Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wants to put the kibosh on President Donald Trump's plan for the U.S. military to accept a Boeing airplane from Qatar to be used as Air Force One.
The Democratic lawmaker has introduced a bill that would prohibit utilizing Defense Department funding to procure, modify, restore, or maintain an aircraft for presidential flight if that aircraft was previously owned by a foreign government, foreign government-controlled entity, or foreign government representative.
"None of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2025 or fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Defense may be made available for the procurement, modification, restoration, or maintenance of an aircraft previously owned by a foreign government, an entity controlled by a foreign government, or a representative of a foreign government for the purposes of providing presidential airlift options," the text of the measure reads.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House to request comment on Tuesday morning but did not immediately receive a response.
"Donald Trump has shown time and again – he will sell out the American people and the Presidency if it means filling his own pockets," Schumer said, according to a press release.
"Not only would it take billions of taxpayer dollars to even attempt to retrofit and secure this plane, but there’s absolutely no amount of modifications that can guarantee it will be secure. It is now on the Senate to prioritize our national security, protect Americans, and ensure that a foreign-owned plane never gets the call sign ‘Air Force One.’"
The proposal stands little chance of passage: Even if it were to clear both chambers of Congress where Republicans hold the majorities, the president could veto the measure, in which case passage would require enough votes to surmount a presidential veto.
"The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years. It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive," President Trump declared in a Truth Social post last week.
"Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done. This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump added.
Trump indicated last week that he does not plan to fly in the plane after leaving office, but that the aircraft would be placed in his presidential library.
FIRST ON FOX: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent a fiery pre-recorded video to be broadcast before the World Health Assembly, which gathers member states of the World Health Organization, on Tuesday outlining why President Donald Trump is withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO.
"Like many legacy institutions, the WHO has become mired in bureaucratic bloat, entrenched paradigms, conflicts of interest and international power politics," Kennedy said in a video exclusively shared with Fox News Digital.
"While the United States has provided the lion’s share of the organization’s funding historically, other countries such as China have exerted undue influence over its operations in ways that serve their own interests and not particularly the interests of the global public."
Kennedy’s video, however, did not appear to air during the assembly’s gathering on Tuesday.
Video messages from foreign leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte were aired during a meeting on Tuesday morning, as well as live remarks from Vice Premier of China Liu Guozhong, but Kennedy’s video did not appear to be shown, according to Fox News Digital’s review of the assembly’s livestream.
The World Health Assembly kicked off Monday in Geneva, where the WHO's 194 member states convened its 78th annual meeting. Kennedy's office sent the video to be featured during the assembly's meeting on Tuesday morning, alongside other videos of world and health leaders addressing the body.
This year, the WHO member states are anticipated to sign a "pandemic agreement" that aims "to safeguard the world from a repeat of the suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," according to the body.
Kennedy's video addressed the pandemic specifically, saying the World Health Organization's handling of COVID-19 was riddled with "failures" and exposed that the WHO "capitulated" to China. The WHO is a specialized agency focused on international health that is overseen by the United Nations.
"The WHO, under pressure from China, suppressed reports at critical junctures of human-to-human transmission and then worked with China to promote the fiction that COVID originated from bats or pangolins rather than from Chinese government-sponsored research at a biolab in Wuhan," Kennedy said.
"Not only has the WHO capitulated to political pressure from China, it's also failed to maintain an organization characterized by transparency and fair governance. … The WHO often acts like it has forgotten that its members must remain accountable to their own citizens and not to transnational or corporate interests," he continued.
Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office this year announcing the U.S.' intention to withdraw from the WHO due to its mishandling of the pandemic, as well as a host of other issues the president took issue with, such as "onerous payments" that didn't match contributions from other member states.
"The United States noticed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020 due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states. In addition, the WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments," Trump's EO stated.
Kennedy continued in his video that "global cooperation on health is still critically important to President Trump and myself" while knocking the WHO for repeated "failures" during the pandemic that the body has since further embraced through its anticipated "pandemic agreement."
"It isn't working very well under the WHO. As the failures of the COVID era demonstrate, the WHO has not even come to terms with its failures during COVID, let alone made significant reforms. Instead, it has doubled down with the pandemic agreement, which will lock in all of the dysfunctions of the WHO pandemic response."
"We're not going to participate in that," Kennedy said. "We need to reboot the whole system, as we are doing in the United States. Here in the United States, we're going to continue to focus on infectious disease and pandemic preparedness, but we're also fundamentally shifting the priorities of our health agencies to focus on chronic diseases, which are prevalent in the United States."
In the six-to-one Democrat stronghold of Philadelphia, winning a seat as a Republican is tough to say the least. There hasn’t been a Republican mayor since Bernard Samuel in the 1950s, for example.
So it may not be that surprising that the local GOP has a plan it hopes will give a Democrat primary challenger to incumbent District Attorney Lawrence Krasner a crucial second round against the Soros-backed prosecutor should he get knocked out in Tuesday's primary election.
Krasner is facing fellow Democrat and former judge Pat Dugan, who also has the support of several Democrat ward committees and Philadelphia political stalwarts like state Sen. Tina Tartaglione, plus a slew of union groups like IAFF and the Teamsters.
In his pitch to voters, Dugan drafted a "geographic prosecution plan" to crack down on crime in the city.
"This plan is about more than just fighting crime—it’s about rebuilding communities. [It] will hold criminals accountable, provide second chances when appropriate, and ensure every neighborhood feels the impact of a fair and just system they can trust and believe in again," Dugan said in a statement on his campaign site.
Krasner, seeking a third term, has been lambasted for his progressive criminal justice policies and faced impeachment proceedings from Republicans in the now-Democrat-controlled State House of Representatives.
In 2023, a Commonwealth Court judge ruled the GOP-controlled Senate cannot hold a trial because the House’s articles of impeachment didn’t meet the bench’s standards.
One top Republican, 2022 gubernatorial nominee Sen. Doug Mastriano, notably opposed Krasner’s impeachment, quipping, "Philadelphia: They want Krasner – they like him. That’s a huge mandate."
While there was a drop in homicides year-over-year in 2023, Philadelphia saw a spike from 351 the year he took office in 2018 to 562 in 2021. Krasner also ceased charges for certain offenses like marijuana possession, eliminated cash bail for some offenders and has sought generally more lenient sentences than conservatives want.
In the city where then-Mayor James Kenney did a dance on social media to celebrate its inception as a sanctuary city, Krasner has followed up by refusing to honor ICE detainer requests, saying that letting the feds tell him who to jail is unconstitutional.
Krasner’s backing from about $1.45 million in political action committee support tied to Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros has also led to criticism.
Last week, Dugan told PhillyVoice the city is feeling "Krasner fatigue" after eight years.
"Many people come up to me and tell stories about how upset they are with some of the policies with the DA's office," he said.
Republicans, largely out of power in the city for decades outside of two at-large city council seats that they – or independents – must statutorily be elected to, see Dugan’s candidacy as an opportunity to oust Krasner and have a way to give him a second chance should he fail in Tuesday's primary.
The city’s Republican Party funded a website advising voters to write-in Dugan on the Republican line. By law, if Dugan receives 1,000 write-ins, he will be named the Republican general election nominee unless he declines the opportunity. That would give more city voters a chance to turn out Krasner in the November general election.
As she ran for the White House in the 2024 election cycle, Nikki Haley made her calls for "new generational leadership" a key component of her Republican presidential campaign.
And front and center from day 1 of her campaign as the former South Carolina governor and former United Nations ambassador declared her candidacy in February 2023 was her call for "mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old."
As Haley challenged then-76-year-old former President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination in hopes of eventually facing off in the general election against then-80-year-old President Joe Biden, the proposal became one of the most visible and at times controversial parts of her campaign stump speech.
Haley faced charges of ageism from a host of politicians opposed to the idea, including a now-83-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who at the time called her idea "absurd."
While Haley's campaign took off, and she ended up being the last Republican candidate standing against Trump during last year's primaries, she eventually bowed out of the race in March 2024 as Trump marched toward clinching the presidential nomination.
Fast-forward to today, and long-standing questions about Biden’s physical and mental fitness – and whether Democrats should have more forcefully urged him to bow out of the 2024 race – haven’t gone away; they’re front and center.
This as Biden's condition is once again making headlines, courtesy of excerpts from a new book being released this week, "Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," which offers claims of a White House cover-up of the then-president's apparent cognitive decline.
Additionally, last week's leaked audio of Biden’s 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur, in which the then-president appears to suffer memory lapses, is also fueling the conversation.
Hur, who investigated whether Biden years earlier had improperly stored classified documents, made major headlines early last year when he decided not to charge Biden but described the then-president as an "elderly man with a poor memory."
Last week's developments were followed by Sunday's blockbuster announcement that Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
The news, while eliciting sympathy from both sides of the political aisle, is unlikely to sidetrack the current firestorm over the former president's mental acuity.
"While the media may have been shocked by Nikki's call for mental competency tests, Americans never were," a source in Haley's political orbit told Fox News. "It was common sense. Nikki always believed our leaders should be completely transparent and remember who they serve: the American people. After a yearslong cover-up, those who hid President Biden's mental decline must finally acknowledge what Nikki and the American people always knew to be true."
Haley, who was 51 when she announced her candidacy in 2023, reupped her calls for a mental competency test throughout her campaign.
In January last year, during the heat of the primary battle, Haley pointed to some verbal stumbles by Trump on the campaign trail.
"He's not what he was in 2016. He has declined. That's a fact," Haley said at the time.
Trump repeatedly fired back as he touted acing a cognitive test he took five years earlier and said, "I think I’m a lot sharper than her."
A month later, after the release of Hur's written report regarding Biden's mental acuity, Haley said, "Joe Biden can't remember major events in his life, like when he was vice president or when his son died."
"That is sad, but it will be even sadder if we have a person in the White House who is not mentally up to the most important job in the world," she added as she reiterated her calls for Biden to take a mental competency test "immediately."
Haley, in a Fox News op-ed in May 2023, spelled out the specific test she recommended for politicians over age 75.
"The Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test is a widely used tool for detecting cognitive decline," Haley wrote at the time.
And she elaborated, "This is not a qualification for office. Failing a mental competency test would not result in removal. It is about transparency. Voters deserve to know whether those who are making major decisions about war and peace, taxation and budgets, schools and safety can pass a very basic mental exam."
Veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance, noting the current media spotlight on Biden, said it has "renewed concerns many Americans have about the age and ability of our elected officials. Public service demands clarity of thought, sound judgment, and the ability to manage complex issues."
And Lesperance, president of New England College, said "Americans must conclude that a fair and nonpartisan cognitive assessment, perhaps irrespective of age, is important to ensure all who seek to lead are equipped to serve with the sharpness and clarity the role requires."
Pittsburgh’s mayoral race has not been competitive on a partisan level since the 1930s, but all eyes are on which way the Steel City goes in Tuesday’s primary election as the Democratic Party faces a crossroads.
Incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey, seen as the more progressive choice in the race, is facing stiff competition from Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor, himself the son of a Democratic mayor of Pennsylvania’s second-largest city.
Gainey, the city’s first Black mayor, has at times cast himself on the national stage as a critic of President Donald Trump and his agenda, while also working to attract new business to Pittsburgh — including the 2026 NFL Draft. The draft is estimated to bring a $200 million economic boost to the area, according to a source familiar.
He previously pledged not to cooperate with federal ICE operations and has also called Trump’s budget cuts a "direct attack on working families" and the economy of Western Pennsylvania.
"ICE is not going to end the situation of a failed immigration policy. What it’s going to do is create more situations where people feel scared, where people don’t feel safe," Gainey said in January – a sentiment which earned the rebuke of another Pittsburgh politician, U.S. Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa.
"Gainey needs to follow the law and the lead of some other Democratic mayors working to keep our cities safe," said McCormick, according to WTAE.
Gainey’s campaign has highlighted the mayor’s efforts to increase community policing and mental health professionals to assist in police response, while O’Connor also claims the mantle of the pro-police candidate.
Under Gainey, the city ranks first in state population growth and has increased its affordable housing by 1,600 units.
Working with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Gainey secured $600 million for downtown revitalization and improvements to the city's iconic Point State Park.
"Thanks to our people-powered movement, our campaign has all of the momentum in this race. We’ve proven again and again since 2021 that when we come together — across race, across class, religion, age, across every line that’s ever been used to divide us — we are unstoppable," Gainey said in a statement.
On the other side, O’Connor has support from some Republican donors, as well as the "old guard" Democratic base, according to The New York Times.
"This is an election about Pittsburgh, about how we get our city back on the right track. It’s laughable to make arguments about progressive/not progressive. The outside groups that are meddling, I guarantee you – they haven’t looked at the records of either one of us," O’Connor told the paper.
O’Connor’s campaign has also shown support for the resourcing of the police and his own plan to revitalize the downtown area. He has also received large outside contributions from groups like Common Sense Change Action and Democracy Wins, according to the Post-Gazette.
On the Republican side, retired Police Det. Tony Moreno – who lost to Gainey last cycle – is running in the GOP primary against clothier Thomas West.
The city has not had a Republican mayor since Mayor Charles Kline and Mayor John Herron in 1933.
On the other side of Pennsylvania, the third-largest city – Allentown – visited multiple times by both Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 sweeps due to its "swing" congressional district -- will also be holding a primary Tuesday.
Like Pittsburgh, Allentown was historically an industrial center and home to both progressives and "old guard" Democrats.
Mayor Matt Tuerk, like Gainey, faces a challenge from a conservative Democrat – Councilman Ed Zucal -- in another swing-state test of which wing of the Democratic Party is gaining prevalence. That city’s last Republican mayor, Bill Heydt, left office in 2002 and died in April at 86.
Fox News Digital reached out to O'Connor via the controller's office and a campaign email, but he could not be immediately reached for comment.
Put aside politics for a moment, which I know is basically impossible in this supercharged environment.
There is no way not to feel sympathy for Joe Biden as a human being after his prostate cancer diagnosis was made public on Sunday. He has a serious, life-threatening disease.
I have plenty of medical questions about why Biden and his doctors waited so long to treat this particularly "aggressive" form of cancer until it spread to his bones. This is inexplicable to me. Now the Stage 4 cancer can’t be cured, though it could possibly be contained.
Was this part of the coverup of Biden’s dramatic decline in mental acuity, as documented in the new book "Original Sin"? How would voters have reacted if they had known that not only was Biden too old and feeble to run for a second term, but also had cancer?
But on a personal level, Biden’s life has been marked by tragedy, from the car accident that killed his first wife and daughter to the brain cancer that claimed his son Beau – which is why he announced a "Cancer Moonshot" as president.
Look, I’ve known Joe Biden for 40 years, and whatever you think of his politics, he’s a likable guy. I covered him as Senate Judiciary chairman. As vice president, he once sent my then-8-year-old daughter a handwritten note after she wrote a poem about them sharing the same birthday. He used to love talking to reporters. He would throw parties for the press and run around with a super soaker, spraying little kids. That was then.
But by 2023, he had no business running for president again, not when aides were debating whether he’d need a wheelchair in a second term, according to the Jake Tapper-Alex Thompson book. Many Democrats are angry that he’s reemerged in a rehab tour, wishing the 82-year-old man would just get off the stage.
The former president put out a photo with his wife yesterday, saying: "Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places."
Dr. Zeke Emanuel said on "Morning Joe" yesterday that the cancer has "been around for a very long time in President Biden – years… It is a little surprising to many of us oncologists that he wasn’t diagnosed earlier… He probably had it at the start of his presidency in 2021."
But none of this matters to the far-right types, many of them based in Florida.
Conservative influencer Roger O’Handley, writing under the name DC Draino ("America First"), wrote a screed that was retweeted or liked 10,000 times: "Some people seem to forget that he is a career criminal who almost destroyed America."
According to Mediaite, another far-right commentator, Brenden Dilley (Warlord Dilley, "media personality"), says: "In order to believe the Biden cancer diagnosis, you have to first believe that Biden and his family would willfully tell you the truth about anything. In order for that to happen, you have to be f---ing retarded."
His solution: "Stage 5 prostate cancer." In other words, death.
Presidential adviser Laura Loomer called this "a PR strategy to shame the Democrats who are coming out with a book about the cover up of Biden’s health crisis."
Breanna Morello, a self-described "independent journalist": "They want all the Monday morning shows talking about it because Jake Tapper has a book to sell. It’s a PR move."
What these and other posts have in common is the lack of even a milligram of compassion for Joe Biden as a human being. Biden is evil, everything he does is evil, and if he dies, good riddance.
I find this inexplicably sad – win-at-all-costs politics is so all-consuming that human life is meaningless.
Even President Trump dropped his usual attacks on his onetime opponent: "Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family and we wish Joe a fast and speedy recovery."
See, that wasn’t so hard.
Elon Musk, who’s faded from the news, shared a post from Clint Russell, who tweets as Liberty Lockdown ("a podcast for those who demand freedom")::
"So the plan was to run Biden, lie about his cancer and dementia, get him back in the WH, and then have him immediately step aside so Kamala's reign of terror could begin.
"All while trying to jail or kill DJT. Just making sure we're all on the same page, here. These people are evil."
"Look, I mean, first of all, of course, we wish the best for the former president’s health. But hopefully he makes the right recovery. Look, I will say, whether the right time to have this conversation is now or at some point in the future. We really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job."
Taylor Lorenz, who worked for the New York Times and Washington Post before going independent, was joyful about Biden’s news: "Hopefully he rots in hell and rests in piss."
I have defended her at times, but this is beyond appalling. Lorenz has disgraced herself.
Then again, she cheered when UnitedHealtcare CEO Brian Thompson was murdered on the street, and refused to criticize the alleged shooter. What about his family? Too bad. Just zero regard for human life.
Now is it likely that some on the left will celebrate once Trump passes, which I don’t see happening until after he’s long out of office? Sure. This disease goes both ways. But that doesn’t make it right.
It was Bill Clinton, during his impeachment over Monica Lewinsky, who accused his opponents of "the politics of personal destruction." And that’s been used against the presidents who followed him. It’s a sickness that says human beings don’t count, only winning at all costs.
Footnote: The Biden announcement prompted some equally sad news from Scott Adams, the brilliant "Dilbert" creator and conservative, pro-Trump voice who hosts a morning coffee for subscribers:
"Well, I’ve decided today’s the day I’m going to take the opportunity — since a lot of you are here — to make an announcement of my own. Some of you have already guessed, so it won’t surprise you at all, but I have the same cancer Joe Biden has. So I also have prostate cancer that has also spread to my bones. I’ve had it longer than he’s had — well longer than he’s admitted having it.
"My life expectancy is… maybe the summer. I expect to be checking out from this domain sometime this summer."
House Republicans are channeling Edward Hopper this week as they try to pass President Trump’s big, "beautiful bill."
Hopper is known for "Nighthawks," one of the most iconic paintings in American history. The 1942 painting depicts four people in a diner in the middle of the night. A deserted streetscape commands the foreground. Two men – heads festooned with fedoras – sit separately at the counter, nursing coffee. One of the men has a cigarette tucked between his index and middle fingers. He’s positioned next to a woman with scarlet hair and a red dress. She appears to holding a bite of a doughnut or sandwich, studying it as though it were a rare artifact. She seems to debate whether she should eat it. A young counterman – attired in white with a crisp envelope hat – leans downward in search of glassware or dishes hidden underneath.
It's the dead of night. Everyone is distant and detached. Even the couple – even though they sit side-by-side – don’t look at each other.
In Nighthawks, everyone appears as though they’re just trying to make it through the night to dawn.
It’s kind of what House Republicans are going through this week.
The House Budget Committee convened at 10:26 p.m. ET Sunday night to advance the tax cut and spending reduction package after a hiccup stalled the measure Friday afternoon. At 10:39 p.m. ET, the committee approved the bill 17-16 – with four House Republicans voting "present."
The next stop is the House Rules Committee, the final parliamentary way station before depositing a piece of legislation on the floor.
At 12:31 a.m. ET Monday, the Rules Committee announced it would prep the bill for the floor – with a meeting at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. That session could last all day Wednesday. Literally. The Energy and Commerce panel met for 26 consecutive hours last week to prepare its section of the budget reconciliation measure. The Ways and Means Committee huddled all night long.
The group of House Republicans pushing to state and local tax for high-tax states (known as SALT) scheduled a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for 9 p.m. ET Monday. And it’s entirely possible that the House could be debating or even voting on the measure late Thursday, the wee hours of Friday morning or even Friday night.
This is how Capitol Hill rolls when there’s a big piece of legislation on the clock. The hours are late. The meetings are long. Lawmakers convene different sessions whenever they need to – just to get the measure across the finish line.
The only difference between the halls of Congress now and "Nighthawks" is that the coffee fueled the figures in the painting until dawn. It was 1942. But this is 2025. Edward Hopper would know nothing of Celsius or Red Bull.
There’s an actual parliamentary reason as to why the Budget Committee met so late on Sunday night after its stumble on Friday afternoon. And there’s a method to the Rules Committee’s 1 a.m. madness on Wednesday.
Let’s rewind.
The Budget Committee tried to blend the various provisions from nearly a dozen House committees into one unified legislative product midday Friday. That effort came up short. A total of five Budget Committee Republicans voted nay. They groused about spending cuts, green energy tax credits and the timeframe of work requirements for those on Medicaid.
Four of the five GOP noes were truly opposed. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Penn., voted nay so he could order a re-vote. Rules allow a member on the winning side of an issue (in this case, the nays), to ask for another vote later. Smucker supported the plan. But he then switched his vote to nay to be on the winning side. That teed up a possible re-vote.
"Calling a vote moves the process forward. I think it's a catalyst," said Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Tex., after the failed vote Friday.
The Budget Committee then announced it would convene at 10 p.m. ET Sunday.
This is where things get interesting:
The key here was for the Budget Committee to finish its work before midnight Friday. Once it got rolling, the process would only consume 15 or 20 minutes. The Budget Committee approved the plan 17-16 with four Republicans voting "present."
"We're excited about what we did," said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who was one of the GOPers who voted nay Friday.
But Norman still wasn’t excited enough to vote yes on Sunday night. He voted present.
"There's so much more that we have to do to rein in government and rein in the costs and the deficits," said Norman on FOX Business Monday.
But regardless, the measure was out of the Budget Committee before the witching hour on Sunday. And then came the Rules Committee announcement – just after midnight on Monday – about a session at 1 a.m. Wednesday to ready the "big, beautiful bill" for the House floor.
There are several reasons House Rules Committee Republicans decided to huddle at 1 a.m. et Wednesday. Let’s begin with the parliamentary one.
The Budget Committee wrapped up just before midnight Sunday. The rules allow Democrats two full days to file their paperwork and viewpoints after that meeting. So, they had all day Monday and all day Tuesday. The Rules Committee needs an "hour" to announce its formally meeting. So, the "official" announcement of the Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday will go out just after 12:01:01 a.m. ET Wednesday. That triggers a 1 a.m. ET meeting on Wednesday.
Here are the other, more practical reasons.
Republicans need all the time they can get. There is talk of trying to vote on the floor late in the day on Wednesday. We’ll see about that. But the early Rules Committee meeting time makes that a possibility.
Second of all, it’s possible the Rules Committee meeting could consume the entire calendar day of Wednesday. Streams of lawmakers from both sides will file into the Rules Committee to propose various amendments. This is a protracted process.
But by the same token, meeting at 1 a.m. ET could diminish attendance. After all, who wants to show up at 1 a.m. ET for a meeting and maybe discuss your amendment at 6:30 a.m. ET? You get the idea.
And once the bill gets out of the Rules Committee, expect late night meetings among Republicans as they try to close the deal. It’s possible the House could vote at virtually any time of day Wednesday, Thursday or Friday to pass the bill. That could be late in the evening. Or even overnight. They will vote when the bill is ready, regardless of the time on the clock.
Such is the lot drawn this week by House Republicans for the "big, beautiful bill." Maybe they’ll have the votes. Maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll pass more spending cuts. Maybe there’ll be a deal on SALT for state and local taxes. Maybe not. Maybe the vote comes at 3 in the afternoon. But more likely, sometime late at night.
Just like in Nighthawks, everyone on Capitol Hill is just trying to make it through the night and to the dawn.
Two South Texas gang members have been sentenced for human smuggling, following a series of high-speed chases at the border that involved one of the gang members crashing his car into the Rio Grande and swimming to Mexico to escape.
A Monday statement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the two human smugglers, Juan Miguel Regalado, 28, and Samuel Grajeda Jr., 21, are members of "Puro Tango Blast," a local Texas gang.
The two were sentenced on May 15 after being convicted of conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants, following an investigation by ICE, U.S. Border Patrol Laredo Sector and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
U.S. District Judge John Kazen imposed a 66-month sentence for Regalado, while Grajeda previously received a 30-month imprisonment as well as a consecutive six months for violating the terms of his supervised release for a previous alien transporting conviction. Both must also serve three years of supervised release.
Both men admitted to involvement in the human smuggling conspiracy.
According to the ICE statement, the investigation began April 20, 2024, when a group of suspected illegal aliens entered a green Tahoe in a sector of the border just north of Laredo, Texas.
The statement said that Regalado was driving and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase, during which "multiple individuals jumped out of the vehicle."
Driving up to 100 miles per hour, Regalado crashed the Tahoe into the Rio Grande and then proceeded to escape by swimming across the river to Mexico.
Authorities continued to monitor the area over the next several months. In November 2024, another group of illegal aliens entered a white Ford Taurus parked in the area. Authorities followed the vehicle until another vehicle, a black Mercedes, cut them off. ICE said that the two vehicles were driven by Grajeda and Regalado.
A traffic stop of the Ford Taurus led to another vehicle pursuit in which Grajeda crashed into a bystander’s vehicle. Law enforcement eventually discovered the Ford Taurus abandoned in a north Laredo neighborhood. Authorities then found four illegal aliens and Grajeda and Regalado within the vicinity of the abandoned vehicle.
Both gang members are currently in custody.
Craig Larrabee, ICE Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio Special Agent in Charge, said that "these sentences reflect the serious consequences awaiting those who engage in human smuggling and endanger public safety."
Larrabee said that "Tango Blast gang members put countless lives at risk during these reckless pursuits" and that "through strong collaboration with our federal and state law enforcement partners, we remain committed to dismantling violent criminal organizations and protecting our communities."
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted its first self-deport operation, dubbed "Project Homecoming," with a charter flight on Monday from Texas, and made stops in Honduras and Columbia, taking 64 illegal immigrants who chose to self-deport back to their home countries.
DHS said in a post on X that all participants who chose to leave the U.S. were offered the same benefits as any illegal alien who self-deports using the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home App.
"They received travel assistance, a $1,000 stipend, and preserved the possibility they could one day return to the United States legally," DHS said.
DHS also shared a video of the events leading up to the first flight, showing families preparing to leave Houston, where they were greeted and offered food, games and stuffed animals for their children.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the first ever self-deportation program which incentivizes illegal immigrants to voluntarily leave the U.S. on a free flight and with a cash bonus.
"Project Homecoming" authorizes government-funded flights and offers money to illegal immigrants who are willing to self-deport.
When Trump announced the signing of the order in a post on Truth Social, he said the program would end up saving taxpayers "billions and billions" of dollars.
"We are making it as easy as possible for illegal aliens to leave America. Any illegal alien can simply show up at an airport and receive a free flight out of our country," Trump said. "Illegals can book a free flight to any foreign country as long as it's not here. You can go anywhere you want."
DHS said days before the executive order was signed that migrants would be offered a $1,000 stipend each to leave. The department said this will be 70% cheaper for American taxpayers, as it currently costs DHS, on average, over $17,000 to arrest, detain, and deport someone.
"This deportation bonus will save American taxpayers billions and billions of dollars," Trump said.
Illegal immigrants are encouraged to use the CBP One app to arrange their deportations. The same app under the Biden administration was used to expedite migrants from scheduling appointments at official ports of entry before they were paroled into the U.S., which was discontinued on the first day of Trump’s second term.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem shared a post about the first "Project Homecoming" flight on X, advising those in the country to take advantage of the program.
"If you are here illegally, use the CBP Home App to take control of your departure and receive financial support to return home," Noem wrote. "If you don’t, you will be subjected to fines, arrest, deportation and will never be allowed to return. If you are in this country illegally, self-deport NOW and preserve your opportunity to potentially return the legal, right way."
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is launching an investigation into the City of Chicago for allegedly engaging in a pattern of discrimination based on race, which is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday to notify him that an investigation into civil rights violations was being opened.
"Our investigation is based on information suggesting that you have made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race," Dhillon wrote. "In your remarks made yesterday at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn, you highlight[ed] the number of Black officials in [your] administration."
Johnson was a guest at the Apostolic Church of God, when he responded to critics who claim he only talks about hiring Black people.
"No, what I’m saying is, when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else. We are the most generous people on the planet," he said.
Johnson went on to list top officials in his administration, emphasizing their race.
For example, Johnson said his deputy mayor of business and economic neighborhood development is a Black woman.
Other positions filled by Black women that Johnson spoke about include the deputy mayor of infrastructure, the budget director and the commissioner of the department of planning and development.
Johnson also highlighted the chief operations officer and senior advisor as both being positions held by Black men.
"You then said that you were ‘laying’ these positions ‘out’ to ‘ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business," Dhillon wrote to Johnson. "Considering these remarks, I have authorized an investigation to determine whether the City of Chicago is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination as set forth above.
"If these kind of hiring decisions are being made for top-level positions in your administration, then it begs the question whether such decisions are also being made for lower-level positions," she added.
Dhillon stressed that no conclusions have been made on the matter, and she welcomed his assistance with the investigation.
Johnson’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the investigation.
The Chicago mayor has made race-based comments in the past.
After President Donald Trump was elected to a second term, Johnson claimed during a news conference that the new president is a threat to Black families in his city.
"His threat is not just towards new arrivals and undocumented families. His threats are also against Black families," Johnson said. "We’re going to protect Black folks, Brown folks, Asian folks. The City of Chicago will be better, stronger and safer despite who’s in the White House."
Fox News' Patrick McGovern and Elizabeth Heckman contributed to this report.
