Data indicating the federal workforce shrank by just 1% over the first few months of President Donald Trump’s second term shows a "disappointing effect of DOGE" and the level of bureaucracy’s entrenchment in America, experts told Fox News Digital. 

Figures released by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) show that the United States employs 2,289,472 federal workers as of March 31, which is down from 2,313,216 on September 30, 2024.  The reduction of more than 23,000 positions "reflects the administration’s early efforts to streamline government and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy," OPM said in a press release.   

"That's just through the end of March. So I suspect those numbers will be higher by the end of September this year, which is when a lot of the early retirement packages– and buyouts – go into effect," Alex Nowrasteh, the Cato Institute’s vice president for economic and social policy studies, told Fox News Digital. 

"Regardless of what those numbers are, this is not enough people having been terminated. It is not enough shrinkage in the federal workforce. And it is a disappointing effect of DOGE that it wasn't able to increase the size of the decrease in the federal workforce," he added. 

‘ONLY THE BEGINNING’: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RELEASES DATA SHOWING FEDERAL WORKFORCE SLASHED SINCE JANUARY

Trump signed an executive order in February instructing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to coordinate with federal agencies and execute massive cuts in federal government staffing numbers.   

That order is reflected in the new data, OPM said, showing that agencies averaged 23,000 new monthly hires from April 2024 to January 2025 but dropped by nearly 70% to just 7,385 per month once the hiring freeze was fully implemented. 

Peter Morici, an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, told Fox News Digital that "Basically, Elon Musk poured a few teacups of ice water into the ocean to combat its rising temperature." 

"It's very hard to get rid of people unless you get rid of functions. See, he was able to decimate USAID because he took away all their money," Morici said. "It's very, very hard to cut down the Commerce Department unless you, for example, don't want the numbers collected." 

"It takes more than four years," Morici also said. "Look at the problems they're having just with Medicare reform, how all the special interests come out. Over the years, the federal bureaucracy is not just in Washington, but it's been spread throughout the country." 

"And as you talk about cutting it down, you're talking about affecting local economies, the interests of congressmen, and so forth," he added. 

ELON MUSK'S FORMER FRIEND WARNS EX-DOGE HEAD WILL DO ‘EVERYTHING’ TO DAMAGE TRUMP

DOGE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

David Hebert, an economist with the American Institute for Economic Research, said the reduction reported by OPM "is certainly a start." 

"The real challenge that President Trump is facing is the fact that the federal government has taken upon itself far too many responsibilities," he added in a statement to Fox News Digital. "If the President and Congress are serious about streamlining government, they need to move beyond ‘waste, fraud, and abuse’ and look to shedding responsibilities that the federal government ought not have in the first place." 

INTERIOR CANCELS $14 MILLION ANNUAL FISHING GRANT CITED IN FOX REPORT AFTER DOGE HIGHLIGHTS DISNEY ADS, SALARIES

OPM said "hundreds of thousands more workers" will drop from the rolls in October 2025, when more workers depart via the Deferred Resignation Program that was offered to employees in an effort to trim the workforce.   

Tens of thousands of employees who are in the process of being terminated remain on the government payroll due to court orders that are currently being challenged by the administration, according to OPM. 

"The American people deserve a government that is lean, efficient, and focused on core priorities," Acting OPM Director Charles Ezell said in a statement. 

"This data marks the first measurable step toward President Trump’s vision of a disciplined, accountable federal workforce, and it’s only the beginning." 

Trump's effort to shrink the federal workforce has faced stiff resistance from Democrats and various courts, with opponents saying that the administration is cutting critical jobs. 

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report. 

Some BBC staff have been moved away from their usual duties after the punk duo made offensive comments.

Sir Keir Starmer rejects claims of the bill being "watered down", insisting he is "fully committed".

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., plans to introduce a bill that would require a new census that only counts U.S. citizens, the results of which would be utilized in determining how many House seats each state is allotted. 

The upcoming measure, which is still being drafted, would also require proof of American citizenship to vote in federal elections, the lawmaker told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

Greene says she has spoken to President Donald Trump about her proposal and that he supports it. 

When the president was asked about the proposal this week, he said that he loved it.

The congresswoman called the issue a "matter of national security," asserting that Democrats "would love non-citizens to have the right to vote," would "love amnesty for all," and would essentially allow for a "world takeover" of the country.

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE LAUNCHES PROBE INTO PLANNED PARENTHOOD'S USE OF TAXPAYER FUNDS

Currently, the U.S. Census Bureau notes that unauthorized immigrants are included in decennial census population counts used in determining how many seats each state gets in the House of Representatives.

"Apportionment is the process of dividing the 435 memberships, or seats, in the U.S. House of Representatives among the 50 states based on the apportionment population counts from the decennial census," census.gov notes.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE AIRS FRUSTRATIONS, WARNS THAT SHE REPRESENTS A ‘NOT HAPPY’ REPUBLICAN BASE

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution reads, in part, "Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed."

Counting only citizens in the census would likely reshape the nation's political landscape, with some states getting fewer House seats than they currently have, and other states getting more seats.

4 STATES SUE TO BLOCK ILLEGAL MIGRANTS FROM CENSUS COUNT USED TO ASSIGN CONGRESSIONAL SEATS, ELECTORAL VOTES

That would impact presidential elections, because each state's number of Electoral College votes is determined by the total number of seats it holds in both chambers of Congress.

Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist candidate for New York City mayor, has come under fire from critics who label him a "communist" – a charge he dismisses as a distraction.

However, the criticisms may not be as unfounded as Mamdani claims. Videos show the NYC mayoral candidate espousing language and theories rooted in communist revolutionary language. 

In one 2021 video, Mamdani urges fellow socialists at a conference to not compromise on goals like "seizing the means of production." In a second video, released on YouTube by progressive advocacy group The Gravel Institute that same year, Mamdani discusses the need to turn housing from a private commodity to a public one, calling for luxury condos to be replaced with communal style living that would include things like shared laundry facilities and food co-ops.

POLITIFACT DECLARES ZOHRAN MAMDANI IS NOT A COMMUNIST IN FACT-CHECK OF TRUMP

"Why do so many people end up homeless?" Mamdani asks in the video. "It's not because there aren't enough homes to go around, there are plenty of empty homes. No. It's because housing people is not a primary goal of developers or landlords. Their goal, simply put, is to make a profit."

According to Mamdani, this is a problem. He lamented in the video that housing is "a consumer product, just like clothes or cars" that private businesses sell on the market to make a profit. As a result, Mamdani complains, there is plenty of housing for "the rich" but not nearly enough opportunities for poor and working-class people.

"[It's] not efficient or beneficial for the rest of society," Mamdani says. "Housing doesn't have to be seen as a market at all."

FMR. OBAMA TREASURY SEC. CONCERNED ZOHRAN MAMDANI WILL HURT NEW YORK CITY IF ELECTED MAYOR

In the video, Mamdani points to post-war communist Vienna as an example of how removing privatization from the housing market can be good for society. However, he does concede that currently in Vienna, "residents still pay part of their earnings in rent to cover operational costs and a sizable chunk of the population lives in private housing."  

After describing the so-called Vienna model, during which he puts forth a vision of communal living with shared laundry, kitchens, food co-ops, bathhouses, pharmacies, lecture halls, swimming pools and more, he suggests a way forward that includes establishing "community land trusts to gradually buy up housing on the private market and convert it to community ownership."

"If we want to end the housing crisis, the solution has to be moving toward the full de-commodification of housing," Mamdani says. "In other words, moving away from the status quo in which most people access housing by purchasing it on the market and toward a future where we guarantee high quality housing to all as a human right."

JONATHAN TURLEY: WHY NYC'S ZOHRAN MAMDANI LOOKS MORE AND MORE LIKE A HARDCORE MARXIST

President Donald Trump has referred to Mamdani as a "100% Communist Lunatic" and vowed to "save New York City" from Mamdani if he gets elected. He has suggested a willingness to withhold federal funds from the city if Mamdani doesn't "behave."  

"As President of the United States, I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social Wednesday. "Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it 'Hot' and 'Great' again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!"

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's campaign for comment but did not receive a response. 

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

Omaha City Councilman Brinker Harding has launched a bid to succeed outgoing U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who announced that he will not seek re-election next year.

"I’m a husband, father, businessman, and Omaha City Councilman. Today, I am announcing my run for Congress in NE-02 to make America more like its Heartland and to make the next 250 years a New Golden Age for America. I hope you’ll join me!" Harding declared in a July 1 post on X.

Bacon, who has served in Congress since 2017, has announced that he will finish his current term, but will not run for re-election in 2026.

KEY HOUSE GOP MODERATE DON BACON WON'T SEEK RE-ELECTION

"Thank you, @DonJBacon, for your 30 years of distinguished service in the Air Force and a decade of dedicated leadership representing NE-02 in Congress," Harding declared in a June 30 post on X. "You’ve been a true statesman who’s served with integrity and heart. Wishing you and Angie all the best in this next chapter."

While Republicans have been divided on the issue, Bacon is a staunch proponent of U.S. aid to Ukraine.

GOP LAWMAKER BLASTS ‘DUMB’ TRUMP COMMENT ON ZELENSKYY DESPITE ‘PERFECT’ CRITICISM OF PUTIN

"It is a time for honesty. Peace talks are having zero effect on Putin. His goal is to dominate Ukraine & he won’t stop until he realizes he cannot win. The U.S. & Allies must arm Ukraine to the teeth, sanction Russia to the max, & confiscate the $300B in overseas Russian assets," the congressman declared in a post on X in late May.

U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., is backing Harding for the House seat.

PENTAGON HALTS SOME WEAPONS SHIPMENTS TO UKRAINE OVER CONCERNS ABOUT US STOCKPILES

"Throughout a lifetime of service to Omaha and Nebraska, Brinker Harding has always championed public safety, economic development, and fiscal responsibility. Brinker will make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous. I am honored to endorse him for Congress," Fischer noted in a post on X.

In a dramatic escalation of military involvement in immigration enforcement, the U.S. Air Force and Navy are taking over vast new swathes of federal land along the southern border, under a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. 

One 250-mile stretch, located in Texas’ Cameron and Hidalgo counties, is being transferred to Air Force control and will fall under the jurisdiction of Joint Base San Antonio and be managed as part of a newly established National Defense Area (NDA).

The land is being transferred from the International Boundary and Water Commission, an agency traditionally responsible for handling water and boundary disputes between the U.S. and Mexico, marking a significant shift in the use and oversight of federal land at the border.

Another 140-mile stretch of land along the border near Yuma, Arizona, will be transferred to Navy jurisdiction.

NAVY DEPLOYS ADDITIONAL WARSHIP TO CURB ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, DRUG SMUGGLING AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER

These mark the third NDAs created under the Trump administration, following similar moves in New Mexico and near El Paso, Texas. The areas are designated as military zones to bolster border security operations amid a surge in illegal crossings under the Biden administration. 

Presidents since Richard Nixon have deployed active-duty troops and reservists to the border. But until Trump, they’ve largely been restricted to logistical support: surveillance, building roads, etc. U.S. troops stationed in the NDAs will now be authorized to apprehend, search and detain migrants until Customs and Border Protection agents arrive. Migrants entering these zones may also face trespassing charges for entering military property.

PENTAGON SETS UP NEW 250 MILE MILITARY BUFFER ZONE AT BORDER WITH CROSSINGS AT RECORD LOWS

The move is part of a broader mission managed by the Joint Task Force – Southern Border (JTF-SB), a joint effort between the Air Force and U.S. Northern Command to consolidate and strengthen military presence along the border.

To support these efforts, the military has deployed Stryker vehicles, ground-based radar systems, and even begun 3D-printing drones to enhance surveillance capacity and reduce costs.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the coordinated efforts between DoD and Customs and Border Patrol led to zero "gotaways," or migrants that escape authorities, across the entire southern border from June 28-30.

Civil liberties groups have sounded the alarm, warning the policy blurs the lines between military and law enforcement roles and may violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the use of federal troops in domestic policing without congressional approval.

"Using the military purpose doctrine to justify direct military involvement in immigration enforcement is a transparent ruse to evade the Posse Comitatus Act," the Brennan Center for Justice said in a statement. "The nominal justification is protecting the installation, but the installation itself was created to apprehend and detain migrants."

Critics also warn the policy could set a dangerous precedent. "If soldiers are allowed to take on domestic policing roles at the border, it may become easier to justify military deployments within the U.S. interior," the Center added.

Andy Gould, former Arizona supreme court justice, said he thought the move was "extremely effective against the cartels and completely legal."

US MILITARY STATIONED AT THE BORDER IN NEW MEXICO NATIONAL DEFENSE AREA CAN DETAIN ILLEGAL MIGRANTS

"He's created No Trespassing zones on the border, and by taking federal land and declaring a national emergency and transferring it to the military, and then also using the military as an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act where he says, ‘This is a military purpose to deal with the emergency on the border.’"

"The idea that the President United States can use a military presence to defend an American border, I think that's going to be tough to challenge."

Since President Donald Trump took office, the number of active-duty troops at the southern border has surged from under 2,000 to more than 8,000, with Hegseth authorizing up to 10,000 earlier this year.

This militarized approach has also prompted drug traffickers to shift tactics, turning to maritime smuggling routes in response to intensified land enforcement. The Pentagon has responded by deploying naval vessels with Coast Guard teams to interdict sea-based drug operations.

"We know terrorists are trying to get in through our border," said Brig Barker, former FBI advisor to U.S. Special Operations Command and counterterrorism expert. "Swarming this with different inter-agencies is a good thing. … The military has a lot of refined skills and capabilities that civilian law enforcement doesn't have. 

He predicted that military counternarcotics missions would push further into Latin America, "bringing that out to that fight farther out from our border, really kind of preempt before they can get closer to our border."

But nurses, doctors and health experts say that more funding and extra staff are needed to make it a reality.

The House of Representatives has voted to advance President Donald Trump’s $3.3 trillion "big, beautiful bill" to its final phase in Congress, overcoming fears of a potential Republican mutiny.

It’s a significant victory for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., though the fight is not over yet.

Lawmakers voted to proceed with debate on the mammoth-sized Trump agenda bill in the early hours of Thursday – a mechanism known as a "rule vote" – teeing up a final House-wide vote sometime later Thursday morning.

The House adopted the rules for debate on the measure in a dramatic 219 to 213 vote – with all but moderate Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., voting to proceed.

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

The vote had been stalled for hours, since Wednesday afternoon, with five House Republicans poised to kill the measure before lawmakers could weigh the bill itself.

Several members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and their allies, meanwhile, appeared ready to skip the vote altogether in protest of GOP leaders' compromise bill.

But both Johnson and Trump spent hours negotiating with holdouts, apparently to some success.

But the process could still take hours. Democrats could still call up various procedural votes to delay the final measure, as they did when the legislation passed the House by just one vote for the first time in late May.

Plus, the bill itself could still face opposition from both moderates and conservative Republicans.

Conservative lawmakers were threatening to derail the rule vote as recently as Wednesday over changes the Senate made to the legislation, which fiscal hawks argued would add billions of dollars to the federal deficit.

But those concerns appear to have been outweighed by pressure from House GOP leaders and the president himself – who urged House Republicans to coalesce around the bill.

The Senate passed its version of the bill late on Tuesday morning, making modifications to the House’s provisions on Medicaid cost-sharing with states, some tax measures, and raising the debt ceiling.

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

Moderates are wary of Senate measures that would shift more Medicaid costs to states that expanded their programs under Obamacare, while conservatives have said those cuts are not enough to offset the additional spending in other parts of the bill.

Two members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who also sit on the House Rules Committee, Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Chip Roy, R-Texas, voted against the measure during the Rules Committee's 12-hour hearing to consider the bill.

Johnson himself publicly urged the Senate to change as little as possible in the run-up to the vote. But the upper chamber’s bill ultimately passed by a similarly narrow margin as the House – with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.

"I’m not happy with what the Senate did to our product," Johnson told reporters late on Tuesday afternoon. "We understand this is a process that goes back and forth, and we'll be working to get all of our members to yes."

But Trump took to Truth Social after the Senate passed the bill to urge House Republicans to do the same.

"It is no longer a ‘House Bill’ or a ‘Senate Bill’. It is everyone’s Bill. There is so much to be proud of, and EVERYONE got a major Policy WIN — But, the Biggest Winner of them all will be the American People, who will have Permanently Lower Taxes, Higher Wages and Take Home Pay, Secure Borders, and a Stronger and More Powerful Military," the president posted.

"We can have all of this right now, but only if the House GOP UNITES, ignores its occasional ‘GRANDSTANDERS (You know who you are!), and does the right thing, which is sending this Bill to my desk. We are on schedule — Let’s keep it going, and be done before you and your family go on a July 4thvacation. The American People need and deserve it. They sent us here to, GET IT DONE."

Both the House and Senate have been dealing with razor-thin GOP majorities of just three votes each.

THOM TILLIS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SENATE AFTER CLASH WITH TRUMP

The bill would permanently extend the income tax brackets lowered by Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), while temporarily adding new tax deductions to eliminate duties on tipped and overtime wages up to certain caps.

It also includes a new tax deduction for people aged 65 and over.

The legislation also rolls back green energy tax credits implemented under former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which Trump and his allies have attacked as "the Green New Scam."

The bill would also surge money toward the national defense, and to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the name of Trump's crackdown on illegal immigrants in the U.S.

The bill would also raise the debt limit by $5 trillion in order to avoid a potentially economically devastating credit default sometime this summer, if the U.S. runs out of cash to pay its obligations.

New and expanded work requirements would be implemented for Medicaid and federal food assistance, respectively.

Democrats have blasted the bill as a tax giveaway to the wealthy while cutting federal benefits for working-class Americans.

But Republicans have said their tax provisions are targeted toward the working and middle classes – citing measures eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages – while arguing they were reforming federal welfare programs to work better for those who truly need them.

Progressive Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., told reporters it was Democrats' intent to delay proceedings on Wednesday for as long as possible.

"This last go around, we were able to delay the bill upwards of 30 hours. And so we're going to do the same thing, do everything we can from a procedural point of view to delay this," Frost said.

Meanwhile, there were earlier concerns about if weather delays in Washington could delay lawmakers from getting to Capitol Hill in time for the planned vote.

"We're monitoring the weather closely," Johnson told reporters. "There's a lot of delays right now."

Fox News' Dan Scully contributed to this report.

But nurses, doctors and health experts say that more funding and extra staff are needed to make it a reality.

The flag is at the centre of a row between a council's chief executive and Reform UK.

Check whether your MP voted for or against the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill

The chancellor's financial wriggle room has shrunk after welform reforms were watered down.

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social early Thursday to call out Republicans who are still refusing to get behind a House procedural vote on the "Big Beautiful Bill." 

With the vote having stalled late Wednesday – with five Republican "nays" and another eight Republicans having yet to cast a vote – the president touted the benefits the country is poised to gain with the bill’s passage. 

"Largest Tax Cuts in History and a Booming Economy vs. Biggest Tax Increase in History, and a Failed Economy," Trump wrote on Truth Social before turning his ire to GOP holdouts: "What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!" 

SENATE REPUBLICANS RAM TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' THROUGH KEY TEST VOTE

Trump later wrote that the vote should be an "EASY YES" for Republicans, calling the holdouts’ refusal to vote, "RIDICULOUS." 

A procedural "rule vote" allows lawmakers to debate ahead of a final vote on the "Big Beautiful Bill" before it would head to the president’s desk for a signature. 

By early Thursday, the following House Republicans were a no on the procedural vote: Reps. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Keith Self of Texas, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky – who changed his vote from a "yay" to a "nay." 

When asked why he switched his vote, Massie told Fox News Digital, "Because most of the world isn’t concerned about the difference between the rule resolution vote and the final passage vote."

MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, 'BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE

The following Republican lawmakers have yet to cast their vote: Reps. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eric Burlison of Missouri, Michael Cloud of Texas, Andy Harris of Maryland, Bob Onder of Missouri, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, and Chip Roy of Texas.

Leaving a room with other holdouts and critics of the bill just after 1 a.m. on Thursday, Burchett told reporters, "We're just getting very close, I think, to getting something resolved."

He would not say how he would vote for the legislation, however.

GOP lawmakers can only afford to lose three votes. Republican leaders have now kept the rule vote open for over four hours to try to pressure the holdouts to get a majority vote. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson had recalled lawmakers to Washington, eager to seize on the momentum of the bill's passage the day before in the Senate and vowed to press ahead.

"Everybody wants to get to yes," Johnson told Fox News as the voting was underway.

Quickly convening for the vote on the more than 800-page bill was risky gambit, one designed to meet Trump's demand for a holiday finish. Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way this year, often succeeding by the narrowest of margins, only one vote. 

Their slim 220-212 majority, leaving little room for defections.

The PM insists Rachel Reeves will stay in her job after markets react to her tearful Commons appearance.

Pat McFadden says there will be "financial consequences" to the decision to water down planned welfare cuts.

The chancellor's financial wriggle room has shrunk after welform reforms were watered down.

The Senate’s version of the "one big, beautiful bill" includes a tiny, 1% tax on international cash transfers — called a remittance tax — which, according to experts, will have a major impact on immigrants working in the U.S.

A remittance is a money transfer to another country outside the U.S., which is a common practice among immigrant workers who send part of their wages back to family in their native countries. Tens of billions of dollars in remittances are sent to other countries from the U.S. every year.

Earlier versions of the bill included higher tax rates and specifically targeted illegal immigrants sending money outside the U.S. The current version of the "big, beautiful bill," however, imposes a 1% fee only on cash transfers, not electronic transfers, sent to other countries. U.S. citizens who want to send cash to other countries will also be subject to the 1% tax.

The tax is expected to generate $10 billion in extra revenue for the federal government, according to an estimate done by Politico.

TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' CLEARS FINAL HURDLE BEFORE HOUSE-WIDE VOTE

Besides generating extra revenue, Lora Ries, director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that the remittance tax has the potential to discourage illegal immigration into the U.S. by making it harder to send money back home.

"Illegal aliens generally want five things when coming to the U.S.: to enter, to remain here, work, send money home (remittances), and bring family and/or have children here," she explained. "Prevent those five things, and you prevent illegal immigration and encourage self-deportation."

The administration has been pushing hard for illegal immigrants to self-deport, incentivizing them by offering to front the cost of commercial flights and providing a $1,000 stipend to those who opt to self-deport. Ries said the remittance tax could be another effective strategy besides ICE raids that could help to crack down on illegal immigration into the country and reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S.

TRUMP TO BEGIN ENFORCING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER AS EARLY AS THIS MONTH, DOJ SAYS

Ries said, however, that the 1% needs to be much higher to be effective.

"A 1% tax only on cash transfers does very little. The tax should be much higher and cover all types of money transfers," she said.

"Until now, the U.S. government has not touched the annual billions of dollars going out of the country, not benefiting the U.S. economy," she went on. "Remittances should be taxed to discourage unauthorized employment and its earnings."

ELON MUSK'S ATTACKS ON TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' HAVE 'NO BASIS,' SAYS NO 2 HOUSE REPUBLICAN

Meanwhile, Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital that though he believes the remittance tax will have a significant impact, it may not be in the way the Trump administration hopes.

He argued that discouraging remittances to countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras — where such payments account for more than 20% of the GDP — could actually drive more migration from those nations.

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"If you're Honduras, if you're El Salvador and Guatemala, even a 1% tax, if it decreases the remittances, could actually be a significant toll in the development of those countries," he said. "If the remains were actually to decrease significantly, that could potentially backfire on President Trump's agenda to reduce irregular migration because he could actually make circumstances, economic circumstances in these countries more difficult and spur new irregular immigration in the future."

The House of Representatives is currently considering the Senate’s version of the "big, beautiful bill."

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking to overturn lower court rulings that blocked the administration from firing three Biden-appointed regulators.

The emergency appeal asks the High Court to allow the Trump administration to fire three members of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a five-member independent regulatory board that sets standards and oversees safety for thousands of consumer products. The appeal comes after the Supreme Court, in May, granted a separate emergency appeal request from the Trump administration pertaining to the firing of two Biden-appointed agency officials from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).  

"It's outrageous that we must once again seek Supreme Court intervention because rogue leftist judges in lower courts continue to defy the high court's clear rulings," said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields. 

SUPREME COURT ALLOWS TERMINATION OF INDEPENDENT AGENCY BOARD MEMBERS FOR NOW

"The Supreme Court decisively upheld the president's constitutional authority to fire and remove executive officers exercising his power, yet this ongoing assault by activist judges undermines that victory," he continued. "President Trump remains committed to fulfilling the American people's mandate by effectively leading the executive branch, despite these relentless obstructions."

Mary Boyle, Alexander Hoehn-Saric and Richard Trumka Jr. were appointed to serve seven-year terms on the independent government agency by former President Joe Biden. Their positions have historically been protected from retribution, as they can only be terminated for neglect or malfeasance.

After Trump attempted to fire the three Democratic regulators, they sued, arguing the president sought to remove them without due cause. Eventually, a federal judge in Maryland agreed with them, and this week an appeals court upheld that ruling. 

However, according to the emergency appeal from the Trump administration, submitted to the High Court on Wednesday morning, the three regulators in question have shown "hostility to the President's agenda" and taken actions that have "thrown the agency into chaos."

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

The emergency appeal to the Supreme Court added that "none of this should be possible" after the High Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration's decision to fire two executive branch labor relations officials.

"None of this should be possible after Wilcox, which squarely controls this case. Like the NLRB and MSPB in Wilcox, the CPSC exercises 'considerable executive power,' 145 S. Ct. at 1415—for instance, by issuing rules, adjudicating administrative proceedings, issuing subpoenas, bringing enforcement suits seeking civil penalties, and (with the concurrence of the Attorney General) even prosecuting criminal cases," Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in the emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

The request, according to Politico, will go to Chief Justice John Roberts, who is in charge of emergency appeals stemming from the appeals court that upheld the previous Maryland court ruling blocking the Trump administration's firings.