White House proposal axes UN, NATO funds and halves State Department budget
The Trump administration is mulling a proposal that would slash the State Department budget by $27 billion – nearly in half – and shutter smaller embassies and consulates across the globe. The proposal calls for the elimination of funding for more than 20 international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO and the Organization of American States, a diplomatic source in possession of the document told Fox News Digital. The U.S. contributed around $13 billion to the United Nations in 2023 and around $3.5 billion to NATO. The proposed budget calls for allocating $2 billion for “America First” priorities. Those coffers could be used for “specific partners” like India and Jordan, according to the document, or broader priorities, like the South Pacific Tuna Treaty. However, a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday, “there is no final plan, final budget.” PETE MAROCCO, MASTERMIND BEHIND DISMANTLING OF USAID PROJECTS, LEAVES STATE DEPARTMENT The proposal is an early draft and has to pass layers of approval within the administration before it even gets to Congress. Congress can then take it as an outline but ultimately draw up its own budget figures. The foreign service travel budget and benefits would be scaled back, and the Fulbright scholarship program would be eliminated. The document calls for a 2% reduction in diplomatic security, cuts to the inspector general’s office and the closure of smaller embassies in countries such as the Maldives, Malta, Luxembourg and the Central African Republic. It also proposes a 54% cut to global public health funding, with carve-outs for malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis, and a complete elimination of international peacekeeping funds. When asked about the budget plan during a State Department briefing, spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, “Throughout the history of the United States, everyone has a budget plan and everyone has ideas for budgets. And every president has a budget plan and sends it to Congress. And then Congress either accepts it or they have their own ideas, which happens more often than not.” “There is no final plan, final budget,” she emphasized. The Trump administration has moved quickly to dismantle foreign aid, eliminating nearly 90% of USAID projects and merging the agency with the State Department and defunding “soft power” institutions like Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting networks. STATE DEPARTMENT WILL ABSORB REMAINING USAID PROGRAMMING AS INDEPENDENT AGENCY IS DISMANTLED The White House budget is set to be transferred to Congress next month before the Republican-led House and Senate get to work on passing appropriations bills for each agency of government. Meanwhile, agencies are expected to present their own plans for reorganization to the White House this week, outlining what cuts they believe are necessary to further shrink the federal government. The State Department has not yet publicly detailed its plans for downsizing. As reports of the cuts emerged, Democrats warned that U.S. adversaries would fill the vacuum left by America around the world. The cuts “would leave our country alone and exposed and allow China and Russia to fill the vacuum made vacant by this administration,” according to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, N.H., top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. “Why in the world would we cut funding for NATO at a moment when war is raging in Europe and security threats on the continent grow?” she added. It is not clear whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio endorses the initial proposal. “I want to hear from Secretary Rubio directly,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, Hawaii, top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that handles State funding, calling the reports “deeply troubling.”
Easter Monday could soon become federal holiday under new GOP proposal
Easter Monday could soon be a federal holiday under a new legislative proposal. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Rep. Riley Moore, R-W. Va., are leading the way on legislation to make the day following Easter Sunday a holiday amid several other countries also recognizing the holiday. In a thread posted to X, Schmitt cited a poll that 81% of Americans celebrated Easter as of 2023, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. “This isn’t a radical idea. It’s a federal recognition of a tradition that is central to Western civilization—a tradition that’s already recognized as a public holiday in nations across (and beyond!) the West, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and most of Western Europe,” the Republican lawmaker said. WHITE HOUSE PLANS ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ HOLY WEEK AS TRUMP HONORS EASTER WITH ‘THE OBSERVANCE IT DESERVES’ “Easter is a floating holiday, it can fall from Mar 22 to April 25. The only two-month gap in our federal holiday calendar is April-May. An Easter Monday holiday fills the gap—creating a three-day weekend when workers and families need it most. Pro-worker. Pro-family. Pro-faith,” he added. “There are plenty of practical arguments for it, too. Easter weekend already generates around $15 billion for our economy. Making it a three-day weekend could boost that by an estimated 10-15%, adding up to $2 billion in economic activity while strengthening American families.” There are 11 public federal holidays, which means that the federal public sector is closed, along with many private sector businesses. AHEAD OF EASTER AND AMID BIRD FLU, IS IT SAFE TO COLOR EGGS? The most recently added public holiday is Juneteenth, which is meant to recognize the abolition of slavery in the United States. It was signed into law by former President Joe Biden in 2021. Christmas Day is the only traditionally religious holiday on the list. Easter is on Sunday, and it is often considered the highest holiday in the Christian faith as it honors the resurrection of Jesus after the crucifixion on Good Friday. Additionally, it is also widely regarded in the U.S. as a spring celebration with the Easter Bunny and egg hunts. UK SCHOOL FACES BACKLASH AFTER CANCELING EASTER CELEBRATION FOR ‘INCLUSIVITY’ “The passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event in the history of the world. ‘Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld,’” Moore tweeted. Senate bill 1426 was introduced by Schmitt on Thursday, and it’s been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Major university medical center accused of hiding DEI programs, influential Senator calls them out
FIRST ON FOX: Tennessee GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent a letter Tuesday to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) calling on the medical school to comply with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs at educational institutions. The letter comes after VUMC reportedly took steps to hide many of its DEI resources as opposed to getting rid of them, following the president’s Executive Orders. Consumers Research, a conservative nonprofit that was following medical schools’ responses to Trump’s orders on ending DEI discovered that VUMC was taking steps to hide some of theirs behind password-protected web pages. In response to criticism, a VUMC spokesperson told Fox News Digital at the time that it was undergoing “a thorough review” of its programs to figure out “where revisions may be required to remain in compliance, including updating information on websites and other public platforms.” VANDERBILT MED CENTER ‘HIDING’ DEI RESOURCES BEHIND PASSWORD-PROTECTED WEB PAGES: REPORT According to an updated review, VUMC’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion website remains behind a password-protected web page. Same with the DEI web page on VUMC’s Department of Medicine website, resources touting “climate care is health care,” and a web page for the school’s “Inaugural Climate Change Action & Sustainability Summit.” Other resources which had previously appeared to be hidden behind password protected web pages – rather than deleted – such as a YouTube video about “The War on DEI,” appear to have been deleted since criticism over the matter was unleashed against the school. “Offices such as the Office of Health Equity, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the Office for Diversity Affairs are seemingly still active,” Blackburn said in her letter. “These offices have advocated for ‘collectively addressing systemic inequities’ and ‘confronting structural racism.’” Among the priorities of this program, was to hire “diverse biomedical researchers,” Black burn pointed out. Blackburn also noted that VUMC was the recipient of more than $66 million this fiscal year from the National Institutes of Health – alone. Meanwhile, VUMC has invested over $17 million to support its “DEI and Belonging Program,” she said. “This is only one of many examples of VUMC investing in DEI initiatives instead of lifesaving medical research,” Blackburn’s letter continued. “Additionally, VUMC’s track record on embracing harmful woke initiatives is grim,” Blackburn added. “VUMC has previously performed sex-change surgeries on minors before suspending the program after public outrage.” RED STATE LAWMAKERS WARNED ABOUT ALLEGEDLY ACCEPTING ‘DEI DOLLARS’ FROM HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION: WATCHDOG VUMC was investigated by Tennessee’s Attorney General’s Office in 2023 amid allegations that a doctor at VUMC was manipulating medical billing codes to evade insurance coverage-limitations for transgender treatments. The investigation followed a video released in 2022, which allegedly showed a VUMC doctor touting transgender surgeries for minors as “huge money makers” and telling anyone with a religious objection to providing them should quit. “President Trump has been clear on this issue. His recent executive orders correctly prohibited DEI programs at federally funded research institutions and ended the recognition of gender identity apart from biological sex,” Blackburn concluded in her letter. “As a beneficiary of federal funding, VUMC has a responsibility to align with the President’s executive orders and return to a focus on lifesaving research as opposed to woke DEI initiatives. Instead of covering up VUMC’s DEI initiatives, I urge you to comply with President Trump’s effort to responsibility allocate taxpayer dollars and immediately cease all DEI initiatives.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Senator told Fox News that “discriminatory” DEI programs, such as those at VUMC, actually serve to “do more harm than good.” She also urged VUMC to “put Tennesseans first” by fully complying with the president’s Executive Orders. In a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, VUMC said, “Vanderbilt University Medical Center is eliminating all DEI programs and is fully complying with Executive Actions on DEI. Shortly after the Executive Orders were issued, VUMC began removing related content on internal and external websites to reflect the termination of these programs. VUMC will continue to comply with federal mandates and directives.”
Texas poised to create its own version of DOGE as bill passes both chambers
Texas will likely have its own Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) very soon after lawmakers passed a bill to create an efficiency office within the governor’s office. The bill, known as Senate Bill 14 (S.B. 14) and inspired by Elon Musk’s DOGE, would create a new Texas Regulatory Office which aims to streamline state regulations and eliminate unnecessary rules. An advisory panel would also be established to work with the governor and help Texas state agencies cut red tape, eliminate unnecessary or burdensome rules and make regulations more cost-effective and transparent. The panel would be made up of business owners, researchers, state agencies and the public. DOGE UNCOVERS MASSIVE VA CONTRACT FOR ‘SALARY SURVEY DATA AND ANALYSIS’ — SAYS IT CANCELED IT, SAVING MILLIONS S.B. 14 has passed both chambers of the Texas Legislature and is heading to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law. Abbott has not publicly stated whether he will sign the bill. The bill was authored by Weatherford Republican Phil King while Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said previously that it would help save taxpayers money and grow the Texas economy by “cutting red tape.” JASON CHAFFETZ: DEMOCRATS HAVE MADE A FATAL ERROR OPPOSING DOGE “I prioritized SB 14 because President Trump’s creation of the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ inspired me to find ways Texas can save taxpayers and businesses money by cutting burdensome regulations,” Patrick said, according to Fox 26. “The Texas Miracle will continue long into the 21st century because our common-sense, conservative approach to regulation will keep Texans prosperous and our economy strong.” The bill also requires agencies to write rules in plain language, reduce paperwork and fees, and justify new rules with clear cost and benefit analyses. It also gives courts more power to challenge agency interpretations of laws, shifting legal authority away from agencies. Additionally, it requires the development of an interactive website where the public can easily search for agency rules and forms as well as regulatory information by topic, industry, or North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. The Elon Musk-led DOGE has shaken up federal bureaucracies and uncovered billions of dollars in wasteful spending. Through canceling contracts, workforce reductions and more, DOGE says it has so far saved taxpayers $155 billion.
Hawley urges Republicans to cut taxes for working-class voters who ‘put Trump in the White House’
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is urging his Republican colleagues to double down on tax cuts for the working-class Americans who make up President Donald Trump’s base. Hawley told Fox News Digital in an interview that tax cuts are “what Republicans are good at,” calling specifically for changes to the payroll tax. He says Americans should be able to apply income tax credits like the child tax credit, the mortgage deduction and charitable deduction, to their payroll taxes. Hawley, who first made the push in a Tuesday op-ed for the Washington Post, says he has spoken with Trump about the potential tax breaks and the president is “very supportive.” “These are the people who put Trump in the White House,” Hawley told Fox, referring to Americans who earn less than $80,000 per year. ELON MUSK DUNKS ON SEN CHUCK SCHUMER, DECLARING ‘HYSTERICAL REACTIONS’ DEMONSTRATE DOGE’S IMPORTANCE Debate over tax policy is raging in Washington as Republicans weigh what to put in Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget bill. Many Republicans support re-upping the 2017 tax cuts, but there are calls for more changes. Some Republicans, including the White House, have even flirted with raising taxes on the uppermost brackets in order to offset costs. “We’ve got this incredible national debt, and so at some point you’ve got to address the elephant in the room,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told the New York Times on Tuesday. “Can’t tell you if it’s going to happen or not.” Hawley has also said he would support raising some taxes to offset cuts in lower tax brackets if the president makes a push for it. TRUMP OPEN TO SENDING VIOLENT AMERICAN CRIMINALS TO EL SALVADOR PRISONS He proposed to Fox that one path toward raising more revenue would be to start taxing the endowments of America’s largest universities. MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE Trump’s administration is already engaged in a pitched battle to reform America’s top educational institutions, threatening to withhold federal funding if they do not adequately address anti-Semitism and other issues on their campuses. Harvard, the university that has pushed back the hardest on Trump’s administration, has an endowment of roughly $53 billion. The other seven Ivy League schools have endowments totaling over $139 billion. Regardless of offsets, however, Hawley says the top priority should be securing tax breaks for the people who voted Trump into office. Hawley emphasized this focus in his op-ed for the Post, quoting Reagan-era columnist Robert Novak. “God put the Republican Party on Earth to cut taxes.”
Vance sounds off on deportation, ‘ratification of Biden’s illegal migrant invasion’ via ‘fake legal process’
Vice President JD Vance asserted that he and President Donald Trump will not allow the “illegal migrant invasion” that occurred during President Joe Biden’s White House tenure to be ratified via “fake legal process.” He suggested that if the people crying “lack of due process” regarding the deportation of illegal aliens do not have a proposed solution that allows the nation to remove at least several million illegal aliens annually, they do not actually want to achieve border security and expel the illegal immigrants. “When the media and the far left obsess over an MS-13 gang member and demand that he be returned to the United States for a *third* deportation hearing, what they’re really saying is they want the vast majority of illegal aliens to stay here permanently,” Vance wrote in the lengthy Tuesday night post on X. TWO VENEZUELAN ILLEGAL ALIENS CHARGED WITH KIDNAPPING, TORTURING, ATTEMPTING TO KILL WASHINGTON STATE WOMAN “Here’s a useful test: ask the people weeping over the lack of due process what precisely they propose for dealing with Biden’s millions and millions of illegals. And with reasonable resource and administrative judge constraints, does their solution allow us to deport at least a few million people per year?” he noted. “If the answer is no, they’ve given their game away. They don’t want border security. They don’t want us to deport the people who’ve come into our country illegally. They want to accomplish through fake legal process what they failed to accomplish politically: The ratification of Biden’s illegal migrant invasion. President Trump and I will not stand for [it],” Vance declared. PAM BONDI CALLS OUT ‘DETACHED FROM REALITY’ DEMS FOR DEMANDING ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER BE RETURNED TO US The vice president asserted that American voters elected the Trump administration to fix the illegal immigration issue. “Consider that Joe Biden allowed approximately 20 million illegal aliens into our country. This placed extraordinary burdens on our country–our schools, hospitals, housing, and other essential services were overwhelmed. On top of that, many of these illegal aliens committed violent crimes, or facilitated fentanyl and sex trafficking. That is the situation we inherited,” he wrote. BORDER CROSSINGS HIT RECORD LOW IN MARCH THANKS TO ‘VIGILANT’ WORK OF AGENTS: REPORT CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The American people elected the Trump administration to solve this problem. The President has successfully stopped the inflow of illegal aliens, and now we must deport the people who came here illegally,” he declared.
WATCH: Two people reportedly tasered by police at Marjorie Taylor Green town hall, 3 arrested
Police forcibly escorted at least six people out of a town hall being held by GOP Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday night and were forced to deploy a taser against two of the individuals. Reporters on the ground at the event in Georgia indicated there were at least six protesters escorted from the town hall within minutes of it starting. Three of the individuals were eventually charged by police for their involvement in the disruption, including one for disorderly conduct, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “Put your hands behind your back!” a police officer can be heard in a video of the incident shared on social media by CBS News reporter Jared Eggleston. “F— off –” the man can be heard yelling as he disappeared off-screen behind a wall, before a loud bang could be heard followed by the sound of a taser. VIOLENT ATTACKS FROM ANTI-MUSK, ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTERS PLAGUE NATION, COMPEL GOP LAWMAKERS TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS A second bang from another taser going off could be heard shortly thereafter. Different videos from the event show a handful of others being escorted out, with some leaving on their own volition and others having to be literally dragged out by police. “Free Garcia,” one protester could be heard saying as they were exiting in a video posted to X, referring to Kilmar Ábrego García, who has been at the center of a deportation controversy after a federal judge said the Trump administration wrongly deported him with a group of Venezuelan gang members. “Free Kilmar!” another could be heard screaming repeatedly on video as they were escorted out. PRO-LIFE JOURNALIST ASSAULTED ON STREET ASSIGNS BLAME TO DEMOCRATIC RHETORIC At moments, as police escorted the protesters out of the town hall, Green engaged with the disruptors. “The protest is outside. Thank you very much,” Greene said. “If you were to sit and listen, you’re welcome to listen. Everyone across the aisle – Democrats, Independents,” she added while someone was being escorted out. “I’m glad they got thrown out,” Greene said following the event. “That’s exactly what I wanted to see happen … This isn’t a political rally or a protest. I held a town hall tonight. You know who was out of line? The protesters.” The disruption at Greene’s rally follows increased volatility at local GOP town halls. Things have gotten tense enough that the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., has told his fellow Republicans to temporarily refrain from holding in-person town hall events. Citing the uptick in “Democrat threats of violence,” GOP Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman followed Hudson’s advice and moved all of her in-person town halls online. The move came after an incident in which an attendee of one of her in-person events followed Hageman as she left and initiated a physical confrontation with her staff, eventually requiring police to intervene. Green was only one of a handful of GOP members that decided to do an in-person event amid the current ongoing legislative recess, according to NBC News.
Mark Zuckerberg on the stand: ‘Crazy,’ ‘scary’ ideas led him to buy Instagram and WhatsApp
It’s too bad there are no cameras allowed in federal courtrooms, because I really would like to see Mark Zuckerberg testify. He was the leadoff witness in the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Meta, and that in itself was news. The clash is the most sweeping attempt to dismember the world’s biggest social network, and goes to the heart of how competition is defined. HAWLEY DEMANDS ZUCKERBERG TESTIFY ON ALLEGED TIES BETWEEN META, CHINA Not since the government broke up AT&T more than four decades ago has a mega-corporation faced the prospect of being torn apart. The suit was filed in the first Trump term (the president couldn’t stand Facebook at the time), aggressively pursued by Joe Biden, and now has finally come to trial in a Washington courtroom. Trump once told me Facebook was such a threat to society that he used it as justification for flip-flopping on his effort to ban TikTok. But since he won a second term, Zuck, like many tech bros, has been cozying up to the new sheriff in town, including a $1-million donation to the president’s inaugural. There are reports that when the man who runs Facebook recently met with Trump, he asked about the possibility of dropping the lawsuit. Obviously, it didn’t work. The focus of the trial is Zuckerberg’s decision to buy Instagram and WhatsApp when they were small start-ups. FACT-CHECKING DIRECTOR WARNS OF ‘CRISIS’ AS META, TRUMP’S DOGE CUTS THREATEN THEIR ‘HONORABLE, PATRIOTIC’ WORK The FTC’s lead lawyer questioned Zuckerberg about a platform meant to foster ties between family and friends to a concentration on showing users interesting third-party content through its news feed. “It’s the case that over time, the ‘interest’ part of that has gotten built out more than the ‘friend’ part,” Zuckerberg said. He added that “the ‘friend’ part has gone down quite a bit, but it’s still something we care about.” Translation: Screw the friends. Very 2010s. We’ve moved on. Zuckerberg spoke slowly – at least according to reporters who were there – and he was back on the hot seat yesterday. FTC lawyers pressed him on a stack of emails he had sent: “We really need to get our act together quickly on this since Instagram’s growing so fast. “Instagram has become a large and viable competitor to us on mobile photos, which will increasingly be the future of photos.” WHISTLEBLOWER TELLS SENATE COMMITTEE THAT META UNDERMINED US NATIONAL SECURITY TO COZY UP TO CHINA “If Instagram continues to kick ass on photos, or if Google buys them, then over the next few years they could easily add pieces of their service that copy what we’re doing now.” Which was a flop called Facebook Camera. In yet another message, Zuck called Instagram’s growth “really scary,” saying “we might want to consider paying a lot of money for this.” Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, and two years later spent $19 billion on WhatsApp. In an email to Tom Alison, head of Facebook, Z offered alternatives: “Option 1. Double down on Friending. One potentially crazy idea is to consider wiping everyone’s graphs and having them start again.” Alison responded: “I’m not sure Option #1 in your proposal (Double-down on Friending) would be viable given my understanding of how vital the friend use case is to IG.” Now we come to the fascinating part. It’s not breaking news that Mark’s judgment can be flawed. Remember when he insisted that virtual reality would be the next big thing? But he argues that Meta has all kinds of rivals in the “entertainment” area, such as X, TikTok and YouTube – and he easily could have added Snap, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and HBO’s Max. It’s all about the battle for eyeballs now. There are only so many hours in the day. Mindshare is everything. SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES And with group chats all the rage, Meta doesn’t do well on that kind of interaction, with Instagram as a possible exception. Now of course it’s in Zuckerberg’s self-interest to testify that he competes with anything that has a screen. But it’s not that far off the mark. Keep in mind that Meta has 4 billion active monthly users. I sure wish we could see the embattled CEO making the case that he’s awash in a vast sea of rivals.
Texas GOP could stall Trump’s bold AI vision with red tape as China races ahead: ‘Investors are nervous’
President Donald Trump’s high-tech moonshot may hit a Texas-sized speed bump — and it’s coming from his own party. Trump’s AI initiative, dubbed “Stargate,” aims to build 20 ultra-powerful data centers across the country. Backed by heavyweights like OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and the UAE-funded MGX, the project represents a $500 billion bet on the future with Texas chosen as ground zero for the first 10 centers. But a new Texas bill, Senate Bill 6, could delay or derail that momentum. The legislation adds a six-month regulatory review on top of an existing 6–18-month timeline, while also requiring new fees and mandatory backup generators, doubling approval time and inflating costs. EXCLUSIVE: WHITE HOUSE ROLLS OUT IMPLEMENTATION OF AI FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEE RECORDS And while the legislation is pitched as a safeguard against another Winter Storm Uri-style blackout, Trump allies warn it could torpedo a generational opportunity. “This bill would be a serious roadblock to the president’s vision,” said Vance Ginn, president of Ginn Economic Consulting and former chief economist at the White House Office of Management and Budget during Trump’s first term, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “It’s a misguided effort that’s rooted in fear: fear of energy scarcity, fear of AI, fear of the future.” According to Ginn, the bill’s hefty requirements, including a $100,000 grid connection fee and a so-called “kill switch” that would let the Electric Reliability Council of Texas cut power to data centers, could end up pushing these billion-dollar projects out of Texas entirely. “These companies aren’t just using energy,” Ginn said. “Many of them actually put excess electricity back onto the grid. So instead of hurting Texas, they help stabilize it.” Stargate has already broken ground in Abilene, but the next 10 data centers are still up in the air. If Texas becomes too costly or complicated, experts warn the back half of the project might never happen — even as rival states like Wyoming and Tennessee court businesses without Texas’s infrastructure. WHITE HOUSE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CHIEF WARNS CHINA IS ‘CATCHING UP’ IN AI RACE “The Texas legislature should be working in lockstep with President Trump to build out AI infrastructure, not throwing up barriers,” Ginn added. “The AI revolution is here. If Texas fumbles this, it will fall behind.” The bill’s sponsor, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, insists the legislation won’t hurt Trump’s agenda. “Senate Bill 6 actually ensures President Trump’s Stargate Plan is a success,” Patrick said in a statement. “We are in lockstep with the president on his goal to make America number one, and dominate China on AI, data centers, and cryptocurrency.” Even with a Trump endorsement for Patrick’s re-election, Trump-aligned economists say the state is playing a dangerous game. “We’re already seeing signs of this,” Ginn warned. “Microsoft has pulled back on projects. Investors are nervous. And meanwhile, China’s forging ahead.” A Chinese startup called DeepSeek has made headlines for rolling out cutting-edge AI models in record time, triggering fresh anxiety about America’s standing in the global AI arms race. “This isn’t just about innovation,” Ginn said. “This is national security. If we’re six months behind China, we may never catch up.” Trump has backed up his AI push with hard policy, including a 10% blanket tariff on all imports and a steep 125% tariff on Chinese goods, announced just last week. But those tariffs could also raise the price of key data center components, from steel to electrical transformers. Despite the tradeoffs, the Trump administration sees Stargate as a cornerstone of 21st-century American leadership in everything from education to healthcare. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Texas should be leading,” Ginn said. “We can’t let fear of the unknown hold us back.”
DOT Sec Sean Duffy finalizes $150M grant to build new port of entry on southern border
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy announced Tuesday that a $150 million federal grant had been finalized to construct a new port of entry facility and road for the San Diego-Baja California border. As part of the agreement for the grant, Green New Deal requirements from the Biden administration, including a zero-emission vehicle charging provision, will be removed. The DOT called the requirements a waste of taxpayer funds, taking away from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) mission toward national security. DOT SAVES TAXPAYERS OVER $60M BY TERMINATING TEXAS HIGH-SPEED RAIL CONTRACT The Otay Mesa East Port of Entry project was awarded a grant from the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program in September 2022, though the project never moved forward. “Thanks to the prior administration’s lack of focus, this critical project sat in limbo for two years. No more. We moved to finalize this deal so we can help protect our Southern border and crack down on drug trafficking while preventing tax dollars subsidizing pointless Green New Deal priorities,” Duffy said. “This department will continue to clear the previous administration’s unprecedented grants backlog and deliver results.” The $150 million investment will give the CBP new state-of-the-art inspection facilities, as well as a commercial vehicle enforcement facility. DC TRANSIT POLICE OFFICER STABBED AT TRAIN STATION AS SEC SEAN DUFFY ARRIVES TO TALK SAFETY: ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ The deployment of intelligent transportation technologies to help manage traffic demand through dynamic tolling will also be included, which the DOT said will increase inspection efficiency and bolster cross-border trade. TRANSPORTATION SEC SEAN DUFFY SLAMS BLUE-STATE GOVERNOR, SAYS CRIMINALS ‘CONTINUE TO TERRORIZE’ CITY RESIDENTS DOT added that the project will reduce congestion, bring economic benefits and spur job creation across Southern California. The nearly 3,600 trucks that cross the border at Otay Mesa and Tecate Ports of Entry, which are currently operating at full capacity, will have an alternative crossing once the project is complete. The project comes after the Trump administration inherited over 3,200 grants which were promoted by the Biden administration but never followed through on, according to the DOT. “This unprecedented backlog of unobligated grants delayed critical investments in communities across the country,” the DOT said in a news release. “Under Secretary Duffy’s leadership, the Department is working diligently to accelerate the distribution of these long-overdue funds and address core infrastructure projects.”