Trump’s frustrations with Zelenskyy escalate as US turns up pressure on Ukraine to reach peace deal
The Trump administration is increasing pressure on Ukraine to broker a peace deal ending the conflict with Russia as President Donald Trump grows increasingly irritated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to the White House. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Thursday admitted that Trump’s patience with Zelenskyy is running thin, and said that discussions Wednesday between U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg and Ukrainian officials focused on assisting Kyiv “understand” the war must come to a halt. “President Trump is obviously very frustrated right now with President Zelenskyy, the fact that he hasn’t come to the table, that he hasn’t been willing to take this opportunity that we have offered,” Waltz told reporters Thursday in a White House press briefing. “I think he eventually will get to that point, and I hope so very quickly.” “It certainly isn’t in Russia’s interest or in the American people’s interest for this war to grind on forever and ever and ever,” Waltz said. “So a key part of his conversation was helping President Zelenskyy understand this war needs to come to an end.” Vice President JD Vance on Thursday also defended the Trump administration’s decision to meet with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, despite frustration from Ukraine that it was absent from those meetings. Vance stressed that communicating with Russia is key to advancing a deal, and said he believes Europe is on the “cusp of peace” for the first time in three years. “How are you going to end the war unless you’re talking to Russia?” Vance said at the Conservative Political Action Conference near the nation’s capital. “You’ve got to talk to everybody involved in the fighting. If you actually want to bring the conflict to a close.” Meanwhile, U.S. officials also have met with Ukrainian officials about a peace deal, and Kellogg said Wednesday in a post on X that the U.S. remains committed to ending the war and finding ways to establish “sustainable peace.” The increased pressure on Ukraine to agree to a deal comes on the heels of several tense days between Trump and Zelenskyy, as each hurled insults back and forth toward one another after the meetings between U.S. and Russian officials. While Zelenskyy accused Trump of perpetuating Russian “disinformation” on Wednesday, Trump took a jab back and labeled Zelenskyy a “dictator” who has failed his country and suggested Ukraine initiated the war. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY WAR OF WORDS HEATS UP EVEN AS US LOOKS TO WIND DOWN WAR IN UKRAINE Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Waltz met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs advisor, Yuri Ushakov, to hash out ways to end the conflict. Zelenskyy said Ukraine didn’t receive an invitation to the meeting and told reporters Tuesday in Turkey that “nobody decides anything behind our back,” after stressing in recent days that Kyiv will not agree to a peace negotiation without Ukraine’s input. RUSSIA, UKRAINE TAKE ‘SIGNIFICANT FIRST STEP TOWARD PEACE’ AFTER RUBIO-LED NEGOTIATIONS, WHITE HOUSE INSISTS Meanwhile, the U.S. has signaled interest in giving way to some of Russia’s demands for a peace agreement in recent days, and Trump told the BBC on Wednesday that he believes Russia is the one that has “the cards a little bit, because they’ve taken a lot of territory.” As of January, Russia has taken control of approximately 18% of Ukraine’s territory, according to the Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Brookings Institution. Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Feb. 12 that it wasn’t realistic for Ukraine to regain its pre-war borders with Russia, prompting criticism that Ukraine is being forced to give into concessions. “Putin is going to pocket this and ask for more,” Brett Bruen, director of global engagement under former President Barack Obama, told Fox News Digital on Feb. 13. Additionally, the U.S. has suggested it backs holding an election in Ukraine — a key condition for Russia to agree to a peace deal. Nearly a year after Zelenskyy’s five-year term was slated to end, he has remained in his position leading Kyiv because the Ukrainian constitution bars holding elections under martial law. Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022. However, Russia wasn’t the only one exerting pressure to force Ukraine to hold an election, Trump said Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. ‘MAKE NATO GREAT AGAIN’: HEGSETH PUSHES EUROPEAN ALLIES TO STEP UP DEFENSE EFFORTS As a result, Zelenskyy’s hands may be tied and he may have no other option but to give in to the concessions, according to Trump’s former deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland. “If President Zelenskyy is going to walk away from this and somehow say, ‘I’m against any deal with Russia, I’m against any deal with America.’ Really?” McFarland said Thursday in an interview with FOX Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria.” “Well, how does he plan to keep this country safe for the next 20, 30, 40 years?” McFarland said. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump vowed on the campaign trail in 2024 that he would work to end the conflict if elected again. Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
ICE arrests South Texas bakery owners accused of hiring undocumented workers
Federal immigration agents raided the Los Fresnos bakery and detained eight workers before filing charges against the two owners.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Mitch Bows Out
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… -Key Republican governor applauds Trump’s frenetic pace, says DOGE needed to ‘right size’ Washington -Disputed DOD nominee is ‘best person’ to implement Trump and Hegseth agenda, key conservative group says -Trump approval rating hits 47%, as Americans name his ‘single most significant’ move so far Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will not run for re-election in 2026 and will instead retire, the longtime senator announced Thursday. McConnell has served in the Senate for decades, including as Senate majority leader under President Donald Trump’s first administration. McConnell is the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, and he announced his retirement on his 83rd birthday. “Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said in prepared remarks to the Senate floor. “Every day in between, I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business here. Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”…Read more DEI LAWSUITS: Group of DEI workers sue to stop Trump executive orders…Read more CPAC KICKOFF: VP Vance kicks off the country’s biggest conservative conference…Read more SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: Trump signs executive order ending use of taxpayer money to ‘incentivize or support’ illegal immigration…Read more ‘LARGE-SCALE REDUCTIONS’: Trump signs late-night executive order abolishing handful of federal advisory boards…Read more ‘DEVOTION TO PUTIN’: Liz Cheney lambastes Trump over Russia/Ukraine, branding him ‘the antithesis’ of all ‘Reagan stood for’…Read more TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: Russian aircraft fly in Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, US says…Read more ANOTHER PRISONER SWAP?: Kremlin suggests another US-Russia prisoner swap could be coming: report…Read more TRAGIC TURNOVER: Hamas hands over bodies of 4 slain Israelis, including Shiri Bibas and her two young boys…Read more INTERNATIONAL BLOWBACK: China, Iran and Russia condemned by dissidents at UN watchdog’s Geneva summit…Read more ONE STEP CLOSER: Wrestling mogul and Trump education pick McMahon clears Senate committee in heavyweight decision…Read more AMERICANS ‘WANT ANSWERS’: MAHA caucus member pledges hearings into ‘corruption’ of a public health sector ‘captured by Big Pharma’…Read more ‘DOGE’ FOR ‘MAIN STREET’: Top Republican urges new SBA chief take ‘DOGE’ actions against Biden-era electioneering, COVID loan claims…Read more KASH ME OUTSIDE: Patel’s confirmation as FBI chief ‘will haunt you,’ Senate Dems warn GOP at protest outside agency HQ…Read more DIGITAL DANGER: Lawmaker who lost son to suicide warns Senate that ‘Big Tech is the Big Tobacco of this generation’…Read more MONEY IN THE BANK: Parents could see up to $12,000 child tax refund under new bipartisan House bill…Read more TOUCHDOWN: College football country seeks key tax exemption for athletes to enhance recruitment, boost team continuity…Read more IVORY TOWER DEFENSE: Social justice law professor defends anti-Israel protesters who blocked traffic to Chicago airport…Read more ‘WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING?’: Dept of Ed spending soared 749% despite downsizing, new DOGE-inspired initiative reveals…Read more BLUE CITY HAVEN: Reputed migrant gang members busted in NYC drug, gun raid but likely to avoid prosecution…Read more ‘I DIDN’T PLAN THIS’: DNC gave ex-Harris booster ‘no choice’ but to leave, she says, as Dems cry turncoat…Read more AXE INCREASE: IRS to slash nearly 7,000 employees starting Thursday: reports…Read more LEADERSHIP IN QUESTION: DEI-charged claims fly over contract talks for military school’s leader as lawmaker demands ethics probe…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Hegseth circulating list to congressional Republicans of top generals, officers he is interested in firing
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been circulating a list to congressional Republicans with the names of top military generals and officers he is interested in firing, Fox News has learned. Among the names on the list are U.S. Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the current Chief of Naval Operations and the second woman to be promoted to a four-star Admiral in the Navy’s history, a senior official said. “She is one of the folks on the list,” the official said. HEGSETH ORDERS PENTAGON TO MAKE PLANS FOR MAJOR BUDGET CUTS TO ALIGN WITH TRUMP’S PRIORITIES So far, the list contains a “handful of names,” but it may not be the final version. It has been conveyed to Republican members of Congress, not Democrats. Several top Republicans on the Armed Services Committee said they heard about the list, but had not seen it themselves. “I may have heard a rumor, but I’m not going to speculate on rumors,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told Fox. “No one has approached me about such a list other than people asking me questions.” Hegseth was slated to travel Friday to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to conduct a media interview, but the trip has been postponed until Tuesday. Some officials have taken the postponement to be another sign that firings could be imminent. Late Friday is often the time that firings are announced in Washington. TRUMP ADMIN EXPECTED TO ENACT LAYOFF AT DEFENSE DEPARTMENT AMID DOGE ARRIVAL: REPORT During her tenure, Franchetti commanded two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Pacific and served as the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea. She also served as the deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting development, and director for strategy, plans, and policy of the Joint Staff. As head ofthe Navy’s 6th Fleet, she oversaw the Navy’s response to Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s use of chemical weapons. “She is a war fighter with combat experience. She’s an operational leader. She’s a strategist. She’s an innovator,”Adm. Michael Gilday, the former Chief of Naval Operations, said when Franchetti was nominated by then-President Joe Biden in July 2023. “She’s a team builder. She’s a trailblazer. She’s an example of personal and professional resilience and a testament to the power of the American dream to inspire service and sacrifice,” Gilday said. Hegseth has been outspoken about his belief that women should not serve in combat roles. “I’m straight up saying that we should not have women in combat roles – it hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated,” he said on a Nov. 7, 2024 episode of the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast. He later clarified his comments, saying his remarks had been “misconstrued, that I somehow don’t support women in the military, some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors out there are women.” Joint Chiefs Chairman C.Q. Brown is also rumored to be on the list. When asked if he would fire Brown on his first day in office, Hegseth said “I look forward to working with him.” Brown was standing next to Hegseth as he answered the question.
Rates of pregnancy-related sepsis and deaths grow in Texas after abortion ban
ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis is the most detailed look yet into a rise in life-threatening complications for women experiencing pregnancy loss under Texas’ abortion ban.
Federal department cafeteria empty for years under Biden: source
EXCLUSIVE: The cafeteria in a top federal department resembles a ghost town after remaining empty and closed for years under the Biden administration, Fox News Digital has learned. “You have federal workers showing up to protest President Trump’s plan to make government work for the people on a federal holiday, but they refuse to show up to work when they are collecting a paycheck courtesy of American taxpayers. It’s just nuts,” a source close to the situation told Fox News Digital. The Department of Interior (DOI) cafeteria was initially closed during the coronavirus pandemic, but the lunchroom remained shut down for several years because the Biden administration did not require federal employees to work in person. A photo taken on Feb. 20, 2025, reveals that five years after the pandemic, the lunchroom remains empty and unmanned, which “shows you exactly what’s wrong with the mindset of far too many federal workers,” the source tells Fox. HUD OFFICES BECAME AS VACANT AS A ‘SPIRIT HALLOWEEN’ STORE UNDER BIDEN: ADMIN SOURCES “President Trump is keeping his promise to the American people about having a government that works hard and responsibly for the people. Under the Biden administration, there were so few people in the Interior office that the cafeteria closed!” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “The American people elected President Trump because they want results,” the secretary said. “Getting the workforce back to the office will help accelerate America’s sprint to Energy Dominance.” President Donald Trump, in January, took aim at Biden’s policies on remote work, warning that federal employees must return to in-person work by early February or “be terminated.” Burgum is requiring that all federal employees return to the office to comply with the return to work order issued by the president. TRUMP ADMIN LAYS OUT ROLES OF ‘PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES’ AS DEMS CLAIM CRITICAL EMPLOYEES ARE BEING CUT “It’s understandable that the cafeteria would close during the pandemic, but the pandemic has been over for years,” the source told Fox. “Why did the Biden administration let everyone continue to work from home when there is real work to be done for the country?” Fox News Digital also recently found that the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) headquarters in Washington, D.C., was left relatively untouched since the first Trump administration, with an official saying it felt like a “taxpayer-funded ‘Spirit Halloween’” store. The Trump administration has been conducting a sweep of federal departments over the past month, slashing spending, as well as making cuts to the workforce in an effort to downsize the government. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management offered more than two million federal civilian employees buyouts in January to leave their jobs or be forced to return to work in person. About 75,000 federal employees have accepted Trump’s deferred resignation program and will retain all pay and benefits and be exempt from in-person work until Sept. 30. Fox News’ Emma Colton and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.
DOGE stimulus checks: Johnson side-steps question on Trump plan, says US has ‘giant deficit’
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled he was not a fan of a proposal to send Americans stimulus checks with the money saved by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and that he believed the funding was better directed toward the national debt. “Well, look, I mean, politically, that would be great for us, you know, because that gives everybody a check,” Johnson said during a Q&A session at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday. “But if you think about our core principles, right, fiscal responsibility is what we do as conservatives. That’s our brand. And we have a $36 trillion federal debt.” SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN Johnson added there was a “giant deficit” — which is over $838 billion for fiscal year 2025 so far, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center — the U.S. was grappling with as well. “I think we need to pay down the credit card. That’s what I think we need to do,” Johnson said. It comes after President Donald Trump said he was considering giving 20% of DOGE-led savings back to U.S. taxpayers during a speech on Wednesday at the FII Priority Summit in Miami. Billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading DOGE, said Tuesday on X that he would “check with the president” about the proposal after it was first floated by Azoria investment firm CEO James Fishback. DOGE’s stated goal under Musk is to cut federal spending by $2 trillion. During his sit-down remarks with Newsmax on Thursday, Johnson also warned that Americans could see the “largest tax increase in U.S. history” if Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was not extended before measures expired at the end of this year. Congressional Republicans are currently trying to use their majorities to extend Trump’s tax cuts and pass his priorities on defense and the border via a massive bill using the budget reconciliation process. BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS Under reconciliation, both the Senate and House operate under simple majorities, allowing the party in power to pass a massive budget bill without help from the opposition. Normally, the Senate’s threshold for passage is two-thirds. “We’re going to take a blowtorch to the regulatory state, get the bureaucracy back in check — lots of details, lots of subcategories under all that. But it’s going to be a big, beautiful bill. And it has to be by necessity, because that gives us the highest probability of success. Remember that I have a small margin in the House,” Johnson said. “I have one vote for much of this.” Extending Trump’s tax cuts alone is expected to cost upwards of $4.5 trillion.
EXCLUSIVE: Dems to force votes on Medicaid as it becomes sore point in Senate budget fight
FIRST ON FOX: Democrats are planning to make Republicans in the Senate go on the record on Medicaid during Thursday evening’s “Vote-a-Rama” as potential cuts to the program become a sore point in budget discussions, especially for Republicans in states that rely on it. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who just won re-election in a state that also swung for President Donald Trump, is introducing several amendments to the Senate GOP’s budget resolution, all aimed at preserving Medicaid, her office shared with Fox News Digital exclusively. Among her tranche of amendments will be several to protect Medicaid access and funding for senior citizens, children, people suffering from drug addiction, Americans in rural areas and pregnant women. SCOOP: REPUBLICAN DANIEL CAMERON BLASTED BY LIKELY GOP OPPONENT AS MCCONNELL SUCCESSOR FIGHT BEGINS “Americans want us to lower the cost of their health care, not rip it away from new moms, seniors in long-term care, and poor kids,” Baldwin told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. “Republicans have claimed they would protect Medicaid – despite their budget telling us otherwise – but tonight, they will have the chance to put their money where their mouth is: Will they prevent Medicaid from being cut, or will they put it on the chopping block to fund their billionaire tax break?” Her amendments will get votes after others that are teed up by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats. The first amendment of the evening, according to a Senate Democratic source, will be aimed at stopping Republicans from renewing the tax cuts in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which is a priority for Trump. SUSAN COLLINS VOWS TO OPPOSE TRUMP FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE KASH PATEL AHEAD OF CRITICAL VOTE If passed, the amendment would bar “handouts” to millionaires or billionaires in new tax legislation. Specifically, it would stop a reconciliation bill from providing a tax cut to people earning more than $1,000,000,000 per year. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently sounded off on potential Medicaid cuts. “I don’t like the idea of massive Medicaid cuts. We should have no Medicare cuts of any kind,” he said in an interview with the Huffington Post. KASH PATEL’S CONFIRMATION AS TRUMP FBI PICK ‘WILL HAUNT YOU,’ SENATE DEMS WARN GOP AHEAD OF VOTE Such cuts could prove unpopular in Republican states with significant Medicaid coverage, such as Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky and West Virginia, which each reported more than 25% of their populations covered by either Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as of last year, per KFF. After Senate Republicans cleared a procedural vote on their budget last week, it triggered a 50-hour debate clock that will end on Thursday evening. Then, a marathon of votes, known as a “Vote-a-Rama,” will begin. FETTERMAN LOSES TWO TOP STAFFERS AS HE MAKES WAVES BY BUCKING DEMOCRATIC PARTY Senators are able to introduce an unlimited number of amendments, which will then all get votes on the Senate floor. The process will force Republicans to take a large number of potentially uncomfortable votes teed up by their Democratic counterparts. Going forward with the marathon of votes appears to be a calculated risk for Senate Republicans after Trump endorsed the House GOP’s budget resolution on Truth Social over theirs. However, Vice President JD Vance gave GOP senators a green light on Wednesday to continue with their budget despite this, a source told Fox News Digital.
Overhaul of schools’ STAAR test proposed by Texas House bill
The bill would also expand the Texas Education Agency’s powers to sanction school districts.
‘No sane country would stand for this’: Lawmakers launch effort to withdraw US from UN
FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers have launched an effort to withdraw the U.S. from the United Nations, amid concern that the international humanitarian and human rights organization fails to promote American interests and align with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced legislation Thursday called the Disengaging Entirely From the United Nations Debacle Act of 2025, which would terminate U.S. membership in the U.N. and its affiliated bodies, and funding to those groups. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is co-sponsoring the measure in the upper chamber. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is poised to introduce the measure in the House Friday, claiming that the U.N. and its bodies don’t advance the interests of Americans. TRUMP REINSTATES ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ CAMPAIGN AGAINST IRAN “The United Nations has devolved into a platform for tyrants and a venue to attack America and her allies,” Lee said in a Thursday statement to Fox News Digital. “We should stop paying for it. As President Trump revolutionizes our foreign policy by putting America first, we should withdraw from this sham organization and prioritize real alliances that keep our country safe and prosperous.” The U.S. provides more funding than any other country to the U.N., donating more than $18 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. foreign policy think tank the Council on Foreign Relations. That makes up roughly a third of the U.N.’s entire collective budget. “The United Nations has enjoyed American tax money while often undermining our interests, attacking our allies and bolstering our adversaries,” Roy said in a Thursday statement to Fox News Digital. “What has the United Nations achieved?” Roy said. “Despite all of the money and the attention, this corrupt globalist organization has, for decades, failed to prevent wars, genocides, human rights violations and even pandemics.” HEAD OF UN WATCHDOG SAYS UNRWA HIRED PEOPLE ‘WHO WERE SUPPORTING TERRORISM’ Specifically, Roy pointed to U.N. groups like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which assists Palestinian refugees and their descendants. However, the organization has come under scrutiny after a U.N. investigation found that UNRWA employees may have been involved in Palestinian-militant group Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The U.S. temporarily halted funding for UNRWA in January 2024 in response to the report. “No sane country would stand for this,” Roy said in his statement. Republican Reps. Mike Rogers of Alabama, Eli Crane of Arizona, Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia co-sponsored the legislation. The legislation also specifies that the U.S. may not participate in peace negotiations with the U.N., and bars the executive branch from entering any agreements for membership with the U.N. or its subsidiaries without Senate approval. DAYS BEFORE TRUMP HALTED FUNDING, AN EX-ISRAELI HOSTAGE WAS HELD AT UNRWA SCHOOL IN GAZA, SHE REVEALS The U.N. also has received pushback from Democrats amid the Israel–Hamas conflict. For example, 11 Democrats joined Republican counterparts in sending a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in October 2024, claiming the U.N. has failed to remain neutral and has “definitively taken sides against Israel.” The lawmakers pointed to a resolution the United Nations General Assembly passed that Israel return all land and assets it settled in the Palestinian Territories since 1967. “We will not accept the U.N.’s ongoing hostility to our ally Israel,” the lawmakers wrote. The American people remain divided on their views of the U.N. For example, more than 70% of Democrats and liberal-leaning independents reported they maintained a favorable view of the U.N., compared to 34% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, according to a Pew Research Center survey released in April 2024. Trump sought to cut or reduce funding to U.N. groups during his first term, and he has also done so in his second term. He signed an executive order in February pulling the U.S. out of the U.N.’s Human Rights Council and cutting funding for UNRWA. Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.