Trans lawsuit lobbed against Trump admin based on ‘faulty interpretations’: Legal expert
As LGBT advocates and medical organizations challenge the Trump administration’s ban on transgender treatments for minors, legal expert Sarah Marshall Perry of the Heritage Foundation warns that this lawsuit is just the “tip of the iceberg,” driven by “faulty interpretations,” with more legal battles expected in the coming months. “This is a $5 billion a year industry,” Perry said. “I would not expect what I like to call the gender ghouls to go quietly into that good night, they are going to suddenly be faced with a devastating reckoning on exactly where their bottom line lies.” “If they want to fight for private insurance coverage through Cigna or Blue Cross Blue Shield, that’s entirely their prerogative,” Perry said, adding that these companies have “very big lobbying presences” to pursue coverage through private insurers. LGBTQ+ ADVOCATES, FAMILIES SUE TRUMP ADMIN FOR ENDING FUNDING OF TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE UNDER 19 “There is a reason that this type of so-called medical care proliferated, and that’s because they had governmental cover,” she said. The lawsuit was filed in Baltimore federal court and seeks an immediate injunction to delay the implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order from last week. “Over the past week, hospitals across the country have abruptly halted medical care for transgender people under nineteen, canceling appointments and turning away some patients who have waited years to receive medically necessary care for gender dysphoria,” the lawsuit reads. “This sudden shutdown in care was the direct and immediate result of an Executive Order that President Trump issued on January 28, 2025 — Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation — directing all federal agencies to ‘immediately take appropriate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end gender-affirming medical care for people under nineteen (the ‘Denial of Care Order’).” The group of plaintiffs claims executive orders are unlawful and unconstitutional, saying the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS BANNING ‘RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY,’ DEI INITIATIVES IN THE MILITARY However, Perry argued that existing federal coverage for gender-related procedures for minors stems from a misinterpretation of the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, a decision that several federal courts have since ruled does not support such policies. “Remember that we’re dealing with the vestiges of an administration that was all in on gender identitarianism and was manipulating federal case law to be able to push through policies that have already been struck down,” Perry said. “I think the President is acting wisely in an anticipatory stance to make sure that the federal funding cap is turned off, while we can get some of these challenges through court and determine whether or not, first, if there is a parental right to these particularly controversial procedures.” She said that a federal judge already ruled against former President Joe Biden’s re-interpretation of Title IX, referring to U.S. District Court Chief Judge Danny Reeves vacating the regulation in January, in which the previous administration had expanded sex discrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Reeves ruled that Biden’s expansion contradicted the original intent of Title IX, stating that incorporating gender identity into the statute “eviscerates the statute and renders it largely meaningless.” CRACKING DOWN ON TRANS TROOPS: TRUMP ORDER NIXES PREFERRED PRONOUNS, RESTRICTS FACILITY USE Perry noted that various federal statutes, including the Affordable Care Act’s anti-discrimination provisions, were “manipulated” by the previous administration to advance gender identity policies and noted that courts have increasingly pushed back against these interpretations. “I think he is rightly acting in an anticipatory fashion,” Perry said of Trump. “He is the chief enforcer of the law, and he has drawn a line in the sand, saying we’re going to cut the tap off until we find a way to get clarity on this, but in the meantime, we are not going to continue to fund the things that we know have catastrophic, devastating effects on minor kids.” The lawsuit is the latest addition to those suing Trump over his gender-related executive orders. The executive orders, signed in late January, include a reinstatement of the ban on transgender troops in the military, a ban on federal funding for sex changes for minors and a directive requiring federal agencies to recognize only “two sexes,” male and female, in official standard of conduct. A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital they do not comment on pending litigation. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to weed out “radical gender ideology” as one of his key administrative focuses. The Supreme Court will also rule on a major case this term about a Tennessee law that will determine whether gender transition procedures can be banned for minors. Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Trump holding Oval Office meeting with Texas Gov. Abbott over ‘securing the southern border’
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott meets at the White House on Wednesday with President Donald Trump to discuss their efforts to beef up security along America’s southern border with Mexico. “Governor Abbott is meeting with President Trump to discuss their continued partnership in securing the southern border and keeping Americans safe,” Abbott press secretary Andrew Mahaleris told Fox News Digital when asked about the Oval Office get-together. Ahead of his meeting with Trump, the three-term conservative Lone Star State governor met with Tom Homan, the president’s border czar. TEXAS’ ABBOTT MAKES MAJOR MOVE IN BORDER SECURITY BATTLE “Looking forward to meeting with President Trump today. Earlier this morning, I spoke with Tom Homan about immigration enforcement strategies. Today, and the coming days, should be great for Texas,” Abbott wrote in a social media post. It would be hard to find another governor who has done more to support, and help implement and endorse, Trump’s hardline border security and immigration agenda. Texas, under Abbott’s leadership, has spent billions of dollars on border security the past couple of years under Operation Lone Star. And now the GOP-dominated legislature is proposing allocating an additional $6.5 million to implement Trump’s border and immigration agenda. And this week, Abbott, in an unprecedented move, gave Texas National Guard soldiers the power to arrest undocumented immigrants in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Trump, speaking to an overflow crowd of supporters gathered at the U.S. Capitol for his inauguration last month, praised Abbott. “He’s doing a great job. He’s doing a phenomenal job, but now you’re going to have a partner that’s going to work with you,” Trump said. And Abbott returned the compliment this past weekend, as he delivered his State of the State address. “We have a president who will partner with Texas to deny illegal entry,” Abbott said. “To support that mission, I have ordered Texas state agencies to assist the Trump administration with arresting, jailing and deporting illegal immigrants.”
‘Losing their minds’: Dem lawmakers face backlash for invoking ‘unhinged’ violent rhetoric against Musk
Several Democratic lawmakers drew the ire of conservatives on social media after showing up at a rally against Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts and riling up the crowd with disparaging comments about the Tesla CEO, including calling him a Nazi. “Elon Musk is a Nazi nepo baby, a godless lawless billionaire, who no one elected,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said at a rally outside the Treasury Department where protesters were speaking out against DOGE. “Elon, this is the American people. This is not your trashy Cybertruck that you can just dismantle, pick apart, and sell the pieces of.” At one point during her remarks, Pressley said, “We will see you in the court, in Congress, in the streets.” MEET THE YOUNG TEAM OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERS SLASHING GOVERNMENT WASTE AT DOGE: REPORT “Elon Musk is seizing the power that belongs to the American people,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said while shaking her fist alongside Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. “We are here to fight back.” “We are gonna be in your face, we are gonna be on your a–es, and we are going to make sure you understand what democracy looks like, and this ain’t it,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said at the rally. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was also in attendance and told the crowd that Musk’s DOGE efforts are “taking away everything we have.” “God d—it shut down the Senate!” Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., said. “WE ARE AT WAR!” Conservatives on social media quickly pushed back on the comments, with some accusing Pressley of inciting violence. “These people are totally sane…,” Greg Price, Trump ’24 deputy rapid response director, sarcastically posted on X along with a supercut of clips from the rally. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR VOWS TO PROTECT DOGE STAFFERS FROM ANY ‘THREATS, CONFRONTATIONS’ TARGETING MUSK TEAM “THIS IS A CALL FOR VIOLENCE!” video journalist Nick Sortor posted on X in response to Pressley. “The DOJ MUST investigate this!” “Rep Ayanna Pressley just called on her followers to agitate in the streets,” LibsofTikTok posted on X. “Typical Democrat doing what they do best: Calling for violence and chaos.” “Democrat lawmakers are losing their minds now that their USAID scam is exposed,” conservative influencer Paul Szypula posted on X. “Pressley needs to be censured for inciting violence.” “Making Jasmine Crockett the face of your party is certainly a choice and one I highly encourage,” Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. “Rep. Jasmine Crockett is totally unhinged,” conservative commentator Ben Kew posted on X. “A screeching Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren says Elon Musk is ‘seizing power from the American people’ by not allowing congress members to waste taxpayer money,” Collin Rugg, co-owner of Trending Politics, posted on X. “I knew Trump’s 2nd presidency would be good but didn’t realize it would be this good.” “This sounds like a call for insurrection to me,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X in response to McIver. “CC: @TheJusticeDept @FBI.” Fox News Digital reached out to the office of Reps. Pressley, Crockett and McIver. The Democrat lawmakers have come out against Musk after he was granted access to a Treasury department called the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which disburses trillions in payments each year, including Social Security checks and federal salaries, through DOGE, which is tasked with reducing federal spending. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups,” Musk wrote on X in defense of his actions. “They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once.” In a letter Tuesday to federal lawmakers, a Treasury Department official said a tech executive working with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will have “read-only access” to the government’s payment system. Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report
Bondi’s DOJ Day 1 directives: Fight weaponization of justice, eliminate cartels, lift death penalty ban
EXCLUSIVE: Attorney General Pam Bondi will issue several major directives on her first day leading the Justice Department, including orders to combat the weaponization of the legal system; make prosecutors seek the death penalty when appropriate; and work with the Department of Homeland Security to “completely eliminate” cartels and transnational criminal organizations, Fox News Digital has learned. Bondi was confirmed by the Senate Tuesday night as attorney general and sworn in Wednesday. SENATE CONFIRMS PAM BONDI AS US ATTORNEY GENERAL Fox News Digital exclusively obtained memos outlining Bondi’s first-day directives, which will lay the groundwork for the Justice Department under her leadership. Bondi issued a directive regarding “zealous advocacy.” Bondi said DOJ attorneys’ responsibilities include “aggressively enforcing criminal laws passed by Congress, but also vigorously defending presidential policies and actions on behalf of the United States against legal challenges.” “The discretion afforded Justice Department attorneys with respect to those responsibilities does not include latitude to substitute their personal political views or judgments for those that prevailed in the election,” the memo states. DOJ DIRECTS FBI TO FIRE 8 TOP OFFICIALS, IDENTIFY EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN JAN. 6, HAMAS CASES FOR REVIEW “When Justice Department attorneys refuse to faithfully carry out their role by, for example, refusing to advance good-faith arguments or declining to sign briefs, it undermines the constitutional order and deprives the President of the benefit of his lawyers,” the memo continues. Bondi, in the memo, states that “any Justice Department attorney who declines to sign a brief, refuses to advance good-faith arguments on behalf of the Trump administration, or otherwise delays or impedes the Justice Department’s mission will be subject to discipline and potentially termination.” Bondi is set to establish the “Weaponization Working Group,” which will review the activities of all law enforcement agencies over the past four years to identify instances of “politicized justice.” JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FIRES MORE THAN A DOZEN KEY OFFICIALS ON FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S TEAM The working group’s first reviews will include prosecutions against Trump led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith; Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg; and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the civil fraud case against Trump and his family. The working group will also review any potential prosecutorial abuse regarding Jan. 6, 2021; the FBI’s targeting of Catholic Americans; the Justice Department’s targeting of parents at school board meetings; and abuses of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances, or FACE, Act. FLASHBACK: FBI INTERVIEWED PRIEST, CHURCH CHOIR DIRECTOR AHEAD OF ANTI-CATHOLIC MEMO, HOUSE GOP FINDS Meanwhile, Bondi also will end the moratorium on federal executions and order that federal prosecutors at the Department of Justice, including U.S. attorney’s offices, seek the death penalty when appropriate – specifically with a focus on violent drug trafficking crimes. Bondi also ordered that the Justice Department “re-evaluate instances of the prior administration electing not to seek the death penalty.” Bondi also is expected to rescind any DOJ policies that are “not sufficiently in line with President Trump’s death penalty executive order.” The move represents a major reversal from the Justice Department’s view of the death penalty under the Biden administration. In 2021, Biden allowed the DOJ to issue a moratorium on federal executions. In December 2024, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 criminals on federal death row, which President Donald Trump, in his executive order on the death penalty, described as the “most vile and sadistic rapists, child molesters, and murderers on Federal death.” Bondi said she is now also directing the Justice Department to achieve justice for the families of the victims of the 37 murderers who had their death sentences commuted. TRUMP TAKES MORE THAN 200 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS ON DAY ONE As for cartels, Bondi is directing the Justice Department to work closely with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal partners to “completely eliminate” the threats of cartels and transnational criminal organizations. Bondi plans to re-imagine charging priorities relating to those cases in order to ensure that law enforcement resources are focused on dismantling the foundational operational capacity of cartels, as opposed to just picking off low-level offenders. Here, the Justice Department is expected to temporarily suspend some “bureaucratic approvals and reviews” in order to prioritize speedy prosecutions and captures of those accused of severe offenses like capital crimes, terrorism, or aiding the operations of cartels. Bondi said Joint Task Force Vulcan, which was created to destroy MS-13, and Joint Task Force Alpha, which was created to fight human trafficking, would be “further empowered and elevated” to the Office of the Attorney General. Those missions are expected to expand – specifically Vulcan’s – with a new focus on destroying Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang now designated as a foreign terrorist organizaton. Also on the cartel front, Bondi is directing the DOJ Office of Legal Policy to find legislative reforms to target equipment designed to make fentanyl pills and add Xylazine, a new deadly drug, to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. And as for illegal migrants, Bondi has directed the DOJ to pause all federal funding for sanctuary cities. Bondi also has directed the DOJ to identify and evaluate all funding agreements with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that provide support to illegal aliens. She is also directing litigating components of the Justice Department to investigate instances of jurisdictions that are impeding law enforcement, and directing they be prosecuted, when necessary. ‘THIS IS ABOUT FENTANYL’: TARIFFS ARE CRUCIAL TO COMBATING ‘DRUG WAR,’ TRUMP AND CABINET OFFICIALS SAY Meanwhile, Bondi will create a new Joint Task Force focused on holding Hamas accountable for its crimes against Jews during its terror attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The task force will also “achieve justice for victims and fight terrorist-led antisemitism.” The task force will pursue criminal charges where applicable against Hamas; seek the arrest and extradition of Hamas leadership; and investigate antisemitism in the United States. Bondi is also directing the FBI to staff the joint task force with personnel “significantly experienced in investigating
Former NFL player Scott Turner confirmed to lead Housing and Urban Development
Scott Turner was confirmed on Wednesday to be the next secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The former NFL player was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead HUD in his second term. His nomination cleared a key procedural hurdle on Tuesday night, by a margin of 55-45. Two Democrats joined Republicans on the vote, making it bipartisan. GOP-LED SENATE CONFIRMING PRESIDENT’S NOMINEES AT FASTER PACE THAN BIDEN ADMIN, FIRST TRUMP TERM Turner notably played in the NFL for nine seasons, spending time on the Washington Redskins, the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos. After his professional football career, he ran for state office in his home state of Texas, where he served as a legislator for several years. BERNIE SANDERS, JOSH HAWLEY TEAM UP ON TRUMP PLEDGE TO SLASH CREDIT CARD RATES TO 10% In Trump’s first administration, Turner served as First Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC). The president said in his November announcement of Turner’s nomination that he led “an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities” in that capacity. TULSI GABBARD ADVANCES OUT OF INTEL COMMITTEE IN BOOST TO CONFIRMATION ODDS “Those efforts, working together with former HUD Secretary, Ben Carson, were maximized by Scott’s guidance in overseeing 16 Federal Agencies which implemented more than 200 policy actions furthering Economic Development. Under Scott’s leadership, Opportunity Zones received over $50 Billion Dollars in Private Investment!” Trump wrote at the time. With his Wednesday confirmation, Turner became the 12th confirmation to Trump’s second-term Cabinet. The Republican-led Senate has made it a priority to push Trump’s picks through the upper chamber. The Republicans have managed to confirm more nominations at this point in Trump’s term than former President Joe Biden or Trump’s first term. Both Biden and Trump’s first term had only 6 at the same time.
‘BIG CHANGE’: Nassau County police to begin assisting with immigration enforcement
Nassau County police officers will now be assisting federal authorities with immigration enforcement in what county executive Bruce Blakeman is calling a “big change” that “was sorely needed.” In an interview with Fox News Digital, Blakeman, who is a Republican, explained that the Nassau County Police Department will embed 10 detectives within the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) to target illegal immigrant criminals in the county. Additionally, the Nassau County Correctional Center will be setting aside dedicated space for illegal immigrant criminals, allowing ICE space to hold them pending their removal from the U.S. As part of the arrangement, Nassau County will receive federal funding to help reimburse them for the extra personnel power and jail space made available to ICE. SANCTUARY CITIES THAT REFUSE ICE REMOVAL REQUESTS COULD BE PUNISHED UNDER STATE, FEDERAL LEGISLATION “Now we can call ICE up [and] ICE will come in and detain them or deport them,” he said. “So, it’s a big change, and it’s one that was sorely needed.” Blakeman said that the partnership was proposed by ICE as soon as President Donald Trump returned to the White House. He said that he believes the partnership will “absolutely” have a dramatic effect on improving the safety and well-being of citizens and residents in Nassau, which is one of the largest counties in the country. “ICE approached us, asked us if we would cooperate, and I said absolutely yes. I believe in their mission. I believe in cooperation with our federal law enforcement professionals, and I thought it would make us safer in Nassau County,” he said. “I thought it was the right thing to do, and the fact of the matter is, I’m just very grateful that President Trump is now allowing ICE to do their job, and I think that’s very, very important because it’s going to keep us all a lot safer.” He explained that until now the state’s migrant sanctuary policies have made it difficult for police and ICE to enforce federal immigration law and get dangerous criminal migrants off the streets. Meanwhile, other leaders in the state, such as New York Attorney General Letitita James, a Democrat, have threatened law enforcement with legal action if they assist with ICE removal operations. SANCTUARY CITIES THAT REFUSE ICE REMOVAL REQUESTS COULD BE PUNISHED UNDER STATE, FEDERAL LEGISLATION “We’ve had a 5-year-old girl who was raped by an illegal migrant. I mean, how disgusting is that? We’ve had fentanyl come in from illegal migrants south of the border with amounts that could kill our whole population,” he said. “Well, now, those individuals who are involved in that type of activity will either be permanently detained or they will be deported …. So, it’ll be a safer community.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “I can’t speak for any of the state officials up in Albany. They’ve promulgated bizarre laws that give criminals more rights than victims. You just have to scratch your head and say to yourself, why are they always sticking up for criminals? When are they going to start sticking up for victims?” he asked. “All I can say is here in Nassau County, we’re going to follow the federal law.” Blakeman clarified that Nassau County officers will not be conducting immigration enforcement raids with ICE, but rather working in tandem with the agency to facilitate the smooth transfer of illegals for deportation. CHILEAN MIGRANT GANGS TERRORIZE AMERICANS WITH HOME INVASIONS: WHAT TO KNOW “This is for targeted criminals who are here illegally in America. So basically, what would happen is, let’s say a police officer arrests somebody for committing a crime in Nassau County. They would then do a background check. They would check the records of ICE. It would be determined that they were here illegally and then we would notify ICE and ICE would come and pick them up.” Blakeman said that as far as he is concerned, the partnership with ICE and federal authorities will remain in place for “as long as it’s necessary.” “After Joe Biden was elected president, Joe Biden’s directive was that ICE should not be enforcing the law, that basically individuals that were illegal migrants who committed crimes should be treated like citizens. And ICE was paralyzed,” he said. “Now, under President Trump, they are enforcing the laws that are already on the books, and we are going to assist them in enforcing the law because it will mean that we’ll have a safer county.”
Johnson says Trump’s Gaza takeover proposal could be ‘bold step’ in restoring peace
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called President Donald Trump‘s proposal to “take over” Gaza a “bold step” toward restoring peace in the region. “Of course, the initial announcement yesterday, I think, was greeted with surprise by many, but cheered by, I think, people all around the world,” Johnson said during his weekly press conference on Wednesday. “Why? Because that area is so dangerous, and he’s taking bold, decisive action to try to ensure the peace of that region.” SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN Johnson also noted that conditions in Gaza needed to change in order to avoid another attack similar to Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants invaded southern Israel and killed more than 1,000 people. He stopped short of fully endorsing the action, however, and was later pressed again on whether he believed the U.S. should take control of Gaza. “This is a bold, a decisive move. And I think you have to do something to eradicate the threat to Israel. Here’s the problem – if you leave Gaza in its current form, there’s always a risk of another Oct. 7. There’s always a risk of proxies of Iran, all these terrorist organizations whose stated, openly stated goal is to eliminate Israel as a state,” Johnson said. “So it just makes sense to make the neighborhood there safer. I think that’s logical. I think it follows common sense.” Trump told reporters, “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip,” during a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all the dangerous unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site,” he said. GOP LAWMAKER CALLS FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARING OVER DC PLANE CRASH Trump said it would “create economic development that would supply unlimited numbers of jobs” and the U.S. would turn the war-torn region into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Johnson said he would discuss the matter during his own meeting with Netanyahu on Thursday.
Second federal judge blocks Trump birthright citizenship order
A second federal judge moved to block President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship on Wednesday, with the judge saying no court has yet sided with the administration on the issue. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, an appointee of President Joe Biden, noted a prior ruling that had paused the implementation of Trump’s order. Boardman argued that citizenship is a “national concern that demands a uniform policy.” The prior ruling only paused implementation of Trump’s order for 14 days, however, while Boardman’s ruling will last through appeal. “Citizenship is a most precious right, expressly granted by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution,” she wrote in her ruling. The decision comes more than a week after U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, also blocked the executive order following a lawsuit by four U.S. states — Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. Coughenour called Trump’s order “blatantly unconstitutional.” TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW Coughenour said during his Jan. 23 ruling that the executive order banning birthright citizenship “boggles the mind,” and told the court he could not remember in his more than 40 years on the bench seeing a case so “blatantly unconstitutional.” Trump’s order seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, which 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 ADMIN HITS BACK AS ACLU LAUNCHES LAWSUIT ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: ‘READY TO FACE THEM’ It clarifies that those born to illegal immigrant parents, or those who were here legally but on temporary nonimmigrant visas, are not citizens by birthright. States who have challenged the law have argued that the 14th Amendment does in fact guarantee citizenship to persons born on U.S. soil and naturalized in the U.S. Republican attorneys general from 18 states pushed back this week against lawsuits filed by Democrat AGs and legal groups nationwide challenging the citizenship order. TRUMP’S HOUSE GOP ALLIES PUSH BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BILL AFTER PROGRESSIVE FURY AT PRESIDENTIAL ORDER “If someone comes on a tourist visa to have an anchor baby, they are not under that original meaning of the United States Constitution,” Iowa AG Brenna Bird told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday. Bird is the lead AG leading an amicus brief filing in support of the executive order on Monday. “Oftentimes, when this has happened, it’s the taxpayers that are paying for the healthcare through Medicaid or through hospitals, paying for care for someone to have a child, or the state child health insurance system as well,” Bird said. “Each state has a system that helps kids without insurance, and so the taxpayers are on the hook here for all the costs.” Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Bondi sworn in as attorney general with mission to end ‘weaponization’ of Justice Department
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was sworn in to lead the Justice Department on Wednesday, where the nation’s newly minted top prosecutor is expected to spend her first days dealing with a firestorm of reassignments, lawsuits and resignations from senior law enforcement officials, despite early efforts to urge calm and head off any fears of politicization. Bondi was sworn in at the Oval Office Wednesday by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in front of an audience packed with her friends and family. President Donald Trump, for his part, praised Bondi after the ceremony as “unbelievably fair and unbelievably good,” and someone who he said will “restore fair and impartial justice” at the department. “I know I’m supposed to say, ‘She’s going to be totally impartial with respect to Democrats,’” Trump told reporters, “and I think she will be as impartial as a person can be.” FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION Bondi’s nomination had earned praise both from Republicans and some Democrats for her composure and her ability to deftly navigate thorny and politically tricky topics and lines of questioning from some would-be detractors – putting her on a glide path to confirmation in the Republican-majority chamber. Her nomination had also earned the praise of more than 110 former senior Justice Department officials, including former attorneys general and dozens of Democratic and Republican state attorneys general, who praised her experience and work across party and state lines. Still, her swearing-in comes at a politically charged time for law enforcement agency. Just hours earlier, two groups of FBI agents filed separate lawsuits Tuesday seeking to block any public identification of employees who worked on Jan. 6 investigations, after the bureau complied with a request from Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to obtain information from thousands of agents, or their supervisors, detailing their role in the sprawling investigation. FBI AGENTS DETAIL J6 ROLE IN EXHAUSTIVE QUESTIONNAIRE EMPLOYEES ‘WERE INSTRUCTED TO FILL OUT’ Questions ranged from agents’ participation in any grand jury subpoenas, whether the agents worked or responded to leads from another FBI field office, or if they worked as a case agent for investigations. The plaintiffs said any effort to review or discriminate against FBI employees involved in the Jan. 6 investigations would be “unlawful and retaliatory,” and a violation of civil service protections under federal law. Bondi, a former Florida prosecutor and state attorney general, vowed repeatedly in her confirmation hearing last month to head up a Justice Department free from political influence or weaponization. If confirmed, she told lawmakers last month, the “partisanship, the weaponization” at the Justice Department “will be gone.” “America will have one tier of justice for all,” she said. Still, her work will be cut out for her. TRUMP’S ULTIMATUM TO FEDERAL WORKERS: RETURN TO OFFICE ‘OR BE TERMINATED’ Earlier Wednesday, a senior FBI official also emailed employees at the bureau seeking to head off concerns that they could be terminated or discriminated against in response to their role in the investigation. “Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties,” this person said in an email shared across the FBI, and confirmed to Fox News. Trump declined to answer questions earlier this week over whether his administration would remove FBI employees involved in the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, telling reporters only that he believes the bureau is “corrupt” and that his nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, will “straighten it out.” And former Justice Department officials have cited concerns that the actions could have an incredibly chilling effect on the work of the FBI, including its more than 52 separate field offices, whose agents have decades of experience in detecting and responding to counterterrorism threats, organized and violent crime, drug trafficking, and more. But one retired FBI agent urged calm, noting to Fox News that the acting director and deputy director of the FBI still remain in place. This person also stressed that the Jan. 6 investigation and the FBI personnel involved in investigating each case “fully followed Bureau and DOJ guidelines,” and that violations of federal statutes were “proven beyond a reasonable doubt in federal courts of law.”
Abbott meeting with Trump at White House to discuss border issues
The governor has requested the federal government reimburse Texas for his border hardening measures under Operation Lone Star.