Senators voted to advance the House-passed stopgap spending bill on Friday as the deadline for a government shutdown inches closer.
The House-passed short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), would keep spending levels the same as fiscal year (FY) 2024 until Oct. 1. However, if a spending bill is not passed by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, the government will enter into a partial shutdown.
Democrats in the Senate were embroiled in passionate disagreement this week over what to do when the measure eventually came for the key procedural vote. In order to reach the 60-vote threshold, Republicans needed some Democratic support, as the GOP majority is only 53 seats and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., planned to vote against it.
Amid tense caucus meetings leading up to the vote, Democrats were tight-lipped, unwilling to reveal details about the discussions. During one meeting on Thursday, a senator yelled so loudly that the press could hear through thick, heavy wooden meeting room doors. The voice was identified by the press as that of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., but her office would not confirm.
Several Democratic senators came out against the stopgap bill ahead of the procedural hurdle, sharing that they wouldn't vote to advance it or vote for its passage.
However, they faced criticism from staunch government shutdown opponent Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who joked about their "spicy" social media videos about voting no.
"It wasn't that long ago before we were lecturing that you can never shut the government down. So, that's kind of inconsistent," he told reporters on Thursday.
"We can all agree that it's not a great CR, but that's where we are, and that's the choice," he emphasized.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had initially claimed on Wednesday that his caucus was unified, and pushed for an alternative CR that would last only a month. But the Republicans did not budge on the House-passed bill that lasts the rest of the fiscal year.
By Thursday night, Schumer revealed he would vote to advance and pass the stopgap bill, rather than providing President Donald Trump and Elon Musk with the "gift" of a government shutdown.
This was met with significant frustration from Democrats across the country and division about what party leaders should do in such circumstances.
House Democratic leaders released a late-night statement reiterating their opposition to the CR on Thursday, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., shared her own on Friday, similarly slamming the bill.
The former speaker called on Democratic senators to "listen to the women" and move forward with "a four-week funding extension to keep government open and negotiate a bipartisan agreement."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sidestepped questions on whether he had confidence in Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Friday.
The top House Democrat was directly asked about Schumer twice during a hastily-announced press conference to emphasize their opposition to Republicans' government funding bill.
Early during the press conference, Jeffries was asked if it was time for new leadership in the Senate, to which he replied, "Next question."
Jeffries gave the same exact answer when asked later if he had "lost confidence" in Schumer.
Many say it's a major public rift between the top two Democrats in Congress. Jeffries' silence on his fellow New York liberal comes as other Democratic lawmakers aim their fury at Schumer for announcing he will vote with Republicans to avert a partial government shutdown.
Jeffries later emphatically pushed back when Fox News questioned whether he was "afraid to say anything about Schumer."
"Do not characterize my remarks. I'm not afraid about anything," Jeffries said.
When pressed again, he said, "Do you think that this is what the American people care about right now? Or do they want us to do everything that we can to stop this partisan and harmful Republican bill from actually becoming law? Because that's what we as House Democrats are focused on right now."
Jeffries avoided mentioning Schumer during his press conference, but reporters pressed him with questions about the growing rift between him and the senior Democrat.
He did not directly answer when asked if Schumer "acquiesced" to President Donald Trump, only pointing out the vote had not yet taken place.
"That's a question that is best addressed by the Senate. The vote hasn't taken place yet, and the House Democratic position is very clear. We strongly oppose any efforts to cut the healthcare of the American people, veterans benefits and nutritional assistance, all of which are in the partisan Republican bill," Jeffries said.
Democrats are in historic levels of disarray over a Republican bill to avert a government shutdown that's been backed by Trump.
Progressives have been attacking Schumer for announcing he would not block the bill, but whether Republicans can find enough Democratic support to reach the necessary 60-vote threshold is still unclear.
The bill passed the House last week with support from just one House Democrat — Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine.
The House and the Senate must send a bill to Trump's desk by midnight Friday to avert a partial government shutdown.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., was mocked by conservatives on social media Friday after he posted a video on X explaining he was getting rid of his Tesla because of the optics brought by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who Kelly referred to as an "a--hole."
Kelly, a retired astronaut, said he bought a Tesla because it was "fast like a rocket ship" but now it feels like "a rolling billboard for a man dismantling our government and hurting people."
The Arizona senator and military veteran said it's been difficult driving around in a Tesla knowing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has cut jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Kelly said today would be his last day driving a Tesla.
"When I bought this thing, I didn't think it was going to become a political issue. Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing to our country," Kelly said in the video, which was viewed over 1.5 million times just two hours after it was posted.
Kelly added in the video that Elon Musk "kind of turned out to be an a--hole" and that he would rather not drive around in a car "built and designed by an a--hole."
Conservatives on X were quick to mock Kelly's post.
"Literally the most stunning and brave thing a politician has ever done. It’s so brave that I have actually been moved to tears," White House rapid responder Greg Price said in a post.
"There are no more ‘moderate’ Democrats," conservative influencer account Johnny Maga posted on X in response to Kelly's video.
House Majority Speaker Mike Johnson's director of rapid response posted on X that the video shows "Elon Musk lives rent-free" in Kelly's head.
"'I bought this product because it's amazing and I'm only getting rid of it because I don't like the guy who made it' is an amazing commercial for Tesla," conservative commentator Kate Hyde posted on X.
"This is just embarrassing," Republican strategist Nathan Sproul posted on X.
Conservative podcaster Stephen L. Miller called out the Democrats' shift from embracing EVs to "getting rid of theirs in like 3 months."
Fox News Digital reached out to Kelly's office for comment.
Protests have erupted at Tesla showrooms across the country and have since escalated to instances of vandalism on Tesla vehicles and charging stations. The demonstrations began as protests against DOGE, which has scrutinized wasteful government spending and reduced the massive federal workforce.
President Donald Trump took the driver's seat of a red Tesla Model S at the White House to support Musk Tuesday, and Tesla's stock rebounded after facing a steep decline to start the week during the protests.
Democrats were quick to criticize Trump on social media for buying a Tesla at the White House.
"Earlier today, while hard-working Americans were watching their retirement savings plummet, President Trump was filming a Tesla ad in front of the White House to help Elon Musk's failing stock. This is a brazen conflict of interest and corruption in broad daylight," Democrats on the House Committee on Financial Services said.
But conservatives called out Democrats for selectively embracing electric vehicles, reminding liberals that former President Joe Biden drove a hybrid Jeep Wrangler 4xe around the White House grounds to promote his EV initiative.
Kelly's post Friday was the latest escalation in an ongoing social media feud with Musk.
"Just left Ukraine. What I saw proved to me we can’t give up on the Ukrainian people. Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraine’s security and can’t be a giveaway to Putin," Kelly posted this week.
"You are a traitor," Musk replied.
"Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do," Kelly fired back.
Kelly said in a video posted yesterday he would vote "no" on the continuing resolution bill in the U.S. Senate, calling it a "partisan power grab for Donald Trump and Elon Musk."
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill Friday that will permanently classify fentanyl-related substances, also known as fentanyl analogs, as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act.
The HALT Fentanyl Act passed with overwhelming support, earning 84 Senate votes while 16 opposed it. The bill aims to close loopholes exploited by drug traffickers who smuggle substances with chemical compositions similar to fentanyl but are different enough to evade legal penalties.
"What this bill does — it says, 'OK, it's illegal to bring in fentanyl.' But it recognizes that some of those attempting to bring in fentanyl will try and circumvent the law by changing the fentanyl just enough so that it becomes what is called an analog," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the bill's sponsor and a former physician, told reporters Friday ahead of the bill's passage.
"'Oh, it's not fentanyl. You can't bust me because it's not actually fentanyl.' No, it still addicts like fentanyl. It still kills like fentanyl, and it is substantially fentanyl. So, therefore, it shall be treated by law enforcement as if it is fentanyl."
Democrats sought to filibuster the bill's passage, arguing it did not do enough to combat the fentanyl crisis as a whole, would increase mass incarceration and limit the study of these fentanyl analogs by placing them in a more restrictive regulatory category.
However, the bill's Republican sponsors argue it will reduce bureaucratic hurdles in the research of fentanyl analogs, serving to open the door for more scientists to study these novel substances. The arguments it will increase mass incarceration were also questioned by a Stanford University drug policy expert and former White House Office of National Drug Control Policy advisor, Keith Humphreys, who pointed out it's already illegal to possess or traffic fentanyl analogs.
The HALT Fentanyl Act does not create any new mandatory minimum sentencing, but it puts fentanyl-related substances under the same sentencing guidelines used for fentanyl itself.
During a press call Friday with some of the bill's Republican sponsors ahead of the HALT Act's passage, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., noted how the nature of the U.S. drug crisis is "changing rapidly on the street, and Congress needs to respond."
"This is a major accomplishment, quite frankly, to be able to move this through in the fight against fentanyl," Lankford added.
Other potential measures to combat the fentanyl crisis, including efforts to bolster law enforcement's drug interdiction efforts and legislation to go after the veterinary drug xylazine, which is being added to fentanyl to make it more addictive, are among additional efforts being considered on Capitol Hill.
President Donald Trump accused former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice of transforming the agency into the "department of injustice," as they sought to turn the U.S. into a "corrupt communist" country.
"Our predecessors turned this Department of Justice into the Department of Injustice," Trump said Friday at the Department of Justice. "But I stand before you today to declare that those days are over and they are never going to come back."
Trump has routinely blasted the Justice Department and the FBI since his first term for being corrupt, amid multiple investigations and lawsuits filed against him. The FBI investigated Trump and his 2016 campaign for alleged collusion with Russia, which ultimately found no evidence that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the election.
More recently, Trump has come under legal scrutiny after former Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped former special counsel Jack Smith to conduct investigations into alleged efforts from Trump to overturn the election results in 2020, and Trump’s efforts to obtain allegedly classified materials at Mar-a-Lago following his first term as president.
"They tried to turn America into a corrupt communist and third world country, but in the end, the thugs failed and the truth won," Trump said. "Freedom won, justice won, democracy won. And above all, the American people won."
"There could be no more heinous betrayal of American values than to use the law to terrorize the innocent and reward the wicked," Trump said. "And that's what they were doing at a level that's never been seen before. And it's exactly what you saw with Joe Biden, Merrick Garland and their cronies to do the building over the last four years. They ripped what they've ripped down is incalculable."
A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch and David Spunt contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: A bipartisan group of lawmakers asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to nix Chile’s status on the visa waiver program (VWP) amid a major gang burglary risk.
Reps. Young Kim, Derek Tran, Dave Min and Mike Levin of California sent a letter to DHS asking that Chile be taken off the list, which allows citizens from certain countries to visit the U.S. for roughly three months without a visa, until steps are taken to ensure that people robbing homes and businesses after they come to the country are stopped.
"We are concerned that the VWP continues to be exploited by South American Theft Groups (SATG) — a majority of whom originate from Chile. Known as ‘burglary tourism,’ certain eligible individuals travel to the U.S. through the VWP for the purpose of committing residential and commercial robberies before returning to their country of origin," states the letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.
"In addition to having an impact on familial communities, SATGs continue to victimize Orange County companies and entrepreneurs, placing a burden on our local police departments, already beset by a lack of resources and a staffing deficit," the letter continued.
"In 2024, there were 59 residential burglaries suspected of being committed by SATGs in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Southeast Patrol Area. Given the threat to public safety, we believe immediate action must be taken."
The practice of "burglary tourism" has become a relatively common occurrence in communities throughout the country, including affluent areas such as Orange County, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Even top athletes such as Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow have become theft victims.
A previous letter was sent by Kim, Levin and Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., asking the Biden administration to take similar action in June 2023, warning that the SATGs will sometimes "sell stolen goods online and launder money through Chinese crime syndicates."
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer asked Chile to lose its visa waiver program privileges last month on "FOX & Friends."
"Every other South American country that has participated in the past has been kicked out of the program for sending their criminals to the United States of America," Spitzer said at the time.
"These Chileans have been coming here for years," he said. "They’re going to Orlando, Florida, where Disney World is. They’re coming to Orange County, California, where Disneyland is. And they’re not here to visit the happiest place on Earth — they’re here to burglarize," he added.
Southern American gangs, including the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua, have been under heightened scrutiny under the Trump administration, as many groups like them have now been designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
DHS did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
EXCLUSIVE: The Biden White House turned over government cellphones belonging to President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence to the FBI in May 2022 as part of a bureau probe into the aftermath of the 2020 election, tying Trump to that investigation without sufficient predication, Fox News Digital has learned.
The FBI did not need a warrant to physically obtain the government phones from the Biden White House, but after acquiring the devices agents began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data, sources familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital.
"The Biden White House played right along with the FBI’s ‘gotcha’ scheme against Trump," a source familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital. "Biden’s Office of White House Counsel, under the leadership of Dana Remus and Jonathan Su, gave its blessing and accommodation for the FBI to physically obtain Trump and Pence’s phones in early May 2022. Weeks later, the FBI began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data."
The phones were obtained and entered as evidence as part of the FBI’s original anti-Trump 2020 election investigation, which eventually was taken over by now-former Special Counsel Jack Smith. That case was known inside the bureau as "Arctic Frost," and was opened on April 13, 2022, by anti-Trump former FBI agent Timothy Thibault.
Thibault, according to whistleblowers, broke protocol and played a critical role in opening and advancing the bureau’s original investigation related to the 2020 election, tying Trump to the probe without sufficient predication. Thibault broke protocol by taking action to open the investigation and involve Trump, despite being unauthorized to open criminal investigations in his role — only special agents have the authority to open criminal investigations.
Thibault vowed to make the investigation "prioritized over all others in the Branch" and, at the time, commented that "it frankly took too long for us to open this (investigation)," according to documents reviewed by Fox News Digital.
The FBI, by late April 2022, began scheduling more than a dozen interviews for the investigation in coordination with 13 FBI field offices across the nation, Fox News Digital has learned.
The revelations come from legally protected whistleblower disclosures provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Senate Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Fox News Digital reviewed the disclosures.
Grassley and Johnson sent the whistleblower disclosures and records to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel late Thursday.
"The new records we are making public point to an aggressive investigation run by anti-Trump agents and prosecutors intent on using every resource available to pursue Trump and his supporters," Grassley and Johnson wrote.
The first record relating to the Trump and Pence phones was dated April 25, 2022, and noted: "DOJ and FBI were informed that government-issued cellphones that purportedly previously belonged to former Vice President Mike Pence and former President Donald J. Trump were in the possession of individuals at the White House. DOJ is currently conducting analysis regarding the FBI taking possession of and processing the phones."
The records revealed that on May 4, 2022, FBI agents took possession of the two phones belonging to Trump and Pence. The phones were entered into evidence and were not processed until search warrants were obtained, according to the record.
On the same date, May 4, 2022, FBI agents interviewed Deputy White House Counsel Jonathan Su. A follow-on letter requesting additional information regarding the phones was then sent from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington D.C., to White House Counsel Dana Remus on May 9, 2022.
Remus and Su declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
A representative for former President Joe Biden did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on whether he was aware of the situation.
Agents also sought to interview former Trump administration officials, including employees from the Offices of the President and Vice President, DOJ and then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe is currently the CIA director in the second Trump administration.
"Sunshine is the best disinfectant," the Grassley and Johnson wrote to Bondi and Patel Thursday. "The American people deserve to know the complete extent of the corruption within the DOJ and FBI that led to the investigation into President Trump."
Grassley and Johnson said that they made the documents public "for purposes of public accountability and to provide specific examples of past behavior at your institutions that must not be repeated."
"Quite simply, the public has a right to know what happened in Arctic Frost and, based on what we’ve exposed to date, the American people deserve better from its law enforcement agencies."
They added: "It is important that every individual at your agencies maintains the highest level of professionalism and does not allow political bias to motivate or guide their investigative work."
Grassley and Johnson stressed that they "expect the production of all records related to the Arctic Frost investigation, including all internal records of investigative updates."
"In addition, we request data providing a true and complete breakdown of the total dollar amount spent on the Arctic Frost investigation before it was officially transferred to Jack Smith in November 2022," they wrote. "Please also include information related to travel funds and hours spent on the investigation."
Grassley and Johnson gave Bondi and Patel a deadline of March 27, 2025, to turn over all records.
FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Fox News Digital that the bureau is "in receipt of Chairman Grassley and Senator Johnson’s request."
"As always per Director Patel’s directive, our team will work aggressively to comply with Congressional requests," Williamson told Fox News Digital.
As for Thibault, Fox News Digital exclusively reported in 2024 that he had been fired from the FBI after he violated the Hatch Act in his political posts on social media. Previous whistleblowers claimed that Thibault had shown a "pattern of active public partisanship," which likely affected investigations involving Trump and Hunter Biden.
Former Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith, a former Justice Department official, as special counsel in November 2022.
Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief to the DOJ's public integrity section, led the investigation into Trump's retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government's investigation into the matter.
Smith also was tasked with overseeing the investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.
Smith charged Trump in both cases, but Trump pleaded not guilty.
The classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.
Smith charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested a second student who participated in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, after a third student opted to deport themselves from the U.S.
Leqaa Kordia, who is from the West Bank, had a student visa canceled in 2022 "for lack of attendance" and was detained by the agency for the outdated visa. DHS said Kordia was previously arrested in April for an alleged role in the protests, but the New York Police Department told Fox News Digital it does not have an arrest record under their name.
"Columbia has no record of this individual being registered as a current or former student at the University," the university said in a statement.
"It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
"When you advocate for violence and terrorism, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country. I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self-deport."
Mahmoud Khalil, who recently graduated from the New York City-based university, is in ICE custody for his role in the protests. However, this led to some backlash from students and faculty and drew the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
"To be clear: The First Amendment does not allow the government to retaliate against anyone for their speech. Ripping someone from their home, stripping them of their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint is a clear attempt by President Trump to silence dissent," the ACLU’s website states. "And that's patently unconstitutional. Political speech — however controversial some may find it — may never be the basis for punishment, including deportation."
The Trump White House nixed $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University, which gained nationwide attention for its encampment that proponents said was in support of Gaza.
President Donald Trump warned in a Truth Social post that Khalil was "the first arrest of many to come."
"Following my previously signed Executive Orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University," Trump stated in the post.
Indian citizen Ranjani Srinivasan used the new "CBP Home" app to return to the country March 11 after the federal government took away her student visa March 5, according to a new release from DHS.
Dr. Mehmet Oz was slammed by his detractors during a Senate confirmation hearing Friday on Capitol Hill for promoting unproven alternative health treatments – with one Democrat calling it the "most ludicrous wellness grifting" he'd ever seen.
Oz laid out his plans for the agency, including potential reforms he is considering, during a confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Finance. The committee will soon vote on whether to advance Oz's nomination to become the next Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to the full Senate body.
While Oz's medical expertise was not widely challenged Friday, his motivations were. Dubbed "America's Doctor" by Oprah Winfrey, Oz used his TV platform at times to promote alternative health remedies, endorsing questionable weight-loss solutions like green coffee extract and raspberry ketones.
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., sought to get Oz to admit that his promotion of certain supplements for weight loss, such as green coffee extract, were fraudulent. While Oz admitted green coffee extract is not a miracle weight-loss drug, he argued that he never promoted it as such.
"There are many things I said on the show. I take great pride in the research we did at the time to identify which of these worked and which ones didn't. Many of them are still being researched, like the green coffee bean extract you just mentioned," Oz told Hassan. The senator then inquired how much he was paid to promote these products, to which Oz responded that he got nothing.
But Oz's claim he wasn't getting paid to promote the products didn't convince Hassan, who pointed out press reports chronicling the "Dr. Oz effect" – a phenomenon where sales of products he endorsed would skyrocket after being featured on his show.
"That was written about by the press," Oz told Hassan. Hassan then argued that Oz seemed "unwilling to take accountability for [his] promotion of snake oil remedies."
Oz's financial ties to a litany of companies spanning many corners of the healthcare sector, including nutrition supplements, has been a point of scrutiny for his detractors. In an ethics filing that was submitted in advance of the hearing, Oz indicated he would divest his holdings in more than 70 companies and investment funds that could pose potential conflicts of interest.
One of those companies is iHerb, an online supplement retailer, which represents one of Oz's largest financial holdings. According to his ethics filing, Oz's holdings in iHerb are worth as much as $25 million.
As the administrator of CMS, Oz would make decisions related to how the government covers procedures, hospital stays and medication within the federal healthcare programs, as well as the reimbursement rates at which healthcare providers get paid for their services. Oz, if confirmed, could theoretically take action to get federal healthcare programs, like Medicaid and Medicare, to cover a greater number of supplements not already covered.
A committee vote to decide whether to send Oz to the full Senate has not yet been scheduled. He will need to garner at least 50 votes in the full Senate to be confirmed.
The Department of Defense has dissolved its Office of Net Acquisition – a think tank-like arm of the Pentagon that Republicans have claimed was involved in the Trump-Russia investigation.
Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said civilian employees within the office would be "reassigned to mission-critical roles" as the DOD established a plan to rebuild the office "in alignment with the Department’s strategic priorities."
The office is meant to provide long-term strategic analysis within DOD, but it has become a target of Republicans who claim it has engaged in "projects unrelated to its mission."
"Praise the Lord. This wise move saves American taxpayers over 20 million dollars a year," Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a statement.
The office in recent years has been focused on strategizing a potential war with China. It championed a strategy known as "AirSea Battle," where a blinding campaign against the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of stealth bombers and submarines would take out China’s long-range surveillance before a naval assault.
But Grassley has for years scrutinized ONA’s contracting practices.
ONA has failed to produce classified net assessments for years, with whistleblowing analyst Adam Lovinger once complaining in emails to Director James Baker that the office seemed to attract overpriced academic-style papers instead of classified net assessments.
"On the issue of quality, more than once I have heard our contractor studies labeled ‘derivative,’ ’college-level,’ and based heavily on secondary sources," Lovinger wrote in a September 2016 email. "One of our contractor studies was literally cut and pasted from a World Bank report."
Lovinger had complained about questionable government contracts awarded to Stefan Halper, an FBI informant who spied on the Trump campaign in 2016.
A DOD inspector general’s report later found that Halper had failed to properly document the research he did as a contractor on four studies valued at $1 million. The four contracts, spanning from 2012 to 2016, were meant to encompass relations between the U.S., Russia, China and India.
The report found that Halper had not provided proof of any meetings he had or locations he had visited as part of his studies.
"ONA personnel could not provide us any evidence that Professor Halper visited any of these locations, established an advisory group, or met with any of the specific people listed in the statement of work."
For a study on what China relations could look like in 2030, Halper had proposed travel to London and Tokyo.
"The contract was fixed price based on the acceptance of the deliverables and did not require Professor Halper to submit travel receipts. ONA personnel could not provide documentation that Professor Halper traveled for this contract."
Contracts show that Halper listed a Russian intelligence official as a consultant for an ONA project, the same intelligence official who was listed as a source in the Trump dossier used to spy on Carter Page. He was in contact with Page and former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, "raising questions about whether Halper used U.S. taxpayer dollars to seek connections with Trump campaign officials," according to Grassley.
Halper was also a confidential human source for the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections who recorded conversations with officials from the campaign.
The senator claims that ONA has stonewalled on his inquiries about Halper’s relations to the Trump-Russia probe.
Senator Jack Reed, D-R.I., top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, called the office’s closing "shortsighted," adding that it would "undermine our ability to prepare for future conflicts."
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is reportedly gearing up to cancel dozens of research grants about vaccine hesitancy by the end of the month, just four years after the Biden administration poured millions of dollars into combating COVID-19 vaccine skepticism.
According to an internal email obtained by The Washington Post this week with the subject line "required terminations — 3/10/25," the agency had "received a new list… of awards that need to be terminated, today. It has been determined they do not align with NIH funding priorities related to vaccine hesitancy and/or uptake."
More than 40 grants are on the chopping block, according to the Post's report, and when notifying researchers of the NIH's termination, they should be told "not to prioritize research activities that focuses gaining scientific knowledge on why individuals are hesitant to be vaccinated and/or explore ways to improve vaccine interest and commitment."
Fox News Digital has reached out to NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for comment.
The report comes four years after the previous Biden administration spent millions to combat "misinformation," particularly related to the COVID-19 vaccine, in 2021. A November report by Open the Books, a government watchdog group, found that at least $267 million was spent on research grants and contracts related to "misinformation" or "disinformation."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allocated more than $17 million over three weeks in February 2021, CBS News reported at the time, to 15 organizations advocating for Black, Hispanic, Asian and Native American populations. Progressive groups UnidosUS and National Urban League were granted $3.2 million and $2 million, respectively.
In a now-archived CDC page titled "Risk for COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Death By Race/Ethnicity" in December 2022, the department reported that Black people are more likely to contract COVID-19 than White people.
"Sure enough, the feds have spent at least $127 million in grants specifically targeted to study the spread of 'misinformation' — or to help people ‘overcome’ it, so to speak — by persuading them to go along with COVID-related public health recommendations and mandates," the Open the Books report said.
It's unclear if the cancelation of grants came from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., but the Trump administration has been highly critical of the previous administration's spending. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has also been taking a scalpel to DEI-related funding amid President Donald Trump's effort to downsize the government workforce.
Kennedy has been focusing on reforming food policies, expanding healthcare coverage and holding big pharmaceutical companies accountable since his controversial Senate confirmation last month.
A North Carolina Republican Congressman’s town hall event grew heated after a man who identified himself as a veteran stood up and started shouting at him, yelling "you don't give a f--- about me!" before being escorted away by police.
The outburst unfolded Thursday night at a college auditorium in Asheville during a gathering hosted by Rep. Chuck Edwards, who serves the state’s 11th District.
"In my view, the debt crisis has been largely ignored far too long and the time is now to fix how Washington works. To that end, I was proud to vote recently for the House budget resolution which provides the framework," Edwards was heard telling the audience before being interrupted by boos and jeers. He then said, "And you wonder why folks don’t want to do these town halls."
Moments later, a man in the audience started shouting at Edwards, saying "You have nothing to say but lies. You’re lying. I’m a veteran, and you don’t give a f--- about me!"
Around 300 people attended the 1.5-hour long event, where Edwards answered questions on topics such as cuts orchestrated by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to the Associated Press.
"Do you support the annexation of Canada and/or Greenland? And this is a yes or no question, I don’t want you to wander off into the woods, I don’t want to hear about your latest week in your office," Edwards was asked by one audience member, to which he replied "the short answer to that is no."
Last week, President Donald Trump said "Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings" and "It is all part of the game for the Democrats."
"We may not agree on every issue, but hearing the concerns of Western North Carolinians and answering your questions will continue to be a priority of mine," Edwards said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday that "we have never been closer to peace," as the U.S. waits for Russia’s answer on a 30-day ceasefire agreement. Ukraine accepted the deal earlier this week after a meeting with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia, on the condition that Moscow commits to the plan.
Leavitt noted that this morning President Donald Trump put out a scathing Truth Social post that included a message urging the Russians to accept the U.S. ceasefire proposal.
"He is putting pressure on President Putin and the Russians to do the right thing," Leavitt told reporters. "Yesterday was a productive day for the United States of America and for the world. In terms of peace, we have never been this close to peace."
In celebrating the administration’s success, Leavitt pointed out that yesterday NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised Trump’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Rutte told Trump that he "broke the deadlock" in the Russia-Ukraine war with this week’s peace talks in Saudi Arabia and the opening of a "dialogue with the Russians."
"Ukraine, you broke the deadlock, as you said, all the killing and the young people dying, cities getting destroyed. And the fact that you did that, you started a dialogue with the Russians and the successful talks in Saudi Arabia, now with the Ukrainians. I really want to commend you for this," Rutte said.
Earlier on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for tougher sanctions on Russia and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to drag out the peace talks to prolong the war.
However, on Thursday, while taking questions from reporters alongside Rutte, Trump said he would prefer peace to sanctions, but noted that there were things the U.S. could do financially that would be "very bad for Russia." He did not specify what that would entail.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced a crackdown on leaks within the intelligence community.
Gabbard — a former Democratic congresswoman turned Trump-supporting Republican — was sworn in to the DNI post last month.
"Our nation’s Intelligence Community must be focused on our national security mission. Politically motivated leaks undermine our national security and the trust of the American people, and will not be tolerated," she declared on Friday in a thread on X
"Unfortunately, such leaks have become commonplace with no investigation or accountability. That ends now. We know of and are aggressively pursuing recent leakers from within the Intelligence Community and will hold them accountable," Gabbard added.
She then listed several "recent examples" of intelligence community leaks:
She concluded the thread by warning that unauthorized disclosure of classified material is a breach of the law and will be handled accordingly.
"I'm grateful that @DNIGabbard is working to end leaking and the weaponization of the Intelligence Community. Another promise made and promise kept," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in a post.
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, tweeted, "Restore an intelligence community that fits within the Constitution, and stays focused on America’s national security."
NEWFIELDS, N.H. – Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is keeping the door open to a possible Republican run next year in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
Sununu, who enjoys a large national profile, thanks to his regular appearances the past few years on the cable news networks and Sunday talk shows, emphasized that the "door is not closed," when asked on Fox News Radio's "The Guy Benson Show" if he's considering a Senate run.
And Sununu, who was elected and re-elected to four straight two-year terms as governor of the key New England swing state, touted on Thursday that if he were to run, "I would win, by the way."
The 78-year-old Shaheen, the first woman in the nation's history to win election as governor and as a U.S. senator, announced this week that she would retire at the end of next year rather than seek a fourth six-year term in the Senate.
Even before Shaheen's announcement, her seat in New Hampshire was considered one of the GOP's top pick-up opportunities in the 2026 midterms – along with Michigan, where Sen. Gary Peters is also retiring, and Georgia, where Republicans consider first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff vulnerable – as Republicans hope to expand their current 53-47 majority.
Sununu, in 2021, expressed interest in running for the Senate against his predecessor as governor, Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan, who was up for re-election in 2022. And the popular governor was heavily courted by national Republicans to take on Hassan.
But on Nov. 9, 2021, Sununu announced that he would instead run for a fourth term as governor, upsetting many Republicans in the nation's capital.
"When you look at what their (senators) job is and what a governor’s job is . . . it’s not even close. I can't tell you how many senators told me, ‘You're just going to have to wait around a couple of years to get anything done.’ Can you imagine me sitting around a couple of years," Sununu emphasized at the time. "They debate and talk and nothing gets done. . . . That’s not the world I live in."
Fast-forward to this past year, and Sununu repeatedly said he wouldn't seek to run for the Senate in 2026.
In a November interview with Fox News Digital, the then-governor reiterated what he had first said in a July interview.
"Definitely ruling out running for the Senate in 2026. Yeah, definitely not on my dance card," Sununu said in an interview along the sidelines of the Republican Governors Association winter meeting in Florida.
The 50-year-old Sununu, who when he was first elected in 2016 was the nation's youngest governor, was asked again about a 2026 Senate run in a Fox News Digital interview in early January, in his last full day in office.
"I'm not planning on running for anything right now. I'm really not, at least for the next two, four, six years," he emphasized. "Who knows what happens down the road, but it would be way down the road and nothing, nothing I'm planning on, nothing my family would tolerate either short term."
Sununu, in his interview on Thursday, cautioned that while he's keeping the door open to a potential 2026 campaign, "I’m not saying it’s a high probability. Can’t wait to jump in. Definitely not."
As for his change of mind from his steadfast no to a slight maybe, Sununu said that "some folks in New Hampshire especially, and some of our mutual friends in Washington, D.C., have asked me to at least keep the door open and reconsider, and I am."
As for his timetable for making a decision, Sununu said on Friday in an interview on Fox News' "America's Newsroom" that he would "take a few weeks to think about it."
Sununu isn't the only Republican mulling a Senate bid in New Hampshire.
Former Sen. Scott Brown, of Massachusetts, who later narrowly lost to Shaheen in New Hampshire in the 2014 election, is seriously considering a 2026 run.
Brown, who served four years as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during President Donald Trump’s first administration, has been holding meetings with Republicans across New Hampshire for a couple of months and has met multiple times with GOP officials in the nation’s capital.
Brown recently met with top Trump administration political officials at the White House, sources tell Fox News Digital.
Brown, who told Fox News Digital late last year that he was seriously considering a Senate run, took aim at Granite State Democrats, arguing that "they're just completely out of touch with what we want here in New Hampshire. And the more I think about it, I think we can do better."
Sununu, who's long been known for his frenetic pace and his confidence on the campaign trail, highlighted, "I know how to run. I know how to win. . . . I think we’ve got a great record here. I just know my voters, and they know me. . . . And so, if I really wanted to do this, I have no doubt we could be very, very successful. I know that sounds arrogant. . . . I don’t care. I’m just saying things are the ABCs of me winning."
On his past criticism of how the Senate functions, Sununu noted that "there’s something that definitely changed from when I really didn’t want to do it in '22 to today. You know, specifically just the priority. I mean, back then, I had Republicans in the U.S. Senate telling me balancing budgets didn’t matter," Sununu elaborated.
And he argued that "clearly that has changed."
Sununu, who regularly highlights that he is a "budget hawk," pointed to President Donald Trump's recently created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to overhaul and downsize the federal government. DOGE, steered by Elon Musk, the world's richest person and the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, has swept through federal agencies, rooting out what the White House argues was billions in wasteful federal spending. It has also taken a meat cleaver to the federal workforce, resulting in a massive downsizing of employees. The moves by DOGE have triggered a slew of lawsuits in response.
"We have DOGE going on. Thank you, President Trump. He’s talking about balancing budgets. He’s driving that message. And clearly, there’s a need for some leadership on something that I believe very, very strongly," Sununu said. "There’s a different attitude here. They’re taking their job seriously."
Following Trump's first term in the White House and in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters aiming to upend congressional certification of former President Biden's 2020 election victory, Sununu became a leading vocal GOP Trump critic.
Sununu was a top surrogate and supporter of former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Trump's final challenger in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries.
But he did back the Republican nominee in the general election.
Asked about his current relationship with Trump and his team, Sununu shared in his Fox News Radio interview, "I was at the white House three weeks ago and emphasized "that relationship is not of concern."
"There’s a great understanding. I’ve been very supportive of what he’s [Trump] been doing, Sununu added. "Everyone has seen me out in the media for the last year, working hard for the Republican Party, working hard to get folks to vote the right way."
And he added that his relationship with Trump and the president's team "is the least of my concerns, to be honest."
