EXCLUSIVE: A conservative Republican said he's opposed to his moderate colleague's proposal for a modest tax hike on high-income earners, as GOP lawmakers continue to navigate divisions over President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful bill."

"Well, think about that — higher taxes to pay for something that is pretty much self-inflicted by all the states that don't have their financials in order," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told Fox News Digital on Sunday.

It comes as various House Republican factions are locked in high-stakes debates on taxes, Medicaid, and green energy subsidies while crafting Trump's wide-ranging bill.

Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., suggested over the weekend that increasing the top tax bracket to a 39.6% income tax rate rather than 37% could help pay for higher deduction caps for state and local taxes (SALT).

TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' PASSES KEY HOUSE HURDLE AFTER GOP REBEL MUTINY

The 39.6% rate refers to the top income tax bracket before it was lowered by Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

SALT deduction caps primarily benefit people living in high-cost-of-living areas like New York City, Los Angeles, and their surrounding suburbs.

Republicans representing those areas, including LaLota, have argued that raising the SALT deduction cap is an existential issue — and that a failure to address it could cost the GOP the House majority in the 2026 midterms.

Several of the Republicans vying for higher SALT deduction caps have pointed out that their victories are critical to the party retaining control of the House in 2024.

SALT deduction caps did not exist before TCJA, which notably instilled a $10,000 ceiling for married and single tax filers.

"The One Big Beautiful Bill has stalled—and it needs wind in its sails. Allowing the top tax rate to expire—returning from 37% to 39.6% for individuals earning over $609,350 and married couples earning over $731,200—breathes $300 billion of new life into the effort," LaLota wrote on X.

"It’s a fiscally responsible move that reflects the priorities of the new Republican Party: protect working families, address the deficit, fix the unfair SALT cap, and safeguard programs like Medicaid and SNAP—without raising taxes on the middle class."

But Republicans in lower-tax states are largely wary of significant increases to those caps, believing them to incentivize blue states' high-tax policies.

"People with money invest, and to tax them more — history has been, when you tax the other upper 1% more, you know, the economy does worse," Norman argued. "More taxes don't make sense to me."

The current legislation would increase the SALT deduction cap from $10,000 to $30,000, but a majority of Republicans in the House SALT Caucus rejected the deal.

LaLota and others have contended it's not enough for middle-class families in their districts.

"My party’s $30K cap proposal only makes 4 in 5 households whole. That’s not enough. On [Long Island], $250K isn’t rich—it barely covers the basics. Too many families pay over $15K in property taxes & get left out. I’m fighting for a higher cap. Wish me luck," he said on X.

But while tax hike proposals targeting wealthy Americans were part of Republicans' negotiations at an earlier point, any such effort appears to have been all but definitively stamped out. 

House GOP leadership aides signaled to reporters on Monday morning that such a tax hike would not be in the final bill, pointing to Speaker Mike Johnson's comments on the matter.

Johnson, R-La., said on The Will Cain Show late last month that he was "not in favor of raising the tax rates, because our party is the group that stands against that, traditionally."

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But nevertheless, the differing viewpoints underscore the divisions that Republicans still have to navigate ahead of their planned House-wide vote on Trump's bill later this week.

Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process to advance Trump's priorities on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt via one massive bill.

Budget reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party in power to skirt the minority — in this case, Democrats — to pass sweeping pieces of legislation, provided they deal with the federal budget, taxation or the national debt.

Republican leaders want to have a final bill on the president’s desk by Fourth of July.

Fox News Digital reached out to LaLota's office for comment on Norman's remarks but did not immediately hear back.

President Donald Trump will descend on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning where he’s expected to meet with House Republicans on his "one, big, beautiful bill."

Trump is attending the House GOP’s weekly conference meeting, three House GOP sources and two White House officials confirmed to Fox News Digital and Fox News Radio, respectively. It’s normally an hour-long session behind closed doors where Republicans discuss the week’s agenda and any outstanding issues.

The president is expected to rally Republicans around the massive piece of legislation designed to advance his agenda on tax, immigration, defense, energy, and raising the debt limit.

It’s a significant escalation in the president’s involvement in the process so far.

TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' PASSES KEY HOUSE HURDLE AFTER GOP REBEL MUTINY

House Republicans, meanwhile, have several critical differences to resolve before their self-imposed deadline to pass the bill by Memorial Day.

Conservatives are pushing for the bill to be more aggressive on cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid system, including a faster timeline for implementing work requirements for able-bodied recipients. Currently, the legislation has work requirements kicking in in 2029.

Moderates, meanwhile, have been wary of making significant cuts to the program.

Fiscal hawks are also pushing for a total and near-immediate repeal of the former Biden administration’s green energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), noting it was a Trump campaign promise – while other Republicans have pointed out businesses in their districts are benefiting from the tax relief.

HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANOTHER DEM OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF BLOCKING ICE AMID DELANEY HALL FALLOUT

There’s also disagreement over raising the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, a critical issue for blue state Republicans representing high-cost-of-living districts. GOP lawmakers in lower-tax states have dismissed it as a giveaway to high-tax Democrat-controlled areas, however.

News of Trump’s likely appearance on Capitol Hill comes after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on a lawmaker-only call on Monday morning that the president is ready and willing to play an active role in discussions.

"He wants to be involved as much as we need him," Johnson told House GOP colleagues.

The speaker also said he spoke with Trump by phone on Monday morning, and the president was "very excited, very encouraged."

Republicans are working to pass Trump’s policies on tax, immigration, energy, defense, and the national debt all in one massive bill via the budget reconciliation process.

GOP lawmakers also see it as an opportunity to put the country on a better fiscal path, with the national debt already having surpassed $36 trillion.

Budget reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party in power to skirt the minority – in this case, Democrats – to pass sweeping pieces of legislation, provided they deal with the federal budget, taxation, or the national debt.

House Republicans are hoping to advance Trump’s bill through the House by the end of this week, with a goal of a final bill on the president’s desk by Fourth of July.

The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before a House-wide vote, is set to take up the bill at 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump said the cooperation he witnessed to get the Take It Down Act into law was one of the greatest moments of bipartisanship he has seen. 

The president signed the bill, which punishes internet abuse involving nonconsensual, explicit imagery, during an outdoors ceremony in the White House Rose Garden Monday afternoon, joined by first lady Melania Trump, who has been championing the issue since her husband's inauguration.

"This legislation is a powerful step forward in our efforts to ensure that every American, especially young people, can feel better protected from their image or identity being abused through non-consensual, or intimate imagery of NCII," the first lady said from the rose garden Monday afternoon. "Artificial intelligence and social media at a digital candy for the next generation," she added. "Sweet, addictive and engineered to have an impact on the cognitive development of our children. But unlike sugar, these new technologies can be weaponized to shape beliefs, and sadly affect emotions and even be deadly."

Trump reiterated the importance of the new legislation during the signing ceremony Monday afternoon from the White House. He also touted "a level of bipartisanship" he's never seen before to get the legislation across the finish line, citing the work of the first lady as a big catalyst. 

"We've shown that bipartisanship is possible," Trump said shortly before he signed the new act. "I mean, it's the first time I've seen such a level of bipartisanship, but it's a beautiful thing to do. I'm not even sure you realize, honey, you know, a lot of the Democrats and Republicans don't get along so well. You've made them get along, and she didn't even know about that. She didn't know we had a problem. She didn't know we had a problem. She got it.  

The Take It Down Act is a bill introduced in the Senate by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., that would make it a federal crime to publish, or threaten to publish, nonconsensual intimate imagery, including "digital forgeries" crafted by artificial intelligence. The bill unanimously passed the Senate in February, and passed in the House of Representatives in April with a vote of 409–2. 

MELANIA TRUMP SPEAKS ON CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST TIME IN ROUNDTABLE FOCUSED ON PUNISHING REVENGE PORN

The law would require penalties of up to three years in prison for sharing nonconsensual intimate images — authentic or AI-generated — involving minors and two years in prison for those images involving adults. It also would require penalties of up to two and a half years in prison for threat offenses involving minors, and one and a half years in prison for threats involving adults. 

The bill requires social media companies, like Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and similar platforms, to put procedures in place to remove such content within 48 hours of notice from the victim. 

AI-generated images known as "deepfakes" often involve editing videos or photos of people to make them look like someone else by using artificial intelligence. Deepfakes hit the public’s radar in 2017 after a Reddit user posted realistic-looking pornography of celebrities to the platform, opening the floodgates to users employing AI to make images look more convincing and widely shared in the following years. 

Right now, nearly every U.S. state has a law protecting people from nonconsensual intimate image violations, but the laws vary in classification of crime and penalty. 

In March, the first lady spoke on Capitol Hill for the first time since returning to the White House to participate in a roundtable with lawmakers and victims of revenge porn and AI-generated deepfakes. 

The first lady invited 15-year-old Elliston Berry, whose high school peers used AI to create nonconsensual imagery of her and spread them across social media. 

"It’s heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content, like deepfakes," Trump said. "This toxic environment can be severely damaging. We must prioritize their well-being by equipping them with the support and tools necessary to navigate this hostile digital landscape. Every young person deserves a safe online space to express themselves freely, without the looming threat of exploitation or harm." 

REVENGE PORN BILL BACKED BY MELANIA TRUMP HEADS TO PRESIDENT'S DESK AFTER OVERWHELMING HOUSE VOTE

Berry, a Texas native, told the roundtable she was just 14 years old when she realized in 2023 that "a past Instagram photo with a nude body and my face attached made from AI," was circulating on social media. 

"Fear, shock and disgust were just some of the many emotions I felt," Berry said. "I felt responsible and began to blame myself and was ashamed to tell my parents. Despite doing nothing wrong. As I attended school, I was scared of the reactions of someone or someone could recreate these photos."  

"We need to hold big tech accountable to take action," the young woman continued. "I came here today to not only promote this bill, but to fight for the freedom of so many survivors, millions of people, male, female, teenage children, kids all are affected by the rise of this image-based sexual abuse. This is unacceptable. The Take It Down act will give a voice to the victims and provide justice." 

Another young girl, Francesca Mani of New Jersey, recounted that she also was just 14 when she and other peers found deepfake images on themselves online. 

"Teenagers might not know all the laws, but they do know when something is wrong," Mani said. "Schools need to take immediate, serious action to ensure that AI exploitation, harassment and deepfake abuse are met with real consequences." 

The first lady invited the young women as her special guests for Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress in March.  

Sharing nonconsensual and AI-generated explicit images on social media and the internet has not just affected young girls, as young boys and adults also face similar crimes. A woman named Breeze Liu told the roundtable that she worked tirelessly to remove AI-generated images of herself that landed on a pornography site in 2020 when she was 24 years old. 

And Republican South Carolina state Rep. Brandon Guffey also joined the group of lawmakers and the first lady in March, recounting how his 17-year-old son committed suicide in 2022 after he was caught up in a sextortion scam. 

"I lost my oldest son, Gavin Guffey, to suicide," he shared. "We quickly found out that he was being extorted online. That someone pretending to be a young female at another college requested images to be shared back and forth. And as soon as he shared those images, he took his life. It was an hour and 40 minutes from the time that he was contacted until the time that he took his life." 

Meanwhile, during the first Trump administration, Melania Trump hosted virtual roundtables on foster care as part of her "Be Best" initiative and focused on strengthening the child welfare system. The "Be Best" initiative also focused on online safety. 

"As first lady, my commitment to the ‘Be Best’ initiative underscores the importance of online safety," she said. "In an era where digital interactions are integral to daily life, it is imperative that we safeguard children from mean-spirited and hurtful online behavior." 

The first lady, in March, said the bill "represents a powerful step toward justice, healing and unity."

The reported discovery of "rogue communication devices" in Chinese-exported solar inverters spurred new scrutiny of Chinese imports and of the security of the domestic electric grid.

In a blue state known for backing solar and other green energy alternatives, a top state Republican warned that "the time to act is now" to stop incursions by a malign foreign actor.

"The recent discovery of rogue communication devices underscores a chilling reality: our critical infrastructure is vulnerable, and New Jersey’s leadership is asleep at the wheel," said state Sen. Doug Steinhardt, R-Belvidere.

Steinhardt, a former chair of the state GOP, said allowing "hostile foreign governments" to potentially penetrate U.S. energy networks is a national security writ large.

TRUMP ENERGY CHIEF RECOUNTS EVOLUTION OF US ENVIRONS OVER 56 EARTH DAYS: A HANDILY-ENERGIZED SOCIETY WORKS

In New Jersey’s case, three bills – all sponsored by Steinhardt – seek to blunt this new threat, including one banning the state from companies owned by or based out of certain foreign countries.

Another bill in the Garden State would somewhat mirror Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policy against Chinese land ownership near protected facilities.

Such policies also grew out of CCP-linked purchases of land in the Sunshine State and across the country, including another controversial 380,000-acre purchase in North Dakota near the Grand Forks Air Force Base.

A Reuters report last week discovered solar power inverters were found to have "rogue communication devices not listed in product documents" within the modules after being "stripped-down" by technologists.

Inverters, of which a majority are imported, connect solar panels and wind installations to electric grids by converting DC power to AC power.

While solar tech does typically have firewalls against outside incursion, the findings raised concern, according to Reuters.

ENERGY CHIEF ENVISIONS US NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE, RESTORING PIT PRODUCTION, LOCALIZING NUKE POWER

"We cannot afford to let our energy systems, our food supply, or any strategic assets fall into the hands of those who wish us harm – the time to act is now," Steinhardt said in a statement.

Citing national security concerns, a bipartisan pair of senators introduced the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act, which would prohibit the government from buying batteries from some foreign sources over similar concerns.

"Our national security should not require reliance on components made by adversaries like China," Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., said in drafting the bill with Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.

"This bipartisan legislation will help safeguard both our supply chains and our national security by preventing the Department of Homeland Security from purchasing Chinese batteries for the devices and technology that keep Americans safe."

In comments to Fox News Digital on Monday, Scott called it "terrifying" the CCP could have any control over the U.S. grid.

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"Communist China is an adversary, led by a ruthless, authoritarian regime that wants to undermine our national security, spy on our citizens, steal our technology, and destroy our economy," Scott said.

"We cannot allow this regime to have access to the very systems and resources families and businesses depend on. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation to cut off our dependence on Chinese-made batteries that serve as Trojan horses for their surveillance state, and I’m bringing back the Protect American Power Infrastructure Act to slam the door shut on any Chinese influence over our electric grid."

Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Phil Murphy as well as the Energy Department for comment.

Harvard University is facing demands from key House Republicans to explain allegations it trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group and worked with Iran-linked researchers.

In a letter sent this week, Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party; Tim Walberg, R-Mich., chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee; and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., requested internal documents and communications from Harvard officials detailing the university’s partnerships with foreign adversaries.

The lawmakers raised alarm over Harvard’s repeated hosting and training of members of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) — a paramilitary organization sanctioned by the U.S. government for its role in the Chinese Communist Party’s genocide against Uyghur Muslims.

According to the letter, Harvard allegedly used Department of Defense funding to partner with Chinese universities on research with potential military applications.

HARVARD UPDATES LAWSUIT AFTER TRUMP CANCELS ADDITIONAL $450M IN FUNDING

Between 2020 and 2024, Harvard researchers also collaborated on at least four projects funded by an agent of the Iranian regime, raising concerns about violations of U.S. sanctions laws.

Harvard’s China Health Partnership reportedly hosted healthcare policy training sessions that included XPCC officials, a fact highlighted by Chinese government outlets.

"We are deeply concerned the services and resources provided through these events may violate U.S. law and could have been deployed by XPCC to further repress the Uyghur people and other ethnic minorities in China," the lawmakers wrote.

Harvard replied to a request for comment: "We can confirm receipt and will respond to the Chairs’ letter."

HARVARD PRESIDENT CLAIMS ‘UNFOUNDED RETALIATION’ AMID TRUMP FUNDING FEUD

The letter points to several specific research collaborations: In one case, Harvard researchers received DARPA funding to work with Tsinghua University faculty on zero-indexed materials — technology that could advance artificial intelligence systems.

In another, a Harvard researcher partnered with a Zhejiang University professor on polymer science research funded by the U.S. Air Force, which could be applied to aircraft construction.

A third project involved shape memory alloys, materials with aerospace applications, researched alongside faculty from Huazhong University, also under Air Force funding.

"Harvard researchers should not be contributing to the military capabilities of a potential adversary," the letter stated.

The lawmakers also noted that Harvard researchers have routinely worked with Chinese military-linked institutions on dual-use technologies, including microelectronics, AI, and quantum science.

Additionally, the lawmakers raised concerns over Harvard’s organ transplant research involving China-based collaborators, citing growing international scrutiny of China’s forced organ harvesting practices.

"Harvard trained members of a sanctioned Chinese paramilitary group responsible for genocide, and its researchers partnered with Chinese military universities on DoD-funded research and worked with researchers funded by the Iranian regime," said Moolenaar.

"These are not isolated incidents — they represent a disturbing pattern that puts U.S. national security at risk. The Select Committee’s investigation will deliver answers, expose the truth, and hold Harvard accountable to the American people.

President Donald Trump is set to sign the Take It Down Act — a bill that punishes internet abuse involving nonconsensual, explicit imagery. 

The president is scheduled to sign the bill from the White House Monday afternoon, joined by first lady Melania Trump, who has been championing the issue since her husband's inauguration. 

The Take It Down Act is a bill introduced in the Senate by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., that would make it a federal crime to publish, or threaten to publish, nonconsensual intimate imagery, including "digital forgeries" crafted by artificial intelligence. The bill unanimously passed the Senate in February, and passed in the House of Representatives in April with a vote of 409–2. 

MELANIA TRUMP SPEAKS ON CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST TIME IN ROUNDTABLE FOCUSED ON PUNISHING REVENGE PORN

The law would require penalties of up to three years in prison for sharing nonconsensual intimate images — authentic or AI-generated — involving minors and two years in prison for those images involving adults. It also would require penalties of up to two and a half years in prison for threat offenses involving minors, and one and a half years in prison for threats involving adults. 

The bill would require social media companies, like Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and similar platforms, to put procedures in place to remove such content within 48 hours of notice from the victim. 

AI-generated images known as "deepfakes" often involve editing videos or photos of people to make them look like someone else by using artificial intelligence. Deepfakes hit the public’s radar in 2017 after a Reddit user posted realistic-looking pornography of celebrities to the platform, opening the floodgates to users employing AI to make images look more convincing and widely shared in the following years. 

Right now, nearly every U.S. state has a law protecting people from nonconsensual intimate image violations, but the laws vary in classification of crime and penalty. 

In March, the first lady spoke on Capitol Hill for the first time since returning to the White House to participate in a roundtable with lawmakers and victims of revenge porn and AI-generated deepfakes. 

The first lady invited 15-year-old Elliston Berry, whose high school peers used AI to create nonconsensual imagery of her and spread them across social media. 

"It’s heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content, like deepfakes," Trump said. "This toxic environment can be severely damaging. We must prioritize their well-being by equipping them with the support and tools necessary to navigate this hostile digital landscape. Every young person deserves a safe online space to express themselves freely, without the looming threat of exploitation or harm." 

REVENGE PORN BILL BACKED BY MELANIA TRUMP HEADS TO PRESIDENT'S DESK AFTER OVERWHELMING HOUSE VOTE

Berry, a Texas native, told the roundtable she was just 14 years old when she realized in 2023 that "a past Instagram photo with a nude body and my face attached made from AI," was circulating on social media. 

"Fear, shock and disgust were just some of the many emotions I felt," Berry said. "I felt responsible and began to blame myself and was ashamed to tell my parents. Despite doing nothing wrong. As I attended school, I was scared of the reactions of someone or someone could recreate these photos."  

"We need to hold big tech accountable to take action," the young woman continued. "I came here today to not only promote this bill, but to fight for the freedom of so many survivors, millions of people, male, female, teenage children, kids all are affected by the rise of this image-based sexual abuse. This is unacceptable. The Take It Down act will give a voice to the victims and provide justice." 

Another young girl, Francesca Mani of New Jersey, recounted that she also was just 14 when she and other peers found deepfake images on themselves online. 

"Teenagers might not know all the laws, but they do know when something is wrong," Mani said. "Schools need to take immediate, serious action to ensure that AI exploitation, harassment and deepfake abuse are met with real consequences." 

The first lady invited the young women as her special guests for Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress in March.  

Sharing nonconsensual and AI-generated explicit images on social media and the internet has not just affected young girls, as young boys and adults also face similar crimes. A woman named Breeze Liu told the roundtable that she worked tirelessly to remove AI-generated images of herself that landed on a pornography site in 2020 when she was 24 years old. 

And Republican South Carolina state Rep. Brandon Guffey also joined the group of lawmakers and the first lady in March, recounting how his 17-year-old son committed suicide in 2022 after he was caught up in a sextortion scam. 

"I lost my oldest son, Gavin Guffey, to suicide," he shared. "We quickly found out that he was being extorted online. That someone pretending to be a young female at another college requested images to be shared back and forth. And as soon as he shared those images, he took his life. It was an hour and 40 minutes from the time that he was contacted until the time that he took his life." 

Meanwhile, during the first Trump administration, Melania Trump hosted virtual roundtables on foster care as part of her "Be Best" initiative and focused on strengthening the child welfare system. The "Be Best" initiative also focused on online safety. 

"As first lady, my commitment to the ‘Be Best’ initiative underscores the importance of online safety," she said. "In an era where digital interactions are integral to daily life, it is imperative that we safeguard children from mean-spirited and hurtful online behavior." 

The first lady, in March, said the bill "represents a powerful step toward justice, healing and unity."

EXCLUSIVE: United States Attorney for the District of California Bill Essayli is taking major action to crack down on "sanctuary" policies in the Golden State.

He’s launching "Operation Guardian Angel," which is a task force, made up of assets from ICE, HSI, DEA, FBI, ATF, and Border Patrol, to begin scanning a criminal database every single day to identify arrested illegal aliens in local jurisdictions that DOJ can charge with felony illegal-reentry.

"They've made it almost impossible for ICE to do their job, issue detainers and get criminal illegal immigrants out of jails. So what we're doing instead is we're going to start issuing warrants," he told Fox News.

'DEPORTATION FLIGHTS HAVE BEGUN' AS TRUMP SENDS 'STRONG AND CLEAR MESSAGE,' WHITE HOUSE SAYS

"We're going to flood the system with warrants for criminal illegal immigration that are in county jails, they can ignore a detainer, but they cannot ignore a criminal arrest warrant," Essayli continued. 

"As soon as an illegal immigrant is booked into a county jail, we're reviewing their file. And if they meet the elements of illegal reentry, which is a federal crime, we are filing a complaint and getting an arrest warrant issued before they're released from state custody."

Essayli said that the first-of-its-kind program will make the Golden State a "testing ground" for other sanctuary jurisdictions throughout the country, as the administration aims to get illegal aliens with criminal charges and convictions swiftly out of the United States. 

TRUMP GOES TOE-TO-TOE WITH SANCTUARY CITIES OVER DEPORTATION AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN SET TO BEGIN

While border crossings have plummeted, the administration is aiming to boost the number of removals. The CBP One app was turned into the CBP Home app, where those in the country illegally can now self-deport with a paid-for flight and an $1,000 stipend once they have been confirmed to leave the country. 

As for illegal aliens in the criminal justice system, the attorney said they plan to file up to 50 warrants a week in his jurisdiction, which covers Los Angeles – there’s already been 350 filed since Trump took office.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

"They have no choice, they will comply. And if they don't comply, if they interfere in our ability to arrest a federal felon, they can expect to face consequences for that. So I don't expect any resistance from the local authorities," he said.

TRUMP GOES TOE-TO-TOE WITH SANCTUARY CITIES OVER DEPORTATION AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN SET TO BEGIN

Felony re-entry was largely not prosecuted during the Biden administration. Essayli says his predecessor, the US Attorney in Los Angeles under Biden, only filed 17 of these cases in two years.

The attorney said transferring from local to federal custody is one of the better ways to get hold of illegal aliens with criminal charges.

"This is the safest way for us to get criminal illegal immigrants. Get them while they're still in state custody, where they've been searched. They have no weapons, and we can do a safe transfer," he said. 

Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Former Rep. Bob Good, a Republican from Virginia who once chaired the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is sounding the alarm about America's "fiscal crisis," accusing fellow Republicans of failing to focus on the critical issue and slash spending.

He blamed "all Republican leadership," during an interview with Fox News Digital. "You're not hearing a lot from Republican leadership — from the White House or from the Congress — about spending cuts," he said.

Good praised President Donald Trump on a variety of issues, crediting the president with doing a "great job in many executive actions," but he described the moves as "quick fix sugar highs" that could easily be undone when a Democrat wins the presidency again and said that Congress has not been codifying Trump's policies into law.

He said that "the big glaring weakness for all of Republican government" is failing to focus on the nation's debt and deficit, and slashing spending. 

TRUMP'S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ PASSES KEY HOUSE HURDLE AFTER GOP REBEL MUTINY

The U.S. national debt is over $36.2 trillion, according to fiscaldata.treasury.gov.

President Trump and some GOP lawmakers have been seeking to push Trump's "One, Big, Beautiful Bill" through Congress, but other Republicans have been pressing for changes.

The House Freedom Caucus issued a statement on Sunday night declaring that the measure "does not yet meet the moment."

"As written, the bill continues increased deficits in the near term with possible savings years down the road that may never materialize. Thanks to discussions over the weekend, the bill will be closer to the budget resolution framework we agreed upon in the House in April, but it fails to actually honor our promise to significantly correct the spending trajectory of the federal government and lead our nation towards a balanced budget," the caucus board's statement reads, in part, later adding, "We face a serious fiscal crisis, and we must put an end to Washington’s wasteful spending now."

TRUMP'S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WINS SUPPORT FROM POLICE FOR OVERTIME TAX ELIMINATION

Good, a fiscal hawk who has been referring to the measure as the "big, ugly bill," indicated that if Republicans do not fight now when they only need 51 votes to pass a measure in the Senate due to reconciliation, they will not do so later.

He said most GOP figures, like most Democrats, are largely focused on their own political careers and will "be even weaker" in 2026, the year of the midterm elections.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought has pushed back against criticism of the reconciliation bill.

"Critics have attacked the House's One Big Beautiful reconciliation bill on fiscal grounds, but I think they are profoundly wrong," he wrote in a part of a post on X last week. "The current House bill includes $1.6 trillion in savings. These are not gimmicks but real reforms that lower spending and improve the programs."

"So after nothing happening for decades, the House bill provides a historic $1.6 trillion in mandatory savings...with a three-seat majority. $36 trillion in debt is not solved overnight. It is solved by advancing and securing victories at a scale that over time, gives a fighting shot to addressing the problem. The House's One Big Beautiful Bill deserves passage for many reasons ... tax cuts, border security funding, eliminating the Green New Deal, work requirements to end dependency ... but it should not be lost on anyone, the degree to which it ends decades of fiscal futility and gets us winning again. It deserves the vote of every member of Congress," he asserted.

‘TOO LATE’: TRUMP BACKS CHALLENGER TO FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR DESPITE RECEIVING PRIOR ENDORSEMENT 

Good, who served in Congress from early 2021 until early 2025, lost a 2024 congressional GOP primary contest to a Trump-backed challenger. 

Trump repeatedly attacked Good in the lead up to the 2024 primary contest, asserting on Truth Social that "Bob Good is BAD FOR VIRGINIA, AND BAD FOR THE USA."

Good ultimately lost the primary by less than 1% of the vote. 

He had endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president in 2023 before the governor launched his White House bid that year. In 2024, Good endorsed Trump immediately after DeSantis dropped out.

In his endorsement post, Good called Trump "the greatest President of my lifetime," adding, "we need him to reinstate the policies that were working so well for America."

Good expressed interest in the prospect of potentially running for office again, telling Fox News Digital that he is keeping his "options open" and praying about it, but has not arrived at a decision yet.

FIRST ON FOX: A key U.S. economic agency is projecting that President Donald Trump's tax policy in his "one big, beautiful bill" will lead to increased take-home pay for American families and higher wages for U.S. workers.

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), which advises the White House on economic policy, released a report on Monday morning that said, "Taken as a whole, the CEA estimates that the tax cuts in the President’s proposals and the One Big Beautiful Bill will substantially boost investment and GDP relative to if expiring provisions from the [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act] are not extended."

Congressional Republicans are working to permanently extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), as well as implement a list of new, shorter-term Trump tax policies, like eliminating penalties on tipped and overtime wages, while granting seniors an added tax deduction.

Republican leaders have warned that failure to extend TCJA could lead to a tax increase of up to 22% for millions of families.

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

But extending them could lead to more money in people’s pockets in the long run, the CEA said.

"For workers and families, the CEA forecasts that wages will be about $6,100 to $11,600 higher, with family take-home pay $7,800 to $13,300 higher because of the increase in wages and reduction in tax obligations," the new analysis said.

The CEA said the added deduction for seniors, meanwhile, would increase the average take-home pay for qualifying seniors by approximately $400 to $450 per year.

If passed, the policies would also boost U.S. investment in the long run from 4.9% to 7.5%, according to the projection, and could save or create as many as 4.2 million full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in the long run.

It also estimated that Trump’s "no tax on tips" proposal alone would increase tipped workers’ pay by an average $1,675 per year, while eliminating the tax on overtime wages "will cause overtime workers to increase their overtime hours by 4.7 percent, leading to a 0.2 percent increase in aggregate labor supply while the provision is in effect."

"As a result, the level of GDP increases by 0.1 to 0.2 percent in the short run. The average overtime worker receives a tax cut of between $1,400 and $1,750 per year," the projection said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Monday morning briefing, "This bill will give Americans the largest tax cuts in our nation's history. When Republicans pass the bill, Americans will be keeping more of their hard-earned money and taking home much bigger paychecks."

"If Democrats get their way and the Trump tax cuts are not extended, Americans will face the largest tax hike in history to the tune of $4 trillion. Republicans must not side with Democrats in helping them raise taxes," Leavitt said.

It comes as Democrats accuse Republicans of trying to gut critical programs like Medicaid and Social Security to secure tax increases for wealthy Americans.

They’ve pointed to projections like those by the Joint Committee on Taxation, which said people making less than $50,000 per year would get $263 in tax relief, and those making over $1 million would get more than $81,000.

ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION

But Republicans have argued they are focused on aiding the working and middle classes with Trump’s tax bill – while not raising taxes on any Americans.

Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., also pointed out last week that Republicans’ bill does not touch the top income tax bracket.

"I kept hearing this idea that we’re cutting taxes on the rich," Haridopolos said, referring to conversations by his Democratic colleagues on the House floor last week.

"The current rate is 37%. Under our new proposed bill, it’s still 37%. We’re keeping that rate static, we’re not cutting taxes for the rich. What we need to do, of course, is invest in the people again – the best way you do that is offer tax relief."

Republicans are working to pass Trump’s policies on tax, immigration, energy, defense, and the national debt all in one massive bill via the budget reconciliation process.

Budget reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party in power to skirt the minority – in this case, Democrats – to pass sweeping pieces of legislation, provided they deal with the federal budget, taxation, or the national debt.

House Republicans are hoping to advance Trump’s bill through the House by the end of this week, with a goal of a final bill on the president’s desk by Fourth of July.

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to lift a lower court injunction that blocked President Donald Trump's decision to terminate the protected legal status of hundreds of thousands of migrants living in the U.S., in a win for the administration as it looks to deliver on its hard-line immigration enforcement policies.

The decision clears the way for the Trump administration to move forward with its plans to terminate Biden-era Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for roughly 300,000 Venezuelan migrants living in the U.S., and allows the administration to move forward with plans to immediately remove these migrants, which lawyers for the administration argued they should be able to do.

U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer argued as much when he asked the Supreme Court to lift the injunction earlier this month, arguing in their emergency appeal that a lower court judge had overstepped his authority by blocking the administration from ending the program for certain Venezuelans.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE

"The district court’s reasoning is untenable," Sauer told the high court, adding that the program "implicates particularly discretionary, sensitive, and foreign-policy-laden judgments of the Executive Branch regarding immigration policy."

At issue was the TPS program, a program that allows individuals from certain countries to live and work in the U.S. legally if they cannot work safely in their home country due to a disaster, armed conflict or other "extraordinary and temporary conditions." 

MAGA GROUP FIGHTS TO UNDO CARTER-ERA BAN ON MERIT-BASED FEDERAL HIRING

The protections were extended during the end of the Biden administration, shortly before Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in February abruptly terminated the program for a specific group of Venezuelan nationals, arguing they were not in the national interest. 

In March, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen agreed to keep the protections in place, siding with plaintiffs from the National TPS Alliance in ruling that the termination of the TPS program, which is extended in 18-month increments, is "unprecedented," and suggested that the abrupt termination may have been "predicated on negative stereotypes" about Venezuelan migrants.

This was disputed bitterly by Sauer in their appeal to the Supreme Court. 

In it, he also accused the lower court judge of improperly intruding on the executive branch’s authority over immigration policy.

"Forceful condemnations of gang violence and broad questioning of the integrity of the prior administration’s immigration practices, including potential abuses of the TPS program, do not evince discriminatory intent," Sauer said, describing Judge Chen's descriptions as "cherry picked" and "wrongly portrayed" as "racially tinged."

Fox News's Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report. 

Swiss billionaire and liberal megadonor Hansjörg Wyss is facing a sexual harassment lawsuit from a now-former female employee in California who claims Wyss groped her, shared unwanted information about his sexual past and then ultimately retaliated against her when she denied his advances.

Former Wyss employee Madison Busby, in a suit filed in San Luis Obispo County last month, claims that the 89-year-old Wyss "deliberately placed his hand on Ms. Busby's butt and groped her" the first time she was introduced to him in 2019 by her future husband, Bryce Mullins.

"Mr. Wyss proceeded to tell Mr. Mullins in Ms. Busby's presence about how ‘good’ Ms. Busby's butt looked in the dress she was wearing," the lawsuit states.

Mullins was working for the Wyss-owned Halter Ranch winery in Paso Robles, and Busby ultimately began working there in 2021. The lawsuit states that Busby did not speak up at first due to concerns that Mullins would lose his employment or standing.

GOP BILL CRACKS DOWN ON 'LOOPHOLE' ALLOWING FOREIGN DONORS TO PUMP DARK MONEY INTO US ELECTIONS

Over the next few years, the lawsuit alleges other harassment from Wyss, including "making several sexual propositions" including telling her "how much he enjoyed having a threesome" and suggesting they engage in a "foursome."

"Throughout 2021 and 2022, Mr. Wyss frequently shared unwelcome stories about his sexual exploits and various affairs with other women," the lawsuit states. "In 2021, Mr. Wyss told Ms. Busby and Mr. Mullins about his many sexual affairs outside of his marriage and stated there was nothing wrong with affairs. He further said that Americans were ‘too uptight’ around those having affairs."

Other allegations include Wyss telling Busby about going to a movie theater with a woman named "Lori" and meeting a man he did not know and "initiated oral sex with him" before going back to her apartment and having a threesome. 

SWISS BILLIONAIRE HANSJÖRG WYSS RECENTLY POURED OVER $60M INTO PROPPING UP LEFT-WING GROUPS AND CAUSES

Wyss is also alleged to have "subjected Ms. Busby to a live video of Lori while Mr. Wyss was having phone sex with her" and at one point told Busby "he often had phone sex with Lori and that she could orgasm multiple times just from ‘dirty talk.’"

"He went on to tell Ms. Busby that he usually had phone sex at Halter Ranch with Lori because his wife was not around," the lawsuit said. "Mr. Wyss mentioned to Ms. Busby that he wanted them to 'Facetime' Lori with him."

A spokesperson for Halter Winery dismissed the allegations as "not true," telling Fox News Digital that they "intend to vigorously advance the facts that surround Mr. Mullins’ and Ms. Busby’s time at the winery and their departure."

"For almost five years, starting in 2019, Mr. Mullins and his current wife voluntarily made themselves part of the Halter Winery community and took advantage of its owner’s generosity," the spokesperson continued. "This included deciding to become employees of the winery, choosing to live at the winery rent free for years, frequently traveling with the owner to Europe, the Caribbean and elsewhere at the owner’s expense, asking the owner and his wife to host their wedding party and inviting the owner to serve as Best Man. Through all these years, they never complained about the owner’s conduct, or simply declined to spend so much time with him, until after they voluntarily left their employment at the winery in 2024."

Wyss, according to the lawsuit, knew his actions could be legally problematic for him, telling Busby at one point in 2022, "If you ever went after me for sexual harassment, you would win."

When Busby and Mullins began pulling away and decided to move to a smaller house on the property in order to ensure that Wyss would not be able to stay with them when he visited, the lawsuit alleges that Wyss retaliated against them by forcing her to take a pay cut and insisting the couple pay rent. 

Busby resigned from her position and sent a letter on the day she left to Wyss outlining her concerns about his "ongoing conduct and her own anxiety and distress as the result of that conduct."

The complaint filed in April accuses Wyss of sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress and sexual battery. 

Wyss is also facing a lawsuit from Mullins, who says the billionaire "abruptly terminated" his employment after Busby's complaint, despite bringing him out from the East Coast to work at the ranch and once promising Mullins would "have full control of the Halter Companies upon Mr. Wyss’s death."

Fox News Digital reached out to Busby's legal team for comment. 

"The Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund have no involvement with this matter. The organizations’ charitable activities are totally separate from those of the Halter Ranch," a Wyss foundation spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

Wyss, who is referred to by some as the "new George Soros," is well-known in American politics as one of the most prominent liberal megadonors and has given hundreds of millions to Democratic causes through a network of left-wing nonprofits.

Former Democratic nominee for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, sparked a social media uproar over the weekend after he invoked Nazi-era language to criticize President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.

"Some would say, ‘Boy, this is getting way too political for a commencement address,'" Walz told students at the University of Minnesota law school during a commencement address on Saturday. "But I would argue, I wouldn’t be honoring my oath if I didn’t address this head on."

"I’m gonna start with the flashing red light—Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets. They’re in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons. No chance to mount a defense. Not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye. Just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans and disappeared."

Walz also described Trump as a "tyrant" and told students they "are graduating into a genuine emergency."

MINNESOTA REPUBLICAN ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR, VOWS TO ‘FIX’ WHAT TIM WALZ ‘BROKE’

Walz’s comments drew strong pushback from conservatives online, including directly from the Trump administration, taking issue with comparing deportations of criminal illegal immigrants with the Nazi secret police force of the 1930s and 1940s. 

"This vile anti-American language can only be construed as inciting insurrection and violence," White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller posted on X. 

"It is absolutely sickening to compare ICE law enforcement agents to the Gestapo," the official account for the Department of Homeland Security posted on X. "Attacks and demonization of ICE and our partners is wrong. ICE officers are now facing a 413% increase in assaults. Our message is clear: DO NOT come to this country illegally. If you do, we will arrest you, deport you and you will never return."

WALZ 'VERY PESSIMISTIC' ON DEMOCRATS RETAKING THE SENATE

"Disgraced loser @GovTimWalz thinks ICE agents are the ‘modern day Gestapo,’" the White House rapid response account posted on X, before listing examples of violent criminals apprehended by ICE in Minnesota in recent weeks. 

"The Department of Homeland Security has reported a more than 500% increase in attacks and assaults on ICE agents," Republican communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X. "Tim Walz knows exactly what he’s doing here."

"Dude can never resist an opportunity to show off his TDS," Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X. 

Some, including a Republican running for governor against Walz, took the opportunity to highlight Walz's own record.

"Don't forget that it was Tim Walz who locked down our state for 15 months, established a tip line for people to report on their neighbors, closed our schools and sent small business owners to jail," gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls posted on X.

"Tim Walz is the real tyrant and modern-day Gestapo."

Last year, the Biden White House expressed outrage over a report claiming that Trump used the term "gestapo" in a closed-door meeting, FOX 59 reported, explaining that it was "despicable" and "insulting."

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

Walz, who recently explained that he was chosen to run with Harris because of his ability to "code talk to White guys watching football," drew similar criticism last month, when he likened Trump's immigration agenda to communist Russian "gulags."

New Jersey real estate developer Charles Kushner will be considered by the U.S. Senate on Monday for the ambassadorship to France and Monaco.

Kushner, the father-in-law of Ivanka Trump, was previously pardoned by President Donald Trump for federal tax evasion and Federal Election Commission violations from 2005, during the mogul’s first term.

In 1985, he founded the Kushner Companies and has long been a philanthropist, particularly to Jewish causes and institutions like Yeshiva University in Washington Heights, Manhattan.

He has also donated to St. Barnabas Hospital in Essex County, New Jersey, which has a wing bearing his family name.

TRUMP EXPRESSES 'ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE' AS STEVE WITKOFF IS SWORN IN AS SPECIAL MIDDLE EAST ENVOY

During his May 1 confirmation hearing, Kushner acknowledged his past legal missteps, claiming they sharpened his judgment and better prepared him for both the ambassadorship and life.

"I think that my past mistakes actually make me… better in my values to really make me more qualified to do this job," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Kushner, who just celebrated his 71st birthday, was nominated in November after Trump called him a "tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our country & its interests."

TRUMP TAKES WELL-EARNED VICTORY LAP FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE TRIUMPHS

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"He was recognized as New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, appointed to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, & served as a commissioner, & chairman, of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, as well as on the boards of our top institutions, including NYU," Trump said.

"Congratulations to Charlie, his wonderful wife Seryl, their 4 children, & 14 grandchildren. His son, Jared, worked closely with me in the White House, in particular on Operation Warp Speed, Criminal Justice Reform, & the Abraham Accords."

Trump added that Kushner will help strengthen America’s partnership with "our oldest ally and one of our greatest." 

A Tennessee congressman viewed documents relating to the 2023 Covenant school shooting for the first time, praising the Director Kash Patel-led FBI for upholding the Trump administration’s "radical transparency" promise.

Rep. John Rose told Fox News Digital he was offered full access to the documents, including the writings of suspect Audrey Hale, a transgender woman who was a former student and killed three children and three adults on March 27 of that year.

The GOP lawmaker said he sent a letter to the FBI the month after the shooting and received a response in November telling him to effectively seek what he was looking for from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

He contrasted that with Patel's FBI's quick turnaround in accessing the documents.

COVENANT SCHOOL TRANS SHOOTER PLOTTED NASHVILLE ATTACK FOR YEARS, KEPT NOTEBOOKS AND PLANS: FINAL REPORT

"They are primarily comprised of the writings and work of the perpetrator of the Covenant School shooting. But they do provide a great deal of insight and I think confirm some of the suspicions that I've had all along," Rose said.

"We really never received a response [regarding a document inquiry] from the Metro National Police Department (MNPD) one way or the other… We got a letter that was really non-responsive and basically indicated they would not release the information to us. So it's remarkable that in just a little over 40 days that new FBI Director Kash Patel has made this information available for us to look at."

Many of the documents have been under seal and are the subject of legal battles in the Volunteer State.

Nashville Chancery Court Chancellor I’ashea Myles ruled in 2024 that much of Hale’s writings are protected by copyright law, which trumps the state’s records statute.

An official with the MNPD told Fox News Digital there was also concern in the courts and among law enforcement that the detailed writings could inspire copycat violence.

"This investigation was meticulous and ran through this year and at the conclusion of the investigation we issued the 48-page summary," the official told Fox News Digital on Thursday. 

"There exists to this day the Chancery Court, an order that restricts the shooter's writing from being publicly released [but] through the 48-page summary, we've wanted all to know what our findings were in this mass shooting case; in the days after our officers responded so bravely into the building to stop the threat," the official added.

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING MANIFESTO: WHY KILLERS WRITE ABOUT MOTIVES

The MNPD said they were aware the FBI was contemplating releasing some of the material and echoed copycat-related concerns – and that the bureau understood those reservations and redacted parts of what has been witnessed by Rose.

However, Rose said that after Patel allowed him to view the documents, he is "more assured than ever" that the information within should be made public so that people can better understand the tragedy.

He disputed claims that the MNPD has been entirely forthright, saying, "I think they’ve just stonewalled… and frankly I think that makes it impossible for policymakers, legislators to take any action with respect to the incidents around this heinous act that happened back in March of 2023," he said.

"We simply can't be expected to take action when we don't understand the nature of this crime. And so the public is entitled to that information, but as policymakers, I feel like we simply cannot be expected to make a policy based on innuendo and supposition when the information is available."

Read the Nashville police report here.

"And had this been any other significant crime of this nature, including a mass shooting, we know from historic precedent that virtually all of this information would have been released in the normal course for public inspection and consideration."

As for sensitivity, he said that there is "tough information" in what he has seen and that he has sympathy for the victims of the shooting, but that in order to protect society, the information currently being held should be accessible to better understand the perpetrator and more.

MNPD denied any stonewalling allegation and cited the Chancery Court order in its response.

Rose did, however, appear to support some of the redactions, suggesting that a careful review process could allow documents from and about the shooter to be used in understanding the "heinous crime," identifying others who may be responsible and examining how society may have missed chances to prevent it.

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Nashville police also released their final report on the shooting, first reported at the time by Fox News Digital.

Rather than a highly anticipated manifesto, the report found that Hale left behind numerous notebooks, art books and computer documents about plans to commit the attack and gain notoriety, partly inspired by the Columbine school shooting in 1999.

Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump remains confident in White House doctors despite the possibility that they missed a prostate cancer diagnosis for former President Joe Biden while he was in office, the White House says.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the statement during a press briefing on Monday morning, saying Trump remains in good health. Speculation has exploded in the days since Biden he has stage 5 metastatic prostate cancer this weekend, a diagnosis that typically takes years to develop.

"White House doctors may have missed the early stages of his prostate cancer. So is President Trump worried about the quality of care that presidents get here?" Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked.

"Not as far as President Trump is concerned. The White House physician we have here is phenomenal," Leavitt responded. "The team of physicians that take care of the president, particularly at Walter Reed Medical Center, are great. The president had his physical recently, as you know, he had, perfect results. He's in very good shape."

JOE BIDEN DIAGNOSED WITH 'AGGRESSIVE FORM' OF PROSTATE CANCER WITH METASTASIS TO THE BONE

"I think those of you who traveled to the Middle East with us last week can attest to the president's endurance. And by the way, I will add, we returned home from a very long and tiring trip last week, and on Saturday, where was the president? In the Oval Office, working all day. He doesn't stop. He doesn't quit. He's in great health and he trusts his physicians," she added.

Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump said he were "saddened" to learn of Biden's diagnosis and wished him a "fast and successful recovery" in a post on social media this weekend.

"Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery."

POLITICAL WORLD REACTS TO FORMER PRESIDENT BIDEN'S 'AGGRESSIVE' CANCER DIAGNOSIS: 'INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT'

Leavitt told reporters that she does not believe Trump has spoken with Biden since the announcement, but she said he would be open to speaking with him.

Biden's office confirmed on Sunday that he was diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer.

"Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms," Biden's team shared in a statement. "On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone."

"While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management. The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians," the statement said.

Biden, 82, remains the oldest U.S. president.

Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report

Sen. Chris Murphy says "it was a mistake" for his party to allow then-81-year-old President Joe Biden to remain on the 2024 ballot as long as he did.

The Democrat from Connecticut, who is viewed as a possible contender for his party's 2028 presidential nomination, during an appearance on the Sunday morning talk shows was the latest Democrat to face questions about the former president's cognitive abilities.

"I saw a president who was in control," Murphy said during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" as he pointed to his experience working closely with Biden on legislation in 2023. "That’s my experience."

However, the senator added "that by 2024 the American public had made up their mind, right, that they wanted the Democratic Party to nominate somebody new, and it was absolutely a mistake for the party to not listen to those voters."

NEW BOOK PLACES BLAME ON BIDEN FOR HARRIS 2024 LOSS TO TRUMP

He also noted that Democrats "all bear responsibility" for President Donald Trump's White House victory last November.

However, longtime Democratic Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, a longtime Biden ally and confidant, said on the Sunday talk shows that he never doubted the then-president's ability to lead the nation.

"I never saw anything that allowed me to think that Joe Biden was not able to do the job," Clyburn argued in an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union."

Top Democrats like Murphy and Clyburn are facing a litmus test over Biden's mental acuity during his final years in office and whether Democrats should have been more strident earlier in the 2024 election cycle in calling on Biden to abandon his bid for a second term in the White House.

The grilling comes as Biden's condition is once again making headlines, courtesy of excerpts from a new book being released this week, "Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," which offers claims of a White House cover-up of the then-president's apparent cognitive decline.

BIDEN STRUGGLES WITH WORDS, KEY MEMORIES IN LEAKED AUDIO FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR INTERVIEW

Additionally, last week's leaked audio of Biden’s 2023 interview with special counsel Robert Hur, in which the then-president appears to suffer memory lapses, is also fueling the conversation.

Hur, who investigated whether Biden years earlier had improperly stored classified documents, made major headlines early last year when he decided not to charge Biden but described the then-president as an "elderly man with a poor memory."

The first question thrown at former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as he briefly met with reporters following a town hall with veterans and military families in Iowa last week was,"Did President Joe Biden experience cognitive decline while in office?" Buttigieg was asked.

"Every time I needed something from him from the West Wing, I got it," answered Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who served four years in Biden's cabinet. He, like Murphy, may have national ambitions in 2028.

After a second reporter followed up, asking, "Would the party have been better off if he had just not run for re-election?" Buttigieg answered, "Maybe. Right now, with the benefit of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that’s the case."

Longtime New Hampshire-based radio host Chris Ryan pointed to his listeners on his popular morning news/talk program as he told Fox News, "I think that is one of the top things that they do want to know about."

"The Democratic voters are still trying to sort through what happened and why," said Ryan, who has interviewed scores of White House hopefuls over the years.

How the Democratic presidential hopefuls answer these questions will be an early test of their truthfulness in the eyes of voters who had serious concerns over whether Biden was mentally and physically up for another four years handling the world's most grueling job.

However, Ryan noted that "it’s different for each potential candidate based on their level of proximity to President Biden."

BIDEN'S DIAGNOSIS: CANCER DESCRIBED AS AGGRESSIVE

It is doubtful the questions will be going away in the coming days, even after Sunday's blockbuster announcement that Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.

Biden dropped out of the White House race last July, one month after a disastrous debate performance with Trump that sparked a chorus of calls from fellow Democrats for the then-president to end his re-election bid.

He was replaced at the top of the ticket by then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who ended up losing November's presidential election to Trump. Democrats also suffered down ballot, losing control of the Senate and failing to win back the House majority from the Republicans.

During an appearance on ABC's "The View" two weeks ago, Biden pushed back against accusations that he had suffered significant cognitive decline during the final year of his presidency.

Rep. Ro Khanna of California was a leading supporter and surrogate on the campaign trail for Biden during the 2024 election cycle. After last June’s debate, as a trickle of Democrats urging Biden to step aside turned into a steady stream, Khanna likened the embattled president to Rocky Balboa—the underdog boxer of big-screen legend.

TARGETED BY TRUMP, THIS WELL KNOWN DEMOCRAT SPARKS 2028 SPECULATION

"To rebuild trust, Democrats must be honest. In light of the facts that have come out, Joe Biden should not have run for reelection, and we should have had an open primary," Khanna wrote in a social media post.

Khanna, in a statement, said, "I have always admired Biden’s resilience and the grit he has shown after the loss of his son — and often compared that strength to Rocky. I was a surrogate for the president of my own party whose policies I backed.

"But obviously we did not have the full picture, and in hindsight it is painfully obvious that President Biden should have made the patriotic decision not to run," Khanna added.

LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS INTO TRUMP'S SECOND TERM, DEMOCRATS ALREADY EYEING 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, another possible White House candidate who was a top 2024 surrogate for Biden, said in a recent CNN interview when asked about Biden's cognitive abilities, "As a governor in a state halfway across the country who was working her tail off, 160 stops on a bus tour that I had lined through swing states, I was busy working. I was busy doing the voter connection and registration, and so can't speak to that directly." 

"I didn't see the president frequently."

However, she added that "it does make me question a lot of the things I thought I knew over the course of the last year and a half."

While the potential contenders are answering questions concerning Biden in different ways, there is one consensus.

"We're not in a position to wallow in hindsight. We've got to get ready for some fundamental tests of the future of this country and this party," Buttigieg noted. 

President Donald Trump has returned from his four-day trip to the Middle East, and plans to kick off his week back on U.S. soil with phone calls to help negotiate a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. 

Trump spent the weekend in Washington, D.C., after returning from visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He received a warm welcome in each country, and came home with a bevy of deals, including a purchasing agreement by Qatar for Boeing aircraft, as well as a "strategic economic partnership" with Saudi Arabia for energy, defense, mining and space-based agreements that amount to $600 billion.

This week, political eyes are locked on Eastern Europe as Trump lines up phone conversations with Russia and Ukraine slated for Monday morning. 

Trump announced over the weekend that he would personally hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to help broker a deal to end the bloodshed and secure long-term peace. 

"I WILL BE SPEAKING, BY TELEPHONE, TO PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN OF RUSSIA ON MONDAY, AT 10:00 A.M. THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE ‘BLOODBATH’ THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE," Trump posted to Truth Social on Saturday. 

Trump added that he will then hold talks with Zelenskyy, followed by another call with Zelenskyy and NATO leaders, queuing up a busy Monday schedule. 

ZELENSKYY SHEDS DETAILS ON MEETING WITH VANCE, RUBIO IN ROME AFTER RUSSIA PEACE TALKS STALL

Russian and Ukrainian officials held their first direct peace talks in years last week in Istanbul. The two sides, however, failed to agree to a ceasefire in a war that has raged since February 2022. Russia and Ukraine did agree to a large prisoner swap during the meeting. 

Hours after the meeting, a Russian drone strike hit a passenger bus in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday. 

World leaders traveled to Rome on Sunday for Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass at the Vatican, including Zelenskyy, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The U.S. leaders met with Zelenskyy for a separate meeting, where they discussed efforts to end the war, according to the vice president's office. 

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"The leaders discussed their shared goal of ending the bloodshed in Ukraine and provided updates on the current state of negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace," Vance's office said in a statement on Sunday afternoon. 

Zelenskyy posted his own message regarding the meeting on social media on Sunday, slamming Russia for sending "non-decision-makers" to the meeting in Istanbul last week, while also thanking "all American people for the support and leadership in saving lives."

"During our talks we discussed negotiations in Istanbul to where the Russians sent a low level delegation of non-decision-makers. I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible," Zelenskyy posted. 

"We have also touched upon the need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, battlefield situation and upcoming prisoners exchange. Pressure is needed against Russia until they are eager to stop the war. And, of course, we talked about our joint steps to achieve a just and durable peace."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to local media that Monday's "conversation is in the works," the BBC reported on Saturday. 

"HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!" Trump added of the highly-anticipated rounds of phone calls on Monday. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said that nations that have bucked negotiating trade deals with the U.S. in "good faith" could see tariff hikes. 

"President Trump has put them on notice that if you do not negotiate in good faith, that you will ratchet back up to your April 2 level," Bessent said on CNN.  

Trump's April 2 "Liberation Day" trade announcement unveiled his reciprocal tariff plan on dozens of nations as he worked to bring parity to the U.S.' trade deficit. The president issued a 90-day pause to the reciprocal tariffs, except on China, in April as countries requested to make trade deals. Trump administration leaders have since been involved in hashing out trade negotiations before the 90-day pause is lifted in July. 

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Bessent's comments come after Trump slammed Walmart on Saturday for raising prices on consumers amid the tariff rollout. 

"Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain," the president wrote on Truth Social. "Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!"

Congressional Republicans are in the midst of pushing to pass Trump's "big, beautiful bill," which has been touted as significant fiscal reform that would fund the president's agenda. 

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Republicans are working to pass it through the budget reconciliation process, and have set a Memorial Day deadline for its passage. With just one working week left before the summer holiday weekend, House Budget Committee members were summoned to Congress on Sunday night to begin their work to pass the bill. 

The bill was thrown into turmoil last week when four members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, alongside Democrats, voted against advancing the legislation. The four conservatives took issue with the legislation’s crackdown on Medicaid, and also worked to repeal Biden-era green-energy tax subsidies. 

Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump is set to call Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to end the "bloodbath" war with Ukraine after peace talks resulted in a prisoner swap over the weekend. 

The call is expected at 10 a.m. EST. Trump said he would speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and members of NATO shortly after. 

"The subjects of the call will be, stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end," Trump added. "God bless us all!!!" 

RUSSIA BOMBARDS UKRAINE WITH DRONES HOURS AFTER TRUMP ANNOUNCES TALKS WITH PUTIN

Just hours ahead of the call, Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine yet, firing 273 exploding drones and decoys targeting the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, according to Ukraine’s air force. Of those, 88 were intercepted and 128 lost, likely being electronically jammed.  

Russia's defense ministry said Monday it had downed 35 Ukrainian drones overnight. 

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met with Zelenskyy in Rome on Sunday for ongoing peace talks. 

On Friday, Russian and Ukrainian officials took part in direct talks in Turkey for the first time since the early days of the war. 

Initially, there was hope that Zelenskyy and Putin would sit down with each other. The Ukrainian leader said he would attend if Putin showed up. However, after the Kremlin announced they would be sending an envoy, Zelenskyy appointed his defense minister to lead the delegation. 

RUBIO TEASES DETAILS OF POTENTIAL TRUMP, PUTIN IN-PERSON MEETING AFTER RUSSIA-UKRAINE CEASEFIRE TALKS STALL

The two sides each agreed to release around 1,000 prisoners of war "in the coming days," though they failed to reach agreement on peace. Zelenskyy attributed the lack of a breakthrough to Putin sending low-level officials to the talks. 

"Everyone could see that the Russian delegation in Istanbul was of a very low level. None of them were people who actually make decisions in Russia. Still, I sent our team," Zelenskyy wrote in an X post on Friday. 

Putin said Sunday any peace deal would need to "eliminate the causes that triggered this crisis" and "guarantee Russia's security."

Trump, meanwhile, suggested peace would not be brokered without him. 

"Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together," Trump told reporters on Thursday.

Ukraine has called for a 30-day, unconditional ceasefire. Putin, however, has suggested that Ukraine might use the time to rearm and mobilize. 

Political tensions remain high in New Jersey following the Delaney Hall clash between protesters and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials earlier this month, which led to the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on a trespassing charge weeks ahead of a competitive Democratic gubernatorial primary he is in.

Protesters outside the federal courtroom in Newark, rallying in support of Baraka, said the issue spans much bigger than just the Delaney Hall incident.

"The rest of the country should know that we should stand up against fascism," rapper and activist Mysonne, who is a co-founder of Until Freedom, told Fox News Digital outside the courthouse on Thursday.

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The incident came under federal investigation by interim United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba, and three members of congress are also facing both scrutiny and praise for their role.

Baraka said on Thursday, following his status conference, that he was targeted.

"I was the only person arrested. That's right. You know, I was the only person identified. I was the only person, you know, they put in a cell," he said.

TOP DEM GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ARRESTED FOR TRESPASSING AT ICE DETENTION CENTER

Delaney Hall is an ICE detention facility privately operated by the GEO Group. The city of Newark has argued that GEO Group does not have a valid certificate of occupancy, whereas the group has said it is valid and that they are following city laws.

"Anybody who cares about government accountability or free speech or the rights of Congress members and mayors to know what's going on in their communities should be outraged by what happened to Mayor Baraka," Amol Sinha, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said.

However, Republicans in the state have had a critical view of what went down, especially since stopping illegal immigration continues to be a top priority of the Trump administration. President Donald Trump won nearly 46% of the vote in the Garden State in 2024, coming just short of flipping what is typically considered a blue state.

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"Shame on the Democrats, particularly the mayor of Newark," Trump-endorsed Republican Jack Ciattarelli told Fox News Digital. He said issues the city faces, ranging from the airport, crime, to education, are things that need to be a larger focus for the mayor.

"He's showing up to a detention center where we're detaining illegals who've committed crimes. I don't understand what it is exactly we're protesting," he said.

"When the border is as porous as it was under the Joe Biden administration, we're all border states. And so we should not be encouraging illegal immigration with sanctuary cities or us being a sanctuary state," he continued.

A spokesperson for Baraka's campaign fired back at Ciattarelli's comments, telling Fox News Digital that he does not "recognize the Newark Jack Ciattarelli is talking about."

"The high school graduation rate is 86%. Their top-performing schools rival those in Millburn or Summit," Kabir Moss, Baraka's spokesperson, said. "When Baraka became Mayor, there were over 100 homicides a year - today, that number is 37. Violent crime is at its lowest point since John F. Kennedy was President - around the same time Jack’s family was being subsidized to leave cities and build the suburbs."

"The mayor was not trespassing, he was let in by the GEO Group," he continued. "He didn’t go there to get arrested, he went to join a press conference with the congress members. But if Jack Ciattarelli can’t recognize the Constitutional crisis we’re in - where due process is being denied on American soil - then he’s not fit to be Governor."

The gubernatorial race to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to be highly competitive in the November general election, as Cook Political Report ranks the race as "Lean Democratic." The primary election is June 10.

FIRST ON FOX: Police officers are rallying behind a provision in President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" to end taxing overtime work, which they say would have a favorable ripple effect on officer retention and morale. 

"No tax on overtime, it would be a huge advantage to law enforcement across the country," one officer said in a White House video shared with Fox News Digital. 

Another added: "We work sometimes 100 plus hours a pay period. It's a lot of time taken away from the family. So that would be pretty special."

Republican lawmakers are in the midst of hashing out the details of the sweeping legislation that would fund Trump's agenda through the budget reconciliation process. The legislation jumped its latest hurdle to move along to passage late Sunday evening, when lawmakers on the House Budget Committee voted to advance the bill. 

Trump has called on Republicans to swiftly pass the legislation, touting that it will lower taxes and provide larger paychecks for Americans, while also securing the border. Trump specifically directed congressional Republicans to permanently extend his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), and implement new policies eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay and retirees' Social Security.

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Officers in the White House video touted that eliminating taxes on overtime would serve as an extra dose of "appreciation" to law enforcement. 

Police departments nationwide saw morale and staffing crater in 2020 and the following years as left-wing cities answered calls from activists to defund the police following the death of George Floyd while in police custody on Memorial Day 2020. Many liberal cities soon walked back budget plans slashing police department funding as crime waves washed over the nation, stretching from sky-high murder rates to teenagers repeatedly carrying out carjackings. 

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"If there was no tax on overtime … we'd be working about as hard as we currently do, but we would have that appreciation that goes along with it," one officer in the video said. 

VANCE SEARS US LEADERS TURNING POLICE INTO 'ENEMIES'

‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’: GOP SENATOR UNLEASHES BILL WITH SEVERE CONSEQUENCES FOR HARMING POLICE 

The police officers continued that removing taxation on overtime likely would lead to senior officers sticking around in the job longer to help train the next generation of law enforcement, while also giving younger officers extra cash in their pockets to raise their young families on an officer's salary. 

"To have something like this in play would just help senior officers, perhaps stay a little bit longer to help be that guidance for that department, that community, to help teach those policy and procedures that we know of and to help with the retention," one police officer said. 

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A female officer added: "That would really benefit those, especially younger cops that have younger kids and a lot of families. I think that would mean a tremendous amount."

May is Law Enforcement Appreciation month, with a mid-May National Police Week celebration and the White House illuminating its exterior in blue colors Thursday evening in honor of police officers who were killed or injured while in the line of duty. 

"So know from the president on down, this administration stands behind you guys," Vice President JD Vance said during a law enforcement breakfast Wednesday at the vice president’s residence. "We love you guys. We know that you're out there doing a good job for us. And I think that moral leadership matters just as much as the public policy. But from this administration, you're, of course, getting it both."

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.