Former Vice President Mike Pence has a message for his old boss.

Pence is urging President Donald Trump, under whom he served as vice president in Trump’s first administration, not to raise the tax rate on wealthy Americans.

Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the signature domestic achievement of his first White House term, is scheduled to expire this year if it’s not extended by Congress.

The Trump White House and some congressional Republicans for weeks have mulled letting the tax reductions on the wealthy sunset as a way to pay for the rest of the tax cuts as well as Trump’s other pricey second-term priorities. 

WHAT PRESIDENT TRUMP IS ASKING SPEAKER JOHNSON TO DO 

And the president, during a Wednesday phone call, pushed House Speaker Mike Johnson to raise taxes on the highest income earners and close the carried interest loophole in the reconciliation process, Fox News Digital confirmed. The development was first reported Thursday by Punchbowl News.

A source familiar with Trump’s thinking said Trump is considering allowing the rate on individuals making $2.5 million or more to increase by 2.6%, from 37% to 39.6%.

But Pence, a fiscal conservative and budget hawk during his long political career in the House of Representatives, as Indiana governor and as vice president, strongly cautioned against upping the rates on the highest earners.

“Any suggestion that I’ve heard among some in and around the administration that we raise the top margin rate, the so-called millionaires tax, would be an enormous tax increase on small business owners across America,” Pence said. “It needs to be opposed.”

WHAT MIKE PENCE TOLD FOX NEWS IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW THIS WEEK

And the former vice president, in an interview with Fox News Digital this week, argued that “the majority of people that file taxes of a million dollars are simply individuals that own businesses, and they file their taxes as an individual, but then plow that money back into their company. If you raise that top margin, it would be an enormous tax increase on small business America.”

“Let’s make all the Trump-Pence tax cuts permanent. That’s a way to really lay a foundation to grow the economy in the days ahead,” Pence urged.

WHY TRUMP’S FIRST VICE PRESIDENT WAS HONORED BY THE KENNEDY FAMILY

Pence, who was interviewed in Boston after receiving the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage award, gave “President Trump all the credit in the world for an historic victory last November, and for sparing the country one more liberal Democrat administration.”

He also praised Trump “not only for his victory, but for securing our southern border, for restoring morale and recruitment in our military, for taking the fight to the Houthis.”

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But he argued that “I truly do believe that some of the other steps the president is taking away from that conservative agenda should be a concern that would work against his legacy and ultimately the success of our party or our country. And so we’re going to continue to be a voice against them.

“I really do believe that for prosperity … for the success of our country, we need to stick to those time-honored principles of strong defense, American leadership on the world stage, less government, less taxes, traditional moral values and the right to life, and I’m going to be a voice for that,” Pence added.

Fox News caught up with several senators on Capitol Hill Thursday for their thoughts on the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, and many voiced excitement about the historic first.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., called the news “unbelievable.”

“If you told me ahead of time, I said, ‘No way. Never happen.’ This is phenomenal,” said Hoeven. “I’ve been telling folks they’ll never pick an American cardinal to be the pope. And I thought, you know, maybe somewhere else, but probably back to Europe. So, this is so exciting. I can’t believe it.”

A member of the Augustinians, a religious order within the Catholic Church, the newly elected pope was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in 1955. He studied at Villanova University, was ordained a priest in 1982 and was named a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023.

FIRST AMERICAN ELECTED PONTIFF, GET TO KNOW POPE LEO XIV

Hoeven called Pope Leo XIV’s selection “phenomenal,” saying, “American Catholics are just going to be thrilled. I know they’re just thrilled.”

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said, “As an American Catholic, I am incredibly excited.”

Kelly quipped that “as an Arizonan, this is probably the best pick the Cardinals have made since Larry Fitzgerald.”

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said “we’re very proud in Illinois” and mentioned that she hopes Leo “brings some of his hometown to the Vatican with him.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS FIRST AMERICAN POPE, POPE LEO XIV, IS ‘GREAT HONOR’

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., commented on a post of Leo’s on X before he was elected pope in which he appeared to criticize Vice President JD Vance for his justification for stricter immigration enforcement.

“Hopefully, the new pope can use his pastoral powers in order to help JD Vance and Donald Trump understand their responsibilities representing the most powerful and wealthiest nation in the world,” Markey said. “To ensure that we also protect those who are the most vulnerable and most in need.”

The senator asserted that Leo “will continue the legacy of Pope Francis” and that “this new pope channels that history of the Catholic Church, standing up for those who are most in need against those who are most powerful.”

VILLANOVA GRAD REACTS TO FORMER CLASSMATE BEING NAMED FIRST POPE FROM UNITED STATES

Despite Markey’s assertions that Leo will follow in Francis’ footsteps, the new pope has already differed from his predecessor in several ways, including taking the more traditional name “Leo” and by wearing the traditional red cape of the papacy, which Francis chose not to wear after his election in 2013.

After emerging to address the crowd assembled in St. Peter’s Square Thursday, Leo’s first words were “Peace be with you,” which he said in Italian. He delivered a message to the faithful on building bridges, peace and dialogue “without fear.” 

An analysis of the Trump administration’s efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the federal government during the president’s first 100 days in office revealed that nearly 750 DEI employees have been placed on leave or fired for a savings of more than $2 billion.

The analysis provided by the White House showed that the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Education and the Department of Labor saw some of the biggest savings. The trio of agencies fired or placed on leave 256 DEI employees, saving taxpayers over $1.3 billion, the analysis noted.

Overall, the Trump administration let go of 745 employees working in DEI offices or on DEI-related programs throughout the government and saved taxpayers roughly $2.33 billion. 

“President Trump ordered the end of radical and racist DEI propaganda in government, and the administration is swiftly enacting the president’s order,” White House principal deputy communications director Alex Pfeiffer told Fox News Digital. “Common sense has returned to government.”

‘NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN’: STATE FINANCE LEADER RALLIES AROUND KEY TRUMP VICTORY SAVING ‘TAXPAYER DOLLARS’

In addition to savings and staff cuts, the White House’s analysis highlighted the various grants that were slashed and other changes made as a result of the Trump administration’s efforts to rid the federal government of DEI.

Those programs included race-based grants or quota programs at multiple agencies and race-based promotion commitments. Multimillion-dollar grants for DEI training and DEI-focused activist groups were also among the cuts at most agencies.

At the State Department, a $5 million grant to “strengthen organizational capacity leadership and impact for mid-sized autonomous intersex and trans human rights organizations” was cut. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) saved $1.7 million by eliminating four years of DEI staff training on topics ranging from “microaggressions” to “identifying and preventing racism in your marketing.” 

“You must accept what has happened and what you have done,” a narrator of one of the LinkedIn training sessions funded through these grants stated. “If you can’t accept what the marketplace is telling you, that this piece of content is sexist, racist, homophobic … you can’t move forward as a leader.”  

DEI IS DEAD. HERE’S WHAT SHOULD COME NEXT

Other USDA grants, according to the White House’s analysis, spent money on staff training aimed at “cultivat[ing] an Eye for Inequity,” while Trump administration staff also found “DEI Bingo” cards left over from the Biden administration. The bingo cards included spaces to be checked off, like, “I know what the ‘I’ in LGBTQIA+ means” and “I have pronouns in my signature line.”

USDA also dispersed race-based grants, such as money for “LATINX Growers” and “Black Women’s Regenerative Farming,” according to the White House analysis. The analysis also indicated that the USDA spent $600,000 on research into the menstruation of biological males and $361,000 to support queer and trans farmers.

Similar DEI-related materials were found at the Department of Education, including a white board with bullet points about race-centric priorities. Below the heading “Projects” was a bullet point that said “Black male resource doc,” while “Goals of the Week” included “Tighten up Black Ed Roundtable” and “PAC pictures.” Another box on the whiteboard said, “Black male political appointees.” 

The Education Department under President Donald Trump has also slashed grants promoting racial hiring quotas and numerous teacher training sessions on topics like resisting “settler patriarchy” and how America’s education system is one of the “settler-colonial realities.”

DEFUNDING DEI: HERE’S HOW THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS UNDONE BIDEN’S VERY PRIZED PROGRAMS

According to the administration’s analysis of its DEI cuts, almost 100 antisemitic incidents were left unresolved by the former Biden-Harris administration’s Office of Civil Rights within the Education Department. According to the analysis, staffers in the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights were also told by the last administration to “sit on” a civil rights complaint against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. 

The Biden administration also reportedly neglected Freedom of Information Act requests about its DEI efforts. The White House’s analysis recorded as many as 4,000 outstanding requests sent to the Department of Labor, which, under President Joe Biden, promoted DEI-based hiring and mandatory training programs for staff.

The Health and Human Services Department also saw steep cuts to DEI programs during Trump’s first 100 days. 

At the National Institutes of Health alone, over $350 million in DEI projects were slashed, including grants for studying “multilevel and multidimensional structural racism” and “gender-affirming hormone therapy in mice,” among others.

‘WOKE’ HOSPITAL COULD BE IN CROSSHAIRS OF TRUMP ADMIN AFTER SCATHING COMPLAINT ALLEGES DEI DISCRIMINATION

In addition to all the cuts, the Trump administration has taken steps to rectify the Biden administration’s DEI focus. It ended DEI-related training courses within the DOT online learning management system and disabled an internal email feature at the Department of Transportation that let users list their pronouns. The administration did the same with other pronoun policies at other agencies.

The administration has also taken proactive steps at other agencies, such as removing DEI criteria from more than 2,900 supervisory performance standards at the Energy Department. At the Department of Interior, the agency’s “DEIA Council” was terminated. It had a stated purpose of embedding diversity, equity and inclusion principles into “everything” the agency does.

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Trump’s crusade against DEI began on the first day of his second presidency with an executive order, “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.” In the order, President Trump accused the Biden administration of forcing “illegal and immoral” DEI programs on the American people. 

“This was a concerted effort stemming from President Biden’s first day in office,” Trump’s order insisted. 

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…

-From floppy disks to flight delays: Top lawmaker warns US air system is due for a reboot

–North Korea launches short-range ballistic missiles into sea, South Korea says

-Travelers weigh in on REAL ID rollout after 2005 law finally takes effect: ‘I think it’s important’

President Donald Trump congratulated the new Pope Leo XIV after he was selected Thursday, noting it is “a great honor” for the United States that an American-born Cardinal was selected to be Francis’ successor. 

“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform shortly after white smoke emerged from the Vatican indicating the conclave had come to a decision on who will lead the Catholic Church. 

“It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”…READ MORE

BIDEN’S LEGACY: Biden hires veteran Democrat communicator as former president aims to defend tarnished reputation

RUBI-ALL: Marco Rubio went from rival to Trump’s point man, but can he handle it?

DENIED: Federal judge blocks Trump admin from dismantling 3 agencies

RED DAWN: Xi stands with Putin against ‘international bullying’ amid Trump trade war

SECRET FACILITY: Satellite images reveal alleged secret Iranian nuclear weapons facility

VIGILANCE NEEDED: Trump halts military strikes on Houthis,, but expert warns Iran-backed terrorist group remains major threat

BIG GULF: House votes to make Trump Gulf of America name change permanent

RIGHT FLANK DEFENSE: Senator says Dems ‘eat their own’ as Fetterman faces renewed scrutiny

PURSE POWER: Conservative firebrand torches blue state immigration policies amid major lawsuit

‘DON’T UNDERESTIMATE HER’: AOC’s constituents weigh in on prez run, remind GOP of shock Joe Crowley defeat

BORDER CRACKDOWN: Illegal immigrant murderers could face death penalty under new GOP bill

‘WALK IN THE PARK’: REAL ID deadline comes and goes – airports report business as usual

NOT LAWFUL: Deportation flights to Libya would violate court order without prior notice, federal judge says

GANG ARRESTS: Suspected Tren de Aragua member among 5 arrested in human smuggling bust: Texas sheriff

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

The University of California, Los Angeles, medical school was hit with a class-action lawsuit on Thursday for reportedly still employing a race-based admissions process despite a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that race-based programs for college admissions are unconstitutional, Fox News Digital has learned. 

“UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine has continually treated the Students for Fair Admissions ruling as a recommendation, rather than a binding law handed down by the highest court in the land,” Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chair of Do No Harm, told Fox News Digital. “Do No Harm is fighting for all the students who have been racially discriminated against by UCLA under the guise of political progress. All medical schools must abide by the law of the land and prioritize merit, not immutable characteristics, in admissions.”

Do No Harm, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting against “radical progressive ideology” in the health industry, and nonprofit legal advocacy organization Students for Fair Admissions filed the class-action lawsuit Thursday afternoon on behalf of applicants who allegedly faced “intentional discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity in the admissions process” at UCLA’s medical school, according to the lawsuit.

WATCH: UNEARTHED FOOTAGE EXPOSES MEDICAL SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PLEDGING TO RESIST TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS

“The numbers show that UCLA is engaged in intentional racial balancing. Between 2020 and 2023, the percentage of white and Asian applicants to Geffen was consistently around 73% of the total applicant pool. Yet, the percentage of matriculants to Geffen who are white and Asian plummeted: 65.7% in 2020, 57.1% in 2021, 57.8% in 2022, and 53.7% in 2023,” the lawsuit alleges. 

UCLA’s medical school is highly competitive with an acceptance rate of about 3.3%, according to U.S. News and World Report‘s college rankings.

MORE THAN HALF OF AMERICAN HOSPITALS HAVE PLANS TO INCREASE RACIAL DIVERSITY AMONG LEADERSHIP, STUDY SAYS

The suit names a bevy of defendants, ranging from the medical school to the governing board of the University of California’s college system to the associate dean of admissions at the medical school. 

Fox News Digital reached out to UCLA and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA on Thursday afternoon for comment on the lawsuit but did not immediately receive replies.

The suit alleges that the medical school’s admissions process violates the Supreme Court’s ruling in the 2023 case, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. The nation’s highest court ruled that it is unconstitutional to use race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions processes as it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 

President Donald Trump additionally signed an executive order on Jan. 21, one day after his inauguration, that restored “merit-based opportunity” and charged federal agencies with enforcing civil rights laws and “combat” DEI practices. 

AG BONDI LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO DEI ADMISSIONS POLICIES AT STANFORD, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS

The lawsuit alleges that whistleblowers “with first-hand knowledge” of the school’s dean of admissions rolled out an admissions process plan that requires Geffen “applicants to submit responses that are intended to allow the Committee to glean the applicant’s race, which the medical school later confirms via interviews.”

The admission committee, according to the suit, additionally “routinely and openly discuss race (and racial proxies) and use race as a factor to make admission decisions.”

LIBERAL IDEOLOGY ‘QUITE DANGEROUS’ IN HEALTH CARE, DO NO HARM FOUNDER SAYS: ‘POISONS THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE’

The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is already facing investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services‘ Office for Civil Rights over allegations it discriminates against applicants on the basis of race, color or national origin.

“This investigation reflects the Administration’s commitment to honor the hard work, excellence, and individual achievement of all students in the pipeline for the medical profession – not just those of particular racial backgrounds,” Anthony Archeval, acting director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS, said in a press release in March announcing the investigation.

The HHS investigation was sparked by multiple whistleblowers in the admissions office claiming that the school set lower standards for Black and Latino applicants compared to White and Asian counterparts, the Washington Free Beacon reported this month.

A former top aide in President Donald Trump’s first administration is arguing that Republicans raising taxes on wealthy Americans “makes no sense.”

Marc Short, the former chief of staff to ex-Vice President Mike Pence, was an integral part of negotiations for Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). He also served in Trump’s first White House as director of legislative affairs from 2017 to 2018.

“Raising taxes on America’s highest earners and biggest job creators makes no sense. I don’t understand why there are some inside the current administration who are pushing Congress to raise the top rate, because again, these are America’s job creators,” Short said.

“So many small businesses file taxes as individuals. And so you’re actually going to be raising taxes on many small businesses, not just individuals.”

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

Congressional Republicans are working on a massive piece of legislation that Trump has dubbed his “big, beautiful bill,” aimed at advancing his policies on tax, border security, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt.

The tax policy portion is expected to be the costliest, and House negotiators are working on identifying a number of areas to cut a total of at least $1.5 trillion to offset the new spending.

A source familiar with Trump’s thinking told Fox News Digital he’s considering allowing the rate on individuals making $2.5 million or more to revert from 37% to the pre-2017 39.6%. 

It will help pay for massive middle- and working-class tax cuts as well as protect Medicaid, the source said.

The TCJA lowered the tax rate for the top income bracket — currently $609,350 for single filers — to 37%, a cut that’s expiring at the end of this year.

Creating a new, higher tax bracket for people earning significantly more than that would help pay for extending the 2017 tax cuts as well as implementing Trump’s new priorities: eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay and retirees’ Social Security checks.

But Short, who helped get the 2017 package passed, dismissed those new Trump priorities as short-sighted political sweeteners.

“I feel like some of the administration’s new requirements are somewhat gimmicky. I’m not sure many Americans who earn their income based on tips are even paying taxes on those tips right now. And I think we should begin to extend that to say no tax on overtime,” he said.

Short said those changes would create “a lot of additional hurdles for businesses to comply with.”

“I think the no tax on Social Security, it seems like what we’re trying to do is different from 2017, when we passed the Tax Cuts and Job Act,” he said. “We tried to simplify the tax code, make it flatter and fair for all Americans, as opposed to creating carve-outs for certain constituencies.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a response to Short’s remarks.

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

Some conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation and Americans for Prosperity are also wary of a potential tax hike for the wealthy.

Richard Stern, director of the Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at the Heritage Foundation, said the group is opposed to efforts to raise tax rates to 40% or higher.

“Congress needs to get its fiscal house in order, but it must do so by tightening its own belt, not by forcing American taxpayers to tighten theirs. A higher top tax rate would be counterproductive, discouraging hard work and entrepreneurship,” Stern said.

Americans for Prosperity chief government affairs officer Brent Gardner said in a statement, “Raising taxes on any American should be completely off the table.”

According to church leaders from the Archdiocese of Chicago, newly elected Pope Leo XIV, the first pope to hail from the United States, has a heart for the poor and is also a Cubs fan.

Leo XIV’s election was announced to the entire world on Thursday, marking a historic moment in which a Chicago-born cardinal, Robert Francis Prevost, was chosen as the Catholic Church’s new leader.

A member of the Augustinians, a religious order within the Catholic Church, the 69-year-old pontiff was born in Chicago, studied at Villanova University, was ordained a priest in 1982 and was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023.

He had been serving as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

ROBERT PREVOST’S JOURNEY FROM CHICAGO TO BECOMING FIRST AMERICAN POPE AS LEO XIV

The Chicago archdiocese celebrated the news of the pope’s election in a press conference on Thursday in which they shared some insight into what kind of leader Leo might be.

Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Lawrence Sullivan said that “Pope Francis was certainly someone who cared for those who are living on the fringes, who could easily be forgotten. And I strongly suspect that Pope Leo the 14th will do the same thing. He will give voice to the voiceless.”

Sullivan said that Leo “brings a wide variety of perspectives,” including “what it means to have been born in Chicago, what it means to have been educated here in the United States, what it means to serve in Peru.”

He said that Leo’s former leadership roles at the Vatican mean that he “has a real hands-on knowledge of what it means to serve the poor and to help those who are in need” and that he is “very familiar with the worldwide church.”

TRUMP CONGRATULATES POPE LEO XIV, CALLS HIS ELECTION ‘A GREAT HONOR’ FOR THE UNITED STATES

Sullivan went on to note that “the people of God are not confined to national boundaries” and that Leo “is not an American at this point. He’s a child of God, and that’s the way that he’s going to lead, taking all people into consideration.”

Despite this, Father Gregory Sakowicz, rector of Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral, said, “You can never deny your roots. So, I’m sure he has a love for Chicago, love for the United States. That’s part of his upbringing.”

Smiling, Sakowicz said that “one burning question I have is the fact that the Pope, Leo the 14th, or the cardinal, then Robert Prevost, was born in Chicago on the South Side. Is he a Chicago White Sox fan?”

Sakowicz said he did not know whether Leo was a White Sox fan but that he knows that “he’s a Cubs fan.”

“I heard he’s a Cubs fan. Well, God bless him, and God bless all the fans,” said Sakowicz.

An alleged outburst by Sen. John Fetterman is reopening concerns about whether the Pennsylvania Democrat is still fit for office after suffering a stroke several years ago.

Fetterman, a 55-year-old Democrat perhaps best known for his distinctive habit of almost always wearing gym shorts and a hoodie, suffered a stroke in 2022 and was later admitted to Walter Reed Hospital for depression for six weeks shortly after taking office.

The Associated Press reported this week that during a meeting with teachers’ union members from his state, Fetterman became agitated, began repeating himself, shouting and yelling: “Everybody is mad at me” and “Why does everyone hate me, what did I ever do?” He also reportedly slammed his hands on a desk during the outburst.

The outlet reported that Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) President Aaron Chapin was present at the meeting. Neither PSEA nor Chapin responded to Fox News Digital’s request to confirm or deny the incident.

FETTERMAN SLAMS ‘DUMB HIT PIECE’ ABOUT HEALTH, SAYS IT FELT LIKE BEING ‘IN GOODFELLAS’

According to the AP, an aide cut off the meeting, ushered the visitors out and proceeded to break down crying.

The outburst came shortly before New York Magazine published a story detailing concerns about his mental health from several current and former staffers. The magazine reported that staffers “paint a picture of an erratic senator who has become almost impossible to work for and whose mental-health situation is more serious and complicated than previously reported.”

The article extensively cites testimony from Adam Jentleson, Fetterman’s former chief of staff, who voiced a plethora of concerning behavior, including “conspiratorial thinking; megalomania” and “high highs and low lows; long, rambling, repetitive and self centered monologues; lying in ways that are painfully, awkwardly obvious to everyone in the room.”

The article’s author went on to state that many of the staffers are not only worried about his fitness as a senator but also that “he may present a risk to the Democratic Party and maybe even to himself.”

LIBERALS WHO RALLIED BEHIND FETTERMAN POST-STROKE IN 2022 TURN ON PRO-ISRAEL SENATOR AFTER NY MAGAZINE REPORT

In response to the AP report, Fetterman’s office sent Fox News Digital several comments from the senator in which he neither confirmed nor denied the outburst but instead, said: “Here’s what is true: We had a spirited conversation about our collective frustration with the Trump administration’s cuts to our education system.”

The senator said: “As a proud product of PSEA, I will always support our teachers, and I will always reject anyone’s attempt to turn Pennsylvania’s public schools into a voucher program.”

In reference to the New York Magazine article, Fetterman dismissed the concerns as “just disgruntled former staffers peddling lies and half-truths under the guise of ‘concern.’”

BILL MAHER SAYS WOKE REALITY TV MOMENT EXPLAINS HOW DEMOCRATIC PARTY WILL BLOW NEXT ELECTION

Fetterman said that “if those were genuine concerns, they’d pick up the phone and call me, not the press,” adding, “My ACTUAL doctors and my family affirmed that I’m very well.”

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The senator has previously labeled the magazine’s report “a dumb hit piece,” saying: “We’ve all moved on.” 

President Donald Trump congratulated the new Pope Leo XIV after he was selected Thursday, noting it is “a great honor” for the United States that an American-born cardinal was selected to be Francis’ successor. 

“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform shortly after white smoke emerged from the Vatican indicating the conclave had come to a decision on who will lead the Catholic Church. 

“It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

PAPAL CONCLAVE: EVENTUAL NEW POPE’S CHOSEN NAME MAY SIGNAL WHAT’S AHEAD

Trump added to reporters at the White House that he was “a little bit surprised” by the selection of Cardinal Prevost, but reiterated multiple times what an honor the selection was for America. 

“What greater honor could there be?” Trump posited to reporters. He also told them that the administration has already been in touch with the Vatican and expects to have the president visit the new pope in the future. It was not made clear how soon that meeting might take place.

Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, also congratulated the new pope on his selection Thursday. 

NY BISHOP SAYS POPE LEO XIV’S BACKGROUND WILL BE ‘INCREDIBLY BENEFICIAL’

“Congratulations to Leo XIV, the first American Pope, on his election!” Vance said on X. “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!”

Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago and prior to his papal appointment he served as the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, which advises the pope on bishop appointments across the globe. In addition to Prevost, New York City Cardinal Timothy Dolan was also floated as a potential successor to Francis. 

In his first address, Pope Leo XIV called on Catholics to live as missionaries and stressed that he hopes to be a builder of peace during his papacy. The new pope also asked Catholics to assist him in bringing peace to “all peoples,” and participating in dialogue and “building bridges.”

The acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is no longer with the agency — just a day after telling lawmakers that cutting FEMA, like President Donald Trump has proposed, is a bad move. 

Cameron Hamilton, who previously served as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy with SEAL Team 8, has led FEMA since January. 

“Effective today, David Richardson is now serving as the Senior Official Performing the duties of the FEMA Administrator,” a FEMA spokesperson said in a Thursday email to Fox News Digital. “Cameron Hamilton is no longer serving in this capacity.”

‘FEMA IS NOT GOOD’: TRUMP ANNOUNCES AGENCY OVERHAUL DURING VISIT TO NORTH CAROLINA 

Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Troy Edgar and Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski requested Hamilton appear at Department of Homeland Security headquarters Thursday morning and informed him of his ouster, Politico reported. 

While Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have voiced support for eradicating FEMA, Hamilton cautioned Wednesday against eliminating the agency. 

“I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton told lawmakers on the House Committee on Appropriations. 

Days after his inauguration, Trump visited North Carolina in January to oversee the state’s efforts for recovering from Hurricane Helene, more than 120 days after the storm struck the state. On the trip, Trump floated plans to gut FEMA, which oversaw the disaster relief efforts. 

“I’ll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina. “I think, frankly, FEMA is not good.”

President Donald Trump is considering a small tax increase for wealthy Americans to help pay for his priorities to boost the middle and working classes.

A source familiar with Trump’s thinking told Fox News Digital that Trump is considering allowing the rate on individuals making $2.5 million or more to increase by 2.6%, from 37% to 39.6%.

He quietly pushed Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on the idea in a phone call on Wednesday, two people familiar with conversations told Fox News Digital.

It comes as Republicans work on a massive piece of legislation advancing Trump’s priorities on taxes, border security, immigration, energy, defense, and the national debt, which the president has dubbed his “big, beautiful bill.”

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

Differing projections show the bill is likely to add trillions of dollars to the country’s deficit over the next 10 years, so fiscal hawks are looking for ways to mitigate that and set up America for a less bloated government down the line by pairing the new priorities with deep spending cuts elsewhere.

The tax portion of the bill is expected to be the costliest portion. 

Republicans are hoping to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) as well as pay for newer Trump priorities like eliminating taxes on tips, overtime wages, and retirees’ social security.

Punchbowl News first reported details of the Trump-Johnson phone call.

BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT’S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY

It’s not clear yet what Republicans will decide, or even if they will ultimately decide to raise taxes on the highest earners – but details are expected to emerge in the coming days.

The Ways & Means Committee, the House’s tax-writing panel, is expected to meet on Tuesday afternoon to advance that portion of Trump’s bill.

Talks about potential tax hikes on the wealthy have triggered a deep rift within the Republican Party. 

Mainstream conservatives have balked at discussions of raising rates on anyone, arguing it would have a negative impact on job creators, while populist and more moderate Republicans have floated such ideas in order to pay for Trump’s priorities to benefit the middle and working classes.

“Raising taxes on America’s highest earners and biggest job creators makes no sense,” Marc Short, a former chief of staff to ex-Vice President Mike Pence and a key part of TCJA negotiations, told Fox News Digital.

“I don’t understand why there are some inside the current administration who are pushing Congress to raise the top rate, because again, these are America’s job creators.”

Other Republicans told Fox News Digital in recent weeks that they believe the idea could be popular, however.

“I’m open-minded to what the president or the treasury secretary may have in mind. And I would want to see some numbers behind it and how it would have an effect on the economy,” conservative Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital in late April.

“What I’ve heard from people in the upper tax brackets is, you know, they’re willing to pay more as long as they know that it’s paying the debt down. They don’t want to see it go towards more spending.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Johnson’s office for comment.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts used a public appearance Wednesday to stress the importance of an independent judiciary, doubling down on defense of the courts under fire by President Donald Trump and his allies, who have accused so-called “activist judges” of overstepping their bounds.

Asked during a fireside chat event in Buffalo, New York, about judicial independence, Roberts responded in no uncertain terms that the role of the federal courts is to “decide cases, but in the course of that, check the excesses of Congress or the executive.”

That role, he added, “does require a degree of independence.”

BOASBERG GRILLS DOJ OVER REMARKS FROM TRUMP AND NOEM, FLOATS MOVING MIGRANTS TO GITMO IN ACTION-PACKED HEARING

Roberts’ remarks are not new. But they come as Trump and his allies have railed against federal judges who have paused or halted key parts of the president’s agenda. (Some of the rulings they’ve taken issue with came from judges appointed by Trump in his first term.)

The Supreme Court is slated to hear a number of high-profile cases and emergency appeals filed by the Trump administration in the next few months, cases that are all but certain to keep the high court in the spotlight for the foreseeable future.

Among them are Trump’s executive orders banning transgender service members from serving in the U.S. military, restoring fired federal employees to their jobs and a case about whether children whose parents illegally entered the U.S. and were born here should be granted citizenship. Oral arguments for that last case kick off next week.

TRUMP-ALIGNED GROUP SUES CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS IN EFFORT TO RESTRICT POWER OF THE COURTS

Just hours before Roberts spoke to U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo, a high-stakes hearing played out in federal court in Washington, D.C.

There, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg spent more than an hour grilling Justice Department lawyers about their use of the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport hundreds of migrants to El Salvador earlier this year. 

Boasberg’s March 15 order that temporarily blocked Trump’s use of the law to send migrants to a Salvadoran prison sparked ire from the White House and in Congress, where some Trump allies had previously floated calls for impeachment.

Roberts, who put out a rare public statement at the time rebuking calls to impeach Boasberg or any federal judges, doubled down on that in Wednesday’s remarks.

“Impeachment is not how you register disagreement with a decision,” Roberts said, adding that he had already spoken about that in his earlier statement.

In the statement, sent by Roberts shortly after Trump floated the idea of impeaching Boasberg, said that “for more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” he said.

“The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,” he said in the statement. 

A pair of hawkish, Trump-supporting Senate Republicans say that any “lasting” Iran nuclear deal would need to be approved by Congress, ideally through a two-thirds majority treaty vote. 

But scoring a two-thirds majority in the Senate for treaty ratification would require Iran to fulfill a series of steep demands. In addition to getting rid of all of its enriched uranium and centrifuges, GOP lawmakers say it would need to dismantle its ballistic missile program and cease all support for terrorist groups across the Middle East.

“If they want the most durable and lasting kind of deal, then they want to bring it to the Senate and have it voted on as a treaty,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in response to a question from Fox News Digital. 

“That was one reason why President Obama’s deal was so weak,” Cotton went on. “An agreement between the American president, whoever he or she may be, and a foreign leader, can be reversed by future presidents, which President Trump rightly did seven years ago today.”

TRUMP TARGETS IRANIAN OIL WITH SANCTIONS, INCREASING PRESSURE ON ISLAMIC REPUBLIC TO MAKE DEAL ON NUKES

In 2015, Cotton led an open letter signed by Senate Republicans to Iranian leaders warning that any nuclear agreement not approved by Congress could be undone by a future administration. The move was widely viewed as a direct effort to undermine President Barack Obama’s ongoing negotiations.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., echoed the call for congressional oversight, saying that “at a minimum” any deal must go through the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA), which passed Congress in 2015 with resounding bipartisan support and guarantees lawmakers a chance to review any accord reached with Tehran.

Graham said he had told Secretary of State Marco Rubio there was “no way” to get 67 votes to ratify a treaty agreement without Iran totally dismantling its nuclear and missile programs and support for terrorism. 

WHITE HOUSE CALLS YEMEN CEASEFIRE A ‘WIN’ – EXPERTS WARN HOUTHIS MAY NOT HOLD THE LINE

The senators also drew a parallel with the so-called 123 agreements – the legal frameworks that govern U.S. civil nuclear cooperation with foreign nations. These agreements require strict safeguards to prevent the development of nuclear weapons.

“It’s also customary in some cases for the Congress, not just the Senate, to pass ordinary legislation that supports the so-called 123 agreements,” Cotton noted, suggesting that any comprehensive deal with Iran should be treated with similar legislative rigor.

Cotton and Graham spoke to reporters after introducing a resolution outlining “acceptable” terms of an Iran deal, including total cessation of uranium enrichment. 

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has amassed enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build several nuclear weapons if it chose to do so – though U.S. intelligence assessments maintain that Tehran has not yet made a decision to weaponize.

Both U.S. and Israeli officials have ramped up their threats against the regime. Trump has made clear that if talks go south, the U.S. will engage in direct military action to thwart Iran’s nuclear program. 

Graham suggested the regime only has “weeks” to acquiesce to a deal. 

“We’re not talking about long, protracted negotiations,” the South Carolina Republican said. “We’re talking weeks, not months, not years. The potential of Iranian breakout looms large here. Israel’s desire to bring closure to this issue looms large here.”

Former President Joe Biden is easing back into the public eye, as he delivered his first speech since leaving office last month and sat for his first post-presidency interviews. 

The 82-year-old former party leader reflected on the Democrats’ November losses and discussed the future of the party on “The View” Thursday morning. 

While the Biden administration relentlessly defended the first octogenarian president’s mental acuity throughout his one and only term, his disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump and his subsequent suspension of his re-election campaign revealed a different reality. 

“The only reason I got out of the race was because I didn’t want to have a divided Democratic Party,” Biden maintained to the hosts of “The View.”

However, as Democrats grapple with the fallout of losing the White House, Senate and failing to regain the House in November, the age-old seniority question has returned to the fold of the Democratic Party, as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., the 35-year-old progressive making waves as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said she will not seek the top Democrat position on the House Oversight Committee. 

DEMOCRATS’ VICE CHAIR GETS ULTIMATUM: STAY NEUTRAL IN PRIMARIES OR STEP DOWN FROM PARTY LEADERSHIP

“It’s actually clear to me that the underlying dynamics in the caucus have not shifted with respect to seniority as much as I think would be necessary, and so I believe I’ll be staying put at Energy and Commerce,” Ocasio-Cortez’s spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital in a statement first reported by NBC. 

WATCH: AOC LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR 2028 PRESIDENTIAL BID AS CAMPAIGN BUZZ SOARS

Ocasio-Cortez lost her House Oversight bid to 74-year-old Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., late last year. Connolly announced last month his plan to step back as ranking member of the Oversight Committee after just four months on the job, due to a resurgence of esophageal cancer, adding that it would be his final term in Congress. 

Connolly’s decision opened the door for Ocasio-Cortez to consider another attempt to lead the committee, which is best positioned to investigate the Trump administration if Democrats manage to regain the House in 2026. Ocasio-Cortez, citing the Democratic Party’s “underlying dynamics” that prioritize seniority in party leadership, renewed a conversation started by Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg’s plan to primary challenge older incumbent Democrats. 

Hogg’s Super PAC, Leaders We Deserve, announced a plan last month to spend $20 million to help elect younger Democrats in deep-blue districts, which the 25-year-old party leader said are “asleep at the wheel.”

The unprecedented move was ridiculed by many, including veteran Democrat strategist James Carville, who called it “the most insane thing I ever heard.”

“Aren’t we supposed to run against Republicans?” Carville asked in an interview with CNN. 

While the two Democrats seemed to bury the hatchet in a recent and rare joint interview on “The Tara Palmeri Show,” Hogg’s move prompted DNC Chair Ken Martin to announce a neutrality pledge for DNC officials and an ultimatum for the young progressive – either resign as vice chair or forego his involvement in Leaders We Deserve, his group leading the multimillion-dollar plight to challenge senior Democrats. 

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif, one of several younger Democrats leading the resistance to Trump’s second term and a name floated as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview that “we have to have a whole rebrand of the Democratic Party with a coherent platform and a future-oriented platform, and many leaders need to do that, new leaders, not the old guard. And I hope to be part of that.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s decision not to seek a House Oversight leadership position comes as rumors about her 2028 presidential or 2026 senatorial ambitions swirl following a viral campaign-style video, filmed on the road with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. 

Those rumors followed the progressive Democrat’s record-breaking fundraising haul, one of the biggest ever for a House lawmaker, raising $9.6 million in the past three months. A Siena College poll also found Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s favorability is down, at 39% among New York state voters questioned in the poll, which was conducted April 14-16. Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez’s favorability soared to 47%. 

The longtime senator from New York faced pushback from the Democratic Party in March for supporting the Trump-backed Republican budget bill that averted a government shutdown and stirred up outrage among congressional Democrats who planned to boycott the bill.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

The Trump administration Thursday rolled out its three-year plan to build a brand-new, “state-of-the-art” air traffic control system to address critical safety needs — replacing core infrastructure and telecommunications networks to “unlock the future of air travel.”  

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy unveiled the proposal Thursday, which would replace the current, antiquated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system and “enhance safety in the sky, reduce delays and unlock the future of air travel.” 

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

“Under President Trump, America is building again,” Duffy said Thursday, upon rolling out the new proposal for a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system.” 

“Decades of neglect have left us with an outdated system that is showing its age,” Duffy said, noting that building the new system “is an economic and national security necessity, and the time to fix it is now.”

Under the new air traffic control system proposal, the FAA would replace infrastructure, like radar, software, hardware and telecommunications networks to manage modern travel. 

NEWARK AIRPORT HIT WITH NEW DELAYS, OUTAGE HEARD ON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AUDIO

Officials say the current system is one “build for the past,” but the new proposal is to build a system “for the future.” 

The plan would ensure facilities are equipped with better technologies to reduce outages, improve efficiency, and reinforce safety. 

“We’re going to be buying a brand-new, state of the art system that will cover the entire world,” President Trump said earlier Thursday. 

According to the Transportation Department, the plan consists of four infrastructure components: Communications, Surveillance, Automation and Facilities. 

Officials plan, by 2028, to replace current, antiquated telecommunications systems with new fiber, wireless and satellite technologies at more than 4,600 sites; 25,000 new radios, and 475 new voice switches. 618 radars will also be replaced by 2027. 

The plan would also address runway safety by increasing the number of airports with Surface Awareness Initiative to 200. Officials expect this to be complete by 2027. 

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

The Transportation Department also proposed building six new air traffic control centers for the first time since the 1960s. It also proposes replacing 15 towers and 15 co-located TRACONs, or Terminal Radar Approach Controls, which are facilities that manage air traffic in the airspace surrounding busy airports. 

Officials also proposed the installation of new modern hardware and software for all air traffic facilities, which would create a common platform system throughout all towers, TRACONs and centers. 

The proposal also includes the deployment of additional technologies to the Caribbean and Alaska to provide accurate, real-time surveillance and weather information for air traffic control and pilots to ensure “safe and efficient flights for these critical locations.” 

Officials stressed the need for a new air traffic control system, saying the FAA is grappling with a “rapidly growing, complex and demanding aviation sector,” as commercial air travel returns to pre-COVID levels. Officials also pointed to novel challenges including drones and advanced air mobility. 

Officials said that the FAAs current systems “are showing their age,” which leads to “delays and inefficiencies.” 

The Department of Transportation, though, stressed that the National Airspace System is “safe,” but stressed that maintaining the safety is necessary. 

The proposal is based on a 3-year framework to reinvest in the National Airspace System, and called for an “emergency supplemental funding increase.” 

ASTOUNDING NEW AUDIO SHOWS AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS REACTING TO FAA TECH OUTAGE: ‘THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE’

“Modernization of the NAS can no longer take 10+ years to complete; it must be done now,” the proposal states. “We need an immediate infusion of funding to address critical infrastructure needs.” 

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

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.”

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.”

Meanwhile, Secretary Duffy on Thursday said that the administration has assembled an “unprecedented coalition of support” from labor to industry, stressing that support is “indicative of just how important it is to this administration to get done what no one else could.”  

Duffy added: “The American people are counting on us, and we won’t let them down.”

The roll out of the proposal comes just days after the FAA issued a ground delay for Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey due to staffing shortages, weather and construction.

“Our antiquated air traffic control system is affecting our workforce,” an FAA statement said. “As Secretary Duffy has said, we must get the best safety technology in the hands of controllers as soon as possible.”

It also comes after air traffic controller audio was made public from when radar and radio communications with planes were briefly lost at Newark Airport on April 28. 

The April 28 outage lasted roughly 90 seconds. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association confirmed the incident to Fox News Digital, writing that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s operation in Philadelphia had “temporarily lost radar and communications with the aircraft under their control, unable to see, hear, or talk to them.”

Fox Business’ Grady Trimble contributed to this report. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Democratic senators, including Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Chris Murphy, sparred over Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador.

“We have a limited amount of time. I just asked you, Madam Secretary, whether or not you or the Department of Homeland Security are taking any action to facilitate the 9-0 Supreme Court decision to facilitate his return. This is a very simple question. Are you taking any action to facilitate his return, or are you not?” Van Hollen asked at the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing. 

“This administration is following and complying with all federal court orders,” Noem replied. 

“So you are so because the court ordered that you facilitate his return. So you are facilitating his return?”

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

“Sir. Senator, thank you for the question. But what I would tell you is that we are following court orders. I’m certain that your advocacy for a known terrorist is alarming,” she fired back.

“Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador and should never have been in this country and will not be coming back to this country,” Noem told Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., in a heated exchange at the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday morning.

“There is no scenario where an Abrego Garcia will be in the United States again. If he were to come back, we would immediately deport him again because he is a terrorist. He’s a human smuggler, and he is a wife-beater,” she continued.

Murphy had asked the secretary if she had “reached out to your counterpart in El Salvador to facilitate Mr. Abrego Garcia’s release.”

“Does the Supreme Court decision not require you to facilitate the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia?” Murphy later asked.

DEMOCRATIC SENATOR TELLS NY TIMES WHY APPROVAL FOR PARTY IS ‘IN THE TOILET,’ GIVES OMINOUS WARNING FOR 2026

“The Trump administration is complying with all court orders and judges’ orders,” she replied.

Abrego Garcia, 29, is a Salvadoran illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member who was living in Maryland until he was deported to the high-security Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in his home country during the first 100 days of the Trump administration.  

Though many Democrats, including Maryland’s Van Hollen, claim that Abrego Garcia is an innocent man who was “wrongly deported,” the administration has pointed to considerable evidence that he is a member of the infamous MS-13 gang.

In recent weeks, two protective orders suggested that he was abusive to his wife, who is now advocating for his release. In addition, the Tennessee Highway Patrol released body camera footage of its 2022 encounter with him, where state troopers suspected he was involved in human trafficking.

TENNESSEE BODYCAM OF ‘MARYLAND MAN’ TRAFFIC STOP SHOWS TROOPERS’ HANDS TIED DESPITE SMUGGLING CLUES

Several Democrats have argued that he was not given proper due process and that the evidence that he is a member of MS-13, which has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration, is not sufficient to justify his removal. 

Noem faced mixed reactions of praise and intense criticism at the hearing on Thursday, as Republicans applauded the department’s efforts on illegal immigration, whereas Democrats raised concerns about spending and legal processes.

Fox News’ Peter Pinedo, Emma Colton and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump is touting that Thursday’s announcement of a trade deal with the United Kingdom – which is the first since the president a month ago announced massive tariffs on nations across the globe – will be “the first of many.”

Pushing back against descriptions that the agreement hammered out between the two historic allies was just an initial deal with much more to be negotiated, Trump argued “this is a very big deal…this is a maxed-out deal that we’re going to make bigger.”

The financial sector appeared to embrace the deal, with the stock markets rising on news of the agreement. However, for a president aiming to pass a sweeping agenda through Congress, it is the political reaction that may be of upmost importance.

Trump’s approval ratings have been sliding since he returned to power in the White House three and a half months ago and are now underwater in most national polling.

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

Fueling 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.  

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

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.

WHERE TRUMP STANDS IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL

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

Additionally, the president’s approval registered at 38% on the economy and just 33% on inflation and tariffs.

However, veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams, when asked about the political impact of Thursday’s trade deal, described it as a “positive first step.”

Williams also noted that Trump’s approval ratings are “tied directly to the performance of the economy.”

POLL POSITION: WHERE TRUMP STANDS 15 WEEKS INTO HIS SECOND PRESIDENCY

In discussing his tariffs soon after he announced them on what he called “Liberation Day,” the president touted that “these countries are calling us up, kissing my a–.”

“They are dying to make a deal. ‘Please, please, sir, make a deal. I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything, sir!’” Trump highlighted.

A month later, Trump finally got a chance to showcase a trade agreement.

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“President Trump has argued that his agenda requires time for an adjustment and deal making. He’ll be given a period of time to execute deals to prove that his plans are working and the first major trade deal with a nation like the UK is at least a sign that some of the work has been going on behind the scenes thus and is starting to bear fruit,” Williams said.

He added that the president will “have to back it up with more, but it is a positive first step for him in securing other deals.”

The lawyers representing Kilmar Abrego Garcia have asked a federal judge for permission to take three additional depositions – from representatives of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the State Department and the Department of Justice (DOJ) – regarding what steps, if any, the Trump administration has taken to facilitate the illegal immigrant and alleged MS-13 gang member’s release from custody in El Salvador. 

In a motion filed Wednesday, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland to order the government to designate individuals from DHS, the State Department and the DOJ “who can testify about information known or reasonably available to each Department.” They cited a federal rule to prevent “bandying” of organizations, saying this way would be “the most efficient and least intrusive approach to obtain the necessary discovery.” 

“By allowing the Government to identify its own Rule 30(b)(6) representatives, Plaintiffs hope to avoid imposing the burden on the heads of the Departments to testify, while properly putting the onus on the Government to prepare their chosen representatives with the Departments’ complete knowledge of the narrow issues at stake in this case,” they wrote. 

DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO LIBYA WOULD VIOLATE COURT ORDER WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE, FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS

They noted the court has already approved four depositions, three of which have already taken place, yet “plaintiffs are still in the dark about the government’s efforts to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from custody and return to the United States.”

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said they also might request that someone from the White House testify. 

“In fact, as seems apparent from its public statements, this case also involves decisionmaking at the White House in addition to the three Departments,” they wrote. “Accordingly, depending on the testimony obtained in any authorized Department depositions, Plaintiffs may need to seek additional testimony from an appropriately knowledgeable representative of the White House.” 

The motion is redacted in portions with excerpts of depositions that have already taken place regarding Abrego Garcia’s location and custodial status. 

FEDERAL JUDGE OPENS DOOR TO ALIEN ENEMIES ACT TARGETS SUING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

In a two-page order Wednesday, Xinis – who was appointed by former President Barack Obama – said the Trump administration was invoking the “state secrets privilege” to avoid answering a judge’s questions about Abrego Garcia’s deportation. 

The judge set a May 12 deadline for both parties to submit briefs “addressing the legal and factual bases for the invocation of those privileges,” and set a May 16 court hearing on the matter in Greenbelt, Maryland. 

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said that Abrego Garcia “is a citizen of El Salvador and should never have been in this country, and will not be coming back to this country.” 

“There is no scenario where Abrego Garcia will be in the United States again,” Noem said. “If he were to come back, we would immediately deport him again, because he is a terrorist. He’s a human smuggler, and he is a wife beater. ” 

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The secretary added that Abrego Garcia “is not a citizen of this country and is a dangerous individual who does not belong.” 

The Trump administration initially admitted that Abrego Garcia had been deported to El Salvador in error, but has since doubled down on his alleged MS-13 membership and documented abuse of his wife while living illegally in Maryland. 

The White House will unveil a new nominee to serve as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, following resistance to the Trump administration’s current pick, according to President Donald Trump. 

Trump previously nominated Ed Martin, a former defense attorney who represented Americans charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, for the role. Martin has taken on the responsibilities of the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., since January. 

However, the Senate has held up confirming Martin, amid concerns from lawmakers. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced Tuesday he wouldn’t endorse Martin. 

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also has opposed Martin’s nomination. Specifically, Durbin said Martin provided several false statements to the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

On Thursday, Trump suggested he would put forward another candidate who would receive broader backing than Martin. 

“He wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday. “You know, he’s done a very good job. Crime is down 25% in DC during this period of time … I can only lift that little phone so many times of the day. But we have somebody else.”

“I have to be straight. I was disappointed,” Trump said. “A lot of people were disappointed. But that’s the way it works. Sometimes, you know, that’s the way it works. And he wasn’t rejected, but we felt it would be very — it would be hard. And we have somebody else that will be announcing over the next two days who’s going to be great.” 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

This is a breaking story that will be updated. 

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

The Trump administration on Thursday targeted Iranian oil with a new slate of sanctions – a move that increases pressure on the Islamic Republic amid talks between U.S. and Iranian officials to make a deal to prevent nuclear proliferation, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control increased pressure on Iran’s export of oil Thursday, designating the “teapot” refinery Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group Co., Ltd., and three port terminal operators in Shandong province, China, for their role in purchasing or facilitating the delivery of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil. 

VANCE PREVIEWS US-IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS, SAYS TRUMP ‘OPEN’ TO SITTING DOWN WITH RUSSIANS, CHINESE IN FUTURE

The “teapot” refineries purchase the majority of Iranian crude oil exports, according to the Treasury Department. 

The Treasury Department on Thursday is also imposing sanctions on several companies, vessels and captains they say are responsible for facilitating Iranian oil shipments as part of Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet.” The companies and vessels are all China-based. 

“As part of President Trump’s broad and aggressive maximum pressure campaign, Treasury today is targeting another teapot refinery that imported Iranian oil,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “The United States remains resolved to intensify pressure on all elements of Iran’s oil supply chain to prevent the regime from generating revenue to further its destabilizing agenda.”

The sanctions come following President Donald Trump’s executive order, which targets Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors – as well as another executive order targeting those that provide support to the National Iranian Oil Company. 

Thursday’s sanctions are the latest round targeting Iranian oil sales since the president, in early February, issued a national security memorandum that instituted a campaign of “maximum economic pressure on Iran.” 

As for Iran’s “shadow fleet,” Tehran relies on obscure ship management companies to manage its fleet of tankers that “mask” Iran’s petroleum shipments to China using ship-to-ship transfers with sanctioned vessels. 

The Treasury Department on Thursday took action to increase pressure on that “shadow fleet” of actors by designating ships as “blocked property.”

Any violation of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. or foreign persons, the Treasury Department said. 

The imposition of sanctions comes as the United States and Iran prepare for a fourth round of nuclear talks. U.S. and Iranian officials are set for the next round of talks to take place in Oman in the coming days. 

TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY, VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ AHEAD OF MIDDLE EAST TRIP, CARNEY SAYS HE’S ‘ON EDGE OF MY SEAT’

Trump is scheduled to travel to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Vice President JD Vance recently previewed the next round of talks, saying Wednesday the U.S. was negotiating toward a “complete cessation” of Tehran’s nuclear program. 

The Trump administration has said the flawed 2015 Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear feal, did not prevent Iran from building an atomic bomb, with Vance adding that the agreement had “incredibly weak” enforcement regarding inspections. 

Vance said he didn’t believe it “actually served the function of preventing the Iranians from getting on the pathway to nuclear weapons.”  

Vance also said the Trump administration believes that there were some elements of the Iranian nuclear program that were actually “preserved” under the JCPOA. 

“Yes, there weren’t nuclear weapons. Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon,” Vance said, arguing the deal “allowed Iran to sort of stay on this glide path toward a nuclear weapon if they flip the switch and press go.” 

“We think that there is a deal here that would reintegrate Iran into the global economy,” Vance said ahead of the talks. “That would be really good for the Iranian people, but would result in the complete cessation of any chance that they can get a nuclear weapon. And that’s what we’re negotiating toward. And as the president has said, that’s Option A.” 

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If Option A is “very good for the Iranian people,” Vance said, then Option B “is very bad.” 

“It’s very bad for everybody,” Vance said. “And it’s not what we want, but it’s better than Option C, which is Iran getting a nuclear weapon. That is what is completely off the table for the American administration. No ifs, ands or buts.” 

As for Trump, he said during a recent interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he would only accept “total dismantlement” of Iran’s nuclear program.