Lee suggests that instead of TSA, airlines could handle passenger screening.
"You may be required to undergo a pat-down procedure if the screening technology alarms, as part of unpredictable security measures, for enhanced screening, or as an alternative to other types of screening, such as advanced imaging technology screening," according to the TSA website. "A pat-down may include inspection of the head, neck, arms, torso, legs, and feet. This includes head coverings and sensitive areas such as breasts, groin, and the buttocks."
"The Aviation and Transportation Security Act, passed by the 107th Congress and signed on November 19, 2001, established TSA," according to the TSA's website.
Lee advocated the idea of nixing TSA last year as well.
"It’s time to abolish the TSA. Airlines can and will secure their own planes if a federal agency doesn’t do it for them. They’ll do it better than TSA, without undermining the Constitution and with less groping—showing more respect for passengers," the senator declared in a post last year on March 11.
Days later, Lee indicated that he had been subjected to a TSA pat down.
"Update: days after calling to abolish TSA, I got 'randomly selected' for the needlessly slow, thorough TSA screening & patdown. Maybe it’s a coincidence. Or not. Impossible to know. That’s part of the problem with having a federal agency in charge of airport security," he tweeted on March 14, 2024.
In December, the senator shared a video of a man being subjected to a pat down.
"It’s unsettling knowing that the TSA does this countless times every day, constantly conducting needlessly invasive, warrantless, suspicion-less searches of law-abiding Americans," Lee wrote when sharing the video. "Please share if you’d like to abolish TSA," he added.
A special legislative session called by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to take up a series of proposals to help implement President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown gets underway on Monday.
However, with pushback from top Republican lawmakers who call the session "premature," it is unclear if any measures will be considered.
DeSantis wants lawmakers to pass bills that would support the president's flurry of immigration and border executive orders, signed since last Monday's inauguration, and Trump's plans for mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
The governor wants to mandate that Florida's counties and cities participate in the federal deportation program and wants the power to suspend officials who do not comply. He is also proposing to make it a state crime to enter the nation illegally, and he wants to mandate that people show identification and their immigration status before sending money back home.
"We've got to make sure that we are working hand-in-hand with the Trump administration," DeSantis emphasized last week in an interview on Fox News' "Ingraham Angle."
He added that the special legislative session would help "to facilitate the Trump administration's mission."
Eleven bills were filed on the eve of the special session by Florida lawmakers. Among them are measures to create a state immigration czar and to allow the governor to activate the national and state guards for immigration enforcement.
Under Florida's constitution, if the governor calls for a special session, lawmakers are obligated to show up at the capitol in Tallahassee. However, the top Republicans in the state House and Senate say that while they support Trump's immigration efforts, the special session is unnecessary with the regularly scheduled legislative session scheduled for early March.
"It's not premature," DeSantis told Fox News. "We've been waiting four years to have a partner in Washington, D.C., on this issue. We have a sense of urgency. We have to get the job done. No more dragging your feet."
DeSantis, who waged a bitter and unsuccessful primary challenge against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was praised by the then-president-elect earlier this month.
"Thank you Ron, hopefully other governors will follow!" Trump wrote in a social media post after DeSantis announced the special session.
However, the pushback by GOP state lawmakers over the calling of the special session is a dramatic turn of events for DeSantis, who long enjoyed massive influence over the Florida legislature, especially after his nearly 20-point re-election in 2022.
Following his unsuccessful 2024 White House bid, the lame duck governor does not appear to have the same clout over lawmakers that he once enjoyed.
Pushing back against opposition to his plans, DeSantis has warned that any lawmaker who stood in his way over the special session would pay a political price.
While nearly two dozen states are suing to stop President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants, some legal experts, such as Hans von Spakovsky with the Heritage Foundation, say the order is perfectly legal under the 14th Amendment and should be upheld by the courts.
"I strongly believe that Donald Trump is correct, that we need to enforce the 14th Amendment as it was originally intended," Spakovsky told Fox News Digital. "No doubt there will be lawsuits against it, it'll get to the U.S. Supreme Court, and if the court follows the actual legislative intent and history, they will uphold what Donald Trump has done."
The order titled the "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship" states that "the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States" when that person’s parents are either unlawfully present in the U.S. or when the parents’ presence is lawful but temporary.
Twenty-two Democrat-led states and the ACLU are suing to stop the order, arguing that it violates the 14th Amendment, which states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
The lawsuit argues that "the President has no authority to rewrite or nullify a constitutional amendment or duly enacted statute. Nor is he empowered by any other source of law to limit who receives United States citizenship at birth."
However, Spakovsky, who is a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an authority on civil rights and immigration, told Fox News Digital that the 14th Amendment was never meant to include the children of individuals in the country illegally or temporarily and that this broad interpretation has led to widespread "birth tourism" and abuse.
He said the key phrase often overlooked today is "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," which necessitates the immigrants’ loyalties be to the U.S., not to some foreign power.
"The 14th Amendment has two key clauses in it. One, you have to be born in the United States, but you also have to be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. All those who push birthright citizenship just point to that first phrase and ignore the second," he said. "I've done a lot of research on this. I've looked at the original passage of the 14th Amendment and what that phrase meant subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. According to the original sponsors of the 14th Amendment in Congress was that you owed your political allegiance to the United States and not a foreign government."
"That means that children born of aliens who are in this country, and it doesn't matter whether they're here legally, illegally, as diplomats; if their parents are foreign citizens when they are born they are citizens of their parents' native land, they owe their political allegiance to and are subject to the jurisdiction of those native lands, not the United States. So, they are not citizens of the U.S.," he said.
According to Spakovsky, the 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the Civil War to acknowledge citizenship for former slaves and their descendants, was not used to confer birthright citizenship to illegal aliens until more than 100 years after it was adopted by Congress.
As Democrats and left-wing groups prepare to launch a legal war with the Trump administration over the order, Spakovsky said he is confident the Supreme Court will rule in Trump’s favor.
"The problem with birthright citizenship is it gives rights as an American citizen to individuals who have absolutely no loyalty to and no connection to the U.S. government, our culture, our society," he said. "The Supreme Court should uphold it because the original meaning of the 14th Amendment is clearly not recognizing birthright citizenship."
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., noted that a Boy Scout proposed a policy of not taxing workers younger than age 18.
The congressman from the Bluegrass State listed several reasons why he loves the idea.
"A 15 yr old Boy Scout working on his merit badge just sent me this idea: No taxes on workers under 18 yrs old. I love it because: 1. They need experience to pick a college major 2. They need to develop a work ethic 3. The economy needs more workers 4. They don’t get to vote," Massie wrote in a post on X.
Someone responded to the lawmaker, suggesting that youths "don’t make enough money for the most part and get it back when they file taxes. It is a good lesson on how to file taxes and gives them a chance to get a return," the person opined.
Massie replied, "Sounds like conditioning to be sheeple. Hard pass."
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., indicated that high minimum wages box young people out of the job market.
"So many of our youth have lost the opportunity to enter the workforce due to high minimum wage requirements. High taxes, insurance, and paid leave requirements are a few of many issues as well. Small business owners are unable to invest in first-time workers or provide them with skills training for their future," she tweeted.
"Great points!" Massie replied.
He has previously suggested that the U.S. should nix the federal income tax entirely.
"The federal income tax was unconstitutional for most of our [country's] existence. The founders of this country would have never agreed to it. We should repeal it," he tweeted in February 2024.
"My position of ‘no foreign aid’ might sound extreme to some, but it’s far more extreme to force future generations of Americans into indentured servitude to our foreign creditors," he noted in a 2023 post.
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order to reinstate service members booted from the military for declining to get COVID-19 vaccine jabs, according to the White House.
"The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Defense to reinstate all members of the military (active and reserve) who were discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine and who request to be reinstated," according to the White House fact sheet.
The service members who are reinstated will be restored to their prior rank, and will be provided back pay and benefits, according to the fact sheet.
"From 2021 to 2023, the Biden Administration and former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discharged over 8,000 troops solely due to their COVID-19 vaccination status," the fact sheet notes. "After the vaccine mandate was repealed in 2023, only 43 of the more than the 8,000 troops dismissed elected to return to service under the Biden Administration and Secretary Austin."
During his inauguration speech, Trump pledged to make the move.
"This week I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate, with full back pay," the president declared during remarks on Jan. 20.
During a campaign speech last year, Trump promised to rehire service members who were dismissed over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, saying they would get back pay plus an apology from the government.
The newly inaugurated president has been signing a bevy of orders since taking office last week.
A Tennessee state lawmaker reintroduced a bill for the 2025 legislative session that would look to fill a shortage of School Resource Officers by allowing veterans and retired law enforcement officers to be hired.
Republican Rep. Tim Rudd reintroduced the bill for the 2025 legislative session. It was passed by the House during the last legislative session, but it failed to make it through the Senate.
The bill would allow public charter schools to hire honorably discharged veterans and retired law enforcement officers to serve as School Resource Officers.
Applicants must complete 40 hours of basic training in school policy, pass a test to be eligible to purchase and possess a handgun, receive written authorization to carry or possess a firearm on school grounds, undergo a psychiatric evaluation and pass an FBI criminal history check.
"They still have to go through training. The reason why is to try to find more resource officers in these rural areas, especially so we can protect our children," Rudd told WTVC.
"This certainly won't solve the shortage problem, but it will help," he added. "Ultimately, it'd be up to the school system whether they want to use them, and what guidelines and rules they put in place."
Rudd says the proposal would help veterans and retired law enforcement officers, but the main priority is to protect the children.
A man who served in the Navy for more than 20 years said the measure could be an opportunity for veterans to find a renewed purpose and be a role model for students.
"They have all the skills that would be necessary to bring into the environment of a school environment as a resource officer," Mickey McCamish told WTVC.
The transition from military life to civilian life can be difficult for some, but McCamish says these individuals would be perfect role models for students.
"There just couldn't be a better fit than having veterans as a role model to students in either a resource officer position or just to be a part of the school life," he said.
It’s the second week of the second Trump presidency, and Mike Pence has some concerns.
Coming off a trip to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, the former vice president is more convinced than ever of the need for the U.S. to stand strong against China and bolster Taiwan’s defenses.
"There seems to be this suggestion on both sides of a certain thawing in relations, which in principle I welcome, but not compromising on principles," he told a small group of reporters at the Advancing American Freedom office in Washington, D.C.
And in the new Trump 2.0, Pence is convinced that his brand of neoconservatism is not dead, at least not yet.
"There have been voices of isolationism that have been emerging in our party of late," he said. "I’m not yet convinced that they represent the president's views."
The former vice president does not believe the 2024 election was a referendum on interventionist policy.
"I don't think people were voting for isolationism in 2024."
But Pence refused to endorse President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Pence and Trump fell out after the January 6th Capitol riot, and Trump, in turn, recently suggested that he wouldn't hire anyone who had worked for his former second-in-command.
"There are loud voices, both inside and outside the administration that are calling on America to pull back from, whether it be Eastern Europe, the Asia Pacific, and even some are calling for us to pull back on our longstanding support for Israel," Pence went on.
"One of the things we want to be, Advancing American Freedom and whatever remains of my bully pulpit, is to be an anchor to windward for traditional conservatism within the Republican Party."
In Hong Kong, Pence stood in front of 2,000 people and called for authorities to release Jimmy Lai, an imprisoned media mogul and pro-democracy activist, to the audible gasps of the crowd.
Back at home, he’s calling on Trump to "reconsider" the U.S.-Nippon Steel merger that Biden stopped.
He is also worried his former boss does not fully grasp the dangers of TikTok, after Trump’s newfound embrace of the video-sharing platform where he enjoys 15 million followers. He signed an executive order this week giving TikTok another 75 days in operation after Congress passed a law last year forcing them to divest from Chinese-owned ByteDance or face a ban in the U.S.
"I am concerned that the administration doesn't fully appreciate the issues that animated the need for divestment," said Pence.
"People that are in their 20s and 30s today could be in the Senate – in the House in 10 years. The fact that the Chinese Communist Party is collecting data on Americans, whatever their age or experience is, is not something to be dismissed."
The former vice president said that China is trying to infiltrate public opinion in Taiwan ahead of a possible invasion to try to take over the island.
"The CCP thinks the principal value of TikTok is the ability to impact public opinion at a critical moment," he said. "When I met with leadership in Taiwan, on TikTok they said, in effect, they're dealing with an onslaught of social media propaganda coming out of China into Taiwan, trying to set the stage for whatever action, economic, political or hard power may be coming their way."
It was the first Trump administration that made tough-on-China policies go mainstream, according to Pence.
"I am convinced that our administration changed the national consensus on China," he said. "I would point out that President Biden never undid the $250 billion in tariffs that we imposed."
Pence said he is also worried about Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman-turned Republican whom Trump has nominated to be his director of national intelligence.
She has "at times over the last two years, been an apologist for Putin. And, you know, has a history of being critical of the use of American power," said Pence.
"I think, if memory serves, she actually criticized when we took out [top Iranian general] Qassem Soleimani."
Trump suggested that he might want to sit down with Iran and work on a new nuclear deal on Thursday. But Pence said he trusts the new administration, particularly officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Michael Waltz, not to get taken for a ride by Iran.
"The first order of business is to go back to isolating around economically, and diplomatically, and making it clear that different from the Iran nuclear deal there, there would have to be a sea change in any policy regarding nuclear weapons or the state of Israel."
"I trust that the administration will be very cautious in any of those interactions."
Pence's group has already come out with a campaign in opposition to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
To do that, the former vice president said he would be anything but retired from public life. He plans to continue to advocate for increasing defense spending – 5% of GDP is his current goal – and to use his voice to convince elected officials to stand strong with America's friends and boost deterrent measures to prevent a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
The U.S. has a longstanding policy of ambiguity when it comes to whether it would actually stand shoulder-to-shoulder on the ground with Taiwan if China were to invade. Even in private life, Pence isn't ready to say whether that would be the right move.
U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said she does not believe conditions should be placed on federal support for wildfires sweeping through Southern California, after President Donald Trump suggested he wanted wildfire aid to be conditional.
The district Chu represents includes Altadena and northern Pasadena, which have been impacted by the deadly Eaton Fire.
"There have never been conditions laid on disaster aid in the history of America," Chu told Inside California Politics.
"I know that I have voted for disaster aid in red states and for blue states, she continued. "I’ve never considered whether they were Republican or Democrat. And let me say, wildfires have no political affiliations. They don’t have a political party."
This comes after Trump said on Friday that two conditions must be met in California before the federal government offers disaster relief. He said he wants lawmakers to approve voter identification legislation and that water needs to be allowed to flow across the state.
"I want to see two things in Los Angeles. Voter ID, so that the people have a chance to vote, and I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state," Trump told reporters in North Carolina as he was touring hurricane recovery efforts in that state. "Those are the two things. After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen."
Trump visited Los Angeles later on Friday to view damage from the wildfires and meet with local officials and residents.
Chu said she wants Trump to tell the working-class victims of her district that they would only see aid to address the devastation if there are conditions.
"I want him to see how these everyday Americans are being terribly devastated and also I want him to hear from their voices," Chu said. "I want him to look, in fact, in the victim’s eyes and say that he wouldn’t provide aid unless there were conditions."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, responded to Trump's comments about conditional aid. The governor's office said several other states — including some won by Trump — do not generally require identification at the voting polls and that California residents must provide identification when they register to vote. Newsom's office also said the state pumps as much water as it could under policies from Trump’s first-term.
"Conditioning aid for American citizens is wrong," Newsom's office said on X.
Republicans in Congress have suggested tying wildfire aid to a debt ceiling increase or changes to California’s fire-mitigation policies, but Democrats have argued against placing conditions on federal assistance to Southern California.
Two of President Donald Trump's most vulnerable administration picks will get back-to-back confirmation hearings in the Senate this week.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Trump nominated to be Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, whom he selected to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI), will have committee confirmation hearings on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Wednesday, Kennedy will have his first hearing with the Senate Finance Committee, who will eventually vote on whether to advance his nomination to the full Senate. He will have an additional hearing on Thursday with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), but that committee will not have a vote on the nomination.
Gabbard's hearing with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will take place Thursday morning.
The two Trump picks were some of the more controversial administration selections. Both Kennedy and Gabbard are former Democrats with histories of policy positions that clash with what many Republican senators believe.
At issue for lawmakers on both sides is Kennedy's history of significant criticism of vaccines and vaccination programs. For some Republicans whose states have a large farming constituency, his positions on further regulating agriculture and food production have been cause for concern.
Gabbard's past policy stances as they relate to national security have given bipartisan lawmakers some reason for pause, since the role she is nominated for is critical to the nation's safety and defense.
Both of the nominees have taken steps to moderate themselves amid the confirmation process. Kennedy has pushed back on suggestions that he is "anti-vaccine" and explained, "If vaccines are working for somebody, I’m not going to take them away."
"People ought to have choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information," he said in an interview with NBC News. "So I’m going to make sure scientific safety studies and efficacy are out there, and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them."
Gabbard recently made a remarkable reversal on a controversial intelligence tool used by the government. And her choice to change her position on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act's (FISA) section 702 managed to win her the backing of a Republican senator on the intel committee that she will need to advance out of.
Recently asked whether her change of heart on section 702 had earned his vote, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said, "Yeah, I am, and that was a very important piece for me."
While both nominees have gotten some necessary Republican backing in the relevant committees, not everyone has said whether they will vote to advance the selections. And even if they are voted out of the committees, they could still face an uphill battle to be confirmed by the full Senate.
Lawmakers at the state and federal levels are responding to President Joe Biden’s record presidential pardon spree – as more than 3,000 people found their sentences commuted or pardoned. The pardons, some of which came in the final hours of Biden's presidency, were issued to many members of his own family.
The last-minute tranche on Sunday that included James Biden, Hunter Biden and Valerie Biden-Owens came only weeks after a record 1,500 commutations in a single day – notably including that of disgraced Pennsylvania Judge Michael Conahan.
Conahan, of Wilkes-Barre, was dubbed the "kids for cash judge" after he was charged in connection with a scheme to send juvenile offenders to for-profit prisons in exchange for kickbacks.
Pennsylvania state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Dallas, represents the area where Conahan once sat on the bench.
Baker told Fox News Digital the former president’s pardon in that case was "disrespectful to the victims, their families, the juvenile justice system, and to all the officials who have worked to reform the system so that this kind of scandal cannot happen again."
She and other lawmakers are also trying to bring new attention to victim notification processes that exist at the federal level and in many states, including Pennsylvania.
A source familiar with the federal process said the system is a voluntary construct, in that victims may sign up for notifications but are not automatically informed if convicts are pardoned, transferred or released.
Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., said he was troubled by much of Biden’s pardon spree, including those given preemptively to family and President Donald Trump critics, as well as convicts like Conahan – whose "kids for cash" scandal greatly affected his constituents – and added that the former president may have damaged the pardon process.
"These preemptive actions amount to an implicit admission of wrongdoing," Meuser said of pardons given to Biden family members.
"This sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the long-standing purpose of the presidential pardon power. Historically, pardons have been used to offer clemency or correct injustices—not to shield one's family members from potential accountability before any charges are even brought."
Unfortunately for Biden critics, Meuser said the presidential pardon power is enshrined in Article II of the Constitution, and Congress has no power to intervene or change it.
"While I vehemently disagree with Biden’s decision to preemptively pardon members of his family, the presidential pardon power is established [therein]. That means, absent the ratification of a constitutional amendment, Congress does not have the power to review, alter, or pass legislation limiting a president’s pardon power."
Meuser pointed to the 1974 Supreme Court case Schick v. Reed, which confirmed Congress cannot have a role.
"Nevertheless, our Founding Fathers never could have conceived that a president would pardon a son who broke countless laws and utilized the White House to defraud and leverage millions of dollars in a pay-to-play scheme that also involved other family members."
Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., who flipped Biden’s home district in November, has also expressed concern over Biden’s use of presidential pardons.
"I think what's discouraging is that you heard time and time again along the campaign trail that he wasn't going to do something like this, but I'm certainly not surprised," Bresnahan recently told WBRE.
"I'm sure much of America is not surprised."
While countless Americans who fell victim to those pardoned, including Conahan, may have little recourse, Baker said she is participating in the drafting of legislation in Harrisburg late Friday that will attempt to remove Biden’s likeness from part of his home area.
While the former Spruce Street in Scranton – since renamed Biden Avenue – is city property, Baker said the "President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Expressway" splitting off Interstate 81 into his hometown is within PennDOT’s bounds.
"The reaction has been so strong that many have called for renaming the President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Expressway, which was designated by Scranton City Council in 2021," Baker said.
The lawmaker added Biden’s legacy is forever "stained" by Conahan’s "inexplicable and infamous commutation."
"We owe it to the juvenile victims, their families, and all the believers in equal justice to remove the name of Joe Biden and replace it with someone truly deserving of the honor."
House Republicans are flying down to South Florida this week for their annual issues conference, where President Donald Trump is expected to speak with lawmakers hashing out the GOP agenda for the next two years.
It’s another sign of the House GOP conference’s push for unity with Trump that the conference is being held at Trump National Doral, his golf course and resort near Miami.
"He’s going to come and address the Republicans there, and we’re looking forward to that," Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., confirmed to reporters last week.
Trump has made no secret of his intent to keep a close eye on the Republican majorities in the House and Senate this year, particularly as they discuss how to use their numbers to pass a massive conservative policy overhaul via the budget reconciliation process.
By reducing the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to a 51-seat simple majority, reconciliation allows a party in control of both congressional chambers to enact sweeping changes, provided they’re relevant to budgetary and fiscal policy.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are also contending with the debt ceiling being reinstated this month after it was temporarily suspended in a bipartisan deal during the Trump administration.
And coming on March 14 is the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, which Congress has extended twice since the end of the previous fiscal year on Oct. 1.
"I think obviously everyone is ready to get to work," Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital. "With President Trump’s inauguration behind us, now we’re focused on the task at hand – everything from the border to the tax package, energy and defense and national security, and our debt. What we need to do over the next two years to really fulfill the agenda that we laid out for the American people."
Lawler said he anticipated reconciliation would be a key focus of Trump’s remarks.
With razor-thin margins in the House and Senate, Republicans can afford few dissenters if they are going to get to the finish line.
Lawler is one of several Republicans who have drawn red lines in the discussions, vowing not to vote for a reconciliation bill that does not lift state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps – limits that have put a strain on suburban districts outside major cities.
He was realistic about setting expectations for their short Florida trip but was optimistic Republicans would eventually come together.
"I think we’re in the middle of the process and, you know, this is obviously not going to be resolved over these three days," Lawler said. "But this is, I think, an important opportunity for everyone to really sit down and spend their time going through a lot of these issues."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to allow the Trump administration to review if the money puts "America First."
On Sunday, the State Department released a statement about falling in step with President Donald Trump’s executive order to reevaluate and realign foreign aid from the U.S.
"Consistent with President Trump’s Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid, Secretary [Marco] Rubio has paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for review," the statement read. "He is initiating a review of all foreign assistance programs to ensure they are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda. President Trump stated clearly that the United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people."
The statement continued, saying the review and alignment of foreign assistance on behalf of taxpayers is a "moral imperative," adding that Rubio is proud to protect America’s investment "with a deliberate and judicious review" of how the money is spent on aiding foreign countries overseas.
"The implementation of this Executive Order and the Secretary’s direction furthers that mission," the statement read. "As Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, ‘Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?’"
The announcement comes after the Trump administration ordered staffers with USAID to stop providing foreign aid worldwide or face "disciplinary action" for not complying.
Reuters reported that the Trump administration sent a sharply-worded memo to more than 10,000 staff members at USAID on Saturday, offering a "stop-work" directive from Friday that put a freeze on U.S. foreign aid around the world.
"We have a responsibility to support the President in achieving his vision," Ken Jackson, assistant to the administrator for management and resources wrote in the internal memo, titled "Message and Expectation to the Workforce."
"The President has given us a tremendous opportunity to transform the way we approach foreign assistance for decades to come," the memo added. Reuters reported that it confirmed the authenticity of the memo with several sources.
Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign aid just hours after taking office, to review if the funding was in line with his foreign policy priorities.
On Friday, the State Department issued a pause on aid worldwide.
The U.S. is the largest donor of aid globally. During fiscal year 2023, the U.S. dispersed $72 billion in assistance. It also provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.
Fox News Digital has reached out to USAID for comment.
President Donald Trump put the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under review on Sunday after signing an executive order aimed at "drastically" improving the agency’s efficacy, priorities and competence.
Trump’s executive order establishes the FEMA Review Council, which will be composed of no more than 20 members and co-chaired by the secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense.
The council is being formed after FEMA's response to Hurricane Helene and other recent disasters showed the need to improve "efficacy, priorities, and competence, including evaluating whether FEMA’s bureaucracy in disaster response" hinders its ability to respond successfully.
"Despite obligating nearly $30 billion in disaster aid each of the past three years, FEMA has managed to leave vulnerable Americans without the resources or support they need when they need it most," the executive order reads. "There are serious concerns of political bias in FEMA. Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President."
Trump also said FEMA has lost mission focus, diverting limited resources and staff to support missions outside its scope and authority. The president particularly highlighted that FEMA has spent over a billion dollars welcoming illegal immigrants.
"Americans deserve an immediate, effective, and impartial response to and recovery from disasters," the order continued. "FEMA therefore requires a full-scale review, by individuals highly experienced at effective disaster response and recovery, who shall recommend to the President improvements or structural changes to promote the national interest and enable national resilience."
Trump announced Friday that he plans to overhaul FEMA as North Carolina is still recovering from Hurricane Helene more than 120 days after the storm devastated the state.
"I'll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA," Trump told reporters in North Carolina on Friday morning. "I think, frankly, FEMA is not good."
Trump promised his administration would step in and assist North Carolina to fix the damage quickly, vowing to "do a good job" for the state.
The president also said he would like to see the states assume more responsibility when disaster strikes, arguing those familiar with the state are better equipped to provide disaster response and relief.
So far, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers claim that only half of the debris recovery from Hurricane Helene is complete. Additionally, thousands of families in North Carolina remain in hotels that FEMA is footing the bill for through its Transitional Housing Assistance program.
Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy contributed to this report.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., weighed in on President Donald Trump's ongoing tariff feud with Colombian President Gustavo Petro – but not every social media user bought her comments.
The spat between Trump and Petro began when the Colombian leader refused to accept two deportation flights over the weekend, prompting Trump to unleash retaliatory measures. Both world leaders threatening to raise tariffs on imported products by 25% to 50%, and Trump ordered a travel ban and visa revocations for all Colombian government officials.
"I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This order was given by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people."
"Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, so I have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures."
In an X post on Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez insisted that American consumers are the only party that pay tariffs.
"To ‘punish’ Colombia, Trump is about to make every American pay even more for coffee," the New York congresswoman said in a post. "Remember: WE pay the tariffs, not Colombia."
"Trump is all about making inflation WORSE for working class Americans, not better," she added. "He’s lining the pockets of himself and the billionaire class."
Petro appeared to be a fan of AOC's post, reposting it on his own X account.
While tariffs do have the potential to inflate prices, the importer, which is the company or entity bringing the goods into the U.S., will pay the actual tariff to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
But inflated prices are not guaranteed – sometimes, tariffs can reduce the world price of an object as suppliers rush to retain access to the large U.S. market. It is possible that coffee suppliers in different countries, such as Vietnam and Brazil – which produce more coffee than Colombia – would lower or maintain their prices.
Ocasio-Cortez's tweet racked up over 47,000 likes from supporters as of 8 p.m., but received scorn from Trump supporters and tariff advocates.
"World record. 35 minutes and the tweet already aged like hot milk," the social media account Catturd wrote, referencing Petro's immediate offer to transport Colombian migrants on his presidential plane.
"Who wants to tell her that there are other countries that export coffee, not just Columbia," California State Assembly Bill Essayli wrote.
Conservative commentator John Cardillo echoed Essayli's sentiment, suggesting that the South American country "should take their illegal aliens back."
"Plenty of other nations grow coffee beans," Cardillo wrote on X. "We can buy the coffee from them."
Activist Adam Lowisz responded to Ocasio-Cortez by insisting that the Democratic politician "doesn't understand how tariffs work."
"Coffee from Colombia will increase in price, so we will purchase coffee from suppliers in other countries who do take back their illegals," the conservative X user wrote. "Businesses will hesitate to invest in Colombia any further if they continue to be bad actors."
Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez's office for additional comment.
Fox News Digital's Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.
Following a torrid first week in office, President Donald Trump does not have a very busy public schedule on Monday. That does not mean there won't be plenty of action. The 47th president is known to spring major actions and announcements without much notice.
The president starts off the week by attending a House GOP Conference meeting at Trump National Doral Miami at a time to be determined. The GOP January retreat is an opportunity for Republicans to game-plan their approach to implementing their shared agenda with President Trump. Major policy initiatives that are likely to be addressed are the president's sweeping border security and ongoing deportation initiatives, increasing domestic energy production and advancing a new tax plan.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told Politico that he expects to have a "blueprint" for a massive reconciliation package in place after the retreat. The House Budget Committee, which is tasked with writing the instructions on the bill, is set to meet next week.
Johnson sent a letter to the president to address a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025. In the letter, Johnson wrote, "Your administration and the 119th Congress working together have the chance to make these next four years some of the most consequential in our nation’s history."
He went on to write, "To that end, it is my distinct honor and great privilege to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, to share your America First vision for our legislative future. I eagerly await your response."
Another event that is key to an early Trump priority will be a hearing at the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled "Fees and Foreign Influence: Examining the Panama Canal and Its Impact on U.S. Trade and National Security." The committee is headed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
In his inaugural address, Trump said, "China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back."
Newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit Panama this week. According to the State Department, the trip will include visits to the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Confirmation hearings continue in the Senate this week with Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Kelly Loeffler and Kash Patel all appearing.
Continued immigration and deportation activities are expected to continue with border czar Tom Homan and the acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, traveling to Chicago on Sunday to witness the stepped-up enforcement actions.
The Department of Defense (DoD) is the latest agency that is disbanding all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs following President Donald Trump's executive order terminating all federal DEI programs.
"The President’s guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at Dept. of Defense," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a post on X.
In a handwritten note shared along with the post on X, Hegseth wrote: "The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays."
Hegseth added that "those who do not comply will no longer work here."
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., echoed Hegseth, writing: "The best way to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race or gender is to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race or gender," Kennedy wrote in a post on X. "Let DEI die."
Hegseth, 44, was sworn in on Saturday morning after he secured his confirmation to lead the Pentagon on Friday after weeks of intense political drama surrounding his nomination and public scrutiny into his personal life.
"All praise and glory to God. His will be done and we're grateful to be here," Hegseth said after taking the oath of office, surrounded by his wife and children.
Hegseth is a former Minnesota National Guard officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and a former Fox News host.
Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed up by Elon Musk, reported that approximately $420 million in current/impending contracts, mainly focused on DEI initiatives, had also been canceled.
On Inauguration Day, Trump signed an executive order that forced all DEI offices to close and placed all government workers in those offices on paid leave.
Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Charles Ezell sent a memo to heads and acting heads of departments and agencies directing them that by the end of business on Jan. 22, they were to inform all agency employees of the DEI shutdown. In addition, they were instructed to tell workers directly involved in DEI to take down all DEI-related websites and social media accounts, cancel any related contracts or training, and ask employees to report any efforts to disguise DEI programs by using coded or imprecise language.
The memo also directed the heads of agencies and departments that by noon on Jan. 23, they were to provide OPM with lists of all DEI offices, employees, and related contracts in effect as of Nov. 5, 2024.
By Friday, Jan. 24, at 5 p.m., agency heads were required to submit to OPM a written plan for executing a reduction-in-force action regarding DEI employees and a list of all contract descriptions or personnel position descriptions that were changed since Nov. 5, 2024, to obscure their connection to DEI programs.
The president also signed an order making it "the official policy of the U.S. government to only recognize two genders: male and female."
Trump issued two other executive actions targeting DEI — an executive order to end discrimination in the workplace and higher education through race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of DEI and a memo to eliminate a Biden administration policy that prioritized DEI hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration.
In his executive order, Trump wrote that he sought to protect Americans from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. He said these civil-rights protections "serve as a bedrock supporting equality of opportunity for all Americans" and that he "has a solemn duty to ensure that these laws are enforced for the benefit of all Americans."
"Yet today, roughly 60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, critical and influential institutions of American society, including the Federal Government, major corporations, financial institutions, the medical industry, large commercial airlines, law enforcement agencies, and institutions of higher education have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' (DEI) or 'diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility' (DEIA) that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation," the order reads.
It adds that these "illegal DEI and DEIA policies also threaten the safety of American men, women, and children across the Nation by diminishing the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination when selecting people for jobs and services in key sectors of American society, including all levels of government, and the medical, aviation, and law-enforcement communities.
Prior to Trump's order, the FBI closed its DEI office in December.
Fox News' Brooke Singman, Brie Stimson, Michael Dorgan and Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro offered his presidential plane to repatriate migrants coming back from the U.S. on Sunday, following stern warnings made by President Donald Trump.
The move came after Trump hit the Central American country with retaliatory measures in response to Petro's refusal to accept deportation flights. In a statement translated from Spanish, the Colombian government said that the plane will help facilitate a "dignified return."
"The Government of Colombia, under the direction of President Gustavo Petro, has arranged the presidential plane to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were going to arrive in the country today in the morning, coming from deportation flights," the translated statement read.
"This measure responds to the Government's commitment to guarantee decent conditions."
Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
The Trump administration rolled out a social media thread on Sunday highlighting the "worst criminals" arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since President Donald Trump was sworn in as the nation's 47th president last week.
"Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE agents are working tirelessly to protect our communities. From illegal alien child rapists to gang members and individuals with suspected ties to ISIS, here are some of the worst criminals arrested," the White House X thread reads.
The post shows nine different illegal immigrants who have already been convicted of vicious crimes, such as child rape, or have alleged links to gangs and terrorist organizations and other serious crimes. The nine illegal immigrants highlighted in the thread include their photos, as well as short biographies explaining their crimes.
"MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN: Edgar De La Cruz-Manzo, a convicted child rapist and Mexican national, was arrested by ICE Seattle on January 25, 2025," one post reads.
Another explains: "MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN: A Mexican national wanted for murder with an active INTERPOL Red Notice was arrested by ICE Los Angeles on January 24, 2025."
"MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN: A Jordanian national with suspected ties to ISIS was arrested by ICE Buffalo/Rouses Point on January 24, 2025," another post reads.
Trump's 2024 campaign prominently focused on the immigration crisis under the Biden administration, vowing to deport illegal immigrants, including those with long rap sheets in other nations, cartel members and others with alleged ties to terrorism.
"Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency at our southern border. I sent active duty troops on the border to help repel the invasion. Tom Homan is leading the charge. You know that. We like Tom Homan. Doing a great job. We immediately halted all illegal entry and began sending every border trespasser and violator back to the places from which they came. I signed an order that will designate the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. It's a big deal, it's a big deal. Biden didn't want to do that," he said from Las Vegas during a rally on Saturday. "Biden didn't know he was alive. He didn't want to do it."
A senior GOP strategist, who spoke to Fox Digital about efforts to secure the border and remove dangerous illegal immigrants, remarked that the Biden administration could have done the same, but "did nothing about it."
"The most absurd part of all of this is that it’s clear the Biden administration knew EXACTLY where these pedophiles, murderers, and rapists were and did nothing about it," the strategist said. "President Trump was given a mandate to execute his America First agenda and that starts with restoring the rule of law, securing our borders, and punishing known criminals."
Other illegal immigrants arrested by ICE include a convicted sex offender from Ethiopia who was arrested in New Orleans on Friday; a Brazilian national convicted of vehicular manslaughter who was arrested by ICE Boston; and a Honduran national arrested by ICE Seattle who was found with cocaine, fentanyl and a gun.
Law enforcement agencies stretching from ICE, to the DEA and U.S. Marshals, have been on an arresting blitz since Trump's first day in office on Jan. 20. The Trump administration deputized thousands of federal agents on Thursday evening to aid agencies such as ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection in efforts to arrest illegal immigrants.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reported that on Thursday alone, law enforcement nationwide arrested more than 500 illegal immigrants, and deported hundreds of others.
"The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors," she posted to X last week.
"The Trump Administration also deported hundreds of illegal immigrant criminals via military aircraft. The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway. Promises made. Promises kept," Leavitt added.
President Donald Trump pushed back on Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday after Petro's regime refused to allow U.S. deportation flights to land in his country.
"I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people," Trump wrote on social media.
"Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, so I have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures: -Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States. In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%.
-A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters.
-Visa Sanctions on all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government.
-Enhanced Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian Nationals and Cargo on national security grounds.
-IEEPA Treasury, Banking and Financial Sanctions to be fully imposed.
These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!" he wrote.
This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned that congressional Republicans must expedite funding for President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan to continue his mass deportation plan, or else they could "own another attack on this country."
Graham made appearances on NBC and CNN Sunday shows advocating for two separate bills – a $100 billion border package, and a second $200 billion bill centered on "national security."
As deliberations in both chambers continue, Graham cautioned Republicans against taking too long to reach a consensus. He said Homan needs immediate funding to further execute his mass deportation strategy, including to increase the number of detention beds from 41,000 to approximately 150,000, to hire more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, finish the border wall and secure new technology.
"This whole debate in the Republican Party, do you need one bill or two right now? Right now, Tom Homan needs more money to hire ICE agents. He needs more money to finish the wall to increase bed space," Graham told CNN's "State of the Union." "He doesn't have the tools necessary to carry out this plan that President Trump gave him until Congress appropriates more money."
Graham argued that the tax debate could wait until the end of the year, but Congress cannot delay funding for the border given the national security implications.
"So to my Republican colleagues, we've hit a wall here. We’re not building a wall. We've hit a wall," Graham told CNN. "We need to appropriate money to Tom Homan so he can do what President Trump promised. And if we delay that – the taxes expire in December, we got plenty of time to deal with that – I worry that we're going to own another attack on our country. I worry that we're delaying this plan that President Trump ran on if the Congress doesn't give his administration, Tom Homan, the money to do the plan that he promised, that President Trump promised. We need to come together quickly on this, in my view."
"We need more money for Tom Homan. I'm for deporting illegal immigrants here who are criminals. Most people are. The public's with him. But if you don't get new money into the system, Tom Homan can't do his job," Graham added. "We need more bed space. We need to finish the wall. But I think the signature issue for Donald Trump was to get a handle on illegal immigration, and he's off to a good start. We just need to help him in Congress."
In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Graham doubted that Homan was interested in deporting close to the approximately 11 million people in the U.S. illegally. As host Kristen Welker noted Trump has signaled potentially being interested in cutting a deal related to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for people who were brought into the United States illegally as minors, Graham said the Trump administration's focus with deportations appeared to remain on criminal illegal immigrants. He cited how there are about 1.4 million illegal immigrants "who've had their case fully adjudicated, and they're still here," and there are "about 680,000 convicted of serious crimes."
