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.”

EXCLUSIVE: Mississippi will be the 10th state to eliminate the state income tax, and Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is celebrating the anticipated economic boom as “Mississippi’s moment.”

“We are more competitive than we’ve ever been before. Lowering the tax on work, and ultimately, eliminating the tax on work, is going to make us even more competitive,” Reeves told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. 

Reeves signed a bill into law in March to roll back Mississippi’s state income tax from 4% to 3% by 2030, and eventually to zero. The Republican governor said eliminating the state income tax would “help level the playing field” and make Mississippi more competitive with neighboring states, such as Texas, Florida and Tennessee, who already have no income tax. 

“We have already seen the fruits of that with over $32 billion in new capital investment in Mississippi over the last four years. We had the lowest unemployment rate in our state’s history last year. We had more people working last year than at any time in our state’s history. We had, in 2024, the second-fastest growing economy in all of America last year. We had the fourth fastest-growing per capita income in all of America in 2024,” Reeves said. 

DEEP RED STATE MAKES MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT INCOME TAX: ‘WE PLANT OUR FLAG’

While President Donald Trump‘s administration has floated tax hikes for millionaires to accomplish his ambitious budget agenda, which includes an extension of his 2017 tax cuts and no taxes on tips or Social Security, the Trump loyalist made his position on tax hikes clear in an interview with Fox News Digital. 

‘MISSISSIPPI MUSK’: STATE AUDITOR’S MOGE REPORT FINDS $400M IN GOVERNMENT WASTE

“I oppose raising taxes on anybody,” Reeves said when asked if he would support a small tax hike on millionaires. 

Reeves explained that his plan to eliminate Mississippi’s income tax was devised to “reduce taxes on hardworking Mississippians” and “hardworking Americans.”

“We believe that the government ought to take less, so that individuals can keep more. And that’s what we’ve tried to do in our state. We need more workers in our state. We need more income in our state, and I believe if you want more of something, you ought to tax it less,” he added. 

‘HARD NO’: MILLIONAIRE TAX HIKE PROPOSAL HAS HOUSE REPUBLICANS DIVIDED

While Reeves was unwilling to bend to Trump’s potential tax hike, the Mississippi governor dismissed concerns over Trump’s tariff policies. 

“There’s no doubt that there are a lot of opinions about the Trump administration’s approach to tariffs, but let me just tell you what our experience has been. Mississippi has had tremendous success in the last four to five years in growing our economy,” Reeves said. 

He touted more than $75 billion in potential capital investments, claiming Mississippi’s “deal flow is larger today than at any time in our state’s history.” Reeves said states like Mississippi are going to be “huge winners” under Trump’s leadership as he seeks to return manufacturing to the United States. 

“We never gave up on manufacturing. We have been, for years, investing in training and retraining our workforce for a manufacturing boom, and I think we’re fixing to see that here in the United States of America,” Reeves said. 

As for the future of Mississippi’s economy, Reeves said “it’s going to continue to boom.”

Mississippi has also been leading state-level Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts, which the state auditor Shad White has jokingly called “MOGE.” White released a compilation of audits last month that amounted to over $400 million in waste during his tenure. 

“During the time between 2012 and 2020, when I was lieutenant governor, we actually saw a reduction of total state employees from 33,000 down to almost 24,000, almost a 30 percent decline in the total number of employees, and yet, we’re still providing the same level of government service. If that can be done in state government in Mississippi, it can be in every government, from the local level, to the state level, to Washington, D.C.,” Reeves said. 

The Mississippi Republican added that Washington has a “spending problem,” and applauded Elon Musk’s efforts to cut government waste during Trump’s first 100 days in office. 

“I would think every American would be for reducing the types of irrational spending that the Biden administration did in its final year,” Reeves said. 

President Donald Trump declared Friday that “We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status,” saying “It’s what they deserve!” 

The announcement from Trump comes after Fox News reported last week that his administration asked the Internal Revenue Service to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status.  

The Ivy League school’s failure to address antisemitism on campus is grounds for losing its 501(c)(3) status, sources said at the time.

Trump said in mid-April that Harvard had “lost its way” and didn’t deserve federal funding.

“Harvard has been hiring almost all woke, Radical Left, idiots and ‘birdbrains’ who are only capable of teaching FAILURE to students and so-called ‘future leaders,'” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Look just to the recent past at their plagiarizing President, who so greatly embarrassed Harvard before the United States Congress.”

“Many others, like these Leftist dopes, are teaching at Harvard, and because of that, Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be considered on any list of the World’s Great Universities or Colleges,” he continued.

“Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds,” Trump also said.

Harvard has become a target of Trump’s broader crackdown on universities, much of which is in response to last year’s anti-Israel unrest that erupted on campuses across the country.

On April 11, the Trump administration sent a letter to Harvard University President Dr. Alan Garber and Harvard Corporation Lead Member Penny Pritzker outlining the institution’s failures and a list of demands from the White House. In the letter, the administration accused Harvard of failing to uphold civil rights laws and to foster an “environment that produces intellectual creativity.”

The Trump administration threatened to pull federal funding if Harvard did not reform governance and leadership, as well as its hiring and admissions practices by August 2025. The letter emphasized the need for Harvard to change its international admissions process to avoid admitting students who are “hostile” to American values or support terrorism or antisemitism.

Harvard refused to comply with the demands, with Garber saying that “no government… should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.” The university later filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its “unlawful” freezing of funds.

The Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard, and is reportedly looking to slash another billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Fox News’ Andrea Margolis, Alexis McAdams and Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.

California state Sen. Tony Strickland believes policy reforms are warranted after federal authorities intervened in the planned early release of an illegal immigrant convicted in a 2021 DUI manslaughter that killed two Orange County teenagers in his district in Seal Beach.

The Republican told Fox News Digital that changes are needed to programs like the in-prison credit system that may have allowed Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano to be released back into the community in July if the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not quickly get involved.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said last week that California will “coordinate” with ICE to “transfer him before release,” as he is slated to only spend three and half years of his 10-year sentence behind bars at the state level.

GOP LAWMAKERS RALLY AROUND TRUMP ADMIN FOR MASSIVE NIGHTCLUB RAID TARGETING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

“We need to reform these programs. We need to reform some of this. Again, I think the most essential role of government is public safety, and we need to bring accountability back into our system here in California. If you make a mistake, you can commit a crime. You should do the time. And again, we are not more safe by these programs, we’re less safe,” Strickland told Fox News Digital in an interview.

The senator said the plan for early release was “a slap in the face of the parents and everybody who loved those children who ended up passing away.”

Ortega-Anguiano, 43, was driving drunk and high, and speeding at nearly 100mph on the 405 freeway in Orange County in November 2021, when he crashed into a car being driven by a young couple, 19-year-olds Anya Varfolomeev and Nicholay Osokin, killing them both as they burned alive. In spring 2022, he was convicted of two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CONVICTED OF KILLING TEENS IN HIGH-SPEED CRASH TO BE RELEASED EARLY: ‘IT’S DISGUSTING’

Fox News reported that the victim’s families were informed on Easter Sunday about an early release. However, following the report, the DOJ said they would be prosecuting Ortega-Anguiano on federal charges to keep him behind bars longer.  

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“For safety and security reasons CDCR cannot provide information on an incarcerated person’s release date or location in advance of their release. Incarcerated persons may earn credits for participating in rehabilitative programming, which may move their parole dates to an earlier date,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation stated last week.

ICE told Fox News Digital that Ortega-Anguiano had entered the country illegally twice before and had a prior criminal background before the two teens were killed in the fatal crash.

GOP DA TRADES BARBS WITH NEWSOM AFTER BEING BLAMED FOR BAD ‘PLEA DEAL’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FELON

“I was moved by the story and the fact this should never happen,” Strickland said.

However, he said Democrats in Sacramento are mum about early release concerns.

“I haven’t heard anything. The supermajority is tone-deaf, and the governor, Newsom, is so busy about running for president, he’s not doing his job as governor of California. He’s so interested in what’s going on in the Trump administration,” the senator said.

Strickland said Golden State residents are becoming more aware of problems in Sacramento – and the Orange County lawmaker said that awareness is cause for optimism.

“The good news is people are now waking up to the lack of leadership and they’re waiting to hear leaders to come forward to help turn the state around. I do believe California will be golden again, but it takes leadership and people like myself and others in the legislature to point this out,” Strickland said.  

As DNC Vice Chair David Hogg seeks to spend millions on primarying older Democrats in blue districts, the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm suggested they are taking the exact opposite tact ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“With Democrats like Jon Ossoff openly calling to impeach President Trump, no one should put their personal ambitions above protecting the president’s legacy and majorities,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) communications director Joanna Rodriguez told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

“Leader [John] Thune and Chairman [Tim] Scott have been clear that the NRSC’s goal is to protect President Trump’s majority in the Senate, and they know Mike Rogers and John Cornyn are the best candidates to do that in their respective races.” 

The issue arose as both men – a former Michigan congressman seeking Sen. Gary Peters’ to-be-open seat and an incumbent Texas senator, respectively – may see substantive primary challenges.

SENATE FAILS TO REJECT TRUMP’S NATIONAL EMERGENCY ON TARIFFS AS REPUBLICANS SPLINTER

An NRSC official reportedly told donors on a Tuesday conference call that people seeking to aid Senate races in both states should only give to Rogers and Cornyn, according to Axios.

When reached, an NRSC official did not wave Fox News Digital off that report.

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., is considering a run for Peters’ seat, and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, is doing the same in the Lone Star State, according to several reports.

NRSC political director Brendan Jaspers said, according to Axios, that no other candidates but Rogers and Cornyn – “declared or posturing” – should be supported by substantive donors, unless and until they decide to hold onto their seats in a narrowly Republican-majority House of Representatives.

CHINA IS ‘CAVING’ TO TRUMP’S TRADE WAR STRATEGY, EXPERT SIGNALS

A Huizenga spokesperson told Fox News Digital it is important to “remember that Michigan voters have the ultimate say.”

“We continue to hear from grassroots activists, Republican primary voters and donors both here in Michigan and around the country who are looking for an alternative. Sadly, it seems that Washington insiders prefer predictable candidates, regardless of success.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the DNC for comment from Hogg regarding Republicans shaping their campaign strategy in direct contrast to his own.

“Republicans are clearly so afraid of losing seats in the House with their extremely unpopular agenda that party leaders are urging House members not to run for higher office,” a DNC spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

“Republicans should be afraid of losing elections as they push a budget bill that will cut vital programs for hardworking Americans to pay for another billionaire tax handout — all as the country braces for a Trump recession.”

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Hogg’s strategy incensed party elders, including Bill Clinton confidant James Carville, who recently remarked, “Does he really think the problem that we‘re facing in the United States today is because we got 65-year-old Democrats in office? Why don’t you take on a Republican? That‘s your job.”

However, Carville has since softened his stance, appearing to compare Hogg to Ulysses S. Grant by referencing a popular anecdote in which President Abraham Lincoln purportedly defended Grant against calls for his dismissal after the 1862 Battle of Shiloh, reportedly saying, “I can’t spare this man; he fights.”

Hunt’s office could not be reached for comment for the purposes of this story. 

President Donald Trump fired off a scathing Truth Social post late on Thursday night as he is once again targeted for impeachment, floating the idea that Republicans should target Democrats for expulsion from Congress.

“The Democrats are really out of control. They have lost everything, especially their minds! These Radical Left Lunatics are into the ‘Impeachment thing’ again. They have already got two ‘No Name,’ little respected Congressmen, total Whackjobs both, throwing the ‘Impeachment’ of DONALD J. TRUMP around, for about the 20th time, even though they have no idea for what I would be Impeached,” Trump declared in the post.

Earlier this week Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., announced articles of impeachment against Trump. 

HOUSE DEMOCRAT ANNOUNCES ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST TRUMP: ‘CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER’

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, applauded the impeachment effort and declared during a speech, “Add my name to your articles of impeachment.” 

Green also plans to introduce his own articles of impeachment targeting Trump.

“These Congressmen stated that, they didn’t know why they would Impeach me but, ‘We just want to do it.’ The Republicans should start to think about expelling them from Congress for all of the crimes that they have committed, especially around Election time(s),” Trump asserted in his post. 

Thanedar’s resolution includes seven articles of impeachment: “OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, VIOLATION OF DUE PROCESS, AND A BREACH OF THE DUTY TO FAITHFULLY EXECUTE LAWS,” “USURPATION OF THE APPROPRIATIONS POWER,” “ABUSE OF TRADE POWERS AND INTERNATIONAL AGGRESSION,” “VIOLATION OF FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS,” “CREATION OF UNLAWFUL OFFICE,” “BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION,” and “TYRANNY.”

DEM REP. AL GREEN, BOOTED FROM TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS, DOUBLES DOWN ON IMPEACHMENT

The House impeached Trump twice during his first term in office, but in each case the Senate vote failed to reach the threshold necessary for conviction.

The second impeachment occurred at the tail end of Trump’s term in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, and the Senate vote resulting in acquittal occurred after Trump had already departed from office.

“These are very dishonest people that won’t let our Country heal! Why do we allow them to continuously use Impeachment as a weapon against the President of the United States who, by all accounts, is working hard to SAVE OUR COUNTRY. It’s the same playbook that they used in my First Term, and Republicans are not going to allow them to get away with it again. These are total LOWLIFES, who hate our Country, and everything it stands for,” Trump declared in his late-night post on Thursday.

TRUMP NOMINATES WALTZ FOR HIGH-LEVEL POST AFTER OUSTING HIM AS NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR

“Perhaps we should start playing this game on them, and expel Democrats for the many crimes that they have committed — And these are REAL crimes,” he declared. “Remember, ‘Shifty’ Adam Schiff demanded a Pardon, and they had to use the power of the Auto Pen, and a Full Pardon, for him and the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, to save them from Expulsion, and probably worse!”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pushed back on Wednesday against claims that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been removing children from school.

In a “100 Days of Fighting Fake News” news release from DHS, the agency responded to many narratives that have been reported by various media outlets since President Donald Trump was inaugurated – one of them being that ICE agents are entering elementary schools to conduct immigration enforcement.

“ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) works relentlessly to protect Americans, especially children, who are put in danger by illegal alien activity,” DHS said. “This includes investigations into potential child sex trafficking.”

Addressing incidents at three elementary schools specifically, DHS explained that ICE agents were on campus for reasons not related to “enforcement action.”

EXCLUSIVE: DHS FIRES BACK AT CLAIMS ICE RAIDED ‘WRONG HOME’ IN OKLAHOMA SMUGGLING INVESTIGATION 

Local news outlets in Washington, D.C., reported at the end of March that HSI agents were seen on the campus of HD Cooke Elementary School, prompting concerns over their presence. 

Though DHS did not share what the agents were doing, the agency said, “ICE did not conduct any enforcement action at the school. HSI agents were present at the school unrelated to any kind of enforcement action.”

TRUMP DHS SLAMS MORE ‘SOB STORY’ REPORTING AFTER TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS SEND SOS SIGNAL 

There were also reports in early April of HSI agents at Russel Elementary School and Lillian Elementary School in Los Angeles.

Agents were “conducting wellness checks on children who arrived unaccompanied at the border” and that the visits “had nothing to do with immigration enforcement,” DHS said.

Homeland Security said it is “leading efforts to conduct welfare checks” on unaccompanied children to “ensure that they are safe and not being exploited, abused, and sex trafficked.”

“Unlike the previous administration, President Trump and Secretary Noem take the responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to reunite children with their families,” DHS said.

Nearly 5,000 unaccompanied children have been reunited with a relative or safe guardian in the past 70 days, the agency said, crediting the reunification to Noem and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

President Donald Trump late Thursday announced plans to designate May 8 as World War II “Victory Day” in the United States, which coincides with the “Victory in Europe Day” that has been celebrated in most of Europe since the Germans surrendered in 1945.

Trump acknowledged in a Truth Social that “many of our allies and friends” already celebrate on May 8, but said America should join in because “we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result.”

WORLD WAR II’S D-DAY: PHOTOS REVEAL WORLD’S LARGEST AMPHIBIOUS INVASION

On May 7, 1945, the Germans surrendered to the Allied Forces, and agreed to cease all operations the next day. 

World War II officially ended later in the year on Sept. 2 when the Japanese signed an instrument of surrender, though Japan waved a white flag on Aug. 14 – about a week after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The U.S. does not have any public holidays commemorating World War II specifically, but there have been remembrance ceremonies in May, August and September across the country for decades.

WWII VETERAN TURNS 100, REVEALS THE SECRETS OF A LONG, HEALTHY LIFE

Former President Harry Truman, who was in office during the end of WWII, issued a proclamation in August 1946 declaring Aug. 14 as “Victory Over Japan Day.”

“And I call upon the people of the United States to observe Victory Day as a day of solemn commemoration of the devotion of the men and women by whose sacrifices victory was achieved, and as a day of prayer and of high resolve that the cause of justice, freedom, peace, and international good-will shall be advanced with undiminished and unremitting efforts, inspired by the valor of our heroes of the Armed Services,” Truman’s proclamation read, in part.

In the same post, Trump stated that Nov. 11 will also be recognized as World War I “Victory Day.”

“We won both Wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance, but we never celebrate anything,” the president wrote. “That’s because we don’t have leaders anymore, that know how to do so! We are going to start celebrating our victories again!”

President Donald Trump spoke at the University of Alabama on Thursday night ahead of their official commencement ceremonies starting Friday, and urged students not to consider themselves a “victim” in their futures, noting that far too many young people think that way. 

The special address to graduates also included remarks from the university’s president, Stuart R. Bell, and former Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach, Nick Saban. Trump touted success during his first 100 days as president, and took a few opportunities to jab at his political opponents as well. 

But Trump’s message was largely focused on the graduating class, which he acknowledged as “the first graduating class of the Golden Age of America.”

TRUMP CLAPS BACK AT COURTS FOR ‘INTERFERING’ WITH JOB, ASKS ‘HOW YOU CAN GIVE DUE PROCESS’ TO ILLEGAL MIGRANTS

“Don’t consider yourself a victim. Consider yourself a winner. In recent years, too many of our young people have really been taught to think of themselves as victims and blame people and be angry. Don’t be angry,” Trump said. “In America, we reject that idea that anyone is born a victim. Our heroes are the ones who take charge of their own destiny, make their own luck, and determine their own fate despite the odds, despite all odds.”

Trump shared a range of other advice with the graduating class in addition to touting his political agenda. In between slamming federal judges for blocking him from doing his job and questioning Democrats’ defiance of his directives to keep men out of women’s sports, Trump urged students to beat the odds – hearkening back to his November election victory – and preserver through difficult challenges. 

“Graduates of the Alabama class of 2025 standing here before you in this magnificent arena, it is clear to see the next chapter of the American story will not be written by the Harvard Crimson. It will be written by you – The Crimson Tide,” Trump told the students as he concluded his address. “Because this is Alabama. And in Alabama you fight, fight, fight and you win, win win. That’s what you know how to do.”

TRUMP MOCKS TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS TO ROARING APPLAUSE AT ALABAMA COMMENCEMENT SPEECH

Trump’s address was the first at the University of Alabama by a sitting president.

It was met with pushback from both students and non-students. The university’s College Democrats chapter held a “Tide Against Trump” rally that featured former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke and former Alabama senator Doug Jones. The chapter also released a statement several days before Trump’s visit to campus, expressing their “shock” and “disgust” that the “unpopular, divisive, and authoritarian President will be involved in commencement.”

The Alabama NAACP slammed Trump’s appearance at the University of Alabama as well, comparing the president’s rhetoric to “the segregationist rhetoric of George Wallace” in comments about his address on their website.

The Justice Department (DOJ) has filed lawsuits against four Democrat-led states: Hawaii, Michigan, New York and Vermont, over what it calls unconstitutional climate policies that threaten U.S. energy independence and national security.

The move follows President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14260, Protecting American Energy from State Overreach, directing federal action against state laws that burden domestic energy development.

“These burdensome and ideologically motivated laws and lawsuits threaten American energy independence and our country’s economic and national security,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“The Department of Justice is working to ‘Unleash American Energy’ by stopping these illegitimate impediments to the production of affordable, reliable energy that Americans deserve.”

DOGE SAYS IT’S REFERRED DOZENS OF POTENTIAL VOTER FRAUD CASES TO DOJ

The DOJ filed complaints Tuesday against New York and Vermont over newly passed “climate superfund” laws, which would impose strict liability on fossil fuel companies for alleged contributions to climate change.

New York’s law alone seeks $75 billion in damages from energy firms. According to the DOJ, these laws are preempted by the federal Clean Air Act, violate the Constitution, and infringe on federal foreign affairs powers.

“These state laws assess penalties on businesses for global activities that Congress has not authorized states to regulate,” the DOJ argued in its filings.

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SEEK TO STRIP DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OF ITS SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES

Separate lawsuits were filed Monday against Hawaii and Michigan to block those states from suing fossil fuel companies in state court over past climate harms. The DOJ argues that those states’ litigation would place unconstitutional burdens on energy producers.

“When states seek to regulate energy beyond their constitutional or statutory authority, they harm the country’s ability to produce energy and they aid our adversaries,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson.

“The Department’s filings seek to protect Americans from unlawful state overreach that would threaten energy independence critical to the wellbeing and security of all Americans.”

The Justice Department is asking federal courts to declare the four states’ laws unconstitutional and prevent their enforcement.

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

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, is looking for support from fellow Democrats with her eyes on a possible run for the top Democratic spot on the House Oversight Committee, according to reports.

Although Semafor first reported about Crockett’s plans, Politico also reported that two people familiar with the matter claim the congresswoman has been making calls, sending text messages and having conversations on the floor in search of support for her quest to take the seat held by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.

Connolly is reportedly planning to step aside as he fights a resurgence of esophageal cancer, though he has not made an official announcement, Politico reported.

Still, Crockett reportedly told her colleagues she is “made for the moment,” the sources told the publication, referring to the Democratic Party’s desire to resist President Donald Trump in a more forceful way.

JASMINE CROCKETT ROASTED FOR WORRYING ABOUT EFFECT OF DEPORTATION ON OTHER COUNTRIES

Crockett did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Politico reported that Crockett told the outlet in a text message that even though a vacancy does not currently exist, “knowing that Rep Connolly doesn’t plan to seek re-election & knowing that our oversight powers are broad, I’m ready to shine a light on the very dark things taking place in our country under this administration.”

Crockett, a first-term progressive, has made headlines for several controversial comments this year.

SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS OVER JASMINE CROCKETT ‘GASLIGHTING’ ABOUT CALLING ABBOTT ‘GOVERNOR HOT WHEELS’

Her most recent comments came this week as she expressed sympathy for countries that may be affected by mass deportations from the U.S. after remaining largely silent on millions of migrants pouring into the country under the Biden administration.

“As far as I’m concerned, you randomly kidnapping folk and you throwing them out of the country against their civil rights, against their constitutional rights,” Crockett said in a video posted to her Instagram page, which has 1.3 million followers. 

“And, frankly, how would they feel if some other country decided that they were gonna just start throwing people randomly in our country? Like that is absolutely insane.”

Crockett lambasted Republicans who had voted down an amendment to a massive budget bill being hammered out by lawmakers that aims to clarify that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot detain or deport U.S. citizens under any circumstances.

REP. JASMINE CROCKETT SAYS DEMOCRATS NEED TO BE ‘OK WITH PUNCHING’ IN RACES AGAINST TED CRUZ, REPUBLICANS

The Republicans’ actions incensed Crockett, who cited a case last week when a U.S. citizen child was deported with her noncitizen mother. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the child and her siblings were deported because their mothers are not citizens and wanted to take them with them back to Honduras.

Crockett made the comments alongside Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who also panned Republicans. 

“Literally they just voted, they being the other ones, not us, because we were all on the right side of history,” Crockett said. “They just voted to give Trump the legal ability to deport U.S. citizens. That is what they voted for. A bunch of elected U.S. representatives, that is how they voted, Am I telling a lie Eric or not?”

She also made news in March after she called her fellow Texan, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, “Governor Hot Wheels.” She later claimed her words were misunderstood.

Crockett continues her viral media streak with incendiary comments aimed at those on the other side of the aisle, including saying DOGE head Elon Musk should be “taken down” and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, should be “knocked over the head, like, hard.”

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan, Rachel del Guidice, Elizabeth Elkind and The Associated Press contributed to this report.