The Department of the Navy is offering transgender sailors and Marines the option to voluntarily separate from the service by March 28. Otherwise, they risk being booted from the service — cutting the benefits they’re eligible for in half, according to a Thursday memo released by the Department of the Navy. 

The policy aligns with an executive order that President Donald Trump signed in January to bar transgender individuals from serving in the military, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s subsequent orders in February instructing each of the service branches to start separating transgender troops within 30 days. 

Acting Secretary of the Navy Terence Emmert said in the memo that the Department of the Navy recognizes male and female as the only two sexes, and that "an individual's sex is immutable, unchanging during a person's life."

As a result, Emmert said that those who have a history or "exhibit symptoms consistent with" gender dysphoria may no longer serve in the military and may voluntarily elect to depart the service by March 28. After that date, the Navy will remove sailors and Marines involuntarily from their respective services.

FEDERAL JUDGE RIPS DOJ LAWYERS, DEMANDS WRITTEN RETRACTION FROM HEGSETH OVER TRANSGENDER MILITARY POLICY POST 

"A history of cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery as treatment for gender dysphoria or in pursuit of a sex transition is disqualifying for applicants for military service, and incompatible with military service for military personnel," the memo said. 

Even so, the Navy said it will not go through medical records or health assessments to identify transgender service members, unless explicitly requested to do so. 

Transgender service members who don’t take the Navy up on its offer to voluntarily separate are not eligible for as many benefits post-separation. Those who voluntarily depart from the service will receive double the separation pay as those who are involuntarily removed, according to the Navy’s memo. 

For example, the Pentagon said on Feb. 28 that an E-5, a petty officer first class in the Navy, with 10 years of experience, would collect a total of $101,628 in voluntary separation pay, but only $50,814 if that service member were to opt for involuntary separation pay. 

Those with less than six years of service, or more than 20 years of service, are not eligible for voluntary separation pay. 

"The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) will maximize the use of all available command authorities to ensure impacted personnel are afforded dignity and respect," the Navy’s memo said. 

Some exceptions to the rule may apply. The memo said that the Secretary of the Navy may issue waivers for those seeking to remain or join the service on a "case-by-case basis," if there is proof that keeping or recruiting such individuals "directly supports warfighting capabilities." 

DOJ ISSUES COMPLAINT ABOUT FEDERAL JUDGE'S ‘MISCONDUCT’ WHILE PRESIDING OVER MILITARY TRANS BAN COURT CASE

The Navy referred Fox News Digital to its press release on the order when reached for comment, and did not provide an answer as to how many sailors this order would likely impact. 

The Navy released its guidance the same day that a federal judge heard arguments for a lawsuit that LGBTQ legal rights advocacy group GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed in February against the Trump administration, seeking a preliminary injunction pausing the ban while litigation is pending. 

U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes is expected to issue a final decision on the preliminary injunction by March 25. GLAD Law did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Lambda Legal also filed a separate lawsuit in February challenging the Trump administration’s order on behalf of six trans service members and asked a federal judge to block the order amid the legal proceedings. 

"A dishonorable action from a dishonorable administration," the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Lambda Legal said in a Feb. 27 statement. "This attack on those who have dedicated themselves to serving our country is not only morally reprehensible but fundamentally un-American. Forcing out thousands of transgender servicemembers, who have met every qualification to serve, does not enhance military excellence or make our country safer."

The Human Rights Campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Navy leaders have previously defended LGBTQ service members. For example, former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday defended a nonbinary Navy officer assigned to the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford featured in a video the Navy Judge Advocate General Corps shared on Instagram about participating in an LGBTQ spoken-word night during deployment.

PENTAGON SAYS TRANSGENDER TROOPS ARE DISQUALIFIED FROM SERVICE WITHOUT EXCEPTION

The video attracted scrutiny from Republican lawmakers, who called into question the Navy’s war-fighting priorities. For example, then-Sen. Marco Rubio shared the video on X in April 2023, and said: "While China prepares for war this is what they have our @USNavy focused on." 

But Gilday, who retired in August 2023, told Republican lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee in April 2023 that he was proud of the officer and that people from all different backgrounds serve in the Navy. 

As a result, Gilday said it is incumbent upon Navy leaders to "build a cohesive warfighting team that is going to follow the law, and the law requires that we be able to conduct prompt, sustained operations at sea."

"That level of trust that a commanding officer develops across that unit has to be grounded on dignity and respect," Gilday said in April 2023. "And so, if that officer can lawfully join the United States Navy, is willing to serve and willing to take the same oath that you and I took to put their life on the line, then I’m proud to serve beside them."

President Donald Trump kicked off the week driving a red Tesla on the White House South Lawn and closed out the week addressing the Department of Justice.  

In his remarks Friday, Trump railed against former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice and accused the agency of turning into the "department of injustice."

"Our predecessors turned this Department of Justice into the department of injustice," Trump said Friday at the Department of Justice. "But I stand before you today to declare that those days are over, and they are never going to come back." 

Trump has regularly condemned the Justice Department and the FBI since his first administration after multiple investigations and lawsuits filed against him. For example, the FBI investigated Trump and his 2016 campaign for alleged collusion with Russia. The probe determined there was no evidence the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the election.

TRUMP PRAISED FOR GETTING NATO ALLIES TO BOLSTER DEFENSE SPENDING: ‘REALLY STAGGERING’

Under the Biden administration, Trump faced more legal scrutiny when former Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped former special counsel Jack Smith in 2020 to conduct investigations into alleged efforts by Trump to overturn the 2020 election results and Trump’s alleged efforts to preserve classified materials at Mar-a-Lago after his first term as president.

"They tried to turn America into a corrupt communist and Third World country, but, in the end, the thugs failed, and the truth won," Trump said. "Freedom won. Justice won. Democracy won. And, above all, the American people won."

A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Here are some other key moments from the week: 

Trump also met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte Thursday, and the two discussed efforts to bolster NATO’s defense spending and the U.S. potentially acquiring Greenland. 

Trump has long advocated for NATO allies to boost defense spending to between 2% and 5% of gross domestic product. He also has called for European nations to pick up more responsibility for defending their continent. 

"You're starting to hear the British prime minister and others all committing to much higher defense spending," Rutte told reporters Thursday at the White House. "We're not there. We need to do more, but I really want to work together with you ... to make sure that we will have a NATO which is really reinvigorated under your leadership. And we are getting there.

"When you look at Trump 47, what happened the last couple of weeks is really staggering."

He made the remarks after an $841 billion proposal European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pitched March 4 for European Union nations to up their defense spending. 

Additionally, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed in February to boost his country's defense spending to 2.5% of its gross domestic value. That is up from the 2.3% the U.K. currently spends and amounts to a nearly $17 billion increase.

‘HYSTERIA’: WHITE HOUSE SHUTS DOWN CONCERNS ABOUT USAID DOCUMENT PURGE

Trump also expressed optimism during the meeting about the likelihood of the U.S. acquiring Greenland, even though the Danish territory has said it’s not interested in Trump’s offer. 

"I think it'll happen," Trump told reporters Thursday. "And I'm just thinking. I didn't give it much thought before, but I'm sitting with a man that could be very instrumental. You know, Mark, we need that for international security, not just security, international."

In response, Rutte said he didn’t want to "drag NATO" into the discussions but said Arctic countries must work with the U.S. to preserve security in the region as Russian and Chinese vessels increase their activity there. 

The White House shut down concerns Tuesday and Wednesday that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) ordered employees to destroy classified documents amid efforts by the Trump administration to close the agency. 

USAID acting Executive Secretary Erica Carr emailed employees, instructing them to begin shredding and burning documents, according to a motion that government labor unions filed in a federal court Tuesday. 

But the documents remain available on computer systems, and Carr’s directive coincides with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s impending move into the USAID building, according to White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly.

"This was sent to roughly three dozen employees," Kelly said in an X post regarding Carr’s order Tuesday night. "The documents involved were old, mostly courtesy content (content from other agencies), and the originals still exist on classified computer systems. More fake news hysteria!"

All involved in purging the documents had a secret security clearance or higher and were not among the USAID employees on administrative leave, an administration official told Fox News Digital Wednesday. 

Those involved were familiar with the content they were handling and were specifically appointed by the agency to review and eliminate materials, the official said. 

Thousands of employees at USAID were either fired or placed on administrative leave in February, following recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut wasteful spending.

Trump bought a red Tesla Tuesday and showed off the vehicle on the White House’s South Lawn with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who heads DOGE. The event coincided with Tesla’s stock dipping earlier in the week, but the share price rose after the White House event.

Democrats were quick to pass judgment on the move, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee labeled the Trump administration the "most corrupt administration in American history." 

FIRST ON FOX: China could face a crackdown on its influence in the U.S. on multiple fronts if a slate of new targeted bills is passed.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., led the introduction of three bills aimed at curbing Chinese influence this week. The measures specifically take action on China's acquisition of U.S. farmland, its predatory investment and its connections to U.S. education institutions. 

"China continues to buy up American farm land, steal our patents and expand their authoritarian world view," Lankford told Fox News Digital. "America will demonstrate to the world our values and maintain our economic and military strength to assure the globe has the best opportunity for freedom. No one in China should doubt America’s resolve and commitment to liberty."

TRUMP 'HOPES' PUTIN AGREES TO CEASEFIRE AS MOSCOW SIGNALS NO TRUCE YET

The Countering Adversarial and Malicious Partnerships at Universities and Schools Act (CAMPUS) would prohibit joint research between U.S. universities and those in China connected to its military and bar federal funds from going to schools that partner with entities linked to it. 

The next bill, known as the Belt & Road Oversight Act, is designed to monitor China's predatory lending practices and counter any economic coercion. The measure would establish officers at all worldwide embassies who would be charged with tracking its investments in critical infrastructure. 

POLAND CALLS ON US TO PLACE NUKES WITHIN ITS BORDERS AMID RUSSIA THREAT

The third bill would conduct oversight into any purchases of U.S. agricultural land that could pose a national security threat. Named the Security and Oversight of International Landholdings (SOIL) Act, the measure specifically bans any federal assistance for certain real estate holdings that are owned by foreign entities and expands disclosure requirements for land purchases made by any such entities.  

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., co-sponsored both the CAMPUS and SOIL Acts. 

PENTAGON CALLS MARK MILLEY 'CORPULENT' AS IT KICKS OFF REVIEW OF PHYSICAL FITNESS AND GROOMING STANDARDS

The bills targeting China's influence come after the country held recent nuclear talks with Russia and Iran in Beijing. 

Ahead of the meeting, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the discussions would be about "developments related to the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions."

SECRETARY HEGSETH SAYS THE DOD DOES NOT DO 'CLIMATE CHANGE CRAP'

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The meeting was downplayed by President Trump earlier in the week. He suggested U.S. adversaries could be talking "de-escalation." 

"Well, maybe they're going to talk about non-nuclear problems. Maybe they're going to be talking about the de-escalation of nuclear weapons," Trump said in the Oval Office. 

FIRST ON FOX: A group of President Donald Trump's House GOP allies is leading a bill that would enshrine the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its efficiency efforts in federal law, giving it some protection from various legal challenges over the next year and a half.

"This creates a reporting structure that allows what DOGE is doing with the Cabinet to be relayed to Congress, which is our Article I authorities, which is really the idea of being good stewards of taxpayer funding," Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., who is leading the bill, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

The legislation more generally codifies Trump's executive order directing Cabinet secretaries and heads of other executive offices to coordinate with DOGE on various government efficiency plans.

DOGE PROTESTERS RALLY OUTSIDE KEY DEPARTMENT AFTER EMPLOYEES ARE TOLD NOT TO REPORT TO WORK 

It would give Elon Musk and DOGE Acting Administrator Amy Gleason more standing to implement various cuts within the federal government, as part of Trump's plan to cut federal waste.

"What Elon has done is that he's created kind of this algorithm that works in the background, that sifts through all of these different programs, 24 hours a day, to look at anomalies and how they're being utilized, to go ahead and say, ‘Hey, is this something for analysis? Is this something that we need to take a look at?’" Mills said. "That's really what this is — it's about modernizing and maximizing." 

The legislation is co-sponsored by House DOGE Caucus co-chair Aaron Bean, R-Fla., of which Mills is also a part.

Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Barry Moore, R-Ala.; and Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, are also helping lead the bill.

DOGE AND AGENCIES CANCEL 200,000 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CREDIT CARDS 

If passed, such a bill would likely help shield DOGE from Democratic efforts to block it from gathering federal government data.

Musk and DOGE were recently ordered to turn over a broad array of records by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in response to a lawsuit by more than a dozen Democratic attorneys general.

Syrian human rights activist Ribal al-Assad tore into Europe for lifting sanctions against the nation’s new "terrorist" regime, which he warned is no better than his first cousin, ousted leader Bashar al-Assad. 

After days of bloodshed, Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the forces that overthrew Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), on Thursday signed a temporary constitution putting the country under Islamist rule for at least five years.

But al-Sharaa's government has gone on a "revenge killing spree," going after low-level officers who had been conscripted into Assad’s armed forces, along with Alawite and Christian minorities, among others, according to al-Assad.

"They couldn't have refused [military service]. Those who refused were put in jails," he said, adding that any high-level officers in Assad’s forces had fled the country. 

RELIGIOUS SLAUGHTER IN SYRIA SHOWS NEED FOR US, EUROPE TO 'KEEP A CLOSE EYE' ON ISLAMIST REGIME: GREEK FM

While much of Syria was happy to see the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, religious and ethnic minorities have remained skeptical of the new leadership once tied to al Qaeda. 

Ribal al-Assad insisted the new regime is "an Islamic caliphate. They want a theocracy. They want to replace a dictatorship with cult, as it happened in Iran 45 years ago."

He said Christians were caught up alongside Alawites in the revenge spree because "Christians and Alawites live together. In my town, we have Christians who live there. We've always, lived … side by side, and they celebrate holidays together."

In December, the Biden administration removed the longtime bounty on the head of HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. 

Europe suspended a range of sanctions on the new Syrian government late last month, though the U.S. still has many other punitive financial measures in place. 

"After 14 years of devastation of destruction of so much mass killing, you know, it's really not normal for the international community to come, you know, and to have, for example, the Europeans lift sanctions … on this terrorist regime and say, 'Oh, there are snapback sanctions in case this regime does something that with the sanctions will be reinstated," said al-Assad. 

"What worse could [HTS] do for you to reinstate them?"

ISRAEL FACES NEW SYRIA CHALLENGE AS IT ADJUSTS TO NEW STRATEGY AMID REGIONAL POWER STRUGGLE FOR INFLUENCE

Al-Assad tore into the European Commission for inviting al-Sharaa to a donor conference to raise money for his government.

"European countries [are going] to give him money, to give him more funds so he could encourage and reward him for the killing that he's done, instead of saying, 'We will not lift sanctions until we see a new program, a modern constitution, secular constitution that guarantees equality of all citizens and the rule of law."

Government forces have crushed an insurgency that began last week by armed militia loyal to Assad. 

And rights groups say hundreds of civilians, largely belonging to the Alawite minority sect of Islam, which counts Assad as a member, died in the violence that erupted along Syria’s coast. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) alleges close to 1,000 civilians were killed in the past week’s violence. 

Thousands of civilians who fled the sectarian violence are still sheltering at a Russian airbase along the Latakia province, according to Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova.

BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION SEEKS TO REIN IN ERDOGAN'S TURKEY OVER TIES TO US FOES

"Our military sheltered more than 8,000, according to yesterday’s data, probably closer to 9,000 Syrians, mostly women and children," she said Thursday. 

Entire families, women and children included, were slaughtered as part of the past week’s sectarian killings, the United Nations said. 

Al-Sharaa claimed the government would investigate "the violations against civilians and identify those responsible for them."

The U.N. Human Rights Office has counted 111 civilian killings but expects the figure to be much higher. 

"In a number of extremely disturbing instances, entire families — including women, children and individuals hors de combat — were killed with predominantly Alawite cities and villages targeted in particular," U.N. human rights office spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan said Tuesday.

"Many of the cases documented were of summary executions. They appear to have been carried out on a sectarian basis."

Abdulhamid Al-Awak, part of a committee tasked by al-Sharaa with drawing up the new constitution that will establish a transitional government for five years, told a news conference Thursday the constitution would require the head of state to be a Muslim and said Islamic law is the main source of jurisprudence.

But Al-Awak said the constitution would include protections for free expression and the media. 

"There are many, many, many, many clauses in that constitution that are hilarious," said al-Assad. 

"The transition period is for five years, but it can be extended indefinitely, you know, based on security and political conditions. You know, what does that mean?

"The president, he could appoint one third of Parliament with full legislative powers. You know, this is again, this is crazy. All political parties at the moment are suspended. No opposition, no representation. Nothing."

The document will "balance between social security and freedom" during the rocky political situation, said Al-Awak.

The constitution also claims the state is "committed to combating all forms of violent extremism while respecting rights and freedoms" and that "citizens are equal before the law in rights and duties, without discrimination based on race, religion, gender or lineage." 

It banned arms outside military control and cracked down on "glorifying the former Assad regime" as a crime.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council rejected the draft document Friday and called for it to be rewritten, arguing it did not go far enough in protecting Syria’s many ethnic communities. It argued the constitution "reproduced authoritarianism in a new form" and said "any constitutional declaration must be the result of genuine national consensus, not a project imposed by one party," even after a breakthrough agreement on Monday with the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led authorities calling for a ceasefire and a merging of their armed forces. 

Al-Assad called on the U.S. to step in to help Syria establish a "genuine representative democracy." 

"This is definitely not what the Syrian people were looking for, those who rose against the previous regime. This is not the regime that they want," he said. "And this is why we want the United States to help us move towards a genuine representative democracy.

"How are you going to let an Islamist extremist-run regime on the Mediterranean, which will start recruiting thousands?

"They could be in two hours and a half in Cyprus and then the Greek islands and Europe and from Europe to the U.S.. … You remember what al Qaeda has done when they were in Afghanistan. And Afghanistan is not on the Mediterranean."

House Democrats will hold a "Day of Action" across the country on Tuesday to "aggressively" push back against the "diabolical Republican scheme to enact the largest Medicaid cut in our nation’s history" after Congress passed a spending bill to avert a government shutdown.

The Senate voted 54-46 on Friday to pass the stopgap spending bill, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as the only Republican to oppose the measure. Nearly all Democrat senators opposed it, but Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, voted to pass the bill.

Earlier in the week, the GOP-controlled House passed the short-term bill, otherwise known as a continuing resolution, which will keep spending levels the same as fiscal year 2024 until Oct. 1.

SHUTDOWN AVERTED AFTER SCHUMER CAVES AND BACKS TRUMP SPENDING BILL

If a spending bill was not passed by the Friday deadline, the government would have entered into a partial shutdown. President Donald Trump backed the bill and urged lawmakers to pass it.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said that the bill "is an attack on veterans, families, seniors and everyday Americans."

"The ongoing Republican assault on the economy, healthcare, the social safety net and veterans benefits requires all of us working together in the weeks and months to come," he said in a statement. "Donald Trump’s disingenuous and nakedly superficial effort to divide us will not succeed."

CHUCK SCHUMER WILL VOTE TO KEEP GOVERNMENT OPEN: 'FOR DONALD TRUMP, A SHUTDOWN WOULD BE A GIFT'

Jeffries said House Democrats will hold a "Day of Action" throughout America on Tuesday to "aggressively push back against the diabolical Republican scheme to enact the largest Medicaid cut in our nation’s history," adding: "We will partner with our colleagues at every level of government to protect the American people."

Democrats in the House and the Senate, as well as governors, local elected officials, unions, civil rights organizations, democracy reform groups and concerned citizens all have an important role to play, Jeffries said.

"Our party is not a cult, we are a coalition," he said. "On occasion, we may strongly disagree about a particular course of action. At all times, Democrats throughout the nation remain determined to make life better for everyday Americans and stop the damage being done by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and House Republicans."

The Senate's vote on Friday to pass the six-month continuing resolution came after a procedural vote earlier in the day in which enough Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., helped Republicans overcome the filibuster and move forward with the stopgap spending bill.

Jeffries has refused to answer questions about whether he had confidence in Schumer after the senator helped advance the Republican-backed legislation.

Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

An appeals court on Friday lifted a block on President Donald Trump's executive orders ending federal support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

A panel of three judges ruled the orders can be enforced during a pending lawsuit, reversing a nationwide injunction from U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore, the Associated Press reported.

Two of the judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the orders "could raise concerns" about First Amendment rights, but found Abelson's "sweeping block went too far," according to the report.

FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY STOPS TRUMP ADMIN FROM FIRING 11 INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO DEI PROGRAMS

Abelson, a Biden nominee, previously ruled the orders violated the First Amendment right to free speech and were unconstitutionally "vague," as they did not define DEI.

The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by the City of Baltimore, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of University Professors and the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, which alleged the executive orders were presidential overreach and anti-free speech. 

They argued the president's power "is not limitless."

TRUMP SCORES BIG LEGAL WIN AGAINST PULITZER PRIZE BOARD MEMBERS AS LAWSUIT MOVES TO DISCOVERY

Trump's orders directed federal agencies to terminate all "equity-related" grants or contracts, and required federal contractors to certify that they don’t promote DEI. 

The administration argued in court that the ban only affected DEI programs violating federal civil rights laws. 

"What’s happening is an overcorrection and pulling back on DEI statements," attorney Aleshadye Getachew said in a hearing. 

While the president secured a win with the latest injunction, a similar federal lawsuit was filed in D.C. U.S. District Court on Wednesday challenging DEI executive orders including: "Ending Radical and Wasteful DEI Programs and Preferencing;" "Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government;" and "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity." 

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The second complaint was filed by NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Lambda Legal on behalf of nonprofit advocacy organizations. 

White House spokesman Harrison Fields told the New York Times that "the radical leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda."

Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson, Danielle Wallace, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said Friday she and President Trump had a "productive" meeting at the White House while discussing several topics, such as tariffs and energy. 

"Gov. Hochul and President Trump covered a broad range of topics in today's meeting, including the redevelopment of Penn Station, congestion pricing, tariffs and energy policy," a spokesperson for her office shared with Fox News Digital. 

"While no formal agreements or decisions were reached, it was a productive conversation, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue in the coming weeks."

The White House also confirmed the meeting to Fox News Digital but said it was off the record and there would be no readout. 

NY GOV HOCHUL NOW SAYS SHE WILL LEAD ‘RESISTANCE’ AGAINST TRUMP AFTER SAYING OPPOSITE WEEKS AGO 

Trump told reporters Thursday, "Kathy Hochul, very nice woman; she’s coming in tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock to meet me."

He added they would be discussing reviving the Constitution natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York, among other topics. 

They met amid tensions between the two, including over congestion pricing. The Trump administration has ordered the termination of congestion pricing by next Friday. 

In February, Trump posted from the White House X account, "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"

HOCHUL SLAMS TRUMP'S ‘KING’ REMARK AFTER PRESIDENT'S MOVE TO BLOCK CONGESTION PRICING TOLL IN NYC

Hochul responded by saying in a press conference, "I'm here to say New York hasn't labored under a king in over 250 years. We sure as hell are not gonna start now," FOX 5 reported. 

"There is a huge disconnect between the reality we know that New Yorkers are facing and the perception of reality out of the White House," she added at a New York Department of Transportation board meeting this week. "I guarantee that the president has never had to endure missing a child’s sporting event because he was stuck on a delayed train." 

Earlier this month, the Democratic governor said she will be "leading the resistance" against Trump. 

Hochul said she would "fight back hard" during an interview with NPR’s "Morning Edition" Monday when asked about New York City’s congestion pricing toll that the Trump administration moved to block last month.

"We offered up an olive branch. [We said] 'We'll work with you on infrastructure. Let's redo Penn Station'," Hochul said. "Those areas were common ground. But once you draw first blood on us, we're coming back hard. And I will be leading the resistance on policies like these where you're hurting New Yorkers directly. This is our decision, not yours."

Two weeks before that, however, Hochul said she didn't plan to lead the resistance.

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"I’m governing the great state of New York," she told reporters. 

President Donald Trump announced Friday the rollback of 19 "harmful" Biden-era executive orders, including some related to gender ideology and "radical" labor policies.

Trump also reduced the functions of a number of government agencies as part of widespread cost-cutting measures. 

Some of the rescinded Biden executive orders include eliminating the Defense Production Act to push the "Green New Scam," including mandates for electric heat pumps and solar panels, and an order that elevated alleged radical gender ideology in U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid, Trump said.

DOGE SAYS 239 CONTRACTS CANCELED OVER 2 DAYS, INCLUDING A GRANT TO TEACH TRANS FARMERS ABOUT ‘FOOD JUSTICE’

Another Biden order that prioritized union-driven policies was rescinded, and Trump terminated proclamations that declared nearly a million acres for new national monuments, which the Trump administration said shielded large amounts of land from economic development and energy production.

Since taking office, Trump has rescinded more executive orders than the total number of orders signed by Biden during the first year of his presidency, a White House fact sheet states. 

"President Trump is committed to continuing the review and repeal of harmful Biden administration policies to usher in a new golden age for America," the fact sheet said.

HOUSE DEM GOES ON SCREAMING RANT AGAINST ELON MUSK, DOGE: ‘SHAME!’

In addition, Trump pared down the functions of multiple agencies as he continues to downsize the federal government. 

A White House official told Fox News Trump's actions eliminate non-statutory functions and reduce the statutory functions of unnecessary governmental entities to what is required by law. 

The entities affected include the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, United States Agency for Global Media, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Institute of Museum and Library Services, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, Minority Business Development Agency and Arctic Research Commission. 

"Cutting these governmental entities will save taxpayer dollars, reduce unnecessary government spending and streamline government priorities," the White House said. "Through these actions, President Trump is keeping his promise to restore efficiency and accountability in the federal government."

The moves are part of the Trump administration's effort to scale down the size of government through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The Elon Musk-led group has overseen the cancellation of billions of dollars in government contracts and grants and layoffs within multiple agencies. 

Kennedy Center interim Director Richard Grenell is developing a "common sense" plan to turn the center’s financials around and make it "prosperous again," as it grapples with $72 million of debt due to past leadership decisions.

"The Kennedy Center is the premier arts institution in the United States," Grenell told Fox News Digital. "It deserves to have the public’s full support and a balance sheet that is solid."

Sources familiar with the Kennedy Center’s current financials told Fox News Digital that it had been "budgeting to lose money."

But Grenell brought in a new chief financial officer, Donna Arduin, who is tasked with improving what she has described as a "dire situation."

KENNEDY CENTER DIRECTOR ENCOURAGES REPUBLICAN ATTENDANCE, SAYS 'EVERYONE IS WELCOME'

"The Kennedy Center’s previous business plan was made to leave the Center in the red and it did just that," Arduin told Fox News Digital. "The previous leadership were left with no other option than to pay employees’ salaries with monies supposed to be allocated for the debt reserves."

Arduin told Fox News Digital that the "gross mismanagement created a dire situation that we were shocked to discover."

In Fiscal Year 2025, the Kennedy Center is operating on a $234 million budget. Also, in FY25, the Kennedy Center had an operating deficit of $105.2 million dollars, which left a bottom-line deficit of $7.2 million dollars.

Sources familiar with the numbers told Fox News Digital that the gap was filled with Kennedy Center fundraising dollars--$91 million from annual fundraising, and $7 million from earnings on the endowments.

VANCE BOOED AT KENNEDY CENTER CONCERT

Sources familiar with the leadership team’s plans told Fox News Digital that the plan will focus on getting rid of debt, improving on ticket sales and fundraising, and growing the center’s endowments.

A source explained that the team will use the venue for profitable business events other than traditional shows and performances and will begin offering alternative programming.

"There are a lot of opportunities and we are pursuing all of them," the source said.

The Kennedy Center has two affiliates—the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera. The new leadership team is currently working on business plans with its affiliates to ensure the Kennedy Center has larger endowments and "greater sustainability."

The official endowments combined total just $163 million, which new leadership told Fox News Digital is "not adequate for the size of this institution."

Under the last leadership team, the Kennedy Center built "The REACH," an intimate theater at the Kennedy Center hosting concerts, comedy shows, and poetry readings. It also has a restaurant.

But sources familiar with the financials told Fox News Digital that former leadership took out a significant chunk of debt to build the venue—costing the center nearly $200 million.

"There wasn’t a profitability plan for that," the source explained, noting that thus far, the space has been "underutilized," bringing in just $2 million per year.

WHOOPI DECLARES SHE ‘HAS NO PLANS TO GO’ TO KENNEDY CENTER AFTER TRUMP BECOMES CHAIRMAN OF VENUE

"America’s premier institution for the arts deserves better," Arduin said. "The new team has already written a responsible budget that will make us prosperous again."

She added: "We are using common sense."

President Trump in January fired the theater's board of directors and announced he had been elected board chair by his new handpicked board. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Wall Street Journal in January: "The Kennedy Center learned the hard way that if you go woke, you will go broke. President Trump and the members of his newly-appointed board are devoted to rebuilding the Kennedy Center into a thriving and highly respected institution where all Americans, and visitors from around the world, can enjoy the arts with respect to America’s great history and traditions."

Some groups who disagreed with the move decided to cancel shows at the center. 

Producers of Broadway's "Hamilton" pulled out of a planned run there next year.

"Our show simply cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center," producer Jeffrey Seller said earlier this month. 

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The show was performed at the Kennedy Center during Trump's first term in office. 

Grenell told Sean Hannity earlier this month that "everyone is welcome" at the Kennedy Center. 

"Look, the reality is, the Kennedy Center is open for business for everyone," Grenell told Hannity. "We just want an arts center that celebrates the arts — we want common-sense art." 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said South Africa's ambassador to the U.S. was no longer welcome in the country, while calling him a "race-baiting" politician who hates America and President Donald Trump after he said the commander-in-chief is leading a global White supremacist movement.

On Thursday, South African Ambassador Embrahim Rasool addressed the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA) in Johannesburg while explaining Trump's opposition to his country's expropriation law and its anti-Israel stances. 

He said Trump's Make America Great Again movement was a White supremacist response to demographic changes in the U.S.

SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT SIGNS CONTROVERSIAL LAND SEIZURE BILL, ERODING PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS 

"What Donald Trump is launching is an assault on incumbency, those who are in power, by mobilizing a supremacism against the incumbency, at home, and, I think I’ve illustrated, abroad as well," he said. "So in terms of that, the supremacist assault on incumbency, we see it in the domestic politics of the USA, the MAGA movement, the Make America Great Again movement, as a response not simply to a supremacist instinct, but to very clear data that shows great demographic shifts in the USA in which the voting electorate in the USA is projected to become 48% white."

Rubio, in a post on X, blasted Rasool over his remarks. 

"South Africa's Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country," the secretary said. "Emrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS. We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA."

Trump has criticized South Africa over a land expropriation law that allows the government to make land seizures without compensation. In February, Trump issued an executive order penalizing South Africa.

"In shocking disregard of its citizens' rights, the Republic of South Africa recently enacted Expropriation Act 13 of 2024, to enable the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners' agricultural property without compensation," the order states. 

TRUMP FREEZES AID TO SOUTH AFRICA, PROMOTES RESETTLEMENT OF REFUGEES FACING RACE DISCRIMINATION

"It is the policy of the United States that, as long as South Africa continues these unjust and immoral practices that harm our Nation: (a) the United States shall not provide aid or assistance to South Africa; and (b) the United States shall promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation."

The order also took aim at South Africa's position against Israel, which it has accused in the International Court of Justice of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as well as reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements.

"The United States cannot support the government of South Africa's commission of rights violations in its country or its undermining United States foreign policy, which poses national security threats to our Nation, our allies, our African partners, and our interests," the order said. 

The South African government has claimed Whites of all backgrounds, not just Afrikaners, still own approximately 70% of South Africa’s land. The government is on record saying the Expropriation Act will only be used to take land needed for public purposes — such as for a new school — from people of any color when the owner refuses to sell, and even then there would be "fair and equitable compensation."

Speaking at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Friday, President Donald Trump comforted a mother whose son died from fentanyl poisoning, telling her, "He’s up there watching you" and "he’s so proud of mom."

Trump highlighted the profound impact of fentanyl poisoning on U.S. citizens, saying during his speech that "more Americans died from fentanyl last year than died in the Korean War, or the Iraq War or the Afghanistan War. All of them combined."

He blamed President Joe Biden’s open border policies, the cartels and countries such as Mexico, Canada and China for allowing the fentanyl problem to become so widespread.

TRUMP PLEDGES TO MAKE US CAPITAL 'CRIME-FREE' AND THE ‘TALK OF THE WORLD’

Stepping aside for a few moments, the president called to the stage Anne Fundner, an anti-drug activist and mother who lost her son – Weston – to fentanyl poisoning, to speak about how the deadly drug is hurting Americans.

While onstage, Fundner thanked Trump and his administration for shutting down the border, targeting the cartels and migrant crime groups as "foreign terrorist organizations" and for instituting tariffs to target countries where fentanyl is flowing from.

"The cartels were allowed to operate on American soil and took hundreds of thousands of American lives. And so, we knew there was only one person that could save us from the devastation on our American soil. And that was President Trump," said Fundner. "I feel like I can speak for the entire fentanyl fighting community when I say thank you to President Trump and thank you to Pam Bondi and everyone out here who is fighting this fight. God bless you. God bless you, President Trump."

VENEZUELA AGREES TO RESUME DEPORTATION FLIGHTS IN RESPONSE TO PRESSURE FROM TRUMP

In a heartfelt moment caught on the microphone, Trump leaned in to hug Fundner and said, "He's up there watching you. He’s so proud of mom.

"I just said to Anne, ‘Weston is up in heaven watching his mom, and he's so proud of you, he's so proud of you," Trump said afterward.

Turning to the crowd, Trump also addressed a group of parents who also lost children to fentanyl, saying, "We want to acknowledge you and also, your daughters, your sons, they're looking down on you, and they're loving you like crazy."

The president said that since he took office the DEA and FBI have seized 1 million deadly doses of fentanyl.

"And that's just the beginning," he said. "At my direction and working with Pam and everybody else, we've launched an all-out war on fentanyl traffickers. And it's a war that we're going to win. We're going to win this war."

He also hinted that the death penalty for certain cartel drug trafficking crimes is being considered but acknowledged that "America may not be ready for it."

TOM HOMAN WARNS MAJOR SANCTUARY STATE WILL ‘GET EXACTLY WHAT THEY DON’T WANT’

"Wherever you have the death penalty, you don't have drugs," he said. "But I just don't know if this country is ready for it. So, I tell people and it's always an option."

The Trump White House has previously told Fox News Digital that it would be "ruthlessly aggressive" in responding to cartel threats to American lives.  

"This department will not rest until we have ended the fentanyl epidemic in America once and for all," Trump said on Friday.   

In addition to taking action against the cartels, Trump said his administration would soon be launching a series of ads to emphasize the negative effects of drug use in an attempt to lessen the widespread deaths across the U.S.

A government shutdown was averted just hours before the Friday 11:59 p.m. deadline after enough Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., helped Republicans defeat the filibuster. 

The bill now heads to President Donald Trump's desk for a signature. The Senate earlier took a key procedural vote on a stopgap spending bill, which needed to meet a 60-vote threshold to move forward, also known as the legislative filibuster. 

House Republicans passed the short-term bill, called a continuing resolution, earlier in the week. The bill will keep spending levels the same as fiscal year (FY) 2024 until Oct. 1. 

CHUCK SCHUMER WILL VOTE TO KEEP GOVERNMENT OPEN: 'FOR DONALD TRUMP, A SHUTDOWN WOULD BE A GIFT'

If a spending bill was not passed by the Friday deadline, the government would enter into a partial shutdown.

During a partial government shutdown, federal agencies and non-essential services would be halted. However, government functions deemed "essential" would continue. National security protocols, such as border patrol, law enforcement and disaster response, stay active during shutdowns, for example. 

The Friday evening vote to pass the six-month CR came after a critical procedural vote earlier in the afternoon. A handful of Senate Democrats provided the Republican majority with the necessary votes to overcome the filibuster and move forward with the stopgap spending bill. 

DEM HEARD SCREAMING AT COLLEAGUES DESPITE SCHUMER’S UNITY CLAIM AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS

Deep divisions emerged within the Democratic Party over the past couple of days, with even House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., refusing to answer questions about whether he had confidence in Schumer. 

In one of several Senate caucus meetings, a senator yelled loud enough that it was heard outside of heavy, thick wooden doors. The voice was identified by the press as belonging to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., but her office would not confirm. 

SENATE REPUBLICANS COIN 'SCHUMER SHUTDOWN' AHEAD OF CRITICAL VOTE ON TRUMP SPENDING BILL

Prior to its passage, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., criticized his fellow Democrats for their planned "no" votes that risked a government shutdown. 

"It wasn't that long ago before we were lecturing that you can never shut the government down. So, that's kind of inconsistent," he told reporters on Thursday.

CANADA EXPLOITING 'LOOPHOLE' HURTING US DAIRY FARMERS AMID TRUMP TARIFFS, SENATORS SAY

Ahead of the final vote, 10 Democrats joined nearly all Republicans to overcome the legislative filibuster. Those senators were Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.

The senators managed to beat the 60-vote threshold, with an ultimate margin of 62-38. 

FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday revealed that the agency is investigating a recent spike in swatting incidents after several conservative media figures said they were targeted. 

"I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures," Patel wrote Friday morning on his social media. "The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable."

The director stressed, "This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement against ANY American is not only morally reprehensible but also endangers lives, including those of our officers."

Swatting is when a person attempts to send armed law enforcement to another person’s house over a fake incident, which has led to deadly consequences in the past. 

TRUMP CABINET NOMINEES, APPOINTEES TARGETED WITH ‘VIOLENT, UNAMERICAN THREATS’

"That will not be tolerated," Patel continued. "We are fully committed to working with local law enforcement to crack down on these crimes."

He added that there would be more updates to come. 

Conservative podcaster Nick Sortor said Thursday on X that both his father and sister were swatted that same day. 

"A dozen cops attempted to kick my dad’s door in at gunpoint," he wrote. "This is literal f---ing terrorism. And the FBI should treat it as such. Before calling in the swat, this dumbs--- sent my sister an email calling me a Nazi, of course. So the motive is clear."

Sortor said the person who called the police on his father claimed he was killing his "entire family, requiring them to intervene with deadly force." 

"This is nothing short of attempted murder. They wanted the police to kill my father," he added. 

FEDS CHARGE 2 EUROPEANS WITH ‘SWATTING’ PLOT TARGETING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS

Conservative host Shawn Farash wrote on his X account that he and his wife were swatted Thursday night. 

"We are totally safe," he assured his followers. "Thank you to everyone who checked in. We are going to do whatever is necessary to find out who is behind these coordinated attacks and hold them accountable to the fullest extent." 

An apparent swatting call at Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s home in December turned deadly following a car accident with police. 

Greene at the time said she had been swatted at least eight times before the fake bomb threat. 

In January, lawmakers introduced a bipartisan and bicameral bill to impose "strict penalties" for people who make swatting calls, including up to 20 years in prison if someone is seriously injured or killed in an incident.

"Having spent over 40 years in law enforcement, I've seen firsthand how swatting is a reckless and dangerous action that not only puts innocent lives at risk but wastes critical resources," Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., said in a statement in January when introducing the bill in the House. 

"Local and state law enforcement agencies are forced to divert their time, energy, and taxpayer dollars to respond to these false calls, taking them away from real emergencies. As someone who has been on the front lines, I understand the toll this takes on our officers and communities. That's why I am proud to help introduce the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act — a vital step in protecting both our law enforcement officers and the communities they serve."

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, wrote on Friday that he was "proud" to cosponsor the bill. 

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"Multiple conservative influencers and pundits have had their homes swatted in the past several days," he wrote. "This is an extremely dangerous form of political terrorism. It’s liable to get somebody killed, and it must end now."

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…

-Education Department launches widespread civil rights probe: A look at what the agency does as Trump eyes shutdown

-50 House Dems railed for 'political puppet show' after making identical social media posts

-Migrant gangs on notice after string of home burglaries

EXCLUSIVE: The Biden White House turned over government cellphones belonging to President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence to the FBI in May 2022 as part of a bureau probe into the aftermath of the 2020 election, tying Trump to that investigation without sufficient predication, Fox News Digital has learned.

The FBI did not need a warrant to physically obtain the government phones from the Biden White House, but after acquiring the devices agents began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data, sources familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital.

"The Biden White House played right along with the FBI’s ‘gotcha’ scheme against Trump," a source familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital. "Biden’s Office of White House Counsel, under the leadership of Dana Remus and Jonathan Su, gave its blessing and accommodation for the FBI to physically obtain Trump and Pence’s phones in early May 2022. Weeks later, the FBI began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data." …Read more

TAKEN FOR A SPIN: Biden also paraded electric vehicles at the White House, when he drove a Jeep Wrangler in 2021

'VACCINE HESITANCY': Millions spent by Biden on COVID ‘vaccine hesitancy’ campaign slashed by Trump NIH: report

SPLIT ON TRUMP: Americans split over the job Trump and Musk are doing: poll

'DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE': Trump accuses Biden's DOJ of trying to turn U.S. into 'corrupt communist' country

'BROKE THE DEADLOCK': 'We have never been this close to peace' since Russia invaded Ukraine, Leavitt tells reporters

'REALLY STAGGERING': Trump praised for getting NATO allies to bolster defense spending

'PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE': Venezuela agrees to resume deportation flights

SENATE GRILLING: Dr. Oz faces Senate grilling on Capitol Hill in bid to run Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

BAD EVIDENCE: Anna Paulina Luna escalates DOJ standoff over Epstein docs, unveils SHRED Act

'WELLNESS GRIFTING': Oz bats back Dem attempts to paint him as 'snake oil' salesman

KEY WITNESS: Key witness in American college student's disappearance tells police how they met, what happened on beach

'ENDS NOW': Tulsi Gabbard lists 'recent examples of unauthorized leaks' from intelligence community, announces crackdown

'RADICALS': Vance booed at Kennedy Center concert

'BROKEN BUSINESS MODEL': USPS signs agreement with DOGE after moving to cut 10,000 workers: 'Broken business model'

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

President Donald Trump renewed his vow to clean up the city of Washington, D.C., on Friday while speaking at the Department of Justice, saying, "we’re going to have a crime-free capital."  

"We're cleaning up our city. We're cleaning up this great capital," the president said. "And we're not going to have crime, and we're not going to stand for crime." 

He noted that since returning to the White House he has had to order the roadways cleaned of tents and graffiti when heads of state visit.  

TRUMP BLASTS BIDEN’S DOJ: THEY TRIED TO TURN US INTO A ‘CORRUPT COMMUNIST' THIRD WORLD COUNTRY

"When Prime Minister Modi of India, when the president of France and all of these people, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, they all came to see me over the last week and a half and when they come in, I had the route run," he said. "I didn't want to have them see tents, I didn't want to have them see graffiti, I didn't want to have them see broken barriers and potholes in the roads." 

"We want to have a capital that can be the talk of the world," he went on. "We're going to do that for the city." 

Trump commended D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, for cooperating with his administration thus far. 

DANCING TRANSGENDER HECKLERS SHUT DOWN PARENTS' EVENT AT BLUE STATE'S CAPITOL: 'SAD AND UNFORTUNATE'

Bowser notably recently announced the removal of a "Black Lives Matter" street mural that was installed directly in front of the White House in 2020. 

"We're working with the administration and if the administration can't do the job, we're going to have to take it back and run it through the federal government," said Trump. "But we hope the administration's going to be able. So far, so good. So far, they've been doing very well. The mayor has been doing a good job." 

"We're going to have a crime-free capital," he continued. "When people come here, they're not going to be mugged or shot or raped. They're going to have a crime-free capital again, it's going to be cleaner and better and safer than it ever was. And it's not going to take us too long." 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are taking the "Fighting Oligarchy" rallies out West next week – and advising supporters to mask up to participate. 

Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, Fox News Digital can confirm that the RSVP for the events in Denver and Las Vegas includes guidance that "masks are advised for all attendees of this event."

A post shared by conservative podcaster Stephen L. Miller on Friday about the Denver event had many wondering why masks would be advised for an outdoor event in 2025. 

Sanders did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's inquiry about the mask guidance. 

DEM LEADER SWINGS THROUGH GOP-HELD DISTRICTS AFTER 'CLOWN SHOW PROTESTS' HALTED TOWN HALLS

"Sent from a friend. Bernie's speaking tour is advising everyone in attendance to wear masks. This is an outdoor event," the X post said, accompanied by a screenshot of the RSVP.

'HE CANNOT BUY AN ELECTION HERE IN WISCONSIN': SANDERS SLAMS MUSK IN STATE TRUMP WON BY LESS THAN 1%

"Still trying the Covid panic politics," the top comment said. 

"Was this from the year 2020?" a content creator asked.

But another reply countered: "They don’t want the paid attendees found out."

The reactions to the post are split, with many people online dumbfounded by the need for masks exactly five years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced shutdowns and social distancing. 

Others speculated that the masks are a way to protect attendees' identities. Masks are a common practice to protect protesters' identities at large demonstrations, like the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University this past year. 

However, Sanders' "Fighting Oligarchy" events are not protests. Events in the Blue Wall states of Michigan and Wisconsin last weekend operated like a traditional campaign rally, with thousands of supporters lining up to earn a spot inside to hear the headline speaker. 

Sanders announced the West Coast leg of his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour with Ocasio-Cortez in a social media video on Friday. The progressives will make stops in Nevada, Arizona and Colorado "to hold town meetings with working people who are profoundly disgusted with what is going on in Washington, D.C."

"Nevada, Colorado, Arizona: You deserve public servants who show up for you. The time is now to protect the public good, advance healthcare and living wages for all, and fight against corruption. See you next week," Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the political campaign committee tasked with electing more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives, advised against town halls following a series of protest disruptions fueled by Democrats' discontent with President Donald Trump’s second term. 

Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., began his own slew of town hall events in Republican-held congressional districts on Friday, saying if a Republican representative refused to meet with their constituents, then he would "lend a megaphone" to them. 

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on Friday a revised organized effort alongside the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC) and Democrat state parties to host town halls in Republican-held districts. 

"Republicans in Congress know they sold out their voters by backing the Trump-Musk agenda – and now they’re terrified to be in the same room as the people who sent them to Washington," DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement on Friday. 

"Instead of facing their constituents, they’re running scared and hiding from the people they were elected to represent. If they won’t talk to their own voters, then Democrats will. That’s why we’ll be hosting People’s Town Halls in all 50 states across the country, starting now with vulnerable GOP-held target districts. Working families deserve to have their voices heard, even if Republicans want to ignore them," Martin added. 

The NRCC said the protests that shut down Republicans' town hall meetings were "manufactured productions." Fox News Digital reported last month about the coordinated effort by progressive groups protesting the Department of Government Efficiency. 

MEET THE FAR-LEFT GROUPS FUNDING ANTI-DOGE PROTESTS AT GOP OFFICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

MoveOn.org, which has accepted millions of dollars from billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Policy Center, announced in a press release last month that it was mobilizing resources as part of a "Congress Works for Us, Not Musk" initiative "aimed at pressuring lawmakers to fight back against the Trump-Musk agenda" at Republican town halls and offices. 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Trump called the protesters who shut down Republican town halls "professionals" and "paid troublemakers."

"Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings. It is all part of the game for the Democrats, but just like our big LANDSLIDE ELECTION, it’s not going to work for them!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

In addition to the mask guidance, the flier for next Friday's event with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez includes typical safety precautions for large public events, including a request for anyone not feeling well to stay home.

"Please note: no bags, signs, or firearms are allowed. Masks are advised for all attendees of this event. Anyone experiencing a fever or other symptoms of COVID-19 is asked to stay home and not attend," it says on the RSVP. 

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ended their travel mask mandate on April 18, 2022. 

According to the CDC's website, masks are still "recommended in indoor public transportation settings" and "people may choose to mask at any time."

The website advises people who are at medium to high risk of getting very sick to wear a mask or "consider avoiding non-essential indoor activities in public where you could be exposed."

While the CDC has maintained that masking can reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, other studies since the pandemic have brought into question the efficacy of wearing a mask. 

Newly minted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has defiantly rejected any notion that Canada will become America’s 51st state amid tensions about an all-out trade war between the neighboring nations. 

Carney, speaking to reporters after being sworn into office on Friday, shot down the bold and controversial idea touted by President Donald Trump, calling the idea "crazy."

"We will never, ever in any way, shape or form, be part of the United States," Carney said.

He said that Canada is sovereign with its own values and traditions and that Trump needs to show the nation more respect.

Asked about Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told reporters that Trump's position is that Canada would be better off joining the United States, Carney said Rubio's point was crazy.

"It’s crazy," Carney said. "His point is crazy. That's it."

Trump has said that annexing Canada would prevent the country from being on the receiving end of punishing trade tariffs. Trump claims the U.S. has subsidized Canada to the tune of $200 billion annually and the U.S. began imposing a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico last week.

Two days later Trump suspended the 25% tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) for one month. Trump has put 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products on April 2.

Trump has long said Canada — as well as Mexico — has also failed to do enough to prevent the flow of illegal migrants and drugs, particularly fentanyl into the U.S.

Carney said he has no immediate plans to meet with President Trump but looks forward to doing so. He also addressed Trump’s concerns with Canada.

"We respect President Trump," Carney said. "President Trump has put some very important issues at the top of his agenda. To understand his agenda is understand the importance of addressing the scourge of fentanyl, which is a challenge here in Canada as well as the United States. 

"And I would say that the measures that have been put in place in recent weeks in Canada and Mexico, also the United States, means that we are making tremendous progress."

Carney noted he understands the importance President Trump places on American workers and American jobs. 

"And we want him and his administration to understand the importance we put on Canadian workers and Canadian job," Carney said. 

"And we will look for avenues to work together so that both objectives are met in terms of our goals, our great economies, just as we are doing.

Trump brought up the merger idea to former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in person when the pair met at Mar-a-Lago in late November, per Fox News sources. Trump has also suggested annexing Greenland.

Carney, a former Goldman Sachs executive, worked for 13 years in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto, before being appointed deputy governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003. Carney ran the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.

He has never been elected to public office by the Canadian electorate and does not have a seat in parliament. He won the Liberal leadership last week with 86% of the vote after Trudeau stood down. 

Senators voted to advance the House-passed stopgap spending bill on Friday as the deadline for a government shutdown inches closer. 

The House-passed short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), would keep spending levels the same as fiscal year (FY) 2024 until Oct. 1. However, if a spending bill is not passed by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, the government will enter into a partial shutdown.

Democrats in the Senate were embroiled in passionate disagreement this week over what to do when the measure eventually came for the key procedural vote. In order to reach the 60-vote threshold, Republicans needed some Democratic support, as the GOP majority is only 53 seats and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., planned to vote against it. 

CHUCK SCHUMER WILL VOTE TO KEEP GOVERNMENT OPEN: 'FOR DONALD TRUMP, A SHUTDOWN WOULD BE A GIFT'

Amid tense caucus meetings leading up to the vote, Democrats were tight-lipped, unwilling to reveal details about the discussions. During one meeting on Thursday, a senator yelled so loudly that the press could hear through thick, heavy wooden meeting room doors. The voice was identified by the press as that of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., but her office would not confirm. 

Several Democratic senators came out against the stopgap bill ahead of the procedural hurdle, sharing that they wouldn't vote to advance it or vote for its passage. 

However, they faced criticism from staunch government shutdown opponent Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who joked about their "spicy" social media videos about voting no. 

DEM HEARD SCREAMING AT COLLEAGUES DESPITE SCHUMER’S UNITY CLAIM AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS

"It wasn't that long ago before we were lecturing that you can never shut the government down. So, that's kind of inconsistent," he told reporters on Thursday. 

"We can all agree that it's not a great CR, but that's where we are, and that's the choice," he emphasized. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had initially claimed on Wednesday that his caucus was unified, and pushed for an alternative CR that would last only a month. But the Republicans did not budge on the House-passed bill that lasts the rest of the fiscal year. 

SENATE REPUBLICANS COIN 'SCHUMER SHUTDOWN' AHEAD OF CRITICAL VOTE ON TRUMP SPENDING BILL

By Thursday night, Schumer revealed he would vote to advance and pass the stopgap bill, rather than providing President Donald Trump and Elon Musk with the "gift" of a government shutdown. 

This was met with significant frustration from Democrats across the country and division about what party leaders should do in such circumstances. 

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House Democratic leaders released a late-night statement reiterating their opposition to the CR on Thursday, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., shared her own on Friday, similarly slamming the bill. 

The former speaker called on Democratic senators to "listen to the women" and move forward with "a four-week funding extension to keep government open and negotiate a bipartisan agreement."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sidestepped questions on whether he had confidence in Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Friday.

The top House Democrat was directly asked about Schumer twice during a hastily-announced press conference to emphasize their opposition to Republicans' government funding bill.

Early during the press conference, Jeffries was asked if it was time for new leadership in the Senate, to which he replied, "Next question."

Jeffries gave the same exact answer when asked later if he had "lost confidence" in Schumer.

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Many say it's a major public rift between the top two Democrats in Congress. Jeffries' silence on his fellow New York liberal comes as other Democratic lawmakers aim their fury at Schumer for announcing he will vote with Republicans to avert a partial government shutdown.

Jeffries later emphatically pushed back when Fox News questioned whether he was "afraid to say anything about Schumer."

"Do not characterize my remarks. I'm not afraid about anything," Jeffries said.

When pressed again, he said, "Do you think that this is what the American people care about right now? Or do they want us to do everything that we can to stop this partisan and harmful Republican bill from actually becoming law? Because that's what we as House Democrats are focused on right now."

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Jeffries avoided mentioning Schumer during his press conference, but reporters pressed him with questions about the growing rift between him and the senior Democrat.

He did not directly answer when asked if Schumer "acquiesced" to President Donald Trump, only pointing out the vote had not yet taken place.

"That's a question that is best addressed by the Senate. The vote hasn't taken place yet, and the House Democratic position is very clear. We strongly oppose any efforts to cut the healthcare of the American people, veterans benefits and nutritional assistance, all of which are in the partisan Republican bill," Jeffries said.

Democrats are in historic levels of disarray over a Republican bill to avert a government shutdown that's been backed by Trump.

Progressives have been attacking Schumer for announcing he would not block the bill, but whether Republicans can find enough Democratic support to reach the necessary 60-vote threshold is still unclear.

The bill passed the House last week with support from just one House Democrat — Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine.

The House and the Senate must send a bill to Trump's desk by midnight Friday to avert a partial government shutdown.