Trump ally Donalds on president’s endorsement in Florida governor race: ‘it’s a great thing to have’
BONITA SPRINGS, FL. – EXCLUSIVE – Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, as he kicked off his 2026 campaign for Florida governor, touted that “this is going to take off.” Donalds’ prediction came in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of his rally in front of a hometown crowd, his first campaign event in his 2026 bid. The conservative lawmaker, who has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District in the southwest part of the state for four years, is currently the only major Republican to date to jump into the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis. Donalds, a staunch supporter and ally of President Donald Trump, announced his candidacy during an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” late last month, days after landing the president’s endorsement. “We’re going to campaign hard and we’re going to take this to every part of Florida,” Donalds pledged in his interview. FIRST ON FOX: LEADING CONSERVATIVE GROUP BACKS DONALDS IN FLORIDA And pointing to the support from Trump, whose immense grip over the GOP is stronger than ever, he emphasized “having his endorsement, it’s a great thing to have, I’m glad I have it.” “And when he makes these choices, they tend to turn out well for his candidates,” Donalds noted. WHAT BYRON DONALDS TOLD FOX NEWS’ LARA TRUMP The campaign event, in Bonita Springs, comes as Florida first lady Casey DeSantis has acknowledged she is considering a 2026 Republican gubernatorial run of her own, to succeed her husband in Tallahassee. DeSantis has repeatedly touted his wife’s accomplishments as Florida first lady and framed her as a worthy successor. Additionally, Casey DeSantis, late last month, stoked speculation when asked by reporters if she would run. “To quote the late Yogi Berra,” DeSantis said as she reiterated a famous line from the late baseball legend. “If you see a fork in the road, take it.” The governor then quipped to reporters that “you guys can read into that what you will.” RON AND CASEY DESANTIS TEE OFF WITH TRUMP AS FLORIDA GOVERNOR’S RACE HEATS UP When asked this month at the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit in National Harbor, Maryland, if she might launch a campaign, Casey DeSantis said “we’ll see.” Sources last month confirmed to Fox News that the governor has been reaching out to donors on behalf of his wife. Asked about a possible face-off with Casey DeSantis, Donalds said “races take on a shape of their own, so we’ll see what actually happens.” “My mission is going to be focused on our future and the things that are necessary for Florida to go and to thrive and be prosperous for everybody. So that’s going to be my mission. We’ll see how the race shapes up,” he added. And Donalds said he aims to convey to voters that “I have a vision for their future and I think that when they hear it, they’re going to choose me.” The next campaign cash filing deadline in the Florida governor’s race comes at midnight Monday, and a source in the congressman’s political orbit predicted to Fox News that Donalds would “easily eclipse” the $1 million DeSantis raised in his first month as a gubernatorial candidate in his successful 2018 campaign to succeed Scott as governor. “I think he’s going to show a really strong fundraising number,” added another Florida-based Republican strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely. Outside of the rally, which was held at a restaurant and music venue in downtown Bonita Springs, dozens of demonstrators protested Donalds and the Trump administration’s sweeping and controversial agenda. TRUMP REVEALS WHY HE PULLED THE STEFANIK AMBASSADOR NOMINATION: ‘CANT’ TAKE A CHANCE’ Donalds’ rally was held amid concerns by the White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill over next week’s special congressional elections in Florida. Voters in two congressional districts in Florida will head to the polls on Tuesday, as Republicans aim to keep control of both solidly red seats and give themselves slightly more breathing room in the House. The elections are in Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts, which Trump carried by 37 and 30 points in last year’s presidential election. But the Democratic candidates have vastly outraised the Republican nominees, and polling in recent days suggested that the race in the 6th District was within the margin of error. The GOP currently holds a 218-213 majority in the House, with two vacant seats where Republicans stepped down and two where Democratic lawmakers died in March. “When it comes to Florida, you have two races, and they seem to be good,” Trump told reporters on Friday. But pointing to the massive fundraising advantage by the Democrat candidates over the GOP contenders, Trump raised concerns, saying “You never know what happens in a case like that.” Donalds, in his Fox News Digital interview, predicted “it would be difficult” for the GOP House majority if the party lost one of Tuesday’s elections. But he added, “I’m not looking forward to that. I think we’re going to win both those seats on Tuesday. I think Republican voters in those districts are going to turn out because, at the end of the day, the choice is clear.” Jimmy Patronis, the Florida Chief Financial Officer, is favored over Democrat Gay Valimont in a multi-candidate field in the race to fill the vacant seat in the 1st CD, which is located in the far northwestern corner of Florida in the Panhandle region. Republican Matt Gaetz, who won re-election in the district in last November’s elections, resigned from office weeks later after Trump selected him to be his nominee for attorney general in his second administration. Gaetz later withdrew himself from cabinet consideration amid controversy. But it’s the race in the 6th CD, which is located on Florida’s Atlantic coast from Daytona Beach to just south of Saint Augustine and inland to the outskirts of Ocala, that is really raising concerns among some in the GOP. The race is to succeed Republican Michael Waltz, who stepped down from the
Appeals court grants ‘striking’ temporary stay in Trump’s firing of board leaders
A D.C. federal appeals court on Friday handed the Trump administration a temporary victory, overturning district court rulings that ordered the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Gwynne Wilcox and the Merit Systems Protection Board’s Cathy Harris to be reinstated. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox to be reinstated after her dismissal by President Donald Trump earlier this year. Friday’s ruling halts both reinstatements while the case proceeds. FEDERAL JUDGE RULES TRUMP’S FIRING OF HEAD OF SPECIAL COUNSEL WAS UNLAWFUL, WILL MAINTAIN HIS JOB Wilcox filed a lawsuit Feb. 5 in D.C. federal court, claiming her Jan. 27 firing violated the congressional statute outlining NLRB appointments and removals. Trump told Wilcox in a letter she was being fired because the NLRB had not “been operating in a manner consistent with the objectives of [his] administration.” He also cited multiple recent board decisions, claiming Wilcox was “unduly disfavoring the interests of employers.” On Feb. 10, Wilcox requested a summary judgment on an expedited basis, and, after a hearing on March 5, the district court ruled she could remain a member of the NLRB. In a similar suit, Harris, a Democrat who led the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), argued Trump did not have the authority to terminate her Feb. 10 and that he did not provide a reason for the firing. However, unlike Wilcox, she did not receive a letter from the president, according to court documents. She sued Feb. 11, and a district court later granted her a temporary restraining order, reinstating her to the MSPB. Howell previously said the case seemed to go beyond his purview, stating, “I realize for both sides this court is merely a speedbump to get to the Supreme Court.” Concurring opinions by D.C. Circuit Court judges Justin R. Walker and Karen LeCraft Henderson noted the Supreme Court’s precedent that Congress cannot restrict the president’s removal authority over agencies that “wield substantial executive power” weighed heavily in the case. The NLRB and MSPB are executive branch agencies. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS A dissenting opinion by D.C. Circuit Court Judge Patricia A. Millett claimed the two opinions granting the stay “rewrite controlling Supreme Court precedent and ignore the binding rulings of this court, all in favor of putting this court in direct conflict with at least two other circuits.” The stay decision also marks the first time in history a court of appeals or the Supreme Court allowed the firing of members of multi-member adjudicatory boards “statutorily protected by the very type of removal restriction the Supreme Court has twice unanimously upheld,” Millet said. She called the idea of making a decision Friday “striking,” claiming the decision will leave “hundreds of unresolved legal claims that the Political Branches jointly and deliberately channeled to these expert adjudicatory entities.” Millet added the majority decisions’ rationale “openly calls into question the constitutionality of dozens of federal statutes conditioning the removal of officials on multi-member decision-making bodies — everything from the Federal Reserve Board and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to the National Transportation Safety Board and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.” “That would be an extraordinary decision for a lower federal court to make under any circumstances,” she wrote in the dissenting opinion. “I cannot join a decision that uses a hurried and preliminary first-look ruling by this court to announce a revolution in the law that the Supreme Court has expressly avoided, and to trap in legal limbo millions of employees and employers whom the law says must go to these boards for the resolution of their employment disputes.” Fox News Digital’s Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
Babydog bridges ‘pawtisan’ divide in the Senate on social media: ‘She knows no political bias’
One senator’s pooch is digging up “bipawtisan” goodwill on Capitol Hill this week. Babydog Justice, famous sidekick to West Virginia Republican Sen. Jim Justice, visited the Senate Thursday, and senators across the political spectrum couldn’t hold back their appreciation. Rolled along in her soft-sided wagon, the English bulldog canine ambassador is a welcome sight in the Senate chambers. SENATOR-ELECT JIM JUSTICE’S TEAM CLARIFIES REPORT CLAIMING FAMOUS POOCH BABYDOG BANNED FROM SENATE FLOOR Babydog took to X to share a post meeting four senators who work with her famous dad, saying, “Loved getting some bipawtisan pets by the Senate floor today!” Babydog was photographed with Republican and Democratic senators alike, including Democrats Ruben Gallego of Arizona and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. One eager commentator wrote, “The real senate majority leader.” BABYDOG GOES TO WASHINGTON: WEST VIRGINIA’S JUSTICE FLIPS SENATE SEAT RED Sen. Jon Hustsed, R-Ohio, also posted a photo of the lovable pooch, writing, “Just another day at work for Ohio’s four-footed neighbor, Baby Dog.” “Babydog is happy to be pet by anyone that comes along – she shows no political bias, especially if treats are involved,” Justice told Fox News Digital. “She loves coming with me over to the Senate floor, where senators can walk off and immediately come to visit with her. I think if Babydog moderated spending discussions going on around here, we might get more across the finish line. There is no doubt in my mind that both sides of the aisle agree Babydog as Senator No. 101 is the most popular member in Congress.” Babydog sparked headlines nationally last year at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where she took the Fiserv Forum stage with Justice, who was West Virginia’s governor at the time. “I know that a lot of you want to meet my little buddy. So, if Babydog could come on out here,” Justice said before the crowd erupted in cheers. The 5-year-old pooch was a fixture on the campaign trail with Justice and has shown no signs of ending her support for her dad now that he’s in the Senate. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Her official X account bio says, “My favorite things are @JimJustice_WV, Wendy’s nuggets, riding shotgun in dad’s Suburban, and napping.” Justice successfully flipped his seat for the GOP after longtime Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin announced he would not seek re-election last year. Justice received 68.8% of the vote after gaining a key endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Tim Walz calls for ‘shadow government’ to counter Trump admin; son dunks on former veep nominee
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday said a “shadow government” is needed to provide Americans with the truth about the Trump administration’s actions. Speaking at a town hall in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Walz accused the Trump administration of attacking voting rights, which he argued could be remedied through a new form of government. TIM WALZ SAYS HE WAS JOKING WHEN HE MOCKED TESLA’S FALLING STOCK “We see one of the first things they do is try and restrict the vote,” Walz said of the Trump administration. “This is one of the things, though, that this is going to take power industry to — I don’t know what the answer is on this, but I’m kind of — I’ve been saying this: I think we need a shadow government, so when all these things come up every single day, we’ve got an alternate press conference telling the truth about what things are happening, tell them what’s going on.” The remark prompted criticism from Republicans. TIM WALZ CHEERS TESLA SOCK TUMBLE, BUT MINNESOTA STATE EMPLOYEES’ PENSION OWNS OVER 1M SHARES “Unhinged loser @Gov TimWalz wants to form a ‘shadow government’ in protest of requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration and banning foreign nationals from interfering in elections,” President Donald Trump’s social media team said on X. “Pls keep this up sir,” U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said. The term “shadow government,” mirrors a similar term used in the United Kingdom, where a component of the government creates a group of opposition leaders who mirror the actions of the cabinet in power. That group “shadows” the other cabinet by scrutinizing their actions and offering alternative solutions. In another part of his remarks, Walz admitted to getting dunked on by his 18-year-old son, Gus. “I was having one of those dad talks with him,” Walz said. “I was giving Gus my wisdom on what he had done wrong, you know, because I know these things, right, I’m a dad? And in the middle of it, he gives me the old, ‘Says the guy who got his a** kicked by Donald Trump.’” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New report reveals how Trump admin will eliminate paper straws: ‘Not rocket science’
EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump’s executive order against paper straws that was signed in February is already beginning to “use all levers available” to cut back on them. Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a domestic policy council report outlining that the White House wants the Food and Drug Administration to look into the PFAS risk of paper straws and “consider restricting their use.” It is also pivoting away from using straws in federal government cafeterias, stopping the purchasing of them in federal contracts across a variety of agencies, and having the United States Department of Agriculture “not promote the development or manufacturing of paper straws in the future.” “Paper straws are a laughable supposition. They are bad for the environment, they are unhygienic, they are expensive, they contain dangerous forever chemicals, and—as with most things advanced by the previous Administration—they do not work,” the president wrote in a letter included in the report. SENATE CONFIRMS DR MARTY MAKARY AS TRUMP’S FDA CHIEF “This is not rocket science—water and other drinks dissolve paper, rendering these straws useless for their sole purpose. A product of a fictitious yet frequently cited statistic, they are inefficient and wasteful. It is ludicrous that anyone saw fit to enforce their use and that these useless implements have infiltrated our marketplaces as much as they have. Among the many things that my Administration is having to roll back, this is among the most absurd,” Trump continued. The Executive Order came just months after the Biden administration announced plans in July to phase out single-use plastic in the federal government. HHS AXES MORE THAN $300M IN GENDER, DEI-RELATED HEALTH GRANTS TO CALIFORNIA ALONE “The Trump Administration has undone this weaponization of government and will use all available levers to bring back common sense, end the use of paper straws, and restore functional utensils for the American people,” the report’s conclusion states, arguing not only that research does not back up the widespread use of paper straws, but also that it may “pose safety risks to children and people with disabilities.” Blue states such as California and New York currently have laws in place limiting the use of single-use plastic straws in full-service restaurants, unless customers request them. ‘BACK TO PLASTIC!’: TRUMP VOWS EXECUTIVE ORDER ENDING ‘RIDICULOUS’ PUSH FOR PAPER STRAWS Democratic states have also touted the use of paper straws as a more environmentally friendly alternative. Trump has criticized them for years, writing in a 2019 social media post that “liberal paper straws don’t work.” Fox News’ Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
Statute of limitations for pandemic unemployment fraud expires; bipartisan coalition seeks extension
Federal law enforcement’s hands are tied now that the statute of limitations for prosecuting fraud in COVID-era unemployment programs has expired. While Congress extended the statute of limitations for pandemic-era business relief fraud in 2022, the window to prosecute fraud in individual relief programs closed Thursday. “There’s huge amounts of fraud that law enforcement officials are still trying to track down,” said Andrew Moylan, a public finance policy expert at the for-profit philanthropy group Arnold Ventures. “Every day that goes by from today, we lose the ability to prosecute fraud day by day. That’s a huge problem, and this should be something that’s an easy fix for Congress.” HUSBAND OF FORMER ‘SQUAD’ REP. CORI BUSH CHARGED WITH WIRE FRAUD LINKED TO RELIEF FUNDS: DOJ Despite opposition from 127 House Democrats, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the House passed a bipartisan bill earlier this month to extend the statute of limitations for pandemic unemployment fraud from five to 10 years. The move mirrored what lawmakers did for the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury and Disaster Loans program in 2022. However, the Senate has yet to take up a companion bill needed to cement the extension, leading House lawmakers to call on their colleagues on Capitol Hill to make it a priority. “We can’t afford to let these fraudsters get away with the largest heist of tax dollars in American history,” Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, said Wednesday. “Not only do we have an obligation to taxpayers to recover as much of this money as possible — up to $135 billion — we also need to send a message that we will never falter in going after criminals who take advantage of our support for those in need. … There is no time to waste.” ‘DOGE’ SENATOR SEEKS TO ENSURE FEDS CAN CONTINUE PURSUING COVID FRAUDSTERS, DEBTORS, AS IG SOUNDS ALARM According to estimates from the Government Accountability Office, as much as $135 billion in pandemic unemployment insurance programs was lost to fraud during the pandemic. So far, only $5 billion, or less than 4%, has been recovered. Between the Department of Justice and the Department of Labor, there are more than 2,500 uncharged criminal matters or ongoing field investigations related to COVID-era criminal unemployment fraud, according to a fact sheet released by Smith. Unless the statute of limitations is extended by Congress, federal law enforcement will be unable to prosecute these cases. Moylan noted the majority of unemployment fraud during COVID stemmed from “loopholes” so big “you could drive a truck through” them in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. THIS LEVEL OF FRAUD CAN ONLY EXIST WHEN GOVERNMENT IS WASTING THAT MUCH MONEY, SAYS VIVEK RAMASWAMY “They didn’t have strict enough paperwork requirements, and, so, basically anybody could apply for it and just attest that they were engaged in self-employed activity … and claim significant amounts of unemployment benefits in the process,” Moylan said. He also pointed out how people were applying for financial assistance under the names of dead people or prison inmates. “In California, about a billion dollars worth of fraud was facilitated by making claims on behalf of prisoners in prisons in California,” he said. This month, GOP lawmakers, including Smith, called on their Senate colleagues to take up the House’s legislation to extend the statute of limitations related to pandemic unemployment fraud. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP When asked why he thought the Senate had not yet taken up a bill to extend the statute of limitations for pandemic unemployment fraud, Moylan posited that it was “an attention span thing.” “This hasn’t been top of mind the way that nominations have been in the first part of the year for the Senate, or budget resolution, or now tax conversations, or, you know, whatever the scandal of the day may be,” Moylan said. “Those are the things that seem to dominate proceedings in the Senate. We now are in a situation where, if they don’t act soon, we’re going to lose the ability to prosecute more fraud in this program.”
Fox News Politics Newsletter: South Carolina Firing Squad
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -State Department will absorb remaining USAID programming as independent agency is dismantled -Trump administration asks Supreme Court to review El Salvador deportation flight case -Vance’s ‘America First’ approach goes global, takes hardline message to Greenland A second South Carolina death row inmate has chosen execution by firing squad. Mikal Mahdi, 41, will be put to death on April 11 after pleading guilty to murder for killing a police officer in 2004. “Faced with barbaric and inhumane choices, Mikal Mahdi has chosen the lesser of three evils,” one of his lawyers, David Weiss, said in a statement. “Mikal chose the firing squad instead of being burned and mutilated in the electric chair, or suffering a lingering death on the lethal injection gurney.”…Read more ‘WE AGREE ON MANY THINGS’: Trump holds ‘extremely productive call’ with Canadian prime minister ‘DUMB AND DANGEROUS’: Hillary Clinton blasts Trump administration ‘stupidity’ in blistering NY Times essay ICE COLD DIPLOMACY: US accuses Denmark of treating Greenlanders as ‘second-class citizens’ during Vance visit to Arctic base VLAD AIN’T MAD: Putin says Trump plans for Greenland ‘has nothing to do’ with Russia TO THE FRONT: House Judiciary calls on Biden DOJ prosecutor to testify in Dr. Eithan Haim case CORRALLING THE COURTS: Josh Hawley believes his bill can stop ‘resistance’ judges from ‘provoking a crisis’ IT’S A ‘SNAP’: RFK Jr. backs WV push for SNAP waivers, work mandates under ‘MAHA’ ‘ACTIVIST JUDGE’: Two trans inmates ordered back to women’s prisons in Reagan-appointed judge’s injunction TRANS DAY OF VISIBILITY:Trans activists set ‘survival skills’ focus amid Trump’s executive orders for Trans Day of Visibility weekend ‘ONLY PRIORITY’: HUD chief puts illegal aliens living in govt-funded housing on notice: Americans are ‘our only priority’ ‘UNPRECEDENTED’: IRS sharing info with ICE would put illegal immigrants between ‘rock and a hard place’: expert ‘YOU BREAK HIS NECK’: Dem candidate caught on camera applauding notorious antisemite’s violent rhetoric: ‘You break his neck’ CAMPAIGN KICKOFF: Trump ally Donalds kicking off campaign in race to succeed Florida Gov. DeSantis PARTY ON FIRE: Democratic Party insiders dismayed after DNC meeting goes off the rails in ‘Titanic’- style anti-Trump forum GOLDEN TICKET: Newsom-backed San Francisco speed camera program fines certain drivers more than others Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Trump admin’s first oil and gas-lease sales nets nearly $40 million for U.S. coffers
The Interior Department announced Thursday that in the first three months of 2025, the federal government brought in nearly $40 million in revenue from oil and gas lease sales on public land. The development proves the worth of President Donald Trump’s vision to unleash American energy dominance, a top official said. “This quarter’s lease sales demonstrate Interior’s unwavering commitment to fostering American Energy Dominance, and we are grateful to those who produce energy on federal lands,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “By building on the commonsense, pro-growth policies of the Trump administration, we’re ensuring public lands are being used to their fullest potential to support national security, economic strength and livelihood of the American people.” AZ SENATE LEADER URGES BURGUM TO END BIDEN-OBAMA LAND GRABS OF URANIUM SITES The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which falls under Burgum’s auspices, leased 34 land parcels for fossil fuel development since January. Those 25,038 acres brought in $39,007,609 in total receipts. The revenues will be divided between the feds and each particular state where the leases were sold. RFK JR BACKS WV PUSH FOR SNAP WAIVERS, WORK MANDATES UNDER ‘MAHA’ States receiving the windfalls include Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Wyoming and Nevada. The Interior Department said in a statement that the sales were in concert with Trump’s Executive Order 14154: “Unleashing American Energy.” The department assured that the various parcels will be developed in alignment with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 – an environmental quality and impact law spearheaded by former Sen. Scoop Jackson, D-Wash. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The leases have a one-decade lifespan and “as long thereafter as there is production of oil and gas in paying quantities.” The feds will are also entitled to a 16.67% royalty.
Trump cautions ‘bad things’ in store if Iran won’t negotiate as Islamic Republic touts ‘Missile City’
President Donald Trump promised that ‘bad things’ would happen to Iran if the regime does not come to the table for nuclear negotiations. “My big preference is that we work it out with Iran, but if we don’t work it out, bad things are gonna happen to Iran,” the president said Friday. Iran is enriching uranium to 60%, just shy of the 90% weapons-grade. Experts say it could have a nuclear weapon within weeks if it were to take the final steps to building one. In response to U.S. sanctions threats, Iran showed off a sprawling underground tunnel system replete with missiles, launchers, engines and other advanced weapons. WALTZ TELLS IRAN TO GIVE UP NUCLEAR PROGRAM OR ‘THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES’ A video released this week by state media shows two Iranian military leaders, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri and IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, riding in a vehicle through long, weapons-packed tunnels that Tehran has dubbed “Missile City.” The 85-second clip, which has not been independently verified, is set to menacing music and suggests that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps stands ready to respond to threats of an attack from the U.S. and Israel. “Iran’s ballistic missile force remains the largest in the Middle East,” said Behnam Taleblu, fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “This is all part of the regime’s deterrent strategy to cement the idea of any conflict with Tehran being a costly and protracted one.” The move comes as U.S. is bolstering its forces in the Middle East. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently sent a second aircraft carrier, the U.S. Navy’s USS Carl Vinson, to join the USS Harry S. Truman‘s carrier strike group, whose deployment was also extended. The U.S. also recently deployed two B-2 stealth bombers to the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean, a warning to Iran and Yemen’s Houthi militia. The planes are capable of carrying 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs and are now situated within range of Iran. Weeks ago, Trump wrote a letter to Iran urging the regime to engage in talks on its nuclear program. Kamal Kharazi, the top foreign policy adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Thursday that the regime would engage in “indirect” talks, according to local news reports. IRAN’S LEADER WARNS US COULD RECEIVE ‘SEVERE SLAPS’ FOLLOWING TRUMP’S THREATS TO HOUTHIS “The Islamic Republic has not closed all the doors and is willing to begin indirect negotiations with the United States.” “Our policy is to not negotiate directly while there is maximum pressure policy and threats of military strikes,” foreign minister Abbas Aragchi explained. “But indirect negotiations can take place as they have in the past.” If talks falter, the U.S. and Israel have floated the possibility of targeted strikes on underground nuclear facilities. In recent weeks, the Trump administration launched a series of offensive attacks on the Houthis in Yemen to send a message to Tehran, which supports them. “Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. “Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control,” he continued. “They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, “Intelligence.’”
Trump reveals why he pulled Stefanik’s UN ambassador nomination: ‘Cannot take a chance’
Facing a razor-thin Republican majority in the House, President Donald Trump says he pulled GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to serve as United Nations ambassador because he doesn’t “want to take any chances.” The president made his comments Friday as he answered questions at the White House, one day after announcing in a social media post that he was pulling the nomination of Stefanik, a Republican from New York and top Trump ally in the House, due to concerns about passing his agenda through the chamber. “I said, ‘Elise, would you do me a favor? We cannot take a chance. We have a slim margin,’” Trump told reporters. WHAT STEFANIK TOLD FOX NEWS ABOUT HER ‘TEAM PLAYER’ DECISION TO STAY IN CONGRESS Trump’s move comes amid concerns by the White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill over next week’s special congressional elections in Florida. Voters in two congressional districts in Florida will head to the polls on Tuesday, as Republicans aim to keep control of both solidly red seats and give themselves slightly more breathing room in the House. The elections are in Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts, which Trump carried by 37 and 30 points in last year’s presidential election. ‘SHOW OF FORCE’ – TRUMP ALLY KICKING OFF CAMPAIGN IN RACE TO SUCCEED FLORIDA GOV. DESANTIS But the Democratic candidates have vastly outraised the Republican nominees, and polling in recent days suggested that the race in the 6th District was within the margin of error. The GOP currently holds a 218-213 majority in the House, with two vacant seats where Republicans stepped down and two where Democratic lawmakers died in March. “When it comes to Florida, you have two races, and they seem to be good,” Trump said. But pointing to the massive fundraising advantage by the Democrat candidates over the GOP contenders, Trump raised concerns, saying “You never know what happens in a case like that.” Jimmy Patronis, the Florida Chief Financial Officer, is favored over Democrat Gay Valimont in a multi-candidate field in the race to fill the vacant seat in the 1st CD, which is located in the far northwestern corner of Florida in the Panhandle region. Republican Matt Gaetz, who won re-election in the district in last November’s elections, resigned from office weeks later after Trump selected him to be his nominee for attorney general in his second administration. Gaetz later withdrew himself from cabinet consideration amid controversy. But it’s the race in the 6th CD, which is located on Florida’s Atlantic coast from Daytona Beach to just south of Saint Augustine and inland to the outskirts of Ocala, that is really raising concerns among some in the GOP. The race is to succeed Republican Michael Waltz, who stepped down from the seat on Jan. 20 after Trump named him his national security adviser. DEMOCRATS FAR FROM THRILLED ON POSSIBLE BIDEN POLITICAL REEMERGENCE Republican state Sen. Randy Fine is facing off against teacher Josh Weil, a Democrat, in a multi-candidate field. Weil grabbed plenty of national attention in recent weeks by topping Fine in the campaign cash battle by roughly a ten-to-one margin. The cash discrepancy in the 6th CD race spurred GOP-aligned outside groups to make last-minute contributions in support of Fine in the closing days of the campaign, with conservative super PACs launching ads spotlighting Trump’s support of Fine. “I would have preferred if our candidate had raised money at a faster rate and gotten on TV quicker,” Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told reporters earlier this week. But Hudson added that Fine is “doing what he needs to do. He’s on TV now.” And he emphasized, “We’re going to win the seat. I’m not concerned at all.” Trump, pointing to Fine, on Friday acknowledged that “our candidate doesn’t have that kind of money.” There’s been criticism of Fine by some fellow Republicans. Former top Trump political adviser and conservative host Steve Bannon warned that Fine “isn’t winning.” And two-term Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters last week that the GOP would underperform in the race, arguing that “it’s a reflection of the candidate running in that race.” But it’s worth pointing out the contentious history between DeSantis and Fine, who was the first Florida Republican to flip his endorsement from DeSantis to Trump during the 2024 Republican presidential nomination battle. In the 1st District, where there is less concern by Republicans about losing the seat, Valimont topped Patronis in fundraising by roughly a five-to-one margin. While the races in the two Republican-dominated districts are far from ideal for the Democrats to try and flip, the elections are the first opportunity for voters and donors to try and make a difference since Trump’s return to power in the White House. And Democrats say the surge in fundraising for their candidates is a sign their party is motivated amid voters’ frustrations with the sweeping and controversial moves made by Trump in his opening weeks back in office. “The American people are not buying what the Republicans are selling,” House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries told reporters earlier this week. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Jeffries and other Democrats aren’t predicting victory. But Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House, highlighted that “these districts are so Republican, there would ordinarily be no reason to believe that the races will be close, but what I can say, almost guaranteed, is that the Democratic candidate in both of these Florida special elections will significantly overperform.” Stefanik represents New York’s 21st Congressional Distirct, a large, mostly rural, district in the northernmost reaches of the state that includes most of the Adirondack Mountains and the Thousand Islands region. She cruised to re-election last November by 24 points. “We don’t want to take any chances. We don’t want to experiment,” Trump said as he pointed to what would have been a special election later this year to fill Stefanik’s seat if she had resigned if confirmed