Trump signs $9B rescissions package into law, revoking funding for foreign aid, NPR
President Donald Trump signed into law his roughly $9 billion rescissions package to scale back already approved federal funds for foreign aid and public broadcasting Thursday, after both chambers of Congress approved the legislation earlier in the month, sources familiar to the matter have confirmed. The signing marks another legislative victory for the Trump administration just two weeks after the president signed into law his massive tax and domestic policy measure, dubbed the “big, beautiful bill.” The rescissions package pulls back nearly $8 billion in funding Congress already approved for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a previously independent agency that provided impoverished countries aid and offered development assistance. However, USAID has faced layoffs and has been absorbed into the State Department amid concerns from the Trump administration that the organization did not advance U.S. core interests. ‘LONG OVERDUE’: SENATE REPUBLICANS SLAM THROUGH TRUMP’S CLAWBACK PACKAGE WITH CUTS TO FOREIGN AID, NPR The rescissions package also pulls more than $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) that provides federal funding for NPR and PBS. The total $9 billion cut is a fraction of a percent of the entire national debt, which currently sits at about $36.7 trillion as of Wednesday. The House previously approved its version of the rescissions package in June, and voted on the final version of the measure early Friday after the Senate narrowly approved the measure by a 51–48 margin early on the morning od July 17. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted alongside Democrats to oppose the package. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that the measure aligned with other priorities to eradicate waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government and is a step in the right direction. “I appreciate all the work the administration has done in identifying wasteful spending,” Thune said in a speech ahead of the vote. “And now it’s time for the Senate to do its part to cut some of that waste out of the budget. It’s a small but important step toward fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue.” SENATE MARCHES TOWARD PASSING TRUMP’S $9B CLAWBACK BILL AFTER DRAMATIC LATE-NIGHT VOTES Meanwhile, Democrats have said that the cuts to foreign aid are a win for China and Russia, and that the package puts national security at risk. Additionally, Democrats argue Republicans’ employment of rescissions sets a dangerous precedent that could jeopardize a host of programs down the line. “If Republicans slash more American aid, it will create a dangerous vacuum that the Chinese Communist Party will continue to eagerly fill,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said July 15 on the Senate floor. TRUMP’S $9 BILLION CLAWBACK PASSES FIRST SENATE TEST, WHILE MORE HURDLES AWAIT “They are using pocket rescissions to poison the bipartisan appropriations process, to break the law to steal funds that Congress appropriated, and they’re doing it at a party-line vote,” Schumer said. “Worse, they’re letting Donald Trump decide for himself which programs to defund, and that puts everything at risk – healthcare, education, food assistance, public health. Everything – everything – becomes at risk. That is what happens if a package like this is allowed to become law.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Although Trump previously attempted to advance a rescissions package in 2018 that also targeted foreign aid and public broadcasting funds during his first term, it failed to gain support in the Senate after Collins and then-Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., voted against it. The last time Congress approved a rescissions package was in 1999. Fox News’ Alex Miller contributed to this report.
Alina Habba defiant after judges vote against her in New Jersey: ‘I don’t cower to pressure’
Alina Habba signaled Thursday that she does not plan to leave her role as the temporary U.S. attorney of New Jersey, announcing she does “not cower” to pressure after federal judges voted against extending her term. Habba, a former personal defense attorney to President Donald Trump, wrote in a statement online that she has been appointed the “acting” U.S. attorney, a shift from her prior job title. “Donald J. Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondi is the Attorney General. And I am now the Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,” Habba wrote. “I don’t cower to pressure. I don’t answer to politics. This is a fight for justice. And I’m all in.” A Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesman told Fox News Digital that Habba was now serving as the acting U.S. attorney, rather than the “interim” position that she previously held. DOJ SWIFTLY FIRES ALINA HABBA’S COURT-APPOINTED REPLACEMENT The maneuvers by Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to keep Habba as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey are governed by a set of arcane federal vacancy laws. Those same laws also gave the New Jersey district court judges the authority to vote on whether to extend Habba’s 120-day term as interim U.S. attorney or to replace her. In a rare move, they chose to replace her with Habba’s No. 2, Desiree Grace, but Bondi promptly fired Grace, leaving open the question of who would take the role. ALINA HABBA SAYS AMERICA WAS ‘OFF‑TRACK’ FOR A LONG TIME The DOJ has said Habba’s term as “interim” U.S. attorney expires Friday. Fox News Digital learned that Habba resigned before that expiration day and that she was re-appointed as acting U.S. attorney, which has a 210-day term limit. According to the judges’ appointment, Grace would take over come Saturday, but it is unclear if the judges’ vote is valid now given the changes to Habba’s job, and it is possible that the legal confusion could lead to a court fight. Grace, a career prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office since 2016, wrote in a LinkedIn post after she was fired that it “has been the honor of a lifetime to represent the United States and to serve the people of New Jersey” and that she planned to be sworn in on Saturday. WHITE HOUSE HITS BACK AT DEM MAYOR SUING US ATTORNEY AFTER ICE ARREST: ‘DESPERATE ATTEMPT’ “Yesterday the District Judges for the District of New Jersey selected me to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,” Grace wrote. “It will forever be the greatest honor that they selected me on merit, and I’m prepared to follow that Order and begin to serve in accordance with the law.” Trump has also nominated Habba to serve the full, four-year role as the permanent U.S. attorney, but that position requires Senate approval and Habba has no clear path to confirmation. New Jersey’s two Democratic senators, Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, are currently holding up her nomination through the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, and a person familiar with the matter said the Trump administration has not submitted any material for the Senate to vet Habba’s nomination in any case. Booker said in a statement after Grace’s firing that the Trump administration has violated the law. “The firing of a career public servant, lawfully appointed by the court, is another blatant attempt to intimidate anyone that doesn’t agree with them and undermine judicial independence,” Booker wrote on social media. “This Administration may not like the law, but they are not above it.”
West Point Bible crest controversy spurs Pentagon lawsuit from conservative watchdog
FIRST ON FOX: A conservative judicial and government watchdog group has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Defense over documents related to a controversy surrounding the U.S. Military Academy at West Point crest on Bibles in the West Point Cadet Chapel. Judicial Watch originally submitted a FOIA request in December 2024 for documents related to the Bibles, after the MacArthur Society, a group for West Point graduates concerned about potential politicization at the military academy, tipped them off to the potential removal of the crest from the Bibles. The original request for the documents said: “Upon information and belief, the West Point Crest has appeared on the cover of the Bibles in the West Point Chapel since 1984, but circa December 2024, the Crest has been removed from the Bibles.” It’s unclear why the crest was removed, prompting Judicial Watch to file the original FOIA request to learn more about the decision, amid concerns that the military academy is seeking to wipe out any affiliation with what the group calls “traditional values.” Mixing religious material with military paraphernalia has come under scrutiny in the past. For example, all four branches of the military yanked approval in 2012 for a military series of Holman Christian Standard Bibles that were sold at military exchanges, due to concerns that the series signaled the Bible was the official religious text of the military services, according to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. The West Point crest has undergone multiple variations, but historically has featured an eagle above the school’s mascot, the Black Knights. A spokesperson for West Point told Fox News Digital that the chapel’s Bibles now feature the name of the military academy. “The bibles purchased for the West Point Cadet Chapel are emblazoned, ‘The United States Miliary Academy, West Point, New York,’” the spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. The Department of Defense told Fox News Digital it does not comment on pending litigation. WEST POINT DECISION TO CUT ‘DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY’ FROM MISSION STATEMENT UNDER FIRE AGAIN’ Even so, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit for the documents pertaining to the Bibles Tuesday after receiving no response for the requested records. “It appears the Biden administration and its leftist accomplices were determined to sever all connections between West Point and traditional values,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “They added divisive DEI programs to the curriculum and removed ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ from the Military Academy’s mission statement. Now, we learn they removed the West Point crest from Bibles in the West Point Chapel. It’s a wonder they didn’t remove the Bibles.” This isn’t the first time West Point has come under scrutiny from the conservative watchdog. HEGSETH QUIPS ‘99.9%’ OF DEI INITIATIVES ARE GONE FROM THE MILITARY UNDER TRUMP’S WATCH In May, Judicial Watch claimed that West Point engaged in a “cover up” scheme when it altered its mission statement in 2024 from “duty, honor, country” to “Army Values.” According to the watchdog group, the change was part of an effort to advance a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) agenda. Even so, West Point’s mission statement has been changed nine times in the past century, and the words “duty, honor, country” didn’t make it into West Point’s mission statement until 1998. When asked about the mission statement change in May, an Army spokesperson directed Fox News Digital to West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland’s original announcement: “Our absolute focus on developing leaders of character ready to lead our Army’s Soldiers on increasingly lethal battlefields remains unchanged.” West Point is one of several U.S. military academies that trains students to become military officers. TRUMP DOD CREATES TASK FORCE TO ABOLISH DEI OFFICES THAT ‘PROMOTE SYSTEMIC RACISM’
Trump foe Boasberg to grill DOJ over migrant flights in heated hearing
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg will hear from immigration lawyers and the Trump administration in court on Thursday as he weighs new facts and allegations at the heart of one of the biggest immigration cases of President Donald Trump’s second term — setting the stage for another heated court fight. Boasberg did not immediately signal which motions he would consider during the hearing. However, it comes after Boasberg found himself at the center of Trump’s ire and attacks on so-called “activist” judges this year, following his March 15 temporary restraining order that sought to block Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act — a 1798 wartime immigration law — to quickly deport hundreds of Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador earlier this year. Boasberg also ordered all planes bound for El Salvador to be “immediately” returned to U.S. soil, which did not happen. His emergency order touched off a complex legal saga that ultimately spawned dozens of federal court challenges across the country — though the one brought before his court on March 15 was the very first — and later prompted the Supreme Court to rule, on two separate occasions, that the hurried removals had violated migrants’ due process protections under the U.S. Constitution. Boasberg, as a result, has emerged as the man at the center of the legal fallout. While the order itself has been in a bit of a holding pattern — the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia stayed the order two months ago, when they agreed to review the ruling — Thursday’s hearing could revive the bitterly divisive court fight once more. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? Boasberg is expected to consider plaintiffs’ motions to reopen limited discovery, citing new evidence — including a recent U.N. report stating that, according to Salvadoran officials, the U.S. holds sole legal responsibility and custody over migrants transferred to CECOT. Other submissions include a whistleblower report from former Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni, who worked on the case shortly before his removal. Trump administration officials have repeatedly excoriated Boasberg as an “activist judge” — a term they have employed for judges who have either paused or blocked Trump’s sweeping policy priorities enacted via executive order. Trump himself floated the idea that Boasberg could be impeached earlier this year— prompting Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a rare public warning. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE Tensions between Boasberg and the Trump administration soared to a fever pitch earlier this year after Boasberg in April said he had found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for failing to return the planes to U.S. soil, in accordance with his emergency order, and said the court had determined that the Trump administration demonstrated a “willful disregard” for his order. The Trump administration appealed the findings to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In June, Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to provide all noncitizens deported from the U.S. to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador to be afforded the opportunity to seek habeas relief in court, and challenge their alleged gang status. “Such was the situation into which Frengel Reyes Mota, Andry Jose Hernandez Romero, and scores of other Venezuelan noncitizens say they were plunged on March 15, 2025,” Boasberg said. Thursday’s hearing comes amid a flurry of new reports and allegations filed by plaintiffs in the case in an effort to reopen discovery.
Key immigration proposal vows to end ‘backdoor hiring practices’ in American universities
EXCLUSIVE: A new Republican proposal introduced on Wednesday would scrap the H-1B visa exception for higher education staff. There is currently a 65,000-person cap for the visa, with exceptions for higher education and other select groups, including an extra 20,000 that can be doled out to those with master’s degrees or beyond. The “Colleges for the American People Act of 2025” from Rep. Tom Tiffany would repeal the carveout made in the Immigration and Nationality Act, and have those from other countries seeking to work in higher education go through the normal H-1B visa process. RUBIO OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO HARVARD’S USE OF INTERNATIONAL VISAS, CITING NATIONAL SECURITY “American students spend years earning degrees, only to watch universities hand good-paying jobs to foreign workers on special visas,” Tiffany said in a statement. “The CAP Act ensures our institutions invest in the people they are meant to serve and ends the backdoor hiring practices that undercut American workers.” The proposal would not be retroactive, so current H-1B visa holders at universities could still apply for their extension without going towards the limit. The legislation is co-sponsored by Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Georgia. TRUMP SUSPENDS FOREIGN STUDENT VISAS AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY AMID NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS The conservative outlet Wisconsin Right Now reported that there are 495 staffers in Wisconsin’s university system who have the visa, which comes with roughly a $43 million annual price tag for salaries. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE For fiscal year 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services got enough petitions for the H-1B visa caps as of last week. The visas continue to be a major point of debate across the political spectrum, as some argue that they boost business capabilities in the United States, especially in the technology sector. Others, like Sen. Bernie Sanders, have blasted them as exploitative. STATE DEPARTMENT NOW SCRUTINIZING ALL VISA HOLDERS ASSOCIATED WITH HARVARD “The main function of the H-1B visa program and other guest worker initiatives is not to hire ‘the best and the brightest,’ but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad,” the Vermont senator posted to X in January. “The cheaper the labor they hire, the more money the billionaires make.” As of 2019, there were just under 600,000 H-1B visa holders, according to USCIS data. The Trump administration could make other reforms to the program soon, according to GovTech. Besides H-1B visas, student visas in some cases have also recently come under fire, particularly at Harvard University. The State Department announced on Wednesday that they are looking into whether it can continue to be part of the Exchange Visitor Program due to “national security” concerns.
Senate Republicans call on DOJ to appoint special counsel in Obama-Russia investigation
FIRST ON FOX: Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, are asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to appoint a special counsel to investigate newly declassified information about the Obama administration’s intelligence assessments about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Graham and Cornyn’s call for a special counsel, which Fox News Digital learned they are announcing Thursday morning, comes the day after the Department of Justice (DOJ) created a “strike force” to investigate the evidence, which was declassified by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard this month. Graham and Cornyn, both senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, did not address the strike force but indicated in a statement that special counsels, who are outside officials brought in to oversee politically sensitive cases, operate independently of the attorney general. Fox News reached out to the DOJ for comment on the special counsel request. DOJ FORMS RUSSIAGATE ‘STRIKE FORCE’ TO INVESTIGATE DECLASSIFIED OBAMA-ERA EVIDENCE “As we have supported in the past, appointing an independent special counsel would do the country a tremendous service in this case,” Graham and Cornyn said. Gabbard’s declassified intelligence shed new light on the Obama administration’s determination that Russia sought to help President Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Gabbard alleged Wednesday during a press briefing that Obama and his intelligence officials promoted a “contrived narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump win, selling it to the American people as though it were true. It wasn’t.” Graham, who previously served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led the Senate’s inquiry into the FBI’s investigation into alleged Trump-Russia collusion and released a tranche of documents in 2020 suggesting the bureau had a flimsy basis for opening its investigation into Trump. RUSSIA SAT ON INTEL OF HILLARY CLINTON’S ALLEGED ‘HEAVY TRANQUILIZERS’ USE, NEW DOCS CLAIM “With every piece of information that gets released, it becomes more evident that the entire Russia collusion hoax was created by the Obama administration to subvert the will of the American people,” Graham and Cornyn said. Their remarks follow Trump accusing former President Barack Obama of “treason” this week and after the DOJ opened criminal investigations into former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey. Critics say Gabbard’s claims have been contradicted by past congressional reviews, some of which were led by Republicans. Obama, meanwhile, issued a statement in response to the wave of headlines suggesting he attempted to hurt Trump’s election chances. “Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,” Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said. “But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.” This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Trump stands by Alina Habba as DOJ clashes with judges over her replacement
President Donald Trump is doubling down on his nomination of Alina Habba after federal judges in New Jersey declined to extend her term as interim U.S. attorney, and instead chose to replace her with a different prosecutor, whom the DOJ subsequently fired. The unusual chain of events has led to confusion over who will become the next interim U.S. attorney in the District of New Jersey, as Habba’s 120-day term is set to expire this week. A White House spokesman said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital that Trump supports Habba becoming the permanent U.S. attorney, a position that requires Senate confirmation. DOJ SWIFTLY FIRES HABBA’S COURT-APPOINTED REPLACEMENT FOR US ATTORNEY “President Trump has full confidence in Alina Habba, whose work as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey has made the Garden State and the nation safer,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields said. “The Trump Administration looks forward to her final confirmation in the U.S. Senate and will work tirelessly to ensure the people of New Jersey are well represented.” But Habba’s vote in the Senate does not appear to be happening anytime soon, if at all. New Jersey’s two Democratic senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, are currently blocking Habba’s nomination through the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, and a person familiar with the process said the Senate has not received materials needed to vet her nomination in any case. In the meantime, arcane laws surrounding the authority to fill federal vacancies have become pertinent. Trump appointed Habba as the temporary U.S. attorney in March, but that term expires on Friday, according to the Department of Justice. Statutes indicate that federal judges have the authority to extend an interim U.S. attorney’s term or vote on replacing that person. The district court judges of New Jersey, most of whom were appointed by Democratic presidents, convened behind closed doors on Monday and chose to replace Habba with her top assistant, Desiree Grace, a career DOJ prosecutor since 2016. Grace rose through the ranks to become head of the criminal division in New Jersey before becoming Habba’s No. 2 in April. ALINA HABBA: WE MUST REFOCUS TAXPAYER DOLLARS ON IMPORTANT THINGS However, Attorney General Pam Bondi alleged that the judges infringed on Trump’s authority to appoint U.S. attorneys by voting to replace Habba. Bondi said she “removed” Grace in response to the judges’ actions. “[Habba] has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again,” Bondi said in a statement. “Nonetheless, politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position, replacing Alina with the First Assistant. Accordingly, the First Assistant United States Attorney in New Jersey has just been removed.” Grace could not be reached for comment. An anonymous source with knowledge of the matter told the New York Times that Grace received an email Tuesday informing her that she was fired. WHITE HOUSE HITS BACK AT DEM MAYOR SUING US ATTORNEY AFTER ICE ARREST: ‘DESPERATE ATTEMPT’ A Habba spokeswoman told Fox News Digital that Habba is still the interim U.S. attorney through Friday. But the tension between the DOJ and the judges leaves open the question of who will assume the role come Saturday. Booker said that firing a court-appointed U.S. attorney was part of a “pattern” of the DOJ flouting the law. “The firing of a career public servant, lawfully appointed by the court, is another blatant attempt to intimidate anyone that doesn’t agree with them and undermine judicial independence,” Booker wrote on X. Booker is among the critics who have deemed Habba unqualified for the job. Habba, who served as Trump’s legal spokeswoman and personal defense lawyer during his criminal prosecutions, had no experience as a prosecutor before Trump appointed her as lead prosecutor in New Jersey. Upon taking the job, Habba was accused of politicizing the role after she advocated turning New Jersey “red,” and she drew a rare rebuke from a judge for ordering Newark’s Democratic mayor arrested and then quickly dismissing the charges. But Trump and DOJ leadership are standing firmly by Habba. The Trump administration found a workaround in the Northern District of New York when John Sarcone’s term as U.S. attorney recently expired there, but it is unclear if a similar option is available for Habba. Anne Joseph O’Connell, a Stanford Law School professor, wrote on Bluesky that she believed Trump had the authority to fire Grace and possibly re-appoint Habba to serve out another temporary term. “The question now is, will they name Habba to a new 120-day interim US attorney appointment or will they turn to the Vacancies Act and name a different person as acting U.S. attorney,” O’Connell wrote.
‘Shirts and Skins’: How one Republican bridged the gap to pass Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
FIRST ON FOX: Passing President Donald Trump’s agenda was a team effort between the Senate and House, but one Senate Republican was key in smoothing over differences between the two chambers. “There’s an inherent mistrust between senators and representatives,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital in an interview. “There’s a deep, deep mistrust, and it’s like we’re playing shirts and skins with our own team.” “And trying to break down that barrier and let people know, ‘Hey, we’re all on the same team,’ is a little tougher than what people think,” he continued. SCHUMER, DEMOCRATS TRY TO SAVE FACE, BLAME GOP FOR POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN House Republicans were dead set on crafting one, colossal package, while Senate Republicans preferred splitting the bill into two — even three — pieces. Then there were disagreements over the depth of spending cuts, changes to Medicaid and carveouts to boost the cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT). And while the House GOP worked to craft their version of the massive, $3.3 trillion tax cuts and spending package that eventually made its way to the Senate, Mullin was a crucial figure in bridging the roughly 100-yard gap between both sides of the Capitol. But it’s a job he never really wanted. Mullin, who has been in Washington for over a decade, got his start in the House before being elected to the Senate in 2021. He wanted to maintain “lifelong friendships” with his House colleagues, but becoming the de facto liaison between the chambers was more a decision of practicality than one he truly desired. “The first couple of deputy whip meetings we had when [Senate Majority Leader John Thune] was whip was discussing what the House is going to do, and no one knew,” Mullin said. “And I was like, ‘Man, it’s just down the hall, we can go walk and talk to them.’ So the first time I did that, I went to the [House GOP] conference and just talked.” ‘ALL THE OPTIONS’: GOP EYES CUTTING AUGUST RECESS TO MOVE DOZENS OF TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY DEMS “And then it just turned into me going to Thune and saying, ‘Hey, why don’t I just become a liaison between the two?’ So I didn’t, I never envisioned of doing that, other than just keeping a relationship, but it was a natural fit,” he continued. That role began when former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who Mullin had a longstanding relationship with, led the House GOP, and has continued since House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., took the helm in 2023. And it paid dividends during the six-month slog to draft and pass Trump’s budget reconciliation bill, which required full buy-in from congressional Republicans to do so given that no Democrats were involved in the process. Markwayne said that before the bill even made it to the Senate in early June, he played a role in ensuring that House Republicans didn’t “dump a ton of stuff in there” that would be nixed by Senate rules. He effectively ping-ponged back and forth between the chambers, jetting from morning workouts to speak with lawmakers, meeting with House Republicans during their weekly conference confabs or holding smaller discussions with lawmakers, particularly blue state Republicans concerned about changes to SALT, to get everyone on roughly the same page. Much of it broke down to explaining how the Senate’s Byrd rule, which governs reconciliation and allows either party to skirt the Senate filibuster to pass legislation, worked. “I mean, even though I spent 12 or 10 years in the House, I never understood the Byrd rule, but why would I? I didn’t have to deal with it,” he said. “So really getting to understand that, and breaking down that barrier helped.” GOP SENATOR REVEALS THE ‘DIRTY’ SECRET TO TRUMP’S MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN MOVEMENT The flow of information wasn’t just one way, however. His discussions with House Republicans helped him better inform his colleagues in the upper chamber of their priorities, and what could and couldn’t be touched as Senate Republicans began putting their fingerprints on the bill. SALT was the main issue that he focused on, and one that most Senate Republicans didn’t care much for. Still, it was a make-or-break agreement to raise the caps, albeit temporarily, to $40,000 for single and joint filers for the next five years, that helped seal the deal for anxious blue state House Republicans. “Just keeping them informed through the process was very important,” he said. “But at the same time, talking to the House, and when we’re negotiating over here, I’d be like, ‘No guys, that’s a killer,’” he said. “We can’t do that if you, if you touch this, it’s dead over there for sure. Guaranteed, it’s dead.” Over time, his approach to the role has changed, an evolution he said was largely influenced by Thune. A self-described “bull in a China cabinet,” Mullin said that for a time his negotiating style was arguing with lawmakers to convince them “why you’re wrong.” But that style softened after watching Thune, he said, and saw him talking less and listening more. “I took his lead off of it to let people talk,” he said. “Sometimes you’re going to find out that they’re actually upset about something that had nothing to do with the bill, but they’re taking that, and they’re holding the bill hostage to be able to let this one point be heard.” “I don’t think it was a good indication that we were butting heads. Everybody was very passionate about this. I mean, they’ve been working for a long time. We looked at it as maybe a once in a generation opportunity for us to be able to get this done,” he continued. “We wanted to get it right, but everybody wanted to have their fingerprint on it and at the end of the day, we knew we [had] to bring it to the floor.”
RNC Chair Michael Whatley to seek open Republican-held Senate seat in battleground North Carolina: sources
Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley will run for the open GOP-held Senate seat in battleground North Carolina with the blessing of President Donald Trump, two sources familiar confirm to Fox News. This, after the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, apparently decided not to seek the seat. The seat is currently held by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who announced late last month that he wouldn’t run for re-election in next year’s midterm elections. Whatley’s news, which was first reported by Politico Thursday morning, comes a day after Fox News confirmed that former two-term Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is expected to launch a Senate campaign in the North Carolina race. Cooper’s announcement could come as early as next week. TILLIS DENOUNCES TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ HOURS AFTER SURPRISE RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT The showdown in North Carolina is expected to be one of the most competitive and expensive Senate battles in the country. Cooper’s announcement could come as early as next week. National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina met with Whatley to discuss the North Carolina race, a GOP operative told Fox News. RNC CHAIR SAYS ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ KEY TO GOP’S MESSAGING EFFORT HEADED INTO MIDTERMS The NRSC, since January, had been floating Whatley as a potential replacement for Tillis. Whatley, a North Carolina native, served as the state’s GOP chair for five years before he was elected RNC chair last March. Trump called Tillis’ announcement last month that he wouldn’t seek a third six-year term in the Senate “great news.” Tillis is a GOP critic of the president, and Trump torched the senator last month for not supporting his so-called “big, beautiful” spending and tax cut bill. With Tillis not seeking re-election, Trump is the kingmaker in selecting which Republican will be the party’s 2026 Senate nominee in North Carolina. RNC CHAIR CLAIMS MAMDANI ‘FACE OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY’ “It’s the president’s choice. The president and his team will have those conversations,” a Republican operative, pointing to Trump’s immense sway over the GOP, told Fox News last month. Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, who served last year alongside Whatley as an RNC co-chair, was at the top of the list. Trump, who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, and attended undergraduate studies at North Carolina State University, is married to the president’s son, Eric. She stepped down from her post at the RNC late last year and currently hosts “My View with Lara Trump” on the Fox News Channel. But Trump apparently decided against seeking the Senate seat. Asked in an interview last week with Fox News Digital about the open seat in North Carolina, Whatley said, “I feel very good that we’re going to be able to hold on to that seat. You know, we’ve been winning in that Senate seat down there for decades. The President has won that state three times in a row.” “If Laura Trump decides to move forward, then I think the entire ecosystem would coalesce behind her, including myself, and if she’s not going to, then we will sit down with the President and figure out what the next steps are going to be,” he added. Whatley said the battle in North Carolina is “going to be the number one Senate race in the entire country, along with Georgia, just because of the number of media markets that we have, the spending that’s going to be there, the fact that you’ve got to hold the seat and you’ve got to pick up seat in Georgia.” “We also going to have a tough race up in Maine. We’re going to have an opportunity to pick up a seat in Michigan. So, you know, there are going to be a number of key races, but that’s going to be one of the marquee races in the country,” he added. Republicans currently control the Senate with a 53-47 majority.
House Republican introduces companion bill to end China’s buying of American farmland
EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans are taking direct aim at actors tied to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) growing grip on American farmland. In an exclusive to Fox News Digital, Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., said she will introduce a House version of Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley’s “Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act” Thursday morning. The legislation is part of a growing GOP push to block the CCP from buying up U.S. farmland and homes. “Prized American land is not for sale to our enemies,” Miller said in a statement to Fox News Digital. HAWLEY MOVES TO BLOCK CHINA’S BUY-UP OF US FARMLAND AS TRUMP ADMIN SOUNDS ALARM “The Chinese Communist Party is the greatest threat to our national security, and their aggressive push to buy up our farmland and homes is a direct attack on our sovereignty. It’s long past time we take back control and put America’s food supply and communities back in American hands — where they belong,” she added. The bill comes amid rising concerns over Beijing’s growing footprint in American markets and real estate. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Chinese entities currently own roughly 265,000 acres of American agricultural land. That number has set off alarm bells for lawmakers and voters alike. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MOVES DECISIVELY TO BLOCK CHINA FROM ‘WEAPONIZING’ AMERICAN FARMLAND “For far too long, foreign adversaries have taken advantage of our farmland. While USDA doesn’t currently have the authority to prevent the purchase of farmland by foreign nationals, we are actively working to improve the accuracy of foreign-owned farmland reporting so that the public, Congress, and State governments have the relevant data needed to make informed policy decisions,” a USDA spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “This is just one of the many actions outlined in our recent National Farm Security Action Plan to defend the homeland.” Miller’s bill is the companion to Hawley’s Senate version. The proposal would ban Chinese corporations and individuals affiliated with the CCP from acquiring or leasing any agricultural land in the U.S. “China’s ownership of U.S. farmland poses a direct threat to American interests,” Hawley said. “We should never let our nation’s greatest adversary have access to our vital resources, including our housing supply. That’s why I’m reintroducing legislation to protect American assets from the CCP once and for all.” It would also prohibit purchases of U.S. residential real estate by those same entities for two years, with an option for the president to extend the ban every two years. Entities that already hold such property would be required to divest within one year of the bill becoming law. To enforce compliance, the legislation imposes steep civil fines: $100 per acre per day for illegal agricultural holdings, and $1,000 per day for residential real estate violations. Criminal penalties include up to five years in prison. Land acquired in violation of the law would be subject to forfeiture and sold at public auction. The bill also nullifies non-compete agreements involving foreign agricultural employers and establishes compliance offices within the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce to oversee enforcement. The attorney general would have the authority to seize assets and seek court orders to stop violations. Miller’s push aligns with President Donald Trump’s newly launched “National Farm Security Action Plan,” led by Trump officials including Brooke Rollins, Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem. The plan is aimed at protecting U.S. food systems and farmland from what Trump has called “foreign exploitation.” Miller’s bill will debut Thursday with a dozen Republican co-sponsors. According to Miller’s office, those backing the legislation include Reps. Pat Harrigan, Ralph Norman, Paul Gosar, Bob Onder, Marlin Stutzman, Tim Burchett, Randy Weber, Tom Tiffany, Andy Harris, Tony Wied, Michael Rulli and Eli Crane. The Senate version was introduced by Hawley last week. Like Miller’s House bill, it targets both farmland and residential properties, including homes, condos and land zoned for housing development. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Since taking office in 2021, Miller has made foreign land ownership a focus of her work in Congress. In January 2022, she and Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, introduced the “National Security Moratorium on Foreign Purchases of U.S. Land.”