Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Virginia State Police arrested an illegal immigrant after he was released as a result of a plea deal made by the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.

Guatemalan national Wilmer Osmany Ramos-Giron, 34, faced numerous felony charges in January, including abduction by force, assault on a family member and felony strangulation causing injury to a Virginia woman, according to ICE, which has Ramos-Giron in custody.

Ramos-Giron spent only two months in an adult detention center in Fairfax County. 

The county attorney’s office, led by Democrat Steve Descano, arranged a plea deal dropping Ramos-Giron’s charges to misdemeanors. Ramos-Giron would have faced up to 16 years behind bars on the felony charges if convicted, according to ABC 7. 

DEM PROSECUTOR LETS OFF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH STRANGULATION, KIDNAPPING

The outlet reported that even though the county attorney’s office said the plea deal was what the victim wanted, the victim said that’s not true. Ramos-Giron was deported two other times but found his way back into the U.S. despite being convicted in a federal gun case. But it’s not clear when he returned to the country, according to ICE.

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office praised the April 24 arrest.

“It’s disappointing that the Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney’s Office has been more concerned about shielding dangerous illegal immigrants than ensuring the safety of Virginians,” Peter Finocchio, Youngkin’s press secretary, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“Fortunately, Wilmer Osmany Ramos-Giron will no longer pose a threat to Virginia families, thanks to brave federal and state law enforcement heroes.”

Descano’s campaign received over $627,000 between 2019 and 2023 from the Justice and Public Safety PAC, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Fox News Digital previously reported that a large majority of the super PAC’s funding came from liberal billionaire George Soros.

ICE NABS MORE THAN 425 MIGRANT CRIMINALS IN VIRGINIA, GOV. YOUNGKIN SAYS

Fairfax County District Attorney Steve Descano, a Democrat, has had a clear policy against wanting to enforce federal immigration laws and has a history of not complying with many ICE detainers, ABC 7 reported.

“Wilmer Ramos-Giron represents a significant threat to our Virginia residents,” said Russell Hott, who directs the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C., field office.

“He has displayed a blatant disregard for our immigration laws and, more importantly, for the safety and well-being of our community. He is a violent and recidivist threat to public safety that ICE Washington, D.C., cannot tolerate. Regardless of the obstacles placed in our way, we remain committed to prioritizing public safety. The men and women of ICE Washington, D.C., will continue to arrest and remove criminal alien threats from our Washington, D.C., and Virginia neighborhoods and ensure their victims receive the justice they so rightly deserve.”

ICE TOUTS RECORD-BREAKING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS

Descano’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

As ICE continues its crackdown on illegal immigrants it considers public safety risks, state and local laws nationwide continue to face scrutiny. Last month, the state of California said it would transfer an illegal immigrant into ICE custody after the state prison system was preparing to release a man convicted of killing two teenagers in a DUI manslaughter who was 3½ years into a 10-year sentence in July.

As President Donald Trump celebrated his 100th day in office this week, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said it has cut at least $160 billion in waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. 

When Trump signed an executive order establishing the agency on his Inauguration Day, DOGE set an ambitious goal of cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget. 

According to the Office of Government Ethics, “special government employees” like Musk can work for the federal government no more than 130 days a year, which in Musk’s case will fall on May 30. He has already started pairing back his hours leading the controversial agency. 

Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Watters Primetime” had the opportunity to see behind the curtain of Musk’s infamous DOGE, which Democrats have railed against and Republicans have celebrated since Trump returned to the White House this year. The “DOGE boys” reminded Watters on Thursday of some of the most shocking savings secured by the department this year. 

DOGE’S GREATEST HITS: LOOK BACK AT THE DEPARTMENT’S MOST HIGH-PROFILE CUTS DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS

Earlier this year, DOGE discovered the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) had transferred $132,000 to Mohammad Qasem Halimi, a former Taliban member who was Afghanistan’s former Chief of Protocol. DOGE announced on March 31 that the contract was canceled. 

Halimi was detained by the U.S. and held at Bagram Air Base for a year beginning Jan. 2, 2002. He held several positions in Afghanistan’s government following his release and was appointed as the Minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs in Afghanistan in 2020. 

“A small agency called the United States Institute of Peace is definitely the agency we’ve had the most fight at. We actually went into the agency and found they had loaded guns inside their headquarters — Institute for Peace,” a DOGE staffer told Watters. “So by far, the least peaceful agency that we’ve worked with, ironically. Additionally, we found that they were spending money on things like private jets, and they even had a $130,000 contract with a former member of the Taliban. This is real. We don’t encounter that in most agencies.”

USIP did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry. 

ELON MUSK LOOKS BACK ON 100 DAYS OF DOGE, PREVIEWS FUTURE OF THE ‘LONG-TERM ENTERPRISE’

Fox News Digital reported earlier this year that the nation’s schools spent $200 billion in COVID-relief funds on expenses “with little oversight or impact on students,” such as Las Vegas hotel rooms and buying an ice cream truck, according to DOGE’s audits. 

Granite School District in Utah spent their COVID-relief funds on $86,000 in hotel rooms for an educational conference at Caesars Palace, a ritzy Las Vegas casino, while Santa Ana Unified in California spent $393,000 to rent out a Major League Baseball stadium, according to a report by Parents Defending Education and shared by DOGE. Granite School District has since denied “any impropriety for having our educators participate” in the Las Vegas conference.

The cost-cutting department also revealed that schools spent $60,000 of COVID-relief funds on swimming pool passes, while a California district used its funds to purchase an ice cream truck.

“They were basically partying on the taxpayers’ dollars,” Musk told Watters on Thursday. 

CAESARS PALACE, MLB STADIUM, AN ICE CREAM TRUCK: DOGE REVEALS HOW SCHOOLS SPENT BILLIONS IN COVID-RELIEF FUNDS

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is chairwoman of the Senate DOGE Caucus and who has collaborated closely with Musk to identify waste to cut, revealed that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) “authorized a whopping $20 million to create a ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq.” 

Ernst said that under the Biden administration, USAID awarded the $20 million to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshop to produce a show called “Ahlan Simsim Iraq” in an effort to “promote inclusion, mutual respect and understanding across ethnic, religious and sectarian groups.” 

DOGE received a hand from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which released a report in March revealing that federal agencies wasted $162 billion in “improper payments,” which was actually a decrease of $74 billion from the previous fiscal year. 

GAO’s analysis revealed that of the 16 government agencies reporting improper payments, 75% of the waste found was concentrated in five programs: $54 billion from three Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Medicare programs; $31 billion in HHS Medicaid; $16 billion from the Department of the Treasury’s earned income tax credit; $11 billion from the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; and $9 billion from the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Restaurant Revitalization Fund. 

On the campaign trail and since taking office, Trump has made it clear he aims to slash diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) spending in the federal government, while making the case that a system of meritocracy should be the focus.

DOGE has announced over the last few months that it has cut hundreds of millions in DEI contracts. 

Earlier this month, DOGE announced it had worked with the U.S. National Science Foundation to cancel 402 “wasteful” DEI grants, which will save $233 million, including $1 million for “Antiracist Teacher Leadership for Statewide Transformation.”

The Department of Defense could save up to $80 million in wasteful spending by cutting loose a handful of DEI programs, the agency announced last month.

The Defense Department has been working with DOGE to slash wasteful spending, DOD spokesman Sean Parnell said in a video posted to social media.

Parnell listed some of the initial findings flagged by DOGE, much of it consisting of millions of dollars given to support various DEI programs, including $1.9 million for holistic DEI transformation and training in the Air Force and $6 million to the University of Montana to “strengthen American democracy by bridging divides.”

The Trump administration announced earlier this month it is slashing millions of dollars in DEI grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as part of its overall DOGE push.

And in February, the Department of Education said it is canceling more than $100 million in grants to DEI training as part of DOGE’s efforts. 

The same day that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz exited his job at the White House, President Donald Trump announced a new job offer for the former Florida congressman: United Nations ambassador. 

But there are some hurdles Waltz must clear first before the New York job is his — including undergoing a Senate confirmation process amid scrutiny after the Atlantic magazine exposed a Signal group chat that his team had set up to discuss strikes against the Houthis in March. 

And receiving full support from the slim Republican majority in the Senate isn’t guaranteed, and not all Republicans got on board backing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Vice President JD Vance ultimately cast the tie-breaking vote securing Hegseth’s nomination. 

Democrats appear hungry to use Waltz’s nomination as a forum to air grievances against other foreign policy leaders in the Trump administration — particularly Hegseth. 

NEXT US NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR? HERE’S WHOM TRUMP MIGHT PICK TO REPLACE WALTZ 

Still, Waltz’s nomination to represent the U.S. at the U.N. will likely attract support from establishment Republicans in the Senate who weren’t on board with Hegseth in the Pentagon, given that the ideological divide between these Republicans and Waltz is much smaller than it was in Hegseth’s case, according to one Florida GOP source.

“He’s been able to thread the needle really, really well between traditional conservative foreign policy voices and the more populist America First policy voices,” the Florida GOP source said of Waltz.

Waltz, who previously represented Florida’s 6th congressional district, is a retired Army National Guard colonel and former Green Beret who served four deployments to Afghanistan and earned four Bronze Stars — the fourth-highest military combat award, issued for heroic service against an armed enemy. 

While Waltz and Hegseth both were embroiled in the Signal chat discussing strike plans against the Houthis, Hegseth has attracted more of the heat, at least publicly, stemming from the incident. Democrats have called for Hegseth’s resignation as a result of the chat, but staffers at the White House — including Waltz — have openly backed Hegseth and shut down reports that the administration is seeking his replacement. 

But Waltz could get his turn attracting the ire of lawmakers as Democrats find an opportunity to openly grill him in front of the Senate, amid displeasure with Trump’s foreign policy and national security agenda. 

“The second hundred days of national security under President Trump will apparently be just as chaotic as the first hundred,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said in a statement to Fox News Digital about Waltz’s departure from the White House. 

“President Trump’s consistent hirings, firings and upheaval sap morale from our warfighters and intelligence officers, degrade our military readiness, and leave us less prepared to respond to threats from our adversaries,” Coons said. “American citizens at home and around the world are less safe because of President Trump’s non-existent national security strategy.”

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., also took aim at Waltz — although she labeled Hegseth the worst offender affiliated with “Signalgate.”  

MIKE WALTZ, OTHER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL STAFFERS OUT IN LATEST TRUMP PURGE FOLLOWING SIGNAL CHAT LEAK

“Took them long enough. Mike Waltz knowingly made an unclassified chain to discuss classified matters,” Duckworth said in a Thursday X post ahead of Waltz’s U.N. ambassador nomination. “But of all the idiots in that chat, Hegseth is the biggest security risk of all—he leaked the info that put our troops in greater danger. Fire and investigate them all.”

In addition to the Signal chat, Waltz’s exit from the White House was tied to several other issues. For example, Axios reports that Waltz treated White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles like “staff,” and his disrespect rubbed her the wrong way. 

“He treated her like staff and didn’t realize he’s the staff, she’s the embodiment of the president,” a White House official told Axios. “Susie is a deeply loyal person and the disrespect was made all the worse because it was disloyal.”

Waltz reportedly discussed different roles he could take on following his stint at the White House with Wiles, according to CBS News. Waltz was reportedly offered jobs, including the ambassador to Saudi Arabia, but ultimately settled on U.N. ambassador. 

A spokesperson for the National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

With Waltz out as national security advisor, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will temporarily step into that role. 

While Trump originally nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to represent the U.S. at the U.N., he rescinded her nomination in March, citing that the House could not afford to lose another Republican seat. 

Stefanik’s nomination lagged in the Senate in comparison to other U.N. ambassador nominees, including Trump’s first U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. The Senate confirmed Haley in January, just after Trump’s first inauguration. 

While the exact timeline for a potential confirmation vote in the Senate is unclear, the first hurdle that Waltz must clear is a confirmation vote out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Although it is uncertain when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will schedule the nomination hearing for Waltz and the subsequent vote, the committee said his nomination is a “priority.” 

“The committee has been working at a historically fast pace and this nomination will be a priority moving forward,” a GOP staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee told Fox News Digital. 

The 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly is scheduled for September 9, so there are a few months for Waltz’s confirmation to play out, the Florida GOP source said. That means that Waltz could take a few months off, start the confirmation process in June or July and wrap up his confirmation by September at the latest, the source said. 

“He’s got plenty of time. So, this isn’t a looming fight that’s going to happen next week,” the Florida GOP source said. “This is going to play out probably in June or July, which by then, people are going to forget about the Signalgate stuff, or at the very, very least, they’re going to forget about Mike Waltz’s role in it.” 

But there are a few Republican wildcards in the Senate who have voted against several of Trump’s nominees, most prominently Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who voted against Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.  

A spokesperson for McConnell did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Other Republicans who have opposed Trump nominees include Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, both of whom voted against Hegseth, as well as Sens. Ted Budd of North Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky, both of whom voted against Chavez-DeRemer.  

Aside from former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., whom Trump initially nominated to serve as attorney general, Trump’s entire cabinet has been approved. Gaetz withdrew his nomination amid a House Ethics Committee investigation into sexual misconduct and drug-use allegations. 

Despite opposition from Democrats, and possibly a few Republicans, it appears unlikely that any fire that Waltz will face will sink his nomination. 

“The reality of it is, the president can lose three votes in the Senate, and the vice president can still vote to break a tie,” the Florida GOP source said. “There’s no way he’s probably going to lose three votes.”

Meanwhile, other Republicans have openly stated they endorse Waltz’s nomination, including Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Risch, R-Idaho, who lauded Trump’s decision to nominate Waltz for the role. 

“Great choices. America is safer and stronger under President Trump and his national security team,” Risch said in a Thursday X post. “I thank Mike Waltz for his service as NSA, and look forward to taking up his nomination in our committee.” 

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also posted on X on Friday that Waltz would be confirmed “for sure.” 

Vance also voiced support for Waltz and billed the nomination as a “promotion,” pushing back on any suggestions that Waltz’s removal amounted to a firing. 

“Donald Trump has fired a lot of people,” Vance said in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier Thursday. “He doesn’t give them Senate-confirmed appointments afterward. What he thinks is that Mike Waltz is going to better serve the administration, most importantly, the American people in that role.”

Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: One of the major players in the crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) industries attempting to cozy up to the Trump administration is a longtime Democratic operative and donor who has backed anti-Trump efforts and candidates while working for companies stacked with Democratic activists. 

Chris Lehane, a veteran political strategist dating back to the Clinton administration, has donated over $150,000 to Democrats, FEC records show, and many of those Democrats have been outspoken Trump critics for several years.

Lehane has been a major backer of Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, who voted to convict Trump during his impeachment trial in 2021 and against several of Trump’s Cabinet nominees. He also hosted a San Francisco fundraiser for the Virginia senator, along with Open AI’s Sam Altman, in March. 

Warner has been a key figure in the resistance to the Trump administration, including being a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s “sloppy” Signal chat controversy and pushing back on the administration’s DOGE push against waste, fraud and abuse in government. Lehane also donated thousands of dollars to the Biden and Harris campaigns.

TRUMP CRYPTO CHIEF SAYS WE ARE IN THE ‘GOLDEN AGE’ FOR DIGITAL ASSETS, ‘CLEARING THE DECK’ OF BIDEN BARRIERS

In 2024, Lehane joined the board of Coinbase, which operates one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, and has taken an active role influencing crypto and AI policy in recent months. 

Coinbase’s Board of Directors has donated more than $22 million to Democratic candidates and committees while donating less than $5 million to Republicans, FEC records show. 

Those donations include almost $50,000 to Kamala Harris’ campaign since 2009, including to her presidential campaign, from board member and top Democratic donor Ron Conway.

Conway has donated over $300,000 to the DNC, over $1.5 million to the DCCC and millions to the House Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC, FEC records show. 

Since 1999, board member Fred Wilson has given over $2 million to political campaigns and committees, and only $17,600 of that went to Republicans, FEC records show.

MR. WONDERFUL TALKS ‘EXCITEMENT’ AROUND CRYPTOCURRENCY UNDER TRUMP: AMERICA IS IN A ‘NEW PHASE’

Additionally, Coinbase’s Global Advisory Council is laden with Trump critics, including John Anzelone, a pollster for Biden, Obama and Hillary Clinton; former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper; former Democratic mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa; former GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, who said in September he would not vote for Trump; and former Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, who served on the January 6th Select Committee.

Julia Krieger, Coinbase’s head of U.S. public affairs, previously worked for American Bridge, a Democratic opposition research firm, and Media Matters, known for organizing pressure campaigns against conservative voices it opposes. She also held multiple roles in the Biden administration and the 2020 Biden campaign.

Coinbase does have two Trump allies on its advisory board — David Urban and recently appointed Chris LaCivita, who served as the Republican National Committee’s chief operating officer and held multiple titles on the successful 2024 Trump campaign. Additionally, several members of Coinbase’s executive team have donated to Republicans, including Brian Armstrong and Paul Grewal. 

Armstrong, the company’s CEO, was present at the Trump White House crypto summit earlier this year.

Open Secrets data from the 2024 election cycle shows a roughly 50-50 split between Coinbase’s donations to congressional Democrats and Republicans.

“Our focus has always been mission first, to support candidates that support crypto and blockchain innovation, and we’re proud to do so,” Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad, a former top NSC official under President George W. Bush, told Fox News Digital.

Lehane also serves as the vice president of global affairs at OpenAI, a company that Fox News Digital reported on recently. It partnered with a new AI initiative led by a group co-founded with outgoing Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry that has pushed left-wing causes and has several board members aligned with Democrats. 

The longtime Democratic operative is also an operating partner at Haun Ventures, which is staffed by employees who appear to donate almost exclusively to Democrats. Since 2022, individuals listed as being employed by Haun Ventures have made 43 separate political contributions totaling over $110,000. All 43 of those were to Democratic candidates or organizations. 

Lehane is credited with coining the phrase “vast right-wing conspiracy” to describe the Monica Lewinsky scandal while he was working for the Clinton administration and has been labeled in the media as a “master of the political dark arts.”

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“Shocking, another Trump hater is trying to cozy up to Trump for business purposes,” a person close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital. “Trump won’t be fooled.” 

Lately, Lehane has been vocal about efforts to cozy up to the incoming administration, which has made advancing crypto and AI technology a priority, and even visited the White House in March.  He “has had many meetings with Trump administration officials about AI policy, and expects a full strategy to be released by the summer,” Axios reported.

“There’s a real focus from the administration on developing an AI strategy to ensure U.S. economic competitiveness and national security are prioritized,” Lehane told the outlet.

“Our work stream is intersecting with where the administration is going.”

Lehane penned an op-ed for Fox News in March, “Securing the AI future: How President Trump’s action plan can position America for success.”

EXCLUSIVE: Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. is warning of potentially catastrophic consequences if India follows through with what Islamabad claims could be an imminent military strike in response to a recent attack in the disputed Kashmir region.

War between the two nuclear-armed states could get ugly quickly, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the U.S. Rizwan Saeed Sheikh is calling on President Donald Trump to leverage his self-professed dealmaker credentials to hammer out an agreement with India.

“This is one nuclear flashpoint,” the ambassador said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “It could be an important part of President Trump’s legacy to attend to this situation — not with a Band-Aid solution, but by addressing the core issue: the Kashmir dispute.”

Saeed described India’s response to the attack in Pahalgam — which left several Indian security forces dead — as dangerously premature and inflammatory. “Within minutes of the attack, India began leveling accusations against Pakistan,” he said, noting that a post-investigation report was filed just 10 minutes after the incident occurred, despite the remote and rugged terrain near the scene. 

INDIA’S MODI GIVES ARMY FREEDOM TO ACT AS TENSIONS RISE WITH PAKISTAN AFTER DEADLY TERROR ATTACK

Pakistan claimed this week to have “credible intelligence” that an Indian counter-attack on its territory is imminent. The Indian Embassy in the U.S. did not respond to requests for comment on this story before publication time. 

The dust-up began with a tourist massacre on April 22 in Belgaum, Kashmir. All but one of the victims were Indian citizens, and India swiftly pointed the finger at Pakistan, which rejected the charge. 

The attack occurred in a remote valley only accessible on foot or by horse, and survivors claimed after the attack that the gunmen had accused some of the victims of supporting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The ambassador warned that the region, home to over 1.5 billion people, is once again being held “hostage to the war of hysteria” by India’s government and media, who immediately “began beating war drums.” The pair of rivals have exchanged gunfire across their heavily militarized borders since the attack. 

He cited Pakistan’s request for evidence linking it to the attack and Islamabad’s offer to participate in a neutral, transparent inquiry — both of which he said have gone unanswered.

“Any misadventure or miscalculation can lead to a nuclear interface,” the ambassador said. “That is certainly not desirable in such a densely populated region.”

PAKISTAN FEARS INDIA INCURISON ‘IMMINENT’ AMID HEIGHTENED TENSIONS FOLLOWING TERROR ATTACK

While Pakistan denies any involvement in the attack, the ambassador said those suspected are reportedly Indian nationals whose homes have already been raided. He questioned why India is looking outside its borders rather than addressing what he characterized as “administrative inadequacies” in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory he repeatedly referred to as “illegally occupied.”

He also criticized India’s broader policies in Kashmir, including the alleged settlement of non-residents into the region, and what he called threats to unilaterally block water flows from Pakistan’s rivers — a move he said violates the long-standing Indus Waters Treaty.

“That is as grossly illegal as it can get,” said Saeed. “This is one treaty that has withstood wars between India and Pakistan.” Pakistan has said they would consider the cutting off of water supplies an act of war — and made pleas to The Hague, accusing New Delhi of water terrorism.

The ambassador called on nations around the globe to help with a lasting settlement. 

“Previously, when the situation has been at this level or the tensions have escalated, the international community has attended to the situation, but taken their eyes, their attention away, even before the situation could fully diffuse,” said Saeed. “This time, perhaps it would be… timely in terms of the situation elsewhere on the globe, with similar instances, which one can note and see and are being attended to to perhaps not afford a Band-Aid solution, but to address the broader problem.”

PAKISTAN FEARS INDIA INCURSION ‘IMMINENT’ AMID HEIGHTENED TENSIONS FOLLOWING TERROR ATTACK

India and Pakistan each control parts of the Kashmir region, but both claim it in full. They have fought three wars over the territory.

In 2019, a cross-border attack carried out by militants killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary personnel in Kashmir. India responded by bombing targets inside Pakistan. 

Modi’s government revoked Muslim-majority Kashmir’s autonomy in 2019, bringing it back under Indian control and prompting protests. 

Kashmir has been a disputed region since both India and Pakistan gained their autonomy from Britain in 1947. The region is now one of the most militarized in the world. Violence by regional militant groups has left tens of thousands dead. 

But Modi’s aggressive stance in Kashmir has precipitated relative peace over the past five years, boosting his popularity domestically. He may feel political pressure to respond with force to the most recent dust-up. 

Pakistan has been ravaged by terrorism for decades, and Saeed said the nation has lost anywhere between 70,000 and 90,000 lives over the past 20 years to terror attacks. 

“We cannot afford any instability in the neighborhood,” said Saeed. “We want a peaceful neighborhood. But as we have been repeatedly mentioning at all levels, leadership level and all the other levels, that we want peace, but that should not in any way be misconstrued as a sign of weakness. We want peace with dignity.”

EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump will host a military parade in June to honor military veterans and active-duty service members and commemorate the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The parade is scheduled for June 14, the 250th birthday of the United States Army and Trump’s birthday. 

TRUMP TO CREATE TASK FORCE TO PLAN ‘EXTRAORDINARY CELEBRATION’ FOR 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA’S INDEPENDENCE

The parade will have reenactors, equipment and more from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War/Desert Storm and the Global War on Terror (Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria). It will also feature active-duty service members and students at U.S. military academies.

“The president is planning an historic celebration of the Army’s 250th birthday that will honor generations of selfless Americans who have risked everything for our freedom,” White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley told Fox News Digital. 

“Exactly 250 years ago, the first American patriots died for the cause of Independence. We owe our freedom to them and to every solider who has given their life for our nation in the 2½ centuries since.” 

The parade comes after Trump, in January, signed an executive order creating “Task Force 250,” which is focused on coordinating the plans and activities celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence. The 250th anniversary of America’s founding is July 4, 2026.

“As one of the first events of the year-long celebration of our 250th anniversary, this commemorative parade will be a fitting tribute to the service, sacrifice and selflessness of the brave men and women who have worn the uniform and devoted their lives to defending the greatest experiment in liberty known to man,” Vance told Fox News Digital. 

TRUMP WHITE HOUSE RELEASES VIDEO SERIES LEADING UP TO AMERICA’S 250TH BIRTHDAY: ‘ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE’

The White House is coordinating closely with the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Park Service and a number of other agencies to plan “this spectacular event honoring our veterans, active-duty service members and military history,” an official told Fox News Digital. 

“We love our military and take great pride in honoring our warfighters,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News Digital. “In celebration of 250 years of the U.S. Army, we will throw the biggest and most beautiful military parade in our nation’s history.” 

Meanwhile, the task force is coordinating “the plans and activities of federal agencies for an extraordinary celebration of the 250th Anniversary of American Independence.” 

Task Force 250 builds upon the U.S. Bicentennial Celebration half a century ago. The celebration “emphasized national renewal of our founding ideals after a period of national unrest and division,” the White House told Fox News Digital.

AHEAD OF TRUMP SPEECH TO CONGRESS, FLASHBACK TO 2017 ADDRESS ASKING ‘WHAT WILL AMERICA LOOK LIKE’ AT 250

In the lead-up to the major 2026 celebration, the White House has celebrated the anniversaries of major events in America’s founding, including the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give me Death” speech in March, the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s famous ride in April and the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. 

The executive order that established the task force also reinstated executive orders from Trump’s first administration, establishing the National Garden of American Heroes, a statuary park memorializing 250 historically significant Americans, and commissioning artists for the first 100 statues. 

The National Garden of American Heroes honors “American heroism” after dozens of monuments to Americans, including presidents and Founding Fathers, were toppled or destroyed and never restored.

The order also reinstated an order to protect American monuments, memorials and statues from destruction or vandalism.

The White House said America’s 250th anniversary will “afford an opportunity to unite the American people around their shared history and common future as a nation.”

During Trump’s first term, he held a unique “Salute To America” event on the Fourth of July in 2019, which was different from typical Independence Day celebrations put on by past presidents. 

The event included a prominent display of military hardware with tanks parked near the National Mall and military flyovers by an array of aircraft. It also included an address on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial from the president and the typical fireworks display.

The House Freedom Caucus described President Donald Trump’s budget proposal as “a paradigm shift,” and members of the conservative group expressed support for the president’s plan.

“This is how you break the Swamp. Passing MAGA Republican priorities in reconciliation with Republican votes — ending Democrats’s leverage against the President in appropriations to fund the Left’s wasteful, woke and weaponized bureaucracy. The FY26 budget is a paradigm shift,” the Freedom Caucus declared in a post on X.

The president is seeking to decrease non-defense discretionary spending and boost funding for defense.

TRUMP ADMIN RELEASES BUDGET BLUEPRINT IN PUSH FOR DEFENSE SPENDING BOOST

Trump “is proposing base non-defense discretionary budget authority (of) $163 billion, 22.6 percent below current-year spending, while still protecting funding for homeland security, veterans, seniors, law enforcement, and infrastructure,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought indicated in a message to Senate Committee on Appropriations Chair Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

“For Defense spending, the President proposes an increase of 13 percent to $1.01 trillion for FY 2026; for Homeland Security, the Budget commits a historic $175 billion investment to, at long last, fully secure our border. Under the proposal, a portion of these increases — at least $325 billion assumed in the budget resolution recently agreed to by the Congress — would be provided through reconciliation, to ensure that our military and other agencies repelling the invasion of our border have the resources needed to complete the mission,” he explained.

TOP SENATE ARMED SERVICES REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP OMB’S BUDGET ‘SHREDS TO THE BONE’ MILITARY CAPABILITIES

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, has expressed support for the president’s proposal.

“This budget re-aligns federal spending to the priorities of the people: a secure nation, making America healthy again, a Justice Department combatting crime and not weaponized against the people, and common sense,” the congressman declared in a statement.

TRUMP SAYS PUBLIC ENTITLEMENTS LIKE SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICAID WON’T BE TOUCHED IN GOP BUDGET BILL

“Combined with our joint efforts to rescind other wasteful spending and deliver a reconciliation bill that will extend and expand the Trump tax cuts while reforming Medicaid and other programs to reduce deficits, we are poised to deliver prosperity, freedom, and strength to the American people,” he said.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., another member of the House Freedom Caucus, referred to Trump’s proposal as “a game-changing budget,” in a post on X, asserting it “is exactly what Republicans were elected to deliver: securing the homeland, cutting the federal government, and crippling the deep state.”

Freedom Caucus member Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., described the president’s budget as “a bold step toward fiscal responsibility.”

A former top advisor to ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., suggested House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is not meeting the moment in the current Trump era.

“Trump is just giving us all this incredible red meat. I mean, I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s like the biggest gift any party has been given by the opposition, and we’re just squandering it, to a degree,” former Pelosi advisor Ashley Etienne told Politico’s Deep Dive podcast. 

Etienne helped Pelosi oversee Democrats’ messaging during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. She also previously worked for former Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.

She said Jeffries was “doing well” in many areas and said she had “a tremendous amount of respect” for the New York Democrat but signaled that he was missing opportunities on anti-Trump messaging.

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

“He gave a speech this morning. I don’t have any talking points in my phone about what he said. And I’m going to be doing TV and this interview all day. That’s a failure,” Etienne said.

“How do you get to discipline if you’re not telling people what the hell you want them to say? At least emphatically, at least tonally.”

Jeffries’ allies pushed back against that characterization, pointing out that intraparty friction was taking attention away from Trump’s low poll numbers and Republicans’ policies.

“Donald Trump’s approval ratings are plummeting, and he’s bringing House Republicans down with him. Extreme MAGA Republicans have been forced to delay their plans to advance Trump’s centerpiece legislative priority due to intense backlash against their scheme to enact the largest cuts in history to Medicaid and food assistance. Let’s keep the main thing, the main thing,” Jeffries spokesperson Christiana Stephenson told Fox News Digital.

Just Friday morning, Jeffries released a statement hammering House Republicans for having to delay part of their legislative work to advance Trump’s agenda.

But Etienne’s comments are a notable rebuke from a former senior Democratic leadership aide to one of the party’s most powerful current officials, which comes after months of Democrats being plagued by infighting over messaging woes.

Etienne noted that Democrats had scored several wins on the messaging front, like having “successfully demonized Elon Musk” and Sen. Cory Booker’s recent record-breaking filibuster speech.

But she singled out liberals’ protests during Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress as an “embarrassing” setback for the party and Jeffries.

“If you look at the headlines post-the speech, even during the speech, it was more about Democrats and Democrats protesting rather than what Trump was actually saying. And in those kind of moments, you don’t want to become the story. You want Trump to be the story,” Etienne said.

“And I also thought it was a problem for Mr. Jeffries. I mean, it really says a lot about how people value his leadership. He asked for no protest. And what did they do? They protest 50 different ways.”

AOC CLAIMS ‘WE ARE ONE’ IN CAMPAIGN-STYLE VIDEO DESPITE YEARS OF INVOKING RACE, GENDER IN POLITICS

Both Pelosi and Jeffries’ offices told Politico that the latter often seeks the former’s input, and Jeffries’ spokesperson pushed back on Politico’s reporting that House Democratic leaders were seeking to move past Pelosi and that Jeffries was not doing enough to help Democratic groups with messaging. 

One of those groups, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), pushed back on the assertion they were not hearing enough from Jeffries.

PCCC sent out a press release that read, “Today, in a POLITICO article we are not interested in dwelling on, a former Pelosi staffer attacked Hakeem Jeffries. PCCC co-founder Adam Green said, ‘We hear more from Jeffries than we ever heard from Pelosi.’”

Meanwhile, a House Democratic aide told Fox News Digital that Jeffries held “multiple calls” previewing his earlier speech on Trump’s first 100 days in office, as well as talking points “emphasizing the Leader’s message that President Trump’s first 100 days have been a disaster for the American people.”

Stephenson, Jeffries’ spokesperson, also posted on X of Politico’s report, “Can anyone tell me how grandstanding like this is anything other than a gift to Republicans?”

But House Republicans’ elections arm was quick to pounce on the discord as well.

“Hakeem Jeffries is the so-called leader of a team that doesn’t fear him, doesn’t follow him, and now, doesn’t even pretend to respect him,” National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement. 

And Democratic strategist Julian Epstein, a former chief counsel of the House Judiciary Committee, criticized Jeffries’ leadership but said that Trump was not Democrats’ main problem.

“He’s not a particularly effective speaker, gives no sense of direction or purpose, seems intent on not offending anyone, and has a leadership style that seems extremely passive,” Epstein said.

“The Democrats in the House just seem like a big blob that goes wherever gravity takes them, and right now gravity is taking them to the hard protest left. But no matter who the leader is, if the Democrats are selling a product that voters don’t like, it won’t matter.”

Pelosi’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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…

– China open to talks with Trump admin on lowering tariffs, ministry says

– Top Senate Armed Services Republican says Trump OMB’s budget ‘shreds to the bone’ military capabilities

– Former Trump official slams UN reform efforts as ‘eight and a half years late’

A brewing controversy over a “DOGE-like” email at one of America’s top universities has gotten the attention of Capitol Hill.

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, wrote to Brown University on Friday morning urging the school to reconsider any disciplinary action against Alex Shieh, a sophomore who sent an email mirroring the style of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that asked non-faculty university workers what they did “all day.”

“Reports indicate that Mr. Shieh engaged in a journalistic act of contacting university administrative employees to inquire about their roles and responsibilities. This action, it appears, stemmed from his perspective as a student paying a substantial tuition fee and experiencing concerns regarding university facilities, leading him to question the allocation of administrative resources,” Nehls wrote…READ MORE

‘FIERCE’ MAHA FIGHTER: Trump’s surgeon general pick touted as ‘fierce’ MAHA advocate before confirmation hearing

‘CELEBRATING OUR VICTORIES’: Trump declares May 8 as ‘Victory Day’ for World War II: ‘Going to start celebrating our victories again!’

GULF SHIFT: Trump’s interior chief to unleash Gulf drilling with major rule change

‘WHAT THEY DESERVE’: Trump says he’ll revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status

‘FIGHTING THE FAKE NEWS’: DHS pushes back against claims of immigration enforcement at elementary schools

MILITARY MESS: Billions spent, warfighters wait: Inside the Pentagon’s broken buying system and the plan to fix it

‘100 DAYS’: Buttigieg ‘got nothing done,’ Duffy declares: ‘Pete appears unburdened by no longer being a cabinet secretary’

TRUMP V COURTS: Trump asks SCOTUS to strip protected status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants 

GOP CLAPS BACK: ‘Protect’ the majority: Senate GOP’s campaign arm takes opposite tact to DNC’s Hogg

‘OUT OF CONTROL’: Trump dubs Dems ‘out of control,’ suggests GOP consider kicking them out of Congress for ‘REAL crimes’

CAMPAIGN BUZZ: AOC draws spotlight with Queens town hall as 2028 White House talk swirls

‘GREEN NEW SCAM’: Trump’s tax overhaul hits GOP turbulence over Biden-era green incentives

TAKE A NUMBER: REAL ID renews America’s age-old dread of the DMV

‘MANUFACTURING BOOM’: ‘Mississippi’s moment’: Gov Tate Reeves on economic growth from eliminating state income tax

‘SLAP IN THE FACE’: California lawmaker demands ‘accountability’ after illegal immigrant’s planned early release stopped by feds

IMMIGRATION BATTLE: Fla. AG to rebuff judge who ordered halt to state immigration enforcement: ‘The court has overstepped’

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

Last month, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., blocked key parts of President Donald Trump’s executive order on election integrity – a move that underscores how deeply divided the country remains over what “election integrity” really means..

Though the executive order Trump signed was titled, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” the Democratic National Party (DNC), which led a group of plaintiffs in challenging the order in federal court, argued that it was an attempt to encroach on elections and disenfranchise voters. 

In the end, both sides won out – sort of, and at least for now.  Here’s what to know about the case in question:

TRUMP ASKS SCOTUS TO STRIP PROTECTED STATUS FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ultimately left in place three key parts of Trump’s executive order, including a provision requiring states not to count mail-in ballots received after Election Day, in a partial victory for the Trump administration. 

But she sided with Democratic plaintiffs in blocking, for now, both a new proof-of-citizenship requirement for federal voter registration forms and a provision directing election officials to verify the citizenship of would-be voters.

Unequivocally, yes. That’s exactly the problem modern presidents face when trying to make lasting policy changes through executive orders – a tactic increasingly favored by both Democrats and Republicans.

It’s a risky way to govern for two reasons. The first is that these orders can just as easily be overturned by the next commander-in-chief (as has been on display under the last four administrations). 

They also risk being halted in federal courts, where U.S. judges are explicitly tasked with serving as a check on the president, and are free to pause or halt such orders from taking force, should they determine they are outside the scope of the executive branch’s authorities. 

That also doesn’t mean that district courts need to have the final say on the matter.

TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON VOTING BLOCKED BY FEDERAL JUDGES AMID FLURRY OF LEGAL SETBACKS

Kollar-Kotelly stressed last month that voter registration laws and the ability to regulate elections are set by Congress and by individual states, not the executive branch.

Both states and Congress can pass laws so long as they do not “needlessly impose” an undue burden on voters under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. 

But the executive branch, which does not share in these abilities to make and pass election-related laws, is not entitled to the same standard of legal review, according to the judge. 

“Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States – not the President – with the authority to regulate federal elections,” Kollar-Kotelly said in her ruling.

JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA

The Trump administration is, of course, free to appeal the decision to higher courts, should it choose to do so. 

“President Trump will keep fighting for election integrity, despite Democrat objections that reveal their disdain for commonsense safeguards like verifying citizenship,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in response to the ruling last month.

But its next steps remain unclear. To date, the administration has not appealed the matter, and officials have not said definitively whether they plan to do so.

The Senate’s top Armed Services Republican eviscerated President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shortly after the White House released details of its government funding proposal for fiscal year 2026. 

“President Trump successfully campaigned on a Peace Through Strength agenda, but his advisers at the Office of Management and Budget were apparently not listening,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said in a statement. 

“The Big, Beautiful Reconciliation Bill was always meant to change fundamentally the direction of the Pentagon on programs like Golden Dome, border support, and unmanned capabilities – not to paper over OMB’s intent to shred to the bone our military capabilities and our support to service members.

BILLIONS SPENT, WARFIGHTERS WAIT: INSIDE THE PENTAGON’S BROKEN BUYING SYSTEM AND THE PLAN TO FIX IT

The Trump OMB’s “skinny budget,” released on Friday, proposes cuts to non-defense funding by $163 billion but increases defense funding from $893 billion to $1.01 trillion – a 13% increase. That includes $892.6 billion in discretionary spending, but will be supplemented by $119.3 billion in mandatory spending that is expected to be passed in the upcoming reconciliation bill. 

Senior officials told Fox News the Trump administration needed to get creative to get a $1 trillion-plus budget over the finish line: Republican majorities have historically been forced to offer one-to-one increases in non-defense spending to secure increases in defense spending. 

However, by keeping discretionary defense spending at $892.6 billion, the same level as fiscal year 2025, the budget that would be presented to Democrats would essentially reflect an unchanged defense discretionary budget with a smaller non-defense discretionary budget of about $557 billion – a 22.6% decrease.

The White House and congressional Republicans would then pursue the reset of the defense spending through the budget reconciliation process that is linked to the tax cut package.

HEGSETH ORDERS SWEEPING ARMY OVERHAUL AND CONSOLIDATION AIMED AT COUNTERING CHINA AND GOLDEN DOME CAPABILITIES

But Wicker isn’t satisfied. 

“OMB is not requesting a trillion-dollar budget. It is requesting a budget of $892.6 billion, which is a cut in real terms. This budget would decrease President Trump’s military options and his negotiating leverage,” he said. 

“I have said for months that reconciliation defense spending does not replace the need for real growth in the military’s base budget.”

OMB and the Pentagon could not immediately be reached for comment on the budget. 

To account for spending decreases across government, all departments were asked to provide recommended budget cuts except for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Transportation, which were excluded to protect veterans’ services as well as NASA and space exploration programs.

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Congress will have to hammer out its own budget plan – which could take months – with the White House’s framework as a suggestion. 

Wicker has long aimed to grow U.S. defense spending to 5% of the GDP, up from around 3.5 percent. 

The Mississippi senator suggested he would ignore the OMB guidelines and work to achieve “real growth” within the defense budget. 

Fox Business’ Edward Lawrence and Eric Revell contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A brewing controversy over a “DOGE-like” email at one of America’s top universities has gotten the attention of Capitol Hill.

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, wrote to Brown University on Friday morning urging the school to reconsider any disciplinary action against Alex Shieh, a sophomore who sent an email mirroring the style of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that asked non-faculty university workers what they did “all day.”

“Reports indicate that Mr. Shieh engaged in a journalistic act of contacting university administrative employees to inquire about their roles and responsibilities. This action, it appears, stemmed from his perspective as a student paying a substantial tuition fee and experiencing concerns regarding university facilities, leading him to question the allocation of administrative resources,” Nehls wrote.

“Penalizing a student for what appears to be an attempt to understand the university’s administrative structure raises serious questions about the institution’s commitment to open inquiry and the tolerance of dissenting viewpoints.”

BROWN UNIVERSITY STUDENT ANGERS NON-FACULTY EMPLOYEES BY ASKING ‘WHAT DO YOU DO ALL DAY,’ FACES PUNISHMENT

He also demanded more information on how Brown uses its $7.2 billion endowment to lower tuition and better the lives of students.

It comes at a time when American Ivy Leagues have been thrust under the microscope by the Trump administration, both for their soaring tuition rates and controversies surrounding antisemitism on campus.

Shieh had created a database of the 3,805 non-faculty employees who worked at Brown University and emailed them to ask, “What do you do all day?”

He wrote on X that he had been given a disciplinary hearing after being “charged with misrepresentation and violating the IT policy.”

Tuition alone at Brown University for the 2025 to 2026 academic year is $71,700. Fees, food, and housing charges bring that up to about $93,000 per year, according to the school’s website – and with indirect charges, annual costs are estimated at nearly $96,000.

“I urge you to reconsider any disciplinary action taken against Mr. Shieh and to reaffirm Brown University’s commitment to protecting the free expression of all its students,” Nehls wrote.

“Additionally, below you can see screenshots from Brown’s website showing the performance of its $7.2 billion endowment, boasting a 10% annual return. Please explain how these funds are used to improve the student experience or bring down the cost of tuition.”

Nehls previously introduced a bill that would significantly hike excise taxes on most larger colleges’ endowment funds from 1.4% to 21%, in line with the corporate tax rate.

A Brown University official declined to comment on Nehls’ letter directly when reached by Fox News Digital, but denied free speech was the larger issue.

TRUMP ADMIN HALTING MORE THAN $500M IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO BROWN UNIVERSITY OVER ANTISEMITISM RESPONSE

“In spite of what has been reported publicly framing this as a free speech issue, it absolutely is not,” Brian Clark, vice president for news and strategic campus communications, said in an email statement to Fox News Digital. 

“At the center of Brown’s review are questions focused on whether improper use of non-public Brown data, non-public data systems and/or targeting of individual employees violated law or policy.” 

“Brown has detailed procedures in place to investigate alleged conduct code violations, resolve them and implement discipline in instances when students are found responsible, and these will continue to guide our actions,” Clark added. “Students have ample opportunity to provide information and participate directly in that process to ensure that all decisions are made with a complete understanding of the circumstances.” 

Fox News Digital’s Rachel del Guidice contributed to this report.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is hosting an in-person town hall in Jackson Heights, Queens, on Friday night amid speculation she is considering a 2028 presidential run. 

After speaking at a May Day protest in New York City on Thursday, rejecting Trump’s agenda and warning protesters that Republicans “are going after Medicaid next,” Ocasio-Cortez is returning home to New York’s 14th congressional district to “share updates on her work in D.C., provide important constituent updates, and take questions from the audience.”

Ocasio-Cortez has been jet-setting across the United States with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. The campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital that Friday night’s town hall was originally scheduled for the April congressional recess, but had to be rescheduled because Ocasio-Cortez was sick. She posted an Instagram story two weeks ago apologizing for canceling. 

Earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations when asked by Fox News Digital about the viral video that had pundits guessing whether she were soft-launching her campaign. 

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

“I think what people should be most concerned about is the fact that Republicans are trying to cut Medicaid right now, and people’s healthcare is in danger. That’s really what my central focus is,” the New York Democrat said when asked whether she is considering a run for president, despite President Donald Trump’s assurances that he wouldn’t cut Medicaid. 

AOC CLAIMS ‘WE ARE ONE’ IN CAMPAIGN-STYLE VIDEO DESPITE YEARS OF INVOKING RACE, GENDER IN POLITICS

“This moment isn’t about campaigns, or elections, or about politics. It’s about making sure people are protected, and we’ve got people that are getting locked up for exercising their First Amendment rights. We’re getting two-year-olds that are getting deported into cells in Honduras. We’re getting people that are about to get kicked off of Medicaid. That, to me, is most important,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Capitol Hill on Trump’s 100th day in office. 

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign account posted a video on X last week that invigorated those rumors as the four-term Democrat from New York City and a progressive leader proclaimed, “We are one.”

“I’m a girl from the Bronx,” Ocasio-Cortez said on a campaign-style stage in Idaho. “To be welcomed here in this state, all of us together, seeing our common cause, this is what this country is all about.”

Americans reposted Ocasio-Cortez’s video across X, pointing to the video as proof of her 2028 presidential ambitions. “Get ready America. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will almost undoubtedly run for president in 2028,” political reporter Eric Daugherty said in response to the video. 

‘WE ARE ONE’: AOC CAMPAIGN VIDEO SWIRLS 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RUMORS

As rumors swirl over Ocasio-Cortez’s ambition for higher office, back at home in New York, a Siena College poll found that 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 through 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 Republican budget bill backed by Trump that averted a government shutdown and stirred up outrage among congressional Democrats who planned to boycott the bill.

POLLSTER NATE SILVER CALLS OCASIO-CORTEZ MOST LIKELY TO BE 2028 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

That growing disapproval among Democrats was reflected in the poll, and the shifting perception comes as DNC vice chair David Hogg, through his political arm, Leaders We Deserve, faced blowback from the DNC for investing $20 million into electing younger Democrats to safe House Democrat seats.

Ocasio-Cortez raked in a massive $9.6 million over the past three months. The record-breaking fundraising haul was one of the biggest ever for any House lawmaker. Ocasio-Cortez’s team highlighted that the fundraising came from 266,000 individual donors, with an average contribution of just $21.

“I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy. Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities,” Ocasio-Cortez emphasized in a social media post.

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about the 2028 presidential speculation. 

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump‘s pick for U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, garnering support ahead of her upcoming confirmation hearing, with senators describing her as a “fierce” advocate for the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement. 

Sources familiar with her confirmation hearing prep told Fox News Digital that Nesheiwat has had many “productive meetings” on Capitol Hill regarding her nomination. 

TRUMP PICKS DR. JANETTE NESHEIWAT AS NATION’S NEXT SURGEON GENERAL

Nesheiwat recently met with the staff for the Senate HELP Committee, along with all the health policy GOP staffers. Sources said those staffers have expressed support for her nomination as medical director in the Public Health Service and surgeon general. Nesheiwat also met with Democrat Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, along with Democrat Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. 

Sources told Fox News Digital that Blackburn is supportive of Nesheiwat. Details of Nesheiwat’s meetings with Hickenlooper and Alsobrooks were not immediately clear. 

The sources said various topics were discussed during those meetings, including fighting chronic illness, diseases, opioids, the mission of MAHA, vaccines, good nutrition, educating Americans with science-backed data, combating healthcare provider shortages, mental health, food deserts and the government’s role in tracking health crises and emerging health threats. 

Sources said the conversations have been “positive, productive conversations.” 

Nesheiwat has met, so far, with all the Republican senators on the Senate HELP Committee except for Sen. Josh Hawley. 

A source told Fox News Digital that Sen. Katie Brit of Alabama, who is not on the committee, wants to meet with Nesheiwat in early May. 

Nesheiwat, formerly a Fox News contributor, is double-board certified in family medicine and urgent care medicine. 

Nesheiwat, a daughter of Jordanian immigrants, led frontline medical teams during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, along with her past work managing public health responses during flu epidemics, the opioid crisis, the monkeypox outbreak and other major health challenges. 

She also was named the first female medical director for CityMD in Manhattan — one of America’s largest urgent care systems. 

SHORT QUESTIONS WITH DANA PERINO FOR DR. JANETTE NESHEIWAT

Upon nominating Nesheiwat to the position, Trump said she is a “fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health.”

“I am proud to announce that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the Nation’s Doctor as the United States Surgeon General. Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives,” he said. “She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives.” 

Trump praised Nesheiwat’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying she “worked on the front lines in New York City treating thousands of Americans and helped patients in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s Historic Operation Warp Speed that saved hundreds of millions of lives.”

He also praised her “expertise and leadership” after New Orleans’ Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornadoes. 

The president said Nesheiwat “will play a pivotal role in MAKING AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!”

Meanwhile, after meeting with Nesheiwat, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy said Nesheiwat is “aware of the issues facing our nation and how they relate all the way down to counseling a patient in an exam room.” 

“A very good meeting,” he said. 

As for the MAHA movement led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Republicans say Nesheiwat represents the vision of the Trump administration. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said Nesheiwat “understands the MAHA movement.” 

“With the Trump admin, American health is no longer taking a back seat,” Banks said. 

Additionally, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said that “Making America Healthy Again starts with having strong leadership” within Health and Human Services. 

“I know that @DoctorJanette, President Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, will be a fierce MAHA advocate and will work with @SecKennedy to increase transparency in our healthcare system,” Tuberville said. 

Nesheiwat began her medical education at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. She completed her initial curriculum at the school’s Saint Maarten campus. She then went on to complete her clinical rotations at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Metropolitan State Hospital, Guy’s & St. Thomas Hospitals and Medway Maritime Hospital. 

Nesheiwat completed her family medicine residence at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Area Health Education Center, and was elected chief resident during her final year. 

In 2009, Nesheiwat achieved board certification in family medicine for the American Board of Family Medicine, and in 2020 achieved board certification in urgent care medicine with the American Board of Urgent Care Medicine. 

Nesheiwat’s hearing is set for May 8 at 10:00 a.m., when senators on the Senate HELP Committee, will question her ahead of her confirmation vote. 

EXCLUSIVE: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier will rebut a judge’s demand that his office order state law enforcement to halt enforcement of a state immigration law she ordered paused under suspicion of unconstitutionality.

The law allows for misdemeanor charges against illegal immigrants who enter Florida and hope to avoid federal immigration officials.

“The judge wants me to put my stamp of approval on an order prohibiting all state law enforcement from enforcing Florida’s immigration laws when no law enforcement are party to the lawsuit,” he said, as the ACLU’s suit is being adjudicated before Obama-appointed Miami federal judge Kathleen Williams.

“I’m just not going to do that. We believe the court has overstepped and lacks jurisdiction there, and I will not tell law enforcement to stop fulfilling their constitutional duties,” Uthmeier told Fox News Digital.

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

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

The lawsuit that spurred the injunction alleges Florida’s law violates the Supremacy Clause that designates federal laws and authorities as taking precedence over state laws.

Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, told the AP that politicians in Tallahassee “tried to turn fear into policy and made it a crime simply to exist as an immigrant in this state.”

“The court rightly reminded them: immigration enforcement is a job for the federal government, not a political weapon for states to use,” Jackson said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Uthmeier asked the court to let FHP continue to enforce the law, after Williams was reportedly enraged that arrests continued to occur as the law awaits appeal in Atlanta’s 11th Circuit.

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO STOP ENFORCING NEW IMMIGRATION LAW

“That law does nothing more than exercise Florida’s inherent sovereign authority to protect its citizens by aiding the enforcement of federal immigration law,” Uthmeier wrote Wednesday.

That circumstance was precipitated by an April 23 memo from Uthmeier to FHP, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, sheriffs and police chiefs, in which he wrote that Williams was incorrect in asserting all Florida law enforcement agencies were bound by the order.

“I explained that I believed her after-the-fact expansion of her order to nonparties was wrong, and that my office would be arguing as much in short order. Today, my office filed a brief explaining why her order cannot possibly restrain Florida’s law enforcement agencies from enforcing Florida Statutes Sections 811.102 and 811.103. We will continue to argue that position—including on appeal as soon as possible,” Uthmeier wrote in the memo, obtained by Fox News Digital.

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Uthmeier told the agencies that Williams ordered him to inform them of the “evolving scope” of the order, but added he cannot prevent them from enforcing the new law.

Williams said Tuesday she planned to issue a preliminary injunction against the statute, adding that she was “surprised and shocked” by Uthmeier’s actions. 

“What I am offended by is someone suggesting you don’t have to follow my order, that it’s not legitimate,” Williams said.

A source familiar with the situation said the memo was sent after FHP was added to the court order despite plaintiffs not expressly including the police force in their original filing; suggesting that state police would not be party to any injunction in that case.

A source familiar with the case said that if Uthmeier were to be brought before the judge, the court would likely need the assistance of U.S. Marshal Greg Leljedal of the Northern District of Florida.

A Thursday tweet from Uthmeier showed the two men smiling in his office, with the AG commenting on their “great meeting.”

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to override a lower court ruling and let it move forward with ending protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan nationals in the U.S.

The government is asking the high court to block, for now, a March ruling from U.S. District Judge Edward Chen that delayed President Donald Trump‘s plans to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for some 350,000 Venezuelan nationals living in the U.S. Those protections would have otherwise expired in April. 

U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer asked justices on Thursday to allow the administration to proceed, accusing Chen of improperly intruding on the executive branch’s authority over immigration policy.

“The district court’s reasoning is untenable,” Sauer told the high court, adding that the program “implicates particularly discretionary, sensitive, and foreign-policy-laden judgments of the Executive Branch regarding immigration policy.”

FEDERAL JUDGES IN NEW YORK AND TEXAS BLOCK TRUMP DEPORTATIONS AFTER SCOTUS RULING

“The decision to delay the Secretary’s actions effectively nullifies them, tying them up in the very judicial second-guessing that Congress prohibited,” he said of the lower court order. “The district court’s ill-considered preliminary injunction should be stayed.”

At issue is the TPS program, which allows individuals to live and work in the U.S. legally if they cannot work safely in their home country due to a disaster, armed conflict or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions.” 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem terminated the program for Venezuelan nationals on Feb. 1, prompting the emergency lawsuit and Chen’s order that postponed it from taking force.

The lower court judge sided with plaintiffs from the National TPS Alliance in ruling that the termination of the TPS program, which is extended in 18-month increments, is “unprecedented,” and suggested that the abrupt termination may have been “predicated on negative stereotypes” about Venezuelan migrants – something Sauer bitterly disputed in their appeal.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE

“Forceful condemnations of gang violence and broad questioning of the integrity of the prior administration’s immigration practices, including potential abuses of the TPS program, do not evince discriminatory intent,” Sauer said, describing Judge Chen’s descriptions as “cherry picked” and “wrongly portrayed” as “racially tinged.”

A Supreme Court stay would allow the Trump administration to move forward with plans to immediately remove these migrants, which Sauer argued they should be able to do. Plaintiffs have until Thursday to respond to the Supreme Court.

A stricter identity verification requirement for U.S. residents is slated to take force next week after 20 years of delay. And for many, the law will require a visit to one of the nation’s most notorious, time-honored places of dread: the Department of Motor Vehicles.

These facilities can vary slightly both in name and in acronym: Texans, for example, have a Department of Public Safety or DPS; Floridians dub theirs the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or HSMV. (Add to the mix the DDS, the BMV and the MVD, it’s a veritable alphabet soup.)

Despite the different names, each of these state-run facilities serves the same purpose: to license drivers and issue identification cards to residents living in the state. They share the same wait times and inspire the same feelings of burden and loathing.

But for individuals in some states, things are about to get a lot worse, fast.

‘DRACONIAN’ AND DANGEROUS: FORMER TRUMP NAT SEC ADVISOR SOUNDS ALARM ON BIDEN-ERA DOJ’S PLANS FOR GOOGLE

On May 7, all U.S. residents will be required to show a “REAL ID-compliant” form of identification to board any flights, including international and domestic travel, or to enter any federal buildings in compliance with a long-stalled federal law passed by Congress in 2005.

A REAL ID is a state-issued driver’s license or state-issued identification card that meets certain federal standards, and it requires individuals to provide additional documentation, such as several documents proving current state residency – a utility agreement and lease, for example – as well as a certified birth certificate, among other things. 

REAL IDs are now issued by all state DMVs (or BMVs or HSMVs) in anticipation of the fast-approaching enforcement date. REAL ID-compliant ID cards and licenses are marked with a star or other symbol in the right-hand corner, and some states, including Texas and Florida, have been issuing them for years.

But because DMVs are operated at a state and not federal level, compliance with the tighter verification standards has until recently been optional. That’s prompted a patchwork of compliance across the U.S. and a recent, frenzied panic from residents in states whose DMVs have not met the REAL ID standards.

NEED REAL ID IN A HURRY? HERE ARE SOME OPTIONS OUTSIDE THE DMV

In the final days before the new law takes effect, some U.S. residents are learning for the first time, to their horror, that their IDs are not up to snuff. 

That’s prompted a surge of last-minute appointments in some states as drivers frantically look to obtain these new IDs. In others, appointments are nearly impossible to come by. 

New Jersey, for example, currently has no appointments available at any of its DMV facilities in the state. That could be a major problem for travelers in the Garden State, whose REAL ID compliance is the lowest in the country at 17% last month, according to data compiled by CBS News. 

Other nearby states are reporting similar compliance rates, with Pennsylvania at 26% compliance and New York with 43%, which is less than half of all residents living in the state.

For individuals in these states, the REAL ID compliance standards amount to what could be a travel nightmare, especially ahead of the summer holiday season when airports brace for a sharp uptick in traffic.

As of January 2024, just 56% of state-issued drivers’ licenses and identification cards were compliant with the new REAL ID requirements, according to DHS estimates. It’s unclear how much that percentage has changed in the last year.

“DHS anticipates that a significant number of individuals seeking to use their DL/ID for a REAL ID official purposes on and after May 7, 2025, may not have a compliant DL/ID,” the agency said in a memo last September.

In January, DHS issued a slightly more optimistic projection in the Federal Register, anticipating that by May 7, up to 66% of U.S. ID holders would have the new legally required ID. 

But in the final days before the law takes force, it’s hard to ascertain exactly where things stand. Horror stories persist in some states of drivers struggling to obtain the new ID, and in others, state lawmakers are hoping to be granted a delay.

In Kentucky, a group of state lawmakers led by Senate Transportation Committee Chair Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, urged DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to delay the REAL ID enforcement date, citing “growing concerns” from state residents who have been unable to access driver’s licensing services due to “limited appointment availability and long lines for walk-ins.”

“This simple request is to protect Kentuckians from bureaucratic burdens,” Higdon said in the letter. “Rural residents, seniors, and families still have hurdles in front of them, and in a lot of cases, may not be aware of their options. Only about 40 percent of our residents have a REAL ID, but I would also like more time to help Kentuckians understand that they may not need a REAL ID. Kentucky has made a good faith effort, but we just aren’t there yet.”

TSA has warned that individuals who don’t have the right ID before that date could be subject to significantly longer wait times or other disruptions to travel. This could impact travel plans for millions of Americans ahead of what is expected to be a busy summer traveling season.

Others could be barred from accessing certain federal buildings.

And the problem persists in other states as well: CBS News found in its April survey that at least 17 states have compliance rates of 50% or less, with 30 states at less than 70% compliance.

Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy suggested that the department has accomplished more during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term than President Joe Biden and former Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg accomplished in four years.

Duffy made the assertion when sharing a post by Buttigieg, who became Transportation secretary not long after Biden took office in 2021.

“100 days into this presidency, Americans are paying the price – higher prices, crashing retirement accounts, and broken promises. But the American people are turning, thanks to your voices. Keep it up. It’s up to us to demand something better,” Buttigieg wrote in the post, which also included a video of him speaking.

DUFFY BLASTS BUTTIGIEG, ACCUSING BIDEN-ERA OFFICIAL OF ‘MISMANAGEMENT’: ‘MAYOR PETE FAILED FOR FOUR YEARS…’

When retweeting Buttigieg’s post, Duffy declared, “We’ve achieved more in 100 days than Buttigieg and Biden achieved in 4 years. Pete appears unburdened by no longer being a cabinet secretary. Not one word on transportation or infrastructure because he got nothing done. @POTUS and I will continue the work of ripping out the Green New Scam and DEI for the American people!”

Earlier this year, Trump blasted Buttigieg.

PETE BUTTIGIEG BLASTS TRUMP AFTER PRESIDENT EXCORIATES HIM DURING PRESS BRIEFING

“He’s a disaster. He was a disaster as a mayor. He ran his city into the ground. And he’s a disaster now,” Trump said, asserting that Buttigieg just has “a good line of bulls—.”

Buttigieg previously served as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

He announced in March that he will not be running for governor or U.S. Senate in Michigan in 2026.

BUTTIGIEG SAYS DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRONE TO ‘FINGER-WAGGING,’ NEEDS TO DO ‘BETTER JOB’ REACHING OUT TO VOTERS

“I care deeply about who Michigan will elect as Governor and send to the U.S. Senate next year, but I have decided against competing in either race,” he noted in a post on X.

EXCLUSIVE: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Friday will update a Biden-era federal rule regarding energy development as a major cost-saving measure to private firms, one day after taking a visit to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on the Gulf Coast.

A source familiar with the workings of the rule said it essentially will “massively deregulate” a rule passed between the two Trump administrations and should further bolster Gulf Coast oil and gas production by providing lower startup costs for energy firms.

The rule outlines criteria that producers and grantholders must provide as financial assurance, with a 2024 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) estimate that $6.9 billion in new supplemental assurance would be required to protect against oil lessees’ default.

The Interior Department said that $6.9 billion added up to the $665 million in estimated additional insurance premiums for energy companies, which stifled how much they could spend to expand their operations and pursue what President Donald Trump has called “American energy dominance.”

BURGUM SAYS INTERIOR DEPARTMENT COMPLETELY EMBRACING DOGE EFFORT

Burgum told Fox News Digital that the rule revision will “enable our nation’s energy producers to redirect their capital toward future leasing, exploration, and production all while financially protecting the American taxpayer.

“Cutting red tape will level the playing field and allow American companies to make investments that strengthen domestic energy security and benefit Gulf of America states and their communities,” he said.

DAKOTAS PRIMED FOR NEWFOUND POLITICAL PROMINENCE AS SENATE, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LEADERS PICKED FROM HEARTLAND CROP

BOEM will continue to require lessees on the outer continental shelf to provide financial assurances, while the Trump administration writ large works toward more balanced regulations, the department said in an exclusive statement.

During Burgum’s visit to the Gulf, he met with energy workers at the LNG facility and discussed how the department under his leadership wants to better support the industry.

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The Gulf of America currently produces approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude oil daily and 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. 

The Pentagon’s procurement system has kept American forces stocked with some of the most iconic military hardware in history – from the battle-hardened Humvee to the cutting-edge Apache helicopter. But according to the Army’s top technology officer, it’s also trapped in a cycle of outdated thinking and bloated paperwork that could hinder the U.S. in the next great-power conflict.

“We still have just over 100,000 Humvees,” Alex Miller, the Army’s Chief Technology Officer, told Fox News Digital, speaking about the legacy vehicle first introduced in the 1980s. “Even though during the global War on Terror, we saw the threat change.”

Miller pointed to roadside bombs, or IEDs, which devastated troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as a turning point. “There were lots of reports that if a Humvee rolled over an IED, it just was not a good situation for soldiers,” he said.

Still, the Army continued buying Humvees, even as it rushed to field more survivable vehicles like MRAPs and Strykers. That, Miller said, highlights the larger issue: not a single acquisition failure, but a systemwide problem in how the military does business.

HEGSETH ORDERS SWEEPING ARMY OVERHAUL AND CONSOLIDATION AIMED AT COUNTERING CHINA AND GOLDEN DOME CAPABILITIES

“We’re playing by the same post-Cold War rules that told us if you have a requirement, you’re going to keep on buying it,” Miller said. “Because the requirements process and the acquisition process and the fielding process sort of never changed, we find ourselves in this conundrum where we still have just over 100,000 Humvees.”

Despite introducing newer vehicles like the JLTV – designed to replace the Humvee with better armor and mobility – Miller says the rapid pace of technological change and emerging threats have left even those newer systems at risk of becoming obsolete.

“Even though we continue to buy them and have them in the budget,” he said, “that might not be the right answer either.”

Miller laid out the Army’s plans to solve a decades-long issue at the Pentagon, bringing new weapons systems from the proposal stage to the battlefront before technology renders them outdated – just as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a new memo directing an overhaul of the Army’s acquisitions process. 

“To build a leaner, more lethal force, the Army must transform at an accelerated pace by divesting outdated, redundant, and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems,” Hegseth wrote. 

NEW ARMY SECRETARY PRAISES TRUMP, HEGSETH FOR CREATING ‘A LANE FOR CHANGE’ AS HE ZEROES IN ON CUTTING WASTE

Miller warned that some of the Army’s marquee weapons platforms may not be suited for the battlefields of the future.

“Ukraine has not asked for a single Apache,” he noted. “Our Apaches are a great platform. It’s amazing. But … looking at more unmanned systems is probably the way to go.”

He also raised questions about the utility of legacy artillery platforms like the Paladin howitzer. Although artillery is dominating the war in Ukraine, the Army is stockpiling more Paladins largely to meet a “minimum sustainment rate” — not because commanders are asking for them.

That kind of bureaucratic inertia, Miller suggested, is exactly what needs to be upended.

In an effort to modernize more rapidly, the Army is now slashing red tape and rewriting regulations. Under a new initiative called “Transforming in Contact,” Army leaders have sent requirement writers into the field to live and train alongside soldiers, gathering real-time feedback instead of drafting 300-page documents back in Washington.

“Rather than trying to define what types of things they need, how about we just listen to them for a change?” Miller said. “We started that last year … and that has been wildly successful.”

Units heading to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, Louisiana next week will be equipped with some of the most advanced gear in the Army, including autonomous infantry vehicles built with Silicon Valley partners, advanced battery tech and hundreds of drones.

“All because our leadership just said, go do the right thing, rather than trying to check boxes,” Miller said.

Now, according to Miller, the requirements documentation for things like next-generation unmanned aerial vehicles has been whittled down from between 200 and 300 pages to 10. 

In other cases, modernization isn’t always necessary, according to Abigail Blanco, defense expert and professor at the University of Tampa. 

Up until a few years ago when it was finally retired, one of the primary reconnaissance systems in the War on Terror was the RQ-4 Global Hawk. 

The RQ-4 had an impressive payload capacity of 3,000 pounds and advanced reconnaissance capabilities – at an enormous cost. Each one was originally slated to cost $20 million but wound up costing $220 million per unit. 

“If you look at reports from the Air Force, they repeatedly stated that instead of the [RQ-4], they preferred the U-2 spy plane, which, to be clear, is a relic in military terms. It’s from the Cold War period. And so it’s not always clear that the modernization piece is desirable.”

Some lawmakers and defense officials initially resisted the Army’s push to streamline systems. 

“The OSD comptroller pushed back really hard. Some parts of the Hill pushed back really hard,” Miller said. “But we ran a really aggressive ground game.… We’re not asking for more money. We’re asking to spend taxpayer dollars better.”

The problem, according to Blanco, is Congress has long continued to budget for equipment way beyond its point of usefulness. 

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“If you are an elected representative and your district manufactures Humvees or tanks, you have a really strong vested interest in ensuring that that technology continues to be produced, regardless whether or not it’s operationally necessary.”

In the end, Miller said, acquisition reform isn’t about cutting corners – it’s about keeping pace with an adversary who doesn’t care about red tape.

“The environment, the threat, and the reality change so fast,” he said. “We have permission to just be ruthless about working with commercial entities … and figuring out what can we get in the hands of soldiers faster.”