Trump responds to Biden dismissal of autopen probe, says he didn’t know ‘what was going on’
President Donald Trump maintained his belief that former President Joe Biden didn’t have “much of an idea what was going on” when he served as president when asked Thursday to respond to Biden’s dismissal of an investigation into his administration’s use of an autopen. “He was never for open borders. He was never for transgender for everybody. He was never for men playing in women’s sports. I mean, he changed,” Trump said Thursday from the Oval Office during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “I mean, all of these things that that changed so radically. I don’t think he had any idea … I said it during the debate and I say it now, he didn’t have much of an idea what was going on.” “Essentially, whoever used the autopen was the president, and that is wrong,” he added. “It’s illegal. It’s so bad, and it’s so disrespectful to our country.” Trump sent a memo to the Department of Justice Wednesday directing Attorney General Pam Bondi’s department to investigate whether Biden administration aides conspired to deceive the public about his mental state, and simultaneously using an autopen to sign key presidential actions. BIDEN’S WOES CONVERGE: LAST-MINUTE PARDONS UNDER FIRE, CALLS FOR PROSECUTION MOUNT FOLLOWING HUR TAPE RELEASE “In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline and assert Article II authority,” Trump wrote. “This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.” Biden responded to the memo Wednesday evening, brushing it off as “ridiculous” and a “distraction” put forth by the GOP. “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” Biden said. “This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.” Trump continued in his Thursday comments that the Biden administration’s use of an autopen is one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history, remarking that autopens are typically used to send mass amounts of letters — not for official presidential actions. CRITICISMS MOUNT THAT BIDEN IS A ‘SHADOW’ OF HIMSELF AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE: ‘NOT THE SAME MAN’ FROM VP ERA “I sign important documents. Usually, when they put documents in front of you, they’re important. Even if you’re signing ambassadorships or — and I consider that important, I think it’s inappropriate,” Trump continued. “You have somebody that’s devoting four years of their life or more to being an ambassador. I think you really deserve that person deserves to get a real signature, not a not an autopen signature.” The president added that he can easily identify autopen signatures from genuine pen-to-paper signatures due to “two little pinholes from pulling the paper” that are found on documents. “I think it’s very disrespectful to people when they get an autopen signature,” Trump said. “Autopen to me are used when thousands of letters come in from young people all over the country, and you want to get them back and, you know, people use auto pens for that to send, a little signature at the bottom of a letter. We have thousands of them. We get thousands of letters a week, and it’s not possible to, you know, though I’d like to do it myself, but you can’t do it. That’s where autopens start and stop.” WHAT IS AN AUTOPEN? THE SIGNING DEVICE AT THE HEART OF TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON BIDEN PARDONS TRUMP CLAIMS BIDEN PARDONS ARE ‘VOID,’ ALLEGING THEY WERE SIGNED VIA AUTOPEN Autopen signatures are automatically produced by a machine, as opposed to an authentic, handwritten signature. The conservative Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project first investigated the Biden administration’s use of an autopen earlier in 2025 and found that the same signature was on a bevvy of executive orders and other official documents, while Biden’s signature on the document announcing his departure from the 2024 race varied from the apparent machine-produced signature. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The reports led to speculation that Biden aides had approved of executive orders and sweeping pardons, not the president.
DC restaurant groups blast Dems’ ‘baseless’ boycott threat reportedly backed by AOC, Sanders
“Dozens” of Democratic lawmakers are boycotting six high-dollar Washington, D.C., restaurants over labor disputes with two restaurant groups, according to Axios. One of those restaurant groups, STARR, told Fox News Digital the boycott push was “baseless.” “To the best of our knowledge, a majority of Le Diplomate employees have no interest in engaging in that process nor in being represented by a union,” a STARR representative said. “A boycott of any kind can result in lost hours, wages, and tips that our hardworking employees rely upon. It is unfortunate that an organization that claims to want to represent the employees of Le Diplomate would call for an action that would harm them.” DEMS FUME OVER ‘DUE PROCESS’ FOR ABREGO GARCIA DESPITE LONG HISTORY OF PARTY BUCKING THE LEGAL PRINCIPLE The owner of the second business, Knightsbridge Restaurant Group, took a shot at the lawmakers more directly. “How many of these congress members even know themselves that they’re signing?” he told Axios. STARR owns Osteria Mozza, The Occidental and Le Diplomate – the latter of which has been a mainstay among the Washington, D.C., elite for years, including former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Knightsbridge owns Rasika, Modena and Bombay Club. Knightsbridge did not respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital. Obama was spotted at Osteria Mozza with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos earlier this year, CBS News reported. The boycott is being run by Local 25, a hospitality workers’ union. “Hundreds of workers at some of D.C.’s most prominent and lucrative restaurants – including Le Diplomate and Rasika – have been organizing to join UNITE HERE Local 25. These workers have endured months of union busting from their employers – STARR Restaurants and Knightsbridge Restaurant Group,” a flyer on the boycott obtained by Axios read. MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, ‘BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE “D.C. Restaurant workers have been holding informational picket lines outside STARR and Knightsbridge Restaurants, including STARR’s Osteria Mozza, The Occidental and Le Diplomate, and Knightsbridge’s Rasika, Modena and Bombay Club. Now, workers are calling for D.C. customers to boycott these restaurants, asking the public not to eat, meet or drink at these locations.” Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are reportedly among the signatories. Fox News Digital reached out for comment.
Musk says Trump would have lost 2024 election without him as ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ feud continues
Elon Musk and President Donald Trump’s feud about the “Big Beautiful Bill” continued on Thursday when the tech billionaire responded to the president’s criticism in a post on X. “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate. Such ingratitude,” Musk wrote in a post responding to Trump’s remarks about him. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Blue state Republicans threaten rebellion if Senate changes key provision in Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
House Republicans in Democrat-controlled states are firing a warning shot at the Senate as it considers President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill.” GOP lawmakers in New York and California have been demanding that senators leave the House’s increased state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap in the bill, even as members of the upper chamber eye it as low-hanging fruit for saving taxpayer dollars. But those blue state Republicans have made raising the current $10,000 SALT deduction cap an existential issue, arguing it provides much-needed tax relief to people in high-cost-of-living areas. The SALT deduction allows people living in areas with high state and local taxes to deduct those penalties in their federal tax filings, up to a point. “When did taxing income that’s already been taxed become a Republican ideal? Our party has always stood for lower taxes and a fair, commonsense tax code. We worked in good faith with House leadership to secure a fair deal that provides our constituents with much-needed SALT relief,” SALT Caucus co-chairs Reps. Young Kim, R-Calif., and Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., said in a statement. MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, ‘BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE “Hardworking families we represent are penalized by the SALT cap, and this deal keeps the President’s commitment to fix this issue and has the support of firefighters, police, small businesses and working Americans who keep our country moving.” House Republicans can afford little dissent with their razor-thin majority to still pass the bill again, if the Senate returned a modified version – something the SALT caucus pointed out. “The Senate would be remiss to forget that the path to 218 — and delivering for the American people — runs through the SALT Caucus,” the statement read. The House-passed budget reconciliation bill – aimed at advancing Trump’s priorities on tax, energy, defense, immigration, and the national debt – raises the SALT deduction cap to $40,000. Republicans are working on the bill as the national debt climbs past $36 trillion. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., a SALT Caucus member and one of the House’s GOP tax-writers, sent in a statement to Fox News Digital, “The State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction negotiated in the House should NOT be altered by the Senate. It’s a Republican principle to allow taxpayers to keep more of their hard-earned money and taxpayers in New York and other SALT states deserve not to be double taxed by their government, especially when we also supported significant savings by rooting out waste, fraud & abuse in our states.” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who also fought for the increased cap, signaled he would not support the bill if the Senate reinstated the lower number. SCOOP: HOUSE GOP MEMO HIGHLIGHTS REPUBLICAN WINS IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ “NY, NJ, and CA have and continue to subsidize many of the states represented in the Senate Republican conference. Furthermore, SALT has been used as a payfor for other provisions in the bill, including the doubling of the standard deduction, which is to the benefit of all Americans,” Lawler wrote on X. “Since the last tax bill, 29 states have blown past the 10k cap. This isn’t a red vs blue issue, it’s an issue of double taxation. Since when do Republicans advocate for taxing you on top of taxes already paid? No SALT. No Deal.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., met with Trump to shore up support for the tax portion of the budget reconciliation bill, and said he recognized SALT was a key issue for blue-state Republicans in the House – but it was one that didn’t really move the needle for Republican senators. “We also start from a position that there really isn’t a single Republican senator who cares much about the SALT issue,” Thune said. “It’s just not an issue that plays. Most of our states, we’re states that are low-tax states, and we don’t think that low-tax states ought to be subsidizing high-tax states.” Indeed, no Senate Republican hails from a blue state, making the issue for many lawmakers in the upper chamber a moot point. And Thune’s position echoes that of many in the House GOP who were wary of increasing the SALT cap. Still, Thune and Senate Republican leadership acknowledge that whatever tweaks and changes to the budget bill that they make have to pass muster with their colleagues in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Thursday morning that he is still keeping SALT lawmakers “calm.” The speaker added that he had been urging the Senate to keep the House’s bill intact. “Look, the Senate Republicans are from red states, right? They feel the same way that I do about SALT, but I’m being very deliberate in reminding them that we have, again, this very delicate balance to maintain over here, and you’ve got to address the issue so that our members can take something home,” Johnson said.
Cuomo attacked during debate by fellow Dems for allegedly lying to Congress about COVID nursing home scandal
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was blasted by fellow Democrats running against him to be the next mayor of New York City for lying to Congress, an allegation pushed by Republicans that the Trump administration is currently investigating. Cuomo repeatedly dismissed questions throughout Wednesday night’s debate on whether he lied to Congress about his role in drafting a New York State Department of Health report that officials determined had undercounted the number of nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Cuomo blasted the current investigation as a symptom of partisan politics and insisted the report in question “did not undercount the deaths.” “The people died and he still won’t answer your questions,” Cuomo’s opponent, Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman from the Bronx, said after Cuomo failed to provide a straight answer. DOJ INVESTIGATING ANDREW CUOMO FOR ALLEGEDLY LYING ABOUT COVID DECISIONS, SOURCE CONFIRMS Blake’s retort resulted in one of the debate moderators asking Cuomo once again to respond to the allegations that he lied to Congress about his role in drafting the report that undercounted the number of COVID-19 nursing home deaths. This time, he engaged. “No, I told Congress the truth,” Cuomo relented. “No, we did not undercount any deaths,” he added. “When they are all counted, we’re number 38 out of 50, which I think, shows that compared to what other states went through, we had it first and worst, and that only 12 states had a lower rate of death – we should really be thanking the women and men who worked on those things.” “It’s just a yes or no question,” the moderator shot back at Cuomo. “Were you involved in the producing of that report?” However, Cuomo still did not address the question directly, leading to laughter from his opponents. BILL MAHER SUGGESTS ANDREW CUOMO’S NURSING HOME SCANDAL MAY COST HIS NYC MAYORAL CAMPAIGN “It’s not only that Andrew Cuomo lied to Congress – which is perjury – he also lied to the grieving families whose loved ones he sent in to those nursing homes to protect his $5 million book deal,” said Brad Lander, New York City’s comptroller. “That’s corruption.” Last month, the Trump administration’s Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation to get to the bottom of whether Cuomo lied to Congress about the decisions he made during the COVID-19 pandemic while serving as governor. In March 2020, Cuomo issued a directive that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients who had tested positive for COVID-19. The directive was meant to free up beds for overwhelmed hospitals, but more than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients were ultimately released from hospitals into nursing homes under the directive, which was later rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated outbreaks. Subsequently, a report released in March 2022 by the New York state comptroller found Cuomo’s Health Department “was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes” and it “understated the number of deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%” during some points of the pandemic. New York Attorney General Letitia James similarly released a report amid the pandemic showing New York state nursing home deaths had been undercounted.
Trump ‘disappointed’ with Musk criticism of ‘big, beautiful bill,’ saying it’s related to EV incentive cuts
President Donald Trump said he’s ‘very disappointed’ with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, days after Musk’s official departure from spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In recent days, Musk has been very critical of Trump’s massive tax and spending package dubbed the “big, beautiful, bill,” labeling the measure a “disgusting abomination” due to the fact it ramps up the federal deficit. “I’ve always liked Elon … you saw the words he had for me, and he hasn’t said anything about me… I’d rather have him criticize me than the bill, because the bill is incredible,” Trump told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office with a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “It’s the biggest cut in the history of our country.” MUSK CONFIDENT DOGE WILL SAVE $1 TRILLION AS GOVERNMENT COST CUTTING CONTINUES Trump said that Musk’s opposition to the bill stems from the fact it nixes an electric vehicle tax credit that benefits companies like Tesla. But Trump said that provision has always been part of the measure. “I’m very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here better than you people,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we’re going to have to cut the EV mandate, because that’s billions and billions of dollars, and it really is unfair.” Meanwhile, Musk immediately responded on X to Trump’s statements, urging for the bill to remove the “disgusting pork” included in the measure. He also said it was “false” that he was ever shown the measure “even once.” DOGE STAFFING SHAKEUP AS ELON MUSK HANGS UP HIS HAT, WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS “Whatever. Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,” Musk said in a post on X. “In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this! Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.” Musk has issued a slew of criticism against the measure, which was passed by the House in May, and has argued that it undercuts the work he has done with DOGE to eliminate government waste, fraud, and abuse. DOGE originally was tasked with cutting $2 trillion from the federal government’s budget through efforts to slash spending, government programs and the federal workforce. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: THE BUDGET CUTS MUSK COULDN’T COMPLETE AND WHAT’S NEXT FOR DOGE “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk said Tuesday in a post on X. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.” In response to Musk’s initial comments about the spending measure, the White House said that Trump was aware of Musk’s position, and said that it didn’t influence Trump at all. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. “It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill and he’s sticking to it,” she said.
Ricketts, Fetterman team up for crackdown on China’s attempts to purchase US farmland
FIRST ON FOX: Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, Democrat Sen. John Fetterman and others are teaming up on legislation to codify oversight on foreign countries buying American farmland. The bipartisan Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act seeks to implement recommendations published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in January 2024, which found the AFIDA was ill-equipped to combat foreign ownership of American agricultural land. “American farmland should remain in the hands of American farmers and ranchers, not foreign adversaries,” Ricketts of Nebraska shared first with Fox News Digital. “The neighbors who feed us should benefit from land ownership, not Communist China. Food security is national security.” The bill, also co-sponsored by Sens. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, John Cornyn of Texas, Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska introduced legislation, requires AFIDA reporting for foreign persons holding more than one percent interest in American agricultural land. GOP GOVERNOR HOPEFUL PUSHES ANTI-CHINA POLICY AFTER YEARS OF CHINESE INVESTMENTS “Over the past several decades, China has been buying up American farmland in an attempt to infiltrate our agriculture supply chains. Food security is national security, and we cannot give the CCP a foothold,” Tuberville said in a statement to Fox News Digital. SENATE REPUBLICANS LAUNCH EFFORT TO BAN CHINESE NATIONALS FROM BUYING LAND IN US The AFIDA Improvements Act aims to increase information-sharing between the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It also requires updates to the AFIDA’s handbook and establishes a deadline for USDA to set up an online AFIDA system. The bill’s House sponsor, Bacon, told Fox News Digital that “having actual processes in place will strengthen the security of our nation in the event nefarious foreign agents, such as the CCP, try to purchase agricultural lands within our nation.” Based on the GAO’s recommendations, the bill seeks to update the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 to better equip the USDA to combat foreign adversaries’ ownership of American agricultural land. Under AFIDA, foreign entities must disclose to the USDA transactions of American agricultural land. Foreign investors own over 40 million acres of agricultural land in the United States, and between 2010 and 2021, Chinese ownership of American agricultural land increased from 13,720 acres to 383,935 acres, according to the USDA. The AFIDA Improvements Act is the latest attempt by Congressional Republicans to track foreign ownership of American farmland and strengthen national security. It was first introduced by Bacon and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., in 2024. China owned around 350,000 acres of farmland across 27 states as of last year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture The movement to ban China from buying U.S. farmland located near military bases has been gaining steam in the Senate this year. The PASS Act, led by Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., has the backing of Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and would prevent any entity from a “covered country,” which includes China, North Korea, Russia and Iran, from purchasing agricultural land near military bases or sensitive sites. Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Katie Britt of Alabama, proposed The Not One More Inch or Acre Act, earlier this year to ban China from buying U.S. land entirely. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP On the presidential campaign trail in 2024, President Donald Trump indicated he would ban China from buying American farmland. The Senate passed an amendment with bipartisan support in 2023 that would ban China, Russia, North Korea and Iran from buying American farmland and agricultural businesses, but it did not become law. Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
Longtime Trump loyalist flips on GOP’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
Trump-loyalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., dropped a bombshell this week, revealing that she had not read the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in its entirety and no longer supports it. Greene joins the growing list of President Donald Trump’s staunchest House GOP allies who have come out in opposition of the bill they voted for two weeks ago. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., another loyal MAGA member, said Elon Musk was “right to call out House Leadership” this week. “I wish I had a nickel for every time the @freedomcaucus sounded the alarm and nobody listened, only to find out the hard way we were right all along. We expect MASSIVE improvements from the Senate before it gets back to the House,” Perry said, referring to the bill he voted for. MUSK AGREES WITH MASSIE THAT BILL IS ‘DEBT BOMB TICKING’ AND ‘MISSED OPPORTUNITY’ FOR CONSERVATIVES The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by one vote in the House after weeks of overnight committee debates and last-minute huddles in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office. Coined by Trump himself, he has championed the legislation to fulfill his key campaign promises, including border security, American energy production and tax cuts. ELON MUSK WARPATH AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ RATTLES HOUSE GOP The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is under consideration by both a Republican-led White House and Congress. But it’s faced hiccups in the Senate this week as Republicans have indicated they do not support the bill in its current form. Leading the charge against Trump’s champion legislation is Musk, who has been a fixture of the second Trump administration through his leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk was a “special government employee” until his leadership timeline expired last week. And Musk’s newfound freedom from the executive branch seems to have inspired him to speak out about Trump’s bill. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” Musk revealed on Tuesday. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed a question from Fox News’ Peter Doocy this week about how angry Trump would be at Musk for undermining his legislation. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SOUNDS ALARM OVER AI PROVISION IN ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ACT: ‘I WOULD HAVE VOTED NO IF I HAD KNOWN’ “Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it,” Leavitt said. Much of the discontent over the bill is rooted in Republicans’ reluctance to increase the United States’ national debt. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Wednesday reported that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cut taxes by $3.7 trillion while raising deficits by $2.4 trillion over a decade. Meanwhile, the national debt rose to $36,215,207,426,690.65 as of June 4, according to the latest numbers published by the Treasury Department. That is up about $806 million from the figure reported the previous day. However, Greene’s newfound issue with the bill has to do with its 10-year restriction on states regulating artificial intelligence (AI). The provision reads, in part: “Except as provided in paragraph (2), no State or political subdivision thereof may enforce, during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, any law or regulation of that State or a political subdivision thereof limiting, restricting, or otherwise regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems entered into interstate commerce.” Greene, who voted in favor of the bill two weeks ago, said on X: “Full transparency, I did not know about this section on pages 278-279 of the OBBB that strips states of the right to make laws or regulate AI for 10 years. I am adamantly OPPOSED to this, and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there.” Not only does she regret her vote, but Greene is urging the Senate to remove the provision, or she won’t vote for the bill when it returns to the House. “We have no idea what AI will be capable of in the next 10 years, and giving it free rein and tying states’ hands is potentially dangerous. This needs to be stripped out in the Senate. When the OBBB comes back to the House for approval after Senate changes, I will not vote for it with this in it,” Greene said. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Greene for comment. Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
FCC Commissioner Simington expected to abruptly leave agency, potential replacement revealed
FIRST ON FOX: Federal Communications Commissioner, Nathan Simington, is leaving the agency, as revealed in an internal memo obtained by Fox News Digital. Gavin Wax, a 31-year-old New York native and outspoken political ally of President Donald Trump, is being floated as a likely replacement. He would be the youngest commissioner in U.S. history, and also the youngest presidential nominee ever confirmed by the Senate. “Gavin Wax is being seriously considered by the White House to fill the vacancy that will be left by Commissioner Simington’s departure,” a source close to the FCC told Fox News Digital. “He’s seen as a strong conservative voice on tech and media policy, with close ties to key figures in both the policy and political arenas.” FCC PLANS MAJOR DEI CRACKDOWN WITH HELP OF CONSERVATIVE FIREBRAND Wax’s relationship with the White House goes beyond his role at the agency, as he previously served as President of the New York Young Republican Club, which holds an annual holiday gala Trump has attended in person and virtually in previous years. The young Republican published an op-ed just last week touting the work of Vice President JD Vance and alluded to the goals the former Ohio senator would accomplish should he run for president after Trump’s term ends. If selected, President Trump would nominate Wax, which would initiate the official senate confirmation process. VANCE COMPARES HARVARD TO NORTH KOREA AS HE TAKES AIM AT SCHOOL’S ‘IDEOLOGICAL DIVERSITY’ Simington’s term expired last year, but he was expected to remain as FCC Commissioner until the end of 2025. There are five commissioners that run the FCC. The most one party can have at the agency is three. With Simington out, Wax would replace the vacant GOP commissioner seat. THIS LOCAL NPR CEO IS SPEAKING OUT AS TRUMP ORDER THREATENS FUNDING FOR PUBLIC STATIONS The FCC is responsible for regulation and oversight of all media, television, broadcast, and radio in the country, as well as internet access and broadband, national emergency communications, spectrum management, and consumer protection. The agency was established as part of the Communications Act of 1934. Fox News Digital reached out to Simington and the White House, but did not receive responses.
Laken Riley’s sister says family has ‘hope’ after Trump immigration changes: ‘Still a lot to be done’
EXCLUSIVE: Laken Riley’s sister said she and her family have “hope” due to the immigration policies President Donald Trump has put in place, telling Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that, while there is “still a lot to be done,” continuing in the direction of the new administration “will be very beneficial to our country.” Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was brutally assaulted and murdered by an illegal migrant while on a morning run in February 2024. FLASHBACK: TRUMP SAYS HE SPOKE TO ‘DEVASTATED’ PARENTS OF LAKEN RILEY, BLASTS BIDEN FOR BORDER CRISIS ‘LIKE A WAR’ Her sister, Lauren Phillips, told Fox News Digital that she will always speak out in honor and remembrance of her older sister, and will continue to advocate for “securing our borders.” “I think it’s important that we keep reminding people of the importance of securing our borders and what can happen when it’s not secure,” Phillips told Fox News Digital. “We definitely feel hope – we just need to keep talking about it and keep everyone aware of what happens when nothing is done,” she continued. “And I think a lot has been done so far, and I am grateful for that, but there is still a lot to be done.” She added: “I think that continuing in the direction that the new administration is going will be very beneficial to our country.” Phillips, on Thursday, was featured in the first video launched by the American Border Story (TABS), a national initiative dedicated to exposing the human impact of America’s border crisis through storytelling. “I really feel it’s important because it didn’t stop with Laken – it keeps happening,” Phillips told Fox News Digital. “I feel like just telling what’s happening to all of these people isn’t enough.” TRUMP SIGNS LAKEN RILEY ACT INTO LAW AS FIRST LEGISLATIVE VICTORY IN NEW ADMINISTRATION “People aren’t realizing what’s truly being lost every single time something like this happens,” she said. The TABS video is the first in a series that aims to bring “the truth to light.” “Truth the media and politicians too often ignore,” Nicole Kiprilov, executive director of TABS, told Fox News Digital. “Laken Riley’s story is not just a tragedy – it’s a wake-up call.” Kiprilov said TABS is “honored to stand with her sister Lauren and brave families across America who are turning pain into purpose.” “This documentary is about more than remembrance – it’s about demanding accountability, restoring safety and putting the American people first,” Kiprilov said. Phillips, in the video, spoke about her sister, their relationship and Riley’s faith, while stressing that protecting the border “should be common sense.” “I could talk about her forever,” Phillips told Fox News Digital. “I think Laken is just the type of person that you want to be around. She’s the type of person that shows up and she wasn’t just my sibling – she was my best friend.” “A lot of people would say her presence brought so much comfort and strength and peace, and I carry a lot of what she taught me in my everyday life,” she continued. “She had a light that is so impossible to ignore.” Meanwhile, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law just days after taking office. It was the first piece of legislation he signed in his second administration. The measure directs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants arrested or charged with theft-related crimes, or those accused of assaulting a police officer. The law also allows states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration. But Phillips told Fox News Digital that despite changes to federal law, it is “terrifying to have to walk around the same city where such a tragic thing happened to my sister.” Riley was murdered near the University of Georgia campus in Athens, which is considered an unofficial sanctuary city. “The laws that were not put in place are still not put in place in a city where something so tragic happened,” Phillips said. “I thought what happened to Laken would change that, but nothing has changed there, so I think continuing to talk about it, not backing down, not staying quiet, hopefully, will do something.” In addition to being vocal on immigration and honoring the life of her sister, Phillips said she and her family have created the Laken Hope Foundation. “I thank God every day that I have the space to share, and that he gave me Laken for the time that he did, and I thank him for her faith and his faithfulness to know that none of this compares to what we’re going to be given and where she is.”