EXCLUSIVE: Trump tax cuts ‘top priority’ for Congress, says top House GOP leader
EXCLUSIVE – Following President Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs announcement, a top House GOP leader is pushing for Congress to extend the president’s 2017 tax cuts, which he says is the next “top priority” for Republicans. The passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was the first major legislative victory for the first Trump administration and represented one of the most significant achievements of his term. Now, after the Senate passed a resolution Saturday night setting up a process known as reconciliation to bypass any potential Democratic filibuster, it’s up to the House to take the next step in making the cuts permanent. Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota and who holds one of the most influential roles in the House, told Fox News Digital that extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts is one of the party’s major points of focus, both in Congress and in the White House. Emmer is holding an “Invest in America” roundtable discussion with Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) CEO Jay Timmons and other manufacturing leaders from across the country on Tuesday to discuss the importance of solidifying the cuts now. According to Emmer’s office, the roundtable discussion will also highlight financial literacy month and emphasize the need to give all Americans the tools to succeed financially. SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES Emmer’s office told Fox News Digital that the roundtable will be centered on the importance of Congress preserving the 2017 tax cuts through reconciliation. Reconciliation is a way to fast-track legislation on issues like taxes, the debt limit and federal spending by bypassing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for passage, instead lowering it to a simple 51-vote majority. “Following Liberation Day, there is a hunger for even more action to put American workers, businesses and production first,” a representative for Emmer said in a statement. “Continuing the Trump tax cuts does that, and this discussion will display the urgency and importance of getting it done.” There are key aspects of the 2017 tax cuts related to manufacturing that are set to sunset at the end of the year. Emmer believes that if that happens it would result in the “largest tax hike in American history.” SPEAKER JOHNSON MOVES ON SENATE’S TRUMP BUDGET BILL AS HOUSE GOP REBELS THREATEN TO DEFECT “House Republicans and the Trump administration know the stakes are high for Americans regarding tax reform,” said the representative. Emmer’s office pointed to a NAM study that found a sunset on these tax reforms at the end of 2025 would cost America 6 million jobs, including over 1.1 million manufacturing jobs, as well as $540 billion in lost wages and $1.089 trillion in lost GDP. While Trump’s tariff policy centers on increasing American productivity and manufacturing, the study posits that if Congress fails to extend the cuts, the country would be placed back in an uncompetitive international tax regime that “disincentivizes investment in the U.S. and hampers manufacturers’ ability to compete on the world stage.” NAM CEO Jay Timmons told Fox News Digital that he is calling on Congress to make the pro-manufacturing reforms in Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, saying “every day without action harms manufacturers’ ability to invest in America and plan for the future.” SENATE’S BUDGET PROPOSAL IS ‘WOEFULLY SHORT OF WHERE THEY NEED TO BE,’ GOP REP SAYS “Current economic conditions make renewal of the 2017 tax reforms even more urgent,” said Timmons. “Passage of the original law ignited job creation, wage growth and investment across the country. And as a result, manufacturers kept our promises by expanding operations, boosting wages and benefits and hiring at record levels. But now key provisions have already expired, and others are set to lapse at the end of this year.” “It is past time to make these reforms permanent and more competitive,” he added. “When manufacturing wins, America wins.” For his part, Emmer told Fox News Digital that extending the tax reforms is a “top priority for House Republicans, the Trump administration, and American manufacturers alike.” “The American people are hungry for an economic boom that is already underway,” he said. “But [it] will only be fully realized if Congress acts to continue the 2017 Trump tax cuts through reconciliation.” EXCLUSIVE: HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR URGES JOHNSON TO CHANGE COURSE ON SENATE VERSION OF TRUMP BUDGET BILL Meanwhile, Bessent told Fox News Digital that “making President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent will help to secure the stable business environment that investors are seeking.” “Stability in tax policy fosters certainty, and extending the TCJA will drive growth and managements, investment, and hiring as we enter America’s new economic golden age,” he went on, adding, “I look forward to continuing this important conversation with Majority Whip Emmer and members of Congress to deliver on these important reforms for the American people.”
Campus activists push for anti-Trump ‘mutual defense compact’ of major universities
A group of universities, many of which receive significant federal funding, could soon rebel against President Donald Trump’s executive orders clamping down on progressive initiatives in public education, if campus activists have their way. Members of a Rutgers University advisory board recently passed a resolution for establishing a “Mutual Defense Compact” to pool legal and policy resources of the member institutions within the Big Ten Academic Alliance in opposition to the Trump administration’s orders. The resolution calls on Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway to spearhead the effort and to “take a leading role in convening a summit of Big Ten academic and legal leadership to initiate the implementation of this Compact.” One professor who spoke with Fox News Digital quipped in response that “the left has discovered free speech.” “These are the same people who had who would punish other members of the university community for using the wrong pronouns for so-called microaggressions,” Dr. Kevin Jon Williams, a cardiovascular sciences professor at Temple University, told Fox News Digital in an interview. TRUMP DOJ, EDUCATION DEPT FORM TASK FORCE TO PROTECT FEMALE ATHLETES FROM ‘GENDER IDEOLOGY’ IN SCHOOLS, SPORTS “They banned conservative speakers and engage in violence to stop conservative speakers from coming to campus, they would rescind offers to prospective applicants who had been accepted based on someone finding something they had done maybe when they were 11 or 12 years old,” Williams said. “I mean, they were totally vicious and totally against any sort of freedom of expression.” Williams was one of the professors the measure – formally titled the Resolution to Establish a Mutual Defense Compact for the Universities of the Big Ten Academic Alliance in Defense of Academic Freedom, Institutional Integrity, and the Research Enterprise – was initially sent to before it was passed by the Rutgers University Senate. The resolution states that “recent and escalating politically motivated actions by governmental bodies pose a significant threat to the foundational principles of American higher education, including the autonomy of university governance, the integrity of scientific research, and the protection of free speech,” and as such, the “Trump administration and aligned political actors have signaled a willingness to target individual institutions with legal, financial, and political incursion designed to undermine their public mission, silence dissenting voices, and/or exert improper control over academic inquiry.” The defense-compact resolution was drafted by the Big Ten Academic Alliance, an organization composed of more than a dozen universities of the Big Ten Conference, which includes both public and private institutions. Originally known as the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the alliance was established to foster research collaboration and shared resources. CONCERNED PARENTS OF TRANS KIDS COMPARED TO ‘HATE GROUPS’ BY COLORADO DEM: WOULDN’T ‘ASK THE KKK’ FOR OPINION “I don’t think they’re hypocrites, I think they’re liars,” Williams added. “I think what they’re doing is they’re hiding behind the cloak of free speech, which they do not believe in, to try to maintain their control over the university environment. It’s a ploy. It’s a strategy, and we should not take them seriously when they say that they’re interested in free speech, because they demonstrated that they are most certainly opposed to free speech.” Under the proposal, participating universities would contribute to a shared defense fund to provide immediate support for what they determine are legal and political infringements. It’s unclear which universities in the Big Ten may support the resolution. The resolution will also “be transmitted to the leadership of all Big Ten universities and their respective governing boards and shared governance bodies,” while the president of Rutgers University “take a leading role in convening a summit of Big Ten academic and legal leadership to initiate the implementation of this Compact.” BAN ON TAXPAYER-FUNDED SEX CHANGES FOR PRISONERS SPARKS DEM WALKOUT IN GEORGIA HOUSE VOTE “This is a remarkably politically partisan document,” said Williams, who is also a fellow for the conservative Do No Harm medical advocacy group. “This is a broad brush condemnation of the Trump administration. Now, for sure, by free speech, they absolutely have the right to do that, but if they do that, they cease being nonpartisan, and I would bring their tax-exempt status into question.” Many Big Ten universities have historically received federal grants for research from agencies like the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. The resolution comes at a time when the Trump administration has taken a critical look at universities receiving federal funding. In March, the administration revoked $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University, citing concerns over antisemitism on campus following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. This action was part of a broader initiative scrutinizing elite universities for alleged civil rights violations, particularly toward Jewish students. The administration has also shifted its focus to eliminating universities’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to align with Trump’s executive orders while also banning biological males from women’s sports. The Department of Education announced investigations into over 50 colleges for alleged racial discrimination, challenging race-based admissions and scholarships in February. Trump also signed an executive order significantly reducing the size of the Department of Education in March. While the department’s operations are scaled back, it retains control over critical functions such as Title I funding, Pell grants, student loans and special education funding.
GOP candidate rips blue state directive meddling in police force’s cooperation with ICE: ‘Handcuffed’
FIRST ON FOX: An email sent to New Jersey State Police staff revealed that officers were asked not to comply with federal arrest warrants, bringing attention to the state’s “sanctuary” policies. The email sent on March 24 was made public by Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who said he does not fault the head of the department, Col. Patrick Callahan, but the state’s policies that are in place, as well as Democratic leaders. “The fact that my campaign received this email is evidence that brave and courageous law enforcement officers throughout New Jersey are angry about being handcuffed by liberal Democrat policies in Trenton, making our communities less safe,” Ciattarelli said in a statement. BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SAYS HE WOULD ‘SEEK PROSECUTION’ IF NJ GOVERNOR SHELTERED ILLEGAL MIGRANT IN HOME “The blame goes to Governor Murphy, Attorney General Platkin, and the Democrat legislature for mandating absurd policies like the Immigrant Trust Directive,” the Republican continued. “We will be partners with the Trump Administration in fixing our immigration system and restore law and order,” he said if elected governor in November, as Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy will be termed out of office after serving two terms. The email from Callahan, which was obtained from the Ciattarelli campaign and reviewed by Fox News Digital, said his team is not legally permitted to follow “Outstanding Administrative Warrants of Removal from the United States,” as 27,000 “hits” were recently added to the National Crime Information Center. DEMOCRAT MAYOR ARRESTED FOR DUI SEEN ON BODYCAM DEMANDING OFFICERS CALL POLICE CHIEF “Taking law enforcement action by arresting a subject based solely on an ‘Outstanding Administrative Warrant’ would violate the Attorney General’s Immigration Trust Directive,” the email states. The email, which was sent out to police personnel, “operational dispatch units” and “public safety telecommunicators,” also noted that NJSP employees cannot reach out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement through the phone number given. NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR SUGGESTS HE’S HOUSING A MIGRANT AT HIS HOME, TELLS FEDS ‘GOOD LUCK’ TRYING TO GET HER The directive from the Attorney General’s Office says authorities in New Jersey, at any level of government besides federal, can help federal law enforcement “when the sole purpose of that assistance is to enforce federal civil immigration law.” In the state governor’s race, many of the Democratic candidates’ views differ from the Trump administration’s illegal immigration policies. During a recent debate, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and Rep. Josh Gottheimer disagreed on the Laken Riley Act, federal bipartisan legislation signed by President Donald Trump that expands the crimes that could get somebody into custody of the Department of Homeland Security. NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR SUGGESTS HE’S HOUSING A MIGRANT AT HIS HOME, TELLS FEDS ‘GOOD LUCK’ TRYING TO GET HER “The Laken Riley Act served to undermine the authority of the attorney general here in New Jersey,” Fulop said at the time. “It is a very dangerous piece of legislation as it relates to autonomy of the governor and the attorney general here, and it should not have been supported.” Last month, Murphy suggested he had a migrant living with him and it was unclear if the person was in the country legally. “Tammy [Murphy] and I were talking about – I don’t want to get into too much detail, but there is someone in our broader universe whose immigration status is not yet at the point that they are trying to get it to. And we said, you know what? Let’s have her live at our house above our garage,” the Democratic governor told Blue Wave New Jersey. “And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her,” he continued. Attorney General Matt Platkin explained his perspective on the directive in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our number one priority is keeping New Jerseyans safe. The Immigrant Trust Directive ensures that New Jersey police officers spend their time tackling pressing public safety issues like violent crime, gun violence, and drug trafficking, while also ensuring that victims of crime and witnesses can safely come forward to police and report crime regardless of their immigration status,” he stated. “Under the Immigrant Trust Directive, state and local law enforcement have and will continue to work with federal authorities to remove violent criminals from this country. Plain and simple, there is no ‘sanctuary’ for criminals in New Jersey.” “The directive was drafted and is enforced with the support and cooperation of law enforcement leaders. The Office of the Attorney General, the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey, and the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police, together, recently released guidance for law enforcement on the Immigrant Trust Directive and its importance,” the attorney general continued. Murphy’s office and DHS did not comment in time for publication.
Trump hints he’d back longtime critic’s bid to flip Dem Senate seat in 2026: ‘I hope he runs’
It appears that President Donald Trump has buried the hatchet when it comes to former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who for years was a top Republican critic of the former and current president. Trump now says that if Sununu runs for the Senate in 2026 for the seat currently held by retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, his former antagonist would have his full support. Sununu, who in January completed his fourth and final two-year term steering swing state New Hampshire, told Fox News Digital in an interview last month that he aimed to make a decision regarding a 2026 campaign in the “next few weeks.” He emphasized that “I have no doubt I’d have the president’s support,” if he decided to make a bid for the Senate. POLL POSITION: WHERE TRUMP STANDS WITH AMERICANS 11 WEEKS INTO HIS SECOND TOUR OF DUTY IN THE WHITE HOUSE Trump, when asked by reporters about Sununu as he flew to Washington, D.C., on Sunday night aboard Air Force One, revealed that the two politicians met recently at the White House. “I told him — He came to my office, came to the Oval Office, and [I] met with Chris Sununu, and I support him fully. I hope he runs,” Trump said. “He’s been very nice to me over the last year or so, but no, I hope he runs. I think he’ll win that seat.” Sununu supported Trump during the 2016 general election and again when Trump unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 2020. The then-governor had a strong working relationship with the Trump White House, including close ties with then-Vice President Mike Pence. WHY TRUMP, MUSK, FACE BLAME OVER BALLOT BOX SET BACKS LAST WEEK However, Sununu pushed back against Trump’s unproven claims that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” and “stolen.” He also started stating in early 2021 that the GOP was larger than any one person, which was perceived as a swipe at the then-former president. Sununu amped up his criticism of the former president during numerous national interviews on cable news networks and Sunday talk shows, repeatedly arguing that Trump had too much political baggage to win back the White House. Additionally, Sununu began mulling a possible 2024 White House run of his own, which he ultimately decided against. However, he ended up backing and becoming a top surrogate of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Haley ended up being the final rival to Trump in the nomination race. Trump occasionally returned fire at Sununu, calling him a “spoiled brat” and a “nasty guy,” among other things. However, after Trump clinched the 2024 GOP nomination, Sununu said he would vote for his party’s presidential nominee. WHAT SUNUNU TOLD FOX NEWS ABOUT POTENTIALLY RUNNING FOR THE SENATE Earlier this year, Sununu said in a Fox News Digital interview that “Donald Trump is the head of the party, and he’s the voice of the Republican Party, and I got to say, I think he’s doing a pretty darn good job in the first couple months.” Regarding a potential 2026 Senate run for a seat Republicans are aiming to flip from blue to red as they hope to expand their current 53-47 majority in the chamber, Sununu told Fox News Digital last month that while “the door’s open” to running, he emphasized “it’s not open a lot, to be honest.” Sununu, who was elected and re-elected to four straight two-year terms as governor, touted that “I have no doubt I can win.” The former governor’s comments in recent interviews are a switch from last year, when he repeatedly said he would not seek to run for the Senate in 2026. Four years ago, Sununu expressed interest in running for the Senate against his predecessor as governor, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, who was up for re-election in 2022. The popular governor was heavily courted by national Republicans to take on Hassan, but on Nov. 9, 2021, Sununu announced that he would instead run for a fourth term as governor, upsetting many Republicans in the nation’s capital. Additionally, he heavily criticized the Senate. “They debate and talk and nothing gets done,” he said at the time. Sununu, who left office in January with very positive approval and favorable ratings, is seen by national Republicans as the best candidate to win the seat. However, he is not the only Republican mulling a Senate bid in New Hampshire. Former Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who later narrowly lost to Shaheen in New Hampshire in the 2014 election, is seriously considering a 2026 run. POPULAR FORMER GOP GOVERNOR WEIGHS IN ON POTENTIAL SENATE BID AND WHETHER TRUMP WILL ENDORSE HIM Brown, who served four years as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first administration, has been holding meetings with Republicans across New Hampshire for a couple of months and has met multiple times with GOP officials in the nation’s capital. Earlier this year, Brown met with top Trump administration political officials at the White House, sources told Fox News. When asked about the president’s comments regarding Sununu, Brown told Fox News in a statement that “President Trump is the leader of the party, and he has earned the right to endorse whoever he supports. There is no path to a Republican nomination running against President Trump-backed candidates.” In the race for the Democratic Senate nomination in New Hampshire, four-term Rep. Chris Pappas formally launched his campaign last week. Using clips of a listening tour he made through all ten of New Hampshire’s counties last month as he ramped up toward running for the Senate, Pappas said voters feel like “the system’s rigged.” TRUMP’S SWAY OVER REPUBLICANS STRONGER THAN EVER, BUT SUNUNU SAYS GOP STILL A ‘BIG-TENT PARTY’ “You think about the Social Security office that’s going to be closed in Littleton, drastic cuts to Medicaid, all in the name of giving big tax breaks to billionaires like Elon Musk,” he argued, as he pointed to Trump’s top donor and
Noem’s Homeland Security ‘unapologetic’ about using lie-detector test on suspected intel leakers
The Department of Homeland Security is “unapologetic” about using lie-detector tests on staffers as it aims to snuff out “leakers” who feed internal agency information to the public, Fox News Digital learned. “Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is unapologetic about its efforts to root out leakers that undermine national security,” Tricia McLaughlin, DHS’ assistant secretary for public affairs, told Fox News Digital Monday. “We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment or status as a career civil servant – we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.” McLaughlin’s response follows Politico’s Friday reporting that the department had administered a lie detector test in March to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Chief Cameron Hamilton following a meeting between DHS and an advisor to President Donald Trump, Corey Lewandowski. The test ultimately cleared Hamilton, according to the outlet, as officials worked to determine if information from the meeting had been leaked. The meeting reportedly focused on Trump administration efforts to “eliminate” FEMA – an agency Trump repeatedly has railed against for not doing its job in effectively aiding citizens during disasters. DHS SAYS IT ‘CAN, SHOULD AND WILL’ ADMINISTER POLYGRAPH EXAMS AMID ICE RAID LOCATION LEAKS The use of polygraph tests at intelligence and national security agencies is not new, with the FBI, CIA and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives all using polygraph tests as part of background and security checks for potential agents or investigators, respective agency websites show. The FBI reported that in addition to a long history of using polygraph machines to screen potential hires, the bureau has increasingly used lie-detector tests on staffers who handle sensitive information since 2001, when the FBI arrested one of its own, former agent Robert Hanssen, for spying for Russia. The Pentagon additionally announced in March that it was launching an investigation into alleged leaks of information concerning national security, which could include polygraph tests for employees in the Defense Department, Fox Digital previously reported. DHS had previously vowed it would use polygraph tests to weed out staffers who leaked information on immigration raids, citing that the department is a “national security agency.” “The Department of Homeland Security is a national security agency,” McLaughlin posted to X in response to a message from February that DHS planned to polygraph staffers who may have leaked information. “We can, should, and will polygraph personnel.” TOM HOMAN BELIEVES ICE RAID LEAKS ARE ‘COMING FROM INSIDE’ AS AURORA LEAKER CLOSER TO BEING IDENTIFIED Secretary Kristi Noem issued an internal directive in February explaining polygraphs administered by DHS must include a question about unauthorized communication with media outlets and nonprofits, according to a report by Bloomberg Government. Border czar Tom Homan speculated in February that an internal leak tipped off illegal immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Colorado and California. The leaked intel allegedly allowed Tren de Aragua gang members to evade arrest at the time. NOEM SENDS MESSAGE TO THOSE CONSIDERING ENTERING US ILLEGALLY: ‘DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT’ The department already uses polygraph exams during the hiring process of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and agents in order to determine “suitability for employment” and “in support of internal and counterintelligence investigations,” according to the agency’s website. “The federal government uses the polygraph exam to understand an applicants’ past behavior, personal connections and personal integrity,” DHS said on a web page explaining why it administers polygraph exams to CBP applicants. “Almost every Border Patrol Agent, Customs and Border Protection Officer, and Air and Marine Operations Agent who has joined CBP has taken, and passed, a Polygraph Exam.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this article.
New House resolution asserts Trump’s use of centuries-old law to crack down on Tren de Aragua is ‘essential’
EXCLUSIVE: A House Resolution affirming the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to crack down on those suspected to be Tren de Aragua gang members will be introduced on Monday. “Coloradoans already know the truth: Tren de Aragua (TdA) is a terrorist organization active in our communities right now,” Rep. Jeff Crank, who’s introducing the resolution, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. “I fully support President Trump’s executive order to designate them as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and to begin deporting these horrific terrorists. It is essential to our national security that known terrorists are quickly detained and deported out of our country by our law enforcement professionals,” the Republican, who took office in January, continued. AURORA AUTHORITIES ‘DECLINED’ TO HELP SEARCH FOR 2 ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO ESCAPED COLORADO DETENTION FACILITY: ICE Specifically, the resolution says that the House of Representatives agrees with using the Alien Enemies Act to transport those who are part of a designated foreign terrorist organization. In addition, it “endorses the complete elimination of these organizations from the United States to protect the nation’s territory, safety, and security.” The resolution is co-sponsored by Reps. Lauren Boebert, Sheri Biggs, Tom Tiffany and Michael Guest. Tren de Aragua, as well as some cartel groups, were recently listed as a foreign terrorist organization by President Donald Trump, and some of the alleged members from MS-13 were brought to the Center for Terrorism Confinement in El Salvador. JUDGE BOASBERG SHOULD ‘RECUSE’ HIMSELF FROM TRUMP DEPORTATION CASE, GOP LAWMAKER ARGUES Since then, court cases have continued to make waves including U.S. District Court for D.C. Judge James Boasberg’s legal tension with the administration over using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, as Boasberg brought forth a temporary restraining order on using the law to deport the alleged members. The act was signed into law by former President John Adams as a measure during times of war. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Colorado has been on the frontline of gang activity by the Venezuelan organization, including issues at apartments in Aurora. “Now, we are learning that the command and control for TdA in the entire United States of America is right here in Colorado,” Derek Maltz told Denver 7 last month, which was verified by DEA Rocky Mountain Division to Fox News at the time. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CHARGED IN NIKE SHOE HEIST AS CARTELS ROB US CARGO TRAINS Other legislation introduced by Colorado lawmakers has taken aim at policies in Colorado that opponents argue serve as a sanctuary for criminals. Rep. Gabe Evans introduced the “Unhandcuffing Police to Locate and Interdict Foreign Transgressors (UPLIFT) Act” in late February, which would give more power to local authorities to work with the federal government on immigration enforcement. “State laws have a national impact because if federal law enforcement uses information from a criminal justice database, and Colorado provided that information, the state and local cops in Colorado who provided that information can get in trouble,” Evans told Fox News Digital at the time. “And so the feds don’t want to get their state and local partners in trouble.”
Johnson faces uphill battle keeping GOP divisions from derailing Trump budget bill
House GOP leaders’ aim to sync up with the Senate on a massive bill advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda is on the rocks as of Monday morning, with fiscal hawks worried the upper chamber’s version will not go far enough to reduce the national deficit. House Republican skeptics are worried specifically about the Senate plan requiring a baseline of $4 billion in spending cuts, while the House plan calls for a $1.5 trillion minimum. Two conservatives told Fox News Digital they would oppose the bill if it came to a House vote this week, while two others suggested they were leaning strongly against it. “The Senate proposal is not serious and is an insult to the American people,” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., who said he is leaning “against” the measure, told Fox News Digital. HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR URGES JOHNSON TO CHANGE COURSE ON SENATE VERSION OF TRUMP BUDGET BILL That is coupled with at least three GOP lawmakers declaring on social media this weekend that they are against the legislation – while even more have aired public concerns. “It’s dead on arrival,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital last week. “We have to stay with what we worked so hard to put over there, which is a bare minimum. When they talk about changes and talk about putting, basically, a teardrop in the ocean as far as cuts – we’re not going to go along with that.” When asked on Monday morning about whether he felt the same, Norman replied emphatically via text message, “YES.” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., shared similar concerns about the gap in the House and Senate’s minimum for spending cuts. “At this point, I would vote against it,” he said. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., another critic of excessive government spending, told Fox News Digital he had not made his mind up on the bill but said there were “not enough cuts” in the Senate version. House GOP leaders are arguing that passing the Senate version does not impede the House in moving forward with its own more fiscally conservative version in any way. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has pitched House passage of the Senate bill as a necessary step to allow Republicans to enact Trump’s agenda. However, doubts over spending cuts are even extending beyond the House GOP’s right-most flank. House Budget Committee Vice Chair Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., voiced his own issues with the bill in a private call with House Republicans on Sunday, two people familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital. Smucker’s office said it would not comment on internal deliberations, but pointed Fox News Digital to the lawmaker’s statement on Saturday. “The Senate’s passage of the amended House resolution is a critical step forward. However, with $5.8 trillion in costs and only $4 billion required savings in their instructions, I cannot vote for it. We can and must do better.” Committee Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, called it “unserious,” but added he was open to working with House and Senate leaders and the White House to ease those concerns. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who sources said also raised concerns on the Sunday call, posted on X of the bill, “If the Senate’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ budget is put on the House floor, I will vote no.” In addition to opposing the gap in baseline spending cuts, some conservatives who oppose the bill are also wary of the Senate, signaling it would use the current policy baseline method to factor in the cost of extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. TED CRUZ CLASHES WITH KEY DEMOCRAT OVER ‘SECOND PHASE OF LAWFARE’ THROUGH FEDERAL JUDGES’ ORDERS The scoring tool essentially means the cost of making Trump’s tax cuts permanent would be factored at $0, because it extends current policy rather than counting it as new dollars being added to the federal deficit. “I’m very wary of this budget gimmick, especially paired with a measly $4 billion floor in spending cuts,” Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital. “The fiscally responsible way to extend and pay for tax cuts is through significant spending cuts, which is exactly what House Republicans instruct in our budget resolution.” Congressional Republicans are working on a massive piece of legislation that Trump has dubbed “one big, beautiful bill” to advance his agenda on border security, defense, energy and taxes. Such a measure is largely only possible via the budget reconciliation process. Traditionally used when one party controls all three branches of government, reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage of certain fiscal measures from 60 votes to 51. As a result, it has been used to pass broad policy changes in one or two massive pieces of legislation. The House’s framework passed in late February and included some new funding for defense and border security, along with $4.5 trillion for extending Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and implementing newer Trump proposals like no taxes on tipped wages. The framework also called for between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion in spending cuts, dependent on how much Trump’s tax policies would add to the national deficit – something that was key to winning support from deficit hawks. It also raised the debt limit, something Trump has specifically asked Republicans to deal with, by $4 trillion. The Senate’s version, which passed in the early hours of Saturday, would raise the debt limit by $5 trillion. MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE Trump himself has endorsed both the House and Senate versions of the bill. Passing a framework then allows lawmakers to craft actual policy to match the framework’s federal spending guidelines, led by the respective committees of jurisdiction. Those policy plans are all brought back together into another massive bill. The Senate and House must pass identical versions before it gets to Trump’s desk for a signature – something the House speaker said would be done by Memorial Day. In a letter to House GOP colleagues on Sunday,
Appeals court blocks Trump from firing federal board members, tees up Supreme Court fight
A federal appeals court voted en banc Monday to block President Donald Trump’s firings of two federal board members, reversing an appellate court ruling and clearing the way for the Trump administration to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. Judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted 7-4 Monday to restore the positions of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member Cathy Harris – two Democratic appointees who were abruptly terminated by the Trump administration earlier this year. The majority cited Supreme Court precedent in Humphrey’s Executor and Wiener v. United States as the backing for their decision, noting that the Supreme Court had never overturned or reversed the decades-old precedent regarding removal restrictions for government officials of “multimember adjudicatory boards” – including the NLRB and MSPB. They noted that the Supreme Court has not yet overturned these precedents, or instructed lower courts to act otherwise. APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN’S DEPORTATION FLIGHTS IN ALIEN ENEMIES ACT IMMIGRATION SUIT “The Supreme Court has repeatedly told the courts of appeals to follow extant Supreme Court precedent unless and until that Court itself changes it or overturns it,” judges noted in their opinion. Monday’s ruling from the full panel means that both Wilcox and Harris can return to their positions, at least for now. It is likely to spark intense backlash from the Trump administration, which has lobbed accusations of so-called “activist judges” that have slowed or halted some of Trump’s executive orders and actions. Also on Monday, the appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s request for an administrative stay, which would have allowed their removals to remain in place while the challenge continued to play out in federal court. The panel found that the administration had not demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits of its appeals, nor did it show irreparable injury if they did not grant the stay – the legal requirements needed to satisfy an emergency court intervention. The en banc ruling reverses a decision reached just 10 days earlier by a three-judge panel for the same appeals court. That panel ruled 2-1 in favor of the Trump administration and allowed the firings to proceed, prompting plaintiffs to file a request for the appeals court to hear the case again en banc, or with all appellate court judges present. The appellate court’s decision to hear the case again, even after a three-judge appellate panel from the same court ruled on the issue late last month, is likely to be met with intense scrutiny by Trump and his allies. It also all but ensures that the Trump administration will move quickly to appeal the matter to the Supreme Court for emergency review. JUDGE BOASBERG POISED TO HOLD TRUMP ADMIN IN CONTEMPT, TAKES DOWN NAMES OF DHS OFFICIALS: ‘PRETTY SKETCHY’ Since taking office, Trump has signed more than 300 executive orders and actions, including sweeping personnel moves, the restructuring of federal agencies, and the creation of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE – a temporary agency that has drawn scrutiny for its broad oversight powers and access to sensitive government data. Critics argue that the flurry of early executive actions warrants an additional level of legal scrutiny, and judges have raced to review a crushing wave of cases and lawsuits filed by terminated employees or brought on behalf of agency employees. The Trump administration has appealed its early losses to the Supreme Court – a strategy it appears poised to continue in the NLRB and MSPB terminations.
EXCLUSIVE: House Freedom Caucus chair urges Johnson to change course on Senate version of Trump budget bill
EXCLUSIVE: House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., said he would oppose the Senate’s version of sweeping legislation to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda if it was voted on in his chamber this week. “At this point, I would vote against it,” Harris told Fox News Digital in an interview on Monday morning. He is also calling for the House and Senate to get to work on their own versions of the plan, after the latter passed an amended version of the former’s legislation in the early hours of Saturday morning. The Maryland Republican, who leads the House GOP’s most conservative group, is the highest-ranking GOP lawmaker to come out against the legislation so far. TRUMP HATING NY ATTORNEY GENERAL LETITIA JAMES VOWS WAR WITH PRESIDENT-ELECT IN DIVISIVE NEWS CONFERENCE It comes as other fiscal hawks voice concerns about the Senate’s version of the legislation – specifically, that it mandates at least $4 billion in spending cuts, compared to $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in the House. “I mean, if the Senate actually is able to deliver on meaningful deficit reduction, we could just pass the Senate amendments to the House budget resolution,” Harris said. “But again, I’m not willing to do that until I see what the deficit reduction, the actual deficit reduction that the Senate has in mind, is.” Congressional Republicans are working on a massive piece of legislation that Trump has dubbed “one big, beautiful bill” to advance his agenda on border security, defense, energy and taxes. ‘LOSING THEIR MINDS’: DEM LAWMAKERS FACE BACKLASH FOR INVOKING ‘UNHINGED’ VIOLENT RHETORIC AGAINST MUSK They can pass such a measure via the budget reconciliation process. Traditionally used when one party controls all three branches of government, reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage of certain fiscal measures from 60 votes to 51. As a result, it has been used to pass broad policy changes in one or two massive pieces of legislation. The House’s framework passed in late February, and included some new funding for defense and border security, along with $4.5 trillion for extending Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and implementing newer Trump proposals like no taxes on tipped wages. The framework also called for between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion in spending cuts, dependent on how much Trump’s tax policies would add to the national deficit – something that was key to winning support from deficit hawks. It also raised the debt limit, something Trump has specifically asked Republicans to deal with, by $4 trillion. The Senate’s version would raise the debt limit by $5 trillion. In a letter to House GOP colleagues on Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said lawmakers would vote on the Senate’s amended version this week. However, Johnson insisted that the Senate’s passage of its framework simply allows the House to begin working on its version of the bill passed in February – and that it does not impede their process in any way. “The Senate amendment as passed makes NO CHANGES to the House reconciliation instructions that we voted for just weeks ago. Although the Senate chose to take a different approach on its instructions, the amended resolution in NO WAY prevents us from achieving our goals in the final reconciliation bill,” the letter said. “We have and will continue to make it clear in all discussions with the Senate and the White House that—in order to secure House passage—the final reconciliation bill must include historic spending reductions while protecting essential programs.” Johnson’s office pointed back to the letter when reached for comment on Monday. Passing a reconciliation framework, which merely outlines top-line spending figures, allows Congress to move on to the next step of actually crafting policy to accompany those top-lines. However, conservatives like Harris have countered that they see no need to vote on the Senate’s version of the bill to begin work in the House. “They just think that we have to keep the train moving forward. But again, if we just begin to craft the actual reconciliation packages, that keeps the train moving forward as well,” Harris said. He left the door open to supporting the Senate’s work, despite ruling out support for its immediate offering. “I still think that we should just ask the Senate to begin crafting their reconciliation bill, and then if they deliver on their promise of deficit reduction, then I’m fine with their budget resolution,” Harris said.
Blue state sheriffs combine forces to fight back against sanctuary laws
A group of five Minnesota sheriff’s offices inked cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE), bringing an opposite approach to immigration enforcement in a state with widespread sanctuary policies. Minnesota’s Cass, Crow Wing, Freeborn, Itasca and Jackson counties sheriffs’ offices have all entered 287g agreements with ICE since President Donald Trump took office, allowing the federal immigration agency to delegate some authority to the offices to perform immigration enforcement functions, according to a report by the Sahan Journal. The agreements allow for increased cooperation between the local law enforcement agencies and ICE, including programs that focus on identifying and processing illegal immigrants that are already in custody and are eligible for deportation. Another program allows for a “task force model,” which brings the local agencies in to serve as a “force multiplier” for ICE, the report said. JD VANCE TORCHES MEDIA, DEMS’ ‘DISGRACEFUL SET OF PRIORITIES’ ON DEPORTATION OF ACCUSED MS-13 GANG MEMBER Some local law enforcement officers will also have the opportunity to participate in 40-hour ICE training sessions under the agreements, the report notes, while agencies participating in the program are required to keep in regular contact with their nearest ICE field office when carrying out any immigration enforcement. The agreements come in a state that has seen widespread use of so-called “sanctuary” policies that limit or prohibit a local jurisdiction’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, with the latest Center for Immigration Studies data showing 12 Minnesota counties that have passed rules limiting cooperation with ICE. The five sheriff’s offices inking agreements with ICE over the last few months brings the total number of offices participating in 287g in the state to seven, the Sahan Journal report notes, with the five new counties joining Sherburne and Kandiyohi counties, which have long had cooperation agreements with ICE. IOWA AG LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION AFTER SHERIFF REFUSES TO WORK WITH ICE JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO RETURN MAN MARYLAND MISTAKENLY DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR PRISON The agreements have already led to a growth in immigrant detentions, with a Freeborn County jail deputy telling the Sahan Journal that there has “definitely” been an “uptick” in immigration inmates since the county entered the agreement. However, the program is not without critics, with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office cautioning local agencies to consider potential drawbacks. “While 287g agreements are sometimes touted as a tool for getting violent offenders off the street, studies have shown that large numbers of people detained through 287g-related enforcement have committed only misdemeanors or traffic violations,” a spokesperson for Ellison’s office told the Sahan Journal. Fox News Digital has reached out to Walz’s office for comment.