Senate Republicans blasted through Democratic and internal opposition to pass President Donald Trump’s multibillion-dollar clawback package early Thursday morning.
The $9 billion rescissions bill tees up cuts to "woke" spending on foreign aid programs and NPR and PBS that Congress previously approved. Republicans have pitched the bill as building on their quest to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that it was a mission shared by the GOP and Trump, whose Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) identified many of the cuts included in the package.
"I appreciate all the work the administration has done in identifying wasteful spending," Thune said. "And now it’s time for the Senate to do its part to cut some of that waste out of the budget. It’s a small but important step toward fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue."
The president’s rescissions package proposed cutting just shy of $8 billion from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and over $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the government-backed funding arm for NPR and PBS.
It’s likely the first of many to come from the White House.
Unlike the previous procedural votes, Vice President JD Vance was not needed to break a tie, with only two Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, joining all Senate Democrats to oppose the bill. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted against the preceding procedural votes to advance the package on Tuesday night, but ultimately backed the bill.
It now heads to the House, where Republicans have warned the Senate to not make changes to the package. But just like during the budget reconciliation process earlier this month, the warnings from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and fiscal hawks fell on deaf ears in the upper chamber.
The Senate GOP's version of the bill is indeed smaller, by about $400 million, after Senate leaders agreed to make a carveout that spared international Bush-era HIV and AIDS prevention funding.
Other attempts were made during a marathon vote-a-rama process to make changes to the bill, but none were able to surmount the 60-vote threshold in the upper chamber.
Senate Democrats tried to kneecap the bill with amendments that targeted what they argued were cuts that would diminish emergency alerts for extreme weather and disasters, erode America's and isolate rural Americans by creating news deserts with cuts to public broadcasting, among others.
"Why are we talking about cutting off emergency alerts," Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash, said. "That's 1,000 times these stations were warned to tell people that their lives were in danger."
Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, contended that much more was at stake than the spending cuts.
The Washington Democrat charged that lawmakers were also "voting on how the Senate is going to spend the rest of this year, are we just going to do rescission after rescission, because we know Russ Vought is just itching to send us more."
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., rebuked Democrats' assertions against the bill, and pitched the legislation as a way for lawmakers to "course correct" wasteful spending that shouldn’t have ever been green-lit.
He told Fox News Digital that what Democrats want to do is "keep as much of this money for their woke pet projects as they can."
"They were able to do that for four years," he said. "That's how you got to, you know, DEIs in Burma and Guatemalan sex changes and voter ID in Haiti, which is ironic, because Democrats don't support voter ID here, but they're willing to pay it for it in another country."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has made several comments in recent days pointing out President Donald Trump's ties to deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, as the president seeks to shut down questions about his administration's refusal to release documents surrounding Epstein's case and its claims that there is no "client list."
Earlier this week, Newsom made an appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show, in which he was asked about Trump's administration not releasing Epstein files after vowing during his campaign to release such documents.
"The whole thing has, to me, always been a side show," Newsom said. "But I thought it got real interesting when Elon [Musk] put out that tweet and then all of a sudden a few weeks later, 'what file?'"
Newsom was referring to a since-deleted post on X in which Musk said last month that Trump "is in the Epstein files" and that "is the real reason they have not been made public." Musk, a former close ally of Trump before their recent spat, has since made several more posts criticizing the administration for not releasing any Epstein "client list" or making any arrests in connection to the Epstein case.
"When Elon put that out, I thought it was a big tell," Newsom said.
The California governor added that Trump and Epstein knew each other, citing the images and videos of the two men together.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier this year that an Epstein "client list" was on her desk before the Justice Department and FBI recently claimed that Epstein killed himself and that there is no evidence he kept such a list. Bondi also walked back her earlier comments, saying she was referring to the Epstein case file, not a "client list."
Trump has sought to avoid the Epstein topic as of late, repeatedly arguing the issue does not matter anymore. He also said he no longer wants the support of "weaklings" who continue to press the Epstein case.
"Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bulls---,' hook, line, and sinker," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
"I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country’s history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax," he added. "Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!"
Trump said at the White House on Wednesday that Bondi could release "whatever's credible" related to the Epstein case as he defended her work on the matter and criticized Republicans who are still pushing for Epstein material to be released.
"He's dead. He's gone," Trump said of Epstein. "And, all it is, is the Republicans, certain Republicans got duped by the Democrats, and they're following a Democrat playbook and no different than Russia, Russia, Russia and all the other hoaxes."
Newsom made a series of social media posts in recent days about Trump and Republicans declining to make information on the Epstein case public.
"Why try so hard to block a list that 'doesn’t exist'…?" Newsom said on Tuesday, responding to news that House Republicans blocked an effort by Democrats to force the release of Epstein files.
The Golden State Democrat also wrote "Retweet" in reply to a 2019 post from conservative commentator Charlie Kirk calling on Trump in his first term to order an investigation into Epstein for sex trafficking.
In another post, the governor wrote that Trump "calls his base 'bad people'" in response to a recent clip of the president saying he does not understand why the Epstein case would be of interest to anybody.
"It’s pretty boring stuff," Trump told reporters in the clip. "I think only bad people want to keep something like that going."
Newsom jokingly said he forgot about the Epstein files in response to a post Trump made announcing that Coca-Cola agreed to use real cane sugar.
"Oh thank god! I’ve totally forgotten about the Epstein files now!" Newsom said on Wednesday.
The governor posted a clip later on Wednesday with a picture of Trump and Epstein together, along with lyrics from the Nickelback song "Photograph" that says "Look at this photograph."
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., got in on TikTok’s "aura farming" trend, posting a clip of himself dancing solo in the congressional subway, captioned "omw to hold this administration accountable."
In the short clip, Subramanyam appears on the House subway wearing sunglasses, striking poses and waving his arms before locking in on the camera.
Subramanyam's "aura farming" appears to have backfired, with some commenters calling it out as tone-deaf, hypocritical and "cringe."
Left-leaning viewers frustrated with perceived inaction from Democrats under President Donald Trump took aim at the VA-10 congressman in the comment section. One of the top-liked comments asked flatly, "By doing nothing…?" Another read, "Representatives have got to stop doing this. Actually do something."
Many commenters linked the post to Subramanyam’s past voting record, including his controversial decision against his party just weeks ago not to move forward with a House impeachment resolution against Trump.
On June 24, 2025, Subramanyam voted to table (i.e., block) a resolution to impeach President Trump over "high crimes and misdemeanors." The resolution was introduced by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, but was halted by a wide House majority.
Several comments mocked the tone and delivery of the video. One read, "-1000 aura," while another said, "Our taxpayer money hard at work…" Another commenter wrote, "So what exactly are you on your way to do? Because so far democrats have not really done anything at all."
A top comment simply read, "This feels weird idk."
One lengthy reply said, "Not trying to be disrespectful. But? Less of this sh--. More fire on the floor please. I get wanting to do outreach. But this? Isn’t the action an average American needs from their representatives right now. We’re approaching no taxation without representation territory here. Do better."
Another suggested, "Introduce a new amendment for every one performative TikTok a Congress person posts they have to cosign 3 bills that work to limit the power of money in politics."
Subramanyam, a former tech advisor in the Obama White House and the first South Asian elected to Virginia’s General Assembly, has gained a reputation as a more moderate Democrat. He won Virginia’s 10th District in 2024 and often plays up his immigrant roots in political messaging.
The "aura farming" trend, popular among Gen Z and Gen Alpha, refers to pulling off effortless, cool gestures usually while standing still. It took off after a now-viral video of 11-year-old Indonesian boy Rayyan Arkan Dikha danced stone-faced and confident while wearing sunglasses aboard a racing boat.
Most "aura farming" clips on TikTok are soundtracked to "Young Black & Rich" by Melly Mike, which includes the lyric "I ain't even gon' get mad, I'm young, black and rich."
Iran has until the end of August to agree to a nuclear deal with the United States and its allies, Fox News has learned.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom set the de facto deadline, according to three sources with knowledge of a call Wednesday among the officials.
If Tehran fails to agree to a deal, it would trigger the "snapback" mechanism that automatically reimposes all sanctions previously imposed by the United Nations Security Council.
The sanctions were lifted under the 2015 Iran deal.
The Trump administration has tried pressuring Iran to accept a deal to walk back its nuclear program after U.S. and Israeli strikes targeting nuclear sites.
United Against Nuclear Iran, a nonprofit that opposes Tehran's effort to develop a nuclear weapon, applauded Wednesday's news.
"Tehran has learned that, for the Trump administration, a deadline means a deadline," UANI Chairman and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace said in a joint statement.
"After failing to agree to a deal within 60 days of diplomacy, the United States and Israel undertook targeted military action against the regime in June. Consequently, Tehran should take this new deadline seriously."
On Monday, Iran warned it would retaliate if the U.N. Security Council imposes the snapback sanctions.
"The threat to use the snapback mechanism lacks legal and political basis and will be met with an appropriate and proportionate response from the Islamic Republic of Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei claimed during a press conference, according to a Reuters report.
Baghaei didn't specify how Tehran would retaliate.
Critics are ripping apart the latest campaign ad for New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, which shows the former Empire State governor helping a fellow New Yorker by giving his vehicle a jump-start on the side of a city street.
"New Yorkers, start your engines…Together, we can fix this city!" Cuomo said in a post on Instagram that included the campaign video. "We can be there for each other. We help. We do. And we will — together."
The accompanying video begins with Cuomo looking down into the open engine compartment, while appearing to signal to the driver to give the engine a crank.
A clicking sound is then heard before Cuomo jumps into action, and the camera pans down to show the black jumper cable attached to the negative battery terminal, and the red cable in the mayoral candidate’s hand.
Cuomo then connects the red cable to the vacant battery terminal before jump-cutting to where he is getting into the driver’s seat of another vehicle, perceived to be his.
After starting the vehicle, Cuomo looks into the rearview mirror of his vehicle, and the shot switches to the driver in the other vehicle, turning the key.
The car starts right up, and the driver gets out with a smile on his face. He then slaps five with Cuomo, though you do not see the candidate’s face.
When reached for comment on Wednesday, Cuomo’s team told Fox News Digital the reactions are "the height of stupidity."
"The governor is a trained mechanic who put himself through college driving a tow truck for AAA," the spokesperson said. "The permanently online trolls wasting their time criticizing him helping a fellow New Yorker would likely have to call AAA if they were in the same situation. They should touch some grass."
But not all the comments were negative toward Cuomo. In fact, one viewer praised the video and Cuomo’s campaign ad.
"Alright, let's hear those engines roar! Start your engines!" the viewer wrote. "The type of leadership that has hands on experience and stops to help complete strangers in time of need. Don't mind getting hands dirty and always lending a helping hand. Kind and considerate which we need more of. Andrew Cuomo is that guy!"
The former three-term governor, who is gunning for a political comeback after resigning in 2021 amid multiple scandals, was convincingly defeated last month by Mamdani in the Democrat mayoral primary.
Mamdani's primary victory over Cuomo and nine other candidates rocked the Democrat Party, and boosted the Ugandan-born 33-year-old state assemblyman from Queens toward becoming the first Muslim and first millennial mayor of the nation's most populous city.
Cuomo, in a video on Monday announcing his decision to stay in the race, said, "Only 13% of New Yorkers voted in the June primary. The general election is in November, and I am in it to win it."
And Cuomo charged, "My opponent, Mr. Mamdani offers slick slogans but no real solutions."
While he acknowledged Mamdani's victory in the primary, Cuomo left the door open to a November run as an independent candidate, which election rules in New York state permit.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.
After President Donald Trump federalized California National Guard troops in response to anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles, progressive Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters, "It’s about time Donald Trump grow up. I want to get them back under my control."
Speaking outside a Los Angeles church Wednesday, Newsom, who is believed to have presidential aspirations, urged Trump to release the remaining National Guard troops in LA. He called the deployment a waste of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The governor, who tried to sue the Trump administration over its use of the National Guard to respond to the rioting, called the president a "chaos agent" who has "torn asunder" California communities.
This comes after Newsom called Trump a "son of a b----," something he did not back away from when asked about it during the news conference.
"I don't think they understand any other kind of language," and "I have no apologies for standing tall and firm and pushing back against their cruelty," Newsom said.
"It's a disgrace," Newsom said. "The president of the United States decided to advance his rote cruelty by utilizing the brave men and women of the National Guard as pawns in an effort to theatrically show his strength."
Newsom claimed the deployment was a massive waste of time and money.
He accused Trump of having "burned" hundreds of millions of dollars "just to try to sear in your mind that he's some tough guy because he didn't get enough hugs from his parents growing up."
"This is about families. It's about community. It's about the sense of place. It's about our economy. And it's about time Donald Trump grow up. It's about time Donald Trump understand what the hell he is doing," he added.
"And, so, I'm here in front of a church, on church grounds, mindful that our democracy is not on firm ground. And mindful of our responsibility to be assertive at this moment."
The governor also criticized Trump for sending troops to a U.S. city rather than overseas.
"He deployed roughly 5,000 military, not overseas. In fact, his entire first term the president of the United States did not even send military boots on the ground overseas his entire first term. [In] the first six months of his administration, he decides to send them to the United States of America."
He said the deployment "is a preview of things to come."
"If you think this is about California, you are fooling yourself. These are operations you're going to see all across the United States of America," Newsom added. "This cruelty, isn't about terrorizing communities. It's about appearing tough."
The governor also said he wanted to regain control over "my National Guard or your National Guard."
"I want to get them back under my control so we can get them back doing the kind of work to control wildfires, to keep our community safe, to address the issue of counter-narcotics, to address the issue of fentanyl," he said.
In response, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement that Newsom "is on the wrong side of history, and he will have to answer for his atrocious policies."
"This is what’s actually harming our communities: Gavin Newscum’s pro-criminal illegal alien policies," said Jackson, adding the governor "recently protested a successful immigration raid at a California marijuana farm that rescued children who were victims of labor exploitation and detained rapists, pedophiles and other criminals.
"The American people elected President Trump to deport these sick criminals, and a vast majority of American voters — including Democrats — support these policies."
Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota was hospitalized Wednesday after she began feeling unwell while working at the Capitol, according to a statement from her staff.
"While at work at the Capitol today, Sen. Smith started to not feel well," read a post on X. "She went to the Capitol physician who recommended she undergo more thorough examination at GW hospital."
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…
- Senate marches toward passing Trump's $9B clawback bill after dramatic late-night votes
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., has been referred to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution regarding mortgage documents.
The director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in May citing alleged misconduct by Schiff, who owns homes in California and Maryland.
"Based on media reports, Mr. Adam B. Schiff has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003-2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property," FHFA Director William Pulte wrote in the letter, which Fox News obtained on Wednesday. "As regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, we take very seriously allegations of mortgage fraud or other criminal activity. Such misconduct jeopardizes the safety and soundness of FHFA’s regulated entities and the security and stability of the U.S. mortgage market…" READ MORE.
DIPLOMATIC DEMOLITION: 'It's sort of scary': Officials flag surprising revelations from deep State Department cuts
PINK SLIP POLITICS: Trump's controversial plan to fire federal workers finds favor with Supreme Court
NO MORE SECRETS: Bondi should release 'credible' Epstein files, Trump says
LEGAL SHELL GAME: Judge weighs Abrego Garcia detention status as Trump admin confirms plans to immediately deport him
LOYALTY FIRST: Loyal Jill Biden aide arrives for sworn deposition in Comer's cover-up probe
HIDING THE DECLINE: Jill Biden's 'work husband' pleads Fifth Amendment, dodges House GOP cover-up probe questions
OVERRULED: Conservative legal group presses agency to act on Trump’s voter citizenship mandate despite court injunctions
FAITH TAKES PRIORITY: EXCLUSIVE: Trump admin strengthens religious accommodations in federal workforce
TRIPLE THREAT RISING: Japan says China, North Korea and Russia represent biggest threat since WWII, US is 'cornerstone of peace' in the region
BLAME GAME BEGINS: Israel slams UN for ignoring aid already in Gaza while demanding more
AYATOLLAH ULTIMATUM: Iran's leader threatens 'even bigger blow' against US, Trump says he's in ‘no rush’ to talk
TRADE ON THE ROCKS: From bourbon to bordeaux: Trump's tariffs spill into global booze markets
BATTLE HEATS UP: Israel strikes Syria's military headquarters as the regime clashes with Druze civilians
PROMISES DELIVERED: RNC chair says 'big, beautiful bill' key part of GOP's strategy to win seats in midterm elections
SPENDING CUT SPRINT: Senate marches toward passing Trump's $9B clawback bill after dramatic late-night votes
BIDEN BORDER FAILURE: FIRST ON FOX: Mother of daughter murdered by alleged MS-13 gang member speaks out in favor of new house bill
BENEFIT BATTLE: Workers striking by choice could lose unemployment benefits in blue states under GOP proposal
FOREIGN TOURISTS PAY UP: Congress considers permanent national park fee increase for foreign visitors
'SERIOUS LOWLIFE': WATCH: Adam Schiff silent after Trump accused him of mortgage fraud
MESSAGE LOST: Speaker Johnson reveals Musk left MAGA ally's lengthy text hanging in 'the ether' after Trump blowup
TENSIONS BOIL OVER: Dem Disorder: DNC squabbles play out in NYC mayoral race for all to see
THE HOT SEAT: Former DC council member wins back seat months after being expelled over bribery charge
SWEET DECEPTION: Texas AG Paxton office launching investigation into M&Ms and Skittles manufacturer Mars for "deceptive" practices promising to remove artificial dyes
CRYING FOUL: Ghislaine Maxwell's family insists she received unfair trial in high-profile Epstein case
TRUMP'S 'BACKUP': Aiming to give Trump 'backup,' second Republican enters swing state race for Democrat-held Senate seat
PAST EXPOSED: Unearthed social media posts expose radical anti-Israel views of Mamdani's dad: 'Colonial occupation'
Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
New Yorkers are expressing skepticism after Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani appeared to try to distance himself from the phrase "globalize the intifada," after spending months refusing to condemn the phrase many interpret as a call for violence against Jewish people.
The New York Times reported that Mamdani, who is Muslim and a self-professed socialist who has been highly critical of the state of Israel, told city business leaders that he would not use the phrase and that he would "discourage" others from doing so.
The Times reported that Mamdani told some 150 business executives present at the meeting, which took place in the Rockefeller Center, that while many use the phrase to express solidarity with Palestinians, others see it as a call to antisemitic violence.
This comes after Mamdani refused to condemn intifada language throughout his campaign for the Democratic mayoral nomination. During an interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press" in June, Mamdani said, "My concern is, to start to walk down the line of language and making clear what language I believe is permissible or impermissible, takes me into a place similar to that of the president, who is looking to do those very kinds of things, putting people in jail for writing an op-ed, putting them in jail for protesting."
He said that "ultimately, it is not language that I use. It is language, I understand there are concerns about, and what I will do is showcase my vision for the city through my words and my actions."
Now, weeks after winning the Democratic nomination and facing general election voters, he appears to finally be backing away from the intifada language.
Joe Borelli, a former Republican New York City Council member, responded to the shift, telling Fox News Digital it is "hard to imagine any change of heart being genuine when it occurs right after you’ve won a primary and have to pivot for the general, which happens to include a heck of a lot of Jews."
Rory Lancman, a Democrat and former New York City councilmember and state assemblyman, told Fox News Digital that "a putative mayor of New York City needs to be able to repudiate calls for 'intifada' without ambiguity or qualification as morally repugnant and unacceptable."
"There is no 'threading the needle' or middle ground on this issue, or, for that matter, on the issue of whether Israel should be extinguished as a Jewish state," Lancman went on.
"These are basic, straightforward 'good vs. evil' questions that Mr. Mamdani struggles with because, frankly, he's on the wrong side of that equation," said Lancman.
Meanwhile, Christopher Hahn, a Democratic strategist and former aide to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital that "while Mandani has made statements that show he is not an anti-Semite some of his past statements can be construed that way."
Hahn said that if Mamdani "hopes to be mayor he needs to make it very clear, early and often, he is not anti-Semitic."
"If he doesn’t his opponents will try to paint him as one," said Hahn.
Top Democratic leaders have also been demanding that Mamdani condemn calls to globalize the intifada.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said during an interview with WNYC radio host Brian Lehrer in late June that the phrase is received by the public as a call to "slaughter the Jews," and that Mamdani needed to understand how the word is received by the Jewish community.
"It doesn't matter what meaning you have in your brain. It is not how the word is received. When you use a word like intifada — to many Jewish Americans and Jewish New Yorkers, that means you are permissive of violence against Jews," said Gillibrand.
House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has also said the mayoral candidate would have to clarify this position on the phrase.
"Globalizing the intifada, by way of example, is not an acceptable phrase," Jeffries said. "He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward."
He added, "With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development."
Mamdani is running to unseat current New York City Mayor Eric Adams who is running for re-election as an independent. He is also facing off against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom he defeated in the Democratic Primary and who is also running as an independent. Activist Curtis Sliwa is also running for mayor as a Republican.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently announced the launch of an investigation into more than 100 potential noncitizens who allegedly cast at least 200 ballots in the 2020 and 2022 election cycles.
The majority of the suspected illegal ballots cast by potential noncitizens were in Harris County, but Paxton's office is also investigating possible instances in Guadalupe, Cameron and Eastland counties using information from the Texas Secretary of State, according to a news release.
The discovery was made possible by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s SAVE Database to the states.
Paxton, a Republican running against fellow Republican John Cornyn in the Senate primaries, said Texans who vote illegally will be held accountable.
"Illegal aliens and foreign nationals must not be allowed to influence Texas elections by casting illegal ballots with impunity. I will not allow it to continue," Paxton said in the release.
"Thanks to President Trump’s decisive action to help states safeguard the ballot box, this investigation will help Texas hold noncitizens accountable for unlawfully voting in American elections," he continued. "If you’re a noncitizen who illegally cast a ballot, you will face the full force of the law."
In June, Paxton opened an investigation into an additional 33 potential noncitizens who allegedly voted illegally in the 2024 general election.
Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia appeared in federal court in Tennessee on Wednesday for a second detention hearing, after a federal judge agreed to hear an appeal from the Justice Department to keep him detained in criminal custody pending trial.
The Justice Department's request to U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw caps off months of confusing and contradictory statements from the Trump administration in the case of Abrego Garcia, who was erroneously deported to El Salvador in March in violation of a court order, and returned to the U.S. three months later in June.
The acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, Robert McGuire, urged Crenshaw in a court filing ahead of Wednesday's hearing to keep Abrego Garcia detained in criminal custody pending trial, arguing that "there is no combination of bail conditions that can reasonably assure either the safety of the community or the defendant’s appearance in future court proceedings."
Crenshaw wrapped the hearing after roughly three hours, telling both parties that he would take the case under advisement.
He did suggest he will take his time in reviewing the evidence, however, telling lawyers for the Justice Department and Abrego Garcia that they should not expect a ruling imminently, or even this week. He did suggest he would issue an order next week shortly before adjourning court.
The longer timeline is likely a welcome relief for Abrego Garcia's lawyers as they continue to wait for U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, the federal judge in Maryland, to issue an order blocking ICE from immediately deporting their client to a third country pending release from U.S. criminal custody.
Judge Xinis, who has presided over the civil case since March, suggested after a days-long evidentiary hearing Friday that she planned to issue a temporary restraining order requiring ICE to keep Abrego Garcia in custody for a set amount of time before they can deport him to a third country, such as Mexico or South Sudan, as officials indicated last week that they plan to do.
Much of Wednesday's hearing played out similarly to Abrego's arraignment in June, led by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes. Judge Holmes had ruled that Abrego Garcia should be released pending trial in the criminal case, though she later agreed to a request from his attorneys to keep him in federal custody to avoid deportation.
Holmes later amended her order to allow Abrego Garcia to be kept in federal custody at the request of his own legal team. His lawyers cited concerns that ICE would immediately take him into immigration custody and deport him to a third country upon his release.
As the hearing on Wednesday stretched into its third hour, there appeared to be scant new evidence or testimony provided that might compel Crenshaw to break with Holmes's original determination, that Abrego should be released pending trial.
Crenshaw told the Justice Department that he's having a "hard time understanding" the government's argument that there is "clear and convincing evidence" that "no conditions" set by a community could control the danger posed by Abrego ahead of his criminal trial.
The government said it planned to call just one witness in the hearing— Homeland Security Investigations Agent Peter Joseph, who was also the sole witness last month.
Lawyers for Abrego Garcia told the court ahead of the hearing that they did not plan to call any witnesses.
But even that filing highlights the Justice Department’s conflicting statements about its plans for Abrego Garcia, whose case is at the center of two high-profile hearings in Maryland and Tennessee.
After months of delay, the Trump administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S., where he was immediately slapped with a newly unsealed federal indictment charging him with crimes stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.
Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty to those charges, and was ordered released pending trial by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes.
Senior Justice Department officials and ICE officials conceded to this plan last week, telling U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland that the government would immediately begin removal proceedings to deport Abrego Garcia to a third country, regardless of the status of his criminal case. In doing so, they broke with previous assertions from U.S. officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, who vowed when he was returned that he would remain in U.S. custody for the duration of his trial and any prison time.
Asked by Judge Xinis last week whether the government planned to hold Abrego Garcia in ICE custody until his criminal case in Tennessee is over, lawyers for the administration did not mince their words.
"No," Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn answered simply.
"There’s no intention to just put him in limbo in ICE custody while we wait for the criminal case to unfold," Guynn told Xinis. "He will be removed, as would any other illegal alien in that process."
Abrego Garcia’s second detention hearing in Tennessee comes after his legal team asked a federal judge in Maryland last week to impose sanctions on the Trump administration for the administration’s "egregious" and "repeated violations" of discovery obligations, according to the filing.
Xinis also pressed Justice Department officials for details as to when they opened a federal investigation into Abrego Garcia in a separate district in Tennessee, and how the timing of the investigation and federal indictment squared with the government's testimony in her own court.
She noted that, by the government’s own admission, it began investigating Abrego Garcia in the Middle District of Tennessee on April 28, 2025 — the same time officials were telling the court that the administration was powerless to order a foreign government to return him, in compliance with the court order.
"At the same time that [the government] was saying it had ‘no power to produce’" Abrego Garcia in the U.S., Trump administration officials had "already secured an indictment against him in the Middle District of Tennessee, right?" Xinis asked Justice Department lawyer Bridget O'Hickey.
"Yes your honor," O’Hickey replied.
An incredulous Xinis noted that, just six days later, the government testified they had no power to bring him back to the U.S. "Now I have real concerns — as if I haven't for the last three months," Xinis noted in response.
"Given the series of unlawful actions" here, I feel like it’s well within my authority to order this hearing — perhaps more than one — to hear testimony from at least one witness with firsthand knowledge, who can answer these questions about the immediate next steps" from the government pending Abrego Garca's release from custody, she said.
The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday defended its agents after Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said they were being diverted from targeting dangerous criminals to rounding up illegal immigrants, like gardeners, "many of whom pose no threat whatsoever."
Durbin, a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was speaking at a Tuesday hearing titled "Beyond the Smash and Grab: Criminal Networks and Organized Theft" when he noted the various roles federal law enforcement plays in combating organized crime and organized retail theft, specifically Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
"But we acknowledge this administration has announced different priorities," he said. "Under this administration, HSI has been diverted to rounding up immigrants, many of whom pose no threat whatsoever to this country."
In a post on X, DHS noted that Durbin's own state, Illinois, provides sanctuary to criminal illegal immigrants.
"The brave men and women of HSI that Durbin attacks are getting the worst of the worst off our streets," the post states. "The Senator should be thanking them, not attacking them."
The DHS post said remarks like those made by the senator have contributed to more than an 830% increase in attacks on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel, "who put their lives on the line every day to arrest violent criminal illegal aliens to protect and defend the lives of American citizens."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a White House spokesperson said that immigration security is national security.
"Look no further than the terrorist, who was in the United States illegally, that firebombed elderly Jewish women, or the countless violent criminal illegal aliens that ICE is removing from American communities," the statement said. "Enforcing our immigration laws and removing illegal aliens is one big way President Trump is Making America Safe Again."
"But the President can walk and chew gum at the same time – we’re holding all criminals accountable, whether they’re illegal aliens or American citizens. That’s why nationwide murder rates have plummeted, fugitives from the FBI’s most wanted list have been captured, and police officers are empowered to do their jobs, unlike under the Biden Administration’s soft-on-crime regime."
Durbin cited a report that he said states HSI agents have been moved off new cases to make time for immigration enforcement arrests.
"One veteran agent said ‘no drug cases, no human trafficking, no child exploitation.’ It's infuriating. Instead, he said, HSI is ‘arresting gardeners.’ These are not the actions of an administration serious about combating crime," Durbin concluded. "Diverting federal resources endangers Americans and leaves us less equipped to target and disrupt criminals like those in organized retail theft."
Fox News Digital has reached out to Durbin's office and the White House.
Mayor Eric Adams is being sued by a former high-ranking New York Police Department official for allegedly operating a "criminal conspiracy" at the department to enrich top officials.
A spokesperson for Adams, who is running for re-election as an independent, called the allegations "baseless accusations from a disgruntled former employee."
Politico reported that former interim NYPD commissioner Tom Donlon filed a suit in the New York state Supreme Court in Manhattan against Adams, the department and several other current and former city officials on Wednesday.
In his suit, Donlon alleged that "a coordinated criminal conspiracy had taken root at the highest levels of City government — carried out through wire fraud, mail fraud, honest services fraud, obstruction of justice and retaliation against whistleblowers."
According to the outlet, Donlon’s allegations against New York City officials amount to racketeering.
Donlon stated that "this enterprise — the NYPD — was criminal at its core."
Politico also reported that Donlon said in an accompanying statement that "this lawsuit is not a personal grievance; it is a statement against a corrupt system that betrays the public, silences truth, and punishes integrity."
"The goal is to drive real change, hold the corrupt, deceitful, and abusively powerful accountable, and restore the voice of every honorable officer who has been silenced or denied justice," wrote Donlon.
In response, Kayla Mamelak Altus, a spokesperson for Adams, told Fox News Digital that "these are baseless accusations from a disgruntled former employee who — when given the opportunity to lead the greatest police department in the world — proved himself to be ineffective."
"This suit is nothing more than an attempt to seek compensation at the taxpayer’s expense after Mr. Donlon was rightfully removed from the role of interim police commissioner," Mamelak Altus claimed.
The spokesperson said Adams’ office "will respond in court, where we are confident these absurd claims will be disproven."
"The NYPD is led by the best, brightest, and most honorable professionals in the nation — and their results speak for themselves: crime continues to fall across the city, with shootings at the lowest level in recorded history," said Mamelak Altus.
Adams is currently facing an uphill fight for re-election against Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, a self-professed democratic socialist, as well as former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Republican candidate and activist Curtis Sliwa.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., pulled back the curtain on New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's "productive" meeting with Democratic lawmakers in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
When asked by Fox News' Chad Pergram how Mamdani's message resonated with Democrats during a "Communication and Organizing Skillshare Breakfast," Ocasio-Cortez said the Democratic nominee shared critical insights about how to "level up all of our games in terms of technique."
The progressive superstar urged the outstanding Mamdani skeptics to "get to know him" before "making assessments from what you may see on television." She applauded her caucus for "showing up in good faith" to give him a fair chance and demonstrating a "willingness to listen and make assessments for themselves."
But when a reporter asked if House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., would formally endorse Mamdani, Ocasio-Cortez said she wouldn't speak to any individual's endorsement, or lack thereof.
Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have confirmed plans to meet with Mamdani in New York City later this week, but both top Democratic leaders from New York have yet to endorse the self-described Democratic socialist candidate.
"We want Democrats to be successful," Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. "We want Democrats to win. As the Democratic nominee for New York City, Zohran Mamdani is overwhelmingly favored to win the general election. And in doing so, we want the next mayor of New York City, a Democrat, to be as successful as possible."
"Squad" member Ocasio-Cortez has dominated headlines since she arrived on the political scene in 2018, unseating a longtime Democratic incumbent. The New Yorker said she shared with Mamdani that "the way sometimes people are painted in the media doesn't always align with who we really are as individuals."
"I think that when people get to know him as a person, when people get to know us as real people, what they find kind of surprises them," Ocasio-Cortez explained.
And across Capitol Hill on Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Bernie Sanders, the longtime progressive champion, posed for friendly photos with Mamdani outside an office building on the Hill. Like Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders endorsed Mamdani ahead of his Democratic primary win last month.
"Had a great meeting with @ZohranKMamdan and am deeply impressed by the grassroots campaign he is running," Sanders said on X. "The Oligarchs are prepared to undermine democracy & spend tens of millions to buy the election for his opponents. We will not allow that to happen. Stand with Zohran."
Mamdani, in turn, said it was an "absolute honor to meet with one of my heroes and the champion for working people across our country." He called Sanders "Brooklyn through and through," noting that the Vermont senator was born and raised there.
Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., said he would not attend Ocasio-Cortez's breakfast on Wednesday. Suozzi, a moderate, has emerged as a vocal opponent of Mamdani's campaign among New York Democrats.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., endorsed Mamdani last week after backing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary. Cuomo announced on Monday his decision to stay in the mayoral race as an independent.
Several Democratic leaders were spotted leaving breakfast on Wednesday morning, which took place in Washington's Navy Yard neighborhood after a last-minute location change.
While leaving the breakfast, longtime Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, who has endorsed Mamdani, was asked by Fox News if Schumer and Jeffries would eventually endorse the mayoral nominee. He replied that he "would assume so in time."
But Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., attended the breakfast meeting and told reporters as she departed that Mamdani had successfully utilized social media on the campaign trail. Dingell also blamed the media for what she said was rhetoric that Democrats are moving towards socialism.
A top progressive House member, Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, told reporters as she left the meeting that Mamdani was "inspiring."
Rep. Ro Khanna of California, another leading progressive lawmaker who is also considered a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, told reporters on his way out that Mamdani was "very impressive."
Rep. Nydia Velázquez, a Democrat from New York who has endorsed Mamdani, told reporters as she left the meeting that "it is just beautiful to have someone who is so authentic, you know, money cannot buy that. And, we had a great conversation."
It appeared Mamdani didn't delve into specifics regarding the far-left agenda he's hoping to enact if he's elected New York City mayor, and instead spotlighted his effective campaign trail messaging, which focused on the crucial issue of affordability.
Democratic Rep. Luz Rivas of California told reporters upon leaving the meeting that "it was just more how he was getting that message out," when asked what Mamdani discussed.
Fox News' Kelly Phares, Tyler Olson, Oliva Patel, Dan Scully, Aishah Hasnie and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
House Oversight Committee Republicans are not ruling out potentially compelling former President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden to appear before Congress as part of an investigation into whether signs of Biden's mental decline were covered up during his time in the White House.
"Every option's on the table. We're going to try to get answers. We're going to try to do this rapidly," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told reporters when asked if the former president could be brought in for questioning.
"We'll decide as a committee what steps to take next and who to bring in. But I think right now every option is on the table."
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., was more forceful in his demands for more high-profile witnesses – noting he was speaking for himself, rather than the committee.
"As far as I'm concerned, every member of the Biden administration at this point needs to be subpoenaed. I don't care if they were a secretary. I don't care if they were a janitor working in there. They've all got to come in and answer questions," Donalds said.
When asked if that meant the former first lady as well, Donalds responded, "Of course."
He and Comer were both present for the closed-door deposition of Anthony Bernal, a longtime aide to Jill Biden who was subpoenaed in the Oversight Committee's probe.
"Her right-hand man – listen, Anthony Bernal was the right-hand man. That's her guy, her chief of staff," Donalds said. "If he came in here and pleaded the fifth, I'm sorry, the former first lady, she's got to come in here and answer questions."
Comer is investigating allegations that Biden's former top White House aides covered up signs of his mental and physical decline while in office, and whether any executive actions were commissioned via autopen without the president's full knowledge. Biden allies have pushed back against those claims.
In an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, Biden affirmed he "made every decision" on his own.
Bernal is the fourth former White House aide to sit for questioning in Comer's Oversight probe. He and his lawyer left the committee room less than an hour after entering.
Comer and Donalds said Bernal argued that invoking the Fifth Amendment was not an admission of guilt, though the GOP lawmakers pushed back on the assertion.
Donalds said it was a "stunning" move.
So far, three Biden aides have been subpoenaed in the investigation. Like Bernal, former White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor invoked the Fifth Amendment. Former deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomascini was also subpoenaed at her lawyer's request.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Republicans fixated on Jeffrey Epstein are getting "duped" by Democrats, further defending Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the case.
During an Oval Office meeting with the crown prince and prime minister of Bahrain, Trump said his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, reversed his first-term energy policies, leading to higher inflation.
"What Biden did is he ended our policies," Trump told reporters. "He doesn't have a policy. Some lunatic around the desk had a policy. Whoever operated the autopen had a policy which is, by the way, I think the biggest scandals – that's the scandal they should be talking about, not Jeffrey Epstein, the scandal you should be talking about is the autopen because I think it's the biggest scandal, one of them, in American history."
In early June, Trump directed Bondi and the White House counsel to investigate whether Biden's aides used an autopen to sign official documents – such as pardons, executive orders, and judicial appointments – without his personal awareness. Biden has denied the claim. The House Oversight Committee is also investigating the conspiracy and has issued letters and subpoenas for testimony from several former White House aides, as well as Biden's former White House physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor.
Trump said Wednesday that Bondi could release "whatever's credible" related to the Epstein case before addressing Republican infighting about what some categorize as an about-face on transparency by the administration.
"He's dead. He's gone," Trump said of Epstein. "And, all it is, is the Republicans, certain Republicans got duped by the Democrats, and they're following a Democrat playbook and no different than Russia, Russia, Russia and all the other hoaxes."
Trump said he couldn't speak to FBI Director Kash Patel's comments on the case but further defended Bondi.
"I really think that she's done very good. She says, ‘I gave you all the credible information,’ and if she finds any more credible information, she'll give that too. What more can she do than that?" Trump said. "I mean, honestly, what more can she do?"
His comments come after FBI deputy director Dan Bongino reportedly had a heated argument with Bondi over the Epstein case last week and took a day off from the job to cool down, sources previously told Fox News.
A growing list of Republicans have demanded greater transparency from the Justice Department on the case. Trump earlier Wednesday said on social media that Democrats had come up with another "hoax," this time on Epstein, after previously being responsible for the widely discredited "Steele dossier" during the Trump-Russia probe, as well as the cover-up of Hunter Biden's laptop story ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
"Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bull----’ hook, line, and sinker," Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. "They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years."
In the Oval Office, Trump said the Justice Department, and administration more broadly, are dealing with "bigger problems."
"We have problems with millions of illegal people that came in here, and they're killers and murderers. We have 11,888 murderers that were allowed into our country by Biden. Sleepy Joe Biden, stupid Joe Biden, he allowed them into our country. And you know what we got to do something about? She's got a lot of things she's working on," Trump said. "It's very sad that somebody can be waylaid, just get waylaid… I think she's doing a great job."
Trump said he has "lost faith" in certain people in his own party regarding the Epstein case.
"I lost that because they got duped by the Democrats. The Democrats are good for nothing. They've done a terrible job. They almost destroyed our country," Trump said, championing how the passage of his "big, beautiful bill" ensures "the biggest tax cut in history" and the "biggest regulation cuts in history."
"These are the things that they should be talking about," Trump said. "The ‘big beautiful bill’ is one of the greatest pieces of legislation ever in this country, and the Democrats have nothing to combat it."
