Fox News Politics Newsletter: Chat Reveals Cozy Ties Between Judges, Liberal Activists
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… – Hamas losing iron grip on Gaza as US-backed group gets aid to Palestinians in need – Two Republicans vote against Trump’s $9 billion clawback of foreign aid, NPR funding – AOC talks meeting with Zohran Mamdani, ICE activity in NYC EXCLUSIVE: An environmental advocacy group accused of trying to manipulate judges organized a years-long, nationwide online forum with jurists to promote favorable info and litigation updates regarding climate issues – until the email-styled group chat was abruptly made private, Fox News Digital found. The Climate Judiciary Project (CJP) was founded in 2018 by a left-wing environmental nonprofit, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and pitches itself as a “first-of-its-kind effort” that “provides judges with authoritative, objective, and trusted education on climate science, the impacts of climate change, and the ways climate science is arising in the law.” But critics, such as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, say CJP is funded by China and left-wing activists for one purpose… READ MORE. NO MORE GAMES: Trump signs fentanyl bill into law, earning praise from state attorneys general REIGN OF TERROR: Trump’s Treasury Department targets dangerous Venezuelan prison gang with sanctions on 6 top leaders ‘DEAR GOD’: Democrats storm out of vote on controversial Trump nominee ‘DEEPLY INAPPROPRIATE’: Exclusive: Army secretary vows ‘grievous error’ targeting pro-life groups will never happen again ‘POLITICAL RETRIBUTION’: Civil rights group declares ‘state of emergency,’ pointing at Trump admin NOT BACKING DOWN: Powell shares what it would take for him to leave the Fed, book reveals EUROPE PAYS UP: Trump’s NATO deal to arm Ukraine wins over GOP skeptics BITTERSWEET 16: UK government to lower voting age to 16 before next national election despite strong conservative opposition ‘UNACCEPTABLE’: Pope demands ceasefire after Gaza’s Catholic church is hit in apparent Israeli strike BYPASSING TERROR: Hamas losing iron grip on Gaza as US-backed group gets aid to Palestinians in need KREMLIN IRE RISES: Russia threatens West with ‘preemptive strikes’ as NATO looks to deliver Patriots ‘as quickly as possible’ POWER PLAY: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy names new prime minister for first time since Russia’s war began MILITARY PIVOT: Calls for Trump to dislodge Iran-backed Houthis as terrorist movement continues attacks on commercial ships THUMBS DOWN: Democrats hit rock bottom as American voters turn away in record numbers from liberal agenda: poll ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED: Bipartisan House resolution condemns phrase that’s created firestorm for Zohran Mamdani SHOWSTOPPER: Cornyn says he’s spoken to Trump about a potential endorsement: ‘If he endorsed me, the race would be over’ NAMING NAMES: Karine Jean-Pierre, more top Biden aides to appear in House cover-up probe MOVING ON: Senate panel advances Trump’s former defense attorney Emil Bove toward federal appeals court position ‘SUSTAINED PATTERN’: Timeline of ‘scam artist’ Adam Schiff’s mortgage fraud allegations stretching back years BUDGET BATTLE LINES: SCOOP: House fiscal hawks warily accept Senate’s $9B Trump spending cuts package BROADCAST BRAWL: Two Republicans vote against Trump’s $9 billion clawback of foreign aid, NPR funding ‘SQUAD’ GOALS: AOC talks meeting with Zohran Mamdani, ICE activity in NYC ‘IT IS DISTURBING’: Mamdani sparks firestorm with resurfaced comment on abolishing private property: ‘He’s a communist’ ‘CRAZED RHETORIC’: ICE mask debate heats up as doxxing and agent assaults surge ‘I’M AN IMMIGRANT’: Trump’s immigration crackdown in LA ignites ‘same emotional notes’ for Dems, top local GOP leader says ‘ROCK BOTTOM’: Trump Jr. rips ‘communist’ Mamdani with dire prediction about NYC if he wins mayoral race DIRTY DISTRICTS: Big government, big problems: Public corruption highest in places with large bureaucracies, report says TRUTH COMES OUT: Mamdani sparks social media frenzy with viral clip discussing what happens if he runs out of money FLYER RELIEF: Noem teases ‘next big announcement’ that may change airport security rule ‘FISCAL WATCHDOG’: DeSantis taps Florida’s ‘most conservative senator’ for state CFO LINGERING QUESTIONS: Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide but ‘likely’ had help, former lawyer claims VETERAN TAKES FLIGHT: SCOOP: Former CIA officer, Air Force veteran launches GOP campaign for Dem-held Ohio district Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
DHS cancels $18.5 million in Biden-era grants designated to fund LGBTQ and DEI programs
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday the cancellation of $18.5 million in taxpayer-funded grants for the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3). The grants were designated by the Biden administration to provide taxpayer funds to various organizations that DHS says are “ideologically driven programs” promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and LGBTQ agendas. “These cancellations reflect DHS’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and national security,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. ASSAULTS ON ICE OFFICERS SURGE 830% AS DEMOCRATS CAUGHT ‘DOXING AND PHYSICALLY ASSAULTING’ AGENTS: DHS “By eliminating wasteful and ideologically driven programs, we are redirecting resources to initiatives that uphold American values, respect the rule of law and effectively combat terrorism and violence.” Some of the cuts include $851,836 to the Eradicate Hate Global Summit, which DHS refers to as a DEI organization, and $209,407 to the Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders group, which DHS says promotes radical gender ideology learning to K-12 students while targeting kids as young as kindergarten. CP3, which replaced the Office of Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention in 2021, was originally designed to be a division within DHS with a mission of strengthening the nation’s ability to prevent targeted violence and terrorism through being guided by public health principles. KRISTI NOEM CLASHES WITH NBC ANCHOR OVER ‘INHUMANE’ CONDITIONS AT ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ IN TESTY EXCHANGE However, the Biden administration, which once touted its commitment to DEI principles, directed the grants toward the controversial organizations. This is not the first time DHS has made major spending cuts to radical programs. Last month, Fox News Digital reported the agency uncovered and killed $1.5 million in additional Biden-era taxpayer-funded grants that went toward similar organizations. The DOGE-like approach will allow DHS to divert taxpayer funds within the agency, and a spokesperson said the money “will be redirected to efforts that actually protect the American people.”
Mexican woman in US illegally charged with faking her own ICE ‘kidnapping’
A Mexican illegal alien living in Los Angeles was charged with orchestrating her own fake ICE “kidnapping” to generate sympathy and solicit donations, the Justice Department announced Thursday. Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, a resident of South Los Angeles, was charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers, the DOJ said. Calderon had been living in the U.S. based on a federal law enforcement parole that expired in 2023. She is in federal custody after she allegedly faked her kidnapping. This comes after local outlet KTLA reported on a news conference held by Calderon’s “loved ones and attorneys,” who claimed she had been “kidnapped” by uniformed men in unmarked cars June 25. TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN LA IGNITES ‘SAME EMOTIONAL NOTES’ FOR DEMS, TOP LOCAL GOP LEADER SAYS The outlet reported that a woman identified as an attorney named Stephano Medina claimed Calderon was cornered in a Jack in the Box parking lot in Los Angeles by men who did not identify themselves but were possibly bounty hunters. Medina claimed Calderon was taken to the border and presented to an “ICE staffer,” who demanded she sign self-deportation paperwork. Medina said that when Calderon refused to sign the paperwork, she was taken to a warehouse until she agreed to sign the document. Fox News Digital obtained a copy of the criminal complaint against Calderon, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. An affidavit filed with the complaint alleges that Calderon and others “planned a hoax kidnapping” for their benefit, “including their own pecuniary gain.” The affidavit said that Calderon’s daughter set up a GoFundMe page to raise $4,500 after her mother was “taken by masked men in an unmarked vehicle.” ICE MASK DEBATE HEATS UP AS DOXXING AND AGENT ASSAULTS SURGE The daughter filed a missing person report with the Los Angeles Police Department, which notified Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) of Calderon’s supposed kidnapping. HSI determined Calderon was not in DHS custody and, out of concern for her safety, the agency launched its own investigation to find her. During the investigation, HSI noticed several irregularities, including that the phone calls to loved ones that Calderon had supposedly made via borrowed phones were made from her cell phone, intentionally masked to appear as an unknown number. According to the affidavit, video surveillance of Calderon’s alleged forced abduction further showed her calmly leaving the Jack in the Box parking lot and getting into a nearby sedan. Despite the video showing a marked LAPD car in the vicinity, Calderon did not make any attempts to alert officers that she was in danger. The affidavit states that “when confronted with true information that contradicted their kidnapping story,” Calderon and others lied to federal agents and “attempted to thwart law enforcement efforts” by keeping her whereabouts from law enforcement. FEDS CHARGE 3 MORE MEN IN MARYLAND MS-13 RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY INVOLVING MURDER: ‘REIGN OF TERROR’ According to a DOJ statement, HSI agents tracked Calderon down July 5 in a shopping plaza parking lot in Bakersfield, California. The statement said Calderon continued to claim she was taken by masked men and held in custody with others. She is in U.S. immigration custody and is facing a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy and up to five years for false statements if convicted of the charges. Commenting on the charges, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli thanked HSI and “all federal agents facing unprecedented levels of assaults” for “providing cool heads and professionalism during these difficult times.” Essayli said “dangerous rhetoric that ICE agents are ‘kidnapping’ illegal immigrants is being recklessly peddled by politicians and echoed in the media to inflame the public and discredit our courageous federal agents.” ILLEGAL MIGRANT ENTERS PLEA IN CRASH THAT KILLED BOY ONE DAY BEFORE HIS 12TH BIRTHDAY HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang also decried the scheme, saying, “My office invested valuable time and resources working this alleged kidnapping investigation only to discover that it was a hoax. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Diverting critical law enforcement resources is not only reckless and irresponsible, but it also endangers the community,” Wang added. “The real cost of a fraud like this is the amount of fentanyl not seized, child predators not removed from the communities and human trafficking victims not rescued because law enforcement redirected resources to recover the defendant. “We want to assure the public that allegations of criminal activity will be thoroughly investigated by HSI and our law enforcement partners and that those who engage in fraud and deception will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” The White House also chimed in on the development. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital that “the Fake News is so desperate to believe any anti-ICE narrative that they refuse to actually check the facts and instead just echo the lies they’re fed.” “The truth has come out: this was nothing more than another Fake News Hoax,” she added. “Any outlet that participated in this hoax should be ashamed and apologize to their viewers for lying to them. Trust in the media is at an all time low and this is the perfect example why.”
Karine Jean-Pierre, more top Biden aides to appear in House cover-up probe
Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is expected to sit down with House Oversight Committee investigators behind closed doors in September, Fox News Digital has learned. A House Oversight Committee aide told Fox News Digital that she’s one of four high-profile former Biden officials who have scheduled interviews with the panel. Also expected to appear in the coming weeks are Ian Sams, former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor in the White House Counsel’s Office; Andrew Bates, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Deputy Press Secretary; and Jeff Zients, former White House Chief of Staff, the aide said. Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is investigating allegations that Biden’s former top White House aides covered up signs of his mental and physical decline while in office, and whether any executive actions were commissioned via autopen without the president’s full knowledge. Biden allies have pushed back against those claims. In an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, Biden affirmed he “made every decision” on his own. This story is breaking and will be updated.
Senate panel advances Trump’s former defense attorney Emil Bove toward federal appeals court position
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to advance President Donald Trump‘s former defense attorney Emil Bove to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, clearing his nomination out of the committee to the full Senate for a vote. The narrow vote came after roughly an hour of sharp debate from Democrats on the panel, who stormed out of the committee room shortly before the vote was held. Sens. Cory Booker, D-NJ, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-NY, had unsuccessfully urged Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa to allow for more time to consider Bove’s nomination, citing concerns made by a former Justice Department attorney and whistleblower, Erez Reuveni. The lack of candor prompted Whitehouse to declare, “there’s something rotten in Denmark,” invoking Shakespeare and Booker, moments later, to unsuccessfully appeal to Grassley’s “decency and decorum.” “Debating the nomination, putting things on the record — Dear God, that’s what we are here for,” Booker erupted. “What are you afraid of?” TRUMP NOMINATES FORMER DEFENSE ATTORNEY EMIL BOVE FOR FEDERAL APPEALS COURT VACANCY In the end, their appeal was unsuccessful, and Booker joined Democrats on the panel in walking out of the room before the vote was held. The narrow confirmation vote from Republicans on the panel advances Bove’s nomination to the full Senate for a vote. It comes as Bove, a hard-charging former federal prosecutor whom Trump installed earlier this year as a senior official at the Justice Department, faces fresh scrutiny over his role in the administration. In recent weeks, a group of former federal judges and several Democrats on the committee have urged senators to reject his nomination. If confirmed by the Senate, he would serve a lifetime appointment on the federal bench, which has jurisdiction in the districts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Grassley rejected a request Tuesday afternoon from Democrats on the panel to hold a second round of hearings on Bove’s nomination, noting that, under the Democrat majority, the panel rejected at least four such requests made by Republicans. “Many times during the last Administration, then-chairman Durbin said ‘there cannot be one set of rules for Republicans on this committee and another set of rules for Democrats,’” Grassley said. “I agree with this statement and intend to adhere to the precedent of then-Chairman Durbin.” Grassley added that Bove had participated in a lengthy confirmation hearing last month, testifying under oath about whistleblower allegations made by a former Justice Department attorney. Bove said under oath at the time, “I have never advised a Department of Justice attorney to violate a court order.” Grassley also noted that Bove provided members of the panel with 165 pages of written responses to their questions. “Following a comprehensive review of the additional documents that you published following the hearing and discussed in the media, I do not believe that they substantiate any misconduct by Mr. Bove,” Grassley said, outlining plans to move forward with the vote as planned. HAWLEY URGES DHS SECRETARY NOEM TO DECLASSIFY ALL TRUMP BUTLER RALLY ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT DOCUMENTS “I am not anybody’s henchman,” Bove told the committee at his confirmation hearing last month. “I’m not an enforcer. I’m a lawyer from a small town, who never expected to be in an arena like this.” Bove, who spent nearly 10 years as a prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, previously represented Trump as his personal attorney in two criminal cases following his first term as president. As a prosecutor and at the Justice Department, he has earned a reputation for his fierce — and at times, aggressive — leadership style. One longtime defense lawyer who crossed paths with Bove in New York told Fox News Digital the nominee was an arrogant “bully” and browbeat people. At the Justice Department, Bove has also emerged as the man behind some of the administration’s most contentious actions, including the decision to drop federal corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, prompting some officials to resign rather than carry out his marching orders. TRUMP FACES JUDGE BOASBERG OVER MIGRANT DEPORTATION FLIGHTS DEFYING COURT ORDER These allegations were detailed in part by an explosive whistleblower report last month from former Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni, who also detailed Bove’s role in ousting some federal prosecutors involved in the investigations into the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot, and his alleged role in ordering department officials to ignore court orders with regard to the Alien Enemies Act According to Reuveni, Bove “explicitly plotted to violate court orders” and directed law enforcement officers “to engage in illegal acts,” among other things. Reuveni, a 15-year DOJ veteran who was fired after struggling to defend the Trump administration’s deportations in a U.S. court case in Maryland, said in the whistleblower complaint that Bove shocked longtime career officials handling immigration cases by telling them they would “need to consider telling the courts ‘f*** you’ and ignore any such court order.” The report prompted new concerns from former judges, including a group of more than 75 former federal and state judges, who urged lawmakers Tuesday to reject Bove’s nomination — citing what they described in a letter as his “egregious record” at the Justice Department, according to the allegations from Reuveni. “These are not actions of someone committed to equal justice under the law,” the group said in a letter. “Rather, they reflect a troubling pattern of abusing prosecutorial discretion to shield political allies.” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has worked closely with Bove for years, told Fox News Digital in an interview ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing last month that Bove is a “freaking brilliant lawyer,” and described his nomination to the appellate court as a “no-brainer.” Blanche described his colleague as the “most gentle, empathetic, great person that anybody could ever work with.”
Timeline of ‘scam artist’ Adam Schiff’s mortgage fraud allegations stretching back years
Longtime President Donald Trump political foe Democrat California Sen. Adam Schiff was referred to the Department of Justice to face criminal prosecution over alleged mortgage fraud that reportedly stretches back years. Schiff, who was elected to the Senate in the 2024 election cycle following decades as a House lawmaker, is under scrutiny after the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a letter to the Department of Justice in May sounding the alarm that in “multiple instances,” Schiff allegedly “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003-2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property.” FHFA is an independent federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank System. This week, Trump publicly lambasted Schiff over the alleged mortgage fraud, while Fannie Mae’s financial crimes investigations concluded Monday in a letter to the FHFA that Schiff allegedly engaged in “a sustained pattern of possible occupancy misrepresentation” on five Fannie Mae loans, Fox News Digital previously reported this week. WATCH: ADAM SCHIFF SILENT AFTER TRUMP ACCUSED HIM OF MORTGAGE FRAUD “I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist,” Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday. “And now I learn that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division have concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud.” “Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America, when he must LIVE in CALIFORNIA because he was a Congressman from CALIFORNIA. I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook. The FRAUD began with the refinance of his Maryland property on February 6, 2009, and continued through multiple transactions until the Maryland property was correctly designated as a second home on October 13, 2020.” Potomac, Maryland, is a suburb of Washington, D.C., located just more than 10 miles away from the nation’s capital across the Maryland border. FEDERAL HOUSING OFFICIAL SUBMITTED SCHIFF CRIMINAL REFERRAL TO DOJ OVER MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS Trump and Schiff have long been political foes, which was underscored during Trump’s first administration when Schiff served as the lead House manager during the first impeachment trial against Trump in 2020 and when Schiff repeatedly promoted claims that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia Fox News Digital took a look back at the timeline of Schiff’s Maryland home, and when the public was first made aware in 2023 of allegations that Schiff claimed a more than 3,000-square-foot home in the suburbs of Washington as his primary residence, while taking a homeowner’s tax exemption on a small condo in his home state of California. TRUMP ACCUSES ‘SCAM ARTIST’ SCHIFF OF LYING ABOUT MARYLAND HOME TO COMMIT MORTGAGE FRAUD LETITIA JAMES REAPS WHAT SHE SOWS AFTER LEVELING ‘LAUGHABLE’ CASE AT TRUMP: EXPERT The investigation into Schiff’s mortgages and homes follows a similar mortgage investigation earlier in 2025 focused on New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is also a longtime political Trump foe. The FHFA sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice in April arguing the attorney general appeared to have falsified mortgage records to obtain more favorable loans. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP At the heart of that case is a Norfolk, Virginia, home James purchased in 2023, which she identified on mortgage documents and a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac form as a property that would serve as her primary residence, according to the FHFA letter from April. James is legally required to live in New York as a statewide elected official in the Empire State. Fox News Digital reached out to Schiff’s office for additional comment on the matter, but did not immediately receive a reply. Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
‘Dear God’: Democrats storm out of vote on controversial Trump nominee
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee stormed out of an executive committee meeting Thursday moments before the panel voted to advance President Donald Trump‘s judicial nominee, Emil Bove, to the full Senate floor for a vote. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., urged Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, before the vote to allow them to consider the allegations against Bove made by a former Justice Department attorney, Erez Reuveni, in a whistleblower report. Booker invoked Rule 4 of the committee rules in trying to push for additional debate time, which Grassley declined to acknowledge before ordering the vote — prompting the Democrat members of the panel to abruptly exit the hearing room. Shortly before walking out, Booker took aim at Grassley. “What are you afraid of?” he erupted, after Grassley tried to speak over him and hold the vote. “Debating this [nomination], putting things on the record — Dear God,” he said, “that’s what we are here for.” TRUMP CONSIDERS FORMER DEFENSE ATTORNEY EMIL BOVE FOR FEDERAL APPEALS COURT VACANCY “This lacks decency, this lacks decorum, it shows that you will not hear from your colleagues,” Booker said to Grassley in another attempt. “You are a decent man,” he said, imploring him to allow a small window of additional time for the panel to debate before pushing through with the committee vote. “Why are you doing this?” Booker pressed again. “What are they saying to you,” he said, referring to the Trump administration, “that is making you do something to violate the decorum, the decency and the respect of this committee to at least hear each other out?” The nearly hour-long debate held prior to Bove’s confirmation vote was unsuccessful, and Trump’s nominee cleared the committee in a party-line vote. Still, there were sharp objections made by other Democrats on the committee, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-NY. They upbraided their colleageus on the Republican-led panel for their lack of candor and refusal to consider the allegations made by Reuveni—as well as the objections made by dozens of former state and federal judges, and hundreds of former federal prosecutors, who had urged them against confirming Bove to a lifetime appointment on the federal bench. Whitehouse, for his part, invoked Shakespeare, declaring, “There’s something rotten in Denmark,” before streaming out of the room. Trump announced earlier this year the nomination of senior Justice Department official and his former defense attorney, Emil Bove, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, a controversial choice that comes as the president continues to attack so-called “activist” judges for blocking his agenda. His path to confirmation in the full Senate chamber remains rocky, and comes amid mounting concerns over the allegations made in the whistleblower report. Speaking to reporters after leaving the committee room on Thursday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, described the decision by Republicans to push through with the vote without considering the whistleblower allegations in a separate hearing, and despite the state objections of Democrats on the panel as a “blatant violation of the rules of committee.” “I haven’t seen anything like it in 15 years in the U.S. Senate,” he told reporters. “Just overriding, roughshod, the rules of the committee to silence members [on concerns involving] the nominees for lifetime appointments” on the federal bench, he said. “We can disagree about whether they should be on the court, but not about the rules that put them there.” This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Army secretary vows ‘grievous error’ targeting pro-life groups will never happen again
FIRST ON FOX: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll called a set of training slides that deemed pro-life groups as terrorist organizations a “grievous error” that he’ll work to ensure doesn’t happen again, in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. “This characterization was not only inaccurate but also deeply inappropriate,” Driscoll wrote to a group of attorneys for the American Center for Law and Justice, who represented the pro-life groups affected. Thousands of soldiers at Fort Bragg were trained in counter-terrorism and security practices with slides that listed groups such as National Right to Life and Operation Rescue alongside recognized extremist organizations, and even pointed to pro‑life license plates as potential warning signs. The practice went on for seven years, until 2024. “Equally concerning was the previous administration’s inadequate response to this serious incident. Its failure to provide full transparency or take responsibility for such a grievous error is wholly unacceptable.” HEGSETH ABRUPTLY PULLS PENTAGON OFFICIALS FROM ‘GLOBALIST’ ASPEN CONFERENCE Driscoll said the Army has since reviewed all security training materials, including anti-terrorism training, and removed the slides that referenced pro-life groups, along with a slew of pro-animal and green groups like PETA, as “terrorist organizations.” “Please be assured that I am firmly committed to rigorous oversight of all Army training materials to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.” ‘EYES IN THE SKY’: ARMY DRONE EXPERT EXPLAINS US STRATEGY ON INNOVATION AS GLOBAL CONFLICT LOOMS Agnes Schaefer, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and Reserve affairs, said that the training deck, which was used to teach 9,100 Army soldiers, was “inconsistent with Army’s antiterrorism policy and training.” The training module was used to instruct soldiers on what to look out for when guarding points of base access. She claimed there is “no evidence” to suggest the individual who created the slide deck did so to “deliberately subvert” Army policy or to “further a personal viewpoint.” The slides caused a stir among congressional Republicans, who demanded answers from Army officials in a hearing last year and took issue with Schaefer’s assurances the slide did not represent a personal viewpoint. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It’s downright ridiculous to claim the slide deck doesn’t ‘further a personal viewpoint,’ but there have been no consequences for the employee who ran anti-life training sessions at Fort Liberty that clearly violated Army policy,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital in September. It’s not clear if anyone involved in the slide’s production and use has been fired or reprimanded.
Civil rights group declares ‘state of emergency,’ pointing at Trump admin
The National Urban League is sounding the alarm, asserting that there is a “state of emergency” in the country. The organization’s “State of Black America” report for 2025 titled “State of Emergency: Democracy, Civil Rights, and Progress Under Attack,” takes aim at the Trump administration. “Almost daily, since January 20, 2025, the federal government, at the direction of the White House, has set fire to policies and entire departments dedicated to protecting civil and human rights, providing access to an equal education, fair housing, safe and effective healthcare, and ensuring that our democratic process is adhered to across the nation,” the report claims. EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP ADMIN STRENGTHENS RELIGIOUS ACCOMODATIONS IN FEDERAL WORKFORCE White House spokesman Harrison Fields pushed back in a statement to Fox News Digital. “These so-called civil rights groups aren’t advancing anything but hate and division, while the President is focused on uniting our country, improving our economy, securing our borders, and establishing peace across the globe,” Fields said in the statement. “This is the same vision for America that a record number of Black Americans supported in the resounding reelection of President Trump. The Democrats have sold out Black voters to appease their base, which consists of illegals, the pronoun police, purple-haired lunatics, and radical anti-Semites.” National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial declared in the report, “The notion that we are living through a ‘state of emergency’ is not rhetorical flourish. It is an honest reckoning with a government increasingly determined to sacrifice its founding principles—equality, liberty, and justice—rather than accept the truth of a diversifying nation and deliver equitable opportunity to all.” DOJ INVESTIGATING MINNESOTA HIRING PRACTICES IN LATEST CLASH WITH WALZ The report claims that the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department has been twisted “into a tool for political retribution.” “Under its new leadership, the Civil Rights Division has been hollowed out and repurposed— transforming from a guardian of justice into a tool for political retribution,” the report asserts. “The radicalization of the DOJ is more than bureaucratic rot—it is an existential threat to civil rights enforcement, allowing discrimination to flourish unchecked under the false guise of ‘reverse racism.’” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REFINES EEOC APPROACH TO TRANSGENDER WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS The report, which includes House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. and several other U.S. lawmakers among the list of contributors, speaks favorably about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. “In short, DEI policies don’t just level the playing field in education and employment; they fortify democracy itself. By expanding opportunities, ensuring equitable access to information, and creating leadership pipelines, DEI helps guarantee that every American—not just the privileged few— can contribute to the nation’s future,” the report declares.
Trump Jr. rips ‘communist’ Mamdani with dire prediction about NYC if he wins mayoral race
NEW YORK, NY – Donald Trump, Jr., born and raised in New York City and heavily involved in the real estate market there, spoke to Fox News Digital about the prospects of the nation’s largest and most recognizable city possibly electing socialist Zohran Mamdani as its next mayor. “If what possibly could happen in November happens, I mean, it’s scary and, you know, perhaps that’s what New York needs,” the president’s son told Fox News Digital in New York City on Wednesday. “Maybe it has to fail to be able to come back, to be able to, you know, put the nail in the coffin of these ideas that have failed so many times around the world.” Trump Jr., who was at the New York Stock Exchange ringing the bell for the IPO of his latest business venture “GrabAGun,” told Fox News Digital that he expects a mass exodus from New York City to Florida if Mamdani is elected mayor. MAMDANI’S FATHER SITS ON COUNCIL OF ANTI-ISRAEL GROUP TIED TO TERROR, LEGITIMIZES ROLE OF SUICIDE BOMBERS “In New York, I think the stat I remembered, it was from like 10 years ago, but it was something like 18,000 people pay 80% of New York City’s city tax,” Trump Jr. said. “Well, those people are all very mobile. They can go wherever they want. This new mayor could possibly be the greatest marketing campaign for Florida ever to exist.” Trump continued, “But what happens to New York then? And as a lifelong New Yorker, as someone who grew up here, someone who changed the skyline here with my father for many years before he got into politics, that’s a scary notion, but perhaps it’s exactly what America needs. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom, and I think if this communist mayor gets elected, rock bottom is what New York’s going to see.” MAMDANI’S FAILURE TO WALK BACK THESE POSITIONS COULD CAUSE RECKONING IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY: ‘FIVE-ALARM WARNING’ 1789 Capital founder and President Omeed Malik, Trump Jr.’s partner who orchestrated the special purpose acquisition merger of Grab-A-Gun, told Fox News Digital he believes Mamdani is just a “young version” of NYC’s former progressive mayor Bill de Blasio. “If you didn’t see it on the writing on the wall with de Blasio I don’t know what to tell you,” Malik said. “I definitely don’t want those people in Florida because if you haven’t already moved out of here you’ve got the wrong politics.” Mamdani burst onto the national political scene last month after winning the Democratic Primary for New York City mayor despite being a self-avowed “Democratic socialist” and bringing a track record of calls to defund the police, anti-Israel statements, and socialist economic principles to the ballot box. Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign for comment. Like his son, President Trump referred to Mamdani as a “communist” this month, warning that New York City will “never be the same” if he’s victorious in November. “I’m not getting involved, but I can tell you this: I used to say we will not ever be a socialist country,” Trump said. “Right. Well, I’ll say it again. We’re not going to have — if a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same.”