Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, fresh off a pardon from President Donald Trump, has a new job representing the interests of a politician known as the "Bosnian Bear," who also has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Blagojevich, who was pardoned by Trump in February, has agreed to lobby on behalf of the Republic of Srpska, a Serb-majority territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Politico reported. The region has long been mired in ethnic tension.
"RRB Strategies LLC will provide communications and public affairs support on behalf of the Republic of Srpska," according to the registration statement filed by Blagojevich's firm.
Registration is required under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
In a post on Wednesday, Blagojevich said Interpol, the global police organization, denied a request from "the unelected Bosnian High Representative to arrest Milorad Dodik, known as the ‘Bosnian Bear’ for his big physique, the duly elected President of the Republic of Srpska."
Interpol's denial came as Dodik traveled to Israel to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to attend a conference on how to combat antsemitism, the former governor said.
Earlier this week, Blagojevich said left-wing courts, prosecutors and officials were trying to "jail populist conservative leaders elected by the people & bar them from holding office."
He cited efforts to push back against Trump, Marine Le Pen in France and Dodik, who has long advocated for Srpska to separate from Bosnia and Herzegovina and join Serbia.
In February, he was sentenced to a year in prison for defying the country’s Constitutional Court. He has since fled to Moscow.
In March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Dodik was undermining Bosnia and Herzegovina's institutions and threatening its security and stability.
"Our nation encourages political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina to engage in constructive and responsible dialogue," he said. "We call on our partners in the region to join us in pushing back against this dangerous and destabilizing behavior."
Trump reportedly weighed tapping Blagojevich to serve as U.S. ambassador to Serbia before picking former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a month for website changes before canceling the contract and having an internal staffer take over, according to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
While combing through loads and loads of data, DOGE discovered a previous contract by the VA for its website maintenance.
"Good work by @DeptVetAffairs," DOGE said in a post on X on Wednesday. "VA was previously paying ~$380,000/month for minor website modifications. That contract has not been renewed, and the same work is now being executed by 1 internal VA software engineer spending ~10 hours/week."
Fox News Digital has reached out to the VA for comment about the former contract.
VA Secretary Doug Collins has defended DOGE cuts at the VA as part of the new administration's efforts to reform the department and better serve veterans.
In February, the VA announced that the dismissal of more than 1,000 employees would enable the department to redirect over $98 million per year in resources back to health care, benefits and services for VA beneficiaries.
Billionaire Elon Musk has been the face of DOGE since President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the department on Jan. 20.
Trump tasked the organization with optimizing the federal government, streamlining operations and slashing spending and gave the agency 18 months to do it.
Along with discoveries like the former contract VA signed for website maintenance, DOGE continues to find waste and fraud among federal agencies.
Last week, DOGE announced the termination of 113 contracts valued at $4.7 billion, including a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) consulting contract for Peru's climate change activities.
DOGE also announced the Department of Labor had canceled $577 million in "America Last" grants, totaling $237 million in savings.
The funding that was canceled included $10 million for "gender equity in the Mexican workplace," $12.2 million for "worker empowerment in South America" and $6.25 million for "improving respect for workers' rights in agricultural supply chains" in the countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
As of April 2, DOGE claims on its site it has saved Americans $140 billion, or $869.57 per taxpayer.
DOGE critics contend the organization has too much access to federal systems and should not be permitted to cancel federal contracts or make cuts to various agencies.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Wednesday slammed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), accusing both of discounting safety risks in New York City subways.
"The @MTA & @GovKathyHochul continue to say NYC subways are perfectly safe. Meanwhile, criminals continue to terrorize innocent New Yorkers," Duffy wrote in a post on X over a news story detailing recent violence on the NYC subway. "We're fighting to make commuting safe again."
In December, a 57-year-old woman was allegedly burned alive by an illegal migrant from Guatamala in a horrific subway attack.
Less than a month later, on New Year's Eve, a New York City man was charged with attempted murder after allegedly shoving a 45-year-old man onto the subway tracks.
In 2024, subway felony assaults increased and homicides doubled to 10, Fox News Digital previously reported.
However, overall, subway crime was down by 5.4%, according to the NYPD.
Duffy in March sent a letter to the MTA noting New York City's transit authority must reduce crime, or it would face federal funding cuts.
"The trend of violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety on one of our nation's most prominent metro systems is unacceptable," Duffy wrote in the letter. "After years of soft-on-crime policies, our Department is stepping in to restore order."
The letter requested a copy of MTA's data on fare evasion, worker assaults, customer assaults and police patrols, Fox News Digital previously reported.
It also requested an explanation of how MTA, which is given billions of dollars from the federal government, has used taxpayer funding to address safety and security concerns.
"Commuters are sick and tired of feeling like they have to jeopardize their safety to get to work, go to school, or to travel around the city," Duffy wrote in the letter. "We will continue to fight to ensure their federal tax dollars are going towards a crime-free commute."
The DOT, MTA and Hochul's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., sparred during a hearing on federal judges' nationwide orders against the Trump administration, and the Democrat dismissed her colleague's claims of "lawfare."
"Understand this is the second phase of lawfare," Cruz said during the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing, "Rule by District Judges II: Exploring Legislative Solutions to the Bipartisan Problem of Universal Injunctions."
"Now that their efforts to indict President Trump and stop the voters from re-electing him have failed, they're going and seeking out individual radical judges," the Texas Republican claimed.
"Why don't you file them in red districts?" Cruz asked. "Why are the Democrat attorneys general seeking out left-wing, blue swing districts?"
Klobuchar claimed the spike in nationwide injunctions from district judges halting Trump administration actions are not because "these judges are crooked or lunatics or evil." And she warned that making such claims could instigate threats and violence against them.
Cruz criticized Democrats for not sufficiently denouncing threats against conservative Supreme Court justices in recent years. But Klobuchar called that a lie, explaining, "We came together and got more funding for the judges and changed things so that they had more protection."
While multiple Democrats criticized "judge shopping" during the hearing, they were careful not to get behind Republican bills to end all nationwide injunctions.
"It's impossible to separate the hearing from President Trump's record in office," said ranking member Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
But ending judge shopping, as Democrats have proposed in the past, wouldn't completely address the issue, said majority witnesses John N. Matthews, a law professor at Notre Dame Samuel Bray, and Jesse Panuccio, partner at Boies Schiller Flexner. He was previously the acting associate attorney general at the Department of Justice (DOJ), chairman of the DOJ’s Regulatory Reform Task Force and vice chairman of the DOJ’s Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud.
"I think the incentive for forum shopping is that you think you can get a judge who can be a ruler for the whole nation. So, fix the problem of judges overreaching," Panuccio.
FIRST ON FOX: The White House is taking a top-down approach in making sure Republicans are united on President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs plan.
U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer briefed House Republican staffers on the administration's strategy on Wednesday evening, Fox News Digital was told.
Greer opened the call stressing that Trump was ushering in a magnitude of economic change not seen since the post-World War II era.
He also said the U.S. had been subjected to unfair trade practices for decades since lowering its own tariffs against other countries in a bid to bolster global trade, Fox News Digital was told.
Examples Greer cited for Capitol Hill aides included both Brazil and the European Union, while stressing that exemptions would be made for foreign products already subject to U.S. penalties — rather than double up on the taxes.
While political communications offices often hold coordinated messaging calls on important issues, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that it was the first such communications policy call between this White House and House Republican staff.
It underscores tariffs' importance in the Trump administration's policy platform, as the White House works to ensure the GOP is in lock-step on its messaging.
When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a White House official emphasized that the Trump administration has been the most transparent in history, and that the president wants to ensure his allies are armed with the most up-to-date information.
And while the vast majority of Republicans are praising Trump's moves, some GOP lawmakers have conceded to at least some concerns.
"I think tariffs that are equal to what they're charging are defensible. We want a level playing field," Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening. "The automobile one can be messy because the parts are from all over."
Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine., spoke out in support of a Democratic bid to exempt Canada from tariffs on the Senate floor Thursday, hours before Trump's formal announcement.
"The price hikes that will happen for Maine families, every time they go to the grocery store, they fill their gas tank, they fill their heating oil tank, if these tariffs go into effect, will be so harmful," Collins said of the Canada tariffs specifically.
"And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least. Therefore, I will support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so likewise."
Another GOP lawmaker who spoke with Fox News Digital on Thursday, however, downplayed any longstanding concerns.
"I think as long as it's a short-term tool, folks will be OK with it," the GOP lawmaker said.
During the Thursday evening call rallying House GOP aides, first-term Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., sent out a statement backing Trump's move but conceding she understood the concerns.
"The U.S. is taking action to address decades of unfair trade barriers that have put American manufacturers, producers, and businesses at a huge disadvantage. I support President Trump's efforts to create a level playing field and his long-term strategy to strengthen our critical domestic supply chains," Fedorchak said.
"At the same time, I recognize the challenges these tariffs create for North Dakota’s farmers and producers, and I will continue to advocate for expanding market opportunities for our products as well as other policies to help counter the negative impacts tariffs may create for producers."
A number of Republican lawmakers were at the White House in support of the announcement on Thursday, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
"President Trump is sending a clear message with Liberation Day: America will not be exploited by unfair trade practices anymore," Johnson said in a public statement. "These tariffs restore fair and reciprocal trade and level the playing field for American workers and innovators. The President understands that FREE trade ONLY works when it’s FAIR!"
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a close Trump ally, wrote on X, "President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are a brilliant economic strategy. Joe Biden left the United States with a whopping $1.2 trillion trade deficit at the end of his regime."
Fox News Digital also reached out to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Trump's plan involves a 10% blanket tariff on all foreign imports into the U.S., as well as tariffs up to 50% on both adversaries and allies.
It also introduces some level of reciprocal tariffs on countries that tax U.S. exports, though in most cases, the U.S. rate is lower than the foreign country's.
The White House is clapping back against media reports alleging intelligence officials have been using the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal to send classified information, describing the allegations as "false" in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The statement from National Security Council (NSC) spokesman Brian Hughes comes after Politico published a report suggesting Trump National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his team have used the app frequently to discuss sensitive communications on a variety of different issues.
"This is a clear attempt by some in media and the Democrats to obscure the simple truth: The President and his national security team are delivering for the nation by confronting our adversaries and standing with our allies to bring peace through strength," Hughes said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Hughes added that Signal is "an approved" messaging app, particularly as it pertains to unclassified info, "and any claim NSC officials are sending classified information over these channels is false."
Questions have circulated about the Trump administration's use of Signal since The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg released his exposé alleging he was accidentally invited by Waltz to a sensitive group chat on the encrypted messaging app. Critics of the Trump administration have said the messages included "war plans" for an attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
There have also been debates over whether the information discussed in the chat uncovered by Goldberg was classified information or contained "war plans."
Media reports from The Wall Street Journal, Politico and The Washington Post have claimed Waltz and his team have frequently used Signal and other public messaging platforms to discuss sensitive topics and official government business.
"Using Signal to send unclassified information is appropriate, and these same facts have been reported multiple times in the last few days," Hughes said, noting there are federal agencies that "automatically install" Signal on government devices.
"Some in NSC, like those in the media and many areas across the federal government, use the Signal app," Hughes added. "All communications are a reflection of a thoughtful dialog of those committed to the effective implementation of the president’s agenda."
In December, before President Trump took over the White House from Joe Biden, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency called on senior government and political officials to switch to end-to-end encrypted messaging platforms like Signal.
Still, critics of the Trump administration are demanding answers. On Tuesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee sent letters to "non-principal agency officials" who were part of the original Signal group chat that accidentally included Goldberg.
The letters call for the individuals, who Democrats say may have "firsthand knowledgeconcerning the discussion of sensitive and/or classified national security information on Signal," to appear before Congress for transcribed interviews.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, sent another letter to Waltz Tuesday as well, demanding he and his staff stop using Google's Gmail for official government business after The Washington Post published a report claiming members of the president's National Security Council were using personal Gmail accounts to discuss official business.
The letter to Waltz demanded he turn over all communications relating to official government business that he or his staff sent over Signal or other "unauthorized messaging and email applications and platforms."
Waltz has taken responsibility for the leaked Signal chat that Goldberg accidentally accessed, but he also insisted "no classified information" was ever discussed in the messaging thread.
A Democrat-led resolution undoing President Donald Trump's tariffs against Canada advanced past the Senate on Wednesday after multiple Republicans joined their counterparts in support of it.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul of Kentucky supported the resolution, bucking the president to do so. The final vote was 51 to 48.
"As I have always warned, tariffs are bad policy, and trade wars with our partners hurt working people most. Tariffs drive up the cost of goods and services," former GOP Senate leader McConnell said in a statement afterward.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso slammed the resolution's passage, saying in a statement, "Senator Kaine’s goal was not to make law. It was simply an effort to undermine President Trump’s successful work to secure the Northern Border."
"Speaker Johnson already declared Senator Kaine’s resolution dead on arrival in the House of Representatives. It will never make it to President Trump’s desk," he explained. "This meaningless messaging resolution will not stop Senate Republicans from making America’s communities safer."
The privileged resolution was introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and would end the emergency Trump declared at the northern border on Feb. 1.
In a statement of administrative policy ahead of the vote, Trump's White House said his advisors would urge the president to veto the resolution if it passed the Senate.
"President Trump promised to secure our borders and stop the scourge of fentanyl that’s poisoning our communities, and he’s delivering. Democrat Senator Tim Kaine is trying to undermine the President’s Emergency Declaration at our Northern Borders—a measure that prioritizes our national security—for reasons that defy logic," a White House official told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement on Tuesday.
"Under Joe Biden’s failed leadership, criminal networks, fentanyl, and terrorists ran rampant along the northern border. Today’s stunt by Tim Kaine proves once again how woefully out of touch the Democrat Party is with the American people as they use a matter of national security for political gamesmanship. The stakes are too high to reverse course; the declaration must stay in place," they continued.
Kaine pushed back, telling Fox News Digital in a statement, "The Trump Administration’s own threat assessment report on fentanyl did not mention Canada—not even once. Trump’s order is a blatant abuse of his authority, and it is critical that Congress push back before he inflicts even more damage to our economy and to the relationship with one of our top trading partners and closest allies."
The resolution was required to be brought to the floor for a vote, due to its privileged nature, and it only required a simple majority vote of 51 senators to pass.
Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to call out multiple Republicans he warned against voting in favor of the resolution.
"Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul, also of Kentucky, will hopefully get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy," he said in a post.
Collins revealed in floor remarks earlier in the day that she would vote in favor of the resolution.
"Mr. President, the price hikes that will happen for Maine families, every time they go to the grocery store, they fill their gas tank, they filled their heating oil tank, if these tariffs go into effect, will be so harmful. And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least. Therefore, I will support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so likewise," she said.
Paul has been a vocal critic of tariffs during his entire tenure, including during the Trump administration. He is a co-sponsor of the Kaine resolution.
He told reporters, "I think tariffs on trade between US and Canada will threaten our country with a recession. I think they're a terrible idea economically and will lead to higher prices. Tariffs are simply taxes. Republicans used to be and conservatives, in particular, used to be against new taxes."
Questioned by Fox News Digital, "Squad" member and leading Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York refused to answer whether she believes Democrats’ inflammatory rhetoric against Elon Musk has any connection to the violent attacks and vandalism against Tesla owners and dealers across the country.
Ocasio-Cortez also refused to answer whether she still owns a Tesla, citing "security reasons."
Democrats have been critical of Musk for his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with some labeling him a "Nazi" and a "threat to democracy."
The congresswoman has also been critical of the DOGE chief, saying in a March 1 X post, "this guy is a leech on the public."
"No matter how many billions he gets in tax cuts and government contracts, it will never be enough for him. Now he’s going after the elderly, the disabled, and orphaned children so he can pocket it in tax cuts for himself. It’s disgusting," she wrote.
During her "fight oligarchy" rally tour with Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., Cortez claimed "an extreme concentration of power and corruption is taking over this country like never before."
Fox News Digital asked Cortez whether she sees a connection between language against Musk and the violent incidents across the nation.
Cortez began to answer, saying, "Yeah, I mean, again, I’ve seen Republicans call me communist and that I hate this country," before trailing off.
Pressed whether she still owns the Tesla Model 3 she bought in 2020, Cortez declined to answer, saying, "Um, for security reasons, I’m not commenting."
After weeks of Democrats condemning Musk for his role at DOGE, there have been at least 80 acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles in the U.S. and Canada and at least 10 incidents of vandalism and arson against Tesla dealerships, charging stations and properties.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the Justice Department is treating the incidents as "domestic terrorism."
On March 20, the Justice Department charged three people with domestic terrorism after they allegedly used Molotov cocktails to attack Tesla properties around the country.
"The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended," Bondi said. "Let this be a warning: If you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars."
All three face charges carrying a minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison, the department said.
Despite this, few Democrats have spoken out against the vandals, and key leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., declined to comment on the issue.
Though she would not comment on the acts of terror against Tesla owners and workers, Ocasio-Cortez, considered one of the country’s leading Democratic voices, has previously accused her Republican opponents of engaging in "stochastic terrorism," using inflammatory language to incite violent action, by criticizing her, which she said prompted her to hire security.
Speaking on CNN in 2023, she said, "It’s uncomfortable serving with people who engage in what many experts deem stochastic terrorism, which is the incitement of violence using digital means and large platforms so that individuals themselves may not be the one that’s wielding a weapon.
"I’ve consistently had to ride in 20,000-pound armored vehicles, engaging in some of the most gruesome threats that you can imagine that were incited by Republican members," she said. "This is not just about a tweet. It's about what life looks like and the marshaling of hundreds, thousands, if not millions of people into doing something."
During the same interview, she also accused President Donald Trump of being aware his rhetoric stokes violence, saying, "He uses and used his rallies very strategically in order to engage in political intimidation that he deems his political enemies."
Fox News Digital's Peter D'Abrosca and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
Ron DeSantis intensified his attacks on Randy Fine Wednesday, blaming the representative-elect's "unique problems" for a thin special election victory in a district known as a Republican stronghold.
The Trump-endorsed candidate won Tuesday night's special election to take over former Congressman Mike Waltz's seat by 14 points, the slimmest margin of victory for a Republican in the district since 2018.
DeSantis, who had already been criticizing Fine's ability to pull out a victory, called the representative-elect a "squish" who Republican voters didn't even want to cast their ballots for Tuesday night.
"The president really had to bail him out at the end because this race would have been much closer had the president sat on the sidelines," DeSantis said. "I think these were voters who didn't like Randy Fine but who basically were like, ‘You know what? We’re going to take one for the team.'"
The governor also challenged media reports characterizing the close race as a reflection of President Donald Trump's agenda.
"I don't think that's true at all for this district," DeSantis said at the press conference. "I think you have a candidate in Randy Fine, who, one, he's a squish."
DeSantis added that Fine "repels" people, including his former colleagues in the state legislature. During the press conference Wednesday, the governor recounted how lawmakers in the state requested he nominate Fine to be the president of Florida Atlantic University so he would not have to serve in the legislature anymore.
"I did, and the whole board [at Florida Atlantic] would have resigned rather than make him president," DeSantis said.
DeSantis and Fine have had a contentious relationship for some time, which can be traced back to at least 2023, when Fine was the first Florida Republican to switch his endorsement from DeSantis to Trump during the 2024 Republican presidential nomination battle. Fine articulated his decision to endorse Trump over DeSantis during the 2024 presidential primary in a subsequent op-ed that slammed the Florida governor for failing to tamp down antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on innocent Israelis.
According to DeSantis, Fine has supported restrictions on the Second Amendment, tried to defeat his immigration proposal earlier this year aimed at boosting the enforcement of immigration laws and tried to enact a de facto sanctuary city policy.
In response to DeSantis' criticisms, Fine responded on X alongside video of the governor's remarks at the press conference Wednesday.
"A dying star burns hottest before it fades into oblivion. I’m focused on working with President Donald Trump to stop Democrats from taking this country backwards, not working with them," Fine wrote. "Let’s go."
Allies of Fine have been unhappy about DeSantis' public criticisms of the representative-elect, who will now add another crucial vote to the GOP's narrow House majority that had dwindled as a result of several members going to work in the Trump administration.
"Ron and Casey DeSantis are disloyal and consistently put their agenda ahead of the president’s," a national Republican operative in Trump's orbit told Fox News Digital. "With the congressional majority on the line in their own backyard, Ron and Casey didn’t lift a finger to help President Trump’s endorsed candidates. Worse, Ron undermined President Trump, openly attacked his candidates leading up to the special election, which could have suppressed Republican turnout, and then crowed about it on Fox News.
A Virginia family in Washington, D.C., got an image for the ages when former President Barack Obama accidentally photobombed a shot of their two children next to the area's treasured cherry blossom trees, prompting the former commander-in-chief to apologize on social media.
Obama was seen accidentally strolling into the background of a professional photograph of Belle, 4, and Preston, 1, at the Tidal Basin on Monday, the New York Post reported.
"Preston and Belle, hope you enjoyed peak bloom," Obama wrote on Instagram. "My bad for stepping into the shot."
Millions of tourists from all over flock to the nation's capital each spring to catch a glimpse of the blossom trees.
The photo shows the pair of children smiling under a branch with pretty pink petals with the Washington Monument in the background. Obama is shown walking behind the pair while wearing a cap and sunglasses, with his hands in his pockets.
The children had just finished posing with their parents, Portia Moore and Damien Thomas, when their dad noticed Obama making the unexpected cameo, Moore wrote on Instagram.
"Look who strolled by in our picture for our family Cherry Blossom photo shoot!" she wrote.
"Story time! It’s the kids turn to take a photo together and Damien is saying something to me," she added. "I’m just focused on Preston not running towards the water (peak mom moment). After that shoot was done I pick Preston up and asked Damien ‘what were you saying’? He goes ‘that was President Obama who just walked by’ and looks his direction. I was like whaaaaat?! I ran to the photographer and asked her if she got the picture. She scrolls through and BOOM there is it! The perfect shot!"
Photographer Briana Inell, who was taking pictures of Moore’s young children, told the Washington Post that she's been photographing families and newborns for over a decade.
She said she's used to people walking in the background, mostly tourists.
"I go to the Tidal Basin every single year," Inell said. "I’m very used to people walking in on my pictures. I tell my clients ‘don’t worry they will be Photoshopped out.'"
In addition to his apology, Obama also posted about the day on his own Instagram account.
"It’s fun to be able to play tourist once in a while. The cherry blossoms were beautiful this morning!" he wrote.
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.
Here's what's happening…
-Dozens arrested in major border state bust targeting bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang
-Bitter House GOP divisions erupt after Johnson shuts down votes over Republican mutiny
-FBI flooded with record number of new agent applications in Kash Patel's first month leading bureau
Elon Musk will exit his role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on schedule later this spring, once "his incredible work at DOGE is complete," the White House confirmed Wednesday.
"This ‘scoop’ is garbage," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted to X Wednesday. "Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete."
Leavitt was referring to a Wednesday Politico article reporting that "Trump has told his inner circle & members of his Cabinet that" Musk "will be stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role." Musk, however, has long been anticipated to step back from DOGE when his 130 days as a "special government employee" run out in May…Read more
HIGH VEEPSTAKES: Vance’s active VP role is a historical rarity, 'huge asset' to US, says top GOP ally
RECIPROCITY: These are the ‘Dirty 15’ countries Trump might target with Liberation Day tariffs
OLD SICKORY: Does President Trump really need to cut down Andrew Jackson's magnolia tree? Expert weighs in
DEPORTATION FIGHT: Trump tells Supreme Court his authority is under siege in deportation showdown
'LIVE NOT BY LIES': Vance says we can 'reclaim' society from totalitarian left if we ‘keep on fighting’
BLOCKED: Federal judge blocks Trump admin's terminations of probationary federal workers at 18 agencies
TALKING TAXES: Trump, Senate GOP budget leaders huddle at White House on reconciliation bill
Trump administration officials tell Fox 85 miles of new border wall is expected to go up this year with plans for hundreds of miles more in 2026 and beyond.
"Our absolute intent is to build as much wall as we need to get the border under control," says Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks. He recently boasted on X "back in business" with photos of one project along the Rio Grande in Texas.
Over the past week, Fox has spotted work crews plugging gaps in the existing wall line east of Yuma, Ariz., and in a rugged area of San Diego known locally as "Smuggler's Gulch."
"Operational control is what we are trying to achieve," Jeffrey Stalnaker, San Diego Border Patrol Sector Chief, said Tuesday. "We’re trying to detect anyone and everything coming across the border illegally. And to have 100 percent situational awareness of what’s going on in our area of responsibility."
Other planned projects for this year include Jacumba, Calif., where, during the Biden administration, thousands of migrants – many from China – were seen crossing over the rugged landscape to then claim asylum. Most of whom were then released into the country to await further proceedings. That location and many others along the border are now much quieter than in recent years.
In October, the San Diego sector averaged 451 illegal crossings every day. In March, under President Trump, that average daily number fell to 39.
"If you've got laws that aren't being enforced, or if you have an administration like the Biden administration that refuses to allow the border patrol to actually enforce the law and provide a consequence, then walls by themselves don't work," Banks told Fox. "We've gotten the border under more control than it's ever been, but the goal is operational control, and we're not going to quit until we get there."
On that front, Banks wants to expand the use of large blocking buoys in the middle of the Rio Grande and backstop them with walls on the shoreline. It’s a multi-layered security zone that exists in other areas of the border. "What you'll have is a two-tiered system," Banks says.
"So, you'll have the buoy systems in the river in Texas. If you were to make it past those buoys and made it to the shore, then you still would have the actual border wall system."
All told, Border Patrol officials would like to add up to nearly 1,000 miles of additional barriers in the years to come – if Congress provides the funding. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) introduced a bill in January that would allocate $25 billion for that purpose.
In the meantime, crews continue to plug gaps like the one in Smuggler's Gulch.
"We’re going to catch everyone that’s crossing and be aware of what’s going on in our area of responsibility," Stalnaker said as a bulldozer behind him cleared the way for the next wall panel to go into the ground.
The Supreme Court appeared divided Wednesday over whether a state can block Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood clinics, in a technical interpretation over healthcare choices that has become a larger political fight over abortion access.
In nearly two hours of oral arguments, the court's conservative majority offered measured support for South Carolina's position.
The specific issue is whether low-income Medicaid patients can sue in order to choose their own qualified healthcare provider. The federal-state program has shared responsibility for funding and administering it, through private healthcare providers.
Federal law bans taxpayer money from going to fund almost all abortions, but Planned Parenthood also provides a range of other medical services with and without Medicaid subsidies, including gynecological care and cancer screenings.
Blocking the provider from Medicaid networks could effectively defund it. Given the divisive underlying issue of abortion, groups on both sides rallied outside the high court ahead of the arguments.
The state's governor in 2018 signed an executive order blocking Medicaid funding for the state’s two Planned Parenthood clinics, saying it amounted to taxpayers subsidizing abortions.
Courts have put that order on hold, leading to the current case.
South Carolina now bans abortion around six weeks of pregnancy, or when cardiac activity is detected, with limited exceptions.
The key provision in the 1965 Medicaid Act guarantees patients a "free choice of provider" that is willing and qualified.
Much of the court session dealt with whether Planned Parenthood was a "qualified provider" under the Medicaid law, and whether individual patients have an unambiguous "right" to sue to see their provider of choice, under its specific language.
"It seems a little bit odd to think that a problem that motivated Congress to pass this provision was that states were limiting the choices people had," said Justice Sonia Sotomayor. "It seems hard to understand that states didn't understand that they had to give individuals the right to choose a provider."
"The state has an obligation to ensure that a person... has a right to choose their doctor," added Justice Elena Kagan. "It's impossible to even say the thing without using the word 'right.'"
But some conservative justices questioned how to interpret a provision that does not contain the word "right."
"One can imagine a statute written as an individual benefit that's mandatory on the states but isn't right-creating" for the patient, said Justice Neil Gorsuch. "I mean, that's an imaginable scenario."
Justice Samuel Alito added it was "something that's quite extraordinary" to give individuals that right to sue under the Constitution's spending clause.
The votes of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett could be key: They asked tough questions of both sides.
Barrett offered a hypothetical of the right of a patient to go to court over their doctor accused of medical malpractice. "Does it make sense in that circumstance for Congress to want plaintiffs to be able to sue?" she asked.
Planned Parenthood says its future is at stake, noting nearly $700 million – about a third of its overall nationwide revenue – originates from Medicaid reimbursements, and government grants and contracts.
But the group notes just $90,000 in Medicaid funding goes to Planned Parenthood facilities every year in South Carolina, which is comparatively small to the state's total Medicaid spending.
Julie Edwards, a South Carolina resident, sued along with Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which operates two clinics in Columbia and Charleston. She has type-1 diabetes and associated medical complications and wanted to choose the Columbia clinic for its range of services, including reproductive care.
A federal appeals court ruled against the state in 2024, concluding the "free choice of provider" provision "specifies an entitlement given to each Medicaid beneficiary: to choose one’s preferred qualified provider without state interference."
In a 2023 Supreme Court opinion involving care for nursing home residents, the justices concluded that a different law from Medicaid gives individuals the right to sue.
A year earlier, the high court overturned its Roe v. Wadeprecedent of a nationwide right to abortion.
Several states – including Texas, Missouri and Arkansas – have already done what South Carolina wants to do by cutting Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood and more could follow if South Carolina prevails.
"The people in this state do not want their tax money to go to that organization," said Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who attended the oral argument. "I believe the decision of this court will be that the people of South Carolina have the right to make this decision for themselves, for our state. Other states may make a different decision, but not ours. South Carolina stands for the right to life, and we'll do whatever is necessary to protect that."
The Trump Justice Department is supporting the state, and abortion rights groups say the issue is about patient choice.
"Our health centers serve an irreplaceable role in the state’s healthcare system, providing birth control and cancer screenings to people who can’t afford those services anywhere else," said Paige Johnson, interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. "Government officials should never block people from getting healthcare or be able to decide which doctor you can or cannot see."
One concern raised by healthcare advocates is finding gynecological and family planning services in states with limited facilities. Low-income women often have greater difficulty traveling long distances to get such quality care, a requirement for Medicaid providers.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he would make it his mission to bring as much clarity over when patients can go to court, which he called a 45-year "odyssey."
Much of the public arguments dealt with whether a "right" to sue was a magic word to automatically decide the matter.
"I'm not allergic to magic words, because magic words – if they represent the principle – will provide the clarity that will avoid the litigation that is a huge waste of resources for states, courts, providers, beneficiaries."
The case is Medina (SC DOH) v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (23-1275). A ruling is likely by early summer.
President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs during a highly anticipated "Make America Wealthy Again" event which he said will restore the American dream and bolster jobs for U.S. workers.
"American steel workers, auto workers, farmers and skilled craftsmen," Trump said from the White House Rose Garden Wednesday afternoon. "We have a lot of them here with us today. They really suffered, gravely. They watched in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream. We had an American dream that you don't hear so much about. You did four years ago, and you are now. But you don't too often."
"Now it's our turn to prosper, and in so doing, use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt," he said. "And it will all happen very quickly. With today's action, we are finally going to be able to make America great again, greater than ever before or. Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country and you see it happening already. We will supercharge our domestic industrial base."
Trump was joined by members of his Cabinet for the highly anticipated announcement, which marked the first official presidential event held in the Rose Garden since Trump's January inauguration.
"For nations that treat us badly, we will calculate the combined rate of all their tariffs, nonmonetary barriers and other forms of cheating. And because we are being very kind," he said. "We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us. So the tariffs will be not a full reciprocal. I could have done that. Yes. But it would have been tough for a lot of countries."
Trump pointed to the European Union, and explained the U.S. will charge its nations a 20% tariff, compared to its39%tariffs on the U.S. Japan will see24% tariffs compared to the 46% the country charges the U.S., while China will be hit with a34% tariff compared to the 67% it charges the U.S.
Trump rattled off the countries that will face the reciprocal tariffs, which also included nations such as Chile, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and others.
Other nations will face 10% baseline tariffs, Trump said.
Trump also railed against "non-tariff barriers" imposed on the U.S. Non-tariff barriers are understood as trade restrictions that limit international trade through means other than tariffs, such as quotas or regulations. Non-tariff barriers imposed by other countries on the U.S. commonly focus on agricultural goods, such as limits on meats and fresh produce the nation can export abroad.
"For decades, the United States slashed trade barriers on other countries, while those nations placed massive tariffs on our products and created outrageous non-monetary barriers to decimate our industries," Trump said. "And in many cases, the non-monetary barriers were worse than the monetary ones. They manipulated their currencies, subsidized their exports, stole our intellectual property, imposed exorbitant taxes to disadvantage our products, adopted unfair rules and technical standards, and created filthy pollution havens."
Trump said that for more than 100 years, the U.S. was a tariff-backed nation, which provided a surge of wealth.
"From 1789 to 1913, we were a tariff-backed nation. And the United States was proportionately the wealthiest it has ever been," he said. "So wealthy, in fact, that in the 1880s they established a commission to decide what they were going to do with the vast sums of money they were collecting. We were collecting so much money so fast, we didn't know what to do with it. Isn't that a nice problem to have?"
Trump and his administration have for weeks touted April 2 as "Liberation Day," arguing that reciprocal tariffs will even the playing field for the U.S. after decades of unfair trading practices.
"April 2nd, 2025, will go down as one of the most important days in modern American history," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Tuesday's White House press briefing. "Our country has been one of the most open economies in the world, and we have the consumer base, hands down — the best consumer base. But too many foreign countries have their markets closed to our exports. This is fundamentally unfair."
Trump and his administration have touted that the tariff plan will encourage business in the U.S. as industries set up shop on American soil to avoid tariffs, opening up job opportunities for U.S. workers.
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro previewed during a "Fox News Sunday" interview over the weekend that the new tariffs will generate $600 billion annually for the U.S. — or $6 trillion during the next decade.
Details on Trump's tariff plan remained hazy until his Wednesday announcement. The Liberation Day tariffs follow other tariffs Trump has leveled against foreign nations, including a 25% tariff on all aluminum and steel imports and a 20% tariff on goods from China that were leveraged to help curb the flow of deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl from China into the U.S.
Trump's previously announced 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada also are slated to take effect Wednesday after Trump granted temporary exemptions that expire on "Liberation Day."
Trump also announced a 25% tariff on all imported cars that will take effect Thursday, and another 25% tariff on all car parts will take effect no later than May 3, as well as a 25% tariff on nations that purchase oil from Venezuela that took effect Wednesday.
The trade announcements have sparked uncertainty about the cost of goods to Americans, which Leavitt brushed aside Tuesday during a press briefing, arguing the tariff plan "is going to work."
Trump's tariff advisors are "not going to be wrong," Leavitt told Fox News' Peter Doocy Tuesday when asked about concerns over the plan. "It is going to work. And the president has a brilliant team of advisors who have been studying these issues for decades. And we are focused on restoring the Golden Age of America and making America a manufacturing superpower."
Trump also rolled out tariff trade policies during his first administration, including 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% tariffs on aluminum imports, which the second administration championed as proof tariffs are an "effective tool for achieving economic and strategic objectives," the White House said in a Wednesday press release ahead of the tariff announcement.
The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, is pitching almost 400 books from its library, in accordance with directives from the Trump administration to eliminate content related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
"We can confirm the U.S. Naval Academy has removed nearly 400 books from their Nimitz Library collection in order to ensure compliance with all directives outlined in Executive Orders issued by the President," a Navy spokesperson told Fox News Digital Wednesday. "Nimitz Library houses roughly 590,000 print books, 322 databases, and over 5,000 print journals and magazines to support the academic inquiries and intellectual development of Midshipmen."
A list of the books tossed was not available and no other details were immediately provided.
President Donald Trump has signed multiple executive orders instructing federal agencies to remove DEI content, including an order in January that barred kindergarten through 12th grade institutions that receive federal funding from including DEI material in their curriculum. But the U.S. military service academies had previously remained exempt because they are not a kindergarten through 12th grade institution.
The Naval Academy’s purge stemmed from an order from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s office, according to the Associated Press – although it’s unclear if Hegseth issued the directive himself or if it came from a staffer.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about whether Hegseth’s office directed the order, and if it had instructed the other service academies to purge DEI books from its libraries. Instead, the Pentagon directed Fox News Digital to the U.S. Naval Academy and shared a statement from chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell: "All service academies are fully committed to executing and implementing President Trump’s Executive Orders."
Hegseth has remained vigilant about weeding out DEI programs from the Department of Defense. In January, he announced that the Pentagon would follow all orders from Trump to scrap DEI efforts from the military.
"The President’s guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at Dept. of Defense," Hegseth wrote in an X post. "The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays."
The Pentagon’s effort to eliminate DEI from its social media and websites initially prompted the removal of a swath of DOD web pages, including references to the Enola Gay aircraft responsible for dropping the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.
However, the Pentagon moved to restore some of these web pages – including ones that referenced Black veterans such as U.S. Army veteran and baseball playerJackie Robinson and the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military aviators in the Army Air Corps during World War II.
Meanwhile, the Naval Academy's library scrub comes days after documents from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals were made public Friday disclosing that the service academy will not take into account race, ethnicity or sex in admissions to the institution, in response to an executive order Trump issued in January.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that considering race in the higher education admissions process was unconstitutional, however, it provided a caveat for U.S. military academies. Previous legal filings from the Naval Academy said that while race rarely served as a factor in the admissions process, it occasionally did in a "limited fashion."
The U.S. Naval Academy is one of several elite service military academies, and trains undergraduate midshipmen for careers as officers in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
The Associated Press and Fox News' Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
Federal and state authorities are operating within the bounds of the U.S. Constitution when they deny federal prisoners access to taxpayer-funded sex change procedures for transgender inmates, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita told a U.S. district court this week.
Rokita filed a 24-state amicus brief in support of President Donald Trump's legal effort to uphold his executive order, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," which prohibits the use of federal taxpayer dollars for transgender procedures for inmates.
"If we're to lose this case, the floodgates will open, and you will see an unending amount of these cases being filed. Costs are going to go up for the state of Indiana to accommodate these unneeded, unnecessary and dangerous surgeries," Rokita told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday.
Rokita is also helping his state fight a two-year legal battle brought on by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of a transgender inmate — convicted of killing his 11-month-old baby — to receive a sex-change surgery.
The federal judge in the case, Clinton appointee Richard Young, repeatedly ruled that the inmate must be given gender surgery at the "earliest opportunity," despite Indiana's law barring the state Department of Corrections from using taxpayer funds to cover sex reassignment surgeries for inmates. Rokita has filed an appeal of that decision.
"It's absolutely imperative that not only President Trump's executive orders stand, but that Indiana wins this case," Rokita said.
Both Rokita and the Trump administration's cases deal with the accusation that prohibiting so called "gender-affirming care" for inmates violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment."
In the Trump case, an inmate anonymously identified as Maria Moe, is being represented by advocacy groups GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lowenstein Sandler LLP. Once Trump signed the executive order, Moe was transferred to a men's prison facility, and BOP records changed the sex from "female" to "male," the complaint says.
Several inmates who signed onto the lawsuit as plaintiffs were also transferred to men's facilities to match their biological sex, but are now being sent back to women's facilities after U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the executive order last week.
"The politics of some of these courts these days, and playing into this is really a head scratcher," Rokita said. "But the chaos that would ensue in the prison system, with all these jailhouse lawyers, all of a sudden… the expense of the taxpayer would be astronomical."
Education Secretary Linda McMahon gave unexpected remarks in the spirit of nonpartisanship at the House Democrats' press conference on Wednesday, but she did not answer when pressed on the timing of the DOE shutting its doors.
McMahon stopped by the Democrats' press conference outside the building for the Department of Education, which she has promised to dismantle in line with President Donald Trump's recent executive order. Beforehand, she met with Rep. Mark Tankano, D-Calif., and at least ten other Democratic members to discuss concerns over recent layoffs. The department announced last month it was initiating its reduction in force mission, impacting nearly 50% of its workforce.
"I just want to express my gratitude to all of these folks who came today so that we get to have an open discussion about what I believe is one of the most important things that we can have a discussion on on our action in our country, and that is the education of our young people," McMahon said on Wednesday. "As Representative Tankano said as we were ending the meeting, which I thought was incredibly appropriate, and that is that this is not a partisan issue. This is about the children of America, and it's the next generation to generation after that. And if we want to have our leaders, if we want to have that next, group of engineers and doctors and lawyers and plumbers, electricians and HVAC operators, then we need to focus on how they can best have their education."
"And I believe, and I know the president does believe this as well, the best education is that that is closest to the child, where teachers and parents, local superintendents – working together and local school boards to develop the curriculum for those students – is the best way that it can happen," she said. "Funding from the United States government will continue through the programs, that is, that have already been established, and I will look forward to continuing to work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. And I welcome the fact that these folks came today and expressed their concerns and shared in an open, collegial format their concerns and how we can lead now to work more together. That's the way it ought to operate. And I'm very happy to have had them here."
As McMahon concluded her remarks and attempted to turn the event back over to Democrats, Tankano interjected with a question for the secretary.
"When are you going to shut down this building?" he asked her in front of news cameras.
"Well, we've had our discussions already, so thank you all," McMahon said, leaving the podium and walking back into the building.
"As you see, she's not answering the question when she's going to shut down the Department of Education," Tankano told reporters. "Now she doesn't have a plan. And while she doesn't have a plan, they're continuing to look at firing people, reduction and reverse a reduction in force."
Tankano told reporters that during their meeting McMahon expressed "ambiguity" regarding when she would carry out Trump's campaign promise of shuttering the Department of Education. He said she vowed to consult appropriate statute.
Tankano also noted that McMahon said during her Senate confirmation hearing that she would consult with Congress as far as when it would be lights out for the department.
Congress established the Department of Education in 1979 and will most likely need to approve its dismantling. Republicans have floated legislation to achieve that goal.
Trump signed an executive order on March 20 to significantly scale down the department while maintaining some of its core functions. It was unclear whether the department would continue to manage its $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio, as the order's language suggested bank functions could be moved to a more suitable entity. Privatization seems to remain on the table for the administration.
"I have to say that the Secretary indicated more than once, that before she moved any functions of the department to other departments and the other place that, she was looking carefully at what the statute allows her to do," Tankano said on Wednesday. "That was refreshing information that the secretary relayed to all of us, and we certainly hope she sticks to what she told us today."
"I think part of the story of today is, you know, [the] president's campaign promise to shut this department down, is a lot of fluff. It's. You can't, it's illegal. He can't do it by law," he added.
Senate Democrats signaled more challenges to President Donald Trump's emergency declarations at a press conference ahead of a forced floor vote to undo his tariffs against Canada.
"One at a time," Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told reporters on Wednesday when asked if we would also be introducing a privileged resolution canceling Trump's emergency declaration in Mexico.
"Let's get this one done. And if we can get this one done and succeed, then we also have to see what President Trump does this afternoon," he explained, referencing the president's planned remarks on tariffs at 4 p.m. in the White House's Rose Garden.
"There may be a whole new series of trade or tariff-related motions coming your way soon," the Virginia Democrat said.
Kaine did note that "Canada and Mexico are not completely the same because of some of the issues with respect to fentanyl," so it's unclear whether he would seek to challenge the Mexico emergency specifically.
The Wednesday press conference was led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to rail against Trump's Canadian tariffs.
"So we're going to fight these tariffs tooth and nail," he said. "Trump's done a lot of bad things. This is way up there."
The White House did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.
Kaine's challenge to Trump's Canadian tariffs will get a vote on Wednesday evening, and it runs the risk of being agreed to and sent to the White House, as some Republicans have expressed concerns.
"Mr. President, the price hikes that will happen for Maine families, every time they go to the grocery store, they fill their gas tank, they fill their heating oil tank, if these tariffs go into effect, will be so harmful. And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least. Therefore, I will support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do so likewise," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in floor remarks on Wednesday.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been a longtime critic of tariffs, even under Trump, will also be voting in favor of the resolution and is a co-sponsor.
Trump took to social media to call out those he suspected might vote against him. "Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul, also of Kentucky, will hopefully get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy," he wrote on Truth Social.
Last month, Kaine similarly forced a vote to end Trump's emergency declaration to "unleash American energy" and increase oil drilling and production of natural gas.
The resolution was voted down, and the White House claimed Kaine wanted "to impoverish Americans."
"President Donald Trump’s executive order brings America into the future and unleashes prosperity. Senator [Tim] Kaine wants to cost the economy trillions and risk losing nearly a million jobs," deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said at the time.
The White House has also warned of a likely veto if the Canadian tariff resolution is agreed to in the Senate.
A White House official told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement on Tuesday, "President Trump promised to secure our borders and stop the scourge of fentanyl that’s poisoning our communities, and he’s delivering. Democrat Senator Tim Kaine is trying to undermine the President’s Emergency Declaration at our Northern Borders – a measure that prioritizes our national security – for reasons that defy logic."
President Donald Trump is poised to unveil a massive series of reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday, when he will likely impose duties on multiple countries as part of what his administration has labeled "Liberation Day."
Trump and his administration have long decried that other countries are engaging in unfair trade practices against the U.S., and have advocated for employing tariffs to rectify the nation’s 2024 record $1.2 trillion trade deficit.
Despite previewing this massive round of tariffs forthcoming on Wednesday, the White House has remained reticent regarding the specifics of the potential tariffs and which countries it plans to target.
Even so, speculation has emerged about a list of countries, known as the "Dirty 15," that might face new duties.
The term "Dirty 15" stems from an interview Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent conducted on March 18 with FOX Business, where he referenced the 15% of countries that make up the largest trade deficits with the U.S. However, Bessent did not cite specific countries.
Even so, the Trump administration has given some clues and has pointed to specific countries in certain official documents.
For example, countries that were singled out in a notice the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative posted in March for a review of "unfair" trade practices included Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the U.K. and Vietnam.
Additionally, the 2024 Commerce Department trade deficit report cited the following countries as those with the highest trading deficit with the U.S.: China, European Union, Mexico, Vietnam, Ireland, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, India, Thailand, Italy, Switzerland, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital requesting specifics on which countries would face new tariffs and which were on the "Dirty 15" list.
Trump has signaled that the tariffs would go beyond just 15 countries. He suggested to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday that tariffs wouldn’t just affect 15 countries, claiming that "you’d start with all countries."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday told reporters that Trump was conducting meetings with his trade team that day, and the tariffs would take effect immediately following a Wednesday Rose Garden ceremony.
Liberation Day will "go down as one of the most important days in modern American history," Leavitt said Tuesday, and shared that Trump has talked with various countries about the potential tariffs they may face.
"I can tell you there have been quite a few countries that have called the president and have called his team in discussion about these tariffs," Leavitt told reporters.
Leavitt also shut down concerns that the tariffs wouldn’t prove effective and would raise prices for consumers.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have voiced concerns about how tariffs would impact their constituents, including former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. McConnell said in February that broad tariffs would drive up "costs for consumers across the board."
But Leavitt said the tariffs would bolster the U.S. economy.
"It is going to work, and the president has a brilliant team of advisors who have been studying these issues for decades, and we are focused on restoring the Golden Age of America and making America a manufacturing superpower," Leavitt said Tuesday.
While details on the specifics are sparse, the new reciprocal tariffs are expected to match other countries' tariff rates, and also tackle issues like regulations, government subsidies and exchange rate policies to mitigate trade barriers.
"For DECADES we have been ripped off and abused by every nation in the World, both friend and foe. Now it is finally time for the Good Ol' USA to get some of that MONEY, and RESPECT, BACK. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!" Trump wrote in a March post on Truth Social about Liberation Day.
The Trump administration has already imposed a 20% tariff on shipments from China, 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and up to 25% tariffs on certain goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 25% tariff on imported auto vehicles.
Historically, the vice presidency has played a subdued political role, except for those who later became president.
But since taking office, Vice President JD Vance has broken the mold, becoming a constant presence in international discourse from South America to Germany to Australia.
"I think at a different time in American history it made sense for the vice president to be in the background, maybe a hundred years ago, when we didn't have such a sophisticated media industry," said Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing, Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
"But right now, especially with changes in the country, changes in [the] conservative movement, it's a huge asset for President Trump and for the conservative movement to have not just a very active vice president, but someone who's so articulate, and I'll also say very winsome."
Roberts spoke to reporters before Vance took the dais at a screening Tuesday night of "Live Not By Lies," an Angel Studios film chronicling the perils that spiritual and political dissidents faced in the communist Soviet bloc and beyond.
Of the 50 vice presidents throughout history, some would argue many names have been lost to the public memory, save for those who later ascended to the presidency, like George H.W. Bush, Joe Biden, Richard Nixon, Chester Arthur and Andrew Johnson.
Vice Presidents Dick Cheney of Wyoming, Aaron Burr of New York, John Calhoun of South Carolina and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts are considered four rare vice presidents who were more publicly active than naught.
Gerry is who the term "gerrymander" is named after.
Cheney was frequently a press foil for former President George W. Bush’s foreign policy. Burr famously killed Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a duel. And Calhoun was one of the most vocal defenders of slavery in the 19th century.
Vance, however, appears to be tops in his prominence on the national and world stages, Roberts said.
The same way in which Vance spoke Tuesday on the importance of fighting for truth and being unafraid to speak out is also the way he carries himself in the nation’s second-highest office, he said.
Trump has skillfully "deployed" his deputy to European countries, Roberts said, recounting his own discussions with European officials who are trying to understand how the U.S. is operating under Trump-Vance.
"JD Vance is the interlocutor," he said, "But he’s really effective. His Munich speech is one of the most important [speeches] in the last few years."
In Bavaria in February, Vance lambasted Western allies like Sweden and the United Kingdom for "backsliding" on upholding free expression and personal liberty in a speech that shocked the international press.
As for why Vance has focused so much on Europe rather than the other geopolitical regions highlighted in Trump's foreign policy, Roberts cited his experience in the Senate and U.S. military as preparing to deal with the Europeans.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to take a Vance-like role in Central and South America for reasons that likely transcend the diplomat’s Cuban heritage and Spanish proficiency: He understands southern geopolitics.
"I think one of the legacies [of] Trump-Vance is going to be a revitalization of American power that only uses the threat of hard power and not the neoconservative adventurism that, of course, colored previous Republican administrations," he said.
