FBI Director Kash Patel, who was just sworn in on Friday, issued a post on Monday declaring that he is "proud to welcome Dan Bongino as the next Deputy Director of the FBI."
"His leadership, integrity, and deep commitment to justice make him the ideal choice to help lead the FBI at this critical time. He’s a cops cop," Patel said of Bongino. "Welcome aboard, Dan. The country needs strong leadership, and I know you will serve with honor and dedication."
Bongino, who previously served in the New York City Police Department and as a Secret Service agent, is a successful conservative commentator who hosts "The Dan Bongino Show."
"I've spent my life in public service, beginning with the NYPD and continuing through my time as a Secret Service agent, working under both Republican and Democrat administrations. I've witnessed firsthand the dedication and sacrifice of the men and women in these agencies who serve with integrity and honor," he stated, according to a post on X.
"There are dedicated people in the FBI who take their oath to the constitution seriously. They deserve leadership that will back them up, protect their mission, and ensure they can do their jobs," Bongino noted.
President Donald Trump announced the news Sunday night on Truth Social.
"Dan Bongino, a man of incredible love and passion for our Country, has just been named the next DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI, by the man who will be the best ever Director, Kash Patel," Trump declared in the post.
Bongino "is now one of the most successful Podcasters in the Country, something he is willing and prepared to give up in order to serve," Trump noted.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth congratulated Bongino, saying in a post that "Patel-Bongino atop the FBI is pure [fire]."
House Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., also congratulated Bongino, saying he "will bring leadership, accountability, and restored confidence to the FBI."
While most Republicans voted to confirm Patel last week, two Republican senators – Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine – voted against confirmation.
A massive piece of legislation that House Republicans hope will advance a broad swath of President Donald Trump's agenda is facing its final hurdle on Monday before a chamber-wide vote.
The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeepers for most bills before a House floor vote, is meeting to debate a measure that GOP leaders want to have on Trump's desk by sometime in May.
The bill aims to increase spending on border security, the judiciary and defense by roughly $300 billion, while seeking at least $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in spending cuts elsewhere.
As written, the bill also provides $4.5 trillion to extend Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions, which expire at the end of this year.
It comes after the Senate held an all-night session to advance its own version of the Trump plan last week. In the Senate Republicans' budget plan, the first reconciliation bill includes Trump's priorities for border security, energy and national defense, while the second bill, to be drawn up later in the year, would focus on extending Trump's tax policies from TCJA.
Since the commander in chief has already telegraphed his preference for House Republicans' proposal, the Senate bill has been relegated to a de facto backup plan if the House is not able to pass its own. This much was relayed to senators by Vice President JD Vance last week as he gave them the White House's blessing to push their bill forward, a source told Fox News Digital.
Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., wrote on X Sunday night that she was against the bill as written.
"Why I am a NO on the current version of the house budget instructions - I have a TRILLION DOLLAR QUESTION - where is the money - $1T? Interesting FACT: roughly 85% of spending is not ever even looked at by Congress - convenient if you would like to hide waste, fraud and abuse," Spartz announced.
Other Republicans have expressed concerns over the $880 billion in spending cuts under the Energy & Commerce Committee, which many have taken to mean at least some cuts to federal programs like Medicaid.
The House version of the bill differs from the Senate in that the latter version does not include funding for Trump's tax cuts. Senate GOP leaders argue that splitting Trump's priorities into two bills will allow the party to secure early victories on the border and defense, places where there is more agreement within the conference.
However, House Republican leaders contend that Republicans have not passed two reconciliation bills since the 1990s and under far more favorable margins.
Both chambers are contending with razor-thin margins and an ideologically diverse Republican conference as they look to make major conservative policy changes via the budget reconciliation process this year.
By leveling thresholds for passage in the House and Senate at a simple majority, reconciliation allows the party in power to pass fiscal legislation without any support from the opposing side. The Senate has a two-thirds majority threshold to advance most measures.
It is not clear, however, whether Trump's support for the House plan will be enough to get it over the line.
French President Emmanuel Macron is meeting with President Donald Trump Monday morning at the White House.
The meeting comes after Macron called for an emergency gathering of world leaders after the Trump administration excluded Europe from sitting at the negotiating table to settle the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
A federal judge appointed by former President Biden is temporarily blocking Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing personal records at the Department of Education (DoEd) as part of their cost-cutting sweep.
Judge Deborah Boardman of Greenbelt, Maryland, issued a temporary restraining order on Monday against DOGE's access to records at the DoEd containing personal sensitive information on Americans, including financial data related to federal student loans.
The order stems from a lawsuit filed against the administration alleging that "the agencies unlawfully granted access to records that contain their personally identifiable information ("PII") to personnel implementing the President’s Executive Orders on the DOGE agenda."
"Upon consideration of the amended complaint, the TRO briefing, the limited record evidence, oral argument, and the recent decisions of other courts in similar cases, the Court finds that the plaintiffs have met their burden for the extraordinary relief they seek," the ruling reads. "The TRO is granted in part and denied in part."
The latest ruling against DOGE comes from the same judge who in early February blocked President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship.
Boardman argued that citizenship is a "national concern that demands a uniform policy."
"Public lands," was the focus for Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.
"Deadly and devastating wildfires," caught the attention of Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
"The cost of housing," was the issue for Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.
"Tax cuts," declared Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
"The FAA," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the leading Democrat on the Appropriations panel.
However, Republicans threw a shuteye shutout.
The GOP-controlled Senate rejected every Democratic proposal all night long.
Marathon voting sessions – often called "vote-a-ramas" in the Senate – present an opportunity for the party out of power to engineer challenging votes for the other side. They like to put the majority on the spot with tough votes. Some amendments are even drafted with a specific senator in mind. Especially someone who might face a competitive bid for re-election in the next cycle.
Democrats tried to trip up Republicans with votes on tax cuts. They even compelled Republicans to weigh in on their support – or lack thereof – for Ukraine.
"This amendment ensures continued support for the government of Ukraine to stand firm against Russian aggression. For three years, Ukraine has fought tooth and nail for its very survival heroically," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.
Reed’s plan scored a brushback from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
"There's no greater supporter of Ukraine in this Senate than I am. But this is not the right vehicle," argued Wicker on the floor at 12:34 a.m. ET Friday. "Passage of this amendment – though members might wish to – will make it harder to pass this very valuable budget."
But it was lights out for Democrats as Republicans passed their budget framework just before dawn Friday.
The vote was 52-48. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the lone GOP nay.
"We're going to vote all night long to set up a bill to increase spending by $340 billion," argued Paul in a floor speech Thursday. "Senate Republicans are coming forward today to pass a budget to allow them to raise federal spending."
Paul asserted that senators should vote on his amendment to cut spending rather than greenlight an outline to actually spend more on the military and border security. He also reminded his colleagues that the budget plan wasn’t binding. It was just an aspiration with no real money or spending reductions.
"The talk of the savings is ephemeral. It isn't real. Until Congress has the courage to vote on it, it has to be certified by a vote. If Congress doesn't vote, it sort of wishes and washes around in the ether. And it may or may not wind up being savings," said Paul.
Democrats claimed they shined a spotlight on Republican political vulnerabilities via the overnight exercise.
"One amendment at a time, Democrats exposed Republicans' true colors here on the Senate floor," bragged Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
But in the middle of the night.
Did anyone see it?
Did anyone pay attention?
If a tree falls in the woods…
But now it’s up to the House to approve its plan. It tackles the same provisions which are in the Senate package. But it emphasizes tax cuts. It also has the support of Trump.
It will be hard to advance anything through the House.
"If we don't do our job, everyone's taxes are going up. And so that is absolutely going to be catastrophic to the American people," said Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., on FOX Business.
Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House. It’s about the math. They can only lose a vote or two on any given day. And keep in mind that a key demand in this bill is to drive up military and border spending – but also reduce overall spending. Plus, renew tax cuts.
That’s why some skeptics say the only way is to tackle the entitlements. So-called "mandatory" spending. This is spending that Congress doesn’t approve for each year. Based on laws passed years ago, the money for mandatory spending just floods out the door – based on what the government owes (such as interest on the debt) and who qualifies for particular entitlements. That’s why there’s a serious hunt for the triumvirate of "waste, fraud and abuse" in federal spending. There simply isn’t enough money to trim from the "discretionary" side of the ledger. That’s the money which Congress allocates on an annual basis to run the government. Mandatory spending dwarfs discretionary spending.
"If we cut all of that, we still won't balance the budget. We have a deficit of $2 trillion. We have got to touch our mandatory spending," said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., on FOX Business.
That’s why securing an agreement to advance the package through the House is so tough. And the House and Senate must both advance the same plan to use budget reconciliation to skip over the filibuster.
If the House adopts its plan, the House and Senate could then work to sync up. The chambers could try to merge their respective plans in what’s called a conference committee. The House and Senate then must vote again to approve a blended measure, called a "conference report." Then they can go to the actual bill. And the House and Senate must also approve the same version of that.
Or, the sides could get involved in what we call parliamentary ping-pong. The Senate has passed its resolution. So it pings it over to the House The House then OKs its version, and pongs that over to the Senate. They bounce the ball back and forth across the Capitol Dome until one body or the other finally accepts one measure – whichever one it is.
Only then can they get to the actual substance of the underlying bill.
Quite a process to achieve a solitary "big, beautiful bill" the president is pushing.
This enterprise is far from over.
And there’s another problem around the corner:
A bill to avoid a government shutdown is due by March 14. That’s where the real dollars can be found. Real spending can conceivably either go up, down or stay the same in that bill. A problem with government funding could disrupt the goal of the "big, beautiful bill."
So while the action overnight was important, this enterprise is far from over.
And while last Thursday night – bleeding into Friday – was a long night, it likely means there are dozens of other very long nights ahead over the next few months.
Elon Musk, who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), warned federal workers on Monday morning that those who fail to return to the office will be placed on administrative leave.
"Those who ignored President Trump’s executive order to return to work have now received over a month’s warning," Musk wrote on X, the platform which he also owns. "Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave."
Musk’s warning comes after he announced Saturday that federal employees must report their accomplishments from the last week or face losing their jobs.
Musk said on Saturday that federal employees would receive an email directing them to list their accomplishments from the week prior, with the DOGE leader adding later that day that the assignment should take less than five minutes to accomplish. Employees have until 11:59 pm on Monday to send the list or lose their employment, according to emails regarding Musk's directive that were sent by the Office of Personnel Management.
Mass confusion followed on the eve of the deadline as some agencies resisted the order, others encouraged their workers to comply, and still others offered conflicting guidance.
Several key U.S. agencies, including the FBI, State Department, Homeland Security and the Pentagon, which instructed their employees over the weekend not to comply.
The Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., instructed its roughly 80,000 employees to comply shortly after acting general counsel, Sean Keveney, had instructed some not to. Later Sunday evening, agency leadership issued new instructions that employees should "pause activities" related to the request until noon on Monday.
Officials at the Departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security were more consistent.
The State Department reportedly told employees on Saturday that department officials "will respond on behalf of the Department," according to a message sent by Ambassador Tibor P. Nagy, who serves as acting under secretary of state for management.
The Department of Defense (DOD) told its civilian workforce to ignore the billionaire’s request, while Kash Patel, who was confirmed by the Senate last week as the new director of the FBI, also told employees to stand down.
While Musk and DOGE have been criticized for how they’re going about cutting federal spending, President Donald Trump on Saturday wrote on Truth Social that though Musk is "doing a great job," he should be "more aggressive."
"ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE. REMEMBER, WE HAVE A COUNTRY TO SAVE, BUT ULTIMATELY, TO MAKE GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. MAGA!," Trump wrote.
Musk responded with an enthusiastic "Will do, Mr. President!" hours after Trump posted.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Andrea Margolis, along with The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., reportedly endorsed Andrew Cuomo to run for mayor of New York City in the latest blow to incumbent Democrat first-termer, Mayor Eric Adams.
"The two most important things we need are competence and courage," Torres, who represents the Bronx, told the New York Post.
"Andrew Cuomo has the competence to govern the city. He has the courage to stand up to extremist politics – both from the far left and far right," Torres said, adding: "We don’t need a Mr. Nice Guy. We need a Mr. Tough Guy."
Cuomo has not formally declared his candidacy for mayor but is rumored to announce soon.
"He has my endorsement as soon as he enters the race," Torres told the Post.
The former governor resigned in 2021 amid scandals connected to COVID-19 nursing home deaths and sexual harassment claims. Cuomo has always denied the allegations against him.
"I predict the comeback story of the 2025 election will be the resurrection of Andrew Cuomo," Torres told the Post. "America loves a comeback, New York loves a comeback."
Fox News Digital reached out to Torres' office for comment Monday but did not immediately hear back.
Last week, Cuomo disseminated a letter from former state comptroller Carl McCall, a prominent Democrat and Black elder statesman, backing him for mayor.
McCall endorsed Adams, who is New York City’s second Black mayor, in his 2021 campaign for the office.
Adams already faces multiple challengers in June's Democratic primary, but Cuomo is polling as the front-runner.
A federal judge on Friday canceled a corruption trial for Adams and appointed counsel to advise the court about President Donald Trump's Justice Department’s controversial request to drop charges against the mayor filed under the Biden administration. Adams has denied allegations of a quid pro quo agreement with the Trump administration, as the Democratic mayor cooperates with federal law enforcement on the president's criminal illegal immigration crackdown.
Judge Dale E. Ho's written order Friday means he will not decide before mid-March whether to grant the dismissal of the case against the embattled mayor of the nation’s largest city.
Ho said he appointed Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general under former President George W. Bush, to present arguments on the government’s request to drop the case.
President Donald Trump shared a SpongeBob SquarePants-themed meme after Elon Musk announced that federal workers would receive an email seeking information about what they accomplished last week.
The meme features a list titled, "Got Done Last Week." The five items on the list include, "Cried about Trump," "Cried about Elon," "Made it into the office for once," "Read some emails," and "Cried about Trump and Elon some more."
Trump shared the meme on Truth Social shortly after Musk shared it on X.
Musk had previously declared in a tweet, "Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."
The announcement came as Musk seeks to uncover government waste, fraud, and abuse as the Trump administration seeks to shrink the massive federal bureaucracy.
"A large number of good responses have been received already. These are the people who should be considered for promotion," Musk noted in another tweet.
But some have raised objections to the email sent to government workers.
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska referred to it as "absurd."
"Our public workforce deserves to be treated with dignity and respect for the unheralded jobs they perform. The absurd weekend email to justify their existence wasn’t it," she declared in a post on X.
Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota blasted Musk.
"This is the ultimate d--- boss move from Musk - except he isn’t even the boss, he’s just a d---," she tweeted.
Musk mockingly replied to the senator, "What did you get done last week?"
The Department of Defense told workers to "pause any response to the OPM email titled ‘What did you do last week,’" the Pentagon noted on X.
FBI Director Kash Patel similarly instructed workers to "pause any responses."
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told intelligence community workers not to reply to the email, the New York Times reported. "Given the inherently sensitive and classified nature of our work, I.C. employees should not respond to the OPM email," she noted, according to the outlet.
Fox News Digital emailed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to request comment on Monday.
FIRST ON FOX: Newly-confirmed Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator Kelly Loeffler is unveiling the agency's top priorities over the next four years as she aims to work with President Trump to create a "golden era of prosperity and growth."
Loeffler, confirmed in the Senate by a 52–46 margin last week, issued a "Day One" memo on Monday outlining the top priorities for the agency that will be tasked with the directive to "carry out President Trump’s America First agenda and empower small businesses to thrive" and to become an "America First engine for free enterprise."
The first priority on the list is promoting a "Made in America" agenda to boost U.S. manufacturing.
"The vast majority of America’s manufacturers are small businesses, and SBA programs have powered tens of thousands of them," the memo states. "This agency is committed to supporting the America First agenda by rebuilding American supply chains and investing in manufacturing to strengthen our economy and national security."
"The agency will transform its Office of International Trade into the ‘Office of Manufacturing and Trade’ – which will focus on promoting economic independence, job creation, and fair trade practices to power the next blue-collar boom. SBA will also partner across agencies to scale innovative manufacturing and technology startups that will help our nation return to ‘Made in America.’"
Since being sworn in as president for the second time, Trump has been vocal about eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from the federal government while also tasking Tesla CEO Elon Musk with leading the effort to cut wasteful spending with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Loeffler's memo states that the SBA intends to be an ally in both of those efforts and says it will enforce Trump's executive orders, including "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," and "Unleashing American Energy."
The memo says that the SBA will "continue working closely" with DOGE and "prioritize eliminating fraud and waste within the agency, to ensure American taxpayer dollars are utilized in the most productive way possible to benefit small businesses and economic growth and resilience."
The agency will work to eliminate wasteful spending and fraud with a "zero-tolerance policy" that will involve fraud investigations across all programs and appointing a "Fraud Czar" to "identify, stop, and claw back criminally obtained funds on behalf of American taxpayers – working across agencies to prevent fraud."
The SBA will also conduct an agency-wide financial audit.
"As fraud has risen, so too have delinquencies, defaults, and charge-offs on loan programs, exacerbated by the previous Administration’s lax loan underwriting, servicing, and collection efforts," the memo states. "As a result, SBA has been unable to satisfactorily complete a financial audit for several consecutive years.Therefore, the agency will request an independent audit of its financials to address mismanagement, restore the credibility of financial statements, and preserve the solvency of public-private programs like the 7(a) lending program and the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, which are designed to drive economic growth without taxpayer subsidy."
Last month, Trump told federal employees working from home that they would need to return to the office or face termination, which is a sentiment echoed by Loeffler, who said in her memo that all non-exempt employees will report to work in person on Monday for five days a week.
Trump's immigration agenda will also be furthered by the SBA, according to the memo, which will ban illegal immigrants from receiving SBA assistance while also "restricting hostile foreign nationals from accessing SBA assistance."
The memo outlines a variety of ways that the agency will work on "empowering small businesses," including a strike force to cut regulations, improving customer service and cybersecurity, promoting fair competition, and relocating offices outside of sanctuary cities.
Fox News Digital previously reported that the SBA has faced criticism in recent years during the Biden administration from the Republican-led Small Business Committee, which issued a subpoena and alleged that the agency failed to turn over information related to efforts to funnel resources to help register swing state voters. Republicans argued those efforts were unconstitutional, and Loeffler's memo pledges that the registration efforts in question will be ended.
"The SBA will end all taxpayer-funded voter registration activities – starting by rescinding the agency’s 2024 MOU with the Michigan Secretary of State’s office, which forced SBA district offices to conduct partisan voter registration on behalf of the previous Administration," the memo states. "Instead, the agency will return its focus to its founding mission of empowering job creators, delivering disaster relief, and driving economic growth."
Loeffler, who served as a senator in Georgia from 2020-2021, appeared before the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee on Jan. 28 to outline her vision and promised that Trump’s policies would "restore the small business economy" and would lead to a "golden era of prosperity and growth."
"Small businesses are the backbone of our nation, driving innovation, job creation, and prosperity – and there’s no stronger advocate for small business than President Trump or myself. But over the last four years, the SBA has burdened entrepreneurs with bureaucracy – with its programs becoming mired in fraud, waste, and abuse," Loeffler told Fox News Digital in a statement.
"That changes today. My first priority is rebuilding the SBA into an America First engine for free enterprise – by empowering small businesses and fueling economic growth."
As the Trump administration moves to slash thousands of government jobs, Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., issued a message to federal workers facing joblessness, expressing empathy for their situation while also asserting that bureaucracies have been "cannibalizing" the country.
Higgins, who has served as a House lawmaker since 2017, also declared that federal workers' jobs were not more important than other Americans' private sector jobs.
"I’m a compassionate man. I know loss and struggle, I understand financial hardship, I know what it is to face eviction, I know hunger, I’ve lived through despair," Higgins noted in a post on X.
"So, to the scores of thousands of FedGov employees who are facing unemployment because your elected officials have, for decades, grown the Federal bureaucracies into corrupt, bloated, weaponized devourers of America’s treasure and oppressors of American freedom… I say to you that I feel your pain and I wish you well, but your job was no more important than the carpenter, the machinist, the welder, the cop, the trucker, the warehouse worker, the salesman, the waitress, the heavy equipment operator… every American who lives down the street from you whose job has not been insulated from the real world," he continued.
"Our federal government bureaucracies are literally cannibalizing our nation, eating our children’s future. MAGA Republicans are going to bring our federal government back into sustainability. If you’ve lost your job, I’m sorry for your struggle. Pick yourself up, all of us will give you a hand. We’re all Americans, join us in saving our beloved Republic," Higgins concluded.
The congressman's message comes as the Trump administration seeks to slash the size of the federal bureaucracy, with billionaire business tycoon Elon Musk playing a key role in helping to uncover government waste, fraud, and abuse.
Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., commented, "The amount of waste, fraud, and ABUSE of taxpayers which is being uncovered in the federal government is absolutely shameful. Central Illinois farms, families and businesses are struggling because of inflation, driven by reckless government spending. Finally, we have a President who is reforming our government into one that works for you. Thank you President Trump!"
In another recent tweet, Higgins said, "Hey, bureaucrats… Wake up and pack up. America is pretty much done with you and your elitist attitude. You’re being daily weighed in the balances, and found wanting."
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are eyeing reforms to federal benefits that would impose work requirements on a wider swath of Americans.
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., chair of the right-wing pragmatist Main Street Caucus, is planning to introduce the "America Works Act of 2025," Fox News Digital has learned.
The bill would mandate that childless, able-bodied Americans on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) – colloquially known as food stamps – between the ages of 18 and 65 take on at least 20 hours per week of work or work-related education.
Adults with a dependent child under age 7 would be exempt, according to a summary provided to Fox News Digital.
"Able-bodied people who can work should work if we want to continue to have our welfare programs be pathways out of poverty," Johnson told Fox News Digital in an interview. "There is no reliable path out of poverty that doesn't have work, training and education at its core."
It comes as House Republicans get ready to negotiate on how to meet spending cut targets in their plans to move President Donald Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process.
By leveling the threshold for passage in the House and Senate at a simple majority, reconciliation allows the party in power to pass budgetary or other fiscal priorities in a massive piece of legislation with zero support from lawmakers on the opposing side. The threshold for passage in the Senate is otherwise two-thirds for most items.
GOP lawmakers are looking to accomplish a wide swath of Trump policies, from more funding for the border wall and detention beds to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages.
To offset the cost of that spending, the House’s reconciliation framework directs several committees to find areas for spending cuts. The House Committee on Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, must aim to cut at least $230 billion in spending.
The new bill gives the Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees food stamps, the ability to exempt people who live in counties where the unemployment rate exceeds 10%.
Two sources familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital that Johnson’s bill closely resembles what will end up in Republicans’ reconciliation bill.
When asked about cost projections, however, Johnson emphasized that his bill was motivated by social rather than fiscal change.
"It would be expected to be a major cost-savings, and while I think that’s important, my primary motivator is how much work requirements have proven to improve lives as opposed to how much money they save," he said. "I want people to escape poverty."
Currently, adults aged 18 to 54 can receive three months of SNAP benefits in three years at most before a requirement kicks in to work at least 80 hours per month.
Johnson’s bill would also strip present exemptions for young adults who recently aged out of foster care and for veterans. Those were included during bipartisan negotiations on raising the debt limit in 2023, as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
"The concessions we had to make in the Fiscal Responsibility Act to get things done were not helpful changes," Johnson said when asked about the change.
"It was just telling all veterans and all young adult former foster kids that the work requirements didn't apply to them, and that's not actually helpful to getting them to a better financial path."
He pointed out there would still be exceptions for pregnant women, people with disabilities, people living in high-unemployment counties, and others.
"My bill would go back to the way it was before, which is the same eligibility requirements applied to veterans and foster kids are applied to everybody else," he said.
A New York state lawmaker is proposing a ban on the sale of what he described as "highly addictive" flavored nicotine pouches, even after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration came out in support of the product due to data showing it can help smokers ditch cigarettes, which can cause cancer.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat, said he opposes replacing cigarettes, which contain tobacco, with nicotine pouches, noting that he wants to keep the flavored pouches away from young kids.
"This product is distinguishable from other smokeless tobacco products because they do not contain tobacco leaf, rather contain nicotine derived from tobacco or synthetic nicotine," Hoylman-Sigal said in his bill memo, according to the New York Post.
"Regardless, nicotine in any form and in any product is a highly addictive substance. This legislation would align New York values in prohibiting enticing flavors for all nicotine products — including nicotine pouches," he added.
Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, also a Democrat, is introducing a companion bill to ban nicotine pouches in the state legislature's lower chamber, the New York Post reported.
"There’s a lot greater awareness about nicotine patches," said Rosenthal, who first introduced a version of her bill in 2020.
Last month, the FDA approved 10 flavors of Philip Morris International’s Zyn brand of nicotine pouches, including cinnamon, coffee, mint, menthol and peppermint. This was the first time the agency authorized sales of nicotine pouches.
Nicotine pouches are held in the mouth and dissolve between the tongue and gum. In contrast to cigarettes and chewing tobacco, Zyn does not contain harmful substances linked to risks of cancer or other diseases, according to the FDA.
Data also shows that a significant number of adults who used cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products switched entirely to Zyn, the FDA said. But Hoylman-Siegal is concerned about the product's youth appeal.
"Our bill is targeted at the flavored products most likely to be used by young people," he told the New York Post. "With our bill, we’re trying to stop young people from getting hooked on favored Zyn products."
However, federal data shows that fewer than 2% of high school and middle school students in the country use nicotine pouches. The FDA also put in place restrictions to prevent companies from marketing nicotine pouches to the youth.
Tobacco companies now turn to alternatives to cigarettes amid a dip in smoking rates.
New York has already banned flavored e-cigarettes, although critics argue that the law is not adequately enforced.
"It's very similar to the issue involving flavored vapes," Hoylman-Sigal said.
Brian Erkilla, director of regulatory science at Philip Morris International, which produces Zyn, argues against New York banning Zyn and other nicotine pouches, saying that the "unintended consequences" include leaving 1.6 million tobacco smokers with fewer alternatives and that a ban could even lead to an uptick in smoking.
"The most harmful product is the combustible smoking cigarette. We should let smokers know there are other options out there. We shouldn’t take away their choice," Erkilla told the New York Post.
EXCLUSIVE: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said his state can take the lead on being the best prescription for putting America back on the right track in multiple ways, including energy dominance, job growth and reducing government debt.
In an exclusive interview Thursday with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the National Governors Association and Republican Governors Association winter meetings, Dunleavy said he is excited to work with President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on these matters in the Last Frontier.
Burgum’s experience in North Dakota and his openness to pursue Trump’s vision of an energy-independent America based on responsible stewardship is exactly what the country needs, Dunleavy said.
"What President Trump is doing is getting us back to what the purpose of all of this was," he said of the original intent to use federal lands not primarily for parks but for responsible stewardship of natural resources.
"And if we do that, we can eliminate a lot of ills: debt, job creation, reliance on foreign actors. The solutions are here. He knows what the solutions are and is implementing the solutions now," Dunleavy said.
He also said he hopes to work with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on expanding hydroelectric infrastructure in the Tongass National Forest – an area on the Inland Passage between Juneau and Petersburg that the late Rep. Don Young championed.
Rollins’ role overseeing the U.S. Forest Service – rather than Interior doing so as they do the National Park Service – is another hint that wide expanses of national forests were not meant to be off limits to resource development.
Just as the Department of Agriculture works with farmers in the Lower 48 to produce food and goods, its original mission therefore includes utilizing forest resources, he said.
One area of "tremendous" potential is Ambler, an area at the foot of the Brooks Range west of the Dalton Highway – better recognized as the 800-plus-mile "Ice Road Truckers" carriageway.
There is a 30-mile section of the line between Ambler and the Dalton Highway that crosses federal land, Dunleavy said – noting the original law gives Alaska the right to cross federal land.
"[The law says] we can't be prevented from accessing our leases through federal lands."
He said he expects Trump’s team to finally allow passage to take advantage of the area's rich mineralization opportunities.
"There was no excuse [to stop passage through federal lands] – same as there was no excuse for stopping the legally-executed [oil and gas] lease sales that were part of [Trump’s] 2017 bill."
"Two of our large national forests are larger than several states. If they were to be managed on a sustainable basis so that we could grow timber, we could mine properly, we could use the hydro resources."
Of the ANWR-1002 oil lease President Biden was mandated to market but purportedly "set up to fail," Dunleavy said investors recognized the January "sham" and are eager to see how Trump cures that particular ill.
Expansion of Alaska’s gas pipeline infrastructure and well-intended lease opportunities in ANWR-1002 are the right path to energy dominance on a global scale, Dunleavy said.
The governor added that the native communities on the North Slope are supportive of responsibly exploring ANWR-1002 as it has and would create jobs and opportunities for the far-flung residents.
"Our gas lines would also impact… our Asian allies; our position in the Pacific – It's not just a gas project for Alaska. It's a gas project for the Pacific and our allies," he said.
Another field Trump could pursue would be harnessing what are the second-strongest tides in the world, Dunleavy has said.
In another recent Fox News Digital interview, that time from Mat-Su Borough, Alaska itself, the governor said Cook Inlet's tides can be a "green" energy that works.
Cook Inlet, which extends south from the state's largest city, Anchorage, down the Kenai Peninsula and into the Gulf of Alaska, has an incredibly powerful push-pull dynamic.
Dunleavy said he is encouraging investment in harnessing Cook Inlet tides to produce a reliable energy source, particularly "green hydrogen," while rejecting the idea that the debate over "green" vs. fossil fuels is a zero-sum game.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a White House spokesman said, "President Trump is committed to unleashing American energy and will work with state officials across the country to release our natural resources. Governor Dunleavy knows President Trump is right – unleashing our energy will boost the economy and make America energy independent once again."
FIRST ON FOX: A watchdog group focused on getting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) out of medicine found that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is actively spending millions of grant dollars to boost the number of racial minorities in the cancer workforce.
This funding, uncovered by the nonprofit watchdog Do No Harm, shows that $218 million in NCI grants for "underrepresented" groups – mainly racial minorities – is actively dispersed by the NCI. Prior to President Donald Trump taking office, during the Biden administration, around 3% of the NCI's total grant funding every year went to institutions so that they can hire more faculty members and scientists who are minorities, according to Do No Harm.
The revelation comes as Elon Musk's DOGE puts a slew of funds related to DEI on the chopping block amid efforts to slim down government spending. Trump and fellow Republicans have pushed hard against DEI policies throughout the government in recent weeks, making the case that public programs should instead focus on meritocracy.
Among the NCI's DEI grants that remain active under Trump are two totaling more than $10.5 million, awarded to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. These grants support hiring initiatives aimed at "inclusive excellence" and programs that promote advancing the careers of racial minorities.
One of the grant's descriptions explicitly calls for the recruitment of 12 scientists from "underrepresented groups," while the other grant's description includes, alongside its recruitment and hiring goals, a plan to "modify the Mount Sinai Health System Task Force To Address Racism Roadmap for Change with key strategies as the basis for an Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiRoadmap for Inclusive Excellence."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Do No Harm Chairman Dr. Stanley Goldfarb said the NCI must "stop promoting a politically motivated DEI agenda."
"The National Cancer Institute has been taking advantage of taxpayers to push a DEI agenda on the medical field," Goldfarb said. "They dole out $218 million each year for grants prioritizing 'underrepresented' in medicine, which has generally been defined as anyone from a racial minority group, except Asian Americans. The National Cancer Institute should not be rewarding racial discrimination with taxpayer money. Racial discrimination has no place in medicine."
Under former President Joe Biden, the NCI's website was filled with statements and sources about programs tied to DEI, but, following Trump's executive order demanding an end to DEI in the federal government, much of that has come down. Fox News Digital reached out to the NCI to question whether it had any plans to terminate any of its active grants promoting DEI hiring, but did not receive a response by press time.
Fox News Digital also inquired about the sub-agency's Equity Council, established in 2021 under Biden, but did not receive a response. The council is a steering committee for the NCI's equity and inclusion efforts.
DOGE claims it has already addressed hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in DEI-related contract cuts, including $350 million at the Department of Education.
Last month, DOGE announced that taxpayers would see just over $1 billion in savings through the elimination of 104 DEI contracts.
Days after he was fired by President Donald Trump, former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown took to social media to express his gratitude for his time in the military.
"I was inspired to serve by my father, who told me, ‘Four years in the military will not hurt you.’ Four years turned into four decades, surrounded by the finest service members and civilians from across our Nation," Brown posted to LinkedIn.
Brown wrote that it was his "distinct honor" to end his military career as Joint Chiefs chairman and that he used his position to focus on warfighting, modernization and trust.
"The Joint Force’s commitment to our security has never been more critical. I’m confident you will continue to stand resolute in defense of our Nation," Brown wrote, in part.
Brown was the second Black general to serve as Joint Chiefs chairman, following the now late Gen. Colin Powell's term from 1989 to 1993. He served in the position for 16 months before Trump's decision to relieve him.
"I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family," Trump posted on social media.
Trump has said he will be nominating retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine to be the next chairman.
Caine is an F-16 pilot who served on active duty and in the National Guard. He has also served most recently as the associate director for military affairs at the CIA, as stated by his military biography.
The move to nominate Caine has been controversial as he has not held the key assignments identified by law as prerequisites for the job, although that requirement can be waived if the "president determines such action is necessary in the national interest," according to U.S. Code.
A member of the Boston City Council called out Border Czar Tom Homan in a post on social media, calling his promises to enforce President Donald Trump's border policy "laughable."
Councilwoman Sharon Durkan posted her response on X after Homan said he would "bring hell" to Beantown after Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox recently doubled down on the city’s sanctuary policies.
"You said you doubled down on not helping the law enforcement officers of ICE. I'm coming to Boston, and I'm bringing hell with me," Homan said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday. "I looked at the numbers this morning... I stopped counting at nine. Nine child rapists that were in jail in Massachusetts, but rather than honoring an ICE detainer, you released them back into the street."
"You're not a police commissioner," Homan continued. "Take that badge off your chest. Put it in the desk drawer. Because you became a politician. You forgot what it’s like to be a cop."
Durkan responded by mocking Homan for briefly serving as a police officer in the village of West Carthage, New York, in the 1980s. He became a Border Patrol agent soon after, and has since worked for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Obama administration, as well as the first Trump administration.
"Laughable that someone who spent their career policing a town smaller than a Fenway Park crowd thinks they can lecture Boston on public safety," Durkan's post read.
"Commissioner Michael Cox serves with distinction and earns trust with integrity," the city official continued. "Tom Homan should know, we don’t scare easy."
In a recent interview, Cox said that Boston "doesn't enforce detainers" that are filed by ICE, per Massachusetts law.
"We just don’t do that," Cox said on a segment of WCVB’s "On the Record" show. "We don’t enforce civil detainers regarding federal immigration law. It's defined here in the state, and that’s just how it works."
The Boston office of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) has overseen the arrest of several criminal migrants in recent weeks, including MS-13 gang members.
Earlier this month, ERO Boston officers apprehended an illegal alien from Guatemala who was charged with multiple counts of child rape.
Fox News Digital reached out to Durkan for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Fox News Digital's Peter Pinedo and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump announced that Dan Bongino will serve as the next deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
"Great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday night. "Dan Bongino, a man of incredible love and passion for our Country, has just been named the next DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI, by the man who will be the best ever Director, Kash Patel."
The president said Bongino has a Master’s Degree in Psychology from the City University of New York and an MBA from Penn State.
"He was a member of the New York Police Department (New York’s Finest!), a highly respected Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, and is now one of the most successful Podcasters in the Country, something he is willing and prepared to give up in order to serve," Trump wrote. "Working with our great new United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and Director Patel, Fairness, Justice, Law and Order will be brought back to America, and quickly. Congratulations Dan!"
The Trump administration is eliminating over a thousand positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), while also placing the majority of the remaining staff members on administration leave globally, just before midnight Sunday.
The Associated Press reported that it learned from the Trump administration that 1,600 posts would be eliminated after reviewing notices that were sent to USAID workers.
"As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally," the notices read.
The Trump administration intends on leaving fewer than 300 staffers on the job, out of the current 8,000 contractors and direct hires.
The less than 300 remaining staff, along with an unknown number of the 5,000 locally hired international staff members abroad, will run the few life-saving programs that the administration said it intends to keep in place for the time being.
Sacked USAID staffers left their Washington, D.C., offices for the last time on Friday, with some carrying boxes scrawled with messages that seemed to be directed at Trump, who is slashing the agency's workforce.
"We are abandoning the world," read one message on a box containing belongings being hauled out by a grinning staffer as she walked out of USAID's Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs office.
Another smiling staffer’s box had a more upbeat tone, with her message reading: "You can take the humanitarians out of USAID but you can’t take the humanity out of the humanitarians."
Thousands of staffers had been notified weeks ago of their pending dismissals, and on Friday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols lifted a temporary restraining order he had issued at the outset of a lawsuit filed by government employee unions seeking a stop to the mass layoffs. After lifting the temporary restraining order, Nichols declined to issue a longer-term order that would have kept the employees in their posts.
Trump has moved to gut the agency after imposing a 90-day pause on foreign aid. He also appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the acting director of USAID.
The agency has come under fire by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for alleged wasteful spending.
For instance, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the Senate DOGE Caucus Chairwoman, recently published a list of projects and programs she says USAID has helped fund over the years, including $20 million to produce a Sesame Street show in Iraq.
Several more examples of questionable spending have been uncovered at USAID, including more than $900,000 to a "Gaza-based terror charity" called Bayader Association for Environment and Development and a $1.5 million program slated to "advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia's workplaces and business communities."
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Trump administration is eliminating thousands of positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), while also placing the majority of the remaining staff members on administration leave globally, just before midnight Sunday.
The Associated Press reported that it learned from the Trump administration that 2,000 posts would be eliminated, after reviewing notices that were sent to USAID workers.
"As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally," the notices read.
The Trump administration intends on leaving fewer than 300 staffers on the job, out of the current 8,000 contractors and direct hires.
The less than 300 remaining staff, along with an unknown number of the 5,000 locally hired international staff members abroad, will run the few life-saving programs that the administration said it intends to keep in place for the time being.
Sacked USAID staffers left their Washington, D.C., offices for the last time on Friday, with some carrying boxes scrawled with messages that seemed to be directed at Trump, who is slashing the agency's workforce.
"We are abandoning the world," read one message on a box containing belongings being hauled out by a grinning staffer as she walked out of USAID's Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs office.
Another smiling staffer’s box had a more upbeat tone, with her message reading: "You can take the humanitarians out of USAID but you can’t take the humanity out of the humanitarians."
Thousands of staffers had been notified weeks ago of their pending dismissals, and on Friday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols lifted a temporary restraining order he had issued at the outset of a lawsuit filed by government employee unions seeking a stop to the mass layoffs. After lifting the temporary restraining order, Nichols declined to issue a longer-term order that would have kept the employees in their posts.
Trump has moved to gut the agency after imposing a 90-day pause on foreign aid. He also appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the acting director of USAID.
The agency has come under fire by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for alleged wasteful spending.
For instance, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the Senate DOGE Caucus Chairwoman, recently published a list of projects and programs she says USAID has helped fund over the years, including $20 million to produce a Sesame Street show in Iraq.
Several more examples of questionable spending have been uncovered at USAID, including more than $900,000 to a "Gaza-based terror charity" called Bayader Association for Environment and Development and a $1.5 million program slated to "advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia's workplaces and business communities."
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
On Feb. 23, 1945, six Marines teamed up for what would become one of the most iconic photos in American history.
Marines fighting on Iwo Jima scaled Mount Suribachi and worked together to push up an American flag, a moment that was captured by military photographers and later became an enduring symbol of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in World War II.
Marines initially invaded Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945, as part of the U.S. island-hopping campaign in the Pacific, and it took four days to gain the summit of Suribachi, according to a Department of Defense report.
"The taking of the 554-foot hill was significant, in that it suppressed the fire from Japanese who were dug in and who had prime vantage of much of the island," the DOD report reads.
Fighting continued on the island until March 26, resulting in the injury or death of about 27,000 Marines and sailors.
The brutal fighting also led to the deaths of 21,000 Japanese soldiers, who defended the island through a series of caves, tunnels and pillboxes.
Yet the photo from four days into the battle remains its enduring image, spreading rapidly throughout the world and becoming a powerful recruiting and morale tool for the U.S. government.
"The photo was the centerpiece of a war-bond poster that helped raise $26 billion in 1945," the Pulitzer Prize Board wrote in its online account of the image.
While the identity of the men in the photo has been the subject of decades of debate, the most recent research suggests the men are, from left, Pfc. Ira Hayes, Pfc. Harold Schultz, Sgt. Michael Strank, Pfc. Franklin Sousley, Pfc. Harold Keller and Cpl. Harlon Block.
But the image has endured the test of time, being duplicated on everything from postage stamps to a memorial just north of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
