The largest police union in the country has issued an endorsement of key provisions of the President Donald Trump-backed “big, beautiful” budget bill.

National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President Patrick Yoes announced strong support for the bill on Wednesday evening, saying “the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ is more than legislation—it is a promise kept to the public safety officers across the country and a bold step toward an economy that respects, rewards, and uplifts the people who keep it safe.”

Yoes expressed strong support for two provisions in the bill, a tax deduction for overtime pay and an increase in the state and local tax (SALT) deductions, which the FOP said are important to the rank-and-file members of the 377,000-member organization. 

The FOP president praised the leadership of Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson for passing the bill in Congress.

DUFFY URGES SENATE TO PASS BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’S $12.5B AIR TRAFFIC SYSTEM FIX

The bill passed the House after an all-night debate last week in which Republicans squeezed out a victory in a 215-214 vote. The bill now faces significant opposition from Democrats and some Republicans in the Senate.  

“President Trump first proposed the elimination of Federal income taxes on overtime while still a candidate, and we are very pleased that a similar provision is included in the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,’” Yoes said. 

Regarding the bill’s increase in SALT deductions, the FOP praised portions of the big, beautiful bill that would create a tax deduction for income taxes on overtime earnings for those who earn less than $160,000 per year as well as increase the SALT deduction to $40,000 for all taxpayers earning less than $500,000 per year.

SALT deduction caps primarily benefit people living in high-cost-of-living areas like New York City, Los Angeles, and their surrounding areas. Republicans representing those areas have framed raising the SALT deduction cap as an existential issue, arguing that a failure to address it could cost the GOP the House majority in the 2026 midterms. 

BLUE STATE REPUBLICANS THREATEN MUTINY OVER STATE AND LOCAL TAXES IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Meanwhile, Republicans representing lower-tax states are largely wary of raising the deduction cap, believing that it incentivizes blue states’ high-tax policies. 

Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., told Fox News that he is hopeful the Senate would address the SALT deductions, positing that the provision would add $385 billion to U.S. deficit spending.

Yoes, however, said “the current cap on SALT deductions uniquely and unfairly penalizes law enforcement officers, who often are required to live within a certain distance of the jurisdictions they serve—removing a valuable mechanism that allowed for a reduction in their cost of living.”

SPEAKER JOHNSON REACHES TENTATIVE DEAL WITH BLUE STATE REPUBLICANS TO BOOST CAP ON ‘SALT’ DEDUCTION

He said the SALT deduction is also “a valuable way of supporting local budgets as law enforcement agencies are facing an array of financial challenges associated with inflated costs of equipment, vehicles, and personnel, especially with respect to the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis.”

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“These are critical provisions to ensure those in the law enforcement profession have a better quality of life,” said Yoes. “We appreciate that President Trump is always fighting for our nation’s law enforcement officers.”

President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is terminating awards totaling more than $750 million dollars that were provided to pharmaceutical manufacturer Moderna to help facilitate its production of mRNA-based bird flu vaccines. 

During President Joe Biden’s final week in office, his administration awarded $590 million to Moderna to help speed up its production of mRNA-based vaccines. The $590 million award followed a separate $176 million award Biden gave to Moderna earlier last year for mRNA vaccine technology.

Messenger RNA vaccines are a newer type of vaccine technology, which was utilized by companies like Moderna and Pfizer to develop their COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine technology was at the center of a lot of criticism amid the coronavirus pandemic for potentially being associated with adverse side effects in some people who took them, such as myocarditis.

MILITARY SPOUSE AND MOM OF 5 FIGHTS BACK AS VACCINE DISPUTE BLOCKS FAMILY’S PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION

Trump administration officials previously hinted at the potential that this funding could be terminated, citing a lack of oversight during the Biden administration pertaining to vaccine production. 

“After a rigorous review, we concluded that continued investment in Moderna’s H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable,” HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon said. “This is not simply about efficacy — it’s about safety, integrity, and trust. The reality is that mRNA technology remains under-tested, and we are not going to spend taxpayer dollars repeating the mistakes of the last administration, which concealed legitimate safety concerns from the public.”

TRUMP FDA OVERHAULS COVID-19 VACCINE APPROVAL TO FOCUS ON OLDER POPULATIONS, HIGH-RISK INDIVIDUALS

The announcement reflects a larger shift in federal vaccine priorities, after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced earlier this week that COVID-19 vaccines would be removed from the federal government’s list of recommended vaccines for children and pregnant women. 

Meanwhile, a report from Senate Republicans released earlier this month suggested the Biden administration withheld critical safety data and downplayed known risks tied to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. In particular, the Senate report focuses on HHS’ awareness of, and response to, cases of myocarditis — a type of heart inflammation — following COVID-19 vaccination.

“Rather than provide the public and health care providers with immediate and transparent information regarding the risk of myocarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration waited until late June 2021 to announce changes to the labels for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines based on the ‘suggested increased risks’ of myocarditis and pericarditis,” the Senate report states. “Even though CDC and FDA officials were well aware of the risk of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration opted to withhold issuing a formal warning to the public for months about the safety concerns, jeopardizing the health of young Americans.”

In response to the Trump administration’s funding termination, Moderna put out a press release acknowledging the move, but also touting the “safety profile” observed amid its work on a new mRNA bird flu vaccine.

“While the termination of funding from HHS adds uncertainty, we are pleased by the robust immune response and safety profile observed in this interim analysis of the Phase 1/2 study of our H5 avian flu vaccine and we will explore alternative paths forward for the program,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. “These clinical data in pandemic influenza underscore the critical role mRNA technology has played as a countermeasure to emerging health threats.”

A pair of human traffickers received sentences of 10 and 6.5 years on Wednesday following the deaths of an Indian family, including two children, who froze during a blizzard in 2022 while attempting to illegally cross the northern border into the U.S. from Canada.

Announcing the sentences, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim said, “The crime in many respects is extraordinary because it did result in the unimaginable death of four individuals, including two children,” according to AP.

The outlet reported that Tunheim said, “These were deaths that were clearly avoidable.”

This follows a jury in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, finding the two, Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, and Steve Shand, 50, guilty on four counts, including conspiracy to bring migrants into the country illegally.

Patel, who is an Indian national, received a sentence of nearly 11 years. Shand, a U.S. citizen from Florida, received 6.5 years with two years’ supervised release. AP reported that neither of the men showed any emotions as they received their sentences.

ICE IDENTIFIES JET SKI SUSPECTS IN AIR FORCE CADET CANDIDATE’S DEATH AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

This follows the 2022 deaths of Jagdish Patel, his wife, Vaishaliben, who were both in their 30s, and their children: daughter Vihangi, 11, and son Dharmik, 3, all of whom froze to death in January 2022 while attempting to illegally cross into Minnesota via an operation coordinated by Patel and Shand. The family members were not related to Patel.

The family was among 11 migrants in the same group who made the treacherous crossing to Minnesota that January. After only seven made it across, the family was found dead the next day by Canadian authorities. The seven others, determined to be Indian nationals, were stopped by U.S. Border Patrol in North Dakota near Minnesota.

Prosecutors said Patel, who was also known as “Dirty Harry,” organized the scheme, and Shand was the driver. Both men were involved in an international smuggling ring that helped Indians illegally cross the border.

A Wednesday statement by the U.S. Department of Justice said that the recorded wind chill temperature on the morning of the incident was -36 degrees.

AP reported U.S. prosecutor Michael McBride wrote the father died while trying to shield Dharmik’s face from a “blistering wind” with a frozen glove. Vihangi was wearing “ill-fitting boots and gloves,” and the mother “died slumped against a chain-link fence she must have thought salvation lay behind.”

TEXAS BORDER SHERIFF SAYS ILLEGAL CROSSINGS HAVE SEEN ‘DRAMATIC DECLINE’ AS CA MIGRANT CENTER SHUTS DOWN

The DOJ said that after being discovered with two aliens in his car, Shand claimed there were no others out in the snow. However, five more aliens emerged from the fields, including one suffering hypothermia who was airlifted to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Another human smuggler, who was part of the ring, testified during the trial that he had made more than $400,000 smuggling more than 500 Indian migrants across the U.S. border and that the migrants usually work low-wage jobs in the U.S. to pay off their debts to the smugglers, which can be as much as $100,000. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Commenting on the sentencing, Jamie Holt, special agent in charge of U.S. ICE Homeland Security Investigations St. Paul, said: “Today’s sentencing marks a crucial moment of accountability in a case that revealed the harrowing realities of human smuggling.”

ICE BEGINS NEW, NATIONWIDE EFFORT TO ARREST ILLEGAL ALIENS AT IMMIGRATION HEARINGS

Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick for the District of Minnesota added, “As we’ve seen time and time again, human traffickers care nothing for humanity.”

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“Every time I think about this case, I think about this family — including two beautiful little children — who the defendants left to freeze to death in a blizzard,” said Kirkpatrick. “I am proud of the work of our law enforcement partners in holding these defendants accountable for their unspeakable crimes.”

The Department of Homeland Security doubled down on Wednesday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member deported to his native country of El Salvador, “will never be on American streets again.”

The agency’s remarks came amid criticism from U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., who tried to visit Garcia on Memorial Day. Ivey initially posted a video on X about the attempted visit, saying that he represents Abrego Garcia, and that the Salvadoran government stonewalled his efforts.

MARYLAND DEMOCRAT IVEY FURIOUS NOT GIVEN ACCESS TO KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA IN EL SALVADOR

He urged Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday to present evidence in court that Garcia is an illegal immigrant. Democrats have maintained that Garcia was denied due process when he was deported despite being in the United States for years. 

“Let us be crystal clear: Kilmar Abrego Garcia will never be on American streets again,” a Homeland Security post on X states. “Advocating for an illegal alien, MS-13 gang member, human trafficker and wife beater over ACTUAL Maryland constituents victimized by illegal alien crime is appalling.”

Since his deportation, several Democrats have attempted to visit Garcia in the El Salvadoran prison where he’s being held to conduct wellness checks.  

DEM IMMIGRATION TALKING POINTS FIZZLE AS DARK PICTURE OF ABREGO GARCIA EMERGES

The Trump administration has pointed to evidence that Abrego Garcia was involved with MS-13 and human trafficking. It has also cited court documents detailing Abrego Garcia’s alleged physical abuse of his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura. 

Meanwhile, Democrats describe him as a “Maryland man” who was not given his due process in court before being deported. 

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“If there is nothing to hide, cut the crap. Let his lawyer and I check on him,” Ivey said in his video message. “I’m the congressman who represents Kilmar and I came all the way down from the United States after we contacted their ambassador, after we made formal requests through our ambassador to the El Salvadoran government, and we came here to visit him today.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Ivey’s office. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday the U.S. will begin “aggressively” revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.

“Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, the U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” Rubio wrote in a statement. 

The State Department will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.

JOHN MOOLENAAR: WE DON’T WANT A COMPANY THAT IS AFFILIATED WITH THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY

In March, House Republicans introduced the Stop Chinese Communist Prying by Vindicating Intellectual Safeguards in Academia Act, also known as the Stop CCP VISAs Act.

In an interview with FOX Business on May 12, Florida Senator Ashley Moody criticized providing visas to Chinese nationals.

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“How can we keep offering 300,000 student visas to Chinese nationals every year when we KNOW they are legally required to gather intelligence for the CCP? The answer is simple: we can’t,” Moody wrote in a post on X. “@StanfordReview’s report on CCP espionage on campus should shock everyone and verify what I have been saying. We need to pass my STOP CCP Visas Act to protect our national security.”

The Trump administration told a federal judge on Wednesday it is working to charter a plane to return to the U.S. an immigrant from Guatemala who was deported in March without due process and despite fears of persecution. 

The Justice Department said in a court filing Wednesday that they are working to return the individual, identified only as O.C.G., to the U.S. 

The update is significant, and marks the first known instance that the Trump administration appears to be complying with a federal court’s order to return to the U.S. a migrant who was deported in what administration officials have since acknowledged to be the result of erroneous information.

The news comes after U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts ruled last week that the man was deported to Mexico without due process and ordered that the administration secure his return to the United States.

Lawyers for the Trump administration told the court late Wednesday that ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Phoenix Field Office made contact over the weekend with O.C.G.’s attorneys, and is “currently working with ICE Air to bring O.C.G. back to the United States on an Air Charter Operations (ACO) flight return leg.”

US JUDGE ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF ‘MANUFACTURING CHAOS’ IN SOUTH SUDAN DEPORTATIONS, ESCALATING FEUD 

The update comes after Judge Murphy rejected a request from the Department of Homeland Security on Friday to amend his earlier order requiring the Trump administration to “take all immediate steps” to return the individual to the U.S., citing a lack of due process.

Murphy also stressed that he had not been given a chance to contest his removal to a country where he could face threats of torture. 

These “reasonable fear interviews” are afforded to migrants under U.S. and international law, providing them a chance to formally seek protection from removal, should they have reasonable fears of persecution or torture in that country.

Murphy noted in his ruling that O.C.G. was previously held for ransom and raped in Mexico, but was not afforded the chance to assert those fears prior to his removal, according to his attorneys. 

“In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped,” Murphy said Friday. 

“The return of O.C.G. poses a vanishingly small cost to make sure we can still claim to live up to that ideal,” he added.

This is a breaking news story. Check back soon for updates.

President Donald Trump has pardoned Connecticut’s former Republican Gov. John Rowland, who was convicted in two federal criminal cases, including one that contributed to his resignation

Trump also commuted the prison sentence for notorious Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover, a White House spokesman told Fox News Digital. 

Rowland was released early from federal custody in 2018 after his 2014 conviction for election fraud and obstruction of justice. That was his second stint in prison after his 2004 federal corruption conviction.

In July 2004, Rowland resigned less than halfway through his third term as governor instead of testifying before a special House Committee inquiry. He pleaded guilty that year to his role in a pay-to-play scheme that included $90,000 in luxury flights on Key Air, an Oxford, Connecticut-based airline, to Las Vegas and Florida.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES PARDON FOR TODD AND JULIE CHRISLEY AFTER REALITY TV STARS’ FRAUD, TAX EVASION CONVICTIONS

He served 10 months in federal prison and several months of house arrest in that case.

Trump also commuted the sentence of Larry Hoover.

Hoover, the co-founder of the Chicago gang Gangster Disciples, has been serving a life sentence at a supermax prison in Colorado.

TRUMP PARDONS FORMER VIRGINIA SHERIFF CONVICTED OF TAKING $75K IN BRIBES

He was originally imprisoned for a 1973 murder and later convicted in 1998 for operating a criminal enterprise. At the time of his 1998 conviction, Hoover was serving a 200-year sentence for the killing of drug dealer William “Pooky” Young.

He later renounced his criminal activities and sought a reduced sentence. It was unclear when Hoover would be released from prison. During a 2018 meeting with Trump, Kanye “Ye” West campaigned for Hoover’s freedom.

“So, it’s very important for me to get Hoover out, because in an alternate universe, I am him,” West said, according to a White House transcript of the meeting. “And I have to go and get him free because he was doing positive inside of Chicago, just like how I’m moving back to Chicago, and it’s not just about, you know, getting on stage and being an entertainer and having a monolithic voice that’s forced to be a specific party.”

Trump also pardoned rapper Kentrell Gaulden, the Louisiana-based artist known as NBA YoungBoy who was convicted of possessing weapons as a felon and released from prison earlier this year. 

Also pardoned were former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y.; Kevin Eric Baisden; Mark C. Bashaw; former reality television personalities Todd and Julie Chrisley; and Tanner Mansell and John Moore, who were both convicted of stealing fish gear in federal waters. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Democratic New York City mayoral candidate and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that, if elected, he would seek to raise the city’s minimum wage to $20 an hour by 2027.

“The businesspeople are going to say, ‘Oh, no, you can’t raise the minimum wage, because that’s going to slow the economy,” Cuomo said at a campaign rally, addressing prospective critics of such a plan. 

“Baloney – not to use another word.

FORMER NY GOV CUOMO HOLDS DOUBLE-DIGIT LEAD IN NYC MAYORAL RACE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

“Their pundits are going say, ‘Oh, it’s going be too hard to get it passed politically. The politicians are going to be afraid to get it passed,” the former governor added. “Well, I tell you this, they’re wrong. And you know how we know they’re wrong? Because we did it before, and we’re going to do it again.

“We raised it to $15, the highest minimum wage in the United States,” he noted, likely touting a law he signed during his second term as governor. “And what happened when we did it? The economy went up, not down. We protected small businesses with a tax credit.

“And if you had indexed that $15, you know what it would be today?” Cuomo posited. “Twenty dollars — that is the fair wage, and that’s what we want. And that’s what we’re going to get back.”

A public relations firm linked to the Cuomo campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

DOJ INVESTIGATING ANDREW CUOMO FOR ALLEGEDLY LYING ABOUT COVID DECISIONS, SOURCE CONFIRMS

The city’s minimum wage was raised twice in the past two years. In 2024, it was raised to $16 an hour from the $15 previously set in 2018, during Cuomo’s governorship. This year, there was another 50-cent increase to the current $16.50 an hour.

Cuomo leads a crowded Democratic primary field in his bid to become the Big Apple’s mayor, and he is most closely trailed by state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist.

The primary will be held June 24.

Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey is sounding off about her frustrations with ICE’s latest operations in her state, saying she found it “disturbing” to hear about the arrests of some 40 illegal immigrants in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

ICE, working with several other federal law enforcement agencies, conducted a series of immigration enforcement operations in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard on Tuesday. An ICE statement said “around 40” individuals were arrested as a result of the operations, including an MS-13 gang member and at least one child sex offender.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde said that “ICE and our federal partners made a strong stand for prioritizing public safety by arresting and removing illegal aliens from our New England neighborhoods” and that “operations like this highlight the strong alliances that ICE shares with our fellow law enforcement partners.”

Healey, however, took a very different tone about the operations. The governor said that “it was very disturbing, needless to say, to wake up to that news about that activity on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket,” according to the Boston Herald.

DEM GOVERNOR THREATENS TO USE ‘EVERY TOOL’ TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST TRUMP-ERA DEPORTATIONS

“Local police chiefs have zero information about what’s happening in their communities. We at the state level have zero information about what’s happening in communities. And that needs to change. We need to get answers. We need to get clarification from ICE,” said Healey.  

The outlet also reported Healey saying the arrests raised “real questions” about whether federal immigration authorities are complying with due process.

“It’s one thing to go after and target those who have committed crimes, who are here unlawfully,” said Healey. “It’s concerning when we see people, moms and dads, being ripped away from families. Neighbors, coworkers taken away, literally it looks like, on the way to job sites in Nantucket and on the Vineyard.”

Trump DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, however, told Fox News Digital that “ICE did notify local authorities about the enforcement operations.”

“Before the Governor criticizes our brave law enforcement, she should get her facts straight—apparently, she is the one with ‘zero information,’” continued McLaughlin.

AOC FUNDRAISES ON TRYING TO ABOLISH ICE AMID TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

“What we find ‘disturbing’ and ‘concerning’ is politicians like Massachusetts Gov. Healey fighting to protect criminal illegal aliens,” she continued, adding, “Our ICE officers will continue putting their lives and safety on the line to arrest murderers, kidnappers, and pedophiles that were let into our country by the Biden administration’s open border policies.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Martha’s Vineyard, which is a heavily affluent and deeply blue area, made headlines in 2022 when residents promptly removed the migrants being sent to the island from southern states like Florida and Texas.

After Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent two planes with 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in September 2022, the island activated the National Guard in response and released a statement calling the situation a “humanitarian crisis.” The 50 migrants were ultimately loaded onto buses two days after arriving and transported off Martha’s Vineyard to military housing on the Cape Cod mainland.

WHITE HOUSE RAGES AT HOUSE DEMOCRAT FOR ‘SHAMEFUL’ MEMORIAL DAY TRIP TO VISIT SUSPECTED MS-13 GANGBANGER

On Wednesday, Jon Fetherston, a former Massachusetts migrant-shelter director, told Fox News Digital that “it’s deeply troubling that Governor Healey finds the arrests of nearly 40 undocumented individuals on Cape Cod ‘disturbing,’ yet continues to refuse cooperation with federal agencies like ICE and ERO Boston—even when those agencies are targeting individuals with known criminal records.”

He continued, saying, “law enforcement was doing its job — removing people who pose a danger to public safety” and asserted that “the majority of the public— including right here in Massachusetts — supports the work of Tom Homan, ICE, and ERO because they understand that public safety must come first, regardless of political affiliation.”

“Even in one of the bluest states in the country, people expect their leaders to prioritize their safety over partisan agendas,” said Fetherston. “The real concern here should be the safety of our communities, not political optics.”

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

Just ahead of summer, the high season when military families are packing up for another round of having to relocate, known as permanent change of station (PCS) moves, the Pentagon is now signaling a dramatic shift in policy that could reshape military life for years to come.

The Department of Defense (DoD) recently released a memo ordering all military branches to update their PCS policies in an effort to slash relocation spending by half by fiscal year 2030.

The May 22 memo directs each service to focus on cutting discretionary travel for operational, rotational and training assignments.

“At approximately $5 billion annually, PCS moves are a significant expense,” the memo reads. “Lower-priority PCS moves should be reduced for Service members and their families seeking greater geographic stability.”

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

The directive mandates a staged budget reduction: 10% by FY 2027, 30% by FY 2028, 40% by FY 2029, and 50% by FY 2030, based on FY 2026 figures adjusted for inflation. 

Services have 120 days from the memo’s signing to submit implementation plans, including career model revisions that support long-term geographic stability.

In a briefing with reporters, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Tim Dill confirmed that the target is ambitious, but not final. 

“We want them to come back and tell us if that seems like the right number for them,” Dill said. “If they come back and say, well, this specific course of action could be harmful, then we don’t want to accomplish it.”

While the effort is framed as a cost-saving measure, the move comes as pressure mounts over quality-of-life issues facing military families. 

According to the 2024 active duty spouse survey, 32% of military spouses favor leaving the military altogether, a historic high for the biennial survey. Only 48% report being satisfied with military life, the lowest level in nearly two decades.

PCS moves are at the center of that discontent.

“We just reviewed the results of the 2024 active duty spouse survey, and we hear from them frequently about all of the concerns that are typically associated with PCS moves,” Dill said. “It’s clear that it’s time for the [DoD] to look at reducing the frequency of those moves, especially if we want to maintain the momentum that we have today both in recruiting and the retention of service members.”

PENTAGON TO CUT UP TO 60K CIVILIAN JOBS, BUT FEWER THAN 21K HAVE VOLUNTARILY RESIGNED

Dill stressed the wide-ranging disruption PCS causes: “Families have to go find a home, they need new arrangements for their children… and they’re displaced from the community of support that they’ve developed over the years in their previous duty station.”

He emphasized that the new PCS guidance is not about shifting hardship from families to single troops. 

“PCS moves affect everyone,” he said. “We just think we need to take the moves away from the families and put it on someone else — it’s for everyone.”

Still, Dill acknowledged that family experience weighs heavily on whether service members choose to reenlist: “If your family is not supportive of the service member staying in service, that’s a very high predictor of whether or not the service member will decide to stay. We want them to stay.”

MILITARY SPOUSE AND MOM OF 5 FIGHTS BACK AS VACCINE DISPUTE BLOCKS FAMILY’S PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION

The Pentagon estimates roughly 80% of PCS moves are discretionary. 

“What we’re directing the departments to do is purely to examine potential reductions in things that would be defined as discretionary,” Dill said. “If they see [a move] as mandatory for mission needs, we’re not even asking them to come back with a plan to reduce it.”

In a statement, Chief Pentagon Spokesperson and Senior Advisor Sean Parnell clarified that this initiative is separate from a broader PCS Task Force established to improve the efficiency of current moves.

“This initiative focuses on reducing the costs of PCS and is distinct from the Secretary’s direction to establish the PCS Task Force, which is focused on the timely and efficient execution of PCS moves,” Parnell said.

The PCS overhaul isn’t happening in a vacuum. 

It comes on the heels of a series of other cost-efficiency pushes at the DoD. 

In a statement issued May 23, Parnell confirmed that the department would be ending its much-criticized “What You Did Last Week” initiative, requiring civilian employees to report weekly accomplishments.

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First launched in February 2025 under Secretary of Defense guidance, the program was intended to “foster accountability.”

Parnell said the program would officially conclude May 28, and employees were asked in their final submissions to offer “one concrete idea to enhance efficiency or root out waste.”

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. 

Here’s what’s happening…

–Jeanine Pirro sworn in as DC’s interim US Attorney, pledging ‘no more mercy for criminals’

-White House sending $9.4 billion DOGE cuts package to Congress next week

-Federal judge refuses to reconsider order to facilitate deportee’s return to US

Republicans are ripping progressive New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for renewing her call to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a recent fundraising email. 

“I believe that ICE, an agency that was just formed in 2003 during the Patriot Act era, is a rogue agency that should not exist,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a fundraising email obtained by Fox News Digital. 

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, criticized the potential 2028 presidential candidate in an X post for fundraising on wanting to abolish ICE, a progressive rallying cry that rejects President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration…READ MORE

TRUMP CHECKS BIBI: Trump confirms he told Netanyahu to back off Iran strikes amid nuclear talks

LAWFARE CONTINUES: Obama-nominated judge allows lawsuit targeting Musk’s role with DOGE to proceed, drops claims against Trump

‘INTENSELY LOYAL’: ‘Intensely loyal’ Jill Biden aide despised by White House staffers, new book claims

‘NO EVIDENCE’: Watchdog finds ‘no evidence’ Biden knew of crucial climate EOs, demands answers on who signed autopen

ELIMINATED: Netanyahu says Israel has killed Hamas’ Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar

EXECUTION IN IRAN: Iran hangs a man convicted of spying for Israel

‘DOES NOT UNDERSTAND’: Russia says ‘Trump is not being sufficiently informed’ after calling Putin ‘absolutely CRAZY’

FIRST ON FOX: Rubio urged to punish Iraq with ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions for its ‘complete subjugation’ by Iran

NEPOTISM IN ACTION: Longtime Democrat senator’s daughter takes aim at Trump, Musk, RFK Jr, in launch for key House swing seat

BURGERS AND BARBS: Senate Republican campaign committee ‘grills’ Chuck Schumer on National Hamburger Day

DOCTOR’S ORDERS: A new law in this state bans automated insurance claim denials

TERROR AT THE BORDER: DHS video honors Marine killed by Mexican cartel, touts Trump’s crackdown on ‘terrorists’

US STRIKES BACK: Rubio announces visa restrictions for foreign authorities ‘complicit’ in censoring Americans’ free speech

ILLEGAL MIGRANT: Texas border sheriff says illegal crossings have seen ‘dramatic decline’ as CA migrant center shuts down

DESANTIS ON DOGE: DeSantis goads Congress to follow FL’s DOGE blueprint as Musk’s cuts still wait for vote

‘INACCURATE’ VOTER LISTS: DOJ sues North Carolina over voter rolls

BULLET POINTS REPEALED: Defense Department workers no longer required to submit DOGE’s weekly production reports

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