President Donald Trump said he still wants answers seven months after an assassination attempt on his life during a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
"I want to find the answers," the president said during an executive order signing in the White House Thursday. "I've told them. … We can no longer blame [former President Joe] Biden for that one. He should have released that a long time ago."
Gunman Thomas Crooks, 20, killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore and critically wounded two others, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, in his attempt to kill Trump, who was grazed in the ear by a bullet.
The investigation summary concluded the rally was a "failure for the Secret Service" that warranted "several operational, policy, and organizational changes."
Two months later, Trump survived a second assassination attempt while golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Ryan Routh allegedly tried to assassinate Trump and remains in federal custody.
During a Q&A session with the media Thursday in the Oval Office, Trump told Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy he would be receiving a report about both incidents sometime next week.
"[Crooks] had three [cellphone] apps, two of which were foreign, supposedly, and who has the biggest white-shoe law firm in Pennsylvania, even though they don't live in necessarily a white-shoe area," Trump speculated. "What's that all about?"
He added that Routh, 58, allegedly had numerous cellphones.
"The other one had seven or six cellphones, and I don't have six cellphones," Trump said. "Why would somebody have six cellphones. So, we're going to be releasing a report on that soon. … It's a lot of cellphones, and a couple of them had some strange markings on them."
Pointing to a lack of information about the incidents, the president said "it makes me think a little bit."
"I say when you have three apps and two of them are foreign, and you had an FBI that wouldn't report on it — they didn't want to say why — I would say that could be suspicious," Trump said.
He also took the time to highlight the Secret Service's efforts to intercept Routh, who was spotted allegedly aiming a rifle at one of Trump's security details in bushes.
"I want to find out, and I would be willing to release it," Trump said. "I mean, maybe there's a reason that we shouldn't. So, I don't want to get too far ahead of my skis. But, yeah, I would be very willing to release that. … I want to see that one myself."
Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
So it’s of little surprise that few people even realized that Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, appeared in the well of the House chamber and was formally admonished by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., with a resolution of censure Thursday morning.
The House voted 224-198 with two members voting present to censure Green for his antics during President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress Tuesday night.
Per the resolution, Green had to present himself in the well as Johnson read the resolution before the House for his infractions and officially castigated him, with a rap of the gavel.
That’s because a host of Democrats joined Green near the dais. Johnson banged the gavel, imploring Green’s colleagues to stop. They sang "We Shall Overcome," drowning out Johnson.
But the deed was done. Green was censured – even if few really saw it. That’s because there’s a trend in Congress for colleagues to join the censured individual in the well of the House and make a ruckus, almost diluting the discipline.
This is why Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., argued that the House should now try to expel Green. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is prepping a resolution to strip the dozens of Democrats who joined Green in the well from their committees. There’s also a move to relieve Green of his committee assignments.
It didn’t used to be this way. There’s an issue of debate about "who fired first." But discipline in the House over censure has disintegrated markedly in recent years. And so has bipartisan comportment of lawmakers when the president of the other party speaks to a joint session of Congress.
Green became the 29th member of the House censured in the institution’s history. But he’s the fourth Democrat censured by the House since 2023. The fifth overall member to be censured if you include the censure of Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., in 2021.
You have to go back to 2010 with former Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., to find a member who was censured. Before that? Try 1983.
The Rangel censure over abuse of office is significant. Rangel was a towering figure in Congress. A Korean War hero who was left to die on the battlefield. Rangel rose from humble roots in Harlem to become Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. The House voted to censure Rangel in late 2010 after a lengthy investigation. After the vote, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asked the New York Democrat to "present himself in the well." With the entire House present, Rangel, ambled to the front of the chamber, his head hung low, hands folded in front as though he were about to pray.
No one said a word. Members from both sides sat in rapt silence as Pelosi read the text of the censure resolution in an uncharacteristically meek tone. Pelosi herself seemed stricken, having to censure her friend and such a vaunted colleague. Pelosi tapped the gavel so lightly at the conclusion of the censure exercise that it almost seemed accidental.
The deed was done.
That’s not how censures roll in the House anymore.
Contrast the censure of Rangel to the 2023 censures of former Rep. and now Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and you’ll find raucous affairs. Yelling. Shouting. Anything to cover up what the Speaker is reading from the dais.
In the case of the 2023 censure of Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the resolution just declared her to be censured but did not require her to appear in the well of the chamber before the full House and the Speaker.
The rate of censures is increasing dramatically. Republicans will argue that Democrats "started it." The House censured Gosar in 2021 for posting an anime video which showed him using a sword to kill Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and harming former President Biden. The measure also stripped Gosar of his committee assignments. In 2021, Democrats and 11 Republicans voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., from her committees. They argued she trafficked in conspiracy theories and racism which encouraged violence.
But in the case of Al Green, his conduct on the floor reflects a trend of hectoring the president in the House chamber. Taylor Greene and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., certainly jeered and taunted former President Biden during his speeches to Congress. The former president even briefly engaged them on one occasion. This unfolded under three House Speakers: Pelosi, Johnson and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Yet there was never any effort by the Speaker to have anyone removed on those occasions.
That changed when Johnson ordered Green removed on Tuesday.
But when did this all start?
It goes back to September 2009.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shouted "you lie" at President Barack Obama as he delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress about health care reform. Wilson specifically accused the president of lying when he declared it was "false" that persons in the country illegally would qualify for health benefits.
Bipartisan lawmakers condemned the outburst immediately. Wilson apologized to then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. In a statement, Wilson said he "let my emotions get the best of me." He characterized the episode as a "town hall moment." By the weekend, Wilson was fundraising off the incident.
Pelosi didn’t want to go any further with a punishment. But her members pushed against the Speaker – and prevailed.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who at the time served as the House Majority Whip, thought Wilson’s off-stage apology wasn’t enough. Clyburn, and fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus, believed the House needed to do something to assert its rules of decorum. They believed the verbal assault was tinged with race – directed at the first Black president.
Appearing on CNN, CBC member and Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., argued that if the House didn’t stand up to Wilson, "people with white hoods (would be) running through the countryside again."
Democrats wanted Wilson to apologize to the entire House. After he refused, Democrats forged ahead with a vote on a "resolution of disapproval" of Wilson’s actions.
A reprimand, censure and expulsion are the three formal modes of discipline in the House. A "resolution of disapproval" is kind of like receiving a Congressional parking ticket.
Then-House Minority Leader and future Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called the effort a "political stunt." Boehner asserted there was "behavior in this chamber that’s more serious than this."
Former Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., chaired the CBC at the time.
"Today’s resolution is an opportunity for us to come together and reject incivility," said Lee. "Let’s turn the page."
They’ve done anything but that.
The House is now involved in low-grade guerrilla warfare with periodic flare-ups. There’s routine sniping at the president – regardless of who occupies the office - when he comes to speak to a joint session of Congress. The parties battle over tit-for-tat resolutions of censure and committees.
They’re a long way from turning the page, as Barbara Lee suggested 16 years ago.
And that’s why Mike Johnson must decide next week if he wants to wage another skirmish in this partisan fracas. He must decide whether to mete out more discipline to Green and those who stood by him in the well.
Five years after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, the World Health Organization is still reporting deaths from the virus.
More than 3,000 people died in the last month, adding to the more than 7 million deaths since the pandemic began.
In the fall of 2019, many of the top stories for U.S. news outlets had to do with China.
"I have a good relationship with China. We’ll see what happens, but I’m very happy right now," President Donald Trump said on Nov. 19, 2019 amid trade negotiations with Beijing. "If we don’t make a deal with China, I’ll just raise the tariffs even higher."
On the other side of the globe, protesters in Hong Kong were objecting to China’s interference in the region’s government. Trump signed a bill supporting the pro-democracy demonstrations. Back in Washington, the Smithsonian National Zoo’s beloved panda, Bei Bei, was preparing to move to a new habitat in central China, but in the background, a much bigger story was taking place.
Also, in the fall of 2019, scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were studying how mice responded to SARs and MERs-related coronaviruses. A National Intelligence Director report noted the lab maintains one of the world’s largest repositories of bat samples.
It stated, "Teams separately used transgenic mouse models to better understand how the viruses infect humans as well as related vaccine and therapeutics research."
"This laboratory that worked on bat coronaviruses was undertaking work, which on the face of it was quite important for understanding these viruses, but had some risks," said Stanford microbiology professor David Relman in January 2020.
During that time, several researchers at the institute fell ill with cold or flu-like symptoms, but none were severe enough to be hospitalized.
"Some of their symptoms were consistent with but not diagnostic of Covid-19," the intelligence report stated. The intelligence community also noted that it was unclear if those illnesses were linked to the virus that would soon spread around the world.
By December, China’s stock market was rising on hopes of a trade deal with the U.S., but the local economy in Wuhan was facing a major threat. Health officials were growing concerned about a new viral pneumonia that was not responding to standard treatments. Twenty-seven cases had been confirmed, seven of which were critical.
Most of the patients had a recent history of exposure to wildlife animals at the Huanan Market, where poultry, snakes, bats and other farm animals were sold. Wuhan health officials claimed the wet market was where the virus originated. However, at least 13 of the first 41 hospitalizations had no link to the marketplace, according to an article by Chinese researchers published in the Lancet.
"That's a big number, 13, with no link," Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Georgetown University, told Science in January 2020. "The virus came into that marketplace before it came out of that marketplace."
All U.S. intelligence agencies assess both a natural and laboratory-associated origin remain plausible sources of the virus’ origin. The Energy Department, the FBI and the CIA believe a laboratory-associated incident was the most likely cause of the first human infection.
"Laboratory accidents happen everywhere there are humans. Humans are fallible. So, it's absolutely reasonable to think that some other laboratory also had an accident," Relman said.
In late December, the Wuhan Institute of Virology isolated and identified the virus from patient samples. The information available to U.S. intelligence officials indicates this to be the first time researchers at the institute had access to the virus’ gene sequence.
On New Year's Eve in the U.S., Trump rang in 2020 at his annual Mar-a-Lago party and was optimistic over his negotiations with China.
"We’re very excited about trade," the president said. "I’ll be going, at some point, to Beijing, to be with President Xi. We have a great relationship. And we’ll be doing something reciprocal."
Scientists in Wuhan were growing even more concerned about the new virus. Dozens of individuals with suspected cases had been isolated in a designated hospital. The World Health Organization became aware through a media statement from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. It warned of a pneumonia of an unknown cause.
During the first days of 2020, life around the world and in most parts of China, seemed normal. However, in Wuhan, the Huanan Market had been shut down, and World Health Organization officials were taking a closer look at the cases.
"There are many unreported cases in China. There's also a number of cases in Hong Kong that haven't been reported," Gatestone Institute senior fellow Gordon Chang told Lou Dobbs in January 2020. "What's happened in Hong Kong and the protest, people don't want to go out so it has been quiet over the last week or so. But I think that this is really the fear over the contagion."
What was now called the 2019 Novel Coronavirus had claimed its first victim by the time Trump inked phase one of his trade deal with China.
"Right now, our relationship with China is the best it’s ever been," Trump said at the signing ceremony.
Cases from outside of China were now accumulating. Thailand and Japan had confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2. Shortly after, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began screening passengers on direct and connecting flights from Wuhan.
"The bottom line is this is a very rare virus. The number of people who have been infected or exposed is very small," Lenox Hill Hospital emergency room Dr. Robert Glatter said as the flight screenings began.
Days later, health officials confirmed the first U.S. case in Washington state but insisted the virus was still a low risk to the public.
"We're very happy to say that he is in satisfactory condition and as of this moment is being, is very helpful in us identifying particular people that he may have been in contact with," Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wa, said after the case was announced.
More cases began to accumulate across the U.S. and around the world. In Wuhan, 11 million people were placed under lockdown orders.
"It has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as Wuhan closed its city limits.
Shoppers raced to gather essentials before the lockdown officially took place. Roads, train stations and airports were empty. Other locations throughout China were also closed to the public, and Chinese New Year celebrations were scaled back.
Around the world, more countries implemented travel restrictions from China. Many evacuated citizens from the country before the virus spread further.
By mid-February, 1,013 people had died from the virus now known as COVID-19. It had officially killed more people than the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, when 774 people died.
The U.S. is "rated number one" for epidemic preparedness, Trump told White House reporters on Feb. 26, 2020. "We've had tremendous success, tremendous success beyond what people would have thought. Now at the same time you do have some outbreaks in some countries. Italy and various countries are having some difficulty."
Italy was the new epicenter for the virus. By mid-March, 114 countries had reported more than 118,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths.
"In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths and the number of effected countries climb even higher," Ghebreyesus said. "We have formed the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly."
The State Department has revoked the visa of a student who participated in protesting in favor of Hamas, a move in line with President Donald Trump's call for canceling visas of students involved in the anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses.
The State Department confirmed the matter with Fox News, without identifying the student or what university they attended due to "legal constraints."
"Yesterday evening, we revoked the first visa of an alien who was previously cited for criminal behavior in connection with Hamas-supporting disruptions," the State Department said. "This individual was a university student. ICE will proceed with removing this person from the country."
The State Department reviewed over 100,000 student visas and none were revoked during the Biden administration, despite all the anti-Israel protests and disruptions on college campuses.
Trump has repeatedly called for foreign students attending American universities to have their visas revoked for supporting Hamas and other terror groups.
Upon taking office in January, he signed an executive order to combat antisemitism.
"To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you," Trump is quoted in a fact sheet issued by the White House. "I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before."
U.S. college campuses have been a hotbed for anti-Israel protests and disruptions, including vandalism, threats against Jewish students and violence against law enforcement.
"The Biden Administration turned a blind eye to this coordinated assault on public order; it simply refused to protect the civil rights of Jewish Americans, especially students," the fact sheet states. "According to a December 2024 U.S. House of Representatives Staff Report on anti-Semitism, ‘the failure of our federal government departments and agencies is astounding.'"
On Thursday, Axios reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is launching an AI-fueled "Catch and Revoke" effort to cancel the visas of foreign students who appear to support designated terror groups.
A U.S. judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to pay at least a portion of the nearly $2 billion in owed foreign aid for previously completed projects by 6 p.m. Monday, an expeditious ruling that comes just one day after the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's request to continue its freeze.
The decision from U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali came after a more than four-hour court hearing Thursday, where he grilled both parties on their proposed repayment plans, and a timeframe for the government to comply with the $1.9 billion in owed foreign aid that has been completed.
At the end of the hearing, Judge Ali ordered the government to pay at least a portion of the $1.9 billion by Monday at 6 p.m.
"I think it’s reasonable to get the plaintiffs' invoices paid by 6 p.m. on Monday," said Judge Ali. "What I’ll order today is the first concrete step that plaintiffs have their invoices paid … [and] work completed prior to Feb. 13 to be paid by 6 p.m. on Monday, March 10th."
That order previously set a deadline of Feb. 26 at 11:59 p.m. for the administration to pay its outstanding debt to foreign aid groups.
The Justice Department had argued that the timeline was "impossible" to comply with.
But Judge Ali seemed to reject that notion Thursday. After a Justice Department attorney asked the court for more time to get the latest payments out, pointing out that it may be difficult to get financial transactions done over the weekend, he responded by noting that the government had successfully paid out more than $70 million during the hours of Wednesday through early Thursday morning, so this should be possible as well.
The 5-4 Supreme Court decision remanded the case back to the D.C. federal court – and Judge Ali — to hash out the specifics of what must be paid, and when.
Judge Ali moved quickly following the high court's decision, ordering both parties back to court Thursday to weigh plausible repayment schedules.
The proposed schedules, his order noted, "should account for the length of time that has passed since the TRO, [temporary restraining order] was entered and the feasibility of any compliance timelines."
At issue in the case was how quickly the Trump administration needed to pay the nearly $2 billion owed to aid groups and contractors for completed projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), at a time when the administration has issued a blanket freeze on all foreign spending in the name of government "efficiency" and eliminating waste.
Plaintiffs have argued that the lower court judge had ordered the Trump administration to begin making the owed foreign aid payments more than two weeks ago — a deadline they said the government simply failed to meet, or to even take steps to meet — indicating that the administration had no plans to make good on fulfilling that request.
This is a breaking news story. Check back soon for updates.
Democrats on social media were mocked by conservatives on Thursday over a viral video in which several of the elected officials pretended to be video game characters in a "choose your fighter parody."
The video, posted by social media influencer Jessica Woo, featured Dem. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, Lauren Underwood, Katherine Clark, Judy Chu, and Susie Lee.
The congresswomen in the video could be seen jumping up and down in a fighting position as if they were video game characters, along with attributes describing their accolades and attributes.
The video was widely mocked by conservatives on social media, with many pointing out the Democrats' antics at President Trump’s speech to Congress on Tuesday.
"Democrats Not Be Cringe Challenge," the White House rapid response social media account posted on X. "Level: Impossible."
"It’s as if the party is trying to implode itself…," Fox News contributor Joe Concha posted on X.
"There are just some people who don’t have anyone in their lives willing to tell them to stop," conservative commentator Ryan James Girdusky posted on X.
"Dear God," American Majority CEO Ned Ryun posted on X. "As if they couldn’t get any lamer. . . Hold my beer and watch me release a stupid loser video and prove I’m even lamer than you thought!!"
"Trump Deranged Democrats release ‘choose your fighter skit’ after refusing to stand and clap for a child with cancer during President Trump’s address to congress," GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X. "Democrats have sunk so low that I’m actually starting to feel sorry for them. Pitiful."
"My God, who is advising the Democrats," former Trump campaign senior advisor Tim Murtaugh posted on X.
"I'll take "Reasons why Democrats are not in the majority" for $1,000," GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx posted on X.
"Anyone that has any doubt that the GOP can keep the house in 2026 should rest assured," communications strategist Erica Knight posted on X. "But at least they like American flags again."
Fox News Digital reached out to all six House Democrats for comment.
President Donald Trump, while signing executive orders Thursday in the Oval Office, vowed to bring home two NASA astronauts who have been stuck in space for eight months.
"Elon [Musk] is right now preparing a ship to go up and get them," the president told Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy. "We love you, and we're coming up to get you, and you shouldn't have been up there so long."
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were stranded at the International Space Station after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft had technical issues.
He continued, "The most incompetent president in our history has allowed that to happen to you, but this president won't let that happen."
SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to launch on Wednesday to head to the space station, then return home with Wilmore and Williams after a handover period of several days, NASA said.
Trump later joked with Doocy about partaking in the mission.
"Should I go on that journey just to be on the ship when we stop?" the president asked Doocy.
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.
Here's what's happening…
-Migrants clone Border Patrol vehicles in bid to bypass Trump's crackdown
-Trump blasts Rep. Al Green as 'an embarrassment' to Dem: He 'should be forced to take an IQ test'
-Trump’s plan to house migrants at Guantanamo Bay facing major hurdles
Democrats displayed their internal party divisions in the wake of President Donald Trump's first address to Congress.
Democrats who are a part of leadership or more aligned with the establishment are clashing with progressives, many of whom heckled Trump throughout his more than 90-minute speech on Tuesday. The party is facing pressure from grassroots organizations to take a more combative approach – in lieu of decorum – to the Trump administration's dismantling of the federal bureaucracy.
While moderate Democrats are frustrated over the progressives' disruptions, progressives complained about a lack of direction and clear strategy ahead of Trump's first joint session address to Congress since he began his second term…Read more
'IMMINENT RISK': Biden-nominated federal judge extends hold on Trump NIH research funding cuts
DISMISSING DELLINGER: Federal appeals court sides with Trump on firing head of watchdog agency
'UNSIGHTLY': Trump says DC Mayor Bowser 'must clean up' homeless encampments in the capital
TRUMP REFLECTS: Trump says he 'felt very comfortable' during address to Congress, touts positive coverage from 'fake news'
'REALITY ON OUR SIDE': Trump guest shares special message to president after address to Congress
'HELL TO PAY': After Trump threat, Hamas refuses to release more hostages without phase 2 ceasefire deal
STABLE CONDITION: Pope Francis had ‘good night,' continues to rest during third week of hospital treatment for pneumonia
'SHAMEFUL': Speaker Johnson slams Dem Rep. Green's 'egregious behavior' during Trump's address
PAYING THE TAB: Republicans clear way for Trump to sell Nancy Pelosi Federal Building 'at fair market value'
WHEELING AND DEALING: GOP lawmaker credits Trump's business prowess for major investment in state: 'Knows how to make deals'
‘BREAKING FEDERAL LAW’: GOP rep says she'll refer sanctuary city mayors for criminal prosecution
Life for many residents in border communities improved following swift policy changes by the Trump administration, Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., says.
"They're very happy with the results, and we knew that the numbers were going to be reflecting like they are," the Republican told Fox News Digital in an interview, calling the change "drastic."
Migrant encounters plummeted at the border in February with just over 8,300, which is the lowest month since officials started keeping track of the numbers, according to United States Customs and Border Protection data.
The reduction in the influx of people crossing is just one piece of the puzzle. More troops were sent down to the southern border upon President Donald Trump taking office; cartels and gangs like Tren de Aragua were designated as foreign terrorist groups; and Immigration and Customs Enforcement is conducting raids nationwide for illegal immigrants suspected of crimes.
"They've seen an immediate change in their daily lives on this for some people. They're seeing the reports on TV for my community, they're seeing it in person," Ciscomani said about his constituents, which includes people on or near the border.
In his capacity as the Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Ciscomani is leading the freshman GOP class on an Arizona border trip this week, where they will visit ports of entry, strike up conversations with authorities on the ground and take a tour with the National Border Patrol Council. The group of lawmakers includes Reps. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah; Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D.; Jeff Hurd, R-Colo.; Tim Moore, R-N.C.; Derek Schmidt, R-Kan.; Dave Taylor, R-Ohio; Jeff Crank, R-Colo.; John McGuire, R-Va.; and Riley Moore, R-W.Va.
"When I first got to Washington a few years ago, I realized that a lot of people run on the issue of the border," said Ciscomani. "They care about fixing it and addressing it, but a lot of members just haven't had the opportunity to visit the border. And even if they have, they probably have gone to the area of Texas. And Arizona's so unique in so many ways, right?"
The congressman added that there’s still work to be done to make sure the changes under the Trump administration are permanent to prevent another border crisis in the future, as there were millions of migrant encounters during former President Joe Biden's tenure.
Ciscomani, who is in a highly competitive district that includes much of the Tucson suburbs, touted his recent passage of the Agent Raul Gonzalez Office Safety Act in the House, which would make those convicted of fleeing authorities within 100 miles of the border face prison time and potentially be deported, depending on the individual's immigration status. Some Democrats supported the legislation, whereas others said it was an overreach.
"For example, the asylum process, we have to increase the credible fear standard," Ciscomani said. "Things like Remain in Mexico. I think something like that should be permanent. So we've got some ideas on this through reconciliation."
There has been room for bipartisan work to be done, including a bill that Ciscomani and Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., are working on to get image technicians at ports of entry in the hope of detecting illicit drugs faster and more thoroughly.
Hamas’ treatment of the hostages it has been holding in captivity in the Gaza Strip is "intolerable," U.S. envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said Thursday, warning that "it's not going to be tolerated by President Trump."
Witkoff spoke outside the White House a day after President Donald Trump met with eight former hostages in Washington and posted what he called a "last warning" to Hamas on his Truth Social platform.
"We're not going to sit here, do nothing and tolerate this kind of inhumane conditions," Witkoff said. "They lived in a terrible situation. By the way, who keeps dead bodies? Who does that? Who keeps people chained up downstairs? Who murders in front of other hostages? What's happened here is intolerable, and it's not going to be tolerated by President Trump."
"We had a wonderful day with the hostages yesterday... they got a treat a lifetime, they got to spend some time with President Trump. And we thought it was going to be a short period of time because his day was busy, but he ended up spending about an hour with them, with each of the hostages, pictures, and spent a lot of time listening to their stories about what happened to them in captivity. And he was clearly emotional about it as anybody would be," Witkoff also said.
"The president was pretty blunt," Witkoff added. "It's time for Hamas to start acting in a responsible and reasonable way. And we don't think that they have been doing that."
However, the Palestinian terrorist group on Thursday dismissed Trump’s latest threat and refused to release more Israeli hostages without a permanent ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said the "best path to free the remaining Israeli hostages" is through negotiations on a second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
The first phase of the ceasefire, which lasted 42 days, ended on Saturday. A second phase was supposed to begin in early February, though only limited preparatory talks have been held so far.
"‘Shalom Hamas’ means Hello and Goodbye - You can choose," Trump said on Wednesday. "Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you."
Trump added that he is "sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job," and that "not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say.
"Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages," the president wrote. "If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!"
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that would rescind security clearances and access to certain federal resources for Perkins Coie, the law firm that hired the company responsible for crafting the so-called "Steele dossier" containing alleged salacious material and Trump’s alleged connections to Russia, which the president has denied.
"This is an absolute honor to sign," Trump told reporters Thursday. "What they’ve done, it’s just terrible. It’s weaponization, you could say weaponization against a political opponent, and it should never be allowed to happen again."
Specifically, the executive order suspends security clearances for Perkins Coie employees until a further review evaluating its access to sensitive information is complete to determine if it aligns with the national interest.
Additionally, the order cuts off access to sensitive compartmented information facilities for Perkins Coie employees, and will limit the company's access to government employees. Additionally, the order bars the federal government from hiring Perkins Coie employees without specific authorization.
Likewise, the federal government is prohibited from hiring contractors that use the law firm, amid a review of all federal contracts associated with Perkins Coie that agency heads will be ordered to terminate to the fullest extent lawfully permitted.
The international law firm represented Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the 2016 election, and former President Joe Biden after Trump challenged Biden’s win in the 2020 election.
Perkins Coie first came under scrutiny after Marc Elias, the former chair of the firm's political law practice, hired opposition research firm Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research against then-presidential candidate Trump in April 2016 for his opponent, Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee.
Fusion GPS then hired former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who composed the so-called "Steele dossier." The document included scandalous and mostly unverified allegations, including details that Trump engaged in sex acts with Russian prostitutes.
Trump repeatedly denied allegations included in the dossier, and filed a lawsuit against Orbis Business Intelligence, a company that Steele co-founded. Trump’s legal team claimed that he "suffered personal and reputational damage and distress" as a result of the dossier, but a judge in London pitched the lawsuit in February 2024.
The dossier first became public in 2017 when BuzzFeed News published it. The Justice Department’s inspector general lambasted the agency and the FBI in 2019 for using the document to make a case in securing surveillance applications against former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page, as part of the agency’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Still, the inspector general determined that no political bias motivated the surveillance of Page or the launching of Russia investigations.
Requests for comment by Perkins Coie were not immediately answered.
Two moderate Democrats who voted against censuring Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, suggested they did not believe Congress should be focused on such matters.
Ten Democratic lawmakers broke from their party to vote on a House GOP-led resolution to formally admonish Green for protesting during President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.
The majority of those 10 are considered frontline Democrats in more moderate districts, while others, like Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., are generally known to cross the aisle and work with Republicans.
Fox News Digital reached out to nine other Democrats representing moderate areas, who were part of the 198 total who opposed censuring Green.
Of those, just two – Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Josh Riley, D-N.Y. – offered responses.
"In today’s environment, censure tends only to give a greater platform to the censured legislator. So I tend to lean in favor of free speech unless a clear red line is crossed," Golden told Fox News Digital.
The Maine Democrat's written statement also included a link to a reference of his vote in favor of censuring "Squad" member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., over her anti-Israel comments.
He did, however, offer criticism for Green's interruption of Trump's speech.
"I voted against censuring Rep. Green because I don’t believe he crossed that line – and I don’t believe it’s in the House’s interest to draw even greater attention to his misguided behavior," Golden explained.
Riley's statement did not remark directly on Green but more broadly dismissed attention-seekers in Washington.
"Upstate New Yorkers sent me to Congress to lower costs, create jobs, and ensure they get a fair shot. I wish we’d spent this morning focused on that instead of the drama and political theater in Washington," the first-term House Democrat said.
Riley won his seat in November by unseating former Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., in a district that spans much of central New York state.
Green was censured in a 224 to 198 vote on Thursday morning after repeatedly disrupting the beginning of Trump's primetime speech.
He shouted, "You have no mandate!" at Trump and shook his cane in the air as the president touted Republican victories in the House, Senate and White House. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., after giving a warning, had Green removed from the chamber.
The 77-year-old Democrat was unrepentant, posting on X on Thursday afternoon, "Today, the House GOP censured me for speaking out for the American people against [Trump's] plan to cut Medicaid. I accept the consequences of my actions, but I refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice."
The 10 Democrats who voted to censure Green are Reps. Ami Bera, D-Calif.; Ed Case, D-Hawaii; Jim Costa, D-Calif.; Laura Gillen, D-N.Y.; Jim Himes, D-Conn.; Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.; Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.; Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash.; and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y.
Green himself voted "present," as did first-term Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala.
President Trump on Thursday exempted certain goods from Canada and Mexico covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) from his 25% tariffs for a month.
The tariffs were imposed earlier this week, and will be reinstated on April 2.
EXCLUSIVE: Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett is becoming one of the most prominent faces of the resistance movement against President Trump, but she faces a Republican challenger who says voters are "chomping at the bit" to remove her from office.
"She's not really a leader. She's not really a representative. Jasmine Crockett is more of a performer or an influencer," Dallas area attorney Sholdon Daniels, who is running as a Republican to unseat Crockett in Texas’ 30th Congressional District, told Fox News Digital.
"She's wholly ineffective as a legislator. She wasn't able to pass any laws when she was in the Texas State House, and we don't anticipate that she'll be able to have any effect while she's on Capitol Hill."
Daniels added that it is "unfortunate" that the "hardworking people" of his district aren’t receiving leadership from Crockett, who he said is "spewing all this racist divisiveness" and is "hell-bent on tearing our country down."
"So somebody has to stand up to that and God blessed me with the ability to do the job, and so I feel the responsibility to act right now," Daniels said.
Crockett has skyrocketed into the spotlight as one of the most outspoken critics of the Trump administration while routinely going viral, drawing the ire of conservatives on social media for her heated rhetoric.
Leading up to and after Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday, Crockett made several derogatory comments that earned headlines, including calling the president "Putin’s ho" and suggesting that he is attempting to bring Black people back into slavery.
Daniels told Fox News Digital comments like that are "utterly disrespectful" and "unbecoming of the office."
"To be a member of the U.S. House of Representatives is one of the most prestigious honors and privileges that could be bestowed on any of us and she treats it like it is a given," Daniels said. "She takes it for granted, and every opportunity she takes, she just denigrates our country and our president. And as a veteran and as somebody who actually loves America, I can't sit around and do nothing. So I'm going to fight back. We are fighting back, and we are going to win."
Crockett, 43, has cruised to victory in her previous campaigns for the House of Representatives, including in November when she defeated her Libertarian challenger in the general election by 70 points after defeating her primary challenger by over 80 points.
However, Daniels told Fox News Digital that the district is more conservative than those results show.
"She has her sycophants, for sure, but she grows more and more unpopular in our district every single day," Daniels explained. "You know, the thing about TX-30 is it's way more diverse and way more conservative than everyone thinks, and people are chomping at the bit to have an election, because they cannot wait to see this girl replaced by Sholdon Daniels."
Daniels told Fox News Digital that being a dad, husband, veteran, and "somebody that cares about the community" is what inspired him to run for Crockett’s seat because it doesn’t feel right to "sit around while people are trying to tear our country down."
"Becoming a dad and concern for my daughter and one of the issues surrounding biological males being allowed in restrooms and locker rooms and girls private spaces, and then biological males competing against girls in sports, that's when it hit home for me," Daniels said about his decision to run. "I have a five-year-old daughter who loves to play sports. I fully anticipate she's going to be an athlete, and I just want to pave a way for her to make sure that she's safe and that covers all other little girls in America."
If elected, Daniels told Fox News Digital he will bring "professionalism and decorum" back to the office while focusing on issues that his constituents care about.
"I'm going to focus on lowering taxes so that we can bring down the cost of living for Americans. We're going to focus on securing the border and supporting our president and his policy of keeping the border secure so that we can ensure safer communities here in TX-30," Daniels said.
"We are also going to focus on providing some support for small businesses and make sure that they get to keep more of the money that they earn in their pockets so that they can invest and hire more people. And then we're obviously going to focus on all the new revelations that are coming out with the DOGE effort to uncover the government waste, fraud and abuse. And we're going to try to hold whoever is responsible for that accountable."
Daniels has been active on social media, calling out Crockett, including a post challenging her to a debate next month.
Fox News Digital asked Daniels whether the voters in his district support DOGE's goals of slashing government waste, given Crockett's vocal opposition to the endeavor.
"There was a study that came out from the Congressional Management Foundation that found that 90% of voters want their representatives to be focused on policy and not social media, essentially on doing the job and not grandstanding for the cameras and that translates over into TX-30," Daniels said.
"People want a representative in 2025 that's going to provide tangible and effective change that they can see in their community. Gone are the days where we just elect someone out of TX-30 and set it and forget it, and we don't hear about them again until they're getting ready to retire."
Republican state lawmakers in Maine are urging Democrats to repeal the state's policy allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports, warning that failure to act could jeopardize hundreds of millions in public education funding.
The pleading comes after a spokesperson for Maine's attorney general confirmed Thursday that the Trump administration had formally issued a "Notice of Violation against the Maine Department of Education" for violating Title IX federal law, which is meant to protect the rights of women.
The "official" notice follows an investigation launched by the Health and Human Services Department's (HHS) Office of Civil Rights, which had been probing the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) for several weeks. The probe stemmed from reports that transgender women were continuing to compete in women's sports in the Pine Tree State, despite an executive order from President Donald Trump mandating the practice end nationwide.
The strength of Trump's executive order lies in its power to withhold federal education funding from states that do not comply with his directive. Such an action to slash federal education funds in Maine – as is expected to happen unless something changes – would amount to a potential loss for MDOE of more than $700,000 annually from HHS agencies alone, based on 2024 funding numbers provided in HHS's notice of violation. In total this school year, the U.S. Department of Education provided roughly $250 million strictly to K-12 schools in Maine, according to recent numbers obtained by the Portland Press Herald.
"If Maine Democrats continue to double down on allowing biological males to participate in girls' sports, our students stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding. Gov. [Janet] Mills and legislative Democrats have a renewed opportunity to do the right thing, to ensure restored funding and a fair and level playing field for Maine girls," said state Rep. Laurel Libby, R–Bangor.
"Enough is enough, it is time to put away radical ideology and put the future of our kids first," added Assistant House Minority Leader Katrina Smith, R–Palermo. "The Mills administration’s policy of allowing biological boys in girls’ sports has physically and mentally mistreated our young ladies and now this same policy will harm everychild and teacher with the loss of federal funds to our schools."
In addition to the remarks from Libby and Smith, the broader coalition of Maine House Republicans put out a "public call to action" for Mills' administration to reverse its current policies allowing sports eligibility to be determined by one's self-stated gender-identity.
Mills told Trump to his face during a meeting with governors at the White House last month that she had no intention of following his order aiming to rid female sports of transgender competitors. Mills told Trump during the meeting, which was broadcast live, that she would "see [him] in court."
Based on an analysis by Sarah Perry, a civil rights attorney who has extensive experience litigating Title IX issues, Maine would be successful in court on this matter as Mills might hope.
"Maine entered into a contract with the Department of Education, promising to follow that federal civil rights law. [Mills'] reliance on contrary state law will prove fatal to any continued recalcitrance," Perry wrote on social media.
She added in an interview last month with Fox News Digital that in addition to federal law, Maine is also flouting directives from the Department of Education and previously established precedent from a slew of cases that overturned former President Joe Biden's Title IX regulations allowing athletic eligibility to be determined by one's preferred gender identity.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mills and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey for comment on these calls from Republicans but did not receive a response by publication time.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who is taking credit for a recently criticized Democratic mashup of identical social media posts, turned down Tesla CEO Elon Musk's extravagant offer to the mind behind the "cringe video."
At least 22 Democratic lawmakers participated in a "S--- That Ain’t True" social media campaign ahead of President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, posting identical videos to social media in a mashup against the president.
Musk made fun of the synchronized mashup on social media, offering in a post on X to buy a Cybertruck for anyone who can "provide proof of who wrote this particular piece of propaganda." Booker eventually took credit for it.
Asked on Capitol Hill if he wanted the Cybertruck offered by Musk, Booker burst into laughter and said, "No, I don't."
The video begins with a clip of Trump vowing to "bring prices down starting on day one" followed by a cut-in of the Senate Democrats saying in unison, "S--- That Ain’t True? That's what you just heard."
"Since day one of Donald Trump’s presidency, prices are up, not down. Inflation is getting worse, not better. Prices of groceries, gas, housing, rent, eggs — they’re all getting more expensive. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has done nothing to lower costs for you," the Democrats, including senators Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in the video.
Booker said the video was created with the intention of reaching more people online.
"We're trying to do more things as a caucus that break through. Clearly, this was very successful," the senator said.
The video drew criticism from Republicans on social media, including Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who called it "weird" in a post on X.
However, Booker thanked conservatives for sharing the post.
"In this world where people are competing for attention, it got attention and got many more views, especially because people on the right kept elevating our content, which I appreciate," Booker said.
Fox News' Deirdre Heavey and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said her resistant applause when President Donald Trump called her "Pocahontas" during his address to a joint session of Congress was to affirm "American support for Ukrainians."
Warren told Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital she was communicating the importance of American support for Ukraine, following Trump’s contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last Friday.
"What I was talking about is the importance of American support for the Ukrainians, who are fighting on the front lines for democracy and fighting back against an autocrat," Warren told Fox News Digital.
Warren, a loyal Ukraine supporter since Russia’s invasion in 2022, said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s line does not stop with Ukraine.
"Everyone needs to understand: They take a bite out of Ukraine, they're not giving up there. They're coming for the rest of Europe, and we need to fight it," Warren said.
Warren told Fox News Digital on Tuesday night she "hit a nerve" by applauding U.S. support for "Ukrainian patriots" during President Donald Trump's speech.
"Sen. Warren, what did you think of President Trump calling you out by name?" Fox News Digital asked Warren.
"I actually hit a nerve when I applauded the United States' support of Ukrainian patriots. If that hits a nerve for Trump, then it's worth sitting through the rest of that speech."
"Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict, with no end in sight. The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine's defense with no security," Trump said during his joint address.
Responding to the loud applause from Warren and her fellow Democrats, Trump said "Pocahontas," a nickname Trump uses to mock Warren for claiming Native American heritage, wants "another five years" of war in Ukraine.
"Do you want to keep it going for another five years? ‘Yeah, yeah,’ you would say. Pocahontas says yes," Trump said.
Warren was one of several Democrats who slammed Trump after the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last Friday.
"Donald Trump is treating the destruction of a democracy as a political show — throwing Ukraine to the wolves and doing a favor for Putin. It's shameful and dangerous. I've been to Ukraine, as have many Senate Republicans. I hope they speak up. Millions of lives are at stake," Warren said on X.
Warren and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have visited Zelenskyy in Kyiv in a bipartisan show of American support for Ukraine. Throughout the war, Warren has not waned in her support of funding for Ukraine.
However, Graham said after the "complete, utter disaster" in the Oval Office that he didn’t know "if we can ever do business with Zelenskyy again." Graham said Zelenskyy needs to resign or "send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change."
Zelenskyy was asked to leave the White House after his public disagreement with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, a visit that was intended to result in the Ukraine-United States Mineral Resources Agreement.
Trump ordered a suspension of all U.S. military aid to Ukraine on Monday. Zelenskyy then sent a letter to Trump affirming his commitment to a peaceful negotiation and thanking the U.S. for its service to Ukraine.
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump signed a memo Thursday directing government agency heads to ask federal judges to require financial guarantees to hold "activist" groups that sue the government financially responsible if an injunction is found to be unnecessary.
The memo comes as the Trump administration faces more than 90 lawsuits stemming from executive orders, memos and executive proclamations issued since Jan. 20 that legal groups, labor organizations, and other state and local plaintiffs are challenging.
Specifically, the memo instructs federal agencies to coordinate with Attorney General Pam Bondi to request federal courts adhere to a rule that mandates financial guarantees from those requesting injunctions.
While federal judges ultimately have the final say on whether these financial guarantees are required, the Department of Justice can request under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c) that judges implement the rule to require financial guarantees from plaintiffs that are equal to the potential costs and damages the federal government would incur from a wrongly issued preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order.
The memo signed Thursday applies to all lawsuits seeking preliminary injunctions or temporary restraining orders "where the government can demonstrate monetary harm from the requested relief," according to a White House fact sheet.
"Agencies must justify security amounts based on reasoned assessments of harm, ensuring courts deny or dissolve injunctions if plaintiffs fail to pay up, absent good cause," the White House said in the fact sheet obtained by Fox News Digital.
As a result, the White House said the order will rule in "activist judges" and keep "litigants accountable."
"Unelected district judges have issued sweeping injunctions beyond their authority, inserting themselves into executive policymaking and stalling policies voters supported," the White House said in its fact sheet.
The lawsuits challenging the Trump administration already have started to make their way up to the Supreme Court. For example, the high court issued a 5-4 ruling Wednesday upholding a district judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to pay almost $2 billion in foreign aid money.
The Supreme Court said that since the district court’s Feb. 26 deadline for the Trump administration to pay the USAID funding contracts has expired it directed the case back to the lower court to hash out future payment plans.
"Given that the deadline in the challenged order has now passed, and in light of the ongoing preliminary injunction proceedings, the District Court should clarify what obligations the Government must fulfill to ensure compliance with the temporary restraining order, with due regard for the feasibility of any compliance timelines," the Court said.
Fox News’ Kerri Urbahn and Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
