GOP senators renew call for DOD watchdog to probe former Joint Chiefs boss Milley for alleged misconduct
Republican senators are renewing calls for the Pentagon’s watchdog to investigate alleged misconduct and efforts to “undermine the chain of command” by former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Fox News Digital has learned. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., penned a letter obtained by Fox News Digital to the acting inspector general of the Department of Defense, Steven Stebbins, renewing their 2022 request for a review of Milley’s conduct. MILLEY STILL HASN’T RESPONDED TO BANKS, GRASSLEY LETTER WITH QUESTIONS ON ‘COMMITMENT TO CIVILIAN CONTROL’ “We are writing to ensure that our concerns about alleged misconduct by the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, are finally addressed,” Grassley and Banks wrote. The two senators made a request for an independent review of the conduct on Aug. 17, 2022, when Banks was serving as the chair of the House Republican Study Committee, but the review was closed by the former inspector general “without ever providing acceptable answers to our questions.” Grassley and Banks said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has since “revived this review,” directing the acting inspector general to “conduct a review of General Milley’s alleged misconduct, including his actions to ‘undermine the chain of command.’” Hegseth also is seeking answers on whether “enough evidence exists for General Milley to be stripped of a star in retirement.” “The Secretary’s request rungs parallel to ours,” Grassley and Banks wrote, noting that Hegseth’s request “takes priority,” but requested that once his request is complete, they will expect “some long overdue answers.” TRUMP ACTING DEFENSE SECRETARY MILLER SAYS HE ‘DID NOT’ AUTHORIZE MILLEY CHINA CALLS, SAYS HE SHOULD RESIGN The senators’ inquiry was triggered by “explosive statements” made by Milley in several books, including “Peril” by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. The books chronicled Milley making “disparaging remarks about his Commander-in-Chief” and attempting “to insert himself in the nuclear chain of command despite having no nuclear command authority,” Grassley and Banks said. They also referenced a promise Milley made to his Chinese counterparts ahead of any potential U.S. attacks on Beijing. Fox News Digital reported in 2021 that Milley confirmed that he did, in fact, tell his Chinese counterpart that he would likely call ahead of any potential U.S. attacks on China, but maintained that he had that conversation at the direction of then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper after assessing intelligence suggesting heightened Chinese concerns about escalation. Milley added, though, that he was “not going to tip off any enemy to what the United States is going to do in an actual plan.” The book also chronicled comments in which Milley said he believed then-President Donald Trump “had gone into serious mental decline … and could go rogue and order military action or use nuclear weapons, without going through required procedures.” FLASHBACK: MILLEY CONFIRMS HE TOLD CHINA HE WOULD CALL AHEAD OF US ATTACK, CLAIMS ESPER ORDERED CALLS BASED ON INTEL The lawmakers also pointed to the book’s report that Milley had to “take any and all necessary precautions” to prevent the former president from engaging in a “rogue” military action and he “wanted to find a way to inject, if not require, that second opinion.” Grassley and Banks said that the Department of Defense’s former inspector general’s “refusal to investigate allowed Milley to dodge responsibility.” “The nation’s highest-ranking military officer has a solemn responsibility to set an example of excellence and to model good conduct for all American service members,” they wrote. “The record suggests that General Milley failed to meet those standards.” Grassley and Banks said Milley’s “conduct and willful undermining of his Commander-in-Chief posed a grave threat to civilian control of the military.” “The issues raised by Milley’s alleged misconduct are too important to be swept under the rug,” they wrote. “They must be examined, and if substantiated, General Milley should be held accountable.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Grassley and Banks added that the acting inspector general’s “full cooperation would be appreciated.” Milley did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Federal air marshals surveilled Trump Cabinet member Gabbard in 2024, Rand Paul says
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he received records confirming that federal air marshals surveilled now-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard during domestic flights last year, “reporting back information related to her appearance and even how many electronics she was observed using.” The Republican from Kentucky made the revelation Tuesday on Capitol Hill as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Krisi Noem was testifying about her department’s budget request for fiscal year 2026. “I commend you and the Trump administration for ending all government-sponsored censorship using DHS personnel. Just last night, I received the first set of records from the department regarding Tulsi Gabbard’s placement on the TSA Quiet Skies watch list,” Paul said. “These documents confirm our suspicions. Federal air marshals surveilled the now-director of national intelligence during domestic flights in 2024, reporting back information related to her appearance and even how many electronics she was observed using. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case,” he added. GABBARD: ‘EVERYTHING CHANGED’ SINCE BEING PUT ON WATCH LIST The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) watchlist allows federal air marshals to follow U.S. citizens and collect information on their behavior in an effort to stop threats from potential terrorists. “As I was traveling, I ended up in 30 to 45 minutes of going through screening every time I would go to the airport to fly,” Gabbard previously told Fox’s “One Nation.” “I noticed air marshals, I noticed K-9 teams. There were things that I saw and noticed that were highly unusual. “But the deepest pain and harm and stress that’s been caused by this is that, forever going forward, I will always be looking over my shoulder, wondering if and how my government is surveilling me,” she said. The TSA is part of the DHS. Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment, but they did not immediately respond. GABBARD CALLS REPORTED SPOT ON WATCH LIST AN ‘ULTIMATE SENSE OF BETRAYAL’ Paul also asked Noem on Tuesday if she has ever “uncovered any internal communications or activities” relating to the government under the Biden administration “being involved in censorship.” “We have literally found thousands of documents that have proven that they were involved in censorship and policing speech. So we will be unveiling these to this committee and making sure we’re exposing what CISA was doing with a vast majority of its time of certain employees,” she said. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is also part of DHS. “And some of the discussion I think we’ll have here today is about getting CISA back on mission and some of the reductions in staff that have been over there,” Noem added. “And that’s reflective in the fact that many of them were doing work that they shouldn’t have been doing.” Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
DOJ cites bodycam footage in charging document for House Dem McIver
The Department of Justice has accused Rep. LaMonica McIver of assaulting two federal agents at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in New Jersey last month, according to a new charging document. The document cites bodycam footage from law enforcement officers who recorded events as McIver and two other New Jersey lawmakers stormed the ICE facility. Prosecutors say the first officer McIver allegedly assaulted was a Homeland Security Investigations agent and the second was an ICE agent. The DOJ accuses McIver of having “slammed her forearm into the body of a uniformed HSI agent and reached out and tried to restrain the agent by forcibly grabbing him.” The charging document also states that McIver “pushed an ICE officer & used her forearms to forcibly strike the agent.” BLUE STATE ICE FACILITY RAMPS UP SECURITY WITH NEW BARRICADES AMID CLASHES WITH PROTESTERS McIver rejected the charges in a public statement, arguing they are “purely political.” “Earlier this month, I joined my colleagues to inspect the treatment of ICE detainees at Delaney Hall in my district,” she wrote. “We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short. Instead, ICE agents created an unnecessary and unsafe confrontation when they chose to arrest Mayor Baraka.” “The charges against me are purely political – they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight,” she continued. “This administration will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right. I am thankful for the outpouring of support I have received and I look forward to the truth being laid our clearly in court.” DEM LAWMAKERS DEFEND ‘STORMING’ OF ICE FACILITY, SAY TRUMP ADMIN IS ‘LYING AT ALL LEVELS’ Prosecutors say McIver helped create a “human shield” and blocked agents from handcuffing Newark Mayor Ras Baraka after he ignored numerous warnings to leave the property and was told he would be arrested. When the HSI agent told the mayor he was going to arrest him, McIver interjected and yelled “Hell no! Hell no! Hell no!” according to the charging document. The HSI agent then ordered Baraka to put his hands behind his back and displayed his handcuffs. McIver and other members of Congress “surrounded the Mayor and prevented HSI from handcuffing him and taking him into custody,” prosecutors say. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem weighed in on the charges against McIver on Monday, saying, “no one is above the law.” “If any person, regardless of political party, influence or status, assaults a law enforcement officer as we witnessed Congresswoman McIver do, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the secretary wrote. “We thank our brave ICE law enforcement officers for their service to this great nation.”
Maryland’s first Black governor blocks reparations bill, disappointing fellow Democrats
The nation’s only sitting Black governor vetoed reparations legislation, dealing a blow to fellow Democrats and emphasizing his preference to “focus on the work itself” rather than form commissions. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore vetoed SB 587, legislation sponsored by state Sen. C. Anthony Muse, D-Forest Heights, that would have established the Maryland Reparations Commission. The commission would have been tasked with providing recommendations by 2027 “relating to appropriate benefits to be offered to African Americans impacted by slavery and historic inequality.” Moore, however, did not issue his veto in any sort of opposition to the overall idea. DEM GOV SAYS MD, WITH $3B DEFICIT, HAS BEEN DOING DOGE ‘BEFORE ANYONE KNEW WHAT IT WAS’ “I applaud the legislature’s work on this bill, and I thank the Black Caucus for their leadership,” Moore said in his veto message. “We have moved in partnership with leaders across the state to uplift Black families and address racial disparities in our communities. That is the context in which I’ve made this difficult decision.” Moore took issue with the potential for more bureaucracy that the resolution would bear. “[N]ow is not the time for another study,” he said, citing other recent commissions established, including the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission. “Now is the time for continued action that delivers results for the people we serve.” MD GOV DEFENDS $190K TRUMP-CENTRIC IRISH CONSULTANT CONTRACT AS POTUS MOVES IN NEXT DOOR Seen as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful, Moore said he will always defend the history of African Americans in Maryland and focus on narrowing the “racial wealth gap,” increasing minority homeownership and “closing foundational disparities.” Maryland itself has a mixed history when it comes to slavery, the Civil War and the treatment of African Americans. The state hosts the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, connecting important towns and sites on the Eastern Shore and into Delaware, where Tubman, her aligned families and groups aided runaway slaves on their way to the relative safety of the North. Its position as an often South-friendly state just north of Washington, D.C., also complicated its position during the Civil War. John Wilkes Booth, the actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, hailed from Bel Air, and his escape from Washington after the assassination led him through Confederate-friendly southern Maryland before crossing the Potomac into Virginia. Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who abetted Booth and his colleagues after Lincoln’s murder, housed them at his property near Leonardtown. Booth felt uncomfortable enough, however, in postwar Maryland that he fled to Virginia — where he was eventually surrounded and killed by U.S. Marshals at a barn whose foundation now sits unmarked in the middle of the U.S. 301 parkway through Fort A.P. Hill’s grounds. Maryland’s legislative Black Caucus also released a statement Friday expressing their disappointment with Moore’s veto. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “At a time when the White House and Congress are actively targeting Black communities, dismantling diversity initiatives, and using harmful coded language, Governor Moore had a chance to show the country and the world that here in Maryland we boldly and courageously recognize our painful history and the urgent need to address it.” “Instead, the state’s first Black governor chose to block this historic legislation that would have moved the state toward directly repairing the harm of enslavement.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sparks expected to fly at high-stakes House hearing on threats against ICE
Partisan sparks are expected to fly on Tuesday as lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee face off over President Donald Trump‘s strict crackdown on illegal immigration. The panel’s subcommittee on oversight is holding a hearing Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. on threats to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. It comes as tensions still run high over the incident at Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey, last month, when three House Democrats and the city’s progressive mayor were accused of “storming” the facility in a protest against Trump’s handling of illegal immigrants. TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ PASSES KEY HOUSE HURDLE AFTER GOP REBEL MUTINY One of those Democratic lawmakers, Rep. LaMonica McIver, is being charged with assault, while a charge of trespassing against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is being dropped. McIver called the charge “purely political.” The Tuesday hearing will be led by Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., who represents the southernmost portion of the Garden State. “While the Trump administration has taken decisive action to address this crisis, Democrat leaders have worked tirelessly to block those efforts. What happened in my home state of New Jersey is just the latest example, and it is simply unacceptable,” Van Drew told Fox News Digital. “We witnessed protests, led by elected officials, turn violent against ICE officers who were just doing their jobs. These officials are more focused on protecting violent criminals than ensuring the safety of their own communities.” He said the subcommittee’s probe would “expose how sanctuary policies and anti-enforcement rhetoric are putting public safety at risk.” The top Democrat on the subcommittee is Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a rising star on the left who has been known to make headlines for verbal outbursts – particularly targeting Republicans. Her office did not respond to a request for comment on the hearing. However, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., signaled he was ready to defend the Democratic officials in the middle of the Delaney Hall incident. “I assume if they want to do anything to those three members, then I assume they’ll get a Trump pardon, right?” Moskowitz told Fox News Digital. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said he wanted to take time to review witnesses’ submitted testimony before talking about what he would say. Meanwhile, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who is also on the panel, said: “What we’re trying to understand is, why in the world are Democrats hell-bent on stopping the president from deporting murderers and rapists and terrorists?” HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANOTHER DEM OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF BLOCKING ICE AMID DELANEY HALL FALLOUT “I mean, they’re holding up ICE facilities, breaking into them. They’ve fought us every single step of the way,” Gill said. “I think we’re going to put them on the spot and get to the bottom of it.” The Democratic officials at the center of the Delaney Hall incident and their allies have contended that they had every right to be inside the facility as federal officials. Both sides have accused the other of assault and improper handling.
Texas lawmakers seek to get federal reimbursement for Biden-era border control expenses
Two U.S. Texas senators and a prominent conservative congressman are pushing the federal government to reimburse the state for billions spent securing the southern border under the Biden administration. The State Border Security Assistance Act would create Justice Department and Homeland Security Department funding sources to reimburse states for actions taken on the border security front after Jan. 20, 2021 – the day of former President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Those funds would then reimburse costs for border wall construction, state law enforcement surveillance, apprehension, detention and prosecution of illegal immigrants. Texas would be ensured to be fully reimbursed if the law passes, and any funds left over by the time the Trump administration leaves office would be returned to the Treasury and applied to the national debt. ‘PATTERN OF DISREGARD’: RED STATES SEEK COURT ACTION AGAINST BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘SHAMEFUL’ BORDER WALL DISPOSAL The bill was drafted by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn and co-sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, with companion legislation being crafted by Rep. Chip Roy. Operation Lone Star, Texas’ border security endeavor during the Biden years, had to be launched and self-funded from Austin due to the “dereliction of duty” by the feds at the time, according to the Texans. “Texas was on the front lines of the Biden administration’s open border crisis, and Texans were on their own dealing with the consequences,” Cruz said in a statement. “I am proud to stand with Governor Abbott and Senator Cornyn to ensure the Lone Star State is reimbursed, and I urge my colleagues to pass this bill expeditiously.” APPEALS COURT RULES TEXAS HAS RIGHT TO BUILD RAZOR WIRE BORDER WALL TO DETER ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: ‘HUGE WIN’ Cornyn echoed Cruz, saying they and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott – along with state taxpayers – were forced to do what the previous administration would not. “Today, I am proud to introduce my legislation to reimburse Texas for its historic efforts to secure the southern border. My bill will ensure the Lone Star State is repaid for stepping up to protect and defend our nation’s southern border while the Biden-Harris administration abdicated its federal duty,” Cornyn went on. “Thanks to the strong leadership of President [Donald] Trump, Secretary Kristi Noem, Border Czar Tom Homan, and Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks, our country is finally back to enforcing the immigration laws that have been on the books for years, and I will continue to work with the Trump administration to ensure Texas never again has to endure an open-border disaster like we saw under Joe Biden.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Roy added in a statement that Biden and former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ behavior led to an “invasion of lawlessness, crime, danger, and drugs, putting Texans, and every American in harms way.” States like Texas “stood on the front lines to defend our nation when the federal government would not [and] deserve to be reimbursed by the very federal government that should have done its job in the first place.” Abbott recently released a rundown of expenditures he would like to see in any reimbursement, including $58 million alone for concertina wire and border fencing – as well as $77 million in court costs for prosecutions and nearly $20 million for costs associated with investigating vehicle thefts in border towns, according to FOX-4. Fox News Digital reached out to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton – who is vying for Cornyn’s seat – as well as DHS, for comment.
Reporter’s Notebook: Trump faces uphill battle to secure votes for ‘big, beautiful bill’ before recess
This morning marks the biggest domestic challenge of President Donald Trump‘s second term in office. The question is whether he can close the deal with skeptical House Republicans and convince them to support the so-called “big, beautiful bill.” It’s doubtful the bill has the votes to pass right now. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., intends to pass the bill before releasing members for the Memorial Day recess. HOUSE GOP CHANNELS ‘NIGHTHAWKS’ AS THEY TRY TO PASS TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ Outstanding issues remain on state and local tax deductions (SALT), Medicaid work requirements, asking states to pick up additional health care costs and overall spending. It’s about the math. House Republicans can only lose three members and still approve the bill. Johnson wants to vote as early as Thursday – and maybe even tomorrow. TRUMP HEADS TO CAPITOL HILL TO PUSH ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ The House Rules Committee will convene at 1 a.m. ET on Wednesday to begin prepping the package for the floor. There are several reasons for this, but let’s begin with the parliamentary one. The Budget Committee wrapped up just before midnight Sunday. The rules allow Democrats two full days to file their paperwork and viewpoints after that meeting. So, they had all day Monday and all day Tuesday. The Rules Committee needs an “hour” to announce its formal meeting. So, the “official” announcement of the Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday will go out just after 12:01:01 a.m. ET Wednesday. That triggers at 1 a.m. ET meeting Wednesday. Here are the other, more practical reasons. Republicans need all the time they can get. There is talk of trying to vote on the floor late in the day on Wednesday. We’ll see about that. But the early Rules Committee meeting time makes that a possibility. Second of all, it’s possible the Rules Committee meeting could consume the entire calendar day of Wednesday. Streams of lawmakers from both sides will file into the Rules Committee to propose various amendments. This is a protracted process. But by the same token, the meeting at 1 a.m. ET could diminish attendance. After all, who wants to show up at 1 a.m. ET for a meeting and maybe discuss your amendment at 6:30 a.m. ET? You get the idea. We expect Trump to meet with Republicans for about an hour and a half this morning. We’ll see if that moves the meter.
Expert reveals how companies are rebranding ‘toxic’ DEI policies to skirt Trump-era bans: ‘New wrapper’
EXCLUSIVE: As the Trump administration and Republicans across the country push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies across the board, the executive director of a top consumer advocacy group spoke to Fox News Digital about what companies and institutions are doing to skirt those efforts. “Over the last few months, we’ve sort of seen a phase shift in the ways that they’re trying to keep this DEI grift going,” Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild told Fox News Digital about companies, organizations, hospitals and other entities that are attempting to rebrand DEI and environmental, social and governance in the Trump era. “At first, they just pushed back on, tried to defend DEI itself, but when that became so obvious that what DEI really was was anti-White, anti-Asian, sometimes anti-Jewish discrimination in hiring and promotion, they abandoned that,” Hild said. “Now what they’re trying to do is simply change the terminology that has become so toxic to their brand. So we’re seeing a lot of companies move from having departments of DEI, for example, to ‘departments of belonging’ or ‘departments of inclusivity.’” Several major companies have publicly distanced themselves from DEI in recent months as the new administration signs executive orders eliminating the practice while making the argument that meritocracy should be the focus. RED STATE TREASURER REVEALS WHY STATE FINANCIAL OFFICERS HAVE ‘OBLIGATION’ TO COMBAT ESG, DEI However, FOX Business exclusively reported in April on Consumers’ Research warning that some businesses appear to be rebranding the same efforts rather than eliminating them. “It is the exact same toxic nonsense under a new wrapper, and they’re just hoping to extend the grift because a lot of these people, I would say most of the people working in DEI are useless,” Hild told Fox News Digital. KEY BIDEN AGENCY DROPPED $60K ON OVERSEAS CONFERENCE WITH DEI WORKSHOP: ‘SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN’ “They are mediocrities who have managed to get very high-level positions that they’re not qualified for by running this DEI grift, and they’re desperate,” he continued. “They can’t just move into running logistics for Amazon because that takes actual competence and intelligence and if you’re in a DEI department, you probably don’t have either of those things. So they are desperate to keep this grift going so they can justify their own existence. So they’re changing it into a new wrapper.” Hild, who spoke to Fox News Digital at the State Financial Officers Foundation conference in Orlando, Florida, also explained some of the other issues Consumers’ Research is focused on going forward, including fighting “woke” hospitals in three different areas. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “One is net zero pledges and activities that raise costs for consumers, patients having to pay more because these hospitals are investing millions, sometimes tens of millions of dollars, into green boondoggle projects that have nothing to do with the treatment of patients and the improvement of their health, but they do raise prices,” Hild said. Secondly, Hild said that his group is concerned about DEI quotas at hospitals. Hild explained that the third and “worst” issue is transgender surgeries and procedures being forced onto children. “Pushing of radical left transgender ideology onto kids, and not just pushing it ideologically and rhetorically, but pushing it physically, and what I mean by that is the injection of damaging, lifelong damaging hormones into children to, quote, unquote, change their sex, which is impossible, and even worse, the actual surgical application, removal and mutilation of their genitals, which is a grotesque violation of the Hippocratic Oath,” Hild said. Consumers’ Research has been actively involved in launching advertising campaigns against hospitals across the United States, including a recent campaign against Henry Ford Health in Michigan, calling out what it says are situations where hospitals are putting “politics over patients.”
GOP senator says federal government will ‘need to play a big role’ after tornadoes ravage Midwest
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, said Monday that local communities are facing “devastation” and that the state will need Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding “at the least” after violent tornadoes took dozens of lives over the weekend. Hawley, who spoke to Fox News Digital on the phone while walking through Missouri neighborhoods ravaged by the storms, emphasized that “a lot of people are hurting.” “These aren’t just pieces of real estate,” Hawley explained. “I mean, these are homes that people grew up in. These are neighborhoods where families raise their kids going back two, three, four, generations. I talked to one guy who had been in the neighborhood. His family had been in the neighborhood since his great-grandmother came there at the turn of the last century.” “Unless they’re going to need to be rebuilt, the federal government is going to need to play a big role here with FEMA relief, disaster relief, and we want to get all of that as soon as possible,” he said. 53 MILLION BRACE FOR SEVERE STORMS MONDAY WITH WIND GUSTS UP TO 80 MPH LIKELY Fox Weather reported that the rating of the powerful storm was at least an EF-3, turning homes and businesses in its path into rubble. At least 26 people were killed over the weekend across the region. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the death count in Kentucky alone sits at 19, and Hawley’s office said the count in Missouri was at least 7. “We have lost 19 people to this weather event, each one a child of God who will be missed by their families,” Beshear said in a post on X. “Please keep praying for them, the 10 individuals being treated at UK Hospital, and for everyone affected by these storms.” DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS CONTINUE IN KENTUCKY, MISSOURI IN WAKE OF DEADLY TORNADO OUTBREAK Hawley’s push for FEMA assistance comes as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has called for eliminating the agency as it exists today. In addition to calling for federal assistance, Hawley was also quick to point out private insurance providers will need to step up and fairly pay out claims to assist with recovery efforts, noting he is separately “in the middle of an investigation of the major insurance companies.” “I talked to person after person today whose roofs have been ripped off, whose windows are bashed in,” Hawley told Fox News Digital. “These people need to get their policies paid out. They’ve been faithful premium holders, faithful premium payers. They need the policies paid out. And that’s something that’s going to make a huge, huge difference.” FEMA TRUMP, LAWMAKERS AT ODDS OVER WHETHER FEMA SHOULD BE ELEVATED TO CABINET-LEVEL AGENCY OR COMPLETELY OVERHAULED Recovering from the devastation could take some time in local communities, and it was reported that roughly 700,000 lost power across the region during the height of the storm. HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER “I expect that our governor will soon make an emergency request for disaster relief, and we’d certainly hope that FEMA would act on that. ASAP,” Hawley added.
Federal judge blocks Trump dismantling of US Institute of Peace
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Institute of Peace, writing in a ruling that the removal of its board members and the takeover of its headquarters by members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are actions that are “null and void.” The response this week from U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell comes after the Institute filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in March calling for “the immediate intervention of this Court to stop Defendants from completing the unlawful dismantling of the Institute and irreparably impairing Plaintiffs’ ability to perform their vital peace promotion and conflict resolution work as tasked by Congress.” “The Administration removed the Institute’s leadership, including plaintiff Board members and its president in contravention of statutory limitations, and had personnel from a newly created federal office, called the Department of Government Efficiency, forcibly take over the Institute’s headquarters on March 17,” Howell wrote in her ruling. “With a newly installed USIP president, the Administration then handed off USIP’s property for no consideration and abruptly terminated nearly all of its staff and activities around the world.” “Congress’s restrictions on the President’s removal power of USIP Board members are squarely constitutional, and the President and his Administration’s acts to the contrary are unlawful and ultra vires. The actions that have occurred since then – at the direction of the President to reduce USIP to its ‘statutory minimums’ – including the removal of USIP’s president, his replacement by officials affiliated with DOGE, the termination of nearly all of USIP’s staff, and the transfer of USIP property to the General Services Administration, were thus effectuated by illegitimately-installed leaders who lacked legal authority to take these actions, which must therefore be declared null and void,” she added. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION GUTS INSTITUTE OF PEACE OF ‘ROGUE BUREAUCRATS’ AFTER DOGE STANDOFF IN GOVERNMENT OFFICE The Institute of Peace is an independent, national institution funded by Congress that was established in 1984 under the Reagan administration to promote peace and diplomacy on the international stage. “Congress has endorsed USIP’s important work by continuing to fund the Institute through appropriations bills signed by seven different Presidents from both major political parties, including the current President during his first term in office,” Howell said in the ruling. “In a drastic and abrupt change of course, within the first month of his second term, President Trump unilaterally decided that USIP is ‘unnecessary,’ issuing Executive Order 14217 to this effect, and then his Administration rushed through actions, including removal of Board members, to reach the professed goal of reducing all of USIP’s operations and personnel to the bare minimum to perform only mandated statutory tasks, while ignoring the broader statutory goals set out for this organization to fulfill,” she also said. Ultimately, Howell concluded, the Trump administration’s actions “represented a gross usurpation of power and a way of conducting government affairs that unnecessarily traumatized the committed leadership and employees of USIP, who deserved better.” JUDGE DENIES EMBATTLED GOVERNMENT-FUNDED AGENCY’S RESTRAINING ORDER REQUEST AGAINST DOGE The White House did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. In March, it said the Trump administration gutted the Institute of Peace of “rogue bureaucrats” who held a tense standoff with a DOGE team that required police intervention. “Rogue bureaucrats will not be allowed to hold agencies hostage,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said at the time. “The Trump administration will enforce the president’s executive authority and ensure his agencies remain accountable to the American people.” The administration now has 30 days to file an appeal to the ruling. “The United States Institute of Peace has existed for 40 years on a $50 million annual budget, but failed to deliver peace,” Kelly told the Associated Press. “President Trump is right to reduce failed, useless entities like USIP to their statutory minimum, and this rogue judge’s attempt to impede on the separation of powers will not be the last say on the matter.” Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.