Ex-ICE chief warns Biden’s border crisis likely fueled Iranian sleeper threat in US
The impact of the border crisis under the Biden administration likely added fuel to the fire of an Iranian sleeper cell threat domestically, according to a former top Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official who briefly led Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Following the strike on Iranian nuclear sites by the U.S. on Saturday, DHS issued a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin warning about the risk of domestic terrorism from Iranian-backed or inspired perpetrators. “Definitely,” former acting ICE director and Fox News contributor Jonathan Fahey said when asked if the Biden border crisis likely made matters worse domestically. AMERICANS VULNERABLE TO CYBERATTACKS, LONE WOLF THREATS IN WAKE OF IRANIAN AIRSTRIKES: FORMER FBI AGENT “I think one thing that’s really concerning about that: One, they weren’t doing any really meaningful vetting in the last administration. The second part of it is, you know, we have probably 2 million known gotaways come through the last administration, and the people that went through the non-ports of entry, we knew they went through but nobody caught them, so we have no idea who went through,” he added. Fahey noted that other countries were likely paying close attention to the heavy flow of people crossing into the country illegally. He briefly led ICE toward the end of Trump’s first term and was the former deputy assistant secretary at the DHS. “But the thing that’s concerning is all of our adversaries knew at the time that we basically, in all intents and purposes, had an open border. So, to the extent they wanted to send people in to spy, to collect intelligence, to do us harm, to plan to do us harm in the future, they had carte blanche to get anyone in that they wanted to with really little or no resistance,” Fahey said. OVER 700 IRANIAN NATIONALS RELEASED INTO US DURING BIDEN ADMINISTRATION DESPITE TERRORISM CONCERNS “That’s what makes what Biden, the Biden-Mayorkas open border just so unconscionable,” he said. Fox News reported that roughly half of the 1,500 Iranian nationals who came through illegally during the Biden administration were let go into the U.S. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland,” the DHS bulletin stated. “Multiple recent Homeland terrorist attacks have been motivated by anti-Semitic or anti-Israel sentiment, and the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks,” it continued. ‘OPEN BORDERS’ UNDER BIDEN COULD HELP IRAN RETALIATE WITH US TERROR SLEEPER CELLS: FORMER FBI BOSS Other national security experts also doubled down that the releases and gotaways during the Biden administration continued to pose a risk. “We don’t know where those thousand Iranians are and who knows how many others got across the border. We missed an opportunity when they caught and released those thousand. We missed the opportunity to gather intel by interviewing them and thoroughly vetting them. We just simply let them go, which is gross negligence on the part of the Biden administration,” former FBI assistant director Chris Swecker told Fox News Digital. Border czar Tom Homan also sounded the alarm about gotaways on “Sunday Morning Futures” right after the Iran strikes. “We don’t know who they are, where they came from, because they got away because border patrol is so overwhelmed with the humanitarian crisis that Biden created. Over two million people crossed the border and got away. That is my biggest concern. And that’s what created the biggest national security vulnerability this country’s ever seen,” Homan said. When it comes to known releases, the Trump administration released nobody in May, compared with roughly 62,000 releases under the Biden administration last May, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
Trump campaign unleashes PAC to oust GOP congressman who questioned authority to strike Iran
President Donald Trump‘s political team has launched a political action committee (PAC) targeting GOP Rep. Thomas Massie’s congressional seat in 2026, Fox News Digital has confirmed. Chris LaCivita, a veteran Republican strategist who was co-campaign manager for Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, and Tony Fabrizio, longtime GOP pollster and Trump’s top pollster in 2024, will steer the “Kentucky PAC.” It is the first time the Trump campaign apparatus has directly targeted an incumbent Republican through a super PAC, and the move signals an aggressive new strategy to hold congressional Republicans accountable for thwarting Trump’s legislative agenda. The news was first reported by Axios on Sunday night. As the president considered whether to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, Massie emerged as the leading Republican voice willing to challenge Trump’s constitutional authority to usher the U.S. into the burgeoning conflict between Israel and Iran. When Trump announced successful strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday night, Massie was clear in his rebuttal, “This is not constitutional.” THOMAS MASSIE SAYS HE FEELS ‘MISLED’ BY TRUMP AFTER IRAN STRIKES: ‘HE’S ENGAGED IN WAR’ “FAFO ….working on the FO …” LaCivita responded to Massie on Saturday, which means, “F— around and find out.” ‘NOT CONSTITUTIONAL’: CONGRESS EVOKES NEW WAR POWERS RESOLUTION TO REJECT TRUMP’S STRIKES ON IRAN By Sunday night, LaCivita confirmed the Axios report, responding on X, “Here’s the FO” – a clear message to Massie, and any Republican who undermines the president, that Trump’s political arm is prepared to respond. Massie was elected U.S. representative for Kentucky’s fourth congressional district in 2012. The fiscal firebrand, one of the few remaining House GOP members willing to disagree with Trump, staved off Republican primary challenges in deep red Kentucky in 2020 and again in 2024. Last week, the Republican co-sponsored the War Powers Resolution along with 48 Democrats, trying to prevent Trump from striking Iran without congressional approval. Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I of the Constitution. The War Powers Resolution seeks to “remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic State of Iran” and directs Trump to “terminate” the deployment of American troops against Iran without an “authorized declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military forces against Iran.” When Trump announced America’s successful strikes on Iran – without congressional approval – Massie and his Democratic co-sponsors, including Rep. Ro Khanna, were quick to criticize the president on social media and during a joint appearance on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday. “I feel a bit misled,” Massie told Fox News Digital in a Sunday afternoon interview. “I didn’t think he would let neocons determine his foreign policy and drag us into another war.” The Kentucky Republican has broken from Trump on several other occasions and has been one of the few GOP officials to openly clash with the president — particularly on government spending and foreign intervention. Trump threatened to primary Massie for his unwillingness to bend on the House GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill negotiations, comments Massie subsequently used in fundraising messages for his 2026 re-election campaign. Massie was one of just two House Republicans who voted against Trump’s megabill last month, arguing it did not do enough to tackle the country’s enormous national debt, which sits at well over $36 trillion. In a lengthy Truth Social post Sunday afternoon, Trump signaled he had enough of Massie’s dissent, claiming “MAGA doesn’t want him, doesn’t know him, and doesn’t respect him,” and once again called him a “grandstander.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague! The good news is that we will have a wonderful American Patriot running against him in the Republican Primary, and I’ll be out in Kentucky campaigning really hard. MAGA is not about lazy, grandstanding, nonproductive politicians, of which Thomas Massie is definitely one,” Trump said Sunday. Massie did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry about the Kentucky PAC.
Americans in Qatar told to shelter in place as Iranian military threatens action against US interests
The U.S. Embassy in Qatar told Americans to shelter in place until further notice Monday morning following the weekend’s attacks on Iran. The embassy said it made the recommendation “out of an abundance of caution” but provided no other details. Qatar is home to Al Udeid Air Base, where approximately 10,000 U.S. soldiers are deployed. The advisory came after the State Department issued a warning to American citizens on Sunday. “There is the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad. The Department of State advises U.S. citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution.” STATE DEPARTMENT ISSUES WORLDWIDE CAUTION FOR US TRAVELERS FOLLOWING TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKES Iran vowed to retaliate against the U.S. after American B-2 bombers dropped 14 bunker buster bombs on three Iranian nuclear sites. “The criminal US must know that in addition to punishing its illegitimate and aggressive offspring, the hands of Islam’s fighters within the armed forces have been freed to take any action against its interests and military, and we will never back down in this regard,” Abdolrahim Mousavi, the new chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, warned in a statement. Qatar’s foreign affairs spokesperson said the “advisory from a number of embassies to their citizens do not reflect the existence of specific threats.” “The security situation in the country is stable,” the statement said, adding, “the relevant authorities are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of citizens, residents, and visitors.” US TROOPS IN THE MIDDLE EAST COULD FACE INCREASED THREATS AMID IRAN CONFLICT: ‘IRREPARABLE DAMAGE’ Qatar has struck a delicate balance between friendly relations with its neighbor Iran and the West. Some 40,000 U.S. troops are stationed across the Middle East. While Iran is largely expected to launch a counterattack to the weekend’s bombings, Israeli strikes have taken out Iran’s missile launchers and depleted its stock of medium-range missiles. The U.S. homeland, meanwhile, is under a “heightened threat environment” following the weekend’s strikes, including “low-level cyber attacks against US networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against US networks.”
‘Mofo…in the White House’: Jasmine Crockett attacks Trump, praises Massie in anti-Iran strike rant
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, launched another tirade against President Donald Trump over the weekend, while offering rare praise for one of her House GOP colleagues who is currently at odds with the commander in chief. The Democratic firebrand took to Instagram Live late Saturday to criticize Trump’s strikes on Iran, while giving a “shout out” to Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., over his bipartisan resolution to rein in the president’s ability to conduct such operations. “So long story short, for those of you that are unaware, the mofo that resides in the White House has unilaterally, in my estimation, declared war,” Crockett said in the video. “Mofo” is often used as a shorthand term for the curse phrase “motherf—er.” RUBIO DECLARES IRAN’S DAYS OF ‘PLAYING THE WORLD’ OVER AFTER TRUMP’S DECISIVE STRIKE Crockett, an outspoken progressive, is part of the chorus of voices on the left accusing Trump of wrongly bypassing Congress in his military operation against Tehran’s nuclear sites. Trump officials have maintained that they are in compliance with the War Powers Act. “We are living in this time in which there is someone who is occupying the White House who does not care about any rules, any norms, any laws, nor the Constitution. And we cannot be a civilized country if there is no law and order,” Crockett said. She then launched an attack on Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, accusing him of doing more harm with his strikes on Iran. US MILITARY TROOPS IN MIDDLE EAST COULD FACE INCREASED THREATS AMID IRAN CONFLICT “I know that they may claim, ‘We law and order, blah blah blah. So go get the undocumented people and let’s try to ship them out.’ Let me tell you something – they are not the people that are putting us in harm’s way,” Crockett said. “It is him and his administration that is putting us in harm’s way.” Crockett called on her supporters to confront Trump supporters, adding, “I literally need you to wake them the f— up, because everything since he has stepped into office has done nothing other than put us in harm’s way.” Later in the roughly 20-minute video, Crockett asked her supporters living in Republican-held districts to reach out to their representatives in Congress. “We need action now, and that is going to take a few Republicans, like, getting on the right page,” she said. “And right now there’s only one Republican that I know I can count on for sure doing the right thing. And that’s going to be Thomas Massie. The rest of them, it’s a little bit questionable.” Foreign entanglements, particularly when the U.S. military is involved, are an issue that’s made for strange political bedfellows in the past. When the House passed emergency foreign aid last year in separate packages by region, each passed with bipartisan support – while also seeing “no” votes from dovish progressives and conservatives wary of U.S. involvement overseas. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS CRITICIZE ISRAEL’S DEFENSIVE STRIKES AGAINST IRAN’S NUCLEAR SITES Trump’s weekend strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities are no different. While the move gained wide support from Republican leaders and some pro-Israel Democrats, a small group of conservatives has expressed varying levels of concern. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X that she could “support President Trump and his great administration on many of the great things they are doing while disagreeing on bombing Iran and getting involved in a hot war that Israel started.” Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, commended the “strength and precision” of the strikes to Fox News Digital on Sunday but argued Congress needed to regain its “war powers.” “While President Trump has legal precedent on his side, the legal reality underscores how far we’ve drifted from the constitutional order,” Davidson said. Massie, who has been one of the most consistent lawmakers in Congress regarding his skepticism of foreign entanglements, is leading a resolution alongside Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to limit Trump’s war powers on Iran. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He told Fox News Digital on Sunday that he hoped to force a vote on the bipartisan measure and signaled cautious optimism that it could succeed. “I think it could [pass the House], because we have such a tight majority. And the Democrats aren’t very consistent about war, but when there’s a Republican in the White House, they find their religion, their anti-war religion again,” Massie said. When reached about Crockett’s video the White House pointed Fox News Digital to comments by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The last time I checked, Jasmine Crockett couldn’t dream of winning such a majority of the public as President Trump did. And the America First movement, which President Trump has built, is filled of hardworking patriots, the forgotten men and women, business owners, law enforcement officers, nurses, and teachers. And middle America – as we all know, you know, from where you all grew up, outside of this beltway – that’s who makes up this president’s movement,” Leavitt said. “Jasmine Crockett should go to a Trump rally sometime, and she can see it for herself.” Meanwhile, a White House official told Fox News Digital, “The fact Jasmine Crockett is siding with Massie tells you everything you need to know about both of them!” Fox News Digital also reached out to Massie’s office for comment on Crockett’s video.
‘For Sale’: DOGE moves to sell off almost half a billion in federal real estate, relocate cabinet agency HQs
EXCLUSIVE: The Senate’s DOGE leader is hoping to give the U.S. Treasury another boost in cutting the $36 trillion national debt, this time by selling off some major real estate in Washington, D.C., currently home to several prominent cabinet agencies. The headquarters of the Departments of Energy, Housing & Urban Development, along with ancillary buildings home to other top agencies, would be sold off but without attrition or layoffs, as the employees therein would be relocated elsewhere, according to Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. The “For Sale Act” would put the James Forrestal Federal Building on the market, one of six properties identified by the Senate DOGE Caucus as ripe for removal from the federal government’s portfolio. The imposing modernist structure, which hovers across L’Enfant Plaza as a cross between an office building and a pedestrian bridge, was once known as the “Little Pentagon” and home to overflow Department of Defense personnel during the Vietnam War. REPUBLICAN SENATORS ROLL OUT DOGE BUDGET PROPOSALS FOR TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ The Department of Energy moved in after then-President Jimmy Carter created the agency in 1977. Several other buildings along Independence Avenue in the Federal Center section of Washington – so named for its panoply of federal offices – would hit the market as well. Directly west of the Forrestal, one of the Agriculture Department’s outbuildings on Independence is on DOGE’s list for mandatory sale. NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER: AMERICAN TAXPAYERS (YOU) ARE NOW ON THE HOOK FOR $36,215,685,667.36 AS OF 6/9/25 That building is at about one-quarter capacity and is in need of nearly $2 billion in upgrades or maintenance, Republicans said. Ernst quipped the Agriculture building is the perfect “fixer-upper” to be on the market. The Hubert H. Humphrey Jr. building – named for former President Lyndon Johnson’s vice president – can be seen by traffic glancing right as they exit Interstate 395’s Third Street Tunnel near the U.S. Capitol. ‘AMERICA HAS DOGE FEVER’: STATES FROM NJ TO TX DRAFT SIMILAR INITIATIVES AS FEDERAL LEADERS CELEBRATE It houses the Department of Health and Human Services and would also be required to be put on the market within 18 months of the For Sale Act’s passage. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s headquarters is also on the list, as the curved X-shaped granite building, officially called the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, is “underutilized,” according to DOGE’s rubric. The Theodore Roosevelt Building, at the foot of Interstate 66 just west of the White House, along with the Frances Perkins Federal Building on the other side of the city, rounds out the list. The legislation would also have safeguards against foreign entities buying up the buildings – as China and other rivals have purchased land by proxy very close to sensitive installations like a major Air Force base in North Dakota. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Additionally, any entity in which a foreign national is a “beneficial owner” would be prohibited from participating in any federal real estate sales. Taxpayers shell out about $81 million to maintain underutilized or unutilized federal offices, according to a Biden-era report to Congress from the Office of Management and Budget. About 7,700 federal office spaces are vacant and 2,200 are majority-empty, according to a Congressional Research Service report. Annual maintenance on 277,000 federal buildings tops $10 billion per year, according to an April Government Accountability Office report. Ernst and DOGE previously successfully mandated the sale of the aging Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in Federal Center. Within its 1.2 million square feet, only 72 people were working there as of 2024. It formerly housed offices for Voice of America and the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors.
Clinton backs Cuomo in NYC mayoral race, boosting scandal-scarred frontrunner
Ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary for mayor in heavily blue New York City, frontrunner Andrew Cuomo landed another high-profile endorsement. Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 during his third term as New York State governor amid multiple scandals, was endorsed by former President Bill Clinton. Cuomo served as Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary during the Clinton administration. “As President, I chose Andrew to be my Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and he never let me down—but more importantly, he didn’t let the nation down. He built public housing all across the country,” Clinton said in a statement on Sunday. IS CUOMO’S LEAD IN THE NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL PRIMARY SHRINKING? Cuomo, who is aiming for a campaign comeback and political redemption, has seen his once-large lead over the rest of the Democrats in the 11-candidate field shrink. Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist state assemblyman from Queens, has narrowed the gap with Cuomo the past couple of months in the Democratic mayoral primary, which is conducted using a ranked-choice voting system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. AOC BACKS RISING PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE IN NYC DEM PRIMARY IN PUSH TO DEFEAT FRONTRUNNER CUOMO Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York City’s most prominent leader on the left, endorsed Mamdani earlier this month. Last week, longtime progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up Sen. Bernie Sanders backed Mamdani, who is originally from Uganda. With multiple candidates on the left running in the primary, the endorsements by Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders aimed to consolidate the support of progressive voters behind Mamdani. In a distant third place in the most recent polls is New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. Lander made headlines last week after his arrest by Department of Homeland Security agents in Manhattan after allegedly assaulting a federal officer as Lander tried to escort a defendant out of an immigration court. Cuomo, his campaign and allied groups in recent weeks have been questioning Mamdani’s experience in leading a city of more than 8 million people. “Zohran Mamdani’s a 33-year-old dangerously inexperienced legislator who’s passed just three bills with a staff you can fit inside a New York elevator,” the narrator in a Cuomo campaign ad blitz said. “We need someone ready to roll. Andrew Cuomo managed a state and managed crises, from COVID to Trump.” CUOMO TARGETS TRUMP AS HE QUESTIONS MAMDANI’S EXPERIENCE IN NYC PRIMARY BATTLE Additionally, Clinton spotlighted Cuomo’s experience in his endorsement statement. “New York City is facing major challenges. There is a desperate need for affordable housing, homelessness is at a crisis level, and public safety must be restored. It is imperative that New York chooses a mayor who has the ability, talent, and experience to do the job,” the former president said. Clinton told New York City voters to “not underestimate the complexity of meaningful challenges and the necessity that the next mayor has the qualifications to do the job. New Yorkers should choose competence for a change. I am confident Andrew can turn New York around.” Cuomo was also recently endorsed by former three-term New York City mayor, billionaire entrepreneur and media magnate Michael Bloomberg. The 67-year-old Cuomo has spent the past four years fighting to clear his name after 11 sexual harassment accusations – which he has repeatedly denied – forced his resignation. He was also under investigation at the time for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic amid allegations his administration vastly understated COVID-related deaths at state nursing homes. Last month, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Cuomo after Republicans accused him of lying to Congress about the decisions he made as governor during the coronavirus pandemic. THIS BILLIONAIRE FORMER NYC MAYOR ENDORSES CUOMO AHEAD OF PRIMARY While the primary is not until Tuesday, more than 384,000 Democrats cast ballots in early voting, which ended on Sunday. The winner of the Democratic Party primary is traditionally seen as the overwhelming frontrunner in the November general election in the Democrat-dominated city. However, this year, the general election campaign may be a bit more unpredictable. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a moderate Democrat elected in 2021, is running for re-election as an Independent. Adams earlier this year dropped his Democratic primary bid as his approval ratings sank to historic lows. Adams’ poll numbers were sinking even before he was indicted last year on five counts, which accused the mayor of bribery and fraud as part of an alleged “long-running” scheme to personally profit from contacts with foreign officials. The mayor made repeated overtures to President Donald Trump, and the Justice Department earlier this year dismissed the corruption charges, so Adams could seemingly work with the Trump administration on its illegal immigration crackdown.
Senate GOP aims to approve major legislation next week as Trump touts party unity
If things go well, Senate Republicans hope to approve the “Big, Beautiful Bill” by this time next week. Senators, staff and budget referees worked through the weekend, deciding what should be in the bill and what complies with special budget rules. In? A decadelong freeze on local and state AI rules. But they axed plans to reduce food assistance and foist the cost onto the states. Ironically, that decision could help pass the bill – especially if it courts the votes of GOP moderates like Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. TRUMP RECEIVES MIXED SUPPORT FROM CONGRESS FOR IRAN STRIKES AS WAR POWERS DEBATE However, there is still consternation about SALT, the deduction for state and local taxes, how the bill addresses rural hospitals, Medicaid and overall spending cuts. Conservatives still demand more deficit reduction. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., said on Fox that the airstrikes against Iran only steeled his resolve to vote no unless senators included additional cuts. AFTER MINNESOTA KILLING, CAPITOL HILL REPRESENTATIVES FACE STARK REALITY ABOUT FAMILY SAFETY The overseas military activity did not distract President Donald Trump from focusing on the bill over the weekend. He posted on Truth Social Sunday that there was great “unity” in the Republican Party and that it was time to pass the “Great Big Beautiful Bill.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Senate Republicans hope to begin debate mid-week and perhaps wrap up over the weekend. But it’s unclear how the House and Senate can align both versions of the legislation before July 4.
White House office tells agencies to apply ‘Gold Standard Science’ to depoliticize research, restore trust
EXCLUSIVE: The White House Office of Science and Technology on Monday directed federal agencies to implement “gold standard science” principles to depoliticize science and restore public trust, Fox News Digital has learned. White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios sent guidance to federal research agencies Monday morning, incorporating President Donald Trump‘s executive order on “Restoring Gold Standard Science.” FOX NEWS POLITICS NEWSLETTER: TRUMP SETS THE ‘GOLD STANDARD’ FOR SCIENCE Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the guidance sent to federal agencies. President Trump, in May, signed an executive order to restore “Gold Standard Science” as the cornerstone of federal scientific research. “Gold Standard Science” is “reproducible, transparent and falsifiable,” according to the order. It is also “subject to unbiased peer review; clear about errors and uncertainties; skeptical of assumptions; collaborative and interdisciplinary; accepting of negative results as positive outcomes; and free from conflicts of interest.” The executive order reinstated “the scientific integrity policies” of the first Trump administration and “ensures that science is no longer manipulated or misused to justify political ends.” “President Trump’s Gold Standard Science EO will transform the conduct and management of federal science, from research design to public communication, in order to strengthen scientific inquiry, rebuild public trust, and ensure the U.S. continues to be the global leader in rigorous, evidence-based science,” Kratsios told Fox News Digital. “But federal agencies are only one part of our nation’s research ecosystem.” Kratsios added, “American universities, scientific journals, industry and philanthropic leaders all have a crucial role in improving the overall quality of research, and we encourage this executive action to serve as a model for the entire scientific enterprise.” Kratsios sent the memo to federal agencies Monday morning to provide guidance to federal departments and agencies on implementing gold standard science “in the conduct and management of all aspects of their scientific activities, from research design to public communication.” “By adopting these standards, agencies will strengthen scientific inquiry, rebuild public trust, and ensure the United States continues as the global leader in rigorous, evidence-based science,” the memo states. Kratsios said that “Gold Standard Science” represents a “commitment to the highest standards of scientific integrity, defined by nine core tenets: reproducible; transparent; communicative of error and uncertainty; collaborative and interdisciplinary; skeptical of its findings and assumptions; structured for falsifiability of hypotheses; subject to unbiased peer review; accepting of negative results as positive outcomes; and without conflicts of interest.” “These tenets ensure that federally-supported research and research used in federal decision-making is transparent, rigorous, and impactful, enabling federal decisions to be informed by the most credible, reliable, and impartial scientific evidence available,” Kratsios wrote in the guidance. But “Gold Standard Science” is not limited to science, Kratsios said, saying that it is critical for tackling complex challenges in energy innovation and national security as well. “In an age of rapid technological progress and heightened public scrutiny, federally-funded and federally-performed science, and its use in Federal decision-making, must be beyond reproach,” he wrote. As for conducting science “without conflicts of interest,” Kratsios said it is imperative to ensure that “research is designed, executed, reviewed, and reported free from financial, personal, or institutional influences that could bias outcomes or undermine objectivity.” “This approach is important for generating trustworthy and credible new knowledge, as it upholds scientific integrity, fosters public confidence, and ensures that results reflect evidence rather than external agendas,” the memo states. “Maintaining freedom from conflicts of interest requires researchers, reviewers, and managers to disclose all relevant affiliations, funding sources, and relationships relevant to the science conducted, adhering to stringent ethical standards supported by strong institutional oversight, transparent reporting systems, and independent expert review mechanisms.” CHINA’S AI INNOVATION IS ‘ACCELERATING’ BUT US REMAINS DOMINANT, WHITE HOUSE SAYS Kratsios said agencies must “prioritize conducting and managing scientific research free from conflicts of interest to advance unbiased science,” and must “require disclosure of all relevant conflicts of interest by researchers, reviewers, and agency officials involved in the funding or performance of Federal research.” “These efforts include requiring comprehensive, standardized disclosure of all financial, personal, or institutional interests in research proposals, publications, peer and merit reviews, and data repositories, with clear and standardized protocols to identify, mitigate, and manage potential biases,” the memo states. “Agencies should mandate the use of independent oversight approaches and enforce strict conflict-of-interest policies.” Agencies have 60 days to outline “Gold Standard Science” implementation plans, including plans for training and resources to ensure agency personnel understand the new policy, and the use of artificial intelligence-driven tools when practical. After Trump signed the May executive order to restore gold standard science, a senior White House official said there had been a decline in “disruptive research” and investments in biomedical research, along with “serious cases” of fraud and misconduct and the inability to reproduce scientific methods for the purpose of restoring public trust. The official also blamed policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and “woke DEI initiatives” for endangering the public’s trust in government scientists. Now-retired National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci was repeatedly denounced for flip-flopping and obfuscating during his time engineering the federal response to COVID-19, leading many, particularly on the right, to disregard and dismiss the legitimacy of federal health authorities outright. That order cites the fact the Biden administration included political edits from teachers’ unions in school-reopening guidance, instead of leading with any scientific evidence. Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital in April, Kratsios echoed Trump, saying the U.S. is in the “golden age” and that this special moment in time is “underpinned by unbelievable science and technology.”
Trump’s week ahead will include a trip to The Hague to meet with NATO leaders as Iran crisis grows larger
President Donald Trump will be engaging in numerous foreign policy discussions this upcoming week at a NATO summit, where more than just Ukraine will be the focus of conversations between foreign leaders. A senior Trump official told the Wall Street Journal Sunday that the president still intends to attend the summit that will be held in The Hague, starting Wednesday. He will depart for the Netherlands on Tuesday and arrive late in the evening the same day. It is a slight schedule change from his originally planned departure date of Monday, per previous reports. TRUMP ADDRESSES NATION ON ‘SPECTACULAR MILITARY SUCCESS’ OF US STRIKES ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES Trump was expected to attend a state dinner between foreign leaders on Tuesday evening, but it is unclear whether he will still attend due to the late-Tuesday arrival time. The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for additional information about the president’s schedule. The schedule change comes after the president recently abruptly left the G7 economic summit in Canada to attend to the ongoing situation in the Middle East that tamped up Saturday. NEW REPORT WARNS NATO’S DATA VULNERABILITIES COULD COST LIVES WITHOUT US FIX The summit between foreign leaders will likely include conversations about Trump’s recent decision to involve the United States in Israel’s campaign in the Middle East. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to be in attendance as well, with leaders expected to discuss ongoing assistance to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia. However, Ukraine’s crisis is not expected to be the central issue of concern, with global tensions in Iran likely to take a major chunk of the summit’s attention. Leaders are also expected to discuss NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s proposal that each member country contribute at least 5% of their gross domestic product to defense spending. The idea, framed as a Trump win, has been rejected by Spain, while others have taken issue with the speed at which the move to increase NATO-member defense spending has taken. The summit will end Wednesday and Trump will depart back to Washington thereafter. There will be heavy security and protesters have already taken to the streets in protest of the upcoming summit.
LA riots, years of protests lead Republicans to seek federally criminalizing blocking traffic
In the wake of anti-ICE protesters and rioters trapping drivers in Los Angeles and other cities in recent days, Republican lawmakers want to make blocking streets a federal crime. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., will seek this week to make it a federal crime to obstruct or create intentional traffic. The “Safe and Open Streets Act” is a direct response to the “radical tactics of anti-ICE protesters who have intentionally blocked roads and highways across the country,” Tillis said. Lawbreakers could face fines or up to five years in prison. I CALL IT REBELLION: MAXINE WATERS’ HISTORY OF ENFLAMING CROWDS FROM RODNEY KING TO TODAY Video from Los Angeles showed rioters blocking expressways and city streets alike, at times violently attacking or confronting local and federal officers. Under California law, it is a misdemeanor to “willfully and maliciously obstruct the free movement of any person on any street, sidewalk, or other public place” – an ordinance rarely enforced during recent protests. Tillis’ own state has not been immune to such blockages, as protesters shut down a busy portion of NC-147; Durham, North Carolina’s freeway, during rush hour in November 2023. Those protesters were seeking to “Free Palestine” and objecting to the Western response to the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas of Israeli and American citizens. Immigration-related protests also cropped up recently on a main thoroughfare in Greensboro. “The emerging tactic of radical protesters blocking roads and stopping commerce is not only obnoxious to innocent commuters, but it’s also dangerous and will eventually get people killed. It needs to be a crime throughout the country,” Tillis told Fox News Digital. Tillis added that the “radical” anti-immigration enforcement protesters must face the “full weight of the law” if they endanger public safety. Sen. Ted Budd, Tillis’ Tarheel State counterpart, will be joining the effort, saying in a statement that emergency personnel being held up by such blockages put the public in further danger. MAXINE WATERS TORCHED BY FEDS FOR ‘TAUNTING’ GUARDSMEN AND ‘SPEWING LIES’ ABOUT RIOTS, TRYING TO ENTER JAIL “The First Amendment protects the right to assemble and protest peacefully, but it does not permit such behavior,” Budd said. In another recent incident, pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike in Virginia – where Interstates 64 and 95 converge and carve through the city. In that incident, protesters threw ladders and laid chicken wire across the Rocky Mount-bound lanes of the highway to grind rush hour to a halt at the city’s downtown “Boulevard” exit. LA RIOTS ‘PREVENTABLE’ IF SACRAMENTO DEMS HAD ACTED, CA GOP SAYS “Blocking major roads to stop traffic flows is nothing short of lawlessness that should not be tolerated,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn of neighboring Tennessee. “These activists are not only intentionally creating a dangerous situation for themselves, but perhaps for a citizen who is awaiting an ambulance or a hard worker who will lose their job for being late,” she said in announcing her co-sponsorship of Tillis’ legislation; calling out “Hamas sympathizers” such as those in Richmond and Durham. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Focusing again on Los Angeles, co-sponsor Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said that he watched the riots for “nearly a week” as California officials “did nothing” until President Donald Trump stepped in. “[D]omestic terrorists assaulted ICE and law enforcement officers, set fire to cop cars and blocked the streets, all while Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass sat on their tails and did nothing,” the former Auburn coach said. “This is a prime example of what happens when lawlessness goes unpunished.” In New Orleans, where protests such as the anti-Trump “No Kings Day” event last week have been massive but more orderly, Sen. Bill Cassidy added that he supports Tillis’ bill because people have the right to have their voices heard but not to “undermine people’s livelihoods.”