While Democrats predict major problems with a provision within the "one big, beautiful bill" that adds a work requirement for adults to be eligible for Medicaid, Republican senators are praising the requirement, saying, "We’ve got to get back to work."

The provision requires able-bodied, childless adults between the ages of 18 and 64 to work at least 80 hours a month to be eligible to receive Medicaid benefits. Individuals can also meet the requirement by ​​participating in community service, going to school or engaging in a work program.

"We have folks back home right now harvesting wheat that are working 20 hours in a day," Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital. "We want you to go to college, we want to volunteer, work 20 hours a week, it brings dignity, it brings purpose to your lives. Work is a great thing; it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Seven million healthy American men out there of working age are not working right now," Marshall continued. "We happen to have seven million open jobs as well. I think I want to do everything I can to help those seven million men find a job. Whether that's through an education or community colleges, technical colleges, I think there's lots of opportunity out there."

MIKE JOHNSON TOUTS 'BEAUTY OF UNIFIED GOVERNMENT' AFTER TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' SAILS THROUGH CONGRESS

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said "the disincentives to work are a real problem here in America."

"It's amazing that Democrats are trying to make this argument," he said. "I don't think that taxpayers should be footing the bill at all for able-bodied citizens. And certainly, non-citizens should not be getting the benefit of this."

"We need to incentivize work," Hagerty went on. "And certainly, you don't want to be incentivizing a burden on taxpayers."

"We've got to take care of the people that need to be taken care of and it's just unfortunate you've got a lot of freeloaders in this country," said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.

TAX CUTS, WORK REQUIREMENTS AND ASYLUM FEES: HERE'S WHAT'S INSIDE THE SENATE'S VERSION OF TRUMP'S BILL

Tuberville claimed that many of those he deemed as freeloaders "are coming from the younger ranks because they've grown up, they've got all these student loans, they got a degree that's not worth anything, they can't get a job or they don't want to work and so the way they've done they've turned into socialists, they started living off the government."

"We can't have that. We’ve got to get back to work. This country is built on hard work," he said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he also agrees with the work requirement, telling Fox News Digital that "quite honestly, what we're trying to do is stop enrollment in that Obamacare addition to Medicaid."

"They call it Medicaid expansion, but it's Obamcare. It was Democrats' way of trying to turn us into a single-payer system. And so, it incentivized the states to sign up single able-bodied individuals," he claimed.

TREASURY SECRETARY PREDICTS UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH WITH TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' 

"As a result," he went on. "We've created all kinds of [what] I would call legalized fraud on the part of states … Now that they've designed their budgets around that scam, now they're screaming when we're trying to end the scam."

Additionally, while Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., expressed that "of course, we should always eliminate any kind of fraud and that kind of a waste," other Democrats were much less enthusiastic about the work requirement.

"That provision is not designed for efficiency or to save people money that provision is designed to kick people off of Medicaid, like don't believe the hype," said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

Murphy claimed that Republicans "have built a work requirement that they know people won't be able to satisfy because they hate the idea that Medicaid actually helps the working poor in this country."

"So, there's going to be a whole bunch of people who work for a living who are not going to be able to comply with those provisions and are going to lose their healthcare, even though they're working," he said. "That's the intent of the provision and everybody should just be honest about that."

HAKEEM JEFFRIES BREAKS KEVIN MCCARTHY RECORD WHILE STALLING TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., indicated that the provision will "kick 17 million people off of health insurance."  

"These are life and death situations that people are making," he said, adding, "This legislation is going to kick 300,000 of my constituents off of their health care coverage."

"These are people that I've spoken to that can't afford it," he continued. "They have no money in their budget to go and buy health care. So, then they got to make a decision between eating and their rent, or they just don't go to the doctor."

James Agresti, president of Just Facts, a public policy research institute, told Fox News Digital that despite Democrats’ claims about the work requirements, he believes reality tells a different story.  

"The notion that able-bodied adults without young children cannot work, get an education, or volunteer for 20 hours a week is absurd," he said.

AMERICANS WEIGH IN ON TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL': POLLS

"Murphy’s rhetoric is refuted by decades of experience with other welfare programs that have work requirements, like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families," he explained.

Agresti said that according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 1.4 million noncitizens and 9.2 million able-bodied adults who won’t work or are engaged in fraud will be removed from Medicaid eligibility. 

A spokesperson for Kelly’s office told Fox News Digital that "a bunch of actual experts and media outlets correctly interpreting that same CBO report" estimate that 11.8 million people will be without health insurance by 2034 because of the provision, plus an additional 5.1 million because of the bill ending expanded Affordable Care Act credits.

In response, Agresti said the bill "doesn’t revoke the expanded Obamacare subsidies, which were a temporary COVID-era handout that Democrats enacted in the American Rescue Plan and extended in the Inflation Reduction Act."

"Even the New York Times has reported that adding these numbers into the tally for the big, beautiful bill ‘is an exaggeration’ and not ‘the real number,’" said Agresti.

He also said that numerous studies have proven that the disincentive to work is a real problem in America.

SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON RECEIVES STANDING OVATIONS DURING ADDRESS PRIOR TO HOUSE VOTE ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ 

"Even Lawrence Summers, Obama’s chief economist and Clinton’s Treasury Secretary, has written that ‘government assistance programs’ provide ‘an incentive, and the means, not to work,’" he said.

Murphy’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration is turning its attention to the Smithsonian Institution, accusing the taxpayer-funded museum complex of using federal dollars to promote what it calls "one-sided, divisive political narratives" that fail to honor the greatness of the American story.

White House official Lindsey Halligan blasted content currently on display at the National Museum of American History’s Entertainment Nation exhibit in an exclusive email to Fox News Digital.

The exhibit, which explores American pop culture, has drawn internal and external criticism for what some see as a politically loaded interpretation of cultural milestones.

"American taxpayers should not be funding institutions that undermine our country or promote one-sided, divisive political narratives," Halligan said. "The Smithsonian Institution should present history in a way that is accurate, balanced, and consistent with the values that make the United States of America exceptional."

DONALD TRUMP FIRES NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY DIRECTOR FOR BEING 'STRONG SUPPORTER' OF DEI

The White House statement comes on the heels of several striking examples from the exhibit. 

One placard, featured alongside a 1923 circus poster, reads: "Under the big top, circuses expressed the colonial impulse to claim dominion over the world." Another, describing early American entertainment, declares: "One of the earliest defining traits of entertainment in the United States was extraordinary violence."

The exhibit reframes iconic American characters through a critical, politically-charged lens. On The Lone Ranger, the display states: "The White title character’s relationship with Tonto resembled how the U.S. government imagined itself the world’s Lone Ranger."

Mickey Mouse, a beloved American cultural icon, is not spared either. A display for the 1928 cartoon Steamboat Willie states, "Mickey challenged authority, but not everyone was in on the joke."

It continues: "Mickey Mouse debuted as the deckhand ‘Steamboat Willie’ in 1928, amidst a rising anxiety felt by many that modern living and city life were eroding family and community ties and loosening moral codes… But the new character’s outsized facial features, white gloves, and trickster temperament were vestiges of longstanding traditions of blackface minstrelsy."

In reference to the Indiana Jones film series, another panel reads: "His character embodied a confident righteousness that, in many ways, captured the essence of the 1980s" above another subhead referencing President Ronald Reagan's famous speech, asking, "Are you better off?"

KENT STATE STUDENT'S VIOLENT ANTI-TRUMP ART DISPLAY SPURS OUTRAGE

One panel calls Magnum, P.I. a challenge to the "popular perceptions of Vietnam veterans as damaged misfits." A section on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show refers to it as "the go-to for viewers who mistrusted politicians and the reporting process."

Another panel highlights the late pop star Selena Quintanilla-Pérez and frames her cultural impact through identity politics.

"Selena got us talking about identity," with a quote from the late singer reading, "I feel very proud to be Mexican."

The text goes on to say her work "cast a light on the longstanding cultural and growing political influence of Mexican American and Latinx communities within the United States."

"The examples [Fox News Digital] highlighted from the National Museum of American History are part of the problem the Trump Administration aims to fix," Halligan said. "Framing American culture as inherently violent, imperialist, or racist does not reflect the greatness of our nation or the millions of Americans who have contributed to its progress."

Halligan confirmed that a top-to-bottom content review is already underway, with input from senior Smithsonian leaders and the Board of Regents. "We are working with leadership at the Smithsonian to audit and review all content at the museums," she said, "and we are committed to ensuring that such content honors our country’s founding principles, tells the stories of American heroes, and does not promote fringe or activist ideologies masquerading as history."

She added, "We will provide updates on this audit as our progress unfolds."

The Smithsonian Institution responded to Fox News Digital with the following brief written statement: "The museum is committed to continuous and rigorous scholarship and research and unbiased presentation of facts and history. As such, and as previously announced, we are assessing content in Smithsonian museums and will make any necessary changes to ensure our content meets our standards."

The Institution did not answer specific questions regarding who authored the Entertainment Nation exhibit, whether outside academic consultants or activist organizations were involved, or who made the decision to present all exhibit text bilingually in English and Spanish.

The controversy comes amid a broader push by President Donald Trump to reshape cultural institutions he says have veered too far left. 

In March, Trump issued an executive order directing the Board of Regents to eliminate "improper, divisive or anti-American ideology" from Smithsonian museums. He accused the institution of embracing what he called "a revisionist movement" aimed at "undermining the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light."

The Board of Regents includes the vice president, the chief justice of the United States, six members of Congress, and nine citizen regents. 

Vice President J.D. Vance and Congressman Carlos Giménez, both recent appointees, have advocated for an expedited review of Smithsonian content. Giménez, in a prior interview with The Wall Street Journal, confirmed tensions at the board’s June meeting over how quickly to proceed, though ultimately a compromise was reached.

The Smithsonian receives approximately two-thirds of its $1 billion annual budget from federal appropriations. 

The Entertainment Nation exhibit opened in December 2022 and was billed as a permanent exhibition to "celebrate the power of popular culture to shape and reflect history." It is housed in a prime space on the museum’s west wing and features artifacts and media from movies, television, sports, and music.

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While the museum’s stated goal is to explore how entertainment intersects with American identity, the Trump administration argues that it instead uses culture to smuggle in ideology often at odds with the values most Americans hold.

"Americans deserve a Smithsonian that inspires national pride, tells the truth, and reflects the greatness of this country," Halligan said. "Not one that serves as an agent for social change and cultural subversion."

David Aaronovitch and guests discuss why the benefits bill for disability has ballooned.

Eight migrants were denied a request by a Massachusetts federal judge on Friday to have their deportation to South Sudan halted.

Justice Department lawyers said the men were scheduled to be flown to South Sudan on Friday at 7 p.m. ET after two courts considered their emergency request on July 4, a day when courts would otherwise be closed, Reuters reported. 

The migrants, who are from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Burma, Sudan and Vietnam, filed new claims on Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that Boston federal Judge Brian Murphy couldn't require the Department of Homeland Security to hold them.

Also on Friday, federal Judge Randolph Moss in Washington paused the Trump administration's efforts to deport the eight migrants to South Sudan, the latest case testing the legality of the Trump administration's push to ship illegal immigrants to third countries. 

JUDGE STRIKES DOWN TRUMP ORDER PREVENTING ASYLUM REQUESTS, PROTECTIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Moss had briefly halted the deportation after lawyers for the migrants filed the new claims in his court and sent the case to Boston, where Murphy denied the claim.  

The eight men argued their deportations to South Sudan would violate the Constitution, which prohibits "cruel and unusual" punishment, Reuters reported. They have been convicted of various crimes, with four of them convicted of murder, the Department of Homeland Security has said.

They were detained for six weeks on a military base in Djibouti instead of being brought back to the United States.

On Thursday, the migrants filed new claims after the Supreme Court said that a federal judge in Boston could no longer require the Department of Homeland Security to hold them, Reuters reported. 

TRUMP ADMIN ASK SCOTUS TO AUTHORIZE RAPID MIGRANT DEPORTATIONS TO COUNTRIES OTHER THAN THEIR OWN

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House. 

During Friday's hearing with Moss, a government lawyer argued that court orders halting agreed-upon deportations pose a serious problem for U.S. diplomatic relations and would make foreign countries less likely to accept transfers of migrants in the future.

The case is the latest development over the legality of the Trump administration's campaign to deter immigration by shipping migrants to locations other than their countries of origin pursuant to deals with other countries, according to Reuters. 

"It seems to me almost self-evident that the United States government cannot take human beings and send them to circumstances in which their physical well-being is at risk simply either to punish them or send a signal to others," Moss said during the hearing.

A federal judge on Friday halted the Trump administration's efforts to deport eight migrants to South Sudan, the latest case testing the legality of the Trump administration's push to ship illegal immigrants to third countries. 

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington made the ruling, on the July 4 holiday, in order to give the migrants time to make an argument to a Massachusetts court. 

The eight men, who are from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Burma, Sudan and Vietnam, argue their deportations to South Sudan would violate the Constitution, which prohibits "cruel and unusual" punishment, Reuters reported. They have been convicted of various crimes, with four of them convicted of murder, the Department of Homeland Security has said.

JUDGE STRIKES DOWN TRUMP ORDER PREVENTING ASYLUM REQUESTS, PROTECTIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

They were detained for six weeks on a military base in Djibouti instead of being brought back to the United States.

On Thursday, the migrants filed new claims after the Supreme Court said that a federal judge in Boston could no longer require the Department of Homeland Security to hold them, Reuters reported. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House. 

Friday's order stops the U.S. government from moving the men until 4:30 p.m. ET. They were scheduled to be removed to South Sudan on a 7 p.m. flight. 

TRUMP ADMIN ASK SCOTUS TO AUTHORIZE RAPID MIGRANT DEPORTATIONS TO COUNTRIES OTHER THAN THEIR OWN

During Friday's hearing, a government lawyer argued that court orders halting agreed-upon deportations pose a serious problem for U.S. diplomatic relations and would make foreign countries less likely to accept transfers of migrants in the future.

The case is the latest development over the legality of the Trump administration's campaign to deter immigration by shipping migrants to locations other than their countries of origin pursuant to deals with other countries, according to Reuters. 

"It seems to me almost self-evident that the United States government cannot take human beings and send them to circumstances in which their physical well-being is at risk simply either to punish them or send a signal to others," Moss said during the hearing.

President Donald Trump signed his $3.3 trillion "big, beautiful bill" on Friday, after the House passed the final version of the measure Thursday to ensure it arrived at the president’s desk by his self-imposed July 4 deadline. 

The bill includes key provisions that would permanently establish individual and business tax breaks included in Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and incorporates new tax deductions to cut duties on tips and overtime pay. 

Before signing the bill, the president said the bill would "fuel massive economic growth" and "lift up the hard-working citizens who make this country run."

"We have officially made the Trump tax cuts permanent," Trump said. "That's the largest tax cut in the history of our country. … After this kicks in, our country is going to be a rocket ship economically. We've delivered no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security for our great seniors. … It makes the child tax credit permanent for 40 million American families. … The Golden Age of America is upon us."

The measure also raises the debt limit by $5 trillion — a provision that has faced scrutiny from figures including SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who formerly led a war against wasteful government spending at the Department of Government Efficiency. 

Furthermore, the bill rescinds certain Biden-era green energy tax credits, and allocates approximately $350 billion for defense and Trump’s mass deportation initiative to weed out illegal immigrants from the U.S. 

"Wind. It doesn't work," Trump said. "I will tell you, aside from ruining our fields and our valleys, killing all the birds, [and] being very weak and very expensive, [they are] all made in China. You know, I noticed something … with all of the windmills that China sends us … I have never seen a wind farm in China."

JD VANCE POISED TO CLINCH VICTORY FOR TRUMP'S LANDMARK BILL AS GOP FINALIZES STRATEGY

The measure also institutes Medicaid reforms, including new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for Medicaid recipients, and expands work requirements for those on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. 

Republicans in the Senate were sent scrambling on June 26 to reform and pass the measure ahead of Trump’s July 4 deadline after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough determined that several Medicaid reforms in the sweeping tax and domestic policy package did not follow Senate rules and must be removed.

Ultimately, the Senate barely passed the measure on Tuesday by a 51-50 margin. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Rand Paul of Kentucky all voted against the bill, requiring Vice President JD Vance to step in and cast the tie-breaking vote. 

TAX CUTS, WORK REQUIREMENTS AND ASYLUM FEES: HERE'S WHAT'S INSIDE THE SENATE'S VERSION OF TRUMP'S BILL

The legislation then headed back to the House to hammer out a few differences in the versions passed in both chambers of Congress. 

On Wednesday evening prior to the House’s passage, Vance turned up the heat on lawmakers to get the measure through the finish line, citing provisions in the measure that would bolster border security. 

"The Big Beautiful Bill gives the president the resources and the power to undo the Biden border invasion," Vance said in a Wednesday post on X. "It must pass."

"Congrats to everyone. At times I even doubted we’d get it done by July 4! But now we’ve delivered big tax cuts and the resources necessary to secure the border. Promises made, promises kept!"

Trump also zeroed in on the measure’s border provisions when he urged lawmakers to get the legislation completed at a "One, Big, Beautiful Event" at the White House on June 26, labeling the bill the "single-most important piece of border legislation ever to cross the floor of Congress." 

"This is the ultimate codification of our agenda to — very simply, a phrase that's been used pretty well by me over the past 10 years, but maybe even before that — make America great again," Trump said at the event. 

Other administration officials also cautioned that failure to pass the bill would wreak havoc on the economy. For example, the White House's Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told lawmakers in June that failure to pass the measure would result in a 60% tax hike for Americans and would trigger a recession.

SENATE PASSES TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' AFTER MARATHON VOTE-A-RAMA

Meanwhile, no Democrats in either chamber of Congress backed the measure. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., labeled the bill "cruel" during floor remarks that lasted hours on Thursday, pointing to Medicaid and SNAP reforms that reports suggest would remove millions of beneficiaries from the programs. 

"What is contemplated in this one big, ugly bill is wrong. It’s dangerous, and it’s cruel, and cruelty should not be either the objective or the outcome of legislation that we consider here in the United States House of Representatives," Jeffries said.

Fox News Liz Elkind contributed to this report. 

A Florida city commissioner said she was shocked to find herself "standing alone" after her colleagues in the state's southernmost municipality voted this week to end an agreement between the police department and federal immigration authorities.

Key West city Commissioner Lissette Carey told Fox News Digital that she considered the potential consequences of severing the 287(g) agreement, which allows police officers to stop, question and detain illegal immigrants. 

"I did my research prior to the meeting," Carey said. "I was the only member of the Commission who understood the consequences and respected our state and federal government enough to uphold the law."

DESANTIS ADMINISTRATION THREATENS TO PUNISH ISLAND CITY THAT VOTED TO END POLICE AGREEMENT WITH ICE

In a 5-1 vote, the commission voted to void the agreement, a move that came amid the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration and nationwide mass deportation operations.

"I was deeply disturbed by the lack of understanding and the disregard for the safety, security, and long-term well-being of our city," Carey said. "As the first to cast a vote on this matter, I was disheartened—and frankly shocked—to find myself standing alone in recognizing the importance of upholding this agreement."

The move has already met opposition from leaders in the state capital of Tallahassee. 

In a letter dated Wednesday to the commissioners, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said their vote violates state law and has essentially made Key West a "sanctuary city."

"Florida law unequivocally forbids sanctuary cities," Uthmeier wrote while demanding the city leaders reverse course. "Failure to take corrective action will result in the enforcement of all applicable civil and criminal penalties, including removal from office by the governor."

LARGE CITY SIGNS ONTO DEAL WITH ICE: 'KEEP THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SAFE'

He added that they could face removal from office if they don't reverse course. 

Carey, whose mother and grandparents arrived in Key West from Cuba in the 1950s, said she supports legal immigration. 

"I am proud of my heritage, and I honor the many contributions immigrants make to our communities," she said. "But I also believe in following the law and ensuring public safety."

"Key West is often seen as a carefree, liberal town, but it's also home to conservatives like me who support law enforcement," added Carey. 

Earlier in the week, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the issue is a matter of following state law. 

FLORIDA AG TAKES 'VICTORY LAP' AFTER BLUE CITY SAYS IT WON'T VIOLATE SANCTUARY BAN

"I think the attorney general has weighed in on that, and I’ll let him do the analysis and send them whatever warnings need to be sent," DeSantis said at the opening of the new "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center in the Everglades. 

"But the reality is you have a responsibility for full participation," he added. "And you can virtue signal and try to make political statements, but the reality is local governments have to abide by Florida law."

Choosing not to cooperate with immigration authorities only puts residents in those municipalities at risk, a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

"Local officials refusing to work with federal law enforcement will not stop the Trump Administration's mission to remove dangerous, criminal illegal aliens from American communities," the spokesperson said. "It will only put American citizens living in their jurisdiction at risk. Quickly and efficiently deporting violent aliens makes every American community safer." 

Other Florida cities have done the opposite. In Miami, city commissioners there narrowly voted in favor last month to allow police officers to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by entering into its own 287(g) partnership.

President Donald Trump signs the sweeping Republican-crafted domestic policy package that he and the GOP call the "One Big Beautiful Bill," into law on Friday at the White House.

The massive tax cuts and spending bill passed the House and Senate this week by razor-thin margins along near party lines. 

But the political battle over the bill is far from over, as it moves from Capitol Hill to the campaign trail.

"I'm deeply concerned about this bill and what this will do. We’re going to be talking a lot about it," Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire told Fox News Digital on Friday.

GAME ON: REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS, TRADE FIRE OVER BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL

Pappas, who's running in the crucial 2026 race to succeed retiring longtime Sen. Jeanne Shaheen for a Democrat-held seat Republicans would love to flip, took aim at the bill.

"This was a one-party effort and unfortunately it arrived at a conclusion that I think is not good for our state and for our country,"

TRUMP TOUTS ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ IS ‘VERY POPULAR’ DESPITE POLLING

Former Republican Sen. Scott Brown, who last month announced his candidacy for the Senate, sees things differently, and he praised the president for helping GOP leaders in Congress get the bill to his desk at the White House.

"The things he said he was going to do, he’s actually done. For somebody in politics to actually do that I think is very rare," Brown said of Trump.

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. 

'BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ON WAY TO WHITE HOUSE AFTER NARROWLY PASSING FINAL HURDLE IN CONGRESS

The measure also provides billions for border security and codifies the president's controversial immigration crackdown.

And the bill also restructures 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.

And the $3.4 trillion legislative package is also projected to surge the national debt by $4 trillion over the next decade.

Democrats for a couple of months have blasted Republicans over the social safety net changes.

"We’re going to be talking about this bill because the results are that 46,000 people in New Hampshire will lose their health insurance. We’ll have people that will go hungry, that won’t be able to access assistance," Pappas warned. "And we know that insurance premiums for all Granite Staters could go up as a result of uncompensated care costs and the burden that this places on our hospitals."

The four-term congressman, who was interviewed by Fox News on Friday as he arrived for the annual July 4th naturalization ceremony in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, noted that "we’ve been hearing from folks and engaging with people all across the state on this issue."

Democrats have spotlighted a slew of national polls conducted last month that indicate the bill's popularity in negative territory.

By a 21-point margin, voters questioned in the most recent Fox News national poll opposed the bill (38% favored vs. 59% opposed).

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING 

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%).

Asked about criticism from Democrats on the Medicaid cuts, Brown said "my mom was on welfare. Those are very important programs and I’ve said already that the people that actually need them the most, the ones who are disabled, the ones who can’t get out and work, they should have them."

"It’s meant for lower and middle-income people and I support them getting those benefits. But I don’t support who are here illegally get them," Brown said. 

And he added that he doesn't support giving the benefits to "people who are able-bodied and can absolutely go out and do some volunteerism, go out and work."

WHAT'S ACTUALLY IN TRUMP'S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Republicans are also going on offense over the bill, targeting Democrats for voting against the tax cuts.

Republicans are shining a spotlight on recent polls conducted by GOP-aligned groups that indicate strong support for the bill due to the tax cut provisions.

Brown, who was interviewed by Fox News after he marched in the annual Brentwood, New Hampshire July 4th parade, said "obviously keeping the 2017 tax cuts in place. Certainly for individuals and businesses, it’s really really critical."

And pointing to Pappas, whose family for over a century has owned Manchester's iconic Puritan Backroom restaurant, Brown said "for someone like Chris Pappas, imagine walking into the restaurant he owns and telling his employees ‘oh by the way I’m not going to support your no tax on tips, your no tax on overtime.’ How do you do that?"

Asked about the GOP attacks, Pappas said "I support targeted tax cuts for working people, for our small businesses and to make sure we are targeting that relief to the people that need it, not to billionaires, to the biggest corporations in way that adds $4 trillion to the national debt as this bill does."

"We hoped there would be an opportunity for a bipartisan conversation on taxes and how we can invest in the middle class and working people and our small businesses and unfortunately that didn’t happen," he added.

Backers say there is a wide-open space to Labour’s left - and millions of disillusioned voters to be won.

With the economy, immigration, education, welfare and health high on the agenda, has Sir Keir Starmer's top team met their pledges?

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo are calling for a full investigation into allegations that Zohran Mamdani falsely identified himself as African American on his Columbia University application.

However, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa says the controversy is a distraction from Mamdani’s socialist agenda and only turns him into a victim, energizing his supporters and swaying undecided voters.

Both Adams and Cuomo warned that Mamdani’s alleged racial misrepresentation could signal deeper deceit — with the Adams campaign calling the move "possibly fraudulent" and Cuomo’s campaign warning it might be "just the tip of the iceberg." 

CURTIS SLIWA VOWS TO STAY IN NYC MAYORAL RACE AS DONORS PLOT TO STOP MAMDANI

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. 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. He was not a U.S. citizen at the time.

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" and not to gain an edge in the competitive admissions process.

However, Adams condemned Mamdani’s actions as "an insult to every student who got into college the right way." 

"The African American identity is not a checkbox of convenience," Adams said. "It’s a history, a struggle, and a lived experience. For someone to exploit that for personal gain is deeply offensive."

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for the Cuomo campaign, echoed the calls from the Adams camp. 

"This should come as no surprise as Mamdani — his proposals, his funding, and his background — received absolutely no scrutiny," Azzopardi said. "This issue must be fully investigated because, if true, it could be fraud and just the tip of the iceberg."

Adams is running as an Independent, having been elected as a Democrat in late 2021, while Cuomo is weighing an independent route to Gracie Mansion, having lost to Mamdani in the Democratic primary. 

ACKMAN BACKS ADAMS TO STOP SOCIALIST MAMDANI, CALLS ON CUOMO TO DROP OUT

Sliwa, on the other hand, is taking the high road and sees the controversy as a political distraction that will only help Mamdani’s cause.

"There’s so much we can criticize Zoran for…to me, what are we doing here?" Sliwa told Fox News Digital. "We're making him a martyr. We're victimizing Zohran and getting away from the issues of why his election would be a threat to New York City.

"He’s being attacked as a Muslim, he’s being mocked for how he eats in a video. Stop that. You’re enraging people who might otherwise disagree with him on the issues. You’re galvanizing his support."

Mamdani’s win has caused a political earthquake in the Big Apple, striking fear into moderates, independents, conservatives — and even parts of the Democrat Party — who believe his socialist policies could have devastating and long-lasting consequences on the financial capital of the world. Mamdani ran on a platform that included economic policies aligned with progressives and socialists in the Democratic Party, such as a $30 minimum wage, tax hikes on businesses and the rich, and other policies, like creating city-owned grocery stores and imposing a rent freeze for stabilized tenants.

Sliwa warned critics that critics are handing Mamdani a political gift. 

"Even people who don’t agree with him on the issues will rally to his defense when they think the attacks are unfair or over the top," Sliwa added. "Let's get back to the issues where there are clear differences between how Zohran Mamdani wants to run the city and the way I want to run this city — or Eric Adams or Andrew Cuomo. Stop this, you're just victimizing him."

The Adams campaign is calling on Columbia University to publicly release Mamdani’s 2009 admissions records, clarify whether his non-citizen status influenced admissions or financial aid decisions, and conduct a formal review to determine whether any university policies were violated.

"We need answers," Adams spokesperson Todd Shapiro said. "Because the people of New York deserve to know whether the man asking for their vote built his career on a possibly fraudulent foundation."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign about the controversy and his opponents' takes on it but did not immediately receive a response. 

Mamdani told The Times that aside from those college forms, he doesn’t recall ever identifying as Black or African American. 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, saying, "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."

Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report. 

A High Court judge refused the group's request to temporarily block the government from proscribing it as a terror group.

The cross-party committee says the government has failed to gather "basic information".

Afghans whose personal information was mistakenly exposed by the Ministry of Defence to get up to £4,000 each.

The chancellor says she had been dealing with a "personal issue" but was still "cracking on with the job".

The BBC looks at what the government's 10-year NHS plan could mean in practice.

It’s not just the waves making a splash in Los Angeles this Fourth of July – lifeguards' sky-high paychecks are turning heads, too.

According to a new report by fiscal watchdog group OpenTheBooks, at least one L.A. County lifeguard raked in more than half a million dollars last year. Meanwhile, 34 lifeguards brought in $300,000 or more during 2024, while 134 brought in at least $200,000 in base pay, overtime and other benefits.

Taxpayers in Los Angeles County are used to getting soaked, but it might be "unsettling" for some to hear how much lifeguards are being paid while the city still faces a shortage of firefighters and police, and struggles to extinguish wildfires or return violent crime to pre-pandemic levels, said OpenTheBooks CEO John Hart.  

LOS ANGELES TAXPAYERS TO FOOT MILLIONS FOR 'PEACEFUL' ANTI-ICE PROTESTS

"Lifeguards who risk their lives protecting the public deserve to be well compensated, but paying them more than $500,000 may be unsettling to taxpayers who are drowning in debt," Hart told Fox News Digital. "Once again, Los Angeles — a city that is struggling to extinguish fires and looting — is leading the way in lavish pay that needs to be addressed." 

L.A. County’s 134 highest-paid lifeguards earned a combined $70.8 million last year, according to OpenTheBooks — averaging over $500,000 in total compensation per person. In addition to base and overtime pay, the dollar amount also includes "other" pay, leave time payouts, health insurance payments, pension contributions, deferred contributions, long-term disability and life insurance payouts.

The highest paid lifeguard OpenTheBooks found brought in $523,351 in base pay, "other pay," and benefits in 2024.

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

L.A. County's lifeguard division is recognized as one of the largest professional lifeguard services in the country. According to OpenTheBooks, in addition to higher-paid lifeguards, whose duties can range from watching swimmers to major maritime rescues and emergency response, there are a slew of lower-paid lifeguards that bring the total number of them in the Los Angeles-area to around 1,500.

OpenTheBooks, which tracks wasteful spending across the government, reported in 2021 that the top-paid lifeguards in Los Angeles County earned up to $510,283 – nearly half of which was overtime pay. That year, 98 lifeguards in L.A. County made at least $200,000.

In 2024, overtime pay played a major role in boosting lifeguard earnings in Los Angeles.

Beyond Los Angeles, excessive overtime pay has sparked debate in other cities — particularly those grappling with major budget shortfalls.

In Seattle, police officers have had to be disciplined for repeatedly violating the city's overtime policy. Per The Seattle Times, a patrol officer made more than the mayor, the police chief or any other city employee in 2019 after raking in more than $414,000.   

Overtime abuse has been an issue in other major cities like New York and Chicago, as well. In Chicago, where the city faces a growing budget shortfall, records obtained by a local news outlet found that during the first six months of 2024, the city had already spent 30% more than was allocated for police overtime pay. In New York, a former department chief for the NYPD is currently under investigation for alleged overtime abuse and other crimes.  

Republicans' "big beautiful bill" is purported to help overtime workers bring home even more, with its "no tax on tips" provision. Initially, the House's version of the bill had no limit on how much overtime pay could be exempt, but the Senate's version of the bill capped it at $12,500.    

Fox News Digital reached out to the Los Angeles County public information office for comment but did not hear back by press time. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s top aide who was recently placed on leave over a sexual harassment allegation, reportedly had previous complaints filed against him which led to an investigation.

Avi Small, Hochul’s press secretary, was reportedly the subject of complaints for allegedly berating junior staff members, according to Politico. The outlet cited five people with direct knowledge of the probe who were granted anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter. According to Politico, the governor’s human resources department and an outside law firm conducted the investigation.

HOCHUL FAILS TO CRACK 50% BUT TOPS POTENTIAL GOP CHALLENGES BY DOUBLE DIGITS IN NY GOVERNOR RACE: POLL

The people familiar with the matter who spoke with Politico said Small had a history of yelling at younger staff, making several employees afraid to work with him. Politico reported that four out of the five who spoke with the outlet said they witnessed Small chastising staffers over errors in press releases or if the governor’s speaking engagements did not go as planned.

The investigation into Small’s treatment of junior staff did not result in a human resources violation, Politico reported, citing another person familiar with the outcome. That source reportedly told Politico that Hochul had inadvertently created a system in which allegations quickly led to serious probes that could tarnish a subject’s reputation.

Law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky reportedly conducted interviews with Hochul’s staff regarding Small’s conduct. According to Politico, which cited sources, staffers were worried when they learned an expansion of deputy secretaries’ responsibilities would mean Small would work more closely with underlings.

FORMER TOP HOCHUL AIDE'S UNEARTHED FAMILY CONNECTIONS TO CCP RAISES ALARM BELLS

Politico reported that several staffers met with human resources after the conclusion of the 2024 investigation to ask about the lack of information on the probe’s outcome. The staffers were reportedly encouraged not to discuss the allegations against Small. Additionally, multiple sources reportedly told Politico that there was information given to human resources about Small cornering a subordinate in a supply closet and questioning them.

Small was recently placed on leave over an allegation that he inappropriately touched a staffer during an office retreat in Albany on June 16, according to reports. Multiple outlets said that the governor’s office claimed action was taken against Small shortly after the complaint was filed.

When Hochul took over for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo after he was ousted amid sexual harassment allegations in 2021, she vowed that "no one will ever describe my administration as a ‘toxic work environment.’" Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing.

In October 2021, according to a press release from Calcagni & Kanefsky, Hochul announced new initiatives aimed at tackling workplace bullying and discrimination.

Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, which was submitted on July 4. Fox News Digital was also unable to get in contact with Small.

President Donald Trump quickly took aim at Democrats for opposing his sweeping domestic policy bill.

"Not one Democrat voted for us, and I think we use it in the campaign that's coming up the midterms, because we've got to beat them," 

The president spoke as he headlined a July 4th-eve event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds to kickoff celebrations of next year's 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Hours earlier, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives, in a 218-214 vote on Thursday nearly entirely along party lines, lifted 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 advance the measure 51-50.

POLITICAL FIGHT OVER ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ SHIFTS TO CAMPAIGN TRAIL

The president is scheduled to sign the massive spending and tax cut bill into law Friday at 5pm, at a White House signing ceremony.

With the legislative battle over the bill finished, and Trump and congressional Republican leaders victorious, the campaign trail war now begins over the controversial measure, which many of the most recent public opinion polls suggest is not very popular with Americans.

'BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ON WAY TO WHITE HOUSE AFTER NARROWLY PASSING FINAL HURDLE IN CONGRESS

"Every Democrat voted to hurt working families and to protect the status quo," argued a memo from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released minutes after the final House passage of the bill.

And the NRCC, which is the campaign arm of the House GOP, emphasized that "House Republicans will be relentless in making this vote the defining issue of 2026."

House Republicans will be defending their razor-thin majority in the chamber (220-215 when the House is at full strength) when all 435 seats are up for grabs in next year's midterm elections.

NRCC chair Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, in an opinion piece published on Friday morning, charged that House Democrats "rejected common sense" by voting against the bill.

"And we will make sure each one of them has to answer for it," he vowed, as he pointed to next year's congressional elections.

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-termtax 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. 

WHAT'S ACTUALLY IN TRUMP'S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’

The measure also provides billions for border security and codifies the president's controversial immigration crackdown.

And the bill also restructures 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.

And the $3.4 trillion legislative package is also projected to surge the national debt by $4 trillion over the next decade.

Democrats for a couple of months have blasted Republicans over the social safety net changes.

"BREAKING: House Republicans vote to kick 17 million people off health care," screamed the headline in an email from the Democratic National Committee to supporters, moments after the bill passed the House on Thursday.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries charged that "extreme House Republicans just approved the largest cut to Medicaid and food assistance in American history to fund tax breaks for their billionaire donors."

And Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chair Rep. Suzan DelBene pledged that "the DCCC will make sure every battleground voter knows how vulnerable House Republicans abandoned them by passing the most unpopular piece of legislation in modern American history, and we’re going to take back the House majority because of it."  

Expect to see ads from Democrats as early as this holiday weekend taking aim at Republicans over their passage of the bill. And the Democrats are expected to turn up the volume on the messaging campaign next month, during the August congressional break.

HOW MUCH THE ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WILL CUT YOUR TAXES

But Republicans are also going on offense, targeting Democrats for voting against tax cuts.

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."

The president, as he returned to the nation's capital early Friday after his event in Iowa, touted his bill.

"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," Trump said.

But Democrats spotlighted a slew of national polls conducted last month that indicate the bill's popularity in negative territory.

By a 21-point margin, voters questioned in the most recent Fox News national poll opposed the bill (38% favored vs. 59% opposed).

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING 

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, 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.

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. 

PENTAGON UNVEILS $961B BUDGET REQUEST: FUND FOR GOLDEN DOME, MISSILES AND DRONES, FEWER F-35 JETS

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," Gen. David Deptula, Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Power Studies, told Fox News Digital.

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."

A GUIDE TO THE 'DOOMSDAY PLANE': THE US AIRBORNE COMMAND CENTER

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," another former defense official said.