President Donald Trump issued a Palm Sunday message at the start of Holy Week renewing his administration’s promise “to defend the Christian faith in our schools, military, workplaces, hospitals, and halls of government.” 

“We will never waver in safeguarding the right to religious liberty, upholding the dignity of life, and protecting God in our public square,” Trump wrote in his 2025 Holy Week presidential message released by the White House.

“As we focus on Christ’s redeeming sacrifice, we look to His love, humility, and obedience—even in life’s most difficult and uncertain moments,” Trump said. “This week, we pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our beloved Nation. We pray that America will remain a beacon of faith, hope, and freedom for the entire world, and we pray to achieve a future that reflects the truth, beauty, and goodness of Christ’s eternal kingdom in Heaven.” 

WHITE HOUSE PLANS ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ HOLY WEEK AS TRUMP HONORS EASTER WITH ‘THE OBSERVANCE IT DESERVES’

“May God bless you and your family during this special time of year and may He continue to bless the United States of America,” Trump wrote. 

Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump “join in prayer with Christians celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ – the living Son of God who conquered death, freed us from sin, and unlocked the gates of Heaven for all of humanity.” The presidential message reiterated how Holy Week begins “with Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday” and culminates “in the Paschal Triduum, which begins on Holy Thursday with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, followed by Good Friday.” The week reaches its “pinnacle in the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night.” 

“This week is a time of reflection for Christians to memorialize Jesus’ crucifixion – and to prepare their hearts, minds, and souls for His miraculous Resurrection from the dead,” Trump wrote. 

“During this sacred week, we acknowledge that the glory of Easter Sunday cannot come without the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross,” the president said. “In His final hours on Earth, Christ willingly endured excruciating pain, torture, and execution on the cross out of a deep and abiding love for all His creation. Through His suffering, we have redemption. Through His death, we are forgiven of our sins.  Through His Resurrection, we have hope of eternal life.” 

TRUMP TO SIGN EXECUTIVE ORDER ESTABLISHING WHITE HOUSE FAITH OFFICE

“On Easter morning, the stone is rolled away, the tomb is empty, and light prevails over darkness—signaling that death does not have the final word,” Trump said. 

Since surviving a July 2024 assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Penn., Trump has acknowledged his faith on the campaign trail and months into his second term by repeatedly affirming that he was “saved by God to Make America Great Again.” On Friday, the White House hung a painting depicting a bloodied Trump pumping his first in the air during that attempt on his life last summer, replacing a portrait of former President Barack Obama. 

The Holy Week proclamation on Sunday is first on the docket of a series of roll-outs and events expected before Easter organized by the newly established White House Faith Office. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital that Trump delivered on his promise to millions of Christians in creating the office. She drew a “sharp contrast” with the Biden administration, which marked Easter Sunday, which fell on March 31, 2024, the most important holiday on the Christian Church calendar, as Transgender Day of Visibility.

Jennifer Korn, faith director of the White House Faith Office, told Fox News Digital the administration is gearing up for “extraordinary” celebrations during Holy Week to treat the Easter season “with the observance it deserves.” 

On Monday, Trump is expected to release a Holy Week video and will host an Easter dinner on Wednesday evening. On Holy Thursday, the president is expected to host a staff worship service at the White House, where Pastor Paula White, the senior advisor to the White House Faith Office, the Rev. Franklin Graham, Pastor Greg Laurie and Pastor Jentezen Franklin will participate in prayer, scripture, service and communion. 

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Government Efficiency launched a website where Americans can directly report and suggest how to deregulate policies within the federal government, Fox News Digital learned. 

“Your voice in federal decision making,” reads the website Regulations.gov, “Impacted by an existing rule or regulation? Share your ideas for deregulation by completing this form.”

DOGE worked with the Government Services Administration, an independent agency tasked with helping support the functioning of other federal agencies, and the Office of Management and Budget, which is the federal office frequently charged with overseeing deregulation efforts, to launch the website earlier this month, Fox Digital learned. 

“DOGE is combining the administration’s goals of adding transparency and slashing waste, fraud, and abuse by offering the American people the unique opportunity to recommend more deregulatory actions. This DOGE-led effort highlights President Trump’s priority to put the people first and government bureaucrats last,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox Digital. 

MUSK NOT LEAVING YET, WRAPPING UP WORK ON SCHEDULE ONCE ‘INCREDIBLE WORK AT DOGE IS COMPLETE’: WHITE HOUSE

The website’s main page directs users to a form where they can report “deregulatory suggestions,” which provides users with more than a dozen prompts regarding their issue. 

The prompts include describing which federal agency had promoted a regulation at issue, if the regulation is finalized or in the midst of the rule-making process, justification for the deregulation, the history of how the regulation operates, and the title and name of the agency’s leader, as well as other detailed information on the regulation. 

The form prompts users to provide their name, but the box is not mandatory to complete before submission. The person who submits a deregulatory suggestion could see the Trump administration name the rescission to the rule after the individual. 

“Only answer if you would like the rescission to be named after you or your organization. Providing your name does not guarantee that it will appear on any final agency action, and we reserve the right to refrain from using names that are inappropriate or offensive,” the prompt asking for the user’s name states. 

TRUMP WANTS MUSK TO STAY WITH ADMINISTRATION, SAYS DOGE FOUND SOMETHING ‘HORRIBLE’ TODAY

DOGE’s public leader, Elon Musk, has railed against government regulations for months, including when he joined President Donald Trump’s campaign in key battleground states to rally support. 

In a Pennsylvania rally ahead of the election, Musk recounted how his company SpaceX was wrapped up in “bunch of nutty stories” related to government overregulation, including studying the probability of the company’s Starship rocket hitting a whale or shark and facing lofty fines from the EPA for “dumping fresh water on the ground.” 

DOGE’S PLANS TO OFFLOAD GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS SUPPORTED BY FORMER GSA OFFICIAL

“I’ll tell you like a crazy thing, like we got fined $140,000 by the EPA for dumping fresh water on the ground. Drinking water. It’s crazy. I’ll just give you an example of just how crazy it is. And we’re like, ‘Well, we’re using water to cool the launch pad during launch. You know, we’re going to cool the launch pad so it doesn’t overheat. And in excess of caution, we actually brought in drinking water, so clean, super clean water,’” Musk said to the audience in Folsom, Pennsylvania, last year. 

“And the FAA said, ‘No, you have to pay a $140,000 fine.’ And we’re like, ‘But Starbase is in a tropical thunderstorm area. Sky water falls all the time,’” Musk recounted, referring to SpaceX’s headquarters in Texas. “‘That is the same as the water we used’ So, and it’s like… there’s no harm to anything. And they said, ‘Yeah, but we didn’t have a permit.’ We’re like, ‘You need a permit for fresh water?’” Musk recounted. 

DOGE CHAIN OF COMMAND REVEALED IN COURT FILING, SHOWING MUSK IS NOT THE BOSS

Trump went on a deregulation blitz targeting energy and climate regulations last week in a series of executive orders aimed to “unleash” the power of coal energy in the U.S., including ending a pause to coal leasing on federal lands, promoting coal and coal technology exports, and encouraging the use of coal to power artificial intelligence initiatives. 

“President Trump knows that the bureaucracy is built to regulate, not deregulate. The result is an ever-increasing number of regulations that stifle innovation and limit American freedom,” the White House said in a fact sheet on the EOs last week. 

The Trump administration is receiving an outpouring of support from animal advocacy groups, lawmakers and others for recent announcements to end animal testing within programs at the FDA and EPA. 

“PETA applauds the FDA’s decision to stop harming animals and adopt human-relevant testing strategies for evaluating antibody therapies,” Kathy Guillermo, PETA senior vice president, said in a statement.

“It’s a significant step towards meeting the agency’s commitment to replace the use of animals – which PETA has worked hard to promote. All animal use, including failed vaccine and other testing on monkeys at the federally-funded primate centers, must end, and we are calling on the FDA to further embrace 21st-century science,” the PETA statement continued. 

PETA’s statement followed the Food and Drug Administration announcement on Thursday that it is phasing out an animal testing requirement for antibody therapies and other drugs in favor of testing on materials that mimic human organs, Fox Digital first reported. 

FDA PHASING OUT SOME ANIMAL TESTING IN ‘WIN-WIN’ FOR ETHICS AND PUBLIC HEALTH: COMMISSIONER

“For too long, drug manufacturers have performed additional animal testing of drugs that have data in broad human use internationally. This initiative marks a paradigm shift in drug evaluation and holds promise to accelerate cures and meaningful treatments for Americans while reducing animal use,” FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary, said in comments provided to Fox News Digital. 

“By leveraging AI-based computational modeling, human organ model-based lab testing, and real-world human data, we can get safer treatments to patients faster and more reliably, while also reducing R&D costs and drug prices. It is a win-win for public health and ethics.” 

Dogs, rats and fish were the primary animals to face testing ahead of Thursday’s announcement, Fox Digital learned. 

The phase-out focuses on ending animal testing in regard to researching monoclonal antibody therapies, which are lab-made proteins meant to stimulate the immune system to fight diseases such as cancer, as well as other drugs, according to the press release. 

Instead, the FDA will encourage testing on “organoids,” which are artificially grown masses of cells, according to the FDA’s press release.

HHS AXES MORE THAN $300M IN GENDER, DEI-RELATED HEALTH GRANTS TO CALIFORNIA ALONE

Environmental Protection Agency chief Lee Zeldin announced on the same day that the agency would reinstate a 2019 policy from the first Trump administration to phase out animal testing at that federal agency. The EPA said in comment that the Biden administration moved away from phasing out animal testing, but that Zeldin is “wholly committed to getting the agency back on track to eliminating animal testing.”

“Under President Trump’s first term, EPA signed a directive to prioritize efforts to reduce animal testing and committed to reducing testing on mammals by 30% by 2025 and to eliminate it completely by 2035. The Biden administration halted progress on these efforts by delaying compliance deadlines. Administrator Zeldin is wholly committed to getting the agency back on track to eliminating animal testing,” EPA spokesperson Molly Vaseliou told the Washington Times. 

The EPA’s and FDA’s recent announcements also received praise from animal rights groups, including the White Coat Waste Project, which reported in 2021 that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases spent hundreds of thousands of dollars under Dr. Anthony Fauci’s leadership to test beagle dogs with parasites via biting flies.

“Thank you @DrMakaryFDA for your years of advocacy & outstanding leadership to eliminate FDA red tape that forces companies & tax-funded federal agencies to conduct wasteful & cruel tests on dogs & other animals!” the group posted to X last week. 

TRUMP ADMIN CUTS ADDITIONAL $1M IN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ‘TRANSGENDER ANIMAL’ EXPERIMENTS

“White Coat Waste made historic progress under Trump 45 to cut wasteful and cruel animal testing at the EPA and FDA, some of which was undone by the Biden Administration,” Justin Goodman, senior vice president at White Coat, told Fox News Digital on Sunday. 

“We applaud Administrator Zeldin and Commissioner Makary for picking up where Trump left off and prioritizing efforts to cut widely-opposed and wasteful animal tests. This is great news for taxpayers and pet owners as it sends a message to big spending animal abusers across the federal government: Stop the money. Stop the madness!”

Other animal rights groups and lawmakers praised the Trump administration for its recent moves to end animal testing. 

“We’re encouraged to see the EPA recommit to phasing out animal testing – a goal we’ve long championed on behalf of the animals trapped in these outdated and painful experiments,” Kitty Block, president and CEO of Humane World for Animals, said in a press release. “But promises alone don’t spare lives. For too long, animals like dogs, rabbits and mice have endured tests that inflict suffering without delivering better science. It’s time to replace these cruel methods with modern, humane alternatives that the public overwhelmingly supports.”

PETA PLEADS WITH NIH TO STOP FUNDING FOR ANIMAL STUDY, CALLS SLEEP EXPERIMENT ‘CRUEL AND HORRIFIC’

Other groups have come out and warned that there is not yet a high-tech replacement for animals within the realm of biomedical research and drug testing, and that humane animal testing is still crucial to test prospective drugs for humans. 

REP. NANCY MACE SAYS FAUCI ‘SENT PUPPIES TO SLAUGHTER’ WITH ‘BARBARIC AND GRUESOME’ NIH-FUNDED EXPERIMENTS

“We all want better and faster ways to bring lifesaving treatments to patients,” National Association for Biomedical Research President Matthew R. Bailey said in a press release provided to Fox Digital. “But no AI model or simulation has yet demonstrated the ability to fully replicate all the unknowns about many full biological systems. That’s why humane animal research remains indispensable.”

Under his first administration, Trump took other steps to protect animals, including signing the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act into law in 2019, which made intentional acts of cruelty a federal crime.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Oakland City Council member Loren Taylor said former Rep. Barbara Lee’s ties to the political establishment could help him to win over Oaklanders who are “fed up” with the status quo ahead of the April 15 special election.

A self-described political outsider who only served one term as a city council member after unseating a 16-year incumbent, Taylor shared his plans to bring change to the “struggling” Bay Area city in an interview with Fox News Digital. 

“I am running as a political outsider who has just enough experience inside of City Hall to understand what’s going on, but not so much that I’m entrenched in the political establishment. That is what Oaklanders are looking for,” Taylor said. 

While Lee – a former member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and 2024 Senate primary candidate – has name recognition and national experience, Taylor has made waves in Oakland’s special election as campaign finance reports reveal he has outraised the career California politician. 

CALIFORNIA CITY’S MASSIVE $130M DEFICIT THREATENS DANGEROUS CUTS TO ITS FIREFIGHTING CAPACITY

“We have raised more money than other candidates in this race from local residents,” Taylor said. “Over 80% of our contributions come directly from people who live right here in Oakland, compared to less than 50% for my primary component. That speaks volumes about who this campaign is. We are powered by Oaklanders, locals who are impacted by the decisions that are being made. The campaign is surging. Huge momentum these final days fueled by that overwhelming grassroots support.”

DEM MAYOR UNLEASHES TASK FORCE IN ATTEMPT TO RESCUE CRIME-RIDDEN CITY: ‘RESTORE ORDER TO OUR STREETS’

Oakland’s staggering $129.8 budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2024-25 forced some Oakland firehouses to close their doors earlier this year. The City Council passed a resolution to reopen those firehouses, preventing tragedy from financial mismanagement. 

The liberal-run city has had four different mayors in a four-month period after former Mayor Sheng Thao was recalled this November and subsequently indicted on eight counts of bribery. Oakland has been without a clear leader this year as the city continues to grapple with a homelessness crisis. 

Alameda County Health’s January 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) report found there were 5,490 homeless individuals in Oakland in 2024, a 9% increase since 2022. 

“Oaklanders are frustrated,” Taylor explained. “We are upset that we have not been getting what we deserve, what we should be getting from our local government. The status quo continues to fail us when we see crime rates rising out of control, we see homelessness still growing when it’s shrinking in neighboring cities, we see our city facing the largest fiscal budget deficit in our history – a number of failures that show that what we have is not working.”

While the Oakland Police Department reported a decrease in violent crime in 2024, 2025 began with a crime surge plagued by five recorded homicides within a 48-hour period. By Jan. 3, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Oakland’s third homicide of the year and seventh since Dec. 30, 2024. 

Taylor has called for equipping more police officers on the ground with technology to prevent violence and lawlessness. 

“We are struggling as a city, and that is what this campaign is speaking to. I am ready to make the hard and necessary decisions in order to fix the mismanagement, in order to address the corruption head on, restore trust in City Hall, make sure that we’re delivering as Oaklanders want,” he said. 

Just across the Bay, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has hit the ground running since assuming office in January. He launched the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Hospitality Task Force and passed the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance as he works to clean up San Francisco’s streets and restore what he describes as commonsense policies to the city. 

“I’m absolutely watching what’s going on in San Francisco right across the Bay and even in the South Bay, in San Jose, with Mayor Matt Mahan, whom I am proud to have his endorsement,” Taylor said. “I think both of those mayors are political outsiders, just like me. They didn’t grow up within the ranks of government. They had careers, were making a significant impact outside and saw the gaps that existed with local government. I think that we share a bond in that in terms of bringing a data, results-driven approach to moving things forward.”

Lee did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by deadline. 

When lawmakers arrived on Capitol Hill last Monday, House GOP leaders’ plans to sync up with the Senate on sweeping legislation to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda seemed an all-but-impossible task.

House fiscal hawks were furious with Senate Republicans for passing an amended version of the former’s budget framework, one that called for a significantly lower amount of mandatory spending cuts than the House’s initial plan.

By late Thursday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was celebrating victory in front of reporters after a narrow 216-to-214 vote.

“I told you not to doubt us,” a triumphant Johnson told the media. “We’re really grateful to have had the big victory on the floor just now. It was a big one, a very important one.”

HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR URGES JOHNSON TO CHANGE COURSE ON SENATE VERSION OF TRUMP BUDGET BILL

The hard-fought win came after long hours and late nights as House Republican leaders — and leaders in the Senate GOP as well — worked to persuade holdouts, while Trump and his aides worked those same critics from the sidelines.

White House aides were at House Republicans’ weekly conference meeting on Tuesday, a rare sight but not unexpected, given the importance of the coming vote.

But GOP lawmakers filed out of that meeting doubting whether Trump’s influence could help this time, after he played a key role in helping shepherd earlier critical bills across the finish line this year.

“I don’t see it happening,” a House Republican told Fox News Digital when asked whether Trump would be enough to sway critics.

Nevertheless, a select group of those holdouts were summoned to the White House alongside House GOP leaders on Wednesday afternoon, hours before the expected vote.

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

Fox News Digital was told that Trump commanded the room for roughly 20 to 30 minutes, and told House conservatives he agreed with them on the need to significantly slash government spending.

Trump also communicated to holdouts that Senate leaders felt the same, but, like the House, were working on their own tight margins, Fox News Digital was told.

The president, meanwhile, has been concerned in particular with the looming debt limit deadline, Fox News Digital was told.

It’s one of the issues that Republicans are looking to tackle via the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the Senate’s passage threshold from 60 votes to 51, it allows the party controlling the House, Senate and White House to enact broad policy changes via one or two broad pieces of legislation.

In this case, Republicans are looking for some added funds for border security and defense and to raise the debt ceiling — while paring back spending on the former Biden administration’s green energy policies and in other sections of the federal government, likely including entitlement programs.

GOP lawmakers are also looking to extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the provisions of which expire at the end of this year. They will also need new funding for Trump’s efforts to eliminate taxes on tipped and overtime wages.

But first, Republicans wanted the House and Senate to pass identical frameworks setting the stage for filling those frameworks with actual legislative policy.

Whereas the House version calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, the Senate mandated a floor of $4 billion — a wide gap to bridge.

The Wednesday-afternoon White House meeting did sway some holdouts, but far from enough. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., also met with House GOP critics of the bill for more than an hour on Wednesday evening ahead of the planned vote.

“He couldn’t have been more cordial and understanding in talking to us about what we needed to know. And honestly, he had some of the same concerns that we did,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital.

“You know, he’s got to get it over the finish line, and he had to make certain commitments. But he committed to us to work with us.”

Ultimately, however, plans to advance the measure that evening were hastily scrapped as an unrelated vote was held open for over an hour, leading to confusion and frustration on the House floor.

“He looked like he was in no better spot than he was at the beginning,” one House Republican said of that night.

Trump was not called to address the group during that huddle with holdouts, two sources in the room told Fox News Digital. 

However, the president did have individual conversations with some holdouts on Wednesday and Thursday, one person said.

The Wednesday night failure gave way to a late night of negotiations involving both holdouts and House GOP leaders.

Two House GOP leadership aides told Fox News Digital that Johnson had huddled with Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., until late Wednesday to figure out a path forward.

When they emerged shortly before midnight, they had settled on a plan — a televised promise by Johnson and Thune to put both leaders on the record committing to deep spending cuts.

SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES

“I’m happy to tell you that this morning, I believe we have the votes to finally adopt the budget resolution so we can move forward on President Trump’s very important agenda for the American people,” Johnson said.

Thune added, “We are aligned with the House in terms of what their budget resolution outlined in terms of savings. The speaker has talked about $1.5 trillion. We have a lot of United States senators who believe in that as a minimum.”

A senior Senate GOP aide argued to Fox News Digital, “Absent Thune’s intervention, Mike Johnson would not have gotten this resolution through the House.”

But the speaker was also putting in his own long hours with holdouts.

The office of Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who ultimately voted to advance the framework, told Fox News Digital that critics were sent a memo by Johnson early on Thursday, assuring them that he was committed to deep spending cuts.

“The Senate amendment to H. Con. Res. 14 preserves untouched language from the original House-passed resolution, including the reconciliation instructions to House committees and Section 4001 — Adjustment for spending cuts of at least $2 trillion,” the memo said.

It referred to a measure in the House-passed framework that suggested funding toward tax cuts would be reduced by a corresponding amount if final spending cuts did not equal $2 trillion.

“This language reflects a critical principle — that deficit-increasing provisions of the final reconciliation bill are accompanied by concomitant spending cuts,” it said.

Then, as the vote was called around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, a final huddle between holdouts and leaders sealed the Republicans’ victory.

“At some point, it was heated. And then the speaker’s leadership team [House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.] made sure we were clarified on some issues which are very important to some of the members,” Burchett said.

“And then Steve Scalise, really batting cleanup, and he came in with the final with the final conclusion, which everybody agreed to pretty much. And then the speaker closed the deal.”

Burchett said he believed that Johnson had spoken to Trump separately at some point during that huddle.

A senior House GOP aide said McClain was also present for that meeting.

Republicans clinched the win minutes after 11 a.m. on Thursday, with the GOP side of the House chamber erupting in applause.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., who helped lead the opposition, told reporters after the vote, “We made tremendous progress over the last two days in making certain that whatever we do on reconciliation, we don’t increase this country’s budget deficit.”

“We take the Moody report from two weeks ago pretty seriously, that you can’t have unpaid-for tax cuts, and we made progress in making, getting assurances both from the Senate and the House leadership that that’s not going to occur,” Harris said.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, was ribbed online for seeming to hide her face during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. 

Whitmer was seen temporarily shielding her face from cameras in the Oval Office by holding up a folder, according to a photo by the New York Times. 

She later lowered the folder, as the president spoke to the press and encouraged Whitmer to comment as well. The Democratic governor, who clashed with Trump during his first term regarding her COVID-19 lockdown policies, met with the president to discuss recovery from an ice storm that impacted thousands of Michiganders, funding for the Selfridge Air National Guard base near Detroit, protections for the Great Lakes and the automobile industry. 

WHITMER DITCHES DEM PLAYBOOK ON TRUMP’S TARIFFS AMID 2028 SPECULATION

Whitmer, joined by Michigan State House Speaker Matt Hall and several Cabinet secretaries, stood steps away from the Resolute Desk while Trump signed executive orders Wednesday. 

“We’re honored to have Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, great state of Michigan. And, she’s been she’s really done an excellent job. And a very good person,” Trump said. 

Whitmer told reporters afterward that she thought she was coming into the Oval Office for a one-on-one meeting with the president and was taken by surprise by the press conference. 

Her face-shielding was derided online. 

“Whitmer covering her face is the perfect metaphor for the Democratic Party,” one user wrote. 

Another X user said, “Gretchen Whitmer hiding behind her files in the White House is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. This is what my 2 year old does.”

DEM GOVERNORS REVOLT AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS

“Was this the nail in the coffin of Gretchen Whitmer’s political aspirations?” a third user wrote.

Some users joked that Whitmer was “embarrassed” to be photographed with Trump but had no shame in placing a Dorito in the mouth of a podcaster in a 2024 social media post that critics said mocked a Christian sacrament. 

Whitmer was in Washington to deliver a “Build, America, Build” address in which she called for bipartisan cooperation to strengthen American manufacturing. She was at the White House for her second meeting with Trump in less than a month, this time to talk about tariffs that were expected to disproportionately affect Michigan, whose economy is closely tied to an auto industry reliant on trade with Canada, Mexico and other countries.

In her speech Wednesday, which came before Trump announced he was pausing tariffs in most nations except for China, Whitmer highlighted areas of agreement with Trump on tariffs but criticized how they had been implemented.

“I understand the motivation behind the tariffs, and I can tell you, here’s where President Trump and I do agree. We do need to make more stuff in America,” said Whitmer, before adding, “I’m not against tariffs outright, but it is a blunt tool. You can’t just pull out the tariff hammer to swing at every problem without a clear defined end-goal.”

Whitmer’s approach stands in stark contrast to that of other high-profile Democratic governors, many of whom are also seen as potential contenders for the party’s 2028 presidential nomination. But Whitmer faces a more challenging political landscape than leaders such as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker or California Gov. Gavin Newsom as she represents a state with a divided state legislature and that went for Trump in two of the last three elections.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Saturday his latest rally with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour was also their largest with a stop in downtown Los Angeles before a massive crowd of supporters.

“Your presence here today is making Donald Trump and Elon Musk very nervous,” the 83-year-old independent, who caucuses with Democrats, said to loud cheers, adding about 36,000 attended the event.

Sanders mentioned that after their last rally in Denver, Colorado, in March, which was slightly smaller than Saturday’s in LA, Tesla CEO and DOGE policy advisor Musk claimed most of those in attendance were “paid organizers.” 

“Anybody here being paid to come today?” asked Sanders, who was met with shouts of “no!” from the crowd assembled at LA City Hall. 

BERNIE SANDERS SCOLDS CNN DURING TOWN HALL WITH ANDERSON COOPER FOR NOT TALKING HEALTHCARE

He also took a jab at the president, claiming Trump is “envious” of crowd “sizes.”

“[Trump] said, ‘Well, Bernie has rallies of (2,000) or 3,000 people, can’t compete with Trump.’ He lied,” Sanders said. 

Sanders continued to go after Musk and Trump, attacking their wealth, a common refrain for him. 

‘THE VIEW’ HOST WARNS DEMOCRATS ABOUT HOW PERFORMATIVELY ‘SCREAMING’ AT RALLIES IS NOT FIXING THE COUNTRY

“We’re living at a moment where a handful of billionaires control the economic and political life of our country,” Sanders said. “We’re living in a moment with a president who has no understanding or respect for the Constitution of the United States and, let us make no doubt about it, moving us rapidly toward an authoritarian form of society. And, Mr. Trump, we ain’t going there.” 

Sanders also noted that Musk had recently posted on social media that Sanders “has been talking about the growth of oligarchy year-after-year-after-year.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sanders added, “Well, Elon, you’re damn right. That’s what I’ve been talking about. The difference is I’m no longer talking about how we’re moving to oligarchy. I’m talking about how we are living today in an oligarchic form of society.” 

The pair have already done rallies in Las Vegas; Tempe and Tuscon, Arizona; and Denver and Greeley, Colorado, and they have upcoming rallies scheduled in Bakersfield and Folsom, California; Salt Lake City; Nampa, Idaho; and Missoula, Montana. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

The U.S. military will take control of a strip of federal land that spans three states along the southern border in an effort to stem illegal immigration, a memorandum Friday by President Donald Trump said. 

The memorandum, “Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions,” directs the secretaries of Defense, Interior, Agriculture and Homeland Security “to provide for the use and jurisdiction by the Department of Defense over such Federal lands, including the Roosevelt Reservation and excluding Federal Indian Reservations, that are reasonably necessary to enable military activities.”

He wrote it could include “border-barrier construction and emplacement of detection and monitoring equipment.”

NAVY DEPLOYS ANOTHER HOUTHI-FIGHTING WARSHIP TO NEW US SOUTHERN BORDER MISSION 

“Our southern border is under attack from a variety of threats,” Trump wrote in the memorandum. “The complexity of the current situation requires that our military take a more direct role in securing our southern border than in the recent past.”

The federal land, which consists of a narrow, 60-foot-deep strip at the border within the Roosevelt Reservation, would become a “military installation” designated as “National Defense Areas” where “military activities” would occur. 

AMERICAN WOMEN ARRESTED AT CALIFORNIA IMMIGRATION CHECKPOINT FOR ATTEMPTING TO SMUGGLE CHILDREN: ‘UNBEARABLE’

The Roosevelt Reservation covers California, New Mexico and Arizona and was designated as federal land by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 to keep the border secure. 

The memorandum added that the secretary of defense can “determine those military activities that are reasonably necessary and appropriate to accomplish the mission” of keeping the border secure. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump campaigned on securing the border and “mass deportations” and has focused on both in the first months of his presidency. 

The Trump administration is ending the protected status for thousands of Afghans who entered the U.S. after its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 under the Biden administration. 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security doesn’t plan to renew Afghans’ Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which lasts six to 18 months and applies to people from countries that are war-torn or have a natural disaster or some other event that makes returning dangerous. 

The U.S. military evacuated more than 82,000 Afghans from the country when the U.S. withdrew in 2021, and the Taliban took over. 

TALIBAN LEADER SAYS ‘NO NEED’ FOR LAWS FROM THE WEST IN AFGHANISTAN: ‘WE WILL CREATE OUR OWN LAWS’

Thousands of Cameroonians are also expected to lose their status. 

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Reuters that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has determined that the situation in Afghanistan and Cameroon no longer meets the standard for the Afghans and Cameroonians to have TPS protections renewed. 

“The Secretary determined that Afghanistan no longer continues to meet the statutory requirements for its TPS designation and so she terminated TPS for Afghanistan,” McLaughlin said in a statement, according to NPR. 

Shawn VanDriver, who served in the military and is president of #AfghanEvac, disagreed with the administration’s assessment on Afghanistan. 

COURT TELLS TRUMP ADMIN TO ‘FACILITATE’ RETURN OF DEPORTED MARYLAND IMMIGRANT

“The conditions on the ground haven’t improved — they’ve worsened,” he told NPR. “Afghans who were invited here, who built lives here, are now being told they don’t matter. It’s cruel, it’s chaotic, and it undermines everything America claimed to stand for when we promised not to leave our allies behind.”

More than 14,000 Afghans and 7,000 Cameroonians are expected to lose their TPS protections. 

The Biden administration renewed TPS protections for Afghans in 2023. 

Afghan TPS protections end in May and Cameroonian protections in June. At that time, foreign nationals will be eligible for deportation. 

HOUSE GOP RELEASES SCATHING REPORT ON BIDEN’S WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN

Fox News Digital has reached out to DPS and the White House for comment. 

Last month, a judge delayed a Trump administration effort to end TPS protections for Venezuelans. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Both Afghanistan and Venezuela are listed by the U.S. State Department as “Level 4: Do Not Travel” because of the risk of terrorism, unlawful detention, civil unrest and kidnapping. 

Cameroon is listed as “Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution” due to the risk of terrorism, kidnapping and armed violence. 

Reuters contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump ramped up steep tariffs against Chinese imports to the U.S. this week while alleviating them for other countries during trade negotiations this week. He also signed a series of executive orders aimed at repealing Biden-era restrictions. 

The Trump administration announced Wednesday it would lower reciprocal tariffs on other countries, while also revealing that the administration would immediately hike tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%. In response, China has raised its tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%. 

Trump disclosed historic tariffs in a ceremony at the White House’s Rose Garden for a “Make America Wealthy Again” event on April 2, asserting that these new duties would generate new jobs for U.S. workers.

HOW WE GOT TO LIBERATION DAY: A LOOK AT TRUMP’S PAST COMMENTS ON TARIFFS

The tariff plan established a baseline tax of 10% on all imports to the U.S., along with customized tariffs for countries that place higher tariffs on U.S. goods. The baseline tariffs of 10% took effect Saturday, while the others took effect Wednesday at midnight.

But Trump announced in a post on Truth Social Wednesday that reciprocal tariffs announced last week would remain paused for 90 days, during which period the countries would only face the baseline 10% tariff. 

“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform on Wednesday. 

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said that the tariffs suggest that China is at odds with the rest of the world. 

“China is the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world,” Bessent told reporters Wednesday. “They are the biggest source of the U.S. trade problems, and indeed they are the problem for the rest of the world.” 

Here’s what also happened this week: 

Trump also signed an executive order this week aimed at reinvigorating the shipbuilding industry in the U.S., amid concerns that China is outpacing the U.S. in production. 

China is responsible for more than 50% of global shipbuilding, compared to just 0.1% from the U.S., according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

The executive order requires agencies to craft a Maritime Action Plan and instructs the United States Trade Representative to provide a list of recommendations to deal with China’s “anticompetitive actions within the shipbuilding industry,” among other things. 

TRUMP ENDS BIDEN-ERA WATER REGULATIONS TO ‘MAKE AMERICA’S SHOWERS GREAT AGAIN’

Trump also signed an executive order to reverse Obama- and Biden-era conservation measures that limited water pressure in showers in an attempt to “make showers great again.” Former President Barack Obama initially imposed the water pressure restrictions, and Trump sought to ease some of them during his first term. 

However, former President Joe Biden reinstated the measure, which limited multi-nozzle shower heads from releasing more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute. 

“I like to take a nice shower, take care of my beautiful hair,” Trump said Wednesday. “I have to stand in the shower for 15 minutes until it gets wet. Comes out drip, drip, drip. It’s ridiculous.”

The Trump administration also unveiled plans this week for upcoming talks to negotiate with Iran on Saturday. While Trump has reiterated that these discussions will be “direct” nuclear talks, Iran has pushed back on that description and characterized them as “indirect” negotiations instead. 

Middle East envoy Stever Witkoff will travel to Oman on Saturday and is slated to potentially meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. However, Iran has maintained that the discussions will be held through a third party instead. 

“The ultimate objective is to ensure that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon,” Leavitt told reporters Friday. “The president believes in diplomacy, direct talks, talking directly in the same room in order to achieve that goal. But he’s made it very clear to the Iranians, and his national security team will, as well, that all options are on the table and Iran has a choice to make. You can agree to President Trump’s demand, or there will be all hell to pay. And that’s how the president feels. He feels very strongly about it.”

Fox News’ Bonny Chu, Danielle Wallace, and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. 

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited employees at the FDA on Friday and reportedly told them that “the Deep State is real.” The visit was his first appearance with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and was reportedly meant to welcome the new chief.

“President Trump always talks about the Deep State, and the media, you know, disparages him and says that he’s paranoid,” Kennedy said according to Politico, which reported it obtained an audio recording and transcript of the secretary’s remarks. “But the Deep State is real. And it’s not, you know, just George Soros and Bill Gates and a bunch of nefarious individuals sitting together in a room and plotting the, you know, the destruction of humanity.”

According to multiple reports, Kennedy pointed the finger at “institutional pressures.”

RFK JR. PLANS TO DIRECT CDC TO STOP RECOMMENDING FLUORIDE IN WATER

Kennedy also reportedly said the FDA had become a “sock puppet” of the industries it was meant to regulate. NBC News reported that Kennedy said that this was the case with “every agency,” not just the FDA.

One area where Kennedy said he has seen this within the FDA is its Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) system, which he says acts as a “loophole” for food companies. In March, Kennedy directed the FDA to reevaluate its policies on food companies obtaining approval before adding new ingredients to their products. He believes that “eliminating this loophole” will not only provide consumers with more transparency, but will be key in improving Americans’ health.

‘HEALTHY SNACK TIME’ WITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS LAUNCHED BY SECRETARIES ROLLINS, RFK JR.

The HHS secretary has not hidden his disdain for the FDA, especially as he spoke throughout the 2024 election cycle about what changes he believes are crucial to improving Americans’ health. About a week and a half before the election, Kennedy — who had already endorsed now-President Donald Trump — issued clear warnings on social media to those who “work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system.”

He told them to preserve their records and to “pack your bags.”

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

Kennedy recently embarked on a MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) tour in which he visited Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. According to HHS, Kennedy was set to speak on state laws banning ultra-processed foods and food dyes from school lunches, among other regulations.

Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for comment on the reports outside working hours but did not receive a response for publication. 

FIRST ON FOX — In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Republican South Carolina Senator and former presidential candidate Tim Scott shared his views on his first hundred days as Senate Banking Committee chairman, breaking down a trade war with China, the future of cryptocurrency and controversial debanking policies.

With Republicans holding power in both chambers of Congress and President Donald Trump in the White House, party leaders and supporters across the country had high expectations of the GOP’s policy agenda and ability to pass critical legislation swiftly and effectively. 

However, it has not been a perfect start to the 119th Congress. Republicans in the House of Representatives hold a slim 7-seat majority, and GOP infighting has forced internal debates that have delayed key pieces of legislation, like Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax bill, which passed last Thursday just 216 to 214. 

GOP SENATORS BULLISH ON POST-EASTER ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL’ BUDGET AGREEMENT

On the Senate side, Republicans hold an 8-seat majority over Democrats. With just 100 members in the upper chamber, the same principle of internal harmony must exist for legislation to move forward. 

Despite the narrow margins, Scott says some of the policy goals the committee has set they have “been able to accomplish.”

“I wanted within the first hundred days to have some crypto or digital asset legislation marked up and run through our committee,” Scott told Fox News Digital. “Good news is the GENIUS Act is stamped. Done. Heading to the Senate floor. Number two, the FIRM Act. Focusing on debanking. Done. Heading onto the Senate Floor. Number three, our ability to listen to President Trump, the leader of not only our party, but of our country.”

Trump’s role in working with congressional leaders was first demonstrated as every cabinet member that reached the Senate so far for confirmation was approved at the fastest pace in more than 20 years.

“We’ve been running these folks through our committee,” said Scott. “It is a lightning-fast approach, but the good news is President Trump and the American people deserve his team in place. Promises made, promises kept. We are well on our way.”

VP VANCE BLASTS MCCONNELL’S VOTE AGAINST TRUMP PENTAGON NOMINEE: ‘POLITICAL PETTINESS’

Outside the nominees, several prominent issues have made their way through the banking committee in the first hundred days. And one of the hottest items in banking today is the implementation of cryptocurrency into U.S. markets and day-to-day life. Notably, the GENIUS Act, a bill “to provide for the regulation of payment stablecoins,” would be a major advancement for crypto markets, showing the federal government is taking the digital asset market more seriously.

But Scott blamed the Biden administration for the lack of enthusiasm to get pro-crypto legislation signed into law. 

“There’s no doubt that under the Biden administration and Gensler at the SEC, they just… didn’t like crypto. What I’ve said very often is simply this: we must innovate before we regulate. That means allowing innovation to happen here at home in the digital asset space is critical to American economic dominance across the globe,” he explained. 

The GENIUS Act passed through committee in March and now heads to the Senate Floor. Scott predicted the timeline as to when the bill would be signed into law, telling Fox he believed the legislation would be “passed into law by August.”

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

The bill made its way through committee with an 18-6 as Senators Mark Warner, D-Indiana, Andy Kim, D-New Jersey, Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Pennsylvania and Angela Alsobrooks, D-Maryland all voted with Republican against the wishes of Ranking Leader Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts. 

But crypto markets, along with U.S. stocks, have been highly volatile in the past weeks, largely due to Trump’s controversial tariffs policies and trade standoffs. 

When asked about the mounting pressure between the U.S. and China, Scott backed Trump’s strategy, telling Fox News Digital, “This is about a country, China, that lies, cheats, and steals. Not on the watch of President Trump. He is going to use every tool in his toolkit to make sure that the Chinese government does not continue to take advantage of the American economy. I am thankful that we finally have a president with a backbone made of steel to stand up to President Xi and protect not just America’s present but America’s future.”

HERE’S WHEN AMERICAN CONSUMERS, BUSINESSES WILL FEEL THE STING OF 145% CHINA TARIFFS

Scott argued that establishing economic dominance “requires hard conversations and a tariff regime to push China into the smallest corner of the global economy if they’re going to lie, cheat, and steal against us.” 

He added, “We are not going to give them full and unfettered access to our market. That’s called common sense.”

On Friday, China raised tariffs on U.S. imports to 125%, which Trump has maintained that a 145% tariff will be placed on China’s imports.

As for the remainder of the 119th Congress and heading into what will be a critical midterm election year, Scott remains optimistic about the policies in progress and the legislation yet to come.

“Thank God Almighty President Trump is in the White House,” the former presidential candidate added.

While most Democrats have rejected President Donald Trump throughout his second term, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer bucked the party line during a trip to Washington Wednesday amid speculation about her 2028 campaign aspirations.

Democratic governors, many rumored to harbor 2028 presidential ambitions, spoke out against Trump’s tariffs this week as governors JB Pritzker and Gavin Newsom worked independently with trade partners to try to soften the damage to their state economies. Whitmer’s diplomatic moves put her out of step with her party, and the verdict is still out on how it will affect her politically down the line.

Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategist and the president of Bannon Communications Research, told Fox News Digital dialogue with Trump is critical to Whitmer delivering for Michigan, particularly through the uncertainty of Trump’s tariff deals. But he said Whitmer, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, getting too close to Trump could jeopardize her status as a “first-tier presidential candidate,” alongside governors Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear and Newsom. 

“This is a double-edged sword,” Bannon said. “She has to have an open dialogue with the president, but at the same time, if she’s going to win the Democratic presidential nomination or have a chance to win it, she is going to have to be very critical of Trump.”

DEM GOVERNORS REVOLT AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘LIBERATION DAY’ TARIFFS

TRUMP PRAISES DEM GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER AFTER SLAMMING HER LAST YEAR: ‘VERY GOOD PERSON’

“In this political environment, there’s no room for nuanced discussion about Donald Trump among Democratic primary voters,” Bannon said.

“Whoever’s going to be the Democratic nominee is someone who’s going to be very critical of the president. And that applies to Andy Beshear of Kentucky or Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, even Gavin Newsom in California,” Bannon added. 

Newsom, long considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has also embraced political dialogue across party lines since the Democrats’ big November losses. Newsom has invited Trump allies and conservative guests, including Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, onto his show in an attempt to show he is open to “criticism and debate without demeaning or dehumanizing one another.” The strategy follows criticism after the 2024 presidential election that Democrats didn’t prioritize new media appearances and unscripted conversations enough. 

Whitmer seemed to embrace the bipartisan strategy this week by carefully criticizing Trump’s tariffs while also acknowledging an understanding the president’s “motivation behind the tariffs” and even agreeing with Trump that we “need to make more stuff in America.”

GRETCHEN WHITMER ANGERS DEMOCRATS, SUFFERS ‘HUGE EMBARRASSMENT’ WITH TRUMP MEETING AT WHITE HOUSE

Later that day, Whitmer had her second meeting with Trump in a month. As Trump signed executive orders and answered questions from the press in the Oval Office, he said Whitmer had “done an excellent job” as governor and called her a “very good person,” a break from his typical lines of attack on her character. 

“One of her opponents will dig that clip up and put it in a television ad,” Bannon said.

The Democratic Governors Association (DGA), which applauded Democratic governors for standing up and speaking out against Trump’s tariffs this week, characterized Whitmer’s trip to Washington as a willingness to work with “anyone” to deliver for Michigan. 

“Gov. Whitmer and Democratic governors across the country are doing what they’ve always done as strong and successful state executives — working with anyone to get real results for their states while also standing up against policies that harm their residents. As Donald Trump and Republicans in D.C. continue to sow economic chaos and raise prices, it’s more important than ever that we continue to elect Democratic governors who know how to get things done on the biggest issues impacting families every day,” DGA communication director Sam Newton told Fox News Digital. 

Whitmer vowed to keep showing up for Michigan regardless of who is in the White House. 

“If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,” Whitmer said after her speech in Washington. “My oath to the people of Michigan is to continue to show up, even when it means I’m going to get my lunch handed to me. I’m going to keep showing up and keep fighting for the people of Michigan, no matter who is at the other side of the table. That’s my job, and I’m going to do it until my last day as governor.”

Just a month ago, Trump and Whitmer sparred after the Michigan governor warned her constituents during her 2025 State of the State address that Trump’s tariffs could put Michigan’s auto industry in peril. The White House trolled her for “running more for Governor of Canada” by supporting the “deadly status quo.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Whitmer’s office for comment on her political aspirations but did not receive a response.

Longtime Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan says that as soon as Democratic Sen. Gary Peters announced earlier this year that he wouldn’t seek re-election in the key Great Lakes battleground state in next year’s midterms, “my phone started to ring and it hasn’t stopped ringing.”

Huizenga, who was first elected to the House in 2010 and represents Michigan’s 4th Congressional District, which covers parts of the southwestern part of the state, highlighted that he’s getting “encouragement” to seek the Senate from “grassroots folks,” as well as donors.

“I have been very flattered and honored to have this kind of support emerging,” he said.

The Senate seat in Michigan is a top target for the GOP in the 2026 midterm elections to flip from blue to red, as the party aims to expand its current 53-47 majority in the chamber. And the emerging showdown is expected to be one of the most expensive and bruising battles of the cycle.

2026 ELECTIONS: THIS SENATOR IS RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR NEXT YEAR

Huizenga, who is now the vice chair of the House Financial Services Committee, pointed to “the connections that I’ve got and have built up over the last now going into my eighth term here” when asked about fundraising.

“It’s donors in Michigan. It’s donors nationally,” he touted. “I’ve got a network of folks that have been very, very helpful in the past, and they’re very interested in helping me out again.”

WILL THIS BLUE STATE REPUBLICAN END THE GOP’S 20-YEAR LOSING STREAK IN HIS STATE?

But Huizenga isn’t the only Republican making noise about a Senate run.

Former Rep. Mike Rogers announced at the end of January that he was “strongly considering” a second straight Republican run.

And Rogers, a former FBI special agent who later served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in Congress, is likely to announce his campaign on Monday.

Rogers won the 2024 GOP Senate nomination in Michigan but narrowly lost to Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democrats’ nominee, in last November’s election in the race to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who retired. Slotkin, who vastly outspent Rogers, edged him by roughly 19,000 votes, or a third of a percentage point.

Asked if a campaign launch by Rogers would affect his decision-making process, Huizenga said “quite honestly, no.”

“I think the question that everyone needs to answer is, who can win? Who can win the state of Michigan, and Michigan politics has shifted, and that’s the reality,” he said.

A LIKELY BRUISING SENATE BATTLE IN BATTLEGROUND MICHIGAN HEATS UP AS THIS CANDIDATE ENTERS THE RACE

Michigan was once part of the Democratic Party’s blue wall states that helped boost the party’s candidates in presidential elections. But President Donald Trump narrowly carried Michigan in his 2016 and 2024 White House victories.

“What we don’t know is whether that Trump coalition of union households, Hispanics, the Arab American population and African Americans, especially males, that came out and supported Donald Trump, along with those independents and Republicans, whether that coalition is going to be held,” Huizenga said.

And Huizenga pointed to his double-digit re-election margin last year in a competitive House District (his seat is one of 35 House seats Democrats are targeting in next year’s midterms). Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer narrowly won the district in her 2022 re-election victory, and Trump carried the district by six points last November.

WHY PETE BUTTIGIEG SAID NO TO RUNNING FOR THE SENATE NEXT YEAR

An endorsement by Trump, whose sway over the GOP is stronger than ever, is expected to play a significant role in the Republican Senate primary in Michigan.

And while Trump has yet to weigh in on the race, Rogers earlier this year hired veteran Republican strategist and 2024 Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita as a senior advisor.

Asked about his relationship with Trump, Huizenga called it “very good” and claimed that “there is one elected official that has spoken at all three of his last rallies [in Michigan], in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and that’s me.”

As for his timetable, Huizenga said: “I’m still going to do my evaluation here, and need to kind of push through on the fundraising and need to make sure that I’m able to get the support that I really need to have to be able to do this kind of run.”

“We’re still more than a year out from the filing deadline, and so there’s a lot of runway here, and so I’m not in a huge hurry,” he added. “It needs to be done soon. But it would seem to me, sometime this summer or right after Labor Day, is more than enough time to make sure that we got the right candidate.”

THIS CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR IS MULLING 2026 STATEWIDE RUN IN KEY BATTLEGROUND

And in what appeared to be a comment directed at Rogers, Huizenga added that “it’s better to have the right person at the right time, rather than somebody early on.”

Besides Rogers and Huizenga, business executive, conservative commentator and 2022 Republican gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon has said she’s seriously mulling another run for governor, or for the Senate, in 2026.

And Republican businessman and auto dealership executive Kevin Rinke, who ran for governor in 2022, is also thought to be considering another statewide run next year.

Earlier this month, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow launched a campaign for the Democratic Senate nomination.

Reps. Kristen McDonald Rivet and Haley Stevens are considering a run, as is Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. 

Last month, Pete Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who later served as Transportation Secretary in former President Joe Biden’s administration, ruled out a campaign after seriously considering a bid.

At least 26 Americans held hostage abroad have been freed since President Donald Trump entered the Oval Office in January. Those who gained their freedom include a ballerina, a teacher and a mechanic, among others.

On Jan. 21, 2025, just one day after Trump’s second term began, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty were released from Taliban captivity in Afghanistan. While Corbett and McKenty were freed under Trump, the deal that secured their release was completed by the Biden administration.

Corbett and his family moved to Afghanistan in 2010, where they lived in Kabul and Jalalabad. According to a website set up by his family, Corbett did work for NGOs, which focused on education, birth and life-saving skills. He also started a project in 2017, Bloom Afghanistan, with the goal of strengthening the country’s private sector. In 2021, the Corbett family evacuated as the Taliban took control of the country. Corbett returned to Afghanistan a year later and was captured by the Taliban, which his family suspects was because of his “value as political leverage.”

There aren’t many details on McKenty or exactly why he was in Afghanistan. According to the BBC, his family asked for privacy.

2 AMERICANS RELEASED IN EXCHANGE FOR TALIBAN PRISONER

Anastasia Nuhfer, who was detained in Belarus during the Biden administration, gained her freedom Jan. 26, 2025. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Nuhfer’s release, he did not give details on when she was detained or why. However, according to The Associated Press, a former high-ranking Belarusian official said the arrest was linked to 2020 protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. 

Special envoy Ric Grenell secured the release of six Americans after meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Grenell posted a photo of himself and the men on a plane and said that they “couldn’t stop thanking” Trump when speaking to him on the phone. The men were not identified.

TRUMP ENVOY RICHARD GRENELL SECURES FREEDOM FOR 6 AMERICANS FOLLOWING MEETING WITH MADURO IN VENEZUELA

After spending 484 days as a hostage in Gaza, Keith Siegel was released as part of a ceasefire deal Feb. 1, 2025. Siegel was taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. His wife, Aviva, was also taken hostage but was released in November 2023. 

On April 8, Siegel, who has credited Trump with saving his life, thanked the president during an NRCC event in Washington, D.C.

“President Trump, I am here, and I am alive. President Trump, you saved my life,” Siegel said. He also asked Trump to continue working to secure the freedom of the 59 remaining hostages in Gaza.

American schoolteacher Marc Fogel was released from Russian captivity Feb. 11, 2025, more than three years after he was detained. Fogel was carrying less than one ounce of medical marijuana, according to his family’s website, which he used for severe pain. The Fogel family criticized former President Joe Biden’s handling of Marc’s case, especially in light of his work to release WNBA player Brittney Griner, who was also arrested for having marijuana. 

On July 13, 2024, Fogel’s mother, Malphine, attended a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Marc’s hometown. She spoke with Trump, who promised to bring her son home.

Trump invited Marc and Malphine to attend his address to a joint session of Congress in March 2025.

On Feb. 12, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that an American “unjustly detained in Belarus” had been released. The statement did not include details or identifying information about the hostage. In a press release, Rubio affirmed the administration’s commitment to releasing Americans held hostage across the globe.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli American Sagui Dekel-Chen was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists from his home at Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was shot in the shoulder during the massacre and endured torture while in captivity.

Dekel-Chen spent almost 500 days as a hostage in Gaza and gained his freedom in February 2025. While he was in captivity, his wife gave birth to their third child. He only learned about his daughter’s birth after being released.

On March 13, 2025, 10 unidentified Americans, including veterans and military contractors, were released from captivity in Kuwait. According to The Associated Press, the American citizens were detained on drug charges.

Delta Airlines mechanic George Glezmann spent more than two years as a hostage in Gaza after being detained by the Taliban in December 2022. According to senators John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both Democrats from Georgia, Glezmann went to “Afghanistan for a five-day trip to explore the cultural landscape and rich history of the country.” The two senators advocated for Glezmann’s release, which eventually occurred March 20, 2025.

TALIBAN FREES AMERICAN HOSTAGE GEORGE GLEZMANN FOLLOWING NEGOTIATIONS WITH US, QATAR

The Taliban released Faye Hall in March 2025, though it is unclear when she was detained. CBS News reported that Hall was arrested on charges of using a drone without authorization.

The Trump administration posted a video of Hall thanking the president for her release. In the video, Hall said she had “never been so proud to be an American citizen.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Russian American ballet dancer Ksenia Karelina was released from detention April 10, 2025, after being wrongfully detained for over a year. Karelina was arrested and sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony after donating approximately $50 to a Ukrainian charity.

“Mr. Trump, I’m so, so grateful for you bringing me home,” a teary-eyed Karelina said upon her arrival in the U.S. “I never felt more blessed to be American.”

Christopher Guly contributed to this report.

California has a $6.2 billion budget deficit for Medicaid services, and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest budget proposal projects the state will spend a staggering $8.4 billion to cover Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid, for illegal immigrants in 2024-2025. 

Two new reports by the Bureau of Economic Analysis found the U.S. economy has become increasingly reliant on government handouts. Entitlements are growing faster than tax receipts and wages. Private wages grew by $67 billion in early 2025, while government payments to recipients surged by $162 billion.

In North Carolina and California, growth in Medicaid benefits was the leading contributor to increased personal income. Coverage for undocumented immigrants under California’s $6.2 billion budget gap for Medi-Cal is contributing to the surge in personal income. 

Fox News Digital asked lawmakers on Capitol Hill if taxpayers should have to pick up the Medicaid tab for illegal immigrants. Popular progressive senators Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Michael Bennett, D-Colo.; and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., refused to say whether illegal immigrants are entitled to Medicaid benefits funded by U.S. taxpayers. 

NEWSOM ASKS FOR NEARLY ANOTHER $3B FOR STATE HEALTH PROGRAM OVERWHELMED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who was tapped by moderate Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to replace Vice President JD Vance in the Senate this year, told Fox News Digital it should be illegal for Americans to fund healthcare for illegal immigrants. 

NEWSOM CONCEDES SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR ILLEGALS ARE ‘PARTIAL’ CONTRIBUTOR TO MEDICAID PROBLEM

“That cost should be transferred back to the state of California if that’s the decision that they made. If people are here illegally, the taxpayers of this country should not be footing the bill for their healthcare when we can barely pay our own bills here in this country and people are going without. So, this is an astonishing thing that California would decide to do. Clearly, the leaders of that state are tone deaf because that’s not what the American public wants,” Husted said.  

Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., who serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and on Small Business, said she doesn’t support any federal funding for federal programs for illegal immigrants.

“We need to see those numbers,” Salazar said. “I’m not in favor of any undocumented migrants in the United States using any type of federal funding or federal programs, because if you are not documented, you cannot be using any of the government or the federal government services. 

“But I need to know what are the numbers. I do believe that in construction, hospitality and agriculture, the illegals, the undocumented are giving a lot to the economy.”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a fiscal conservative who serves on economic and commerce committees, said programs like Medicaid are solely for U.S. citizens. 

“They’re certainly not there for illegal aliens. And this is costing the American people a lot of money. So, yeah, that is a problem, and it’s one we need to fix,” Lee said.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he has questions about the policy and wants to know more about the substance of Medicaid benefits for undocumented immigrants and “whether it applies in emergency situations where somebody’s life may be at stake.” 

Another Northeast Democrat, Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said he is more concerned “we’re not taking away Medicaid from people with disabilities, seniors that need long-term care” before discussions begin on expanding resources. 

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said it could “threaten the benefits for disabled children.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., a Trump loyalist, said California made a “conscious decision” to allow taxpayers to pick up the tab on healthcare for illegal immigrants. 

“They fully realize and appreciate that the federal government does not have one single penny to spend until the taxpayer sends that penny into the treasury,” Blackburn said.  

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said California needs to realize the impact its policies have on other states. 

“A lot of people in Wyoming are living paycheck to paycheck. They’re struggling to pay for things they used to be able to take for granted, like food and gasoline. And it’s absolutely wrong that one state can expand its benefits to illegals, and my state has to pay for it,” Lummis said. 

“Cost increases to the Medicaid program are driven by multiple factors, including expansion, increased enrollment for all populations and pharmacy costs,” a spokesperson for Newsom said when reached by Fox News Digital for comment. 

Newsom’s office emphasized that Medi-Cal covers approximately 15 million Californians, which accounts for more than one-third of the state’s population. Program costs have more than doubled in the past decade, according to the governor’s office. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Given Medi-Cal’s size, Newsom’s office said even a 1-2% increase in drug prices or hospital visits could mean billions of dollars in additional costs for the program, and states across the country and political spectrum are facing their own rising Medicaid expenses, specifically Pennsylvania and Indiana. 

President Trump said on Friday that the first physical examination of his second term went well, and overall he feels he’s in “very good shape.”

The president told reporters on board Air Force One while en route to his home in West Palm Beach Friday evening that the yearly presidential physical at Walter Reed Medical Center showed he has a “good heart, a good soul,” and “overall, I think I’m in very – I felt I was in very good shape.” 

He also took a cognitive test.

“I don’t know what to tell you other than I got every answer right,” the president told reporters.

PENNSYLVANIA MAN CHARGED WITH THREATENING TRUMP, ICE AGENTS, OTHER OFFICIALS

He added, “I think it’s a pretty well-known test. Got it all right. I’ve taken the cognitive test, I think, four times and gotten nothing wrong. That’s what the American people want. Biden refused, Kamala refused.” 

He also said that doctors gave him “a little bit” of advice on lifestyle changes that could improve his health without going into detail. 

Biden’s yearly presidential exam at Walter Reed last year didn’t include a cognitive test. 

The former president’s mental abilities became a concern during the presidential election last year after he struggled in a June debate against Trump, which led to former Vice President Kamala Harris taking over as the Democratic nominee. 

Trump said he expected the report from the exam to be released by Sunday. 

The president was at Walter Reed for five hours undergoing “every test you can imagine.”

TRUMP THREATENS TARIFFS AND SANCTIONS ON MEXICO FOR ‘STEALING’ WATER FROM TEXAS FARMERS

“I was there for a long time,” Trump said. “I think I did very well.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that a readout of the exam would be released “as soon as we possibly can.”

The White House earlier this week promised to release the full results of Trump’s examination. 

“I have never felt better, but nevertheless, these things must be done!” Trump wrote on Truth Social before the exam earlier this week. 

The exam was also his first presidential physical since his ear was grazed by a bullet during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Both Biden and Trump’s health have come under increased scrutiny as they are the two oldest U.S. presidents to ever serve, and Trump became the oldest president to be sworn into office in January. 

A federal judge has upheld a Trump administration policy that allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to carry out enforcement operations at churches and other places of worship despite lawsuits against it from faith-based groups.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, appointed by Trump during his first term, denied a request from more than two dozen Christian and Jewish organizations to block the policy. The groups said it infringes on religious freedoms and is causing drops in attendance, especially among immigrants worried about being detained by ICE.

The court found little evidence that ICE is targeting churches or that the change in policy is solely to blame for fewer people attending services. Friedrich noted that only a few enforcement actions have actually taken place at or near religious sites.

MARYLAND IMMIGRANT WRONGLY DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR MUST RETURN TO US, SUPREME COURT RULES

“That evidence suggests that congregants are staying home to avoid encountering ICE in their own neighborhoods, not because churches or synagogues are locations of elevated risk,” Friedrich wrote in her opinion.

The policy at the center of the lawsuit took effect Jan. 20, Trump’s first day back in office. 

On that day, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded an Obama-era guideline that had discouraged ICE agents from making arrests in “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals and places of worship. Under the new rule, ICE officers no longer need special approval to act at these locations as long as they apply “common sense” and “discretion.”

Religious leaders said that change went against more than three decades of precedent, which aimed to protect immigrants and other vulnerable populations from being targeted at sacred or essential community spaces.

TRUMP THREATENS TO CUT ALL FEDERAL FUNDING TO SANCTUARY CITIES: ‘DISGRACING OUR COUNTRY’

The judge, however, said bringing back the old policy might not change attendance numbers, since broader immigration enforcement actions could still keep people away.

Other legal challenges to immigration enforcement in sensitive locations are also making their way through the courts.

A federal judge in Maryland temporarily blocked operations at religious sites for some groups, including Quakers. But a judge in Colorado ruled in the administration’s favor in a similar case involving enforcement at schools.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Friedrich’s decision means the current policy will remain in place as the lawsuit proceeds. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A Maryland federal judge on Friday told the Trump administration to comply with a Supreme Court order “in good faith” regarding the ordered return of an alleged MS-13 gang member erroneously deported to El Salvador. 

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national and Maryland resident, was deported to El Salvador last month for being an alleged MS-13 gang member. His attorneys have maintained that he does not have any ties to the violent gang. 

In a Friday hearing, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to provide daily updates as they comply with Thursday’s Supreme Court order upholding her previous order to return Abrego Garcia to U.S. soil. 

FEDERAL JUDGE HAMMERS DOJ ON WHEREABOUTS OF ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER FOLLOWING SCOTUS ORDER

“I hope you will, in good faith, comply and we’ll take it from there,” Xinis said Friday. “I want daily updates until this matter is resolved.”

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign and Xinis made clear during the hearing that they did not agree on their understanding of the high court’s order. 

On Thursday, the Supreme Court wrote that Xinis’ order “properly requires the government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”

The high court also said the “intended scope of the term ‘effectuate’” in Xinis’ order is “unclear, and may exceed the District Court’s authority.”

“For its part, the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps,” the Court wrote. 

“It’s going to be very difficult for the parties and for the trial court to understand what the scope is of the Supreme Court’s order once the trial court takes the issue back up,” defense attorney Phil Holloway told Fox News Digital. 

MARYLAND IMMIGRANT WRONGLY DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR MUST RETURN TO US, SUPREME COURT RULES

Holloway said that the ambiguity in the high court’s order could lead to the case ending up in the justices’ hands again for further clarification. 

“The government is going to say that they are operating in good faith to comply with an order from the Supreme Court that is murky, and they’re trying their best to comply with it,” he said. “At the same time, the president’s trying to exercise his executive authority under Article II, which also the Supreme Court said the lower court must recognize.”

Holloway said the government can take various routes as it moves forward, including seeking a reprieve from Xinis’ order and arguing that it is “unduly burdensome, and it hinders the president’s executive authority.”

“I think they may wind up trying to get him out of that prison and sending him to a different location,” Holloway said. “But I think they’re going to fight pretty hard on whether they actually have to bring him back to U.S. soil.“

DOJ ASKS TO DISMISS VIRGINIA CASE AGAINST SALVADORAN ACCUSED MS-13 LEADER SET TO BE DEPORTED

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University and a Fox News contributor, said that the extent of the district court’s power to order the government to comply with the Supreme Court’s order is also in question. 

“It’s entirely unclear what, if anything, the court can do beyond other than nudge the administration in this direction,” he said. 

Heritage Foundation Legal Fellow Hans von Spakovsky specifically pointed to the Supreme Court noting that the district court must give “[d]ue regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.” 

“So while the government has to act in good faith to use diplomatic efforts to negotiate Garcia’s return and keep the district court informed of its efforts, the district court cannot give the government direct orders on how to accomplish this foreign policy task or penalize the government if it is not successful,” von Spakovsky said.

“The assumption is that if the court determines that the administration is acting in bad faith, it could take some other action,” Turley noted. “The question is, how do you make that determination?” 

Turley said the district court could hold the government in contempt if it determines the administration acted in bad faith. However, enforcement may be challenging, given Abrego Garcia is overseas and the president’s Article II authority over foreign affairs.