Pritzker bashes Trump order on birthright citizenship: ‘We will not follow an unconstitutional order’
Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker bashed President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. “That’s unconstitutional. We will not follow an unconstitutional order,” Pritzker told reporters on Monday while speaking at an unrelated event, Politico reported. Trump’s order, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” asserts that the 14th Amendment of the Constitution does not automatically confer American citizenship to individuals who are born within the United States. The amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” TRUMP SIGNS ORDER ENDING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP FOR CHILDREN OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Some legal experts have said that such a move is a constitutional change and cannot be made by executive order. The move will almost certainly face a challenge in court from civil rights groups and immigration activists. Trump advisers and some conservative legal scholars have previously argued that the idea of giving birthright citizenship to children of illegal immigrants is based on a misreading of the amendment. TRUMP TARGETS CULTURE WAR LIGHTNING RODS IN EARLY SLATE OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS The Democratic governor also took several swings at Trump as the 47th president unleashed a flurry of executive actions intended to make good on campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, end federal DEI programs and more. Pritzker, who is known to harbor presidential ambitions, said the rapid fire executive actions from Trump were not communicated to state governors ahead of time. “They have not communicated with us. I’m reading the same thing you are,” he said. “This is indicative of what you’re going to see of the Trump administration for the next four years. It’s chaos.” 2028 WATCH: HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY EVENTUALLY JUMP INTO THE NEXT WHITE HOUSE RACE He also echoed concerns former President Biden raised in his farewell address of an oligarchy of ultra-wealthy entrepreneurs who have cozied up to Trump. Silicon Valley titans Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos were high-profile attendees at Trump’s inauguration. “He’s got the oligarchs sitting on the front row of his inauguration. It shows who he cares about. It’s the wealthiest people in America who are cow-towing to him and not ordinary Americans. He does not care about ordinary Americans,” said Pritzker, who himself is a billionaire member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the Hyatt hotel chain. Pritzker claimed his biggest problem with the new administration is “the intent to attack people’s rights. That is something we will have to put up with or deal with every single day of this administration.”
Bipartisan lawmakers join forces to break up ‘out-of-touch’ DC power structure
FIRST ON FOX: A Republican and a Democrat are banding together to break up the centralized power structure in Washington, D.C., with a new bill moving federal agencies to other parts of the country. Reps. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, and Jared Golden, D-Maine, are introducing a bill Tuesday to relocate certain U.S. government offices elsewhere in the country’s 50 states, Fox News Digital was told. Exceptions would be made for national security-focused agencies like the Department of Justice, the Pentagon, the Department of Energy and the State Department. For other agencies, like the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Interior, for example, the legislation would block new and old leases as well as major renovation permits, forcing them to look outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for new space. REPUBLICAN SENATOR SAYS TRUMP SHOULD NOT PARDON HUNTER BIDEN It would then establish a “competitive bidding process” for other states to lease their land to the federal government, according to the bill text. Hinson argued it would transfer such agencies and offices to states that rely on their services most. “Moving federal agencies out of Washington and closer to the people most impacted will ensure that federal bureaucrats who have never left DC aren’t issuing out-of-touch mandates that disproportionately harm working families, small businesses, and our farmers who feed and fuel the world,” she told Fox News Digital. Hinson added there was “no valid reason” for USDA to operate in Washington, D.C., when it could be in her home state of Iowa, for example. Golden, also referencing industry in his home state of Maine, told Fox News Digital, “No one knows better than fishermen what it takes to make a living on the water, or the threat that new regulations from far away can pose not only to their livelihoods but to their entire community or region.” “Redistributing federal agencies and jobs around the country would bring the government closer to the people, ensure regulators are embedded in the communities that thrive or struggle based on their rulings and bring good-paying jobs out of the beltway and into communities across the country,” he said. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who has introduced a counterpart bill in the Senate, said the legislation was aimed at “reining in the administrative state that has run unchecked at the taxpayer’s expense.” BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY’: HOUSE GOP REPORT It is not immediately clear what the effects would be on job levels in Washington, D.C., where the federal government is the largest employer. It is also unclear what the overall costs could be of transferring agencies. However, the lawmakers argued that it would ultimately save taxpayer dollars by conducting necessary oversight over federal leases, at a time when some spaces are still sitting largely unused due to remote work policies left over from the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would also direct the federal government to use funds from the sale of any federal land or building to offset relocation costs.
India ready to repatriate 18,000 illegal migrants from US to placate Trump
The Indian government has signed migration agreements with several countries to manage its citizens’ overseas labor mobility, which could be at risk if the repatriation efforts are not upheld.
Attacker stabbed Saif Ali Khan on the back, as he was held tightly, sources reveals attack’s chronology
In Saif Ali Khan stabbing case, the 30-year-old convict told the police that he stabbed Saif on his back many times to free himself from the actor’s tight hold.
Who was Chalpathi? Top naxal leader with Rs 1 crore reward on him killed in Chhattisgarh encounter
Fourteen Naxals, including a top leader of the CPI (Maoists) who was carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore, were killed in a joint operation by central and state police forces along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border.
Federal judge blocks release of second volume of special counsel report to Judiciary Committee leaders
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the release of the second volume of former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on his investigation into President Trump. Judge Aileen Cannon had allowed the first volume to be released to a small group within Congress. The first volume relates to Smith’s investigation into alleged election interference by Trump, while the second relates to the classified documents investigation. This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.
Trump DHS repeals key Mayorkas memo limiting ICE agents, orders parole review
EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday issued memos to repeal limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents imposed by former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — and order a review of the use of humanitarian parole to admit migrants. The first memo, a draft of which was reviewed by Fox News, rescinds a 2021 memo by Mayorkas, which provided an expanded list of areas that are “protected areas” where ICE could not engage in immigration enforcement. It said the policy was designed to make sure enforcement did not limit “people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities.” Those areas include schools, universities, healthcare facilities, places of worship, “places where children gather,” social service establishments, food banks, religious or civil ceremonies and disaster or emergency response and relief centers. “In our pursuit of justice, including in the execution of our enforcement responsibilities, we impact people’s lives and advance our country’s well-being in the most fundamental ways. As a result, when conducting an enforcement action, ICE and CBP agents and officers must first examine and consider the impact of where actions might possibly take place, their effect on people, and broader societal interests,” Mayorkas said in a statement at the time. ‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY’: TRUMP DECLARES AMBITIOUS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS The memo issued Monday rescinded that guidance and said that common sense should be used instead. “Going forward, law enforcement officers should continue to use that discretion along with a healthy dose of common sense,” the new memo said. “It is not necessary, however, for the head of the agency to create bright line rules regarding where our immigration laws are permitted to be enforced.” ICE agents who spoke to Fox News said they believe that rescinding the Mayorkas order is going to free them up to go after more illegal immigrants, because illegal immigrants have until now been able to hide near schools and churches and avoid arrest. TRUMP TO DEPLOY MILITARY TO BORDER, END BIDEN PAROLE POLICIES IN FLURRY OF DAY 1 EXECUTIVE ORDERS A separate memo, also reviewed by Fox, focuses on the use of humanitarian parole, which was used broadly by the Biden administration to allow hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the U.S., including nearly 1.5 million via the CBP One app and parole processes for nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV.) The administration also launched parole programs for nationals from Ukraine and Afghanistan. The memo notes that the statute demands the authority be used on a “case by case basis,” something that Republican critics claim the administration has abused. It emphasizes that parole is “a limited use authority, applicable only in a very narrow set of circumstances.” It also claims that “it has been repeatedly abused by the Executive Branch over the past several decades in ways that are blatantly inconsistent with the statute.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “Most important, the parole statute does not authorize categorical parole programs that make aliens presumptively eligible on the basis of some set of broadly applicable criteria,” it says. The memo directs the heads of (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to compile a list of instructions, policies and procedures related to parole, review them, and formulate a plan to phase out any that are not in accord with the statute. They will then provide a report to the DHS secretary, while also pausing, modifying or ending any programs that they believe were not enacted properly, and that they can do in a way that is consistent with statutes, regulations and court orders. The memos came just hours after Trump signed a slew of 10 border-related executive orders, including orders deploying the military to the border, ending Biden’s parole programs and ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. The orders also declare a national emergency, and order the resumption of construction of the wall at the southern border. “All illegal entry will immediately be halted,” Trump said moments after being inaugurated. “And we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”
Medical schools ‘skirting’ SCOTUS ruling rejecting race in admissions: report
FIRST ON FOX: A new report conducted by nonprofit organization Do No Harm (DNH) is sounding the alarm on medical schools allegedly “skirting” a 2023 Supreme Court ruling rejecting the use of race-based factors in admissions. DNH says it “represents physicians, nurses, medical students, patients, and policymakers” in an effort to keep “identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice.” The organization had previously released a report where they found “many in the healthcare establishment nevertheless remain ideologically committed to the principle of racial favoritism and reject the virtue of race blindness” despite the high court ruling. DNH states that a previous report also indicated that the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) “and several medical specialty societies and medical schools” “rebuked” the Supreme Court decision shortly after it was handed down through means that included “veiled threats to circumvent the Court’s decision.” ‘DEI PLEDGE’: WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY ISSUES STATEMENT AFTER ASKING EMPLOYMENT PARTNERS TO SIGN COMMITMENT The newly published data, titled “Skirting SCOTUS: How medical schools will continue to practice racially conscious admissions,” used both MCAT data and available admissions data. DNH noted that because AAMC does not publish school-level data, it is not “immediately clear” which medical schools are continuing to implement affirmative action and to what extent. The data also excludes public universities, which were already banned from engaging in such practices. “Among the thirteen schools that published clear racial/ethnic demographic data for the class of 2027 and 2028, four experienced an increase in the proportion of black or Hispanic students,” the report states. “Fidelity to SFFA is not only measured by year-to-year demographic changes but is also a function of the degree to which affirmative action informed admissions policies before SFFA,” the report continues. The report states if the penalty assigned to “white and Asian applicants was modest,” the demographic change would be reflected as such and vice versa. NEARLY HALF OF ALL US COLLEGE STUDENTS REJECT MANDATORY DEI COURSES ON CAMPUS: STUDY The study stated that “outcomes at Quinnipiac, Maryland, Chicago, and Duke stand out as schools where admissions policies are particularly worthy of scrutiny” given that the schools “admit black and Hispanic medical students at a rate that far exceeds their representation in the applicant pool (13% in 2024).” “That fact, in conjunction with the reality that black and Hispanic matriculants to medical schools have significantly lower GPAs and MCAT scores than other matriculants, is a signal that the schools continue to penalize or reward students on the basis of race,” the report states. “It’s pretty shocking and appalling how flagrantly some of these medical schools are ducking a Supreme Court ban on affirmative action,” Ian Kingsbury, research director at DNH, told Fox News Digital. “You can see it in the data, and then you can tie that data to the statements that the schools themselves are making, where they’re publicly rebuking the Supreme Court and where they’re talking about the importance of diversity in their admissions process.” THESE SIX STATES BANNED OR LIMITED DEI AT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN 2024 “Whether the decision to stop publishing data after SFFA is coincidental, a gesture to disguise improper implementation of SFFA, or an effort to hide the statistical reality associated with proper implementation, is unclear,” the report continued. “Given pressure from the AAMC to continue to racially discriminate, coupled with the reality that many medical schools have been captured by far-left ideologues, these schools – as well as the dozens of others that didn’t publish any data – do not automatically earn a presumption of innocence.” “The sort of sobering reality is that, unfortunately, for the time being, Students for Fair Admissions has not resolved the issue of racial discrimination in higher education,” Kingsbury said. “And there’s more work to be done.” The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the use of race as a factor in college admissions in a 6-3 decision in 2023. The justices decided two separate legal challenges over just how Harvard University – a private institution – and the University of North Carolina – a public one – decide who fills their classrooms. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Student activist group Students for Fair Admissions brought cases against both universities. The group initially sued Harvard in 2014 for violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity that receives Federal funds or other Federal financial assistance.” Fox News Digital reached out to AAMC, Quinnipiac University, University of Maryland, University of Chicago, and Duke University for additional comment. AAMC directed Fox News Digital to its most recent data publication on medical school applicants and enrollment in 2024. “We are encouraged by the increase in first-time applicants to medical school. The AAMC and its member medical schools are committed to continuing our efforts to increase the supply of physicians and to increase the range of backgrounds and experiences in the applicant and matriculant pools that are critical to the future physician workforce. Evidence shows that a more varied workforce can improve access to health care and the health of our communities,” David J. Skorton, MD, AAMC president and CEO, said in the statement.
Trump nominees Collins, Stefanik to face senate grilling as VA, UN picks; Bessent gets committee vote
Two more of President Trump’s nominees will face questions from senators Tuesday, while a third, Treasury nominee Scott Bessent, will get a committee vote. Former Rep. Doug Collins, an Air Force Reserve chaplain, will testify before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee as he seeks confirmation to lead the Veterans Affairs Department. And Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as Trump’s nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The Senate Finance Committee, meanwhile, will convene at 10:15 a.m. and vote on whether to advance Bessent’s nomination to be secretary of the Treasury. Collins will be the first potential cabinet official to receive a hearing after Trump’s whirlwind of a first day in office. After announcing that a “Golden Age of America” had begun in his inaugural address, the president swiftly took more than 200 executive actions on Monday to see his policy vision come to life. It remains for the Senate to confirm the key officials who will carry out Trump’s orders. MARCO RUBIO CONFIRMED BY SENATE TO BE NEXT SECRETARY OF STATE, BECOMES FIRST TRUMP CABINET PICK TO BE APPROVED Florida Sen. Marco Rubio became the first of Trump’s cabinet picks to receive congressional approval late Monday with a unanimous vote by the Senate. His confirmation was not surprising, as many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle praised his strong foreign policy background as a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees. Collins is likewise not expected to face a difficult confirmation fight. A former congressman from Georgia and Navy veteran, as VA secretary he would be tasked with overseeing a beleaguered system of healthcare and benefits for the nation’s veterans. Long wait times to see providers, lack of access to community care, inadequate mental health support and budget shortfalls are just a few of many problems that have plagued secretaries past in both Republican and Democratic administrations. A report published by the VA last month showed that there were more than 6,400 suicides among veterans in 2022, fewer than 12 of 14 previous years but slightly more than in 2021. Ending veteran suicide was a top priority for the Biden administration. In November, the VA announced that veteran homelessness had fallen to the lowest number on record under President Biden, although more than 32,000 former service members remained on the streets between Jan. 2023 and Jan. 2024. Under Trump’s direction, the next VA secretary will likely also be tasked with rooting out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the department, as well as ending Biden-era policies that provide abortions and transgender medical procedures. HUNDREDS OF VETERANS TO DESCEND ON DC TO MARCH IN SUPPORT OF PETE HEGSETH’S CONFIRMATION Collins was due to receive a confirmation hearing last week, but an incomplete background check delayed the proceeding. While the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee convenes to question Collins at 10 a.m., the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will meet elsewhere in the Dirksen Senate Office Building to consider Stefanik’s nomination to represent the U.S. at the U.N. Stefanik, the fourth-ranking Republican in the U.S. House, is likely to face questions about her relative lack of foreign policy experience and adamant support for Israel, as well as her views on the war between Russia and Ukraine. In her opening remarks, excerpts of which were obtained by Fox News Digital, Stefanik will say that Trump sees great promise in the U.N. “if it focuses on its founding mission of international peace and security. President Trump has long advocated for peace and no new wars.” STEFANIK PLANS TO PUSH TRUMP’S ‘AMERICA FIRST’ AGENDA AT UN, MAKE SURE IT ‘SERVES THE INTERESTS’ OF US PEOPLE Stefanik is expected to sail to confirmation in the U.N. role. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, has already said he will vote for her – they are both strong Israel supporters. She served on the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, but she went viral for her work on the other side of the table last year when she questioned university presidents and their policies surrounding pro-Gaza protests during Education Committee hearings. Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee will vote on whether to advance the nomination of Bessent, a Wall Street investor and hedge fund manager, to lead the Treasury Department. During his confirmation hearings, Bessent said the U.S. must extend the 2017 tax cuts Trump signed into law in his first term. “This is the single most important economic issue of the day,” Bessent told senators. “This is pass-fail. If we do not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity, and as always, with financial instability that falls on the middle and working class.” Democrats pressed Bessent on the impact Trump’s tax cuts have had on the federal deficit and whether they disproportionately benefit the rich at the expense of the poor and middle classes. They also asked whether Trump’s proposed tariffs on foreign imports would increase inflation, but Bessent insisted they would not. The Treasury nominee, who hails from South Carolina, emphasized that Trump’s policies would prioritize Main Street over Wall Street. “I believe Wall Street has done great the past few years, and that Main Street has suffered. I think it’s Main Street’s time,” Bessent said.
Trump brings back Diet Coke button to White House Oval Office
The White House has brought back the famous Diet Coke button so that President Trump can order his drink of choice easily from the Oval Office. The red button, which is hidden in a wooden box and was used by Trump during his first term, was again spotted on the Resolute Desk after he was sworn in as the 47th president Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Oval Office, where presidents meet with foreign heads of state, congressional leaders and deliver the presidential address, is an area of the White House often personalized to reflect the values and goals of the incoming commander in chief. PRESIDENT TRUMP DISCOVERS LETTER FROM FORMER PRESIDENT BIDEN IN RESOLUTE DESK “We’re going to be going over to the beautiful Oval Office, one of the great offices in history, even if it wasn’t beautiful, it’s the Oval Office, but it is beautiful, and we love the Oval Office,” Trump said at the Capitol One Arena on Monday following the inauguration ceremony at the Capitol. “Wars start and then there. Everything starts and ends at the Oval Office.” Trump has a well-known affinity for Diet Coke and has repeatedly shared that he does not drink alcohol given his brother, Fred Trump Jr., died from complications of alcoholism in the early 1980s. On Monday, the Journal noted that a portrait of George Washington was now hanging over the fireplace in the Oval Office, and portraits of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were on each side. Biden had removed military flags for each service branch from the Oval Office four years ago, and Trump’s team had them reinstated there on Monday. TRUMP SIGNS DOZENS OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS, FULFILLING MANY BUT NOT ALL CAMPAIGN PROMISES When he was sworn in as president in 2021, Biden had a bust of Winston Churchill removed from the Oval Office. Churchill’s bust was returned on Monday and spotted in the same place it was four years ago on a table near the fireplace. Trump and Biden both displayed a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. in the Oval Office, and it remained there Monday at the start of Trump’s second term, according to the Journal. The Oval Office also has new silver eagle figures on the fireplace mantel as of Monday. Like he had during his first term, Trump again has a portrait of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office. The one from four years ago was on loan from the U.S. Naval Academy, while the one added on Monday is from the White House art collection, the Journal reported, citing a White House aide. Trump has resonated with Jackson, whose populist, anti-establishment movement landed him in the White House despite critics of the time. Trump kept Biden’s addition of a Benjamin Franklin portrait, which the Democrat initially chose to represent a focus on science.