A newly formed outside group aligned with President Donald Trump says it's taking aim at Republican senators who remain undecided on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as it pushes to confirm Trump's Health and Human Services secretary.
Patient First Coalition (PFC), a nonprofit advocacy group launched last week, says it's now beginning what it describes as a "massive grassroots effort" to encourage Republican senators to support Kennedy, the vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump.
Kennedy survived back-to-back combustible Senate confirmation hearings last week, where Trump's nominee to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation's food and health faced plenty of verbal fireworks over past controversial comments, including his repeated claims in recent years linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.
The move by PFC, which says it's a collective group of organizations committed to advancing Kennedy's so-called "Make America Healthy Again" agenda, comes ahead of Tuesday's key confirmation vote by the Senate Finance Committee.
"All uncommitted Republican Senators will be targeted in this grassroots effort," PFC highlighted.
Shannon Burns, the group's senior advisor, shared that "our grassroots phase will include television, radio and podcast interviews with our advisory board members, as well as guest columns in newspapers across the country."
"We will enable thousands of calls and emails into Senate offices from millions of Americans who support this agenda. We want to organize them, mobilize them, and make sure their voices are heard before the Senate votes," Burns added.
PFC pointed out that it will initially give "special focus" to GOP senators in Louisiana, Maine, Alaska, Kentucky and North Carolina.
Those states are home to Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana physician and chair of the Senate Health Committee, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who are often at odds with Trump, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former longtime Senate Republican leader, and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
"Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me," Cassidy told Kennedy at the end of Thursday's confirmation hearing.
PFC is one of a handful of outside groups targeting GOP senators in the fight to confirm Trump's nominees.
A source in Trump's political orbit tells Fox News that those groups could "exact consequences" on Republican senators who don't support the president's Cabinet nominees.
And Trump on Sunday took to social media to demand that Senate Republicans 'GET TOUGH VERY FAST" in confirming the rest of his Cabinet.
"Tammy [Murphy] and I were talking about – I don’t want to get into too much detail, but there is someone in our broader universe whose immigration status is not yet at the point that they are trying to get it to. And we said, you know what? Let's have her live at our house above our garage," the Democrat governor said.
"And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her," Murphy added, seemingly hinting that the person may be an illegal immigrant. Fox News Digital reached out to Murphy's office for more information, but they did not immediately respond.
The revelation comes as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been conducting operations in New Jersey, most notably with a raid in Newark in late January.
"Public trust is essential to public safety. Our office has requested more information from the Trump Administration about the recent immigration enforcement action in Newark so we have a clear understanding of the facts of this case," a spokesperson for Murphy told PIX11 following that operation.
ICE did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Trump border czar Tom Homan told Fox News in December that knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal immigrant from ICE is a "violation of the law."
The Trump administration is ending a deportation shield for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the U.S., opening the door to them being deported -- just as President Donald Trump has secured an agreement with the socialist country to take back its nationals.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Fox News Digital that more than 300,000 nationals protected by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 2023 are having their statuses revoked. The New York Times, which first reported details of the move, reported that they will lose temporary status 60 days after the government first publishes the notice.
TPS grants protection from deportation and allows work permits for nationals living in the U.S. from countries deemed unsafe for them to be returned. Then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced extensions for TPS for Venezuela, as well as El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine, for an additional 18 months in the final few days of the Biden administration. That move, if left in place, would have complicated Trump efforts to deport large numbers of those nationalities.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week announced that the extension was being revoked, but this move would prematurely end the status altogether.
Republicans have long been skeptical of the program, arguing that it has been used too broadly, with 17 countries designated at the end of the Biden administration. The first Trump administration cut down on the use of TPS and has indicated it intends to do the same in the second administration.
Venezuelans were one of the top nationalities coming into the U.S. at the height of the 2021-2024 border crisis, with many also coming in through a separate parole policy for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans -- a program now ended by the Trump administration.
On Saturday, Trump said that an agreement had been made with Venezuela to take back its illegal immigrants. Venezuela had started taking back illegal immigrants in 2023 but stopped in early 2024.
"…Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their Country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua," Trump said on Truth Social.
"Venezuela has further agreed to supply the transportation back. We are in the process of removing record numbers of illegal aliens from all Countries, and all Countries have agreed to accept these illegal aliens back."
The moves come amid a flurry of efforts by the Trump administration to secure the border and significantly ramp up the numbers of deportations and removals from the U.S. The administration has ended parole programs, limited the use of asylum and deployed the military to the southern border.
Meanwhile, Noem visited the southern border on Sunday, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently on a tour of Latin America. Defense Department Secretary Pete Hegseth is heading to the southern border on Monday.
The Trump administration is billing the new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as critical to preventing fentanyl and other drugs from pouring across the U.S. border, rather than a step in an international trade war.
President Donald Trump is imposing a 25% tariff on all goods entering the United States from Mexico and Canada; a 10% tariff on Canadian energy; and a 10% tariff on all goods entering the U.S. from China. The tariffs on Canada and China are set to go into effect Tuesday at midnight.
The president spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Monday morning, he said, and is expected to speak to him again at 3 p.m. ET on Monday.
"Canada doesn’t even allow U.S. Banks to open or do business there," Trump posted on his Truth Social Monday. "What’s that all about? Many such things, but it’s also a DRUG WAR, and hundreds of thousands of people have died in the U.S. from drugs pouring through the Borders of Mexico and Canada."
The president also spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Monday morning — a conversation that led to Trump delaying the imposition of tariffs on Mexico for one month.
"It was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 Mexican Soldiers on the Border separating Mexico and the United States," Trump posted on his Truth Social. "These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country."
"We further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period during which we will have negotiations headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and high-level Representatives of Mexico," Trump wrote. "I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a ‘deal’ between our two Countries."
On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance echoed a similar sentiment regarding drugs, posting on X that Mexico "sends tons of fentanyl into our country. Canada has seen a massive increase in fentanyl trafficking across its border."
"There are three ways of stopping this," Vance wrote. "The first is ask nicely, which we’ve done. It’s gone no where."
He added: "Now we’re onto the consequences phase."
And Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Monday said the imposition of tariffs "isn’t a trade war with Canada, or Mexico or China."
"This is about fentanyl," Burgum said on "Fox & Friends." "We’ve had a mass invasion of our country. We’ve been taking mass casualties. We lose almost 300 people a day to overdose deaths."
Burgum added: "President Trump wants to end this."
The president authorized the tariffs in an executive order on Saturday. Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 25% additional tariff will be levied on imports from Canada and Mexico, with a 10% tariff on imports from China.
In the executive order, Trump said the tariffs stem from an "extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, [that] constitutes a national emergency."
The tariffs have invited international criticism from leaders and citizens alike in Canada and Mexico. During his exchange with reporters on Sunday evening, Trump accused Canada of being "abusive" toward the U.S. in terms of trade.
"Canada has been very abusive of the United States for many years. They don't allow our banks," Trump said. "And you know that Canada does not allow banks to go in, if you think about it. That's pretty amazing. If we have a U.S. bank, they don't allow them to go in."
"Canada has been very tough for oil on energy. They don't allow our farm products in, essentially. They don't allow a lot of things in. And we allow everything to come in as being a one-way street."
Trump also said that the U.S. subsidizes Canada "by the tune of about $200 billion a year."
"And for what? What do we get out of it? We don't get anything out of it," he added. "I love the people of Canada. I disagree with the leadership of Canada and something is going to happen there."
But in a statement on Saturday, Sheinbaum said her country "categorically reject[s] the White House's slander against the Mexican government of having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of intervention in our territory."
"Mexico not only does not want fentanyl to reach the United States, but anywhere," the statement read. "Therefore, if the United States wants to combat criminal groups that traffic drugs and generate violence, we must work together in an integrated manner, but always under the principles of shared responsibility, mutual trust, collaboration and, above all, respect for sovereignty, which is not negotiable."
Canada's Trudeau slighted the U.S. by encouraging Canadians to "buy Canada," and announcing his own set of tariffs on $20 billion "of goods imported from the United States," including produce, meats and cheeses.
"Now is the time to choose products made right here in Canada," Trudeau wrote on X. "Check the labels. Let’s do our part. Wherever we can, choose Canada."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent the weekend speaking with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who could effectively stop his confirmation process for secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in its tracks.
The Louisiana senator's office confirmed Sunday evening that the two men had been speaking that day.
Cassidy is a doctor and also one of the few remaining Republican senators who voted to convict President Donald Trump for allegedly inciting the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
His vote on the 27-member Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday could decide whether Kennedy's nomination to be Trump's HHS secretary moves forward to the Senate floor or is left to potentially die in committee.
Cassidy has yet to indicate how he plans to vote on the nomination. During one of Kennedy's hearings last week, he admitted, "I have been struggling with your nomination."
He explained that there are areas of alignment between them, but that his criticism and claims regarding vaccination have given him pause.
"But if there is someone that is not vaccinated because of policies or attitudes you bring to the department and there is another 18-year-old who dies of a vaccine-preventable disease, helicoptered away, God forbid dies, it’ll be blown up in the press," Cassidy said.
"The greatest tragedy will be her death, but I can also tell you an associated tragedy that will cast a shadow over President Trump’s legacy, which I want to be the absolute best legacy it can be."
He added that this was his "dilemma," and foreshadowed their conversations, saying, "you may be hearing from me over the weekend."
Representatives for Cassidy and Kennedy did not divulge specifics of their conversations.
Whether he was decided yet on how he will vote, Cassidy's office declined to comment.
Kennedy has managed to get the support of other sometimes hesitant lawmakers, such as Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., who said on X, "[Kennedy's] unique leadership on healthy lifestyle choices will benefit countless Americans, and he understands the critical importance of rebuilding trust in our public health institutions."
"I’ve also received assurances from him that strong pro-life policies will continue to be reinstituted at HHS under his leadership," Young wrote. "We spoke extensively about the importance of supporting innovation in health care to both bring down costs and improve treatment. I look forward to working with him to make positive changes for the American people."
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., will also be voting to advance Kennedy, his office confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Kennedy will likely need the support of every Republican on the committee, assuming he does not receive any Democratic support. No committee Democrats have come out to say they will back him. The committee vote will take place Tuesday morning.
The Senate Republican campaign committee is touting that it is off to a strong fundraising start as it aims to defend and expand its majority in the chamber in the 2026 midterm elections.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) announced on Monday that it raked in a record $8.5 million in January, which the committee says is its best ever off-year January haul.
"To deliver on the promises President Trump made to the American people, we must protect and grow our Republican Senate Majority," South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the new NRSC chair, said in a statement.
Scott teased that "the NRSC’s record-breaking January is just the beginning. We will work tirelessly to ensure Republicans have the resources and operations needed to win in battleground states across the Senate map."
However, in a memo sent to Senate Republican chiefs of staff, NRSC Executive Director Jennifer DeCasper noted that the committee will "enter this cycle with nearly $24 million in debt and unpaid bills from last cycle and limited cash on hand."
The NRSC ended 2024 with $2.7 million in its coffers.
Republicans won control of the Senate in November's elections by flipping an open seat in West Virginia, and ousting Democratic incumbents in Montana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The GOP currently holds a 53-47 majority in the Senate.
Senate Republicans enjoyed a very favorable map in the 2024 cycle as they won back control of the majority. An early read of the 2026 map shows they will continue to play offense in some states, but will be forced to play defense in others.
The GOP will target an open Democrat-held seat in battleground Michigan, where Sen. Gary Peters announced last week that he would not seek re-election in 2026. They will also target first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff in battleground Georgia and longtime Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in swing state New Hampshire.
However, Democrats plan to go on offense in blue-leaning Maine, where GOP Sen. Susan Collins is up for re-election, as well as in battleground North Carolina, where Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is also up in 2026.
Mexico has agreed to deploy 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in exchange for a one-month delay on President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday.
Sheinbaum made the announcement on social media Monday morning, roughly 12 hours before the tariffs were set to take effect. Trump and Sheinbaum spoke on Monday and agreed that Mexico will do more to combat drug trafficking into the U.S., and that the U.S. will step up efforts to block the flow of firearms into Mexico.
Sheinbaum also said officials with the U.S. and Mexico were beginning talks on wider trade and security issues.
Trump confirmed the deal in his own post on Truth Social, describing the call with Sheinbaum as a "very friendly conversation."
"I just spoke with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico. It was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 Mexican Soldiers on the Border separating Mexico and the United States. These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country," Trump wrote.
"We further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period during which we will have negotiations headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and high-level Representatives of Mexico. I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a 'deal' between our two Countries," he added.
The deal comes just days after Trump announced 25% tariffs on both Mexico and Canada, as well as 10% tariffs on China. Trump says he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, but the pair did not reach an agreement. He says they will speak again later Monday.
The tariffs are set to take effect at midnight on Tuesday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slighted the U.S. by encouraging Canadians to "buy Canada" in response to the tariffs.
"Now is the time to choose products made right here in Canada," Trudeau wrote on X. "Check the labels. Let’s do our part. Wherever we can, choose Canada.
During Sunday's exchange with reporters, Trump also discussed the prospect of cutting off aid to South Africa after its president signed a controversial land seizure measure.
A resounding majority of New York State registered voters support President Donald Trump's effort to deport illegal aliens who have been convicted of a crime, according to a Siena College poll.
The poll of Empire State registered voters found that 79% support deporting such individuals, while just 11% oppose removing them.
The poll results indicate that the issue represents an area of significant bipartisan agreement.
While 69% of Democrats support expulsion of illegal aliens convicted of a crime, according to the poll, a whopping 91% of Republicans also support it — just 16% of Democrats and 4% of Republicans oppose it.
The poll found that just 39% support the deportation of illegal aliens who do not have a criminal record, while 42% oppose it. A majority of Republicans (64%) support the idea, while just 24% of Democrats back it. And while 15% of Republicans oppose the notion, 59% of Democrats oppose it.
Regarding the Trump administration's deportation efforts, 48% believe New York should support federal efforts to deport aliens living unlawfully in the Empire State, while 31% think the state should oppose federal deportation efforts.
There is a significant partisan divide on the issue, with 81% of Republicans indicating the state should support federal deportation efforts, but just 28% of Democrats holding that position. While 50% of Democrats indicated the state should oppose federal deportation efforts, just 6% of Republicans shared that view.
New Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has raised eyebrows on social media for some of her unique style choices.
"Kristi Noem seems to think that serving as a Cabinet secretary is akin to attending a Halloween party," one user on social media said in response to Noem appearing on NBC’s "Meet the Press" with a cowboy hat. "These costumes are just getting ridiculous."
The post comes after Noem was gifted a Border Patrol cowboy hat by agents in Texas on Sunday, according to a report from News Nation, where the new Homeland Security secretary went on a ride-along with the Horse Patrol unit and was later seen shaking hands and posing for photos with agents while sporting the hat.
"We are not a serious country," one user on X added.
Other social media users rushed to Noem’s defense, with many pointing out that the attire is normal in her home state of South Dakota.
"Across America people – in places like Kristi's ranch – those hats aren't costumes as you know them. People actually wear them every day for work and whenever they are outdoors," one X user said.
"She’s from South Dakota, owns farmland and runs a ranch," added another. "Stands to reason she would have a cowboy hat."
"She posts pics on her farm all the time. She can’t wear one of her hats? Y’all are so weird," added another user.
Noem’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Reached for comment, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital Noem spent her first week on the job with "border agents at the southern and northern borders as well as on an ICE enforcement operation targeting high target criminals."
"Secretary Noem is proud to wear the uniform of the DHS agents who protect Americans and our homeland," Mclaughlin added. "I've yet to hear screeching when a man puts on a hat or protective vest. Critics are embarrassing themselves revealing that they are more concerned about what the Secretary of DHS wears than they are that Mayorkas allowed 15 million immigrants into this country in just four years."
FIRST ON FOX: The CEO of the largest steel producer in the U.S., Nucor Corp., endorsed President Donald Trump's tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, Fox News Digital learned.
"Nucor applauds the first steps taken by President Trump in his America First Trade Agenda," Leon J. Topalian, the chair, president and CEO Nucor Corp., wrote in a statement dated Friday that was obtained by Fox News Digital. "We look forward to working with President Trump to enforce our trade laws and strengthen American manufacturing!"
The subject line of the letter reads, "Presidential Executive Orders on Canada, Mexico, and the People’s Republic of China."
Nucor is based out of North Carolina and serves as the nation's largest steel producer and scrap metal recycler.
The company's CEO recently joined CNBC's Jim Cramer and celebrated Trump's then-upcoming tariffs as tools to end "currency manipulation" and the "subsidization" of steel coming to the U.S. from abroad.
"We saw the memo last Monday on tariffs and what they're going to do," Topalian said Tuesday. "And I think they're going to be far-reaching, and I think they're going to be very broad to, again, stop the illegal dumping, the manipulation, currency manipulation and subsidization of steels coming into the shores of the U.S."
"We're the largest steel company in North America, so, of course, we took a look a year and a half ago and, and, we'll continue to look and see if those assets come back," he said. "But, part of the reason we didn't move forward is valuation. We're not going to overpay for assets."
Trump signed an executive order on Saturday authorizing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China through the new International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The tariffs take effect on Tuesday and include 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% tariff.
The tariffs were created in light of "extraordinary" threats stemming from "illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl," according to the order.
"This challenge threatens the fabric of our society," the executive order states. "Gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illicit drugs of all kinds have poured across our borders and into our communities.
"Canada has played a central role in these challenges, including by failing to devote sufficient attention and resources or meaningfully coordinate with United States law enforcement partners to effectively stem the tide of illicit drugs."
Foreign leaders have railed against the tariffs. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Saturday that her country "categorically reject[s] the White House's slander against the Mexican government of having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of intervention in our territory."
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encouraged residents to "buy Canada" by checking labels at stores to ensure a product is made in the Great White North.
Trump defended the tariffs Sunday evening while talking to reporters gathered at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
"Canada has been very abusive of the United States for many years. They don't allow our banks," Trump said. "And you know that Canada does not allow banks to go in, if you think about it. That's pretty amazing. If we have a U.S. bank, they don't allow them to go in."
"Canada has been very tough for oil on energy. They don't allow our farm products in, essentially. They don't allow a lot of things in. And we allow everything to come in as being a one-way street."
Former President Joe Biden also imposed tariffs during his administration, including on steel and aluminum shipped from Mexico to the U.S. but made elsewhere.
Fox News Digital's Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump's administration is facing scrutiny this week after working with billionaire Elon Musk to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), an organization Musk called a "viper's nest" of mismanaged funding.
Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) worked with the Trump administration to shut down USAID on Monday. While the agency's long-term future remains unclear, lawmakers and activists have repeatedly accused USAID of using funding to leverage policy changes across the globe. Under President Joe Biden's administration, the organization was frequently used to push abortion in Africa, critics say.
Biden cleared the path for U.S. funding to flow toward pro-abortion groups across the globe just days after entering office. He signed an executive order rescinding the Reagan-era "Mexico City Rule" on Jan. 28, 2021.
The rule, first rescinded by President Barack Obama and then reinstated during Trump's first term, prevented foreign aid from going to nongovernmental organizations that promote abortion or provide abortion services.
"These excessive conditions on foreign and development assistance undermine the United States’ efforts to advance gender equality globally by restricting our ability to support women’s health," Biden said at the time.
Biden's rule change cleared USAID to send millions in funding to aggressive abortion organizations like Marie Stopes International (MSI). MSI said it relied on USAID for 17% of its total donor income under the Obama administration, adding that the lack of U.S. support created an $80-million "funding gap" over the final three years of Trump's term.
The group said the countries most heavily impacted by the lack of funding were Madagascar, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., accused Biden in 2023 of "hijacking" a successful AIDS relief program to push an international abortion agenda.
Smith's accusations centered on PREPFAR, a funding program within USAID that, at the time, had already allocated some $100 billion toward fighting AIDS across the world, saving 25 million lives and preventing millions of infections.
Smith says two groups, Population Services International (PSI) and Village Reach, had received $96.5 million and $10.1 million, respectively, from PEPFAR under Biden, and both groups have a track record of pushing abortion.
"PSI proudly proclaims it provides abortion and lobbies to eliminate pro-life laws," Smith said at the time. "PSI provides comprehensive abortion and post-abortion care services in nearly 20 countries throughout the world."
Smith alleged Village Reach used PEPFAR funds "to promote abortion in Malawi and lobby for changes in pro-life laws" and also "helped Malawi establish a government-funded hotline (that included providing information and referrals for ‘sexual and reproductive health,’ i.e., abortion)."
A third group, Pathfinder International, received $5 million in PEPFAR funding from 2021 to 2023. Smith said the group "lobbies to weaken or eliminate pro-life laws in nations around the world" and is "explicit in its promotion of abortion in other countries, stating it is "committed to expanding access to … safe abortion."
Biden's administration was accused in December of pressuring the government of Sierra Leone to adopt more permissive abortion policies in exchange for foreign assistance.
A report from the Daily Signal stated that The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government-run funding allocator, was threatening to withhold hundreds of millions in foreign assistance funding if the nation didn't relax its policies, a former senior U.S. government official told the outlet.
The MCC CEO Alice Albright signed an agreement with Sierra Leone's finance minister, Sheku Bangura, in late September. The agreement called for the country to receive $480 million in foreign assistance so long as it met the MCC's "rigorous standards for good governance, fighting corruption and respecting democratic rights."
The organization denied any effort to influence Sierra Leone's abortion policies in a statement to Fox News Digital in December.
"The Millennium Challenge Corporation is unaware of any Sierra Leonean abortion legislation and has never made any requests to the Government of Sierra Leone regarding abortion policies. Any such legislation would be an internal matter for Sierra Leone with no U.S. government developments fund made contingent on its passage," the organization said in a statement.
Footage circulating on social media showed raucous pro-life protesters demonstrating inside Sierra Leone's parliament at the time as lawmakers debated legislation detailing more permissive abortion rules.
Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
