Babydog is back on Capitol Hill — and this time, she’s weighing in on America’s energy future.
On Thursday, the beloved English bulldog and constant companion of Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., made her official debut before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where Justice delivered remarks focused on energy policy, national unity and, yes, a few lighthearted barks from Babydog herself.
"She humanizes us," Justice told the committee as he lifted Babydog into view. "She makes us absolutely get off our pedestals... She makes you smile... She still loves you." The moment ended with applause from the room and a unanimous motion to enter the pooch's "testimony" into the Senate record.
In an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, Justice said: "From committee appearances to TV appearances, Babydog is always around to bring a smile to everyone’s face. She worked hard this week as the 101st senator to make sure all canine priorities were spoken (or barked) for when the microphone was on."
The moment drew attention from both lawmakers and social media.
"@BabyDogJustice’s testimony will be admitted into the record without objection," declared the official Senate Energy Republicans account.
Babydog's big day didn't stop there.
Before heading to FOX Business for her "Bottom Line" appearance, Babydog shared a behind-the-scenes moment from the Fox News D.C. Bureau, tweeting a glammed-up photo with the caption, "I’m ready for my close up."
Justice joined "The Bottom Line with Dagen McDowell" on FOX Business, where he discussed his priorities for America’s energy sector, including support for President Donald Trump’s recent executive order aimed at bolstering domestic energy production.
"President Trump has made us proud in regard to coal," Justice said. "We’ve got to have coal."
Asked about concerns that tariffs may be hindering international energy markets for West Virginia, Justice pushed back, saying, "It’s so premature to think such a thought... He will adjust when adjusting needs to be made."
Justice warned that America faces serious decisions within the next 18 months if energy production isn’t scaled to meet demand.
"There could be a possibility that it could have expanded just a little bit more than that, but really and truly, within a year-and-a-half, we’re going to have to make some really, really tough decisions," he said. "It could very well be an electricity demand of double what it is today."
Justice also addressed budget and entitlement reform, tying economic growth directly to energy: "The ticket to growing... is energy. Energy. Energy. Period."
Babydog has previously appeared at Senate Agriculture Committee hearings and remains a constant presence in the halls of Congress. As Fox News Digital has reported, she continues to resonate with lawmakers and staff alike across party lines for her ability to, as Justice puts it, "bring people together."
"She loves everybody," he said. "Rich, poor, a kid or an adult, or God forbid, a Democrat or a Republican."
Her bipartisan appeal and growing public profile have helped Babydog carve out a unique role in Washington—part mascot, part morale booster, and now, a regular presence in policy settings. As Thursday’s hearing showed, she’s not just along for the ride—she’s helping shape the tone in the room.
Now heading into April recess, the Senate adjourns with energy questions unresolved, but bipartisan agreement that Babydog is always welcome.
The Senate has voted to confirm the general who told President Donald Trump that ISIS could be eradicated "very quickly" with loosened rules of engagement during his first term to the role of chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
The vote came in the wee hours of Friday morning after Democrats rejected a GOP attempt to quickly confirm Caine on Thursday and get out of town.
The vote tally was 60 to 25, with 15 Democrats supporting the Trump nominee.
An Air Force F-16 pilot by background, Caine will be the first National Guard general to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Trump plucked him from retirement to reactivate and serve as his top military advisor after firing Gen. C.Q. Brown in February.
Brown had been behind a 2022 memo laying out diversity goals for the Air Force.
Caine will be the first Joint Chiefs chairman who was not a four-star and the first to come out of retirement to fill the role. He hasn’t been a combatant commander or service chief, meaning Trump had to grant him a waiver to serve in the role.
Caine acknowledged his unconventional nomination during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee: "In our family, we serve. When asked, we always say yes. Senators, I acknowledge that I'm an unconventional nominee. These are unconventional times."
He worked as the associate director of military affairs for the CIA from 2021 to 2024 and founded a regional airline in Texas. He was a White House fellow at the Agriculture Department and a counterterrorism specialist on the White House’s Homeland Security Council.
Caine was among a group of military leaders who met with the president in December 2018 at the Al Asad airbase in Iraq. Trump was there to deliver a Christmas message and hear from commanders on the ground, and there Caine told Trump they could defeat ISIS quickly with a surge of resources and a lifting of restrictions on engagement.
"'We’re only hitting them from a temporary base in Syria,'" Trump said Caine told him. "'But if you gave us permission, we could hit them from the back, from the side, from all over – from the base that you’re right on, right now, sir. They won’t know what the hell hit them.'"
Trump had claimed Caine was wearing a red MAGA hat the first time he met him – a claim Caine repeatedly denied during the hearing.
"Sir, for 34 years, I've upheld my oath of office and my commitment to my commission, and I have never worn any political merchandise," Caine told Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
Trump, when he picked Caine, praised him as "an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience."
Caine vowed his duty would be to advise the president on defense considerations without any political influence.
The role, he said, "starts with being a good example from the top and making sure that we are nonpartisan and apolitical and speaking the truth to power," Caine said.
Trump's first chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, has now become a top foe – the president recently stripped him of his security clearance and had his portrait taken down at the Pentagon.
President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs, and possibly sanctions, if it continues to rob South Texas farmers of Rio Grande water promised under a decades-old treaty.
In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump proclaimed that Mexico owes Texas 1.3 million acre-feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty, though Mexico was violating their obligation.
"This is very unfair, and it is hurting South Texas Farmers very badly," the president wrote. "Last year, the only Sugar Mill in Texas CLOSED, because Mexico has been stealing the water from Texas Farmers. Ted Cruz has been leading the fight to get South Texas the water it is owed, but Sleepy Joe refused to lift a finger to help the Farmers. THAT ENDS NOW!"
Trump continued, saying he will make sure Mexico does not violate treaties with the U.S. and hurt farmers in Texas.
"Just last month, I halted water shipments to Tijuana until Mexico complies with the 1944 Water Treaty," he said. "My Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, is standing up for Texas Farmers, and we will keep escalating consequences, including TARIFFS and, maybe even SANCTIONS, until Mexico honors the Treaty, and GIVES TEXAS THE WATER THEY ARE OWED!"
Texas farm groups warned of a disastrous season ahead of them for citrus and sugar, last year, as Mexican and U.S. officials tried to resolve a dispute over the 1944 water treaty that supplies U.S. farmers with critical irrigation.
The two countries have tussled over the treaty before, but the drought-driven water shortages were the most severe in nearly 30 years.
Under the treaty designed to allocate shared water resources, Mexico is required to send 1.75 million acre-feet of water from the Rio Grande to the U.S. over a five-year cycle.
Texas's half-billion-dollar citrus industry is heavily dependent on water from Mexico, especially with drought conditions growing more severe in the region. In fact, Texas is the third-largest citrus state behind California and Florida.
Last month, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs posted that it was denying a request from Mexico to deliver water to Tijuana.
"Mexico's continued shortfalls in its water deliveries under the 1944 water-sharing treaty are decimating American agriculture – particularly farmers in the Rio Grande valley," the agency wrote on X. "As a result, today for the first time, the U.S. will deny Mexico's non-treaty request for a special delivery channel for Colorado River water to be delivered to Tijuana."
The day before, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas., said South Texas was facing a water crisis, which he called a "man-made crisis."
He also noted that he was leading the fight in the Senate to hold Mexico accountable and abide by the treaty to deliver water to farmers in South Texas.
He shared the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs’ post, calling the move, "excellent."
"As I said yesterday, this option is absolutely what the Trump administration needs to pressure Mexico to fulfill its obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty," Cruz wrote on X. "Texas farmers are in crisis because of Mexico's noncompliance. I will work with the Trump administration to pressure Mexico into complying and to get water to Texas farmers."
The Trump administration was handed another win on Thursday after a federal judge ruled that everyone in the U.S. illegally must register with the federal government and carry documentation.
The Associated Press reported that Judge Trevor Neil McFadden, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, sided with the administration after arguing it was enforcing an existing requirement for everyone in the country who is not a citizen of the U.S.
Rather than rule on the substance of the Trump administration’s arguments, McFadden ruled that the group pushing to stop the requirement did not have standing to pursue their claims.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Thursday that the deadline to register for anyone who has been in the country for 30 days or more is Friday, adding that the registration requirement will be enforced to the fullest.
"President Trump and I have a clear message for those in our country illegally: leave now. If you leave now, you may have the opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American dream," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in the statement. "The Trump administration will enforce all our immigration laws — we will not pick and choose which laws we will enforce. We must know who is in our country for the safety and security of our homeland and all Americans."
The DHS began warning illegal immigrants in February that they should leave the country or face serious consequences.
The secretary said DHS will enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act, which was enacted in 1952 and created several tools to track illegal aliens and compel them to voluntarily leave the U.S.
DHS said the tools include criminal penalties for migrants who choose not to leave the U.S., fail to register with the federal government and get fingerprinted, and fail to notify the federal government of changes to their address.
Illegal immigrants who fail to depart the U.S. will be charged with a crime resulting in a "significant penalty," DHS said.
But migrants who fail to register with the federal government could be fined, imprisoned or both.
Registration is mandatory for anyone 14 and older without legal status. Anyone registering will be required to provide their fingerprints and address.
Canadians are also required to go through the registration process if they have been in the U.S. for more than 30 days – this includes "snowbirds," who spend winter months in warmer areas like Florida.
While it has long been required for people who live in the U.S. and are not American citizens, the requirement has only been enforced in rare circumstances.
For instance, the requirement was enforced in a limited way after Sept. 11, 2001, when the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System required noncitizen males 16 and older from 25 countries – all but one of them Arab or Muslim – to register with the U.S. government.
Even though the program did not lead to terrorism convictions, it pulled over 13,000 people into deportation proceedings. The program was suspended in 2011 and dissolved in 2016.
President Donald Trump announced a handful of nominations and appointments Thursday, including a position to combat antisemitism.
Trump selected Yehuda Kaploun, a prominent Miami-based businessman and longtime confidant of the president, to serve as the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism as an ambassador-at-large.
"Yehuda is a successful businessman, and staunch advocate for the Jewish Faith and the Rights of his people to live and worship free from persecution," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "With Anti-Semitism dangerously on the rise, Yehuda will be the strongest Representative for Americans and Jews across the Globe, and promote PEACE. Congratulations Yehuda!"
Former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., has been nominated as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
Walker, a former pastor, "will work incredibly hard to expose Human Rights Violations, champion Faith, and help us secure Life Saving Results," Trump wrote.
In a post on X, Walker thanked Trump, saying, "I'm open-eyed to the bad actors and regions committing these atrocities against people of faith."
"Religious expression is the foundation of human rights and, whether it's a college campus in New York or Sub-Saharan Africa, I'll be relentless in fighting for those targeted who dare to live out their faith," he wrote. "I'm grateful to my beautiful wife and family for their support. May God provide the path and may we have the courage to follow."
William "Billy" Marshall III, the commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, will serve as the next director of the Bureau of Prisons, Trump said.
"Billy is a Strong Advocate for LAW AND ORDER. He understands the struggles of our prisons better than anyone, and will help fix our broken Criminal Justice System. Congratulations Billy, you will inspire us all," Trump wrote.
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink is stepping down, the State Department confirmed Thursday, as the Trump administration ramps up its efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Tammy Bruce, a State Department spokesperson, said Brink would be leaving her role, though she didn’t give a specific departure date.
The news comes at a critical moment for U.S. foreign policy as officials work to ease tensions and end the grinding war in Eastern Europe.
Brink, a career diplomat with decades of experience, was nominated by then-President Joe Biden and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in May 2022, just months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
She became the first U.S. ambassador to serve in Kyiv since 2019, helping reestablish America’s diplomatic presence after embassy staff were evacuated in the early days of the war.
Before serving in Ukraine, Brink was the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia and worked in top roles at the National Security Council. She speaks Russian and is known for strongly defending U.S. interests in Eastern Europe.
While in Ukraine, Brink was a vocal supporter of American military aid and often appeared publicly with Ukrainian leaders. Her resignation comes as the Trump administration shifts focus toward ending the war through diplomacy and renewed talks with Russia.
Also on Thursday, U.S. and Russian officials held rare face-to-face talks in Istanbul aimed at repairing long-strained diplomatic relations. The State Department said the two sides exchanged formal notes to finalize an agreement that would stabilize banking services for each country’s embassies, a step seen as key to keeping diplomatic missions operational.
In recent years, both countries have imposed financial restrictions on each other’s embassies and slashed staffing due to the fallout from the war. A finalized banking deal could open the door to restoring some of those lost diplomatic connections.
The State Department said follow-up talks are expected, though no date has been set.
Brink’s departure lands at a moment of major transition in U.S. foreign policy. Her exit may also clear the way for a new ambassador more closely aligned with the Trump administration’s push for a ceasefire deal.
Chinese officials acknowledged behind closed doors at a December meeting that their government was responsible for a series of cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure, according to a Wall Street Journal report based on information from people familiar with the matter.
The news comes as the two countries continue to spar over tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump and reciprocated and upped by President Xi Jinping.
In an exclusive, the Wall Street Journal reported that those who spoke on condition of anonymity claimed Chinese officials connected the cyberattacks on U.S. ports, airports, utilities and other important targets to America’s support for Taiwan.
The report noted that Biden administration officials learned of the discovery first hand during a summit in Geneva, as their Chinese counterparts blamed the campaign, referred to as Volt Typhoon, on a criminal organization.
"Cyberspace is characterized by strong virtuality, difficulty in tracing origins, and diverse actors, making the tracing of cyberattacks a complex technical issue," Embassy spokesperson Mr. Liu Pengyu said. "We hope that relevant parties will adopt a professional and responsible attitude when characterizing cyber incidents, basing their conclusions on sufficient evidence rather than unfounded speculation and accusations.
"The US needs to stop using cybersecurity to smear and slander China, and stop spreading all kinds of disinformation about the so-called Chinese hacking threats," he added.
The Biden administration warned state leaders in March 2024 that cyberattacks by hackers linked to Iran and China could take down water systems across the U.S. if cybersecurity measures were not taken out of precaution.
Then Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael S. Regan and Jake Sullivan, the assistant to Biden for national security affairs, said in an email to state governors that cyberattacks were targeting water and wastewater systems throughout the U.S.
In the letter, the two Biden administration officials said the attacks could disrupt clean and safe drinking water and impose significant costs on affected communities.
While one attack was linked to Iran, the other threat came from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-sponsored hacker group, Volt Typhoon, which compromised information technology of critical infrastructure systems, including drinking water facilities in the U.S. and its territories.
As U.S. officials issued warnings about Volt Typhoon’s effort, they also accused the PRC of attempting to get into U.S. computer networks in an effort to unleash cyberattacks during any unforeseen conflicts in the future.
The FBI said in December that hackers in Beijing infiltrated networks of "multiple" telecommunication companies, gaining access to customer call records and private communications of "a limited number of individuals." But the targets, the FBI noted in December, were Americans involved in government and politics.
A federal investigation uncovered a massive cyber-espionage campaign by the Chinese government, targeting U.S. telecommunications networks to steal Americans' information. A top White House official confirmed in December that at least eight U.S. telecom companies had been affected by the hacking spree.
The campaign was believed to have started a year or two ago, the Associated Press reported.
During President Donald Trump's second public meeting with his Cabinet at the White House on Thursday, he said there will soon be a deadline by which illegal immigrants must be gone from the U.S., or they will not be allowed to try to reenter legally.
The president's comments came as he expressed a willingness to work with undocumented immigrants "right from the beginning" to help them return to the country legally — that is, if they leave "in a nice way," the president added.
"We're going to work with people, so that if they go out in a nice way, and go back to their country, we're going to work with them right from the beginning on trying to get them back in legally," Trump said following comments from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
"So it gives you real incentive, otherwise they'll never come back — they'll never be allowed once a certain period of time goes by, which is probably going to be 60 days."
The Trump administration is currently undergoing a massive voluntary removal effort, with federal officials encouraging immigrants residing illegally in the U.S. to self-deport through the administration's CBP Home app. More than 5,000 immigrants self-deported over the last month, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data.
"It's a very big self-deport operation that we're starting," Noem said during Thursday's Cabinet meeting.
Noem pointed out that currently, under the Alien Registration Act and the president's Executive Orders, if undocumented immigrants still have not registered their status with the federal government, they can be criminally charged, face fines of up to $1,000 per day "and they'll never get the chance to come back to America."
She also added that the agency is working on securing the funding and resources to ensure deported immigrants land on their feet when they return to their home country, pointing to programs in places like Mexico, El Salvador and Colombia that are offering food and housing assistance.
"[We are] making sure that these folks have the opportunity to go home, so that they can get the chance to come back to America is important," Noem told Trump and his Cabinet.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
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…
-Trump tariff spike fuels new House bill to lock China out of US government tech
-Dems fight bill to stop illegal immigrant voting despite polls showing voter support
-Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax agenda scores major victory in House despite GOP rebellion threats
DOGE Chief Elon Musk says the organization is set to save the U.S. government more than $150 billion in cuts to waste and fraud in FY 2026.
Musk made the comment during a public Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday.
"We anticipate savings in FY 26 from reduction of waste and fraud by $150 billion. And, I mean, and some of it is just absurd. Like people getting unemployment insurance who haven't been born yet," Musk said…Read more
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Attorneys for anti-Israel protester Mahmoud Khalil criticized a two-page letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying the entire case against their client rests on shaky allegations.
The letter, which was filed in an immigration court this week and published Thursday, said the Trump administration has the authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests.
The memo alleges that Khalil, a legal permanent U.S. resident and Columbia University graduate student who served as spokesperson for anti-Israel protesters during large demonstrations, participated in "antisemitic protests and disruptive activities." His presence in the U.S. would have "potentially serious adverse foreign consequences, and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest."
"Two pages, that's it," Marc Van Der Hout, one of Khalil's lawyers, told reporters during a virtual news conference Thursday. "Yet this administration wants to silence Mahmoud, wants to silence people speaking out against the government of Israel or the government of the United States."
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House.
The Trump administration is attempting to deport Khalil over his activities at the Ivy League university last year. Federal Judge Jamee Comans said she will rule Friday on whether Khalil can be deported or if he must be freed.
"I think the bigger picture here that we all need to keep focus on is that tomorrow's hearing has momentous implications, whether the government can act in violation of the Constitution, to deport someone, is front and center, and our position is that it cannot," said Johnny Sinodis, another one of Khalil's lawyers.
The attorneys also accused the Trump administration of forum "shopping" in an effort to argue their case against Khalil in a friendly court.
"Just as the government was trying to manipulate jurisdictional rules to keep Mahmood out of federal courts in New York and New Jersey and into the federal circuit in Louisiana where the law is very favorable to the government," said Baher Azmy, the legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Azmy said government lawyers are trying to argue the case in immigration court, which "has to largely accept what the secretary of state has said about Mahmood and largely defer to the executive's conclusions about the fact that he is a threat to foreign policy simply because the secretary of state says without analysis or evidence."
Khalil was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on March 8. The Trump administration has targeted noncitizen, anti-Israel protesters for deportation.
After his arrest, Khalil was taken to Louisiana and Rubio revoked his green card.
Khalil has characterized his arrest as "indicative of anti-Palestinian racism."
