An appeals court on Friday lifted a block on President Donald Trump's executive orders ending federal support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
A panel of three judges ruled the orders can be enforced during a pending lawsuit, reversing a nationwide injunction from U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore, the Associated Press reported.
Two of the judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the orders "could raise concerns" about First Amendment rights, but found Abelson's "sweeping block went too far," according to the report.
Abelson, a Biden nominee, previously ruled the orders violated the First Amendment right to free speech and were unconstitutionally "vague," as they did not define DEI.
The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by the City of Baltimore, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of University Professors and the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, which alleged the executive orders were presidential overreach and anti-free speech.
They argued the president's power "is not limitless."
Trump's orders directed federal agencies to terminate all "equity-related" grants or contracts, and required federal contractors to certify that they don’t promote DEI.
The administration argued in court that the ban only affected DEI programs violating federal civil rights laws.
"What’s happening is an overcorrection and pulling back on DEI statements," attorney Aleshadye Getachew said in a hearing.
While the president secured a win with the latest injunction, a similar federal lawsuit was filed in D.C. U.S. District Court on Wednesday challenging DEI executive orders including: "Ending Radical and Wasteful DEI Programs and Preferencing;" "Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government;" and "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity."
The second complaint was filed by NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Lambda Legal on behalf of nonprofit advocacy organizations.
White House spokesman Harrison Fields told the New York Times that "the radical leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda."
Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson, Danielle Wallace, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said Friday she and President Trump had a "productive" meeting at the White House while discussing several topics, such as tariffs and energy.
"Gov. Hochul and President Trump covered a broad range of topics in today's meeting, including the redevelopment of Penn Station, congestion pricing, tariffs and energy policy," a spokesperson for her office shared with Fox News Digital.
"While no formal agreements or decisions were reached, it was a productive conversation, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue in the coming weeks."
The White House also confirmed the meeting to Fox News Digital but said it was off the record and there would be no readout.
Trump told reporters Thursday, "Kathy Hochul, very nice woman; she’s coming in tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock to meet me."
He added they would be discussing reviving the Constitution natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York, among other topics.
They met amid tensions between the two, including over congestion pricing. The Trump administration has ordered the termination of congestion pricing by next Friday.
In February, Trump posted from the White House X account, "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"
Hochul responded by saying in a press conference, "I'm here to say New York hasn't labored under a king in over 250 years. We sure as hell are not gonna start now," FOX 5 reported.
"There is a huge disconnect between the reality we know that New Yorkers are facing and the perception of reality out of the White House," she added at a New York Department of Transportation board meeting this week. "I guarantee that the president has never had to endure missing a child’s sporting event because he was stuck on a delayed train."
Earlier this month, the Democratic governor said she will be "leading the resistance" against Trump.
Hochul said she would "fight back hard" during an interview with NPR’s "Morning Edition" Monday when asked about New York City’s congestion pricing toll that the Trump administration moved to block last month.
"We offered up an olive branch. [We said] 'We'll work with you on infrastructure. Let's redo Penn Station'," Hochul said. "Those areas were common ground. But once you draw first blood on us, we're coming back hard. And I will be leading the resistance on policies like these where you're hurting New Yorkers directly. This is our decision, not yours."
Two weeks before that, however, Hochul said she didn't plan to lead the resistance.
President Donald Trump announced Friday the rollback of 19 "harmful" Biden-era executive orders, including some related to gender ideology and "radical" labor policies.
Trump also reduced the functions of a number of government agencies as part of widespread cost-cutting measures.
Some of the rescinded Biden executive orders include eliminating the Defense Production Act to push the "Green New Scam," including mandates for electric heat pumps and solar panels, and an order that elevated alleged radical gender ideology in U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid, Trump said.
Another Biden order that prioritized union-driven policies was rescinded, and Trump terminated proclamations that declared nearly a million acres for new national monuments, which the Trump administration said shielded large amounts of land from economic development and energy production.
Since taking office, Trump has rescinded more executive orders than the total number of orders signed by Biden during the first year of his presidency, a White House fact sheet states.
"President Trump is committed to continuing the review and repeal of harmful Biden administration policies to usher in a new golden age for America," the fact sheet said.
In addition, Trump pared down the functions of multiple agencies as he continues to downsize the federal government.
A White House official told Fox News Trump's actions eliminate non-statutory functions and reduce the statutory functions of unnecessary governmental entities to what is required by law.
The entities affected include the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, United States Agency for Global Media, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Institute of Museum and Library Services, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, Minority Business Development Agency and Arctic Research Commission.
"Cutting these governmental entities will save taxpayer dollars, reduce unnecessary government spending and streamline government priorities," the White House said. "Through these actions, President Trump is keeping his promise to restore efficiency and accountability in the federal government."
The moves are part of the Trump administration's effort to scale down the size of government through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The Elon Musk-led group has overseen the cancellation of billions of dollars in government contracts and grants and layoffs within multiple agencies.
Kennedy Center interim Director Richard Grenell is developing a "common sense" plan to turn the center’s financials around and make it "prosperous again," as it grapples with $72 million of debt due to past leadership decisions.
"The Kennedy Center is the premier arts institution in the United States," Grenell told Fox News Digital. "It deserves to have the public’s full support and a balance sheet that is solid."
Sources familiar with the Kennedy Center’s current financials told Fox News Digital that it had been "budgeting to lose money."
But Grenell brought in a new chief financial officer, Donna Arduin, who is tasked with improving what she has described as a "dire situation."
"The Kennedy Center’s previous business plan was made to leave the Center in the red and it did just that," Arduin told Fox News Digital. "The previous leadership were left with no other option than to pay employees’ salaries with monies supposed to be allocated for the debt reserves."
Arduin told Fox News Digital that the "gross mismanagement created a dire situation that we were shocked to discover."
In Fiscal Year 2025, the Kennedy Center is operating on a $234 million budget. Also, in FY25, the Kennedy Center had an operating deficit of $105.2 million dollars, which left a bottom-line deficit of $7.2 million dollars.
Sources familiar with the numbers told Fox News Digital that the gap was filled with Kennedy Center fundraising dollars--$91 million from annual fundraising, and $7 million from earnings on the endowments.
Sources familiar with the leadership team’s plans told Fox News Digital that the plan will focus on getting rid of debt, improving on ticket sales and fundraising, and growing the center’s endowments.
A source explained that the team will use the venue for profitable business events other than traditional shows and performances and will begin offering alternative programming.
"There are a lot of opportunities and we are pursuing all of them," the source said.
The Kennedy Center has two affiliates—the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera. The new leadership team is currently working on business plans with its affiliates to ensure the Kennedy Center has larger endowments and "greater sustainability."
The official endowments combined total just $163 million, which new leadership told Fox News Digital is "not adequate for the size of this institution."
Under the last leadership team, the Kennedy Center built "The REACH," an intimate theater at the Kennedy Center hosting concerts, comedy shows, and poetry readings. It also has a restaurant.
But sources familiar with the financials told Fox News Digital that former leadership took out a significant chunk of debt to build the venue—costing the center nearly $200 million.
"There wasn’t a profitability plan for that," the source explained, noting that thus far, the space has been "underutilized," bringing in just $2 million per year.
"America’s premier institution for the arts deserves better," Arduin said. "The new team has already written a responsible budget that will make us prosperous again."
She added: "We are using common sense."
President Trump in January fired the theater's board of directors and announced he had been elected board chair by his new handpicked board.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Wall Street Journal in January: "The Kennedy Center learned the hard way that if you go woke, you will go broke. President Trump and the members of his newly-appointed board are devoted to rebuilding the Kennedy Center into a thriving and highly respected institution where all Americans, and visitors from around the world, can enjoy the arts with respect to America’s great history and traditions."
Some groups who disagreed with the move decided to cancel shows at the center.
"Our show simply cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center," producer Jeffrey Seller said earlier this month.
The show was performed at the Kennedy Center during Trump's first term in office.
Grenell told Sean Hannity earlier this month that "everyone is welcome" at the Kennedy Center.
"Look, the reality is, the Kennedy Center is open for business for everyone," Grenell told Hannity. "We just want an arts center that celebrates the arts — we want common-sense art."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said South Africa's ambassador to the U.S. was no longer welcome in the country, while calling him a "race-baiting" politician who hates America and President Donald Trump after he said the commander-in-chief is leading a global White supremacist movement.
On Thursday, South African Ambassador Embrahim Rasool addressed the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA) in Johannesburg while explaining Trump's opposition to his country's expropriation law and its anti-Israel stances.
He said Trump's Make America Great Again movement was a White supremacist response to demographic changes in the U.S.
"What Donald Trump is launching is an assault on incumbency, those who are in power, by mobilizing a supremacism against the incumbency, at home, and, I think I’ve illustrated, abroad as well," he said. "So in terms of that, the supremacist assault on incumbency, we see it in the domestic politics of the USA, the MAGA movement, the Make America Great Again movement, as a response not simply to a supremacist instinct, but to very clear data that shows great demographic shifts in the USA in which the voting electorate in the USA is projected to become 48% white."
Rubio, in a post on X, blasted Rasool over his remarks.
"South Africa's Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country," the secretary said. "Emrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS. We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA."
Trump has criticized South Africa over a land expropriation law that allows the government to make land seizures without compensation. In February, Trump issued an executive order penalizing South Africa.
"In shocking disregard of its citizens' rights, the Republic of South Africa recently enacted Expropriation Act 13 of 2024, to enable the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners' agricultural property without compensation," the order states.
"It is the policy of the United States that, as long as South Africa continues these unjust and immoral practices that harm our Nation: (a) the United States shall not provide aid or assistance to South Africa; and (b) the United States shall promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation."
The order also took aim at South Africa's position against Israel, which it has accused in the International Court of Justice of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as well as reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements.
"The United States cannot support the government of South Africa's commission of rights violations in its country or its undermining United States foreign policy, which poses national security threats to our Nation, our allies, our African partners, and our interests," the order said.
The South African government has claimed Whites of all backgrounds, not just Afrikaners, still own approximately 70% of South Africa’s land. The government is on record saying the Expropriation Act will only be used to take land needed for public purposes — such as for a new school — from people of any color when the owner refuses to sell, and even then there would be "fair and equitable compensation."
Speaking at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Friday, President Donald Trump comforted a mother whose son died from fentanyl poisoning, telling her, "He’s up there watching you" and "he’s so proud of mom."
Trump highlighted the profound impact of fentanyl poisoning on U.S. citizens, saying during his speech that "more Americans died from fentanyl last year than died in the Korean War, or the Iraq War or the Afghanistan War. All of them combined."
He blamed President Joe Biden’s open border policies, the cartels and countries such as Mexico, Canada and China for allowing the fentanyl problem to become so widespread.
Stepping aside for a few moments, the president called to the stage Anne Fundner, an anti-drug activist and mother who lost her son – Weston – to fentanyl poisoning, to speak about how the deadly drug is hurting Americans.
While onstage, Fundner thanked Trump and his administration for shutting down the border, targeting the cartels and migrant crime groups as "foreign terrorist organizations" and for instituting tariffs to target countries where fentanyl is flowing from.
"The cartels were allowed to operate on American soil and took hundreds of thousands of American lives. And so, we knew there was only one person that could save us from the devastation on our American soil. And that was President Trump," said Fundner. "I feel like I can speak for the entire fentanyl fighting community when I say thank you to President Trump and thank you to Pam Bondi and everyone out here who is fighting this fight. God bless you. God bless you, President Trump."
In a heartfelt moment caught on the microphone, Trump leaned in to hug Fundner and said, "He's up there watching you. He’s so proud of mom.
"I just said to Anne, ‘Weston is up in heaven watching his mom, and he's so proud of you, he's so proud of you," Trump said afterward.
Turning to the crowd, Trump also addressed a group of parents who also lost children to fentanyl, saying, "We want to acknowledge you and also, your daughters, your sons, they're looking down on you, and they're loving you like crazy."
The president said that since he took office the DEA and FBI have seized 1 million deadly doses of fentanyl.
"And that's just the beginning," he said. "At my direction and working with Pam and everybody else, we've launched an all-out war on fentanyl traffickers. And it's a war that we're going to win. We're going to win this war."
He also hinted that the death penalty for certain cartel drug trafficking crimes is being considered but acknowledged that "America may not be ready for it."
"Wherever you have the death penalty, you don't have drugs," he said. "But I just don't know if this country is ready for it. So, I tell people and it's always an option."
The Trump White House has previously told Fox News Digital that it would be "ruthlessly aggressive" in responding to cartel threats to American lives.
"This department will not rest until we have ended the fentanyl epidemic in America once and for all," Trump said on Friday.
In addition to taking action against the cartels, Trump said his administration would soon be launching a series of ads to emphasize the negative effects of drug use in an attempt to lessen the widespread deaths across the U.S.
A government shutdown was averted just hours before the Friday 11:59 p.m. deadline after enough Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., helped Republicans defeat the filibuster.
The bill now heads to President Donald Trump's desk for a signature. The Senate earlier took a key procedural vote on a stopgap spending bill, which needed to meet a 60-vote threshold to move forward, also known as the legislative filibuster.
House Republicans passed the short-term bill, called a continuing resolution, earlier in the week. The bill will keep spending levels the same as fiscal year (FY) 2024 until Oct. 1.
If a spending bill was not passed by the Friday deadline, the government would enter into a partial shutdown.
During a partial government shutdown, federal agencies and non-essential services would be halted. However, government functions deemed "essential" would continue. National security protocols, such as border patrol, law enforcement and disaster response, stay active during shutdowns, for example.
The Friday evening vote to pass the six-month CR came after a critical procedural vote earlier in the afternoon. A handful of Senate Democrats provided the Republican majority with the necessary votes to overcome the filibuster and move forward with the stopgap spending bill.
Deep divisions emerged within the Democratic Party over the past couple of days, with even House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., refusing to answer questions about whether he had confidence in Schumer.
In one of several Senate caucus meetings, a senator yelled loud enough that it was heard outside of heavy, thick wooden doors. The voice was identified by the press as belonging to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., but her office would not confirm.
Prior to its passage, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., criticized his fellow Democrats for their planned "no" votes that risked a government shutdown.
"It wasn't that long ago before we were lecturing that you can never shut the government down. So, that's kind of inconsistent," he told reporters on Thursday.
Ahead of the final vote, 10 Democrats joined nearly all Republicans to overcome the legislative filibuster. Those senators were Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.
The senators managed to beat the 60-vote threshold, with an ultimate margin of 62-38.
FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday revealed that the agency is investigating a recent spike in swatting incidents after several conservative media figures said they were targeted.
"I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures," Patel wrote Friday morning on his social media. "The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable."
The director stressed, "This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement against ANY American is not only morally reprehensible but also endangers lives, including those of our officers."
Swatting is when a person attempts to send armed law enforcement to another person’s house over a fake incident, which has led to deadly consequences in the past.
"That will not be tolerated," Patel continued. "We are fully committed to working with local law enforcement to crack down on these crimes."
He added that there would be more updates to come.
Conservative podcaster Nick Sortor said Thursday on X that both his father and sister were swatted that same day.
"A dozen cops attempted to kick my dad’s door in at gunpoint," he wrote. "This is literal f---ing terrorism. And the FBI should treat it as such. Before calling in the swat, this dumbs--- sent my sister an email calling me a Nazi, of course. So the motive is clear."
Sortor said the person who called the police on his father claimed he was killing his "entire family, requiring them to intervene with deadly force."
"This is nothing short of attempted murder. They wanted the police to kill my father," he added.
Conservative host Shawn Farash wrote on his X account that he and his wife were swatted Thursday night.
"We are totally safe," he assured his followers. "Thank you to everyone who checked in. We are going to do whatever is necessary to find out who is behind these coordinated attacks and hold them accountable to the fullest extent."
An apparent swatting call at Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s home in December turned deadly following a car accident with police.
Greene at the time said she had been swatted at least eight times before the fake bomb threat.
In January, lawmakers introduced a bipartisan and bicameral bill to impose "strict penalties" for people who make swatting calls, including up to 20 years in prison if someone is seriously injured or killed in an incident.
"Having spent over 40 years in law enforcement, I've seen firsthand how swatting is a reckless and dangerous action that not only puts innocent lives at risk but wastes critical resources," Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., said in a statement in January when introducing the bill in the House.
"Local and state law enforcement agencies are forced to divert their time, energy, and taxpayer dollars to respond to these false calls, taking them away from real emergencies. As someone who has been on the front lines, I understand the toll this takes on our officers and communities. That's why I am proud to help introduce the Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act — a vital step in protecting both our law enforcement officers and the communities they serve."
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, wrote on Friday that he was "proud" to cosponsor the bill.
"Multiple conservative influencers and pundits have had their homes swatted in the past several days," he wrote. "This is an extremely dangerous form of political terrorism. It’s liable to get somebody killed, and it must end now."
-Migrant gangs on notice after string of home burglaries
EXCLUSIVE: The Biden White House turned over government cellphones belonging to President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence to the FBI in May 2022 as part of a bureau probe into the aftermath of the 2020 election, tying Trump to that investigation without sufficient predication, Fox News Digital has learned.
The FBI did not need a warrant to physically obtain the government phones from the Biden White House, but after acquiring the devices agents began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data, sources familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital.
"The Biden White House played right along with the FBI’s ‘gotcha’ scheme against Trump," a source familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital. "Biden’s Office of White House Counsel, under the leadership of Dana Remus and Jonathan Su, gave its blessing and accommodation for the FBI to physically obtain Trump and Pence’s phones in early May 2022. Weeks later, the FBI began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data." …Read more
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President Donald Trump renewed his vow to clean up the city of Washington, D.C., on Friday while speaking at the Department of Justice, saying, "we’re going to have a crime-free capital."
"We're cleaning up our city. We're cleaning up this great capital," the president said. "And we're not going to have crime, and we're not going to stand for crime."
He noted that since returning to the White House he has had to order the roadways cleaned of tents and graffiti when heads of state visit.
"When Prime Minister Modi of India, when the president of France and all of these people, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, they all came to see me over the last week and a half and when they come in, I had the route run," he said. "I didn't want to have them see tents, I didn't want to have them see graffiti, I didn't want to have them see broken barriers and potholes in the roads."
"We want to have a capital that can be the talk of the world," he went on. "We're going to do that for the city."
Trump commended D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, for cooperating with his administration thus far.
Bowser notably recently announced the removal of a "Black Lives Matter" street mural that was installed directly in front of the White House in 2020.
"We're working with the administration and if the administration can't do the job, we're going to have to take it back and run it through the federal government," said Trump. "But we hope the administration's going to be able. So far, so good. So far, they've been doing very well. The mayor has been doing a good job."
"We're going to have a crime-free capital," he continued. "When people come here, they're not going to be mugged or shot or raped. They're going to have a crime-free capital again, it's going to be cleaner and better and safer than it ever was. And it's not going to take us too long."
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are taking the "Fighting Oligarchy" rallies out West next week – and advising supporters to mask up to participate.
Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, Fox News Digital can confirm that the RSVP for the events in Denver and Las Vegas includes guidance that "masks are advised for all attendees of this event."
A post shared by conservative podcaster Stephen L. Miller on Friday about the Denver event had many wondering why masks would be advised for an outdoor event in 2025.
Sanders did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's inquiry about the mask guidance.
"Sent from a friend. Bernie's speaking tour is advising everyone in attendance to wear masks. This is an outdoor event," the X post said, accompanied by a screenshot of the RSVP.
"Still trying the Covid panic politics," the top comment said.
"Was this from the year 2020?" a content creator asked.
But another reply countered: "They don’t want the paid attendees found out."
The reactions to the post are split, with many people online dumbfounded by the need for masks exactly five years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced shutdowns and social distancing.
Others speculated that the masks are a way to protect attendees' identities. Masks are a common practice to protect protesters' identities at large demonstrations, like the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University this past year.
However, Sanders' "Fighting Oligarchy" events are not protests. Events in the Blue Wall states of Michigan and Wisconsin last weekend operated like a traditional campaign rally, with thousands of supporters lining up to earn a spot inside to hear the headline speaker.
Sanders announced the West Coast leg of his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour with Ocasio-Cortez in a social media video on Friday. The progressives will make stops in Nevada, Arizona and Colorado "to hold town meetings with working people who are profoundly disgusted with what is going on in Washington, D.C."
"Nevada, Colorado, Arizona: You deserve public servants who show up for you. The time is now to protect the public good, advance healthcare and living wages for all, and fight against corruption. See you next week," Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the political campaign committee tasked with electing more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives, advised against town halls following a series of protest disruptions fueled by Democrats' discontent with President Donald Trump’s second term.
Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., began his own slew of town hall events in Republican-held congressional districts on Friday, saying if a Republican representative refused to meet with their constituents, then he would "lend a megaphone" to them.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on Friday a revised organized effort alongside the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC) and Democrat state parties to host town halls in Republican-held districts.
"Republicans in Congress know they sold out their voters by backing the Trump-Musk agenda – and now they’re terrified to be in the same room as the people who sent them to Washington," DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement on Friday.
"Instead of facing their constituents, they’re running scared and hiding from the people they were elected to represent. If they won’t talk to their own voters, then Democrats will. That’s why we’ll be hosting People’s Town Halls in all 50 states across the country, starting now with vulnerable GOP-held target districts. Working families deserve to have their voices heard, even if Republicans want to ignore them," Martin added.
The NRCC said the protests that shut down Republicans' town hall meetings were "manufactured productions." Fox News Digital reported last month about the coordinated effort by progressive groups protesting the Department of Government Efficiency.
MoveOn.org, which has accepted millions of dollars from billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Policy Center, announced in a press release last month that it was mobilizing resources as part of a "Congress Works for Us, Not Musk" initiative "aimed at pressuring lawmakers to fight back against the Trump-Musk agenda" at Republican town halls and offices.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Trump called the protesters who shut down Republican town halls "professionals" and "paid troublemakers."
"Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings. It is all part of the game for the Democrats, but just like our big LANDSLIDE ELECTION, it’s not going to work for them!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
In addition to the mask guidance, the flier for next Friday's event with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez includes typical safety precautions for large public events, including a request for anyone not feeling well to stay home.
"Please note: no bags, signs, or firearms are allowed. Masks are advised for all attendees of this event. Anyone experiencing a fever or other symptoms of COVID-19 is asked to stay home and not attend," it says on the RSVP.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ended their travel mask mandate on April 18, 2022.
According to the CDC's website, masks are still "recommended in indoor public transportation settings" and "people may choose to mask at any time."
The website advises people who are at medium to high risk of getting very sick to wear a mask or "consider avoiding non-essential indoor activities in public where you could be exposed."
While the CDC has maintained that masking can reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, other studies since the pandemic have brought into question the efficacy of wearing a mask.
Newly minted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has defiantly rejected any notion that Canada will become America’s 51st state amid tensions about an all-out trade war between the neighboring nations.
Carney, speaking to reporters after being sworn into office on Friday, shot down the bold and controversial idea touted by President Donald Trump, calling the idea "crazy."
"We will never, ever in any way, shape or form, be part of the United States," Carney said.
He said that Canada is sovereign with its own values and traditions and that Trump needs to show the nation more respect.
Asked about Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told reporters that Trump's position is that Canada would be better off joining the United States, Carney said Rubio's point was crazy.
"It’s crazy," Carney said. "His point is crazy. That's it."
Trump has said that annexing Canada would prevent the country from being on the receiving end of punishing trade tariffs. Trump claims the U.S. has subsidized Canada to the tune of $200 billion annually and the U.S. began imposing a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico last week.
Two days later Trump suspended the 25% tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) for one month. Trump has put 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products on April 2.
Trump has long said Canada — as well as Mexico — has also failed to do enough to prevent the flow of illegal migrants and drugs, particularly fentanyl into the U.S.
Carney said he has no immediate plans to meet with President Trump but looks forward to doing so. He also addressed Trump’s concerns with Canada.
"We respect President Trump," Carney said. "President Trump has put some very important issues at the top of his agenda. To understand his agenda is understand the importance of addressing the scourge of fentanyl, which is a challenge here in Canada as well as the United States.
"And I would say that the measures that have been put in place in recent weeks in Canada and Mexico, also the United States, means that we are making tremendous progress."
Carney noted he understands the importance President Trump places on American workers and American jobs.
"And we want him and his administration to understand the importance we put on Canadian workers and Canadian job," Carney said.
"And we will look for avenues to work together so that both objectives are met in terms of our goals, our great economies, just as we are doing.
Trump brought up the merger idea to former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in person when the pair met at Mar-a-Lago in late November, per Fox News sources. Trump has also suggested annexing Greenland.
Carney, a former Goldman Sachs executive, worked for 13 years in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto, before being appointed deputy governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003. Carney ran the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.
He has never been elected to public office by the Canadian electorate and does not have a seat in parliament. He won the Liberal leadership last week with 86% of the vote after Trudeau stood down.
Senators voted to advance the House-passed stopgap spending bill on Friday as the deadline for a government shutdown inches closer.
The House-passed short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), would keep spending levels the same as fiscal year (FY) 2024 until Oct. 1. However, if a spending bill is not passed by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, the government will enter into a partial shutdown.
Democrats in the Senate were embroiled in passionate disagreement this week over what to do when the measure eventually came for the key procedural vote. In order to reach the 60-vote threshold, Republicans needed some Democratic support, as the GOP majority is only 53 seats and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., planned to vote against it.
Amid tense caucus meetings leading up to the vote, Democrats were tight-lipped, unwilling to reveal details about the discussions. During one meeting on Thursday, a senator yelled so loudly that the press could hear through thick, heavy wooden meeting room doors. The voice was identified by the press as that of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., but her office would not confirm.
Several Democratic senators came out against the stopgap bill ahead of the procedural hurdle, sharing that they wouldn't vote to advance it or vote for its passage.
However, they faced criticism from staunch government shutdown opponent Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who joked about their "spicy" social media videos about voting no.
"It wasn't that long ago before we were lecturing that you can never shut the government down. So, that's kind of inconsistent," he told reporters on Thursday.
"We can all agree that it's not a great CR, but that's where we are, and that's the choice," he emphasized.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had initially claimed on Wednesday that his caucus was unified, and pushed for an alternative CR that would last only a month. But the Republicans did not budge on the House-passed bill that lasts the rest of the fiscal year.
By Thursday night, Schumer revealed he would vote to advance and pass the stopgap bill, rather than providing President Donald Trump and Elon Musk with the "gift" of a government shutdown.
This was met with significant frustration from Democrats across the country and division about what party leaders should do in such circumstances.
House Democratic leaders released a late-night statement reiterating their opposition to the CR on Thursday, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., shared her own on Friday, similarly slamming the bill.
The former speaker called on Democratic senators to "listen to the women" and move forward with "a four-week funding extension to keep government open and negotiate a bipartisan agreement."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sidestepped questions on whether he had confidence in Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Friday.
The top House Democrat was directly asked about Schumer twice during a hastily-announced press conference to emphasize their opposition to Republicans' government funding bill.
Early during the press conference, Jeffries was asked if it was time for new leadership in the Senate, to which he replied, "Next question."
Jeffries gave the same exact answer when asked later if he had "lost confidence" in Schumer.
Many say it's a major public rift between the top two Democrats in Congress. Jeffries' silence on his fellow New York liberal comes as other Democratic lawmakers aim their fury at Schumer for announcing he will vote with Republicans to avert a partial government shutdown.
Jeffries later emphatically pushed back when Fox News questioned whether he was "afraid to say anything about Schumer."
"Do not characterize my remarks. I'm not afraid about anything," Jeffries said.
When pressed again, he said, "Do you think that this is what the American people care about right now? Or do they want us to do everything that we can to stop this partisan and harmful Republican bill from actually becoming law? Because that's what we as House Democrats are focused on right now."
Jeffries avoided mentioning Schumer during his press conference, but reporters pressed him with questions about the growing rift between him and the senior Democrat.
He did not directly answer when asked if Schumer "acquiesced" to President Donald Trump, only pointing out the vote had not yet taken place.
"That's a question that is best addressed by the Senate. The vote hasn't taken place yet, and the House Democratic position is very clear. We strongly oppose any efforts to cut the healthcare of the American people, veterans benefits and nutritional assistance, all of which are in the partisan Republican bill," Jeffries said.
Democrats are in historic levels of disarray over a Republican bill to avert a government shutdown that's been backed by Trump.
Progressives have been attacking Schumer for announcing he would not block the bill, but whether Republicans can find enough Democratic support to reach the necessary 60-vote threshold is still unclear.
The bill passed the House last week with support from just one House Democrat — Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine.
The House and the Senate must send a bill to Trump's desk by midnight Friday to avert a partial government shutdown.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., was mocked by conservatives on social media Friday after he posted a video on X explaining he was getting rid of his Tesla because of the optics brought by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who Kelly referred to as an "a--hole."
Kelly, a retired astronaut, said he bought a Tesla because it was "fast like a rocket ship" but now it feels like "a rolling billboard for a man dismantling our government and hurting people."
The Arizona senator and military veteran said it's been difficult driving around in a Tesla knowing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has cut jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Kelly said today would be his last day driving a Tesla.
"When I bought this thing, I didn't think it was going to become a political issue. Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much damage Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing to our country," Kelly said in the video, which was viewed over 1.5 million times just two hours after it was posted.
Kelly added in the video that Elon Musk "kind of turned out to be an a--hole" and that he would rather not drive around in a car "built and designed by an a--hole."
Conservatives on X were quick to mock Kelly's post.
"Literally the most stunning and brave thing a politician has ever done. It’s so brave that I have actually been moved to tears," White House rapid responder Greg Price said in a post.
"There are no more ‘moderate’ Democrats," conservative influencer account Johnny Maga posted on X in response to Kelly's video.
House Majority Speaker Mike Johnson's director of rapid response posted on X that the video shows "Elon Musk lives rent-free" in Kelly's head.
"'I bought this product because it's amazing and I'm only getting rid of it because I don't like the guy who made it' is an amazing commercial for Tesla," conservative commentator Kate Hyde posted on X.
"This is just embarrassing," Republican strategist Nathan Sproul posted on X.
Conservative podcaster Stephen L. Miller called out the Democrats' shift from embracing EVs to "getting rid of theirs in like 3 months."
Fox News Digital reached out to Kelly's office for comment.
Protests have erupted at Tesla showrooms across the country and have since escalated to instances of vandalism on Tesla vehicles and charging stations. The demonstrations began as protests against DOGE, which has scrutinized wasteful government spending and reduced the massive federal workforce.
President Donald Trump took the driver's seat of a red Tesla Model S at the White House to support Musk Tuesday, and Tesla's stock rebounded after facing a steep decline to start the week during the protests.
Democrats were quick to criticize Trump on social media for buying a Tesla at the White House.
"Earlier today, while hard-working Americans were watching their retirement savings plummet, President Trump was filming a Tesla ad in front of the White House to help Elon Musk's failing stock. This is a brazen conflict of interest and corruption in broad daylight," Democrats on the House Committee on Financial Services said.
But conservatives called out Democrats for selectively embracing electric vehicles, reminding liberals that former President Joe Biden drove a hybrid Jeep Wrangler 4xe around the White House grounds to promote his EV initiative.
Kelly's post Friday was the latest escalation in an ongoing social media feud with Musk.
"Just left Ukraine. What I saw proved to me we can’t give up on the Ukrainian people. Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraine’s security and can’t be a giveaway to Putin," Kelly posted this week.
"You are a traitor," Musk replied.
"Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do," Kelly fired back.
Kelly said in a video posted yesterday he would vote "no" on the continuing resolution bill in the U.S. Senate, calling it a "partisan power grab for Donald Trump and Elon Musk."
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill Friday that will permanently classify fentanyl-related substances, also known as fentanyl analogs, as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act.
The HALT Fentanyl Act passed with overwhelming support, earning 84 Senate votes while 16 opposed it. The bill aims to close loopholes exploited by drug traffickers who smuggle substances with chemical compositions similar to fentanyl but are different enough to evade legal penalties.
"What this bill does — it says, 'OK, it's illegal to bring in fentanyl.' But it recognizes that some of those attempting to bring in fentanyl will try and circumvent the law by changing the fentanyl just enough so that it becomes what is called an analog," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the bill's sponsor and a former physician, told reporters Friday ahead of the bill's passage.
"'Oh, it's not fentanyl. You can't bust me because it's not actually fentanyl.' No, it still addicts like fentanyl. It still kills like fentanyl, and it is substantially fentanyl. So, therefore, it shall be treated by law enforcement as if it is fentanyl."
Democrats sought to filibuster the bill's passage, arguing it did not do enough to combat the fentanyl crisis as a whole, would increase mass incarceration and limit the study of these fentanyl analogs by placing them in a more restrictive regulatory category.
However, the bill's Republican sponsors argue it will reduce bureaucratic hurdles in the research of fentanyl analogs, serving to open the door for more scientists to study these novel substances. The arguments it will increase mass incarceration were also questioned by a Stanford University drug policy expert and former White House Office of National Drug Control Policy advisor, Keith Humphreys, who pointed out it's already illegal to possess or traffic fentanyl analogs.
The HALT Fentanyl Act does not create any new mandatory minimum sentencing, but it puts fentanyl-related substances under the same sentencing guidelines used for fentanyl itself.
During a press call Friday with some of the bill's Republican sponsors ahead of the HALT Act's passage, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., noted how the nature of the U.S. drug crisis is "changing rapidly on the street, and Congress needs to respond."
"This is a major accomplishment, quite frankly, to be able to move this through in the fight against fentanyl," Lankford added.
Other potential measures to combat the fentanyl crisis, including efforts to bolster law enforcement's drug interdiction efforts and legislation to go after the veterinary drug xylazine, which is being added to fentanyl to make it more addictive, are among additional efforts being considered on Capitol Hill.
President Donald Trump accused former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice of transforming the agency into the "department of injustice," as they sought to turn the U.S. into a "corrupt communist" country.
"Our predecessors turned this Department of Justice into the Department of Injustice," Trump said Friday at the Department of Justice. "But I stand before you today to declare that those days are over and they are never going to come back."
Trump has routinely blasted the Justice Department and the FBI since his first term for being corrupt, amid multiple investigations and lawsuits filed against him. The FBI investigated Trump and his 2016 campaign for alleged collusion with Russia, which ultimately found no evidence that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the election.
More recently, Trump has come under legal scrutiny after former Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped former special counsel Jack Smith to conduct investigations into alleged efforts from Trump to overturn the election results in 2020, and Trump’s efforts to obtain allegedly classified materials at Mar-a-Lago following his first term as president.
"They tried to turn America into a corrupt communist and third world country, but in the end, the thugs failed and the truth won," Trump said. "Freedom won, justice won, democracy won. And above all, the American people won."
"There could be no more heinous betrayal of American values than to use the law to terrorize the innocent and reward the wicked," Trump said. "And that's what they were doing at a level that's never been seen before. And it's exactly what you saw with Joe Biden, Merrick Garland and their cronies to do the building over the last four years. They ripped what they've ripped down is incalculable."
A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch and David Spunt contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: A bipartisan group of lawmakers asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to nix Chile’s status on the visa waiver program (VWP) amid a major gang burglary risk.
Reps. Young Kim, Derek Tran, Dave Min and Mike Levin of California sent a letter to DHS asking that Chile be taken off the list, which allows citizens from certain countries to visit the U.S. for roughly three months without a visa, until steps are taken to ensure that people robbing homes and businesses after they come to the country are stopped.
"We are concerned that the VWP continues to be exploited by South American Theft Groups (SATG) — a majority of whom originate from Chile. Known as ‘burglary tourism,’ certain eligible individuals travel to the U.S. through the VWP for the purpose of committing residential and commercial robberies before returning to their country of origin," states the letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.
"In addition to having an impact on familial communities, SATGs continue to victimize Orange County companies and entrepreneurs, placing a burden on our local police departments, already beset by a lack of resources and a staffing deficit," the letter continued.
"In 2024, there were 59 residential burglaries suspected of being committed by SATGs in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Southeast Patrol Area. Given the threat to public safety, we believe immediate action must be taken."
The practice of "burglary tourism" has become a relatively common occurrence in communities throughout the country, including affluent areas such as Orange County, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Even top athletes such as Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow have become theft victims.
A previous letter was sent by Kim, Levin and Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., asking the Biden administration to take similar action in June 2023, warning that the SATGs will sometimes "sell stolen goods online and launder money through Chinese crime syndicates."
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer asked Chile to lose its visa waiver program privileges last month on "FOX & Friends."
"Every other South American country that has participated in the past has been kicked out of the program for sending their criminals to the United States of America," Spitzer said at the time.
"These Chileans have been coming here for years," he said. "They’re going to Orlando, Florida, where Disney World is. They’re coming to Orange County, California, where Disneyland is. And they’re not here to visit the happiest place on Earth — they’re here to burglarize," he added.
Southern American gangs, including the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua, have been under heightened scrutiny under the Trump administration, as many groups like them have now been designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
DHS did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
EXCLUSIVE: The Biden White House turned over government cellphones belonging to President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence to the FBI in May 2022 as part of a bureau probe into the aftermath of the 2020 election, tying Trump to that investigation without sufficient predication, Fox News Digital has learned.
The FBI did not need a warrant to physically obtain the government phones from the Biden White House, but after acquiring the devices agents began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data, sources familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital.
"The Biden White House played right along with the FBI’s ‘gotcha’ scheme against Trump," a source familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital. "Biden’s Office of White House Counsel, under the leadership of Dana Remus and Jonathan Su, gave its blessing and accommodation for the FBI to physically obtain Trump and Pence’s phones in early May 2022. Weeks later, the FBI began drafting a search warrant to extract the phones’ data."
The phones were obtained and entered as evidence as part of the FBI’s original anti-Trump 2020 election investigation, which eventually was taken over by now-former Special Counsel Jack Smith. That case was known inside the bureau as "Arctic Frost," and was opened on April 13, 2022, by anti-Trump former FBI agent Timothy Thibault.
Thibault, according to whistleblowers, broke protocol and played a critical role in opening and advancing the bureau’s original investigation related to the 2020 election, tying Trump to the probe without sufficient predication. Thibault broke protocol by taking action to open the investigation and involve Trump, despite being unauthorized to open criminal investigations in his role — only special agents have the authority to open criminal investigations.
Thibault vowed to make the investigation "prioritized over all others in the Branch" and, at the time, commented that "it frankly took too long for us to open this (investigation)," according to documents reviewed by Fox News Digital.
The FBI, by late April 2022, began scheduling more than a dozen interviews for the investigation in coordination with 13 FBI field offices across the nation, Fox News Digital has learned.
The revelations come from legally protected whistleblower disclosures provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Senate Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Fox News Digital reviewed the disclosures.
Grassley and Johnson sent the whistleblower disclosures and records to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel late Thursday.
"The new records we are making public point to an aggressive investigation run by anti-Trump agents and prosecutors intent on using every resource available to pursue Trump and his supporters," Grassley and Johnson wrote.
The first record relating to the Trump and Pence phones was dated April 25, 2022, and noted: "DOJ and FBI were informed that government-issued cellphones that purportedly previously belonged to former Vice President Mike Pence and former President Donald J. Trump were in the possession of individuals at the White House. DOJ is currently conducting analysis regarding the FBI taking possession of and processing the phones."
The records revealed that on May 4, 2022, FBI agents took possession of the two phones belonging to Trump and Pence. The phones were entered into evidence and were not processed until search warrants were obtained, according to the record.
On the same date, May 4, 2022, FBI agents interviewed Deputy White House Counsel Jonathan Su. A follow-on letter requesting additional information regarding the phones was then sent from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington D.C., to White House Counsel Dana Remus on May 9, 2022.
Remus and Su declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
A representative for former President Joe Biden did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on whether he was aware of the situation.
Agents also sought to interview former Trump administration officials, including employees from the Offices of the President and Vice President, DOJ and then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe is currently the CIA director in the second Trump administration.
"Sunshine is the best disinfectant," the Grassley and Johnson wrote to Bondi and Patel Thursday. "The American people deserve to know the complete extent of the corruption within the DOJ and FBI that led to the investigation into President Trump."
Grassley and Johnson said that they made the documents public "for purposes of public accountability and to provide specific examples of past behavior at your institutions that must not be repeated."
"Quite simply, the public has a right to know what happened in Arctic Frost and, based on what we’ve exposed to date, the American people deserve better from its law enforcement agencies."
They added: "It is important that every individual at your agencies maintains the highest level of professionalism and does not allow political bias to motivate or guide their investigative work."
Grassley and Johnson stressed that they "expect the production of all records related to the Arctic Frost investigation, including all internal records of investigative updates."
"In addition, we request data providing a true and complete breakdown of the total dollar amount spent on the Arctic Frost investigation before it was officially transferred to Jack Smith in November 2022," they wrote. "Please also include information related to travel funds and hours spent on the investigation."
Grassley and Johnson gave Bondi and Patel a deadline of March 27, 2025, to turn over all records.
FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Fox News Digital that the bureau is "in receipt of Chairman Grassley and Senator Johnson’s request."
"As always per Director Patel’s directive, our team will work aggressively to comply with Congressional requests," Williamson told Fox News Digital.
As for Thibault, Fox News Digital exclusively reported in 2024 that he had been fired from the FBI after he violated the Hatch Act in his political posts on social media. Previous whistleblowers claimed that Thibault had shown a "pattern of active public partisanship," which likely affected investigations involving Trump and Hunter Biden.
Former Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith, a former Justice Department official, as special counsel in November 2022.
Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief to the DOJ's public integrity section, led the investigation into Trump's retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government's investigation into the matter.
Smith also was tasked with overseeing the investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.
Smith charged Trump in both cases, but Trump pleaded not guilty.
The classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.
Smith charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested a second student who participated in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, after a third student opted to deport themselves from the U.S.
Leqaa Kordia, who is from the West Bank, had a student visa canceled in 2022 "for lack of attendance" and was detained by the agency for the outdated visa. DHS said Kordia was previously arrested in April for an alleged role in the protests, but the New York Police Department told Fox News Digital it does not have an arrest record under their name.
"Columbia has no record of this individual being registered as a current or former student at the University," the university said in a statement.
"It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
"When you advocate for violence and terrorism, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country. I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self-deport."
Mahmoud Khalil, who recently graduated from the New York City-based university, is in ICE custody for his role in the protests. However, this led to some backlash from students and faculty and drew the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
"To be clear: The First Amendment does not allow the government to retaliate against anyone for their speech. Ripping someone from their home, stripping them of their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint is a clear attempt by President Trump to silence dissent," the ACLU’s website states. "And that's patently unconstitutional. Political speech — however controversial some may find it — may never be the basis for punishment, including deportation."
The Trump White House nixed $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University, which gained nationwide attention for its encampment that proponents said was in support of Gaza.
President Donald Trump warned in a Truth Social post that Khalil was "the first arrest of many to come."
"Following my previously signed Executive Orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University," Trump stated in the post.
Indian citizen Ranjani Srinivasan used the new "CBP Home" app to return to the country March 11 after the federal government took away her student visa March 5, according to a new release from DHS.
