Former Iraqi refugee living in Texas pleads guilty to conspiring to support ISIS
A former Iraqi refugee pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group, according to the Justice Department. Abdulrahman Mohammed Hafedh Alqaysi, 28, pleaded guilty to creating and developing logos for ISIS’ media wing, known as the Kalachnikov team, and sending hacking videos and instructions to ISIS members between 2015 and 2020, the Justice Department announced Friday. He also pleaded guilty to providing stolen credit card information and creating fraudulent identity documents for the designated terrorist group. Alqaysi, currently a legal permanent resident in Richmond, Texas, will remain in custody until his June 5 sentencing. He faces up to 20 years behind bars and up to $250,000 in fines. JD VANCE CLASHES WITH CBS ANCHOR OVER UNVETTED REFUGEES: ‘I DON’T WANT THAT PERSON IN MY COUNTRY’ The guilty plea comes after the Trump administration has moved to crack down on the vetting of refugees. For example, President Donald Trump signed executive orders in January suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and ramping up vetting of refugees “to the maximum degree possible,” particularly those “from regions or nations with identified security risks.” One of the orders, known as the Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program, instructs Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to admit refugees to the U.S. on a “case by case basis” if the alien does not pose a national security threat to the U.S. Additionally, Vice President JD Vance voiced concerns about the vetting process for refugees in January, and said in an interview with CBS anchor Margaret Brennan that the U.S. shouldn’t “unleash thousands of unvetted people into our country.” Specifically, Vance pointed to an Afghan national arrested in October 2024 on charges of conspiring to conduct a terrorist attack on Election Day on behalf of ISIS, according to the Justice Department. NEW SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO PAUSES REFUGEE OPERATIONS, RAMPS UP VISA VETTING “I don’t agree that all these immigrants, or all these refugees have been properly vetted,” Vance told Brennan. “In fact, we know that there are cases of people who allegedly were properly vetted and then were literally planning terrorist attacks in our country. That happened during the campaign, if you may remember. So, clearly, not all of these foreign nationals have been properly vetted.” A spokesperson for Vance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about Alqaysi’s guilty plea. Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
Republican who backed bipartisan border bill warns of ‘loopholes’ despite record-low border encounters
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital he still believes the bipartisan border bill was necessary to secure the border, despite President Donald Trump achieving record-low border encounters through executive action. In February, U.S. Border Patrol recorded the lowest monthly total of migrant apprehensions on the U.S. southern border in at least 25 years. There were 8,326 southern border encounters in February 2025, down from 189,913 in February 2024. “Same law, same opportunities. Obviously, very different applications of the law,” Lankford said. “We had one day last week, there were less than 200 people [who] even tried to illegally cross the border. You go back to a year and a half ago, that number was 12,000 a day. So dramatic difference in application.” Lankford said the combination of Trump’s rhetoric and policies has led to the stark drop in illegal border crossings. But the Oklahoma senator said Trump wouldn’t need to play so much “catch-up ball” if the bipartisan border bill was passed under President Joe Biden’s administration. NEW REPORT REVEALS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATION HIT NEW HIGH DURING BIDEN-ERA CRISIS “We had a million additional people that came into the country in 2024 that would not have been in the country, if we would have passed that bill,” Lankford said. Lankford, who led the Republican charge to pass the bipartisan border bill, said it would have required the Biden administration to exercise their “legal authority” and create new authorities to secure the border. And even with the record-low number of border crossings, Lankford told Fox News Digital that border security requires legislative action to make a lasting impact. ‘LEAVE NOW’: TRUMP ADMIN REPURPOSES CONTROVERSIAL CBP ONE APP TO ENCOURAGE SELF-DEPORTATIONS “It’ll be the challenge in the days ahead. There are still gaps in the law. There are still loopholes there. And I would anticipate within two or three years the cartels will test it, test it, test it, test it. See if they can find a way to make a breakthrough. We saw this in the first Trump administration. The first two years, the numbers were down. But in 2019, there were almost a million people that illegally crossed that year under the Trump administration in the third year, because the cartels were testing, testing, testing, trying to find loopholes in the law… that challenge will come again,” Lankford said. Lankford said the first step was Trump applying the law by enforcing border security, and next is closing legislative “loopholes.” “When we see the loopholes, close those because President Trump’s going to be president for four years. We don’t know who’s to be president five years from now. We’re going to have the same issue again. If we don’t fix those gaps in the law, then we’re going to have this issue come up again. So if you want to fix it, it’s not just elect somebody for four years. It’s fix the law, so we never have to deal with this again. That’s what I was trying to do, was to be able to stop the chaos that was already happening in 2014, and then to say no matter who is president in the future, we’re going to enforce this law,” Lankford said. Lankford has supported border security legislation since he was a representative for Oklahoma’s fifth congressional district. He supported the Secure the Southwest Border Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2014, which was designed to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enhance resources for unaccompanied minors on the southern border. As senator, Lankford was the lead Republican negotiator on the Border Act of 2024, more commonly known as the bipartisan border bill. Lankford collaborated with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., to introduce the legislation early last year. The bill sought to deter illegal border crossings through a quota system, tighten asylum application processes, increase border patrol agents on the ground, create work visas for migrant spouses of U.S. citizens and develop pathways to citizenship for “documented dreamers.” Lankford’s Republican colleagues blocked the bipartisan border bill from passing in the Senate. Trump reportedly opposed the bill for not going far enough to secure the border and for the political victory it would have granted President Joe Biden and the Democrats on border security. Lankford has continued to defend the legislation, despite the Oklahoma Republican Party censuring him for aligning too closely with the Democrat’s agenda in championing the bill. The bill became a political fixture of the 2024 presidential campaign, as Democrats up and down the ballot blamed Trump and Republicans for blocking legislation that would have increased border security. Meanwhile, Republicans blamed President Joe Biden’s policies for the illegal immigration surge. A new report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) found there were more than 18 million illegal immigrants in the United States following the Biden administration. The population of illegal immigrants in the United States grew by 4.1 million or 18.2% since December 2020, the report found. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to secure the border on day one of his administration. He signed a series of border security executive actions on the first day of his second term, including declaring a national emergency on the southern border. Fox News Voter Analysis found that the economy and immigration were the top issues for voters in 2024. Nearly half (47%) of voters in 2024 said immigrants living in the U.S. illegally should be deported rather than given a chance to apply for legal status, and 68% favored reducing the number of immigrants allowed to seek asylum at the border.
Americans have clear opinions on Trump’s performance in his first 50 days
On the eve of his 50th day back in office, President Donald Trump is touting that America is “back.” Trump, seven weeks into his second tour of duty in the White House, highlighted in an interview this weekend on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that he and his administration were moving “at a very rapid pace.” “50 WINS IN 50 DAYS: President Trump Delivers for Americans,” the White House touted in an email release on Monday, as it touted Trump’s accomplishments — some of them controversial — since his Jan. 20 inauguration. But the most recent national polls indicate Americans don’t have such a rosy view of the Trump presidency, and are divided on the job he’s done so far. CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS COVERAGE OF TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS Trump’s approval ratings were underwater in three surveys – from Reuters/Ipsos, CNN and NPR/PBS/Marist – which were conducted ahead of the president’s address last week to a joint-session of Congress. It was the first major primetime speech of his second administration. But Trump’s approval ratings were in positive territory in other new polls. And Trump, who has long kept a close eye on public opinion polling, took to social media on Monday to showcase his “Highest Approval Ratings Since Inauguration.” While Americans are split on Trump’s performance, the approval ratings for his second term are an improvement from his first tour of duty, when he started 2017 in negative territory and remained underwater throughout his four-year tenure in the White House. ONLY ON FOX: GOPS SENATOR REVEALS STRATEGY TO PUSH TRUMP’S AGENDA THROUGH CONGRESS But there’s been a bit of slippage. An average of all the most recent national polls indicates that Trump’s approval ratings are just above water. However, Trump has seen his numbers edge down slightly since returning to the White House in late January, when an average of his polls indicated the president’s approval rating in the low 50s and his disapproval in the mid 40s. “Keep these numbers in perspective. The numbers he’s averaging right now are still higher than he was at any point during his first presidency,” veteran Republican pollster Neil Newhouse told Fox News. And Newhouse emphasized that Trump’s Republican “base is still strongly behind him.” Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas, also pointed to Trump’s rock-solid GOP support. “He never had support among Democrats in the first administration, but he also had some trouble with Republicans,” Shaw, who serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and is the Republican partner on the Fox News Poll, spotlighted. “That’s one acute difference between 2017 and 2025. The party’s completely solidified behind him.” HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING The president has been moving at warp speed during his opening seven weeks back in the White House with a flurry of executive orders and actions. His moves not only fulfilled some of his major campaign promises, but also allowed the returning president to flex his executive muscles, quickly putting his stamp on the federal government, making major cuts to the federal workforce and also settling some long-standing grievances. Trump as of Monday had signed 89 executive orders since his inauguration, according to a count from Fox News, which far surpasses the rate of any recent presidential predecessors during their first weeks in office. Those moves include a high-profile crackdown on immigration, slapping steep tariffs on major trading partners, including Canada and Mexico, and upending the nation’s foreign policy by freezing aid to Ukraine and clashing with that country’s president in the Oval Office. “He has flooded the zone with his policies and he’s thrown Democrats into disarray,” Newhouse said. And pointing to lackluster favorable ratings for the Democratic Party, Newhouse highlighted that Trump’s “numbers may be slightly slipping, but it sure as heck hasn’t gone to the Democrats.” While he’s in a better polling position than during his first term, Trump’s approval ratings are lower seven weeks into his presidency than any of his recent predecessors in the White House. Shaw noted that neither Trump nor former President Joe Biden “started out with overwhelming approval. This is not like the honeymoon period that we historically expect presidents to enjoy…. Historically, the other side gives you a little bit of leeway when you first come in. That just doesn’t happen anymore.” Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low- to mid-50s during the first six months of his single term as president, with his disapproval in the upper 30s to the low- to-mid-40s. However, Biden’s numbers sank into negative territory in the late summer and autumn of 2021, in the wake of his much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan, and amid soaring inflation and a surge of migrants crossing into the U.S. along the nation’s southern border with Mexico. Biden’s approval ratings stayed underwater throughout the rest of his presidency. “He just got crippled and never recovered,” Shaw said of Biden. There are some warning signs for Trump. The Reuters/Ipsos poll indicated that just one in three Americans gave the president a thumbs-up on his handling of the cost of living. Shaw emphasized that inflation, the issue that helped propel Trump back into the White House, remains critical to the president’s political fortunes. “If prices remain high, he’s going to have trouble,” Shaw warned.
Federal appeals court reverses Texas death row inmate’s conviction
Brittany Marlowe Holberg was convicted in 1998 of robbing and murdering an 80-year-old man in his Amarillo home. The appeals court said critical evidence was withheld.
‘Eye-opening’: Congressional delegation hypes Gitmo’s readiness as deportations start ramping up
Members of Congress visited Guantanamo Bay last week amid renewed attention on the military base, which is now being used to hold illegal immigrants, including some that may pose an additional security risk. President Donald Trump is aiming to have up to 30,000 people who are in the United States illegally held at the facility before they face deportation with the goal of using the facility mainly for “the worst criminal aliens threatening the American people,” the president previously said. “Yesterday, I led a Congressional Delegation to Guantanamo Bay to see firsthand the incredible work being done by our servicemembers to keep our nation safe,” Rep. Mike Rogers, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. NEARLY 200 VENEZUELAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS DETAINED AT GUANTÁNAMO BAY ARE FLOWN BACK HOME “During our visit, we met with servicemembers and law enforcement officials who have played a crucial role in 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,” he continued. As of last week, about 20 migrants are at the naval station, but over 250 have been at the base since the Trump policy was announced. Most of the 20 were considered “high threat,” Fox News reported. Roughly 200 were Venezuelans who have since been deported. “The visit to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay was an eye-opening experience that offered tremendous insights into the complexities of immigration policy and the importance of border security,” Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., said in a statement.’ US BEGINS FLYING MIGRANTS TO GUANTANAMO BAY “Understanding the deportation process firsthand is crucial for informing my decisions. I came away not only with a better perspective but also with a deeper appreciation for the service members and federal workers who work tirelessly to safeguard the American people,” Davis added. The visit comes as there is an effort to ramp up deportations even further, whether it’s through law enforcement action or by one’s own choice. The “CBP Home” app launched this week with the goal of having people self-deport if they entered the country illegally, which is a major change from the “CBP One” app used to process migrants during the Biden administration. Millions of people were encountered by CBP crossing into the country illegally during the last administration. While encounters decreased slightly following an executive order from Biden last year, apprehension numbers torpedoed to just over 8,000 — the least ever noted by CBP. LAURA INGRAHAM TAKES AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK INTO GITMO’S MIGRANT LODGING “It is clear that Guantanamo Bay is operational and equipped to conduct these deportations, with multiple agencies cooperating in this effort including the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. With the strong commitment of Republicans in Congress, these deportations should continue and increase without interruption,” Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital in a statement. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The delegation’s visit comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth toured Guantanamo Bay at the end of February, as the base holds both the “Migrant Operations Center” and the detention center that is most well-known for holding suspected terrorists in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Reporter’s Notebook: Here we go again (again)
It seems like just a few weeks ago, there was a crisis on Capitol Hill as lawmakers tried to avert a government shutdown. Well, you have a good memory. But you don’t have to have a long one. The reason is that a government funding drama played out in Washington just before last Christmas. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., thought he had forged an agreement which could pass the House with a coalition of Democrats and Republicans. It would also get through the Senate with Democrats lugging some of the freight to overcome a filibuster. Everything seemed fine until lawmakers saw the sheer size of the bill. President Trump – then president-elect – weighed in. So did Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. And the bill was toast. DEMOCRATS TURN ON EACH OTHER OVER TRUMP ADDRESS STUNTS Lawmakers scrambled to assemble a slimmed-down bill to avoid a Christmastime government shutdown – and punt everything until the middle of March. Guess what? It’s mid-March. Lawmakers failed to work out an overall spending package to run until next fall. This came after the spending plan that we’re talking about now was supposed to be worked out last fall. In fact, many House Republicans complained that lawmakers failed to advance the 12 individual spending bills by the book. The House has completed a few. The Senate? None. That was under the stewardship of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., when Democrats ran the show last year. Zero bills under new Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., this year. CNN STUNNED BY ‘SHOCKING’ POLL NUMBERS SHOWING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR DOGE SPENDING CUTS Don’t forget that Johnson seized the speakership in October 2023, promising to handle the appropriations bills one by one. But reality set in. Circumstances forced Johnson to advance multiple stopgap spending packages – often with Democratic help. They finally funded the government for 2023 in April 2024. This is why government funding crises ricochet around constantly. House Republicans published the text of an interim spending bill over the weekend. It renews the Biden-level funding numbers – but also makes some cuts to social spending programs and the budget for the city of Washington. However, there are small increases in funding for the Pentagon. There are few Democratic priorities reflected in the bill. Yet House Republicans – who control the House – are demanding Democrats join them to help pass the bill. Democratic votes may be necessary when Republicans have a slim majority. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., already said he was a no unless he were to receive “a lobotomy.” During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last week, Johnson asserted that Democrats should help because “government funding is always bipartisan. You have to have partners on both sides of the aisle to do it.” Johnson has needed Democrats to pass government funding bills since he assumed the speakership. In fact, Democrats may have salvaged Johnson’s speakership last spring. There was a wink and a nod that Democrats may try to buffer any attempt to oust him – especially since he was willing to support a plan to fund Ukraine. And Johnson, along with his predecessor, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., faced reams of criticism for crafting spending bills to avert government shutdowns which needed Democrats to pass. “Speaker Johnson has betrayed (our trust) by passing three CRs to keep the government open and then forcing us to pass, or to vote on a two-part omnibus, the second one being today,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., last year. She threatened to remove the speaker when a temporary spending measure arrived last year. “This bill was basically a dream and a wish list for Democrats and for the White House. It was completely led by Chuck Schumer, not our Republican speaker of the House,” added Greene. RESOLUTION PUNISHING AL GREEN CLEARS DEM BLOCKADE, ADVANCES TO HOUSE-WIDE VOTE AFTER TRUMP SPEECH Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., was one of the eight GOP members who voted to remove McCarthy as speaker in 2023. Throughout that summer, Biggs criticized McCarthy over how he handled spending bills and a measure to avoid a collision with the debt ceiling. “The speaker formed a coalition with Democrats to get us a $4 trillion national debt. And I continue to be concerned because he hasn’t repudiated that coalition,” said Biggs in June 2023. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is responsible for triggering the resolution that led to McCarthy’s demise. McCarthy’s transgression? After the House stumbled to pass its own spending package before a government funding deadline in September 2023, McCarthy put a clean spending measure on the floor that passed with Democratic help. McCarthy was out the door four days later. “We’re going to force him into a monogamous relationship with one or the other,” said Gaetz at the time. The Florida Republican accused McCarthy of jumping “in the back seat” with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. So now House Republicans have crafted a bill that appeals to Republicans. And they expect Democrats to help them support it. “The threat of the shutdown is on them at that point. So they better get on board,” said Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Texas. Ellzey noted that if all Senate Republicans supported the package, it would be incumbent on at least seven Senate Democrats to help break a filibuster to advance the plan. Republicans hold 53 Senate seats. But 60 yeas are necessary to overcome a filibuster. “And if we shut down, it’s on them,” said Ellzey. Democrats find GOP criticism rich – despite the Senate numbers conundrum. “This is a question of why can’t they govern?” asked Rep. Ro Khanna, R-Calif. “You elected a Republican president. You have a Republican House. A Republican Senate. They should be able to have the votes to fund government.” Khanna also blasted the GOP’s “take it or leave it” approach when they were not part of negotiations for this particular bill. Democrats demanded restrictions on DOGE and guarantees about sustaining programs at federal agencies, along
60 universities under investigation by Trump admin for ‘antisemitic discrimination and harassment’
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s Department of Education announced Monday that 60 universities are currently under investigation for “antisemitic discrimination and harassment,” Fox News Digital has learned. “The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ADDRESSES BIDEN’S ‘BACKLOG’ OF CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM COMPLAINTS: ‘IMMEDIATE PRIORITY’ The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent letters to the 60 higher education institutions Monday afternoon warning that they could face legal repercussions “if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities.” The letters were sent to universities currently under investigation for allegations of antisemitic harassment and discrimination stemming from anti-Israel campus protests nationwide following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. The universities in question are in every major region of the country. AFTER TRUMP THREAT, HAMAS REFUSES TO RELEASE MORE HOSTAGES WITHOUT PHASE 2 CEASEFIRE DEAL Northeast: American University, Boston University, Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Drexel University, Emerson College, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, Middlebury College, Muhlenberg College, Northwestern University, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Rutgers University-Newark, Swarthmore College, The New School, Yale University, State University of New York Binghamton, State University of New York Rockland, State University of New York Purchase, Union College, and Wellesley College. Midwest: Illinois Wesleyan University, Indiana University Bloomington, Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, University of Wisconsin Madison. West: Arizona State University, California State University Sacramento, Chapman University, University of California Davis, University of California San Diego, University of California Santa Barbara, University of California Berkeley, Santa Monica College, Stanford University, Pomona College, University of Southern California, University of Washington Seattle, Pacific Lutheran University, Portland State University, and Whitman College. TRUMP STICKING TO GAZA RELOCATION PLAN, AS WHITE HOUSE SEEMS TO DISMISS EGYPTIAN PROPOSAL South: Eastern Washington University, George Mason University, Indiana University Bloomington, University of North Carolina, University of South Florida, University of Tampa, University of Tennessee, University of Virginia, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Temple University, Tufts University, Tulane University. On Friday, the Trump administration announced its move to investigate as an “immediate priority” outstanding allegations of antisemitism and violence on college campuses across the U.S. after canceling roughly $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” “Over 140 complaints alleging antisemitic harassment and violence were filed with the Biden Education Department,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for the OCR, told Fox News Digital Monday. This is a breaking story, check back for updates.
WH lambasts ‘head-in-the-sand’ liberal prosecutors after 20 AGs sue to halt DOGE cuts
The White House remained steadfast in its DOGE agenda after 20 Democratic state attorneys general collaborated to file a lawsuit Friday challenging the legality of the administration’s planned cuts to the federal workforce. “The Democrats have no plan on how to recover from their embarrassing loss, and it shows,” White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said Monday. “Instead of working to become a party that focuses on the will of the people, they are hell-bent on keeping their heads in the sand and gaslighting on the widely supported mission of DOGE.” Maryland’s top lawman led 19 other states in asking a federal court to halt what Attorney General Anthony Brown called illegal mass layoffs of federal probationary employees. His office also called for those already let go to have their jobs reinstated. LAWMAKERS FROM STATE WITH MOST FEDERAL WORKERS PER-CAPITAL WARN AGAINST TRUMP BUYOUT BID The lawsuit listed each of Trump’s top 21 acting or confirmed cabinet officials as defendants in their official capacity, and alleged the administration made “no secret of their contempt for the roughly 2 million committed professionals who form the federal civil service.” “Nor have they disguised their plans to terminate vast numbers of civil servants, starting with tens of thousands of probationary employees,” the suit read. Fields, a spokesman for President Donald Trump, said that slashing waste, fraud and abuse and “becoming better stewards of the American taxpayer’s hard-earned dollars” might “be a crime to Democrats.” “But, it’s not a crime in a court of law,” Fields said. Brown said in a statement that Trump’s “mass firings” have thrown thousands of Marylanders and others who work for the government into “financial insecurity.” Lawmakers in the Old Line State, which is home to the most federal workers per capita, previously warned constituents against Trump’s offer to buy-out their jobs in February. Rep. Sarah Elfreth — a Democrat who represents a line of bedroom communities including Columbia, Elkridge and Glen Burnie — said her constituents had been coming to her expressing worry about the situation. “Pushing out career federal employees will only cripple agencies and undermine essential government services — it does nothing to make government more efficient,” she said. In a statement, Gov. Wes Moore added that he supports the lawsuit and that Marylanders in public service are “dedicated patriots” whose work should be “praised, not villainized.” TOP BLUE-STATE REPUBLICAN LAUNCHES COMPREHENSIVE DOGE EFFORT, WITH A TWIST Meanwhile, the lawsuit alleged potential “chaos” nationwide due to these job cuts, and that under the law, cabinet agencies must follow protocols when conducting “Reductions in Force” (RIFs) which include 60 days advanced notice of termination. It also alleged that the layoffs are being carried out in a manner that forces state governments to abruptly step in, providing safety nets for affected employees — placing additional strain on state services and budgets. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin echoed Brown, calling the firings “callous and reckless.” Platkin claimed several military veterans in the Garden State have already been affected by the layoffs and that the endeavor has greatly damaged partnerships between Trenton and Washington. “[These layoffs] are not only short-sighted but are illegal, and today we are taking the Trump administration to court in order to reverse them,” he said. In California, Attorney General Robert Bonta claimed DOGE’s actions will do the opposite of its stated purpose to curb waste and inefficiency. “The reality is that abrupt and indiscriminate terminations will lead to increased operation disruptions, higher rehiring costs, and long-term financial burdens on taxpayers,” Bonta said, adding that DOGE’s work has the potential to harm national parks within the Golden State. Meanwhile, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha added in a statement that states need “appropriate notice” in order to prepare to help affected bureaucrats who live in the Ocean State. “If [Trump] wants to reduce the size of the federal government, he must do so through legal means: This is another attempt to subvert the rule of law as an illegal means to an end and coalesce executive power in the process,” Neronha said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “These protections are on the books for a reason, and we won’t stand for this attack on American workers and their families.” In defense of Trump and his administration, several Republican governors have countered that investigating and enacting ways to cut bureaucracy is not new, but that the president and Elon Musk have turbo-charged such an endeavor at the federal level. “Idaho was DOGE before DOGE was cool,” Gem State Gov. Brad Little said in his recent State of the State address. “Florida has set the standard for fiscally conservative governance,” Sunshine State Gov. Ron DeSantis added last month. Meanwhile, officials like New Jersey state Sen. Joe Pennacchio, Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano and Texas Senate President Brandon Creighton have crafted DOGE commissions or policy proposals in their respective states.
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.