The Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration in lifting a lower court’s order that paused the Pentagon’s transgender military ban.

In a short order on Tuesday, the high court handed the White House win as Trump seeks to unmake the Biden-era diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) agenda. The court stayed a lower court order, allowing the Pentagon policy to take effect. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have denied the administration’s appeal and kept the lower court injunction in place. 

At issue in the suit, Shilling v. United States, is President Donald Trump‘s January executive order banning transgender military members. The order required the Department of Defense to update its guidance regarding “trans-identifying medical standards for military service” and to “rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness.” 

HEGSETH SAYS HE’S SIGNING MEMO ON COMBAT ARMS STANDARDS FOR MEN AND WOMEN

Seven transgender military members proceeded to then bring suit against the administration in a Seattle-based federal court in early February. Trump was dismissed from the suit as a defendant in his official capacity as the suit played out in court.

The initial complaint argued that the executive order “turns” away transgender military members “and kicks them out – for no legitimate reason.”

“Rather, it baselessly declares all transgender people unfit to serve, insults and demeans them, and cruelly describes every one of them as incapable of ‘an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,’ based solely because they are transgender,” it continued.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle had issued a preliminary injunction in March that blocked the administration from identifying and removing transgender service members as the suit worked its way through legal proceedings. 

In his opinion granting the injunction, Settle characterized the ban as a “blanket prohibition on transgender service.” Settle found the plaintiffs would likely succeed on the merits of their equal protection, First Amendment, and procedural due process claims, among others.

TRUMP’S TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN DEALT LEGAL BLOW AFTER APPEALS COURT RULING

“The government’s arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record,” Settle wrote.

Settle wrote in his order that the injunction was to “maintain the status quo of military policy regarding both active-duty and prospective transgender service” that were in place prior to Trump’s January 27 executive order.

The administration quickly appealed the order to the Ninth Circuit, requesting the appellate court stay Settle’s order.

The administration argued in court filings that the policy “furthers the government’s important interests in military readiness, unit cohesion, good order and discipline, and avoiding disproportionate costs.”

A three-judge panel – composed of Judges Atsushi Wallace Tashima, a Clinton-appointee, John B. Owens, an Obama-appointee, and Roopali H. Desai, a Biden-appointee – denied the administration’s request for a stay on March 31.

HEGSETH SUGGESTS JUDGE REPORT TO MILITARY BASES AFTER RULING THAT PENTAGON MUST ALLOW TRANSGENDER TROOPS

The stay would have allowed the administration to enforce the ban while the legal challenge moved forward. 

“The Department of Justice has vigorously defended President Trump’s executive actions, including the Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness Executive Order, and will continue to do so,” a Justice Department official told Fox News Digital at the time. 

Shilling v. United States is just one of several suits challenging the Trump administration’s military ban. 

Transgender plaintiffs also notably sued in D.C. federal court where U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes also initially blocked the ban from going into effect. 

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

The identity of a second migrant in Maryland who was deported to El Salvador in March was revealed this week while the Trump administration continues to resist a federal judge’s orders to return him to the U.S.

The individual, previously referred to only as “Cristian” in earlier documents, was identified Monday as Daniel Lozano-Camargo, a 20-year-old Venezuelan man who had been living in Houston prior to January, when he was arrested for cocaine possession and subsequently deported to El Salvador in March. News of his identity was first reported by Politico. 

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ruled late last month that the Trump administration violated a settlement agreement that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) struck last year with a group of young asylum seekers, including Lozano-Camargo, by deporting him before his asylum request was heard in full.

The 20-year-old was part of a group of migrants who had entered the U.S. illegally as unaccompanied children and who later filed asylum claims to remain in the U.S.

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In her April ruling, Gallagher emphasized that unlike other legal challenges to Trump-era deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, this case hinges on an alleged “breach of contract,” as DHS had agreed not to deport the individuals until their asylum claims were fully adjudicated in U.S. court.

Lozano-Camargo’s December 2022 asylum request was still pending when he was deported along with hundreds of other migrants on March 15 to El Salvador. As a result, Gallagher specifically ordered the Trump administration to make a “good faith request to the government of El Salvador” to “release Cristian, [or Lozano-Camargo], to U.S. custody for transport back to the United States to await the adjudication of his asylum application on the merits by USCIS.”

She also alluded to the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the alleged MS-13 member living in Maryland who was also deported to El Salvador last month in what administration officials have acknowledged was an administrative error. 

To date, U.S. officials have resisted court orders to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia – arguments they doubled down on Monday in a court filing to Gallagher. 

The Trump administration previously told the court it had determined that Lozano-Camargo was eligible for removal under the Alien Enemies Act because he had been arrested and convicted for cocaine possession earlier this year. This appears to be his second low-level drug offense. 

‘I AM AFRAID’: ANOTHER PROTECTIVE ORDER FILING AGAINST DEPORTED ‘MARYLAND MAN’ CHAMPIONED BY DEMS SURFACES

Trump officials doubled down on this in a Monday court filing, telling the court there was no breach of contract with DHS in Lozano-Camargo’s case, They told the court that his designation as an “alien enemy pursuant to the AEA results in him ceasing to be a member” of the class that had negotiated a settlement – “aliens subject to removal” under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act proclamation “cannot claim asylum, and therefore are not class members.”  

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To date, there is no public evidence that Lozano-Camargo is a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which Trump declared on March 15 to be a designated “Foreign Terrorist Organization” in an effort to allow them to more quickly deport certain migrants from the U.S.

Justice Department officials claimed in earlier court documents that Lozano-Camargo was a member of a “violent terrorist gang,” but have not linked him to TdA. Portions of their most recent court filing have been redacted. 

Jill Biden landed a new job following her four years in the White House: leading a California-based think tank’s initiative aimed at improving women’s health. 

“From endometriosis to healthy aging, the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research made important investments in research and development, while making clear it will take collaboration across industries to bring these innovations to scale,” Biden said, according to a Milken Institute press release published April 29. “I am honored to join the Milken Institute as we unite leaders around a shared mission: for women everywhere to benefit from the lifesaving, world-changing research we know is possible.”

The Milken Institute describes itself as a nonpartisan economic think tank based out of Santa Monica that focuses on “financial, physical, mental, and environmental health” to “bring together the best ideas and resourcing to develop blueprints for tackling some of our most critical global issues.” Biden will serve as the chair of the think tank’s new Women’s Health Network. 

Biden, who is a teacher and holds a doctorate in education, focused as first lady on the Biden Cancer Moonshot plan to end cancer, the Joining Forces initiative to support veteran families and caregivers, and launching the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.

JILL BIDEN’S STATE OF THE UNION GUESTS: ALABAMA IVF PATIENT, SWEDISH PM, UAW PRESIDENT AND MORE

Biden joined the Milken Institute’s 28th annual Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, Monday. Other notable guests who addressed the conference included Trump administration Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Trump administration Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. 

Biden’s new role serving as chair of the Milken Institute’s initiative will focus on “galvanizing participation, collaboration, and shared action in the Women’s Health Network to improve women’s health and wellbeing,” according to the think tank’s press release announcing the former first lady’s new role. 

Former President Joe Biden signed a presidential memorandum in 2023 that launched the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. Jill Biden led the White House initiative, which worked to beef up funding for and research into women’s health. 

The Biden White House argued at the time that “TOO MANY medical studies have focused on men and left women out” and that too many of “the medicine dosages, treatments, medical school text books, are based on men and their bodies – and that information doesn’t always apply to women.”

Jill Biden said during Milken’s conference Monday that her husband had been eager to “infuse” the “federal government with money” when they launched the White House women’s health initiative in 2023. 

“So one of the things we did was we got to work right away,” Jill Biden said during the Milken Institute conference Monday. “Joe said, ‘You know, let’s infuse – really, the federal government with money.’ In one year, we put in $1 billion to advance women’s research.” 

“And we worked a lot through the (National Institutes of Health) and the way that they did research, and we made sure that they disaggregated the data and that they separated the research on women and men differently, and we worked with (the Department of Defense) DOD – they put a lot of money into women’s research – and then we put a lot of money in to de-risk the investment. So there were a lot of things that, really, private equity wasn’t willing to take on because it was too risky, and we thought, let’s push this forward, and let’s try to find answers more quickly.”

JILL BIDEN ‘STUNNED’ JOE’S FAMILY DURING HEALTH SCARE, MARKING HER STATUS AS ‘FULL-FLEDGED’ BIDEN: BOOK

Fox News Digital reached out to the Milken Institute Tuesday for additional comment on the former first lady’s new role, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Jill Biden worked as a professor at Northern Virginia Community College from 2009 to December 2024, when she announced she wrapped up her final semester as her husband prepared for his Oval Office exit. 

TOP 5 REVELATIONS IN 2024 CAMPAIGN BOOKS, FROM OBAMA WORKING AGAINST HARRIS TO BIDEN’S ‘OUT OF IT’ DEMEANOR

Jill Biden’s new role comes as political books recapping the Biden administration hit bookshelves nationwide, with several reporting that concerns over the president’s mental acuity and age had gripped the administration across its four years.

The book “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” for example, is set to be released in July and authored by three reporters from the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Washington Post, and reportedly details how Biden’s team chose not to have the president take a cognitive test in February 2024 due to concerns that taking the test itself would raise more questions about his age. 

Another book, Chris Whipple’s “Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History,” reported that White House staffers allegedly kept Biden from socializing with others, including close allies and friends, out of fear the 46th president “might say the wrong thing or might feed the mental acuity narrative.” 

FIRST ON FOX: A scheduled vote on making President Donald Trump’s Gulf of America name change permanent is causing some heartburn within the House GOP conference.

Multiple House Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital said they were frustrated by House GOP leaders’ decision to spend time voting on what they saw as a largely symbolic gesture in an otherwise light legislative week. It comes as GOP negotiators work behind the scenes to iron out divisions on Medicaid, tax policy and green energy subsidies in time to pass Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” by the Fourth of July.

“This is a time where we should be in our districts, going to graduations, making sure that we’re listening to folks who have tariff issues,” a more moderate GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital. 

“Instead, we’re going to spend time doing this… it’s frustrating for somebody who’s got a lot of pragmatic legislation, waiting in the queue to be heard. Instead, we’re doing posture bills. It’s not what I came here to do.”

SCOOP: REPUBLICANS DISCUSS DEFUNDING ‘BIG ABORTION’ LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN TRUMP AGENDA BILL

But the frustration is not limited to moderate and mainstream Republicans. One conservative GOP lawmaker vented to Fox News Digital, “125 other [executive orders], this is the one we pick.”

“Folks are upset that we’re not doing something more important,” the conservative lawmaker said.

Two sources familiar with House Republicans’ whip team meeting said at least three GOP lawmakers aired concerns about the bill — Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and Glenn Grothman, R-Wis.

One of the sources described their sentiments as, “They just think it’s kind of frivolous or not serious.”

“I’ve heard criticisms from all corners of the conference. Conservatives to pragmatic ones,” Bacon told Fox News Digital. “It seems sophomoric. The United States is bigger and better than this.”

Bacon is among the Republicans pushing hard for a restrained hand on Medicaid cuts in Trump’s multitrillion-dollar bill, while other GOP lawmakers are pushing for more significant cuts.

Grothman would not confirm or deny his concerns, telling Fox News Digital, “That’s behind-the-scenes stuff.”

Obernolte’s office did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

While the concerns have not come from a large number of the overall conference, any degree of defections is significant with the GOP’s razor-thin House majority.

With all lawmakers present in the chamber, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can currently lose up to three votes to still pass something along party lines.

It’s also a sign of Trump’s continued dominance on Capitol Hill starting to wear on some Republican lawmakers.

It’s not clear that the lawmakers who expressed concerns will vote against the final bill, however, particularly with pressure from House GOP leaders.

A third House Republican who spoke with Fox News Digital anonymously acknowledged the frustrations, but nevertheless said, “It’s not the hill to die on.”

It’s worth noting that congressional Republicans have passed several bills promoting Trump’s agenda already, including resolutions to roll back key Biden administration policies.

The budget reconciliation package, Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” is GOP negotiators’ current priority.

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

The Gulf of America Act was introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a top Trump ally. 

When reached for comment on some GOP lawmakers’ concerns, Greene told Fox News Digital, “Codifying the rightful renaming of the Gulf of America isn’t just a priority for me and President Trump, it’s a priority for the American people. American taxpayers fund its protection, our military defends its waters, and American businesses fuel its economy. My bill advances President Trump’s America First agenda.”

“If certain moderate Republicans want to start elsewhere, where do they suggest?” she continued. “I have bills ready for all of it. But let’s be clear, we should be voting to codify every single executive order President Trump issues.”

The bill is currently slated to get a vote on Thursday morning, and Johnson promoted it during his House GOP leadership press conference on Tuesday.

“We’re going to pass Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill to permanently rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. And then we’re going to codify dozens more of President Trump’s budget-related executive orders, spending-related executive orders through the budget reconciliation process,” the speaker said.

Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., posted on X in response to the speaker, “This will be a tremendous economic driver for my district. Families across the country will flock to the Florida Panhandle to be the FIRST to enjoy the Gulf of AMERICA!”

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

President Donald Trump said he would “love” California Gov. Gavin Newsom to launch a White House bid for the Democrats, but said his response to wildfires and other issues would “pretty much put him out of the race.” 

The president, during a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, took a swipe at Newsom, blasting California’s high-speed rail project. 

SMELT TEST: TRUMP ORDER OVERRIDES CALIFORNIA’S FISH-PROTECTING RULES TO MAXIMIZE WATER SUPPLY

“A little train going from San Francisco to Los Angeles that’s being run by Gavin New-scum—the governor of California,” Trump said. “Did you ever hear of Gavin Newsom? He has got that train—the worst cost overrun I’ve ever seen. It’s like, totally out of control.” 

Trump said he “always liked Gavin” and “had a good relationship with him.” 

“I just got him a lot of water, you know, I sent in people to open up that water because he refused to do it,” Trump said, adding that “if they would have done what I said to do, they wouldn’t have had the fires in Los Angeles.” 

“Those fires would have been put out very quickly,” Trump said. 

Trump traveled to Southern California in January, just days after taking office, to see damage from the devastating wildfires that destroyed thousands of acres and more than 10,000 buildings in the Los Angeles area. 

After the visit, Trump issued an executive order calling on federal agencies to overrule California regulations on endangered species to create more water availability, expedite the removal of debris in the areas affected by the fires and conduct investigations into the City of Los Angeles’ use of federal grants.

Trump also called on the Department of the Interior to immediately override existing regulations in California that “unduly burden efforts to maximize water deliveries” to the Central Valley Project, a water management effort in the state.

TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND

Shifting back to the high-speed rail project, Trump said he has “watched a lot of stupid people build a lot of stupid things,” but that this is “the worst cost overrun I’ve ever seen.” 

California’s high-speed rail project was designed to cart riders between San Francisco and Los Angeles in less than three hours. It was expected to cost $33 billion and be finished by 2020, but the project has been riddled with funding challenges, cost overruns and delays. 

The project is now reportedly expected to cost an estimated $106 billion to complete. 

“This government is not going to pay,” Trump said, noting that he told Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that the Trump administration is “not going to pay for that thing” –  [it’s] “30 times over budget.” 

“It was supposed to be a simple train,” Trump said. 

Duffy, in February, began a Transportation Department review to determine whether the California High-Speed Rail Authority had “followed through on the commitments it made to receive billions of dollars in federal funding.” 

“If not, I will have to consider whether that money could be given to deserving infrastructure projects elsewhere in the United States,” Duffy said at a news conference in Los Angeles in February. 

Looking ahead to 2028, the president said he would “love” to see Newsom run for president. Newsom is barred from seeking re-election as California governor in 2026 due to term limits.

NEWSOM PROPOSES TO WORK WITH TRUMP TO ‘MAKE AMERICA FILM AGAIN,’ FLOATS $7.5B FEDERAL TAX CREDIT

“But I don’t think he’s going to be running because that one project alone—well, that and the fires and a lot of other things—pretty much put him out of the race,” Trump said. 

Newsom has been rumored to be mulling a 2028 presidential bid but has not committed to doing so. 

In a statement to The New York Times, Newsom said he wanted to work with the Trump administration on a $7.5 billion federal tax credit program to bolster the TV and film production industry. 

“California built the film industry – and we’re ready to bring even more jobs home,” Newsom wrote on X on Monday. “We’ve proven what strong state incentives can do. Now it’s time for a real federal partnership to Make America Film Again.”

The White House said Monday that “no final decisions” had been made as the administration was “exploring all options” to deliver on Trump’s directive “to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again.”

Trump first announced in a Truth Social post on Sunday that he was authorizing the Department of Commerce and the U.S. trade representative “to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is urging President Donald Trump‘s Department of Labor to open an investigation into Tyson Foods on Tuesday after receiving a whistleblower report claiming the company employed child labor at one of its facilities.

Hawley wrote a letter to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer on Tuesday, urging her to investigate the matter. He said his Senate Judiciary subcommittee opened its own investigation after being contacted by the whistleblower. 

Tyson plants in Tennessee and elsewhere have been the subject of child labor investigations in recent years.

“The whistleblower, a former Tyson Foods employee who oversaw plant safety, alleges that they personally witnessed underage workers and also received multiple reports from hourly Tyson employees about child workers in the plant. According to the allegations, these child workers were employed by a third-party entity contracted by Tyson for work in the plant,” Hawley wrote in his letter.

“After reporting concerns to company superiors about child workers employed at the plant, the whistleblower was subjected to retaliation and a ‘toxic work environment.’ Due to the toxic work environment, the whistleblower quit. Tyson is now pursuing legal action against them related to their departure from the company,” the letter continued.

ONE DEAD, 2 HOSPITALIZED AFTER FIRE AT TYSON FOODS PLANT IN GEORGIA

Hawley went on to note media reports showing that “Tyson purposely uses subcontractors to avoid punishment for illegally employing children. As a result, Tyson has successfully avoided all liability and culpability for its clear violations of child labor laws.”

Tyson denied any wrongdoing in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

“We do not allow the employment of anyone under the age of 18 in any of our facilities, and we do not facilitate, excuse, or in any other way participate in the use of child labor by third parties. We take the enforcement of all labor laws seriously, and we verify the age of all team members by fully participating in the federal government’s E-Verify and IMAGE programs. We also have multiple processes in place, including an anonymous ethics hotline, for all team members to report suspicious activity,” a Tyson Foods spokesperson said in a statement.

EXPLOSION AT LOUISVILLE FACTORY KILLS 2, INJURES SEVERAL, COMPANY CONFIRMS

During her confirmation hearing, Chavez-DeRemer vowed to use her role in the new Trump administration to crack down on labor abuses.

“Child labor should not be accepted by anybody in America. The Department of Labor has the enforcement capability to double down if [companies] are knowingly breaking the law and exploiting children in their factories,” she told Hawley during the confirmation process.

Chavez-DeRemer’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that the secretary had received Hawley’s letter on Tuesday.

“The Secretary is reviewing the Senator’s letter and remains committed to protecting America’s children from potential labor violations,” Labor Department spokesperson Courtney Parella said in a statement.

Tyson also faced heavy criticism in 2024 after announcing plans to hire asylum seekers for one of its plants in Tennessee, just days after closing another facility in Iowa, costing roughly 1,000 jobs.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced legislation Tuesday to scale back the popular abortion drug mifepristone after a recent study revealed that 1 in 10 women who used the medication experienced “serious adverse effects.”

The Restoring Safeguards for Dangerous Abortion Drugs Act would direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to create safeguards on the abortion drug mifepristone, allow women who have suffered complications from prescriptions the right to sue telehealth providers and pharmacies for damages, and ban foreign companies from mailing and importing mifepristone into the U.S.

Hawley introduced the legislation “after a bombshell study revealed the truth about mifepristone: it’s dangerous,” the Missouri senator told Fox News Digital. “The data shows 1 in 10 women who take mifepristone experience adverse health effects, like going to the ER or suffering from sepsis. The FDA needs to act to protect women now.”

COVID VACCINE BOOSTERS CALLED INTO QUESTION BY FDA CHIEF: ‘VOID OF DATA’

Hawley cites last week’s study by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), which revealed in its key findings that “10.93 percent of women experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious or life-threatening adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion.”

The study assessed 865,727 insurance claims between 2017 and 2023 for women who used the medication to terminate early pregnancy. The pill can be taken up to “70 days since the first day of their last menstrual period,” according to the FDA.

The exact number of women who have undergone a mifepristone abortion since the FDA’s approval under the Clinton administration in 2000 can be difficult to calculate, as some pregnancies are terminated without official medical intervention. 

The Guttenmacher Institute, a non-governmental organization (NGO) which was once a part of Planned Parenthood, estimates that there were 1,038,100 clinician-provided abortions in 2024, though this number only reflects “states without a ban”. The estimation does not include the number of abortions that occurred illegally or in states where pregnancy termination laws vary.  

SCOOP: REPUBLICANS DISCUSS DEFUNDING ‘BIG ABORTION’ LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN TRUMP AGENDA BILL

At the time of approval, there were stricter parameters for administering the drug. However, the Obama administration’s FDA rolled back some of these requirements in 2016 by reducing the need for in-person visits, removing mandatory physician prescription requirements, and eliminating non-fatal adverse event reporting. 

Hawley sent a letter last week to Trump-appointed FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, whom Hawley questioned during the former Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor’s confirmation before the U.S. Senate.

“[D]uring your confirmation hearing, you pledged to me that you would ‘review the totality of the data and ongoing data’ to inform action on the drug,” Hawley’s letter to the FDA head explained. “I urge you to follow this new data and take all appropriate action to restore critical safeguards on the use of mifepristone. The health and safety of American women depend on it.”

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

The introduction of Hawley’s bill comes just one day after Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) asked a Texas federal judge to dismiss a case that could restrict access to the controversial pill. This move mirrored a similar stance taken by the Biden administration to keep a mifepristone lawsuit out of a Texas court.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA for comment.

Russian American Ksenia Karelina, who was released last month after being detained in Russia for more than a year, met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

“It’s a great honor,” the president said as he shook Karelina’s hand.

Karelina’s release from Russia last month was part of a prisoner swap, reports note.

TRUMP SAYS HE COULD ‘WALK AWAY’ FROM RUSSIA-UKRAINE TALKS, CITES ‘TREMENDOUS HATRED’ ON BOTH SIDES

“President Trump was proud to welcome home Ksenia Karelina, who spent 15 months in Russian captivity. He has secured the release of nearly 50 Americans detained abroad because America is strong again under his leadership,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted in a post on X that the Trump administration is dedicated to securing the release of all Americans being detained in foreign countries.

RUSSIAN AMERICAN BALLERINA KSENIA KARELINA HAS MESSAGE FOR TRUMP AFTER RELEASE FROM RUSSIA

“Honored to join @POTUS at the @WhiteHouse today to welcome Ksenia Karelina. The Trump Administration is committed to bringing home every single American who is wrongfully detained around the world,” Rubio noted in a tweet on Monday.

Karelina’s boyfriend Chris van Heerden, who reports have also referred to as her fiancé, was also present at the meeting.

“Today was an unreal moment meeting and shaking hands with the 45th & 47th Presidents of the United States @potus in the Oval Office of the White House. Words cannot express how proud I am of Ksenia,” van Heerden noted in a post on X, adding, “NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE UP.”

FORMER HOSTAGE THANKS TRUMP UPON RELEASE AFTER YEARS OF DETENTION IN KUWAIT

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Last month van Heerden tweeted the link to a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Karelina – so far a bit more than $12,000 has been donated.

President Donald Trump is giving himself a big thumbs-up when it comes to his job performance during his second tour of duty in the White House.

“We had the greatest 100 days in the history of our country,” Trump touted on Sunday night, as he spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One.

Trump has aggressively asserted executive authority in his second term, overturning long-standing government policy and making major cuts to the federal workforce through an avalanche of sweeping and controversial executive orders and actions – with some aimed at addressing grievances he has held since his first term.

However, it appears many Americans are not applauding the job Trump is doing steering the nation.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS COVERAGE OF DONALD TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY

Most, but not all, of the most recent national public opinion surveys indicate Trump’s approval ratings in negative territory, which is a slide from the president’s poll position when he started his second tour of duty in the White House. An average of the latest national surveys puts the president’s approval rating underwater by around six points.

Trump stood at 44% approval and 55% disapproval in the most recent Fox News national poll, which was conducted April 18-21.

WHERE TRUMP STANDS IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL

The president’s approval rating was also 11 points in the red in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted April 25-27, but a trio of other surveys released in recent days put Trump slightly above water.

Trump does not care about the polls.

“Never been a better 100 days,” he said on Sunday. Then, the president blasted what he charged were “fake polls.”

His claim reiterated charges made last week, during the intense coverage of the president as he reached the 100-day mark into his second administration.

Contributing to the drop in Trump’s poll numbers are increased concerns by Americans over the economy and inflation, which were pressing issues that kept former President Joe Biden‘s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency.  

Additionally, Trump’s blockbuster tariff announcement a month ago, which sparked a trade war with some of the nation’s top trading partners, triggered a massive sell-off in the financial markets and increased concerns about a recession.

The president’s approval rating on the economy stood at 38% in the Fox News poll, with just a third of respondents approving of the job he was doing handling inflation and tariffs.

However, Trump, on Sunday, touted that “inflation is down, all costs are down,” as he pointed to the top issue that landed him back in the White House.

WILL TRUMP’S MAGA DOMINANCE OVER THE GOP LAST AFTER HE’S GONE?

Doug Heye, a longtime GOP strategist and communicator on Capitol Hill and veteran of the Republican National Committee and the President George W. Bush administration, noted that “the main reason Trump won was to lower prices. Prices haven’t lowered, and polls are reflecting that.”

“It makes the politics of tariffs perilous for Trump – if prices rose because of Trump fiat, Biden/Trump voters may desert him,” Heye argued.

The presidential approval rating is one of the most closely watched polling indicators and often heavily influences upcoming elections. Additionally, with the party in power – which is obviously Republicans thanks to their control of the White House and both chambers of Congress – traditionally facing political headwinds in the midterm elections, there is growing concern in the GOP over the president’s slippage in the polls.

However, Heye cautioned that “polling in May of an off year doesn’t tell us anything about what could happen 18 months later.”

Trump’s overall approval rating is close to where he stood 100 days into his first term in office, in 2017, when he stood at 45% approval in Fox News polling.

So how does Trump stack up against his presidential predecessors?

“John F. Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower had the highest first-quarter average ratings, with both registering above 70%, while Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan averaged between 60% and 69%. George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton had similar average ratings of 55% to 58% in their first quarters,” Gallup noted in a poll released two weeks ago on presidential approval ratings.

Gallup highlighted that “Trump is the only president to have sub-50% average approval ratings during a first quarter in office.”

However, enjoying promising approval ratings out of the gate does not guarantee a positive and productive presidency.

Carter’s poll numbers sank into negative territory less than two years into his presidency, and he was resoundingly defeated in his bid for re-election in 1980.

Biden stood at 54% approval in Fox News polling 100 days into office, with his numbers hovering in the low-to-mid-50s during the first six months of his single term as president.

However, Biden’s numbers sank into negative territory in the late summer and autumn of 2021, in the wake of his much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan and amid soaring inflation and a surge of migrants crossing into the U.S. along the nation’s southern border with Mexico.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled there is little appetite for judicial impeachments among House Republican leaders. 

He said a bill passed by the House earlier this year, aimed at limiting federal district judges from issuing nationwide injunctions in most cases, was a “silver bullet” against activist judges.

Johnson refused to pull impeachment off the table indefinitely when pressed by Fox News Digital, but he cautioned that there was a high bar for such maneuvers, while noting that getting enough votes to impeach in the House and remove in the Senate is an uphill battle in itself.

REPUBLICANS ADVANCE TRUMP ALLY’S GULF OF AMERICA BILL TO FULL HOUSE VOTE DESPITE DEM OPPOSITION

“Look, impeachments are never off the table if it’s merited. But in our system, we’ve had 15 federal judges impeached in the entire history of the country. I mean, there may be some that I feel merit that, but you’ve got to get the votes for it, right? And it’s a very high burden,” Johnson said.

“And by the way, even if we could get an impeachment article through the House on a federal judge, it’s unlikely that they would be tried and convicted in the Senate on that, with the divided number we have. So, short of that, what can we do?”

The speaker said House Republicans had “done everything within our power to solve that problem.”

GOP LEADERS FIND NEW MAJOR HOLIDAY DEADLINE FOR TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ AMID MEDICAID TAX DIVISIONS

“Darrell Issa’s bill is a great response: The No Rogue Rulings Act would prohibit a single individual judgment issuing a nationwide injunction like that to stop the entire policy of an administration,” Johnson said. 

“We passed it to the House, we sent it to the Senate with every expectation that they should be able to take that up. And I certainly hope they can, because, again, shouldn’t be a partisan issue.”

Some conservatives, however, are still hungry to pursue the impeachment route. They could force the House to do so by introducing a “privileged” resolution, meaning Johnson would need to take it up within two legislative days. 

However, it is a politically risky undertaking that is ultimately guaranteed to fail in the Senate, where at least several Democrats would be needed to meet the two-thirds threshold for removal. 

It comes amid the Trump administration’s continued standoff with the courts over a litany of the new White House’s policies — from deportation flights to the Department of Government Efficiency.

Republicans have dismissed the rulings as political decisions by activist judges, while Democrats accuse the White House of waging war on a co-equal branch of government. 

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has consistently said it is complying with all lawful court orders while denouncing activist judges in court and in the media sphere. 

President Donald Trump teased a “very, very big announcement” ahead of his upcoming trip to the Middle East. 

Trump has a planned visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in the coming days. 

“We’re going to have a very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, where he is meeting with Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney. “And I won’t tell you on what… and it’s very positive.”

ISRAEL SAYS TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST VISIT IS THE ‘WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY’ FOR HOSTAGE DEAL 

“It is really, really positive. And that announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday or Monday before we leave,” Trump added. “But it’ll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject, very important subject. So you’ll all be here.” 

After that, the president asked Carney if he’d like to say a few words. 

“I’m on the edge of my seat,” Carney said, drawing laughter from the press before thanking Trump for his “hospitality” and “leadership.” 

At the start of the meeting, Trump announced that the Houthis agreed to stop bombing shipping lanes and do not want to fight any longer as the U.S. has been launching daily airstrikes on Yemen since March 15. In turn, the president said the U.S. would stop its bombardment of the Iran-backed terror group. 

After teasing the forthcoming announcement, Trump went on to discuss trade, but the president circled back to clarify that the announcement would not necessarily be on that subject. 

“We’re going to have a great announcement. And I’m not necessarily saying it’s on trade,” Trump said. “We’re going to have a great announcement over the next few days. Announcement that will be, so, so incredible, so positive. And I’m not saying… I don’t want you to think it’s necessarily on trade.” 

Trump said the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was agreed upon in 2020, would be renegotiated shortly, but was a “transitional” and “very positive step” away from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA.) 

Trump said NAFTA was the “worst trade deal in the history of our country, probably in the history of the world.” 

Asked about a potential new trade deal with Canada with Carney in power, Trump said he has “a lot of respect” for the prime minister, who “ran a really great campaign.” 

“Yeah, something could happen,” Trump said. 

“Regardless of anything, we’re going to be friends with Canada,” he added. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Despite President Donald Trump’s interest in Canada becoming the 51st state, Canada isn’t for sale — ever, according to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Trump regularly has said that he wants Canada to become a U.S. state, and has discussed acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal for security purposes. However, the matter isn’t open to negotiation, Carney said. 

“Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale,” Carney said at the White House Tuesday. “Won’t be for sale ever, but the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together. We have done that in the past, and part of that, as the president just said, is with respect to our security and my government is committed for a step change in our investment in Canadian security and our partnership.”

While Trump acknowledged that Canada was stepping up its investment in military security, Trump said “never say never” in response to Canada becoming another state. 

“I’ve had many, many things that were not doable, and they ended up being doable,” Trump said. 

Later, Carney said that Canada’s stance on the issue wouldn’t alter.

“Respectfully, Canadians’ view on this is not going to change on the 51st state,” Carney said. 

The interaction comes after Trump told Time magazine in an April interview that he wasn’t “trolling” when discussing the possibility of Canada becoming part of the U.S. Trump told TIME’s Eric Cortellessa that the U.S. is “losing” money supporting Canada, and the only solution on the table is for it to become a state.

“We’re taking care of their military,” Trump told the magazine. “We’re taking care of every aspect of their lives, and we don’t need them to make cars for us. In fact, we don’t want them to make cars for us. We want to make our own cars. We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their energy. We don’t need anything from Canada. And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

The identity of a second migrant in Maryland who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March was revealed this week while the Trump administration continues to resist a federal judge’s orders to return him to the U.S.

The individual, previously referred to only as “Cristian” in earlier documents, was identified Monday as Daniel Lozano-Camargo, a 20-year-old Venezuelan man who had been living in Houston prior to January, when he was arrested for cocaine possession and subsequently deported to El Salvador in March. News of his identity was first reported by Politico. 

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ruled late last month that the Trump administration violated a settlement agreement that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) struck last year with a group of young asylum seekers, including Lozano-Camargo, by deporting him before his asylum request was heard in full.

The 20-year-old was part of a group of migrants who had entered the U.S. illegally as unaccompanied children and who later filed asylum claims to remain in the U.S.

ABREGO GARCIA’S WIFE BEGGED JUDGE FOR PROTECTION ORDER, SAYING ‘HE SLAPPED ME’: AUDIO

In her April ruling, Gallagher emphasized that unlike other legal challenges to Trump-era deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, this case hinges on an alleged “breach of contract,” as DHS had agreed not to deport the individuals until their asylum claims were fully adjudicated in U.S. court.

Lozano-Camargo’s December 2022 asylum request was still pending when he was deported along with hundreds of other migrants on March 15 to El Salvador. As a result, Gallagher specifically ordered the Trump administration to make a “good faith request to the government of El Salvador” to “release Cristian, [or Lozano-Camargo], to U.S. custody for transport back to the United States to await the adjudication of his asylum application on the merits by USCIS.”

She also alluded to the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the alleged MS-13 member living in Maryland who was also deported to El Salvador last month in what administration officials have acknowledged was an administrative error. 

To date, U.S. officials have resisted court orders to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia – arguments they doubled down on Monday in a court filing to Gallagher. 

The Trump administration previously told the court it had determined that Lozano-Camargo was eligible for removal under the Alien Enemies Act because he had been arrested and convicted for cocaine possession earlier this year. This appears to be his second low-level drug offense. 

‘I AM AFRAID’: ANOTHER PROTECTIVE ORDER FILING AGAINST DEPORTED ‘MARYLAND MAN’ CHAMPIONED BY DEMS SURFACES

Trump officials doubled down on this in a Monday court filing, telling the court there was no breach of contract with DHS in Lozano-Camargo’s case, They told the court that his designation as an “alien enemy pursuant to the AEA results in him ceasing to be a member” of the class that had negotiated a settlement – “aliens subject to removal” under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act proclamation “cannot claim asylum, and therefore are not class members.”  

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To date, there is no public evidence that Lozano-Camargo is a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which Trump declared on March 15 to be a designated “Foreign Terrorist Organization” in an effort to allow them to more quickly deport certain migrants from the U.S.

Justice Department officials claimed in earlier court documents that Lozano-Camargo was a member of a “violent terrorist gang,” but have not linked him to TdA. Portions of their most recent court filing have been redacted. 

House Democrats, led by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., walked out of a joint hearing of the Agriculture and Financial Services committees. Rather than participate in the planned hearing, the lawmakers decided to hold one of their own based on allegations of President Donald Trump and his family’s ties to the cryptocurrency industry.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., responded to Ranking Member Waters’ objection to the hearing with a statement.

“Committee Republicans on Financial Services and the House Committee on Agriculture will continue to work with legislators on both sides of the aisle who are serious about creating a lasting framework that protects Americans, encourages innovation, and brings digital asset leadership back to the U.S.”

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

Two of President Donald Trump’s staunch critics – California Democrats Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Adam Schiff – are now offering to work with the Republican administration on federal tax incentives to bring back movie-making from overseas. 

Newsom sued the Trump administration in federal court last month over what he said was “an unprecedented tariff regime” and said he was “reaching out to our international partners to protect California jobs and industries.” But as Trump called attention to how U.S. production houses are increasingly going international – at the detriment of middle-class Hollywood workers who make a living off of Los Angeles-area shoots – Newsom took a more collaborative tone. 

“California built the film industry – and we’re ready to bring even more jobs home,” Newsom wrote on X Monday. “We’ve proven what strong state incentives can do. Now it’s time for a real federal partnership to Make America Film Again.” 

“@POTUS, let’s get it done,” Newsom added, tagging the account for the president of the United States. 

WHITE HOUSE SAYS ‘NO FINAL DECISIONS’ MADE ON FOREIGN MOVIEMAKING TARIFFS AS TRUMP WEIGHS ‘NATIONAL SECURITY’

In a statement to the New York Times, Newsom said he wanted to work with the Trump administration on a $7.5 billion federal tax credit program to bolster the TV and film production industry. 

It would be the first federal-level incentive program for the film industry in the U.S. While more than three dozen states already have incentive programs, none top a billion, according to the Times. 

Schiff, D-Calif., meanwhile, criticized Trump’s proposed idea of implementing tariffs to curb foreign movie-making. 

“I share the administration’s desire to bring movie making back to the United States. While blanket tariffs on all films would have unintended and potentially damaging impacts, we have an opportunity to work together to pass a major federal film tax credit to re-shore American jobs in the industry,” Schiff said in a statement to Deadline. “I welcome the opportunity to work with the administration and my Republican colleagues to pass a globally competitive federal film incentive to bring back run-away production.”

The White House said Monday that “no final decisions” had been made as the administration was “exploring all options” to deliver on Trump’s directive “to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again.”

Trump first announced in a Truth Social post on Sunday that he was authorizing the Department of Commerce and the U.S. trade representative “to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.” 

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S HOLLYWOOD AMBASSADOR JON VOIGHT ROLLS OUT PROPOSAL TO ‘MAKE HOLLYWOOD GREAT AGAIN’

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump further asserted that Hollywood was “being destroyed” by a “grossly incompetent governor” and foreign nations shelling out “big money” to attract U.S. production houses. 

Over the weekend, one of Trump’s Hollywood ambassadors, Jon Voight, along with special advisor Steven Paul, delivered to the president a “comprehensive plan” to save the film and television industry during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago. 

“While President Trump regularly corresponds with his Hollywood Ambassadors, including Jon Voight, to restore America’s cultural dominance, it was President Trump himself who formulated the idea of using tariffs to Make Hollywood Great Again.” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to Fox News on Monday. 

Voight and Paul met with “dozens of leading film and television organizations (guilds, unions, studios and streamers) about what changes need to be made to increase domestic film production,” according to a statement. 

The meeting was conducted in person with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and included SP Media Group/Atlas Comics President Scott Karol.

“The proposal includes federal tax incentives, significant changes to several tax codes, the establishment of co-production treaties with foreign countries, and infrastructure subsidies for theater owners, film and television production companies, and post-production companies,” the statement said. “The proposal also includes a focus on job training, and tariffs in certain limited circumstances.”

“The president loves the entertainment business and this country, and he will help us Make Hollywood Great Again,” Voight said.

Fox News’ Tracy Wright and Lawrence Jones contributed to this report.

Americans who don’t have their REAL IDs will still be allowed to fly after the May 7 deadline, but they will face extra screening and delays at the airport.

Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem made the announcement during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday. Noem said 81% of travelers already have IDs that comply with the REAL ID requirements and added that security checkpoints will also be accepting passports and tribal identification when the deadline hits Wednesday.

“People will be allowed to fly,” Noem told lawmakers. “We will make sure it’s as seamless as possible.”

Those who still lack an identification that complies with the REAL ID law “may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step,” Noem said.

MARRIED WOMEN FACE REAL ID DOCUMENTATION HURDLES: ‘I CAN’T ACCEPT THIS’

REAL ID is a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that Homeland Security says is a more secure form of identification. It was a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission and signed into law in 2005, but implementation has been repeatedly delayed.

REAL ID REJECTION BY AMERICANS MAY COME DOWN TO ONE SURPRISING FACTOR

Obtaining a REAL ID includes more stringent requirements for verifying a person’s identity than has been used in the past with non-REAL ID driver’s licenses. The switch to this new form of identification has caused a lot of chaos and confusion, with many travelers expressing fear they won’t be able to get a REAL ID before the Wednesday deadline.

Travelers without a REAL ID can use their passport, but even without that there are still alternatives to the new requirement, though they just might add delays to your trip and aren’t guaranteed to work.

Passengers will be required to fill out a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Form 415, also known as a Certification of Identity form, and if the TSA officials are able to confirm the details given to them, passengers will be allowed to go through the security checkpoint and board their flight. Passengers who go this route may be subject to additional pat-downs, questioning or other extra security screening.

Even if you get denied, you may still be able to take advantage of airline policies that allow passengers to re-book their flight the following day, providing those without the proper identification time to get it. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report

The Trump administration has removed the vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, who was appointed to the role in the waning days of the Biden administration, Fox News Digital learned. 

The White House removed Alvin Brown from the National Transportation Safety Board, a White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital Tuesday morning. Brown had served on the five-person safety panel since March 2024, before President Joe Biden appointed him as vice chair of the board in December 2024 – one month before President Donald Trump’s inauguration. 

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent government agency charged with investigating major transportation accidents, such as plane crashes, and crafting safety guidance to prevent accidents. 

Brown, a Democrat, was the first Black mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, serving from 2011 to 2015, before serving as senior advisor for Community Infrastructure Opportunities for the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2022, according to his biography. 

‘EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE’ AS NTSB INVESTIGATES DEADLY HUDSON RIVER TOUR HELICOPTER CRASH

The National Transportation Safety Board’s website, as of Tuesday morning, lists four members, all of whom were appointed by Trump either during his first or second administration. They are Chair ​​​​​​​​​​​​Jennifer L. Homendy, ​​​Michael Graham, ​​Thomas B. Chapman and ​​​J. Todd Inman. 

NTSB CALLS FOR BAN ON SOME HELICOPTER ROUTES NEAR REAGAN AIRPORT AFTER MIDAIR COLLISION THAT KILLED 67 PEOPLE

The Trump administration was rocked by a plane crash on Jan. 29 near the nation’s capital, when 67 people were killed after an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. That accident was followed by other high-profile plane crashes. 

Air travel was hit with delays in recent days, most notably at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport, when air traffic controllers briefly lost communication with planes. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy joined Fox News’ Laura Ingraham Monday evening, where he addressed the delays and said he plans to overhaul and “radically transform” America’s air traffic control system.

‘GATE LICE’ RUN-INS HAVE FLYERS DEMANDING MORE AIRLINES ‘CRACK DOWN’ ON PESKY TRAVEL TREND

“We’re going to build a brand-new air traffic control system – from new telecom, to new radars, to new infrastructure. We’re bringing on new air traffic controllers,” he said. “This has been a problem in the decades coming, and we’re going to fix it.”

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“When you have an incident like this, you want to make sure that people are safe,” he added, referring to the delays in Newark. “And so, you just have less departures out of the airport until we feel comfortable and safe that the system isn’t going to go down again.”

EXCLUSIVE: As the Small Business Administration (SBA) kicked off “Small Business Week” on Monday, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler spoke to Fox News Digital about the work she has done at the agency while pushing back on the Democratic Party’s narrative about the state of the economy. 

“What I see on the ground is American manufacturers, small businesses alike are grateful to President Trump for his fair trade policy, for having the strength and the backbone to stand up to adversaries and allies alike and demand that they stop treating Americans unfairly with these trade practices,” Loeffler told Fox News Digital about the current state of the economy as President Donald Trump faces criticism from Democrats and media outlets for his tariff policies. 

“I see really strong support and optimism as well for the future. So, while there is a period of change here as we get through these negotiations and with trading partners at the table, we will make sure that small businesses have a big seat at that table, and we are already seeing small businesses invest for the future because they see the opportunity for a made-in-America approach that will really transform the strength of this country not just economically but from a national security perspective.”

Loeffler, speaking to Fox News Digital at an event in Washington, D.C., kicking off “Small Business Week,” said the current media narrative on Trump’s trade policies is “completely counter” to what she sees when she travels the country. 

THESE COMPANIES HAVE ANNOUNCED THEIR INTENTION TO INCREASE US MANUFACTURING AMID TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS

Loeffler explained that she sees small businesses that are “spring-loaded” and “ready to invest.”

“They are fully behind President Trump’s policies to lower our taxes, to have fair trade, President Trump has already brought down core inflation to four-year lows,” Loeffler said. “We’ve seen the jobs come back, almost a half million jobs created in President Trump’s first hundred days, and we’re seeing his regulatory reforms have rollbacks that have already made a huge difference saving small businesses hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions already. And that’s what small businesses want.”

Loeffler pointed out that small businesses make up 99% of all businesses in the country and create two out of three of every new job, and touted that the SBA has seen an 80% increase in loans in Trump’s first 100 days in office. 

“Small businesses don’t take out loans unless they have confidence that they’re going to grow, and we’ve seen that small businesses are doing just that,” Loeffler said. 

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL NOT DROP TARIFFS TO GET CHINA TO NEGOTIATING TABLE

Loeffler told Fox News Digital that during her tenure, the SBA has been “refocused” on its mission after four years of the Biden administration, and part of that mission has been to implement Trump’s agenda on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and illegal immigration. 

The SBA recently eliminated its Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, while placing the office’s employees on administrative leave, and paused grants across the agency that it believes interferes with Trump’s executive orders combating DEI. 

“We really needed to level the playing field and get back to serving small businesses,” Loeffler said. 

In March, Fox News Digital exclusively reported that the SBA enacted a series of reforms on Thursday aimed at ensuring illegal immigrants do not receive taxpayer benefits while also removing its offices from sanctuary cities.

“We’re moving out of sanctuary cities to keep not only our employees safe, but the small businesses that wanna come in and access our programs,” Loeffler told Fox News Digital. “We also need to relocate them to areas where small businesses are actually booming and that’s not necessarily true in sanctuary cities.“

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Loeffler told Fox News Digital that she is particularly excited about what she sees in the manufacturing sector and what can be accomplished in that area if Trump is able to get his tax cut plan through Congress.

“Manufacturing loans are up 74% and so that Made in America engine is happening to the tune of about a hundred manufacturing loans per week and that’s what President Trump’s agenda has done,” Loeffler said.  

“It’s attracted upwards of eight trillion dollars in investments in this country. Much of that will be deployed through small businesses, though it was contributed by large businesses. I’ve talked to many of those CEOs. They deploy it through contractors that come through small businesses. So I’m tremendously excited about the upside that we can see with regard to the tax policy being passed. Hopefully, we have permanent tax cuts that we can deliver to small businesses soon, because I know that the demand for investment by small businesses is there, and it’s really spring-loaded once that tax bill passes.”

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, was slammed on social media after House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain shared a photo of her apparently skipping ahead of two passengers in wheelchairs while boarding a flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday.

“SPOTTED: Jasmine Crockett with a taxpayer-funded police escort, cutting everyone in line — even making DISABLED people wait. Nothing to see here, just the next leader of the Democrats, abusing her power!” McClain, R-Mich., posted on her personal campaign account on Sunday.

McClain’s post included photos of Crockett apparently skipping the line, outraging the Republican’s base with accusations that Crockett is “evil.”

A source familiar with the incident said Crockett was the first passenger “other than the crew” to board a Sunday afternoon Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., including before two passengers in wheelchairs. 

‘USE A CHAIR’: JASMINE CROCKETT INVOKES 2023 MONTGOMERY BRAWL IN COLLEGE SPEECH

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, “If you self-identify as a passenger with a disability who needs additional time or assistance to board the airplane, the airline must allow you to board the airplane before other passengers.”

Customers who need assistance or extra time, active duty U.S. military members and Delta 360 Members, which is an invitation-only membership, are allowed to pre-board within Delta Air Lines’ policy. 

According to the source, Crockett walked up to the gate flanked by a police officer and “what looked like her staffer,” had her boarding pass scanned and then proceeded to board the plane before any other passenger. 

When reached by Fox News Digital, Crockett’s chief of staff said, “We do not have any comments.”

TRUMP MOCKS ‘LOW IQ’ JASMINE CROCKETT, ‘NUTJOB’ BERNIE SANDERS AS POTENTIAL LEADERS FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Delta Air Lines did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Reports last week indicated that Crockett, who is currently the vice ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has her eyes set on the chair position of the committee. Crockett would lead oversight of the federal government if she gets the gig, which could include investigating President Donald Trump‘s agenda. 

Crockett, a vocal opponent of Trump’s second term, took aim at the president in a social media post on Sunday. 

“For you to be in charge of the WHOLE country, you sure do have my name in your mouth a lot. Every time you say my name, you’re reminding the world that you’re terrified of smart, bold Black women telling the truth and holding you accountable. So keep talking,” Crockett said. 

Trump on Sunday told Kristen Welker, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” that Crockett is a “low IQ person,” calling her the future of the Democratic Party, which he described as in “disarray.”

Earlier that day, Crockett was criticized by conservatives for her comments during a commencement speech at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, after suggesting the students know how to “use a chair” in the face of adversity, invoking the infamous 2023 Alabama brawl.

“There are people that are going to tell you that there is not a table in which there is not a seat for you, but I am here to remind you of Montgomery and those folding chairs. Let me tell you that we know how to use a chair, whether we [are] pulling it up or we doing something else with it,” Crockett said. 

Crockett seemed to reference the viral video from August 2023 of a group of White boaters attacking a Black riverboat captain, Dameion Pickett, in Montgomery, Alabama. The white folding chair became a symbol of resistance when a Black man raised a chair over his head in Pickett’s defense as the other men attacked him. 

The Texas Democrat urged the graduating class at the historically Black college to pull up their own seat at the table, reminding students of the bystanders who rushed to defend Pickett when he was attacked. Conservatives were quick to reply to the clip of Crockett’s remarks, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said Crockett’s comments were “not cool.”

Top New Jersey officials asked for a court’s assistance in legally preventing scandal-plagued former Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., from ever seeking or holding office in the Garden State again.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, a Democrat, said Monday that Menendez – sentenced in January to 11 years for bribery, extortion, obstruction and charges he was acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Egypt – abused his Senate role for his “own personal and financial benefit.”

“[He] betray[ed] the people who elected him and the oath he swore to serve their interests and not his own,” Platkin said in a statement.

“Today, my office sought a court order ensuring he will be given no such opportunity again in New Jersey.”

MENENDEZ WAS KNOWN IN DC AS ‘CROOKED FOR A LONG TIME,’ ETHICS LAWYER SAYS, AMID BIPARTISAN RESIGNATION CALLS

Platkin added he wants to ensure the rule of law is applied equally regardless of political affiliation. “[C]orruption has consequences,” said Platkin, whose office of Public Integrity and Accountability filed the suit in Mercer County state superior court. He said he wants the court to confirm Menendez is “forever disqualified” from seeking or holding public office or employment from the municipal level up.

His office noted that former Paterson Democratic Mayor Joey Torres, convicted on corruption charges as well, has been successfully barred in that regard under a similar order. At the same time, the state legislature’s Republican minority wants to see Menendez lose his state-funded pension from his elected roles prior to his time in Congress.

Menendez first served as mayor of Union City in the 1980s, before rising into an assembly and later a state Senate seat centered around West New York, New Jersey, until his move to Congress in 1992.

State Assemblymember Aura Dunn, R-Boonton, is seeking to have him stripped of his continuing $1,066-per-month pension of more than 30 years.

TRUMP PROSECUTOR TO INVESTIGATE BLUE STATE GOVERNOR, AG OVER REPORTED ORDER TO IGNORE ICE WARRANTS

Dunn has drafted a bill that prevents people like Menendez from receiving such a taxpayer-funded payout.

“Most people assume this would happen automatically, especially here in the Soprano State. The fact that we need a court order to bar a convicted felon like ‘Gold Bar Bob’ from public work is absurd,” Dunn told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

Dunn’s bill, A4430, would require state and local pension trustees to order forfeiture of earned service credits or benefits to any member convicted of a state or federal crime, or who is found to have committed misconduct.

“What’s worse? He’s still collecting a taxpayer-funded pension. That’s the real outrage. If the law doesn’t keep up with common sense, I’ll change it,” Dunn said.

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Menendez has routinely professed his innocence, while saying publicly after his sentencing that he now understands President Donald Trump‘s criticisms of the justice system during his trial in New York.

“President Trump is right. This process is political, and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores integrity to the system,” Menendez said.

The ex-lawmaker’s wife, Nadine, was convicted on similar charges in April, including facilitating bribes in the form of the infamous gold bars. She will be sentenced June 12.