Rep Ro Khanna tees up 2028 rivalry during pointed speech in JD Vance’s home state
During remarks in Vice President JD Vance’s home state, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., contrasted his vision for America’s “new economic patriotism” with the future of the Republican Party with Vance at the helm. Considered a 2028 presidential contender in an already crowded field, Khanna’s remarks at the City Club of Cleveland seemed to frame an early rivalry between the rising political leaders from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. While Democratic leaders, who are likely mulling their own presidential runs, have seized opportunities to contrast President Donald Trump’s agenda, Khanna took aim at Trump’s likely successor during remarks on Monday. “Vance and Musk want to completely get government out of the way to usher in a new Gilded Age, so that corporate elites, particularly tech titans, can take the wheel,” Khanna said. “I say it’s time to turn the tables. It’s time to put Silicon Valley in the service of America, not America in the service of Silicon Valley. That’s why today I’m calling for a new economic patriotism. What we need in this country is a new economic patriotism, not a second Gilded Age.” VANCE DOUBLES DOWN AFTER TRUMP ADMIN ADMITS ‘ERROR’ SENDING MAN TO SALVADORAN PRISON Khanna, who was born in Philadelphia, touted his ties to Ohio during remarks in Cleveland, where his wife was born and raised. Khanna said Trump and Vance campaigned on restoring economic prosperity to industrial American cities but have presented “no hopeful vision, no real solutions” for manufacturing cities in the Rust Belt like Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and Warren, Ohio. Now representing California’s Silicon Valley, Khanna called for “fusing Silicon Valley’s ingenuity with Ohio’s industrial might.” CONGRESSMAN CALLS FOR ZUCKERBERG TO ANSWER ON CHINA DEALINGS Ohio GOP Chairman Alex Triantafilou responded to Khanna’s remarks in a statement to Fox News Digital: “Ro Khanna is a far-left socialist from one of the wealthiest and wokest congressional districts in America. He served as an official surrogate for both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. This speech is nothing but another desperate plea for attention from another elitist politician wholly out-of-touch with Middle Class voters like those in Ohio.” “His remarks remind Americans that California extremist liberals like Ro Khanna are responsible for enabling open borders, mass illegal immigration, and the out-of-control government spending of the Biden regime. He should’ve stayed in California.” While Khanna did attack Trump’s tariffs and “propaganda,” Khanna was careful to target the joint “Trump and Vance” agenda, critique Vance individually and increasingly connect Vance to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Khanna tied Vance to anti-democracy ideology, his “old” ideas for the United States and his tax breaks for Silicon Valley, which Khanna said they don’t need. With the U.S. House of Representatives on recess this week, Khanna is crisscrossing the country and visiting communities tied to his potential political opponent. Khanna visited the manufacturing town of Warren, Ohio, on Sunday, which is across the state from where Vance was born and raised in Middletown. Khanna will continue his Democratic rebuttal of the future of the Republican Party at Yale Law School on Tuesday, where both Khanna and Vance are graduates. “I’m going actually to Yale tomorrow, where JD and I both went to law school, to talk about freedom of speech because he’s been lecturing Europe about freedom of speech while sitting silently while students are snatched off campus and deported without due process.” During the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance said free speech “is in retreat” across Europe. On Monday, Khanna called for Americans to stand up and speak out against “deportations without due process” – referring to anti-Israel protesters and illegal immigrants who have been targeted by the Trump administration. Khanna and Vance have already had their fair share of sparring on social media. Earlier this year, Vance accused the California congressman of acting like a “whiny” child after Khanna said a former DOGE employee should apologize for racially charged social media posts. Khanna told Vance the now-resigned staffer should apologize “for the sake of both of our kids,” who are both of Indian dissent. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Vance’s office did not provide a comment when requested by Fox News Digital.
Trump says he’s looking at certain tariff exemptions for automakers: ‘They need a little bit of time’
President Donald Trump told reporters Monday afternoon that he was “looking” into potential part-specific tariff exemptions for carmakers, underscoring Trump’s stance that it is important to be “flexible” amid the current trade negotiations. Trump’s signal about a potential reprieve for auto manufacturers comes after the administration moved to exempt electronic devices — such as smartphones, iPhones and laptops — from the president’s reciprocal tariffs on Friday. Trump’s decision to provide certain exemptions falls in line with his stance that it is crucial to be “flexible” amid the ongoing trade negotiations, but Democrats have criticized the recent exemptions for adding more uncertainty to the situation. “I’m looking at something to help some of the car companies, where they are switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico and other places,” the president told reporters from the Oval Office Monday afternoon, during a meeting with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. “They’re going to make them here, but they need a little bit of time — so I’m talking about things like that.” TRUMP, BUKELE FIND COMMON CAUSE ON TRANS SPORTS BAN AND BORDER CRACKDOWN While talking to reporters, Trump also reiterated comments he made last week about the need to be flexible amid the ongoing tariff negotiations with various countries. “Look, I’m a very flexible person. I don’t change my mind, but I’m flexible, and you have to be. You just can’t have a wall, and you’ll only — sometimes you have to go around it, under it or above it,” Trump told reporters. “There will be maybe things coming… I don’t want to hurt anybody, but the end result is we’re going to get to the position of greatness for our country.” A notice published by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol on Friday indicated that smartphones, computers and other electronics would be spared from Trump’s 145% import tariffs on Chinese goods. However, the electronics will still be subject to semiconductor tariffs and tariffs related to fentanyl, per the administration and the president. TRUMP’S TARIFF BLITZ NOW EXEMPTING ELECTRICAL GOODS LIKE PHONES, LAPTOPS Trump signaled last week after he paused reciprocal tariff increases on 75 countries that showed a good-faith effort to negotiate new trade deals that he was open to providing exemptions for certain U.S. companies inordinately impacted by the tariffs. The president’s signal that more relief could be on the way for carmakers comes after he already provided the industry with a one-month reprieve from the 25% tariffs imposed on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico, implemented March 4, after speaking with executives with three of the country’s largest auto dealers. While Trump has characterized his willingness to provide tariff relief as a sign he is willing to be flexible, Democrats have described the moves to provide relief for certain industries as chaotic and corrupt. “I told Fareed Zakaria this morning: When you start giving an exemption here and an exemption there on tariffs, it’s introducing all kinds of corruption into the system,” Lawrence Summers, former Clinton and Obama administration economic advisor, said Sunday. “It’s introducing what economists call rent seeking, where it’s hugely advantageous for people to be friends of the first family and hugely advantageous for people to hire lobbyists. So, the big boom that’s being created with tariffs is in a crony capitalism.” TRUMP VOWS NOBODY GETTING ‘OFF THE HOOK’ FOR ‘UNFAIR’ TRADE BALANCES, SAYS THERE WAS NO TARIFF ‘EXCEPTION’ “Look, there is no tariff policy. It’s just all chaos and corruption,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., added in an interview with ABC News over the weekend. “These guys are into chaos and into corruption, and this is the reason that it is time for Congress to step up and to say, under the authority that the president is currently using by declaring these national emergencies — no — the law says specifically Congress can just say, ‘There’s no national emergency across the board here,’ and revoke that authority from the president. That will mean we can go back to having actually a real tariff policy. Congress will have its position in place, and then we can negotiate where we need to negotiate, but we got to stop this craziness.” Meanwhile, in a weekend Truth Social post following criticism from the likes of people like Warren and Summers, the president sought to defend the move to provide some relief to the electronics industry. “NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’ for the unfair trade balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!” said Trump. “There was no tariff ‘exception’ announced on Friday,” Trump declared in the post, noting that electronics will still be subject to a 20% tariff related to fentanyl. “They are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’ The Fake News knows this, but refuses to report it. We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment, and to inquire about further details regarding the potential temporary tariff relief for automakers, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Cuomo lands key endorsement as comeback bid for NYC mayor heats up
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is showcasing the backing of two powerful labor unions as he runs for mayor of the nation’s most populous city. The former three-term Democratic governor, who resigned amid multiple scandals in 2021, was endorsed on Monday by the labor groups 32BJ SEIU and Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, which represent building service workers and hotel and casino employees. The endorsements, which are highly coveted in heavily unionized New York City, will likely further cement Cuomo’s frontrunner status in June’s Democratic Party mayoral primary, as he runs to oust embattled Mayor Eric Adams from City Hall. “The members of @32BJSEIU and @NYHTC are the backbone of NY. They clean our buildings, run our hotels, care for our communities, and keep this city moving. Without a strong middle class, no city can survive – let alone thrive – and right now, we are dangerously close to losing them,” Cuomo warned in a statement on social media. CUOMO SHOWCASES EYE-POPPING HAUL IN NYC MAYORAL RACE And he highlighted that “I have fought for and alongside the men and women of 32BJ and HTC for years – their faith in me is a tremendous boost for our campaign and I am proud to have their endorsement.” The two unions, which combined have over 120,000 workers in their ranks, are the latest organized labor groups to back Cuomo. WHO’S THE FRONT-RUNNER IN NEW YORK CITY’S MAYORAL RACE Cuomo’s March 1 campaign launch, into an already crowded field of contenders, rocked the race. With over two months to go until the June 24 primary, Cuomo is the clear polling and fundraising frontrunner in the race for the Democratic mayoral nomination. And the winner of the Democratic primary will be considered the overwhelming frontrunner in November’s mayoral election in solidly blue New York City. But now that the 2025 mayoral race is Cuomo’s to lose, his rivals are zeroing in on the former governor’s immense political baggage. Cuomo has spent the past four years fighting to clear his name after 11 sexual harassment accusations – which he has repeatedly denied – forced his resignation as governor in August 2021. He was also under investigation for his handling of the COVID pandemic amid allegations his administration vastly understated COVID-related deaths at state nursing homes. The former governor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING, ANALYSIS, ON ANDREW CUOMO Adams’ poll numbers were sinking even before he was indicted last year on five counts, which accused the mayor of bribery and fraud as part of an alleged “long-running” scheme to personally profit from contacts with foreign officials. The mayor made repeated overtures to now-President Donald Trump, and in February the Justice Department moved to dismiss the corruption charges, so he could seemingly work with the Trump administration on its illegal immigration crackdown. The top federal prosecutor in New York City resigned rather than comply, and argued that the mayor had agreed to a quid pro quo with the Justice Department. In a final move, a federal judge earlier this month dismissed the Justice Department case against the mayor, but argued that the Trump administration’s grounds for having the case dropped “smacks of a bargain”. A few days later, Adams announced that he would forgo the Democratic primary and run for re-election as an independent.
Man arrested in Georgia for threats against Tulsi Gabbard, her husband
Police arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly sending threatening messages to director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and her husband. The DOJ announced the arrest of Aliakbar Mohammed Amin on Monday, saying he had sent threatening text messages to Gabbard between March 29 and April 1. The threats included Amin allegedly writing, “You and your family are going to die soon” and “I will personally do the job if necessary.” “Death to America means death to America literally, Tulsi is living on borrowed time,” another text read. TRUMP CAUTIONS ‘BAD THINGS’ IN STORE IF IRAN WON’T NEGOTIATE AS ISLAMIC REPUBLIC TOUTS ‘MISSILE CITY’ “The home you two own in Texas is a legitimate target and will be hit at a time and place of our choosing,” another said. “Prepare to die, you, Tulsi, and everyone you hold dear. America will burn,” Amin allegedly wrote in another text. TRUMP THREATENS TO BOMB IRAN UNLESS THEY END NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM AND BEGIN TALKS ON NEW DEAL “Threatening to harm public officials is a criminal act that cannot be excused as political discourse,” Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. said in a statement regarding the arrest. “Our Office, in coordination with our law enforcement partners, will vigorously prosecute individuals who commit these acts of violence.” Police apprehended Amin in Lilburn, Georgia, on April 11. He faces charges of transmitting interstate threats to injure Gabbard. “The FBI sees all threatening communications as a serious federal offense. We will employ every investigative tool and resource available to identify those responsible and ensure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Let this arrest serve as a clear warning: if you engage in this kind of criminal behavior, you will be caught and you will go to prison.” Federal agents say they also discovered similar threats allegedly made by Amin in social media posts, including an image depicting a firearm pointed at a photograph of Gabbard, and a second image of a firearm pointed at a photograph of Gabbard and her husband. Federal agents recovered a firearm while executing a warrant to search Amin’s home.
Pete Marocco, mastermind behind dismantling of USAID projects, leaves State Department
Pete Marocco, the official who oversaw the dismantling of USAID, has now parted ways with the agency. Marocco, who served in the Defense, State and Commerce departments, was known as a conservative firebrand with a deep skepticism of foreign aid. His tenure sparked fierce protests on Capitol Hill and drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who celebrated his exit but said questions remain about the future of U.S. foreign aid. “Pete was brought to State with a big mission to conduct an exhaustive review of every dollar spent on foreign assistance,” a senior administration official said of the departure. “He conducted that historic task and exposed egregious abuses of taxpayer dollars. We all expect big things are in store for Pete on his next mission.” After President Donald Trump merged USAID with the State Department, Secretary Marco Rubio named Marocco acting deputy administrator of the agency, and he went to work whittling down the $40-billion, 10,000-employee USAID office. THOUSANDS OF USAID TERMINATIONS TO TAKE EFFECT BY SEPTEMBER IN AGENCY’S FINAL LEG OF ‘DRAWDOWN’ “I continue to serve President Trump just as enthusiastically as I did last week, last month and last year,” Marocco told Fox News Digital of his departure. “He is a once-in-a-lifetime leader of a movement for change to our government and to restore American greatness. President Trump has the swamp on the run so we should intensify the fight.” Of the agency’s 6,000 programs, only about 900 will now continue to operate, Rubio said on a podcast with Donald Trump Jr. last week. In the past, USAID did not adhere to State Department authority and “did whatever they wanted,” according to Rubio. In a March 19 op-ed for RealClearPolitics, Marocco argued that U.S. foreign aid has “created a global welfare state, committed unwelcome political interventions, encouraged unsustainable international labor unions (communism), made countries less capable of thriving in the modern global economy, and funded international organizations that spite our great country.” Marocco learned he would no longer be employed at the State Department late last week, sources told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. USAID is now being run by a DOGE official. Democrats celebrated the departure of Marocco. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, ranking member of the State and Foreign Operations subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, said Marocco brought “chaos to USAID, reckless and unlawful policy to the State Department, and dismantled long-standing U.S. foreign policy.” APPEALS COURT RULES DOGE CAN CONTINUE OPERATING AT USAID “With his exit, serious questions still remain about the influence he leaves behind and whether or not Secretary Rubio plans to take actions that advance the mission and credibility of the United States,” Schatz added. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran with a master’s degree in international humanitarian law from the University of Oxford, Marocco worked in USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives in 2020 and was the subject of a 13-page memo posted in the agency’s “dissent channel,” in which employees warned that “operational capacity and strategic efficacy have been and continue to be rapidly degraded” under his leadership. The memo said Marocco had wanted to personally approve all expenditures over $10,000 for the office with a budget of $225 million. “He has leveraged once-routine administrative processes to reopen previously-approved plans, interrogate and redirect country programs, halt movement on programs, procurements, and people, and inject uncertainty into daily operations and office planning,” the memo said. “Intervention is urgently needed.”
Trump, Bukele find common cause on trans sports ban and border crackdown
President Donald Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele share common ground on banning biological men from women’s sports – underscoring the growing alignment between their administrations as they coordinate efforts to curb illegal immigration to the U.S. “Do you allow men to play in women’s sports? Do you allow men to box your women?” Trump asked Bukele from the Oval Office on Monday. Trump’s comments came after discussing immigration and implementing “common sense” policies. “That’s violence,” Bukele said in response. “That’s abusive… but we have people that fight to the death because they think men should be able to play in women’s sports,” Trump said. STATE DEPT UPGRADES TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR EL SALVADOR, CONSIDERED SAFER THAN FRANCE, OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Bukele then said that despite previous efforts to advance women’s rights and prevent abuse, new efforts would “backtrack” on these initiatives and perpetuate violence against women instead. “I think those laws were great because there were a lot of men abusing women, but now some of the same people are trying to backtrack and actually trying to make new laws allowing men to abuse women, as in sports,” Bukele said. “So actually, that doesn’t make sense.” Trump signed an executive order in February barring those assigned male at birth from competing in women’s sports, titled, “No Men in Women’s Sports.” The order bans those assigned male at birth from using women’s restrooms and orders the Department of Education to spearhead investigations into cases of possible violations. In response, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that it would follow the guidance and permit only those assigned female at birth to participate in women’s sports. “The NCAA is an organization made up of 1,100 colleges and universities in all 50 states that collectively enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes. We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions. To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement in February. The exchange is one of several emphasizing common ground between Trump and Bukele. The two are partnering to address illegal immigration in the U.S. after the two countries agreed on a $6 million deal to deport hundreds of U.S. deportees to a detention facility in El Salvador this year. Both Trump administration officials and Bukele agreed that they didn’t have the authority to return a Maryland resident, Abrego Garcia, to the U.S. who was deported to El Salvador in an “administrative error” by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court upheld last week a lower court’s order that “requires the government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” While Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters that El Salvador would call the final shots on whether it would return the Maryland resident, Bukele said it was “preposterous” for El Salvador to do so. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the U.S.? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States,” Bukele said. Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Ilhan Omar quashes Senate bid rumors with re-election announcement
High-profile “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar effectively closed the door on rumors she would seek Minnesota’s open Senate seat in 2026, with an announcement launching a House re-election bid. “At a time when our rights are under attack, it is more important than ever to fight back against the chaos, corruption, and callousness of the Trump Administration,” the Minneapolis Democrat told Minnesota Public Radio. “In Minnesota, we know that organized people will always beat organized money. Our campaign is ready to build on our successful grassroots organizing efforts to have a record turnout for the midterms and help win back the majority,” she said. She won her last race for the 5th Congressional District seat handily, defeating Iraq-born Republican journalist Dalia al-Aqidi by about 50 points. OMAR SLAMS TRUMP, MUSK FOR CHANGES AT USAID, ACCUSES PRESIDENT OF RUNNING A DICTATORSHIP Omar had been one of several names bandied about as potential successors to Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., who announced last month she would not seek re-election. Almost immediately, fellow Democrat Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan threw her hat in the ring, while Omar and other top potential candidates remained silent. One of Omar’s fellow “Squad” members, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has been rumored as a potential 2028 primary opponent to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer. In February, Smith – who was originally appointed by then-Gov. Mark Dayton to succeed Sen. Al Franken after his resignation over sexual misconduct allegations – said in February that she was ready to spend more time with her family. “This decision is not political, it is entirely personal, but it’s not lost on me that our country is in need of strong progressive leadership right now, maybe more than ever,” Smith said. REP ILHAN OMAR CRITICIZES NETANYAHU’S GAZA ACTION Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also declined to seek Smith’s seat, leaving his deputy – Flanagan – as the highest-profile Democrat in the race to date. “At this point in time, I don’t want to have my thumb on the scale in any way,” Walz said in February. “I just know we’ve got a deep bench. We’ve got good folks,” said Walz, who may instead consider a third term in St. Paul. If elected, Flanagan – who is Ojibwe – would be only the fifth U.S. senator of Native American heritage and the second currently in office, alongside Oklahoma Republican Markwayne Mullin. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP On the Republican side, retired Marine and Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze announced a bid and called it his “most important mission of them all.” Additionally, former Sacramento Kings player Royce White announced his own bid. White previously lost the 2024 GOP Senate primary. The race to succeed Smith will be the Land of 10,000 Lakes’ first open Senate race since 2006 – when Dayton declined to run for re-election and Sen. Amy Klobuchar defeated then-Rep. Mark Kennedy, R-Minn., by about 19 points. Franken has endorsed Flanagan. Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s campaign for further comment but did not immediately hear back.
Potential 2028 presidential rivals rally behind Shapiro after arson at governor’s mansion
Governors across the country who are rumored as fellow potential 2028 presidential candidates united behind Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Penn., after an arsonist set fire to the governor’s mansion in Harrisburg early Sunday morning. Cody Balmer, 38, was arrested after allegedly setting fire to the residence while Shapiro and his family slept inside. Shapiro, who is Jewish, said he and his family were forced to evacuate their home after celebrating the first night of Passover. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., who is rumored to be mulling a 2028 presidential run along with Shapiro, thanked first responders and said it must have been disturbing for the governor to wake up to such a scene on the first night of Passover. Another potential presidential candidate, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., added that no one “should ever be targeted for doing their job or standing up for what they believe in.” PENNSYLVANIA POLICE ARREST SUSPECT AFTER GOVERNOR’S MANSION SET ON FIRE WHILE GOV JOSH SHAPIRO, FAMILY SLEPT Gov. Gavin Newsom, also considered a likely 2028 presidential contender, said it was “disturbing and disgusting” that someone set fire to Shapiro’s home while his family slept. The National Governors Association Chair, Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., another potential 2028 presidential candidate, condemned the attacks in a joint statement with Vice Chair Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., on Sunday, extending solidarity and support “on behalf of the nation’s governors” to Shapiro. “We strongly condemn all acts of violence and ask our citizens to rise above these kinds of destructive actions,” the governors said in a statement. A 2023 Reuters study revealed the United States is experiencing the largest sustained increase in political violence since the 1970s. Exactly nine months before Shapiro’s family was targeted in their home – just across the critical presidential battleground state – an attempted assassin fired shots at President Donald Trump as he addressed a crowd of supporters, shooting Trump in the ear and killing Corey Comperatore, a Pennsylvania father and former fire chief. PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR’S MANSION ATTACK SUSPECT CODY BALMER ADMITTED ‘HARBORING HATRED’ TOWARD SHAPIRO: POLICE Trump was the target of another assassination attempt two months later at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. A more recent study by the Network Contagion Research Institute released this April revealed that 38% of respondents said it was “at least somewhat justified” to murder Trump. The same study analyzed the surge in attacks on Tesla cars and dealerships since Elon Musk was appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency during Trump’s second term. Nearly 40% of respondents said it was “somewhat acceptable” to destroy a Tesla dealership in protest. “This type of violence is not okay,” Shapiro told reporters outside the damaged governor’s mansion on Sunday. “This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society, and I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another, or one particular person or another. It is not okay and it has to stop. We have to be better than this. We have a responsibility to all be better.” “No one will deter me or my family or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly,” Shapiro said, although no motive for the attack has been released by authorities beyond Balmer “harboring hatred” toward Shapiro. Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Penn., who have both said to expect announcements this summer on whether they will challenge Shapiro in Pennsylvania’s 2026 gubernatorial election, thanked law enforcement as Meuser condemned the violence. Vice President JD Vance, who could be the future of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement and could potentially face off against one of the Democratic governors in 2028, thanked God that Shapiro and his family were not harmed during the attack and called it “disgusting violence.” Trump responded to the arson Monday, telling reporters, “Certainly, a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.”
‘Up to El Salvador’: Trump admin punts on return of wrongfully deported Maryland resident
Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters Monday that it is “up to El Salvador” whether they will choose to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland resident deported in what Trump officials have acknowledged was an “administrative error,” saying that if the country chooses to do so, then the U.S. would “provide a plane.” Her remarks came as President Donald Trump hosted El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele at the White House on Monday for a bilateral summit focused largely on immigration – and the hundreds of migrants deported by the U.S. to El Salvador for detention in the country’s maximum-security prison. When asked by reporters Monday about Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was deported in error to El Salvador, Bondi said the matter was up to Bukele’s administration. “That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That’s not up to us,” Bondi said. STEPHEN MILLER DOUBLES DOWN ON DEPORTATION OF ALLEGED GANG MEMBER: ‘NOT MISTAKENLY SENT’ “The Supreme Court ruled precedent that if El Salvador wanted to return him,” she continued. “This is international matters, foreign affairs.” Bondi said that “if they wanted to return him, we would facilitate it – meaning to provide a plane,” Bondi said. The Supreme Court ruled last week that a lower court’s order “requires the government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” Bukele received a warm welcome from Trump, who praised the Salvadorian leader as a “fantastic” president who is “taking care of a lot of problems,” including accepting hundreds of U.S. migrants into their detention facility, part of a roughly $6 million deal struck by U.S. officials and El Salvador earlier this year. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller doubled down on Bondi’s assertion, noting that Abrego Garcia is a Salvadorian national. “It’s very arrogant, even for American media, to suggest that we would even tell El Salvador how to handle their own citizens as a starting point,” Miller told reporters, claiming that “two courts” had found Abrego Garcia to be a member of the MS-13 gang. In fact, Abrego Garcia was granted temporary protection status in the U.S. by a court in 2019 from being removed to El Salvador, after it determined he would face criminal prosecution from gangs if he were removed to his home country. Bukele, for his part, did not seem to think he had the authority to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S., suggesting Monday that the move would be beyond the scope of his authorities. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the U.S.? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States,” Bukele said. FEDERAL JUDGE HAMMERS DOJ ON WHEREABOUTS OF ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER FOLLOWING SCOTUS ORDER Also in attendance at Monday’s meeting were several members of Trump’s Cabinet, including the aforementioned Bondi, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and an architect of Trump’s immigration policies. The meeting comes as El Salvador has received hundreds of migrants from the U.S., including more than 200 Venezuelan nationals abruptly removed in March under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, and alleged members of the Salvadorian gang MS-13. Most recently, U.S. officials said they deported 10 more migrants to El Salvador over the weekend. As of this writing, the Trump administration has not returned any of the individuals who have been sent to El Salvador’s sprawling, high-security prison, including any Venezuelan nationals who may have been mistakenly identified as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and one Maryland resident whom U.S. officials acknowledged was wrongfully deported. In March, after the first migrant flights arrived in El Salvador despite a federal judge’s order that the flights be “immediately” returned to U.S. soil, Bukele took to social media to mockingly share footage of their arrival. “Oopsie…Too late,” he said on X, using an irreverent tone slightly emblematic of Trump’s own style. ‘WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT’: US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO El Salvador has already accepted hundreds of migrants from the U.S., drawing praise from President Trump and other hard-line immigration hawks – but critics warn the removals may violate due process protections under the U.S. Constitution. Immigration advocates have also raised concerns that deported individuals have not had a chance to challenge their removals in court. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said on Monday that he has requested a meeting with Bukele this week to discuss the return of Abrego Garcia. He said in a letter Monday that he has met with Abrego Garcia’s family members, including his wife and brother, who expressed to him that they are “extremely concerned” about his safety. “If Kilmar is not home by midweek – I plan to travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release,” Van Hollen said. Most recently, a federal judge ordered Trump officials last week to provide the court with daily updates about its efforts to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia, the wrongfully deported Maryland resident. In a court filing submitted Sunday evening, Justice Department lawyers argued they are not required to comply with a judge’s order to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia, who was sent to El Salvadorian prison in what administration officials have since acknowledged was an “administrative error.” They argued that the order itself likely exceeds the power of the courts, arguing they “have no authority to direct the Executive Branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way, or engage with a foreign sovereign in a given manner.” Meanwhile, Trump officials continue to publicly rail against so-called “activist judges,” whom they have argued are attempting to stymie Trump’s agenda and his priorities on immigration enforcement. Noem on Monday praised the Supreme Court’s recent emergency ruling that upholds, for
Bukele says Trump has 350 million Americans to ‘liberate’ by ending crime, terrorism
El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele told President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday that he has 350 million Americans to “liberate” by ending crime and terrorism in the United States. “We know that you have a crime problem and a terrorism problem that you need help with. And we’re a small country, but we can help,” Bukele said. “We actually turned the murder capital of the world — that was [what] the journalists called it – the murder capital of the world to the safest country in the Western Hemisphere.” “And I like to say that we actually liberated millions,” Bukele said, with the line drawing praise from Trump. STATE DEPT UPGRADES TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR EL SALVADOR, CONSIDERED SAFER THAN FRANCE, OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES “Mr. President, you have 350 million people to liberate,” Bukele told Trump. “You cannot just, you know, free the criminals and think crime is going to go down magically, you have to imprison them so you can liberate 350 million Americans that are asking for the end of crime and the end of terrorism, and it can be done.” Trump also referenced how the left has pushed for biological men to compete in women’s sports. 4 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE YOUNG CONSERVATIVE ANTI-CRIME PRESIDENT OF ECUADOR WHO WAS JUST RE-ELECTED “Do you allow your men in women’s sports? Do you allow men to box women?” Trump asked Bukele. The president of El Salvador remarked, “That’s violence.” This is a developing story. Check back for updates.