A group of blue states joined forces Wednesday to sue the Trump administration after it halted a program that federally funded electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The District of Columbia joined 16 states — including California, Colorado and Washington — in a suit over the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s efforts to halt Congress’ $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program to expand electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 mandated that federal agencies pause disbursement of all funds appropriated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, including NEVI program funding. 

The Federal Highway Administration notified states in February that it was revoking previous state plan approvals and withholding or withdrawing NEVI program funds.

KAROLINE LEAVITT CONDEMNS ‘DANGEROUS ATTACKS ON TESLA: ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM’

The lawsuit claims the FHWA is acting unlawfully, devastating the ability of states to build the charging infrastructure needed to make EVs accessible to more consumers, combat climate change and pollution and support the states’ green economies. 

It asks the court to declare Trump’s directives unlawful, vacate the actions and permanently stop the administration from withholding the funds. 

TESLA VEHICLES, CHARGING STATIONS TARGETED AS PROTESTERS DENOUNCE DOGE, ELON MUSK

In addition to the $300 million and $71 million in funding California and Washington stand to lose, respectively, the blue states previously adopted zero-emission vehicle standards that require a percentage of vehicles sold in the states to release zero emissions.

Washington’s laws further require all new passenger cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty vehicles sold in the state to be zero emissions by 2035. 

California’s State Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan anticipated that California would need hundreds of thousands of additional EV charging ports to support passenger cars and trucks and “incrementally more” charging ports for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses to meet climate goals, according to a news release from the state.

SUSPECTED TESLA ARSONISTS HIT WITH FEDERAL CHARGES IN ACTS OF ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM’: AG

“When America retreats, China wins,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in the release. “President Trump’s illegal action withholding funds for electric vehicle infrastructure is yet another Trump gift to China — ceding American innovation and killing thousands of jobs. Instead of hawking Teslas on the White House lawn, President Trump could actually help Elon — and the nation — by following the law and releasing this bipartisan funding.” 

The lawsuit comes as Democratic politicians, late-night hosts and political commentators have been touting Tesla’s plummeting stock and acts of vandalism against its vehicles, dealerships and charging stations.

The criminal acts have been linked by the FBI to nationwide protests against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

California, Colorado and Washington are leading the suit, joined by attorneys general from Arizona, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

We’re in the interlude between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

Derby winner Sovereignty won’t run in the Preakness coming up in Baltimore.

But House Republicans aren’t skipping out on trying to finish the big, beautiful bill. And if this were a horse race, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., would dare the pony players to bet against House Republicans when it comes to wrapping things up.

“Stop doubting us. We’re going to get this job done,” said Johnson about the plan to renew tax cuts and slash spending.

REPUBLICANS SQUABBLE OVER TRUMP SPENDING PLAN AS FISCAL YEAR 2026 LOOMS: ‘STAY UNTIL WE PASS IT’

House Republicans aren’t exactly maidens here. But the morning line might suggest House Republicans are due to lose in this sweepstakes.

Like the Triple Crown, there are three steps to this legislative tournament. And Republicans are now on to the final leg of a legislative trifecta.

It was a photo finish in February when House Republicans barely adopted the framework for the tax cut and spending reduction measure. The House GOP leadership appeared to make the vote a late scratch – with Members fleeing the Capitol, only to have them recalled to the House chamber moments later. The Republican leadership brass shored up support for the plan and the House passed it.

It was a repeat in April when House Republicans tried to align with the Senate on their version of the blueprint. Republicans managed to lug the framework across the finish line by a nose, 216-214. Flip one vote and that would have produced a tie. A tie vote would have sent the big, beautiful bill out to a big, beautiful pasture.

House Republicans were only in the money on the Senate framework after conservatives secured some commitments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., that senators would make substantial spending cuts.

But when it comes to actually finishing this version of the bill, House Republicans are barely a furlong into the race.

A debate rages about what Republicans should address in the bill. Passage hinges on what’s in or out.

“Everybody’s going to have to give, including, the SALT provision,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., referring to a potential deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT. “There’s a happy medium that will have to be met to get the cuts.”

Moderate Republicans from high tax states like New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey will demand the deduction in order to secure their votes for the entire plan. Norman noted that “each individual state’s going to have to have some pain” before this goes to the finish line.

“We’re going to find the equilibrium point on SALT that no one will be totally delighted with,” said Johnson. “But it’ll solve the equation and we’ll get it done.”

USER’S MANUAL TO WALTZ’S NSA EXIT AND ITS REVERBERATIONS ON CAPITOL HILL

“We’re in a very good place as it relates to not just the SALT deduction,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., “The people like the ones I represent in Staten Island and Brooklyn desperately need this relief because our mayor and our governor keep hammering us over the head with high taxes.”

There are also items President Trump insists that lawmakers tuck into the bill.

“No tax on tips. No tax on overtime,” echoed House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

But the toughest decisions of all center around changes – or cuts – to entitlement programs. Republicans have bandied around the idea that they could save up to $550 billion from waste and fraud in Medicaid over a decade. But there’s evidence that figure is markedly lower. Republicans disagree.

“Some of the information we’ve uncovered would indicate that (the improper payments figure) is much higher,” said Johnson. “We’re going to try to eliminate that. And I think we owe that to the taxpayers.”

But Democrats aren’t buying that.

“They’re lying to the American people,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Democrats argue Republicans might cook the books to cover the cost of the tax breaks and shore up possible holes in the deficit.

“They’re going to make up whatever numbers they want,” said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the ranking Democrat on Energy and Commerce Committee. “They know they can’t reach these numbers.”

One item expected in the bill: a major hike in the debt ceiling.

“When is X date?” asked Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing.

The “X date” refers to when the federal government exhausts its ability to cover its obligations.

“As an outfielder running for a fly ball, we are on the warning track. When you’re on the warning track, it means the wall is not that far away,” replied Bessent.

Or, coming up the side rail.

But Bessent added that the government “will not default.”

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHERE WE STAND WITH TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Lawmakers grilled cabinet members about trimming departments at hearings this week. Such was the case when Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins appeared before a Senate panel.

“You are taking a meat cleaver approach. There’s that old adage. Measure twice. Cut once. You guys have been cutting without measuring,” charged Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.

“I’ve not cut anything yet,” responded Collins.

The Secretary added that there was a “goal” to restructure his department and cut significant numbers of jobs.

“Do you want to reach your goal or not?” asked Hassan.

“The goal is not a fact,” replied Collins.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins also found herself testifying about efforts to shrink her department before another Senate panel. She conceded that slimming government is hard.

“Have we done it perfectly? No. Any type of scale change and big effort to basically realign an entire government agency is difficult,” said Rollins.

Democrats warn that Republicans will rue the day when they approve deep cuts.

“Each Republican who votes for reconciliation and bad budgets will be left holding that hot potato,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer,” D-N.Y.

One senior House conservative told Fox they thought passing the bill would be “easy” compared to the other two rounds. Another conservative and a moderate Republican argued it would be harder. Much harder.

The best gamblers know that it’s best to quit when you’re ahead. House Republicans managed to eke out victories in the first two rounds. One argument is that they have momentum. Horse sense would tell you that the odds are against them.

But this is Capitol Hill. And you never know how things are going to turn out.

Mike Johnson and Republicans have no other choice. They promised the public they would pass the bill. President Trump expects it. There are no other options.

Pacing is everything in horseracing. A good jockey knows how to coax a burst of energy out of their horse at the right minute. When to give them the whip.

We’re looking at you, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.

So the crowd is roaring. The hooves are thundering. Mud and dirt are flying. The stewards are watching.

Johnson contends the House isn’t off the pace with its goal of passing the package by Memorial Day. But Republicans are trying to pass a very complex bill with a tiny majority. It’s like running on a sloppy track. Republicans gallop down the homestretch soon.

The next few weeks will be a wild ride.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg pressed Justice Department lawyers Wednesday evening over public comments President Donald Trump and other Cabinet officials made about deportation proceeding under the Alien Enemies Act— and floated the idea of moving some migrants to Guantanamo Bay.

During the hearing, Boasberg specifically pressed Justice Department lawyers over statements made by Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem about CECOT, the maximum-security prison in El Salvador where the U.S. has deported hundreds of migrants, as well as the White House’s ability to secure someone’s release.

He asked specifically about Trump’s remarks in an interview with ABC News, in which Trump told ABC News that he “could” secure the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian man and alleged gang member,  back to the U.S. from El Salvador if he chose to.

“Is the president not telling the truth?” Boasberg asked Justice Department lawyer Abishek Kambl. “Or could he secure his release?” 

The question goes to the heart of whether El Salvador has custody of the deported migrants, a major question at the heart of the case.

He also grilled Kambli over Noem’s comment that CECOT is “one of the tools in our toolkit the U.S. “can use” against individauls who “commit crimes against the American people,” and comments from as well as comments from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that the U.S. has provided $6 million dollars to El Salvador to house migrants at the infamous CECOT prison.

In response, Kambli said these remarks sometimes “lack nuance.” 

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

“That goes toward the president’s belief about the influence that he has.” “Influence does not equate to constructive custody.”

Trump officials have sought to portray Boasberg, a high-profile judge in D.C., as the face of judicial overreach and today’s hearing could put him back in their crosshairs.

Unlike the previous lawsuit heard by Boasberg in March, which sought to temporarily block Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport certain U.S. migrants, plaintiffs are asking the court to hear a larger request for more lasting relief.

The preliminary injunction was filed as a class, and seeks to protect two classes of migrants: Detainees already removed from the U.S. to the infamous Salvadorian prison, as well as those still detained on U.S. soil at risk of imminent removal.

 TRUMP ADMIN SEEKS EMERGENCY RELIEF OF BOASBERG CONTEMPT THREAT

Plaintiffs are seeking broader and more lasting relief for two sub-classes, or groups of individuals at risk of what they argue is “grave and irreparable harm” under the Alien Enemies Act.

For U.S. detainees who could be removed under the law, plaintiffs asked for an order blocking their removal under AEA and requiring the Trump administration to provide them with at least 30 days notice before any planned removals – notice they said would be sufficient to allow them to challenge their removals in U.S. court. 

Migrants who were already deported to CECOT could face a trickier path to relief.

TRUMP DEMANDS SUPREME COURT STEP IN AFTER FEDERAL JUDGES BLOCK HIS AGENDA: ‘THESE PEOPLE ARE LUNATICS’

Plaintiffs asked Boasberg in their amended request to order the Trump administration to not only facilitate the return of already deported migrants, but to take “all reasonable steps” to do so. 

This could include requiring the administration to request any contractors or agents in El Salvador to transfer the individuals from CECOT and into the “physical custody” of the U.S., they said. 

It’s unclear whether the Trump administration will take any steps to comply with the order, should Boasberg move to grant the injunctive relief plaintiffs are seeking. If their responses have been any indication, compliance in the near-term seems unlikely.

4 MORE DEMS TRAVEL TO EL SALVADOR TO PUSH FOR ABREGO GARCIA’S RETURN TO US

The hearing comes as the Trump administration has grown increasingly defiant in the face of court orders to return migrants from CECOT back to the U.S. – including two migrants who were erroneously deported to the maximum security prison in March, and ordered back to the U.S. by two separate federal judges.

The administration has refused to return them. So far, the Trump administration has not said whether it has returned any migrants deported from the U.S. to CECOT under the law.

And the identities of these individuals can be difficult to track: To date, the Trump administration has not released a list of the names of individuals it has deported to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act‚ and the Salvadorian government has also shielded their identities from public disclosure.

The administration’s growing resistance on the issue has sparked fresh concern from Trump critics and some court observers, who have cited fears that the administration could be testing their boundaries on executive branch authorities.

Plaintiffs also cited fears of real harm to the migrants. 

They said in their filing that, absent injunctive relief, the Trump administration “will be free to send hundreds more individuals to the notorious Salvadoran prison, where they may be held incommunicado for the rest of their lives.”

FIRST ON FOX: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier fired back Wednesday at an Obama-appointed Miami federal judge who attempted to halt enforcement of a state immigration law.

Uthmeier told Fox News Digital he submitted a motion to the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit to stay a motion to halt Florida’s illegal immigration law.

“As the late Justice Scalia once said, ‘If securing its territory in this fashion is not within the power of [Florida], we should cease referring to it as a sovereign state,'” Uthmeier said. “My office will fight this judge’s order to the top if we must and continue being the Trump administration’s best partner in the mission to remove every illegal alien and protect our state and nation’s sovereignty.”

Uthmeier had originally told Judge Kathleen Williams he could not tell his law enforcement officers not to enforce the state’s new law making it a misdemeanor for illegal immigrants to enter Florida to avoid the feds.

FLA AG TO REBUFF JUDGE WHO ORDERED HALT TO STATE IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT: THE COURT HAS OVERSTEPPED

Williams ruled the law violated the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, while Uthmeier countered he couldn’t order the Florida Highway Patrol to stop any enforcement because it wasn’t party to the order.

“Florida cops don’t need my permission to do their jobs. And the judge can’t order law enforcement officers to stand down when they aren’t even parties to the case,” Uthmeier told Fox News Digital exclusively Wednesday.

“This is Law 101. She doesn’t have jurisdiction. We hope the appellate court will fix the problems the lower court created and reaffirm that, as ‘the least dangerous branch,’ district court judges must stay in their constitutional lane.”

FLORIDA AG LAUNCHES OFFICE OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, LENDING LEGAL FIREPOWER TO DFEEND PARENTS’ ‘GOD-GIVEN RIGHT’

In his filing, Uthmeier argued Florida did “nothing more … [but] to aid the United States in curbing illegal immigration within the state’s borders” and didn’t take any actions that would violate the Constitution.

“SB 4-C (the law) criminalizes the entry into Florida of those who have illegally entered the United States. That law tracks federal law to a tee.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Florida law defines an ‘unauthorized alien’ as ‘a person who is unlawfully present in the United States according to the terms of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act.’

“I do not believe an AG should be held in contempt for respecting the rule of law and appropriate separation of powers. The ACLU is dead set on obstructing President Donald Trump’s efforts to detain and deport illegals, and we are going to fight back. We will vigorously defend our laws and advance President Trump’s agenda on illegal immigration.”

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…

–Vance previews US-Iran nuclear talks, says Trump ‘open’ to sitting down with Russians, Chinese in future

-Congress moves to address air traffic controller crisis as Newark meltdown sparks alarm

-205 arrested in FBI child sex operation, Patel and Bondi announce

A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to immediately resettle some 12,000 refugees into the U.S. under a court order that partially blocks President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at halting the refugee admissions program. 

U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, a 2023 appointee of former President Joe Biden, issued the order despite the Trump administration saying during a hearing last week that it should only have to process 160 refugees into the country and would likely appeal any order requiring thousands to be admitted.

“This Court will not entertain the Government’s result-oriented rewriting of a judicial order that clearly says what it says,” Whitehead wrote Monday. “The Government is free, of course, to seek further clarification from the Ninth Circuit. But the Government is not free to disobey statutory and constitutional law — and the direct orders of this Court and the Ninth Circuit — while it seeks such clarification.”…READ MORE

ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ: Trump pushes to reopen infamous California prison, but Pelosi and Newsom dismiss it as a ‘distraction’

CAMPUS PROBE: University of Washington faces Trump admin antisemitism scrutiny over anti-Israel protests

COMPLIANCE NOTED: How many Americans are actually ready for REAL ID? Compliance crosses partisan, geographic bounds

SUMMER BUMMER: New travel rules, same confusion: ‘Real ID’ raises questions, concerns among college-aged travelers

‘YOU’LL BE OKAY’: Top TSA official explains what to do if you do not have REAL ID

‘ITS A DISASTER’: Trump offers to help Obama with presidential library troubles

ACT OF WAR’: Pakistan calls India’s strikes an ‘act of war’ and claims it shot down Indian fighter jets

‘A LITTLE PATIENCE’: Cardinals gather in St. Peter’s Basilica for final Mass before conclave to choose new pope

TEHRAN TORTURE: Family of American hostage tortured in Lebanon wins landmark case against Iran

SIGNALS CROSSE: China’s spying in Cuba sparks alarm on Capitol Hill after fresh satellite images show surveillance buildup

‘DURABLE PEACE’: Vance says Russia’s demands are too high, but there’s still a path to resolution of Ukraine war

LIKE ‘GOODFELLAS’: Fetterman slams ‘dumb hit piece’ about health, says it felt like being in classic mob movie

HAT IN THE RING: Illinois Rep. Krishnamoorthi jumps into crowded Democratic race for Senate

INTIMIDATION AND THREATS: Durbin calls on DOJ to investigate anonymous pizza deliveries to judges’ homes

ROCK BOTTOM: President Trump’s approval ratings slide, but Democrats’ poll numbers drop to new lows

‘ALARMING’: Antisemitism spiking around the world, ADL finds in its first-ever global report

HUNTING PREDATORS: FBI targets 250 suspects in ‘764’ network of online predators manipulating kids into violent, explicit videos

DISTURBING DETAILS: Riley Gaines says ‘literal human feces’ thrown in protest of Turning Point USA at University of Washington

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON: Son of independent U.S. senator mounts Maine gubernatorial bid

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

President Donald Trump revealed a new pick for surgeon general on Wednesday, saying he will now nominate Dr. Casey Means for the job.

“Casey has impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials, and will work closely with our wonderful Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans,” Trump said late Wednesday afternoon in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. “Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History.”

Means, a vocal “Make America Healthy Again” proponent, played a big role in helping shape the administration’s agenda surrounding health, alongside her brother, Calley Means.

Calley Means has been tapped by the administration to serve as a special advisor to Secretary Kennedy.

FOOD DYES TO BE PHASED OUT BY TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IN LATEST ROUND OF BANS

Trump previously announced he would nominate Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a former Fox News contributor, to be surgeon general.

It’s unclear why Nesheiwat’s nomination was pulled. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for more information. 

Trump added in his post that Secretary Kennedy “looks forward to working with Dr. Janette Nesheiwat in another capacity at HHS.”

TRUMP’S SURGEON GENERAL PICK TOUTED AS ‘FIERCE’ MAHA ADVOCATE BEFORE CONFIRMATION HEARING

Meanwhile, in a follow-up post on X, Nesheiwat also said she was “looking forward” to continuing to support Trump while working closely with Secretary Kennedy “in a senior policy role.” 

“My focus continues to be on improving the health and well-being of all Americans, and that mission hasn’t changed,” Nesheiwat concluded in her public social media remarks.  

President Donald Trump’s executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government has returned financial power to the people, OJ Oleka, CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation, told Fox News Digital. 

Oleka said there’s a “new sheriff in town” and that Trump is “making good” on his promise to eliminate DEI by shifting financial policies “away from the left and back to the center,” empowering state financial officers and building trust with the American people. 

“We know that when companies focus on business, their business does better. If their business does better, shareholders make more money, their employees have a better quality of life within their business and their consumers get a better product,” Oleka told Fox News Digital at the State Financial Officers Foundation conference in Orlando, Florida. 

Oleka said focusing on financial returns and merit-based incentives over DEI or environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies creates “more money for shareholders, better culture in the office for employees and better products for consumers and customers,” exactly what state financial officers have been asking for. 

WHITE HOUSE VOWS TO IMPLEMENT ‘SYSTEM OF MERIT’ IN US, DISMANTLE DEI ‘STRANGULATION’

“The American people want every individual to succeed,” Oleka said. “They want people to succeed on their merit, on their ability, on their skill. It’s very important to us as Americans. But what they don’t want is for people to get preferences just because of some political ideology.” 

He said there are misconceptions about DEI “because people hear diversity, equity and inclusion, and they think, ‘Well, those are good things. I support diversity. I want people to be included, and people should have the resources that they need.’

“To be very clear, when we’re talking about DEI, we’re saying that DEI is trying to provide racial or gender preferences for people based on past grievances. It effectively has nothing to do with merit or looking at somebody’s skill for a job or for an opportunity.” 

MAJOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER ACCUSED OF HIDING DEI PROGRAMS, INFLUENTIAL SENATOR CALLS THEM OUT

Equal opportunity is giving people access to create their own opportunities, to try to be as successful as they can be with their skills, ability and merit, according to Oleka. 

Oleka explained that DEI is subjective because it prefers “folks based on what you think is important, based on your own politics.”

“It’s bad to say, from a company’s perspective, ‘Let’s just hire people based on race, based on gender,’ as opposed to skill and ability,” Oleka said.

“It’s bad because it can harm the performance of what that company actually does with their business responsibilities. That matters to our financial officers because they invest in a lot of these companies. It’s their job as fiduciary leaders to make sure that the pensions that they invest, the public funds that they invest by virtue of their positions, are actually done so by companies and with funds where the returns are going to be high.

“We can’t guarantee that the returns are going to be as high as they can be if the companies aren’t even focusing on their specific mandate, on their responsibility. Instead, they’re focusing on their politics and trying to force an ideology or social agenda through their businesses. That’s not what business is for.” 

Oleka said his experience as someone with a Ph.D. in higher education who is also the son of Nigerian immigrants informs his rejection of political ideology or agendas in government-funded programs, including in public education, because these policies don’t improve students’ learning experience or academic performance. 

“That doesn’t actually contribute to kids’ learning,” Oleka said. “It doesn’t contribute to human flourishing. There really is no reason why people’s taxpayer dollars should be spent on that.”

Oleka told Fox News Digital the Orlando conference was critical to reminding state financial officers across the country they are not alone in pushing back against DEI and ESG policies that were promoted by former President Joe Biden’s administration. 

“It goes back to what I think most Americans believe. Their state government is closer to them than the federal government,” he said. “As a result, state leaders should have more power, as it relates to their finances, than the federal government, and what a state leader should do with that power is give it back to the people.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

By empowering state financial officers to focus on financial returns and fiduciary duty instead of ideology and politics, Oleka said more Americans are incentivized financially. 

“It’s important that we have that same kind of leadership in the White House at the state level, making good on their promise to bring a Golden Age to America and to each state,” he said. 

As airports across the country are reporting relatively few issues on the first day of REAL ID enforcement, at least one aviation expert and former pilot tells Fox News Digital he doesn’t expect that kind of peace to last.

“From an airport operations perspective, neither [George W. Bush Intercontinental] or [Houston-Hobby] have responded to any issues,” a representative for Houston’s airports authority said Wednesday.

The official added that Texas law enforcement began issuing REAL IDs nine years ago and that the Lone Star State is well covered with 90% of its population listed as having a REAL ID.

On the other side of the country, an official with the Port Authority, which operates JFK, La Guardia and Newark-Liberty in the New York City area, said there were “no issues” at the latter.

IDENTITY OF SECOND DEPORTED MAN WHO JUDGE WANTS RETURNED TO US REVEALED AS TRUMP ADMIN FIGHTS ORDER

A Fox News producer reporting from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey was able to go through security with an escort to get lunch without issue.

Officials at Newark Liberty were giving a slip of paper to passengers not yet REAL ID compliant as part of phase 1 of the rollout.

Moving down the Jersey Turnpike to Philadelphia, an official said they are having a “smooth REAL ID Day.”

“Checkpoint lines have been flowing all day and the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has had staff on hand to answer questions and process passengers,” the official said.

“PHL (Philadelphia International Airport) also had its customer care team pre-security to greet passengers and answer or direct questions. We saw most passengers ready with passports or the REAL ID state-issued identification as they approached the checkpoints.”

At the other end of I-95, Miami International Airport reported normal traffic at checkpoints and underlined that over the past year, the hub has partnered with the TSA to communicate with passengers, including terminal-wide signage, about the REAL ID deadline and alternate forms of identification.

REAL ID RENEWS AMERICA’S AGE-OLD DREAD OF THE DMV

At Charlotte-Douglas in North Carolina, wait times averaged 10 minutes throughout the day, and an official said its staff had been “well-prepared” for the adjustment.

At the busiest airport in the U.S., an official said everything was running smoothly.

“I was just downstairs (near the checkpoint). We did not see any adverse impact,” said Herschel Grangent Jr. of Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta.

Boston-Logan officials echoed that assessment, adding they also utilized the same advertising strategy as Miami for its REAL ID deadline preparation.

“At Logan, our customer service team will have extra staff on hand during the rollout to greet passengers and remind them to have their IDs out before they get into the TSA line,” an official said.

However, former commercial and private pilot Ryan Tseko told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday interview that any lull won’t last for long.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The amount of delays it’s going to put on the system is massive,” said Tseko, who formerly worked for United Express and is now a vice president at Cardone Capital.

“I don’t think the public was aware. I think it wasn’t clear,” he said, adding he expects a bottleneck at airports.

“A lot of these people are students who now have to drive up to 12 hours back and forth.”

He predicted that when issues begin appearing, there will be calls to delay full implementation once again, as has been the norm since the Bush era.

Fox News’ Courtney DeGeorge contributed to this report.

Protesters gathered outside Illinois governor JB Pritzker’s mansion on Wednesday thinking that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was holding a presser around the property. 

Secretary Noem did hold a press conference in Illinois on Wednesday, but it was more than half a mile away from the governor’s mansion, leaving the protesters “screaming” into the wind. 

“While we aren’t entirely sure what the protesters were protesting (we aren’t sure they know either), or why they were screaming in front of their governor’s mansion, we stand with every victim of illegal immigrant crime,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital.

BLUE STATE GOVERNOR VOWS ‘RESISTANCE’ AS TRUMP ADMIN TARGETS SANCTUARY POLICIES

“Secretary Noem went to Springfield, Illinois to join Angel families to call for the end of dangerous sanctuary city policies under J.B. Pritzker and bring attention to an at-large illegal alien murderer who has been evading justice for two years for the stabbing of Emma Shafer.” 

As protesters shouted outside Pritzker’s mansion, Noem’s presser was held at the site where Emma Shafer, 24, was stabbed to death by Grabriel Calixto Pichardo, 25, an illegal migrant who is wanted on three first-degree murder charges and an aggravated domestic battery charge. Pichardo was reportedly dating Shafer at the time of the murder. 

Noem was also joined by the “Angel families” of Denny McCann and Jimmy Walden, who both lost their lives to illegal migrant crime. 

DHS UNLEASHES POSSIBLE MONEY-SAVING MEASURE FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS TO SELF-DEPORT: ‘SAFEST OPTION’

McCann was crossing the street on foot when he was hit, killed, and dragged down the road by Saul Chavez, an illegal immigrant who was drunk driving. Chavez was arrested and charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI, but disappeared for 11 years after being released on bond. He wasn’t apprehended until 2022.  

Walden was killed when an illegal alien, who had previously been deported twice, crashed into Walden’s motorcycle in Maryland. His father lives in Illinois. 

ILLINOIS FATHER SLAMS DEM GOVERNOR OVER SANCTUARY POLICIES

The purpose of the presser was to spotlight the sanctuary status of the state, and to call on the potential presidential candidate to “abandon these dangerous sanctuary policies.”

Pritzker responded to the presser with a statement on Wednesday.

“Unlike Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, Illinois follows the law,” the Illinois governor explained. The Trump Administration is violating the United States Constitution, denying people due process, and disappearing law-abiding neighbors – including children who are U.S. citizens. Yet, they are taking no real action to promote public safety and deport violent criminals within the clear and defined legal process.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Illinoisans are sending a clear message to Trump’s lackeys that we will not let you mess with us without a resistance,” Pritzker concluded. 

Language in a new budget bill up for a vote later Wednesday evening could put New York taxpayers on the hook for state Attorney General Letitia James’ legal fees in a fraud case being brought against her by the Trump administration. 

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued her proposed $254 billion budget last week, and the state legislature is set to begin voting on it this week. On Wednesday evening, Republicans and Democrats in the legislature will vote on the draft version of the state operations section of the budget. 

That section, according to a draft copy provided to Fox News Digital by the state Republican Party, includes language that would compel taxpayers to provide the money for a legal defense fund, that, while James is not named in the bill, would theoretically cover the New York attorney general’s legal costs pertaining to fraud allegations brought against her by the Trump administration’s Federal Housing Finance Agency.

TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES LEADING CHARGE ON NEW MULTISTATE LAWSUIT OVER HHS CUTS

The draft language, compiled by the Democrat-controlled executive branch, Senate majority and Assembly majority, would set aside $10 million for elected officials in the state to use for their legal defense when the case is in direct response to the official’s exercise of their duties. 

James’ attorney, Abbe Lowell, who was obtained for her by the New York State Attorney General’s Office, characterized the Trump administration’s mortgage fraud claims against James as “political retribution” for her decision to go after Donald Trump over allegations he falsified business documents to obtain favorable business positions.

NY AG’S OFFICE HIRES ATTORNEY THAT REPPED HUNTER BIDEN TO DEFEND LETITIA JAMES AGAINST FRAUD ACCUSATIONS

According to the draft language of the New York operations budget bill, a state official would be permitted to use money from the legal defense fund if the official has previously had interactions with the U.S. government or a U.S. government official in the course of their official duties. There are additional criteria which would also apply to James, particularly when considering her former case brought against Trump that led to the first ever felony conviction of a U.S. president. 

The sources who provided the operations budget draft language said it should be made publicly available some time Wednesday. 

ETHICS COMPLAINT AGAINST LETITIA JAMES CALLS FOR NY STATE COURTS TO INVESTIGATE TRUMP ADMIN FRAUD CLAIMS

“Donald Trump promised a vicious revenge tour when he ran in 2024, and he’s put Attorney General James at the top of his list, and we’re ready to respond to these attacks,” a spokesperson for James told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. The spokesperson added that James plans to use both private and public state funds to mount her defense.

Meanwhile, New York GOP Chair Ed Cox told the New York Post that “this is what corruption looks like.” 

“Political insiders rigging the system to protect their own, while hardworking families get shortchanged,” Cox accused in a statement to the New York Post. “Tish James used her office to wage partisan lawfare against her political opponents, and now New Yorkers are footing the bill for the consequences.”

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg will hear from Trump administration lawyers and the ACLU on Wednesday evening in a second court case focused on President Donald Trump‘s use of the 1789 Alien Enemies Act to deport certain migrants.

Trump officials have sought to portray Boasberg, a high-profile judge in D.C., as the face of judicial overreach and today’s hearing could put him back in their crosshairs.

Unlike the previous lawsuit heard by Boasberg in March, which sought to temporarily block Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport certain U.S. migrants, plaintiffs are asking the court to hear a larger request for more lasting relief.

The preliminary injunction was filed as a class, and seeks to protect two classes of migrants: Detainees already removed from the U.S. to the infamous Salvadorian prison, as well as those still detained on U.S. soil at risk of imminent removal.

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

Plaintiffs are seeking broader and more lasting relief for two sub-classes, or groups of individuals at risk of what they argue is “grave and irreparable harm” under the Alien Enemies Act.

For U.S. detainees who could be removed under the law, plaintiffs asked for an order blocking their removal under AEA and requiring the Trump administration to provide them with at least 30 days notice before any planned removals – notice they said would be sufficient to allow them to challenge their removals in U.S. court. 

Migrants who were already deported to CECOT could face a trickier path to relief.

Plaintiffs asked Boasberg in their amended request to order the Trump administration to not only facilitate the return of already deported migrants, but to take “all reasonable steps” to do so. 

This could include requiring the administration to request any contractors or agents in El Salvador to transfer the individuals from CECOT and into the “physical custody” of the U.S., they said. 

It’s unclear whether the Trump administration will take any steps to comply with the order, should Boasberg move to grant the injunctive relief plaintiffs are seeking. If their responses have been any indication, compliance in the near-term seems unlikely.

The hearing comes as the Trump administration has grown increasingly defiant in the face of court orders to return migrants from CECOT back to the U.S. – including two migrants who were erroneously deported to the maximum security prison in March, and ordered back to the U.S. by two separate federal judges.

The administration has refused to return them. So far, the Trump administration has not said whether it has returned any migrants deported from the U.S. to CECOT under the law.

And the identities of these individuals can be difficult to track: To date, the Trump administration has not released a list of the names of individuals it has deported to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act‚ and the Salvadorian government has also shielded their identities from public disclosure.

The administration’s growing recalcitrance on the issue has sparked fresh concern from Trump critics and some court observers, who have cited fears that the administration could be testing their boundaries on executive branch authorities.

Plaintiffs also cited fears of real harm to the migrants. 

They said in their filing that, absent injunctive relief, the Trump administration “will be free to send hundreds more individuals to the notorious Salvadoran prison, where they may be held incommunicado for the rest of their lives.”

Families who lost loved ones to crimes committed by those in the country illegally took aim at sanctuary policies in Illinois and across the country at a press conference with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Wednesday.

Among the speakers was Jim Walden, an Illinois resident who lost his son, Jimmy, several years ago in a motorcycle incident while Jimmy was stationed in Maryland.

“My son was serving in the United States Marine Corps in the intel field. He worked for the National Security Agency. Jimmy was 21 years old,” Walden said.

TRUMP SAYS MEXICAN PRESIDENT IS AFRAID OF CARTELS AFTER SHE REJECTED HIS OFFER TO SEND US TROOPS TO MEXICO

“He was hit and killed by his motorcycle by an illegal that the state of Maryland admitted they knew was illegal five years before he killed my son. And in that five-year period, they had had him in jail five times. He was convicted of domestic violence and put on probation, and he was illegal. He would have been 30 years old yesterday.

“For our governor to get on national television and say that he’s gonna stand up and protect these people is a gut punch to anybody that’s lost one,” Walden said of Gov. JB Pritzker.

“I just call on Gov. Pritzker to be a true governor and stand by the federal laws and deport every one of them, every one. I don’t care if they’re two or 20 or 80. Send them back. We have a path to citizenship. It’s called the naturalization process.”

BLUE STATE REPUBLICAN CALLS ON COUNTY SHERIFFS TO DEFY SANCTUARY LAW, DEM GOVERNOR RUMORED FOR 2028 RUN

Noem said she did the press conference there at the “direction of President Trump today to draw attention to the dangerous policies of Illinois and the Illinois governor and what he has perpetuated as far as violence and criminality against his citizens here in this state.” 

President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order asking DHS and the Department of Justice to treat “sanctuary jurisdictions” as states and localities that could lose federal funding.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

“Springfield needs attention specifically because of the victims that have been here, but also because of the laws that come out of this city that impact the entire state that is protecting illegal criminals and not prioritizing American citizens and the citizens of this great state,” the secretary added.

She also noted that the location of the event had a special meaning. 

“But we’re standing here on this block today because this is the block where a young woman was killed just a couple of houses away from here. Emma Shafer was brutally stabbed and murdered by an illegal alien who was released into the United States by the Biden administration,” Noem explained.

Pritzker called the event a “publicity stunt” and took aim at the administration’s immigration policies.

BLUE CITY MAYOR SAYS ICE ARRESTS OF DANGEROUS CRIMINALS ARE NOT ‘FOCUSED ON MAKING US SAFER’

“Unlike Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, Illinois follows the law,” Pritzker said in a statement about Noem’s visit. “The Trump administration is violating the United States Constitution, denying people due process and disappearing law-abiding neighbors, including children who are U.S. citizens. Yet, they are taking no real action to promote public safety and deport violent criminals within the clear and defined legal process.

“Trump-Noem publicity stunts do not make our communities safer or our immigration system smarter. Illinois doesn’t need to abuse power or ignore the Constitution to keep our people safe. Like the millions of Americans asking for sensible, humane immigration reform, I encourage the secretary to spend less time performing for Fox News and more time protecting the homeland.”

FIRST ON FOX: Undercover phone calls released today by pro-life activist group Live Action reveal that Planned Parenthood clinics across several states offer cross-sex hormonal treatments to minors as young as 16 with very little parental or medical supervision.

The group is now calling on Congress to defund Planned Parenthood of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding. 

Live Action conducted an undercover investigation in which a woman posing as a 16-year-old minor called dozens of Planned Parenthood locations seeking “gender-affirming care.” At least seven facilities told her they would prescribe cross-sex hormones at the first appointment.

In several instances, Planned Parenthood assured the caller that she could choose to meet with a provider virtually and have access to cross-sex hormones as quickly as the same day, despite the person posing as a minor saying they had just begun considering changing her sex. Facilities in Minnesota and Oregon stated they could schedule the minor within days or on the same day.

Five facilities stated that no prior therapy, mental health clearance or prior documentation was needed for her to obtain cross-sex hormones.

‘GENDER-AFFIRMING’ TREATMENTS DON’T BENEFIT YOUTH, SAYS PEDIATRICIANS GROUP: ‘IRREVERSIBLE CONSEQUENCES’

In addition to being the country’s largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood is also one of the leading distributors of sex-change drugs.

Cross-sex hormonal treatments, such as taking either testosterone or estrogen, are meant to alter the body to exhibit characteristics to conform with a person’s “gender identity.” Besides altering the natural makeup and functions of the body, cross-sex hormonal treatments can result in several harmful side effects, including permanent infertility.

Live Action President Lila Rose told Fox News Digital that the investigation exposes “a chilling reality” that “Planned Parenthood is fast-tracking vulnerable children into irreversible hormone treatments with almost no medical oversight.”

“These dangerous drugs can sterilize, stunt growth and leave lifelong scars. This is not healthcare. It is child abuse, and it must be stopped,” she said.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD UNDER INVESTIGATION BY JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OVER SALE OF FETAL TISSUE

Live Action is calling on Congress to defund Planned Parenthood of all tax-dollar funding it receives from the federal government.

“Planned Parenthood receives more than $700 million in taxpayer dollars every year. That is a catastrophe, and it must end,” said Rose. “It’s time for Congress and the president to act and defund this abusive corporation of the $700 million they receive from taxpayers every year.”  

This comes shortly after Fox News Digital reported that House Republicans are discussing measures that could potentially end federal funding of groups like Planned Parenthood as cost savings in their multitrillion-dollar bill advancing President Donald Trump‘s agenda.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Two sources close to the House Energy and Commerce Committee told Fox News Digital that the move was being floated as lawmakers look to find at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to offset the cost of Trump’s tax priorities.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said last week that Republicans would target “big abortion” in the budget reconciliation process.

Planned Parenthood did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

More than 4 million youth and young-adult families face homelessness, statistics show, prompting rare bipartisan action in Congress to expand federal support and address the growing crisis.

Sens. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., and Katie Britt, R-Ala., will introduce the Homeless Children & Youth Act on Wednesday, which is the former’s first piece of major bipartisan legislation in her short tenure since being sworn-in in January.

Officials must ensure that children experiencing homelessness can get the support they need to exit that situation for good, Alsobrooks told Fox News Digital.

“This legislation will begin to close the barrier to services for many young families and is a true action to one of my guiding principles: ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ No person deserves to experience homelessness, and HCYA is an important step in ending homelessness in our communities and breaking generational cycles,” she said.

NEW LAW CLAMPS DOWN ON HOMELESS AS BLUE CITY ADVOCATE ADMITS THE ‘FRUSTRATION’ IS JUSTIFIED

Britt added, “No child should be prevented from receiving the critical assistance they need,” and that the bill will “streamline” the definition of homelessness across all federal agencies.

The bill seeks to better define homelessness in a federal context in order to provide fuller resources. In that current code, in some areas of government, it excludes counting youths who stay with people other than their parents or live in motel rooms as experiencing homelessness, while other federal programs consider them so.

It would also “improve visibility and understanding” of the issue, as proponents said youth are often overlooked as a bloc of people that can face homelessness.

By standardizing the definition of youth homelessness, and also opening up more federal resources to affected people, the bill will help communities break the cycle, proponents said.

TRUMP SAYS DC MAYOR BOWSER MUST CLEAN UP HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS IN THE CAPITAL

Youth homelessness has been an issue in the Washington, D.C., area, where Alsobrooks led a collar county for several years prior to defeating former Gov. Larry Hogan for her current seat.

During her time as Prince George’s County executive, the county established the Youth Action Board, which aims to directly address the crisis from a young person’s perspective.

In 2024, Alsobrooks credited the Department of Housing and Urban Development for an additional $2 million grant to assist organizations in Prince George’s that combat youth homelessness.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In nearby Frederick County, north of the nation’s capital, one homeless assistance group praised the legislation.

“Programs like ours could serve these youth immediately upon experiencing homelessness,” Melissa Muntz of Student Homelessness Initiative Partnership of Frederick told Fox News Digital.

“Shortening a young person’s period of homelessness by providing immediate support increases the likelihood that the youth will remain connected to school,” Muntz said.

“We know that youth who do not graduate from high school are significantly more likely to experience homelessness as adults, making this an early intervention to prevent adult homelessness.”

At least 15 other homelessness advocacy groups have also endorsed the act, according to its sponsors.

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans introduced a bill Wednesday, the Punishing Illegal Immigrant Felons Act, which would dramatically increase penalties for criminal activity by illegal immigrants, something the bill’s sponsors believe can help deliver a death blow to organized crime by illegals in the U.S.

Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., said the bill already has robust support in the House and that key members of the Trump administration have been very “supportive.”

This comes as the Trump administration has moved quickly to lock down the border and begin arresting the “worst of the worst” illegal aliens present in the country. The Trump administration has promised to be “ruthlessly aggressive” in cracking down on illegal criminal groups endangering Americans.

However, Knott, who introduced the bill Wednesday, told Fox News Digital that, from his experience as a prosecutor, he believes Congress must act quickly to secure the permanent changes needed to deter many of the hardened criminals who have made organized crime in the U.S. “big business.”

NOEM CALLS FOR THE DEATH PENALTY FOLLOWING MARITIME HUMAN SMUGGLING ATTEMPT THAT LEFT CHILD DEAD

“There is a very real set group of criminals that a wall and deportations alone is wholly insufficient to deter them from coming to the United States to commit crime,” Knott said. “I have prosecuted people who were deported more than ten times. Yet they come back exclusively to commit crime, whether that is human trafficking, whether it’s drug trafficking, whether it’s money laundering, you name it.” 

Knott said, up until now, there has been an “incentive” for criminals, including members of migrant gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, to come to the U.S. “because they are able to enrich themselves with very low risk of extreme cost.”

“Two years is no deterrent,” he said. “I prosecuted cartel members, and if they got a 24-month sentence, a two-year sentence, it would not interrupt their criminal operation at all.”

During his time as a federal prosecutor, Knott said, instances of illegal felons returning to commit more crimes after being deported were “too many to remember.”

BLUE CITY MAYOR SAYS ICE ARRESTS OF DANGEROUS CRIMINALS ARE NOT ‘FOCUSED ON MAKING US SAFER’

“I talked to someone who was deported more than ten times … and I asked him, ‘Why do you keep coming back to the United States?’ And he was very candid with me. He said, ‘Why wouldn’t I?’” Knott shared. “He could make more money. He could operate in a country that was safer. People were nice. He could enrich himself while poisoning the children that he would sell drugs to.

“This bill in large part closes that gap in the law,” he explained. “It categorizes illegal aliens who commit crimes in a wholly different category.”  

If passed and signed into law, Knott’s bill would increase the punishment for any crime committed by an illegal alien that is punishable by more than one year from a maximum of two years to a minimum of five years.

Illegals who are removed and then reenter the country illegally can also face up to ten years in prison under the law. 

‘OFF OUR STREETS’: ICE MAKES MAJOR ARREST OF INTERNATIONALLY WANTED ‘SUSPECTED TERRORIST’

For illegal felons who have been previously removed from the country and returned again to commit more crimes, the bill would increase the punishment to a minimum of ten years and up to life in prison.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Knott explained that the bill still leaves flexibility to federal authorities, leaving the option of deportation on the table while simultaneously increasing the legal penalties available to erase the incentives for illegally entering the country to commit crimes.

He said ” flexibility is what law enforcement needs to really combat this on a person-by-person basis.”

11 ALLEGED TEEN TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS ATTACK NYPD OFFICERS: POLICE

“The wall is important. Deportations are important, and we must maintain those. But we also must close the gap in the law so that, regardless of who’s president, we have the tools to fight the illegal immigrant criminals who inflict so much pain on this country,” said Knott.

“Immigration should be a net benefit to our country,” he added. “If we don’t punish those who want to come here to commit crimes, we will never have a healthy immigration system again. If we don’t fix this problem now, we might not have the chance to do it.“

President Donald Trump said it was “disappointing” that Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he will not support the president’s nominee to serve as U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Ed Martin. 

“It’s disappointing because, you know, I know that he’s very talented,” Trump said from the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon while taking questions from the media during a swearing-in ceremony for the U.S. ambassador to China, David Perdue. “Crime is down in Washington, D.C. Street crime, violent crime by 25%. And, that’s, people have seen they’ve noticed a big difference.” 

Tillis sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is overseeing the confirmation process of Martin. The nominee has served as interim U.S. attorney since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration but is facing a May 20 deadline to be confirmed. 

Martin met with Senate lawmakers Monday, and Tillis told reporters Tuesday he wouldn’t support Martin, throwing the nomination into limbo on the committee that is composed of 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats. 

TILLIS PUTS ONUS ON TRUMP TO AVOID BOASBERG PICKING US ATTORNEY AFTER MARTIN’S NOMINATION APPEARS SUNK

“I’ve indicated to the White House I wouldn’t support his nomination,” Tillis told reporters Tuesday. 

If an interim U.S. attorney is not confirmed by the Senate within 120 days, however, judges on the federal district court for that district could name a new interim U.S. attorney until the role is filled. Trump antagonist Judge James Boasberg, an Obama-appointed judge at the center of legal efforts targeting Trump’s deportation efforts, is the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 

“I didn’t know that.… I feel very badly about it,” Trump continued on Wednesday. “Only in the sense that, in this short period of time that he’s been there, crime is down 25% in Washington, D.C., but that’s really up to the senators. If they, you know, feel that way, they have to vote the way they vote, they have to follow their heart and they have to follow their mind.”

When asked Tuesday if Tillis is comfortable with the left-wing court picking an interim U.S. attorney, his office told Fox News Digital it is the office’s understanding that Attorney General Pam Bondi can pick an acting replacement, bypassing involvement from federal judges. 

DEADLINE LOOMS ALLOWING LEFT-WING COURT TO SELECT US ATTORNEY AS STATE AGS URGE CONFIRMATION OF TRUMP PICK

“Our understanding is that if the Senate does not confirm a U.S. attorney before an acting U.S. attorney’s term expires, the attorney general can still pick the next acting replacement as long as it is done before the original appointment expires under 28 USC 546,” a spokesman for Tillis’ office told Fox News Digital Tuesday. 

The code referenced says, “If an appointment expires under subsection (c)(2), the district court for such district may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled. The order of appointment by the court shall be filed with the clerk of the court.”

TRUMP NOMINATES JAN. 6 DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR TOP PROSECUTOR ROLE IN DC

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Justice about the statute Wednesday, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Martin previously worked as a defense attorney and represented Americans charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, which Tillis took issue with, he told reporters Tuesday. Trump granted clemency to more than 1,500 Jan. 6 criminal defendants upon taking office.

TRUMP NOMINATES JUDGE TO SERVE AS NEXT US ATTORNEY FOR SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

“Mr. Martin did a good job of explaining the one area that I think he’s probably right, that there were some people that were over-prosecuted, but there were some, 200 or 300 of them that should have never gotten a pardon,” Tillis said. “If Mr. Martin were being put forth as a U.S. attorney for any district except the district where Jan. 6 happened, the protest happened, I’d probably support him, but not in this district.”

Trump and his administration have rallied support for Martin as his confirmation process comes down to the wire. 

“His approval is IMPERATIVE in terms of doing all that has to be done to SAVE LIVES and to, MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Ed Martin will be a big player in doing so and, I hope, that the Republican Senators will make a commitment to his approval, which is now before them.”

President Donald Trump wants India and Pakistan to cease fighting and is open to helping both countries broker a peace agreement, following strikes from India against Pakistan early Wednesday. 

India launched missiles against at least nine sites “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned,” according to India’s Defense Ministry. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military reported that the strikes killed at least 26 people — including women and children — and claimed the strikes amounted to an “act of war.” 

“Oh, it’s so terrible. My position is, I get along with both,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “I know both very well, and I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop. And hopefully they can stop now. They’ve got a tit for tat, so hopefully they can stop now. But I know both. We get along with both countries very well. Good relationships with both. And I want to see it stop. And if I can do anything to help I will. I will be there as well.”

The Associated Press, Fox News’ Greg Wehner and Nick Kalman contributed to this report. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

The chairman of the House’s Aviation Safety Caucus is accusing the former Biden administration of helping fuel the current air traffic control (ATC) crisis, by its choice to fund progressive diversity initiatives instead of modernizing the aging system.

Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital that the former administration’s marquee bill, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, was among several “missed opportunities” to fund a revamp of the ATC system.

“That was before I came to Congress, but, you know, you had just mistaken priorities in that, all this DEI policy, DEI staffing, that all got baked into the cake,” Langworthy said. “They could have taken that money and spent it on real modernization of what is critical infrastructure in this country.”

“We had the longest period of incident-free aviation in this country’s history, where we didn’t have a commercial air crash from the time the crash happened in Buffalo, in my district, back in 2009, to just this year, and what happened at [Ronald Reagan Airport]. And it was avoidable.”

HIDDEN REAL ID HASSLES FACING AIRLINE TRAVELERS AND STATES TO AVOID

It comes after a blackout at Newark Liberty International Airport reportedly caused a roughly 90-second outage to its air traffic control screens.

And earlier this year, a military helicopter collided with a passenger plane coming from Wichita, Kansas, in a deadly incident just off the shores of the nation’s capital.

Langworthy clarified that he does not believe DEI policies “necessarily” directly hit ATC.

“It’s what they spent the money [on]. I mean, you know, there’s infrastructure projects, ones in my backyard, where they want to bury and tunnel over our main artery in the town because it’s going to reunite a community somehow,” he said.

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

“Aviation is infrastructure. It’s transportation. It should have been spent then. Instead, they did all this social engineering with money and didn’t focus on what has been a glaring problem for the federal government for many years, modernizing our aviation infrastructure.”

Part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill allocated $25 billion over five years to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), specifically for modernization.

But lawmakers now believe that was not enough. Republicans’ plans for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” via the budget reconciliation process include $12 billion for air traffic control modernization, specifically.

During visits with air traffic controllers in his own upstate New York district, Langworthy said the message was simple but critical: “We need more bodies.”

“We should be promoting this to young people that want to look at career service in the government. And it comes with a very competitive salary,” Langworthy said. “But it’s a tough job with a lot of hours. And you know, there’s always gonna be stress involved, but we have to prioritize it and not just take it for granted.”

Langworthy said he would help push for as much funding as needed to meet the issue.

“I will absolutely lead the fight for [Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy] and the president on their plan to modernize our aircraft,” he vowed.

“When Secretary Duffy and the president roll this out as a spending priority, we have to frontload this process. We have to get them the resources that they need to get this done, because the flying public – everyone’s lives hang in the balance on this.”

Former Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to China Wednesday, with President Donald Trump remarking on the timing of the ceremony as trade talks between the two nations are set to kick off. 

“We’re swearing in our next ambassador to the People’s Republic of China. What timing, David. What timing? Only you could have picked this timing,” Trump quipped as Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepared to swear Perdue in. 

The Senate confirmed Perdue April 29 in a 67–29 vote. His swearing-in ceremony comes as China and the U.S. set to begin trade talks following Trump’s tariffs on the nation in recent months. 

“Our new ambassador brings to this position a lifetime of experience at the highest levels of business and politics,” Trump said. “And he is at the highest level. Over four decades in business, he rose to lead several major American corporations, including as the president and CEO of the footwear giant Reebok, where he did very well and did a great job. And later the CEO of Dollar General. Likewise, he did a great job. David also lived and worked in Singapore and Hong Kong for several years, developing a wealth of experience negotiating and doing tremendous business deals for lots of different leaders that he worked with.” 

SCOTT BESSENT SAYS US DOESN’T WANT TO DECOUPLE FROM CHINA AHEAD OF SCHEDULED MEETING WITH CHINESE COUNTERPART

Trump told Perdue to “say hello to President XI when you’re over there.”

The Trump administration has leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods as the president looks to bring parity to the nation’s chronic trade deficit with foreign countries. Trump paused his April 2 reciprocal tariff plan on dozens of nations in April as countries called on the administration to make trade deals, but he upped the ante on China as the country rebuked Trump’s trade policies with tariffs of its own, including 125% duty taxes on U.S. goods. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are scheduled to meet with Chinese counterparts over the weekend in Switzerland to discuss economic matters, Bessent said on Fox News Tuesday. 

CHINA’S ECONOMIC WOES THREATEN REAL WAR AMID TARIFF BATTLE

“We have shared interests,” Bessent said. “This isn’t sustainable, as I said before, especially on the Chinese side — and, you know, 145%, 125% is the equivalent of an embargo. We don’t want to decouple — what we want is fair trade.” 

China’s Ministry of Commerce said Friday that officials were “evaluating” an offer from the Trump administration to hold trade talks on the 145% U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

“The U.S. has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China,” the statement said, according to Reuters. 

US OFFICIALS TO MEET WITH CHINESE COUNTERPARTS IN SWITZERLAND AMID TRADE WAR

“Attempting to use talks as a pretext to engage in coercion and extortion would not work,” the statement added. 

Trump and the administration previously have said they were willing to hold trade negotiations with China, including the president saying April 8, “We are waiting for their call. It will happen.”

Trump continued during the ceremony that Perdue would help lead the charge to end the flow of deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl into the U.S., an issue Trump has railed against while leveraging tariffs on China to end the illegal drugs from entering the U.S. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“They have to stop fentanyl from coming in,” Trump said. “And that’ll be a very big part. And I had that understanding with President Xi before I left, last time. And we had a deal, and he would have honored the deal. But when Biden came in, of course, nothing ever happened with him. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing. But that would have saved a lot of lives at election caused us a lot of lives and a lot of heartache. The fact that we went through four years of misery, and you look at what’s coming through the border and, the job of getting murderers out of our country, so many, so many bad things happened.” 

 Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report. 

Many of the same Democrats slamming the Trump administration for several ongoing transportation issues were silent as the Biden administration oversaw an understaffed, outdated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that resulted in dangerous travel conditions across the country.

Democrats like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have accused the Trump administration of “breaking the federal government” and having “decimated the FAA.” Jeffries blamed the Trump administration for a spate of cancellations at Newark Airport this week.

However, a month-over-month comparison of air accidents under the Biden administration and the first few months of the Trump administration shows a significantly lower number of accidents in March and April. Throughout former President Joe Biden’s four years in office, there were an average of 115 air accidents in April. Under Trump, there were just 67 air accidents in the month of April.

A report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in March shows that the Trump administration inherited an outdated system from Biden with “severe shortcomings.”

DUFFY BLASTS BIDEN, BUTTIGIEG FOR IGNORING REPORT ABOUT FAILING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM: ‘DID NOTHING!’

After Trump’s return to the White House, GAO advised the administration that it had made nine recommendations to the FAA under the Biden administration that remain open, and that “urgent attention” is needed to remedy the safety issues left by Biden.

GAO said that under the Biden administration the FAA “did not prioritize or establish near-term plans to modernize unsustainable and critical systems.”

Other government reports revealed that the Biden FAA was further hindered by severe staffing issues.

A June 2023 report by the Office of the Inspector General of the Transportation Department revealed that the FAA “made limited efforts to ensure adequate controller staffing at critical air traffic control facilities.”

AMERICANS DESERVE TO HAVE A ‘STATE-OF-THE-ART’ AIR TRAVEL SYSTEM: SEAN DUFFY

The report said that “as a result, FAA continues to face staffing challenges and lacks a plan to address them, which in turn poses a risk to the continuity of air traffic operations.”

The office said it had determined that 20 of 26 (77%) critical facilities were staffed below the FAA’s 85% threshold. Even major facilities like the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control and the Miami Tower were staffed well below the threshold at just 54% and 66%, respectively.

Another report by the office released later that year said the FAA’s “lengthy hiring process and COVID-19 restrictions” slowed the agency’s onboarding and training activities, resulting in few new hires having completed their training and obtained certification.

The issues had real-world consequences. Politico reported that during January and February 2023, “commercial jets experienced close calls with other aircraft at a faster pace than they had during all of the previous five years combined.”

On Jan. 11, 2023, the FAA had to issue a nationwide ground stop due to a system outage of the aging air traffic control system. The pause was described as the first of its kind since 9/11.

The GAO’s 2025 report said the 2023 national airspace prompted an operational risk assessment, which found that of the 138 air traffic control systems, “51 (37%) were deemed unsustainable by FAA and 54 (39%) were potentially unsustainable.”

TRUMP TO REQUIRE TRUCK DRIVERS TO SPEAK ENGLISH, PASS LITERACY TESTS AS ‘COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS’ MOUNT

In 2024, the GAO found that nearly 40% of FAA control systems were still severely antiquated, requiring “urgent updates.”

“This is not a new problem,” Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News Digital in a statement. “We’ve known this problem has existed. There have been multiple GAO reports over the last four years saying you have real problems with Air Traffic Control and you should do something with it before it actually fails. The last Administration spent $1.2 trillion. The largest infrastructure package known to man. Joe Biden signed this at this White House, and how much was spent to rebuild Air Traffic Control? $5 billion. And of the $5 billion that was given, only $1 billion was actually spent.”

“The Biden Administration had made no investments in the system that we now see having issues in Newark. On top of that, they were focused on things like renaming racists roads and changing cockpit to flight deck. This Administration has come in and started looking at the Air Traffic Control system after the DCA crash. Very quickly I saw one piece of the pie where there were issues and then scratched further and there is another piece of the pie. As we looked at it, we see that the whole system needs to be redone and we need to build a brand-new air traffic control system.”

In a Tuesday thread on X, GOP Sen. Mike Lee called out the FAA’s past practices and called out the agency’s “woke” approach.

“I started calling out the FAA’s hiring practices at Air Traffic Control an entire decade ago, pointing out that they were drifting from their longstanding pattern of hiring people with a solid math and science background and / or experience in aviation — recognizing that such people perform better in these important positions,” Lee said. 

“But the ATC’s hiring decisions under Obama and later Biden prioritized basically everything else in favor of woke hiring practices,” he continued.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Biden and Jeffries for comment.