White House considers Signal chat leak case ‘closed,’ reiterates support for Waltz, press secretary says
The White House considers the Signal group chat leak case “closed,” Trump administration press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the media Monday while reiterating President Donald Trump’s support of national security advisor Mike Waltz. “As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team,” Leavitt told the media in brief remarks during a gaggle outside of the White House’s press room Monday afternoon. “And this case has been closed here at the White House, as far as we are concerned.” “There have been steps made to ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again,” she continued. “And we’re moving forward. And the president and Mike Waltz and his entire national security team have been working together very well, if you look at how much safer the United States of America is because of the leadership of this team.” The Trump administration came under scrutiny from Democrats and other critics after the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed in an article published March 24 that he was added to a Signal group chat with top national security leaders, including Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. TRUMP OFFICIALS ACCIDENTALLY TEXT ATLANTIC JOURNALIST ABOUT MILITARY STRIKES IN APPARENT SECURITY BREACH Signal is an encrypted messaging app that operates similarly to texting or making phone calls, but with additional security measures that help ensure communications are kept private to those included in the correspondence. TRUMP SAYS WALTZ DOESN’T NEED TO APOLOGIZE OVER SIGNAL TEXT CHAIN LEAK: ‘DOING HIS BEST’ The Atlantic’s report characterized the Trump administration as texting “war plans” regarding a planned strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Trump administration has maintained, however, that no classified material was transmitted in the chat, with Trump repeatedly defending Waltz amid the fallout. DEMS HAVE LONG HISTORY OF SUPPORTING ENCRYPTED SIGNAL APP AHEAD OF TRUMP CHAT LEAK Waltz took responsibility for the journalist’s inclusion in the high-profile group chat, including in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham. “I built the group. My job is to make sure everything’s coordinated,” Waltz said on “The Ingraham Angle.” “Of course I didn’t see this loser in the group. It looked like someone else,” Waltz added. “The person I thought was on there was never on there.” TRUMP REVEALS WHO WAS BEHIND SIGNAL TEXT CHAIN LEAK Leavitt told the media Wednesday that the administration was investigating the incident, explaining Elon Musk’s team was also assisting with the investigation. “The National Security Council, the White House Counsel’s Office, and also, yes, Elon Musk’s team” will be leading the investigation into the Signal leak, Leavitt said during a White House press briefing. TOP DEM USED SAME APP USED IN ATLANTIC SCANDAL TO SET UP CONTACT WITH STEELE DOSSIER AUTHOR “Elon Musk has offered to put his technical experts on this, to figure out how this number was inadvertently added to the chat – again, to take responsibility and ensure this can never happen again,” she continued. Trump slammed the media’s coverage of the group chat in a Truth Social post Sunday afternoon, calling it the “never ending Signal story.” “They just don’t stop – Over and over they go! Meet the Fake Press should instead explain how successful the attack was, and how Sleepy Joe Biden should have done it YEARS AGO,” he posted. “This story and narrative is so old and boring, but only used because we are having the most successful ‘First One Hundred Presidential Days’ in the history of America, and they can’t find anything else to talk about. The Fake News Media has the lowest Approval Ratings in history, and for good reason. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
New research reveals how EV, emissions mandates are inflating costs for gas-powered cars, utilities
FIRST ON FOX: Government subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs), combined with a regulatory credit system for vehicle emissions, are leading to rising automobile and utility costs, a new report from the American Energy Institute (AEI) reveals. Increasingly stringent Corporate Average Fuel Economy and greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions standards have forced gas-powered vehicle manufacturers to produce more EVs. As a result, this has siphoned auto manufacturers’ resources away from gas-powered vehicle production and toward EV production, ultimately pushing the costs of gas-powered cars higher, according a report by the AEI. If auto manufacturers do not produce enough EVs to meet state and federal standards, they are forced to buy into a credit system to offset their emissions production, inevitably creating another avenue where additional costs are transferred to consumers, according to the report. GOP LAWMAKER SEEKS TO SLAM BRAKES ON BIDEN’S ‘WOKE AND WASTEFUL’ EV TAX CREDIT Utility costs also see an impact, AEI’s report points out. State and federal subsidy and rebate programs for EV charging infrastructure, while beneficial for utility companies’ profits, lead once more to increased costs that are subsequently passed on to rate payers. Forty states offer rebates for in-home level two chargers, while at the federal level, rebate and subsidy programs for EV charging infrastructure received an investment of roughly $7.5 billion under former President Joe Biden. “By distorting the market with regulatory credits, subsidies, and behind-the-scenes rulemaking, federal agencies are shifting costs from affluent EV buyers to working-class Americans — while straining a grid that’s already under pressure,” said Jason Isaac, co-author of the report and the founder and CEO of AEI. “This isn’t about consumer choice or energy innovation. It’s administrative overreach that leaves Americans paying more to drive and to keep the lights on.” Isaac, a former Texas state representative, admitted that during his time in the legislature, he worked to create an EV subsidy in the Lone Star State, which provided all EV buyers with a $2,500 tax credit. He said that over time, he realized the majority of fully electric vehicles were being purchased by wealthier individuals who, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, would have done so even without the subsidies. “This policy is not a home run,” said Hunt Allcott, a professor of environmental social sciences and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, with regard to the federal EV tax credit system. “While the [Inflation Reduction Act’s] electric vehicle tax credits have slowed climate change and shifted production to U.S. manufacturing firms, they also impose high costs on U.S. taxpayers.” TOP AGENCY STAFFER TRYING TO BLOCK CRUCIAL TRUMP DIRECTIVE ONCE MANAGED DEI TEAM Each EV that’s purchased benefits from an estimated $94,000 to $153,000 in hidden subsidies over a 10-year period, according to research from the AEI. These figures account for the costs automakers bear to meet government mandates as well as losses from forced EV production, expenses that ultimately raise prices for consumers. Rebates and subsidies for EV charging infrastructure are driving up base utility rates for consumers as well, the AEI report states. It is estimated that if each EV sold resulted in one in-home or commercial charging infrastructure, the more than 1.1 million EVs sold in 2023 would have received more than $827 million in residential charging tax credits. Isaac said these rebates and subsidies are then used by utility companies to lobby public utility commissions to approve higher base rates because they are enhancing their infrastructure to improve EV infrastructure. “When you go buy a gallon of gasoline, [taxpayers] are not helping you pay for that gallon of gasoline; all the costs are embedded within a gallon of gasoline,” Isaac said. “So the typical EV charge, whatever they pay at the charging station, is only a small portion of the expenses. That charging station itself has received a significant subsidy, both from the state and the federal government, and the utility has come in and increased the infrastructure or improved, enhanced the infrastructure to handle that load, and the rate payers in that particular area are picking up that burden.” DEMOCRATS TURN ON TESLA DESPITE YEARS-LONG ELECTRIC VEHICLE PUSH One anecdote used in the report to illustrate the cost burden of EV charging subsidies and rebates posits that if one homeowner were to purchase an EV charger on a street of 10 people, and the local electric company provides that homeowner with a $500 rebate, the downhill impacts lead to each of the 10 households shouldering a roughly $50 cost to build the charger as a result of the subsidized rate increases. The increased costs on gas-powered car buyers and utility rate payers, Issac said, illustrates the need to get rid of these clean-air mandates. “Eliminating these costly EV mandates is exactly the kind of action needed under President Trump’s energy emergency,” Isaac said. “It would jump-start a resurgence in the American auto industry, lower the price of new vehicles and ease pressure on our electric grid, bringing down energy costs for every household.” Fox News Digital reached out to several EV advocacy groups, including Drive Change. Drive Electric, Plug In America, DriveElectric USA, EVHybridNoire, the Sierra Club and the Electric Vehicle Association, but did not receive a response in time for publication of this story.
US sanctions 6 Beijing, Hong Kong authorities for ‘undermining’ the island region’s autonomy
The State Department sanctioned six Beijing and Hong Kong authorities who Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “have engaged in actions or policies that have degraded the autonomy of Hong Kong, including in connection with transnational repression targeting individuals residing in the United States.” Rubio announced Monday that the actions “demonstrate the Trump Administration’s commitment to hold to account those respondsible for depriving people in Hong Kong of protected rights and freedoms or who commit acts of transnational repression on U.S. soil or against U.S. persons.” Those sanctioned include Sonny Chi Kwong Au – the Secretary-General for the Committee for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong – and Raymond Chak Yee Siu, the Police Commissioner of Hong Kong Police Force. The other four sanctioned were identified as Dong Jingwei, Dick Chung Chun Wong, Margaret Wing Lan Chiu and Paul Ting Kwok Lam. “Beijing and Hong Kong officials have used Hong Kong national security laws extraterritorially to intimidate, silence, and harass 19 pro-democracy activists who were forced to flee overseas, including a U.S. citizen and four other U.S. residents,” the State Department said. 45 PRO-DEMOCRACY HONG KONG ACTIVISTS SENTENCED TO UP TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON UNDER CHINA-BACKED LAW Lam, according to the State Department, “is the Secretary for Justice, Hong Kong in the Regional Government Ministers category, and has been responsible for or involved in developing, adopting, or implementing, the National Security Law.” Last year, Human Rights Watch said the “Safeguarding National Security Ordinance punishes peaceful speech and civil society activism with heavy prison sentences, expands police powers, and weakens due process rights.” HONG KONG LAWMAKERS UNANIMOUSLY PASS CONTROVERSIAL SECURITY LAW, GRANTING GOVERNMENT POWER TO CURB DISSENT “As a result of today’s sanctions-related actions, and in accordance with E.O. 13936, all property and interests in property of the sanctioned persons described above that are in the United States or in possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC),” the State Department said. “Additionally, all individuals or entities that have ownership, either directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked,” it continued. “All transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC or exempt from U.S. sanctions,” according to the State Department. “These prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person and the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.” Fox News’ Nick Kalman contributed to this report.
Tim Walz’s daughter ditches grad school, refuses to attend institution that doesn’t support ‘right to protest’
The daughter of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says she is skipping graduate school in protest against the university’s lack of support for student demonstrations. Hope Walz made the announcement to her followers on TikTok on Sunday, saying she was disappointed with how the institution she had planned to attend dealt with student protests. “I applied for one school. I kind of had my heart set on it. I am not going to name the institution, but given recent events I am not going to give my money, go into debt for, or support institutions that do not support students and the right to protest and speak out for their communities,” Hope said. “Students deserve to be protected. I am not worried about if I were to be protected or not at said institution. I am, you know, a privileged white woman. But I am not going to put myself in the position where I am giving money or supporting institutions that don’t support their students,” she added. VIDEO SHOWS ARREST OF COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL RINGLEADER MAHMOUD KHALIL Her announcement comes as universities across the country grapple with how to respond to often-violent anti-Israel protests and the spread of antisemitism on their campuses. President Donald Trump’s administration has taken an aggressive stance with Columbia University in particular, threatening to withhold federal funding if the institution did not make reforms to combat antisemitism and rampant campus protests. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY YIELDS TO TRUMP ADMIN DEMANDS OVER REVOKED $400M IN FEDERAL FUNDING Columbia agreed to demands from the administration to ban masks for the purpose of concealing identity on campus as well as appoint a senior vice provost to oversee the school’s Department of the Middle East, South Asian and African Studies, as well as the Center for Palestine Studies. After much violence on campus, Columbia must also hire 36 new campus police officers with the ability to arrest students. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Columbia was at the heart of 2024’s anti-Israel campus protests, with NYPD officers ultimately breaking up a barricade at Hamilton Hall in a highly publicized raid. Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.
GOP governor rallies around historic proposal to slash state’s income tax: ‘I am optimistic’
Montana is considering making cuts to its individual income tax rate as a growing number of states have completely transitioned to eliminating the tax altogether. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte came out in support of Senate Bill 323 last week, which would cut the state income tax from 5.9% to 4.9%, at a news conference with Americans for Prosperity. The cut is what the governor suggested in his November budget proposal. “So I came into office back four years ago after 16 years of Democrats in the governor’s office in Montana, and we had the highest income tax rate in the Rocky Mountain West,” Gianforte told Fox News Digital in an interview. “I firmly believe that the citizens of Montana know how to spend their money better than the government does. And so we’ve made it a priority to bring the tax rate down and to simplify our tax code. We’ve gone from seven tax brackets to two. With this change that we’re proposing, we knock another full percentage point off the income tax rate, and we’d be very close to a flat tax,” he added. MONTANA AG ASKS SUPREME COURT TO UPHOLD LAW REQUIRING PARENTAL CONSENT FOR A MINOR’S ABORTION If passed into law, it would lower the Treasure State’s comparatively high tax rate compared to others in the region even further, after the bracket impacting most people went from 6.9% to 6.75%, down to 5.9% in recent years. The state previously had seven brackets, and now it has two as of 2021. “It’s the most conservative tax-cut bill in front of our legislature right now, and we are a conservative legislature. I am optimistic,” the Republican said. The current version of the bill, which is still early in the process, would cut the tax rate to 5.4% in 2026 and the 4.9% rate would start in 2027, according to the legislation’s fiscal note. “As a fellow Montanan feeling the economic strain from the current rising cost of living in our gorgeous state, the bill would provide some relief,” Bianca Lester of Butte said, according to a news release. “I’m a single mom of four, which is no easy feat, and I need every penny that I make to help house and clothe and feed my kids. This bill would allow for so many other families like mine to keep all of our hard-earned income,” Lester added. Donald Trump Jr. also came out in support of the proposed cuts. “[Gianforte] pushing for the largest income tax cut in Montana history, just like my father’s historic tax cuts! Montana leading the way with conservative, Trump-style tax policies! Get it done! #MAGA,” he posted last week. MORNING GLORY: TRUMP, TARIFFS, THE CR AND THE TAX CUTS The development comes as Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves just signed legislation that will phase out the state’s income tax entirely in the coming years with the hope of boosting economic development in the southern state. In Montana, there are also bills moving through the process to tackle the state’s property taxes. DEEP RED STATE MAKES MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT INCOME TAX: ‘WE PLANT OUR FLAG’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Nationwide, President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are also pushing for major tax reforms, including no taxes on tips and overtime pay, and there have also been other income tax cuts floated by the Trump administration. “I’m excited to get this across the finish line, because I think Montanans know how to spend their money better than the government does,” Gianforte said.
Massie and several GOP colleagues push proposal to require dual citizenship disclosure by political candidates
Several House Republicans are pushing a measure that would require federal political candidates to disclose their citizenship in foreign nations when designating their principal campaign committee. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital in a statement on Monday that he does not believe individuals with citizenship in foreign nations should serve in the nation’s legislature. “Personally, I don’t think dual citizens should serve in Congress, but I ultimately decided to introduce a transparency bill requiring full disclosure of citizenship. Voters can then make the decision,” he noted. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER REQUIRING PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS: ‘AN HONOR TO SIGN THIS ONE’ Massie introduced the “Dual Loyalty Disclosure Act” last week. Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.; and Clay Higgins, R-La. are original cosponsors. In a statement included in a press release, Massie opined that dual citizens elected to serve in Congress should renounce their foreign citizenship. CONSERVATIVE BACKLASH ERUPTS AFTER TRUMP’S GRAHAM ENDORSEMENT: ‘I AM NOT WITH TRUMP AT ALL WITH THIS ONE’ “At a minimum, they should disclose their citizenship in other countries and abstain from votes specifically benefitting those countries,” he added. TRUMP PLEDGES TO ‘LEAD THE CHARGE’ AGAINST REP. MASSIE, LIKENS HIM TO LIZ CHENEY CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “If we are going to continue to allow Members of Congress to acquire and retain citizenship in other countries, they should at least be required to disclose to voters all countries of which they consider themselves to be citizens,” Massie asserted.
NYC Dem calls on NYPD to investigate car shoppers ‘aggressively’ test driving Teslas on city streets
A New York City Democrat council member is calling on the NYPD to investigate multiple reports that potential Tesla buyers are allegedly recklessly testing the cars’ safety features near the company’s showroom in the city’s Meatpacking District, according to a letter reviewed by Fox News Digital. “My office has received multiple reports of reckless driving involving Tesla vehicles near the Tesla showroom in the Meatpacking District—particularly along Tenth Avenue and the surrounding streets,” Councilman Erik Bottcher wrote in a Friday letter to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “These reports indicate a pattern of behavior that is both dangerous and deeply inappropriate for a dense, mixed-use neighborhood.” The councilman continued that the Tesla drivers at the heart of the complaints are potential buyers visiting a local showroom who are taking Tesla Cybertrucks for test drives on nearby streets to assess the cars’ safety, speed and braking abilities. “According to these accounts, what appear to be test drives of the Cybertruck are being conducted by potential buyers who are unaccompanied by Tesla staff,” the letter continued. “These individuals are reportedly accelerating aggressively well beyond the posted speed limit and then abruptly braking, seemingly to demonstrate the vehicle’s safety features. This activity is taking place on public streets shared by pedestrians, cyclists, families, and other drivers.” ‘ASTROTURF’: CRITICS SPECULATE TESLA PROTESTS ARE NOT A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT, BUT CAREFULLY ORGANIZED CAMPAIGN The letter comes as protests against Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, have unfolded at showrooms across the country in response to Musk’s role helping lead the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). A “Tesla Takedown” movement formed in recent days, with more than 200 protests planned on Saturday in the U.S., and another few hundred planned protests in Canada and Europe as part of the “global day of action.” In the U.S. the Saturday protests were promoted by actors, congressional legislators, academics and activists who led a “mass mobilizing call” to rally support, and described in the media as a “grassroots” effort to buck Musk and President Donald Trump, while working to tank Tesla’s stock. FEDS ON ALERT FOR TESLA ‘GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION’ AFTER NATIONWIDE VIOLENCE LEADS TO ARRESTS The Saturday protests were billed as “nonviolent” and showcased people line dancing outside Teslas stores while holding anti-swastika and anti-Musk signs. Others protested for a couple of hours outside of Tesla dealerships, local media outlets reported, with some holding signs reading “DON’T BUY SWASTICAR,” or “Nobody elected Elon.” The NYC councilman continued in his letter that the NYPD and NYC Department of Transportation should investigate the reports to “ensure these dangerous activities are stopped.” “This behavior poses a serious public safety risk and is unacceptable on the streets of our city,” Bottcher said. “It threatens the well-being of everyone who lives, works, and travels through this area on a daily basis. As the Council Member representing this district, I take these concerns extremely seriously, and I believe swift action is warranted to prevent further harm.” “I respectfully urge the NYPD and DOT to investigate this issue and take all appropriate steps to ensure these dangerous activities are stopped,” he continued. “I would also appreciate any updates your offices can provide as the situation develops, and I stand ready to work with your teams to support any necessary enforcement or policy action.” Bottcher’s office told Fox Digital on Monday, when approached about the letter, that it did not have additional comment to share at this time. THE LOUDEST SILENCE: TOP DEMOCRATS REMAIN MUM AMID VIOLENT ATTACKS ON TESLA In addition to the peaceful protests against Tesla over the weekend, some Tesla locations have also faced violence in recent weeks as Musk and his DOGE team investigate federal agencies in search of government overspending, fraud and mismanagement, while critics accuse the Trump administration of creating an “oligarchy” by tapping the billionaire to help streamline federal government operations. DOGE is a temporary cross-departmental organization that was established to slim down and streamline the federal government. The group will be dissolved on July 4, 2026. VANDAL STRIKES CYBERTRUCK, TESLA OWNER HITS BACK A Las Vegas man, for example, was arrested earlier in March for alleged involvement in a Molotov cocktail attack on a Tesla property. The suspect in that case faces a bevy of felony charges, including three counts of arson, three counts of possession of an explosive device, five counts of shooting into a car and four counts of destroying personal property, according to local police. Musk remarked on X Saturday that it is “insanely ironic” that “the people shooting bullets into Tesla stores, burning down cars and generally being violent are calling me a Nazi when I have done literally zero violence at all.” Fox News Digital reached out to Tesla regarding the alleged dangerous test drivers and Bottcher’s letter, but did not immediately receive a reply.
Texas claims border islands used by Mexican cartels, asks Trump admin to secure and defend
EXCLUSIVE: They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the Lone Star State itself is growing a bit. Texas has claimed two cartel-infested islands along the Rio Grande as part of an ongoing state effort to eliminate safe havens used by Mexican drug organizations. In a letter to border czar Tom Homan, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham requested that the Trump administration secure and defend Beaver Island, a 20.3-arce island in Starr County, Texas, and the Roma Islands. Both islands have been used by cartels for criminal activity, authorities said. The Roma Islands, which are 12.13 and 20.3 acres respectively, are located near Roma, Texas, and have been called a “smuggler’s paradise.” TEXAS VIDEO SHOWS MIGRANT RECALLING ASSAULT, SHAKEDOWN BY CARTELS AT BORDER The Texas General Land Office (GLO), the mapping entity for the state, recently received a request from the Texas Military Department to determine the status of the islands and indicate whether they are a part of Texas. The determination will permit law enforcement to conduct security operations in the area. Several islands dot the Rio Grande along the southern border, with many being used by the drug cartels for criminal activity, such as smuggling operations and stashing weapons, and to evade U.S. and Mexican law enforcement. “These islands are important because when they’re literally in no man’s land and they don’t belong to any country, then neither country and have law enforcement or the military step on them,” Buckingham told Fox News Digital. “So they become safe havens for the cartel.” FEDS LIKELY EYEING ‘COVER-UPS’ TO BUST MEXICAN CARTELS ALONG BORDER: FORMER DEA AGENT The cartels have built structures on the islands where they stash weapons, bombs, drugs and people, she said. Beaver Island is partly owned by Texas and the federal government, while the Roma Islands are considered Texas land. Once an island is designated as part of Texas, authorities will clear the area of vegetation, which cartels use to conceal their movements and illegal operations, and throw up razor wire in an effort to get full operational control, said Buckingham. The move marks the latest by Texas to crack down on cross-border crime and illegal immigration. During the Biden administration, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, an aggressive effort to combat the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the state from Mexico. MEXICAN IMMIGRATION ACTIVIST WHO HID IN COLORADO CHURCH FOR YEARS TO AVOID DEPORTATION ARRESTED BY ICE In her letter to Homan, Buckingham noted that Fronton Island, a 170-arce formerly lawless island in the Rio Grande, was declared to be part of Texas in 2023. The densely-wooded area provided concealment for cartel criminal activity and had been a problem for decades, including gunfights and illegal immigration, according to law enforcement officials familiar with the area. The island was deemed by the TMD and Texas Department of Public Safety as the most dangerous part of the Texas border. “Besides being the first woman land commissioner Texas has ever had, it’s pretty fun also being the first person to make Texas bigger in a few hundred years,” Buckingham said of the addition of islands to the state. She further noted that the Trump administration has been cooperative with Texas authorities, resulting in a 95% reduction in illegal traffic across the border. “It’s completely different than it is now,” she said.
Trump and his tariffs find unlikely ally in auto union boss, who blasted Dems and ‘corporate greed’
President Donald Trump’s major tariffs on foreign-made automobiles and parts found a surprising ally in a longtime political foe, United Autoworkers (UAW) President Shawn Fain. While he slammed Trump’s order to end collective bargaining for federal workers during a CBS interview Sunday, he heaped praise on the president at an appearance at a Detroit university. “Yes, I disagree with Donald Trump on virtually everything, but [tariffs are] one thing I don’t disagree on,” Fain said at Wayne State University, according to the Detroit Free Press. “We’ve begged Democrats, politicians for years, to do something to get these companies in line.” BIDEN’S UAW STRIKE VISIT LAMBASTED AS ‘SELF-DEFEATING’ AMID EV ‘FANTASY’ Fain – who famously wore a shirt to a former Vice President Kamala Harris rally that read, “Trump is a scab; vote Harris,” and who Trump said should be fired during his convention speech – called the president the first in his lifetime to eliminate problematic trade deals like NAFTA. “I’m not going to sit here now and say that since he’s a Republican or because he’s Donald Trump, I’m going to say, ‘screw you.’ That’s not how we do things. It’s having integrity,” he said, according to the paper. Fox News Digital reached out to Fain via the UAW for further comment. Trump instituted 25% tariffs on outsourced cars and auto parts last week, which is primed to hit domestic brands like Chevrolet – which now produces vehicles in Mexico like the popular Equinox, and shuttered its major Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant in 2020. Other manufacturers like Mack Trucks still make their vehicles in the U.S., with the Bulldog-branded manufacturing rigs at their longtime main plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania, and their powertrain facility in Hagerstown, Maryland. AUTOWORKERS FOR TRUMP LEADER SAYS THOUSANDS OF VOTERS POISED TO BREAK FROM DEMS While Fain reportedly said automakers cannot essentially wave a wand and reboot domestic production, he also said there is no reason U.S. automakers need to raise prices to withstand the financial hit. He called out “corporate greed” in that regard while adding Dodge had produced its Ram trucks in Warren, Michigan, for decades and does not need to suddenly move Ram “overflow” south of the border either. “In fairness to the companies, they can’t just close a factory and open a brand new factory overnight… But there are a lot of opportunities right now.” Fain alleged automakers used the COVID-19 price spike to “price-gouge” up to 40% “for no reason.” “They’ve made massive profits for a decade, and all they see here is an opportunity… it’s a choice.” “They could shift that work back to Warren tomorrow and produce trucks there. Those are the things that can happen immediately.” A White House spokesman said the administration welcomes Fain on board when it comes to tariffs. “We’re glad that UAW leadership has finally recognized what’s long been clear to UAW members: President Trump backs America’s blue-collar workers, and America’s blue-collar workers back President Trump,” said spokesman Kush Desai. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP When asked about potential price hikes and cases of U.S. automakers making vehicles abroad that could be hurt by said tariffs, Desai said “iconic automakers like Stellantis and Hyundai have already responded to President Trump’s America First economic agenda of tariffs, deregulation, tax cuts, and the unleashing of American energy with tens of billions in historic Made-In-America investment commitments.” Desai added that Trump’s push for Americans to be able to deduct taxes on U.S.-made cars will drive the onshoring of manufacturing and job growth without systemic inflation. “Just as President Trump’s policies did during his first term,” he said.
Republican AGs urge Trump to crack down on obscure ‘loophole’ cartels use to flood US with fentanyl
FIRST ON FOX — Kentucky Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman is hopeful that the Trump administration will address an issue he says is a little-known “loophole” allowing shipments of fentanyl to enter the U.S. “On its face, this looks hyper technical and bureaucratic, but what it is is closing a loophole,” Coleman told Fox News Digital in an interview on Monday. “And it’s closing a loophole where we receive a massive number of shipments from overseas, particularly China, that receive under this Type 86 with little or no inspection. And that should astound people, that there’s little or no inspection in this threat environment.” Coleman is referring to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pilot program called Entry Type 86, which was introduced to streamline the importation process for low-value shipments, particularly those associated with e-commerce. However, Coleman, along with 24 other Republican attorneys general, says the program’s “use far exceeds its original scope” and “raises serious concerns about the flood of deadly drugs coming into our country.” FEDS LIKELY EYEING ‘COVER-UPS’ TO BUST MEXICAN CARTELS ALONG BORDER: FORMER DEA AGENT “We’re looking at over a billion packages shipped through this loophole last year,” Coleman said. “That’s in an environment where, I would argue, we’re facing a threat that has never existed before, and that is this, no margin of error environment in which we’re trying to raise families and protect families, and that is an environment where as little as one pill can and is killing people can and is killing folks Kentuckians.” Coleman said they urged the Biden administration to look into the program, and now, they are hoping the Trump administration will respond to a letter they sent Monday. Most of the shipments are arriving from Mexico and China, he said. “Entry Type 86 now accounts for 75% of all de minimis goods entering the United States, with shipments increasing from 153 million in 2015 to more than 1.2 billion in 2024,” the AGs wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “Any surge of this magnitude requires further study, especially when it comes to potential challenges within our customs enforcement system. It raises serious concerns about the flood of deadly drugs coming.” PROPOSED BILL IN CONGRESS TO COMBAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SQUATTING WOULD MAKE PRACTICE A DEPORTABLE OFFENSE Law enforcement and those in the shipping industry are well aware that this loophole exists, Coleman said, and it is unlikely to surprise those in Washington receiving this information, and there are ongoing dialogues about the potential dangers of parcel shipments with law enforcement agencies. “This is what drug trafficking looks like in the 21st century,” Coleman said. “It looks very different than ‘Breaking Bad.’ It looks very different than what we saw a decade ago. It’s not surreptitious.” “I’m optimistic that the administration will be responsive,” he added. MEXICAN IMMIGRATION ACTIVIST WHO HID IN COLORADO CHURCH FOR YEARS TO AVOID DEPORTATION ARRESTED BY ICE President Donald Trump has taken several steps to crack down on drug cartels since assuming office in January. Trump signed an executive order designating major Mexican drug cartels, including the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) cartels, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, allowing for actions such as freezing assets of individuals or groups supporting these cartels and enhances criminal penalties. Additionally, following significant arrests of cartel leaders, the administration authorized intelligence agencies, including the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office, to use satellite surveillance to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition to Kentucky’s Coleman, attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming joined in on the letter. Fox News Digital has reached out to CBP, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.