NASA shutters DEI office as Trump admin downsizes federal agencies
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will close several more offices within its agency as part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to downsize the government, the acting administrator Janet Petro informed employees in a memo Monday. Petro said the “phased reduction in force” is “occurring in advance” of this week’s deadline for federal agencies to inform the government of their layoff plans. “While this will mean making difficult adjustments, we’re viewing this as an opportunity to reshape our workforce, ensuring we are doing what is statutorily required of us, while also providing American citizens with an efficient and effective agency,” Petro wrote. NASA ASTRONAUTS NOT ‘FRETTING’ OVER EXTENDED MISSION, ‘GRATEFUL’ FOR MORE TIME IN SPACE AFTER STARLINER WOES NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy; the Office of the Chief Scientist; and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility branch in the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity will be shuttered, in compliance with Trump’s executive order, “Implementing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative.” Fox News Digital reached out to NASA to find out how many employees will be impacted by the office closures. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP TRUMP TO SHIFT AWAY FROM DEI VISA POLICY THAT ‘SURGED’ UNDER BIDEN, EXPERT SAYS Agencies are required by Thursday to report to the Office of Personnel Management about their plans to downsize their workforce, as announced last month by Trump and Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Trump to sign disaster relief order putting states, localities in the driver’s seat of catastrophe response
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order Monday that will put states and local jurisdictions in the driver’s seat of preparing and responding to disasters, Fox News Digital learned. “This Order restores state, local, and individual empowerment in disaster preparedness and response, and injects common sense into infrastructure prioritization and strategic investments through risk-informed decisions that make our infrastructure, communities, and economy more resilient to global and dynamic threats and hazards,” details on the order obtained by Fox News Digital show. The order emphasizes the role of states, localities and individual leadership over federal leadership while preparing for and coping with disasters — such as flooding or fires — and will “streamline” federal functions so local communities can more easily work with federal leaders in Washington, Fox News Digital learned. It also will establish the National Resilience Strategy, which will outline the “priorities, means, and ways to advance the resilience of the nation” while pinpointing risks to key national infrastructure and related systems, Fox Digital learned. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER AIMED AT ‘DRASTICALLY’ IMPROVING FEMA EFFICACY, PRIORITIES, COMPETENCE Officials will be called to review “all infrastructure, continuity, and preparedness and response policies” to ensure they fall in line with the National Resilience Strategy. The order will shift the federal government’s “all-hazards” approach to handling disasters to a “risk-informed approach” that will prioritize “resilience and action over mere information sharing,” Fox Digital learned. ‘FEMA IS NOT GOOD:’ TRUMP ANNOUNCES AGENCY OVERHAUL DURING VISIT TO NORTH CAROLINA Trump has railed against the nation’s response to natural disasters under the Biden administration. He told Fox News’ Sean Hannity just days after his inauguration that “FEMA has not done their job for the last four years” and he would like to see “states take care of their own problems” as they have historically relied on the federal government and its resources and funds to handle disasters. FEMA came under the nation’s microscope in 2024 when Hurricane Helene ripped through North Carolina, devastating residents as it wiped out homes and businesses and killed more than 100 people. FEMA and the Biden administration faced fierce backlash for its handling of the emergency, while Trump accused the agency of obstructing relief efforts in Republican areas. TRUMP SAYS NEWSOM IS TO ‘BLAME’ FOR ‘APOCALYPTIC’ WILDFIRES Trump signed a separate executive order in January establishing FEMA Review Council to “drastically” improve the federal agency tasked with handling disaster assistance across the nation. “Despite obligating nearly $30 billion in disaster aid each of the past three years, FEMA has managed to leave vulnerable Americans without the resources or support they need when they need it most,” that executive order read. “There are serious concerns of political bias in FEMA. Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President.” TRUMP WARNS FEMA FACES A RECKONING AFTER BIDEN ADMIN: ‘NOT DONE THEIR JOB’ Trump additionally has railed against left-wing policies that he says have compounded natural disaster response, most notably in California over its water infrastructure policies that he said contributed to the raging wildfires that destroyed swaths of areas around Los Angeles in January. “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump posted to Truth Social in January as the wildfires spread. Trump signed a separate executive order on Jan. 24 that provides additional water resources to California to improve the state’s response to disaster. The order Trump is expected to sign on Monday will serve as a continuation of his pledge “to shift power from Washington to the American people,” similar to the California executive order and establishing the FEMA Review Council in January, Fox Digital learned. Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
FBI Director Patel working ‘aggressively’ to comply with congressional record requests ahead of deadlines
EXCLUSIVE: FBI Director Kash Patel is working “aggressively” to comply ahead of schedule with congressional document requests in an effort to follow through on his commitment for the bureau to provide transparency to the American people, Fox News Digital has learned. On Friday, the FBI sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee notifying the panel that it was handing over a tranche of documents pursuant to a subpoena from Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. Fox News Digital has learned that the records shared by the FBI included more than 400 pages on topics the committee had long been seeking, dating back to the Biden administration, relating to topics such as former Attorney General Merrick Garland’s school board memo and the Jan. 6 pipe bomb investigation. The FBI’s compliance came more than a week before the March 17 deadline set by Jordan. FLASHBACK: HOUSE JUDICIARY REPORT: ‘NO LEGITIMATE BASIS’ FOR BIDEN ADMIN TO TARGET PARENTS AT SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS The FBI also turned over documents related to the bureau’s engagement with social media entities and the now-disbanded Foreign Influence Task Force. Fox News Digital has learned that the documents production included “minimal redactions” and that the FBI plans to turn over additional records to the House Judiciary Committee on those topics in the coming weeks. FLASHBACK: FEDS CONDUCTED ‘BROAD’ AND ‘UNJUSTIFIED’ SURVEILLANCE OF AMERICANS’ PRIVATE FINANCIAL DATA: HOUSE JUDICIARY “We are thankful for Director Patel’s work and we will have more updates soon,” Russel Dye, spokesperson for Jordan, told Fox News Digital Monday. Patel’s efforts come after Republicans on Capitol Hill, for years – under the leadership of FBI Directors Christopher Wray and James Comey – have complained about the FBI missing deadlines for documents requests and defying congressional subpoenas. The FBI is also working with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and his team to honor their document requests. Fox News Digital has learned that the FBI plans to comply with Grassley’s requests ahead of schedule. The moves come as a key part of Patel’s mission to restore faith and trust in the FBI through full transparency, an FBI source told Fox News Digital. GRASSLEY, JOHNSON DEMAND NARA TURN OVER BIDEN RECORDS RELATING TO EMAIL ALIASES, FAMILY BUSINESS DEALINGS Meanwhile, privately, Patel has given his team at the FBI a mandate to “work aggressively” with congressional committees to ensure “their needs are met.” A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Patel has been “personally asking staff for updates on getting Jordan and Grassley documents” and has done so “several times a day.” More documents are expected to be delivered to Congress from the FBI in the coming days. “Director Patel is adamant about restoring faith and trust in the FBI through full transparency and engaging with Congress is a critical part of that effort,” FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Fox News Digital. “We will continue to work with both House and Senate Committees to ensure the American people get the FBI they deserve.”
Scandal-scarred former Gov Andrew Cuomo is the frontrunner in NYC mayoral race
As he runs for New York City mayor, Andrew Cuomo is announcing a slew of public policy proposals. The former three-term New York governor, who resigned amid multiple scandals in 2021, on Monday unveiled the second plank of his public safety agenda for the nation’s most populous city. “Enough is enough, and we need to pass sensible laws,” Cuomo emphasized in a statement. It’s been a week and a half since Cuomo, in a political comeback, announced his candidacy in the race to oust embattled Mayor Eric Adams. The former governor’s entry into an already crowded field of contenders rocked the race, with just four months to go until the city’s Democratic mayoral primary, which will likely determine the winner of November’s general election. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING, ANALYSIS, ON ANDREW CUOMO As New Yorkers continue to sour on Adams, according to the latest polls, those same surveys also indicate Cuomo is the clear frontrunner. But now that the 2025 mayoral race is apparently Cuomo’s to lose, his rivals are zeroing in on the former governor’s immense political baggage. Thanks in part to his near-universal name recognition among New Yorkers, Cuomo was topping the mayoral polls even before he announced his candidacy on March 1. And Cuomo, who enjoys the backing of a well-financed super PAC supported by deep-pocketed allies, maintained his frontrunner position in the most recent survey, from Quinnipiac University. CUOMO LAUNCHES MAYOR BID IN AMERICA’S BIGGEST CITY The survey, conducted just before and just after Cuomo launched his bid, indicated the former governor at 31% support among registered Democrats in New York City, with Adams a distant second at 11%. Behind Adams, in single digits, was the rest of the roster of Democrats aiming to oust the mayor. That field includes state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, city public advocate Jumaane Williams, former city comptroller Scott Stringer, current city comptroller Brad Lander, city council speaker Adrienne Adams – who launched her bid after the poll’s release – as well as two state senators and a former state assemblyman. That same survey also indicated Adams’ approval rating among New York City voters stood at just 20%, which was the lowest for any New York City mayor in three decades of Quinnipiac polling in the city. Adams’ poll numbers were sinking even before he was indicted last year on five counts, which accused the mayor of bribery and fraud as part of an alleged “long-running” scheme to personally profit from contacts with foreign officials. The mayor made repeated overtures with now-President Donald Trump, and in recent weeks the Justice Department moved to dismiss the corruption charges, so he could seemingly work with the Trump administration on its illegal immigration crackdown. The top federal prosecutor in New York City resigned rather than comply, and argued that the mayor had agreed to a quid pro quo with the Justice Department. “This story has become bigger than just New York City because it now involves the Trump administration, and all of that is weighing on the mayor’s standing among voters,” Mary Snow, an assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll, told Fox News. The 67-year-old Cuomo is aiming to reintroduce himself to voters as a tested manager, a forceful executive, and as a law-and-order moderate who will rescue a city that he says “feels threatening, out of control, and in crisis.” Cuomo, in his first campaign event after announcing, touted the massive infrastructure refurbishing projects in and around New York City he managed during his decade tenure as governor, which included LaGuardia Airport, the Moynihan Train Hall, and the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, which he renamed after his father, a former there-term governor. But some of his rivals in the mayoral race, and a host of critics, have targeted Cuomo since he launched his campaign, over his many transgressions as governor. Cuomo has spent the past four years fighting to clear his name after 11 sexual harassment accusations – which he has repeatedly denied – forced his resignation in August 2021. He was also under investigation for his handling of the COVID pandemic amid allegations his administration vastly understated COVID-related deaths at state nursing homes. A Siena College poll conducted March 2-6 indicated Cuomo’s favorable rating among all New York state voters stood at 37% favorable and 51% unfavorable, up from 32%-60% in March 2022, seven months after he resigned as governor. But Cuomo’s favorable rating among New York City voters in the new poll was above water, at 48%-41%. Rich Azzopardi, a longtime Cuomo spokesman and adviser, told Fox News, “We normally don’t comment on polls but notable that in this survey he’s 48-41 among all New York City voters and 57-29 among Black voters.” Azzopardi argued that Cuomo’s “far ahead in every poll actually about the mayor’s race and that’s because New Yorkers know this city is in crisis and Andrew Cuomo is the candidate with the experience, the record and the ability to help save it.” But with three and a half months to go until the June 24 primary, there’s no let-up in the attacks on Cuomo from his rivals. “The question is: (a) how big of an issue will candidates make Cuomo’s baggage in the campaign, and (b) will that strategy resonate with voters?” Quinnipiac’s Snow asked.
Religious slaughter in Syria shows need for US, Europe to ‘keep a close eye’ on Islamist regime: Greek FM
With hundreds left dead over the weekend under Syria’s new regime, Greek Foreign Minister Giorigios Gerapetritis warned Europe and the U.S. to “keep a close eye” on the ruling Islamist group that is working to gain acceptance by the West. Syria contains a sizable population of Orthodox Christians, and Gerapetritis insisted the international community demand religious minorities be included in governance, or else leave sanctions in place. “All ethnic and religious minorities should be included in the governance, rule of law,” he told Fox News Digital in an interview conducted last week prior to the weekend’s violence. “The release of sanctions should take place mostly on a gradual basis. We need to see how it goes,” he went on, adding that any lifting of sanctions should be “reversible.” EUROPE MUST LEAD ON UKRAINIAN SECURITY GUARANTEES, GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS: ‘WE ARE THE NEIGHBORS’ “It is of the utmost importance that the U.S. and Europe are keeping a close eye on Syria. We need to encourage the new regime to stay close to international law.” Days of clashes between those affiliated with Syria’s new governing force HTS and those loyal to ousted leader Bashar al-Assad have left hundreds of civilians dead. Death toll estimates have varied. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday more than 1,000 people had been killed, including 700 civilians. Another monitoring group, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, reported that government forces had killed 327 civilians and captured militants and Assad loyalists had killed 148. It was the bloodiest internal clash since Assad was ousted in early December. Fighting began Thursday after Assad loyalists ambushed government forces in the Latakia province, and revenge killings left entire families, mostly of the Alawite sect of Islam, dead in their wake, according to the United Nations. “We are receiving extremely disturbing reports of entire families, including women, children and hors de combat [surrendered] fighters, being killed,” U.N. human rights commissioner Volker Türk said in a statement. “The killing of civilians in coastal areas in north-west Syria must cease, immediately.” Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said the fighting was part of “expected challenges” and called for national unity. “We have to preserve national unity and domestic peace; we can live together,” he said. Russia and the U.S. asked the U.N. Security Council to meet privately on Monday to discuss the violence in Syria. Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham was founded as an al Qaeda offshoot but broke away from the group in 2016. In December, the Biden administration lifted a $10 million bounty on the head of al-Sharaa. The group has been trying to shake its extremist reputation and terrorist designation, with a smooth-talking al-Sharaa claiming he does not want Syria to become the next Afghanistan and he believes in education for women. BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION SEEKS TO REIN IN ERDOGAN’S TURKEY OVER TIES TO US FOES Gerapetritis also expressed “concern” about Turkey’s Blue Homeland Doctrine, which has prompted incursions into Greek waters. The expression refers to Turkey’s maritime claims over large portions of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in large part spurred by large deposits of natural gas off the coast of Cyprus. “We are concerned, you know, the Blue Homeland doctrine is a doctrine that goes against international law,” he said. “Greece has abided by international law, especially international law of the seas.” Geraptetritis said relations between Greece and Turkey had improved in recent years – Turkish incursions of Greek airspace had “minimized” and the two countries had coordinated on tackling illegal immigration. “There must be a major step concerning the limitation of maritime zones. We’re not still there,” he said. Greece and Turkey, both members of NATO, have had tensions for decades, though relations have improved in recent years. “I have to emphasize the fact that Greece is a pillar of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the broader region.” The foreign minister also boasted of Greece’s growing relationship with India, and views his nation as a gateway for India’s planned Middle East-Europe corridor. He framed it as a way to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative, where the CCP seeks access and influence across the globe by financing development and trade projects. “This major, plan is, I think, an excellent project,” said Gerapetritis. “In order to diversify the routes concerning transport, concerning data, concerning energy. We are very like-minded with the United States when it comes to foreign and security policy.” China had swept in to help Greece financially during its public debt crisis, with Chinese companies investing billions in the nation at a time when most investors were spooked by its debt defaults. Now, Greece appears to be pulling away from that influence. “It is our firm conviction that we need to develop alternative cooperation and alternative trade routes [to China].”
‘Hurting people to help themselves’: Dem senator disses DOGE’s CFPB cuts
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., met with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) employees on Friday who were fired as a result of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) federal workforce reductions. CFPB has provided over $21 billion in consumer relief, according to the agency’s latest data from Dec. 3. 2024. Kaine accused Musk of targeting the CFPB with DOGE cuts for his own gain. “The fact that the Trump administration would target these guys at the front end of a chainsaw massacre… Why are you going after these consumer protection advocates? It smells really bad. I mean, it makes it seem like it happened because Musk has some particular interest in gutting these regulators who are protecting everyday folks.” In an interview with Fox News Digital following his meeting with former CFPB employees, Kaine said the CFPB saved “tens of thousands of Virginians” from unfair or abusive financial practices. FEDERAL WORKERS’ UNION FILES LAWSUITS TO STOP VOUGHT, DOGE ACTIVITY AT CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU “These folks are doing great work,” Kaine said. “This is an agency that returned $21 billion to consumers who got ripped off. I know the Virginia statistics. It’s tens of thousands of Virginians who got relief because of the work that these folks did.” Virginia has the second-highest number of federal civilian employees in the United States, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Kaine has been a vocal opponent of DOGE’s federal workforce cuts, holding town hall meetings to address concerns from his constituents. ‘SAVE FACE’: OFFICIALS AT LIZ WARREN’S PET PROJECT AGENCY DISMISSED DESPITE TELLING MEDIA THEY RESIGNED Kaine said Musk and DOGE are “hurting people to help themselves” by promoting a government that yields a “huge giveaway to Elon Musk and people just like him.” “There’s just too much bubbling up about Musk trying to get a contract here with the Department of State, trying to displace a contract at the DoD, and maybe steer it toward either his own companies or companies that he’s close to. When you allow an unelected guy to just come with the chainsaw and have access to people’s… and look, they’ve released data that they shouldn’t release: sensitive data, classified data, names of people who did not authorize them to put their data out to the world. They’re engaging in behavior that’s hurting people… why? I think they’re hurting people to help themselves,” Kaine said. Regarding the ongoing federal workforce firings, Kaine said: “They ain’t using a hatchet. They’re using a chainsaw.” Kaine said Trump is relying on executive actions to dismantle government agencies because even congressional Republicans wouldn’t “go along with this stuff that he’s doing.” “He is not confident he could get even Republican majorities to go along with this stuff. He’s going to do what he can, because even these Republican majorities that seem completely cowed and submissive, with no backbone and no willingness to exercise a vocal cord that they have, he doesn’t think they will go along with this stuff that he’s doing,” Kaine said. The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by the deadline of this article. Joe Valenti, a former CFPB term worker who met with Kaine on Friday, told Fox News Digital he was locked out of the CFPB office last month, received a stop-work order and then a termination letter with no severance. Valenti said consumer finance laws are “not necessarily being enforced” by halting CFPB operations. “The federal government is abdicating from its role in protecting working people from financial harms and that affects low-income constituents, like the people who I served at CFPB. It affects service members, affects veterans, seniors. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is one of the laws that CFPB would oversee and enforce. That goes back to World War I. If you don’t have a cop at the beat at all, what’s going on in the markets and what does it mean for people who are affected by market abuses?” Valenti said. CPFB is one of several agencies that has been impacted by DOGE’s federal workforce reductions. Elon Musk posted on X on Feb. 7, “CFPB RIP,” followed by a gravestone emoji. President Donald Trump has touted CFPB cuts, telling the Future Investment Initiative Institute Priority Summit on Feb. 19 that his administration “virtually shut down” CFPB. “We virtually shut down the out-of-control CFPB, escorting radical-left bureaucrats out of the building and locking the doors behind them. What they were doing was so terrible. Where they were spending the money was so terrible,” Trump said. Trump confirmed to reporters in the Oval Office on Feb. 10 his plan to have the agency “totally eliminated.” Trump said the CFPB was a “waste” used “to destroy some very good people” and it was a “very important thing to get rid of.” A complaint filed last month by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) accuses Russell Vought, CFPB acting director and director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), of “preparing to conduct another mass firing, this time of over 95% of the Bureau’s employees.” Vought ordered CFPB employees to halt agency operations unless otherwise approved on Feb. 10. Seventy-three newly hired “probationary employees” and 70 to 100 “term employees” were subsequently fired while around 200 contracts were canceled, according to the lawsuit and media reports. Three CFPB leaders were placed on administrative leave in early February, Fox News Digital confirmed. An agency spokesperson said CFPB’s chief legal officer, Mark Paoletta, placed Lorelei Salas, the CFPB’s supervision director, and Eric Halperin, the agency’s enforcement chief, and Zixta Martinez, the agency’s deputy director, on administrative leave. There have been protests outside the CFPB headquarters in Washington since the firings, featuring Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, who initially proposed the agency. CFPB is an independent government agency intended to protect consumers from unfair financial practices in the private sector. It was created by President Barack Obama’s administration in 2010 following the Great Recession of 2008.
Elon Musk’s X suffers major global outage again, users in US, India, UK, report access issues
Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) faced a major global outage, affecting thousands of users in the US, India, the UK, Australia, and Canada.
Cuba-born rep says emotional 1st return in 64 years with Gitmo CODEL left him ‘amped-up’ to see it liberated
EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Carlos Gimenez returned to his homeland of Cuba over the weekend for the first time in 64 years, saying he is now “more determined than ever” to see the island liberated from dictatorship. Gimenez, R-Fla., the only Cuban-born member of Congress, joined a congressional delegation (CODEL) to the U.S.-managed Guantánamo Bay military base there, and noted the rest of the nation is still run by the iron-fisted communist government that took over when President Fulgencio Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro in 1959. The Gimenez family – Carlos Sr., Mitzi, Carlos and Mitzi Ann – left the country when the future Miami fire chief, Miami-Dade County mayor and congressman was just 6 years old. “Now that I visited the only free part of Cuba, I want to make sure that the rest of the island is also free from this communist tyranny,” Gimenez said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. EXCLUSIVE: VENEZUELAN OPPO LEADER JOINS CUBA-BORN REP TO LAUD TRUMP AFTER BIDEN’S MADURO OIL DEAL CANCELED “I was already amped up. Now I’m really amped up. … I’ve always wanted it (to see Cuba liberated), but now I kind of made a pledge that I’m not going to go back until the entire island is free.” The congressman said his memories of Cuba remain in “20-second” video snippets in his memory and that his feelings about Cuba started welling up when he first caught the outline of the island from the plane taking the lawmakers to Guantánamo Bay. “It dawned on me it was the first time I’d seen it in nearly 65 years – how beautiful it is – it’s just a place that is so special; and to have, really, a group of thugs and dictators and oppressors ruin it – I was somewhat emotional, but then that turned to anger.” Gimenez said he could envision his grandparents living in Oriente Province – which borders Guantánamo Province. CUBA’S MEDDLING IN US ELECTIONS A ‘BADGE OF HONOR’ TO SOME TARGETED CRITICS The lawmaker was born in Havana but said he lived half of each year on a ranch in Manzanillo, Oriente – only a few dozen miles west of Guantánamo Bay, and on the opposite end of the island from the capital city. “There are certain memories that just pop back in my head and have for a long, long time. And so all those came back again – I was grateful to go back. And it was emotional. But it also, I guess, incentivized me more.” However, visiting his hometown remained out of the question on the CODEL – as Gimenez described the potentially deadly security barrier between Guantánamo Bay and the rest of Cuba. While East Berlin had Checkpoint Charlie, and North and South Korea have the DMZ restricting movement, the border between Guantánamo Bay and mainland Cuba is fortified with hundreds of thousands of landmines planted by the regime. Representatives of the Cuban government tend to meet on a monthly basis with their U.S. counterparts at a bunker near Guantánamo Bay, but only for base management purposes rather than diplomacy, according to Gimenez. The lawmaker learned that in the past few months, there have been no such meetings. TOP REPUBLICAN CALLS USSS DIRECTOR’S ‘SLOPED ROOF’ DEFENSE ‘FINAL STRAW’: I’M 70 AND ‘COULD RUN AROUND IT ALL DAY’ The CODEL, led by Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, followed an executive order from President Donald Trump directing illegal immigrant criminals to be detained at Gitmo under ICE supervision. Rogers said in a statement the CODEL met with U.S. service members assigned to the base as well as the law enforcement officials in charge of “facilitating the removal of some of the worst criminals.” “Border security is national security, and I’m proud of the role the Department of Defense has played in protecting our nation and ending the invasion at our southern border,” Rogers said. Just over a dozen of the 780 total non-illegal-immigrant detainees since 2002 remain at Gitmo. In 1966, Cuban workers at the base were given a choice, Gimenez said: either go back to Cuba-proper, or remain working on-base for life. About 40 of those workers are still alive in Gitmo, unable to return to their homes in the rest of Cuba. Many are in their 80s, and there is an assisted living facility for those of advanced age that remain on base, he said. Gimenez has long advocated for a peaceful yet decisive end to the seven-decade dictatorship now led by Miguel Díaz-Canel, the handpicked successor of the late Raúl Castro, who had previously taken over from his brother. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A democratic Cuba could be the best friend to the U.S. in the Caribbean region, Gimenez said. Having Cuba under its current constitution sitting only 90 miles off the famous Southernmost Buoy in Key West is also of national security concern, many in Florida believe. With Trump at the helm and a renewed, revamped foreign policy and national security focus, Gimenez said in the interview that “all of the pieces are in place” to move more swiftly toward ushering-in a democratic Cuba once more. “It’s a question of will. I certainly have the will — this is the time. Now is the time,” he said Monday. “I just want to make sure that whatever I can do to make it happen.”
AOC ‘going on the offense’ to rally red-district voters against Trump: report
A progressive member of “the Squad” is reportedly planning to hold anti-Trump rallies in red districts in an effort to mobilize voters against the president. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., will organize events in red districts across Pennsylvania and New York to go “on the offense” against President Donald Trump’s second term, The Associated Press reported. The New York rallies come after Trump received 43% of the state’s vote in the 2024 election, a 6-percentage-point increase after capturing 37% of the Empire State vote in 2020. “You look around — who else is doing it? No one,” Ocasio-Cortez said of efforts to protest the Trump agenda, according to AP. “My hope is that the dam will break in terms of Democrats going on the offense … We need to take the argument directly to the people.” FORMER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT AIDE TO AOC SELF-DEPORTS TO COLUMBIA AMID QUESTIONS ABOUT EMPLOYMENT: REPORT The solo rallies come in addition to the Democrat’s plans to join Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on what is being called the “Stop Oligarchy Tour,” protesting the president’s agenda. SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLODES AFTER ‘CRINGE’ TIKTOK VIDEO OF AOC, HOUSE DEMS GOES VIRAL: ‘COULDN’T GET ANY LAMER’ “It’s not about whether Bernie should or shouldn’t be doing this. It’s about that we all should,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “But he is unique in this country, and so long as we are blessed to have that capacity on our side, I think we should be thankful for it.” The report comes after Ocasio-Cortez, a longtime Trump critic, called on Democrats to host town halls in GOP-heavy districts to push back against the president’s agenda following his joint address to Congress on Tuesday. “We need to be creatively organizing in Republican districts. And I don’t want to hear, OK, Republicans don’t listen. They are afraid of this. I’m telling you,” Ocasio-Cortez said in an Instagram live. “If you’re near a Republican, if you are in a Republican district and your Republican is not hosting a town hall, it’s time to do community town halls,” the congresswoman said. “It’s time to do community teachings. It’s time to do community town halls. It is time to start advertising their absence.” Ocasio-Cortez specifically called on Democrats to organize in the districts of Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J. Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
Freedom Caucus member Anna Paulina Luna joins AOC to push 10% credit card interest rate cap
In a seemingly peculiar bipartisan alliance, conservative House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and Congressional Progressive Caucus member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., teamed up to push a measure that would cap credit card interest rates at 10%. “The annual percentage rate applicable to an extension of credit obtained by use of a credit card may not exceed 10 percentage points, inclusive of all finance charges,” the proposal stipulates. Responding to a post on X that labeled Luna and her left-leaning compatriot “strange bedfellows,” the GOP congresswoman noted, “I would argue it isn’t strange at all. Most people agree insane credit card interest rates are predatory.” WHAT WOULD BE THE IMPACT OF A CREDIT CARD INTEREST RATE CAP? Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., put the proposal forward in the Senate last month. Trump floated the idea of a temporary cap on credit card interest during a campaign speech last year. BERNIE SANDERS, JOSH HAWLEY TEAM UP ON TRUMP PLEDGE TO SLASH CREDIT CARD RATES TO 10% “And while working Americans catch up, we’re going to put a temporary cap on credit card interest rates. We’re gonna cap it at around 10%. We can’t let them make 25 and 30%,” he said. “We’re making that pledge more than a talking point by introducing legislation to protect working people from remaining trapped under mountains of debt,” Ocasio-Cortez said of Trump’s pledge, according to the congresswoman’s press release about the proposed legislation. OLDER AMERICANS AMASSING CREDIT CARD DEBT TO COVER EXPENSES, AARP FINDS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “For too long, credit card companies have abused working class Americans with absurd interest rates, trapping them in an almost insurmountable amount of debt,” Luna said, according to the press release. “We need a fair solution – and that means getting rid of the status quo and putting a reasonable cap on interest rates.”