Congressional Democrats are dismissing the White House's demand for an apology after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., urged people to "fight" President Donald Trump's agenda "in the streets."

"Right now, we're going to keep focus on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors, and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working class Americans across the country with the bill," the Democrat said during a press conference. 

"That's not acceptable. We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We're going to fight it in the streets," he continued. 

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A spokesperson for Jeffries, Christie Stephenson, told Fox News Digital, "The notion that Leader Jeffries supports violence is laughable. Republicans are the party that pardons violent felons who assault police officers. Democrats are the party of John Lewis and the right to petition the government peacefully."

She also referred to the comments as promoting "nonviolent protest" on X.

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"You should really get a quote from one of the violent criminals President Trump just let on the streets. Or the one who immediately got picked up on child pornography charges," a spokesperson for House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told Fox News Digital.

The lawmakers were likely referencing Trump's recent move to pardon nearly all defendants with charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.

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Jeffries' remark was quickly shared by the Trump White House's rapid response team Friday on X before Republicans began calling for an apology. 

A senior White House official told Fox News Digital, "Hakeem Jeffries must apologize for this disgraceful call to violence."

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., also demanded an apology, writing on X, "House Minority Leader [Jeffries] should promptly apologize for his use of inflammatory and extreme rhetoric."

"President Trump and the Republicans are focused on uniting the country; Jeffries needs to stop trying to divide it."

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Senate Republican Conference Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told Fox News Digital in a statement, "The Democratic Leader’s comments are deranged but not unexpected. Senate Republicans are fighting to make America safer and more prosperous while the Democrats remain obsessed with protecting criminal illegal aliens, identity politics, and unhinged attacks on President Trump."

On social media, rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers remained silent on the comment from Jeffries. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump will execute tariffs upon Mexico, Canada and China starting Saturday.

Trump’s economic plan during his campaign called for extending the 2017 tax cuts and imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 20% on all imported goods. For countries like China, that number could go up to 60%.

TRUMP TREASURY PICK: EXTENDING TRUMP TAX CUTS ‘SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ECONOMIC ISSUE’

These countries will face these tariffs because they have allowed an "unprecedented invasion of illegal fentanyl that is killing American citizens," according to Leavitt. 

"The president will be implementing tomorrow a 25% tariff on Mexico, 25% tariffs on Canada, and a 10% tariff on China for the illegal fentanyl they have sourced and allowed to distribute into our country, which has killed tens of millions of Americans," Leavitt told reporters Friday. "These are promises made and promises kept."

CANADA READIES TRUMP TARIFFS RESPONSE: 'IN A TRADE WAR, THERE ARE NO WINNERS'

While Canadian President Justin Trudeau said Friday that Canada was prepared to respond to any tariffs executed, Leavitt said that the tariffs are not expected to spark a trade war with Canada and that Trump would respond to Trudeau in "due time." 

There was a heavy focus on systemic racism and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs during the final debate among the eight candidates vying to chair the Democratic National Committee (DNC), as the party aims to exit the political wilderness.

The forum, moderated and carried live on MSNBC and held at Georgetown University in the nation's capital city, develed into chaos early on as a wave of left-wing protesters repeatedly interrupted the primetime event, heckling over concerns of climate change and billionaires' influence in America's elections before they were forcibly removed by security.

Thanks in part to their repeated targeting of DEI efforts under former President Joe Biden's administration, President Donald Trump recaptured the White House in November's elections, with Republicans also retaking control of the Senate from the Democrats and the GOP holding onto its razor-thin majority in the House.

Jaime Harrison, the DNC chairman for the past four years, declined to seek another term steering the Democrats' national party committee. The DNC will vote for a new chair on Saturday, as they hold their annual winter meeting this year at National Harbor, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.

FIRST ON FOX: AFTER 2024 ELECTION SETBACKS, DEMOCRATS EYE RURAL VOTERS

"Unlike the other party, that is demonizing diversity, we understand that diversity is our greatest strength," Harrison said at the start of the debate before bringing the candidates out.

Biden and many Democrats portrayed DEI efforts as a way to boost inclusion and representation for communities historically marginalized. However Trump and his supporters, on the 2024 campaign trail, repeatedly charged that such programs were discriminatory and called for restoring "merit-based" hiring.

DEMOCRATS' NEW SENATE CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS KEYS TO WINNING BACK MAJORITY IN 2026

Since his inauguration on Jan. 20 and his return to power in the White House, Trump has signed a slew of sweeping executive orders and actions to end the federal government's involvement in DEI programs, reversing in some cases decades of hiring practices by the federal government. Trump's actions are also pushing large corporations in the private sector to abandon their diversity efforts.

At Thursday's showdown, there was plenty of focus on diversity and racism.

At one point, the candidates were asked for a show of hands about how many believed that racism and misogyny played a role in former Vice President Kamala Harris' defeat in the 2024 election to Trump.

All eight candidates running for DNC, as well as many people in the audience, raised their hands.

"That's good. You all pass," MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart, one of the moderators of the forum, quipped.

However, far from everyone in the party wants to see such issues dominate the discussion without the added inclusion of economic concerns such as inflation, which were top of mind at the ballot box in November.

DEMOCRATS' HOUSE CAMPAIGN CHAIR TELLS FOX NEWS HER PLAN TO WIN BACK MAJORITY

"The Democrats pathway to power runs directly through kitchen table economics and the notion we can fight for economic opportunity and ensuring everyone is treat with dignity and respect," said Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, a veteran of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, who is attending the party's winter meeting.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, considered one of the frontrunners in the DNC chair race, in speaking with reporters after the forum, pointed to the gains made by Trump and Republicans among diverse voters in the 2024 election and argued that the party did not spend enough time concentrating on "the kitchen table issues."

"Whether you're Hispanic, whether you're transgender, whether you're gay, whether you're straight, whether you're Black, whether you're White. Everybody needs to eat. And the people we lost in every segment were people who struggled the most to put food on their family's table. And they were the ones we lost across the board," O'Malley argued.

The protests, staged in waves, include calls for the DNC chair candidates to bring back the party's ban on corporate PAC and lobbyist donations that was in effect during former President Barack Obama's administration.

The youth-led, left-wing climate action organization known as the Sunrise Movement, said the first three protesters were affiliated with their group.

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Another protester, who was not believed to be affiliated with the Sunrise Movement, as he was dragged out of the debate hall by security, yelled, "What will you do to get fossil fuel money out of Democratic politics? We are facing a climate emergency!"

Much of the audience, which consisted of many DNC voting members, appeared frustrated by the repeated interruptions.

"Protest the Republicans. Protest the people who are actually hurting you!" a member of the audience shouted out.

FIRST ON FOX: The White House is blasting House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries after pledging to fight Republicans' agenda "in the streets."

"While President Trump remains focused on uniting our country and delivering the mandate set by the American people, the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, incites violence calling for people to fight ‘in the streets’ against President Trump’s agenda," White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai told Fox News Digital.

"This unhinged violent rhetoric is dangerous. Leader Jeffries should immediately apologize."

Republicans are hammering Jeffries for his comments at a press conference in Brooklyn on Friday. 

‘DOGE’-MEETS-CONGRESS: GOP LAWMAKER AARON BEAN LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK ‘TAKE ON CRAZYTOWN’

The Democratic leader appeared beside Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., to criticize Trump's handling of the recent deadly aircraft collision in Washington, D.C., and his administration's policies freezing federal funding.

At one point, Jeffries was asked about Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams' lack of pushback against Trump, and whether it made him a "good fit" to lead the Big Apple.

Jeffries avoided weighing in directly on Adams, however, responding, "I'll have more to say about the future of the mayorship of the city of New York at the appropriate time."

DOGE SENATOR SEEKS TO ENSURE FEDS CAN CONTINUE PURSUING COVID FRAUDSTERS, DEBTORS AS IG SOUNDS ALARM

"Right now, we're going to keep focused on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors, and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working class Americans across the country with the bill," Jeffries said.

"That's not acceptable. We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We're going to fight it in the streets."

When asked for clarification, Jeffries spokesperson Christie Stephenson told Fox News Digital, "The notion that Leader Jeffries supports violence is laughable. Republicans are the party that pardons violent felons who assault police officers. Democrats are the party of John Lewis and the right to petition the government peacefully."

She posted similar comments on X where she signaled the comments were referring to "nonviolent protest."

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But GOP lawmakers immediately called on Jeffries to apologize, accusing him of using inflammatory language in an already-tense political environment.

"House Minority Leader [Jeffries] should promptly apologize for his use of inflammatory and extreme rhetoric. President Trump and the Republicans are focused on uniting the country; Jeffries needs to stop trying to divide it," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., wrote on X.

While legislators in the Democratic trifecta are trying to pass bills to "Trump-proof" the state, California Republican Kate Sanchez plans to introduce a bill that would crack down on what may be a "sanctuary state" loophole protecting criminal illegal immigrants involved in sex-trafficking minors.

"It would eliminate all of the unnecessary restrictions for local law enforcement to cooperate with federal law enforcement in order to go after those that have been accused or convicted of sex trafficking of minors, and currently there is a clause that they cannot communicate as openly as possible," Sanchez told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

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These restrictions are part of California's "sanctuary state" policies, which are designed to limit state and local law enforcement's involvement in federal immigration enforcement. For her part, the specific provisions that Sanchez wants to amend are found in the California Values Act (SB 54), which was enacted in 2017, that restricts local law enforcement agencies from using resources to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect or arrest individuals for immigration enforcement purposes. 

There are exceptions in SB 54 for individuals convicted of certain serious or violent crimes. However, sex trafficking is not always classified as a violent felony under California law – making it so that some convicted sex traffickers may not meet the criteria for local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities – potentially thwarting deportation efforts.

Sanchez argues this creates a loophole that could allow illegal immigrants who are involved in sex trafficking to remain in the U.S. after serving their sentence. In 2023, Newsom signed Senate Bill 14 (SB 14), reclassifying the trafficking of a minor as a "serious" felony, but other forms of human trafficking may still not be considered violent felonies under state law.

"So, we want to make sure we remove that piece of the penal code and allow them to communicate and do their job fully," Sanchez said. 

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Sanchez's bill may align well with President Donald Trump's mass deportation plan currently underway, but it faces an uphill battle in her state legislature, which is dominated by Democrats. Currently, Democratic assemblymembers – in collaboration with Newsom – are trying to pass a series of bills that would bolster the state's legal defense against the Trump administration. The State Senate already passed the bills last week.

Democrats were set to pass the $50 million special session bill Thursday, but Assembly lawmakers reportedly blocked the package over concerns that there may be changes that need to be made to the immigration-related proposal. At issue is Newsom's $25 million allocation for nonprofit organizations to defend illegal immigrants from deportation, and whether those funds would be used as well for criminal illegal immigrants. 

Newsom's office told Fox News Digital previously that no funds would go to criminal illegal immigrants. 

NEWSOM PROPOSES $25M FROM STATE LEGISLATURE TO 'TRUMP-PROOF' CALIFORNIA

Newsom called a special legislative session quickly after Trump's electoral victory to secure additional funding for the state's legal defense against the administration. Reacting to the development on his TruthSocial account at the time, Trump said, "He is using the term 'Trump-Proof' as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to 'Make California Great Again,' but I just overwhelmingly won the Election."

Sanchez – who says she has been shut out of the legislature's Hispanic Caucus because she's a Republican – said the legislature should be focusing on "fireproofing" the state, or rather, "Newsom-proofing California." 

"Take it for what it's worth, but I genuinely feel like there are victims and there are people in need that we should be advocating for protecting our most vulnerable, protecting the innocence of our children," Sanchez said. "It is an uphill battle in Sacramento, but I do feel the tide is turning, and I know we will be looking to our federal counterparts to be helpful in this matter as well."

Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom's office for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump is expected to sign a memo Friday to lift the collective bargaining agreements former President Joe Biden put into effect before leaving office, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The president’s memo will direct federal agencies to reject last-minute collective bargaining agreements issued by the Biden administration, which White House officials said were designed to "constrain" the Trump administration from reforming the government. 

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The memo prohibits agencies from making new collective bargaining agreements during the final 30 days of a president’s term. It also directs agency heads to disapprove any collective bargaining agreements that Biden put through during the final 30 days of his term. 

The White House said collective bargaining agreements enacted before that time period will remain in effect while the Trump administration "negotiates a better deal for the American people." 

Biden’s Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley in December 2024 came to an agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees guaranteeing that the agency’s 42,000 employees would not have to come into the office during the Trump administration. 

The White House told Fox News Digital that the new policy "ensures the American people get the policies they voted for, instead of being stuck with the wasteful and ineffective Biden policies rejected at the ballot box." 

'GET BACK TO WORK': HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK IN 1ST HEARING OF NEW CONGRESS

"The outgoing Biden administration negotiated lame-duck, multi-year collective bargaining agreements—during the week before the inauguration—in an attempt to tie the incoming Trump administration’s hands," a White House fact sheet on the memo obtained by Fox News Digital states. 

The White House pointed to the Biden administration’s Department of Education’s agreement that prohibited the return of remote employees and agreements for the Biden Small Business Administration and Federal Trade Commission. 

"These CBAs attempt to prevent President Trump from implementing his promises to the American people, such as returning Federal employees to the office to make government operate more efficiently," the fact sheet states. "President Biden’s term of office ended on January 20th. Under this memorandum, he and future Presidents cannot govern agencies after leaving office by locking in last-minute CBAs." 

WHITE HOUSE OPM ORDERS ALL DEI OFFICES TO BEGIN CLOSING BY END OF DAY WEDNESDAY

The president’s new memo also is aimed to ensure that federal government agencies operate under similar rules as private sector unions and employers. 

The memo comes after the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directed agency and department heads to notify employees by the new return to in-person work order. That order required employees to work full-time in the office unless excused due to disability or qualifying medical conditions. 

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And this week, OPM sent emails to the full federal workforce offering the option of resignation with full pay and benefits until Sept. 30 if they do not want to return to the office. Those workers have until Feb. 6 to decide. 

The federal workers that did not get that option work as postal workers, military immigration officials, some national security officials, and any positions agencies decide to carve out. 

The Senate’s lead "DOGE" lawmaker said Friday her quest for government efficiency is beginning to come full-circle, as the Agriculture Department instituted a return-to-work mandate she said was first spurred by a 2024 whistleblower who contacted her office.

"The Trump administration, DOGE, and I are already racking up wins for taxpayers," Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital on Friday.

"Growing up on a farm, I know what working from home really means."

President Donald Trump too, highlighted the difference between telework in white-collar jobs and Americans in agriculture and manufacturing who don’t have the luxury of working from a desk.

In remarks to reporters, Trump said federal workers appear less productive when working-from-home and that the dynamic is "unfair to the millions of people in the United States who are in fact working hard from job sites and not from their home."

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He also warned federal workers they would have to report to the office or, "you’re fired."

In that regard, Ernst looked back on a whistleblower who came to her and alleged USDA's District of Columbia offices were largely vacant.

That, she said, spurred her to outline policy proposals that eventually became "DOGE" – a term popularized by Trump ally Elon Musk.

"When I first discovered that the Department of Agriculture was a ghost town, I took action to end federal employees’ abuse of telework and get the agency working for Iowa farmers," said Ernst.

"I have put bureaucrats on notice that their four-year vacation is over, and we are just beginning to get Washington back to work and serving the American people."

A memo from Acting Agriculture Secretary Gary Washington obtained by Politico on Thursday ordered senior staff "with assigned duty stations" to work from their offices full-time. Additional guidance would follow for workers without a preassigned workstation.

Ernst characterized the memo as that full-circle moment.

DOGE SENATOR SEEKS TO ENSURE FEDS CAN CONTINUE PURSUING COVID FRAUDSTERS, DEBTORS AS IG SOUNDS ALARM

Ernst reportedly brought up her early concerns about teleworking bureaucrats and unused Washington office space running up tabs on the federal ledger during a meeting with Trump and Musk at Mar-a-Lago last year.

She previously compiled a report following an investigation into government waste and abuse through which $2 trillion in savings could be realized if the issues were attended to.

In a December statement highlighting that report, the House Budget Committee – now led by Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas -- said the Biden administration’s condoning of mass telework "generated complacency in the workforce while costing taxpayers billions in unnecessary maintenance and upkeep costs."

"Early success means there is much more to come," a person familiar with the Senate’s DOGE work added.

According to a report from the Government Accountability Office, only 11% of the USDA's office space was occupied in the first quarter of 2023, and 75% of available space across 17 federal agencies has remained empty since the pandemic.

Ernst built her initial pre-formal-"DOGE" probes off of the USDA whistleblower, which is why she believes the latest development mandating return-to-work for agriculture bureaucrats is the issue now coming full-circle.

Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., – the chairman and founder of the DOGE Caucus – praised Ernst's work and said taxpayers deserve to have a government operating at "full capacity."

"President Trump’s executive order requiring federal employees to return to work is the first step in improving government efficiency."

"This is just common sense, and the exact type of waste DOGE will continue to crack down on," Bean said.

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Ernst’s first DOGE "win" came with the passage of an otherwise Democrat-favored bill named for former President Joe Biden’s longtime friend Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and signed as both Delawareans were departing public service.

Within the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act was a provision to compel the General Services Administration to sell the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building.

The block-long "stripped classicist" building southwest of the U.S. Capitol was designed by Philadelphia architect Charles Z. Klauder in the 1930s, and originally hosted the Social Security Administration.

However, its total occupancy dwindled to 2% -- largely Voice of America workers – by 2025.

Another "DOGE" amendment sponsored by Ernst that requires agency oversight and reporting regarding telework was successfully added to a major appropriations bill passed in December.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment for purposes of this story but did not receive a response by press time. 

There was a heavy focus on systemic racism and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs during the final debate among the eight candidates vying to chair the Democratic National Committee (DNC), as the party aims to exit the political wilderness.

The forum, moderated and carried live on MSNBC and held at Georgetown University in the nation's capital city, develed into chaos early on as a wave of left-wing protesters repeatedly interrupted the primetime event, heckling over concerns of climate change and billionaires' influence in America's elections before they were forcibly removed by security.

Thanks in part to their repeated targeting of DEI efforts under former President Joe Biden's administration, President Donald Trump recaptured the White House in November's elections, with Republicans also retaking control of the Senate from the Democrats and the GOP holding onto its razor-thin majority in the House.

Jaime Harrison, the DNC chairman for the past four years, declined to seek another term steering the Democrats' national party committee. The DNC will vote for a new chair on Saturday, as they hold their annual winter meeting this year at National Harbor, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.

FIRST ON FOX: AFTER 2024 ELECTION SETBACKS, DEMOCRATS EYE RURAL VOTERS

"Unlike the other party, that is demonizing diversity, we understand that diversity is our greatest strength," Harrison said at the start of the debate before bringing the candidates out.

Biden and many Democrats portrayed DEI efforts as a way to boost inclusion and representation for communities historically marginalized. However Trump and his supporters, on the 2024 campaign trail, repeatedly charged that such programs were discriminatory and called for restoring "merit-based" hiring.

DEMOCRATS' NEW SENATE CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS KEYS TO WINNING BACK MAJORITY IN 2026

Since his inauguration on Jan. 20 and his return to power in the White House, Trump has signed a slew of sweeping executive orders and actions to end the federal government's involvement in DEI programs, reversing in some cases decades of hiring practices by the federal government. Trump's actions are also pushing large corporations in the private sector to abandon their diversity efforts.

At Thursday's showdown, there was plenty of focus on diversity and racism.

At one point, the candidates were asked for a show of hands about how many believed that racism and misogyny played a role in former Vice President Kamala Harris' defeat in the 2024 election to Trump.

All eight candidates running for DNC, as well as many people in the audience, raised their hands.

"That's good. You all pass," MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart, one of the moderators of the forum, quipped.

However, far from everyone in the party wants to see such issues dominate the discussion without the added inclusion of economic concerns such as inflation, which were top of mind at the ballot box in November.

DEMOCRATS' HOUSE CAMPAIGN CHAIR TELLS FOX NEWS HER PLAN TO WIN BACK MAJORITY

"The Democrats pathway to power runs directly through kitchen table economics and the notion we can fight for economic opportunity and ensuring everyone is treat with dignity and respect," said Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, a veteran of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, who is attending the party's winter meeting.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, considered one of the frontrunners in the DNC chair race, in speaking with reporters after the forum, pointed to the gains made by Trump and Republicans among diverse voters in the 2024 election and argued that the party did not spend enough time concentrating on "the kitchen table issues."

"Whether you're Hispanic, whether you're transgender, whether you're gay, whether you're straight, whether you're Black, whether you're White. Everybody needs to eat. And the people we lost in every segment were people who struggled the most to put food on their family's table. And they were the ones we lost across the board," O'Malley argued.

The protests, staged in waves, include calls for the DNC chair candidates to bring back the party's ban on corporate PAC and lobbyist donations that was in effect during former President Barack Obama's administration.

The youth-led, left-wing climate action organization known as the Sunrise Movement, said the first three protesters were affiliated with their group.

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Another protester, who was not believed to be affiliated with the Sunrise Movement, as he was dragged out of the debate hall by security, yelled, "What will you do to get fossil fuel money out of Democratic politics? We are facing a climate emergency!"

Much of the audience, which consisted of many DNC voting members, appeared frustrated by the repeated interruptions.

"Protest the Republicans. Protest the people who are actually hurting you!" a member of the audience shouted out.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is being criticized by Republicans after pledging Democrats would fight President Donald Trump’s agenda "in the streets."

"Right now, we're going to keep focus on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors, and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working class Americans across the country with the bill," Jeffries said.

"That's not acceptable. We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We're going to fight it in the streets."

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., immediately demanded that Jeffries apologize.

"House Minority Leader [Jeffries] should promptly apologize for his use of inflammatory and extreme rhetoric," Emmer wrote on X. "President Trump and the Republicans are focused on uniting the country; Jeffries needs to stop trying to divide it."

Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ office for clarification. 

A senior White House official told Fox News, "Hakeem Jeffries must apologize for this disgraceful call to violence."

The House Democratic leader was holding a press conference in Brooklyn on Friday aimed at criticizing Trump’s federal funding freeze and his handling of the tragic aircraft collision in Washington, DC earlier this week.

Jeffries credited Democrats with stopping the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze.

"As was demonstrated this week, House Democrats, Senate Democrats, Democratic governors, and everyday Americans all across the country rose up in defiance as it relates to the illegal, unlawful, and extreme federal funding freeze that is part of the Republican rip-off agenda," Jeffries said. "We fought it, we stopped it, and we will never surrender."

The Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued an order earlier this week pausing most federal funding while directing agencies to conduct thorough reviews of where taxpayer dollars are being spent.

The White House later clarified the memo to mean funding going toward progressive causes that Trump had explicitly blocked through executive orders. 

Nevertheless, it was still blocked by a federal judge, and hours later, the memo was rescinded.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the OMB memo was rescinded in light of the court order but clarified that funding blocks set up by Trump’s executive orders were still in effect.

Environmental groups appear to be breaking with the Democratic Party after protesters disrupted a recent leadership meeting, which comes as the party attempts to regain its footing after suffering defeat in the 2024 presidential election.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) held a candidate forum on Thursday evening in Washington, D.C., ahead of their upcoming election to determine who will lead the campaign arm into the next election cycle. 

While the event was intended to showcase some of the party's potential new faces, it was interrupted by several protesters, including climate activists from the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led, left-wing climate action organization, who demanded the DNC establish a working election strategy for the party after the 2024 loss.

"What will you do to get fossil fuel money out of Democratic politics? We are facing a climate emergency!" Fox News Digital heard one protester shout.

AFTER STINGING ELECTION DEFEATS, DNC EYES RURAL VOTERS AS KEY TO 2026 MIDTERM SUCCESS

Other protesters made calls for the DNC chair candidates to bring back the party's ban on corporate PAC and lobbyist donations.

"To defeat Trump, the Democratic Party needs to loudly and proudly take a stand against billionaires and show voters that Democrats are the only party ready to fight for working people," Adah, an activist from the Sunrise Movement who made an interruption, said in a statement issued by Sunrise.

DNC HIRES FORMER HARRIS STAFFERS BEHIND @KAMALAHQ FOR SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSES TO TRUMP

"That’s how we will win back young voters and working class voters and defeat Trump," Adah added.

About a dozen protesters interrupted and were kicked out of the event — the final meeting ahead of Saturday's DNC election. 

The Democratic candidates and moderates grew frustrated with the protesters who were interrupting the event. 

Jason Paul, a candidate running for DNC chair, said the protesters were "hijack[ing] the whole evening" and turning the event "into scream night."

"I’m surprised I haven’t seen more of it," former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley told reporters after the event. "They’re going to be on this planet a lot longer than I am, and if they stop caring passionately about the planet, then we have no hope at all. So it didn’t bother me."

Eight candidates are running to serve as chair of the DNC next cycle, including O'Malley, Wisconsin chair Ben Wikler, Minnesota chair Ken Martin, and former two-time Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson.

The DNC chair election will be held Saturday.

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke has accused President Donald Trump of trying to "purge" non-White workers from the federal government.

"Our republic’s president, Donald Trump, chose to address a nation in mourning with only fiction and White supremacist ideologies," Clarke said during a Friday press conference in Brooklyn, New York.

"Yesterday, he spun that fiction for one reason and one reason alone, and that is to further his administration's purge of America's minority employees."

Her comments are in response to Trump’s press conference on the deadly midair collision in Washington, D.C. this week. A Black Hawk military helicopter crashed into an American Eagle passenger plane that was moments away from landing, likely killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.

WATCHDOG SUES BIDEN AGENCY FOR RECORDS AS LAWMAKER CALLS ITS VOTER WORK ‘A SLAP IN THE FACE’

Trump speculated whether diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts played a role in the tragedy during a press conference Thursday, though both he and other officials maintain the cause is not yet clear.

"It just could have been," Trump said when asked if he believed the crash was caused by diversity hiring. "We’ve had a much higher standard than anybody else. And there are things where you have to go by brainpower. You have to go by psychological quality, and psychological quality is a very important element of it. These are various, very powerful tests that we put to use. And they were terminated by Biden."

He claimed former President Joe Biden "went by a standard that seeks the exact opposite."

KASH PATEL HAMMERS ‘GROTESQUE MISCHARACTERIZATIONS’ FROM DEMS AMID FIERY FBI CONFIRMATION HEARING

"But certainly, for an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest. We want somebody that’s psychologically superior. And that’s what we’re going to have," Trump said.

Investigations into the collision are still ongoing, and there currently is no evidence that points to DEI or other specific causes.

Though Trump did not mention race during his press conference, Clarke claimed Trump’s remarks were evidence of a "racist" agenda.

"We wait for the absolute truth of the matter. It is with great and righteous indignation that I recognize the comments and actions of one individual in particular, who did not attempt whatsoever to wait for those facts," Clarke said. 

"The individual who, rather than empathize with the families of the 67 victims of this heartbreaking disaster, attempt to unify a grieving country, or even offer his prayers, chose to capitalize on this tragedy by furthering his racist, insane agenda against America's diverse employees."

She later said, "He will continue with the vilification and demonization, he will continue with this madness, until our republic is as White and as male as this administration can bend and break the law to make it."

Democrats have hammered Trump for tying the collision to DEI policies under the last administration. 

Meanwhile, there are voices on the left pushing blame on Trump's aim to slash the federal workforce and other Republican policies.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Clarke's remarks.

The top Republican on the Senate health committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy, faced criticism from fellow Republicans after he suggested his vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary is not a lock. 

Cassidy, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said during closing remarks at Kennedy's second confirmation hearing of the week that he was "struggling" to confirm the HHS secretary nominee over his inability to admit vaccines are safe and don't cause autism. "A worthy movement called ‘MAHA,’" Cassidy said Thursday, "to improve the health of Americans, or to undermine it, always asking for more evidence, and never accepting the evidence that is there … That is why I've been struggling with your nomination." 

GOP Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., did not hold back his anger over Cassidy's remarks, saying, "RFK is going to run HHS whether you like it or not." The post included a photo of Cassidy and Kennedy shaking hands at Thursday's confirmation hearing.

TOP REPUBLICAN ON SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE SAYS HE'S ‘STRUGGLING’ TO CONFIRM RFK JR

"The Senate is ours, and the moment Trump decides he’s had enough of random senators delaying our mission, JD [Vance] is walking in and taking the gavel as president of the Senate," Higgins said. Vice President JD Vance would be the tie-breaking vote if the resulting tally goes along party lines and Cassidy and two other Republicans defect. Vance did so after GOP Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's nomination.     

"There’s zero you can do about that," Higgins said. "We, the people, will not be stopped. We’re saving the country and RFK is part of the formula. So, vote your conscience, senator, or don’t. Either way, we’re watching."

TRUMP HEALTH SECRETARY NOMINEE RFK JR SURVIVES HEATED HEARINGS AHEAD OF CRUCIAL CONFIRMATION VOTES

GOP organizer and strategist Scott Presler said that if Cassidy did not vote for Kennedy, that he would "personally come to Louisiana" to organize a primary challenge against Cassidy in an effort to oust him. "We already have a home base in Iberia Parish," Pressler said. Meanwhile, a chapter of the Louisiana Republican Assembly replied to Pressler's threats, noting they were "ready to mobilize when needed."

Charlie Kirk, another GOP organizer and activist who is also a close ally of President Donald Trump, shared a slightly more measured condemnation of Cassidy. "I believe this was a sincere moment from Chairman Bill Cassidy," Kirk wrote in response to the senator's closing remarks at Thursday's hearing. However, Kirk added that he "respectfully" thinks that Cassidy "has this backwards."

"Many already don't trust vaccine manufacturers who enjoy legal immunity for any injuries they cause. Many already don't trust our big food producers and the ingredients they use. Many already don't trust big medicine, big hospitals, or big pharma," Kirk said. "RFK Jr. has said repeatedly he's pro-vaccine, but he's willing to ask the same questions millions of parents are asking right now about ramped-up vaccine schedules, harmful ingredients, and a blind trust in the manufacturers that are enriched by government mandates, even after COVID."

RFK JR RIPS DEM SENATOR FOR PUSHING ‘DISHONEST’ NARRATIVE ON PAST VACCINE COMMENTS: ‘CORRECTED IT MANY TIMES’

While Republicans were incensed by Cassidy's remarks, the president of Advancing American Freedom (AAF), a conservative nonprofit founded by Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence, applauded Cassidy's critical approach to Kennedy's nomination.

"It’s refreshing to see senators taking their advise and consent role seriously," AAF President Tim Chapman said when asked about Cassidy's comments. "We have separate branches of government for a reason, and nominees, such as RFK, who will be handling the largest amount of taxpayer dollars and controlling the federal response to the life issue deserve serious consideration. Every senator must treat this nominee with the same gravitas that Senator Cassidy is."

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Cassidy but did not receive a response by publication time. 

The drugs giant blames "protracted" talks with the government as well as differences over funding.

The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020.

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled a nationwide ban on handgun sales to young adults is unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans found a federal law that prohibits adults aged 18-20 from buying handguns violates the Second Amendment. The ruling comes as key firearms regulations have been struck down across the country following a landmark Supreme Court decision that expanded gun rights in 2022.

"Ultimately, the text of the Second Amendment includes eighteen-to-twenty-year-old individuals among ‘the people’ whose right to keep and bear arms is protected," the opinion of the court states. The decision refers the case back to a lower court judge.

MASSIE AND OTHER REPUBLICANS PUSH ‘NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY ACT’ TO PROTECT AMERICANS' GUN RIGHTS

Previously, the appeals court had upheld the requirement that adults must be at least 21 to purchase a handgun. But since the Supreme Court's decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, judges are required to determine if a firearm restriction being challenged is firmly rooted in the nation's historical traditions. Judges in Minnesota, Virginia and Texas have already found that state laws restricting handgun sales to young adults do not pass that test.

The Biden administration fought those rulings, but the Trump administration is expected to be friendlier towards gun rights. At a National Rifle Association event last year during the presidential campaign, President Donald Trump said, "no one will lay a finger on your firearms." 

Constitutional law attorney and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley observed that the Trump administration may not appeal the fifth circuit's decision, which could mean the Supreme Court will not have a chance to review it.

"For gun rights advocates, it may have been better if this decision had been handed down during the Biden Administration," Turley posted on X. "The Trump Administration will likely support the ruling and not appeal to the Supreme Court. Such an appeal could have extended this precedent nationally."

BIDEN ADMIN DROPS ITS ‘ZERO TOLERANCE’ POLICY TARGETING GUN DEALER LICENSES OVER PAPERWORK ERRORS

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, decided to keep a federal gun law on the books last year. The high court overturned a different ruling from the 5th Circuit and upheld a law intended to protect victims of domestic violence.

"Today’s ruling is yet another critical FPC win against an immoral and unconstitutional age-based gun ban," said Firearms Policy Coalition President Brandon Combs in a statement. Two FPC members sued to overturn the law, along with the Second Amendment Foundation and the Louisiana Shooting Association.

SUPREME COURT MAKES DECISION ON GUN LAW CHALLENGES IN DELAWARE, MARYLAND

"We look forward to restoring the Second Amendment rights of all peaceable adults throughout the United States," Combs added.

Federal law requires a person to be 21 to purchase a handgun from a licensed firearm dealer and 18 to buy a long gun from a dealer, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. There is an 18-year-old minimum for handgun purchases from unlicensed sellers and no minimum age for long guns, according to the group’s research.

"The law that prohibits dealers from selling handguns to those under twenty-one is both constitutional and crucial for public safety," said Janet Carter, senior director of issues and appeals at Everytown Law. "Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens, and 18-to-20-year-olds commit gun homicides at triple the rate of adults 21 and over, according to FBI statistics." 

"We hope the federal government will fight this reckless ruling by seeking rehearing en banc, or taking the case directly to the Supreme Court. We look forward to supporting the defense of this common sense law." 

EXCLUSIVE: Republican lawmakers representing the Northern Border Security Caucus are looking to meet with border czar Tom Homan about the "overlooked" northern border -- with Homan telling Fox News Digital he is keen to work with them "ASAP."

Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., have written to Homan, congratulating him on his new role as border czar in the new Trump administration. 

"As this new administration begins, we, as co-chairs of the Northern Border Security Caucus, want to highlight the importance of protecting the Northern border, which as you well know has been overlooked considering the ongoing crisis at our Southwest border," they write to Homan, in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.

BIDEN ANNOUNCES NEW NORTHERN BORDER DEAL, FENTANYL COALITION WITH CANADA AS IMMIGRATION CRISIS RAGES

While the overall numbers of migrant encounters are vastly outnumbered by the southern border, with just under 200,000 encounters for FY 2024, it has seen a sharp increase in numbers during the Biden administration. In FY 23, there were more apprehensions than the prior 10 years combined.

"The Northern border has faced an unprecedented rise in encounters during the last administration with FY2024 encounters rising nearly 82% over FY2022. The number of unaccompanied children encountered skyrocketed 262% in the same period," the lawmakers say. "The Swanton Sector, where a Border Patrol agent was shot and killed on January 20th, has seen an outrageous 1,720% increase in encounters from FY2022 to FY2024."

NORTHERN BORDER SECTOR SEES 550% INCREASING IN MIGRANT APPREHENSIONS LAST FISCAL YEAR

Kelly and Zinke announced the reintroduction of the caucus earlier this month for the 119th Congress. The 24-member caucus calls for secure borders and looks to raise awareness of the immigration issues facing the states at the border with Canada.

Telling Homan that he has made it clear that he shares "our same vision for a more safe and secure Northern border," they invited him to a meeting with the caucus on how "Congress and the new Administration can work together to secure the Northern Border."

In response to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, Homan said he will "engage with them ASAP on ways to secure the northern border to decrease illegal crossings of aliens and narcotics and address the national security vulnerabilities."

The caucus was founded in 2023 as numbers were spiking at the northern border, and the members have raised concerns about the number of migrants on the terror watchlist who have crossed via the border. They have noted that 87% of all terror watchlisted individuals encountered at ports of entry were apprehended at the northern border.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are rolling out a new package of election security legislation this week, with GOP lawmakers already setting eyes on 2026.

Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, introduced the bills this week, with four lawmakers co-sponsoring the entire package and various other members supporting specific pieces.

The three pieces of legislation are a bill to prohibit noncitizen residents of Washington, D.C., from voting in local elections, a bill to block noncitizens from helping administer elections and a constitutional amendment to prevent noncitizens from voting.

KASH PATEL ENRAGES ADAM SCHIFF IN CLINTONIAN BATTLE OVER THE WORD ‘WE’ AND A JANUARY 6 SONG 

It is currently illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. Though the law does not apply to state and local elections, there is currently no state in the U.S. that allows noncitizens to vote in statewide elections.

Some areas, however, allow for noncitizens to vote in local-level elections – including Washington, D.C.

"Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy, which is why protecting them from noncitizen influence is essential to our nation’s sovereignty and will ensure America has a flourishing democracy for decades to come," Pfluger told Fox News Digital.

"These bills are three commonsense steps we can take to ensure noncitizens are not influencing our elections by voting in them or administering them. We must safeguard the integrity of our electoral system, and these bills will work to do just that."

Earlier this year, House Republicans passed the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which requires proof of citizenship in the voter registration process.

The majority of Democrats have cried foul at GOP-led efforts to crack down on noncitizen voting, with progressive lawmakers accusing Republicans of trying to spread doubt about the country’s election processes by targeting something that’s already illegal in most cases.

Democrats also criticized Republicans for pushing bills like the SAVE Act just weeks before the November election. 

MAJOR CHANGES KASH PATEL COULD MAKE ON DAY 1 AT FBI

However, Pfluger and his GOP allies are now side-stepping that criticism by introducing the bills well ahead of the 2026 midterm races, when historical precedent suggests that House Republicans face an uphill battle to keeping their majority.

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Among the co-sponsors of the entire package is House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, who is playing a critical role in congressional Republicans’ efforts to pass a massive conservative policy overhaul via the budget reconciliation process.

Border security and immigration reform are expected to be a significant part of that forthcoming legislation.

FIRST ON FOX— The Democratic National Committee (DNC) plans to focus much of its campaign efforts on winning over rural voters in the 2026 midterm elections, according to the party's outgoing chairman— a sprawling effort they hope will help the party engage with and educate new voters, and loosen what many see as President Donald Trump's ironclad grip on many red state voters.

The new strategy was previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital by outgoing DNC Chair Jaime Harrison ahead of the DNC's slated vote Saturday to select his successor as next party leader.

In an interview, Harrison said the strategy, which has been weeks, if not months in the making, is designed to refute many of Trump's campaign trail claims on the economy, health insurance and taxes for average Americans.

Rather, Harrison said the aim is to tie Trump more closely to these policies and to make the case to voters directly that Trump is "using rural America, and giving rural voters nothing in return."

"An examination of Trump’s second term agenda and first administrative actions reveals that rural families and the resources they rely on are in greater jeopardy than ever before," the DNC said in a preview of its new election strategy memo, shared exclusively with Fox News. 

"One can conclude, Donald Trump is using rural America and giving rural voters nothing in return," the memo continued.

TRUMP'S ULTIMATUM TO FEDERAL WORKERS: RETURN TO OFFICE 'OR BE TERMINATED'

Trump's rhetoric has long been praised as refreshing by voters, who resonate with what many said they see as his unorthodox, anti-establishment bona fides. However, there is a difference between Trump as a presidential candidate and Trump as president. It is "him just saying things and not having the power to implement them," compared to being back in the Oval Office, Harrison said. 

The DNC's effort, however, will seek to challenge that assumption by highlighting victories secured by former President Joe Biden in his first term, including tightening CAFE fuel economy standards for gas-fired vehicles, investing in EV manufacturing and battery supply chains, cracking down on PFAS contaminants and pollution, and allocating billions of dollars in clean energy and climate spending.

Trump has vowed to undo many of these policies after retaking control of the Oval Office.

To date, he has made good on his promise. Trump used his first week in office to sign hundreds of executive orders and actions, a dizzying flurry of orders that, among other things, sought to crack down on immigration, unleash U.S. liquefied natural gas exports and freeze all congressionally approved spending, if only temporarily.

Democrats, for their part, have sought to use Trump's vice-grip on the post-inauguration news cycle to double down on their efforts to appeal to voters and prepare for the midterms, no matter how far-off they might seem.

This includes focusing on issues like healthcare coverage and medical providers, both of which have suffered "major" disparities in rural America, and where doctors have exited en masse amid a flurry of hospital closures and a dearth of insured patients.

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY DEFENDS TRUMP'S FIRING OF INSPECTORS GENERAL

Many of the Republican-led states that did not opt to expand Medicaid saw wide hospital closures, higher out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions and much more limited access to opiod recovery or substance abuse programs, Harrison said.

Rural communities are also seeing more limited access to doctors, emergency treatment centers and a lack of access to important medication, as Biden-era programs wane.

"These things are going to have a detrimental impact on rural America," he said.

Still, Harrison acknowledged that the Democratic Party also needs to do its part to meet voters where they are at in 2026, just months after the party's humbling defeat in the 2024 presidential election.

SWING STATE’S SUPREME COURT ISSUES PIVOTAL RULING ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS SENT WITHOUT POSTMARK

However, changing hearts and minds will not happen overnight, he said.

Rather, it will require many conversations from state party leaders at the local level, who can both identify key issues for voters and help recruit good candidates for the upcoming election cycle.

"I think what we have to do is paint a picture for the American people of all the things that we rely upon— all the things that are necessary and needed in these communities, and that sometimes we don't even know are [programs] that the federal government is funding," Harrison said.

 "Those things are in jeopardy under this administration."

"We want to let people know these things aren't just happening by happenstance. It's happening because Donald Trump is taking this radical right wing extremist agenda and trying to implement and therefore impacting the quality of your life."

The DNC's effort will also spell out to voters what they say will happen if these policies are rolled back, in accordance with Trump's plans, Harrison said. 

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"The second thing is having our cannons— we go out, and we work with our state parties, and recruit candidates to run in 2026," he said of candidates who are well-positioned to speak to the communities they are representing.

In Harrison's view, this will also help explain to voters how Trump's drastic cuts or reductions will impact their communities specifically. 

"And then we continue to have that conversation, one-on- one, in small and larger groups with the people in those communities," he said. "And that is how we put ourselves on a much stronger foot going into the 2026 midterm election. "

But the PM wants to "make Brexit work better for the British people", Downing Street says.

In choppy global seas, going for growth will require tricky navigation