Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., reportedly endorsed Andrew Cuomo to run for mayor of New York City in the latest blow to incumbent Democrat first-termer, Mayor Eric Adams.
"The two most important things we need are competence and courage," Torres, who represents the Bronx, told the New York Post.
"Andrew Cuomo has the competence to govern the city. He has the courage to stand up to extremist politics – both from the far left and far right," Torres said, adding: "We don’t need a Mr. Nice Guy. We need a Mr. Tough Guy."
Cuomo has not formally declared his candidacy for mayor but is rumored to announce soon.
"He has my endorsement as soon as he enters the race," Torres told the Post.
The former governor resigned in 2021 amid scandals connected to COVID-19 nursing home deaths and sexual harassment claims. Cuomo has always denied the allegations against him.
"I predict the comeback story of the 2025 election will be the resurrection of Andrew Cuomo," Torres told the Post. "America loves a comeback, New York loves a comeback."
Fox News Digital reached out to Torres' office for comment Monday but did not immediately hear back.
Last week, Cuomo disseminated a letter from former state comptroller Carl McCall, a prominent Democrat and Black elder statesman, backing him for mayor.
McCall endorsed Adams, who is New York City’s second Black mayor, in his 2021 campaign for the office.
Adams already faces multiple challengers in June's Democratic primary, but Cuomo is polling as the front-runner.
A federal judge on Friday canceled a corruption trial for Adams and appointed counsel to advise the court about President Donald Trump's Justice Department’s controversial request to drop charges against the mayor filed under the Biden administration. Adams has denied allegations of a quid pro quo agreement with the Trump administration, as the Democratic mayor cooperates with federal law enforcement on the president's criminal illegal immigration crackdown.
Judge Dale E. Ho's written order Friday means he will not decide before mid-March whether to grant the dismissal of the case against the embattled mayor of the nation’s largest city.
Ho said he appointed Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general under former President George W. Bush, to present arguments on the government’s request to drop the case.
President Donald Trump shared a SpongeBob SquarePants-themed meme after Elon Musk announced that federal workers would receive an email seeking information about what they accomplished last week.
The meme features a list titled, "Got Done Last Week." The five items on the list include, "Cried about Trump," "Cried about Elon," "Made it into the office for once," "Read some emails," and "Cried about Trump and Elon some more."
Trump shared the meme on Truth Social shortly after Musk shared it on X.
Musk had previously declared in a tweet, "Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."
The announcement came as Musk seeks to uncover government waste, fraud, and abuse as the Trump administration seeks to shrink the massive federal bureaucracy.
"A large number of good responses have been received already. These are the people who should be considered for promotion," Musk noted in another tweet.
But some have raised objections to the email sent to government workers.
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska referred to it as "absurd."
"Our public workforce deserves to be treated with dignity and respect for the unheralded jobs they perform. The absurd weekend email to justify their existence wasn’t it," she declared in a post on X.
Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota blasted Musk.
"This is the ultimate d--- boss move from Musk - except he isn’t even the boss, he’s just a d---," she tweeted.
Musk mockingly replied to the senator, "What did you get done last week?"
The Department of Defense told workers to "pause any response to the OPM email titled ‘What did you do last week,’" the Pentagon noted on X.
FBI Director Kash Patel similarly instructed workers to "pause any responses."
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told intelligence community workers not to reply to the email, the New York Times reported. "Given the inherently sensitive and classified nature of our work, I.C. employees should not respond to the OPM email," she noted, according to the outlet.
Fox News Digital emailed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to request comment on Monday.
FIRST ON FOX: Newly-confirmed Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator Kelly Loeffler is unveiling the agency's top priorities over the next four years as she aims to work with President Trump to create a "golden era of prosperity and growth."
Loeffler, confirmed in the Senate by a 52–46 margin last week, issued a "Day One" memo on Monday outlining the top priorities for the agency that will be tasked with the directive to "carry out President Trump’s America First agenda and empower small businesses to thrive" and to become an "America First engine for free enterprise."
The first priority on the list is promoting a "Made in America" agenda to boost U.S. manufacturing.
"The vast majority of America’s manufacturers are small businesses, and SBA programs have powered tens of thousands of them," the memo states. "This agency is committed to supporting the America First agenda by rebuilding American supply chains and investing in manufacturing to strengthen our economy and national security."
"The agency will transform its Office of International Trade into the ‘Office of Manufacturing and Trade’ – which will focus on promoting economic independence, job creation, and fair trade practices to power the next blue-collar boom. SBA will also partner across agencies to scale innovative manufacturing and technology startups that will help our nation return to ‘Made in America.’"
Since being sworn in as president for the second time, Trump has been vocal about eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from the federal government while also tasking Tesla CEO Elon Musk with leading the effort to cut wasteful spending with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Loeffler's memo states that the SBA intends to be an ally in both of those efforts and says it will enforce Trump's executive orders, including "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," and "Unleashing American Energy."
The memo says that the SBA will "continue working closely" with DOGE and "prioritize eliminating fraud and waste within the agency, to ensure American taxpayer dollars are utilized in the most productive way possible to benefit small businesses and economic growth and resilience."
The agency will work to eliminate wasteful spending and fraud with a "zero-tolerance policy" that will involve fraud investigations across all programs and appointing a "Fraud Czar" to "identify, stop, and claw back criminally obtained funds on behalf of American taxpayers – working across agencies to prevent fraud."
The SBA will also conduct an agency-wide financial audit.
"As fraud has risen, so too have delinquencies, defaults, and charge-offs on loan programs, exacerbated by the previous Administration’s lax loan underwriting, servicing, and collection efforts," the memo states. "As a result, SBA has been unable to satisfactorily complete a financial audit for several consecutive years.Therefore, the agency will request an independent audit of its financials to address mismanagement, restore the credibility of financial statements, and preserve the solvency of public-private programs like the 7(a) lending program and the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, which are designed to drive economic growth without taxpayer subsidy."
Last month, Trump told federal employees working from home that they would need to return to the office or face termination, which is a sentiment echoed by Loeffler, who said in her memo that all non-exempt employees will report to work in person on Monday for five days a week.
Trump's immigration agenda will also be furthered by the SBA, according to the memo, which will ban illegal immigrants from receiving SBA assistance while also "restricting hostile foreign nationals from accessing SBA assistance."
The memo outlines a variety of ways that the agency will work on "empowering small businesses," including a strike force to cut regulations, improving customer service and cybersecurity, promoting fair competition, and relocating offices outside of sanctuary cities.
Fox News Digital previously reported that the SBA has faced criticism in recent years during the Biden administration from the Republican-led Small Business Committee, which issued a subpoena and alleged that the agency failed to turn over information related to efforts to funnel resources to help register swing state voters. Republicans argued those efforts were unconstitutional, and Loeffler's memo pledges that the registration efforts in question will be ended.
"The SBA will end all taxpayer-funded voter registration activities – starting by rescinding the agency’s 2024 MOU with the Michigan Secretary of State’s office, which forced SBA district offices to conduct partisan voter registration on behalf of the previous Administration," the memo states. "Instead, the agency will return its focus to its founding mission of empowering job creators, delivering disaster relief, and driving economic growth."
Loeffler, who served as a senator in Georgia from 2020-2021, appeared before the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee on Jan. 28 to outline her vision and promised that Trump’s policies would "restore the small business economy" and would lead to a "golden era of prosperity and growth."
"Small businesses are the backbone of our nation, driving innovation, job creation, and prosperity – and there’s no stronger advocate for small business than President Trump or myself. But over the last four years, the SBA has burdened entrepreneurs with bureaucracy – with its programs becoming mired in fraud, waste, and abuse," Loeffler told Fox News Digital in a statement.
"That changes today. My first priority is rebuilding the SBA into an America First engine for free enterprise – by empowering small businesses and fueling economic growth."
As the Trump administration moves to slash thousands of government jobs, Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., issued a message to federal workers facing joblessness, expressing empathy for their situation while also asserting that bureaucracies have been "cannibalizing" the country.
Higgins, who has served as a House lawmaker since 2017, also declared that federal workers' jobs were not more important than other Americans' private sector jobs.
"I’m a compassionate man. I know loss and struggle, I understand financial hardship, I know what it is to face eviction, I know hunger, I’ve lived through despair," Higgins noted in a post on X.
"So, to the scores of thousands of FedGov employees who are facing unemployment because your elected officials have, for decades, grown the Federal bureaucracies into corrupt, bloated, weaponized devourers of America’s treasure and oppressors of American freedom… I say to you that I feel your pain and I wish you well, but your job was no more important than the carpenter, the machinist, the welder, the cop, the trucker, the warehouse worker, the salesman, the waitress, the heavy equipment operator… every American who lives down the street from you whose job has not been insulated from the real world," he continued.
"Our federal government bureaucracies are literally cannibalizing our nation, eating our children’s future. MAGA Republicans are going to bring our federal government back into sustainability. If you’ve lost your job, I’m sorry for your struggle. Pick yourself up, all of us will give you a hand. We’re all Americans, join us in saving our beloved Republic," Higgins concluded.
The congressman's message comes as the Trump administration seeks to slash the size of the federal bureaucracy, with billionaire business tycoon Elon Musk playing a key role in helping to uncover government waste, fraud, and abuse.
Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., commented, "The amount of waste, fraud, and ABUSE of taxpayers which is being uncovered in the federal government is absolutely shameful. Central Illinois farms, families and businesses are struggling because of inflation, driven by reckless government spending. Finally, we have a President who is reforming our government into one that works for you. Thank you President Trump!"
In another recent tweet, Higgins said, "Hey, bureaucrats… Wake up and pack up. America is pretty much done with you and your elitist attitude. You’re being daily weighed in the balances, and found wanting."
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are eyeing reforms to federal benefits that would impose work requirements on a wider swath of Americans.
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., chair of the right-wing pragmatist Main Street Caucus, is planning to introduce the "America Works Act of 2025," Fox News Digital has learned.
The bill would mandate that childless, able-bodied Americans on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) – colloquially known as food stamps – between the ages of 18 and 65 take on at least 20 hours per week of work or work-related education.
Adults with a dependent child under age 7 would be exempt, according to a summary provided to Fox News Digital.
"Able-bodied people who can work should work if we want to continue to have our welfare programs be pathways out of poverty," Johnson told Fox News Digital in an interview. "There is no reliable path out of poverty that doesn't have work, training and education at its core."
It comes as House Republicans get ready to negotiate on how to meet spending cut targets in their plans to move President Donald Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process.
By leveling the threshold for passage in the House and Senate at a simple majority, reconciliation allows the party in power to pass budgetary or other fiscal priorities in a massive piece of legislation with zero support from lawmakers on the opposing side. The threshold for passage in the Senate is otherwise two-thirds for most items.
GOP lawmakers are looking to accomplish a wide swath of Trump policies, from more funding for the border wall and detention beds to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages.
To offset the cost of that spending, the House’s reconciliation framework directs several committees to find areas for spending cuts. The House Committee on Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, must aim to cut at least $230 billion in spending.
The new bill gives the Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees food stamps, the ability to exempt people who live in counties where the unemployment rate exceeds 10%.
Two sources familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital that Johnson’s bill closely resembles what will end up in Republicans’ reconciliation bill.
When asked about cost projections, however, Johnson emphasized that his bill was motivated by social rather than fiscal change.
"It would be expected to be a major cost-savings, and while I think that’s important, my primary motivator is how much work requirements have proven to improve lives as opposed to how much money they save," he said. "I want people to escape poverty."
Currently, adults aged 18 to 54 can receive three months of SNAP benefits in three years at most before a requirement kicks in to work at least 80 hours per month.
Johnson’s bill would also strip present exemptions for young adults who recently aged out of foster care and for veterans. Those were included during bipartisan negotiations on raising the debt limit in 2023, as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
"The concessions we had to make in the Fiscal Responsibility Act to get things done were not helpful changes," Johnson said when asked about the change.
"It was just telling all veterans and all young adult former foster kids that the work requirements didn't apply to them, and that's not actually helpful to getting them to a better financial path."
He pointed out there would still be exceptions for pregnant women, people with disabilities, people living in high-unemployment counties, and others.
"My bill would go back to the way it was before, which is the same eligibility requirements applied to veterans and foster kids are applied to everybody else," he said.
A New York state lawmaker is proposing a ban on the sale of what he described as "highly addictive" flavored nicotine pouches, even after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration came out in support of the product due to data showing it can help smokers ditch cigarettes, which can cause cancer.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat, said he opposes replacing cigarettes, which contain tobacco, with nicotine pouches, noting that he wants to keep the flavored pouches away from young kids.
"This product is distinguishable from other smokeless tobacco products because they do not contain tobacco leaf, rather contain nicotine derived from tobacco or synthetic nicotine," Hoylman-Sigal said in his bill memo, according to the New York Post.
"Regardless, nicotine in any form and in any product is a highly addictive substance. This legislation would align New York values in prohibiting enticing flavors for all nicotine products — including nicotine pouches," he added.
Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, also a Democrat, is introducing a companion bill to ban nicotine pouches in the state legislature's lower chamber, the New York Post reported.
"There’s a lot greater awareness about nicotine patches," said Rosenthal, who first introduced a version of her bill in 2020.
Last month, the FDA approved 10 flavors of Philip Morris International’s Zyn brand of nicotine pouches, including cinnamon, coffee, mint, menthol and peppermint. This was the first time the agency authorized sales of nicotine pouches.
Nicotine pouches are held in the mouth and dissolve between the tongue and gum. In contrast to cigarettes and chewing tobacco, Zyn does not contain harmful substances linked to risks of cancer or other diseases, according to the FDA.
Data also shows that a significant number of adults who used cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products switched entirely to Zyn, the FDA said. But Hoylman-Siegal is concerned about the product's youth appeal.
"Our bill is targeted at the flavored products most likely to be used by young people," he told the New York Post. "With our bill, we’re trying to stop young people from getting hooked on favored Zyn products."
However, federal data shows that fewer than 2% of high school and middle school students in the country use nicotine pouches. The FDA also put in place restrictions to prevent companies from marketing nicotine pouches to the youth.
Tobacco companies now turn to alternatives to cigarettes amid a dip in smoking rates.
New York has already banned flavored e-cigarettes, although critics argue that the law is not adequately enforced.
"It's very similar to the issue involving flavored vapes," Hoylman-Sigal said.
Brian Erkilla, director of regulatory science at Philip Morris International, which produces Zyn, argues against New York banning Zyn and other nicotine pouches, saying that the "unintended consequences" include leaving 1.6 million tobacco smokers with fewer alternatives and that a ban could even lead to an uptick in smoking.
"The most harmful product is the combustible smoking cigarette. We should let smokers know there are other options out there. We shouldn’t take away their choice," Erkilla told the New York Post.
EXCLUSIVE: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said his state can take the lead on being the best prescription for putting America back on the right track in multiple ways, including energy dominance, job growth and reducing government debt.
In an exclusive interview Thursday with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the National Governors Association and Republican Governors Association winter meetings, Dunleavy said he is excited to work with President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on these matters in the Last Frontier.
Burgum’s experience in North Dakota and his openness to pursue Trump’s vision of an energy-independent America based on responsible stewardship is exactly what the country needs, Dunleavy said.
"What President Trump is doing is getting us back to what the purpose of all of this was," he said of the original intent to use federal lands not primarily for parks but for responsible stewardship of natural resources.
"And if we do that, we can eliminate a lot of ills: debt, job creation, reliance on foreign actors. The solutions are here. He knows what the solutions are and is implementing the solutions now," Dunleavy said.
He also said he hopes to work with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on expanding hydroelectric infrastructure in the Tongass National Forest – an area on the Inland Passage between Juneau and Petersburg that the late Rep. Don Young championed.
Rollins’ role overseeing the U.S. Forest Service – rather than Interior doing so as they do the National Park Service – is another hint that wide expanses of national forests were not meant to be off limits to resource development.
Just as the Department of Agriculture works with farmers in the Lower 48 to produce food and goods, its original mission therefore includes utilizing forest resources, he said.
One area of "tremendous" potential is Ambler, an area at the foot of the Brooks Range west of the Dalton Highway – better recognized as the 800-plus-mile "Ice Road Truckers" carriageway.
There is a 30-mile section of the line between Ambler and the Dalton Highway that crosses federal land, Dunleavy said – noting the original law gives Alaska the right to cross federal land.
"[The law says] we can't be prevented from accessing our leases through federal lands."
He said he expects Trump’s team to finally allow passage to take advantage of the area's rich mineralization opportunities.
"There was no excuse [to stop passage through federal lands] – same as there was no excuse for stopping the legally-executed [oil and gas] lease sales that were part of [Trump’s] 2017 bill."
"Two of our large national forests are larger than several states. If they were to be managed on a sustainable basis so that we could grow timber, we could mine properly, we could use the hydro resources."
Of the ANWR-1002 oil lease President Biden was mandated to market but purportedly "set up to fail," Dunleavy said investors recognized the January "sham" and are eager to see how Trump cures that particular ill.
Expansion of Alaska’s gas pipeline infrastructure and well-intended lease opportunities in ANWR-1002 are the right path to energy dominance on a global scale, Dunleavy said.
The governor added that the native communities on the North Slope are supportive of responsibly exploring ANWR-1002 as it has and would create jobs and opportunities for the far-flung residents.
"Our gas lines would also impact… our Asian allies; our position in the Pacific – It's not just a gas project for Alaska. It's a gas project for the Pacific and our allies," he said.
Another field Trump could pursue would be harnessing what are the second-strongest tides in the world, Dunleavy has said.
In another recent Fox News Digital interview, that time from Mat-Su Borough, Alaska itself, the governor said Cook Inlet's tides can be a "green" energy that works.
Cook Inlet, which extends south from the state's largest city, Anchorage, down the Kenai Peninsula and into the Gulf of Alaska, has an incredibly powerful push-pull dynamic.
Dunleavy said he is encouraging investment in harnessing Cook Inlet tides to produce a reliable energy source, particularly "green hydrogen," while rejecting the idea that the debate over "green" vs. fossil fuels is a zero-sum game.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a White House spokesman said, "President Trump is committed to unleashing American energy and will work with state officials across the country to release our natural resources. Governor Dunleavy knows President Trump is right – unleashing our energy will boost the economy and make America energy independent once again."
FIRST ON FOX: A watchdog group focused on getting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) out of medicine found that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is actively spending millions of grant dollars to boost the number of racial minorities in the cancer workforce.
This funding, uncovered by the nonprofit watchdog Do No Harm, shows that $218 million in NCI grants for "underrepresented" groups – mainly racial minorities – is actively dispersed by the NCI. Prior to President Donald Trump taking office, during the Biden administration, around 3% of the NCI's total grant funding every year went to institutions so that they can hire more faculty members and scientists who are minorities, according to Do No Harm.
The revelation comes as Elon Musk's DOGE puts a slew of funds related to DEI on the chopping block amid efforts to slim down government spending. Trump and fellow Republicans have pushed hard against DEI policies throughout the government in recent weeks, making the case that public programs should instead focus on meritocracy.
Among the NCI's DEI grants that remain active under Trump are two totaling more than $10.5 million, awarded to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. These grants support hiring initiatives aimed at "inclusive excellence" and programs that promote advancing the careers of racial minorities.
One of the grant's descriptions explicitly calls for the recruitment of 12 scientists from "underrepresented groups," while the other grant's description includes, alongside its recruitment and hiring goals, a plan to "modify the Mount Sinai Health System Task Force To Address Racism Roadmap for Change with key strategies as the basis for an Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiRoadmap for Inclusive Excellence."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Do No Harm Chairman Dr. Stanley Goldfarb said the NCI must "stop promoting a politically motivated DEI agenda."
"The National Cancer Institute has been taking advantage of taxpayers to push a DEI agenda on the medical field," Goldfarb said. "They dole out $218 million each year for grants prioritizing 'underrepresented' in medicine, which has generally been defined as anyone from a racial minority group, except Asian Americans. The National Cancer Institute should not be rewarding racial discrimination with taxpayer money. Racial discrimination has no place in medicine."
Under former President Joe Biden, the NCI's website was filled with statements and sources about programs tied to DEI, but, following Trump's executive order demanding an end to DEI in the federal government, much of that has come down. Fox News Digital reached out to the NCI to question whether it had any plans to terminate any of its active grants promoting DEI hiring, but did not receive a response by press time.
Fox News Digital also inquired about the sub-agency's Equity Council, established in 2021 under Biden, but did not receive a response. The council is a steering committee for the NCI's equity and inclusion efforts.
DOGE claims it has already addressed hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in DEI-related contract cuts, including $350 million at the Department of Education.
Last month, DOGE announced that taxpayers would see just over $1 billion in savings through the elimination of 104 DEI contracts.
Days after he was fired by President Donald Trump, former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown took to social media to express his gratitude for his time in the military.
"I was inspired to serve by my father, who told me, ‘Four years in the military will not hurt you.’ Four years turned into four decades, surrounded by the finest service members and civilians from across our Nation," Brown posted to LinkedIn.
Brown wrote that it was his "distinct honor" to end his military career as Joint Chiefs chairman and that he used his position to focus on warfighting, modernization and trust.
"The Joint Force’s commitment to our security has never been more critical. I’m confident you will continue to stand resolute in defense of our Nation," Brown wrote, in part.
Brown was the second Black general to serve as Joint Chiefs chairman, following the now late Gen. Colin Powell's term from 1989 to 1993. He served in the position for 16 months before Trump's decision to relieve him.
"I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family," Trump posted on social media.
Trump has said he will be nominating retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine to be the next chairman.
Caine is an F-16 pilot who served on active duty and in the National Guard. He has also served most recently as the associate director for military affairs at the CIA, as stated by his military biography.
The move to nominate Caine has been controversial as he has not held the key assignments identified by law as prerequisites for the job, although that requirement can be waived if the "president determines such action is necessary in the national interest," according to U.S. Code.
