Texas AG Ken Paxton announces run for US Senate
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle Tuesday night that he will run for U.S. Senate. The announcement comes as Paxton no longer faces the cloud of a federal corruption investigation that loomed over him as he rose up the ranks in the Republican Party. This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
US bank regulator tells Congress it suffered ‘major’ hack that exposed sensitive information
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates and supervises national banks, on Tuesday said it notified Congress of a February hack that it called a “major information security incident.” The breach was first disclosed in February when it learned of “unusual interactions between a system administrative account in its office automation environment and OCC user mailboxes,” an OCC news release states. According to Bloomberg, the hackers had access to more than 150,000 emails after breaching the system in June 2023. “The confidentiality and integrity of the OCC’s information security systems are paramount to fulfilling its mission,” said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood. MALWARE EXPOSES 3.9 BILLION PASSWORDS IN HUGE CYBERSECURITY THREAT The OCC first learned of the incident on Feb. 11. Compromised administrative accounts were shut off the next day. “The OCC discovered that the unauthorized access to a number of its executives’ and employees’ emails included highly sensitive information relating to the financial condition of federally regulated financial institutions used in its examinations and supervisory oversight processes,” the agency said. The OCC said it has reached out to third-party cybersecurity experts to conduct a review of IT security protocols to prevent future attacks. STAY PROTECTED & INFORMED! GET SECURITY ALERTS & EXPERT TECH TIPS — SIGN UP FOR KURT’S ‘THE CYBERGUY REPORT’ NOW “I have taken immediate steps to determine the full extent of the breach and to remedy the long-held organizational and structural deficiencies that contributed to this incident,” Hood said. “There will be full accountability for the vulnerabilities identified and any missed internal findings that led to the unauthorized access.” Throughout its review, the OCC has coordinated with the Treasury Department to share information about its findings.
Colorado Dems are ‘poking the bear’ by defying Trump’s orders, GOP lawmaker warns
A Republican lawmaker has warned that Democrats in Colorado’s state legislature could face the ire of the Trump administration if a series of controversial bills passed Sunday — including one labeling parental misgendering during custody battles as “coercive control” — are signed into law. “It really does feel like we’re poking the bear,” state Rep. Jarvis Caldwell told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. Colorado enacted legislation to expand health care access to illegal immigrants this year, “as well as housing and food and education for illegal immigrants, which is in direct violation of some of the orders that have come from President Trump,” according to Caldwell. “And then the transgender issue, we’re pushing this further than we ever have before on children in the state of Colorado, and that directly goes in violation of what President Trump is looking at.” COLORADO DEMS RAM ABORTION, TRANSGENDER BILLS THROUGH ON LIMITED SUNDAY SESSION DEBATE: ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ As such, Caldwell said “it’s a very real possibility” that some of the state’s programs could be at risk of losing federal funding, adding the Centennial State will “pay the consequences for it, and Democrats will be responsible.” “Health is a big one with Medicaid, a big portion of that is federal funds, and then education as well,” Caldwell said. “And so we are passing bills, especially on the illegal immigrant issue, that directly involve these issues. And so I think that’s going to be something that’s on President Trump’s radar.” The Colorado Democratic House majority barreled through four controversial gender and abortion bills on Sunday — which one Republican lawmaker described as a day for “family and prayer,” curtailing floor debate in an “unprecedented” floor procedural tactic. The bills that were passed include SB25-183, which requires taxpayers to fund abortion services; HB25-1309, mandating insurers cover transgender procedures regardless of age; HB25-1312, which imposes state-mandated gender policies on schools and considers it “coercive control” in child custody cases when a parent does not affirm a child’s gender identity or “deadnames” them; and SB25-129, which prohibits cooperation with out-of-state investigations on transgender procedures and abortion services. TRANS INMATE IN PRISON FOR KILLING BABY MUST GET GENDER SURGERY AT ‘EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY’: JUDGE State House Majority Democratic Leader Monica Duran told Fox News Digital previously that the four bills were debated on the floor for more than 12 hours last week. Duran also invoked a procedural rule that limited debate to two hours last Friday. But Caldwell said under 24 hours is nothing compared to the Democrat majority’s 12 months they spent on several of the bills. “They had an entire year to coordinate testimony, and we had less than 24 hours,” Caldwell said. “And then when it went to the final vote, we’re each supposed to get 10 minutes for debate, and they completely cut off any and all debate.” The Republican minority also failed to get any of their amendments passed. For HB 1309, which would mandate insurers cover the cost of transgender procedures regardless of age, Republicans introduced an amendment to exclude minors from it. “Because some of the coverage is genital surgical procedures, it’s hormone therapy, it’s facial reconstruction, and then breast reductions and chest augmentation,” Caldwell said. “And so now your health care plan, even if you disagree with this, you’re going to be paying a higher premium most likely to cover the cost, in my opinion, to genitally mutilate children.” SB25-183 and SB25-129 are headed to the governor’s desk for signature, while the other House bills now go to the Senate for consideration. TRUMP DOJ, EDUCATION DEPT FORM TASK FORCE TO PROTECT FEMALE ATHLETES FROM ‘GENDER IDEOLOGY’ IN SCHOOLS, SPORTS It’s not unlikely that Trump could target Colorado Democrats. Earlier this year, Trump signed several executive orders aimed at eliminating “radical gender ideology,” and he’s already moved to slash some federal funds in Maine after Gov. Janet Mills refused to enforce Trump’s ban on biological males competing in women’s sports. Mills lobbed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday over the frozen funds. In January, Trump signed the “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” executive order, which defines two sexes: male and female. The order prohibits “chemical and surgical mutilation” of minors to include puberty blockers, hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, and sex-change surgeries. It also bars institutions receiving federal grants from providing such services and allows healthcare providers to refuse services based on gender identity. Trump also signed an executive order requiring military personnel to serve according to their biological sex.
Future of Trump budget bill uncertain as House GOP rebels mutiny over Senate plan
House Republicans are divided over how to proceed on a massive piece of legislation aimed at advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda as a possible vote on the measure looms Wednesday afternoon. Fiscal hawks are rebelling against GOP leaders over plans to pass the Senate’s version of a sweeping framework that sets the stage for a Trump policy overhaul on the border, energy, defense and taxes. Their main concern has been the difference between the Senate and House’s required spending cuts, which conservatives want to offset the cost of the new policies and as an attempt to reduce the national deficit. The Senate’s plan calls for a minimum of $4 billion in cuts, while the House’s floor is much higher at $1.5 trillion. “The problem is, I think a lot of people don’t trust the Senate and what their intentions are, and that they’ll mislead the president and that we won’t get done what we need to get done,” Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., told reporters on Tuesday. “I’m a ‘no’ until we figure out how to get enough votes to pass it.” SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES McCormick said there were as many as 40 GOP lawmakers who were undecided or opposed to the measure. A meeting with a select group of holdouts at the White House on Tuesday appeared to budge a few people, but many conservatives signaled they were largely unmoved. “I wouldn’t put it on the floor,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told reporters after the White House meeting. “I’ve got a bill in front of me, and it’s a budget, and that budget, in my opinion, will increase the deficit, and I didn’t come here to do that.” Senate GOP leaders praised the bill as a victory for Trump’s agenda when it passed the upper chamber in the early hours of Saturday morning. Trump urged all House Republicans to support it in a Truth Social post on Monday evening. Meanwhile, House Republican leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have appealed to conservatives by arguing that passing the Senate version does not in any way impede the House from moving ahead with its steeper cuts. The House passed its framework in late February. Congressional Republicans are working on a massive piece of legislation that Trump has dubbed “one big, beautiful bill” to advance his agenda on border security, defense, energy and taxes. Such a measure is largely only possible via the budget reconciliation process. Traditionally used when one party controls all three branches of government, reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage of certain fiscal measures from 60 votes to 51. As a result, it has been used to pass broad policy changes in one or two massive pieces of legislation. Passing frameworks in the House and Senate, which largely only include numbers indicating increases or decreases in funding, allows each chamber’s committees to then craft policy in line with those numbers under their specific jurisdictions. MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have pushed for Johnson to allow the House GOP to simply begin crafting its bill without passing the Senate version, though both chambers will need to eventually pass identical bills to send to Trump’s desk. “Trump wants to reduce the interest rates. Trump wants to lower the deficits. The only way to accomplish those is to reduce spending. And $4 billion is not – that’s … anemic. That is really a joke,” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told reporters. He said “there’s no way” the legislation would pass the House this week. The measure will likely go through the House Rules Committee, which acts as the final gatekeeper for most legislation getting a chamber-wide vote. However, tentative plans for a late-afternoon House Rules Committee meeting on the framework, which would have set up a Wednesday vote, were scrapped by early evening on Tuesday. The legislation could still get a House-wide vote late on Wednesday if the committee meets in the morning. As for the House speaker, he was optimistic returning from the White House meeting on Tuesday afternoon. “Great meeting. The president was very helpful and engaged, and we had a lot of members whose questions were answered,” Johnson told reporters. “I think we’ll be moving forward this week.” Fox News’ Ryan Schmelz and Aishah Hasnie contributed to this report.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: ‘Spine of steel’, willing to deal
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -Here’s the list of books the Naval Academy removed from its library during DEI purge –Supreme Court sides with Trump over fired probationary federal employees -Judge Boasberg cancels planned hearing to review Trump deportations White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted Tuesday that “all options are on the table for each country” when it comes to making deals over the latest U.S. tariffs, but warned those who retaliate that President Donald Trump “has a spine of steel and he will not break.” Leavitt said since Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements, 70 countries have already reached out to the president to begin negotiations. “On the other hand, countries like China who have chosen to retaliate and try to double down on their mistreatment of American workers are making a mistake. President Trump has a spine of steel and he will not break,” Leavitt added, referencing 34% retaliatory tariffs that China unveiled against the U.S. last week…Read more ‘Vital’ action: Protecting the playing field: GOP urges governors to take action on women’s sports ‘MANY FAILURES’: Whistleblower exposes how fired Biden-era official was soft on China, prioritized DEI COSTLY CRIME: Trump admin unveils plan costing migrants massive fine for every day they don’t self-deport ‘TRULY A MORON’: Elon Musk spars with Peter Navarro: ‘Dumber than a sack of bricks’ PURGING THE PENTAGON: Trump admin fires Navy admiral at NATO targeted by conservative group FIRST ON FOX: New 6-figure ad touts Trump policies that have key industry ‘booming’: ‘You voted for it’ LAUNCH SEQUENCE: Trump assassination attempt suspect Ryan Routh sought rocket launcher from Ukraine ‘GOLDEN AGE’: Trump crypto chief says we are in the ‘golden age’ for digital assets, ‘clearing the deck’ of Biden barriers ‘KIND OF LAMENTABLE’: China says JD Vance’s comments about ‘peasants’ are ‘words that lack knowledge and respect’ RED SEA RESET: New Navy Chief ‘regrets’ costly missile strikes against Houthis, pushes for cheaper Red Sea defense ‘DOMINANT POWER’: White House: US will lead in AI, but China is catching up BATTLE OF THE CHAMBERS: House Republicans worry even Trump can’t save them as tax cuts, budget bill hang in balance ‘COMPLETE 180 DEGREE FLIP’: House Democrat says he’d vote to protect Trump’s tariff plan, worries White House will stand down EMOTIONALLY TAXING: Treasury Secretary Bessent to huddle with key Republican caucus as Trump enacts tariff plan ‘MAGA EXTREMISTS’: Jeffries claims Trump budget bill will steal food from ‘the mouths of babies’ while enriching billionaires CHRIS’ CALL: Popular former Republican governor whom Trump urged to run for Senate makes his 2026 decision NUCLEAR NOMINATION: Supporters defend Trump’s pick to control America’s nuclear arsenal before Senate grilling FUNDRAISER-IN-CHIEF: Trump hauls in millions for House GOP 2026 war chest as Dems taunt they are ‘running scared’ ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’: GOP Rep. touts GOP effort to pass bill cracking down on ‘rogue’ judges FLORIDA TARGETS DEI: Florida AG bans law firms with DEI policies from serving as outside counsel BRAINS AND BRASS: Elbridge Colby confirmed to top Pentagon policy post after hesitation from GOP hawks ‘SIGNIFICANT DANGER’: Migrant convicted of killing his son arrested by ICE years after initial deportation TESTY OVER TARIFFS: Dem governors revolt against Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs TULSI’S TASK: Gabbard establishes new Intelligence Community task force to restore transparency RESHAPING THE WORKFORCE: Noem offers Homeland Security employee buyouts in move to shrink department Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Trump trade rep takes bipartisan fire over tariffs as Dem launches bid to halt them
Wall Street rebounded into the green as multiple foreign countries came to the tariff negotiating table with President Donald Trump – but that was not enough to assuage some lawmakers’ critiques of the “alla prima” tariff actions, as one Republican put it. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testified Tuesday the U.S. has long-suffered from “China Shock” – the surge in manufacturing outputs from the Communist nation since the turn of the century – and that the U.S. had to do something substantive but strategic about the 5 million manufacturing jobs lost and 90,000 factories closed since the middle of the Clinton administration. “President Biden left us with a $1.2 trillion trade deficit-in-goods – the largest of any country in the history of the world,” Greer said. “During COVID, we were unable to procure semiconductors to build our cars or materials for pharmaceuticals and personal protective equipment. During World War II, we built nearly 9,000 ships. Last year, the United States built only three ocean-going vessels,” he said. STOCKS JUMP AS TRUMP TARIFF NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN Greer said the U.S. historically was on the surplus side of agriculture trade but that, as of late, purportedly friendly countries like Australia have essentially rejected beef and pork exports, while America has not reciprocated with their livestock. That became a sore subject during a particularly heated exchange between Greer and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., as the lawmaker claimed Trump unnecessarily “clobbered” Canberra with a 10% tariff. “We have a free trade agreement with Australia,” he said, questioning Trump’s “fancy Greek formula” for determining tariffs. Democrats and media figures previously mocked Trump for tariffing uninhabited Australian islands in the Indian Ocean – which Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested over the weekend was to close any potential loophole to circumvent tariffs on such countries’ mainland. Greer argued the “lowest rate available” was imposed on Australia, leading Warner to ask again “why did they get whacked in the first place.” “Despite the [free trade] agreement, they ban our beef, they banned our pork, they’re getting ready to impose measures on our digital companies – It’s incredible,” Greer said. OPINION: TRUMP RISKS IT ALL ON TARIFFS Warner later acknowledged markets had rebounded a “blip” by midday but said a Wall Street contact equated it to a “good day in hospice.” Meanwhile, during his opening remarks, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden said he has drafted a bipartisan resolution to “end the latest crop of global tariffs that are clobbering American families and small businesses.” “Members on both sides of the aisle ought to know that this is a call to action and Congress must step in to rein this president on trade,” Wyden said. He called the tariffs “aimless” and “chaotic” and said it showed Congress ceded the executive branch too much constitutional power. In his testimony, Greer called trade imbalance an indicator of both an economic and national security emergency. He also suggested America’s allies have been foisting unfair policies on the American consumer – including the European Union. “[They] can sell us all the shellfish they want, but the EU bans shellfish from 48 states. The result is a trade deficit in shellfish with the EU,” he said. CHINA REFUSES TO BACK DOWN ON TARIFFS “We only charge a 2.5% tariff on ethanol, but Brazil charges us an 18% tariff. The result? We have a large trade deficit in ethanol with Brazil.” “Our average tariff on agricultural goods is 5%, but India’s average tariff is 39%. You understand the trend here.” In response to some of Wyden’s concerns, Greer said Vietnam has already negotiated a lower tariff on U.S. cherries and apples exported from Oregon and the Northwest. “This is exactly the right direction that we want to go in,” Greer said. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., struck a more middling tone on tariffs, saying that he has never been a “great fan of free trade,” and cited his work ending NAFTA and opposing normalized relations with China. He also cited the outsourcing of manufacturing to Mexico, saying it killed hundreds of thousands of American jobs and has many Mexican workers “living in cardboard boxes.” “That is the type of trade policy which I detest. But I want to move to an area, to talk about the legal basis of what President Trump has done,” he said. Sanders said he lives 50 miles from Canada and does not see the same empirical data on illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling that Trump accused Ottawa of failing to act on – and incorporated into his tariff calculations. On the Republican side, Chairman Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, was largely deferential to Trump and Greer, while some other Republicans voiced concerns. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa questioned whether Congress “delegated too much authority to the president” but said he supports the president so long as his mission is to “turn tariffs into trade deals to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers” versus any plot to “feed the U.S. Treasury through them.” “I made very clear throughout my public service that I’m a free and fair trader. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. I believe that Congress delegated too much authority to the president in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Trade Act of 1974,” he said. Additionally, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., pressed Greer on who should be considered the person that will take ultimately responsibility for either praise or accountability depending on the outcome of the tariff actions. “Whose throat do I have to choke,” he said, underlining that the phrase was borrowed from a management consulting mantra.
New GOP proposal builds off Laken Riley Act with slew of crimes targeting illegals
EXCLUSIVE: Legislation will be introduced Tuesday to expand the list of crimes that would require a migrant to be taken into custody. The “Safeguarding American Property Act” would add arson, vandalism and trespassing to the crimes that would require those in the country illegally to be placed into federal custody. “Property rights are a fundamental American value,” Rep. Troy Downing, R-Mont., said in a statement to Fox News Digital. TRUMP SIGNS LAKEN RILEY ACT INTO LAW AS FIRST LEGISLATIVE VICTORY IN NEW ADMINISTRATION “Those who disregard our laws by committing acts of vandalism or trespassing on private property, especially those who broke our laws crossing our borders, must not be allowed to remain. This bill builds on the good work of the Laken Riley Act and takes another step toward reversing Biden’s border crisis. I appreciate the support of the bill’s cosponsors, and I look forward to getting this legislation passed into law to keep our communities safe,” he continued. Specifically, it would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Montana Republican’s legislation is meant to help rural communities, which could have limited law enforcement resources to protect property. Many properties along the southern border faced damage as a result of the high volume of migrants that came across throughout the Biden administration, which triggered the state of Texas to create the Landowner Compensation Program to help repay those in agricultural communities. LAKEN RILEY ACT UNLEASHES FEDS TO HUNT VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS IN FLORIDA: LAWMAKER “Illegal aliens crossing the Texas-Mexico border at Joe Biden’s invitation leave behind a trail of destruction that harms Texas agricultural land,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in May 2024. “This program will provide needed relief to Texans whose property is damaged by foreign aliens waved into the country by the federal government. I am glad to help the farmers and ranchers on our borderlands who bear the costs of Biden’s destructive policies.” Downing’s proposal builds off the Laken Riley Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump this winter. The act garnered some bipartisan support, as it made theft, similar criminal charges or assaulting an officer triggers for federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants for potential deportation. LAKEN RILEY MURDER: JUDGE SENTENCES COLLEGE STUDENT KILLER AFTER FAMILY ADDRESSES ‘MONSTER’ IN COURT The law is named after a late 22-year-old nursing student who was killed by illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra while on a jog on the University of Georgia campus. Ibarra had been arrested in the past but was not taken into ICE custody, and he’s now facing life behind bars. “This horrific atrocity should never have been allowed to happen,” Trump said at the time, as it was the first bill signed in his second term. “And as president, I’m fighting every single day to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.” Fox News’ Diana Stacy contributed to this report.
WATCH: Mike Tyson reveals why he is backing the ‘Congressional Fitness Challenge’
FIRST ON FOX: Schools around the country could soon be able to opt into the “Congressional Fitness Challenge,” including legendary boxer Mike Tyson’s own academy. House Concurrent Resolution 20, introduced by Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., would create a voluntary program that would allow students who successfully complete the challenge to receive a signed certificate from the speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate, and the student’s senator and congressman. “Listen, because we need to be in shape, man,” Tyson told Fox News Digital in an interview. “We can’t physically get into an army because we’re out of shape. And that’s embarrassing. So it comes across we’re the most heavy, heaviest people in the planet. We’re the fattest people in world, Americans,” he continued. Specifically, Tyson noted 77% of Americans aged 17 to 24 would need a wavier in order to serve in the military, according to the Department of Defense. “It’s just mental. It’s just a shame, but it can be helped,” Tyson said of the issue. ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’: HOUSE REPUBLICAN TOUTS GOP EFFORT TO PASS BILL CRACKING DOWN ON ‘ROGUE’ JUDGES It would apply to students in K-12 public and private schools, groups that provide the testing to home schoolers, and members of Congress who hold a “community-based event” for the challenge, the current text states. According to the resolution, the benchmarks will be inspired by “historical” lines for the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, which was popularized under the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations in the 1960s. “So we got to make sure that they’re physically fit. Now is the perfect time to be instituting this once again, because we understand President Trump through his Cabinet picks and through what his campaign promises have been with the America First agenda, where he wants to make America healthy again,” Hamadeh said. The test itself would entail a mile-long run or walk, pull-ups or a flexed arm hang, curl-ups, sit-ups, shuttle runs, and sit-and-reach. Those who perform well would be divided into gold, silver, and bronze levels. The gold level would be in the top 85th percentile, silver would cover the top 75th percentile, and bronze would be in the top 50th percentile, the legislation states. Tyson added that actions like this give him hope for the future. “I think this is going to improve, and people are going to get better, and people want to get healthier. I just believe that,” he said. MIKE TYSON TALKS SUPPORT FOR FELLOW ‘FIGHTER’ PRESIDENT TRUMP Tyson is at the helm of Tyson Transformational Technologies Academy, a private school in Arizona that is part of the My Life My Power International Preparatory Academy, which has campuses in Florida and West Virginia as well. The academies plan on taking up the challenge. “I believe in this country and I believe we’re going to get well and we’re going to be in good condition. And we’re gonna be able to go into the army and defend our country,” Tyson said. Other athletes have come out in support of the resolution, including former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. NFL LEGEND BRETT FAVRE MAKES PREDICTION ON POSSIBILITY OF INTERNATIONAL SUPER BOWL “Love this! So important for our Youth,” Brown posted to X. “As a former pro athlete, one of us knows first-hand the doors that physical fitness can open— confidence, leadership, the drive to succeed. As a Member of Congress and former US Army Captain and Intelligence Officer, the other sees the broader picture – healthier kids mean a healthier, more prosperous America,” Favre and Hamadeh co-wrote in an op-ed for OutKick in March. The resolution is co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Tony Wied and Martin Stutzman. “Right now, people are really focused on what foods have been going into their bodies and how come the obesity rate has tripled,” Hamadeh said. “And it’s a real problem in terms of a national security perspective. So the government has an invested interest in this. but also the American people do it themselves as well.”
Trump, Hegseth reveal whopping figure they want for the next Pentagon budget
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to hike the Pentagon budget to over $1 trillion for the first time ever. Speaking to reporters alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the upcoming budget would be “in the vicinity” of $1 trillion, a major boost from this year’s $850 billion budget. “COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar @DeptofDefense budget,” Hegseth posted on X. He said Trump is “is rebuilding our military – and FAST.” $1,300 COFFEE CUPS, 8,000% OVERPAY FOR SOAP DISPENSERS SHOW WASTE AS DOGE LOCKS IN ON PENTAGON The budget for all national security programs, including the Department of Defense, nuclear weapons development and other security agencies, is at $892 billion for this year. Moving to a $1 trillion Pentagon budget would be a 12% increase over current levels. But the $1 trillion budget idea comes just as the Pentagon has moved to cut 8% each year for five years from each program to reinvest in modernization. The department is also planning to slash tens of thousands from its civilian workforce and consolidate bases across the world. “We’re going to be approving a budget, and I’m proud to say, actually, the biggest one we’ve ever done for the military,” he said. “$1 trillion. Nobody has seen anything like it. NEW NAVY CHIEF ‘REGRETS’ COSTLY MISSILE STRIKES AGAINST HOUTHIS, PUSHES FOR CHEAPER RED SEA DEFENSE “We are getting a very, very powerful military. We have things under order now.” White House officials are expected to unveil their budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 later this spring before Congress hashes out the appropriations process. Even a $1 trillion budget would not put the U.S. at Trump’s stated target for NATO countries to spend on defense: 5%. But the president said the cash influx would be used to kickstart production on new equipment and technologies. “We’ve never had the kind of aircraft, the kind of missiles, anything that we have ordered,” he said. “And it’s in many ways too bad that we have to do it because, hopefully, we’re not going to have to use it.” The Trump administration recently unveiled a Boeing contract for the Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter jet, the F-47, which the service branch expects to cost around $20 billion from 2025 to 2029. “We know every other plane,” Trump said. “I’ve seen every one of them and it’s not even close. This is a next level.” An announcement on the Navy’s next-generation fighter jet, F/A-XX, has been stalled, while chief of naval operations Adm. James Kirby told reporters Monday work on the new jet’s contract was taking place at “secretary-level and above.”
White House: US will lead in AI, but China is catching up
EXCLUSIVE: China’s innovation in artificial intelligence is “accelerating,” according to Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology. He told Fox News Digital that the United States’ “promote and protect” strategy will solidify its standing as the world’s dominant power in AI. Kratsios, who served as chief technology officer during the first Trump administration, sat for an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Monday. FLASHBACK: US TECHNOLOGY CHIEF WARNS CHINA ‘TWISTING’ ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO TARGET CRITICS, AS AMERICA JOINS GLOBAL PACT “The White House in the first Trump administration redefined national tech policy to focus on American leadership in emerging technologies, and those were technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and 5G, [which] were big back then,” Kratsios said. “The president, at that time, signed the executive order prioritizing U.S. leadership in AI, back in 2019 when people weren’t even talking about it.” “He recognized that it was critical for the U.S. to lead in AI,” Kratsios said. “We got the ball rolling on what the U.S. national strategy is and how we would win.” During his first administration, Trump signed the first-ever executive order on AI in 2019. He also took executive action in 2020 to establish the first-ever guidance for federal agency adoption of AI to deliver services to the American people and “foster public trust” in the technology. But Kratsios said that when former President Joe Biden took office, the attitude of his administration toward AI shifted to “one of fear and one of over-regulation.” “There was a fixation on what I would call harms, so, spending time and energy thinking about all the things that could go wrong with this technology, versus having a balanced approach, where you try to minimize things that could go poorly, and more importantly, look at ways this technology can transform America for the better,” Kratsios explained, noting that Biden officials were “harms focused,” which he said was “manifested in a lot of the policies that they did, in the way that they were very reticent to applying some of this technology to a lot of the issues that government faced, like how you make agencies more efficient.” Kratsios reflected on Trump’s AI message during the campaign, saying he “made it very clear that we as a country need to win and be dominant in artificial intelligence.” “And he acted very decisively,” Kratsios said, pointing to Trump’s move on his third day in office to direct him and other officials to develop an AI action plan. “It was a way to review everything that had been done under the Biden administration and turn the page with an agenda that’s focused on sustaining and ensuring continued U.S. leadership in this particular technology, and that’s what we’ve been working on,” Kratsios said. ‘AI POWERHOUSE’: WHITE HOUSE ENCOURAGES AMERICANS TO PROVIDE IDEAS FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE STRATEGY Kratsios explained that the U.S. is “the leader” in AI, specifically when it comes to the “three layers of technology,” which he said are chips or high-end semiconductors, the model itself and the application layer. “If you look at all three of those layers, the U.S. is the leader,” Kratsios said. “We have the best chips. We have the best models. And we have the best applications to date.” But he warned that the Trump administration is “seeing the velocity of innovation” from China. “We’re seeing the speed at which the PRC is catching up with us is actually accelerating,” he explained. Kratsios referenced DeepSeek, which was released by a Chinese firm earlier in 2025 and develops large language models. “I think what DeepSeek revealed is that the Chinese continue to make progress and are trying really hard to catch up with us on those three layers,” Kratsios said. But the key to maintaining U.S. dominance in the space is the Trump administration’s “promote and protect” strategy, Kratsios explained. Kratsios said the Trump administration will “promote” by continuing to accelerate the development of technology and encouraging more Americans, American companies and countries around the world to use that technology. “And then on the protect side, what is it that the U.S. has which could be useful to the PRC to accelerate their efforts in AI? We protect that technology from access by the Chinese,” Kratsios said, pointing to high-end semiconductors and chips that the Chinese “shouldn’t have access to, because that would make it easier for them to accelerate their efforts.” “How do we speed up innovation here at home and slow down our adversaries?” Kratsios said. OPINION: HOW TEAM TRUMP CAN MAKE AI STAND FOR AMERICAN INNOVATION The answer, Kratsios said, is AI research and development that continues to drive innovation. He also said the Trump administration needs to continue to remove regulations and barriers to AI innovation, and also prepare and train Americans in the workforce to “better leverage this technology.” Kratsios said another step is ensuring that foreign allies partner with the U.S. to “make sure that they are also keeping the PRC at bay and that they continue to use the American AI stack.” “So, if you’re any country in the world that wants to use AI, you’d want to use an American stack,” he explained. “So we should make it as easy as possible in order for us to export our technology to like-minded partners.” As for China, Kratsios said the PRC “is probably one of the most sophisticated surveillance states in the world, and that is underpinned by their own artificial intelligence technology.” “I think the goal of the United States should be to continue to be the dominant power in AI. And there are certain inputs to the development of AI which we can control, and which we would not want the PRC to have access to,” he said. “And the most important pieces are sort of these very high-end chips that they can use to train models, and also certain equipment that would allow them to build their own very high-end chips.” He added: “And