New York Republicans are pushing a new law to protect animals after a beloved pet squirrel and internet star named P’Nut was taken and killed by state environmental officers late last year.
The bill, called "Peanut’s Law: The Humane Animal Protection Act," would require a 72-hour waiting period before the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) can euthanize any seized animal. It would also give animal owners the chance for a hearing before the state takes or puts down their animals.
P’Nut and another pet squirrel named Fred were taken from Mark and Daniela Longo’s upstate farm last October after someone filed an anonymous complaint. Both animals were killed and tested for rabies, and both tests came back negative.
The squirrel had a huge following on social media, with P'Nut accruing nearly one million followers to watch content of the critter and his family.
Once news spread on P'Nut's Instagram page, backlash over DEC’s actions spread like wildfire online. At the time, everyone from Elon Musk to President Trump weighed in on the killing of the dear family pets.
Musk referred to the killing back in November as "the whole squirrel thing" while on Joe Rogan's podcast.
Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz (R-Nassau), who is sponsoring the bill, said it’s about fairness. "This is about due process," he said, adding that animals should not be killed unless they’re an immediate danger.
The Longos, who run an animal sanctuary, say they were never told why their pets were taken. They hope the new bill will stop similar cases from happening again.
Mark Longo said of the new bill: "I sit here trying not to cry, but passing this law will be a movement to make sure that animal rights are not overlooked anymore."
Peanut or "P'Nut" was only a baby when the Longos rescued him. The squirrel adapted to his adoptive human family after his real mother was run over by a car when he was just five weeks old.
"They were not dangerous. They were not sick. They were not wild threats roaming the streets," said Assemblyman Blumencranz. "They were rescues — loved, nurtured, and safe."
Supporters of the legislation say it’s a common-sense move to protect both animals and their owners.
"Here is the cold, hard truth. It is too little, too late. Words don’t save P’Nut and Fred, and words won’t save the next animal, or the next family, unless we change the law."
An attorney who represents the Longo family did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
President Donald Trump touted the record-breaking fundraising numbers garnered by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) during its annual president's dinner Tuesday evening.
"You know, we've done very well in this room before," Trump told attendees at the annual dinner Tuesday night. "But right now we broke every record. I just heard from Mike Johnson, he said, ‘We broke every record, sir.’ There is over $35 million. That's not bad, for an evening."
The fundraising numbers achieved during Tuesday night's dinner rival what the NRCC has garnered across entire quarters. In July, the group highlighted a "record-shattering" fundraising haul for the second quarter of 2024, which was only $2 million more than what the NRCC was able to garner Tuesday night.
Estimates, in advance of the Tuesday night dinner, suggested it might only bring as much as $10 million for the NRCC, a source familiar told Fox News Digital.
"Next year we'll do 45 or 50 million, right?" Trump asked the crowd, garnering cheers. "A lot of people, you broke your record attendance, and you broke your money record, and that's a great tribute to the Republicans and the party and everything it stands for."
Tuesday's event had "giving levels" as high as $310,100, with the lowest costing seat being $6,000 per person, or $10,000 per couple.
"We have some unbelievable supporters of our House Republican majority with us, as you know, and with the help of everyone in this room the next year's Republican Party is going to defy history. We're going to really defy it, and we already are."
To illustrate this point, Trump pointed to the "fortune" America is making with his new tariff plan.
"Two billion dollars a day – do you believe it? I was told $2 billion a day," Trump told the crowd. "You know I get hit by the press about tariffs, we're making $2 billion – billion – this isn't $35 million, that's peanuts. $2 billion a day."
"In addition, we have a lot of countries coming to see us – they want to make a deal. And we're doing – we're doing things that nobody's ever even thought about."
It was supposed to be a routine Senate Agriculture Committee hearing to consider nominees for top USDA posts, but one visitor turned the event into a tail-wagging affair.
Babydog Justice, the beloved English bulldog of Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., made a surprise and highly photogenic appearance Tuesday as the committee met to review the nominations of Judge Stephen Vaden for Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Tyler Clarkson for USDA General Counsel.
The hearing may have been serious business, but Babydog’s presence brought smiles, laughter, and even a little bipartisan levity.
Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., couldn’t resist the moment, joking, "Babydog was the difference in you getting on the committee or not," as Justice and his pup settled in.
Justice, who recently joined the Senate after serving as West Virginia’s governor, shared an exclusive comment with Fox News Digital about his pup’s Capitol Hill cameo.
"I am so pleased to see the warm reception of Babydog from folks in Congress. Today she came along with me to the Agriculture Committee hearing and knew if she participated, there would be a treat as a reward. Senator Boozman took the time to introduce her to the committee, and contrary to what Senator Hoeven said in the hearing, she is not livestock or up for auction — even though she may resemble a little brown cow!" Justice told Fox News Digital.
At one point during the hearing, a comment by Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., sparked laughter when he joked about Babydog possibly being livestock — a suggestion Justice playfully refuted.
After holding up the pooch to the microphone and sharing how Babydog "humanizes us all," Justice requested a staffer remove the dog from his lap, adding, "She's heavy!"
The social media response was swift. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who was confirmed earlier this year, reposted footage of Babydog in action, writing: "We love you Babydog! Senate Ag is never the same when you’re around."
Even the Senate Agriculture Committee’s own social media accounts joined the fun, posting behind-the-scenes content of the pup’s visit and noting she was "making new friends and monitoring policy."
Following her eventful day on Capitol Hill, Babydog Justice took to her own social media account. Posting a photo from the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, she humorously captioned it, "Is this thing on?" in reference to the microphone.
Babydog's charm extended beyond the committee room, capturing the attention of senators in the halls of Congress. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., shared a photo with Babydog, tweeting, "All in favor of making @babydogjustice our 101st senator, say AYE!"
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., also joined in, posting a picture of himself petting Babydog with the caption, "@BabydogJustice is America’s favorite dog."
Babydog is no stranger to the spotlight.
Born in 2019, the 60-pound English bulldog has been a fixture in Justice's political life since she was gifted to him by his children. She gained national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic when Justice launched the "Do It for Babydog" vaccine lottery to encourage West Virginians to get vaccinated.
Babydog's most famous public appearance was at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where she charmed attendees and the media alike from a bulldog-sized chair on the main stage.
While Babydog may have captured the spotlight, Justice is focused on the work ahead as a newly appointed member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The West Virginia Republican has long emphasized the importance of supporting rural communities and strengthening the agricultural economy — key concerns in his home state.
Justice, a former two-term governor and lifelong farmer and businessman, has frequently spoken about the need for practical, common-sense solutions to issues like food security, rural development, and infrastructure investment. His role on the Agriculture Committee positions him to advocate for policies aligned with West Virginia’s agricultural and economic interests.
As Babydog continues to turn heads on Capitol Hill, Justice is expected to use his platform to advance those priorities with his four-legged sidekick never too far behind.
The Department of Commerce on Tuesday announced its decision to cut $4 million in funding related to climate research for Princeton University.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a news release the cuts were made "after a detailed, careful, and thorough review of the Department’s financial assistance programs against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) current program objectives."
The department added that the termination of these funds from Princeton, effective June 30, "will streamline and reduce the cost and size of the Federal Government, consistent with President Trump’s promise for his Administration. The Department of Commerce is delivering on that promise."
Princeton received $455 million in federal funding during fiscal year 2024.
The department said the financial awards previously given to Princeton through NOAA, including the Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System (CIMES), "are no longer aligned with the program objectives of NOAA, a sub-agency of the Department of Commerce, and are no longer in keeping with the Trump administration’s priorities."
Princeton did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
The CIMES website states that the program "has contributed to the development of oceanic and atmospheric models, performed research on climate and biogeochemical cycling and educated several generations of postdoctoral researchers and graduate students."
The commerce department, however, said the CIMES agreement "promotes exaggerated and implausible climate threats, contributing to a phenomenon known as ‘climate anxiety,’ which has increased significantly among America’s youth."
The department further stated that the Climate Risks and Interactive Sub-seasonal to Seasonal Predictability agreement "suggests that the Earth will have a significant fluctuation in its water availability as a result of global warming," and the Advancing Prediction agreement "has used its resources to assess risks associated with climate change, including alleged changes to precipitation patterns and sea-level rise," according to the release.
"It also aims to address coastal inundation while other more targeted research efforts are addressing this issue," the release continues.
The department said the administration's goal in terminating these funds will save U.S. taxpayer dollars, and it will "continue to review its outstanding cooperative agreements, grant awards, and other financial assistance on an individualized basis to avoid wasteful governmental spending — whether they be to Princeton or any other recipient."
Colleges and universities across the country have been on edge since Trump began investigating schools for alleged antisemitic discrimination and harassment, cutting federal funds for certain schools that allowed anti-Israel protests on campus since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem spent Tuesday morning with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Arizona law enforcement agents going after illegal immigrant criminals in the Phoenix area.
Standing with a gun in her hands, Noem said in a video posted to X that she was going out with ICE to pick up someone facing charges of human trafficking. She also said she went out earlier with agents and swept up a person wanted for murder.
"I appreciate the work that they do every day, and we appreciate them working to keep America safe," Noem said.
In another post, Noem shared images of her standing with law enforcement officials and sitting in an ICE vehicle while wearing a Kevlar vest.
She also shared pictures of law enforcement officials arresting two men, one who had no shoes and the other who was wearing a pair of Crocs.
"Arizona is safer this morning after a successful operation getting criminal illegal aliens and gang members off our streets," Noem wrote. "Thank you to our brave law enforcement officers. If you are in this country illegally, we will find you, arrest you, and send you back."
Noem toured the facility where she met face-to-face with alleged Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gang members, all of whom were wearing white prison suits and had shaved heads.
She also sent a message from the prison to illegal immigrants who are still in the U.S. or plan to visit anytime soon.
"First of all, do not come to our country illegally: You will be removed, and you will be prosecuted," she said while standing with her back to the inmates. "But know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people."
Noem shared the video on X, saying, "President Trump and I have a clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW. If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison."
Trump’s hard-line approach to illegal immigration was a key campaign promise, and his administration has also been arresting and deporting criminal illegal migrants across the country under the leadership of Noem and border czar Tom Homan.
City council members in Maryland introduced a bill Monday to expand access to menstrual products in all city-run bathrooms, including those designated for men.
Baltimore Councilman Paris Gray, who is the lead sponsor of the bill, introduced the legislation during the city council’s bi-monthly meeting.
Gray said the bill is not just a proposal, but it reflects the city’s commitment to menstrual equity and the values Baltimore holds dear, including dignity, accessibility and public health.
"Access to menstrual products should be as fundamental as access to soap or toilet paper," Gray said. "It is an essential part of personal hygiene, and yet, for far too many people, these products remain out of reach. Menstrual products are not a luxury. They are a necessity, and the absence of access can create undue stress and hardship."
Gray said the bill, if approved, will require all city-owned and leased buildings with public restrooms to provide menstrual products, free of charge.
"This includes restrooms and all kinds of facilities, whether they are designated for men, women, family use or single occupancy," he said.
But the bill, Gray noted, is nothing new. Instead, the bill codifies what Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration and Department of General Services have already done by taking steps to ensure menstrual products are available in many public facilities across the city.
Gray also said Baltimore is not joining a national movement for menstrual equality, but instead, is leading the charge across the country.
"Cities and municipalities are recognizing the point-importance of free access to menstrual products and Baltimore's proudly taking this place at the forefront of this critical effort," he said.
Gray did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter.
In February, the Long Beach Unified School District in California took similar measures when it notified parents in an email that all schools containing grades 3 through 12 would have menstrual products in girls bathrooms, all-gender bathrooms, and in at least one boys bathroom.
The email told parents and caregivers the system is "committed to reducing barriers to learning and fostering a supportive environment for all students."
The availability of period products in girls bathrooms and at least one boys bathroom is to "ensure that any student who menstruates-including transgender boys and nonbinary students-can access these necessary products with dignity and discretion," per the email.
In California, the "Menstrual Equality for All Act" was passed in October 2023, and it mandated that changes must be enacted at or before the start of the 2024-25 school year.
The following text was added to the state's education code when the bill was passed:
"On or before the start of the 2024–25 school year, a public school, including a school operated by a school district, county office of education, or charter school, maintaining any combination of classes from grades 3 to 12, inclusive, shall stock the school’s restrooms at all times with an adequate supply of menstrual products, available and accessible, free of cost, in all women’s restrooms and all-gender restrooms, and in at least one men’s restroom."
Menstrual products were defined in the bill as pads and tampons specifically "for use in connection with the menstrual cycle."
The bill also said it is the state legislature's intent "to promote period equity through adequate access to menstrual products in schools also serving grades 3 to 5, inclusive."
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle Tuesday night that he will run for U.S. Senate.
The announcement comes as Paxton no longer faces the cloud of a federal corruption investigation that loomed over him as he rose up the ranks in the Republican Party.
This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates and supervises national banks, on Tuesday said it notified Congress of a February hack that it called a "major information security incident."
The breach was first disclosed in February when it learned of "unusual interactions between a system administrative account in its office automation environment and OCC user mailboxes," an OCC news release states.
According to Bloomberg, the hackers had access to more than 150,000 emails after breaching the system in June 2023.
"The confidentiality and integrity of the OCC’s information security systems are paramount to fulfilling its mission," said Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood.
The OCC first learned of the incident on Feb. 11. Compromised administrative accounts were shut off the next day.
"The OCC discovered that the unauthorized access to a number of its executives’ and employees’ emails included highly sensitive information relating to the financial condition of federally regulated financial institutions used in its examinations and supervisory oversight processes," the agency said.
The OCC said it has reached out to third-party cybersecurity experts to conduct a review of IT security protocols to prevent future attacks.
"I have taken immediate steps to determine the full extent of the breach and to remedy the long-held organizational and structural deficiencies that contributed to this incident," Hood said. "There will be full accountability for the vulnerabilities identified and any missed internal findings that led to the unauthorized access."
Throughout its review, the OCC has coordinated with the Treasury Department to share information about its findings.
A Republican lawmaker has warned that Democrats in Colorado’s state legislature could face the ire of the Trump administration if a series of controversial bills passed Sunday — including one labeling parental misgendering during custody battles as "coercive control" — are signed into law.
"It really does feel like we're poking the bear," state Rep. Jarvis Caldwell told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Colorado enacted legislation to expand health care access to illegal immigrants this year, "as well as housing and food and education for illegal immigrants, which is in direct violation of some of the orders that have come from President Trump," according to Caldwell.
"And then the transgender issue, we're pushing this further than we ever have before on children in the state of Colorado, and that directly goes in violation of what President Trump is looking at."
As such, Caldwell said "it's a very real possibility" that some of the state's programs could be at risk of losing federal funding, adding the Centennial State will "pay the consequences for it, and Democrats will be responsible."
"Health is a big one with Medicaid, a big portion of that is federal funds, and then education as well," Caldwell said. "And so we are passing bills, especially on the illegal immigrant issue, that directly involve these issues. And so I think that's going to be something that's on President Trump's radar."
The Colorado Democratic House majority barreled through four controversial gender and abortion bills on Sunday — which one Republican lawmaker described as a day for "family and prayer," curtailing floor debate in an "unprecedented" floor procedural tactic.
The bills that were passed include SB25-183, which requires taxpayers to fund abortion services; HB25-1309, mandating insurers cover transgender procedures regardless of age; HB25-1312, which imposes state-mandated gender policies on schools and considers it "coercive control" in child custody cases when a parent does not affirm a child's gender identity or "deadnames" them; and SB25-129, which prohibits cooperation with out-of-state investigations on transgender procedures and abortion services.
State House Majority Democratic Leader Monica Duran told Fox News Digital previously that the four bills were debated on the floor for more than 12 hours last week. Duran also invoked a procedural rule that limited debate to two hours last Friday.
But Caldwell said under 24 hours is nothing compared to the Democrat majority's 12 months they spent on several of the bills.
"They had an entire year to coordinate testimony, and we had less than 24 hours," Caldwell said. "And then when it went to the final vote, we're each supposed to get 10 minutes for debate, and they completely cut off any and all debate."
The Republican minority also failed to get any of their amendments passed. For HB 1309, which would mandate insurers cover the cost of transgender procedures regardless of age, Republicans introduced an amendment to exclude minors from it.
"Because some of the coverage is genital surgical procedures, it's hormone therapy, it's facial reconstruction, and then breast reductions and chest augmentation," Caldwell said. "And so now your health care plan, even if you disagree with this, you're going to be paying a higher premium most likely to cover the cost, in my opinion, to genitally mutilate children."
SB25-183 and SB25-129 are headed to the governor's desk for signature, while the other House bills now go to the Senate for consideration.
It's not unlikely that Trump could target Colorado Democrats.
Earlier this year, Trump signed several executive orders aimed at eliminating "radical gender ideology," and he’s already moved to slash some federal funds in Maine after Gov. Janet Mills refused to enforce Trump's ban on biological males competing in women's sports. Mills lobbed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday over the frozen funds.
In January, Trump signed the "Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" executive order, which defines two sexes: male and female. The order prohibits "chemical and surgical mutilation" of minors to include puberty blockers, hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, and sex-change surgeries. It also bars institutions receiving federal grants from providing such services and allows healthcare providers to refuse services based on gender identity.
Trump also signed an executive order requiring military personnel to serve according to their biological sex.
House Republicans are divided over how to proceed on a massive piece of legislation aimed at advancing President Donald Trump's agenda as a possible vote on the measure looms Wednesday afternoon.
Fiscal hawks are rebelling against GOP leaders over plans to pass the Senate's version of a sweeping framework that sets the stage for a Trump policy overhaul on the border, energy, defense and taxes.
Their main concern has been the difference between the Senate and House's required spending cuts, which conservatives want to offset the cost of the new policies and as an attempt to reduce the national deficit. The Senate's plan calls for a minimum of $4 billion in cuts, while the House's floor is much higher at $1.5 trillion.
"The problem is, I think a lot of people don't trust the Senate and what their intentions are, and that they'll mislead the president and that we won't get done what we need to get done," Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., told reporters on Tuesday. "I'm a ‘no’ until we figure out how to get enough votes to pass it."
McCormick said there were as many as 40 GOP lawmakers who were undecided or opposed to the measure.
A meeting with a select group of holdouts at the White House on Tuesday appeared to budge a few people, but many conservatives signaled they were largely unmoved.
"I wouldn't put it on the floor," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told reporters after the White House meeting. "I've got a bill in front of me, and it's a budget, and that budget, in my opinion, will increase the deficit, and I didn't come here to do that."
Senate GOP leaders praised the bill as a victory for Trump's agenda when it passed the upper chamber in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, House Republican leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have appealed to conservatives by arguing that passing the Senate version does not in any way impede the House from moving ahead with its steeper cuts.
The House passed its framework in late February.
Congressional Republicans are working on a massive piece of legislation that Trump has dubbed "one big, beautiful bill" to advance his agenda on border security, defense, energy and taxes.
Such a measure is largely only possible via the budget reconciliation process. Traditionally used when one party controls all three branches of government, reconciliation lowers the Senate's threshold for passage of certain fiscal measures from 60 votes to 51. As a result, it has been used to pass broad policy changes in one or two massive pieces of legislation.
Passing frameworks in the House and Senate, which largely only include numbers indicating increases or decreases in funding, allows each chamber's committees to then craft policy in line with those numbers under their specific jurisdictions.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have pushed for Johnson to allow the House GOP to simply begin crafting its bill without passing the Senate version, though both chambers will need to eventually pass identical bills to send to Trump's desk.
"Trump wants to reduce the interest rates. Trump wants to lower the deficits. The only way to accomplish those is to reduce spending. And $4 billion is not – that's … anemic. That is really a joke," Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told reporters.
He said "there's no way" the legislation would pass the House this week.
The measure will likely go through the House Rules Committee, which acts as the final gatekeeper for most legislation getting a chamber-wide vote.
However, tentative plans for a late-afternoon House Rules Committee meeting on the framework, which would have set up a Wednesday vote, were scrapped by early evening on Tuesday.
The legislation could still get a House-wide vote late on Wednesday if the committee meets in the morning.
As for the House speaker, he was optimistic returning from the White House meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
"Great meeting. The president was very helpful and engaged, and we had a lot of members whose questions were answered," Johnson told reporters. "I think we'll be moving forward this week."
Fox News' Ryan Schmelz and Aishah Hasnie contributed to this report.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted Tuesday that "all options are on the table for each country" when it comes to making deals over the latest U.S. tariffs, but warned those who retaliate that President Donald Trump "has a spine of steel and he will not break."
Leavitt said since Trump’s "Liberation Day" tariff announcements, 70 countries have already reached out to the president to begin negotiations.
"On the other hand, countries like China who have chosen to retaliate and try to double down on their mistreatment of American workers are making a mistake. President Trump has a spine of steel and he will not break," Leavitt added, referencing 34% retaliatory tariffs that China unveiled against the U.S. last week…Read more
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Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Wall Street rebounded into the green as multiple foreign countries came to the tariff negotiating table with President Donald Trump – but that was not enough to assuage some lawmakers’ critiques of the "alla prima" tariff actions, as one Republican put it.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testified Tuesday the U.S. has long-suffered from "China Shock" – the surge in manufacturing outputs from the Communist nation since the turn of the century – and that the U.S. had to do something substantive but strategic about the 5 million manufacturing jobs lost and 90,000 factories closed since the middle of the Clinton administration.
"President Biden left us with a $1.2 trillion trade deficit-in-goods - the largest of any country in the history of the world," Greer said.
"During COVID, we were unable to procure semiconductors to build our cars or materials for pharmaceuticals and personal protective equipment. During World War II, we built nearly 9,000 ships. Last year, the United States built only three ocean-going vessels," he said.
Greer said the U.S. historically was on the surplus side of agriculture trade but that, as of late, purportedly friendly countries like Australia have essentially rejected beef and pork exports, while America has not reciprocated with their livestock.
That became a sore subject during a particularly heated exchange between Greer and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., as the lawmaker claimed Trump unnecessarily "clobbered" Canberra with a 10% tariff.
"We have a free trade agreement with Australia," he said, questioning Trump’s "fancy Greek formula" for determining tariffs.
Democrats and media figures previously mocked Trump for tariffing uninhabited Australian islands in the Indian Ocean – which Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested over the weekend was to close any potential loophole to circumvent tariffs on such countries’ mainland.
Greer argued the "lowest rate available" was imposed on Australia, leading Warner to ask again "why did they get whacked in the first place."
"Despite the [free trade] agreement, they ban our beef, they banned our pork, they're getting ready to impose measures on our digital companies - It's incredible," Greer said.
Warner later acknowledged markets had rebounded a "blip" by midday but said a Wall Street contact equated it to a "good day in hospice."
Meanwhile, during his opening remarks, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden said he has drafted a bipartisan resolution to "end the latest crop of global tariffs that are clobbering American families and small businesses."
"Members on both sides of the aisle ought to know that this is a call to action and Congress must step in to rein this president on trade," Wyden said.
He called the tariffs "aimless" and "chaotic" and said it showed Congress ceded the executive branch too much constitutional power.
In his testimony, Greer called trade imbalance an indicator of both an economic and national security emergency.
He also suggested America’s allies have been foisting unfair policies on the American consumer – including the European Union.
"[They] can sell us all the shellfish they want, but the EU bans shellfish from 48 states. The result is a trade deficit in shellfish with the EU," he said.
"We only charge a 2.5% tariff on ethanol, but Brazil charges us an 18% tariff. The result? We have a large trade deficit in ethanol with Brazil."
"Our average tariff on agricultural goods is 5%, but India's average tariff is 39%. You understand the trend here."
In response to some of Wyden’s concerns, Greer said Vietnam has already negotiated a lower tariff on U.S. cherries and apples exported from Oregon and the Northwest.
"This is exactly the right direction that we want to go in," Greer said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., struck a more middling tone on tariffs, saying that he has never been a "great fan of free trade," and cited his work ending NAFTA and opposing normalized relations with China.
He also cited the outsourcing of manufacturing to Mexico, saying it killed hundreds of thousands of American jobs and has many Mexican workers "living in cardboard boxes."
"That is the type of trade policy which I detest. But I want to move to an area, to talk about the legal basis of what President Trump has done," he said.
Sanders said he lives 50 miles from Canada and does not see the same empirical data on illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling that Trump accused Ottawa of failing to act on – and incorporated into his tariff calculations.
On the Republican side, Chairman Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, was largely deferential to Trump and Greer, while some other Republicans voiced concerns.
Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa questioned whether Congress "delegated too much authority to the president" but said he supports the president so long as his mission is to "turn tariffs into trade deals to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers" versus any plot to "feed the U.S. Treasury through them."
"I made very clear throughout my public service that I’m a free and fair trader. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. I believe that Congress delegated too much authority to the president in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Trade Act of 1974," he said.
Additionally, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., pressed Greer on who should be considered the person that will take ultimately responsibility for either praise or accountability depending on the outcome of the tariff actions.
"Whose throat do I have to choke," he said, underlining that the phrase was borrowed from a management consulting mantra.
EXCLUSIVE: Legislation will be introduced Tuesday to expand the list of crimes that would require a migrant to be taken into custody.
The "Safeguarding American Property Act" would add arson, vandalism and trespassing to the crimes that would require those in the country illegally to be placed into federal custody.
"Property rights are a fundamental American value," Rep. Troy Downing, R-Mont., said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Those who disregard our laws by committing acts of vandalism or trespassing on private property, especially those who broke our laws crossing our borders, must not be allowed to remain. This bill builds on the good work of the Laken Riley Act and takes another step toward reversing Biden's border crisis. I appreciate the support of the bill’s cosponsors, and I look forward to getting this legislation passed into law to keep our communities safe," he continued.
Specifically, it would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Montana Republican’s legislation is meant to help rural communities, which could have limited law enforcement resources to protect property.
Many properties along the southern border faced damage as a result of the high volume of migrants that came across throughout the Biden administration, which triggered the state of Texas to create the Landowner Compensation Program to help repay those in agricultural communities.
"Illegal aliens crossing the Texas-Mexico border at Joe Biden’s invitation leave behind a trail of destruction that harms Texas agricultural land," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in May 2024. "This program will provide needed relief to Texans whose property is damaged by foreign aliens waved into the country by the federal government. I am glad to help the farmers and ranchers on our borderlands who bear the costs of Biden’s destructive policies."
Downing’s proposal builds off the Laken Riley Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump this winter. The act garnered some bipartisan support, as it made theft, similar criminal charges or assaulting an officer triggers for federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants for potential deportation.
The law is named after a late 22-year-old nursing student who was killed by illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra while on a jog on the University of Georgia campus.
Ibarra had been arrested in the past but was not taken into ICE custody, and he’s now facing life behind bars.
"This horrific atrocity should never have been allowed to happen," Trump said at the time, as it was the first bill signed in his second term. "And as president, I'm fighting every single day to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again."
FIRST ON FOX: Schools around the country could soon be able to opt into the "Congressional Fitness Challenge," including legendary boxer Mike Tyson’s own academy.
House Concurrent Resolution 20, introduced by Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., would create a voluntary program that would allow students who successfully complete the challenge to receive a signed certificate from the speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate, and the student’s senator and congressman.
"Listen, because we need to be in shape, man," Tyson told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"We can't physically get into an army because we're out of shape. And that's embarrassing. So it comes across we're the most heavy, heaviest people in the planet. We're the fattest people in world, Americans," he continued. Specifically, Tyson noted 77% of Americans aged 17 to 24 would need a wavier in order to serve in the military, according to the Department of Defense.
"It's just mental. It's just a shame, but it can be helped," Tyson said of the issue.
It would apply to students in K-12 public and private schools, groups that provide the testing to home schoolers, and members of Congress who hold a "community-based event" for the challenge, the current text states.
According to the resolution, the benchmarks will be inspired by "historical" lines for the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, which was popularized under the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations in the 1960s.
"So we got to make sure that they're physically fit. Now is the perfect time to be instituting this once again, because we understand President Trump through his Cabinet picks and through what his campaign promises have been with the America First agenda, where he wants to make America healthy again," Hamadeh said.
The test itself would entail a mile-long run or walk, pull-ups or a flexed arm hang, curl-ups, sit-ups, shuttle runs, and sit-and-reach. Those who perform well would be divided into gold, silver, and bronze levels. The gold level would be in the top 85th percentile, silver would cover the top 75th percentile, and bronze would be in the top 50th percentile, the legislation states.
Tyson added that actions like this give him hope for the future.
"I think this is going to improve, and people are going to get better, and people want to get healthier. I just believe that," he said.
Tyson is at the helm of Tyson Transformational Technologies Academy, a private school in Arizona that is part of the My Life My Power International Preparatory Academy, which has campuses in Florida and West Virginia as well. The academies plan on taking up the challenge.
"I believe in this country and I believe we're going to get well and we're going to be in good condition. And we're gonna be able to go into the army and defend our country," Tyson said.
Other athletes have come out in support of the resolution, including former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.
"Love this! So important for our Youth," Brown posted to X.
"As a former pro athlete, one of us knows first-hand the doors that physical fitness can open— confidence, leadership, the drive to succeed. As a Member of Congress and former US Army Captain and Intelligence Officer, the other sees the broader picture – healthier kids mean a healthier, more prosperous America," Favre and Hamadeh co-wrote in an op-ed for OutKick in March.
The resolution is co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Tony Wied and Martin Stutzman.
"Right now, people are really focused on what foods have been going into their bodies and how come the obesity rate has tripled," Hamadeh said. "And it's a real problem in terms of a national security perspective. So the government has an invested interest in this. but also the American people do it themselves as well."
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to hike the Pentagon budget to over $1 trillion for the first time ever.
Speaking to reporters alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the upcoming budget would be "in the vicinity" of $1 trillion, a major boost from this year’s $850 billion budget.
"COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar @DeptofDefense budget," Hegseth posted on X.
He said Trump is "is rebuilding our military – and FAST."
The budget for all national security programs, including the Department of Defense, nuclear weapons development and other security agencies, is at $892 billion for this year.
Moving to a $1 trillion Pentagon budget would be a 12% increase over current levels.
But the $1 trillion budget idea comes just as the Pentagon has moved to cut 8% each year for five years from each program to reinvest in modernization. The department is also planning to slash tens of thousands from its civilian workforce and consolidate bases across the world.
"We’re going to be approving a budget, and I’m proud to say, actually, the biggest one we’ve ever done for the military," he said. "$1 trillion. Nobody has seen anything like it.
"We are getting a very, very powerful military. We have things under order now."
White House officials are expected to unveil their budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 later this spring before Congress hashes out the appropriations process.
Even a $1 trillion budget would not put the U.S. at Trump’s stated target for NATO countries to spend on defense: 5%.
But the president said the cash influx would be used to kickstart production on new equipment and technologies.
"We’ve never had the kind of aircraft, the kind of missiles, anything that we have ordered," he said. "And it’s in many ways too bad that we have to do it because, hopefully, we’re not going to have to use it."
The Trump administration recently unveiled a Boeing contract for the Air Force's sixth-generation fighter jet, the F-47, which the service branch expects to cost around $20 billion from 2025 to 2029.
"We know every other plane," Trump said. "I’ve seen every one of them and it’s not even close. This is a next level."
An announcement on the Navy's next-generation fighter jet, F/A-XX, has been stalled, while chief of naval operations Adm. James Kirby told reporters Monday work on the new jet's contract was taking place at "secretary-level and above."
EXCLUSIVE: China’s innovation in artificial intelligence is "accelerating," according to Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology. He told Fox News Digital that the United States’ "promote and protect" strategy will solidify its standing as the world’s dominant power in AI.
Kratsios, who served as chief technology officer during the first Trump administration, sat for an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Monday.
"The White House in the first Trump administration redefined national tech policy to focus on American leadership in emerging technologies, and those were technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and 5G, [which] were big back then," Kratsios said. "The president, at that time, signed the executive order prioritizing U.S. leadership in AI, back in 2019 when people weren’t even talking about it."
"He recognized that it was critical for the U.S. to lead in AI," Kratsios said. "We got the ball rolling on what the U.S. national strategy is and how we would win."
During his first administration, Trump signed the first-ever executive order on AI in 2019. He also took executive action in 2020 to establish the first-ever guidance for federal agency adoption of AI to deliver services to the American people and "foster public trust" in the technology.
But Kratsios said that when former President Joe Biden took office, the attitude of his administration toward AI shifted to "one of fear and one of over-regulation."
"There was a fixation on what I would call harms, so, spending time and energy thinking about all the things that could go wrong with this technology, versus having a balanced approach, where you try to minimize things that could go poorly, and more importantly, look at ways this technology can transform America for the better," Kratsios explained, noting that Biden officials were "harms focused," which he said was "manifested in a lot of the policies that they did, in the way that they were very reticent to applying some of this technology to a lot of the issues that government faced, like how you make agencies more efficient."
Kratsios reflected on Trump’s AI message during the campaign, saying he "made it very clear that we as a country need to win and be dominant in artificial intelligence."
"And he acted very decisively," Kratsios said, pointing to Trump’s move on his third day in office to direct him and other officials to develop an AI action plan.
"It was a way to review everything that had been done under the Biden administration and turn the page with an agenda that's focused on sustaining and ensuring continued U.S. leadership in this particular technology, and that's what we've been working on," Kratsios said.
Kratsios explained that the U.S. is "the leader" in AI, specifically when it comes to the "three layers of technology," which he said are chips or high-end semiconductors, the model itself and the application layer.
"If you look at all three of those layers, the U.S. is the leader," Kratsios said. "We have the best chips. We have the best models. And we have the best applications to date."
But he warned that the Trump administration is "seeing the velocity of innovation" from China.
"We’re seeing the speed at which the PRC is catching up with us is actually accelerating," he explained.
Kratsios referenced DeepSeek, which was released by a Chinese firm earlier in 2025 and develops large language models.
"I think what DeepSeek revealed is that the Chinese continue to make progress and are trying really hard to catch up with us on those three layers," Kratsios said.
But the key to maintaining U.S. dominance in the space is the Trump administration’s "promote and protect" strategy, Kratsios explained.
Kratsios said the Trump administration will "promote" by continuing to accelerate the development of technology and encouraging more Americans, American companies and countries around the world to use that technology.
"And then on the protect side, what is it that the U.S. has which could be useful to the PRC to accelerate their efforts in AI? We protect that technology from access by the Chinese," Kratsios said, pointing to high-end semiconductors and chips that the Chinese "shouldn’t have access to, because that would make it easier for them to accelerate their efforts."
"How do we speed up innovation here at home and slow down our adversaries?" Kratsios said.
The answer, Kratsios said, is AI research and development that continues to drive innovation. He also said the Trump administration needs to continue to remove regulations and barriers to AI innovation, and also prepare and train Americans in the workforce to "better leverage this technology."
Kratsios said another step is ensuring that foreign allies partner with the U.S. to "make sure that they are also keeping the PRC at bay and that they continue to use the American AI stack."
"So, if you're any country in the world that wants to use AI, you'd want to use an American stack," he explained. "So we should make it as easy as possible in order for us to export our technology to like-minded partners."
As for China, Kratsios said the PRC "is probably one of the most sophisticated surveillance states in the world, and that is underpinned by their own artificial intelligence technology."
"I think the goal of the United States should be to continue to be the dominant power in AI. And there are certain inputs to the development of AI which we can control, and which we would not want the PRC to have access to," he said. "And the most important pieces are sort of these very high-end chips that they can use to train models, and also certain equipment that would allow them to build their own very high-end chips."
He added: "And if we can kind of continue to make it challenging for them to do that. I think it'll be the benefit of the U.S."
Looking ahead, Kratsios echoed the president, saying the U.S. is in the "golden age" and that this special moment in time is "underpinned by unbelievable science and technology."
"We want to put an American flag on Mars," Kratsios said. "We want to fly supersonic again. We want drones to be delivering packages around the world. We want AI to be used by American workers to allow them to do their jobs better, safer and faster."
He added: "We have an opportunity to all these things, like so much more, in these four years. And this office is going to be the home for driving that innovation across so many technological domains."
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a member of the far-left group of progressive lawmakers known as "the Squad," told congregants at a historically Black church that America needs robust immigration because "we done picking cotton."
Crockett, who represents Texas's 30th Congressional District, made the remarks during Connecticut-based Grace Baptist Church's 125th anniversary celebration held over the weekend. The comments were part of Crockett's broader attempt to slam the Trump administration for cracking down on illegal immigration.
"So I had to go around the country and educate people about what immigrants do for this country, or the fact that we are a country of immigrants. The fact is ain’t none of y’all trying to go and farm right now," Crockett said, garnering a sheepish laugh from a few members of the audience.
"OK, so I'm lying?" Crockett shot back, noticing the awkward silence. "You're not! You're not! We done picking cotton! We are. You can't pay us enough to find a plantation."
Crockett's weekend remarks are just the latest in a line of other questionable comments and controversies that have resulted in her facing possible censure in the House of Representatives.
While Crockett attempted to walk back her comments after they drew nationwide backlash, she has exhibited a pattern of promoting remarks about Abbott "rolling places."
"Rolling up to the White House to cheer on the president destroying the agency that makes sure kids in wheelchairs have equal access to education is wild," read a social media post Crockett shared days before her "hot wheels comment." Prior to that, during Abbott's re-election campaign against former Democratic Rep. Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke, Crockett once again blasted the Texas governor, saying, "The new nickname I have for Beto O’Rourke is the king of the clap backs! Beto is rolling around the state… Where is Abbott rolling to?"
Other questionable remarks leading up to the censure resolution included suggesting Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz should be "knocked over the head." Meanwhile, amid a spate of violent attacks targeting Elon Musk and Tesla, Crockett mused that "all I want to see happen on my birthday is for Elon to be taken down," while she was speaking at a rally pushing Tesla owners to sell their cars and get rid of any stock in the company.
"I think you punch," Crockett said in an interview when asked how Democrats regain the momentum they lost in the 2024 election. "I think you're OK with punching."
Comments criticizing the interracial marriage of Florida GOP Congressman Byron Donalds, a Trump ally, from June 2024 have also resurfaced amid Crockett's spate of questionable statements.
"The fact that you’re sitting around talking about ‘life was better under Jim Crow,’ like, is this because you don't understand history? Or literally it's because you married a White woman and so you think that whitewashed you?" Crockett said on "The Breakfast Club" in June, which was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
"I feel like they give [Donalds] his talking points and he's like, ‘Yes, massa. I got it.'"
The censure resolution against Crockett, introduced March 26 by Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, remains under consideration by the House Committee on Ethics. In comments to Fox News' Sean Hannity last month, Attorney General Pam Bondi added that Crockett needs "to tread very carefully," noting that "words have consequences."
"She needs to immediately apologize and denounce [her rhetoric] because, even in her home state, violence is happening after she made these statements," Bondi said, referring specifically to Crockett's comments about wanting to see Musk "taken down" for her birthday amid a spate of violent attacks targeting Tesla.
"It’s dangerous," Bondi continued. "She has to know it’s dangerous, and she’s calling for further insurrection on her birthday this weekend."
Fox News Digital reached out to Crockett's office for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Mike Huckabee, President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel, cleared a key hurdle Tuesday after the Senate voted to end debate on his nomination.
The Senate voted 53 to 46 to advance Hucakbee's nomination. He now awaits a final confirmation vote as Israel continues its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
While Republicans have championed Huckabee as an ardent supporter of Israel, Democrats have questioned his previous "extreme" position on Palestinians.
The former Arkansas governor has previously argued it is Israel’s right to annex the West Bank and has flatly rejected the push to establish a two-state solution when it comes to the Gaza Strip.
Huckabee has not commented on whether he still views the West Bank as Israel's right to claim, or where he stands when it comes to Trump’s position on the Gaza Strip, which the president said he would like to turn into the "riviera of the Middle East" and called for the "relocation" of more than 2 million Palestinians.
During his confirmation hearing, the former governor pushed back on claims that Trump wants to take over the Gaza Strip, insisting the president has not called for the "forced displacement" of Palestinians from Gaza – "unless it is for their safety."
"If confirmed, it will be my responsibility to carry out the president’s priorities, not mine," Huckabee said in response to questions levied at him from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.
But Huckabee’s testimony during Senate questioning is unlikely to have garnered much new support from Democrats in Congress.
"Huckabee’s positions are not the words of a thoughtful diplomat – they are the words of a provocateur whose views are far outside international consensus and contrary to the core bipartisan principles of American diplomacy," New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, a senior Jewish Democrat, said in a statement last month. "In one of the most volatile and violent areas in the world today, there is no need for more extremism, and certainly not from the historic ambassador’s post and behind the powerful seal of the United States."
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency are set to announce a bevy of new actions Tuesday afternoon that will "unleash" coal energy following President Donald Trump's expected signature on an executive order reinvigorating "America’s beautiful clean coal industry," Fox News Digital learned.
"The American people need more energy, and the Department of Energy is helping to meet this demand by unleashing supply of affordable, reliable, secure energy sources — including coal," Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a Tuesday statement provided to Fox News Digital.
"Coal is essential for generating 24/7 electricity generation that powers American homes and businesses, but misguided policies from previous administrations have stifled this critical American industry," he said. "With President Trump’s leadership, we are cutting the red tape and bringing back common sense."
Trump is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday afternoon that will cut through red tape surrounding the coal industry, including directing the National Energy Dominance Council to designate coal as a "mineral," end a current pause to coal leasing on federal lands, promote coal and coal technology exports, and encourage the use of coal to power artificial intelligence initiatives, Fox News Digital learned of the upcoming executive order.
The Departments of Energy and the Interior and the EPA will take actions supporting the Trump executive order Tuesday, including the Interior ending the current moratorium on federal coal leasing and removing regulatory burdens for coal mines, a press release first obtained by Fox Digital shows.
"The Golden Age is here, and we are starting to ‘Mine, Baby, Mine’ for clean American coal,"Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "Interior is unlocking America’s full potential in energy dominance and economic development to make life more affordable for every American family while showing the world the power of America’s natural resources and innovation."
The Interior Department explained that by expanding acces to coal reserves and cutting through red tape surrounding the permitting process, "the administration is removing long-standing regulatory barriers that have undermined American coal production."
"These efforts support high-paying mining jobs and rural economies, while strengthening U.S. energy independence by reducing reliance on foreign energy sources," the press release stated. "Coal is a critical component of a secure, stable and diversified American energy portfolio."
At the Department of Energy, Wright is expected to announce five initiatives to strengthen coal innovation and mineral independence, Fox Digital learned. The five actions include: Reinstating of the National Coal Council; facilitating new investment in coal-powered electricity generation; the designation of steelmaking coal as a critical material and mineral; deploying mineral extraction technology from coal ash; and commercializing coal ash conversion technologies.
The National Coal Council is a 50-member federal advisory committee that was established in 1984, but saw its charter expire under the Biden administration in 2021. The council acted as a guide for the government while navigating coal technologies and markets. Once reinstated, the council will include coal producers, users, equipment suppliers, state and local officials, and other stakeholders, according to a Department of Energy press release first obtained by Fox News Digital Tuesday.
The Energy Department's Loan Program Office’s Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) Program will also make $200 billion in financing available for coal energy investments, such as upgrading energy infrastructure and building new facilities that utilize legacy energy infrastructure.
The Department of Energy also will work with the Interior Department to recommend that coal, in the context of steelmaking, be designated as critical material and a critical mineral in the 2025 Critical Materials Assessment.
"This strategic designation will help ensure the U.S. maintains a stable supply of steelmaking coal in the decades to come and underscores the vital role of steelmaking coal in bolstering national security and economic stability," the Energy Department explained of the initiative.
The department is also expected to heighten its focus on coal ash, specifically employing its newly patented technology to extract critical minerals from coal ash, and commercializing the recovery of critical minerals from coal ash, which the Department of Energy said will reduce the U.S.' reliance on China for such materials.
"The Energy Department is committed to restoring American energy dominance and strengthening America’s industrial base," the Department of Energy said of the initiative. "Secretary Wright will continue to work with all members of the National Energy Dominance Council to eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens on coal and unleash American energy."
While the EPA is set to announce that $5.8 million in State and Tribal Assistance Grants funds will be made available to provide grants assisting states in the implementation of EPA-approved state Coal Combustion Residual program, which comes after Zeldin's EPA already has taken a handful of coal-related actions, such as reconsidering the Biden-era "Clean Power Plan 2.0." plan and revising coal regulations.
"President Trump is delivering on the mandate Americans gave him last November by empowering different forms of domestic energy to drive down costs, increase domestic energy supply, and improve our grid security as we pioneer the path to become the Artificial Intelligence capital of the world," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in comment provided to Fox News Digital.
"The Obama and Biden administrations deliberately tried to regulate coal out of existence. Under my leadership, economic growth and environmental stewardship are not mutually exclusive choices. We are committed to supporting all forms of energy, including clean beautiful coal, and have already taken steps to bolster America’s energy dominance and make energy affordable again while ensuring we have the cleanest air, land and water on the planet," Zeldin added.
Producing energy at home in the U.S. was a cornerstone of Trump's campaign, with the then-candidate vowing that the U.S. would no longer rely on foreign nations for oil by reinvigorating the coal industry, and tapping oil in the U.S.
"We will develop the liquid gold that is right under our feet, including American oil and natural gas and we will also embrace nuclear, clean coal, hydropower, which is fantastic, and every other form of affordable energy to get it done," Trump said in 2023.
The Tuesday executive order is expected to build on Trump's pledge to make the U.S. energy independent while also providing cheaper energy costs to Americans, and follows previous actions such as withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, terminating the liberal climate plan dubbed the Green New Deal in a January executive order, and reversing a pause on liquefied natural exports, a fact sheet on the upcoming executive order argued.
EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump wants to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the world," and a top White House cryptocurrency policy official said that the administration is well on its way to ushering in "the golden age for digital assets."
Bo Hines, executive director of the President's Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, sat for an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital this week to outline the Trump administration’s work thus far in the cryptocurrency space.
Cryptocurrency, or "crypto" for short, is a digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralized system using cryptography that enables secure online payments for individuals or businesses.
"The president has made this a priority, and it is a testament to his leadership and his knowledge in the space," Hines explained. "Unlike any president before him, he has truly embraced this technological development in a way that no one else has, which has allowed us to do what we need to do to make the United States the crypto capital of the world."
Hines told Fox News Digital that officials have focused on "clearing the deck" and ensuring that "what was happening under the Biden regulatory regime has been rescinded and repealed."
Under the Biden administration, Hines said Americans using cryptocurrency went "offshore due to the nature of attacks they specifically received under the Biden regime."
"We will start seeing a lot of those players come back to the United States in short order because, look, we are the greatest country in the world. People want to innovate here. People want to build here. And this space is no different," he said. "At the end of the day, the largest players to the smallest players want to be operating in the United States—they just need a clear set of rules to abide by to do so."
Hines said that under the Biden administration, "rather than welcoming in innovation and encouraging technological developments, they went after these people."
"We’ve been in the demolition phase—removing a lot of those barriers that the Biden regime put up so that people can actually start building back here in the United States."
"My main message to players in the crypto space has been—welcome home," Hines said. "We are going to create the most pro-crypto-friendly regulatory environment that anyone could possibly imagine because we understand how important the innovation is here in this space."
Hines explained that during the first week of the second Trump administration, the president set up the interagency working group—the President's Council of Advisers on Digital Assets—which includes officials from the Treasury Department, the SEC, CFTC, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and more.
Trump's executive order directed the working group to explore several digital asset-related issues, including looking into the "potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile" and proposing "criteria for establishing such a stockpile, potentially derived from cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement efforts."
"With this group and other White House offices, we are working on delivering on the president’s promise to clear the deck and have all of these burdens and regulations lifted," Hines said.
The group is currently in the process of compiling recommendations and building a comprehensive report they will deliver to the president later this year. The report is designed to explain the "clearest regulatory environment possible" in the space, and recommendations for how the U.S. maintains its role as "the dominant leader in the space across the globe."
As for legislation, Hines pointed to the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or the STABLE Act. That legislation, which passed out of the House Financial Services Committee on a bipartisan vote, establishes framework for the issuance and operation of dollar-denominated payment stablecoins in the U.S.
"I think the Stable Coin legislation could be the first really, truly large and meaningful piece of legislation that the president signs in the first year of a second term," Hines said, noting it would "truly revolutionize the financial system for years to come."
"I think that Americans will see that once this legislation is through—once this regulatory framework is established—the way in which they move their money will be changed forever," Hines said. "You will see that Americans will have better access to quicker payments and better access to transparency."
