Business tycoon Elon Musk indicated that he will donate to Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
Massie, a fiscal hawk who was one of the two House Republicans who voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that cleared the House of Representatives in May, also labeled President Donald Trump's strikes against Iran last month as "not Constitutional."
"Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame! And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth," Musk declared in a post on X.
Former Rep. Justin Amash replied by urging Musk to back Massie.
"Please support @RepThomasMassie. The establishment is working to primary him because he’s a genuine fiscal conservative and opposes the Big, Bloated Scam," Amash wrote.
Trump excoriated Massie in a June 22 Truth Social post, calling him a "pathetic LOSER" and declaring "we will have a wonderful American Patriot running against him in the Republican Primary, and I’ll be out in Kentucky campaigning really hard."
Trump also targeted Massie in Truth Social posts on June 23 and 24.
"My campaign is fueled by the grassroots donors on this map; 3,417 of you donated $308,665 last week. Thank you!" Massie declared in a Monday post on his campaign account on X.
He’s even demanding that Israel cancel the criminal trial of Bibi Netanyahu.
By any objective analysis, whether you like the president or not, he has been on an incredible winning streak for the last two weeks. Everything seems to be breaking his way.
And as he racks up these victories, from the powder keg of the Middle East to the staunchly conservative Supreme Court, he seems to grow bigger and stronger, like some comic book superhero, and then zap his next adversary.
By hitting Iran’s nuclear sites with 30,000-pound bombs – even as we debate the impact – Trump took a risk that stunned the world.
With media liberals and Democrats still in full resistance mode, the coverage has been largely negative, but that doesn’t matter. Since his days as a New York developer, he has been boosted by critical coverage because that drives the news agenda and gets everyone chattering about his preferred topic.
But telling another country to drop criminal charges against its leader is a whole new level of what his native city calls chutzpah.
Trump posted the following: "It is terrible what they are doing in Israel to Bibi Netanyahu. He is a War Hero, and a Prime Minister who did a fabulous job working with the United States to bring Great Success in getting rid of the dangerous Nuclear threat in Iran."
Netanyahu is in "the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back," and Trump wonders how the Israelis could force him "to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING."
As Axios points out, Netanyahu is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust:
"He’s accused of accepting more than $200,000 in gifts from wealthy businessmen, and of granting regulatory benefits worth hundreds of millions of dollars to a telecom tycoon in exchange for favorable news coverage."
The trial has dragged on for four years, thanks to Netanyahu’s delaying tactics, and there was this war thing that intervened.
So now Trump has called for the trial to be cancelled or Netanyahu granted a pardon – and done it quite openly.
Imagine if a foreign head of state urged this country to drop charges against a major political figure. But Trump doesn’t play by everyone else’s rules.
Another Trumpian tactic is to make a big move immediately after a major uproar, when the public and press barely has time to digest the previous controversy.
So the president cut off trade talks with Canada to protest its taxation of major American tech companies such as Amazon and Google. This involves revenue they earn from online marketplaces, data and social media involving Canadian users.
Before the weekend was out, Canada caved and rescinded the taxes. It’s another case of Trump’s tough-guy negotiating tactics getting instant results.
The not-so-beautiful budget bill in the Senate is another classic case. Elon Musk – did you really think he’d stay quiet for long? – calls it "utterly insane" and "political suicide for the Republican Party." The CBO says it would add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over a decade. The Senate measure would also make deep cuts in Medicaid, which Trump has vowed to protect.
Here’s the point: One of the loudest Republican critics is Sen. Thom Tillis, who has been voting against a bill he says would betray the president’s promise to protect those on Medicaid. Trump has trashed him, saying he will recruit a challenger to oust him from the Senate in next year’s primary.
The next day, literally, Tillis announced that he would not run for reelection.
So Trump can save his money. He knocked out the North Carolina lawmaker with a couple of postings.
And then there’s the Supreme Court.
By ruling that local judges cannot issue nationwide injunctions, the court has immensely increased the power of Trump and the executive branch. The 6-3 decision came in the birthright citizenship case, though not on the merits, and tore down one of the last guardrails against unchecked presidential power.
It applies to Democratic presidents too, though far more of these injunctions – 40 – have been brought against Trump just in the opening months of his second term. Joe Biden faced 14 in the first three years of his term.
These injunctions – which have always seemed unfair to me, on both sides – also extend Trump’s winning streak in the high court. He has, after all, appointed three of the six justices that make up the conservative majority.
And that’s not all. SCOTUS ruled that parents with religious objections can pull their children out of public school classrooms when books with LGBTQ themes are being taught.
In yet another decision, the court upheld a Tennessee law banning some forms of transition surgery for transgender youths. Trump has ordered transgender members of the military to leave the service.
Sonia Sotomayor read two blistering dissents from the bench, especially in the birthright citizenship case: "Today’s decision is not just egregiously wrong, it is also a travesty of law…No right is safe."
Trump has made clear that he will use expanded powers to be even more aggressive than in the past. Throw in his pressure tactics and funding freezes against elite law firms and Ivy League universities and you have an emboldened president even more determined to stick it to his opponents and detractors.
Of course, even Trump has his limits. The effort to derail Netanyahu’s corruption trial was destined to fail.
Oh wait.
An Israeli court yesterday canceled this week’s hearings on diplomatic and national security grounds, based on classified information provided by the prime minister and the Mossad spy agency.
Coincidence?
Yesterday — 30 June 2025Latest Political News on Fox News
A deal that had been reached between Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, over how states can regulate artificial intelligence has been pulled from President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" bill.
The collapsed agreement would have required states seeking to access hundreds of millions of dollars in AI infrastructure funding in the "big, beautiful" bill to refrain from adopting new regulations on the technology for five years, a compromise down from the original 10 years.
It also included carveouts to regulate child sexual abuse material, unauthorized use of a person’s likeness and other deceptive practices.
Blackburn announced Monday night that she is withdrawing her support for the agreement.
"For as long as I’ve been in Congress, I’ve worked alongside federal and state legislators, parents seeking to protect their kids online, and the creative community in Tennessee to fight back against Big Tech’s exploitation by passing legislation to govern the virtual space," Blackburn said in a statement to Fox News.
"While I appreciate Chairman Cruz’s efforts to find acceptable language that allows states to protect their citizens from the abuses of AI, the current language is not acceptable to those who need these protections the most," she continued. "This provision could allow Big Tech to continue to exploit kids, creators, and conservatives."
Blackburn added: "Until Congress passes federally preemptive legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act and an online privacy framework, we can’t block states from making laws that protect their citizens."
When asked about Blackburn pulling her support for the compromise, Cruz told Punchbowl News the "night is young."
But Blackburn appears to now be co-sponsoring an amendment with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that would completely pull the AI moratorium from the bill.
Cantwell had earlier said that the since-scrapped deal between Blackburn and Cruz would do "nothing to protect kids or consumers."
"It's just another giveaway to tech companies," Cantwell said in a statement Monday. "This provision gives AI and social media a brand-new shield against litigation and state regulation. This is Section 230 on steroids."
Blackburn is one of several Republicans who have expressed concerns about the 10-year ban on state AI regulation.
Last week, 17 Republican governors wrote a joint letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., calling for the pause to be scrapped completely.
"AI is already deeply entrenched in American industry and society; people will be at risk until basic rules ensuring safety and fairness can go into effect," the letter reads. "Over the next decade, this novel technology will be used throughout our society, for harm and good. It will significantly alter our industries, jobs, and ways of life, and rebuild how we as a people function in profound and fundamental ways."
"That Congress is burying a provision that will strip the right of any state to regulate this technology in any way – without a thoughtful public debate – is the antithesis of what our Founders envisioned," it continued.
Some House Republicans also said they do not support the AI provision, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who admitted she found out about it a few days after voting for Trump's spending bill.
"Full transparency, I did not know about this," Greene wrote on X. "I am adamantly OPPOSED to this and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there."
As the Senate continued to inch closer to finalizing President Donald Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill," the president took to social media early Tuesday to warn that a failure to come to an agreement would end in the largest tax increase in history.
The message came after lawmakers had been in a marathon "vote-a-rama," for several hours, submitting amendments to the megabill from either side of the aisle.
"Republicans, the One Big Beautiful Bill, perhaps the greatest and most important of its kind in history, gives the largest Tax Cuts and Border Security ever, Jobs by the Millions, Military/Vets increases, and so much more. The failure to pass means a whopping 68% Tax increase, the largest in history!!!," he posted.
There is currently no end in sight as Republican leaders are searching for ways to garner support for the bill while simultaneously fighting proposed amendments from Democrats who are opposing it.
GOP leaders have a narrow margin and cannot afford to lose more than three Republican senators as two, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has already indicated that they oppose it.
Tillis announced that he would not be seeking reelection after President Trump made threats of a campaign against him.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said Republicans are "figuring out how to get to the end game," but an end to the vote-a-rama has been predicted to come well into the middle of the night.
The bill, if passed, will enact Trump’s domestic tax and spending agenda that includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, according to the latest CBO analysis.
The package would also roll back billions in green energy tax credits threatening wind and solar investments, according to Democrats.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who until a few weeks ago led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), took to social media late Monday, lashing out at Republicans as "the PORKY PIG PARTY!!" for including a provision, he argued, would raise the nation’s debt limit by $5 trillion.
Trump fired back at Musk on Truth Social, threatening to turn DOGE on its former leader.
"Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate. It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!" the president wrote.
The bill will also impose $1.2 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and food stamps and make sign-up eligibility more rigorous and change federal reimbursements to states. It will also provide a $350 billion infusion for border and national security to include deportations.
Elon Musk has not given up his criticism over what he sees as a lack of spending cuts in the GOP's "big, beautiful bill," insisting on his platform X on Monday "that we live in a one-party country" and threatening that if the bill passes a new "America Party" would be formed.
Musk's criticism of the Republican spending package began before he even left the Trump administration as a special government employee heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It continued following his departure, with Musk describing the bill as "pork-filled" and a "disgusting abomination" earlier this month. The billionaire entrepreneur has lamented that the bill could work to undo much of the work he accomplished with DOGE.
"It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!" Musk wrote on X Monday afternoon as the Senate continued to consider the House-passed spending bill. "Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people," Musk added.
In a separate post on X Monday evening, Musk doubled down on his claim that the U.S. is governed by a one-party system.
"They just pretend to be two parties," he wrote, sharing a post alongside a graphic showing how much the national debt has steadily increased every year. "It’s just one uniparty in reality."
Meanwhile, the billionaire entrepreneur threatened that "if this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day."
"Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE," Musk wrote Monday evening on X.
Musk previously said he was "disappointed" in the spending bill because "it undermines" all the work his DOGE team was accomplishing to cut back on waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R–S.D., refuted Musk's claim that the bill would upend all the work he did with DOGE, noting in an interview that "a lot of what Elon was working on was on the discretionary side of the budget, which [the "big, beautiful bill"] doesn't touch."
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought clarified in an interview with The Blaze’s Glenn Beck that the GOP’s "big, beautiful bill" cannot legally include cuts to discretionary spending — the very category targeted by Musk’s DOGE initiative, he noted. The bill includes discretionary spending instructions for defense and border security, but final approval still requires passage through the congressional appropriations process.
Earlier this month, after formally leaving his post in the Trump administration, Musk shared a social media post President Donald Trump posted in 2013, noting he was "embarrassed" at the time to be a Republican after the party extended the debt ceiling. Musk shared the former post and wrote: "wise words."
Several days prior, Musk referred to the Trump-endorsed "big, beautiful bill" as a "disgusting abomination." He has also previously suggested the bill would kill jobs and raise taxes on renewable energy projects not yet even underway. The feud between Musk and Trump and his supporters of the bill escalated even further after Musk sought to link Trump to the Jeffrey Epstein child sex scandal in a now-deleted post.
When reached for comment about Musk's complaints about the Trump-endorsed spending package, the White House pointed to the president's comments over the weekend to Fox News Business. When asked on Sunday during an interview with Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo about his relationship with Musk since he left the White House, the president described Musk as a "wonderful guy." Later, Trump described some of Musk’s post–White House behavior as inappropriate.
"I think he's a wonderful guy. I haven't spoken to him much, but I think Elon is a wonderful guy, and I know he's going to do well always," Trump said. "He's a smart guy. And he actually went and campaigned with me and this and that. But he got a little bit upset, and that wasn't appropriate."
"Why did he get upset? He just wasn't getting what he wanted?" Bartiromo questioned.
"Look, the electric vehicle mandate, the EV mandate, is a tough thing for him," Trump explained. "I would, you know, I don't want everybody to have an electric car. You know, I campaigned on choice — you have — choice… not everybody should have that and not everybody wants that."
U.S. Capitol Police arrested dozens of demonstrators inside the Capitol rotunda and outside Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., as members of the Senate continued to debate President Donald Trump’s "big, beautiful bill."
The Associated Press said demonstrators were protesting the Republican tax and spending cut bill at two different sites.
One of the sites was the Capitol Rotunda, and the other was at an intersection near the U.S. Capitol Building.
U.S. Capitol Police told the AP those arrested face charges such as crowding, obstructing and incommoding.
Fox News Digital has reached out to U.S. Capitol Police for additional information about the arrests.
Images of the protests inside the rotunda showed demonstrators holding signs that read, "cuts to SNAP are policy murder." One man participating in the demonstration had a shirt which read, "Poor People’s Campaign."
Outside the Capitol, some of the demonstrators carried black wooden coffins with red signs that read, "178,000 People In Florida Will Lose Medicaid," "This Coffin Represents Policy Murder," and "574,000 People in Florida Will Lose SNAP."
Other coffins had signs representing similar numbers, but in states like West Virginia, Illinois and Kentucky.
Several people who were demonstrating wore religious attire as well.
One of the groups at the protests was called Repairers of the Breach. In a statement obtained by the AP, the organization claimed to have led the effort, adding that the demonstration continues a tradition of nonviolent actions at the Capitol, confronting unjust policies and calling the nation to higher ground.
The protests come as Republican lawmakers sprint to meet a July 4 deadline to pass a massive piece of legislation to advance Trump’s agenda.
The budget reconciliation bill, if passed, will advance the president’s agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. The legislation is currently in the hands of the Senate.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Democratic New York City mayoral candidate and self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani is facing criticism over remarks made at a Young Democratic Socialists of America conference, where he urged attendees not to compromise on goals like "seizing the means of production."
During the appearance — which was part of a 2021 YDSA winter conference — Mamdani, then newly elected to the New York State Assembly, lamented that many socialist principles remain outside the political mainstream.
"Right now, if we're talking about the cancellation of student debt, if we're talking about Medicare for all, you know, these are issues which have the groundswell of popular support across this country," Mamdani says in a video to conference goers. "But then there are also other issues that we firmly believe in, whether it's BDS or whether it is the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we do not have the same level of support at this very moment."
Mamdani went on to say that it was "critical" for people not to compromise on these less popular ideas, despite publicly asserting this week he is "not a communist."
"It's critical, the way that we organize, the way that we set up our — you know, set up our work and our priorities, that we do not leave any one issue for the other, that we do not meet a moment and only look at what people are ready for, but that we are doing both of these things in tandem," Mamdani continues in his conference address. "Because it is critical for us to both meet people where they're at and to also organize for what is correct and for what is right, and to ensure that, over time, we can bring people to that issue."
On Monday, the video of Mamdani speaking at the 2021 YDSA conference began making the rounds on social media.
"Mamdani’s socialism nomenclature is no joke or aspiration," billionaire Bill Ackman said in response to the video as it began appearing on social media. "It is the business plan of a movement that he is leading and, for now, winning. Don’t rely on my summary. Listen to him speak his own words."
"Mamdani smiles like a crocodile as he says his end goal is to elect more socialists and seize the means of production," President Donald Trump's crypto and artificial intelligence czar added in response to the video. "Democrats have become the party of the Luigi Left, Tesla Terrorism, and Crocodile Communists."
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's campaign for a response to these criticisms but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Last week, Trump personally criticized Mamdani, who upset former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the NYC mayoral primary earlier this month, as a "100% communist lunatic."
"It’s finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line," Trump wrote. "We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous." Trump doubled down on the communist claim this week in an interview with Fox Business, adding that, if elected, Mamdani better "behave" or risk his city losing federal funding.
"No, I am not," Mamdani responded when asked point-blank by NBC's Kristen Welker. "I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I'm from, who I am, ultimately, because he wants to distract from what I'm fighting for. And I'm fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower that he has since then betrayed.
"When we talk about my politics, you know, I call myself a Democratic socialist in many ways inspired by the words of Dr. [Martin Luther] King from decades ago, who said, ‘Call it democracy, call it Democratic-Socialism, there has to be a better distribution of wealth for all of God’s children in this country."
The worst thing in broadcasting is dead air. And that may be the goal of Lake – a former Arizona TV news anchor.
"It's really like a rotten piece of fish," said Lake before a recent House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. "And it's best to just scrap the whole thing and start over."
She plans to edit the influence of VOA and other government media such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcast Networks.
"We need to modernize. I don't think doing 1990s television is effective anymore," said Lake.
The hearing marked the first time Lake testified before lawmakers since President Trump tapped her for the position. She told lawmakers that Chinese spies infiltrated the VOA’s Mandarin service. And Russian spooks nearly made the payroll at Radio Free Europe.
"This is not the voice of America. This is the voice of America's enemies," said Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky.
Democrats say curbing VOA silences the U.S. from transmitting news and truthful information into enemy territory.
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., was apoplectic at the Trump Administration’s plans to cancel many of the government’s radio and TV broadcasts abroad.
"My God. It's the worst and most stupid thing that we could do in foreign affairs," fumed Sherman. "That's our soft power. That's our effort to bring freedom of information and hopefully democracy to the entire world. That's how we explain ourselves in dozens of different languages. And for them to gut it? In terms of our influence in the world, Voice of America and its sister broadcasters is more important than an aircraft carrier."
Sherman reiterated his concerns about diminishing soft power at the hearing, adding that changes to the VOA lineup may appeal to a special audience abroad.
"I think Putin would be very happy," said Sherman about the Russian leader. "Bombs are powerful. Truth is more powerful."
But it’s not just Democrats who fret about the static on the government airwaves.
Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., says unwinding Radio Free Asia cedes power to China and North Korea.
"We have let go of journalists that have spent decades building their credibility and trust with our audiences," said Kim. "Without reporting from the outside world through VOA and (Radio Free Asia), most North Korean civilians only see the United States as the bad guy."
Kim feared the U.S. couldn’t "win in the information domain."
Lake recently canned 639 Global Media employees. She says her orders come from the top.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, asked what sort of "review" she did to pare back VOA and other services.
"What we've reviewed was an executive order March 14th by the man who's in charge of the executive branch. Hs name is Donald Trump," said Lake.
She then held up a photo of the president and showed it to lawmakers facing her on the dais.
Democrats contend that’s exactly the problem as the president and Lake try to redesign American government broadcasters.
"I see why Mr. Trump put you in this position. He doesn't want a free press," scolded Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Penn. "You are a propaganda machine for the Trump Administration."
Democrats piled on.
"I’m also concerned about your ability to promote American democracy given your background backing dictators," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
Other Democrats highlighted Lake’s controversial political history and how she questioned the results of both races.
"You have been sanctioned twice for providing false information to courts. Isn't that true? Yes or no?," asked Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., the former mayor of Phoenix.
"I was brave enough to fight our shoddy elections. And the courts have not caught up," fired back Lake.
"The American people cannot believe a word you say," said Stanton. "You lost, fair and square. Instead of conceding, you embarrassed yourself and our state by lying again and again for years, blaming everything under the sun for your loss except for your own toxic politics. You lie about that election to this very day."
After Lake’s dual political losses, Stanton had a request of Lake.
"Will you do us all a favor and run it back and run again?" he asked.
Lake encountered more friendly questioning from Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich. He asked about potential messages U.S. Global Media could broadcast around the world.
"What do you think some of the most important stories and tenants about America that need to be told that haven't been getting told?" asked Huizenga.
"I think that just the history of this country and what this country is about. Our freedoms. Our liberties. Our Bill of Rights," stated Lake.
"Maybe the founding of our country?" suggested Huizenga.
"The founding of our country and especially this year with 250 years," responded Lake, noting that July 4, 2025, is the semi-quincentennial of the U.S.
"That would seem to me a pretty big story to tell," added Huizenga.
Congress commissioned VOA during the Cold War to beam news behind the Iron Curtain. But today, Republicans question its necessity. Especially when people now get news from their phone.
"Goddangit, it's not very efficient," said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.
"It’s a relic," declared Lake.
"Yes ma’am. It’s a Cold War relic," agreed Burchett.
VOA fired dozens of staff in its Persian division. But restored some programming as tensions rose between Iran and Israel – culminating in the recent U.S. airstrikes. But the VOA’s Persian service used to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even though VOA bolstered some reporting amid the crisis, it was a fraction of the work the organization used to do.
"From my understanding the VOA operation is pretty much gone," observed Kim at the hearing.
"No. It’s not gone. We’re doing what is statutorily required," replied Lake. "The statutory minimum."
That means VOA and other services are but a husk. Congress will prepare spending bills for the entire federal government over the next three months. What lawmakers decide to do with funding for VOA and Global Media will foretell the future of the organizations. And if the microphones fall silent for good.
The largest number of voters since 2011 say they are proud of the country, according to a new Fox News national survey.
Fifty-eight percent say they are proud of the country. That’s up 13 percentage points since June 2024 and the highest since 2011 when a record 69% were proud. By contrast, 41% are not proud. The survey was completed before recent events in the Middle East, including U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and President Donald Trump brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
The increase comes from an overwhelming majority of Republicans (85%) now being proud compared to last summer (36%). That makes Republicans 30 points prouder of the country today than Democrats were a year ago (55% of Democrats in 2024). In 2011, majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents were proud.
The new survey shows 36% of Democrats are proud (61% not proud) while Independents held relatively steady with roughly 4 in 10 expressing pride.
"Although pride in the U.S.A. seems like it should be above partisan wrangling, that’s only partially borne out by the data," says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. "The reality is the out-party has become saltier in recent years when asked about the ‘land of the free.’ Democrats today (and Republicans last year) aren’t willing to express pride so long as the other side controls the White House."
Majorities across most groups are proud, especially MAGA supporters (92%), Republican men (88%), and White evangelical Christians (80%). A lack of pride is highest among women with a college degree (51% not proud), voters under age 30 (57%), and Democrats (61%).
A 68% majority of voters also agrees the U.S. is the best country in the world to live in (30% disagree). While that’s roughly where sentiment has been for the last four years, it doesn’t match the 8 in 10 who felt the same in 2015 (83%) and 2011 (84%) when the question was first asked.
In 2011, 89% of Republicans, 84% of Democrats, and 73% of Independents thought living in America was the best. For Republicans, that number held steady at 90% today, but has decreased by 34 points among Democrats (50%), and by 13 points among Independents (60%).
Overall, one-third trust the federal government compared to nearly two-thirds who distrust it. The only time more voters trusted than distrusted the government was in 2002 (54% vs. 36%), and that was also the first time the question was asked on a Fox News survey.
Most Democrats (73%) and Independents (80%) distrust the government, while Republicans are split (47% trust, 48% don’t trust).
Even as more are proud of the country, more than 8 in 10 (85% extremely or very) are concerned about the future of the country, the highest in a list of eight concerns, albeit by one point. Almost as many say inflation is a huge concern (84%), followed by government spending (80%), Iran getting a nuclear bomb (78%), antisemitism (69%), illegal immigration (67%), domestic use of U.S. military troops (66%), and protests in U.S. cities (63%).
The future of the country is the top issue for Democrats and Independents (90% each concerned). For Republicans, it comes in fourth at 79% behind illegal immigration, Iran getting a nuclear bomb, and government spending.
Conducted June 13-16, 2025, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (149) and cellphones (566) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (288). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.
South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson, the state’s sole member of the House, has announced a run for governor.
Johnson is chair of the House GOP's Main Street Caucus and a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. He has served in Congress since 2019, following a job as vice president at a South Dakota-based engineering and consulting firm. Prior to his role as an executive, Johnson also worked as South Dakota Public Utilities commissioner from 2005 to 2011, during which he was appointed chief of staff to former Gov. Dennis Daugaard.
The announcement, deemed by local media as a "formality" after Johnson was already rumored to run, came Monday at a campaign event and was paired with a video the representative shared on social media.
"I's been such an honor to work for you in Congress. We rolled up our sleeves and got things moving in the right direction, cutting trillions in wasteful spending, standing with President Trump to secure our border and finally getting tough on China," Johnson said.
"Those were important fights to build a better country for our kids, but their future doesn't begin in some far away place. It begins here, at home, in South Dakota. That's why we need to hit the gas and give them a clear path to a bright future."
Following the announcement, criticism began popping up online that Johnson has not adequately supported President Donald Trump, and claims he is a "never-Trumper" are "lies of the desperate."
"Here are the facts," Johnson told Fox News Digital. "Donald Trump has had me down to Mar-a-Lago. I've gone to the Super Bowl with President Trump. I donated $10,000 to his re-election campaign years ago. He endorsed me in my 2020 race. I was his state campaign chairman for his re-elect."
Johnson added that he is someone who has "a long-standing, multi-year history of being a partner" with Trump.
Johnson also said he has proven to be a "key ally" of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R–La., noting he was one of the members of Congress who "helped deliver the votes to get him elected speaker."
On the fight in the Senate over the Trump-endorsed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Johnson said he supports the version of the bill passed by the House of Representatives and expressed optimism it will get passed by the Senate by the GOP's self-imposed July 4 deadline.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced sweeping charges Monday against more than 300 defendants, alleging they misled patients into paying for, and sometimes receiving, medical care that they did not need.
In turn, DOJ Criminal Division chief Matthew Galeotti said, the defendants also attempted to swindle Medicare and other taxpayer-funded and private health insurance programs out of about $14.6 billion.
The announcement marked the "largest coordinated healthcare fraud takedown in the history of the Department of Justice," Galeotti said during a press conference.
One set of charges included, for example, an indictment against three defendants in Arizona who allegedly conspired to purchase and give elderly Medicare recipients skin grafts known as "amniotic wound allografts." The defendants allegedly reaped millions of dollars from the practice.
One of the defendants, a nurse practitioner, applied the grafts to patients even though they were "medically unreasonable and unnecessary," the indictment said. The nurse allegedly applied them to terminally ill patients in hospice, including some who were days away from dying.
While that specific medical practice is typically non-invasive, Galeotti noted it was part of a $1 billion healthcare fraud scheme that stripped patients of "dignity and peace" in their final days.
"That conduct is exactly as callous and disturbing as it sounds," Galeotti said. "Patients and their families trusted these providers with their lives. Instead of receiving care, they became victims of elaborate criminal schemes."
One DOJ official said in response to a question from Fox News Digital that skin grafts were an "emerging area" of healthcare fraud, "especially given the significant amount of money that they can bill for sometimes in excess of $1,000 a square centimeter."
The healthcare fraud cases, all of which were shared publicly online, spanned the country and globe. Defendants included medical supply company owners and medical professionals, including 25 doctors.
An FBI official announced at the press conference that one scheme, called "Operation Gold Rush," resulted in at least 20 members of a transnational criminal organization, including defendants based in Russia, being charged as part of a $10 billion Medicare and money laundering operation that centered on catheters.
The DOJ Criminal Division’s healthcare fraud unit led the effort. Galeotti said Monday the DOJ also launched a "fusion center" in which it would join forces with other agencies to consolidate healthcare data as part of its investigations into fraud.
Galeotti and Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, also used the press conference to make a plea for more tips.
"We need your help, the American people," Oz said. "Why? Over half of the whistleblower tips that we get are for healthcare fraud and over half of the fraud against our government is in healthcare."
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…
- Trump may look to his daughter-in-law to defend Senate seat in key battleground
- Mamdani’s public grocery stores may have devastating effects on the city’s food supply
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is suing the city of Los Angeles, alleging that the policies interfere with federal immigration authorities from doing their jobs.
"Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles," Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News in an exclusive statement.
"Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level – it ends under President Trump," Bondi added… READ MORE.
UNPOPULAR: Americans weigh in on Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill: polls
'CHERISH OUR FARMERS': Trump urges 'temporary pass' from immigration crackdown for key industries: 'I cherish our farmers'
FAMILY IN THE FRAY: Trump may look to his daughter-in-law to defend Senate seat in key battleground
'CIRCLE OF PEACE': Trump pressures Israel to end Gaza conflict as he eyes Abraham Accords expansion
President Donald Trump calls Sen. Thom Tillis' announcement that the two-term Republican senator won't see re-election next year in battleground North Carolina "Great News."
And with Tillis — who Trump torched this past weekend for not supporting his so-called "big, beautiful" spending and tax cut bill in a key test vote — now out of the picture in the midterms, it's likely the president and his political team will be the kingmakers in the selection of the 2026 GOP nominee in North Carolina.
"It’s the president’s choice. The president and his team will have those conversations," a Republican operative, pointing to Trump's immense sway over the GOP, told Fox News.
"Does he have great choices? Absolutely," said the strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely.
Likely at the top of the list is Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law who served last year, amid the 2024 presidential campaign, as co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
Lara Trump, who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, and attended undergraduate studies at North Carolina State University, is married to the president's son, Eric.
She stepped down from her post at the RNC late last year and currently hosts "My View with Lara Trump" on the Fox News Channel.
The Republican strategist highlighted that Lara Trump "has the name, but beyond that she is a fundraising powerhouse, and she has the discipline to be an incredible candidate and senator if she chooses to."
"She’s probably the only person who should have ‘considering’ in the same sentence because she is the president’s daughter-in-law and that will be a consideration," the operative added.
Four years ago, Lara Trump considered making a bid for an open Senate seat in North Carolina in the 2022 midterm elections.
"It would be an incredible thing. It’s my home state, a state I love so much, and look, I think we need some strong Republicans in Washington, D.C.," she told Fox News at the time.
She ultimately decided against launching a campaign, citing her two young children as the main reason for her decision. But she did leave open the possibility of a future run for office in her home state.
Lara and Eric Trump own a home in Florida, and Lara Trump's name was briefly mentioned late last year as a potential successor to Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who was nominated by Trump to serve as Secretary of State in his second administration.
"After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate, she said in a statement near the end of December.
Another name being floated in North Carolina is RNC Chair Michael Whatley.
Whatley served five years as chair of the North Carolina GOP before Trump early last year picked him to succeed Ronna McDaniel as RNC chair.
"Chairman Whatley is honored to have been asked by President Trump to serve as Chair of the Republican National Committee following a hugely successful 2025, and is focused on grown Republican majorities in Congress," an RNC adviser told Fox News when asked about the North Carolina Senate race.
Another name that comes up is Rep. Richard Hudson, who for a second straight cycle is chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Along with Whatley, Hudson, who for over a decade has represented a congressional district in the central section of North Carolina, is a strong Trump ally.
A source familiar told Fox News that Hudson "is tight with Trump world, and if they really wanted him to run, he wouldn't tell them no."
A trio of first-term Republican congressmen in North Carolina may also have interest in the race to succeed Tillis.
Sources confirmed to Fox News that Rep. Pat Harrigan is eyeing a bid. Reps. Tim Moore and Brad Knott may also have interest. And four-term GOP Rep. Murphy may consider a run.
Some national Republicans are relieved that Tillis isn't seeking re-election. Tillis, who has long been an independent thinker who crossed the political aisle to seek compromise, doesn't poll well with the MAGA base.
Some Republican operatives familiar with Senate races suggested that the GOP would have an easier time energizing base voters in a smaller midterm electorate with a more conservative candidate than Tillis on the 2026 ballot as the GOP's nominee in North Carolina.
And Trump loyalists saw the Tillis announcement as further proof of the president's immense hold over the GOP.
Tillis, in a statement, noted that "in Washington over the last few years, it's become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species."
In the race for the Democratic Senate nomination, former Rep. Wiley Nickel, a trial lawyer and former state senator, launched a bid earlier this year.
But all eyes are on former two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is mulling a run. Cooper is viewed as the most formidable and prominent potential Democratic candidate for a seat his party is aiming to flip from red to blue.
But no Democrat has won a Senate race in North Carolina since 2008.
Hours after Tillis' announcement on Sunday, a top non-partisan political handicapper shifted their rating on the North Carolina Senate race from Lean Republican to Toss Up.
"The surprise move from Tillis moves this race into the Toss Up category and officially makes the Tar Heel State Democrats’ top pickup opportunity," the Cook Report's Jessica Walter said.
The State Department has revoked the visas for members of the Bob Vylan band, after the British punk-rap duo called for "death to the IDF" during a Saturday performance in England's Glastonbury Music Festival.
The band Bob Vylan, made up of two musicians with the stage names Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan, is slated to tour the U.S. later in 2025. But the State Department announced Monday it had pulled the visas for the band’s members after the group led chants calling for the end of the Israel Defense Forces.
"Bob Vylan’s visas have been revoked," a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital Monday. "The secretary of state has been clear – the U.S. will not approve visas for terrorist sympathizers."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has issued multiple warnings that the State Department will rescind visas for "terrorists" and those affiliated with them.
For example, Rubio said in a June 2 X post after the antisemitic terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, that all "terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathizers" in the U.S. on a visa would have their visas revoked and face deportation.
During the Glastonbury, England, performance, Bobby Vylan also led the crowd with chants of "Free, Free, Free Palestine," and wrapped up the chant saying, "Hell yeah, from the river to the sea. Palestine must be, will be inshallah, it will be free."
In response, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, "There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech," according to the BBC.
Meanwhile, Bobby Vylan appeared to double down on his statements during the Glastonbury performance, and wrote in a social media post Sunday: "I said what I said."
"It is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us," Bobby Vylan said in a Sunday Instagram post. "Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change. Let them see us marching in the streets, campaigning on ground level, organizing online and shouting about it on any and every stage that we are offered."
Additionally, the BBC issued a Monday statement apologizing for continuing to air Bob Vylan’s performance live, and condemned the antisemitic chants during the performance.
"The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen," the BBC said in a Monday statement. "The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves."
President Donald Trump is confident that democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani would "crush" New York City if he is elected mayor, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says.
Leavitt made the statement during a Monday press briefing while fielding multiple questions from reporters about Mamdani's victory in the democratic mayoral primary.
Fox News' White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Leavitt about recent calls for Mamdani to be deported, citing calls from one lawmaker who said Mamdani should be denaturalized.
"I haven't heard him say that. I haven't heard him call for that. But certainly he does not want this individual to be elected. I was just speaking to him about it and [Mamdani's] radical policies that will completely crush New York City, which is obviously a city that the president holds near and dear to his heart," Leavitt responded.
Leavitt went on to say that Trump would be willing to work with Mamdani if he is elected, though she predicted that the relationship would be difficult.
"Look, the president is always willing to work with everyone. He's working with Democrats across the country, Democrat governors. And he said he'll work with people on the far left. He works with Republicans. He works with people in the middle. He wants to do what's right for America," Leavitt said.
"But surely someone who holds these values and is quite literally a communist and condemns every value that makes this country great: common sense, law and order, low taxes, working hard, and earning your keep in this country. He's against all of that. And I think the president would find it difficult to work with someone like that, if he is elected. I'm sure you'll hear more from the president on that, but we'll have to see. Hopefully, the voters of New York City choose wisely," she finished.
Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, defeated establishment favorite and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and a crowded field of other candidates, in the Democratic mayoral primary last week.
Liberal podcast host Donny Deutsch called out Mamdani on Monday for refusing to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada" during an appearance on MSNBC.
"I’m outraged that we have a candidate for mayor of New York, Mr. Mamdani, that cannot walk back or cannot condemn the words ‘globalize the intifada’ and his nuance of, ‘Well, it means different things for different people.' Well, let me tell you what it means to a Jew — it means violence," Deutsch said, citing the October 7 terrorist attacks, as well as the Boulder, Colorado, attacks.
"That's the connotation. That's the essence of it, and that's what it means to Jewish people. And if any other group came forward and said, ‘You know these words are offensive to us. It means violence. It frightens us,' I think there would be a response, but for some reason, if Jewish people find it offensive, it's not offensive," Deutsch continued.
Mamdani had several opportunities to condemn the "globalize the intifada" phrase during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, but he refused.
Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to formally lift all sanctions on Syria on Monday afternoon.
"The United States is committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbors," the order stated, while directing the secretaries of State, Commerce and Treasury to relieve sanctions and waive export controls.
"This is in an effort to promote and support the country's path to stability and peace. The order will remove sanctions on Syria while maintaining sanctions on the former president Assad or his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, persons linked to chemical weapons activities, ISIS and their affiliates, and Iranian proxies," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Trump is "committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified and at peace with itself and its neighbors," Leavitt said.
Ambassador Tom Barrack, Trump's envoy to Syria, called the new order a "tedious, detailed, excruciating process" of unraveling the sanctions that had been in place for decades on the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who oversaw a nation at civil war for more than a decade.
Brad Smith, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said sanctions would remain "where appropriate," including on Assad and his associates and any other destabilizing regional actors.
Smith said the fall of Assad represented a "new beginning" for the Syrian people and Trump had decided U.S. sanctions "would not stand in the way of what could be a brighter future for the country."
But he warned: "The United States will remain ever vigilant where our interests and security are threatened, and Treasury will not hesitate to use our authorities to protect us and international financial systems."
Some sanctions will still need to be lifted by Congress, and others date to 1979, when Syria was designated a state sponsor of terrorism. The administration has not yet lifted that designation.
Al-Sharaa had been campaigning hard for a relationship with Washington and sanctions relief: he offered to build a Trump Tower in Damascus, détente with Israel, and U.S. access to Syria's oil and gas. He worked to soften the image of HTS and promised an inclusive governing structure.
U.S. sanctions have included financial penalties on any foreign individual or company that provided material support to the Syrian government and prohibited anyone in the U.S. from dealing in any Syrian entity, including oil and gas. Syrian banks also were effectively cut off from global financial systems.
The new order comes as Israeli and Syrian officials are engaged in back-channel talks on a potential security and normalization deal.
Israel and Syria have long been foes, and some Israeli officials worry that lifting all sanctions on Syria means giving up "leverage" to pressure them into a deal to normalize ties with Israel.
To that point, one senior administration official shot back: "We have consistently said we’re not nation-building. It’s to Syria’s benefit to lean toward Israel."
"The president ripped off the sanctions without any preconditions," the official said. "Leverage is not what we’re interested in doing."
War between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has complicated any movement on normalization deals between Israel and its neighbors. But the official predicted: "There’s going to be peace in Gaza."
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are warning they have serious issues with the Senate's version of President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" as it's currently written.
The group of GOP rebels argued in a public statement on Sunday that the Senate bill adds $1.3 trillion to the federal deficit, whereas the House-passed bill would increase the federal deficit by $72 billion.
"Even without interest costs, it is $651 billion over our agreed budget framework," the statement read.
The Senate is currently working through the bill and is expected to finish sometime later Monday or even on Tuesday.
The Senate bill would add an extra $1 trillion to raise the debt limit, compared to the House version and permanently extend certain corporate tax cuts in President Donald Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that the House only extended temporarily.
It also includes several specific new additions aimed at easing Senate Republicans' own concerns with the bill, including a $25 billion rural hospital fund to offset issues with Medicaid cuts, and a tax break for whalers that appears aimed at Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
The Senate is operating under a mechanism called "current policy baseline," which would effectively zero-out the cost of extending TCJA tax cuts by calculating them as the de facto operational policy rather than calculating the cost as if they were not in place.
Absent congressional action, TCJA tax cuts expire at the end of 2025.
Conservatives in the House have warned they have serious issues with the bill, however.
Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Eric Burlison, R-Mo., both House Freedom Caucus members, said the bill could face steep odds — even fail — in the lower chamber if changes were not made.
Both said it could fail in a House-wide procedural vote before lawmakers could even contend with the measure itself. A rule vote is traditionally taken to allow for debate on legislation before lawmakers weigh in on it.
"If it gets through [the House Rules Committee], I don't think it survives on the floor in the current form it's in. You know, we told the senators that," Norman told Fox News Digital. "They knew this all along."
Norman said Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had done a "good job," but added of the Senate, "They've got fighters... but we've just got to have certain things that comply with our House version."
The legislation could still change before it gets to the House, however, as the Senate works through a parade of amendments from both Democrats and Republicans.
Burlison said it could depend on the fate of an amendment by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., which would significantly hike the Medicaid financial burden for states that expanded their Medicaid population under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The change, if passed, would roll back the current 90% rate that the government pays for the Medicaid expansion population through the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) back down to the non-expansion rate, which hovers as low as 50%.
Scott's proposal could add hundreds of billions in savings to the plan, in addition to the nearly $1 trillion the Senate plan already saves in Medicaid spending.
"I don't see how what the Senate is doing will pass the House if [Rick Scott's amendment] does not pass at the minimum. It's probably going to take more spending reductions than that, but that would get the majority of us there," Burlison told Fox News Digital, without commenting on House GOP leaders.
He predicted the bill could be "killed" in the House-wide rule vote otherwise.
Indeed, several House Freedom Caucus members have taken to X to publicly urge Senate Republicans to approve Scott's amendment.
"All Republican Senators should vote YES on Senator Rick Scott’s very reasonable 'elimination of theft from Medicaid' FMAP amendment," Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., posted.
Fox News Digital reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson's office for comment on House Freedom Caucus members' comments.
Notably, key provisions originally in the House bill were stripped out of the legislation for not being "Byrd-compliant."
The "Byrd Bath" is a process during the budget reconciliation process in which the Senate parliamentarian, a non-partisan, unelected official tasked with advising on Senate policy, combs through the bill for whether it adheres to the strict budgetary guidelines of the reconciliation process.
Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process to advance Trump's agenda on taxes, the border, energy, defense, and the debt limit via one massive piece of legislation.
Budget reconciliation allows Republicans to bypass any Democratic opposition to pass their bill by lowering the Senate's threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.
They're aiming to have a bill on Trump's desk by the Fourth of July.
A GOP aide told Fox News Digital, "The Senate version contains more in Byrd-compliant savings than the House, and correctly scores extending current tax policy as revenue-neutral — and assumes the kind of growth that was also massively underestimated last time around."
The aide noted that the White House Council of Economic Advisers said the bill will generate $4.1 trillion in economic growth thanks to tax permanence, which is more than the House version.
Senate Republicans argue the bill would lead to $1.6 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years — above the House Freedom Caucus' demanded $1.5 trillion threshold.
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is suing the city of Los Angeles, alleging that the policies interfere with federal immigration authorities from doing their jobs.
"Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles," Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News in an exclusive statement.
"Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level – it ends under President Trump," Bondi added.
The lawsuit says that the city is discriminating against federal authorities by treating ICE differently than other types of law enforcement.
The Department of Justice argues that the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution prohibits this, so they are asking a judge to block the enforcement of the policies.
"Sanctuary City laws and policies are designed to deliberately impede federal immigration officers’ ability to carry out their responsibilities in those jurisdictions," the lawsuit filed on Monday stated. "The Los Angeles Ordinance and other policies intentionally discriminate against the Federal Government by treating federal immigration authorities differently than other law enforcement agents through access restrictions both to property and to individual detainees, by prohibiting contractors and sub-contractors from providing information, and by disfavoring federal criminal laws that the City of Los Angeles has decided not to comply with," the lawsuit continues.
"The Supremacy Clause prohibits the City of Los Angeles and its officials from singling out the Federal Government for adverse treatment — as the challenged law and policies do — thereby discriminating against the Federal Government. Accordingly, the law and policies challenged here are invalid and should be enjoined," it added.
Los Angeles faced protests and riots earlier this month as ICE conducted operations throughout the region, resulting in a legally challenged deployment of the National Guard by President Donald Trump. Mayor Karen Bass spoke out against the violence in the city at the time but said that Trump’s deployment of troops acted as an instigator.
"Last Thursday, ICE entered our city and provoked the city by chasing people through Home Depots and car washes and showing up at schools and, today, showing up at emergency rooms and homeless shelters," Bass said earlier this month.
"ICE intervened as a pretext to federalize the National Guard, and then, in the White House, the National Guard was complimented for the work that they did to keep peace in the city Saturday night. But I will tell you, the Guard didn't even arrive here until Sunday. They used this as a pretext to send the U.S. Marines into an American city, which will target our own citizens," the Democrat continued.
Fox News reached out to the city for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
The Trump administration is working on a way to allow farmers and the hospitality industry to have a "temporary pass" to avoid a negative impact from Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, he said on "Sunday Morning Futures."
"I don’t back away. What I do have, I cherish our farmers," the president said when asked by host Maria Bartiromo about the issue. "And when we go into a farm and we take away people that have been working there for 15 and 20 years, who were good, who possibly came in incorrectly. And what we’re going to do is we’re going to do something for farmers where we can let the farmer sort of be in charge. The farmer knows he’s not going to hire a murderer."
"But you know, when you go into a farm and you set somebody working with them for nine years doing this kind of work, which is hard work to do and a lot of people aren’t going to do it, and you end up destroying a farmer because you took all the people away," he said.
"It’s a problem. You know, I’m on both sides of the thing. I’m the strongest immigration guy that there’s ever been, but I’m also the strongest farmer guy that there’s ever been, and that includes also hotels and, you know, places where people work, a certain group of people work," the president added.
"We’re working on it right now. We’re going to work it so that, some kind of a temporary pass, where people pay taxes, where the farmer can have a little control as opposed to you walk in and take everybody away," he continued, emphasizing that "criminals are going out of this country."
On June 12, the president made similar comments about hotels and farms potentially running into issues as the result of federal immigration enforcement.
"Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace," Trump posted to Truth Social.
"In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!"
On June 19, border czar Tom Homan signaled that those operations would still continue, but it’s not a major focus.
"The message is clear that we’re going to continue to do worksite enforcement operations – even on farms and hotels but based on a prioritized basis. Criminals come first," Homan said, according to Axios.
ICE and DHS referred to the White House, and the White House deferred to the president’s remarks when Fox News Digital reached out. The comments from the president come as the administration aims to ramp up deportation efforts, whether it’s those with criminal charges and convictions or who entered the country illegally under the Biden administration. At the border itself, apprehensions and gotaway figures have taken a nosedive since Trump took office.
DHS is also encouraging those without a criminal history to self-deport by offering $1,000 and free travel outside the United States. ICE operations have been the subject of protests and even riots, including in Los Angeles.
The State Department has revoked the visas for members of the Bob Vylan band, after the British punk-rap duo called for "death to the IDF" during a Saturday performance in England's Glastonbury Music Festival.
The band Bob Vylan, made up of two musicians with the stage names Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan, is slated to tour the U.S. later in 2025. But the State Department announced Monday it had pulled the visas for the band’s members after the group led chants calling for the end of the Israel Defense Forces.
"Bob Vylan’s visas have been revoked," a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital Monday. "The Secretary of State has been clear — the U.S. will not approve visas for terrorist sympathizers."
Meanwhile, Bobby Vylan appeared to double down on his statements during the Glastonbury performance, and wrote in a social media post on Sunday: "I said what I said."
"It is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us," Bobby Vylan said in an Instagram post on Sunday. "Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change. Let them see us marching in the streets, campaigning on ground level, organizing online and shouting about it on any and every stage that we are offered."
Meanwhile, the BBC issued a Monday statement apologizing for continuing to air Bob Vylan’s performance live, and condemned the antisemitic chants during the performance.
"The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen," the BBC said in a Monday statement. "The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves."
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
