Musk says he hopes for ‘zero tariffs,’ freedom of trade zone between US and Europe
Billionaire Elon Musk says he hopes the U.S. and Europe can develop their economic relationship toward eliminating the need for tariffs. Musk made the statement during a video interview with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini on Saturday.The billionaire says he has advised President Donald Trump to bolster the relationship with European countries. “At the end of the day, I hope it’s agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk said. He went on to say he would like to see greater freedom of movement between Europe and the U.S. as well. TARIFF STOCK SHOCK: NASDAQ HITS BEAR MARKET; S&P, DOW SINK “If people wish to work in Europe or wish to work in North America, they should be allowed to do so in my view,” Musk said, adding that this “has certainly been my advice to the president.” Musk’s statement comes less than a week after Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs against virtually every major country on earth. AFTER TRUMP TARIFFS, JPMORGAN RAISES CHANCE OF RECESSION TO 60% The initial 10% “baseline” tariff took effect at U.S. seaports, airports and customs warehouses on Thursday. Higher taxes on goods from 57 larger trading partners are set to start later this week. European Union imports will face a 20% tariff, while Chinese goods will be hit with a 34% tariff, bringing Trump’s total new taxes on China up to 54%. World leaders in Europe and elsewhere have vowed to retaliate against the tariffs. China, hit harder than any other nation, promised to “take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests” last week. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says Europeans “feel let down by our oldest ally.” “Uncertainty will spiral and trigger the rise of further protectionism. The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe,” she said. Fox News’ Landon Mion and Reuters contributed to this report.
Judge awards $6.6M to whistleblowers who were fired after reporting Texas AG Ken Paxton to FBI
A district court judge awarded $6.6 million combined to four whistleblowers who sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on claims he fired them in retaliation for reporting him to the FBI. Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar notified Paxton and his office on Oct. 1, 2020, that they had reported him to the FBI for allegedly abusing his office. The four were all fired by mid-November. Travis County Judge Catherine Mauzy ruled Friday that by a “preponderance of the evidence,” the whistleblowers proved liability, damages and attorney’s fees in their complaint against the attorney general’s office. The judgment says the former aides made their reports to federal law enforcement “in good faith” and that Paxton’s office did not dispute any claims or damages in the lawsuit. FBI FLOODED WITH RECORD NUMBER OF NEW AGENT APPLICATIONS IN KASH PATEL’S FIRST MONTH LEADING BUREAU “Because the Office of the Attorney General violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by firing and otherwise retaliating against the plaintiff for in good faith reporting violations of law by Ken Paxton and OAG, the court hereby renders judgment for plaintiffs,” Mauzy wrote in her judgment. The court found that the four former aides of the attorney general were fired in retaliation for reporting allegations that he was using his office to accept bribes from Austin real estate developer and political donor Nate Paul, who employed a woman with whom Paxton was having an extramarital affair. Paxton has denied allegations that he accepted bribes or misused his office to help Paul. “It should shock all Texans that their chief law enforcement officer, Ken Paxton, admitted to violating the law, but that is exactly what happened in this case,” Tom Nesbitt, an attorney representing Brickman, and TJ Turner, an attorney representing Maxwell, said in a joint statement. Paxton said in a statement that the judge’s ruling is “ridiculous” and “not based on the facts or the law.” He said his office plans to appeal the ruling. The attorney general was probed by federal authorities after eight employees reported his office to the FBI in 2020 for bribery allegations. He agreed to settle the lawsuit for $3.3 million that would be paid by the legislature, but the state House rejected his request and conducted its own investigation. Paxton was impeached in the House in 2023 before he was later acquitted in the Senate. TEXAS AG PAXTON ACQUITTED ON ALL IMPEACHMENT CHARGES: ‘THE TRUTH PREVAILED’ In November, the state Supreme Court overturned a lower-court ruling that would have required Paxton to testify in the lawsuit. The U.S. Justice Department declined to pursue its investigation into Paxton in the final weeks of the Biden administration, according to The Associated Press. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump admin suspends lawyer in case of Maryland man mistakenly deported for failing to ‘zealously advocate’
The Trump administration has placed a Justice Department (DOJ) lawyer on leave for not “zealously advocating” its position in the case involving a Salvadoran man living in Maryland who was mistakenly deported last month. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office placed Erez Reuveni, who argued for the government, in Friday’s hearing in which a judge ruled Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia must be returned to the U.S. by Monday, on indefinite paid leave, Fox News has learned. “At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States,” Bondi told the New York Times in a statement. “Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOJ for comment. JOHN YOO URGES TRUMP ADMIN TO ‘WORK OUT A DEAL’ TO RETURN MISTAKENLY DEPORTED INDIVIDUALS Reuveni on Friday admitted that Garcia’s deportation was a mistake, according to the New York Times. On Saturday, the Trump administration argued in an emergency appeal that U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis can’t force the administration to return Garcia to the U.S. Xinis on Friday ruled that the government must make arrangements to have Garcia back in the U.S. before Monday at midnight. The Saturday emergency appeal seeks to temporarily stay Xinis’ decision until the government has time to properly appeal the ruling. “Late Friday afternoon, a federal district judge ordered the United States to force El Salvador to send one of its citizens – a member of MS-13, no less – back to the United States by midnight on Monday. If there was ever a case for an emergency stay pending appeal, this would be it,” the government wrote in the emergency appeal reviewed by Fox News Digital. The government also argued that it “does not have control over” Garcia now that he is in El Salvador. “Nevertheless, the court’s injunction commands that Defendants accomplish, somehow, Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States in give or take one business day,” the appeal said, calling it “indefensible.” The filing said that the “lacked the power” to require the government “on the clock, to try to force a foreign country to take a discrete action.” It added, “Abrego Garcia has been found to be a member of a designated Foreign 3 Terrorist Organization, MS-13. Given that status, he has no legal right or basis to be in the United States at all.” VANCE DOUBLES DOWN AFTER TRUMP ADMIN ADMITS ‘ERROR’ SENDING MAN TO SALVADORAN PRISON Xinis on Friday said that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s March 15th expulsion of Garcia violated the Administrative Procedures Act, since it occurred without a judicial proceeding. The Trump administration has acknowledged Garcia’s removal was an “administrative error,” but has also defended it, alleging that Garcia has ties to MS-13. “This individual is an illegal criminal who broke our nation’s immigration laws. He is a leader in the brutal MS-13 gang, and he is involved in human trafficking,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing on Tuesday. “And now MS-13 is a designated foreign terrorist organization. Foreign terrorists have no legal protections in the United States of America. And this administration is going to continue to deport foreign terrorists and illegal criminals from our nation’s interior,” she added. An immigration judge five years ago said Garcia, who came to the U.S. illegally in 2011 and asked for asylum, could not be deported to his home country, over concerns he would become a victim of local El Salvador gang members. His request for asylum was denied, but he was given protection from deportation and ICE didn’t appeal the decision. Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who is a U.S. citizen, has vigorously campaigned for his return. Garcia had been working as a sheet metal apprentice in Maryland and was arrested in an IKEA parking lot on March 12 while his 5-year-old son was in the car. His lawyers have argued the man had a Department of Homeland Security permit to work in the country, and strongly deny any gang affiliations. They also say that the government has given little evidence to back up its claim. There was no indication how the government would comply, since he is incarcerated in an El Salvador prison under that government’s custody. Fox News’ Cameron Arcand and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
US revokes all South Sudan visas, bars future issuance until deportees accepted
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday announced the U.S. will revoke visas held by South Sudanese passport holders will be revoked, and no others will be issued, effective immediately. Rubio attributed the change to “the failure of South Sudan‘s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner,” according to a statement posted on X. The U.S. Department of State on Saturday wrote in a statement that it is time for the Transitional Government of South Sudan to “stop taking advantage” of the U.S. TRUMP ADMIN ENDS DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR MASSIVE NUMBER OF VENEZUELANS AMID ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN “Enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States,” according to the statement. “Every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them. “ The department said it “will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation.” The East African country is currently on the verge of civil war, with escalating armed conflict, mass displacement and severe food insecurity. The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum suspended its operations, to include visa, passport, and other routine consular services, on April 22, 2023. The move comes after the Trump administration in February ended a deportation shield for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the U.S. TRUMP REPORTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT HISTORIC LOWS DURING FIRST FULL MONTH IN OFFICE The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it would revoke the statuses of more than 300,000 nationals protected by Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The Trump administration has deported more than 100,000 illegal migrants since taking office, according to a New York Post report citing a DHS official. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for the Republic of South Sudan did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. United Nations South Sudan declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
Speaker Johnson moves on Senate’s Trump budget bill as House GOP rebels threaten to defect
House Republican leaders are rallying GOP lawmakers around a plan to enact a broad swath of President Donald Trump’s agenda, after the legislation was passed by the Senate in the early hours of Saturday morning. “More than a year ago, the House began discussing the components of a reconciliation package that will reduce the deficit, secure our border, keep taxes low for families and job creators, reestablish American energy dominance, restore peace through strength, and make government more efficient and accountable to the American people. We are now one step closer to achieving those goals,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his top lieutenants wrote to House Republicans. “Today, the Senate passed its version of the budget resolution. Next week, the House will consider the Senate amendment.” Congressional Republicans are pushing a conservative policy overhaul via the budget reconciliation process. Traditionally used when one party holds all three branches of government, reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage on certain fiscal measures from 60 votes to 51. TED CRUZ CLASHES WITH KEY DEMOCRAT OVER ‘SECOND PHASE OF LAWFARE’ THROUGH FEDERAL JUDGES’ ORDERS As a result, it’s been used to pass sweeping policy changes in one or two massive pieces of legislation. Senate Republicans passed a framework for a reconciliation bill just after 2 a.m. ET on Saturday, after hours of debate and votes on amendments to the measure. It’s similar to the version House Republicans passed in late February; but mechanisms the Senate used to avoid factoring in the cost of extending Trump’s 2017-era tax cuts as well as a lower baseline for required federal spending cuts has some House conservatives warning they could oppose the bill. The Senate’s version calls for at least $4 billion in spending cuts, while the House’s version mandates a floor of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion. Both bills also include Trump priorities on border security, energy, and new tax policies like eliminating penalties on tipped and overtime wages. “If the Senate’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ budget is put on the House floor, I will vote no,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote on X. “In the classic ways of Washington, the Senate’s budget presents a fantastic top-line message – that we should return spending back to the pre-COVID trajectory (modified for higher interest, Medicare, and Social Security) of $6.5 Trillion, rather than the current trajectory of over $7 Trillion – but has ZERO enforcement to achieve it, and plenty of signals it is designed purposefully NOT to achieve it.” But House GOP leaders insist 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.” GOP DEFECTORS HELP SENATE ADVANCE RESOLUTION TO CANCEL TRUMP TARIFFS DESPITE WHITE HOUSE VETO WARNING House GOP leaders have pointed out that passing a framework is just the first step in a long process, one that just lays out broad instructions for how money should be spent. Now that similar frameworks have passed the House and Senate, the relevant congressional committees will work out how to achieve the final reconciliation policy goals under their given jurisdictions. “We have made it clear the House will NOT accept nor participate in an ‘us versus them’ process resulting in a take it or leave it proposition from the Senate,” House leaders warned. “Immediately following House adoption of the budget resolution, our House and Senate committees will begin preparing together their respective titles of the reconciliation bill to be marked up in the next work period.” The letter reiterated Johnson’s earlier goal of having a bill on Trump’s desk by the end of May. House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, called the Senate’s resolution “unserious and disappointing,” noting it only mandated $4 billion in “enforceable cuts.” He vowed to work with congressional leaders to find the best path forward, however. “I am committed to working with President Trump, House leadership, and my Senate counterparts to address these concerns and ensure the final reconciliation bill makes America safe, prosperous, and fiscally responsible again,” Arrington said.
Trump urges Americans to ‘hang tough’ on tariffs plan as markets tumble
President Donald Trump is doubling down on his controversial tariffs program and has called on Americans to “hang tough” amid stock market turmoil over the last few days. Trump, in a post on Truth Social Saturday morning, wrote that his plan is already working with trillions of dollars already being poured into the U.S. economy. “We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN,” Trump wrote. HERE’S WHAT TRUMP IS REALLY UP TO WITH HIGH-STAKES TARIFF GAMBIT This week’s steep losses for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were among the worst in the past decade as stocks tumbled for a second day in a row. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 2,231.07 points, or 5.5%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 5.97% and 5.82%, respectively. The Nasdaq entered into bear market territory on Friday. Trump implemented a 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods into the United States while some countries were slapped with higher tariffs. But Trump remains defiant that his plan will work in the long term as he aims to reduce America’s trade deficit with other countries, protect American industries and bolster jobs by encouraging companies to move manufacturing back to the U.S. “HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic,” Trump wrote. “We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote. Trump took aim at China after the communist country clapped back to Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcement with a reciprocal 34% tariff on U.S. imports. “China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close,” Trump wrote. “They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless “whipping post,” but not any longer.” Trump’s 34% tariffs announced against China on Wednesday come in addition to the 20% tariffs already imposed against the country. HOW WE GOT TO LIBERATION DAY: A LOOK AT TRUMP’S PAST COMMENTS ON TARIFFS “China played it wrong, they panicked — the one thing they cannot afford to do,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. The back and forth has raised concerns about a global trade war and possible recession. The new Chinese tariffs against the U.S. will go into effect on April 10, according to The Wall Street Journal. Companies who sell their goods to China were hit hard on Friday, including those in aerospace, agriculture and heavy equipment. Some of Thursday’s biggest losers — banks, airlines and technology companies — sank again on Friday. Others, such as retailers, clothing and restaurants, were down but not nearly as bad. A handful, like Nike, even posted small gains on Friday. The so-called Magnificent 7 stocks that have dominated the market the past few years had some of the heaviest losses. Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Tesla have lost around $1.8 trillion in market value combined in the past two days. Meanwhile, a conservative legal group is challenging President Trump’s tariffs on China, calling them “an unlawful attempt” to make Americans pay higher taxes on Chinese imports. The Fox Business team and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
‘Deep ties to the CCP’: Meet the vaping lobbyist ramping up pressure on Trump to save ‘illicit’ vape industry
FIRST ON FOX: A top vaping lobbyist, whose group worked closely with the Trump campaign last year and is now ramping up pressure on the Trump administration to “uphold their promise to save the flavored vaping industry,” has extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party, a Fox News Digital review found. Tony Abboud, the Illinois-based executive director of the Vapor Technology Association, made several smaller donations to pro-Trump GOP Senate candidates ahead of the 2024 election and met with then-candidate Donald Trump weeks before the election in a push to protect the vaping industry. However, his past ties to the Democratic Party and CCP are setting off alarm bells with a political operative close to the Trump administration and a top Republican Congressional leadership aide as Abboud’s group ramps up pressure on the Trump administration and lobbies several states to oppose directory bills, which would crack down on Chinese vape companies. “Tony Abboud and Vapor Technology Association have deep ties to the CCP and Never-Trumpers,” a person close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital. “This goes against everything President Trump stands for, which is loyalty and reining in CCP influence, especially when it comes to illicit drugs pouring across the border.” 21,000% SPIKE IN MA VAPE SEIZURES THROWS CIGARETTE BAN INTO QUESTION, EX-ATF OFFICIAL SAYS Abboud, who previously donated thousands between Obama’s Senate campaign and failed House campaign, among other Democrats, and his vaping group have a close relationship with the Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC), an entity of the CCP. Abboud’s VTA and the ECCC previously had an informal relationship but officially inked an official partnership together in late 2023, forming the Global Vape Alliance, which includes the UK Vaping Industry Association and the Independent European Vape Alliance. This alliance led to cooperation between the different entities, which entails sharing “information and strategies for best practices to educate and guide member companies on existing laws, regulations and industry standards.” “The Alliance will share strategies for the promotion of the healthy development of the global vaping industry, and as a unified voice for the industry, will look to empower their member companies by promoting the sophistication, professionalism, and importance of the industry,” the declaration continued. “VTA–like Temu, Shein, and TikTok–is well known for putting the interests of Chinese companies ahead of Americans,” a top Republican Congressional leadership aide warned in a statement to Fox News Digital. “No Hill Republicans are take their lobbying seriously and they should be ashamed for lobbying for interests connected to the Chinese Communist Party. American kids deserve a lot better.” However, a senior adviser to the 2024 Trump campaign dismissed criticism of the group and Abboud, telling Fox News Digital that the “idea that VTA is an anti-Trump group is downright dishonest and utterly laughable.” “Not only did they support President Trump’s re-election financially, but they also worked closely with the Trump campaign on a get-out-the-vote program targeting pro-vaping voters in support of the President in all the battleground states,” the former senior adviser said. “Their GOTV operation was so robust that it didn’t just extend to the President himself, but it was also used to support Trump-endorsed MAGA Senate candidates like Bernie Moreno in Ohio.” The ECCC, which partners with Abboud’s group, was established in Shenzhen, China, in January 2017 and operates under the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (CECC), which is registered with the CCP’s Ministry of Civil Affairs of P. R. China. A Fox News Digital review found that some of the top leaders of the CECC are former high-ranking members of the CCP, which includes a former member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, a former Vice Premier of the State Council, and a former vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the “key mechanism for multi-party cooperation and political consultation” under the leadership of the CCP, according to the CPPCC website. FIVE-FIGURE AD BUY URGES STATES TO CRACK DOWN AS CHINA FLOODS MARKET WITH ILLICIT VAPES: ‘TRUMP WAS RIGHT’ As the executive director of VTA, Abboud has met with Ao Weinuo, the Secretary-General of the ECCC, several times over the years and is featured in several photos with Abboud. In a batch of photos from the 2023 InterTabac trade show in Germany, which is where the Global Vape Alliance was officially announced, Weinuo and Abboud posed together for several photographs, including one where the pair and a couple other guys from the GVA toasted each other with their drinks. During the meeting portion of the event, Weinuo and Abboud were also on the same panel that appeared to be going after the Biden administration’s FDA for feeding a “false narrative.” That same year, Weinuo and the ECCC members participated in a team-building outing with the theme of “Seeking Red Footprints and Drawing Strength for Progress.” In the background of the photo, which included Abboud’s business partner, the hammer and sickle CCP emblem was visible. In a promotional video that ECCC posted on Tencent in 2021, ECCC emphasized their goals for Chinese domination and price control in the vaping market, saying, “China has the pricing power” and “influence,” according to English subtitles provided by ECCC. When pressed for comment on VTA’s ties to China and the CCP, Abboud did not address them and instead talked about how he was a “former Democrat who became a Republican because of President Trump” and that “Joe Biden spent 4 years attempting to shut down and bankrupt American vape companies across the country and President Trump is the only person we trust to reverse Biden’s anti-vaping policies and save our industry.” The political operative close to the Trump administration pushed back, pointing to a Linkedin post from Abboud’s group, which showed Abboud networking with Democrats, including then-DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, at the 2024 DNC Convention. The post said that VTA sponsored events for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Choose Atlanta and the Democratic Party of Virginia. “I’m even more
Dems slam Elon Musk, Melania Trump with xenophobic attacks: ‘Go back to South Africa!’
Since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Democrats have made xenophobic comments about DOGE chief Elon Musk and first lady Melania Trump. Some of the party’s leaders have repeatedly complained about Musk’s country of birth being South Africa and told Trump to look into deporting his wife, who was born in the former Yugoslavia. Speaking at an anti-DOGE protest in Los Angeles March 22, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., suggested Trump should investigate and potentially deport the first lady. “When he [Trump] talks about birthright, and he’s going to undo the fact that the Constitution allows those who are born here, even if the parents are undocumented, they have a right to stay in America. If he wants to start looking so closely to find those who were born here and their parents were undocumented, maybe he ought to first look at Melania,” Waters said on stage at a rally in Los Angeles, various videos posted to social media show. CORY BOOKER ON WHETHER HE SHOULD BE DEMOCRATS’ NEXT LEADER: ‘IT’S TIME FOR ALL OF US’ “We don’t know whether or not her parents were documented. And maybe we better just take a look.” The first lady became a U.S. citizen in 2006, according to official government biographies. She is the first U.S. first lady to become a naturalized citizen and the second first lady to be born outside the U.S., following President John Quincy Adams’ wife, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, who was born in London in 1775. Democrats, however, have reserved some of their most vitriolic attacks for Musk, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1995 and became a citizen in 2002. Speaking at a congressional Democratic rally protesting musk’s access to the Treasury Department Feb. 4, Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., compared Musk to the British burning the city of Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812. WATCH: DEM JASMINE CROCKETT SILENT AS AIDE ATTEMPTS TO INTIMIDATE, BLOCK REPORTER’S QUESTION ABOUT VIOLENCE “They always told us the British had come to storm the city. They always reminded us the British had come, and they burned everything down, and we could never let that happen again. They told us, and here we are, Trump and his billionaire boy band. They are not British this time. This one is South African. But they came back,” said Bynum. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., did not use allegories, but simply called for Musk to “go back to South Africa.” “It was interesting yesterday. I was watching a video of an interview of Elon Musk with someone where he said that the Italians should stay in Italy and the Chinese should stay in China. My question to Elon Musk is, what the hell are you doing here in America?” Velazquez said while speaking at an event outside the HUD Department. Even before Musk took the helm at DOGE, far-left Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, slammed him during a Jan. 20 interview for not being born in the U.S. while suggesting he supported apartheid. BAN ON TAXPAYER-FUNDED SEX CHANGES FOR PRISONERS SPARKS DEM WALKOUT IN GEORGIA HOUSE VOTE “[Musk] went from being the dork that was jumping around on stage to allegedly being this amazing genius that’s going to save this entire country, the country he wasn’t born in and a country that maybe he doesn’t agree with, the idea of a Democratic Republic, considering the fact that he may have been more so on the side of apartheid,” said Crockett. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., piled on further, suggesting in a February interview that Musk was reverting to a fascist state of mind due to his South African heritage. “I think that’s a leftover from Elon Musk’s South African heritage, and maybe he’s falling too far back on the apartheid system of government that was a fascist form of government,” said Connolly. “Here in the United States, Mr. Musk,” he added, “we have three branches of government, each of them separate but coequal, and, ultimately, the judicial branch is the deciding factor when there is a dispute between the other two branches of government. That’s how our system works here.” DEM CONGRESSMAN LASHES MUSK IN OPENING SALVO OF POPULIST BID IN 2026 SWING-STATE SENATE RACE Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., accused Musk’s parents of trying to deny Black people their rights in South Africa, comparing them to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Why can’t you understand? The Ukranians [sic] are fighting for the same thing which his parents tried to deny black South Africans,” Cohen wrote in a February X post. “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., also suggested Musk did not care for democracy because he came from South Africa. “Elon Musk, who grew up in apartheid, Trump who worships dictators around the country, and strong men, are not interested in our constitutional republic,” Omar said. Despite these claims, a Snopes fact-check found the reason Musk left his birth country in the first place was to avoid military service because he did not want to fight for an apartheid state.
Democrats propose bill to prevent Trump from relocating federal agencies outside DC
A cohort of Democratic representatives and senators are proposing legislation aimed at stalling President Donald Trump’s efforts to relocate federal agencies outside of Washington, D.C., something the president has taken steps to start doing. Guidance issued in February from the Trump administration instructed federal agencies to submit any proposed relocation of agency bureaus and offices by April 14, instructions that were tied to the president’s broader efforts to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government. The pair of companion bills from Democrats in the House and Senate seeks to require agencies to conduct and share a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis with Congress and the public prior to any relocations. ELON MUSK SAYS DOGE WILL INVESTIGATE ‘STRANGELY WEALTHY’ LAWMAKERS: ‘NOBODY CAN EXPLAIN THAT’ “Everyone standing here, every one of my colleagues, wants to get rid of fraud, waste and abuse… but that rhetoric [from the administration] is a cover for an agenda that is perverse and contrary to the interests of the United States of America,” Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said during a press conference held at the Capitol announcing the new legislative effort. “All of this is targeted at depleting the federal workforce and nullifying the government of the United States,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., added. “That is the philosophy that is driving this entire thing.” ELON MUSK AND DOGE TEAM SIT DOWN WITH BRET BAIER IN ‘SPECIAL REPORT’ EXCLUSIVE CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen previously introduced “The COST of Relocations Act” in 2020, and again in 2023. “We hoped [the bill] wouldn’t be necessary again, but it is,” Van Hollen stated at the press conference. “It’s necessary in order to stop Donald Trump and Elon Musk from wasting American taxpayer dollars by sabotaging services that the American public depends on.”
WATCH: Dems dodge on calling Tesla attacks acts of ‘domestic terrorism’
After taking to social media to announce he was ditching his Tesla because it was made by an “a–hole” he claimed is damaging the country, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., refused to say whether Democrats’ inflammatory rhetoric against Elon Musk is to blame for the ongoing spate of attacks against Tesla owners and dealers across the country. Kelly also refused to say whether the attacks — some of which have involved shooting at and throwing Molotov cocktails into dealerships — qualify as “domestic terrorism.” The Arizona senator admitted that “it’s certainly vandalism and it’s a crime, a significant crime, especially if you firebomb a car or vandalize somebody’s vehicle, or even key somebody’s vehicle, you shouldn’t be doing it.” While Kelly said those responsible should be tried and prosecuted, pressed by Fox News Digital on whether the attacks qualify as terrorism, he responded, “I think we’ve got to tread lightly on the whole ‘terrorist’ word.” OVER 200 ‘TESLA TAKEDOWN’ PROTESTS ERUPT NATIONWIDE “Sometimes trying to expand this thing, it kind of loses its focus,” he said. “But when folks are vandalizing people’s vehicles or dealerships, it is wrong and it is dangerous. Somebody’s going to get hurt. For that reason, we should let the full force of law enforcement get to this problem and prosecute it.” There have been at least 80 acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, and at least 10 incidents of vandalism and arson against Tesla dealerships, charging stations and properties. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the Justice Department is investigating the incidents as “domestic terrorism.” Leading Democrats, however, have been largely silent on the issue, with few being willing to condemn the attacks as acts of terrorism. THE LOUDEST SILENCE: TOP DEMOCRATS REMAIN MUM AMID VIOLENT ATTACKS ON TESLA Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who, in a 2023 CNN interview, accused Republicans who criticized her of engaging in “stochastic terrorism” — that is, incitement of violent political action — also refused to say whether Democrats’ anti-Musk rhetoric should be held responsible for the attacks. Fox News Digital asked Ocasio-Cortez whether she sees a connection between language against Musk and the violent incidents across the nation. Cortez began to answer, saying, “Yeah, I mean, again, I’ve seen Republicans call me ‘communist’ and that I ‘hate this country,’” before trailing off. Meanwhile, Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., refused to label the attacks as even violent, saying, “While I have no opinion on what’s been going on, I actually haven’t been following that much, but let’s be precise about our language — ‘violence’ is against human beings.” EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: AOC REFUSES TO SAY WHETHER DEMOCRATS’ RHETORIC IS RESPONSIBLE FOR TESLA ATTACKS Asked about Democrats’ rhetoric, Lee said it is important to “recognize the difference between the frustration of people that is maybe organic, but also the language that is coming from people who are in power.” “Donald Trump is in power and he’s abusing that and it’s going to harm people and has already,” she said. “Because of the rhetoric from the administration, because of the rhetoric from the right, we’re seeing American citizens being picked up, we’re seeing a lot of profiling that’s happening, I think that that’s incredibly dangerous and again those are being perpetrated against people.” Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., also attempted to turn the question around, saying President Donald Trump “in effect… told people to resort to violence” at his rally on Jan. 6, 2021. Hoyer said he discourages anyone from resorting to violence but advocated for peaceful ways of telling Trump and Musk “how angry we are.” TESLA HYPOCRISY: DEMS CONTINUE INVESTING IN ELON MUSK COMPANY DESPITE PAINTING HIM AS VILLAIN “Effectively, he [Musk] and Trump are both trying to profit from being president. And this is unheard of what Musk is doing,” said Hoyer. “I’m opposed to all violence, beginning with the Jan. 6th insurrection,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told Fox News Digital. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who has been warned by Bondi to “tread lightly” after seeming to threaten Musk by calling for him to be “taken down,” refused to answer the question, while her security got into the face of the Fox News Digital reporter. Republicans, in the meantime, hammered that the attacks are obvious examples of terrorism. JASMINE CROCKETT SAYS SHE WAS HIRED AS A PUBLIC DEFENDER BECAUSE SHE WAS BLACK “I think it’s awful, they need to bust their a–,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. “Elon doesn’t even own a majority share of it anymore. All you’re doing is hurting Americans.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Rep. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., pointed out that “when we boycotted Bud Light over their support over these radical issues, we didn’t just say, ‘We’re going to burn down Bud Light manufacturers.’ We just didn’t buy it.” “What you see these woke, radical liberals doing to a car they used to want championed, is lighting them on fire, destroying property, that’s not how adults behave,” McDowell said, adding, “they’re behaving like criminals.”