In the latest example of the so-called “Biden effect,” a constituent of 79-year-old Rep. David Scott chose to launch a primary run against him after a tense exchange at a town hall, saying Congress shouldn’t be a “retirement community.”

“We just had two Democratic members die within weeks at a time when every vote counts,” Everton Blair told Fox News Digital on Monday of his decision.

“It’s a huge concern for Democrats to accomplish our agenda and to be in touch with the issues of today if we don’t proactively broaden our bench,” he said, adding that Congress should be a representation of the nation’s populace and “not exclusively a retirement community.”

In January, Blair, a former member of the Gwinnett County Board of Education, questioned Scott, D-Ga., at the event and was reportedly taken aback by the congressman’s demeanor and response.

CRITICS SAY 11-TERM GEORGIA DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN TOO OLD TO BE RE-ELECTED

At the Gwinnett County forum, Blair said he would “love to just hear a little bit more of the congressional and legislative strategy, congressman, that you have for this administration, particularly as it pertains to safeguarding federal funds,” according to Semafor.

Scott responded: “Hold on,” and then reportedly became confrontational.

“I don’t know who sent y’all, but we got these folks here who are providing answers. And I’m doing this. That’s what I’m doing,” he said, according to the outlet.

In response to the exchange, Blair launched a primary bid against the 12-term incumbent from Stockbridge – an Atlanta suburb.

“Why are we allowing this to continue to be our representation?” Blair told Semafor after the incident.

Almost 50 years younger than Scott, Blair represents another example of what is being called the “Biden effect” – several elderly, entrenched, Democratic lawmakers either retiring or potentially facing primary challenges following former President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance that led to his own decision to step aside for the younger Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

GEORGIA GOV. KEMP SIGNS LAW REQUIRING JAILS TO CHECK IMMIGRATION STATUS OF INMATES

Scott previously went viral for calling a press photographer an “a–hole” for taking a photo of him being pushed through the Capitol in a wheelchair in December: “Who gave you the right to take my picture?” he snapped at Politico’s Francis Chung.

On April 19, the local Covington News outlet in Georgia received a release stating Blair would indeed be running for Scott’s seat next year.

Scott, who is also the brother-in-law of Braves legend Hank Aaron, has been in that seat since it was created following the 2000 census, effective the 2002 election cycle.

“I am running for Congress because it is time for the next generation to step up and correct the direction that this country is headed… Change can’t wait, and Democrats need a new bench of leaders who are committed to solving real problems for working people,” Blair’s release said.

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Democratic Georgia state Sen. Emanuel Jones is also challenging Scott and Blair in the 13th District’s primary. The Cook Political Report ranks the seat as solidly Democratic with a D+21 rating.

Fox News Digital reached out to Scott’s office as well as a campaign inquiry box but did not receive a response.

During his 2024 re-election bid, Scott told the AP, “Thank God I’m in good health, moving and doing the people’s work.”

FIRST ON FOX: In President Donald Trump’s first 100 days, the Department of Energy says it has saved taxpayers more than $700 million by cutting programs the administration labeled as “wasteful.”

The immediate savings are resulting from the cancellation of ongoing contracts at the DOE relating to topics such as diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) and progressive climate change goals linked to the Democrats’ Green New Deal proposals. They are part of a broader $3 billion in savings that the Trump administration has projected will occur as a result of the cancellation of additional contracts that were not yet finalized. 

“In the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, the Department of Energy has saved the American taxpayer more than $3 billion in projected savings – and this is just the beginning,” DOE spokesperson Ben Dietderich told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

TRUMP PRAISES ELON MUSK AS ‘PATRIOT, A BRILLIANT GUY, AND A FRIEND OF MINE’ AMID DOGE EXIT

Dietderich said to date, the DOE has suspended contracts supporting DEI initiatives and Green New Deal priorities, as well as other “wasteful” programs, “generating more than $700 million in immediate savings for the American taxpayers.” 

“President Trump and Secretary Wright are fully committed to making government more accountable, efficient, and effective stewards of the American taxpayers’ dollars,” he said.

During Trump’s first 100 days in office, according to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the administration’s efforts have saved the government at least $160 billion. That amounts to $993.79 per taxpayer, according to DOGE. 

An “Agency Efficiency Leaderboard,” tracking which departments have received the most savings, shows the Department of Health and Human Services ranked number one. 

DOGE SLASHES ‘WASTEFUL’ ‘PROBLEM-SOLVING’ CONTRACT WORTH $50K IN LATEST ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS 

HHS is followed by the General Services Administration at number two, the Department of Education at number three, the Labor Department at number four, and the Office of Personnel Management rounds out the top five.

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The Department of Justice is ranked last, just before the Department of Veterans Affairs. The DOE, according to DOGE, is ranked as the agency with the third least savings.

The savings reportedly stemmed from a combination of asset sales, contract and lease cancellations or re-negotiations, fraud and improper payment deletion, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings and workforce reductions.  

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan issued a word of caution to illegal immigrants remaining in the U.S.: The Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement is on the hunt for you. 

“If you’re an illegal alien in the United States, this message is for you: You cannot hide from ICE,” Homan told reporters Monday. “We’re actively looking for you.” 

Homan addressed reporters at the White House to share details on the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda, just ahead of Trump’s 100th day in office Tuesday. In honor of the event, the White House placed 100 posters of the “worst illegal immigrants arrested” during the first 100 days of the term on the White House lawn. 

“Make no mistake, if you’re in the country illegally and you fail to do what the law requires, we will prosecute you,” Homan said. “You will go to jail, then we deport you.”

Specifically, Homan said that there are roughly 1.4 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. who’ve been instructed to leave, but remain in the U.S. Homan issued caution to them and said that they could expect to face prosecution for failing to follow orders. 

“We will aggressively prosecute, consistent with long-standing law, those aliens for failing or refusing to depart, or who take other related actions aimed at hindering the removal,” Homan said. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

The White House kicked off its celebration of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office by highlighting its efforts to combat illegal immigration on Monday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Tom Homan joined White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at an early morning briefing on Monday. The pair touted massive decreases in border crossings as well as new executive orders aimed at deportations and further border enforcement.

“We are in the process of carrying out the largest deportation campaign in American history,” Leavitt said. “After four years of being vilified by the Biden-Harris administration, our heroic ICE officers can finally do their jobs.”

Homan joined Leavitt and accused the Biden administration of having “unsecured the border on purpose,” despite receiving a very secure border from the first Trump administration.

TRUMP REPORTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT HISTORIC LOWS DURING FIRST FULL MONTH IN OFFICE

“When 96% less people are coming [across the border], how many women aren’t being sexually assaulted by the cartels?” Homan said. “How many children aren’t dying making that journey? How many women and children aren’t being sex-trafficked into this country? How many known and suspected terrorists aren’t making it into this nation? How many pounds of fentanyl isn’t getting into this country to kill young Americans?”

TRUMP ADMIN ENDS DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR MASSIVE NUMBER OF VENEZUELANS AMID ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

Monday’s briefing was the first of several morning press conferences the White House has scheduled this week. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent will join her for a similar briefing on Tuesday, Leavitt said.

The administration’s ongoing Operation Tidal Wave is the largest deportation operation in American history, the pair said. Leavitt added that it is only the beginning, however, and is a “sign of things to come.”

The Trump administration said in early April that it had already deported 100,000 illegal immigrants, though officials did not offer a new total at Monday’s briefing.

Recent high-profile deportations have seen migrants deported to an El Salvador mega prison after the president invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime immigration law, to deport Venezuelan gang members. That move has since been held up in court with the Trump administration opting to deport 17 alleged members of Tren de Aragua to El Salvador from Guantánamo Bay on Sunday night via Title 8.

FIRST ON FOX: A nonprofit patient’s rights advocacy group has placed a billboard in New York City’s Times Square praising President Donald Trump for “delivering” on a major healthcare promise within his first 100 days in office. 

The billboard, placed by PatientsRightsAdvocate.org, (PRA) will run from April 28 to May 4 and touts Trump’s executive order signed in February directing the departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to make healthcare prices transparent.

“President Trump delivers healthcare price transparency,” the billboard, along with a picture of Trump resembling Superman says. “First 100 Days!”

Trump’s order directed the departments to “rapidly implement and enforce” the Trump healthcare price transparency regulations, which he claims were slowed by the Biden administration.

TRUMP AND A HEALTHIER AMERICA WELCOMED BY DOCTORS: ‘NEW GOLDEN AGE’

The departments will ensure hospitals and insurers disclose actual prices, not estimates, and take action to make prices comparable across hospitals and insurers, including prescription drug prices.

PRA says that more than 1 in 3 Americans postponed or avoided care due to “fear of unknown costs” and that 100 million Americans are in medical debt, which represents the country’s largest cause of personal bankruptcy. 

 “The magnitude of President Trump’s delivering ‘radical’ price transparency in healthcare is historic,” Cynthia Fisher, founder and chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org, said in a statement. 

SOARING MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES TARGETED IN TRUMP’S NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER

“Patients soon will have access to actual prices, not estimates, before they receive care. Prices create a functional market where the consumer benefits from competition and choice to lower costs,” Fisher continued. “Soon, patients will be able to shop for the best quality of care at the best price. Prices protect patients with remedy and recourse from overcharges, errors, and fraud. We are closer than ever to shifting the power to the consumer to live healthier and longer lives at a far lower cost.”  

Andrew Bremberg, former assistant to President Donald Trump and director of the Domestic Policy Council at the first Trump White House, also touted Trump’s executive order, saying that the president “built on his first term healthcare legacy and signed an even stronger price transparency executive order. 

“His efforts to deliver real prices, not estimates, underscore his unwavering commitment to the American people. President Trump has a bold vision to transform the American healthcare system with price transparency as the catalyst.” 

The executive order notes a number of concerns with current healthcare pricing, including that prices vary between hospitals in the same region.

“One patient in Wisconsin saved $1,095 by shopping for two tests between two hospitals located within 30 minutes of one another,” according to the statement.

The White House claims one economic analysis found Trump’s original price transparency rules, if fully implemented, could deliver savings of $80 billion for consumers, employers and insurers by 2025.

“The hospital wanted me to pay $3,700 up front for a simple fibroid removal surgery,” Arizona patient Theresa Schmotzer said in a statement at the time of the billboard’s placement. “Because that seemed high, I went looking for what it should cost. I found the actual price online and saw that my share was only $700 not $3,700. Because I had access to real prices, not estimates, I saved $3,000. President Trump’s executive order on healthcare price transparency will allow more people to find real prices and save.”  

States across the country have been pushing similar measures in the form of legislation to ensure that patients are given more transparency about the healthcare costs they are assuming, including in Ohio, where legislation was recently signed into law requiring hospitals to post exact prices in dollars and cents for all available services. 

“They’ll be able to check them, compare them, go to different locations, so they can shop for the highest-quality care at the lowest cost,” Trump wrote in a statement when he signed the executive order. “And this is about high-quality care. You’re also looking at that. You’re looking at comparisons between talents, which is very important. And, then, you’re also looking at cost. And, in some cases, you get the best doctor for the lowest cost. That’s a good thing.”

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton picked up an endorsement from Sen. Tammy Duckworth in the primary to succeed the retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. 

Stratton launched her campaign last week after Durbin, an 80-year-old who was first elected to the Senate in 1996, announced he would not seek re-election in 2026. She was endorsed last week by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“Juliana has not only proven to be an experienced and effective Lieutenant Governor — she’s demonstrated time and again that she truly understands and cares for working people,” Duckworth, who represented Illinois, told Politico.

“I’d be honored to have her by my side in the Senate as we work to deliver real results for Illinoisans, and I’m proud to endorse her campaign,” she added. 

DICK DURBIN, NO. 2 SENATE DEMOCRAT, WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION 

In her campaign launch video, Stratton said, “Donald Trump and Elon Musk are trying to distract us to create such a mess that we don’t even know where to start. But in Washington, they’re still doing the same old things they’ve always done, and that old playbook isn’t working.” 

Stratton described herself as the daughter of a teacher and Navy veteran from the South Side of Chicago, and a mother of four. 

She told Politico that she was “honored” by Duckworth’s endorsement and that “Tammy is a true leader for Illinois who doesn’t back down from a challenge.” 

DURBIN SAYS ELDERLY LAWMAKERS SHOULD CONSIDER LEAVING POLITICS ‘BEFORE THEY’RE CARRIED OUT’ 

The outlet also reported that Stratton had previously appeared alongside Duckworth to support the Asian American community during Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Last Wednesday, Durbin said, “The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy.” 

“I truly love the job of being a United States Senator. But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch. So, I am announcing today that I will not be seeking re-election at the end of my term,” he added. 

Durbin becomes the fourth Democrat in the Senate whose term is up at the end of next year who decided against seeking re-election in the 2026 midterms, joining Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Gary Peters of Michigan, and Tina Smith of Minnesota. 

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

The White House lawn is lined with posters of 100 of the “worst illegal immigrant criminals” arrested in the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term.

“Good Morning from The White House!” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X on Monday morning, sharing video of the posters, which say “arrested” at the top and appear to have a mugshot or other photo of the person followed by the label “illegal alien.” 

The bottom of the poster lists a crime the person is accused of committing, including rape, murder, sexual assault of a child, lewd acts in front of a child, and distribution of fentanyl and illegal guns. 

OVER 100 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED IN COLORADO SPRINGS MASSIVE UNDERGROUND NIGHTCLUB RAID

“We will hunt you down. You will face justice. You will be deported — and you will never set foot on American soil again,” the White House wrote in a separate X post. “Oh, and your mugshot may just end up on a yard sign at the White House.” 

Leavitt and Border Czar Tom Homan have an early morning press briefing scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump said that some people’s income taxes will be lowered or perhaps even completely eliminated due to tariffs.

“When Tariffs cut in, many people’s Income Taxes will be substantially reduced, maybe even completely eliminated. Focus will be on people making less than $200,000 a year,” he declared in a post on Truth Social.

“Also, massive numbers of jobs are already being created, with new plants and factories currently being built or planned. It will be a BONANZA FOR AMERICA!!! THE EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE IS HAPPENING!!!” the president added.

TRUMP SAYS THERE’S A ‘REAL CHANCE’ TARIFFS COULD REPLACE INCOME TAX

The president discussed income tax and tariffs while speaking to reporters on Sunday.

“And eventually we’ll be reducing taxes very substantially for the people of our country, because the money is so great coming in from tariffs that I’ll be able to reduce taxes … to a very large extent, and maybe almost completely,” he said.

TRUMP PROPOSES ABOLISHMENT OF FEDERAL INCOME TAX, BRINGING US BACK TO ‘RICHEST PERIOD’ IN HISTORY

“And it’s possible we’ll do a complete tax cut, because I think the tariffs will be enough to cut all of the income tax,” he noted. 

The president indicated Americans will be given “a tremendous tax cut,” starting “with people making less than $200,000 dollars a year.”

TRUMP KICKS OFF WHIRLWIND WEEK MARKING HIS 100TH DAY BACK IN THE OVAL OFFICE

Trump, who will mark the 100-day milestone of his second term in office this week, is slated to hold a rally in Michigan on Tuesday.

EXCLUSIVE: Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said President Donald Trump has accomplished more in the first 100 days of his tenure than “most politicians or presidents accomplish in their entire lifetimes.”

The top House Republican said this first period of a new GOP trifecta in government has been a “flurry of activity” used to set the stage for the party’s plans to pass a massive piece of legislation setting up Trump’s priorities on defense, taxes, energy and the border.

“So much of what we’ve done is leading up to the big reconciliation bill, and that is the legislative vehicle, as I’ve explained to people, it will help us, through which we will deliver the president’s America First agenda,” Johnson told Fox News Digital.

“We’ve done it with arguably the smallest margin in the history of the Congress, so challenges every day, but it’s been very rewarding to lead us through that.”

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

He noted that Trump and Congress had worked together on passing the Laken Riley Act, and on keeping transgender women out of biological women’s spaces.

But the speaker also acknowledged that Trump has acted quite a bit on his own, as well.

“He’s issued, I think, 110 executive orders and many other executive actions. And we’ve been working to codify so much of that. It’s been kind of a partnership,” Johnson said.

But not everyone views it as equal. Democrats have accused Republicans of acquiescing power to Trump on issues ranging from tariffs to government funding.

“I don’t think we’ve ceded any authority. I think that he’s doing what is within his scope to do. There’s an assumption made by Congress that the administration, whoever is in the administration, will use the money that is appropriated to the executive branch as a good steward, that they will take every measure possible to prevent fraud, waste and abuse,” Johnson said. 

“And tariffs as well – the president, whomever is president, has a responsibility and I think an expectation from Congress that they will deal with unfair trade partners around the globe.”

He also pointed out that a significant number of Trump’s orders have targeted Biden administration actions or policies that were similarly enacted without Congress.

SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES

“I don’t think the president has engaged in executive overreach,” Johnson said. “So much of what he’s done by executive order is reversing executive orders of his predecessor. So, it looks like he’s doing a lot, but he’s unwinding the damage done by the previous occupant of the Oval Office. So, he certainly has latitude to do that.”

But Johnson, a former constitutional law attorney who styled himself “a jealous guardian of Article I,” vowed he would raise his concerns with Trump if he ever felt Congress’ power was being infringed. 

“I don’t think he’s crossed the line yet. If he does, or if he did, you know, I would address it with him personally as a concern, as a partner, and explain that I think it’s been overdone,” he said.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is reintroducing legislation Monday that would ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks while in office.

Hawley introduced the “PELOSI Act” in 2023, but failed to make progress under President Joe Biden’s administration. The proposal has since gained popularity among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and President Donald Trump himself said last week that he would “absolutely” sign such a ban if it came to his desk.

“Members of Congress should be fighting for the people they were elected to serve—not day trading at the expense of their constituents,” Hawley told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“Americans have seen politician after politician turn a profit using information not available to the general public. It’s time we ban all members of Congress from trading and holding stocks and restore Americans’ trust in our nation’s legislative body,” he added.

WHIP WATCH: DICK DURBIN GIVES TEARFUL GOODBYE AS DEM POWER PLAY BEGINS FOR NO 2 SENATE SPOT

Hawley’s ban would prohibit lawmakers and their spouses from holding, purchasing or selling stocks for the duration of the lawmaker’s time in office. Lawmakers would be allowed to invest in diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or U.S. Treasury bonds while in office.

If passed, current lawmakers would have 180 days to comply with the legislation. Likewise, newly elected lawmakers must achieve compliance within 180 days of entering office.

Lawmakers who continue to make wrongful transactions under the law would be required to hand over any profits they made to the U.S. Treasury Department. The House or Senate ethics committees could also impose a fine on such lawmakers amounting to 10% of each wrongful transaction.

CBS ANCHORS SALUTE OUTGOING ’60 MINUTES’ PRODUCER, SAY EFFORT TO SETTLE TRUMP LAWSUIT TIED TO CORPORATE MERGER

Trump himself endorsed banning trading for members of Congress in an interview with Time Magazine on Friday.

“I watched Nancy Pelosi get rich through insider information, and I would be okay with it. If they send that to me, I would do it,” he said of a trading ban.

“You’ll sign it?” the reporter pressed.

“Absolutely,” Trump responded.

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Democrats in the House of Representatives have also expressed support for a ban, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries throwing his weight behind the proposal last week.

A Kentucky lawmaker is urging the federal government to delay its forthcoming REAL ID deadline as his state and others face a whirlwind of logistical issues.

“Kentucky wants to comply with REAL ID, but we’re simply not ready. And we’re not alone. At least 17 other states are still below 50% compliance, and 30 states are below 70% compliance,” Republican Kentucky state Sen. Jimmy Higdon told Fox News Digital.

“If we flip the switch now, millions of Americans could be denied access to air travel and federal buildings. We need more time, and that’s a reasonable request.”

REAL ID was first created by law in 2005, but the federal government has delayed its implementation multiple times – most recently in 2022. But the Trump administration has made clear that the current May 7 deadline is final.

NO ‘REAL ID’ APPOINTMENTS OPEN IN NEW JERSEY AS RESIDENTS SOUND OFF: ‘GET WITH THE TIMES, NJ’

Higdon and his colleagues in the Kentucky state Senate wrote to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Secretary Kristi Noem last week seeking an extension. 

“I can tell you for a fact, I’m hearing from constituents and my fellow legislators, ‘Hey, this is a problem. This is a real problem,’” he told Fox News Digital.

The Kentucky Republican called on other state officials to reach out to Noem and ask for a delay as well.

“We’re not alone here in Kentucky. We’re not the lone ranger when it comes to non-compliance. We’re at 40%,” he said. “We’re simply not ready.”

Indeed, a recent CBS News analysis found that Pennsylvania, Maine and Washington were among the states that came in under 40% compliance. New Jersey’s compliance rate was just 17% as of April 18, according to the study.

The Trump administration has argued that finally acting on REAL ID helps the White House’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, millions of whom have entered the country since President Donald Trump was last in office.

But Higdon said there was confusion over what REAL ID is. He described long lines and a dearth of appointments as Kentuckians have scrambled to meet the deadline.

“It’s almost a panic of sorts trying to get the REAL ID, a lot of people don’t understand it,” Higdon said. “The media’s done a good job of letting people know the deadline’s approaching. But a lot think they need a real ID, and they don’t if there’s other means of real ID – a passport, passport card, military ID – all those things work.”

“And if you don’t plan to travel, if you’re not going to get on a commercial airline flight or visit a military base or federal courthouse, you really don’t need that REAL ID-compliant ID” 

‘MASS SURVEILLANCE’: CONSERVATIVES SOUND ALARM OVER TRUMP ADMIN’S REAL ID ROLLOUT

Starting May 7, a REAL ID will be needed for domestic airline travel – rather than a normal state-issued license – as well as in areas where federal identification is required, but having a REAL ID itself is not required.

Higdon suggested giving Americans another year to catch up, noting that people had grown used to the government delaying the deadline over the last two decades.

“I think we’ve trained people to ignore that deadline,” he said. “So, if we’re going forward in a year to get the word out, ‘Hey, this is it. We’re either going to do away with REAL ID or we’re gonna make it mandatory this time next year,’ I think that would definitely help.”

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But it appears the Trump administration is not budging.

In response to Kentucky legislators’ request, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) told Fox News Digital, “Beginning on May 7, passengers will need a REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification to fly, like a passport or military ID. TSA is committed to enforcing the law, as directed by Congress.”

“Non-compliant passengers may expect wait times or additional measures at airports. If you are an illegal alien without a REAL ID, the only way you will be permitted to fly is if you are self-deporting,” TSA said.

President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Republicans to respond to “disruptors and troublemakers” at town halls by having them “immediately ejected,” after protests and heated exchanges at some of these events hosted by GOP lawmakers.

Trump alleged that “Radical Left Democrats” are “paying a fortune to have people infiltrate” the town halls held by Republicans in Congress.

“These Great Patriot Politicians should not treat them nicely,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Have them immediately ejected from the room – They are disruptors and troublemakers.”

The president said GOP lawmakers need to quell the idea that the event disruptors are Republican dissidents unhappy with the actions and policies pushed by his administration and the party.

REP. BYRON DONALDS SAYS HE WON’T BE INTIMIDATED AFTER PROTESTERS DISRUPT TOWN HALL

“You must allow your audience to know what you are up against, or else they will think they are Republicans, and that there is dissension in the Party,” Trump wrote.

“There is not, there is only LOVE and UNITY. Republicans are happy with what is taking place in our Country. We all love America!” he continued.

This comes as several Republican lawmakers in recent months have faced intense criticism by attendees at their town halls over some of Trump’s policies.

Some Republican leaders have urged members to avoid holding in-person town halls and instead hold phone and livestreamed events due to concerns that “paid protesters” and Democratic activists may hijack the in-person events.

“We’ve been encouraging our members to communicate directly with their constituents, and they’re anxious to do that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said at a press conference last month. “There’s lots of different ways and forums to do it. You can do it in telephone town halls. You can have small subgroups of people from different industries and segments of the community. We find that to be very, very productive, and more productive than if you just go to an open forum right now. Why? Because we’ve seen this movie before. George Soros-funded groups and others literally pay protesters.”

But some Republican lawmakers continue to hold in-person town halls with their constituents.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., hosted a town hall earlier this month in which at least six people were removed. Three of the people escorted out of the event were arrested, including two whom police used stun guns to apprehend.

CHAOS ERUPTS AT GOP LAWMAKER’S TOWN HALL AFTER LEFT-WING GROUPS PROMOTE PROTESTS

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“I’m not intimidated by the Democrats who tried to shut down my town hall tonight,” Greene said after the event on April 15. “I refused to tolerate their selfish attempts to disrupt an event that was for all of my constituents, not just the ones who could make the most noise. This is the type of business that should be handled at the voting booth.”

Other Republican lawmakers, including Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, were involved in heated exchanges this month at town hall events while attempting to defend moves taken by the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was disappointed with Russia for launching missiles while trying to reach a peace deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump spoke with reporters before boarding Air Force One on Sunday evening, where he was asked about everything from the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and Iranian peace talks to the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.

During the gaggle, the president said his meeting on Saturday with Zelenskyy went very well.

“We’ll see what happens over the next few days,” Trump said. “I was very disappointed that missiles were flying, by Russia…very disappointed.”

TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY HAVE ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE’ TALK AS THEY ATTEND POPE FRANCIS’ FUNERAL

Trump and Zelenskyy met face-to-face for the first time since their infamous Oval Office spat in February, as both were attending Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome.

After the meeting, the Ukrainian president posted on X that the meeting was “very symbolic” and could potentially be “historic.”

The meeting came as peace talks between Russia and Ukraine appeared to be at a standstill with Zelenskyy and Putin making competing demands.

TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL

Trump called the meeting with Zelenskyy on Saturday “beautiful.”

“Look, we have a tough road ahead, okay?” Trump said. “He told me that he needs more weapons, but he’s been saying that for three years. He needs more weapons, and we’re going to see what happens.

“I want to see what happens with respect to Russia,” Trump added.

He explained that he was very disappointed with Russia for conducting bombings in Kyiv after the discussions with both countries.

NIKKI HALEY ON RUSSIA AND UKRAINE SAYS US SHOULD ‘WANT TO BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY’

Trump said Zelenskyy spoke to him about Crimea, which has been a sticking point for the Ukrainian president.

American officials have apparently floated the idea of recognizing Russia’s control of Crimea, a territory that Russia seized in 2014, as part of a ceasefire proposal. This would also involve the freezing of current frontlines.

But Zelenskyy has drawn a red line about Crimea.

In 2022, Zelenskyy said the Russian war against Ukraine and against the entire free Europe “began with Crimea and must end with Crimea – and its liberation,” according to a report from Axios.

VANCE ISSUES ULTIMATUM TO RUSSIA, UKRAINE ON PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy reiterated his stance, shutting down the idea that Ukraine would recognize Russian control of Crimea.

Trump blamed the state of Crimea on former U.S. presidents.

“Crimea was given away by Barack Hussein Obama, and by Biden, like 11 or 12 years ago. That’s a long time ago,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t know how he could bring up Crimea, because that’s been a long time. Nobody brought it up for 12 years, and now they’re bringing it up now. So, I told them, I told him, he should maybe go back to Obama, ask him why they gave it up. They gave it without a shot being fired by him.”

As far as current negotiations about reaching peace, Trump said he wanted Putin to “stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal.”

“We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it and be done with it,” the president said.

TRUMP SAYS ‘INFLAMMATORY’ ZELENSKYY STATEMENT ON CRIMEA PROLONGS WAR WITH RUSSIA

Since his return to the Oval Office, Trump said the U.S. has been more respected than ever before. He also noted that with that strength, there are actions he can take against Russia, though he is not looking to act.

“There’s no more games,” he said before taking another dig at former President Biden. “We have somebody that knows what he’s doing, not like the previous person who didn’t have a clue.”

Trump touted that since implementing tariffs, costs are dropping “way down.”

For instance, he said groceries, eggs and gasoline are coming down. He also said the U.S. is collecting “a lot” of money from the tariffs.

“Eventually, we’ll be reducing taxes very substantially to the people of our country because the money is so great coming in from tariffs, that I’ll be able to reduce taxes to a very large extent, and maybe almost completely,” Trump said.

Along with tariffs, the president addressed peace negotiations in Iran, saying he thinks the deal is going to be made without “having to start dropping bombs all over the place.”

VIRGINIA GIUFFRE, JEFFREY EPSTEIN AND PRINCE ANDREW ACCUSER, DEAD AT 41 BY SUICIDE: REPORT

On a more somber note, Trump was asked for his reaction to Virginia Giuffre’s suicide in Australia.

Giuffre, 41, one of Epstein’s and Prince Andrew’s most prominent accusers, filed a lawsuit against the English royal in New York in 2021. In the lawsuit, Giuffre claimed she was forced to have sex with him three times between 1999 and 2002, when she was underage.

She died in Neergabby, Australia over the weekend, where she had been living, according to an NBC report.

“Well, it’s a very sad situation, the whole thing,” Trump said. “That whole situation is very sad, her and others. And so certainly that’s a horrible thing, horrible.”

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson, Bradford Betz and Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.

Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz reiterated the administration’s support for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Sunday, saying they “couldn’t be prouder” of his early months in the role, despite a wave of high-profile controversies and resignations that have embroiled the department in recent weeks.

Speaking to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Waltz was pressed about the alleged dysfunction inside the Pentagon’s top ranks— and whether, in his view, the current Pentagon is equipped to deliver on lofty foreign policy goals, including helping broker a negotiated settlement in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“Can you do this in what appears to be a chaotic, weakened Defense Department?” Bartiromo asked Waltz on “Sunday Morning Futures,” citing reports of chaos and dysfunction, including recent firings of Hegseth’s top aides, and reports he has been threatening polygraph tests for some staffers at the department.

“I’ll tell you about a weakened Pentagon,” Waltz fired back. “That was one that had a Defense Secretary that disappeared for two weeks just last year, and nobody knew about it.” 

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH REBUFFS NEW GROUP CHAT ALLEGATIONS AS ATTEMPT TO ‘SABOTAGE’ TRUMP’S AGENDA 

In contrast to his predecessor, Waltz said Hegseth is “leading from the front” at the Defense Department, and praised what he described as Hegseth’s early efforts to reform the Pentagon.

“He is leading the charge, and he has no tolerance for leaking,” Waltz said, dismissing the alleged chaos or dysfunction as a “media narrative,” and one he vowed they “are going to power through.”

Waltz also brushed off a question about the departures of senior aides, including Hegseth’s own chief of staff, Joe Kasper, last week.

The exodus of senior officials and other allegations of chaos from inside the Pentagon have prompted some Democrats to call for an investigation into his leadership.

But Waltz also brushed off these characterizations of dysfunction on Sunday. Asked by Bartiromo how he was going to replace the fired Pentagon officials, Waltz said in response: “Maria, there’s 20,000 people in the Pentagon.”

 “There is a record number of generals,” he said. “And the other piece— there is accountability. We have had several general officers that weren’t getting the job done, and admirals get fired and get replaced… That’s what the Pentagon needs.”

Waltz argued that that is a stark contrast to the longtime culture at the Pentagon, where he said “no one ever gets fired, [and] there’s never a sense of accountability.”

“And now there is,” he told Bartiromo.

“Whether it’s leaks, or not getting the job done, or failures in terms of procurement acquisition, now you have a leader that’s in charge,” Waltz said. “And I couldn’t be prouder of Pete Hegseth.”

HEGSETH SHARED DETAILS OF YEMEN STRIKES IN SECOND SIGNAL CHAT: REPORT

Waltz’s remarks come as Hegseth’s role has come under mounting scrutiny in recent weeks — both for his participation in at least one Signal group chat in March where he discussed a planned military strike against the Houthis, and the firing of several senior staffers earlier this month.

Hegseth earlier this month fired three top aides: including his aide, Dan Caldwell, his deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and the chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll. 

These oustings were described as both “baffling” and alarming by John Ullyot, a former Pentagon communications official who resigned earlier this year.

“The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,” Ullyot wrote in an op-ed for Politico.

The White House, however, has sought to emphasize its support for Hegseth in recent days, with both Vice President JD Vance and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt vehemently dismissing reports that the administration could be considering a possible replacement. 

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“Let me reiterate: The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth and the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he’s achieved thus far speak for themselves,” Leavitt told reporters at a briefing last week, describing the reports as a “smear campaign.”

President Donald Trump’s 15th week in office will include his 100th day back in the White House, which he will celebrate by hosting a rally in Michigan – the last state he campaigned in before polls opened on Election Day of last year. 

“President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS!” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an X post announcing the rally. 

Trump’s presidential campaigns in 2016, 2020 and 2024 all ended with rallies in the battleground state of Michigan. Trump’s visit to Macomb County this week follows his final 2024 campaign rally in Grand Rapids, where he joined the crowds just after midnight in the final hours before his victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The event is billed as a celebration of Trump’s “LEGENDARY start to his presidency,” according to the Republican National Committee’s website. The rally will be held at Macomb Community College in Warren and will kick off at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday. 

TRUMP TO HOLD RALLY TUESDAY IN CELEBRATION OF FIRST 100 DAYS, LEAVITT SAYS

Trump wraps up his 100th day in office with more executive orders signed than any other president over the same period since President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Trump has signed at least 137 executive orders, ranging from dismantling the Department of Education, establishing the Department of Government Efficiency, and stripping diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from the fabric of the federal government following the Biden administration. 

Trump returned from Rome on Saturday after attending Pope Francis’ funeral mass at the Vatican with first lady Melania Trump. Trump met with Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy during the trip as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to rage and negotiations for peace stall. 

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, shortly after he met with Zelenskyy at the Vatican on Saturday. 

TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY HAVE ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE’ TALK AS THEY ATTEND POPE FRANCIS’ FUNERAL

“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” he added.

While on the campaign trail, Trump vowed to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in a matter of 24 hours, but negotiations have proven difficult. Trump’s Truth Social post on Saturday followed Russia launching a missile strike on Kyiv that injured dozens and killed at least 12. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the coming week will be “very critical” as the White House weighs whether it wants to continue working towards a peace deal. Rubio warned this month that the U.S. might “move on” from trying to secure a deal between Russia and Ukraine if progress was not made. 

“I think this is going to be a very critical week,” Rubio said on Sunday. “This week is going to be a really important week in which we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally, if not more, important in some cases. But we want to see it happen. There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic, of course, as well. We’re close, but we’re not close enough.”

Trump put a 90-day pause on reciprocal, customized tariffs he had imposed on dozens of nations this month, sparking a trade deal negotiation blitz as dozens of nations began knocking on the proverbial doors of the White House in the hopes of striking more favorable terms. 

TRUMP SAYS HE HAD ‘GREAT CALL’ WITH SOUTH KOREAN LEADER, SUGGESTS DEAL POSSIBLE

The White House has met and spoken with a handful of nations looking to make deals, including South Korea last week. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said negotiations with the Asian nation have progressed quickly and that the two countries could reach a trade agreement as early as this week. 

“We had a very successful bilateral meeting with the Republic of South Korea today,” Bessent said from the White House on Thursday. “We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week as we reach an agreement on understanding as soon as next week.”

“So South Koreans came early. They came with their A game, and we will see if they follow through on that,” Bessent continued. 

Congress will reconvene on Monday following a spring recess, with Republican lawmakers expected to resume talks on a budget plan to advance Trump’s first-year agenda, including extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and carving out millions in funds for border security.

SCOOP: REPUBLICANS ROLL OUT $69B FUNDING PLAN FOR NEW CBP AGENTS, BUILDING BORDER WALL IN TRUMP BUDGET BILL

Democrats on Capitol Hill protested on Sunday ahead of Republicans returning to the table for budget plan talks. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker took to the steps of the Capitol on Sunday morning while flanked by supporters to protest the budget plan. 

“Republican leaders have made clear their intention to use the coming weeks to advance a reckless budget scheme to President Trump’s desk that seeks to gut Medicaid, food assistance and basic needs programs that help people, all to give tax breaks to billionaires. Given what’s at stake, these could be some of the most consequential weeks for seniors, kids and families in generations,” the two Democrat lawmakers wrote in a statement of the protests. 

Trump has repeatedly called on Republican lawmakers to pass the “big, beautiful” tax and spending package to advance his first-year agenda. 

Trump is expected to travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Thursday where he will deliver a commencement speech to graduating students at the University of Alabama. 

“I have agreed to do the Commencement Address at two really GREAT places, the University of Alabama and, WEST POINT. Stay tuned for times and dates!!!” Trump posted to Truth Social last week. 

Trump is expected to deliver his speech from the school’s Coleman Coliseum arena on Thursday evening. 

“The University of Alabama is honored to have been selected as one of the universities President Donald J. Trump will visit to deliver a spring commencement address,” the university said in a statement this month.

Trump previewed last week that his administration is in the midst of purchasing and installing massive flag poles to feature Ol’ Glory on both the north side lawn and south lawn of the White House. Trump told the media he will personally fund the flags and said they could be ready sometime this week. 

TRUMP UNFURLS PLANS FOR DOUBLE 100-FOOT FLAGPOLES DURING WHITE HOUSE LAWN WALK

“We’re putting up a beautiful, almost 100-foot-tall American flag on this side and another one on the other side, two flags, top of the line,” he told reporters on Wednesday outside the White House, adding they will be “paid for by Trump.”

“They needed flagpoles for 200 years. It was something I’ve often said, you know, they don’t have a flagpole per se. So we’re putting one right where you saw us, and we’re putting another one on the other side, on top of the mounds. It’s going to be two beautiful poles.”

Trump added on Wednesday that the flags will “arrive in about a week or so.” An American flag is currently only flown from the White House roof. 

President Donald Trump vowed Sunday to bring back Columbus Day “from the ashes,” while calling out Democrats for doing everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus’ reputation.

“I’m bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. “The Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much.

“They tore down his Statues, and put up nothing but ‘WOKE,’ or even worse, nothing at all! Well, you’ll be happy to know, Christopher is going to make a major comeback,” Trump added. “I am hereby reinstating Columbus Day under the same rules, dates, and locations, as it has had for all of the many decades before!”

Columbus is commonly credited with discovering the “New World.” This after journeying across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain to find a direct route from Europe to Asia without traveling around the massive African continent. This inadvertently bridged the divide between Europe and what would eventually become North and South America.

DEFACED COLUMBUS STATUE THAT WAS THROWN INTO A VIRGINIA POND FINDS MORE WELCOMING HOME IN NYC SUBURB

Columbus’ ships – the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria – most likely landed on San Salvador, one of the Bahamian islands, before moving to different locations in search of valuable resources.

The controversial part of his history, however, revolves around enslavement and colonization. 

In recent years, the Columbus Day holiday has come under heightened scrutiny, with many opting to honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead.

PENNSYLVANIA APPEALS COURT REVIVES LEGAL BATTLE OVER PITTSBURGH’S EFFORTS TO REMOVE COLUMBUS STATUE

In fact, several statues of Columbus have been removed, defaced or even dragged and submerged into water over the past few years because of the controversy surrounding the historical figure.

An 8-foot-tall bronze statue of Columbus once housed at the entrance of Byrd Park in Richmond, Virginia, was uprooted by protesters in light of George Floyd’s 2020 death until finding a new home in a New York City suburb last year.

In images from the tumultuous summer, protesters are seen marching near the statue, holding signs that called for removal of imagery that recognizes colonizers to pay respect to indigenous communities.

RHODE ISLAND’S HIGHLY CRITICIZED COLUMBUS STATUE RE-EMERGES IN NEARBY TOWN AFTER BEING REMOVED 3 YEARS AGO

Other reports and images show the statue on the ground after being pulled down from its pedestal with ropes, defaced with spray paint and lit on fire.

The protesters then dragged the statue to a nearby pond and submerged it in water. 

The nearly 100-year-old homage to Columbus was later retrieved and restored before eventually being shipped to its new home at the Rockland Sons of Italy Lodge in the hamlet of Blauvelt, located approximately 20 miles northwest of New York City. 

Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump shut down all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices across the federal government during his first week in office and signed a number of executive orders to quickly undo former President Joe Biden’s efforts. 

The president, just hours after taking the Oath of Office on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, signed an executive order to eliminate all DEI programs from the federal government. He also quickly signed an order making it “the official policy of the U.S. government to only recognize two genders: male and female.” 

WHITE HOUSE OPM ORDERS ALL DEI OFFICES TO BEGIN CLOSING BY END OF DAY WEDNESDAY

A day later, the president directed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to notify heads of agencies and departments to close all DEI offices and place those government workers in those offices on paid leave. 

That move quickly forced those offices to take down all outward facing media — websites, social media accounts, and more — for those DEI offices, and required the withdrawal of any final pending documents, directives, orders, materials and equity plans. 

Trump also canceled current and impending contracts focused on DEI initiatives, with Elon Musk, who heads up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), saying that move saved the federal government $420 million. 

The president also issued two other executive actions that day targeting DEI. 

One was an executive order to end discrimination in the workplace and higher education through race and sex-based preferences under the guise of DEI. 

The other was a memo to eliminate a Biden administration policy that prioritized DEI hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration. 

In the memo rolling back Biden’s DEI hiring practices at the FAA, Trump ordered the secretary of transportation and FAA administrator to immediately stop Biden’s DEI hiring programs and return to nondiscriminatory, merit-based hiring.

TRUMP VOWS ‘NEW ERA OF NATIONAL SUCCESS,’ SAYS AMERICA’S ‘DECLINE IS OVER’ IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Trump also required that the FAA administrator review the past performance and performance standards of all agency employees in critical safety positions and make it clear that anyone who fails to demonstrate adequate capability is replaced by someone who will ensure flight safety and efficiency.

“Illegal and discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring, including on the basis of race, sex, disability, or any other criteria other than the safety of airline passengers and overall job excellence, competency, and qualification, harms all Americans, who deserve to fly with confidence,” the memo read.

The memo stated: “All so-called DEI initiatives, including all dangerous preferencing policies or practices, shall immediately be rescinded in favor of hiring, promoting, and otherwise treating employees on the basis of individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication.”

Trump also rescinded Biden’s order on diversity initiatives, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” which he signed on his first day in office in 2021. 

In February, the Department of Education also warned state education departments that they must remove DEI policies or risk losing federal funding.

That move came after Trump signed executive orders directing agencies to provide a plan to eliminate federal funding for “illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.”

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

The president’s efforts to end DEI across the federal government also prompted the cancellation of such programs across the private sector. 

Meta, in January, canceled its DEI programs, as did McDonald’s. And after the 2024 election, Walmart, Ford Motor Co., John Deere, Lowe’s and Toyota also ended DEI programs. 

As recently as April, according to Forbes, IBM, Gannett, and Constellation Brands Inc., made changes to DEI policies. Earlier in 2025, UnitedHealth Group, MLB, Victoria’s Secret, Warner Bros. Discovery, Goldman Sachs, Paramount, Bank of America, BlackRock, Citigroup, Pepsi, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, PBS, Google, Disney, GE, PayPal, Chipotle and more scaled back or canceled their DEI programs. 

Meanwhile, in March, the National Institutes of Health rescinded the agency’s “Scientific Integrity Policy” implemented during the last few weeks of Biden’s term, to peel back any DEI requirements. 

That Biden-era policy said that DEI was an “integral” part of “the entire scientific process,” and pushed NIH’s chief scientist and top scientific integrity official to “promote agency efforts regarding diversity, equity and inclusion.” It also instituted agency-wide policy directives ordering supervisors at the NIH to “support” scientists and researchers who are “asexual” or “intersex,” while imploring NIH leadership to “confer with relevant offices” when additional DEI expertise is needed.  

MULTIPLE FEDERAL AGENCIES END LINKEDIN CONTRACTS OVER DEI

“The Biden administration weaponized NIH’s scientific integrity policy to inject harmful DEI and gender ideology into research,” said Health and Human Services Department spokesperson, Andrew Nixon. “Rescinding this (scientific integrity) policy will allow NIH to restore science to its golden standard and protect the integrity of science.”      

The Biden administration also funded grants related to DEI, such as one for roughly $165,000 that was focused on “queering the curriculum” for family medicine doctors to guide them in their treatment of transgender patients. Those grants have been canceled. 

And earlier this week, multiple federal agencies told Fox News Digital that they have dropped millions of dollars in contracts for LinkedIn services over the business social network’s embrace of DEI. 

The Departments of Treasury, Interior and Veterans Affairs dropped LinkedIn — a move to comply with the president’s executive orders banning federal agencies from contracting with companies that embrace DEI policies. 

“Every American taxpayer should be angry that the Biden administration wasted so much money on contracts like these,” an Interior Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Under the leadership of President Trump, we have been combing through hundreds of thousands of contracts here at the Department alone and are canceling wasteful, woke, and downright ridiculous contracts that do not align with the will of the American people.” 

A LinkedIn spokesperson told Fox News Digital, in response, that: “Like every business, the organizations that use our products change, often driven by shifts in their budgets and priorities. We’re keeping our focus on helping our customers achieve the objectives they’ve set.” 

Fox News Digital’s David Spector and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report. 

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith criticized state Senate Democrats for equating a GOP legislative proposal intended to root out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education to the Three-Fifths Compromise. 

“They were saying this is a bad bill because it actually encourages discrimination, just like the Three-Fifths Compromise going all the way back to the foundations of our nation. I would like to share with you the Three-Fifths Compromise is not a pro-discrimination compromise,” Beckwith, a Republican, said in a video shared on X after an emotional floor debate. “It was not a pro-discrimination or a slave-driving compromise that the founders made. It was actually just the opposite.”

“Don’t buy into the DEI radical revisionist history that is happening in today’s culture,” he said. “Know your history. Go back and study the documents. Read them for yourself like I have. Go look them up and you will find that the Three-Fifths Compromise and many other things like that were designed to make sure that justice was equal for all people and equality really meant equality for all.” 

INDIANA GOV PULLS PLUG ON DEI IN ‘EXHILARATING’ MOVE FOR STATE

The legislation in question, Senate Bill 289, ultimately passed both chambers of the state legislature last week and heads to Republican Gov. Mike Braun’s desk. The bill restricts DEI programs at K–12 schools, charter schools, state agencies, and public universities and allows people to sue such institutions if they compel students, teachers or administrators to adopt that one race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or national origin “is inherently superior or inferior” to another, that a person’s moral character is determined by one of those characteristics, or that a person should be blamed for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or national origin.

The GOP-sponsored bill – titled “unlawful discrimination” – also includes transparency requirements for institutions to post any DEI-related trainings online and repeals provisions concerning university diversity committees, among other reforms. It follows an executive action Braun, a former U.S. senator, issued when he took office as governor in January prioritizing merit over DEI in education and state government. 

Critics of the bill in the state Senate last week said the proposal leaves out of consideration a legacy of discrimination in the U.S., citing the Three-Fifths Compromise, Jim Crow laws and real estate redlining.

As for the Three-Fifths Compromise, Beckwith said it was “a compromise that the North made with the South. At the time, there were basically 13 independent nations.” 

“They had not really created a Constitution. They were sort of a European Union-esque nation, and they were saying to the pro-slave states, ‘Hey, if you want to count your slaves to have representation, more representation in Congress, we’re not going to let you do that,’ because they knew that that would codify things like slavery into our nation and the North stood up to the South,” Beckwith said. 

PASTOR LEADING TARGET DEI BOYCOTT CALLS MAGA, TRUMP ‘ROACHES’ IN EASTER SERMON

Made during the 1787 Constitutional Convention, the Three-Fifths Compromise set forth that slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a person when counting a state’s population for taxation and congressional representation. While it reduced the influence that slave-holding states initially wanted, it ultimately allowed them more seats in the House of Representatives and more sway in presidential contests in terms of the Electoral College than if free people were only counted.

The Three-Fifths Compromise ended after the Civil War with the adoption of the 13th and 14th Amendments, abolishing slavery and establishing equal protection under the Constitution. 

When the Constitution was being written, Beckwith explained, southern states considered slaves as property but still wanted to count slaves as part of their population in the census to get more members of Congress from the South. The North said if the South wanted it to count its “property,” or its slaves, as whole people in the census, the North would in turn count its tables, chairs and all their belongings in their homes as part of their population as well, according to the lieutenant governor. 

“They came up with a Three-Fifths Compromise. They said you will only get three-fifths of a vote when it comes to your slave. And what that did, it actually limited the number of pro-slave representatives in Congress by 40%. This was a great move by the North to make sure that slavery would be eradicated in our nation,” Beckwith said. “They knew what they were doing. But now here you have Senate Democrats in today’s American Republic who do not understand that.”

“They think the Three-Fifths Compromise was something that was a scourge on Black people. That’s not what it was. And how did we get to this place? We got to this because of DEI in education. We got here because you have professors at woke schools that will not teach the history of what actually happened back in the foundations of our nation,” Beckwith continued. “Many, many men and leaders in our nation’s history knew how wicked slavery was. They knew that God had created Black people, White people, red people, all people in his image, and they were fighting for equality for all, but they’re not taught that today, and that’s why you had the Senate Democrats who were getting up talking about the Three-Fifths Compromise like it was some sort of terrible thing in our past it was not it actually was the exact opposite that helped to root out slavery and lead us into a more perfect union that we now see.” 

Beckwith said the Three-Fifths Compromise was the beginning of the U.S. later evolving to where all people can have equal representation under the law. 

The anti-DEI state bill passed the state House by a 64-26 vote and the state Senate by a 34-16 vote. It awaits Braun’s signature. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to temper expectations for a major peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia on Sunday.

Rubio made the statement during a Sunday morning appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” telling host Kirsten Welker that a deal is “still not there.”

“We’ve made real progress, but the last couple steps of this journey were always going to be the hardest,” Rubio said. “It needs to happen soon. We cannot continue to, as I said, to dedicate time and resources to this issue if it’s not gonna come to fruition.”

“The last week has been about figuring out how close are these sides really, and are they close enough that this merits a continued investment of our time as a mediator in this regard,” he added.

TRUMP SAYS ‘INFLAMMATORY’ ZELENSKYY STATEMENT ON CRIMEA PROLONGS WAR WITH RUSSIA

Rubio argued it was “silly” to put a specific date or timeline on when the U.S. might pull out from mediation, but he said this will be “a very critical week.”

ZELENSKYY SPEAKS OUT AFTER PUBLIC SPAT WITH TRUMP, VANCE, SAYS DUSTUP ‘BAD FOR BOTH SIDES’

“This week is going to be a very important week at which we need to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in, or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally if not more important in some cases,” he said.

President Donald Trump met face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican this weekend.

Neither Ukrainian nor White House officials gave many details on the meeting; however, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the leaders had “a very productive discussion.”

Zelenskyy later tweeted that the meeting was “very symbolic” and could potentially be “historic.”

This meeting comes as peace talks between Russia and Ukraine appear to be at a standstill, with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin making competing demands.

“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine. They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off.’ Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after arriving in Rome on Saturday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov did not reveal any specifics about potential negotiations during a pre-recorded interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday.

“We are really polite people, and unlike some others, we never discuss in public what is being discussed in negotiations,” Lavrov told host Margaret Brennan. “Otherwise, negotiations are not serious. To ask for somebody’s opinion regarding the substance, go to Zelenskyy. He is happy to talk to anybody through media, even to President Trump.”

“Russia is always available for a dialogue,” Lavrov added.

When asked whether there would be a meeting between Trump and Putin, Lavrov said the two presidents are “masters of their own destiny and of their own schedule.”

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.

Prosecutors in a left-wing Minnesota county attorney’s office will be required to consider defendants’ race when crafting plea deals, according to a local report citing internal documents. 

The office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, which recently let a Democrat-connected alleged Tesla vandal off with a slap on the wrist, issued the internal document “Negotiations Policy for Cases Involving Adult Defendants.” It directs prosecutors to consider “racial identity and age” as they negotiate plea deals, local Minnestota outlet KARE 11 first reported last week. 

“While racial identity and age are not appropriate grounds for departures [from the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines], proposed resolutions should consider the person charged as a whole person, including their racial identity and age,” the internal document states, according to the outlet.

“While these factors should not be controlling, they should be part of the overall analysis. Racial disparities harm our community, lead to distrust, and have a negative impact on community safety. Prosecutors should be identifying and addressing racial disparities at decision points, as appropriate,” it continues. 

STRING OF PLEA DEALS FROM MINNEAPOLIS DA OUTRAGES FAMILIES OF VICTIMS, DRAWS CONCERN FROM LEGAL EXPERTS

The policy changes are set to take effect on April 28, according to the outlet. Hennepin County encompasses the city of Minneapolis and is the most populous county in the Democrat-run state. 

The “Negotiations Policy for Cases Involving Adult Defendants” began circulating in the county attorney’s office last week, KARE 11 reported.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office on Sunday morning regarding the policy update, motivation behind the internal document and whether there are any concerns over the constitutionality of the changes, and is awaiting a response. 

The reported plea deal policy comes with constitutionality issues, according to KARE 11, which spoke to local attorneys to weigh in on the change. 

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“It both says, ‘Don’t take race into account,’ presumably because of the constitutional problems with taking race into account in addition to potentially political objections, but it simultaneously says this is something you should consider,” Jill Hasday, a University of Minnesota law professor, told the outlet. “And the problem for the drafters of this policy is, once you take race into account, it doesn’t really matter what else you say. The policy is going to be struck down.”

Another local attorney brushed off constitutionality concerns, saying that county prosecutors are directed to steer clear of racial disparities, not create them. 

“I definitely think that some people will get worked up about the issue, but I don’t see a constitutional problem, and that’s specifically because the policy tells prosecutors to avoid racial disparities. Not to create them,” University of St. Thomas law professor Rachel Moran told the outlet. 

The Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution requires states to govern impartially, meaning that states and official government actions cannot discriminate or treat individuals differently based on characteristics such as race. 

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“Our sentencing guidelines that criminal justice professionals use every single day in court say that race should not be used in that calculus. This seems to contradict our sentencing guidelines,” former Washington County, Minnesota, prosecutor Imran Ali told the outlet. “It’s inconsistent not only with our sentencing guidelines, but the policy in and of itself is inconsistent.”

The county attorney’s office told KARE 11 that race is an important factor to consider during plea deal negotiations “because we know unaddressed unconscious biases lead to racial disparities.” 

“This policy acknowledges that there are many factors to be considered in negotiations. Each case – and defendant – is unique. Someone’s age may change the likelihood of growth and change. A defendant’s race matters because we know unaddressed unconscious biases lead to racial disparities, which is an unacceptable outcome,” the office told the outlet. 

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“Our goal with this policy matches the goal of all our work: to achieve safe, equitable, and just outcomes that center the healing of victims while improving public safety,” the office continued. 

Fox News Digital previously reported that Moriarty has been backed by groups tied to money from liberal mega-donor George Soros, who has helped to install scores of soft-on-crime local prosecutors around the nation. She was first elected to the role in 2022 after working for more than two decades as a public defender in the county. 

Moriarty most recently made national headlines last week when her office bucked criminally charging a Minnesota state employee suspected of vandalizing six Tesla vehicles and causing $20,000 in damages. Instead, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said it would seek “diversion” over charges against Minnesota Department of Human Services data analyst Dylan Bryan Adams. The diversion approach “helps to ensure the individual keeps their job and can pay restitution,” according to the office. 

Teslas around the country have been targeted for vandalism as its CEO Elon Musk heads up President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, which has been auditing various federal agencies for government overspending, fraud and mismanagement.

Moriarty and her office also came under fire in October of 2023, when families of murder victims slammed a string of plea deals that had been offered to murder defendants, sparing them time behind bars, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.