“Disgusting,” said Navy SEAL veteran Rob Sweetman in describing the smell and mist of Mexican sewage spewing into U.S. waters as he stood on a hill overlooking the Tijuana River estuary in California.

Sweetman, a Navy veteran who served on the SEALs for eight years, spoke to Fox News Digital to sound the alarm on a water crisis rocking the San Diego area, including where SEALs train, taking a camera with him to show viewers firsthand how the contaminated water flows into the U.S. 

Just one mile away from where Sweetman spoke, SEALs and candidates train in the same water, which has sickened more than 1,000 candidates in a five-year period, per a Department of Defense watchdog report released in February.

San Diego and the surrounding area are in a clean-water crisis that has raged for decades, but it is finding revived concern from the Trump administration as SEALs and local veterans warn of a “national security crisis” that they say is on par with the Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, water crisis.

Thousands of Marines and others were sickened  at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune base between 1953 and 1987 as a result of water contaminated by industrial solvents used to drink, bathe and cook at the training facilities and on-base housing. 

EPA CHIEF TAKES ON MEXICAN ‘SEWAGE CRISIS’ FLOWING INTO US WATERS WHERE NAVY SEALS TRAIN

Kate Monroe, a Marine Corps veteran and CEO of VetComm — which advocates for disabled veterans and those navigating the VA’s complicated health system — told Fox Digital in an April Zoom interview, “San Diego County is as big as some states. It’s giant. Millions of people live here and are breathing the air of this water. It goes well beyond the military. It’s a crisis. It’s a FEMA-level travesty, and we have just been hiding it.” 

The Navy has deep roots in the San Diego area, with the United States Naval Special Warfare Command headquartered in America’s Finest City and where Navy SEAL candidates complete their arduous six-month Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado.

The sewage problem flowing from neighboring Mexico into the U.S. has percolated in San Diego for years. 

But the water crisis hit crisis level when it was reported in 2024 that 44 billion gallons of contaminated water imbued with raw sewage was released along the California coast in 2023, the most on record since at least 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time. 

The issue of sewage water flowing into U.S. waters is largely attributed to outdated wastewater infrastructure across the southern border, local media outlets recently reported, with Mexico reportedly in the midst of addressing its infrastructure to curb the leaks of sewage water. 

The Tijuana River has for decades been plagued by sewage and waste that has affected its beaches and neighboring San Diego.

In February, the Department of Defense’s inspector general released a report finding that the Naval Special Warfare Center reported 1,168 cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses among SEAL candidates between January 2019 and May 2023 alone. 

“Navy SEAL candidate exposure to contaminated water occurred because (Naval Special Warfare Command) did not follow San Diego County’s Beach and Bay Water Quality Program’s beach closure postings,” the inspector general report found. “As a result of Navy SEAL candidate exposure to contaminated water during training, candidates are presented with increased health risks and NAVSPECWARCOM’s training mission could be impacted.”

It was when Monroe, who is well-versed with veteran health through VetComm, was working with SEALs who were retiring that she realized the severity of the San Diego water pollution of the past few years.

She observed an increase in health claims related to intestinal issues and “weird cancers,” which was a departure from typical claims related to PTSD or orthopedic ailments.

US SENATOR BLASTS PRESIDENT OF MEXICO, SAYS TOXIC SEWAGE DUMP THREATENS ‘NATIONAL SECURITY’

“I started creating relationships with the SEAL teams, the people that were exiting the SEALs, you know, at 14 years, 20 years, nearing their retirement,” Monroe told Fox News Digital. “And the claims that we were making for these guys were surprising to me because a lot of them, they have combat PTSD, a lot of orthopedic issues. But we were having guys coming to us with, like, IBS, GERD, skin issues, weird cancers, and they were all attributing it to their time spent in San Diego training to be a SEAL in that water here that we have in San Diego.”

Swimming and spending time in water contaminated with feces can lead to a host of illnesses, including bacterial, viral and parasitic infections that leave people nauseous, vomiting and rushing to the bathroom. 

Navy SEAL vet Jeff Gum was only days from entering the SEAL’s aptly named Hell Week — the fourth week of basic conditioning for SEAL candidates — when nausea hit him. He was trapped in a cycle of drinking water and vomiting when he realized a serious illness had its grips on him. 

Gum is a retired SEAL who served from 2007 to 2017 and was exposed to the contaminated water in 2008 during BUD/S training off the San Diego coast. 

“I couldn’t stop,” Gum recounted of how he couldn’t keep water down without vomiting. “You never really want to go to medical because they can pull you out or make you get rolled to the next class, but I couldn’t even drink water without throwing up. It’s the only time in my whole life that this has happened.”

Gum’s nausea overcame him on a Friday in 2008, with Hell Week kicking off that Sunday night. Hell Week is a more than five-day training that puts candidates through rigorous training, including cold-water immersion, “surf torture,” buoy swims, mud runs, all while operating on minimal sleep. 

SAN DIEGO SUBURB FACES ‘SEWAGE CRISIS’ FROM LOCAL BEACH

“The sun goes down, and the instructors come out with big machine guns, that kicks it off,” Gum said of how Hell Week began. “We run out to the beach, right into the ocean. You spend the rest of the week soaking wet, covered in sand. And everywhere you go, you have a 200-pound boat on your head that you and your boat crew of six to seven guys will share the weight of, and you just run everywhere.”

“You’re just in the water. There’s no escaping it. It’s part of what makes BUD/S BUD/S. And it’s part of what makes the Navy SEALs America’s premier maritime special operators,” he said. “There’s not getting around how comfortable we have to be in the water. Cold, wet, miserable, doesn’t matter, we suck it up and we do it.” 

MEXICO IS POISONING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN A BORDER CRISIS ALMOST NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT

Gum received IVs the weekend ahead of Hell Week and was able to keep food and water down by the time the intense training began, but he had been diagnosed with viral gastroenteritis, commonly known as the stomach flu and highly contagious, which then morphed into rhabdomyolysis due to exerting so much energy while dehydrated from viral gastroenteritis

Rhabdomyolysis is a serious illness that causes muscle to break down quickly and can lead to “muscle death” and the release of high levels of myoglobin in the blood that can injure a person’s kidneys.

Gum failed the first phase of BUD/S, but he was granted permission to return to training for a second time after senior leaders saw he had viral gastroenteritis. Gum again went through the first phase of BUD/S, but again he went to medical, where tests showed that his “blood came back toxic” from rhabdomyolysis.

The SEAL was put on medical leave and able to fully recover in his home state of Pennsylvania before he “crushed” the hellish training on his third try. He served on SEAL Team Five, deployed to Fallujah, Iraq, and taught combatives and prisoner handling to SEAL trainees in San Diego from 2013 until his retirement in 2017.

Sweetman told Fox Digital that “everyone who goes through training is going to get sick.”

“They’re going to get infections, and it’s terrible,” Sweetman told Fox Digital in an April Zoom interview. “And some might argue that this is Navy SEAL training. You have to go through the toughest conditions to be able to survive and make it. I would say that it’s gotten a little bit out of hand.” 

The SEAL vet, who lives in the San Diego area, said the issue has gotten worse in recent years as Tijuana’s population grows.

I TRAINED WITH THE NAVY SEALS FOR A DAY. THIS IS WHAT I LEARNED

“When I went through training, it was absolutely a thing that they’d shut down the Imperial Beach because the ocean water was so bad, because the waste coming from Tijuana had infected the water,” Sweetman said. “You could always smell it. And oftentimes, even in the bay, we’d need to wash our wet suit after being out on a swim.”

“Now, some of the training causes us to be deeply immersed in the water, and infections and all types of things can come up from being in the water. But I’ll say that it has gotten significantly worse as the population has doubled in Tijuana.”

Gum and Monroe both said that water issue is a crisis, with Gum identifying it as a national security crisis that could cull well-suited candidates from the SEALs due to acute illnesses as well as sicken active SEALs. 

“This is a huge national crisis,” he said. “Like half the SEAL teams are located in San Diego, the other half are in Virginia Beach. So when you’ve got half the SEAL teams who are getting exposed to this, then it’s a major issue.” 

Monroe called it the “next Camp Lejeune” crisis, which sickened Marines with contaminated drinking water at the North Carolina Marine Corps base camp for nearly three decades. The crisis has cost the U.S. billions of dollars, including legal costs and settlements to vets and their families. 

“This is going to be, in my opinion, the next Camp Lejeune water problem that cost our government $21 to $25 billion,” she said. “That’s just in the compensation directly, like the lawsuit portion of it. That doesn’t cover all the compensation you have to pay these veterans tax-free for the rest of their lives. I would say that this issue here in San Diego, if you look at it over the time that people have been training here, you’re looking at another $21 to $25 billion, plus all of the compensation that’s going to come. It would be cheaper for our country to fix this than it would to allow it to continue.” 

The three veterans who spoke to Fox Digital all responded with optimism that the Trump administration will tackle the crisis and end it. 

WILL CAIN, NAVY SEALS HONORS VETERANS AT 2024 NYC SEAL SWIM

Fox Digital exclusively reported earlier in April that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is heading to San Diego to meet with SEALs and see the crisis firsthand April 22, 2025.

“The raw sewage flowing from Mexico into the Tijuana River is creating serious, detrimental issues for communities with affected waterways,” Zeldin told Fox Digital ahead of the Tuesday trip.  

“Ensuring America’s waters are clean is part of EPA’s core mission, and I look forward to being on the ground in San Diego in a few days to assess the situation and hear directly from those affected,” he said. “It is top-of-mind knowing that as this issue persists, more and more Navy SEALs remain at risk of sickness because of the contaminated waterways they train in. I strongly believe the time has come to finalize and implement an urgent strategy to end decades of raw sewage entering the U.S.” 

A spokesperson for Naval Special Warfare added in a comment to Fox News Digital that SEALs and candidates’ health are a top priority and that officials are monitoring water quality in areas where they train.  

“The Navy takes the health and safety of our personnel very seriously,” the spokesperson said. “Water quality at Navy training locations on the beach waterfront is closely monitored in coordination with local authorities. We are fully committed to ensuring warfighters at U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command train in a safe environment.” 

Ahead of Zeldin’s visit, the water flowing from Mexico into the U.S. is as “nasty” as ever, according to Sweetman. 

“What I see here is a tremendous amount of green, nasty water,” Sweetman said while pointing at the murky water. “I mean, you can smell it. This is disgusting. As it pours through, it doesn’t clear up. There’s no clarity to it. It just turns into a foam. And the foam sits on top of the water where it’s murky and it just continues to flow towards Imperial Beach and the ocean down here.”

“It’s absolutely disgusting. I can’t comment strongly enough about how bad it is to be here. I’m here specifically because I want people to see just how bad it is,” he said. “The moment that I leave here, I’m going to go take a shower.”

Military members stationed in and around portions of the southern border have been given the authority to temporarily detain and search illegal migrants. 

Service members with the Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB) are now authorized to conduct several security measures in the New Mexico National Defense Area (NMNDA), U.S. Northern Command said Monday. The NMNDA is part of the U.S. Army’s Fort Huachuca military installation.

The move allows the U.S. military to serve in a more active law enforcement role than in years past. Military personnel have typically been prevented from participating in civilian law enforcement activities such as search, seizure, or arrest.

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

As part of their new duties, the service members can search and temporarily detain trespassers on the NMNDA, as well as provide medical care and implement crowd control measures, until appropriate law enforcement can take them into custody.

Task force members can also assist with the installation of temporary barriers, signage, and fencing upon request. 

“Through these enhanced authorities, U.S. Northern Command will ensure those who illegally trespass in the New Mexico National Defense Area are handed over to Customs and Border Protection or our other law enforcement partners,” said USNORTHCOM Gen. Gregory Guillot. “Joint Task Force-Southern Border will conduct enhanced detection and monitoring, which will include vehicle and foot patrols, rotary wing, and fixed surveillance site operations.”

USNORTHCOM was named as the Defense Department‘s operational lead for the employment of U.S. military forces to carry out President Donald Trump’s southern border executive orders. 

TRUMP ORDERS MILITARY TO TAKE CONTROL OF FEDERAL LAND AT SOUTHERN BORDER

Last week, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited New Mexico to announce that the Army will take control of nearly 110,000 acres of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to curb illegal immigration and trafficking.

The 109,651 acres of federal land will be transferred to the Army for three years, subject to valid existing rights.

The switch in jurisdiction will allow the government to protect sensitive natural and cultural resources in the region, while helping the Army support U.S. Border Patrol operations in securing the border and preventing illegal immigration, according to the Department of the Interior.

In March, the Defense Department authorized the military to patrol the southern border to provide “enhanced detection and monitoring” to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Any law enforcement actions to apprehend individuals suspected of illegal entry must be conducted only by non-DoD law enforcement personnel and National Guard personnel in a non-federalized status accompanying these patrols,” the DOD said at the time. 

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

Military members stationed in and around portions of the southern border have been given the authority to temporarily detain and search illegal migrants. 

Service members with the Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB) are now authorized to conduct several security measures in the New Mexico National Defense Area (NMNDA), U.S. Northern Command said Monday. The NMNDA is part of the U.S. Army’s Fort Huachuca military installation.

The move allows the U.S. military to serve in a more active law enforcement role than in years past. Military personnel have typically been prevented from participating in civilian law enforcement activities such as search, seizure, or arrest.

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

As part of their new duties, the service members can search and temporarily detain trespassers on the NMNDA, as well as provide medical care and implement crowd control measures, until appropriate law enforcement can take them into custody.

Task force members can also assist with the installation of temporary barriers, signage, and fencing upon request. 

“Through these enhanced authorities, U.S. Northern Command will ensure those who illegally trespass in the New Mexico National Defense Area are handed over to Customs and Border Protection or our other law enforcement partners,” said USNORTHCOM Gen. Gregory Guillot. “Joint Task Force-Southern Border will conduct enhanced detection and monitoring, which will include vehicle and foot patrols, rotary wing, and fixed surveillance site operations.”

USNORTHCOM was named as the Defense Department‘s operational lead for the employment of U.S. military forces to carry out President Donald Trump’s southern border executive orders. 

TRUMP ORDERS MILITARY TO TAKE CONTROL OF FEDERAL LAND AT SOUTHERN BORDER

Last week, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited New Mexico to announce that the Army will take control of nearly 110,000 acres of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to curb illegal immigration and trafficking.

The 109,651 acres of federal land will be transferred to the Army for three years, subject to valid existing rights.

The switch in jurisdiction will allow the government to protect sensitive natural and cultural resources in the region, while helping the Army support U.S. Border Patrol operations in securing the border and preventing illegal immigration, according to the Department of the Interior.

In March, the Defense Department authorized the military to patrol the southern border to provide “enhanced detection and monitoring” to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Any law enforcement actions to apprehend individuals suspected of illegal entry must be conducted only by non-DoD law enforcement personnel and National Guard personnel in a non-federalized status accompanying these patrols,” the DOD said at the time. 

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

With President Donald Trump’s former reality TV show “The Apprentice,” streaming on Amazon Prime as of last month, politically astute viewers across the political spectrum have zeroed in on an episode from when Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., now one of the president’s biggest political detractors, praised his fellow New Yorker as a business prodigy.

During Season 5, Episode 8, of “The Apprentice” in 2006, contestants were given a challenge — as was typical during each episode — and the winners of said challenge got the chance to fly to the nation’s capital and have breakfast with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. During the breakfast, Schumer sought to draw parallels between his family and Trump’s, while also showering praise on the president, telling the contestants he always knew Trump, even as a young person, “was going to go places.”

“I was born in Brooklyn, the same place where Donald Trump’s family comes from,” Schumer reminisced with the contestants during breakfast at the famous Hay-Adams hotel in Washington, D.C. “His father, and my grandfather, were builders together in Brooklyn.”

“Wow!?” one contestant could be heard replying. “Really?” asked another.

“Yeah!,” Schumer responded to the room. 

FLASHBACK: ‘OPRAH WINFREY ONCE CALLED TRUMP A ’FOLK HERO,’ A CONTRAST TO COMMENTS MADE DURING THE DNC

The show then cut to Schumer lauding Trump as a business prodigy.

“Even when [Trump] was much younger, you knew that he was going to go places,” Schumer said, before a voice-over from one of the contestants present at the breakfast reiterated that “Sen. Schumer and Mr. Trump are good friends.”

Despite Schumer’s apparent friendly sentiment towards the president in 2006, as evidenced by his appearance on “The Apprentice,” the Democratic New York senator told Politico in 2016, ahead of Trump’s first term, that, “[Trump] was not my friend.” Rather, Schumer described his relationship with Trump as a “casual acquaintance.”

CHUCK SCHUMER FACING ‘UPHILL FIGHT’ AMID LEADERSHIP DOUBTS: ‘MATTER OF WHEN, NOT IF’

“Donald Trump is a lawless, angry man,” Schumer said of the president during an interview last month. “The fact that The Apprentice President Donald ‘You’re Fired’ Trump is refusing to hold people accountable just shows how weak he is,” Schumer added in a post on social media earlier this month.

Considering Schumer’s vehement animosity towards Trump today, Michigan State GOP Sen. Aric Nesbitt, the Michigan Senate’s minority leader, remarked “How things change…” in a post that highlighted the resurfaced clip of Schumer’s scene on “The Apprentice.”  

But it’s not just Republicans having fun at Schumer’s expense. 

“As Schumer sells out our Constitution and democracy, you just gotta watch this clip of him sucking up to Trump on an episode of the Apprentice,” remarked former Democratic Rhode Island legislator Aaron Regunberg. “What a world class slug of a man.”

Shortly before taking office during his first term, Trump was asked by MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski about whether he will be able to get along with Democratic leaders in Congress, such as Schumer. Trump struck a positive chord, saying at the time that he thought he would “be able to get along well with Chuck Schumer.”

ELON MUSK SCRAPS WITH CHUCK SCHUMER, SUGGESTING THE SENATOR PROFITS FROM GOVERNMENT FRAUD

“I was always very good with Schumer. I was close to Schumer in many ways,” Trump said at the time.

As time has progressed, however, Trump’s rhetoric towards Schumer has become increasingly critical of the senator, as the pair of political heavyweights continue to fight over whatever political issue is dominating Washington each week. 

Recently, Trump took a jab at Schumer’s alleged lack of support for the Jewish community amid the rise in antisemitism, particularly on college campuses, in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attacks against innocent Israelis. Schumer is Jewish. 

CHUCK SCHUMER WARNS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF ANTISEMITISM ON ‘THE VIEW’   

“Schumer is a Palestinian, as far as I’m concerned,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office last month. “He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore.” 

Trump’s comments from earlier this month also mirror a similar sentiment he relayed about Schumer during his most recent campaign for the presidency, referring to him as a “proud member of Hamas.”

In addition to Schumer, other high-profile public figures have praised the now-president, only to become his political enemy years later. In a 1988 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the celebrity talk show host appeared to be amazed at Americans’ “fascination” with Donald Trump and even described him as a “folk hero” for being so popular. 

Meanwhile, celebrity music producer who co-founded Def Jam Records, Russell Simmons, similarly had nice things to say about Trump before he entered politics, calling him “very nice” and remarking how supportive Trump has been to his family, according to media reports. Nonetheless, following the tragic politically motivated violence in Charlottesville during Trump’s first term, Simmons reportedly criticized his “friend” for leading the legacy of a “great divider,” and a “destroyer of the environment and … everything we as Americans have fought so hard to call ours.”     

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for comment but did not receive a reply in time for publication.

With President Donald Trump’s former reality TV show “The Apprentice,” streaming on Amazon Prime as of last month, politically astute viewers across the political spectrum have zeroed in on an episode from when Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., now one of the president’s biggest political detractors, praised his fellow New Yorker as a business prodigy.

During Season 5, Episode 8, of “The Apprentice” in 2006, contestants were given a challenge — as was typical during each episode — and the winners of said challenge got the chance to fly to the nation’s capital and have breakfast with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. During the breakfast, Schumer sought to draw parallels between his family and Trump’s, while also showering praise on the president, telling the contestants he always knew Trump, even as a young person, “was going to go places.”

“I was born in Brooklyn, the same place where Donald Trump’s family comes from,” Schumer reminisced with the contestants during breakfast at the famous Hay-Adams hotel in Washington, D.C. “His father, and my grandfather, were builders together in Brooklyn.”

“Wow!?” one contestant could be heard replying. “Really?” asked another.

“Yeah!,” Schumer responded to the room. 

FLASHBACK: ‘OPRAH WINFREY ONCE CALLED TRUMP A ’FOLK HERO,’ A CONTRAST TO COMMENTS MADE DURING THE DNC

The show then cut to Schumer lauding Trump as a business prodigy.

“Even when [Trump] was much younger, you knew that he was going to go places,” Schumer said, before a voice-over from one of the contestants present at the breakfast reiterated that “Sen. Schumer and Mr. Trump are good friends.”

Despite Schumer’s apparent friendly sentiment towards the president in 2006, as evidenced by his appearance on “The Apprentice,” the Democratic New York senator told Politico in 2016, ahead of Trump’s first term, that, “[Trump] was not my friend.” Rather, Schumer described his relationship with Trump as a “casual acquaintance.”

CHUCK SCHUMER FACING ‘UPHILL FIGHT’ AMID LEADERSHIP DOUBTS: ‘MATTER OF WHEN, NOT IF’

“Donald Trump is a lawless, angry man,” Schumer said of the president during an interview last month. “The fact that The Apprentice President Donald ‘You’re Fired’ Trump is refusing to hold people accountable just shows how weak he is,” Schumer added in a post on social media earlier this month.

Considering Schumer’s vehement animosity towards Trump today, Michigan State GOP Sen. Aric Nesbitt, the Michigan Senate’s minority leader, remarked “How things change…” in a post that highlighted the resurfaced clip of Schumer’s scene on “The Apprentice.”  

But it’s not just Republicans having fun at Schumer’s expense. 

“As Schumer sells out our Constitution and democracy, you just gotta watch this clip of him sucking up to Trump on an episode of the Apprentice,” remarked former Democratic Rhode Island legislator Aaron Regunberg. “What a world class slug of a man.”

Shortly before taking office during his first term, Trump was asked by MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski about whether he will be able to get along with Democratic leaders in Congress, such as Schumer. Trump struck a positive chord, saying at the time that he thought he would “be able to get along well with Chuck Schumer.”

ELON MUSK SCRAPS WITH CHUCK SCHUMER, SUGGESTING THE SENATOR PROFITS FROM GOVERNMENT FRAUD

“I was always very good with Schumer. I was close to Schumer in many ways,” Trump said at the time.

As time has progressed, however, Trump’s rhetoric towards Schumer has become increasingly critical of the senator, as the pair of political heavyweights continue to fight over whatever political issue is dominating Washington each week. 

Recently, Trump took a jab at Schumer’s alleged lack of support for the Jewish community amid the rise in antisemitism, particularly on college campuses, in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attacks against innocent Israelis. Schumer is Jewish. 

CHUCK SCHUMER WARNS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF ANTISEMITISM ON ‘THE VIEW’   

“Schumer is a Palestinian, as far as I’m concerned,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office last month. “He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore.” 

Trump’s comments from earlier this month also mirror a similar sentiment he relayed about Schumer during his most recent campaign for the presidency, referring to him as a “proud member of Hamas.”

In addition to Schumer, other high-profile public figures have praised the now-president, only to become his political enemy years later. In a 1988 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the celebrity talk show host appeared to be amazed at Americans’ “fascination” with Donald Trump and even described him as a “folk hero” for being so popular. 

Meanwhile, celebrity music producer who co-founded Def Jam Records, Russell Simmons, similarly had nice things to say about Trump before he entered politics, calling him “very nice” and remarking how supportive Trump has been to his family, according to media reports. Nonetheless, following the tragic politically motivated violence in Charlottesville during Trump’s first term, Simmons reportedly criticized his “friend” for leading the legacy of a “great divider,” and a “destroyer of the environment and … everything we as Americans have fought so hard to call ours.”     

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for comment but did not receive a reply in time for publication.

Former President Joe Biden and his administration found themselves embroiled in a series of gaffes and controversies around the Easter holiday, including that time the Easter bunny abruptly whisked the 46th president away from a gaggle of reporters in 2022. 

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump joined families and children on the White House’s South Lawn on Monday morning for the 147th annual event, which dates back to Rutherford B. Hayes’ presidency in 1878. 

As the Easter Egg Roll tradition continues this year, Fox News Digital looked back on the handful of Easter controversies involving Biden and his administration throughout his term in office. 

During the 2022 Easter Egg Roll, a person dressed in a bunny suit was seen approaching Biden as he spoke candidly to members of the media about Afghanistan and Pakistan. The bunny stepped in front of Biden while he was speaking to the media and waved their hands with great animation before directing Biden away from the reporters. 

“Pakistan should not, and Afghanistan should be…” Biden was heard saying before the bunny approaches. 

“Oh, the Easter bunny!” someone can be heard saying off-camera, as Biden appeared visibly caught off guard by the interruption. 

‘EASTER BUNNY’ WHISKS BIDEN AWAY AS HE STARTS DISCUSSING AFGHANISTAN: VIDEO

Biden was then seen walking away from the reporters. 

The bunny incident unfolded ahead of the fierce scrutiny Biden faced from Democrats and conservatives over his mental acuity and age in the lead-up to the 2024 election. 

Footage of the Easter bunny directing Biden at a public event was rehashed as concern mounted last summer over whether the president had the mental and physical ability to continue running for re-election and potentially remain in the Oval Office. Biden ultimately dropped out and endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat Party’s nominee. Harris ultimately failed to rally enough support to defeat Trump at the polls. 

The Biden administration landed in hot water with the religious faithful and conservatives during the 2024 Easter season when honoring “Transgender Day of Visibility” on Easter Sunday. 

“On Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans and reaffirm our Nation’s commitment to forming a more perfect Union — where all people are created equal and treated equally throughout their lives,” said a White House statement recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday, Fox Digital previously reported. 

“Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans: You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back,” it added. 

3 MONTHS AND 28 DAYS: LGBTQ EVENTS CLOG CALENDAR AS WHITE HOUSE FACES BACKLASH OVER EASTER ANNOUNCEMENT

International Transgender Day of Visibility was created by activists more than 10 years ago and is celebrated each year on March 31, while Easter — t​​he most holy holiday for Christians — moves its day of celebration each year, but is always observed on a Sunday. 

Conservatives, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., ripped the White House’s decision to recognize Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter, calling it an attack on Christianity.

“The Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter — which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Johnson posted to X last March. “Banning sacred truth and tradition—while at the same time proclaiming Easter Sunday as “Transgender Day”—is outrageous and abhorrent. The American people are taking note.”

Former White House spokesman Andrew Bates defended at the time that Biden, as a Christian, was working to bring “people together” with the event.

“As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American,” Bates told Fox Digital last year. 

Biden suffered another Easter gaffe last year at the White House’s Egg Roll when he apparently flubbed the pronunciation of “Easter” and appeared to say “oyster” instead while introducing a pair of Easter bunnies. 

CRITICISMS MOUNT THAT BIDEN IS A ‘SHADOW’ OF HIMSELF AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE: ‘NOT THE SAME MAN’ FROM VP ERA

“God bless you all, enjoy the day, and I’m coming down to do that Easter Egg roll in just a minute,” Biden said while standing on the White House’s Truman Balcony overlooking the South Lawn. 

“Thanks everybody. And by the way, say ‘hello’ to oyster bunnies. Come on up, bunnies. Get up here so they can see you,” Biden appeared to say. 

The apparent gaffe drew mockery online as some users wished each a “Happy Oyster.” It stirred concern over the president’s mental acuity over the mispronunciation. 

Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre delivered a flat April Fools’ joke in 2024 when the White House hosted the Easter Egg Roll. 

A person dressed as the Easter bunny was spotted in the press briefing room on April 1, 2024, before Jean-Pierre joined the media and delivered a joke that Biden was set to revoke the Hatch Act. 

The Hatch Act bans executive branch staffers, except the president and vice president, from engaging in certain forms of political activity. 

“Happy Easter Monday. So, I have something at the top for all of you and I think you’ll be really interested in this. So, President Biden is scheduled to announce he is revoking the Hatch Act,” Jean-Pierre said, grinning, while delivering the April Fools’ joke. “So as a gift to all of you, so now I can actually take all your questions about 2024.”

“No? I thought you would love that,” she responded as journalists demured. “All right. OK. April Fools’, April Fools’, April Fools’ — it is April 1st.”

DEMS LEFT WITH EGG ON THEIR FACE AS DNC APPEARS TO SNUB BIDEN ON EASTER

The administration’s Hatch Act joke followed repeated instances of administration officials citing the law while dodging questions about Biden’s 2024 campaign. 

This year, the Democratic National Committee shared an Easter message celebrating Democratic presidents across the year, but notably did not include a photo of Biden. Instead, the post featured former Presidents Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. 

The Trump administration on Monday posted a side-by-side video of both Trump and Biden at their respective White House Easter Egg Rolls on Monday with the caption, “BREAKING: The White House is no longer a nursing home.“

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., on Monday signaled he wouldn’t tolerate Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly once again sharing sensitive information about military operations in a Signal group chat. 

“If the reporting is true, this is unacceptable. I would never tell the White House what to do, but I wouldn’t tolerate it,” Bacon told Fox News Digital, reiterating his comments first reported by Politico. 

Bacon, a retired military officer and Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said it would be “unacceptable” if Hegseth sent classified information in a Signal chat about a mission in Yemen targeting the Houthis. The New York Times reported on Sunday that Hegseth shared information about the March 15 strikes in Yemen in a private Signal group chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, claiming they were essentially the same plans shared in the separate Signal chat that included an editor of The Atlantic. 

WHITE HOUSE RIPS ALLEGED PENTAGON LEAKERS’ ‘SHATTERED EGOS,’ BRUSHES OFF HEGSETH SECOND SIGNAL CHAT REPORT

Bacon told Politico he had reservations about Hegseth’s experience since his nomination, and while a spokesperson for Bacon’s office emphasized to Fox News Digital that he would not tell President Donald Trump to fire Hegseth, Bacon said he “wouldn’t tolerate” the latest Hegseth reporting if he was the commander in chief. 

EX-PENTAGON AIDE URGES TRUMP TO FIRE HEGSETH, CITING ‘FULL-BLOWN MELTDOWN’ AND ‘TOTAL CHAOS’

White House officials have joined Hegseth in denying the reporting. 

“No matter how many times the legacy media tries to resurrect the same nonstory, they can’t change the fact that no classified information was shared. Recently fired ‘leakers’ are continuing to misrepresent the truth to soothe their shattered egos and undermine the president’s agenda, but the administration will continue to hold them accountable,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital.

Trump himself shut down the reporting, calling it “fake news” and touting recruitment rates and Hegseth’s leadership of the armed forces.

“The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth, who is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News on Monday. 

Hegseth lamented “disgruntled employees” and “anonymous smears” when pressed by reporters during the White House Easter Egg roll about the latest Signal controversy.

“This is why we’re fighting the fake news media. This group right here is full of hoaxsters,” Hegseth said.

The Trump administration has maintained that no classified material was transmitted in the Signal chat reported by The Atlantic. Signal is an encrypted messaging app with additional security measures that keep messages private to those included in the correspondence.

The commander of Fort McCoy was relieved of duty after the U.S. Army base failed to install photos of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on a wall displaying their chain of command. 

Col.  Sheyla Baez Ramirez was suspended as garrison commander of Ft. McCoy in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “This suspension is not related to any misconduct,” the U.S. Army Reserve Command said in a statement, “We have no further details to provide at this time while this matter is under review.”

Hegseth on Sunday reposted an X post claiming: “Commander of Fort McCoy, whose base chain-of-command board was missing photos of Trump, Vance and Hegseth, has been SUSPENDED.”

It came after the Defense Department (DOD) announced a probe into why a wall displaying the chain of command had empty frames on the wall where Trump, Vance and Hegseth’s images would typically be displayed. 

AXED PENTAGON AIDES CLAIM THEIR CHARACTER WAS ‘SLANDERED,’ LITTLE DETAILS WERE SHARED ABOUT LEAK INVESTIGATION

A new image they posted of the wall showed the frames had been filled. 

“Regarding the Ft. McCoy Chain of Command wall controversy…. WE FIXED IT! Also, an investigation has begun to figure out exactly what happened,” the department’s rapid response account posted on X. 

Ramirez assumed the garrison commander role in ​​July of last year. 

Previously, she had served as chief of the Reserve Program, United States Army Intelligence and Security Command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and in other roles throughout the Army and Army Reserves.

The move came after a series of leadership shake-ups across the U.S. military. Earlier this month, the Pentagon fired the base commander for Pituffik Space Force Base in Greenland after she “undermined” Vance. 

EX-PENTAGON AIDE URGES TRUMP TO FIRE HEGSETH, CITING ‘FULL-BLOWN MELTDOWN’ AND ‘TOTAL CHAOS’

After the vice president’s visit, Col. Susannah Meyers emailed base personnel on March 31, writing, “I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed by Vice President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base.”

She added that she had “spent the weekend thinking about Friday’s visit — the actions taken, the words spoken, and how it must have affected each of you.” 

The Space Force said in a public statement Meyers had been relieved of command “due to loss of confidence in her ability to lead.” 

“Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties,” the statement read. 

And Hegseth fired four former aides after in-fighting and a leak investigation came to a head late last week. 

The secretary blamed “disgruntled employees” for leaking reports about a second Signal chat that discussed Houthi strikes, this one including his wife, brother and personal lawyer on the chain.

The Department of Education is poised to resume collections on defaulted federal student loans in May for the first time since 2020. 

While the first Trump administration paused referring federal student loans to collections in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the extended lapse has prompted Trump administration officials to worry that the federal student loan portfolio is “headed toward a fiscal cliff if we don’t start repayment in collections,” according to a senior department official. 

“The result has been that the federal government student loan portfolio has continued to grow, and we’ve got a record number of borrowers that are at risk of, or in delinquency and default,” the senior department official told reporters Monday. 

The official said that only 40% percent of borrowers are up to speed on their loan repayments, while the remaining 60% are behind. 

STAFFING REDUCTIONS AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT HAVEN’T HIT FAFSA OFFICE AMID TRUMP CUTS, AGENCY SAYS

Altogether, the official said that there are four million borrowers who are in the late-stage delinquency stage on payments — meaning that they are between 91 days and 180 days late on payments. 

“The Trump administration, current administration, believes that American taxpayers can no longer serve as collateral for student loans,” the senior department official said. “Student loan debt must be paid back.”

Likewise, the official said the agency would roll out a communications plan to let borrowers know their status and encourage them to enroll in auto-debit to drive down the number of delinquent borrowers. 

The policy takes effect May 5, when the Education Department will partner with the Treasury Offset Program to start collecting overdue payments. 

The official also said the Department of Education is preparing to partner with lawmakers on efforts to reform higher education and the student loan repayment system in place. 

“Going forward, we totally believe that Congress has a role to play in fixing the higher education system that puts students in a position where they can afford their loan payments,” the senior department official said. “So we’re looking forward to working with Congress on their efforts to streamline loan repayment, as well as lowering college costs.”

Bipartisan legislation in the works includes the Employer Participation Repayment Act, which Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Mark Warner, D-Va., introduced in February that would make permanent a provision set to expire in 2026 authorizing employers to contribute up to $5,250 tax-free to their employees’ student loans. 

Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Scott Peters, D-Calif., introduced the legislation in the House. 

TRUMP STILL NEEDS CONGRESS’ HELP WITH PLAN TO ABOLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Nearly 43 million student borrowers have federal student loan debt — amounting to an outstanding federal student loan balance of $1.6 trillion, according to data from the Department of Education. 

The Department of Education’s announcement comes after the Trump administration unveiled plans in March to overhaul the agency, aligning with campaign promises from the president to eliminate the federal government’s influence over education to “stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth.”

Even so, President Donald Trump announced that functions of the department overseeing Pell Grants, student loans, and others that provide services for those with special needs would continue at other agencies. 

Pope Francis, who changed the face of the papacy, was broadly popular with the more than 60 million U.S. Catholics, according to recent public opinion polling.

Seventy-eight percent of American Catholics expressed a favorable opinion of the pope in a Pew Poll conducted in early February, shortly before Francis’ lengthy hospitalization for a case of double pneumonia. The 88-year-old pope died on Monday 

Francis’ popularity among American Catholics was constant throughout his dozen-year tenure as pope, with his favorability peaking at 90% in a February 2015 poll by Pew.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE PASSING OF POPE FRANCIS

“Pope Francis enjoyed broad support among American Catholics – certainly exceeding the popularity of any elected officials in the U.S.,” veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance, the president of New England College, told Fox News.

U.S. Catholics also generally viewed Francis more positively than his immediate predecessor in the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI. 

FIVE WAYS POPE FRANCIS IMPACTED THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Benedict’s favorability ratings ranged between 67% and 83% in Pew polling during his eight years as pope.

While popular with many Catholics, Francis’ attempts to make the church more inclusive made him an enemy to some in the conservative wing of the church. And there was plenty of pushback against the pope’s moves to overhaul a very divided church.

Those divisions may have contributed to a partisan divide when it comes to U.S. Catholics’ views of Francis.

According to the February Pew Poll, 88% of U.S. Catholics who identified as Democrats or leaned toward the Democratic Party had a positive view of the pope. But favorable opinions of Francis dropped to 69% among U.S. Catholics who said they were Republicans or leaned toward the GOP.

“His reform agenda, emphasizing values that sought to lift up the poorest, most marginalized individuals in the world, played better with Catholic Democrats than Republicans,” Lesperance noted.

 “And despite being critical of the current administration’s position on building the wall, mass deportations, and migrants, the late pope enjoyed the support of nearly two-thirds of Catholic Republicans. His legacy will be one of reform and social justice for Catholics across the globe.”

The State Department is pushing back against criticism of its changes to the process of reporting human rights abuses. 

NPR reported last week that the Trump administration was scaling back annual reports meant to inform congressional decisions on allocating foreign aid to countries, claiming the State Department was “changing its mind on what it calls human rights.” 

Fox News Digital is told the 2024 Human Rights Report has been restructured to remove redundancy, increase readability, and return the focus to human rights abuses – instead of a “laundry list of politically biased demands and assertions.” 

RUBIO ANNOUNCES CLOSURE OF STATE DEPARTMENT EFFORT THAT ‘WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD ALREADY’

“NPR’s report that the State Department is scaling back the Human Rights Report is misleading and misguided,” a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital. “This year’s modifications are critical for removing report redundancy, increasing readability, maintaining consistency to U.S. statutes, and returning focus to human rights issues rather than political bias.”

Fox News Digital is told the restructuring of the reports “will be more responsive to legislative mandates that underpin the report” and “does not reflect a change in U.S. policy on promoting respect for human rights around the globe or in any particular country.” The State Department notably has attempted to streamline the reports to better align with statutory requirements under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

NPR and Politico reported on an internal memo that purportedly showed the 2024 Human Rights Report, which was finished in January but has been adjusted under the new administration, will no longer include references to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or sections on discrimination or abuse against the LGBTQ+ community. 

STATE DEPARTMENT’S ‘GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT CENTER’ ACCUSED OF CENSORING AMERICANS SHUTS ITS DOORS

The annual reports – known as “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices” – normally come out in March or April. NPR said sections that called out countries for “forcibly returning a refugee or asylum-seeker to a home country” or the “serious harassment of human rights organizations” would be absent this year. NPR also stressed that prior reports had sections detailing countries’ “involuntary or coercive medical or psychological practices,” “arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy,” “serious restrictions to internet freedom,” “extensive gender-based violence,” and “violence or threats of violence targeting people with disabilities,” but the new report would not.

Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International, USA, criticized the changes under the Trump administration. He told NPR: “What this is, is a signal that the United States is no longer going to [pressure] other countries to uphold those rights that guarantee civic and political freedoms – the ability to speak, to express yourself, to gather, to protest, to organize.” 

During President Donald Trump’s first term, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited what he categorized as a “proliferation of human rights” on the global stage. 

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“We wanted to go back to first principles, back to our founding documents, our Declaration of Independence, our Bill of Rights to focus on those things that are central to the understanding of rights here in America,” he said in July 2020. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is overseeing changes at the department during Trump’s second term. Last week, he announced the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC), which he accused of costing taxpayers more than $50 million per year and spending “millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving.” 

EXCLUSIVE: The California 2026 gubernatorial race just got a major shakeup with Republican Steve Hilton entering the race to be Gov. Gavin Newsom’s successor. 

The former Fox News contributor and author of “Califailure” said he’s hoping to “Make California Golden Again,” especially for the “working people” of the state.

“A big decision that I’ve made, which I can now share with you, that I am, in fact, going to be running for governor of California for 2026. I love this state. It’s the best place in the world as far as I’m concerned,” Hilton told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.

THIS IS HOW WE’LL KNOW IF CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM’S EPIPHANY ON ‘LIBERAL GOVERNANCE’ IS REAL

“But after 15 years of one-party rule, this state is barely recognizable. And I honestly think that the 2026 election in California is a life-or-death moment because if we continue with this one-party rule by the Democrats, things are just gonna really start to deteriorate very rapidly,” he added.

Hilton was born in the U.K. and graduated from New College at Oxford. He served as a senior advisor to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, who was the leader of the Conservative Party. 

“[California] really reminds me of Britain in the 1970s. The UK was called the ‘sick man of Europe’, Hilton explained in a campaign announcement video obtained by Fox News Digital. “There’s no other way of looking at California today than the ‘sick man of America’.”

After moving to California in 2012, Hilton embraced the American entrepreneurial spirit and co-founded Crowdpac.com, a Silicon Valley tech start-up company.

Hilton’s contribution to the conservative media across various outlets throughout his time in the U.S. landed him his own show, ‘The Next Revolution’, on Fox News Channel. The Sunday night program aired weekly from 2017 to 2023.

Newsom is termed out, and candidates are lining up for a shot for his spot in Sacramento. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Health and Human Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former Rep. Katie Porter are among the long list of names seeking the job. On the Republican side, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has been on the campaign trail for the job. 

Although Democrats have a supermajority in the legislature, a recent poll of likely California voters indicated that 48% would consider backing a Republican for governor, according to the Sacramento Bee. 

“We have a combination of idiots and ideologues who’ve been running this state into the ground, ruining what I consider to be the greatest state and the greatest nation on earth, and it’s time for change,” Hilton said.

FOR KAMALA HARRIS, CHANCES OF A POLITICAL COMEBACK MAY BE BLEAK

Most notably, former Vice President Kamala Harris is weighing a run following her 2024 presidential loss. Harris would quickly be considered the Democratic front-runner if she were to decide to join in.

The Golden State is facing serious questions about its future in the wake of not only the fires that ripped through Los Angeles County, but as it navigates issues such as crime, homelessness, and fiscal management for programs like Medi-Cal. Hundreds of thousands of Californians have moved out of the state each year at an accelerated rate after the pandemic, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The cost of living for many Californians is higher than in the rest of the nation, including when it comes to taxation and gas prices.

LOS ANGELES ISSUES ONLY 4 PERMITS TO REBUILD HOMES AFTER DEVASTATING PALISADES FIRE: REPORT

“We have the highest taxes in the country, but also the highest rate of poverty. You have one-third of Californians who can’t meet their basic needs. We have the highest housing costs. It’s the number one reason people are leaving the state,” Hilton said.

The Republican said that the Golden State was once known for “upward mobility” and being the land of opportunity, but it’s become much more difficult to survive.

“California represented the best of America. I think for many people, when they thought of the American dream, they thought of California and the California Dream,” he added. 

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s announcement that REAL IDs will be required to fly starting May 7 has forced Americans to finally get compliant – 20 years after Congress passed the law. 

On May 11, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the REAL ID Act into law to enhance national security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Passed by the U.S. Congress, the act set federal standards for issuing identification cards, like driver’s licenses.

Starting next month, REAL ID will be required to access federal facilities, enter nuclear power plants and board commercial aircraft. REAL ID’s rollout has faced nearly two decades of political pushback, setbacks and delays. 

In the two years after it was passed, the National Governors Association (NGA), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) called for delaying its implementation, citing logistical concerns. 

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

Since its passing, states and advocacy groups have rejected its implementation. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – a longtime opponent of REAL ID implementation – called it “discriminatory, expensive, burdensome, invasive, and ultimately counterproductive” in 2007 as disapproval grew nationwide. By 2009, at least 25 states had enacted legislation opposing the REAL ID Act.

TOP TRUMP AGENCY REVEALS KEY REASON WHY REAL ID WILL BE ENFORCED

States rejected REAL ID for a range of reasons, including costs, states’ rights and privacy concerns. Three years after the law was passed, REAL ID’s first deadline was set for May 11, 2008. But in the face of opposition, DHS extended the deadline to May 11, 2011, under President Barack Obama’s administration. 

DHS later implemented a four-phase plan that extended beyond the 2011 deadline. By 2016, 23 states were fully compliant with the REAL ID Act, 27 states and territories were granted extensions, and six were noncompliant without extensions, according to a DHS letter. 

By Jan. 22, 2018, travelers would no longer be allowed to use a state-issued ID for domestic travel, and by Oct. 1, 2020, REAL ID “or another acceptable form of identification” would be required for domestic air travel. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump extended the REAL ID deadline to Oct. 1, 2021. That deadline was later extended to May 3, 2023, by President Joe Biden’s administration “due to circumstances resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Biden administration finally extended the deadline to May 7, 2025, to give states “additional time to ensure their residents have driver’s licenses and identification cards that meet the security standards established by the REAL ID Act.”

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Noem announced the May 7, 2025, deadline would hold as the Trump administration seeks to prevent illegal immigrants from traveling within the United States.

“Starting May 7, you will need a REAL ID to fly. REAL IDs make identification harder to forge, thwarting criminals and terrorists. If you plan to fly, make sure you get a REAL ID so you won’t be denied from your flight or face travel delays!” Noem said. 

U.S. presidents mourned the death of Pope Francis, who served as the leader of the Catholic Church for 12 years, on Monday following the Vatican’s announcement of the pope’s passing. 

“Rest in Peace Pope Francis!” President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday. “May God Bless him and all who loved him!”

The College of Cardinals elected Pope Francis, 88, to serve as the pope following Pope Benedict XVI in March 2013. His election marked the first time a non-European served as pope in more than 1,000 years. Pope Francis, born with the name Jorge Mario Bergoglio, originally hailed from Argentina. 

Pope Francis, who was hospitalized in February due to complications stemming from bronchitis and pneumonia, died Monday at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. 

Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, met with Pope Francis on Sunday in one of the reception rooms of the Vatican hotel just hours before the pope’s death. Vance acknowledged the visit in a post on X Monday while expressing his condolences to Christians who loved the pope, and shared a link to the transcript of one of the pope’s 2020 homilies. 

POPE FRANCIS DEAD AT 88, VATICAN SAYS

“My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill,” Vance said in a post on X on Monday. “But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul.”

Trump also signed an executive order Monday ordering all U.S. flags be flown at half-staff on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels to remember Francis. The order also applies to all U.S. embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

Here’s a look at Pope Francis’ legacy with other U.S. leaders:

Pope Francis met with former President Barack Obama at the Vatican in March 2014. The two met again in September of the following year during Pope Francis’ visit to the White House, where the pope delivered a statement urging action on climate change. Following his visit to the White House, Francis also visited New York City and Philadelphia. 

Obama issued a statement Monday morning lauding the pope for his leadership. 

POPE FRANCIS EXPOSES CONFIDENTIAL DETAILS ABOUT HIS ELECTION AND RELATIONSHIPS IN LENGTHY INTERVIEW 

“In his humility and his gestures at once simple and profound – embracing the sick, ministering to the homeless, washing the feet of young prisoners – he shook us out of our complacency and reminded us that we are all bound by moral obligations to God and one another,” Obama said in a post on X Monday morning. 

“Today, Michelle and I mourn with everyone around the world – Catholic and non-Catholic alike – who drew strength and inspiration from the Pope’s example,” Obama said. “May we continue to heed his call to ‘never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope.’”

Trump met with Pope Francis in 2017 during a trip to the Vatican, and told reporters later that they had a “fantastic meeting.” However, the two remained at odds with one another over Trump’s border policies for the last decade. 

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Pope Francis said in February 2016 amid Trump’s push on the campaign trail to build a border wall and crack down on illegal immigration. 

In response, Trump said: “For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful.”

Pope Francis routinely issued similar statements, and in February penned a letter to U.S. Catholic bishops and voiced concern about the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans. 

“The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness,” Pope Francis said in the letter. 

Former President Joe Biden, the second Catholic U.S. president, visited the Vatican in October 2021, where he and Pope Francis met to discuss topics including climate change and advocacy for the poor, according to a readout of the meeting. 

Biden had previously met Pope Francis on several other occasions, including during the pope’s visit to the U.S. in 2015. 

Biden also met with Pope Francis in June at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Apulia, Italy, where the two discussed the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, according to a readout of the meeting. 

Biden, who awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January, described him as a “consequential” leader on Monday who was a “Pope for everyone.” 

“He was unlike any who came before him,” Biden said in a post on X Monday morning. “Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him. For decades, he served the most vulnerable across Argentina and his mission of serving the poor never ceased. As Pope, he was a loving pastor and challenging teacher who reached out to different faiths.”

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments later this month over what would be the first religious public charter school in the United States, in a case that finds Republican Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond at odds with his own party. 

While Drummond argues a “state-sponsored and taxpayer-funded religious public charter school” is unconstitutional, conservatives have rallied in support of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. 

“It’s no secret that parents want to educate their children in line with their values. And a public good shouldn’t be denied to anyone based on their religion. The outcome of this case will be revolutionary for religious liberty and education freedom, and Oklahoma is at the forefront,” a spokesperson for Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

As Stitt champions Oklahoma’s leadership in creating the first religious public charter school, Drummond has been steadfast in rejecting taxpayer funding for St. Isidore, arguing for the separation of church and state as outlined in the First Amendment. 

LGBTQ CHRISTIANS CRUSADE AGAINST TRUMP’S RELIGIOUSLY ‘HOSTILE’ POLICIES DURING HOLY WEEK

Last month, Stitt joined over 50 elected officials in affirming his support for the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board and St. Isidore, two cases that have been consolidated by the U.S. Supreme Court for review.  

SUPREME COURT POISED TO MAKE MAJOR DECISION THAT COULD SET LIMITS ON THE POWER OF DISTRICT JUDGES

Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Ted Budd, R-N.C., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the brief, the Republican senators flipped Drummond’s First Amendment argument on the attorney general, arguing Oklahoma violated the First Amendment by denying St. Isidore a charter because it’s a religious school. 

“Upholding the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act with the included exclusion of religious organizations would set a dangerous precedent, signaling that religious organizations are not welcome in public projects. This would not only violate the First Amendment, but it would also deprive society of the valuable contributions that these organizations make,” the Republican senators wrote. 

When asked by Fox News Digital why Drummond, who is campaigning to be the next governor of deep-red Oklahoma, is at odds with conservatives on the issue, Drummond’s communications director, Phil Bacharach, told Fox News Digital, in part: “AG Drummond doesn’t make decisions based on what other politicians think.”

“Attorney General Drummond isn’t guided by political pressure – he’s guided by the law,” Drummond’s gubernatorial campaign manager, Stephanie Alexander, added in a statement to Fox News Digital. “His constitutional duty is to defend Oklahoma statutes, and state law is clear: public funds cannot be used for religious indoctrination. As the state’s top legal officer, he’s fulfilling his obligation, and will ultimately abide by whatever decision the U.S. Supreme Court makes.”

The debate began in June 2023, when the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved St. Isidore’s contract request, which would have allowed public funding for the religious charter school for the first time. Drummond filed a lawsuit against the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board that October, and his position was later affirmed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. 

Stitt and Drummond have once again found themselves feuding over this landmark case, as the two continue a long-standing clash over policy and politics in Oklahoma, including debates over constitutional authority and local policy initiatives. 

Stitt, who serves as vice chair of the National Governors Association (NGA), is term-limited as Oklahoma governor in 2026. Earlier this year, Drummond announced his campaign for governor, running a conservative platform touting his leadership as attorney general against the “Biden Administration’s radical overreach” and promising to stand “strong with President Trump.”

A recently departed top Pentagon aide goaded President Donald Trump to remove Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from his Cabinet, describing “total chaos” and “dysfunction” within the top brass of the military. 

“The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president – who deserves better from his senior leadership,” John Ullyot, a former senior communications official for the Pentagon, wrote in an op-ed for Politico published on Sunday. 

“Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.”

Ullyot departed the Pentagon’s public affairs office last week because he did not want to be second-in-command to chief spokesperson Sean Parnell. 

AXED PENTAGON AIDES CLAIM THEIR CHARACTER WAS ‘SLANDERED,’ LITTLE DETAILS WERE SHARED ABOUT LEAK INVESTIGATION

On Friday, the Pentagon fired three Hegseth aides – Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick – three of the secretary’s “most loyal” advisers, according to Ullyot. He called the purge “strange” and “baffling.”

Following them out the door is chief of staff Joe Kasper, who the three men frequently found themselves at odds with, three defense officials confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

“In short, the building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership.”

He called himself a “strong backer” of Hegseth, but admitted: “The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon – and it’s becoming a real problem for the administration.”

The shake-ups came just as reports broke about a second Signal chat where Hegseth discussed plans to strike Houthis in Yemen, this one allegedly including his wife, brother and personal lawyer.

That chat reportedly discussed flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen – similar information to that shared in the chat of Trump Cabinet members where national security advisor Mike Waltz unintentionally added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. 

“Another day, another old story,” Parnell said in a statement after the latest Signal chat reporting. “There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.”

PENTAGON’S WEEK OF POWER STRUGGLES: LEAK FALLOUT AND SHOUTING MATCHES HIT HEGSETH’S INNER CIRCLE

“Unfortunately, after a terrible month, the Pentagon focus is no longer on warfighting, but on endless drama,” Ullyot wrote. 

“The president deserves better than the current mishegoss at the Pentagon. Given his record of holding prior Cabinet leaders accountable, many in the secretary’s own inner circle will applaud quietly if Trump chooses to do the same in short order at the top of the Defense Department.”

Trump allies eviscerated Ullyot on social media after the op-ed was published. 

“This guy is not America First,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X. “I’ve been hearing for years that he works his ass off to subvert my father’s agenda. That ends today. He’s officially exiled from our movement.”

“If you’re echoing Democrat talking points, you no longer support President Trump or his administration. There’s no gray area here,” added Trump advisor Jason Miller. 

The White House, meanwhile, “stands strongly” behind Hegseth, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday. 

“The President stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth, who is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon,” she said. This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change that you are trying to implement.”

Hegseth also brushed off the reporting on the Signal chat Monday, blaming it on “disgruntled employees” and “anonymous smears.”

“This is why we’re fighting the fake news media,” he said when pressed on the chat by reporters at the White House Easter Egg roll. “This group right here is full of hoaxsters.”

President Donald Trump is turning his attention to the U.S. shipbuilding industry, which is leagues behind its near-peer competitor China, and recently signed an executive order designed to reinvigorate it. 

Trump’s April 10 order instructs agencies to develop a Maritime Action Plan and orders the U.S. trade representative to compile a list of recommendations to address China’s “anticompetitive actions within the shipbuilding industry,” among other things.

Additionally, the executive order instructs a series of assessments regarding how the government could bolster financial support through the Defense Production Act, the Department of Defense Office of Strategic Capital, a new Maritime Security Trust Fund, investment from shipbuilders from allied countries and other grant programs. 

But simply throwing money at the shipbuilding industry won’t solve the problem, according to Bryan Clark, director of the Hudson Institute think tank’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology.

“It is unlikely that just putting more money into U.S. shipbuilding – even with foreign technical assistance – will make U.S. commercial shipbuilders competitive with experienced and highly-subsidized shipyards in China, Korea, or Japan,” Clark said in a Monday email to Fox News Digital. “In the near to mid-term, the government will need to also drive higher demand for U.S.-built ships.”

US RISKS PUSHING EUROPEAN ALLIES INTO CHINA’S ARMS WITH NEW TARIFFS, EXPERTS WARN 

Clark also said the executive orders appear to complement the SHIPS for America Act, a series of legislative measures introduced in December 2024 in both the House and Senate aimed at fostering growth within the U.S. shipbuilding industry and strengthening the U.S. Merchant Marine fleet that is capable of transporting military materials during times of conflict. 

Specifically, the SHIPS Act includes provisions establishing a Strategic Commercial Fleet Program, which would seek to develop merchant vessels that could operate internationally, but are American-built, owned and operated. The legislation would also seek to beef up the U.S.-flag international fleet by roughly 250 ships in 10 years. 

“If we implement the EO and the SHIPS Act together, the government would create incentives to flag and build ships in the U.S. and provide capital to the shipbuilding industry so it could meet the increased demand with greater efficiency and lower costs,” Clark said. “This will not result in the U.S. surpassing China, Korea or Japan as shipbuilders, but it would provide the U.S. more resilience.”

The U.S. is drastically behind near-peer competitors like China in shipbuilding. China is responsible for more than 50% of global shipbuilding, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, compared to just 0.1% from the U.S. 

However, Trump has indicated interest in working with other nations on shipbuilding, and suggested working with Congress to pass legislation authorizing the purchase of ships from foreign countries when signing the orders. Specifics were not provided. 

US RISKS PUSHING EUROPEAN ALLIES INTO CHINA’S ARMS WITH NEW TARIFFS, EXPERTS WARN 

But doing so could upend a century-old law known as the Jones Act – a controversial law fundamental to the current U.S. shipbuilding environment that requires that only U.S. ships carry cargo between U.S. ports and stipulates that at least 75% of the crew members are American citizens. It also requires that these ships are built in the U.S. and that U.S. citizens own them.

Proponents of the Jones Act assert it is key to national security and prevents foreigners from gaining entry to the U.S. But experts claim the law has significantly hampered U.S. shipbuilding, and is undercutting competition while keeping shipbuilding costs high. 

Efforts to repeal the legislation have failed amid bipartisan support in Congress. But some experts claim eradicating the law is a first step in changing the shipbuilding industry in the U.S. 

“Anyone who is serious about reviving the shipping industry should basically start by getting rid of the Jones Act,” Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, told Fox News Digital Thursday. “It’s not everything, but it’s a start.” 

Colin Grabow, an associate director at the Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies, said shipbuilding issues in the U.S. are multifaceted, but the Jones Act is a major part of the problem. Still, he doubts efforts to repeal it will prove successful. 

“I think the bar has been set so low, it is hard not to think that, absent the Jones Act, that we’d be doing any worse,” Grabow said. “And in fact, I think we’d do better. And why do I think we’d do better? It’s because… fundamentally, I think an industry that doesn’t have to compete will become uncompetitive. I think it’s just kind of axiomatic.” 

More than half a million immigrants failed to show up for their immigration court hearings under former President Joe Biden.

Between Fiscal Year 2022, the first full year of the Biden administration, and the end of December 2024, immigration judges issued more than 507,000 in absentia removal orders, or removal orders for those who failed to show up for their immigration hearings, according to an analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).

The number represented a 45% increase in such cases compared to the previous seven years under former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump’s first term, the analysis found, despite that period being more than double the timeframe.

ALITO BLASTS ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ SCOTUS MOVE TO HALT TRUMP’S VENEZUELAN DEPORTATIONS: ‘LEGALLY QUESTIONABLE’

“Those 500,000-plus no-shows are a symptom of the Biden administration’s effort to deliberately break our immigration system, and it will now take years to get that system back on track,” said CIS’s Andrew R. Arthur in the report.

At issue, according to Arthur, was the Biden administration’s “refusal” to detain illegal immigrants when they were initially encountered at the border by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), releasing the “vast majority” of them with a Notice To Appear in immigration court.

But such migrants are the most likely to skip out on court proceedings, Arthur argued.

“It is axiomatic under immigration law that aliens who aren’t likely to merit relief are less likely to appear in court if they are released — which is why Congress required DHS to detain the ones encountered by CBP at the border and the ports,” Arthur said.

ACLU APPEALS TO SUPREME COURT TO STOP VENEZUELAN DEPORTATIONS; BOASBERG HOLDS EMERGENCY HEARING FRIDAY NIGHT

Under current immigration law, immigrants encountered by CBP officers and Border Patrol agents that do not have proper admission documents are subject to expedited removal, which does entitle those immigrants to a hearing in front of an immigration judge, unless they show a credible fear of harm if they were to be returned to their country of origin, the CIS report notes.

Those subject to expedited removal are required to be detained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the report adds, something that was not happening under the Biden administration.

Such disregard for that rule led to “inevitable” results, Arthur argued, including the massive number of missed immigration court hearings.

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“The half-million-plus aliens who failed to appear in immigration court over the past four years are just one more inevitable result of the Biden administration’s refusal to comply with our immigration laws,” Arthur said. “They are a symptom of a deliberately broken system, one that will linger on the courts’ dockets for years to come.”

EXCLUSIVE: State Armor Action is releasing a new tool that will allow people to track anti-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) legislation across the country.

“China’s communist government targets American state governments in order to undermine our homeland security. Protecting the United States from the Chinese Communist Party requires working on the front lines in statehouses across the country to combat CCP aggression and oppression,” Michael Lucci, the founder and CEO of State Armor Action, told Fox News Digital.

The comment comes as Lucci’s organization, which aims to help U.S. states confront emerging global security threats, releases a new tracker that allows users to see all the legislation regarding China currently making its way through state legislatures.

TRUMP: CHINA CALLING ‘A LOT’ SINCE LAST WEEK’S TARIFF INCREASE, DEAL COULD HAPPEN AS SOON AS 3 WEEKS

According to the tracker, their organization is currently keeping tabs on 461 bills across the country aimed at addressing the threat posed by the CCP.

The tracker also keeps tabs on where those bills stand, with a graphic showing that 11 of the bills have been killed, 43 have been adopted, 25 have passed both chambers, 43 have crossed over from one chamber to another, and 339 have been introduced.

“State Armor Action’s legislation tracker will serve as a crucial tool in the fight against Communist China and its nefarious partners,” Lucci said. “The tracker will help educate policy leaders and inform the American public about the legislation that will stop the CCP across the country, and it will help spread legislative concepts between states.”

GORDON CHANG: TRUMP TARIFFING CHINA AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME FOR XI JINPING

The tracker contains graphics that track the party in control of each state government where bills have been introduced or enacted, while also displaying a U.S. map showing which states have the highest concentration of anti-CCP bills.

While the threat posed by China may traditionally be seen as in the sphere of the federal government’s control, Alex Gray, deputy assistant to the president and chief of staff of the White House National Security Council, told Fox News Digital that it is critical that states also set themselves up to combat China.

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“The Chinese Communist Party has its sights set on the states,” Gray said. “Now more than ever, we need state leaders to step up and harden themselves against Communist China. State Armor Action’s new China legislation tracker will help inform and educate leaders on legislation across the country, allow them to monitor progress, and make it easier to join the fight against the CCP’s encroachment in our homeland. State and local leaders can use the tracker to model their legislation based on other successful counter-CCP bills around the country. I urge all leaders to use this tool and help counter China’s malign influence.”

Four more Democratic lawmakers traveled to El Salvador to visit an illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member deported by President Donald Trump’s administration. 

Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, and Maxine Dexter of Oregon announced in a press release Monday that they had arrived in El Salvador “to pressure the Trump Administration to abide by a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.” The four Democrats described Garcia as “a Maryland man with protected legal status who was unlawfully deported by the Trump Administration.” 

Their visit comes after Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., flew to El Salvador last week to visit Abrego Garcia, who had been transferred from the country’s notorious mega prison, Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), in Tecoluca to the detention facility “Centro Industrial” in Santa Ana days earlier. 

DEPORTED ILLEGAL ALIEN AND SUSPECTED MS-13 GANG MEMBER TRANSFERRED FROM NOTORIOUS EL SALVADORAN MEGA-PRISON

In their press release, the four Democrats said their trip was not being financed by taxpayer dollars after House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., denied Garcia and Frost’s request for an official congressional member delegation (CODEL). They argued the Trump administration’s removal of Garcia constituted “kidnapping” or him being “disappeared” – a term used to describe abducted and murdered prisoners and dissidents during Argentina’s “Dirty War.” 

Meanwhile, Trump weighed in on Abrego Garcia’s case in another TRUTH Social post on Sunday.

“Radical Lunatic Democrats and their Comrades in the Fake News Media are falsely making Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia out to be a very sweet and innocent person, which is a total, blatant, and dangerous LIE,” Trump wrote. “Garcia has been found by two separate Courts to be a member of the violent, killer gang MS-13, was in our Country illegally, and is under a Deportation Order.”

“It is despicable and unAmerican for Liberals and the Mainstream Media to hate our Country so much, and be obsessed with protecting criminals, instead of working to keep our Border, streets, and families safe,” he added. “Those lying to the American People on behalf of violent criminals have to be held responsible by the Agencies and the Courts. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The four Democrats demanded the Trump administration bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States, arguing his deportation constituted a “constitutional crisis.” 

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, DEMOCRAT AT CENTER OF KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA SAGA, RESPONDS TO GRIEVING ANGEL MOM’S CRITICISM

“While Donald Trump continues to defy the Supreme Court, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being held illegally in El Salvador after being wrongfully deported,”  Garcia said. “That is why we’re here – to remind the American people that kidnapping immigrants and deporting them without due process is not how we do things in America. We are demanding the Trump Administration abide by the Supreme Court decision and give Kilmar and the other migrants mistakenly sent to El Salvador due process in the United States.”

“Donald Trump and his Administration are running a government-funded kidnapping program – illegally arresting, jailing, and deporting innocent people with zero due process. Kilmar Abrego Garcia is Trump’s latest victim,” Frost said in a statement. “As Members of Congress it is our responsibility to hold the President and Administration accountable for defying the constitution of the United States. Donald Trump and ICE are not above the law. Today it’s Kilmar, but tomorrow it could be anyone else. We cannot and will not let Donald Trump get away with this.” 

“My parents fled an authoritarian regime in Iran where people were ‘disappeared’ – I refuse to sit back and watch it happen here, too. Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s illegal abduction and President Trump’s complete disregard of due process and a unanimous Supreme Court ruling are deeply disturbing. We should all be appalled by this treatment by the United States government,” Ansari said.

“What happened to Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not just one family’s nightmare – it is a constitutional crisis that should outrage every single one of us,” Dexter said. “We will not rest while due process is discarded, and our constitutional rights are ignored.”

The Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia, 29, to El Salvador in what it described in court filings as an “administrative error,” and has since said that it is up to El Salvador whether Abrego Garcia returns to the U.S. Meanwhile, a federal court and the Supreme Court have instructed the Trump administration to coordinate Abrego Garcia’s return so that proper deportation hearings can occur. 

The Justice Department unveiled documents on Wednesday detailing domestic violence allegations that Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez, included in a court filing in 2021. Vasquez alleged in the filing that Abrego Garcia beat her and that she had documentation of the bruises he left on her.

Additionally, a 2022 Homeland Security Investigations report obtained by Fox News claims that Abrego Garcia was suspected of partaking in labor and human trafficking. The report said a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper pulled Abrego Garcia over in 2022 after swerving. The patrol officer found eight other individuals in the car with Abrego Garcia, who had just begun driving three days prior. 

The officer originally believed the incident qualified as a human trafficking case because no luggage was found in the car, but the officer ultimately only wrote up Abrego Garcia for driving with an expired license. 

Fox News’ Diana Stancy, David Spunt, Rachel Wolf and Greg Norman contributed to this report.