‘That’s who she is’: Noem allies rally she’s ‘definition of South Dakota toughness’ amid wardrobe criticisms
Allies of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem are celebrating her as the “definition of South Dakota toughness” as critics lampoon the Trump administration official for wearing a cowboy hat or protective vest amid her hands-on efforts to secure the southern border and deport illegal immigrants. “Kristi Noem is the definition of South Dakota toughness and actually ran a working ranch for decades,” Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “She talks straight, works hard, and gets the job done. Like any great leader, she’s not sitting behind a desk — she’s out there on the front lines, rolling up her sleeves and working alongside the people she leads.” “You don’t see that much in Washington,” he said. Noem, who was confirmed as DHS chief on Jan. 25, has been on an immigration and security blitz since then, joining immigration raids on the streets of New York City and taking a horseback tour of the southern border in Texas. SOCIAL MEDIA ROASTS NOEM OVER UNIQUE STYLE CHOICES As Noem works to help deliver on President Donald Trump‘s campaign vow to lock down the border and clean house of illegal immigrants who flooded the nation under the Biden administration, critics have latched onto criticizing Noem’s wardrobe selection. She has been accused of wearing “cosplay outfits” or “cosplaying” a cowboy when she donned a cowboy hat during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Noem also has been mocked as “ICE Barbie” or “Border Patrol Barbie” for wearing a baseball cap, an apparent bullet-proof vest and makeup while helping conduct the raids in New York City at the end of January. To those in Noem’s personal and work orbit, however, she has long worn outfits that match the job she has before her — including when she has to get “her hands dirty.” SEC. NOEM SAYS HOMELAND SECURITY WILL FREEZE GRANTS TO NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS “If folks want to nitpick about her wearing the same gear as the people she’s leading — a cowboy hat, work clothes — they don’t understand her, and they sure don’t understand South Dakota,” Johnson said in comment to Fox Digital. “That’s who she is. Always has been.” “People in New York or D.C. wouldn’t last a day in the real America,” he said. “I told folks she’d be an ass kicker, and that’s exactly what she’s doing.” A source close to Noem, who spoke to Fox News Digital on the background of the secretary’s upbringing, speculated that critics likely “just don’t get her,” while arguing that complaints about men’s wardrobe choices are few and far between. KRISTI NOEM JOINS IMMIGRATION RAID TO CATCH ‘DIRTBAGS’ IN MAJOR SANCTUARY CITY “Kristi Noem was taught by her father not to complain about a problem, but to go and fix it,” the source said. “She gets her hands dirty when she throws herself into a job and that’s what she’s doing.” Noem stepped down as South Dakota’s governor following her confirmation to lead DHS and has a history of routinely swapping typical Washington, D.C., fashion, such as pantsuits and heels, for cowboy boots and jeans when outside of her office. While serving as governor, Noem was repeatedly spotted wearing jeans and more work-styled outfits while on the border. She has participated in the South Dakota Buffalo Roundup and joined state farm fairs. Noem was the first governor to deploy National Guard troops to border states in 2022 and repeatedly visited southern states such as Texas amid the immigration crisis, which she said created a “warzone.” NOEM SAYS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ARRESTED IN NYC RAID TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Noem grew up on a ranch in South Dakota’s rural Hamlin County and has remained close to her country roots. She came under fire in 2024, when she published a memoir that garnered outrage for defending the killing of a farm dog that attacked other animals. Noem reflected on her rural lifestyle in her Senate confirmation hearing in January, saying she has “spent my life in rural America” and that she understands “what it means to work hard every day to build a better future for our kids and our communities.” Another Noem ally close to the secretary who spoke to Fox News Digital said that “petty insults” aimed at Noem are actually borne out of opposition to Trump’s immigration policies. “The simple fact is that many of her critics are opposed to President Trump’s mission to keep the nation safe by fighting illegal immigration, and they’ll try to undermine it any way they can — and that includes hurling petty insults at the Secretary of Homeland Security to undermine her and the president,” the source close who Noem said. “It won’t work. She’s sworn to do the job the president gave her of protecting this country, and that’s what she’s going to do.”
Singer, songwriter Joy Villa wears DOGE coin dress to Grammys, supports Trump’s deportation crackdown
Singer and songwriter Joy Villa, well-known for her contentious attire at Grammy Award shows, strutted the red carpet once again on Sunday in a gown that served up a strong message. Villa was spotted at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in a gold dress and necklace dispersed with images of the DOGE Shiba Inu dog meme, a necklace featuring his face and a red hat that read “The hat stays on.” “I was kind of a walking meme,” Villa told Fox News Digital. “Obviously, I’m a MAGA girl and MAGA and crypto are starting to bridge the gap.” JOY VILLA TURNS HEADS WITH PRO-LIFE OUTFIT AT THE GRAMMYS “Cryptocurrency represents freedom,” she added. “We can disengage from the big banks. As artists, we can dictate our own financial independence.” The dress was tailored by atelier dress designer Andre Soriano, who also curated the controversial “Make America Great Again” dress Villa first wore to the 2017 Grammys. “I’ve had people try to snatch my MAGA hats off,” Villa said. Villa said that among the vicious rhetoric she has received since expressing her support for President Donald Trump and his policies eight years ago are threats of sexual assault and death in addition to racial slurs. Despite having experienced vocal and physical backlash, Villa said the hat sends a message of her courage, resilience and vibrancy. ‘MAGA’ DRESS DESIGNER FORCED TO REMOVE TRUMP SIGNS FROM BUSINESS, RESIDENCE WHEN ‘KAREN’ CALLED POLICE “I don’t worship Trump, but I worship Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior, and I know that God gave me a voice to speak in Hollywood as an artist, as an actress, as a musician,” Villa told Fox News Digital. “The red carpet is my battlefield.” A focal point of Villa’s conservative messaging at high-profile events is her religious devotion. “I shared Jesus Christ with every single person I interviewed and none of them posted that,” she said. “America needs to bless God because the fight is not over yet,” she added. “We got to stop aborting babies. We got to put prayer back in schools. Nobody needs to have their religion demonized and, for some reason, you can say every other name at the Grammys or the red carpet awards except for Jesus Christ.” SINGER JOY VILLA MAKES A POLITICAL FASHION STATEMENT AGAINST PLANNED PARENTHOOD While Villa’s remarks about religion were passed over by the media, her message in support of the deportations of illegal immigrants in the U.S. was publicized. “I’m a proud Afro-Latina,” she said. “I know being in the Latina community, being a woman of color, I know how much illegal immigration hurts us, and people won’t talk about that.” Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has acted on his promise of mass deportations and cracked down on illegal immigration. This has included ending deportation protection for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and deporting thousands of illegal immigrants to Mexico. “It is a crime to come here illegally,” Villa said. “I’ve traveled to 39 countries and in every single one of them I had to get the proper documentation and show my ID.” Villa scrutinized actress Selena Gomez for taking to social media recently to cry about President Trump’s swift action removing illegal immigrants. “Girl, sit all the way down,” Villa said. “You are an American citizen and those are not your people.” “Deport everyone who’s coming here illegally,” she said.
Trump calls for ‘nuclear peace agreement’ with Iran rather than blowing country ‘to smithereens’
President Donald Trump urged Iran to begin negotiating with the U.S. for a “nuclear peace agreement,” downplaying the possibility of a devastating military strike on the Islamic nation. Trump made the statement on social media Wednesday morning, reaffirming the U.S. position that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon. It comes just one day after Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. “I want Iran to be a great and successful Country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon. Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED,” Trump wrote. “I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper. We should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East Celebration when it is signed and completed. God Bless the Middle East!” he added. IRAN ‘TERRIFIED’ OF TRUMP PRESIDENCY AS IRANIAN CURRENCY FALLS TO AN ALL-TIME LOW INTELLIGENCE REPORT SAYS IRAN WILL KEEP TRYING TO KILL TRUMP REGARDLESS OF ELECTION OUTCOME The call for negotiations comes after Trump raised eyebrows Tuesday night by saying the U.S. will “take over” control of the Gaza Strip. “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” Trump stated. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site.” Netanyahu praised Trump’s ability to “think outside the box” during their joint press conference. Hamas also wrote a statement criticizing Trump’s comments just hours after his meeting with Netanyahu. “We reject Trump’s statements in which he said that the residents of the Gaza Strip have no choice but to leave, and we consider them a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region,” the group said. Hamas has recently reaffirmed control over the Gaza Strip following the start of the ceasefire and has said they will not release hostages without an end to the war and Israeli forces’ full withdrawal.
‘Squad’ Dem Ayanna Pressley trashes Elon Musk, calling him a ‘Nazi nepo baby’
“Squad” member Ayanna Pressley blasted business magnate Elon Musk as a “Nazi nepo baby” and “godless, lawless billionaire” during remarks at a rally. She also seemed to take a jab at Tesla’s Cybertruck. “Elon Musk is a Nazi nepo baby, a godless lawless billionaire, who no one elected. Elon, this is the American people. This is not your trashy Cybertruck that you can just dismantle, pick apart, and sell the pieces of,” she declared. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS SLAM ELON MUSK’S ACCESS TO TREASURY DEPARTMENT: ‘WE ARE AT WAR’ A video shared on the congresswoman’s @RepPressley X account shows her and others chanting, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Elon Musk has got to go.” In a post on the lawmaker’s @AyannaPressley account, Pressley had called Musk “a Nazi nepo baby who breaks everything he touches,” claiming, “Right now he’s locked himself in a room with grandpa’s Social Security check.” Musk backed President Donald Trump during the 2024 election and is now spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort to expose government waste. ELON MUSK DUNKS ON SEN CHUCK SCHUMER, DECLARING ‘HYSTERICAL REACTIONS’ DEMONSTRATE DOGE’S IMPORTANCE “Doge has not looked at, nor is there any interest in, private financial data. What would we even do with it? The outgoing payment review process just looks at potential fraud and wasteful spending to organizations. Corrupt politicians are the ones complaining. I wonder why?” Musk has noted in a post on X. The Treasury Department has noted that “the ongoing review of Treasury’s systems is not resulting in the suspension or rejection of any payment instructions submitted to Treasury by other federal agencies across the government.” SENATOR SENDS MESSAGE TO DEMS UPSET OVER ELON MUSK’S DOGE TEAM: ‘GET USED TO THIS’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Currently, Treasury staff members working with Tom Krause, a Treasury employee, will have read-only access to the coded data of the Fiscal Service’s payment systems in order to continue this operational efficiency assessment,” the department noted. “Mr. Krause is conducting this effort in coordination with veteran career Treasury officials, and all operational processes continue to be conducted only by career Treasury staff in accordance with all standard security, safety, and privacy standards,” Treasury noted. “In order to allow him to perform this function, he has been hired as an expert/consultant by the federal government and designated in a role commonly used across Administrations—a ‘special government employee’ —pursuant to applicable law.”
Delhi assembly polls 2025: Arvind Kejriwal 4.0 or BJP’s comeback? Know when, where to watch exit poll predictions
As the polling on 70 assembly seats in the national capital is about to be concluded, all eyes are now on the exit poll predictions. The voters of Delhi are holding their breath, waiting for the exit poll predictions to be announced.
Mahakumbh Mela 2025: Six injured after hot air balloon explodes before taking off, one critical
As many as six people were injured after a hot air balloon air filled with helium gas exploded at the Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Delhi Assembly Polls 2025: Know when, where to watch exit poll predictions
As polling in 70 assembly seats of the national capital is set to be concluded, all eyes are now on the exit poll predictions.
Trump budget bill could see ‘roughly’ $1 trillion in baseline spending cuts, top Republican says
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Republicans were eyeing $1 trillion as a rough baseline for spending cuts as they prepare a massive conservative policy overhaul. “I think when you look at where we are, we’re close to a trillion and still working,” Scalise said in response to a question by Fox News Digital late Tuesday night. When asked by another reporter later whether Republicans were looking at a $1 trillion baseline, Scalise said, “Roughly.” No final decisions have been made, however. Republican majorities in the House and Senate are working to codify large swaths of President Donald Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51 out of 100, the maneuver allows the party in power to skirt its opposition to advance its agenda – provided the items included relate to budgetary and other fiscal matters. The House of Representatives already has a simple majority threshold. BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS Disagreements over where to set the floor for spending cuts have put House Republicans behind on their ambitious schedule for reconciliation, which includes a final goal of getting a bill on Trump’s desk in May. The House Budget Committee was expected to advance an initial resolution for reconciliation this week. That plan was derailed, however, when spending hawks on the panel balked at House GOP leaders’ initial offer of roughly $300 billion as a starting point for rollbacks to federal funding. They also rejected a higher offer nearing $900 billion in cuts, Fox News Digital was told earlier this week. Scalise told reporters Tuesday night that leaders were now looking at next week to advance the bill out of the House Budget Committee. Conservatives who spoke with Fox News Digital said they doubted the spending cuts would go much deeper than the agreed-upon floor, but Republican leaders have continued to insist there will be opportunities to find areas for cuts beyond whatever level they settle on. Scalise also cautioned that negotiators were working against cost estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan group. “There are a lot of numbers floating around. I mean, you know, CBO’s got their numbers, and we’ve had real issues with them, because CBO has been wrong so many times, but yet you still have to start with their numbers,” Scalise said. “And then, you know, what kind of economic growth are you gonna get if you have better energy policy and better regulatory policy? And those are real factors. And our members recognize that, but, you know, you’ve got to come to an agreement on what is that growth factor gonna be? What’s a fair number?” GOP negotiators met on Tuesday evening to chart a path forward. A source familiar with the meeting said Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., did not commit to anything and discussions are still ongoing. Republicans are hoping to use reconciliation to pass several Trump policy goals, from more funding at the border to removing taxes on tipped and overtime wages. Lawmakers are also eyeing new defense funding and pro-fossil fuel energy measures. SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN House Republicans had planned to pass their reconciliation bill first, but it appears time could be running short. Senate Republicans have signaled they are ready to move ahead with their own plan if infighting delays the House GOP’s schedule. Asked about the prospect of the Senate moving first, Johnson told reporters on Tuesday, “Senate will not take the lead. We’re going to, and we’re right on schedule.” Scalise similarly said that delaying the committee mark up to next week will not alter Republicans’ overall timeline.
Moms for Liberty co-founder says Congress’ latest bill to protect kids online has serious loophole
A new bipartisan bill intended to shield children under 13 from harmful content on social media does not apply to YouTube Kids, which parental rights advocates warn still feeds transgender ideology and DEI videos to minors. Parental rights advocates who spoke to Fox News Digital also took issue with the bill, deemed the Kids Off Social Media Act, over its restrictions on the algorithm, suggesting the measure constitutes “government overreach.” The bill was introduced by Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Katie Britt, R-Ala., and is expected to go to mark-up on Wednesday. In an online question-and-answer fact sheet, Schatz’s office said YouTube Kids does not fit the definition of social media under the bill, nor do video games and other platforms like wireless messaging, educational platforms and teleconferencing. Upon visiting the YouTube Kids site, users are prompted to determine whether they are a parent or a child. It tells parents they must set up an account for their children and can block videos or channels they do not like. Among the content available to children on the site are videos made by “queer” creators, including from the accounts Queer Kid Stuff, Nickelodeon and CBC Kids News, advocates note. Other popular videos center on DEI, such as explaining “systemic racism” to children. DEI OFFICE CLOSURES AT UNIVERSITIES PILE UP AFTER ANOTHER STATE ORDERS END TO ‘WOKE VIRUS’ “I don’t think that we should just exclude apps from scrutiny because they say kids in them. You know, we’re all familiar with the so-called gender-affirming care, which isn’t really helpful or caring in any way. We’ve learned that, right? So the title of something shouldn’t just allay our fears. I don’t know why YouTube Kids has been excluded,” Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice told Fox News Digital. “What we have seen on YouTube Kids, I’ve seen personally myself, is evidence of transgender ideology being fed to kids,” she explained. “We know that trans activists have been targeting children. We know that there are vulnerable children who see this content. They often will click on it. Sometimes the algorithm will feed them more of that content. And so I think it’s very concerning. I don’t want parents to just say, this is meant for children and everything’s okay.” “We have always said it, Moms for Liberty, we do not co-parent with the government.,” Justice said. “So I really would like to continue to tell parents they need to be involved. They need to be the ones that are making those choices.” “There’s a tidal wave of evidence barreling down on the United States showing that so-called gender-affirming care is bad for children,” she said, championing President Donald Trump’s executive action to remove DEI and gender ideology from classrooms. “We do not want our children indoctrinated, indoctrinated to think that they were born in the wrong body. This is a horrible message. Stopping the natural, healthy development of children is criminal. And so the idea that you have a website that is feeding kids content around gender, ideology or DEI is extremely concerning. And it is worrisome that perhaps parents think, well, it’s YouTube Kids, so it’s safe.” Reached by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for YouTube defended the YouTube Kids app but did not address the legislative proposal directly. “The YouTube Kids app puts parents in the driver’s seat,” the spokesperson said. “Parents can choose what their kids see and what they don’t see. They have control over the content their kids watch and can easily go into the app to curate a list of allowed channels or block content from their child’s profile through the ‘approved content only’ setting.” Meanwhile, Justice highlighted separate legislative measures introduced by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to protect children online, including one bill introduced last session that would require age verification in the app store. Lee is not listed as a co-sponsor of the Kids Off Social Media Act, which would prohibit social media platforms from allowing children under the age of 13 to create or maintain social media accounts, but does not include a parental consent provision. That bill would not require users to present a government ID to gain access to social media and instead requires social media companies to use data about their users, including pictures they post, channels they follow or the date of birth they require upon sign-up to determine if a child is on their platform. As for another aspect of the Kids Off Social Media Act, Justice said she was concerned that the bill bans “algorithmic boosting” for children under 17. Under the bill, social media platforms would not be able to use machine learning to follow exactly how long children watch posts and what they click on to learn what makes each individual child stay on the platform the longest. Schatz’s office argued that social media companies exploit kids for profit in this way, but Justice said her main concern is the government controlling the algorithm. THERAPISTS SOUND ALARM AFTER STUDY SHOWS DRAMATIC RISE IN GENDER DYSPHORIA AMONG CHILDREN “If your son likes hockey, and it gives you more hockey information, well, I don’t know that that would bother me,” Justice said, explaining that she met a fellow mom who told her she goes on her children’s social media accounts and “trains” the algorithm to pull up more conservative political content so that her teenagers are exposed to another perspective outside mainstream media. “So I just think there are a lot of questions about who’s controlling the algorithm,” Justice said. “We know that there are oftentimes really dangerous content that can affect children’s mental health. We have evidence of that. And so we want to be really careful about how that algorithm is being used. And again, I just don’t know that I want the government making those decisions for my family.” Another parental rights advocate, Cat Parks, the former vice chair of the Texas GOP, told Fox News Digital that her primary
‘Swindled the American taxpayer’: New House GOP internal memo rips Dem USAID uproar
EXCLUSIVE: An internal memo being circulated to House Republicans is urging lawmakers to argue that President Donald Trump’s handling of foreign aid is “already paying dividends” and that the Biden administration spent that money on initiatives like “a transgender opera in Colombia through the State Department.” The three-page document, obtained by Fox News Digital through a House GOP source, is being sent to members of Republican leadership as well as lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It includes two pages of recommended talking points, including, “America is spending $40 billion in foreign aid annually. Much of those aid dollars are not even reaching the intended recipients and are instead propping up an NGO industrial complex that has, for years, swindled the American taxpayer.” The memo urged Republicans to argue Trump’s freeze on foreign aid “is needed because it’s nearly impossible to evaluate foreign aid programs when they are on autopilot.” SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN “A 90-day review period, with commonsense waivers for truly life-threatening situations, is the only way to give the State Department the time needed to root out waste,” it said. The State Department issued a freeze on most federal foreign aid days after Trump was sworn into office. Within recent days, Trump and Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) have also led a significant scale-back of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), including making Secretary of State Marco Rubio its acting head. Opponents of the moves have said it would embolden authoritarian governments that want to see the United States’ stature on the world stage diminished and that it would imperil thousands of lives abroad that depend on the aid. But Republicans like House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast, R-Fla., a top Trump ally, argue that the moves are justified to evaluate what money is actually going to foreign assistance that aligns with Trump’s agenda. “America’s foreign aid is not charity and its goal should not be to advance DEI abroad,” the committee wrote on X on Monday. NONCITIZEN VOTER CRACKDOWN LED BY HOUSE GOP AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS The memo also encouraged lawmakers to point out existing exceptions for “emergency food assistance” and “life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance, as well as supplies and reasonable administrative costs as necessary to deliver such assistance.” The third page is dedicated to highlighting where committee Republicans tracked foreign aid as going toward, including “$39,652 to host seminars at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on gender identity and racial equality through the State Department” and “$425,622 to help Indonesian coffee companies become more climate and gender friendly through USAID.” Other priorities listed included “$14 million in cash vouchers for migrants at the southern border through the State Department,” “$446,700 to promote the expansion of atheism in Nepal through the State Department” and “$32,000 for an LGBTQ-centered comic book in Peru.” A group of House Democrats said they were denied entry into USAID headquarters on Monday amid reports of a scale-back in senior officials and others. “We are not going to let this injustice happen. Congress created this agency with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, and if you want to change it, you got to change that law,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. It’s not clear if all Republicans are on board with Trump’s push, however. A vote to defund USAID last year led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., failed with 127 GOP lawmakers voting against it, compared to 81 in support. But Trump’s handling of foreign aid has been backed by Republicans known to be national security hawks, including previous House Foreign Affairs Chair Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. “President Trump and his team are right to scrutinize and revamp U.S. foreign aid distribution to ensure every taxpayer dollar serves its intended purpose. And I am optimistic they will do it in a way that strengthens the intention behind these programs and strengthens our national security,” McCaul said.