LGBTQ Christians invoke ‘righteous rage’ at Capitol during Holy Week
A community of LGBTQ+ Christians began Holy Week with a proclamation of “righteous rage and holy hope” at the U.S. Capitol in Washington Monday. Fox News Digital asked attendees at the Collective of Queer Christian Leaders event how “woman” should be defined in 2025. While some spoke about gender fluidity, spirituality and inclusivity, activists called for politicians to focus less on pronouns and more on delivering for Americans. “While the right is interested in litigating biology, I’m interested in litigating humanity,” the Rev. Don Abram, the founder of Pride in the Pews, told Nicholas Ballasy of Fox News Digital. Abram pivoted from the question to saying God is in everyone, and all people are “deserving of rights, protections, resources and safety,” regardless of identity. The pastor and member of Pride in the Pews, which is a Black LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said conservatives focusing on gender ideology is a distraction from the issues Americans care most about, like whether Medicaid will be cut or how tariffs will affect the economy. BONDI ANNOUNCES LAWSUIT AGAINST MAINE FOR REFUSING TO BAN TRANS ATHLETES FROM GIRLS’ SPORTS “I think the conversation on gender and who identifies, how they identify, it’s just a scapegoat for them to not focus on the real issues and the real problems that are affecting all of us,” Abram said. WHITE HOUSE PLANS ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ HOLY WEEK AS TRUMP HONORS EASTER WITH ‘THE OBSERVANCE IT DESERVES’ Guthrie Graves, an ordained Baptist deacon, said Americans might disagree on the fluidity of sex and gender, but “what we can all agree on is nobody should fear for their safety, or fear losing their job or face violence on the street.” He said a foundation of human rights should predicate debates about “human sexuality and gender.” Other attendees, who answered the question more literally, said definitions of sexuality and gender are not so rigid. “From a faith perspective, we are all children of God, and if someone identifies as transgender and claims that as their identity, then who is anyone else to argue with that?” Jan Lawrence, executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network, an LGBTQ+ justice organization within the United Methodist Church, told Fox News Digital. Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., became the first openly transgender person elected to Congress in November. Debates over which bathroom McBride was permitted to use dominated her first few weeks on the job after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., advocated for a ban on transgender women using the women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson later announced the U.S. House would institute a bathroom ban, stating all single-sex bathrooms were reserved for individuals of that biological sex. Johnson noted that every member of Congress has an office with a private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol. “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families,” McBride said in a statement in November. President Donald Trump, on his first day back in the Oval Office, issued an executive order establishing only two sexes, male and female. Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a lawsuit against Maine Wednesday for allowing transgender women to continue playing women’s sports. Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills has refused to comply with Trump’s executive order restricting biological men from playing in girls and women’s sports. Nearly two months ago, Trump and Mills sparred during a bipartisan meeting of governors at the White House during which Trump promised Mills he’d “see you in court.” Last year, President Joe Biden proclaimed March 31, which fell on Easter Sunday, Transgender Day of Visibility to show “transgender and nonbinary Americans that we see them, they belong and they should be treated with dignity and respect.” This year, Trump’s new White House Faith Office has announced a robust Holy Week schedule to celebrate Easter.
CAIR panelist accuses Trump admin of using AI and antisemitism against free speech
The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a “Know Your Rights with ICE on Campus” webinar Wednesday night, during which an attorney on the panel accused the Trump administration of using antisemitism as a “ruse” to crack down on freedom of speech. Immigration attorney Hassan Ahmad also advised students listening in on the CAIR panel to wipe their phone memory when traveling internationally to avoid allowing immigration officials to search their data. This comes amid a multi-agency plan by the Trump administration to “root out” antisemitism across U.S. college campuses following several years of widespread protests in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has arrested a slew of foreign-born students who have been involved with pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas demonstrations, and who the administration has accused of being terrorist sympathizers and threats to national security. ‘SAFER WITHOUT HIM’: COLUMBIA STUDENT CLAIMS CLASSMATE ARRESTED BY ICE ‘HATES AMERICA’ Most notably, the administration arrested Mahmoud Khalil, who 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. On Monday, DHS agents arrested another Columbia student, Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian-born green card holder in Colchester, Vermont. Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Khalil. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE During the Wednesday webinar, Ahmad suggested the Trump administration’s crackdown is motivated by racism and said that “it is clear the administration is using antisemitism as a ruse to clamp down on free speech and that’s why they’re targeting a lot of the Palestinian activists or pro-Palestinians.” “I won’t even call them activists,” he went on, “people who acknowledge the humanity of the Palestinian people, that’s all it takes.” TRUMP TALKS BORDER SECURITY, TARIFF POLICIES AND MORE ON FOX NOTICIAS The attorney went on to decry U.S. law, bizarrely suggesting that the Trump administration could be using AI to pick its targets for deportation. “Honestly, part of me thinks that the rumors are true and that the State Department is using AI to identify people,” he said. “The way these laws are written right now, especially the foreign policy ground … it’s very broadly worded, it allows [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio to ChatGPT a reason to why somebody is bad for the foreign policy of the United States and there’s very little, if any, judicial review questioning as to what his reasoning was.” Ahmad also cautioned noncitizen students to take steps to hide their phone data from the government. “Don’t travel, don’t cross international lines with your phone with all the data on it,” he said. “Make sure there’s nothing on it. If it has to be your phone, you need to take steps to delete all of the apps and re-download them from the cloud after you safely cross the border.”
Love avocados? Biden admin caving to Mexican cartels could have devastating impact on wildly popular fruit
California avocado growers are sounding the alarm over a potential infiltration of crop pests from across the border after the Biden administration caved to Mexican cartel threats and ended a Clinton-era food inspection process that now threatens U.S. farmers. “We understand the importance of free trade,” Ken Melban, the vice president of industry affairs and operations at the California Avocado Commission, told Fox Digital in a Tuesday Zoom interview. “Eight-five to 90% of the total U.S. demand for avocados is supplied by Mexico. However, that free trade should not increase risk on our California growers.” “Our growers are working hard to maintain a business, to drive their economic engine, to provide for their families, to support the economies around them,” he said. “And they shouldn’t have to face a pest, no fault of their own, just because our government in the past was afraid to stand up to the cartel.” Melban was reacting to a Biden administration decision in September 2024 to end a U.S. Department of Agriculture program called the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) specifically in the context of inspecting farms in Mexico to ensure that avocados exported to the U.S. did not also include pests that could disrupt U.S. agriculture. The policy change came after criminals in Mexico reportedly assaulted and threatened the inspectors in recent years. EATING ONE TYPE OF FRUIT REGULARLY COULD REDUCE DIABETES RISK IN WOMEN, STUDY SUGGESTS: ‘INCREDIBLY HEALTHY’ Instead, Mexico was charged with ensuring avocados sent across the border were free of harmful pests, such as seed and stem weevils and seed moths. Weevils are small insects that typically have long snouts, and are notorious for damaging or destroying crops. The avocado industry is a multibillion business in Mexico, but it is often rocked by crime and exploitation of farmers, as cartels work to control the supply chain to help finance their operations and often exploit farmers through rackets that level fees on avocado growers in exchange for protection from violence, various studies and reports on crime affecting the Mexican lime and avocado industry show. Mexico’s Agriculture Department confirmed the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service program ended in a statement in September 2024, claiming “with this agreement, the U.S. health safety agency is recognizing the commitment of Mexican growers, who in more than 27 years have not had any sanitary problems in exports,” the Associated Press reported at the time. US HALTS INSPECTIONS OF POPULAR FRUITS FROM MEXICO OVER SECURITY CONCERNS: USDA Former President Bill Clinton established the inspection program to better bolster U.S. farming communities, with the California Avocado Commission and Department of Agriculture reaching an agreement with Mexico in 1997 to allow for Mexican avocados to be exported to the U.S. under the condition that the fruit be inspected. All expenses related to the program’s inspections of orchards and packing houses were footed by Mexico, not U.S. taxpayers, according to the commission. The Biden administration also paused the program in 2022 after an inspector in Mexico’s western state of Michoacan received a threat “against him and his family,” the USDA said at the time. Two other USDA employees were also reportedly assaulted and temporarily held by suspects in the same Mexican state in June 2024, leading to another pause before Mexico ultimately was charged with conducting inspections in September 2024. “We know that without the U.S. government present, the likelihood for corruption exists,” Melban said of the lack of USDA inspector currently in Mexico. “You can’t just show up one day and pretend that your grove has been certified and that you’re taking all the measures necessary to keep pests out and free. We also know that there has been fruit brought in from other non-certified groves in the past, and that’s part of the problem. That’s where we need the USDA to have boots on the ground and make sure that the inspections and the integrity of the inspections are maintained.” “This entire inspection program is funded by Mexico,” he added. “It’s part of their privilege to come into our U.S. market.” SCHUMER MOCKED FOR CORONA AND GUAC CLIP WARNING TRUMP TARIFFS WILL HURT SUPER BOWL PARTIES: ‘NOT GOOD AT THIS’ Michoacan has long been a hotbed for cartel activity, with the State Department in September issuing a “Do Not Travel” advisory for the Mexican state due to its high threats of kidnapping and crime, according to the travel advisory. Michoacan and Jalisco are the only two Mexican states authorized to export avocados to the U.S. Some residents and farmers of the Michoacan state have also formed various self-defense groups in the past decade to help protect against cartel violence. “We’ve all heard the stories and see the reporting that the cartel is very prevalent in Michoacan, which is a big growing area and the first state that was ever allowed access to the U.S. And so it only stands to reason that they’re going to be involved at some level. And in many instances, they are actually exploiting our pure growers in Mexico too. We’re just looking for the safety of the entire program, so the integrity can be maintained to protect our growers’ interests here in the U.S.,” Melban explained. The USDA told Fox Digital on Wednesday that the APHIS program continues to inspect fruit entering the U.S. at the border and is comitted to “mitigating plant health risk in a way that does not compromise the safety and security of our employees or the phytosanitary security of the United States.” “USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) understands the vital importance of the avocado industry to the State of California and recognizes the concerns raised by residents. APHIS staff continue to fulfill their inspection responsibilities regarding fruit entering the United States from Mexico. Nearly 30 years of experience administering this program has proved the effectiveness of the avocado program’s system of overlapping safeguards to prevent the entry of invasive pests,” a spokesperson said. “Staffing levels and budget levels for the inspection
Texas measles cases are underreported, response hurt by funding cuts, CDC scientist says
Measles cases in Texas are underreported and the response by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is impacted by recent funding cuts, a scientist said. “We do believe that there’s quite a large amount of cases that are not reported and underreported,” Dr. David Sugerman, CDC Senior Scientist, said during an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting on Tuesday. “In working very closely with our colleagues in Texas, in talking with families, they may mention prior cases that have recovered and never received testing. Other families that may have cases and never sought treatment,” he said. Sugerman took media questions following his presentation on the U.S. measles outbreak. Since measles was declared eliminated by the World Health Organization in 2000, there have been 11 large outbreaks in the U.S. with more than 50 cases, Sugerman said. TEXAS MEASLES OUTBREAK SWELLS TO 561 CASES, CDC SENDS MORE HELP “Seven of these outbreaks occurred in the last five years and nine were among close-knit communities with low vaccine coverage,” he said. “There are funding limitations in light of COVID-19 funding dissipating,” Sugerman said, referring to $12 billion from the Department of Health and Human Services hit by DOGE cuts last month, The Austin American-Statesman reported. VITAMIN A AS MEASLES TREATMENT? RFK JR.’S COMMENTS SPARK DISCUSSION OF BENEFITS AND RISKS “They are mobilizing the resources they have and moving staff from other domains into measles, moving them from other regions into region one in particular,” Sugerman said. Measles cases have continued to surge in Texas since the outbreak first began in late January. State health officials reported 561 confirmed cases across 23 counties on Tuesday, an increase of 20 from April 11. Gaines County, the center of the outbreak in west Texas, now accounts for nearly 65% of the state’s total cases. Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Controversial defense program tied to DEI-laden contractor could be in crosshairs of DOGE: ‘Poster child’
FIRST ON FOX: One of the top defense contractors in the United States, which has a history of pushing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), is facing heat over a massive government contract that critics say should be a prime target for Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts. The Air Force’s Sentinel program, a massive intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) project serving as the successor to the Minuteman III program ensuring the future viability of the land-based leg of America’s nuclear triad, has been mired in controversy and slowdowns as Northrop Grumman was awarded the development contract and the endeavor has gone from a $96 billion program to at least $141 billion in recent years. The Pentagon ordered Northrop Grumman to pause development earlier this year due to “evolving launch facility requirements”, Defense One reported. Air & Space Forces Magazine reported last year that the intercontinental ballistic missile program survived a Pentagon review, but it was found that the cost overrun jumped from 37% to 81%. Northrop Grumman, which had not previously designed an ICBM, was awarded a $13 billion contract in September 2020 for full-scale development of the program to replace the Minuteman III, and the Pentagon has estimated that the total cost of developing its new ICBM program could cost up to $264 billion over the next few decades, Bloomberg reported. BILL MAHER CALLS OUT ELON MUSK, DOGE FOR NOT TAKING ‘CHAINSAW’ TO DEFENSE SPENDING The awarding of the contract was controversial in its own right, after Boeing dropped out of the bidding, claiming that the process was rigged against it, Responsible Statecraft reported. “The massive expansion of costs for Northrop Grumman’s Minuteman III program is the case example for why poorly-scoped, blank check programs are a bad idea,” a senior Republican Congressional official who works on defense policy told Fox News Digital. “This is bad for national security, bad for taxpayers, and Republicans will fix this mess that Biden’s team created,” the official added. Questions have also been raised by some in recent years about whether the Sentinel program is even necessary, including at a Congressional Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group press conference last year, when former Democratic Congressman John Tierney said that Sentinel “does not add to our security” and could “actually make us less safe.” DOGE INITIAL FINDINGS ON DEFENSE DEPARTMENT DEI SPENDING COULD SAVE $80M, AGENCY SAYS “When will the blank checks to cover spiraling costs end?” Tierney said. “The Sentinel ICBM program is just the latest in a long list of Pentagon programs that are over budget, behind schedule and of questionable utility.” Tierney added that he believes the “only value” of recent ICBM development is “to the defense contractors who line their fat pockets with large cost overruns at the expense of our taxpayers.” “It has got to stop,” he said. An Air Force spokesperson told Fox News Digital that it is taking “deliberate” steps to ensure that the Sentinel program is running as cost-efficiently as possible while enhancing oversight at the same time. “We continue to advance the engineering design and maturity of the program with Northrop Grumman, working closely with the company to drive down costs and improve schedule performance,” the spokesperson added. The Air Force also pointed to a previous comment from Gen. David Allvin, Air Force chief of staff, during a symposium in March that stressed the importance of the Sentinel program. “We own two-thirds of the triad and three-fourths of the nuclear command and control of communications,” Allvin said. “We own the nuclear deterrence. So more Air Force means more nuclear deterrence…We have to have the most reliable, the most safe, the most effective nuclear deterrent. That means sentinel, yes…I believe we need more nuclear deterrence for our nation. It’s a solemn responsibility. It’s not an option.” Amid the cost overruns and headaches from the ICBM program, Northrop Grumman adopted and promoted an agenda focused on DEI in recent years and was one of several defense contractors that have attempted to scrub their websites of DEI in the wake of the Trump administration’s pledge to rid the government of the ideology. Northrop Grumman’s 2023 annual report mentions DEI as “vital to our culture and our company’s success. Our ability to leverage the power of our diverse workforce enhances employee engagement and enables us to innovate, perform and deliver on quality, which results in value for our shareholders, customers, and employees.” The report also touted its minority hiring practices and stated that 25% of its employees are female, 37% people of color, 18% veterans and 8% people with disabilities. “Diversity Has a Home at Northrop Grumman,” a YouTube video from ClearanceJobs says in a post that features Northrop Grumman employees discussing the diversity of the company. “Northrop’s Sentinel Program is a DOGE poster child,” a person close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital. “Not only did they practice DEI, the program is ineffective, delayed, and wasting billions of taxpayer money. Musk would have a field day.” DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts have affected essentially every area of government, including the Defense Department, which recently announced that over $580 million worth of contracts have been canceled as Democrats continue to blast the efforts and make the case that DOGE cuts are detrimental to the country. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes, billions of dollars spent on pricey consulting firms, grants and NGO‘s—the self-serving bureaucrats in Washington DC have found a million different ways to rip-off the American taxpayer,” special advisor to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake told Fox News Digital. “I’m working very closely with DOGE at the agency President Trump asked me to oversee. Our DOGE team is not political, they are practical. They know that it’s not practical for the U.S. government to continue spending the way it has been. Our country won’t survive unless we cut back right now, and the hard-working men and women across this country support that.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Northrop Grumman touted recent progress in the program. “We continue to make substantial
Trump hailed for restoring gun rights as GOP fights Biden-era policies
FIRST ON FOX: A top House Republican is leading a formal rebuke of the Biden administration’s gun control policies on Thursday. House Small Business Committee Chair Roger Williams, R-Texas, is introducing a resolution slamming the Democrat former president while lauding the current White House “as they work to protect Second Amendment freedoms by reviewing and eliminating any of the Biden administration’s infringements on [Americans’] constitutional freedoms.” The resolution is backed by at least 14 of Williams’ fellow House Republicans. NRA LEGISLATIVE EXPERT SAYS GUN RIGHTS COULD SEE ‘MOST MONUMENTAL’ WIN IN CONGRESS SINCE 2005 “For too long, the Biden administration and radical leftists went to extreme lengths to criminalize law-abiding gun owners, jeopardizing the Second Amendment,” he told Fox News Digital of the legislation. “My resolution reaffirms congressional support for the Second Amendment and commends President Trump’s actions to protect American gun owners by dismantling Biden’s infringements on our constitutional freedoms.” Shortly after Attorney General Pam Bondi was sworn in, President Donald Trump ordered her to begin a 30-day review to find any “ongoing infringements” of the Second Amendment by the federal government. Just over a month later, Bondi commissioned a new Second Amendment task force to “combine department-wide policy and litigation resources to advance President Trump’s pro-gun agenda and protect gun owners from overreach,” she said last week. The DOJ this month also repealed a Biden-era “zero tolerance” policy by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives, revoking licenses from firearm dealers who “willfully” violate existing rules. Gun rights groups, however, argued the rule places an undue burden on firearm dealers for making unintended clerical errors. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS BIDEN ADMIN ‘GHOST GUN’ REGULATION The GOP resolution “disapproves of the Biden administration’s gun-control agenda and hostility toward the lawful gun industry,” according to legislative text obtained by Fox News Digital. It also “supports President Trump’s actions to repeal harmful policies imposed by the Biden administration on law-abiding gunowners (sic); and commends President Trump’s commitment to upholding the Constitution and defending the constitutional right to bear arms.” The resolution, which is also backed by the National Rifle Association, is being introduced to coincide with Second Amendment Day on Thursday.
Top health official accuses RFK Jr’s agency of ‘censorship’
A top official at the National Institutes of Health announced his abrupt retirement from the agency after 21 years, complaining about censorship under the leadership of HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. NIH senior investigator Kevin Hall complained that he “experienced censorship” during his investigation of ultra-processed food addiction. “After 21 years at my dream job, I’m very sad to announce my early retirement from the National Institutes of Health. My life’s work has been to scientifically study how our food environment affects what we eat, and how what we eat affects our physiology,” Hall wrote in a lengthy post on social media. “Lately, I’ve focused on unraveling the reasons why diets high in ultra-processed food are linked to epidemic proportions of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Our research leads the world on this topic,” he continued. ‘HEALTHY SNACK TIME’ WITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS LAUNCHED BY SECRETARIES ROLLINS, RFK JR. Hall said that he was initially encouraged by Kennedy’s public statements about chronic illness and problems with America’s food systems. However, he says he “experienced censorship in the reporting of our research because of agency concerns that it did not appear to fully support preconceived narratives of my agency’s leadership about ultra-processed food addiction.” “I wrote to my agency’s leadership expressing my concerns and requested time to discuss these issues, but I never received a response,” Hall added. The NIH did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Hall’s claims come days after Kennedy visited FDA employees last week and reportedly told them that “the Deep State is real.” RFK JR. PLANS TO DIRECT CDC TO STOP RECOMMENDING FLUORIDE IN WATER “President Trump always talks about the Deep State, and the media, you know, disparages him and says that he’s paranoid,” Kennedy said according to Politico, which reported it obtained an audio recording and transcript of the secretary’s remarks. “But the Deep State is real. And it’s not, you know, just George Soros and Bill Gates and a bunch of nefarious individuals sitting together in a room and plotting the, you know, the destruction of humanity.” According to multiple reports, Kennedy pointed the finger at “institutional pressures.” Kennedy also reportedly said the FDA had become a “sock puppet” of the industries it was meant to regulate. NBC News reported that Kennedy said that this was the case with “every agency,” not just the FDA.
Top Pentagon official John Ullyot to resign at end of week: report
Former Trump national security aide and Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot reportedly will resign at the end of the week. His sudden departure comes after Sean Parnell took over the role of the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson in February. “I made clear to Secretary [Pete] Hegseth before the inauguration that I was not interested in being number two to anyone in public affairs,” Ullyot told Politico, reportedly adding that he had offered to help on an acting basis for two months. “Last month, as that time approached, the secretary and I talked and could not come to an agreement on another good fit for me at DOD. So I informed him today that I will be leaving at the end of this week,” Ullyot said. PENTAGON DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF IS SECOND HEGSETH ADVISOR REMOVED DURING LEAK INVESTIGATION The Department of Defense did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. During the first Trump administration, Ullyot served as the spokesperson for the National Security Council and was an assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Marine Corps veteran also served as a senior adviser in President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign. TOP HEGSETH ADVISOR DAN CALDWELL PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE Ullyot’s resignation will come as three Pentagon officials have been placed on administrative leave this week as part of a leak investigation. Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, was put on leave on Wednesday, according to Politico. The day before, Darin Selnick, the deputy chief of staff for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Hegseth aide Dan Caldwell were removed. Reuters reported that Caldwell was placed on leave for an “unauthorized disclosure,” as part of an investigation into leaked Pentagon documents. The probe was announced last month and concerned itself over “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information.” Fox News’ Andrea Margolis and Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
Rubio announces closure of State Department effort that ‘was supposed to be dead already’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced the closure of a State Department effort that he accused of spending millions on censorship. “I am announcing the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC),” Rubio said in a statement issued on Wednesday. “Under the previous administration, this office, which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year, spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving,” Rubio asserted. STATE DEPARTMENT’S ‘GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT CENTER’ ACCUSED OF CENSORING AMERICANS SHUTS ITS DOORS The GEC closed in December, according to an archived State Department website content that is still viewable online. Rubio asserted in a piece published on The Federalist that the GEC had not actually ended, but was simply re-branded. TWITTER BOSS ELON MUSK ACCUSES GOVERNMENT AGENCY OF BEING ‘WORST OFFENDER IN US GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP’ “When Republicans in Congress sunset GEC’s funding at the end of last year, the Biden State Department simply slapped on a new name. The GEC became the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R-FIMI) office, with the same roster of employees. With this new name, they hoped to survive the transition to the new administration,” Rubio wrote. “Today, we are putting that to an end. Whatever name it goes by, GEC is dead. It will not return.” Former House lawmaker Dan Bishop, who is now serving as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, thanked Rubio. “This is the way,” the former congressman wrote in a post on X WHITE HOUSE PROPOSAL AXES UN, NATO FUNDS AND HALVES STATE DEPARTMENT BUDGET CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisc., responded to Rubio’s announcement, tweeting, “Excellent.”
Scoop: RNC shares first-quarter fundraising numbers, How it adds up
FIRST ON FOX: The Republican National Committee (RNC) is quickly coming out of the gate when it comes to fundraising. The RNC reports hauling in $56.1 million during the January-March first quarter of 2025 fundraising as the national party committee builds resources for next year’s midterm elections, when it will defend its majorities in the House and the Senate. The RNC, which shared its figures first with Fox News on Thursday, said the haul was a record for the first quarter of a non-election year. CASH DASH: HOUSE GOP CAMPAIGN ARM TOUTS ‘UNSTOPPABLE MOMENTUM’ “The RNC is working hand-in-glove with President Trump and the White House to replicate his historic success in 2024,” RNC Chair Michael Whatley said in a statement. POLL POSITION: WHERE TRUMP STANDS WITH AMERICANS 11 WEEKS INTO SECOND TOUR OF DUTY IN WHITE HOUSE And looking ahead to next year’s midterms, Whatley said that “we’re building up our war chest to expand Republican majorities in 2026 and ensure the President has all the tools he needs to Make America Great Again. I couldn’t be more excited to keep up what we’ve been doing with Vice President Vance as our finance chair.” As Fox News reported last month, Vance was named the RNC’s finance chair. Vance, who is seen as the front-runner for the 2028 GOP presidential nomination in the race to succeed the term-limited Trump, is the first sitting vice president to serve as the finance chair of a national party committee. Vance, in a statement, highlighted that “the RNC has already accomplished great work in its mission to build upon President Trump’s historic victory this past November.” WERE THIS MONTH’S ELECTIONS IN WISCONSIN AND FLORIDA A CRYSTAL BALL FOR THINGS TO COME IN NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERMS? “Republicans have an incredible opportunity looking to 2026, where we can continue on our strong momentum, further grow our majorities and advance President Trump’s America First agenda,” the vice president added. “I’m honored to help spearhead this effort and look forward to the work that lies ahead.” The rival Democratic National Committee had yet to announce its first-quarter fundraising figures at the time this story was posted. The DNC had raised $24.3 million through the end of February, compared to $35.2 hauled in by the RNC.