The race to develop 6th-generation aircraft is no longer a future vision – it’s now a defining force behind U.S. defense strategy.
With cutting-edge platforms like the B-21 Raider, the F-47 and the Navy’s F/A-XX on the horizon, the Pentagon is reshaping how the U.S. projects airpower for the next 50 years.
These aircraft promise unprecedented advances in speed, stealth and autonomy – but they’re also colliding with budget pressures, industrial capacity limits, and an increasingly uncertain global threat environment.
Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider is poised to become the backbone of U.S. long-range strike capability. With its next-gen stealth design, reduced maintenance burden and affordability compared to its B-2 predecessor, the B-21 is seen as critical to deterring strategic threats like China and Iran.
The urgency became clear last week when seven B-2 bombers flew an 18-hour mission to Iran, dropping bunker-busting bombs on nuclear targets. While effective, the B-2’s high cost and aging systems underscore the need for its replacement. At $692 million per aircraft — compared to $2 billion for a B-2 — the B-21 offers strategic reach at a more sustainable price.
The high-tech stealth bomber can carry nuclear and conventional weapons and is designed to be optionally manned, meaning it could fly without a crew on board.
Flight tests are already underway at Edwards Air Force Base, with three B-21s in the air and the first units expected to achieve operational capability by 2027. The Air Force has committed to at least 100 Raiders, with internal discussions floating a potential scale-up to 200.
"What we need to consider is doubling the production capacity as rapidly as possible to bring up that inventory," said Gen. David Deptula.
Once stalled, the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program roared back to life this spring under a new name and a new contract. Now designated the F-47, the program – awarded to Boeing – is designed to be the most advanced manned fighter in U.S. history. Its capabilities will include stealth, extended range, speeds exceeding Mach 2 and integration with a new class of AI-enabled drones called Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).
The F-47 will serve as the "quarterback" for a team of 1,000 CCAs, controlling them in battle and coordinating sensor and targeting data in real time.
"It's critically important that President Trump proceeded with the manned platform for the Air Force," said former Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif. "This academic debate about unmanned-only platforms is aspirational – but the networks just aren’t there yet."
The aircraft has an ambitious timeline for initial operational capacity – within the 2025-2029 range, according to a graphic posted by Air Force chief of staff David Allvin on X.
The Pentagon is going all-in on the F-47 in the 2026 budget: requesting $3.5 billion while decreasing its request for F-35s from 74 to 47. Garcia, a former Navy pilot, emphasized that human pilots are still essential for managing the complexity of 21st-century warfare.
However, others within the Pentagon argue that manned fighters may become obsolete before the F-47 is even fully fielded.
"AI technologies are evolving far more rapidly than anyone predicted," a former senior defense official said. "If they continue to evolve in five years... you’re on exactly the wrong path."
Deptula decried "arbitrary" budgets that were set by Congress rather than defense officials' determination of what they need for readiness and argued the more-expensive F-47 might be able to do far more work than less elite aircraft.
"Individually, F-47 might be costlier than a previous fighter aircraft, but if it can achieve 15, 20, 30, 40 times what it would take to accomplish the particular outcome using non-stealthy or other less expensive aircraft, which one provides the most value? So that's where the decision calculus needs to go."
Unlike the Air Force, the Navy is moving slowly with its own 6th-gen project — the F/A-XX. Garcia sees this as intentional, noting that naval airframes must withstand far greater environmental challenges than their Air Force counterparts.
Officials are still unsure whether the Navy’s next-gen fighter jet, F/A-XX, will move forward at all, according to the FY 2026 budget proposal.
"Waiting for a decision from the secretary of the Navy, secretary of defense, and the president," a defense official told reporters. "That's an active conversation, whether to continue with the program or not."
The program will proceed right now with "minimal funding" for design in the budget, the official said.
"Designing a naval variant of an Air Force aircraft on the same timeline? It’s impossible to do it correctly."
Instead, the Navy is expected to borrow technology – like engines and sensors – from NGAD while building a unique carrier-capable fighter suited for saltwater, catapults and fight deck operations.
However, Garcia warned that the Navy has a deeper, under-reported problem: a shortfall in carrier-based strike fighters.
"A gold-plated 6th-gen aircraft in low quantities isn’t the answer. Slightly less capability in higher numbers is what the Navy needs."
However, Deptula said there’s a question of whether aircraft carriers will even continue to be viable in the future.
"The question that a lot of people in the Department of Defense are asking now is what's the viability of an aircraft carrier in a future world proliferated by hypersonic, very precise missiles with 1,500-mile-plus ranges."
Carriers "project power" in low-threat environments, Deptula said, but "most people recognize you're not going to put aircraft carriers close enough to use the aircraft."
"The Navy wants to lean in and get trillions more for sixth generation. The people that want to watch our $2 trillion deficit ought to keep that in mind here," the former defense official said.
FIRST ON FOX — The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Friday launched a new campaign accusing President Donald Trump of "killing the American dream"through price hikes, market volatility and the GOP-backed megabill passed by Congress.
Party officials plan to lean heavily on the message in the months ahead as they work to broaden their appeal and regain momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The DNC's messaging campaign, previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital, seeks to tie Trump directly to recent price hikes on consumer goods, such as groceries and baby food, as well as cost of living increases and insurance costs, which they argue will soar under the so-called "big beautiful bill."
"America should be the land of opportunity but under Donald Trump, the American dream is dying," they said Friday in an email previewed by Fox News.
The campaign will feature new memos and ads under the broader mantle of the "Trump killing the American dream" campaign, which is slated to run through December.
The initiative is part of the DNC’s broader upheaval of its messaging in the wake of the 2024 elections, which saw longtime Democrat voting blocs, including some minority voters and young people, shift towards Trump and the Republican Party.
This includes Hispanic voters, whose support for Trump nearly broke even with former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, according to exit poll data, as well as larger shares of registered Independent voters and young voters.
The new messaging strategy unveiled Friday focuses largely on what Democrats argue is the daylight between Trump's campaign trail promises, contrasting his pledge to return America to a "golden age," with the situation for many working-class Americans.
It highlights expected cuts to Medicaid, food assistance programs and other community-based housing affordability programs that stand to be reduced, if not altogether eliminated, by the Republican spending bill.
"After ramming Trump's [budget bill] through Congress, one thing is abundantly clear: Republicans own this mess, and it's an albatross around their necks heading into the midterms," DNC Chair Ken Martin told Fox News Digital.
"This is the least popular legislation in modern history, and the more voters learn about it the more they hate it. That's a clear directive for Democrats — we're going to make sure every single voter knows who is responsible for taking away their healthcare, food, hospitals, and nursing homes."
That message is expected to be a central Democratic theme through 2026. Party officials say they’re now better positioned to make their case to voters — and that the American people, in return, are more willing to listen to them.
The launch comes on the heels of the party’s "Organizing Summer" campaign, aimed at boosting Democratic operations in battleground states. The DNC has ramped up state-level funding, voter registration and volunteer recruitment — drawing more than 15,000 volunteers to date.
Officials say they will continue to hammer their message hard in the run-up to 2026, including in 35 Republican-held congressional seats the Democratic Party's House campaign arm has identified as "districts in play" in the 2026 election cycle, or areas where they could find a path to winning back the House majority.
Friday’s launch is not the first time the DNC has tried to tie Trump to economic pain — but past efforts have had limited success. It remains unclear whether this latest push will resonate with Independents and Republicans, who delivered sweeping victories for Trump and the GOP in 2024, especially as the economy shows signs of resilience. Just Thursday, the Labor Department reported the U.S. added 147,000 jobs in June — blowing past expectations — while unemployment ticked down to 4.1%.
However, DNC officials insist the economic situation has changed as a result of tariff threats, volatility and unpopular legislation they see as a new opportunity to break through to voters who may have been less receptive in previous elections.
They point to a Congressional Budget Office analysis which estimates the spending bill backed by Trump will increase federal deficits by roughly $2.4 trillion over 10 years and have a knock-down impact on working-class Americans, who could see a spike in insurance costs, housing prices, and cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and education programs, including Pell grants. They also cite projections that the bill could eliminate 1.2 million jobs by 2029.
"Let’s be clear: The Trump administration has taken aim at the very things that make America the greatest country in the world," party officials said.
"Americans are overwhelmingly rejecting his agenda, rife with buyers' remorse. Democrats are standing with the American people, organizing everywhere, and fighting back — in Congress, in the courts, and on the ground in states across the country."
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and Republican National Committee for comment.
President Donald Trump and his administration have taken a hatchet to left-wing policies that infiltrated the federal government, which has included directly combating policies originating in the state of California, where local leaders repeatedly have sparred with the president since even before Inauguration Day.
"Governor Gavin Newscum is trying to KILL our Nation’s beautiful California," Trump posted to Truth Social just days after his November 2024 election win. "For the first time ever, more people are leaving than are coming in. He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to 'Make California Great Again,' but I just overwhelmingly won the Election."
California's embrace of sanctuary status designations to protect illegal immigrants from deportation efforts, environmental and education policies, and its handling of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots and massive wildfires that rocked Southern California have all fallen under Trump's ire, Fox Digital found.
Trump's long battle with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, which stretches back to his first presidential administration, regarding his handling of wildfire prevention and response was resurrected in the waning days of the Biden administration when massive fires broke out in the Los Angeles area ahead of Trump reclaiming the Oval Office.
"Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way," Trump posted to Truth Social as the fires raged just weeks ahead of his inauguration.
"He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!"
Newsom's office shot back that "there is no such document as the water restoration declaration – that is pure fiction. The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need."
Trump has a long history of putting Newsom’s handling of wildfires under the microscope across his first four years in the White House, including in January 2019 when he threatened to cut off federal funds to California if reforms were not made to the state’s forest management services.
Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office in 2025, titled "Putting People over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California," that ordered water resources to be re-routed to the Los Angeles area.
"The water is flowing in California," Trump posted to Truth Social in February. "These once empty ‘halfpipes’ are now brimming with beautiful, clean water, and heading to farmers throughout the State, and to Los Angeles. Too bad they refused to do this during my First Term - There would have been no fires!"
When asked about the repeated barbs between Newsom and Trump since Inauguration Day, the White House said the governor should stop "daydreaming about his 2028 presidential campaign" and focus on leading California.
"Gavin Newscum has turned the California Dream into a nightmare – violent illegal immigrants invade communities, enabled criminals destroy small businesses, and men compete in women’s sports," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox Digital Thursday when asked about Trump and Newsom repeatedly trading barbs. "President Trump will always prioritize people over politics because he wants to see the entire country succeed. Gavin should stop daydreaming about his 2028 presidential campaign and prove that he can successfully run just one of fifty states."
The governor's office directed Fox News Digital to a Wednesday press conference where Newsom touted a $750 million tax credit for films and TV programs made in California.
"How did you get this thing through considering everything else that's happening?" a reporter asked Newsom during the press conference of the tax credit.
"I think because of everything else happening this year," Newsom responded. "I think, frankly, the conditions only further the imperative of this. From October when we announced this, to the devastation of these fires, to the reality of what we're up against in the headwinds in Washington, DC, that we're on our own in many respects, and we've got to step things up. And we've got to be more intentional. We've got to be more targeted. And we've got to knit together different economic strategies."
Newsom's woes grew larger on the national stage in June when riots broke out in Los Angeles in response to federal law enforcement converging on the city to conduct raids to deport illegal immigrants.
Riots formed in the left-wing city in early June as local leaders such as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom, quickly denounced the immigration raids in public statements while offering words of support for illegal immigrants in the state.
Protests over the raids soon devolved into violence as rioters targeted federal law enforcement officials, including launching rocks at officials, as well as videos showing people looting local stores, setting cars on fire and taking over a freeway.
Trump announced shortly after violence broke out in the city that he would deploy 2,000 National Guard members to help quell the violence, bypassing the governor, who typically activates the National Guard. California subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for efforts to allegedly "federalize the California National Guard."
"Governor Gavin Newscum and 'Mayor' Bass should apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots. These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists," Trump posted to Truth Social on June 8 amid the riots.
The riots quieted in mid-June following the "No Kings Day" protests June 14, the same day Trump held a military parade in Washington, honoring the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.
The Trump administration's Department of Justice Monday filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles for its sanctuary city policies, which the DOJ said discriminates against federal immigration law enforcement officials.
"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 of the suit. "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."
The suit follows Trump signing an April executive order that works to withhold federal funding from jurisdictions that identify as sanctuaries for illegal immigrants and fail to comply with federal law enforcement.
Newsom slammed Trump again in June when reports spread the Trump administration was considering revoking national monument status from two natural areas in the Golden State enshrined into protection by former President Joe Biden.
"This is just getting petty. Grow up," Newsom said on X June 13 in response to reports Trump was considering abolishing the Chuckwalla and Sattitla Highlands National Monuments.
"If it’s a day ending in Y, it’s another day of Trump’s war on California," Newsom’s office said in a separate X post.
The Trump Justice Department issued a July memo ruling that the president’s power to revoke national monument status is reversible by future administrations. The White House told Reuters that the U.S. needs to "liberate our federal lands and waters to oil, gas, coal, geothermal, and mineral leasing."
Trump signed a trio of congressional resolutions June 12 ending California's restrictive rules for diesel engines and mandates on elective vehicle sales, with Trump celebrating that his signature "will kill the California mandates forever."
"Under the previous administration, the federal government gave left-wing radicals in California dictatorial powers to control the future of the entire car industry all over the country, all over the world, actually," Trump said Thursday from the White House ahead of singing the resolutions.
"They approved Governor Gavin 'Newscum's' ridiculous plan to impose a 100% ban on all new gas-powered cars within a very short period of time," he said. "Think of this, you can't buy any other car except an electric powered car, and in California they have blackouts and brownouts. They don't have enough electricity right now."
The resolutions work to end California's plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035, including one ending a waiver issued by the Biden-era EPA that mandated at least 80% of vehicles be electric vehicles in California by 2035, as well as another resolution ending the Biden-era EPA's approval of a plan to increase the number of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks in California, and another on California's low-nitrogen oxide regulations for heavy-duty vehicles, including off-road vehicles.
Trump was able to revoke the state's rules as they were based on the Biden administration granting the state special permission to exceed federal standards related to pollution. Trump's signature overturned the Biden administration's approval of California's rules.
Newsom called the resolutions an ongoing "all-out assault on California," and announced the state filed a suit against the Trump administration over the resolutions.
"Trump’s all-out assault on California continues — and this time he’s destroying our clean air and America’s global competitiveness in the process," Newsom said in a press release. "We are suing to stop this latest illegal action by a President who is a wholly-owned subsidiary of big polluters."
Trump's resolutions follow him signing a bevy of executive orders that aim to "unleash American energy" as part of his 2024 campaign vow to again make the U.S. energy independent, including by revitalizing the coal industry by cutting red tape and regulations, and unleashing oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
The Trump administration's Department of Justice announced a federal probe into California over potential Title IX violations regarding its policy allowing trans athletes in girls' sports earlier in June, following the Department of Education finding the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation were in violation of Title IX and failed to protect women and girls from sex-based discrimination.
"A Biological Male competed in California Girls State Finals, WINNING BIG, despite the fact that they were warned by me not to do so. As Governor Gavin Newscum fully understands, large scale fines will be imposed!" Trump wrote on Truth Social in June after a biological male trans athlete won multiple girls' state titles in track and field.
The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Fox Digital in June that the state was working to ensure all students were free from discrimination and harassment.
"We’re very concerned with the Trump Administration’s ongoing threats to California schools and remain committed to defending and upholding California laws and all additional laws which ensure the rights of students — including transgender students — to be free from discrimination and harassment. We are reviewing the letter and closely monitoring the Trump Administration’s actions in this space," the statement read.
The Trump administration also gave California's federally funded sex education program 60 days June 20 to remove all references to gender identity or face potential termination of its funding.
California's Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) grant has been under scrutiny by the Trump administration since at least March, when the HHS's Administration for Children and Families (ACF) requested the federally funded state-operated program send copies of its curriculum and other relevant course materials to them for review.
"The Trump administration will not tolerate the use of federal funds for programs that indoctrinate our children," said ACF's acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison. "The disturbing gender ideology content in California’s PREP materials is both unacceptable and well outside the program’s core purpose. ACF remains committed to radical transparency and providing accountability so that parents know what their children are being taught in schools."
Among the materials ACF found, which it now wants to be removed, was a lesson for middle school-aged students that seeks to introduce them to the concepts of transgenderism.
"We’ve been talking during class about messages people get on how they should act as boys and girls—but as many of you know, there are also people who don’t identify as boys or girls, but rather as transgender or gender queer," the lesson states to students. "This means that even if they were called a boy or a girl at birth and may have body parts that are typically associated with being a boy or a girl, on the inside, they feel differently."
Trump's administration put California's high-speed rail proposal, which had been in the works for nearly two decades but with very little progress to show, on notice in February when the administration called for an audit of the multibillion dollar project.
"It's been 17 years and $16 billion and no rail has been built," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in February.
Newsom had touted just in January that California was on the verge of launching a high-speed rail that would ultimately stretch from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The project is expected to cost $106 billion, with federal taxpayers already spending nearly $3 billion on the project, Fox Digital previously reported.
"No state in America is closer to launching high-speed rail than California — and today, we just took a massive step forward," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in January. "We’re moving into the track-laying phase, completing structures for key segments, and laying the groundwork for a high-speed rail network."
The Department of Transportation proposed in a 300-page report in June that $4 billion in grants for the proposed line be terminated.
"We’re not going to fund that … it’s out of control," Trump said of the project in June.
"It doesn’t go where it’s supposed to. It’s supposed to go from LA to San Francisco now, because they don’t have any money ... and they made it much shorter," he added.
Fox News Digital's Cameron Arcand, Alec Schemmel, Charles Cretiz and Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has released a video highlight reel showing Kilmar Abrego Garcia apparently thriving during his imprisonment, in an attempt to refute the migrant’s claims that he was tortured while in custody.
Abrego Garcia, who was erroneously deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador and then returned after a court order, is seen in the video gardening, playing soccer, fishing and enjoying other leisurely activities while imprisoned in his home country.
The video appears at odds to Abrego Garcia's claims in legal filings that he was severely beaten, deprived of sleep and psychologically tortured while detained in the country’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a notorious anti-terrorism prison.
According to court documents, Abrego Garcia’s physical condition deteriorated quickly upon arrival there and, within two weeks, he lost roughly 31 pounds.
But Bukele pushed back against those claims on Thursday, claiming he actually put on weight and released video evidence to refute claims of torture.
The video shows Abrego Garcia in seemingly good spirits, playing chess and soccer, working out with fellow inmates, doing gardening and relaxing while watching a widescreen television in his cell, among other leisurely activities.
"If he’d been tortured, sleep-deprived, and starved, why does he look so well in every picture?" Bukele wrote on X. "Why would he gain weight? Why are there no bruises, or even dark circles under his eyes?"
"The man wasn’t tortured, nor did he lose weight. In fact, photos show he gained weight while in detention. There’s plenty of footage from different days, including his meeting with Senator Van Hollen, who himself confirmed the man seemed fine."
Bukele went on to rip the mainstream media for seemingly believing the claims.
"Apparently, anything a criminal claims is accepted as truth by the mainstream media and the crumbling Western judiciary," Bukele wrote.
Under Bukele’s state of emergency, the government has detained more than 1% of the Central American nation’s population in its war on the country’s gangs. The president has turned what was once the most dangerous country in the world -- with a homicide rate of 103 per 100,000 people in 2015 -- into one of the safest in the Western Hemisphere, with 1.9 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024. The U.S. rate was 5.5 per 100,000 people in 2023, which are the most recent records available.
Hundreds of people have died in the El Salvador prisons, according to the Associated Press, citing human rights groups, which have also documented cases of torture and deteriorated conditions.
Abrego Garcia, who was living in Maryland after coming to the U.S. illegally, was deported to El Salvador in March 2025. He became a prominent face of the Democrats' resistance to the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans.
The Trump administration accuses them of being an MS-13 gang member, a human trafficker and a serial domestic abuser amid police reports by his wife that he used violence against her.
Abrego Garcia's lawyers claimed when he arrived at the prison he was immediately frog-marched to his cell by prison guards, who kicked him with boots and struck him with wooden batons along the way, leaving visible bumps and bruises across his body.
He and other detainees in the cell slept on metal mattresses, with minimal access to food and satiation. They were also forced to kneel for approximately nine hours, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., "with guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion," per the filings.
They claim he was also psychologically tortured and received threats of violence during his time at CECOT where prison guards repeatedly told him they would transfer him to other prison cells housing violent gang members, whom they assured him would "tear" him apart.
Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump says that his sweeping domestic policy bill that squeaked through both houses of Congress this week along near-party-line votes is "very popular" with Americans.
Asked about a slew of national polls conducted last month which indicated that most Americans were far from thrilled with the massive spending and tax cut bill, the president told reporters early Friday morning, "I think it's very popular. It does many things, but one of them is the biggest tax cuts in our country's history. And that alone makes it very popular."
The president spoke as he returned home from a July 4th-eve event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds where he headlined a kickoff celebration of next year's 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
"There could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago," Trump told the large crowd in Des Moines, Iowa, as he referred to the move by House Republicans in a 218-214 vote hours earlier to lift the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" to final congressional passage.
Earlier in the week, Vice President JD Vance broke a tie in the Senate to pass the measure 51-50.
Trump noted that "not one Democrat voted" for the bill in either chamber of Congress, adding that "they hate Trump. But I hate them too."
The president had repeatedly insisted to the Republicans who control Congress that the bill reach his desk by July 4th, and Trump got his way. He's expected to sign the measure at the White House at 5pm ET.
The bill is stuffed full of Trump's 2024 campaign trail promises and second-term priorities on tax cuts, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit.
It includes extending his signature 2017 tax cuts and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay.
By making his first-term tax rates permanent - they were set to expire later this year - the bill will cut taxes by nearly $4.4 trillion over the next decade, according to analysis by the Congressional Budget Office and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
The measure also provides billions for border security and codifies the president's controversial immigration crackdown.
As Democrats criticize the bill, they’re highlighting the GOP’s restructuring of Medicaid — the nearly 60-year-old federal program that provides health coverage to roughly 71 million low-income Americans. Additionally, Senate Republicans increased cuts to Medicaid over what the House initially passed in late May.
The changes to Medicaid, as well as cuts to food stamps, another one of the nation's major safety net programs, were drafted in part as an offset to pay for extending Trump's tax cuts. The measure includes a slew of new rules and regulations, including work requirements for many of those seeking Medicaid coverage.
Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Commnitte, called the measure "one of the worst bills in our nation’s history."
"Today, Donald Trump and the Republican party sent a message to America: if you are not a billionaire, we don’t give a damn about you," Martin argued.
Overall, the $3.4 trillion legislative package is projected to surge the national debt by $4 trillion over the next decade.
By a 21-point margin, voters questioned in the most recent Fox News national poll opposed the bill (38% favored vs. 59% opposed).
The bill was also underwater in other national surveys conducted last month by the Washington Post (minus 19 points), Pew Research (minus 20 points) and Quinnipiac University (minus 26 points).
About half of respondents questioned in the Fox News poll said the bill would hurt their family (49%), while one quarter thought it would help (23%), and another quarter didn't think it would make a difference (26%).
Sixty percent felt they had a good understanding of what is in the measure, formally known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, and while those voters were more likely to favor the legislation than those who are unfamiliar with it, more still think it will hurt rather than help their family (45% vs. 34%).
The latest surveys all indicated a wide partisan divide over the measure.
According to the Fox News poll, which was conducted June 13-16, nearly three-quarters of Republicans (73%) favored the bill, while nearly nine in ten Democrats (89%) and nearly three-quarters of independents (73%) opposed the measure.
But Republicans are shining a spotlight on a poll conducted by a GOP-aligned public policy group that indicates strong support for the bill due to the tax cut provisions.
A release earlier this week from the group, One Nation, argued that "polling shows that the public supports the Republican plan to cut taxes for families, eliminate taxes on Social Security, overtime, and tips, and reign in waste and abuse in the federal budget."
Fox News' Dana Blanton contributed to this report.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Iowa on Thursday night, President Donald Trump announced that the military flight team that launched the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities will be honored at the White House on Independence Day.
Trump said that he took issue with early media reports suggesting that the strikes on Iran only partially damaged the targets because he considered it an insult to the "great" American military members who executed the mission.
"Remember when CNN said it wasn't obliterated? It was maybe damaged or damaged badly, but obliterated is too strong a word. No, it was obliterated. That's now been proven," said Trump.
"They were trying to demean me by saying that, but they were really demeaning those great pilots and people and mechanics that got those planes over there and were able to shoot from high up in the air, going very, very fast, with potentially a lot of things being shot at them, and hit every single one," he said. "They're trying to demean me, but to me, they were demeaning them. And they got out of the plane, and they said, ‘What? We hit every single target.’ They know better than anybody."
"These people did one of the greatest military hits and maneuvers in the history of our country, and I want them to be appreciated for it," the president went on. "So, they're coming. They're coming to the White House tomorrow night."
"They're going to be in Washington tomorrow at the White House, and we're going to be celebrating."
Trump said the White House will host not only the pilots, but the entire flight crew, including "the people that flew the other planes" and "the mechanics that had these planes going for 37 hours without a stop."
"China, Russia, they were all watching. Everybody was watching," he said. "We have the greatest equipment anywhere in the world. We have the greatest people anywhere in the world, and we have the strongest military anywhere in the world."
During his address on Thursday, Trump also claimed that Iran called ahead of their retaliatory strike on the U.S. military base in Qatar to clear the attack with the White House.
"They called me to tell me they have to take a shot at us. This was Iran. Very respectful. That means they respect us because we dropped 14 bombs. They said we'd like to take 14 shots at you. I said, ‘Go ahead, I understand,’" he said.
"They said where they would do it. I said, ‘Good.’ We emptied out the fort. It was a beautiful military base in Qatar who treated us really fantastically well," he said.
"They said, ‘Sir, is 1:00 okay?’ I said it was fine, [they said], ‘We could make it later.’ And we had nobody but four gunners," he said. "So, all of a sudden, they said, ‘We're ready.’ And they were a little nervous about doing it. I want to tell, you can you imagine, they were nice enough – this is Iran – to call me and tell me that they would like to shoot me at 14 times, so they want to shoot us. And I said, go ahead. And they shot 14 high grade, very fast missiles every single one of them was shot down routinely by these four unbelievable gunmen. And they did their job. And that was the end of that."
The Trump administration plans to implement a process whereby farmers in Iowa can vouch for hard-working, law-abiding migrant farmworkers who may be facing deportation, so that they can remain in the U.S.
The proposed process was shared by President Donald Trump during an event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Thursday night, kicking off a year of patriotic celebrations meant to honor the nation's 250th birthday. Trump said the new plan will take place in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and that legislation for the measure is currently being drafted, while speaking Thursday evening from Iowa.
"You know, they've had people working for them for years. And we're going to do something … we're going to sort of put the farmers in charge," Trump told the crowd of people in attendance. "If a farmer has been with one of these people that worked so hard – they bend over all day, we don't have too many people that can do that, but they work very hard, and they know him very well, and some of the farmers are literally, you know, they cry when they see this happen – if a farmer is willing to vouch for these people, in some way, Kristie, I think we're going to have to just say that's going to be good, right?"
"We don't want to do [border security] where we take all of the workers off the farms," Trump added. "We want the farms to do great."
According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Iowa is the nation's second-largest agricultural exporting state.
While announcing the new plan, Trump cited cases he had heard of when migrants who have worked on farms for 15 years "get thrown out pretty viciously."
"We can't do that," Trump added. "We got to work with the farmers and people that have hotels and leisure properties."
Earlier this week, when Trump previously hinted at the new immigration exemption for farmers, he also suggested the move could be implemented for workers in the hospitality industry, as well.
While sharing the new immigration proposal with the crowd at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Thursday night, Trump spoke to potential criticisms of the move by "serious radical-right people" within the GOP, asking the crowd rhetorically if they think these folks "will understand."
After the president first brought up the proposal earlier this week, critics have already started sounding off.
"So, if I’m to understand this correctly, we should look the other way regarding illegal immigration as long as it’s in the construction, hotel, or restaurant industries? This is far beyond disappointing, it’s infuriating," California Republican state Sen. Melissa Melendez wrote on X.
The president noted Thursday evening that the move will put farmers "in charge" and ultimately the responsibility for any problems that arise will fall to their feet.
"If the farmers don't do a good job, we'll throw them the hell out of the country. We'll let the guys – we'll let the illegals stay, and we'll throw the farmers the hell out," Trump said. "Okay, get ready, farmer, I'm telling you."
Yesterday — 3 July 2025Latest Political News on Fox News
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, identified as "Black or African American" on his 2009 Columbia University application even though he now says he does not consider himself Black, The New York Times reported Thursday.
According to The Times, the internal data came from a leaked database of past Columbia applications which was part of a recent hack targeting the Ivy League school.
Mamdani, then a high school senior, also checked "Asian" and reportedly wrote in "Ugandan" in the space for additional background. He was ultimately not accepted to Columbia even though his father is a professor at the elite school.
Now 33, Mamdani told The Times he identifies as "an American who was born in Africa," and said checking multiple boxes was an effort to reflect his "complex background," not to gain an edge in the competitive admissions process.
His parents are both of Indian descent. His father, Columbia professor Mahmood Mamdani, has lived in East Africa for generations, but Mamdani said there had been no intermarriage in the family with native African groups.
Mamdani has leaned into his South Asian and Muslim identity on the campaign trail. During a June speech at Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, he also stressed his African roots: "I was born in Kampala, Uganda... I was given my middle name, Kwame, by my father, who named me after the first Prime Minister of Ghana."
President Donald Trump brought up Mamdani at a rally Wednesday, saying if he interferes with immigration laws "we’ll have to arrest him."
"Look, we don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over them very carefully on behalf of the nation," Trump added.
Mamdani, a self-identified democratic socialist, dismissed the remarks, accusing Trump of "an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation."
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons is calling out the hypocrisy of progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who said the agency is "acting like a terrorist force," pointing to an earlier attempt by the congresswoman to shift blame away from an actual terrorist.
In a social media post this week, Jayapal claimed "ICE is acting like a terrorist force" and that "people across the country of all legal statuses — including U.S. citizens — are being kidnapped and disappeared off the street by masked men."
Jayapal asserted that the federal operations are being carried out with "no oversight, no accountability" and are "completely lawless."
During an interview with Brianna Keilar on "CNN News Central," Jayapal doubled down on her statement, saying, "What is deranged and cruel and outrageous is that, literally, we are seeing ICE agents, I assume they’re ICE agents. They say they are. They don’t have any identification. They’re wearing masks. They’re in plain clothes. They are coming and kidnapping and disappearing people on the streets of the United States.
"I never in a million years thought that that is something that I would see here in America," she added. "And so I think it is the administration that has to apologize to U.S. citizens that have been rounded up to legal, permanent residents, to people with legal statuses across the country who are getting swept up, people who have been here for 20 years and committed no crimes, getting swept up by masked men who are kidnaping them and deporting them."
In response, Lyons said after "an actual Antifa terrorist tried to blow up ICE’s Northwest Processing Center in Rep. Jayapal’s home state of Washington in 2019," she "tried to blame the violent attack on rhetoric from the right, in defense of an actual terrorist who tried to murder detainees and employees alike!
"Now, she labels ICE officers enforcing immigration law set by Congress ‘terrorists,’" said Lyons. "This, at a time when officers are facing a nearly 700% increase in assaults, is in part due to the type of rhetoric she spews."
"Never in a million years did I think I would witness a sitting member of Congress prioritize regard for violent criminals over the law enforcement officers protecting her community from actual public safety threats," he said. "The only apology needed is from the congresswoman to the people who voted for her."
The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News earlier this week that assaults against ICE officers and federal agents conducting immigration enforcement are up 690% compared to the same time last year.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, a special agent working deportations voiced concern about the escalating violence and the effect of Democrats pushing policies to de-mask officials, which they said threatens their families and communities.
President Donald Trump on Thursday celebrated Congress' passage of his "big, beautiful bill," describing the sweeping measure as "the biggest bill of its kind ever signed" and promising, "it's going to make this country into a rocket ship. It's going to be really great."
Earlier in the day, the House narrowly approved the package by a 218-214 vote after a marathon overnight session on Capitol Hill – the final hurdle after the Senate passed the measure earlier in the week.
He noted that only two Republican lawmakers, Reps. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, and Brian Fitzpatrick, of Pennsylvania, voted against the bill. Zero Democrats backed it.
Trump touted the bill’s broad scope, adding that it provides the "biggest tax cut in history" along with major investments in border security and the military.
"Great for security, great on the southern border, immigration is covered, we covered just about everything. Again, it's the biggest bill ever signed of its kind," the president said.
"We'll have growth in record numbers," he added.
The White House stated that the bill will "create historic economic growth to usher in America’s Golden Age."
"The bill provides Americans with the largest tax cut in history, paired with a host of other pro-growth policies that will slash our deficits and debt. America is going to take off like a rocket ship!" White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital.
The president also previewed a patriotic signing ceremony set for Independence Day.
Trump said he will officially sign the bill at the White House on Friday around 5 p.m., with an array of U.S. Air Force jets soaring overhead in celebration.
"We're signing at about 5:00 p.m., and at about 5:00 p.m. we're going to have B-2s and F-22s and F-35s flying right over the White House... so we'll be signing with those beautiful planes flying right over our heads," he told reporters on the tarmac.
President Donald Trump touted "promise[s] kept" during his address at the America250 kick-off event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Thursday, after Republicans passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier in the day.
"There could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago when Congress passed the one big, beautiful bill to Make America Great Again," Trump told the crowd shortly after jumping on stage. "With this bill, every major promise I made to the people of Iowa in 2024 became a promise kept." The bill is expected to be signed by the president during an official signing ceremony Friday afternoon on the Fourth of July holiday.
Trump's speech in America's heartland kicks off a series of events that will take place over the next year, focused on celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The celebrations are being spearheaded by the America250 commission, a bipartisan cohort of private citizens and lawmakers.
"This momentous gathering in the heartland signals the beginning of an extraordinary year ahead – one where America250 will unite our nation through events in every state and territory, culminating in the most monumental celebration our Country has ever known," America250 said of Trump's visit on Thursday.
The celebration comes after Trump held a military parade honoring the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary on June 14, which included tanks chugging down the streets of Washington, D.C., military flyovers and a grand fireworks display over the National Mall. The parade was held on Flag Day, which also marked Trump's 79th birthday.
Other patriotic events are already on America250's schedule as a year of celebration kicks off on July 3, including an ongoing Department of Transportation’s Great American Road Trip initiative, which encourages Americans to explore the nation’s highways and byways, as well as a 4th of July celebration at President George Washington's Mount Vernon, and historical battle reenactments.
During the president's address in Iowa Thursday night, he praised Iowans for their support, noting "we won so much here."
"We love Iowa, and we won all three times. So that's pretty good – and won by a lot," Trump said. "But I'm thrilled to be back in a state that I love, and I really do love it too. With thousands of proud, hard working patriots at the world famous Iowa State Fairgrounds. Thank you."
Attendees for Thursday's America250 kick-off event have been lining up outside the Iowa State Fairgrounds since this morning to get inside where Trump is speaking, despite hot summer temperatures in the mid-90s ahead of the event.
In attendance at the event are members of President Trump's cabinet, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Energy Secretary Doug Burgum, as well as numerous members of the GOP's Iowa congressional delegation.
Lee Greenwood, known for his song titled "God Bless the USA" that is frequently used by the president at his rallies, performed for the president as he walked out and there will also be fireworks following Trump's address.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman secretly met with President Donald Trump and other key officials in the White House on Thursday to discuss de-escalation efforts with Iran, multiple sources confirmed with Fox News.
Khalid, also known as KBS, is the younger brother of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Multiple sources told Fox News Channel's chief political anchor Bret Baier about the meeting.
According to sources, the talks included discussions about de-escalation with Iran and getting to the negotiating table.
The talks were also reportedly about ending the war in Gaza and negotiating the release of the remaining hostages – whether dead or alive – and about working toward peace in the Middle East.
Although the talks were not exclusively about the possibility of normalization with Israel, sources said the conversation dealt with steps that need to occur to get there.
Sources also said, "there was progress and optimism on all fronts."
The Saudis are in the process of finalizing a defense and trade deal with the U.S., and the message shared between the two allies, sources added, is that they see eye-to-eye on all issues.
The Supreme Court on Thursday handed President Donald Trump a key immigration win, clearing the way for the deportation of eight migrants from Djibouti to South Sudan, a country not listed in their original removal orders.
In a short, unsigned opinion, the justices granted the administration’s request to "clarify" a prior ruling, confirming that their June 23 stay of a lower court injunction also blocked a follow-up remedial order issued May 21.
That remedial order had required the government to give the migrants notice and a chance to raise claims under the Convention Against Torture before being sent to a third country.
"The motion for clarification is granted," the court wrote. "The May 21 remedial order cannot now be used to enforce an injunction that our stay rendered unenforceable".
The decision gives the Trump administration a green light to move forward with third-country deportations under its executive order, even to destinations not previously clarified in court-approved removal documents.
Earlier, a district judge had found the government violated its April injunction by failing to provide a "meaningful opportunity" for six of the migrants to make their case against removal. The Supreme Court stayed that injunction in June, and Thursday’s clarification makes clear the lower court’s follow-up order can’t stand either.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented sharply, accusing the court of enabling deportations that could lead to torture or death.
"Today’s order clarifies only one thing: Other litigants must follow the rules, but the administration has the Supreme Court on speed dial. Respectfully, I dissent," Sotomayor wrote.
"The Government seeks to nullify [basic rights] by deporting noncitizens to potentially dangerous countries without notice or the opportunity to assert a fear of torture."
The ruling strengthens the Trump administration’s hand as it enforces its third-country deportation policy.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X regarding the ruling, writing, "This is another incredible victory for America. Thank you to the Supreme Court for ruling on the side of law and order, and affirming the executive authority of the President."
"Today’s decision makes clear it is district court judges who are defying Supreme Court orders, not the Trump administration," David Warrington, White House Counsel wrote in an email to Fox News Digital. "This decision is a clear rebuke of such judicial overreach."
FIRST ON FOX:Vivek Ramaswamy is putting his money where his mouth is.
The multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and business leader fueled his campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination with over $30 million of his own money.
And in a Fox News Digital interview Thursday, Ramaswamy revealed that when it comes to his 2026 Republican campaign for Ohio governor, "we are prepared to invest at the same scale or greater."
"Whatever is required to ensure that we're successful in really leading the state to the next level," Ramaswamy said. "Losing this race is not an option. Winning is the only option, and we're going to win it. And I think that that will require resources of every form."
Ramaswamy was interviewed the day after his campaign announced that he had raised nearly $10 million in a little over four months since he announced his gubernatorial candidacy in late February. Ramaswamy's campaign touted that the money raked in set a "record for the largest first-quarter fundraising total in state history."
"I think it says that we have unprecedented support in our state, and that is a beautiful thing to see this early in a Republican race," Ramswamy said. "And I think that that's a powerful signal of unity."
Ramaswamy, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, noted he's the only major Republican candidate right now in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Mike DeWine.
"I'm running unopposed in a Republican primary in a state that is certainly leaning reliably red, and I'm proud to say that we have united, not just the Republicans in Ohio, but we are beginning to draw support from a wide range of nontraditional Republican backers, entrepreneurs, younger people," he added.
State Attorney General Dave Yost launched a gubernatorial campaign but dropped out of the race in May.
Ohio Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, a former longtime Ohio State University head football coach who later served as president of Youngstown State University, said earlier this year he was considering a run for governor. But speculation surrounding Tressel has faded in recent weeks after his initial comments were not followed by any announcement.
Asked if he has any concerns about facing a competitive primary, Ramaswamy said, "None, zero."
"I like Jim a lot. He and I have had some great conversations, none of which were about this race," Ramaswamy said. "I actually consider him to be a guy who is bringing a great spirit and tenor to Ohio. And I view Coach Tressel as an asset that I want to see our state continue to use to revive our sense of unity and spirit and ambition and pursuit of success."
In the race for the Democratic nomination in the onetime battleground turned red state, former Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton launched a gubernatorial bid in January.
But all eyes are on former longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who narrowly lost his Senate seat in last year's election to GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno.
Brown is thought to be a potential candidate in either the Senate or gubernatorial races.
Ramaswamy said he "would love the Democrats to have a competitive primary while I continue to run unopposed in this race."
But he suggested it didn't matter who the Democrats nominate because "it's not who we're running against, it's what we're actually running for."
"I think we have incredible strength," he added before predicting "that we're going to defeat whoever we are up against by, I believe, a decisive margin."
The 39-year-old Ramaswamy launched his presidential campaign in February 2023 and quickly saw his stock rise as he went from a long shot to a contender for the Republican nomination, as part of a field of candidates challenging Trump.
He campaigned on what he called an "America First 2.0" agenda and was one of Trump's biggest supporters in the field of rivals, calling Trump the "most successful president in our century."
Ramaswamy dropped his White House bid early last year after a distant fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and quickly endorsed Trump, becoming a top surrogate on the campaign trail.
Trump, in the days after his November presidential election victory, named Elon Musk, the world's richest person, along with Ramaswamy, to steer the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency initiative, better known as DOGE.
But in January, as Trump was inaugurated, the new administration announced Ramaswamy was no longer serving at DOGE. Ramaswamy's exit cleared the way for Musk, Trump's top donor and, at the time, a key ally, to steer DOGE without having to share the limelight. Ramaswamy quickly moved toward launching a run for governor.
Ramaswamy was raised in Evendale, Ohio, in suburban Cincinnati by parents who emigrated from India. His father worked as an engineer at General Electric Aviation, and his mother was a geriatric psychiatrist. Ramaswamy and his family live in suburban Columbus.
The candidate noted that "one of my core areas of focus that I think is really resonating, is elevating the standards of educational achievement in our state."
"The No. 1 issue that I see resonating across the board, in a non-partisan manner, is the recognition that we are in the middle of this educational achievement crisis," he added.
And Ramaswamy insisted that "anybody who's a parent, or even anybody who's a young person recently graduating from school, recognizes that this is going to be an issue that we have to turn around, to preserve our place, the leading country in the world, and that is the project that we are going to make Ohio ground zero for in the United States."
Fox News' Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report
The Supreme Court ended its term last week, but the justices aren’t done yet, partly due to a legal blitz President Donald Trump has strategically deployed in his second term, one that’s proven surprisingly effective in advancing his sweeping agenda.
Lawyers for the Trump administration filed their 20th emergency application to the Supreme Court Thursday in just a 23-week period.
The dizzying pace of applications comes as the administration looks to advance some of Trump’s sweeping policy actions. And, in many cases, the court’s 6-3 majority has given the administration the green light to proceed.
The high court has ruled in Trump’s favor in the majority of emergency applications, allowing the administration to proceed with its ban on transgender service members in the military, its termination of millions of dollars in Education Department grants and its firing of probationary employees across the federal government, among many other actions.
Like most emergency orders, the rulings are often unsigned, giving little indication what the justices might be thinking.
Emergency applications — and the Supreme Court’s responses — aren’t meant to offer lasting relief. But Trump has found success using a "move fast and break things" strategy to push key requests through the court’s so-called "shadow" docket.
For context, Trump has filed more emergency applications in five months than his predecessors did in years. Former President Joe Biden submitted just 19 over his entire term, while presidents Obama and George W. Bush filed only eight combined during their time in office.
In the interim, the strategy has allowed him to enforce many of the sweeping executive orders he signed upon taking office. These orders were met with hundreds of lawsuits across the country and blocked by many lower courts, prompting the administration to appeal them, again and again, through the federal judiciary.
For now, those near-term wins have energized Trump allies, allowing them to press forward with a blitz of executive actions and claim "victory," however temporary. The approach allows Trump to advance major policy priorities without relying on a slow-moving Congress.
The Supreme Court ended its term last week, but the justices aren’t done yet, partly due to a legal blitz President Donald Trump has strategically deployed in his second term, one that’s proven surprisingly effective in advancing his sweeping agenda.
Lawyers for the Trump administration filed their 20th emergency application to the Supreme Court Thursday in just a 23-week period.
The dizzying pace of applications comes as the administration looks to advance some of Trump’s sweeping policy actions. And, in many cases, the court’s 6-3 majority has given the administration the green light to proceed.
The high court has ruled in Trump’s favor in the majority of emergency applications, allowing the administration to proceed with its ban on transgender service members in the military, its termination of millions of dollars in Education Department grants and its firing of probationary employees across the federal government, among many other actions.
Like most emergency orders, the rulings are often unsigned, giving little indication what the justices might be thinking.
Emergency applications — and the Supreme Court’s responses — aren’t meant to offer lasting relief. But Trump has found success using a "move fast and break things" strategy to push key requests through the court’s so-called "shadow" docket.
For context, Trump has filed more emergency applications in five months than his predecessors did in years. Former President Joe Biden submitted just 19 over his entire term, while presidents Obama and George W. Bush filed only eight combined during their time in office.
In the interim, the strategy has allowed him to enforce many of the sweeping executive orders he signed upon taking office. These orders were met with hundreds of lawsuits across the country and blocked by many lower courts, prompting the administration to appeal them, again and again, through the federal judiciary.
For now, those near-term wins have energized Trump allies, allowing them to press forward with a blitz of executive actions and claim "victory," however temporary. The approach allows Trump to advance major policy priorities without relying on a slow-moving Congress.
Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat, sparked a firestorm during Tuesday’s House Rules Committee hearing on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, accusing pro-life Republicans of caring only about children during infancy.
Frost, who represents Orlando and is the first Gen Z member of Congress, was seated as a witness in the hearing when he described how gun violence shaped his decision to seek public office and made the remark that sparked the uproar.
The situation heated up after ranking member James McGovern, D-Mass., said it "blows my mind there's more passion and energy" in Congress for Second Amendment advocacy than healthcare access for cancer patients, an apparent reference to Medicaid-centric debate on the budget bill.
"That tells you all you need to know about the difference between Republicans and Democrats on this," McGovern said, yielding to Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M.
Leger Fernandez said Democrats have been the party of pursuing their "convictions," citing former Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama knowing he’d be beaten by police for protesting in support of civil rights before ceding the floor to Frost.
Frost said he got involved in politics at age 15 after the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut and was one mile from the Pulse Nightclub when 49 people were murdered there.
"[Shooter Omar Mateen] didn’t like them because they were gay and Latino. Three months later, I survived an instance of gun violence in Downtown Orlando."
Frost, a progressive who, while not a member of "The Squad," has said he has "plenty of love and admiration" for the group, went on to claim gun rights groups want to lobby Congress to pass amendments to "sell more guns" even if "more people [are] dying."
He claimed former President Joe Biden worked to reduce gun violence and contrasted that with his pointed allegation of Republicans.
"They say they're pro-life because they want the baby to be born, go to school and get shot in the school. Die in the schools, die on the streets," he said, before being cut off by an enraged Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.
Foxx began slamming her gavel and reprimanding Frost, though her initial comments could not be discerned because her microphone was not on.
"You've gone over the cliff. We are all going to be quiet now," she commanded.
"I meant every word," Frost retorted.
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., made a motion to strike Frost’s words after Foxx suggested she wanted the same.
But Scott soon relented when Foxx said it "might be better to leave them on" the record for the public to view.
"You are not going to come into this room and impugn our integrity. You will not. We are pro-life people from conception to natural death; most of us are.
"Don't you come in here and say we want to preserve life so people can get shot," the Smoky Mountains congresswoman added.
Foxx adjourned the hearing shortly after Leger Fernández used up her remaining time, but the fireworks weren’t over just yet.
As lawmakers and witnesses stood up, Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., called out, "I might remind my Democrat colleagues of Proverbs 13:5," prompting a raised murmur on the left side of the dais.
"You can add [Proverbs] 14:5 to that too," Clyde added after Rep. Deborah Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla., reprimanded Scott for using the term "Democrat Party" instead of "Democratic Party."
The shorter name largely originated as a pejorative from former Rep. Joe McCarthy, R-Wis., during his investigations into the creeping of communism into American society and institutions.
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…
- Pentagon says Iran strikes set back nuclear program by 2 years
- Noncitizens get ‘only limited’ due process rights: Conservative legal expert
- Resurfaced video shows NYC mayoral hopeful saying he wants to replace private homes with communal living
Congress officially passed President Donald Trump’s "one big, beautiful bill" on Thursday afternoon after back-to-back sleepless sessions for both the House and Senate.
The massive agenda bill now goes to Trump’s desk to be signed into law just in time for Republicans’ self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.
The bill – which advances Trump’s policies on tax, the border, defense, energy and the national debt – narrowly passed the House of Representatives in a mostly party-line vote. All but two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., voted for the bill, which passed 218 – 214… READ MORE.
As large tech companies continue to take the lead implementing artificial intelligence (AI) into their platforms and workplaces, the latest Fox News national survey finds that while positive reviews of AI have increased, many remain skeptical about its role in society.
The survey, released Thursday, finds 43% view AI technology as a good thing for society, up 5 points from April 2023. Still, nearly half of voters, 47%, think AI is bad for society -- about where it was two years ago (46% bad in April 2023).
Overall, urban voters (60%), nonwhite voters (56%), voters under age 45 (53%), and men (52%) are those most likely to say AI is a good thing, while rural voters (55%), White voters (51%), voters ages 45 and over (49%), and women (55%) are likely to say it’s a bad thing.
Views are mixed among Democrats (44% good, 46% bad), while Republicans are more likely to say AI is good (47%, 42%). A majority of Independents think it’s bad (34% good vs. 58% bad).
When voters are asked what their first reaction is to AI, without the aid of a list, 43% offer a negative response, up 8 points since 2023. The most common answers include fear (15%), distrust (15%), or general negativity (13%). Only 3% of voters say the possibility that AI will threaten jobs is their first reaction.
Positive feelings also increased, as 26% react warmly, up 8 points since 2023. Those responses include innovation (11%), general positivity (10%), and cautious optimism (5%).
Others have mixed feelings about AI (9%), or point out the potential for abuse (4%), confusion surrounding AI (2%), the need for regulation (2%), privacy concerns (2%), the similarity between AI to science fiction (1%), and the need for more research (1%).
"Voters are all over the map when it comes to artificial intelligence," says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. "But there has been a slight increase in comfort and positivity as people come to grips with a world with A.I."
Overall, 27% say they use AI platforms regularly, either daily (11%) or weekly (16%), while another 15% say monthly. A majority (57%) says they use it rarely (19%) or never (38%).
Those most likely to use AI regularly are nonwhite men (48% daily/weekly), Hispanic voters (45%), urban voters (43%), and voters under age 45 (40%). Those least likely are rural voters (13% daily/weekly), Independents (15%), women ages 45 and over (16%), and Whites without a degree (17%).
Voters who see AI as bad for society are more likely to say they use it rarely (77%) than those who consider AI as a good thing to say they use it regularly (47%).
By a 21-point margin, more feel confident they can determine whether something they read, see, or hear was created by AI rather than a human (60% confident, 39% not).
The opposite is true when it comes to government regulation. A majority lack confidence that the government can properly regulate AI (38% confident can regulate, 62% not confident).
More Republicans (52%) think the government can properly regulate AI than Democrats (30%) and Independents (25%), while majorities of each group are confident they can identify artificial intelligence content.
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.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., touted the close coordination between Congress and President Donald Trump to successfully pass the "one big, beautiful bill," saying the collaboration is part of the "beauty of unified government."
Congress officially passed Trump’s multitrillion-dollar bill Thursday afternoon after back-to-back sleepless sessions for both the House and Senate.
The massive agenda package now goes to Trump’s desk to be signed into law just in time for Republicans’ self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.
The "big, beautiful bill’s" passage marks the first major piece of legislation passed under the Trump administration and the first to pass while Republicans have control of the executive branch and both chambers of Congress.
Speaking with reporters after the mega-spending bill’s passage Thursday, Johnson said, "The beauty of unified government is this is exactly how it can work.
"How it's supposed to work is that you have an interaction between the executive and the legislative branches, because that's what's best for the people, and that coordination is going to yield great results for the folks."
The speaker said people inside the Trump administration, including Cabinet secretaries, the vice president and the president, were all willing to take questions from members of Congress.
"President Trump was so generous with his time answering questions himself. Vice President JD Vance was directly engaged. We had Cabinet secretaries at a number of different federal agencies answering questions from members. Some of them even brought their agency attorneys in to get really deep in the weeds on the details," said Johnson.
"We had a tough four years before this last election cycle," the speaker added. "We knew that if we got unified government, we'd have to quite literally fix every area of public policy. Everything was an absolute disaster under the Biden-Harris radical woke Progressive Democrat regime."
The bill, which advances Trump’s policies on taxes, the border, defense, energy and the national debt, narrowly passed the House of Representatives in a mostly party-line vote. All but two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., voted for the bill, which passed 218-214.
It’s a commanding victory for Johnson and for the president, both of whom spent hours overnight trying to persuade GOP critics of the bill.
Speaking after the bill’s passage, Johnson explained his role in getting GOP holdouts to switch their vote to "yes," saying, "My leadership style is I try to be a servant leader."
He said that because many members wanted to take time to "go really deep in the weeds" on changes the Senate made to the bill, he felt it was his job as speaker to give each member the time to have their concerns addressed.
"I knew as the leader that we would have to take the time to do that," he explained. "And, so, some of that went late into the night, and I was not going to make anybody — I was not going to demand anybody's vote or their position on the bill until they felt that they had exhausted that opportunity. So, we did it. And that's how we got everybody to ‘yes.’"
