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SCOOP: Freedom Caucus threatens to force vote on Al Green measure if Johnson doesn’t act
FIRST ON FOX: The House Freedom Caucus could force a vote on a bill to strip Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, of his committee assignments if Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., does not announce a punishment for the Democrat that conservatives see as sufficient. “He will see what he deems appropriate, and then if that’s adequate, that’s fine,” House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, D-Md., told Fox News Digital. “If not, then we likely will file our privileged resolution to strip him of his committees.” Freedom Caucus members told Fox News Digital that the group was in touch with Johnson’s office about the issue. The conservative caucus threatened to file a resolution to remove Green from all committees last week after his disruption during President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP CONCLUDES REMARKS AFTER DECLARING ‘AMERICA’S MOMENTUM IS BACK’ The protest got the Texas Democrat thrown out of the House chamber minutes after the address began. “We’re gonna ask what Mike Johnson wants to do moving forward. We talked about a lot of things, but different people had different thoughts. But I guess what weighed on our minds is, he said he’s going to do it again,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. “My one thing, that kind of action needs consequences.” Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., said, “There’s all sorts of options, and I don’t think any of them have been decided upon yet.” Green was censured in a 224 to 198 vote on Thursday morning after repeatedly disrupting the beginning of Trump’s primetime speech. He shouted, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” at Trump and shook his cane in the air as the president touted Republican victories in the House, Senate and White House. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., after giving a warning, had Green removed from the chamber The 77-year-old Democrat was unrepentant, posting on X on Thursday afternoon, “Today, the House GOP censured me for speaking out for the American people against [Trump’s] plan to cut Medicaid. I accept the consequences of my actions, but I refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice.” But members of the House Freedom Caucus want to go further, floating everything from fining Green to making good on their resolution threat. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital he didn’t want to give the Green issue “any more oxygen” but suggested a suitable punishment would be stripping the Texas lawmaker of any seniority privileges. “No seniority on offices, no seniority on parking spots, on committees – all of that,” Burlison described. TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS Meanwhile, Green’s House Democratic allies briefly plunged the House floor into chaos after the censure vote. They crowded Green as he stood ready for Johnson to read out the censure, another formal part of the process, and sang “We shall overcome.” Johnson was forced to pause House floor proceedings after trying and failing multiple times to call the Democrats to order., Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., another Freedom Caucus member, filed a resolution in response to strip all the offending Democrats from their committees. Harris and Clyde signaled the current discussions with leadership were focused on Green alone, however. “No one [else] waved a cane at the president and didn’t accept…having a censure resolution read without interruption,” Harris said. Clyde added, “And nobody else had to be thrown out.” Johnson, for his part, confirmed in an interview on Fox News on Friday that he was in talks with the House Freedom Caucus on a punishment for Green. “I talked to Freedom Caucus members and other Republicans who are deeply concerned about this,” Johnson told “Outnumbered.” “They say we have to restore control one way or the other and there need to be real consequences, and it’s something that we’ll be looking at early next week.” Green currently serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where he is the top Democrat on the subcommittee for oversight. Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Johnson and Green for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Trump-backed bill to avert government shutdown passes House despite mutiny threats
House Republicans passed a federal funding bill backed by President Donald Trump largely on their own Tuesday. It also marked one of the rare occasions in recent memory that a majority of House Democrats voted against a bill that would prevent a government shutdown. The bill passed largely along partisan lines in a 217 to 213 vote. Just one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted against the bill. One lone Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, joined the rest of the GOP in advancing it. Republicans erupted into cheers on the House floor when the bill passed, and now the House will be out of session until March 24. DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY REBUKE PARTY MEMBERS WHO JEERED TRUMP DURING SPEECH TO CONGRESS: REPORT The measure, a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding known as a continuing resolution (CR), will now head to the Senate. It must pass there and get to Trump’s desk before the end of Friday, March 14, to avert a partial shutdown. In a major victory for Trump and House GOP leaders, however, several House Republicans who professed to never have voted for a CR supported the current bill. Among them was Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., who fully credited Trump with his decision to “barely” support the bill. “The ‘barely’ is Donald Trump,” Burlison said. “He is the difference maker. I would never support this language, but I do trust Donald Trump.” Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., was in a similar boat. He told reporters, “I’ll be the first guy to tell you I don’t like CRs. I’ve never voted for one.” “But the Democrats aren’t going to help us. And the Democrats are just going to put any shutdown on the president, which obviously isn’t good for for the party,” Steube said. “So I think it’s important that we give the party, the president and the conference time to come up with a good budget.” And despite passing the House, the legislation could still see an uphill climb in the Senate. At least one Republican there, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has already rejected the bill. Republicans will likely need the help of as many as eight Democrats to meet the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold. The bill includes an additional $8 billion in defense dollars in an apparent bid to ease national security hawks’ concerns, while non-defense spending that Congress annually appropriates would decrease by about $13 billion. There’s also an added $6 billion for healthcare for veterans. TOP CONSERVATIVE GROUP VOWS TO WORK CLOSELY WITH PRESIDENT AFTER PAST CLASHES WITH TRUMP The White House has requested additional spending in areas that were not present in the last government funding extension, known as “anomalies.” Among the anomalies are some added funding for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) federal benefits program, and nearly $1 billion to aid with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations. There is also some added funding for defense in a bid to ease national security hawks’ concerns, and about $13 billion in cuts to non-defense spending. Rank-and-file Republicans like Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, cheered the bill’s passage. He told Fox News Digital, “My vote for this clean, fiscally conservative continuing resolution ensures that we pay our troops and fully fund our border patrol agents while continuing our work to extend the Trump Tax Cuts” in addition to a host of other Trump priorities.
‘Entire families’ killed in Syria fighting, UN says
Hundreds reported killed in violence in Syria’s coastal region, which is heavily populated by Alawites. Entire families including women and children have been killed in Syria’s coastal region as part of recent a series of sectarian killings by rival groups, the UN human rights office said. The wave of violence broke out last Thursday, when armed groups loyal to deposed former President Bashar al-Assad ambushed security forces in the province of Latakia, killing at least 16 members of the security forces, according to the Ministry of Defence. The attacks escalated into sectarian violence, with pro-government forces rampaging through coastal provinces heavily populated by Alawites, as well as the nearby provinces of Hama and Homs, killing people, sometimes entire families, on streets, in homes, on rooftops. Of the roughly 1,000 civilians killed, nearly 200 were in Baniyas, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor. Al Jazeera was not able to independently verify the death toll. “In a number of extremely disturbing instances, entire families – including women, children and individuals hors de combat – were killed, with predominantly Alawite cities and villages targeted in particular,” UN human rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said on Tuesday. Advertisement He said initial reports indicated that the perpetrators, who have not been identified, were both members of armed groups supporting Syria’s interim authorities and those associated with the former government. “They appear to have been carried out on a sectarian basis, in Tartous, Latakia and Hama governorates – reportedly by unidentified armed individuals, members of armed groups allegedly supporting the caretaker authorities’ security forces, and by elements associated with the former government.” On Sunday, the country’s new presidency led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced the formation of a fact-finding committee to “investigate the violations against civilians and identify those responsible for them”. It said it would present its findings within 30 days and that those found to be responsible for violations would be referred to the judiciary. “The new Syria is determined to enshrine justice and the rule of law, protect the rights and freedoms of its citizens, prevent unlawful revenge and guarantee that there is no impunity,” Yasser al-Farhan, the spokesperson of the new fact-finding committee, told a news conference in Damascus on Tuesday. Farhan added that the committee was working on “gathering and reviewing evidence” related to the wave of violence. When al-Assad fell last December, Syrian analysts feared there would be revenge attacks against the Alawite community – the second-largest religious group in Syria after Sunni Muslims. So far, the UN human rights office has documented the killing of 111 civilians and expects the toll to be significantly higher, Al-Kheetan said. Of those, 90 were men; 18 were women; and three were children, he added. Advertisement “Many of the cases documented were of summary executions. They appear to have been carried out on a sectarian basis,” Al-Kheetan told reporters. In some cases, men were shot dead in front of their families, he said, citing testimonies from survivors. Human Rights Watch on Tuesday also called on Syria’s new authorities to ensure accountability for the mass killings. “Syria’s new leaders promised to break with the horrors of the past, but grave abuses on a staggering scale are being reported against predominantly Alawite Syrians in the coastal region and elsewhere in Syria,” HRW’s Deputy Regional Director Adam Coogle said in a statement. “Government action to protect civilians and prosecute perpetrators of indiscriminate shootings, summary executions, and other grave crimes must be swift and unequivocal,” he added. Adblock test (Why?)
Ukraine ready to accept 30-day US-brokered ceasefire plan
The United States has agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv expressed “readiness” to accept a 30-day ceasefire in its conflict with Russia. The two countries issued a joint statement after officials met on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, saying that Ukraine was open to the US proposal “to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram that the ceasefire proposal would “establish a complete ceasefire for 30 days, not only regarding missiles, drones and bombs, not only in the Black Sea, but also along the entire front line”. US President Donald Trump said he hoped Russia would agree to the ceasefire plan, signalling that the US will hold a meeting with Russia later on Tuesday or Wednesday. Following the progress made in talks, the US said that it would “immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance” to Kyiv, which it had suspended last week, effectively hobbling Ukraine’s ability to track Russian troop movements, shield against missile strikes and carry out attacks. Advertisement The suspension came after a blow-up last month between Trump and Zelenskyy, who had travelled to Washington to discuss a rare earth minerals deal, which would see the US gain access to the lucrative resources in Ukraine. The joint statement indicated that the deal was back on the table, with the two countries set to “conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine’s critical mineral resources to expand Ukraine’s economy and guarantee Ukraine’s long-term prosperity and security”. Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher noted that the joint statement did not include any mention of the explicit security guarantees that Zelenskyy had been seeking during his contentious meeting with Trump at the Oval Office. “But those [security guarantees] appear to be missing at the moment. Perhaps that’s something that can be discussed, although we know that Donald Trump is really, really against that idea of explicit security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said. ‘Yes or no’ US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the ball was now in Russia’s court. “We’re going to tell them this is what’s on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it’ll be up to them to say yes or no,” he said. “If they say no, then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.” US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz added: “The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear: that they share President Trump’s vision for peace.” Advertisement Waltz said negotiators “got into substantive details on how this war is going to permanently end”, including long-term security guarantees. Zelenskyy said on Telegram that Ukraine was “ready for peace” and that it now fell to the US to “convince” Russia. “Ukraine is ready for peace. Russia must show its readiness to end the war or continue the war. It is time for the full truth,” he said. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago and now holds around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is open to discussing a peace deal. But he has ruled out territorial concessions, saying Ukraine must withdraw fully from four Ukrainian regions claimed and partly controlled by Russia. The talks in Saudi Arabia started only hours after Ukraine launched its biggest drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region, claiming that it had struck an oil refinery near the Russian capital and a facility in Russia’s Oryol region. The attack, in which 337 drones were downed over Russia, killed at least three employees of a meat warehouse and caused a short shutdown at Moscow’s four airports, Russian officials said. Adblock test (Why?)
How will Mark Carney deal with Donald Trump?
Sharp words for the US president from Canada’s incoming prime minister. Canada’s incoming prime minister, Mark Carney, says he will confront the challenge his country is facing from the United States. US President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on an array of goods coming from Canada. Carney has promised to push back with trade taxes of his own, and is seeking to unite Canadians against this challenge from the United States. With elections on the horizon in Canada, how will this play out politically? And can Canada’s close relationship with the US survive this turmoil? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Jen Hassum – Executive director of the Broadbent Institute, a progressive think tank Amy Koch – Republican strategist who served as majority leader of the Minnesota Senate John Kirton – Professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto Adblock test (Why?)
DOGE protesters rally outside key department after employees are told not to report to work Wednesday
Protesters against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency rallied outside the Department of Education Tuesday and held a moment of appreciation and applause for the federal agency, which is rumored to be next on the chopping block. The protesters, many of them former Education Department officials, chanted, “This is what democracy looks like” and held signs saying, “Boycott Tesla!,” “Elon don’t rob kids” and “No DOGE no kings.” After the protest, FOX Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino posted on X that he had reviewed an email from education department officials telling employees they would have to vacate the agency’s offices by 6 p.m. Tuesday and that the offices would remain closed Wednesday. He also reported that “employees have been receiving multiple emails alerting them of massive cuts in the workforce and opportunities to tap into buyouts and severance.” LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS Rally speakers railed against the Trump administration’s planned cuts to the department and instead called for more funding. At one point, organizers had attendees turn to face the department building and clap for the federal workers inside. President Donald Trump is expected to issue an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law,” according to a draft of the order reported by The Wall Street Journal. The draft order says the “the experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars — and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support — has failed our children, our teachers, and our families.” Trump has long talked about dismantling the Department of Education, saying it has failed America’s students. “It’s a big con job,” the president said in November. “They ranked the top countries in the world. We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department, cost per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked No. 40.” SC SUPERINTENDENT BACKS TRUMP EDUCATION PLAN: ‘FEDERAL SHACKLES FOR FAR TOO LONG’ However, the protesters, who stood outside the Education Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., claimed dismantling the agency “will lead to children and families being hurt.” “This cut in funding is the opposite of what we should be doing. We should be providing more federal funding for these services for these kids, not less,” one protester, a former Education Department employee, told Fox News Digital. She said her biggest worry was that DOGE cuts would make students “suffer” and also affect after-school programs such as special programs and English courses for immigrant children. “We’re going to be going back to the 1800s, the early 1900s, when special ed kids can’t get services, when English learners can’t learn English. This is an outrage,” she said. LOUISIANA SURGES 11 SPOTS ON NATION’S REPORT CARD FOR GAINS IN READING, MATH SCORES Another former federal employee at the rally told Fox News Digital that “seeing all these employees laid off right now breaks our heart,” and “we really have to speak up for what’s been done to the federal government.” One of the rally speakers, Rebecca Pringle, president of the National Education Association, pointed out that, on its own, the Trump administration does not have the authority to close the Education Department. Fully abolishing the department would require 60 votes in the Senate, requiring cooperation from Democrats. Pringle told Fox News Digital her group is organizing a series of national walk-in protests for March 19 to hold Congress members “accountable.” HOUSE EDUCATION CHAIR BACKS TRUMP MOVE TO ABOLISH FEDERAL AGENCY “Educators all over this country are rising up, and they’re saying, no. … We will not stand by while this administration focuses on giving tax cuts to billionaires who already have more, when we know our students need more,” said Pringle. Speaking directly to Trump and Musk, Katie Gates, an activist with the political activism group Voters of Tomorrow, told Fox News Digital her message to the administration is, “Please stop. Just don’t do it.” “You might think that you’re making government more efficient, or you’re getting rid of the deep state or whatever. But, like I said, this has far-ranging impacts on kids, on parents, on communities, on schools,” she said. “Sometimes efficiency isn’t the highest value. Sometimes it’s support. Sometimes it’s learning.” Fox News Digital reporter Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
‘Changes that actually help our veterans’: VA secretary defends proposed 15% workforce reduction
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins has been steadfast in his commitment to shake up the department. And, despite firing at least 2,400 employees, Collins pledges to maintain the VA’s commitment to preserving and improving healthcare benefits for veterans. “VA’s biggest problem is that its bureaucracy and inefficiencies are getting in the way of customer convenience and service to veterans. As I have said before, we owe American veterans and hundreds of thousands of amazing employees solutions. And mark my words, that is what we will deliver,” Collins said in a video posted on X last week. Collins said the VA dismissals are part of President Donald Trump’s commitment to making government more efficient and effective, in conjunction with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The VA announced that last month’s personnel moves will save more than $83 million annually, and they will “redirect all of those resources back toward health care, benefits and services for VA beneficiaries.” Collins, who has faced criticism for his proposed 15% workforce reduction, confirmed the VA’s goal to cut 80,000 jobs during a “Fox & Friends” interview with Brian Kilmeade on Monday. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CUTTING MORE THAN 1,400 EMPLOYEES IN ANOTHER ROUND OF DISMISSALS “Please, before Democrats or anybody else start on this path, this is going to be a deliberative process that’s going to take some time that’s going to include career VA employees. It’s going to include senior executives. It’s going to include all across, even bringing in people if need be, to take a look at: are we being efficient?” Collins told Kilmeade. MARK KELLY ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘TRYING TO WEAKEN’ UKRAINE, FIRES BACK AT ELON MUSK FOR BRANDING HIM A ‘TRAITOR’ Collins has shut down criticism from the mainstream media and Democrats who have slammed VA cuts, reminding Kilmeade on Monday that operational issues have long plagued the VA. “Let’s all agree on something that for the past 10 years, the GAO has reported that the VA healthcare has been at a high-risk. In other words, they’re on the high-risk list for not only the possibility of fraud, waste and abuse, but also in patient quality, patient care. This has been going on for 10 years. It’s interesting to me that they’re looking at wait times. These are things that have preceded me coming in. I’ve been here for weeks, but it’s interesting that there’s no solutions being proposed,” Collins said. Veterans have reported poor healthcare conditions at the VA for decades, including long wait times, delayed care, slow processing times and corruption. While the Trump administration’s VA has only investigated 2% of their contracts so far, Collins said they have already identified 600 non-mission-critical or duplicate agreements to save almost $1 billion. Collins said that money can be re-invested into making “changes that actually help our veterans.” “The money we’re saving by eliminating non-mission critical and duplicative contracts is money we’re going to redirect to veterans facing healthcare benefits and services, resulting in massive improvements in customer service and convenience. Improving services to the veterans is exactly why the VA exists. That is what everyone – Congress, the media and VA employees – should be focused on,” Collins said. Collins has emphasized there will be no cuts to healthcare or benefits for veterans. “We’re going to accomplish this without making cuts to healthcare or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries. VA will always fulfill its duty to provide veterans, families, caregivers and survivors the healthcare and benefits they have earned. That’s a promise. And while we conduct our review, VA will continue to hire for more than 300,000 mission-critical positions to ensure healthcare and benefits for VA beneficiaries are not impacted,” Collins said. Despite Collins’ reassurances, Democrats have slammed the Trump administration and DOGE for VA cuts. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., led a press conference with fellow Democrats on the issue last week at the U.S. Capitol. “Why lay off veterans? I mean, 30% of the federal workforce is veterans, including a lot of people who’ve been laid off at the CFPB. Can you at least show some compassion to veterans?” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital following a meeting with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees who were impacted by federal workforce reductions. “They’re going to gut the Department of Veterans Affairs, jeopardizing the health and well-being of millions of veterans,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said at a rally in Wisconsin on Friday. “Cutting the VA and some of the proposals I’ve seen are going to hurt service to veterans. So let’s agree that that’s a bad idea. Bipartisan. It’s a bad idea to do that,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “I go to the VA myself, so I see every day the waiting lists, the long lines to get care, how long it takes to get an appointment. All of that is going to get worse,” Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., told MSNBC on Saturday. Veterans have been speaking out against the proposed VA cuts as well. Veterans are organizing a protest against VA cuts and “Project 2025” on Friday, March 14, in Washington, D.C., and at state capitals across the country. VoteVets, a progressive political action committee, released a memo last week outlining the “extensive damage in the department’s ability to process and pay out benefits.” However, Collins said firing nonessential employees and reevaluating contracts is how the Trump administration is “finally going to give the veterans what they want.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The VA has been a punching bag among veterans, Congress and the media for decades. Things need to change. We owe America’s veterans and the hundreds and thousands of excellent VA employees solutions. For many years, veterans have been asking for a more efficient, accountable and transparent VA. This administration is finally going to give the veterans what they want,” Collins said.
Nearly half of Department of Education staff will be eliminated imminently
Department of Education staff will receive “reduction in force” notices Tuesday before nearly half of the department’s workforce is terminated, Fox News Digital has learned. Earlier Tuesday, a memo was sent to all Education Department employees informing them that Department of Education offices will be closed Tuesday evening through Wednesday due to “security reasons.” Employees were instructed to leave the offices by 6 p.m. ET Tuesday. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he would like to see the states control education. He campaigned on the issue ahead of the 2024 election. DRAFT OF TRUMP ORDER SEEKS TO ELIMINATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION: REPORT “I want to close up Department of Education, move education back to the states,” Trump said in August 2024, while noting left-wing states such as California could struggle if he does eliminate the Department of Education. “Of the 50 (states), I would bet that 35 would do great. And 15 of them, or, you know, 20 of them, will be as good as Norway. You know, Norway is considered great.” RANDI WEINGARTEN SAYS QUIET PART OUT LOUD: FEARS ED DEPT CLOSURE WILL BOOST SCHOOL CHOICE FUNDS The expected “reduction in force” notices come after reports spread in recent days that Trump was readying to sign an executive order to abolish the federal agency. The Wall Street Journal recently reported it had reviewed a copy of a draft executive order that would order Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.” “The experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars — and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support — has failed our children, our teachers, and our families,” the draft order said, according to the Journal. McMahon additionally sent a letter to all staff on her first day on the job in March saying she will lead a “momentous final mission” to send education back to the states. TRUMP ADMIN TACKLING BIDEN ‘BACKLOG’ OF CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM COMPLAINTS: ‘IMMEDIATE PRIORITY’ “Our job is to respect the will of the American people and the President they elected, who has tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education — a momentous final mission — quickly and responsibly,” McMahon wrote to employees in a letter shared first with Fox News Digital. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The secretary said that the reconstruction of the department will “profoundly” alter staff, budgets and agency operations. Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Who is Mahmoud Khalil, the anti-Israel Columbia University activist ICE arrested?
President Donald Trump announced Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil — and cautioned that other “terrorist sympathizers” would meet a similar fate. ICE agents arrested Khalil — who is a Palestinian raised in Syria and a permanent U.S. resident — from his university-owned apartment on the city’s Upper West Side Saturday and told him they were revoking his green card and student visa, according to Khalil’s attorney, Amy Greer. The Department of Homeland Security said in an X post that it conducted the arrest to protect U.S. national security, and claimed that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” Khalil played a major role in the protests against Israel at Columbia University and met with university officials on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group of student groups urging the university to divest from Israel, according to CNN. ICE AGENTS ARREST ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST WHO LED PROTESTS ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FOR MONTHS The groups’ main goal is to “challenge the settler-colonial violence that Israel perpetrates with the support of the United States and its allies,” according to an op-ed published in the Columbia Spectator in Nov. 2023. “We reject the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency’s weaponizing of the United States’ racist immigration laws to prevent our international comrades and peers from speaking up,” the group wrote. “We reject the violence of the Israel Defense Forces-trained, police-industrial complex that chokes our communities and disproportionately enacts brutality against people of color.” Khalil’s LinkedIn profile says he studied computer science at the Lebanese American University in Beirut before starting his master’s degree at Columbia in public administration in January 2023. His profile says he graduated in December 2024, although Columbia’s media affairs would not confirm Khalil’s status at the university to Fox News Digital. Other work experience listed on Khalil’s LinkedIn profile includes completing an internship with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which assists Palestinian refugees and descendants. UNRWA has faced scrutiny after a U.N. investigation found that UNRWA employees may have been involved in Palestinian-militant group Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The U.S. temporarily halted funding for UNRWA in January 2024 in response to the report. The Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and State Department are investigating Khalil as a possible national security threat, according to White House officials. The investigation so far has unearthed “antisemitic and hateful” posts on Khalil’s social media, and determined he organized multiple antisemitic protests on Columbia’s campus, according to the officials. Even so, Khalil previously has made public statements backing the liberation of both the Palestinian and Jewish people, and spoke out against antisemitism. “There is, of course, no place for antisemitism,” Khalil told CNN in April 2024. “What we are witnessing is anti-Palestinian sentiment that’s taking different forms, and antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism (are) some of these forms.” Trump unveiled Khalil’s arrest Monday, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration would revoke the green cards of any Hamas supporters in the U.S. and deport them. FEDERAL AGENCIES TO REVIEW COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY’S CONTRACTS, GRANTS AFTER ‘FAILURE’ TO PROTECT JEWISH STUDENTS “Following my previously signed executive orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a radical foreign pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University,” Trump posted Monday on Truth Social. “This is the first arrest of many to come.” “We will find, apprehend and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again,” Trump stated. “If you support terrorism, including the slaughtering of innocent men, women and children, your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests and you are not welcome here.” In response, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee labeled the move as “straight up authoritarianism” in a post on X. Additionally, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., spearheaded a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem urging the Trump administration to release Khalil immediately. Tlaib is the first Palestinian–American woman to serve in Congress. “Khalil has not been charged or convicted of any crime,” Tlaib and other Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter released Tuesday. “We must be extremely clear: this is an attempt to criminalize political protest and is a direct assault on the freedom of speech of everyone in this country.” Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the Trump administration’s decision to arrest Khalil and claimed that he distributed pro-Hamas propaganda fliers on campus. “This administration is not going to tolerate individuals having the privilege of studying in our country and then siding with pro-terrorist organizations that have killed Americans,” Leavitt told reporters Tuesday at a White House press briefing, noting that on her desk were the “pro-Hamas propaganda fliers with the logo of Hamas” on them that Khalil allegedly was distributing. “We have a zero tolerance policy for siding with terrorists period.” ANTISEMITIC RIOT AT COLUMBIA REACHES BOILING POINT AS AGITATORS TAKE OVER ACADEMIC BUILDING, BARRICADE DOORS She also defended Rubio’s right to revoke Khalil’s green card. “Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the secretary of state has the right to revoke a green card or a visa for individuals who serve or are adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States of America,” Leavitt said Tuesday. Khalil is being held at a detention facility in central Louisiana. However, a federal judge in New York blocked the Trump administration from deporting him while legal proceedings remain active. District Judge Jesse Furman from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is slated to hear Khalil’s case Wednesday. His attorneys have filed motions asserting that ICE violated Khalil’s constitutional rights and are also requesting his return to New York. Khalil’s wife is currently eight months pregnant, according to his lawyer. “We will vigorously be pursuing Mahmoud’s rights in court, and will continue our efforts to right this terrible and inexcusable — and calculated — wrong committed against him,” Greer said.