A newly formed outside group aligned with President Donald Trump says it's taking aim at Republican senators who remain undecided on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as it pushes to confirm Trump's Health and Human Services secretary.
Patient First Coalition (PFC), a nonprofit advocacy group launched last week, says it's now beginning what it describes as a "massive grassroots effort" to encourage Republican senators to support Kennedy, the vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump.
Kennedy survived back-to-back combustible Senate confirmation hearings last week, where Trump's nominee to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation's food and health faced plenty of verbal fireworks over past controversial comments, including his repeated claims in recent years linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.
The move by PFC, which says it's a collective group of organizations committed to advancing Kennedy's so-called "Make America Healthy Again" agenda, comes ahead of Tuesday's key confirmation vote by the Senate Finance Committee.
"All uncommitted Republican Senators will be targeted in this grassroots effort," PFC highlighted.
Shannon Burns, the group's senior advisor, shared that "our grassroots phase will include television, radio and podcast interviews with our advisory board members, as well as guest columns in newspapers across the country."
"We will enable thousands of calls and emails into Senate offices from millions of Americans who support this agenda. We want to organize them, mobilize them, and make sure their voices are heard before the Senate votes," Burns added.
PFC pointed out that it will initially give "special focus" to GOP senators in Louisiana, Maine, Alaska, Kentucky and North Carolina.
Those states are home to Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana physician and chair of the Senate Health Committee, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who are often at odds with Trump, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former longtime Senate Republican leader, and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
"Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me," Cassidy told Kennedy at the end of Thursday's confirmation hearing.
PFC is one of a handful of outside groups targeting GOP senators in the fight to confirm Trump's nominees.
A source in Trump's political orbit tells Fox News that those groups could "exact consequences" on Republican senators who don't support the president's Cabinet nominees.
And Trump on Sunday took to social media to demand that Senate Republicans 'GET TOUGH VERY FAST" in confirming the rest of his Cabinet.
"Tammy [Murphy] and I were talking about – I don’t want to get into too much detail, but there is someone in our broader universe whose immigration status is not yet at the point that they are trying to get it to. And we said, you know what? Let's have her live at our house above our garage," the Democrat governor said.
"And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her," Murphy added, seemingly hinting that the person may be an illegal immigrant. Fox News Digital reached out to Murphy's office for more information, but they did not immediately respond.
The revelation comes as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been conducting operations in New Jersey, most notably with a raid in Newark in late January.
"Public trust is essential to public safety. Our office has requested more information from the Trump Administration about the recent immigration enforcement action in Newark so we have a clear understanding of the facts of this case," a spokesperson for Murphy told PIX11 following that operation.
ICE did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Trump border czar Tom Homan told Fox News in December that knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal immigrant from ICE is a "violation of the law."
The Trump administration is ending a deportation shield for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the U.S., opening the door to them being deported -- just as President Donald Trump has secured an agreement with the socialist country to take back its nationals.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Fox News Digital that more than 300,000 nationals protected by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 2023 are having their statuses revoked. The New York Times, which first reported details of the move, reported that they will lose temporary status 60 days after the government first publishes the notice.
TPS grants protection from deportation and allows work permits for nationals living in the U.S. from countries deemed unsafe for them to be returned. Then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced extensions for TPS for Venezuela, as well as El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine, for an additional 18 months in the final few days of the Biden administration. That move, if left in place, would have complicated Trump efforts to deport large numbers of those nationalities.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week announced that the extension was being revoked, but this move would prematurely end the status altogether.
Republicans have long been skeptical of the program, arguing that it has been used too broadly, with 17 countries designated at the end of the Biden administration. The first Trump administration cut down on the use of TPS and has indicated it intends to do the same in the second administration.
Venezuelans were one of the top nationalities coming into the U.S. at the height of the 2021-2024 border crisis, with many also coming in through a separate parole policy for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans -- a program now ended by the Trump administration.
On Saturday, Trump said that an agreement had been made with Venezuela to take back its illegal immigrants. Venezuela had started taking back illegal immigrants in 2023 but stopped in early 2024.
"…Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their Country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua," Trump said on Truth Social.
"Venezuela has further agreed to supply the transportation back. We are in the process of removing record numbers of illegal aliens from all Countries, and all Countries have agreed to accept these illegal aliens back."
The moves come amid a flurry of efforts by the Trump administration to secure the border and significantly ramp up the numbers of deportations and removals from the U.S. The administration has ended parole programs, limited the use of asylum and deployed the military to the southern border.
Meanwhile, Noem visited the southern border on Sunday, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently on a tour of Latin America. Defense Department Secretary Pete Hegseth is heading to the southern border on Monday.
The Trump administration is billing the new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as critical to preventing fentanyl and other drugs from pouring across the U.S. border, rather than a step in an international trade war.
President Donald Trump is imposing a 25% tariff on all goods entering the United States from Mexico and Canada; a 10% tariff on Canadian energy; and a 10% tariff on all goods entering the U.S. from China. The tariffs on Canada and China are set to go into effect Tuesday at midnight.
The president spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Monday morning, he said, and is expected to speak to him again at 3 p.m. ET on Monday.
"Canada doesn’t even allow U.S. Banks to open or do business there," Trump posted on his Truth Social Monday. "What’s that all about? Many such things, but it’s also a DRUG WAR, and hundreds of thousands of people have died in the U.S. from drugs pouring through the Borders of Mexico and Canada."
The president also spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Monday morning — a conversation that led to Trump delaying the imposition of tariffs on Mexico for one month.
"It was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 Mexican Soldiers on the Border separating Mexico and the United States," Trump posted on his Truth Social. "These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country."
"We further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period during which we will have negotiations headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and high-level Representatives of Mexico," Trump wrote. "I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a ‘deal’ between our two Countries."
On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance echoed a similar sentiment regarding drugs, posting on X that Mexico "sends tons of fentanyl into our country. Canada has seen a massive increase in fentanyl trafficking across its border."
"There are three ways of stopping this," Vance wrote. "The first is ask nicely, which we’ve done. It’s gone no where."
He added: "Now we’re onto the consequences phase."
And Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Monday said the imposition of tariffs "isn’t a trade war with Canada, or Mexico or China."
"This is about fentanyl," Burgum said on "Fox & Friends." "We’ve had a mass invasion of our country. We’ve been taking mass casualties. We lose almost 300 people a day to overdose deaths."
Burgum added: "President Trump wants to end this."
The president authorized the tariffs in an executive order on Saturday. Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 25% additional tariff will be levied on imports from Canada and Mexico, with a 10% tariff on imports from China.
In the executive order, Trump said the tariffs stem from an "extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, [that] constitutes a national emergency."
The tariffs have invited international criticism from leaders and citizens alike in Canada and Mexico. During his exchange with reporters on Sunday evening, Trump accused Canada of being "abusive" toward the U.S. in terms of trade.
"Canada has been very abusive of the United States for many years. They don't allow our banks," Trump said. "And you know that Canada does not allow banks to go in, if you think about it. That's pretty amazing. If we have a U.S. bank, they don't allow them to go in."
"Canada has been very tough for oil on energy. They don't allow our farm products in, essentially. They don't allow a lot of things in. And we allow everything to come in as being a one-way street."
Trump also said that the U.S. subsidizes Canada "by the tune of about $200 billion a year."
"And for what? What do we get out of it? We don't get anything out of it," he added. "I love the people of Canada. I disagree with the leadership of Canada and something is going to happen there."
But in a statement on Saturday, Sheinbaum said her country "categorically reject[s] the White House's slander against the Mexican government of having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of intervention in our territory."
"Mexico not only does not want fentanyl to reach the United States, but anywhere," the statement read. "Therefore, if the United States wants to combat criminal groups that traffic drugs and generate violence, we must work together in an integrated manner, but always under the principles of shared responsibility, mutual trust, collaboration and, above all, respect for sovereignty, which is not negotiable."
Canada's Trudeau slighted the U.S. by encouraging Canadians to "buy Canada," and announcing his own set of tariffs on $20 billion "of goods imported from the United States," including produce, meats and cheeses.
"Now is the time to choose products made right here in Canada," Trudeau wrote on X. "Check the labels. Let’s do our part. Wherever we can, choose Canada."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent the weekend speaking with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who could effectively stop his confirmation process for secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in its tracks.
The Louisiana senator's office confirmed Sunday evening that the two men had been speaking that day.
Cassidy is a doctor and also one of the few remaining Republican senators who voted to convict President Donald Trump for allegedly inciting the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
His vote on the 27-member Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday could decide whether Kennedy's nomination to be Trump's HHS secretary moves forward to the Senate floor or is left to potentially die in committee.
Cassidy has yet to indicate how he plans to vote on the nomination. During one of Kennedy's hearings last week, he admitted, "I have been struggling with your nomination."
He explained that there are areas of alignment between them, but that his criticism and claims regarding vaccination have given him pause.
"But if there is someone that is not vaccinated because of policies or attitudes you bring to the department and there is another 18-year-old who dies of a vaccine-preventable disease, helicoptered away, God forbid dies, it’ll be blown up in the press," Cassidy said.
"The greatest tragedy will be her death, but I can also tell you an associated tragedy that will cast a shadow over President Trump’s legacy, which I want to be the absolute best legacy it can be."
He added that this was his "dilemma," and foreshadowed their conversations, saying, "you may be hearing from me over the weekend."
Representatives for Cassidy and Kennedy did not divulge specifics of their conversations.
Whether he was decided yet on how he will vote, Cassidy's office declined to comment.
Kennedy has managed to get the support of other sometimes hesitant lawmakers, such as Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., who said on X, "[Kennedy's] unique leadership on healthy lifestyle choices will benefit countless Americans, and he understands the critical importance of rebuilding trust in our public health institutions."
"I’ve also received assurances from him that strong pro-life policies will continue to be reinstituted at HHS under his leadership," Young wrote. "We spoke extensively about the importance of supporting innovation in health care to both bring down costs and improve treatment. I look forward to working with him to make positive changes for the American people."
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., will also be voting to advance Kennedy, his office confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Kennedy will likely need the support of every Republican on the committee, assuming he does not receive any Democratic support. No committee Democrats have come out to say they will back him. The committee vote will take place Tuesday morning.
The Senate Republican campaign committee is touting that it is off to a strong fundraising start as it aims to defend and expand its majority in the chamber in the 2026 midterm elections.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) announced on Monday that it raked in a record $8.5 million in January, which the committee says is its best ever off-year January haul.
"To deliver on the promises President Trump made to the American people, we must protect and grow our Republican Senate Majority," South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the new NRSC chair, said in a statement.
Scott teased that "the NRSC’s record-breaking January is just the beginning. We will work tirelessly to ensure Republicans have the resources and operations needed to win in battleground states across the Senate map."
However, in a memo sent to Senate Republican chiefs of staff, NRSC Executive Director Jennifer DeCasper noted that the committee will "enter this cycle with nearly $24 million in debt and unpaid bills from last cycle and limited cash on hand."
The NRSC ended 2024 with $2.7 million in its coffers.
Republicans won control of the Senate in November's elections by flipping an open seat in West Virginia, and ousting Democratic incumbents in Montana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The GOP currently holds a 53-47 majority in the Senate.
Senate Republicans enjoyed a very favorable map in the 2024 cycle as they won back control of the majority. An early read of the 2026 map shows they will continue to play offense in some states, but will be forced to play defense in others.
The GOP will target an open Democrat-held seat in battleground Michigan, where Sen. Gary Peters announced last week that he would not seek re-election in 2026. They will also target first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff in battleground Georgia and longtime Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in swing state New Hampshire.
However, Democrats plan to go on offense in blue-leaning Maine, where GOP Sen. Susan Collins is up for re-election, as well as in battleground North Carolina, where Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is also up in 2026.
Mexico has agreed to deploy 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in exchange for a one-month delay on President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday.
Sheinbaum made the announcement on social media Monday morning, roughly 12 hours before the tariffs were set to take effect. Trump and Sheinbaum spoke on Monday and agreed that Mexico will do more to combat drug trafficking into the U.S., and that the U.S. will step up efforts to block the flow of firearms into Mexico.
Sheinbaum also said officials with the U.S. and Mexico were beginning talks on wider trade and security issues.
Trump confirmed the deal in his own post on Truth Social, describing the call with Sheinbaum as a "very friendly conversation."
"I just spoke with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico. It was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 Mexican Soldiers on the Border separating Mexico and the United States. These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country," Trump wrote.
"We further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period during which we will have negotiations headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and high-level Representatives of Mexico. I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a 'deal' between our two Countries," he added.
The deal comes just days after Trump announced 25% tariffs on both Mexico and Canada, as well as 10% tariffs on China. Trump says he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, but the pair did not reach an agreement. He says they will speak again later Monday.
The tariffs are set to take effect at midnight on Tuesday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slighted the U.S. by encouraging Canadians to "buy Canada" in response to the tariffs.
"Now is the time to choose products made right here in Canada," Trudeau wrote on X. "Check the labels. Let’s do our part. Wherever we can, choose Canada.
During Sunday's exchange with reporters, Trump also discussed the prospect of cutting off aid to South Africa after its president signed a controversial land seizure measure.
A resounding majority of New York State registered voters support President Donald Trump's effort to deport illegal aliens who have been convicted of a crime, according to a Siena College poll.
The poll of Empire State registered voters found that 79% support deporting such individuals, while just 11% oppose removing them.
The poll results indicate that the issue represents an area of significant bipartisan agreement.
While 69% of Democrats support expulsion of illegal aliens convicted of a crime, according to the poll, a whopping 91% of Republicans also support it — just 16% of Democrats and 4% of Republicans oppose it.
The poll found that just 39% support the deportation of illegal aliens who do not have a criminal record, while 42% oppose it. A majority of Republicans (64%) support the idea, while just 24% of Democrats back it. And while 15% of Republicans oppose the notion, 59% of Democrats oppose it.
Regarding the Trump administration's deportation efforts, 48% believe New York should support federal efforts to deport aliens living unlawfully in the Empire State, while 31% think the state should oppose federal deportation efforts.
There is a significant partisan divide on the issue, with 81% of Republicans indicating the state should support federal deportation efforts, but just 28% of Democrats holding that position. While 50% of Democrats indicated the state should oppose federal deportation efforts, just 6% of Republicans shared that view.
New Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has raised eyebrows on social media for some of her unique style choices.
"Kristi Noem seems to think that serving as a Cabinet secretary is akin to attending a Halloween party," one user on social media said in response to Noem appearing on NBC’s "Meet the Press" with a cowboy hat. "These costumes are just getting ridiculous."
The post comes after Noem was gifted a Border Patrol cowboy hat by agents in Texas on Sunday, according to a report from News Nation, where the new Homeland Security secretary went on a ride-along with the Horse Patrol unit and was later seen shaking hands and posing for photos with agents while sporting the hat.
"We are not a serious country," one user on X added.
Other social media users rushed to Noem’s defense, with many pointing out that the attire is normal in her home state of South Dakota.
"Across America people – in places like Kristi's ranch – those hats aren't costumes as you know them. People actually wear them every day for work and whenever they are outdoors," one X user said.
"She’s from South Dakota, owns farmland and runs a ranch," added another. "Stands to reason she would have a cowboy hat."
"She posts pics on her farm all the time. She can’t wear one of her hats? Y’all are so weird," added another user.
Noem’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Reached for comment, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital Noem spent her first week on the job with "border agents at the southern and northern borders as well as on an ICE enforcement operation targeting high target criminals."
"Secretary Noem is proud to wear the uniform of the DHS agents who protect Americans and our homeland," Mclaughlin added. "I've yet to hear screeching when a man puts on a hat or protective vest. Critics are embarrassing themselves revealing that they are more concerned about what the Secretary of DHS wears than they are that Mayorkas allowed 15 million immigrants into this country in just four years."
FIRST ON FOX: The CEO of the largest steel producer in the U.S., Nucor Corp., endorsed President Donald Trump's tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, Fox News Digital learned.
"Nucor applauds the first steps taken by President Trump in his America First Trade Agenda," Leon J. Topalian, the chair, president and CEO Nucor Corp., wrote in a statement dated Friday that was obtained by Fox News Digital. "We look forward to working with President Trump to enforce our trade laws and strengthen American manufacturing!"
The subject line of the letter reads, "Presidential Executive Orders on Canada, Mexico, and the People’s Republic of China."
Nucor is based out of North Carolina and serves as the nation's largest steel producer and scrap metal recycler.
The company's CEO recently joined CNBC's Jim Cramer and celebrated Trump's then-upcoming tariffs as tools to end "currency manipulation" and the "subsidization" of steel coming to the U.S. from abroad.
"We saw the memo last Monday on tariffs and what they're going to do," Topalian said Tuesday. "And I think they're going to be far-reaching, and I think they're going to be very broad to, again, stop the illegal dumping, the manipulation, currency manipulation and subsidization of steels coming into the shores of the U.S."
"We're the largest steel company in North America, so, of course, we took a look a year and a half ago and, and, we'll continue to look and see if those assets come back," he said. "But, part of the reason we didn't move forward is valuation. We're not going to overpay for assets."
Trump signed an executive order on Saturday authorizing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China through the new International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The tariffs take effect on Tuesday and include 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% tariff.
The tariffs were created in light of "extraordinary" threats stemming from "illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl," according to the order.
"This challenge threatens the fabric of our society," the executive order states. "Gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illicit drugs of all kinds have poured across our borders and into our communities.
"Canada has played a central role in these challenges, including by failing to devote sufficient attention and resources or meaningfully coordinate with United States law enforcement partners to effectively stem the tide of illicit drugs."
Foreign leaders have railed against the tariffs. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Saturday that her country "categorically reject[s] the White House's slander against the Mexican government of having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of intervention in our territory."
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encouraged residents to "buy Canada" by checking labels at stores to ensure a product is made in the Great White North.
Trump defended the tariffs Sunday evening while talking to reporters gathered at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
"Canada has been very abusive of the United States for many years. They don't allow our banks," Trump said. "And you know that Canada does not allow banks to go in, if you think about it. That's pretty amazing. If we have a U.S. bank, they don't allow them to go in."
"Canada has been very tough for oil on energy. They don't allow our farm products in, essentially. They don't allow a lot of things in. And we allow everything to come in as being a one-way street."
Former President Joe Biden also imposed tariffs during his administration, including on steel and aluminum shipped from Mexico to the U.S. but made elsewhere.
Fox News Digital's Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump's administration is facing scrutiny this week after working with billionaire Elon Musk to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), an organization Musk called a "viper's nest" of mismanaged funding.
Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) worked with the Trump administration to shut down USAID on Monday. While the agency's long-term future remains unclear, lawmakers and activists have repeatedly accused USAID of using funding to leverage policy changes across the globe. Under President Joe Biden's administration, the organization was frequently used to push abortion in Africa, critics say.
Biden cleared the path for U.S. funding to flow toward pro-abortion groups across the globe just days after entering office. He signed an executive order rescinding the Reagan-era "Mexico City Rule" on Jan. 28, 2021.
The rule, first rescinded by President Barack Obama and then reinstated during Trump's first term, prevented foreign aid from going to nongovernmental organizations that promote abortion or provide abortion services.
"These excessive conditions on foreign and development assistance undermine the United States’ efforts to advance gender equality globally by restricting our ability to support women’s health," Biden said at the time.
Biden's rule change cleared USAID to send millions in funding to aggressive abortion organizations like Marie Stopes International (MSI). MSI said it relied on USAID for 17% of its total donor income under the Obama administration, adding that the lack of U.S. support created an $80-million "funding gap" over the final three years of Trump's term.
The group said the countries most heavily impacted by the lack of funding were Madagascar, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., accused Biden in 2023 of "hijacking" a successful AIDS relief program to push an international abortion agenda.
Smith's accusations centered on PREPFAR, a funding program within USAID that, at the time, had already allocated some $100 billion toward fighting AIDS across the world, saving 25 million lives and preventing millions of infections.
Smith says two groups, Population Services International (PSI) and Village Reach, had received $96.5 million and $10.1 million, respectively, from PEPFAR under Biden, and both groups have a track record of pushing abortion.
"PSI proudly proclaims it provides abortion and lobbies to eliminate pro-life laws," Smith said at the time. "PSI provides comprehensive abortion and post-abortion care services in nearly 20 countries throughout the world."
Smith alleged Village Reach used PEPFAR funds "to promote abortion in Malawi and lobby for changes in pro-life laws" and also "helped Malawi establish a government-funded hotline (that included providing information and referrals for ‘sexual and reproductive health,’ i.e., abortion)."
A third group, Pathfinder International, received $5 million in PEPFAR funding from 2021 to 2023. Smith said the group "lobbies to weaken or eliminate pro-life laws in nations around the world" and is "explicit in its promotion of abortion in other countries, stating it is "committed to expanding access to … safe abortion."
Biden's administration was accused in December of pressuring the government of Sierra Leone to adopt more permissive abortion policies in exchange for foreign assistance.
A report from the Daily Signal stated that The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government-run funding allocator, was threatening to withhold hundreds of millions in foreign assistance funding if the nation didn't relax its policies, a former senior U.S. government official told the outlet.
The MCC CEO Alice Albright signed an agreement with Sierra Leone's finance minister, Sheku Bangura, in late September. The agreement called for the country to receive $480 million in foreign assistance so long as it met the MCC's "rigorous standards for good governance, fighting corruption and respecting democratic rights."
The organization denied any effort to influence Sierra Leone's abortion policies in a statement to Fox News Digital in December.
"The Millennium Challenge Corporation is unaware of any Sierra Leonean abortion legislation and has never made any requests to the Government of Sierra Leone regarding abortion policies. Any such legislation would be an internal matter for Sierra Leone with no U.S. government developments fund made contingent on its passage," the organization said in a statement.
Footage circulating on social media showed raucous pro-life protesters demonstrating inside Sierra Leone's parliament at the time as lawmakers debated legislation detailing more permissive abortion rules.
Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump's administration has reached a deal to grant the Texas National Guard new authority to make immigration arrests this weekend.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott referenced the deal on social media, saying it would "boost manpower for border security." Under the agreement, Texas National Guard troops would be able to arrest illegal immigrants so long as there is a U.S. immigration officer or Border Patrol agent present. U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Abbott said the deal was "effective immediately" as of Sunday night.
The deal is only the latest front in Trump's nationwide blitz against illegal immigration. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other border security groups have leaned into their deportation efforts since Trump gained office.
Trump's 2024 campaign promised to curb illegal immigration that flourished under the Biden administration. The 47th President promised to deport migrants, including those who had long rap sheets or ties to gangs or terrorist organizations.
On the first day of his second term, Trump issued ten executive orders aimed at overhauling U.S. immigration law and policy. Less than a week back in the Oval Office, Trump touted that he is keeping his promises.
"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," Trump said at a recent rally.
"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 added. "Biden didn't know he was alive. He didn't want to do it."
Federal officials deported some 7,300 illegal immigrants in the opening week of Trump's administration alone.
Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) staffers said that they tracked over 600 workers who reported getting locked out of the USAID computer systems overnight, according to the Associated Press. People who remained in the system got emails stating that "at the direction of Agency leadership" the headquarters facility "will be closed to Agency personnel on Monday, Feb. 3."
Elon Musk, who is spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort, had said during an X spaces conversation that President Donald Trump agreed that the USAID should be shut down.
Amid a wave of early shakeups in the new administration, President Donald Trump has twice this month proposed "denuclearization" talks with U.S. adversaries.
"Tremendous amounts of money are being spent on nuclear, and the destructive capacity is something we don’t even want to talk about today, because you don’t want to hear it," Trump mused in remarks to the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, last week.
"I want to see if we can denuclearize, and I think it’s very possible," suggesting talks on the issue between the U.S., Russia and China.
Such an idea could represent a major thawing in U.S. relations with two global adversaries – but begs the question of whether the U.S. could trust the nations to hold up their end of the deal.
President Vladimir Putin announced Russia would suspend its participation in the New START treaty in 2023 over U.S. support for Ukraine. Russia had frequently been caught violating the terms of the deal. But China has never engaged in negotiations with the U.S. over arms reduction.
Trump reiterated to Fox News' Sean Hannity on Wednesday that he'd been close to a "denuclearization" deal with Russia during his first term.
"I was dealing with Putin about the denuclearization of Russia and the United States. And then we were going to bring China along on that one. I was very close to having a deal. I would have made a deal with Putin on that denuclearization. It's very dangerous and very expensive, and that would have been great, but we had a bad election that interrupted us."
The Defense Department now expects that China will have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, a near-doubling of the estimated 600 they possess right now.
In a speech on Jan. 17, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that "amid a ‘hybrid war’ waged by Washington against Russia, we aren’t seeing any basis, not only for any additional joint measures in the sphere of arms control and reduction of strategic risks, but for any discussion of strategic stability issues with the United States."
But Putin, in an address on Monday, struck a more diplomatic tone: "We see the statements by the newly elected president… about the desire to restore direct contacts with Russia. We also hear his statement about the need to do everything possible to prevent World War III. We, of course, welcome this attitude."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said of Trump's comments at a news conference on Wednesday: "China's development of nuclear weapons is a historic choice forced to be made. As a responsible major country, China is committed to the path of peaceful development and friendly cooperation with all countries in the world."
Experts argue Russia is using its leverage over nuclear arms control as a means for the U.S. agreeing to favorable terms to end the war with Ukraine.
"Russians are ‘me first’ painstaking negotiators, and what they're doing in this case, is they're clearly laying a bit of a trap," said John Erath of the Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation.
"It makes sense dangling arms control, which they perceive as something that we want, in front of us and saying, ‘Oh, by the way, we'll talk about reducing nuclear weapons,’ as an incentive to get us to throw the Ukrainians under the bus."
But whether Trump was revealing a policy priority or speaking on a whim with the Davos comments is anyone’s guess.
The president took heat during his first term for meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to discuss nuclear reduction. That effort fell apart, and Trump resorted to threatening to rain "fire and fury" on North Korea.
"I think he's very sensitive to the dangers of nuclear war, and realizes that in many ways, we're closer to that today than we have been in many, many decades," said George Beebe, a director at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
One thing most experts agree on is that the U.S. nuclear program is expensive and outdated. With some 3,700 warheads in its arsenal, the U.S. is expected to spend $756 billion to store and maintain its nuclear weapons between 2023 and 2032.
"Regardless of reductions, however, the administration and Congress must continue modernizing and ensuring the reliability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal while eliminating excessive spending where possible," said Andrea Stricker, deputy director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy's nonproliferation program.
Arms experts admit that Russia has cheated on arms treaties, but U.S. intelligence capabilities have grown to ensure compliance.
"We've done it throughout the Cold War to varying degrees, and I think we've gotten better and more capable in our intelligence community of monitoring compliance with these sorts of things. So that is certainly a feasible approach to take," said Beebe.
But China and Russia aren’t the only U.S. adversaries with nuclear weapons. North Korea is estimated to have an arsenal of 50 nuclear warheads, Iran is on the precipice of enriching uranium to potent enough levels for a bomb.
"Before engaging in arms control talks, Washington needs a strategy for how it will simultaneously deter two peer nuclear competitors, Russia and China, which could combine forces with states like North Korea and Iran to attack or coerce the United States," said Stricker.
In the four decades between the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan in 1945 and the first arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia, the world was on edge as the two superpowers raced to claim the world's largest arsenal. In 1987, Washington and Moscow signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which led to the dismantling of thousands of bombs.
But over the years, the U.S. and Russia lost their monopoly on civilization-ending weapons: now nine countries are nuclear-armed, rendering bilateral treaties less and less effective.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, is taking aim at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and, according to senior congressional sources, moved to seize control of the independent agency over the weekend.
The senior congressional sources told Fox News that more than 50 senior USAID staff members were placed on administrative leave and subjected to a gag order, meaning they were not allowed to communicate with anyone outside the agency without approval.
Signs were also removed from USAID’s headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., and the DOGE team took over the computer systems, the sources said. USAID is responsible for distributing civilian foreign aid and development assistance to countries around the globe.
President Donald Trump complimented Musk's decision-making on Sunday during a quick interaction with reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews. When asked if he felt Musk was "delivering on his promises," the president responded with much praise.
"I do think Elon is doing a good job," Trump said. "He's a big cost cutter. Sometimes we won't agree with it and will not go where he wants to go, but I think he's doing a great job. He's a smart guy, very smart, and he's very much into cutting the budget of our federal government."
On Sunday, The Associated Press reported that the Trump administration placed two top security chiefs at USAID on leave after refusing to turn over classified material in restricted areas to DOGE.
After initially being refused access to USAID’s classified information, DOGE gained that access on Saturday, allowing them to see things like intelligence reports, a current and a former U.S. official told the AP.
The DOGE team members lacked high enough security clearance to access the information, so the two USAID security officials – John Voorhees and deputy Brian McGill – believed they were legally obligated to deny access.
On Sunday, Musk took aim at USAID on his social media platform X, writing, "USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die."
He also wrote several other posts about the agency, saying things like, "USAID was a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America" and "USAID is evil."
The latter was in response to a post suggesting USAID helped fund coronavirus research in Wuhan, China, which referred to an interaction posted on Forbes between Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and now former USAID Administrator Samantha Power in April 2023.
Trump echoed Musk's posts by saying USAID has been run by "a bunch of radical lunatics" and his administration is "getting them out."
ABC News reported that those familiar with USAID were questioning whether the moves at USAID were being made in an effort to move the agency under the State Department, where there could be better accountability.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., turned to social media on Sunday to sound off on the "dismantling" of USAID.
"Trump and Musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling USAID, an essential national security agency that saves lives, advances U.S. interests, and promotes peace," Booker wrote. "Their malicious actions are putting the health of people, especially children, at grave risk, and will surely lead to future public health and migration crises in the U.S. – let alone suffering around the globe."
Last week, at least 56 USAID officials were placed on administrative leave with full pay and benefits, and several hundred contractors based in Washington and elsewhere were laid off.
The actions came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, acting on Trump's executive order, paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and USAID.
The 90-day pause has halted thousands of U.S.-funded humanitarian, development and security programs worldwide and forced aid organizations to lay off hundreds of employees because they can't make payroll.
Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump defended his recent tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China while speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday night – and hinted that the European Union may suffer a similar fate.
The tariffs, which were authorized in an executive order on Saturday, will go into effect Tuesday. Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 25% additional tariff will be levied on imports from Canada and Mexico, and a 10% tariff on imports from China.
In the executive order, Trump said that the tariffs stem from an "extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, [that] constitutes a national emergency."
The tariffs have invited international criticism from leaders and citizens alike in Canada and Mexico. During his exchange with reporters on Sunday evening, Trump accused Canada of being "abusive" toward the U.S. in terms of trade.
"Canada has been very abusive of the United States for many years. They don't allow our banks," Trump claimed. "And you know that Canada does not allow banks to go in, if you think about it. That's pretty amazing. If we have a U.S. bank, they don't allow them to go in."
"Canada has been very tough for oil on energy. They don't allow our farm products in, essentially. They don't allow a lot of things in. And we allow everything to come in as being a one-way street."
Trump also claimed that the U.S. subsidizes Canada "by the tune of about $200 billion a year."
"And for what? What do we get out of it? We don't get anything out of it," he added. "I love the people of Canada. I disagree with the leadership of Canada and something is going to happen there."
The Republican leader also said that he will "definitely" impose tariffs against the European Union, which he said the U.S. has a $300 billion trade deficit with.
"They don't take our cars, they don't take our farm products, they take almost nothing," Trump said. "And we take everything from them. Millions of cars, tremendous amounts of food and farm products. So the UK is way out of line and we'll see the UK, but the European Union is really out of line."
In a statement on Saturday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her country "categorically reject[s] the White House's slander against the Mexican government of having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of intervention in our territory."
"Mexico not only does not want fentanyl to reach the United States, but anywhere," the statement read. "Therefore, if the United States wants to combat criminal groups that traffic drugs and generate violence, we must work together in an integrated manner, but always under the principles of shared responsibility, mutual trust, collaboration and, above all, respect for sovereignty, which is not negotiable."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slighted the U.S. by encouraging Canadians to "buy Canada" in response to the tariffs.
"Now is the time to choose products made right here in Canada," Trudeau wrote on X. "Check the labels. Let’s do our part. Wherever we can, choose Canada."
During Sunday's exchange with reporters, Trump also discussed the prospect of cutting off aid to South Africa after its president signed a controversial land seizure measure.
"Terrible things are happening in South Africa," Trump said. "The leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things. So that's under investigation right now."
His remarks came after he accused South Africa of "treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY" in a Truth Social post on Sunday.
"It is a bad situation that the Radical Left Media doesn’t want to so much as mention," Trump's statement read. "A massive Human Rights VIOLATION, at a minimum, is happening for all to see. The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!"
President Donald Trump has a busy week planned to start February, including speeding through more confirmations for the president’s Cabinet picks.
Trump made good on his promise of new tariffs over the weekend, hitting Canada and Mexico with 25% duties and China with a 10% tariff over concerns about fentanyl and continued illegal immigration.
Those tariffs are expected to be fully in force by Tuesday and have already drawn retaliation from Canada, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing a 25% tariff on some goods coming into the country from the U.S. on Sunday. Mexico, meanwhile, has also signaled a plan to impose tariffs on the U.S., though specific increases have yet to be announced.
The beginning of the week will also see the deadline pass for six senior FBI officials to retire, resign or be fired, according to a report by USA Today, making good on Trump’s plans to push aside leaders who were promoted by former FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Tuesday will see Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet with Trump at the White House, the first meeting between the two leaders since Trump regained control of the Oval Office.
Thursday is the deadline for federal workers to decide whether they would prefer to return to work in the office or accept a buyout and severance package that would see them paid through the end of September, part of Trump’s plan to trim the federal workforce.
Thursday will also be a busy day for Trump Cabinet picks, with Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Panel. Meanwhile, Kennedy will make an appearance in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, while former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Trump’s choice to be the director of national intelligence, will appear before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
The Senate’s Budget panel will also vote whether to move Russ Vought, who Trump nominated to lead the Office of Management and Budget, to a vote on the full floor, while the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will decide whether to advance Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Trump’s choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
The busy week will see another highlight Friday when the Bureau of Labor Statistics' first monthly jobs report comes out since Trump took office, with the U.S. looking to hit 49 consecutive months of job gains.
Conservatives on social media are having a field day mocking the Democratic National Committee for featuring a handful of "beyond parody" moments during its leadership vote over the weekend, which critics say underscores that Democrats have "learned absolutely nothing" from their 2024 election losses.
The DNC voted to elect Minnestota Democrat Party leader Ken Martin as its chair on Saturday, after eight candidates vied to succeed Jaime Harrison. Following the Democratic Party's losses in November, when Republicans reclaimed the White House and Senate and retained control of the House, the DNC's chair vote serves as a fresh slate for the party as they ramp up strategies and fundraising for the next election cycle.
Conservatives and critics took to social media over the weekend to highlight what they viewed as the most out of touch speeches and comments from party leaders, including the election of left-wing activist David Hogg as one of its three co-chairs. Hogg is an outspoken gun control advocate and the co-founder of March for Our Lives, a gun control group that was formed after the Parkland school shooting in 2018.
"DNC Vice Chair David Hogg has some legitimately INSANE views that are wildly out of step with the American people. Good to see that the Democrat Party has learned absolutely nothing," conservative communicator Steve Guest posted to X.
Hogg, a Parkland school shooting survivor, said from the DNC vote in Maryland that the party will put Republicans "on the defense" in the coming days and reclaim lost political ground.
"After Parkland, our country was in a similar moment – where we had a Republican trifecta in Washington," the 24-year-old said during the DNC election. "We went on the offense, put the Republicans on the defense, and we won. That’s what we need to do right now."
"We’re going to show people that the reason people should vote for us isn’t just because we’re not Republicans – it’s because we’re damn Democrats. We give a s---," he pledged. "And we deliver. Now it’s time to rebuild the party and to rethink the way we’ve been doing things."
Amid the hours-long vote and gathering of Democrats on Saturday in Maryland, former DNC chief Harrison announced that the elections must be gender-balanced, including when a non-binary candidate is in the running, sparking condemnation from conservatives.
"We have an amazing group of new officers. So far, as you know, our three at large vice chair positions are used to ensure gender balance among seven offices: treasury secretary, national finance chair and vice chair for civic engagement and voter participation and the three at large vice chairs. Our rules specify that when we have a non-binary candidate or officer, the non-binary individual is counted as neither male nor female, and the remaining six offices must be gender balanced with the results of the previous four elections. Our elected officers are currently two male and two female. In order to be gender balanced… we must elect one male, one female, and one person of any gender."
Before the election kicked off on Saturday, the eight candidates had traveled to Georgetown University for a forum co-hosted by MSNBC on Thursday, where they declared "racism and misogyny" compounded former Vice President Kamala Harris' election loss.
"So, I’m going to have a show of hands. How many of you believe that racism and misogyny played a role in Vice President Harris’ defeat?" MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart asked the eight candidates.
"That’s good. You all passed," Capehart said after all candidates raised their hands in agreement.
Republican lawmakers and pundits pounced on clips of the exchange, including Sen. Tommy Tubervile, R-Ala., who quipped that the GOP will expand its majority in the midterms.
Singing also broke out both during the forum and the vote. Dr. Quintessa Hathaway was in the running for chair and belted out a song with the lyrics, "You fight on, when the government is doing you wrong, you fight on" during the Thursday forum. She also sang another song ahead of the vote on Saturday vowing, "We shall overcome."
DNC members also "acknowledged" during the vote that the U.S. was "built on indigenous lands."
Ken Martin, who previously slammed Trump as a "traitor" who should be prosecuted for treason, celebrated his win on Saturday, vowing to combat Trump and the Republican Party.
"We have one team, one team, the Democratic Party," Martin said following his victory. "The fight is for our values. The fight is for working people. The fight right now is against Donald Trump and the billionaires who bought this country."
"We need to go on offense," Martin said. "We're going to go out there and take this fight to Donald Trump and the Republicans."
New York Democratic lawmakers are working to keep Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik's House seat vacant until the summer in an unprecedented move hashed out during late-night discussions last week, a Republican Empire State assemblyman told Fox Digital.
"We still haven't seen the final proposal from the Democrats in Albany, but there's no doubt that Tammany Hall corruption is alive and well in the state capital," Republican New York Assemblyman Matt Slater, who represents the state's 94th district in areas of Putnam and Westchester counties, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive Zoom interview on Sunday morning.
"It is just blatantly corrupt for the New York State Democrats to keep changing the rules of engagement simply out of self-interest. Meanwhile, New Yorkers are struggling in so many different ways. U-Haul just gave us our worst migration rating ever because there's so many New Yorkers who are fleeing this state. So they can get things done, but they only do it when it benefits them," Slater continued.
Slater, who serves as the ranking Republican on the state's Election Law Committee, was reacting to state Democrats working to introduce legislation that could keep Stefanik's House seat vacant until June, when the state holds its scheduled primary elections. Stefanik is in the midst of her confirmation process to serve in the Trump administration and is expected to resign her House seat if the Senate confirms her as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Under current law, New York's governor has 10 days to declare a special election for a vacant seat and an additional 80 to 90 days to hold the election. Stefanik's seat is key for the Republican Party and Trump's second administration, as Republicans hold a slim majority at 218 members to the Democrats' 215 members.
The state Democrats' anticipated legislation has not yet been introduced, but Democrats were summoned to an emergency conference on Friday evening to reportedly discuss such a bill, Slater explained. He expects to have a copy of the Democrats' bill on Monday morning.
Slater said the Democrats' objective of changing election laws to move the special election back to the summer is part of their bigger agenda to combat the second Trump administration.
"Speaker Johnson has the hardest job in government right now, trying to keep the Republican conference, caucus together. This obviously would make that margin of Republican control that much more thin and that much more challenging for the speaker and, again, jeopardizing President Trump's agenda to get through Congress. That's their entire mission and goal, the Albany Democrats, is to make sure that they're combating President Trump each step of the way. And this is their latest way of doing it," Slater said.
He pointed to a bevy of instances in which New York Democrats have leveraged their state power to combat Trump and the Republican Party in recent years, including gerrymandering and "stacking" New York's top court with Democrats.
"If you look at the track record of the Democrats, who control every aspect of state government here in New York, they have changed the rules so many times just because it benefits them. Whether it's redistricting, whether it's stacking the Court of Appeals, whether it's allowing the governor to remove her then-indicted lieutenant governor from the ballot. The list goes on and on," he said.
"And in this case, it will deprive 800,000 New Yorkers of proper representation in Washington. And oh by the way, there were two special elections last year. And the Democrats didn't say anything about changing the rules because fact of the matter is, these are Republican districts that will be impacted, and they are trying to disrupt the Trump administration and, frankly, Leader Johnson from being able to deliver on their agenda."
President Donald Trump nominated Stefanik to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under his second administration. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to advance the New York Republican's confirmation on Thursday, with her full Senate floor vote expected later this week.
Stefanik is expected to resign from the U.S. House to take the ambassadorship if and when the Senate officially confirms her nomination.
A spokesperson for Democrat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told Gothamist that she "believes it’s critical to increase voter turnout and reduce the cost of election administration, and she would support legislation that achieves that goal."
Slater poured cold water on the office's claim that the proposal is rooted in promoting voter turnout and easing costs, pointing to two special elections held last year – former Democrat Rep. Brian Higgins' seat as well as the February 2024 special election to replace former Republican Rep. George Santos' in a district where Democrats were expected to have an edge over the GOP. Democrats, who have held trifecta control in the state since 2018, did not push to change special election laws last year, Slater noted.
"I can't believe how hypocritical the governor and her office can be in this, because let me remind the governor that she had two special elections for Congress last year," he said.
"To sit here and say that this is going to save taxpayer money and increase voter turnout, but you didn't think about that last year when your own party had special elections that you were favored to win? Fact of the matter is, this has everything to do with the fact that this is a Republican seat. This is about control of Republicans in Congress, and this is about disrupting President Trump's agenda in Washington."
Local outlets have reported the bill could push the special election beyond June to November, when the state holds its general elections, though Slater cast doubt that Democrats would push the envelope that far.
"If you want to talk about increasing voter turnout and saving taxpayer money, they really don't have an excuse to wait past that June date. And so, you know, yes, it's always a possibility that November is the date that they put in the legislation. But I'm hard-pressed to believe that they would go that far," he said.
Slater argued that the push from Democrats to approve the special election change is a wake-up call for New Yorkers.
"[It's] so transparently political that New Yorkers need to wake up, and they need to understand that this isn't the leadership that we're asking for. President Trump has a great agenda moving forward, and this is all about disrupting that agenda to put America first," he said.
Stefanik is a longtime Trump ally who chaired the House Republican Conference from 2021 to 2025, making her the fourth-most powerful Republican in the House. She was first elected to the House in blue New York in 2014 at age 30, making her the youngest woman elected to the House at the time.
Fox News Digital reached out to the governor's office on Sunday but did not immediately receive a reply.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services is "not a slam dunk," as President Donald Trump's nominee works to shore up support.
In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Fetterman said he has met with Kennedy twice in his office and that whatever his decision ends up being on the HHS nominee, it will be "an informed view."
"I've invested a lot of time to really understand his background and to learn more about the man," Fetterman said, adding: "I approached with an open mind and I watched the hearing. And that's how the process works."
Asked if he's reached a decision on whether he'll vote "yay" or "nay" for Kennedy, Fetterman said he has spoken to colleagues on both sides regarding the matter.
"It's been challenging for sure. Absolutely. It's certainly not a slam dunk for the nomination," Fetterman told "Fox News Sunday" host Shannon Bream.
"I've made an investment to really understand and talk to all of the nominees, and I treated everyone with respect and I took the time to listen, and that's been part of my commitment," he added.
Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat who switched his presidential campaign against Biden to run as an Independent before ultimately dropping from the race to back Trump, made it through back-to-back grillings by the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday and the Health Committee on Thursday. He still faces crucial committee and full Senate confirmation votes in his mission to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation's food and health.
Most of the tough questions and sparring over his stances on vaccines, abortion, Medicaid and other issues came from Democrats on the two committees, but Thursday's hearing ended with the top Republican on the Health panel saying he was "struggling" with Kennedy's nomination.
"Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told the nominee.
The physician from Louisiana, who is a crucial vote and who has voiced concerns over Kennedy's past stance on vaccines, asked whether Kennedy can "be trusted to support the best public health." The senator told Kennedy, who seeks to lead key health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, that "you may be hearing from me over the weekend."
Kennedy, whose outspoken views on the pharmaceutical and food industries have also sparked controversy, has said he aims to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including overhauling dietary guidelines, taking aim at ultra-processed foods and getting to the root causes of chronic diseases.
A strong pro-life advocate, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told "Fox News Sunday" that he is supporting Kennedy despite the nominee's past comments saying he supported codifying Roe v. Wade and abortion "even if it's full term."
"I am now OK to supporting RFK Jr. because I think during the course of the hearing he's committed to a Republican pro-life agenda, President Trump's pro-life agenda," Graham said when asked about those specific past remarks from Kennedy. "So I will take him at his word. I'm comfortable with what he said on the pro-life issue. He has been radically pro-choice as a person. But I do believe that as secretary, he will implement a pro-life agenda that will be pushed by President Trump. I will be a yes, but I'll also watch every move he makes."
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
