House Dems undercut Jeffries on Schumer’s leadership as Left’s messaging woes persist
Congressional Democratic unity still appears to be in tatters after a public fracture between Capitol Hill’s top two left-wing leaders over government funding. At least two House Democrats took shots at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at their respective events on Tuesday after Schumer and nine other Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to avert a partial government shutdown last week. “I thought it was critical to make sure that we blocked that bill. I was deeply disappointed that Senator Schumer voted with the Republicans,” Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., told residents of his deep-blue district. “You know you’re on bad ground when you get a personal tweet from Donald Trump thanking you for your vote.” He said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who got all but one Democrat to oppose the bill in the lower chamber, “met the moment,” while Schumer “did not.” ‘BIG WIN’: TRUMP TOUTS FEDERAL FUNDING BILL PASSAGE IN THE HOUSE “I think he’s had a great, long-standing career. He’s done a lot of great things, but I’m afraid that it may be time for the Senate Democrats to pick new leadership as we move forward,” Ivey said to applause. However, despite his praise for Jeffries, Ivey’s public message appeared in stark contrast to the Democratic leader’s overtures to his counterpart earlier on Tuesday. “Yes, I do,” Jeffries briefly answered when asked whether he still had confidence in Schumer as the Senate Democratic leader. Jeffries told reporters at a press conference in Brooklyn, New York, that “we are all aligned on the fights that are in front of us” and that he and Schumer had a “good conversation about the path forward, particularly as it relates to making sure we all speak with one voice.” While still reserved in his praise, it is a much different tone than what Jeffries took last week, after he was reportedly blindsided by Schumer breaking the dam of Democratic opposition to say he would vote for the Republicans’ federal funding bill. Democrats had accused Republicans of walking away from bipartisan government funding talks at the expense of critical government programs, while Republicans said Democrats were making unrealistic demands about constraining President Donald Trump’s power. After that vote, Jeffries twice refused to back Schumer when pressed by reporters. “Next question,” he said to a pair of questions about his support for his fellow Brooklyn Democrat. However, his message of unity on Tuesday was similarly undercut by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who answered affirmatively when asked if she supported Schumer as Senate Democratic leader, but she criticized the way he handled the funding matter. DEMS CRY FOUL AFTER SCHUMER’S ANNOUNCEMENT ON IMPENDING VOTE TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN “I myself don’t give away anything for nothing. I think that’s what happened the other day,” Pelosi said at an event in San Francisco. “We could have, in my view, perhaps gotten them to agree to a third way, which was a bipartisan [funding bill] for two to four weeks, in which we could have had bipartisan legislation to go forward.” She said of Republicans, “They may not have agreed to it, but at least the public would have seen their not agreeing to it, and then they would have been shutting government, because we don’t want government to shut down.” Meanwhile, other sources told Fox News Digital that frustrations lingered among Democrats over Schumer’s decision. “Hardly ever, if ever, have there been votes that are significant where House Dems and Senate Dems split. So this is a big problem,” one Democratic source told Fox News Digital. “We should be doing everything possible to take back the House. And that means if the House makes a call, like Hakeem did…that’s because they have a political assessment that it’s in their best interest electorally. A senior House Democratic aide said Schumer’s move was bad, but the party needed to coalesce to oppose Trump. Outside the D.C. Beltway, criticism of Schumer has gained traction among Democrats, despite Jeffries publicly mending fences. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, both floated as early possible 2028 contenders, signaled they were frustrated by Schumer’s move. Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for comment. The longtime Senate Democrat said he is “the best leader” for his caucus during an interview on “CBS Mornings” this week.
EXCLUSIVE: Red state suing school district for illegally teaching critical race theory
EXCLUSIVE – The State of Texas, led by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, a vocal Trump ally, is suing a school district just northwest of Dallas for allegedly illegally continuing to teach critical race theory (CRT) in its classrooms. CRT is a concept that teaches that racial bias is inherent in parts of society and that discrimination is systematically embedded in certain aspects of law and policy. Paxton’s office said that the suit was launched in response to a video showing Coppell Independent School District (ISD) Director of Curriculum Evan Whitfield discussing how the district had “gotten around” prohibitions on the use of CRT in state policies and curricula. According to the suit, which was filed today in the District Court of Dallas County, Whitfield further stated that “despite what our state standards say,” Coppell ISD does “what’s right.” GOV. GLENN YOUNGKIN: THIS IS ABOUT ENDING ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION Teaching CRT violates a Texas law that prohibits educators from kindergarten through 12th grade from teaching that “one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex” or that “an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive.” The same law also stipulates that no educator in the state can require an understanding of the “1619 Project,” a historical study founded by New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones that attempts to reframe American history as being founded and rooted in slavery. The project has been marred with credible accusations of historical distortions and inaccuracies. Texas law stipulates that an educator cannot teach that any person, because of their race or sex, bears responsibility, blame or guilt for actions committed in the past. The law also prohibits teachers from imposing the idea that meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist or that the advent of slavery in America constituted the true founding of the United States, concepts commonly associated with the 1619 Project. SEN. JIM BANKS CALLS TO ‘ELIMINATE AND ABOLISH’ EDUCATION DEPT: ‘LONG TIME COMING’ According to the suit, Whitfield “unequivocally stated that the policy of Coppell Independent School District is to teach curricula in violation of state law and direction, using funds and other resources of the district to develop and distribute for teaching CRT curricula.” The suit further alleges that Whitfield responded to a question about whether the district would be in trouble for violating the law by saying, “We’ve gotten around it by saying we’re not teaching it.” The lawsuit alleges that “when asked if the teacher can just close the door and teach ‘what’s right,’ Whitfield responded, ‘Shh, that’s what we do.’” Paxton is seeking to have the court issue a permanent injunction keeping Coppell ISD officials from teaching CRT and using tax-dollar funds to distribute CRT materials. Instead, Paxton says Coppell ISD must implement a “color blind” curriculum in line with Texas law. TEXAS PRIVATE SCHOOL INTEGRATES AI, REPORTS STUDENTS LEARNING ‘FASTER’ This is not the first time Coppell ISD has been sued for illegally teaching CRT. The Texas Scorecard, a Texas-based conservative outlet, reported in 2023 that a North Texas family sued Coppell ISD after their 10th-grade son, who was a student at New Tech High School in Coppell ISD, was given a CRT-based assignment by his chemistry teacher. According to the Texas Scorecard, the teacher stipulated that students “research and write about diverse atomic theory scientists” and they could not choose an “old, dead, white guy.” Commenting on his lawsuit, Paxton said that “Texas children deserve to receive the best education in the world, not have woke ideology forced upon them.” “Liberal administrators who want to ignore state law and unlawfully push divisive and racist CRT curriculum in classrooms will be held responsible for their actions,” said Paxton. “My lawsuit aims to put an immediate end to this illegal and hateful curriculum and immediately stop the blatant refusal to follow state law by certain officials at Coppell ISD.”
Lawmakers cheer Trump’s JFK files release: ‘Restoration of the people’s trust’
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are praising the Trump administration’s release of government documents on John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The National Archives released a tranche of some 80,000 pages late on Tuesday night, part of a long-standing promise by President Donald Trump to declassify information on the historic event. And though there did not appear to be revelatory information in the initial release, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., a progressive Democrat who co-sponsored legislation to publicize the Kennedy files, was among those who praised the move. “It’s too soon to know whether there’s much in the documents released today, but it is a good sign that some progress toward the goal of full disclosure is under way,” Cohen said Tuesday night. “The assassinations of the 1960s need to be understood in their full historical context and the documents being released may help us get there.” FBI UNCOVERS THOUSANDS OF UNDISCLOSED RECORDS CONNECTED TO JFK’S ASSASSINATION Republicans were more enthusiastic in their praise, however, including House GOP Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. He also offered praise for Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., whom he tapped to lead a task force aimed at getting other critical government records declassified. “President Trump has the most transparent administration in history. President Trump is more accessible to the American people than his predecessor and his administration is releasing critical information to the American people,” Comer said. Luna said, “By investigating the newly released JFK files, consulting experts, and tracking down surviving staff of various investigative committees, my task force will get to the bottom of this mystery and share our findings with the American people.” TRUMP ANNOUNCES HE WILL RELEASE 80,000 JFK ASSASSINATION FILES ON TUESDAY, GOING TO BE ‘VERY INTERESTING’ “I am happy that after decades of questions from the public and government cover-ups that the American people finally may have answers to the JFK assassination,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. “President Trump is once again showing his commitment to having the most transparent administration this country has ever seen.” Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., who introduced the initial legislation to declassify unredacted records from the Kennedy assassination, said, “It’s been 61 years since the tragic murder of President John F. Kennedy. A truly functioning republic ensures Americans have access to information, and this moment symbolizes the long-awaited restoration of the people’s trust in the federal government.” While a large share of the documents released are not new, nor do they appear to contain explosive new information, a significant number are presented without redactions for the first time – a long-awaited first step for history buffs and others who were invested in one of the defining tragedies of the 20th century. Trump signed an executive order directing the release of thousands of files related to Kennedy’s assassination, as well as the assassinations of his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., soon after returning to the White House for his second term. “That’s a big one. Lot of people are waiting for this a long, for years, for decades,” the president said when he signed the order. He asked that the pen he used be given to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
DeSantis proposes solution as Trump’s agenda is stymied by judges
As aspects of President Donald Trump’s agenda are stymied by judges amid legal challenges, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suggested that Congress could strip federal courts of jurisdiction. “Congress has the authority to strip jurisdiction of the federal courts to decide these cases in the first place. The sabotaging of President Trump’s agenda by ‘resistance’ judges was predictable — why no jurisdiction-stripping bills tee’d up at the onset of this Congress?” DeSantis wrote in a Wednesday post on X. When someone responded by asking how Republicans could accomplish this without 60 votes in the Senate, DeSantis replied, “Attach it to a ‘must pass’ bill…” JUDGE ORDERS REINSTATEMENT OF USAID FUNCTIONS, SAYS DOGE EFFORT TO SHUTTER AGENCY LIKELY UNCONSTITUTIONAL DeSantis, who sought the 2024 Republican presidential nod but ultimately dropped out and backed Trump after the GOP Iowa presidential caucus, floated the idea of stripping federal courts of jurisdiction when replying to a tweet from U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. “Lots of noise about impeachment. We must study every ruling & act accordingly w/ everything on the table (noting: 14 Dem votes required in Senate). But, more fertile ground… 1) House can pass a resolution stating there is/was an invasion, 2) we can defund radical courts,” Roy had posted. EL SALVADOR’S BUKELE WEIGHS IN AFTER TRUMP’S CALL TO IMPEACH JUDGE: ‘THE U.S. IS FACING A JUDICIAL COUP’ In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump called for the impeachment of a judge, apparently referring to Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President,” Trump declared in the post. “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY.” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, announced that he had introduced articles of impeachment against Boasberg. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S TRANSGENDER MILITARY EXECUTIVE ORDER U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement on Tuesday, “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.” Fox News’ Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report
Trump admin demands NYC ‘restore order’ amid rampant crime or face billions in funding cuts
President Donald Trump’s administration is demanding that New York City’s transit authority reduce crime across the city or face big cuts to federal funding. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued the ultimatum to the Metro Transportation Authority (MTA) in a letter on Tuesday, saying the new administration is here to “restore order.” The federal government currently supplies the MTA with billions of dollars in funding. “The trend of violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety on one of our nation’s most prominent metro systems is unacceptable. After years of soft-on-crime policies, our Department is stepping in to restore order,” Duffy wrote. “Commuters are sick and tired of feeling like they have to jeopardize their safety to get to work, go to school, or to travel around the city. We will continue to fight to ensure their federal tax dollars are going towards a crime-free commute,” he added. GUARDIAN ANGELS RESUME NEW YORK CITY PATROLS AFTER SUBWAY BURNING DEATH: ‘NEVER SEEN IT THIS BAD’ Duffy’s letter requests the MTA’s data on fare evasion, worker assaults, customer assaults and police patrols. It also requests an accounting of how the MTA has used federal funding to address safety and security in the city’s transportation system. “I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter to avoid further consequences, up to and including redirecting or withholding funding,” Duffy wrote. HOCHUL’S CHRISTMASTIME BOAST OF SAFER SUBWAY CAME AMID STRING OF ALARMING VIOLENT ATTACKS MTA Chief of Policy and External Relations John McCarthy argued crime is “moving in the right direction” in a statement responding to Duffy’s letter on Tuesday. “Crime is down 40% compared to the same period in 2020 right before the pandemic, and so far in 2025 there are fewer daily major crimes in transit than any non-pandemic year ever,” McCarthy said, adding that fare evasion is down 25% since COVID. McCarthy’s statement echoes claims that MTA head Janno Lieber made in January, when he suggested that recent high-profile subway attacks have “gotten in people’s heads” to make them feel that the subway system is unsafe. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Lieber made the comments during an appearance on the Bloomberg News’ podcast “Bloomberg Talks,” arguing that “the overall stats are positive” on crime. “Last year, we were actually 12.5% less crime than 2019, the last year before COVID. But there’s no question that some of these high-profile incidents, you know, terrible attacks, have gotten in people’s heads and made the whole system feel less safe,” Lieber said.
Progressive leader says Schumer faces ‘uphill’ climb to win back Democrats’ trust
The co-founder of a leading progressive group says Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faces a difficult challenge in winning back the trust of Democrats following his controversial support last week of a Republican-crafted federal government funding bill that averted a government shutdown. The move by Schumer, the longtime lawmaker from New York and top Democrat in the Senate, infuriated many, not only on the left but across the party, who want Democrat leaders to take a tougher stand in resisting President Donald Trump’s agenda. “Can he win back the trust of those who don’t have faith in Democratic leadership?” asked Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), a major grassroots organization that promotes economic populism and democracy through electoral and issue advocacy efforts. FACING PRESSURE FROM HIS OWN PARTY, SCHUMER DEFENDS HIMSELF Green, in a Fox News Digital interview, answered his own question, saying, “The answer is yes, but it’s uphill.” Schumer initially signaled last week that Senate Democrats would fight back against the GOP’s partisan funding bill. But one day later, he said he would reluctantly support the measure and help deliver to the GOP the Democrat votes needed to boost the bill to passage through the Senate. DEMOCRATS LASH OUT AT SCHUMER FOR ‘BETRAYAL’ OF SIDING WITH TRUMP In an interview Tuesday on ABC News’ “The View,” Schumer said he “knew it was a difficult choice” but added that “I felt I had to do it.” And he argued that a partial government shutdown would have allowed Trump to inflict “devastation like we’ve never seen.” Despite the intense backlash from his own party, Schumer said hours earlier in a “CBS Mornings” interview that he’s still the “best leader for the Senate.” “We have a lot of good people,” Schumer said. “But I am the best at winning Senate seats.” But Green said many in the PCCC membership, which the group says stands at roughly 1 million people, don’t agree. The PCCC is asking in a questionnaire to its membership, “Do you have confidence in Chuck Schumer as Senate Democratic Leader? According to PCCC, with nearly 22,000 responses by Tuesday afternoon, 84% said “no.” DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S FAVORABLE RATINGS DROP TO RECORD LOW Green, pointing to national polls from NBC News and CNN that were released this past weekend, which indicated Democratic Party favorability sinking to record lows, highlighted “that there’s not a lot of faith in those who call themselves Democratic leaders right now. And therefore, we need a lot more of going on offense.” Indivisible, another major pro-Democrat organizing group that has long been a leader in the Trump resistance, on Saturday called for Schumer to step down as leader. While the PCCC hasn’t gone that far, Green charged that “those who call themselves Democratic leaders are not in a position to come out from behind a curtain and vouch for a strategy, especially when that strategy is caving. They just don’t have the credibility.” Green argued that “I think that was one of the things that Chuck Schumer got really wrong and that he probably would admit that he got wrong, which is a lot of senators and a lot of groups that he considers allies were taken by surprise and felt a certain whiplash.” PCCC was one of the groups that organized protests at three stops this week on Schumer’s planned book tour. The events were abruptly postponed on Monday morning due to “security concerns.” Asked about his group’s effort, Green said “this is a time to channel public anger, not hide from it.”
Federal judge blocks Trump’s transgender military executive order
A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction barring the Pentagon from enforcing Trump’s order, which asserted “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.” The order, issued Jan. 27, instructed the Department of Defense (DOD) to update its medical standards for military service and pronoun policies, stating that “beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.” Reyes said that the executive order likely poses constitutional rights violations. “The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes,” Reyes wrote, delaying her order until Friday morning to allow time for the Trump administration to appeal. “We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect.” VA RESCINDS 2018 DIRECTIVE ON TRANSGENDER TREATMENTS, ALIGNING WITH TRUMP ‘TWO SEXES’ EO Transgender individuals were considered unfit for U.S. military service until the DOD changed its policy during former President Barack Obama’s second term. In her 79-page ruling, Reyes in part cites Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “Hamilton” to justify blocking the ban on transgender troops. “Women were ‘included in the sequel’ when passage of the Nineteenth Amendment granted them the right to vote in 1920,” Reyes wrote in the footnotes, adding, “That right is one of the many that thousands of transgender persons serve to protect.” READ THE JUDGE’S ORDER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: Reyes said plaintiffs “face a violation of their constitutional rights, which constitutes irreparable harm.” “Indeed, the cruel irony is that thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed – some risking their lives – to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the Military Ban seeks to deny them,” the judge wrote, adding that the defendants, on the other hand, “have not shown they will be burdened by continuing the status quo pending this litigation, and avoiding constitutional violations is always in the public interest.” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller condemned Reyes’ ruling on X, writing, “District court judges have now decided they are in command of the Armed Forces…is there no end to this madness?” Reyes was the second judge of the day to rule against the Trump administration. Trump called for impeaching a third judge who temporarily blocked deportation flights, drawing a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts. TRANSGENDER SAILORS, MARINES OFFERED BENEFITS TO VOLUNTARILY LEAVE SERVICE OR FACE BEING KICKED OUT “Unelected rogue judges are trying to steal years of time from a 4 year term. It’s the most egregious theft one can imagine: robbing the vote and voice of the American People,” Miller wrote in another X post. In response to Trump’s executive order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy on Feb. 26 that presumptively disqualifies people with gender dysphoria from military service. The policy says, “a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service.” Plaintiffs’ attorneys contend Trump’s order violates transgender people’s rights to equal protection under the Fifth Amendment. Government lawyers argue that military officials have broad discretion to decide how to assign and deploy service members without judicial interference. Reyes said she did not take lightly her decision to issue an injunction blocking Trump’s order, noting that “Judicial overreach is no less pernicious than executive overreach.” However, she said, it was also the responsibility of each branch of government to provide checks and balances for the others, and the court “therefore must act to uphold the equal protection rights that the military defends every day.” Thousands of transgender people serve in the military, but they represent less than 1% of the total number of active-duty service members, according to The Associated Press. In 2016, a DOD policy permitted transgender people to serve openly in the military. During Trump’s first term, he issued a directive to ban transgender service members. The Supreme Court allowed the ban to take effect. Biden, a Democrat who served as Obama’s vice president, scrapped it when he took office. Six service members and two people wanting to enlist in the military sued the government in January over Trump’s executive order. About a dozen others, including nine people on active duty, have since joined the lawsuit. Their attorneys, from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLAD Law, said transgender troops “seek nothing more than the opportunity to continue dedicating their lives to defending the Nation.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Dem governor slams Trump’s ‘authoritarian rule’ during ‘better way forward’ speech
Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., during “A Better Way Forward” conversation at the Center for American Progress, urged Democrats to fight and defend America’s constitutional republic from the “incompetence” and “treachery” of President Donald Trump. Pritzker, widely considered a 2028 presidential contender, has emerged as a leader in the Democrats’ opposition to Trump during his second term. The Democratic governor, who compared our current political climate to Nazi Germany during his State of the State address in February, once again warned of Trump’s “authoritarian rule” on Tuesday. “Americans are experiencing the cruelty that comes with authoritarian rule. Donald Trump has handed over the reins of power to Elon Musk and his fellow DOGE-bags, so that they can find trillions of dollars that they need to give themselves a massive tax break. Think about that. What Musk and Trump are doing isn’t about efficiencies or about cost savings. It is about cruelty. They’re intentionally breaking the system and giving themselves the authority to rebuild it in their own interest.” While the event was called “A Better Way Forward,” Pritzker focused much of his remarks on the threat of Trump and Elon Musk, telling the crowd the “only way out is through.” He began by thanking the Center for American Progress for their leadership during “these first two months of President Musk’s administration.” BLUE STATE GOP CHAIR UNLEASHES ON GOVERNOR FOR ‘GRANDSTANDING’ WITH SPECIAL DEMAND OF TRUMP ADMIN “The meme lords and the minions in the White House conceive of themselves as kings and nobles who have the divine right to order the world in a way that best suits them and their fellow kleptocrats. People’s lives are a game to them. I really think that’s how they think,” Pritzker said. ‘UNFIT TO LEAD’: BLUE STATE GOVERNOR LASHES OUT AT TRUMP FOR TARGETING DEI POLICIES AFTER DC PLANE CRASH Pritzker, however, acknowledged that Democrats need “to be honest with ourselves” and accept that a majority of Americans elected Trump to deliver his agenda. As Democrats have struggled to find their footing and agree on a messaging strategy in the aftermath of the 2024 election, Pritzker delivered a clear message to his Democratic colleagues on Tuesday. “If we want to regain the trust of the voters that we stand for, Democrats have to deliver. For sure, we have to call out the B.S. that Republicans have been selling. But meanwhile, Democrats have to make people’s lives better,” Pritzker said. Pritzker touted his accomplishments as governor of Illinois, including expanded access to child care, a universal preschool program, expanding financial aid, corporate expansion, enshrining abortion rights and ending book bans. As the world’s 18th largest economy, Pritzker even joked that maybe Illinois should become its own independent country. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) investigations have reported billions in federal savings while cutting government programs and laying off thousands of workers. While Republicans across the United States have embraced DOGE’s efforts and worked to incorporate its strategies into their own departments and governments, Democrats have protested DOGE since Trump’s first week in office. Prtizker called it the “scam of their lives.” “There’s no grand master strategy to improve the lives of everyday Americans. This is true villainous cruelty by a few idiots who are trying to figure out how to pull off the scam of their lives. They’re armed with the power of the presidency and their sights are aimed on working people, many of whom voted for them, never imagining what this would turn out to be. Here we are. Things are bad, and they’re getting worse.” The blue state governor lamented over the dysfunction of Congressional Democrats and Republicans who are worried about getting primaried. Pritzker said he supported Senate Democrats’ rejecting the Republicans’ bill to fund the government last week, adding that he’s “disappointed” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sided with the Republicans and voted to avert a government shutdown. Acknowledging his inability to change or enact federal laws, Pritzker said he’s relied on legal authority to reject Trump’s agenda, with the support of Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Pritzker signed a letter last month that called for the White House to release $1.88 billion in approved federal funding that he said the Trump administration is withholding from his state. Pritzker also vowed to reject Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship in the initial days of his second term. DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR’S TRIP TO THIS KEY STATE SPARKING 2028 SPECULATION Pritzker’s comments on Tuesday are the latest in a long-standing feud between the two. Trump often evoked Pritzker’s name on the campaign trail as an example of the downfall of Democrat-run states. “Sloppy J.B. Pritzker… has presided over the destruction and disintegration of Illinois at levels never seen before in any State,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last year. “Crime is rampant and people are, sadly, fleeing Illinois. Unless a change is made at the Governor’s level, Illinois can never be Great Again!” Pritzker will headline the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s annual fundraising gala, sparking 2028 speculation. Trips to New Hampshire, which, for over a century, has held the first primary in the race for the White House, are seen as an early indicator of a politician’s interest in running for the presidency in the next election. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about Pritzker’s remarks on Tuesday.
‘I’m the future’: House Dem Green’s GOP challenger dishes on campaign after outburst during Trump speech
EXCLUSIVE: Deddrick Wilmer, who is running to unseat longtime Democratic Congressman Al Green in Texas, spoke to Fox News Digital about why he decided to enter the race and what his priorities will be if elected. Wilmer, running as a “compassionate conservative” Republican against Green in Texas’ 9th Congressional District, told Fox News Digital that “the difference between myself and the incumbent is that I’m out to provide solutions and bringing people together versus, you know, the outburst on the floor.” Green dominated the headlines after being removed from President Trump’s speech to Congress earlier this month, and Wilmer told Fox News Digital he “wouldn’t have reacted that way” but that he is focused on what his constituents want in terms of policies. “They want the future,” Wilmer said. “My incumbent has served this community well for over the years, but it’s time for the future. You know and again, I stress this, it’s all about coming up with policies and opportunities for jobs, lowering the cost of food and services, building relationships across the aisle. This is about the 9th District. This is not about my incumbent. This is about the 9th district. Sometimes, when we focus on national issues, sometimes we neglect, you know, our constituents and our citizens in our home district. Charity begins at home.” REP. AL GREEN BLAMES ‘INVIDIOUS DISCRIMINATION’ FOR BEING CENSURED AFTER DISRUPTING TRUMP’S SPEECH Wilmer told Fox News Digital that he plans to campaign on “kitchen table issues,” including lowering healthcare premiums, implementing more flood protections in Houston, lowering the cost of living and bringing businesses to his district. Green, who has served in Congress since 2005, has cruised to victory in all of his re-election campaigns, including a 50-point win the last time he went head-to-head with a Republican in 2022. Wilmer told Fox News Digital that Green has served the district “well” but that when he talks to residents in the district he sees a desire for change. HOUSE DEM PUSHES TO CENSURE BOEBERT OVER TV INTERVIEW ABOUT AL GREEN “I’m the future, he’s the past,” Wilmer said. “At the core of it all, we must ask ourselves what is our true calling?” Wilmer told Fox News Digital. “What is the meaning and purpose of life? Our founding Fathers built this great nation on the principle that we must go beyond simply helping ourselves. We must also support those who cannot care for themselves. That means prioritizing our sick and elderly, standing by our military and veterans, ensuring that every man, woman and child is protected by the laws and leadership that guide our country forward.” “America has always been an experiment, a nation striving for perfection. Excellence. Has she always been perfect? No. Far from it. But like a determined spirit, she constantly strives to be better. To set an example for the world. That is why I love this country. That’s why I call her my America. Because she is mine. Always has been. Always will be. Together we will move Texas forward. Together we will move America forward.” Fox News Digital reached out to Green’s office for comment. Green, who has filed multiple articles of impeachment against President Trump, was censured by Congress for his outburst during Trump’s speech. “I think that on some questions, questions of conscience, you have to be willing to suffer the consequences,” Green said about his outburst, which he says was focused on potential cuts to Medicaid. “And I have said I will. I will suffer whatever the consequences are, because I don’t believe that in the richest country in the world, people should be without good healthcare.”
Biden buried gov’t study on US gas exports that cut against climate goals, officials say
EXCLUSIVE — The Biden administration buried for more than a year a final draft report that failed to prove that an increase in U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals was linked to a meaningful impact on greenhouse gas emissions, according to a copy of the findings, previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital. The Biden administration stalled the release of the information, senior Trump administration officials told Fox News Digital, delaying sharing the data with House Oversight Committee Republicans. The impact new U.S. LNG exports had on the environment and the economy had been reviewed by U.S. Energy Department scientists and federal contractors, who by September 2023 had completed their work and had a draft final report ready for publication. Fox News independently reviewed a copy of that draft study, titled, “Energy, Economic, and Environmental Assessment of U.S. LNG Exports.” That report and its findings were slated for publication in 2023 — months before then-President Joe Biden, who was still seeking re-election at the time, announced a pause on all new U.S. LNG export terminals in January 2024, citing the need to better consider environmental and economic impacts. The draft report found that across all modeled scenarios, an increase in U.S. LNG exports and natural gas production did not change global or U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, nor did it correlate with a strong uptick in energy prices for consumers, Trump administration officials said. “Secretary Granholm, and Biden White House told Americans that the increase in LNG exports would disproportionately increase prices for American consumers as well as from the environment,” an official said. “And both these claims were refuted in the report that the Biden administration hid from Congress and the American public,” the official said. A copy of the report was shared Wednesday morning with the House Oversight Committee, which had been requesting the Energy Department to share its findings on LNG since March 2024. The 2023 findings present the most definitive data to date that the Biden administration, and then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, misrepresented the impact LNG exports would have on the U.S. At the time, Biden was facing mounting criticism from progressives in the party to scale back LNG exports, which during his term rose to an all-time high. The U.S. became the world’s largest energy exporter in 2023, underpinned by new demand in the EU, following Russia’s war in Ukraine, and its abrupt cutoff of nearly all piped gas supplies to the bloc. To help alleviate the deep energy security concerns, the U.S. ramped up exports to Europe to a record-high, supplying more than 50% of their LNG, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That prompted fierce pushback from progressive Democrats, including Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., which put new pressure on the administration for the pause. However, rather than come forward with the report, the Biden administration continued to stall on releasing the study and declined to comply with requests from the House Oversight Committee to testify or share their findings, Trump administration officials said. That’s far less significant than the data eventually released by the Biden administration in December 2024, after the presidential election, which suggested the rise in exports could cause consumer prices to rise by as much as 30% in the coming years. That sparked fierce backlash from both industry groups and Republicans, who panned the study as exaggerated and failing to justify the administration’s 10-month pause. Fox News Digital has emailed a Biden office spokesperson for comment.