
Pete Marocco, the official who oversaw the dismantling of USAID, has now parted ways with the agency. Marocco, who served in the Defense, State and Commerce departments, was known as a conservative firebrand with a deep skepticism of foreign aid. His tenure sparked fierce protests on Capitol Hill and drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who celebrated his exit but said questions remain about the future of U.S. foreign aid. “Pete was brought to State with a big mission to conduct an exhaustive review of every dollar spent on foreign assistance,” a senior administration official said of the departure. “He conducted that historic task and exposed egregious abuses of taxpayer dollars. We all expect big things are in store for Pete on his next mission.” After President Donald Trump merged USAID with the State Department, Secretary Marco Rubio named Marocco acting deputy administrator of the agency, and he went to work whittling down the $40-billion, 10,000-employee USAID office. THOUSANDS OF USAID TERMINATIONS TO TAKE EFFECT BY SEPTEMBER IN AGENCY’S FINAL LEG OF ‘DRAWDOWN’ “I continue to serve President Trump just as enthusiastically as I did last week, last month and last year,” Marocco told Fox News Digital of his departure. “He is a once-in-a-lifetime leader of a movement for change to our government and to restore American greatness. President Trump has the swamp on the run so we should intensify the fight.” Of the agency’s 6,000 programs, only about 900 will now continue to operate, Rubio said on a podcast with Donald Trump Jr. last week. In the past, USAID did not adhere to State Department authority and “did whatever they wanted,” according to Rubio. In a March 19 op-ed for RealClearPolitics, Marocco argued that U.S. foreign aid has “created a global welfare state, committed unwelcome political interventions, encouraged unsustainable international labor unions (communism), made countries less capable of thriving in the modern global economy, and funded international organizations that spite our great country.” Marocco learned he would no longer be employed at the State Department late last week, sources told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. USAID is now being run by a DOGE official. Democrats celebrated the departure of Marocco. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, ranking member of the State and Foreign Operations subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, said Marocco brought “chaos to USAID, reckless and unlawful policy to the State Department, and dismantled long-standing U.S. foreign policy.” APPEALS COURT RULES DOGE CAN CONTINUE OPERATING AT USAID “With his exit, serious questions still remain about the influence he leaves behind and whether or not Secretary Rubio plans to take actions that advance the mission and credibility of the United States,” Schatz added. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran with a master’s degree in international humanitarian law from the University of Oxford, Marocco worked in USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives in 2020 and was the subject of a 13-page memo posted in the agency’s “dissent channel,” in which employees warned that “operational capacity and strategic efficacy have been and continue to be rapidly degraded” under his leadership. The memo said Marocco had wanted to personally approve all expenditures over $10,000 for the office with a budget of $225 million. “He has leveraged once-routine administrative processes to reopen previously-approved plans, interrogate and redirect country programs, halt movement on programs, procurements, and people, and inject uncertainty into daily operations and office planning,” the memo said. “Intervention is urgently needed.”
Trump, Bukele find common cause on trans sports ban and border crackdown
President Donald Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele share common ground on banning biological men from women’s sports – underscoring the growing alignment between their administrations as they coordinate efforts to curb illegal immigration to the U.S. “Do you allow men to play in women’s sports? Do you allow men to box your women?” Trump asked Bukele from the Oval Office on Monday. Trump’s comments came after discussing immigration and implementing “common sense” policies. “That’s violence,” Bukele said in response. “That’s abusive… but we have people that fight to the death because they think men should be able to play in women’s sports,” Trump said. STATE DEPT UPGRADES TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR EL SALVADOR, CONSIDERED SAFER THAN FRANCE, OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Bukele then said that despite previous efforts to advance women’s rights and prevent abuse, new efforts would “backtrack” on these initiatives and perpetuate violence against women instead. “I think those laws were great because there were a lot of men abusing women, but now some of the same people are trying to backtrack and actually trying to make new laws allowing men to abuse women, as in sports,” Bukele said. “So actually, that doesn’t make sense.” Trump signed an executive order in February barring those assigned male at birth from competing in women’s sports, titled, “No Men in Women’s Sports.” The order bans those assigned male at birth from using women’s restrooms and orders the Department of Education to spearhead investigations into cases of possible violations. In response, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that it would follow the guidance and permit only those assigned female at birth to participate in women’s sports. “The NCAA is an organization made up of 1,100 colleges and universities in all 50 states that collectively enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes. We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions. To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement in February. The exchange is one of several emphasizing common ground between Trump and Bukele. The two are partnering to address illegal immigration in the U.S. after the two countries agreed on a $6 million deal to deport hundreds of U.S. deportees to a detention facility in El Salvador this year. Both Trump administration officials and Bukele agreed that they didn’t have the authority to return a Maryland resident, Abrego Garcia, to the U.S. who was deported to El Salvador in an “administrative error” by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court upheld last week a lower court’s order that “requires the government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” While Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters that El Salvador would call the final shots on whether it would return the Maryland resident, Bukele said it was “preposterous” for El Salvador to do so. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the U.S.? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States,” Bukele said. Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Ilhan Omar quashes Senate bid rumors with re-election announcement
High-profile “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar effectively closed the door on rumors she would seek Minnesota’s open Senate seat in 2026, with an announcement launching a House re-election bid. “At a time when our rights are under attack, it is more important than ever to fight back against the chaos, corruption, and callousness of the Trump Administration,” the Minneapolis Democrat told Minnesota Public Radio. “In Minnesota, we know that organized people will always beat organized money. Our campaign is ready to build on our successful grassroots organizing efforts to have a record turnout for the midterms and help win back the majority,” she said. She won her last race for the 5th Congressional District seat handily, defeating Iraq-born Republican journalist Dalia al-Aqidi by about 50 points. OMAR SLAMS TRUMP, MUSK FOR CHANGES AT USAID, ACCUSES PRESIDENT OF RUNNING A DICTATORSHIP Omar had been one of several names bandied about as potential successors to Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., who announced last month she would not seek re-election. Almost immediately, fellow Democrat Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan threw her hat in the ring, while Omar and other top potential candidates remained silent. One of Omar’s fellow “Squad” members, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has been rumored as a potential 2028 primary opponent to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer. In February, Smith – who was originally appointed by then-Gov. Mark Dayton to succeed Sen. Al Franken after his resignation over sexual misconduct allegations – said in February that she was ready to spend more time with her family. “This decision is not political, it is entirely personal, but it’s not lost on me that our country is in need of strong progressive leadership right now, maybe more than ever,” Smith said. REP ILHAN OMAR CRITICIZES NETANYAHU’S GAZA ACTION Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also declined to seek Smith’s seat, leaving his deputy – Flanagan – as the highest-profile Democrat in the race to date. “At this point in time, I don’t want to have my thumb on the scale in any way,” Walz said in February. “I just know we’ve got a deep bench. We’ve got good folks,” said Walz, who may instead consider a third term in St. Paul. If elected, Flanagan – who is Ojibwe – would be only the fifth U.S. senator of Native American heritage and the second currently in office, alongside Oklahoma Republican Markwayne Mullin. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP On the Republican side, retired Marine and Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze announced a bid and called it his “most important mission of them all.” Additionally, former Sacramento Kings player Royce White announced his own bid. White previously lost the 2024 GOP Senate primary. The race to succeed Smith will be the Land of 10,000 Lakes’ first open Senate race since 2006 – when Dayton declined to run for re-election and Sen. Amy Klobuchar defeated then-Rep. Mark Kennedy, R-Minn., by about 19 points. Franken has endorsed Flanagan. Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s campaign for further comment but did not immediately hear back.
Potential 2028 presidential rivals rally behind Shapiro after arson at governor’s mansion
Governors across the country who are rumored as fellow potential 2028 presidential candidates united behind Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Penn., after an arsonist set fire to the governor’s mansion in Harrisburg early Sunday morning. Cody Balmer, 38, was arrested after allegedly setting fire to the residence while Shapiro and his family slept inside. Shapiro, who is Jewish, said he and his family were forced to evacuate their home after celebrating the first night of Passover. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., who is rumored to be mulling a 2028 presidential run along with Shapiro, thanked first responders and said it must have been disturbing for the governor to wake up to such a scene on the first night of Passover. Another potential presidential candidate, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., added that no one “should ever be targeted for doing their job or standing up for what they believe in.” PENNSYLVANIA POLICE ARREST SUSPECT AFTER GOVERNOR’S MANSION SET ON FIRE WHILE GOV JOSH SHAPIRO, FAMILY SLEPT Gov. Gavin Newsom, also considered a likely 2028 presidential contender, said it was “disturbing and disgusting” that someone set fire to Shapiro’s home while his family slept. The National Governors Association Chair, Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., another potential 2028 presidential candidate, condemned the attacks in a joint statement with Vice Chair Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., on Sunday, extending solidarity and support “on behalf of the nation’s governors” to Shapiro. “We strongly condemn all acts of violence and ask our citizens to rise above these kinds of destructive actions,” the governors said in a statement. A 2023 Reuters study revealed the United States is experiencing the largest sustained increase in political violence since the 1970s. Exactly nine months before Shapiro’s family was targeted in their home – just across the critical presidential battleground state – an attempted assassin fired shots at President Donald Trump as he addressed a crowd of supporters, shooting Trump in the ear and killing Corey Comperatore, a Pennsylvania father and former fire chief. PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR’S MANSION ATTACK SUSPECT CODY BALMER ADMITTED ‘HARBORING HATRED’ TOWARD SHAPIRO: POLICE Trump was the target of another assassination attempt two months later at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. A more recent study by the Network Contagion Research Institute released this April revealed that 38% of respondents said it was “at least somewhat justified” to murder Trump. The same study analyzed the surge in attacks on Tesla cars and dealerships since Elon Musk was appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency during Trump’s second term. Nearly 40% of respondents said it was “somewhat acceptable” to destroy a Tesla dealership in protest. “This type of violence is not okay,” Shapiro told reporters outside the damaged governor’s mansion on Sunday. “This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society, and I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another, or one particular person or another. It is not okay and it has to stop. We have to be better than this. We have a responsibility to all be better.” “No one will deter me or my family or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly,” Shapiro said, although no motive for the attack has been released by authorities beyond Balmer “harboring hatred” toward Shapiro. Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Penn., who have both said to expect announcements this summer on whether they will challenge Shapiro in Pennsylvania’s 2026 gubernatorial election, thanked law enforcement as Meuser condemned the violence. Vice President JD Vance, who could be the future of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement and could potentially face off against one of the Democratic governors in 2028, thanked God that Shapiro and his family were not harmed during the attack and called it “disgusting violence.” Trump responded to the arson Monday, telling reporters, “Certainly, a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.”
‘Up to El Salvador’: Trump admin punts on return of wrongfully deported Maryland resident
Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters Monday that it is “up to El Salvador” whether they will choose to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland resident deported in what Trump officials have acknowledged was an “administrative error,” saying that if the country chooses to do so, then the U.S. would “provide a plane.” Her remarks came as President Donald Trump hosted El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele at the White House on Monday for a bilateral summit focused largely on immigration – and the hundreds of migrants deported by the U.S. to El Salvador for detention in the country’s maximum-security prison. When asked by reporters Monday about Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was deported in error to El Salvador, Bondi said the matter was up to Bukele’s administration. “That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That’s not up to us,” Bondi said. STEPHEN MILLER DOUBLES DOWN ON DEPORTATION OF ALLEGED GANG MEMBER: ‘NOT MISTAKENLY SENT’ “The Supreme Court ruled precedent that if El Salvador wanted to return him,” she continued. “This is international matters, foreign affairs.” Bondi said that “if they wanted to return him, we would facilitate it – meaning to provide a plane,” Bondi said. The Supreme Court ruled last week that a lower court’s order “requires the government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” Bukele received a warm welcome from Trump, who praised the Salvadorian leader as a “fantastic” president who is “taking care of a lot of problems,” including accepting hundreds of U.S. migrants into their detention facility, part of a roughly $6 million deal struck by U.S. officials and El Salvador earlier this year. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller doubled down on Bondi’s assertion, noting that Abrego Garcia is a Salvadorian national. “It’s very arrogant, even for American media, to suggest that we would even tell El Salvador how to handle their own citizens as a starting point,” Miller told reporters, claiming that “two courts” had found Abrego Garcia to be a member of the MS-13 gang. In fact, Abrego Garcia was granted temporary protection status in the U.S. by a court in 2019 from being removed to El Salvador, after it determined he would face criminal prosecution from gangs if he were removed to his home country. Bukele, for his part, did not seem to think he had the authority to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S., suggesting Monday that the move would be beyond the scope of his authorities. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the U.S.? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States,” Bukele said. FEDERAL JUDGE HAMMERS DOJ ON WHEREABOUTS OF ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER FOLLOWING SCOTUS ORDER Also in attendance at Monday’s meeting were several members of Trump’s Cabinet, including the aforementioned Bondi, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and an architect of Trump’s immigration policies. The meeting comes as El Salvador has received hundreds of migrants from the U.S., including more than 200 Venezuelan nationals abruptly removed in March under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, and alleged members of the Salvadorian gang MS-13. Most recently, U.S. officials said they deported 10 more migrants to El Salvador over the weekend. As of this writing, the Trump administration has not returned any of the individuals who have been sent to El Salvador’s sprawling, high-security prison, including any Venezuelan nationals who may have been mistakenly identified as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and one Maryland resident whom U.S. officials acknowledged was wrongfully deported. In March, after the first migrant flights arrived in El Salvador despite a federal judge’s order that the flights be “immediately” returned to U.S. soil, Bukele took to social media to mockingly share footage of their arrival. “Oopsie…Too late,” he said on X, using an irreverent tone slightly emblematic of Trump’s own style. ‘WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT’: US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO El Salvador has already accepted hundreds of migrants from the U.S., drawing praise from President Trump and other hard-line immigration hawks – but critics warn the removals may violate due process protections under the U.S. Constitution. Immigration advocates have also raised concerns that deported individuals have not had a chance to challenge their removals in court. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said on Monday that he has requested a meeting with Bukele this week to discuss the return of Abrego Garcia. He said in a letter Monday that he has met with Abrego Garcia’s family members, including his wife and brother, who expressed to him that they are “extremely concerned” about his safety. “If Kilmar is not home by midweek – I plan to travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release,” Van Hollen said. Most recently, a federal judge ordered Trump officials last week to provide the court with daily updates about its efforts to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia, the wrongfully deported Maryland resident. In a court filing submitted Sunday evening, Justice Department lawyers argued they are not required to comply with a judge’s order to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia, who was sent to El Salvadorian prison in what administration officials have since acknowledged was an “administrative error.” They argued that the order itself likely exceeds the power of the courts, arguing they “have no authority to direct the Executive Branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way, or engage with a foreign sovereign in a given manner.” Meanwhile, Trump officials continue to publicly rail against so-called “activist judges,” whom they have argued are attempting to stymie Trump’s agenda and his priorities on immigration enforcement. Noem on Monday praised the Supreme Court’s recent emergency ruling that upholds, for
Bukele says Trump has 350 million Americans to ‘liberate’ by ending crime, terrorism
El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele told President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday that he has 350 million Americans to “liberate” by ending crime and terrorism in the United States. “We know that you have a crime problem and a terrorism problem that you need help with. And we’re a small country, but we can help,” Bukele said. “We actually turned the murder capital of the world — that was [what] the journalists called it – the murder capital of the world to the safest country in the Western Hemisphere.” “And I like to say that we actually liberated millions,” Bukele said, with the line drawing praise from Trump. STATE DEPT UPGRADES TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR EL SALVADOR, CONSIDERED SAFER THAN FRANCE, OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES “Mr. President, you have 350 million people to liberate,” Bukele told Trump. “You cannot just, you know, free the criminals and think crime is going to go down magically, you have to imprison them so you can liberate 350 million Americans that are asking for the end of crime and the end of terrorism, and it can be done.” Trump also referenced how the left has pushed for biological men to compete in women’s sports. 4 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE YOUNG CONSERVATIVE ANTI-CRIME PRESIDENT OF ECUADOR WHO WAS JUST RE-ELECTED “Do you allow your men in women’s sports? Do you allow men to box women?” Trump asked Bukele. The president of El Salvador remarked, “That’s violence.” This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Inside the Trump administration’s overhaul of the Coast Guard amid border security blitz
The Trump administration is overhauling the Coast Guard in an attempt to crack down on illegal migrant crossings and drug interdictions. This month, the Coast Guard unveiled its new Force Design 2028 plan to overhaul its organizational structure, personnel, acquisitions, contracting and technology—fulfilling directives from President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The proposal seeks to bolster the Coast Guard’s force, which currently consists of roughly 43,000 active-duty personnel, and assess which specialties need reinforcement to expand training, responding to Trump administration calls to ramp up efforts against illegal immigration and drug smuggling, according to a Department of Homeland Security official familiar with the plan. “This is focusing our efforts on where do we need to make investments in our current training centers and even look at opening new training centers to support growth in the service,” the official told Fox News Digital on Thursday. COAST GUARD RESCUES 4 PASSENGERS FROM CAPSIZED BOAT OFF FLORIDA COAST The Coast Guard is the only military service that falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security. However, the blueprint’s restructuring plans seek to adapt certain standards for the Coast Guard to better align with the military branches that fall under the Department of Defense. For example, the proposal calls for following the Department of Defense’s standards for physical fitness, body composition, and grooming standards. Unlike other military services, the Coast Guard did not enforce fitness standards unless personnel were attached to boat crews of law enforcement teams. However, the Department of Homeland Security is coordinating with the Pentagon to change that. The Coast Guard is still determining whether this initiative will involve an annual fitness test, but the proposal directs the Coast Guard to adhere to Department of Defense physical fitness standards as closely as possible. “We’ve definitely put an increased focus on what are the physical fitness requirements for the Coast Guard to be most successful in its missions for the nation,” the official said. Likewise, the blueprint also calls for organizational changes, including installing a secretary for the service, as well as creating a Coast Guard headquarters director of staff to enhance decision-making and other functions at a high operational level. The blueprint aligns with legislation introduced in the Senate that would establish a civilian secretary for the Coast Guard, akin to the structure of the Navy, Army and Air Force. Currently, the Coast Guard only has an active duty commandant that oversees the service. Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia introduced the measure on April 1 in an attempt to enhance the Coast Guard’s ability to adapt to its mission. “The establishment of a Secretary of the Coast Guard is an important step in ensuring our nation’s maritime security is led with the strength and efficiency it deserves to ensure it can fulfill its mission and adapt to any challenges,” Scott said in a statement on April 1. COAST GUARD AIRLIFTS CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER WHO HAD STROKES 300 MILES OFF HAWAII COAST Companion legislation is underway in the House, and Republican Rep. Mike Ezell of Mississippi introduced a similar measure on April 3 to “give the Coast Guard the same level of recognition and advocacy that other military branches receive,” according to a statement. The Coast Guard is already implementing changes included in the force design and is slated to complete the modernization effort in three years. “We’ve been making changes practically daily in the service to really keep moving forward,” the official said. “The goal of 2028 is that the transformation of the service will be complete by 2028.” The plan is already rendering results, according to the official. The service is surpassing drug seizures from last year. So far, the Coast Guard has seized 11% more cocaine in FY25 than it did for all of FY24, according to DHS data. Additionally, the service is combating the recruiting problems that have plagued all the military services in recent years, and is already bringing in more guardsmen than last year. The service has brought in more than 4,250 new recruits this fiscal year – 1,200 more than the service did at this same point last year. “We are now filling out our training center to max capacity, with reservations already locked in all the way through September,” the official said. “So we went from a recruiting deficit to a recruiting surge right now, and we are on track to exceed all recruiting goals for the year.”
Freshman GOP senator rips predecessor while reflecting on ‘whirlwind’ first 100 days: ‘Urgency and speed’
EXCLUSIVE: Freshman Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno has served out his first 100 days in office, and he spoke to Fox News Digital about his biggest takeaways and what he hopes the GOP Senate can accomplish over the next 100 days. “It’s been a whirlwind,” Moreno said. “Obviously, President Trump’s moving at 100 mph. So my hope is that Congress meets that same sense of urgency and speed. I think voters expect it.” Moreno, who defeated Ohio’s longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown last November, has been busy since being sworn in, cosponsoring 67 bills while introducing eight original ones of his own. Over the next few months, Moreno told Fox News Digital, he hopes to see some of his legislation become law. ‘BUMBLING IDIOT’: FRESHMAN GOP SENATOR UNLEASHES ON BLUE CITY MAYOR, DEMS OPPOSING TRUMP’S DEPORTATIONS “Most important of all being the Transportation Freedom Act,” Moreno explained. “The auto industry is right now in a really, really critical juncture. Because of Joe Biden and California lunatics, there’s a lot of standards that are just not going to be able to be met.” “The car companies are trying to figure out what kind of cars to make. So what our bill basically does is say, ‘Hey look, here’s one set of standards. It’s one set of standards for the entire country and then, most importantly, set those standards for 10 years,’” Moreno continued. “So if you’re Ford or GM or any other car company, you know, what kind of cars to make for the next decade. That’s huge. That will lower the price of automobiles.” Continuing to address illegal immigration is going to be a priority over the next few months, according to Moreno, who said he hopes his Rules Act addressing the broken asylum system will be passed, calling it a “low hanging fruit” and an “80-20 issue” Republicans can win on. NRCC LAUNCHES AD CAMPAIGN TARGETING DOZENS OF VULNERABLE DEMS WHO VOTED AGAINST KEY TRUMP PROPOSAL Since taking office, Moreno has visited constituents in all 88 counties in Ohio, taken part in over 30 interviews with Ohio media outlets, hosted over 500 Ohioans for constituent coffees in Washington, D.C., and authored 16 letters on issues affecting Ohioans. “I think my opponent, the guy who I replaced, Sherrod Brown, was emblematic of the kind of politicians people hate and basically just go down there for the paycheck and don’t ever accomplish anything,” Moreno told Fox News Digital. “I think he passed like six bills that named post offices. That was his 30-year career high. So we just want to get stuff done. I’m not gonna be there forever. I’m gonna be there one or two terms. The second one is up to the voters of Ohio. And then that’s it.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Over the next 100 days, Moreno told Fox News Digital, there is a long list of things he hopes the GOP Senate gets done in a timely manner to ensure that the Trump agenda is firing on all cylinders heading into the midterms. “I want to make sure we get a good reconciliation bill that preserves Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits but lowers the cost because of technology that we put in place in sort of state-directed work mandates for able-bodied Americans,” Moreno said. “I think most people expect that.” Moreno also spoke about the need to cut funding to USAID. “We can’t afford 40-50 billion dollars in USAID-type programs, some of which are completely insane, and we need that money here in America to help Americans. Preserving Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid benefits, making the 2017 tax reform permanent so we don’t see a four-and-a-half trillion dollar tax increase.” Additionally, Moreno said it is a priority to “codify” DOGE cuts into law so that the cuts are “in there forever.” “I think if we can accomplish all that, combined with what President Trump’s already done with tariffs and trade and peace and the border, we will see the golden age of America by the end of the year in a way we’ve never seen.”
DOJ indicates Trump admin not obligated to return man deported to El Salvador, pushing back on judiciary
While a court ordered the U.S. government to pursue “steps to facilitate the return” of a Salvadoran man removed from the U.S. last month, the Justice Department asserted that federal courts do not have the authority to dictate to the executive branch how to handle foreign relations and that the order only requires removal of “domestic obstacles” that would hinder the man’s ability to return to the U.S. The legal wranglings concern Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland, but was removed from the U.S. last month. “Defendants understand ‘facilitate’ to mean what that term has long meant in the immigration context, namely actions allowing an alien to enter the United States. Taking ‘all available steps to facilitate’ the return of Abrego Garcia is thus best read as taking all available steps to remove any domestic obstacles that would otherwise impede the alien’s ability to return here,” a DOJ court filing declared. “On the flipside, reading ‘facilitate’ as requiring something more than domestic measures would not only flout the Supreme Court’s order, but also violate the separation of powers. The federal courts have no authority to direct the Executive Branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way, or engage with a foreign sovereign in a given manner.” FEDERAL JUDGE HAMMERS DOJ ON WHEREABOUTS OF ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER FOLLOWING SCOTUS ORDER Abrego Garcia has been accused of being an MS-13 gang member, but his legal challenge has denied that allegation. “On March 15, although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error,” according to a DOJ court filing. Evan Katz, who identified himself as “Assistant Director for the Removal Division, within the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO),” addressed the issue in a court filing. “Although Abrego-Garcia has an order of removal issued by an immigration judge, I understand that he should not have been removed to El Salvador because the immigration judge had also granted Abrego-Garcia withholding of removal to El Salvador. However, I also understand that Abrego Garcia is no longer eligible for withholding of removal because of his membership in MS-13 which is now a designated foreign terrorist organization,” Katz declared. FEDERAL JUDGE CALLS DEPORTATION OF SALVADORAN MAN IN MARYLAND ‘WHOLLY LAWLESS’ After the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ordered the U.S. “to facilitate and effectuate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., the Supreme Court called for the lower court to clarify the instruction. “The order properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador. The intended scope of the term ‘effectuate’ in the District Court’s order is, however, unclear, and may exceed the District Court’s authority. The District Court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs,” the Supreme Court noted. The lower court then called for defendants to “take all available steps to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States as soon as possible.” TRUMP INVITES EL SALVADOR’S BUKELE TO WHITE HOUSE FOR ‘WORKING VISIT’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Abrego Garcia, whose wife is a U.S. citizen, is being held in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center. “It is my understanding based on official reporting from our Embassy in San Salvador that Abrego Garcia is currently being held in the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador. He is alive and secure in that facility. He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador,” Michael Kozak, senior bureau official in the bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the State Department, noted in a filing. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele is visiting President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.
Top US hospital hit with scathing ad campaign over ‘extreme woke’ agenda: ‘Politics over patients’
FIRST ON FOX: Consumers’ Research, a leading nonprofit dedicated to consumer information, is launching an advertising campaign against one of the top healthcare systems in the United States, accusing it of prioritizing “woke” politics over patient care. Consumers’ Research is targeting Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan, with a campaign called “Ford Health Exposed” that includes a website where the group says it is spotlighting “how Henry Ford is putting politics over patients by weaving discriminatory practices into everything it does, administering harmful transgender treatments on kids, and prioritizing a radical climate agenda.” The website points out that the Henry Ford Health website is littered with examples of “woke” ideology being promoted, including DEI, which the hospital has said is “woven into the fabric of everything we do.” “Diversity always will be the foundation on which Henry Ford Health stands,” the organization’s website states. VANDERBILT MED CENTER ‘HIDING’ DEI RESOURCES BEHIND PASSWORD-PROTECTED WEB PAGES: REPORT The website also openly promotes its use of “unconscious bias training” as well as Employee Resource Groups to promote its “diversity” agenda that it says will “enhance the quality of care and comfort for each person that we serve.” The healthcare system also promotes what it describes on its website as “supplier diversity,” where it prioritizes working with businesses that are at least 51% owned by LGBTQ+ persons or certain minority categories. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are simply not enough,” Kimberlydawn Wisdom, senior vice president of community health and equity and chief wellness and diversity officer at Henry Ford Health, said in a 2021 newsletter posted on the provider’s website. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion alone can only mitigate the damage of the past. To prevent the mistakes of the past from burdening our communities in the future, our ultimate destination must be justice.” ‘WOKEST HOSPITAL IN AMERICA?’: TOP HOSPITAL HIT WITH BLISTERING AD EXPOSING ‘POLITICAL AGENDA’ Dr. Maureen Connolly, a pediatrician and LGBTQ+ specialist with HFH, wrote an article promoting transgender treatment on kids, which stated, “Gender-affirming medical therapy and supported social transition in childhood have been shown to correlate with improved psychological functioning for gender-variant children and adolescents.” Connolly also promoted “gender exploration” in another article posted on the HFH website that says, “If your daughter says she feels like a boy inside, let her cut her hair, call her by a different name and switch up her wardrobe.” In addition to the agenda promoted on the website, Henry Ford Health is facing accusations of providing gender treatment to children. The hospital has engaged in sex change treatment, surgeries and puberty blocker treatment in recent years, according to a database compiled by Stop The Harm. Fox News Digital reached out to Henry Ford Health for comment, but the hospital did not respond to the media inquiry. However, the hospital did delete several DEI sections from its website over the last 24 hours that were archived by Fox News Digital. The ad campaign charges that HFH is “pushing irreversible sex changes on kids.” In 2023, the Ruth Ellis Center nominated HFH for the Ludwig Community Benefit Award for “improving the well-being of their community by delivering integrated healthcare and social services to LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) youth in Detroit.” “In 2022, Henry Ford providers at Ruth Ellis facilities cared for more than 700 LGBTQ+ patients, including 429 transgender young adults, over the course of more than 6,800 medical visits,” a press release touting the partnership between the two entities stated. “The health and wellness centers have been a source of primary care, gender affirming care, comprehensive sexual health services including HIV prevention and treatment, and behavioral health services for dozens of adolescents and young adults.” HFH has also been involved in promoting a liberal climate agenda that included spending millions of dollars last year, according to its own website, to create and promote the Central Energy Hub as part of a push for net zero emissions. HFH also partnered with an energy company in 2021, according to a press release on the website. “Sustainability is an integral part of building strong, healthy communities,” Bob Riney, Henry Ford Health System’s president of healthcare operations and chief operations officer, said in the release. “At Henry Ford, health equity is at the foundation of everything we do. It’s an unfortunate fact that low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by poor environmental conditions, which are exacerbated by climate change. By investing in clean, renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, we aim to address health disparities and the growing impacts of climate change regionwide, especially in our historically marginalized communities.” The Consumers’ Research campaign will also include mobile billboards outside of hospital locations in Detroit and Macomb, a billboard near the state capitol in Lansing, and chalk stencils around the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. “Henry Ford Health is prioritizing politics over patients,” Will Hild, Consumers’ Research executive director, told Fox News Digital. “Driven by gender ideology, Henry Ford has continued performing deeply harmful and irreversible sex-change treatments on children and must be stopped,” “The hospital’s deliberate mutilation of confused children’s bodies is being done in direct defiance of President Trump’s orders to eliminate the vile practice for good. Henry Ford Health has also committed to embedding DEI into every facet of its operation, elevating a radical ideological agenda above its fundamental duty to provide excellent scientific-based care,” Hild continued. “Considering how many resources Henry Ford has squandered on needless, extreme woke programs, the hospital has rendered itself almost indistinguishable from an activist group, not only spewing radical left-wing talking points but actively imposing these ideologies onto patients and staff. Rather than change course, Henry Ford Health has chosen to wear its transgressions with pride, a chilling testament to how far it has strayed from its original purpose. Consumers’ Research will continue to put these hospitals on blast for putting a woke agenda over patient care.”