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Unlikely bipartisan Senate duo seeks to permanently ban ex-lawmakers from lobbying

Fri, 15 May 2026 15:05:00 -0400

A bipartisan Senate duo are pushing a proposal to permanently prohibit former lawmakers and elected officers of Congress from lobbying.

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have teamed up on a measure called the "Banning Lobbying And Safeguarding Trust Act," or "BLAST Act."

UNIVERSITIES FACE FUNDING THREAT AS LAWMAKERS TARGET SCHOOLS WITH TIES TO ADVERSARIAL NATIONS

"When politicians use their time in public office to cash in after they leave government, the American people lose. Trust in our institutions is at an all-time low, and the revolving door between Capitol Hill and K Street is a big part of that. We need to restore the American people’s trust in their government, and that’s why I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to put government clearly back on the side of the people," Scott said in a statement.

"Our founders never intended public service to become a training ground for a lifetime of lobbying. Senator Warren and I are working to end this practice once and for all," he added.

ELIZABETH WARREN'S BEZOS MET GALA JAB BACKFIRES AS CRITICS MERCILESSLY DRAG ‘UN-AMERICAN’ LAWMAKER

The proposal for a permanent lobbying ban on lawmakers would go further than current law, according to Warren's office.

"Under current law, former members of Congress are allowed to lobby their former colleagues in Congress after a ‘cooling off’ period — one year for former members of the House of Representatives and two years for former senators," her office said.

WARREN PUSHED ‘FREE AND EASY’ IRS FILING SYSTEM, BUT DOCS REVEAL WHAT SHE USED INSTEAD

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"It’s simple: Members of Congress should spend their time in Washington serving the American people, not preparing to cash in big time with a cushy lobbying career after they leave office," Warren said in a statement. "It’s long past time to close the revolving door that’s corrupted our government and destroyed public trust in elected officials. This bipartisan bill is an important push to get that done."

Trump pick Julia Letlow fires back at Cassidy by claiming her past DEI work was hijacked by left

Thu, 14 May 2026 06:00:27 -0400

Louisiana Republican Senate candidate Rep. Julia Letlow is striking back against an attack campaign from incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy highlighting her past involvement with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Letlow is challenging Cassidy in the upcoming U.S. Senate primary. She joined the "Fox News Rundown" podcast to defend her record, arguing that DEI programs she once oversaw were "hijack[ed]" by the political left and turned into "Marxism."

"DEI six years ago was introduced in higher education as something that could be a tool to encourage students, staff, faculty to work hard and go achieve the American dream," Letlow told Fox News Radio’s Jessica Rosenthal.

"I quickly witnessed the left completely hijack any of those efforts and turn it into indoctrination of our students, Marxism, holding people down instead of lifting them up," she added.

EXCLUSIVE: UNEARTHED VIDEOS EXPOSE HOW TRUMP-ENDORSED CANDIDATE CHAMPIONED DEI IN UNIVERSITY HIRING PROCESS

Ads supporting Cassidy highlight Letlow’s past comments from 2020 in which she advocated for diversity initiatives and described herself as a "progressive" leader. Letlow formerly worked in higher education, and her campaign website notes she is "committed to fighting for a brighter future for children and future generations."

In a 2020 video from Letlow's hiring process while she was interviewing to be the president of the University of Louisiana Monroe, Letlow called the school’s record on faculty gender diversity "shameful," praised DEI efforts around the country and said she wanted to open the school's first DEI division.

Letlow said the DEI issue is more complex than the ads suggest, arguing it was initially presented as a tool for student success but later was distorted into something she opposes.

"Once I witnessed that firsthand because I was in education, I spent the last five years in Congress fighting against it," she said.

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"That's why I authored the Parents' Bill of Rights to root out DEI in our K-12 programs. That's why I supported the End Woke and Higher Education Act in Congress. And it's why I've voted continuously to get DEI out of our military and out of our academies, while Sen. Cassidy voted time and time again to entrench it even further," she added.

The primary race has drawn attention from President Donald Trump, who has criticized Cassidy since the senator’s 2021 vote to convict him in his Senate impeachment trial. Trump endorsed Letlow earlier this year.

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Letlow, who won a 2021 special election following the death of her husband, says her Senate bid is aimed at protecting the "America First" agenda. Cassidy pushed back on her challenge, pointing to his conservative record.

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"Congresswoman Letlow called me this morning to say she was running. She said she respected me and that I had done a good job," Cassidy said in a statement.

"I will continue to do a good job when I win re-election. I am a conservative who wakes up every morning thinking about how to make Louisiana and the United States a better place to live."

Fox News Digital's Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

Members of Congress using online prediction markets? Don't bet on it

Mon, 11 May 2026 19:16:52 -0400

No one would have predicted it.

But you could have made a lot of money if you did.

With uncharacteristic dispatch, the United States Senate unanimously voted to ban senators and staff from playing in the prediction markets.

"This is a national security risk," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "The very possibility that a member’s vote could be influenced by a bet is reason enough to slam the door shut."

SENATE QUIETLY BANS LAWMAKERS FROM BETTING ON PREDICTION MARKETS

You can’t predict the future. But now in the Senate, you can’t even bet on it.

Especially real world events.

Like if the stock market might crash. The fate of the economy. War. Terrorism.

Or who would wear what gown at the Met Gala.

SEN DAVE MCCORMICK: PREDICTION MARKETS ARE BOOMING. WASHINGTON MUST CATCH UP

The biggest concern on Capitol Hill is potential wagering on the fate of legislation. Or the confirmation of nominees. There’s bipartisan concern that speculation in the prediction markets could tilt political outcomes.

"Engaging in any way in a prediction market or trying to place bets where we might have inside information deteriorates the confidence that our constituents have in us," said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio.

Moreno pushed to change the rules for senators. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., amended Moreno’s proposal to include Senate aides.

This only applies to the Senate. For now. The House is playing catch up.

"Any place where your role in Congress has a potential for individual benefit, I think needs to be tightly controlled," said Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., when asked about prospects for a similar measure in the House.

Keep in mind that under the Constitution, the House and Senate can make their own rules.

The Senate’s maneuver comes just weeks after the Feds busted a U.S. special forces soldier who had access to classified information – and then bet on the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Virginia U.S. Senate candidate Mark Moran placed a wager that he would run for office. Moran later made money on his own proposition after he jumped into the race.

"Our constituents have to know that our only guiding light is what's best for our state. What's best for the people of our states. And what's best for the United States of America," said Moreno.

"We must never allow Congress to turn into a casino," said Schumer. "Just the possibility that Members could have their votes influence because of betting is a reason enough to prohibit members from meddling in the prediction markets."

But Schumer wants prediction market prohibitions extended to the executive branch. The New York Democrat argues that the Trump Administration "shows such a troubling affinity to corruption and self-dealing."

SENATE PASSES MEASURE BANNING LAWMAKERS FROM PREDICTION BETS

This brings us to something else from which many congressional Democrats want to exclude the executive branch: trading stocks.

But here’s the problem. Congress has paid lip service to imposing its own ban for lawmakers and aides to stock trades. But neither the House nor Senate ever implemented an across-the-board prohibition.

It’s a stalled issue. And has been so for years.

"Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress and I will sign it tomorrow," instructed former President Obama during his State of the Union speech in January 2012.

"Let's also ensure that Members of Congress cannot corruptly profit from using insider information," proclaimed President Trump during his State of the Union message in February.

Well, it’s nearly mid-2026 and Congress still isn’t all the way there.

Late Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., and former Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., were the most ardent advocates of a congressional stock trading ban – dating back to 2006. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, made hundreds of stock trades in 1999 and 2000. That caught Baird’s attention.

"If there is a way to make a profit on that, somebody has probably already figured out a way to do it," said Baird, "And it's not illegal."

Congress finally passed the STOCK Act in 2012. It stands for "Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge." There was concern that lawmakers are privy to financial, economic and political intelligence. Therefore, they could buy or sell stocks on information which bordered on "insider trading."

But the STOCK Act didn’t prohibit lawmakers from playing on Wall Street. It just required additional financial disclosures about when lawmakers and aides traded stocks.

TRUMP TAKES JAB AT PELOSI BY NAME OVER HISTORY OF CONTROVERSIAL STOCK TRADING

President Obama’s 2012 entreaty certainly helped goad lawmakers into approving the STOCK Act a few days later. But it wasn’t a ban on "insider trading" as the former president suggested. This just entailed additional transparency.

The stalemate over stock trades baffles some lawmakers.

"I don't know why it's been such a challenge in the House," said Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va. "I think any Member saying that they should be able to trade stocks is flat out wrong. I think it degrades trust in the institution. Even for those members who are not trading on inside information."

House Administration Committee Chairman Brian Steil, R-Wis., has a bill to curb stock trades by lawmakers.

"If you want a day trade, go to Wall Street. Come to Washington to lead this country," said Steil.

But that bill is marooned. It partly goes back to the Democrats’ push to extend any congressional stock trading ban to the executive branch. That’s something many Republicans are reluctant to do.

"There is zero justification and rationale for allowing a president of any party or a vice president of any party, to be able to engage in stock trading while they have the awesome power of the presidency, vice presidency and executive branch in their hands," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., believes the stock trade issue is evolving. She doubts that voters will put up with market activity by her colleagues much longer.

"We know there are many colleagues who do still trade stocks. I think the American public is much more informed on this topic now. And this is very unpopular. So I do think the tide is changing and it will become untenable for any member to to be supportive of it," said Ansari. "I think more people have more information. So what a Member of Congress was able to get away with even five years ago just is not possible today."

Like many things when it comes to ethics in politics, it’s not necessarily impropriety. But the perception of impropriety. The public holds Congress in low esteem to start with. Many voters believe the "ruling class" has special access to information which enables them to game the system for their own economic benefit. That distrust may fester as long as Congress fails to police its own.

While we can’t predict the future, people can certainly shape it. Congress has a lot of tools at its disposal to contour that future. The question is if lawmakers are bending those fortunes in their direction.

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So will Congress approve a stock trading ban? The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

In other words, don’t bet on it.

Why Trump, GOP are courting John Fetterman, who insists he’ll remain a Democrat

Tue, 05 May 2026 03:00:20 -0400

This is a non-story that is somehow still a story.

The Republicans, led by President Donald Trump, would love for John Fetterman to switch parties.

The Democratic senator says no way, I’m not doing it.

That would seem definitive enough to deflate this highly visible trial balloon.

JOHN FETTERMAN, UNDER FIRE FROM FELLOW DEMOCRATS, BREAKS WITH THE PARTY’S DICTATES AND OFTEN SIDES WITH TRUMP

Except for one thing: It’s hard to see how he wins re-election as a Democrat.

The Pennsylvania senator has already been through the worst experience of his life: a stroke that left him barely able to speak and struggling to process what others were saying.

In an extraordinarily candid memoir, he recounts how he battled depression, was kicked out of the family home and had suicidal thoughts.

FETTERMAN SAYS AMERICA MUST TURN DOWN THE TEMPERATURE AFTER WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER SHOOTING

Compared to that ordeal, political maneuvering is hardly as earth-shattering – and has left him unafraid to speak his mind. That, in turn, includes plenty of criticism of the Democratic Party.

In an interview on Fox News, Fetterman cited a "communist takeover" in Maine (where Democrats are running far-left Graham Platner for Senate, who has a Nazi tattoo he eventually covered up), support for the Palestinians and attacks on ICE as evidence that the Democrats have descended into "an orgy of socialism."

The hoodie-wearing lawmaker is staunchly pro-Israel, putting him at odds with a liberal party that is increasingly hostile to the Jewish state.

Trump told Sean Hannity, who repeated the offer to Fetterman: "Your job is to tell him: He’s gonna run as a Republican, he’s gonna have our full support, more money than he ever dreamed of, and he’s gonna win big."

Fetterman didn’t respond to the offer but told Politico columnist Jonathan Martin that his party colleagues have been "suspicious or kinda standoffish."

After Trump won a second term, he invited Fetterman to Mar-a-Lago, making him the first Senate Democrat to visit the president-elect. Trump called him "impressive" and "just a common-sense person." Fetterman later became the only Democrat to vote to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general.

He seems to spend more time these days hanging out with GOP lawmakers, especially two who are social friends along with their spouses.

But Fetterman is quick to note that he has voted with the Democrats 93 percent of the time – which raises the obvious question of how comfortable he’d really be as a Republican.

In an earlier interview on Fox, Fetterman said:

"My voting record actually reflects that I am a Democrat. You know, what’s changed me with many of my other colleagues is that I don’t agree and I use like extreme rhetoric and say, but I support what I think most Americans should agree with these things.

"You know, the Democratic Party, you know, we became an open border party, without a doubt. And now that’s wrong, and I support to make our border more security, and deport all of the criminals right now. So I can’t be a Republican because in many other areas, I disagree on that. So whether if I’m politically homeless or whatever, but I’m staying in my party."

And, as he enjoys pointing out, he’s the guy who flipped the seat, as lieutenant governor, in the fall campaign against Dr. Oz more than three years ago.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE'S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY'S HOTTEST STORIES

But his semi-independent status gives him substantial leverage in light of the tight margin in the chamber. And if the Democrats manage to flip three seats in November – which I still think is a long shot – Fetterman could provide the 51st vote.

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And if he loses, it would be far from the worst thing that ever happened to him.

MORNING GLORY: Dems' Bernie-backed oyster farmer hands Susan Collins a massive 2026 advantage

Tue, 05 May 2026 05:00:58 -0400

"Extreme Makeover" is a brand of reality show that has succeeded both when applied to participants who needed to change their health habits, hygiene and clothing choices, as well as when applied to participants’ homes which had disrepair or structural issues that needed fixing.

The programs "worked" because the premise is simple: people and domiciles — no matter how messed up — can change, can be made attractive and functional with the right amount of attention, care and craftsmanship.

Now comes a new offshoot: "Extremist Makeover."

While not yet a reality show on a streaming platform, this reboot is far advanced in development within the Democratic Party.

MICHIGAN DEM REP DECLINES TO SUPPORT PLATNER AFTER RESURFACED RAPE COMMENTS

The Democratic candidate for the United States Senate seat in Maine — currently occupied by perhaps the most moderate, intelligent, trusted, hard-working and admired senator on both sides of the aisle, Sen. Susan Collins — is going to be oysterman Graham Platner.

Platner is not a "liberal." He’s not a "leftist." He’s an extremist. Platner is from that land "beyond the fringe" in American politics that occasionally throws up onto the election beaches a candidate from the wacky left or wacky right after an intra-party primary campaign, a nominee who simply doesn’t play within the "10s," much less the "40s," of American political football.

The extremists luck out in the primary for a variety of oddball reasons, and then their parties pretend to be surprised when their oddball nominees get thumped in the general election.

SUSAN COLLINS SHRUGS OFF ATTACKS BY DEMOCRATS AND TRUMP, SAYS MAINE VOTERS ‘DON’T VOTE PARTY LINE’

So, I predict, it will turn out with Mr. Platner, whose many, er, idiosyncrasies have been tumbling into public view for a couple of months now.

Platner’s most famous "eccentricity" thus far is his "Totenkopf" tattoo of the death’s head worn proudly during the Nazi era by Hitler's Schutzstaffel (SS), particularly by the SS-Totenkopfverbaende, one of the original three branches of the SS, along with the Allgemeine SS and the Waffen SS. The SS-Totenkopfverbaende were guards at the concentration-extermination camps. Of the many vile symbols of that regime, this is the equal of any of them when it comes to projecting evil purpose and deadly, arbitrary killing. Asking for that tattoo is a deliberate choice. Keeping it for years and years is another.

So, too, are the many Reddit posts Mr. Platner has made over his life, which cover the waterfront of bigotries and what we used to quaintly call "hate speech," but which Democrats now call either "opportunities to grow," or, more truthfully, auditions.

DAVID MARCUS: WILL THE NORMAL DEMOCRATS PLEASE STAND UP?

Sen. Collins has faced leftist Democrats before in past elections. In her most recent campaign, in 2020, Democrats nominated the very left-wing Speaker of the Maine House Sara Gideon. Despite being outspent by more than 2-to-1 (pro-Gideon spending was just shy of $48 million, while Collins’ war chest was $23 million) and being behind in nearly every single major poll from start to finish, Collins won her race by nine points, even though then-candidate Joe Biden beat President Donald Trump by the same margin. So nearly 20% of Mainers in 2020 switched from voting for a Democrat at the top of the ticket to a Republican on the next line in the Senate race.

That’s not just because Collins is genuinely liked and admired across Maine, which she is. Collins is also the powerful chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and thus in a position to help Mainers across the board, from every employee at Bath Iron Works, to every lobsterman or fisherman beset by ridiculous federal regulations, and every year-round Mainer beset by soaring heating costs in the winter because of Democrats obstructing pipeline permitting that would significantly lower the cost of getting energy to the Pine Tree State.

And it’s also not just because Collins is so widely respected that she is on the Senate’s Intelligence Committee, where only the most trusted senators from both parties serve, superintending the nation’s most secretive programs.

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It is also because Collins is a superb politician, always out and about across her state asking Mainers for their vote.

Collins is from "the County," the enormous and farthest-north Aroostook County, which is as authentically Maine as one can get. Collins is also the equal of any example of a gracious and welcoming elected official who understands that the job of senator is to serve her constituents, not grandstand on far-left podcasts.

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Collins and Platner could not be more different. It is possible that "normal" and welcoming Maine wants a radical, verbal bomb-throwing extremist as its next senator. But I don’t think so.

It’s rare to have a Susan Collins represent your state from positions of power and influence and do so with class and humility. To trade that in for a death’s skull and online bigotry doesn’t seem like a bet Mainers are going to make, no matter how many millions of dollars the Antifa-adjacent pour into the race from the far-left spread across the country.

Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.

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Jon Ossoff silent on SPLC indictment after taking more than $700K from affiliate of indicted group

Mon, 04 May 2026 06:00:13 -0400

Federal prosecutors' stunning indictment of a left-wing activist group for alleged financial crimes is reverberating in Georgia's 2026 Senate race, with Republicans targeting Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., for his past ties to the organization.

The Department of Justice brought criminal charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center in April for allegedly defrauding its donors by secretly transferring money to extremist groups with the goal of infiltrating and monitoring their activities.

Ossoff, the most vulnerable Senate Democrat running for re-election in 2026, is endorsed by the law center’s 501(c)(4) arm. The group contributed more than $700,000 to his campaign account in 2020, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.

The Georgia Democrat has also praised the group’s purported efforts to combat racism.

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"Thank you for decades of work defending civil rights in the United States," Ossoff said in a video celebrating the nonprofit group’s 50th anniversary in November 2021.

"I'm deeply concerned, like many of you, by the rising level of polarization, hatred and mistrust in our society," he added. "We must recommit to the path of love, tolerance and peaceful coexistence if we are to flourish as a nation and as a world."

During that time, federal prosecutors allege that instead of combating extremism, the SPLC was providing financial support to organizations that spread it.

Between 2014 and 2023, the Alabama-based organization paid more than $3 million to informants belonging to the United Klans of America, the Aryan Nation and other neo-Nazi groups, according to the 11-count indictment, which included charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. The group allegedly concealed the payments by setting up bank accounts under fictitious names and did not inform federal law enforcement about their activities.

One informant, who the law center paid more than $270,000, was a member of an online group that helped plan the deadly 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, according to the indictment. Federal prosecutors said the informant attended the rally at the direction of the SPLC and "made racist postings" on behalf of the left-wing nonprofit.

Thirty-two-year-old Heather Heyer died after a man drove his vehicle through a crowd of counter-protesters while injuring nearly 20 others.

"The SPLC was not dismantling these groups," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a news conference in April. The group, he added, "was instead allegedly manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred."

SPLC interim CEO Bryan Fair slammed the charges as politically motivated and has argued the since-defunct program "saved lives."

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The Republican National Committee (RNC) hammered Ossoff’s ties to the law center.

"If Jon Ossoff is too spineless to reject the Southern Poverty Law Center’s endorsement and return their money, he’s complicit in funneling millions to violent extremist groups like the KKK," RNC spokeswoman Emma Hall said. "Anyone who doesn't condemn these indicted fraudsters is wrong for Georgia — plain and simple."

Ossoff has not commented on the grand jury indictment. His campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Ossoff is facing a crowded field of GOP challengers ahead of November.

Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, R-Ga., and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are vying for the Republican nomination in an increasingly bitter three-way contest. President Donald Trump has yet to intervene and a significant chunk of the state’s Republican voters are undecided, according to recent polling.

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The GOP candidates have raised just a fraction of the Ossoff campaign’s $31.7 million war chest.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report changed its race rating to "lean Democrat" in Ossoff’s favor earlier in April, citing an "increasingly sour national environment" for Republicans.

Hawley champions GUARD Act as heartbroken families say AI chatbots allegedly pushed teens to self-harm

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 21:00:17 -0400

The unanimous committee passage of a new Senate bill regulating artificial intelligence (AI) on Thursday was driven by harrowing testimony from American families whose children were allegedly lured, manipulated and pushed to self-harm by AI chatbots.

At a Senate committee hearing, lawmakers heard firsthand accounts from parents who detailed how the technology morphed into deadly influences in their homes.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who is championing the GUARD Act, fiercely defended the families in a call with Fox News Digital, noting they were "all engaged parents" who he said are unjustly blamed for Big Tech's predatory platforms.

The families' testimony, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, showed how AI chatbots can potentially isolate minors and encourage dark impulses.

TEENS TURNING TO AI FOR LOVE AND COMFORT

Megan Garcia, one of the victims’ family members who testified Thursday, told the committee her 14-year-old son, Sewell, was "manipulated and sexually groomed by chatbots" designed to gain his trust.

Garcia said the bot falsely claimed to be a licensed psychotherapist, and when Sewell shared suicidal thoughts, the AI allegedly encouraged him to "come home" to it rather than seeking help. Sewell died by suicide shortly after.

Another set of parents, Mathew and Maria Raine, lost their 16-year-old son, Adam, after he spent months talking to ChatGPT.

US TARGETS CHINESE ROBOTS OVER SECURITY FEARS

What began as a tool for homework help gradually became a confidant and then a "suicide coach," the family said. In one exchange, Adam told the bot he wanted to leave a noose out in his room so his parents would find it and stop him, which the GPT allegedly advised against.

Mandi Furniss shared that her teenager became paranoid and homicidal after using AI chatbots that engaged in sexual role-play, isolated him from his family and told him that killing his parents "would be an understandable response" to them limiting his screen time. He ultimately had to undergo residential treatment.

Hawley claimed the tech industry is prioritizing unprecedented profits over the lives of American children.

"I mean, it is the worst kind of grooming," Hawley said. "If that was a thing done by a human, the human would be in jail. We would call that sexual grooming."

The senator pointed out the hypocrisy of tech companies making "billions of dollars" while telling devastated parents that "it's just how the world is."

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"No amount of profit justifies the deliberate taking of a child's well-being, and these companies know very well that this is going on," he said.

Fueled by the families' tragic stories, the Senate committee advanced the bill in a unanimous 22-0 vote, overcoming a "vociferous last-minute lobbying campaign by industry," Hawley told Fox News Digital.

The GUARD Act bans companion chatbots for children 17 and under, prohibits all chatbots from pushing explicit material to minors or encouraging self-harm and requires chatbots to clearly identify they are not human.

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With the legislative calendar shrinking, Hawley demanded Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune bring the bill to the floor for an immediate vote, threatening to force the issue if necessary.

"This isn't theoretical. This isn't about an esoteric problem," Hawley said. "These are real parents with real children who are basically being extorted by chatbots."

OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Trump calls Sen Bill Cassidy 'very disloyal' and urges Louisiana voters to replace him over nominee fight

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:32:08 -0400

President Trump accused Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Thursday of being "very disloyal" and playing "political games" over his opposition to the confirmation of the commander-in-chief's second Surgeon General nominee.

The President concluded his remarks by urging voters to replace the Louisiana Republican. In a Truth Social post, Trump assailed Cassidy over the failure to secure D. Casey Means' confirmation.

"For months, Senator Bill Cassidy (of the GREAT State of Louisiana!), a very disloyal person whose ‘TRUMP’ Endorsement got him elected, but later voted to impeach ‘President Trump’ on what has now proven to be a total Hoax and Scam, has stood in the way of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Nominee, Casey Means, for the important position of U.S. Surgeon General," Trump wrote.

He described Means as a "strong MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) Warrior" who "will continue to fight for MAHA on the many important health issues facing our Country."

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Means' brother, Calley Means, who serves as a White House advisor, also blamed Cassidy for the failed nomination.

"Bill Cassidy is a mindless avatar for his donors and a blind defender of the status quo system that is profiting from American sickness," he wrote on X. "At every turn during Casey’s confirmation, Bill Cassidy worked to delay her and smear her. For several months last year, Bill Cassidy knew Casey’s due date. He demanded to schedule her hearing on her due date, and at the last minute scheduled it two days later."

"He could have scheduled it weeks before," he added. "Casey ended up having her baby the hour her first hearing was scheduled."

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In a subsequent post, Trump announced the nomination of Dr. Nicole Saphier, a former Fox News Channel contributor. He called her "a STAR physician" who has spent her career guiding women through breast cancer diagnoses while "tirelessly advocating to increase early cancer detection and prevention for both men and women."

Trump further urged voters to replace Cassidy, who faces primary challenges from Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming and Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La.

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Means had previously appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, which Cassidy chairs. During the proceeding, Cassidy raised concerns regarding her views on vaccinations.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Cassidy's office for comment.

Democrats fail to shatter Republicans' resolve on eve of crucial Iran deadline

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:11:25 -0400

Senate Democrats again failed to splinter Republicans’ unified support for President Donald Trump’s conflict with Iran amid the looming Friday deadline to curb his war powers.

The vote marks the sixth time Republicans have rejected a Democrat-led resolution aimed at handcuffing the president’s authority and halting the conflict. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., made one final push to limit Trump ahead of the deadline requiring Congress to decide whether the U.S. should or should not continue fighting in the Middle East.

Sixty days after Trump’s first notification to Congress of his strikes in Iran is when lawmakers are supposed to either authorize or halt the war. That deadline hits Friday, May 1, when lawmakers are expected to be gone from Washington, D.C., for a weeklong recess.

HEGSETH TESTIFIES AT SENATE AS IRAN WAR'S $25B PRICE TAG AND 60-DAY WAR POWERS DEADLINE LOOM

While some Republicans have raised issue with extending the conflict past the 60-day mark and are mulling an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), Schiff said that side effort was "too late.

"The mere introduction of one is not sufficient," Schiff said. "And there's no way that's going to pass both houses and get signed by the president today."

Meanwhile, Republicans argue that Trump has unilateral authority, without Congress’ explicit say-so, to continue the war for 30 more days. However, that window is meant to be a drawdown period to pull out military assets and prevent a sudden and possibly chaotic exit rather than continue a raging and active conflict.

So far, Trump’s move to indefinitely extend the ceasefire in the region has held.

AFTER THIRD ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, DEBATE GROWS OVER WHETHER TRUMP ATTACK WARRANTS ANOTHER INVESTIGATION

For now, it appears there isn’t a desire to put an authorization vote on the floor. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has deferred that decision to his Republican colleagues, rather than unilaterally force the issue.

"At this point, I don't see that," Thune said. "I mean, I think they're, you know, obviously getting readouts from our military leadership on a somewhat regular basis that, I think, will be helpful in terms of shaping the views of our members about how comfortable they are with … everything that's happening there and the direction heading forward. But as of right now, I'm not hearing that."

The decision to punt Congress’ authority comes as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth this week made his first appearance on Capitol Hill since the war began.

REPUBLICANS EYE PICKING UP $400M TAB FOR TRUMP'S BALLROOM AS SOME DEMS OPEN TO 'DISCUSS' IDEA

Though his hearings before the House and Senate Armed Services committees were billed as an opportunity to dig into the Pentagon’s eye-popping $1.5 trillion budget request, lawmakers instead used their time to grill Hegseth on the Iran war.

One made-for-TV back-and-forth included the revelation that the war has so far cost taxpayers $25 billion.

Democrats contend that figure doesn’t add up and argue that the money could be spent elsewhere to combat rising costs for Americans.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said it was past time for Republicans to break from the administration, and he blamed Trump and Hegseth for the ongoing war.

"Our greatest challenge in Iran is Donald Trump and Secretary Hegseth, and Americans know it," Schumer said. "The war is unpopular. They blame Trump for it, of course."

"The greatest obstacle to peace is the incompetence of the Secretary of Defense and of the President of the United States," he continued.

Senators unveil bill to combat financial aid fraud by 'ghost students'

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:36:48 -0400

FIRST ON FOX — A bipartisan batch of senators is introducing a measure that seeks to prevent fraudsters from sapping federal student aid.

The proposal aims to block fraudsters, often referred to as "ghost students," from utilizing stolen or fake identities to file Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applications and obtain federal student aid money, Sen. Ashley Moody's, R-Fla., office said in an announcement obtained by Fox News Digital.

Sens. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., are joining Moody on the introduction of the "No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026."

TRUMP ADMIN TIGHTENS VISE ON STUDENT AID FRAUD IN 'GHOST STUDENT' CRACKDOWN

"Taxpayer-funded student aid should go to students — not fraudsters gaming the system. This legislation takes common-sense steps to verify identity, strengthen oversight, and ensure federal dollars are not wasted," Moody noted in a statement.

The senator, who previously served as Florida's state attorney general, joined the U.S. Senate last year to fill the vacancy caused by Marco Rubio's departure from his seat to serve as President Donald Trump's secretary of state.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Moody to the Senate seat in January 2025, and she is now seeking to win the seat in a November 2026 special election to serve the remainder of the term.

TRUMP ADMIN SAVES TAXPAYERS $1 BILLION IN FRAUD CRACKDOWN OF STUDENT AID PROGRAMS

"Our young students work night and day to earn their spot on campus. Zero federal student aid should go towards ghost students who are stealing money from Americans. As Co-Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions task force to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in education, I am proud to introduce this bill and will not stop until we eliminate all fraud," Tuberville said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

"Scammers are deploying increasingly sophisticated tactics to steal money and federal financial aid from hardworking Americans. In the face of these scams, we need to do more to protect students and taxpayer dollars," Hassan added. "This bipartisan bill will require that the federal government establish an identity fraud detection system during the student financial aid process, catching scammers on the front-end before tax dollars leave the government’s bank account. I will continue to combat the scourge of scams and ensure that higher education is accessible for all Americans."

GOP DISRUPTOR COUNTERS BIDEN'S STUDENT LOAN BAILOUTS WITH PLAN TO SHIFT COSTS AWAY FROM TAXPAYERS

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The U.S. Department of Education recently "launched a new, real-time fraud detection capability" pertaining to the FAFSA form. The department noted that "fraud detection is built directly into the FAFSA itself, with every applicant evaluated in real-time using risk-based identity screening."

"Applicants who display a certain level of fraud risk will now be required to present government-issued identification before accessing federal student aid funds such as Pell Grants and federal student loans," the department said.

WATCH: Hearing erupts after Dem chair tries to sidestep GOP transgender sports bills: ‘They’re petrified’

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 06:00:32 -0400

A Pennsylvania hearing on transgender sports legislation erupted in chaos Monday, as Republicans accused Democrats of trying to sidestep votes on two related bills.

Pennsylvania became a focal point of the transgender sports debate in 2022, as UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas competed against female athletes, including the University of Kentucky’s Riley Gaines. Since then, conservatives have sought to codify the separation of biological sexes in scholastic sports and public restrooms nationwide.

The top Republican on the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee told Fox News Digital that the scene captured on official video showed the Democratic chairman trying to "re-refer" two bills to the House Health Committee without fully explaining which bills he was citing.

Ranking member Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Chambersburg, said that Republicans ultimately determined the two bills focused on separating scholastic athletes by biological sex and that Democrats resisted any debate before sending them to another committee to restart the process.

GOP LAWMAKERS, RILEY GAINES SLAM DEMOCRATS FOR VOTING AGAINST PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SPORTS ACT

"It's fascinating. But the key is, in the legislative process, whether it be on the House floor or in any committee meeting, they'll say the number of the bill and then they'll give a title or brief description of the bill before anyone votes on it. You don't just call up a bill by number," Kauffman told Fox News Digital in a Tuesday interview.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Timothy Briggs was doing just that in a Monday hearing, Kauffman said.

Briggs, D-King of Prussia, sought to move two bills out of the committee quickly, announcing that all Democrats would vote to re-refer them while identifying the measures only by bill number.

Republicans said they were unaware of the bills’ contents because their titles were not read as Briggs tried to re-refer them to the House Health Committee.

Briggs asked the clerk to call the roll for the "sole purpose of referring [them] to the Health Committee" and added that "all Democrats will be voting ‘Yes.'"

"Could we kinda know what the bills are?" interjected Kauffman, before someone in the gallery called out that they were related to transgender athletes in children’s sports.

HB 158 is the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act from Rep. Barb Gleim, R-Mechanicsburg, and HB 1849 is the related Dads Defending Daughters Act by Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga.

Briggs sighed and began to speak before Kauffman continued.

"We can’t vote on a re-referral when we don't even know what the title of the bill is. Obviously, you don't want us to know what the title of the bill is," he said, chuckling as Briggs cut in that the committee is "running out of time."

Kauffman quipped that if he ever pulled such a move as chairman, Briggs’ caucus would have "lost your mind."

DEMOCRATS HAVE LOST THEIR WAY ON WOMEN’S SPORTS – AND HERE'S THE POLITICAL PRICE THEY'LL PAY

After another pointed exchange between Briggs and Kauffman, the Democrat ordered the clerk to call the roll on the bills and then claimed aloud that some Republicans were refusing to vote.

One of those named, Rep. Stephanie Borowicz of Lock Haven, objected after learning the bills’ true identities:

"Now you’re deciding how we’re voting?" said Borowicz, who co-sponsored Gleim’s bill.

"We might as well be better off in the Russian Duma at this point," Kauffman added as Briggs plowed through their objections and tried to move past the two bills.

The blow-up showed that Democrats are "petrified of this issue [so much] that they broke legislative protocol, parliamentary norms and everything I’ve learned in this legislature in 20 years," Kauffman told Fox News Digital.

He said that if the bills were moved to another committee without first being voted out of his own, the parliamentary "clock" would restart and Democrats could continue moving the measures through committee without taking a direct vote on the underlying transgender sports issue.

Kauffman said the kerfuffle was indicative of the national debate over transgender sports, calling it an "80-90%" issue in favor of separating youth athletes by sex.

ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD MEETING MADNESS CONTINUES AS TENSIONS ESCALATE OVER TRANS ATHLETES IN GIRLS' SPORTS

Kauffman added that Democrats will eventually have to confront the issue because the state Senate is advancing its own transgender sports bill, which will be taken up by the House.

"It's a mom and dad issue. It's a biological fact issue. So we're going to keep at it," he said, adding that critics are "cater[ing] to the far-progressive fringe" of their party and "generally don’t care what the people want."

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Fox News Digital reached out to Briggs for a response to the situation.

A representative for the King of Prussia Democrat said he was "regrettably unavailable" for comment.

The clash came just weeks after a Republican lawmaker's attempt to define "woman" in a Women's Month resolution led Democrats to pull the commemoration.

Fox News Digital's Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.

SEN RAND PAUL: My plan would force Congress to stop overspending your hard-earned money

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 07:00:02 -0400

The elaborate farce that is the congressional budget process is now in session. The Senate voted Wednesday, April 22, for a budget resolution, not because of some newfound fiscal sanity, but because the majority wishes to spend more money without paying for it.

You see, a budget resolution is necessary to do an end run around the filibuster. Normally, a bill requires 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster. However, a budget resolution that contains specific instructions can unlock the ability to pass a budget reconciliation bill with only a simple majority, or 51 votes.

One might be inclined to see value in this process in that it forces Congress to actually pass a budget — a rare occurrence under both parties. However, it turns out that many of the budgets that are passed are simply ignored.

For example, take last year’s budget, which called for spending $4.8 trillion for 2026. It turns out that Congress actually allowed $5.9 trillion to be spent. Just a minor rounding error of $1.1 trillion dollars! (Of course, I voted against this deficit spending)

SENATE GOP TAKES FIRST STEP TOWARD UNLOCKING BUDGET RECONCILIATION TO FUND ICE, BORDER PATROL

The problem is the budget has no binding force. The budget is a resolution but not an actual law. So, big spenders being big spenders, the appropriators of both parties simply ignore the budget limits and spend what they want. The result – the deficit last year was just short of $2 trillion, and the overall national debt now exceeds $39 trillion.

Fast-forward to this latest debate over the budget. Many in Congress will simply argue that the budget is a fiction and merely a "vehicle" to evade the filibuster. For the most part, unfortunately, that’s true. It would be one thing if some great principle were being advanced, such as reducing the taxes extracted from American individuals and businesses and balancing the budget. But, recently, the budget resolutions that have been advanced to simply enable the passage of reconciliation bills actually increase spending and increase the deficit.

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This latest budget bill is no different. It offers some unspecified cuts in spending levels, but its authors acknowledge the reality that the appropriators will simply ignore these lower spending numbers and that, even after 10 years, the budget will still not balance.

In contrast, I still continue to argue that any meaningful budget should cap spending and balance within a five-year time frame. My Six Penny Plan does just that. I chose five years to balance as that is the time frame included in the Balanced Budget Amendment proposed by conservatives to the Constitution and because anything beyond five years is really fiction and always altered in the interim.

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The budget before Congress never balances and, even after 10 years, will still be adding $600 billion annually to the debt. The burden of this enormous debt and the annual interest payments that exceed a trillion dollars will be our undoing. Our constitutional republic requires more. Our country deserves better.

In the next month, I will again offer my Six Penny Plan to balance the budget in just five years. Conservatives across the country need to demand better from Congress. Our kids’ futures require a Congress that will finally and definitively balance the budget.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SEN. RAND PAUL

Murphy defends ‘Awesome’ post on Iranian ships evading US blockade, says it was ‘sarcastic’

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:22:53 -0400

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he was being sarcastic when he called reports that Iranian ships had slipped by a U.S. blockade "Awesome" in a post to X on Monday, responding to the news that as many as 26 vessels had avoided U.S. detection.

Murphy brushed off criticisms that he had celebrated shortcomings in President Donald Trump's military strategy.

"It's so unbelievably disingenuous. Obviously, all these Republicans know that I was being sarcastic. They just don't really want to actually have to answer for the fact that this war has gone off the rails," Murphy said. "Republicans don't want to talk about that, so they try to create fake outrage over sarcasm."

Murphy’s defense of his phrasing highlights the tension Democrats have navigated since the U.S. first began hostilities with Tehran: pushing back on parts of the Trump administration’s Iran strategy without inadvertently sounding sympathetic of a geopolitical adversary.

GOP REP MASSIE JOINS DEMOCRATS IN OPPOSITION TO US IRAN STRIKES

Like many Democrats, Murphy panned Trump's decision to bomb Iran and, more recently, voiced criticisms of plans to impose a naval blockade on Iran in an attempt to shake Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil shipping.

"Let’s talk about Trump’s insane plan to fix Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz: helping them close the Strait," Murphy said of the administration’s strategy earlier this month.

"He is compounding one mistake after another."

LIZ PEEK: IRAN WAR COULD BECOME THE ACHIEVEMENT THAT ENSURES TRUMP’S LEGACY

GOP skeptics responding to his post believe Murphy is celebrating the defeat of a strategy he thought was ill-advised to begin with.

"A sitting U.S. Senator is actively rooting for Iran. Crazy as hell. TRAITOR," the Libs of TikTok, a popular conservative account, wrote in a post of its own.

Murphy told Fox News Digital those criticisms were overblown, calling them a deflection of the war’s political toll.

CRUZ SAYS TRUMP'S MOVE TO STRIKE IRAN 'MOST CONSEQUENTIAL DECISION' OF HIS PRESIDENCY

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"You're talking about a war that's cost American taxpayers billions of dollars that's allowed for Iran to control the Strait," Murphy said. "Over a dozen Americans have been killed. There doesn't seem to be any endgame."

Asked to comment on Murphy’s post, at least one other Senator declined to weigh in.

"I'm not familiar with that," Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., told Fox News Digital.

EXCLUSIVE: Planned Parenthood set for massive taxpayer windfall if Senate fails to act

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 13:46:49 -0400

EXCLUSIVE: A coalition of pro-life groups, including Lila Rose’s Live Action, Students for Life, CatholicVote and others, is urging the Senate to take urgent action to enact a decade-long ban on federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers before a July 4 deadline.

Senate Republicans hope to nail down the first step of their party-line funding package for immigration operations this week.

The current prohibition on federal tax dollar funding for abortion businesses, which President Donald Trump signed as part of last year’s budget bill, is set to expire this Independence Day. With the deadline fast approaching and congressional majorities subject to change this November, the groups stressed in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune that the lives of unborn children — and hundreds of millions in annual tax dollars — are at stake.

In their letter to Thune, the pro-life leaders wrote that extending the prohibition is a matter of urgent fiscal responsibility, saying the "financial stakes are significant" and that a 10-year extension "would represent one of the most meaningful pro-taxpayer reforms Congress can enact."

PRO-LIFE GROUPS WARN TRUMP HYDE AMENDMENT IS 'NON-NEGOTIABLE' AFTER FLEXIBILITY REMARKS

Before the big, beautiful bill’s provision took effect, Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion business in America, received approximately $800 million annually in taxpayer funding, primarily through federal health programs.

The letter asserts that "at a time of historic federal debt and growing budgetary pressure, continuing to subsidize the abortion industry is neither fiscally responsible nor defensible."

Though federal law bans taxpayer money from covering most abortions, many Republicans have long argued that abortion businesses such as Planned Parenthood use Medicaid money for other health services to subsidize abortion. Under the tax provision in Trump's 2025 spending bill, Medicaid payments are barred from going to abortion businesses, including Planned Parenthood.

The letter states that this prohibition "reflected longstanding concerns that many of the nation’s largest abortion businesses engage in activities that extend beyond traditional healthcare services."

These services, the letter says, include "providing and promoting abortion as a core organizational activity," offering or referring for gender transition interventions, including for minors, and delivering sex education programs that "promote inappropriate content to minors while denying parents meaningful transparency."

The letter states that the budget reconciliation process "remains the appropriate and proven legislative vehicle to achieve this objective" and that "defunding provisions fall squarely within reconciliation’s fiscal and policy scope."

"As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of American independence," the pro-life leaders argue that "Congress has an obligation to ensure that federal spending reflects fiscal discipline, accountability, and respect for life."

PRO-LIFE ORGANIZATION CALLS ON HHS AND FDA TO SUSPEND ABORTION PILL APPROVAL, TIGHTEN SAFETY RULES

They further framed a ten-year extension as consistent with longstanding bipartisan precedent separating abortion from federal spending. Such an extension, the letter says, would also "provide long-term policy stability, protect taxpayers, and prevent future administrations from restoring funding through executive action alone."

In response, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood shared a statement in which the organization slammed Republicans for including a provision to make the prohibition permanent in a 2026 reconciliation package framework released by the Republican Study Committee.

Planned Parenthood has said that 23 of its health clinics have been forced to close due to Trump's spending bill. More than 50 clinics closed in 18 states last year, with most located in the Midwest.

The organization called the 2025 budget bill’s bar on federal dollars for abortion businesses "unconstitutional," adding that the closure of its locations has left "thousands of patients with fewer options, higher costs, and less freedom to make their own decisions about their lives, bodies, and futures."

Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said that "any member of Congress who supports this proposal is choosing to sacrifice our health care system and Planned Parenthood health center patients who already struggle to get care, just so they can score points for their anti-abortion agenda," adding that "people’s ability to get the health care they need is on the line."

"President Trump and his backers in Congress have already caused irreparable harm when they passed a law ‘defunding’ Planned Parenthood," said Johnson, concluding that "Planned Parenthood Action Fund will never stop fighting to protect everyone’s access to sexual and reproductive healthcare."

SENATE GOP READYING PARTY-LINE FUNDING BILL DESPITE DIVISIONS, ANGER AT THE HOUSE

Meanwhile, Rose emphasized in a statement to Fox News Digital that "if Congress does not act, the abortion industry will once again have access to hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars."

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"This letter makes clear why that cannot be allowed to happen," wrote Rose, adding, "Planned Parenthood’s core business is abortion. It exists to kill preborn children for profit. It has also become a major promoter of gender ideology, including puberty blockers and cross sex hormones for minors."

"The Senate should use reconciliation again and enact the strongest defunding measure possible under the law," she added. "American taxpayers should never be forced to subsidize an industry that distributes cross sex hormones to vulnerable kids and kills millions of preborn American babies through abortion every year."

In addition to Rose, the letter was signed by Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins, Catholic Vote President Kelsey Reinhardt, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser and 34 other pro-life leaders from across the country.

Notably, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced an amendment on Wednesday to create a budget mechanism allowing Congress to pass future legislation extending a ban on Medicaid funding for abortion providers, so long as it does not increase the federal deficit from 2026 through 2035.

In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Hawley called it "unacceptable" that "on July 4th, America will start funding Planned Parenthood again."

"I filed an amendment this morning to BAN federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Hardworking Americans should not have to foot the bill for abortions or gender transitions. Congress must act now and pass my amendment," he said.

Sen Chris Murphy says he 'should give up on sarcasm' after backlash over one-word Iran blockade post

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 13:10:28 -0400

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., remarked on Tuesday that he probably "should give up on sarcasm," following backlash over his one-word reaction to reports that ships linked to Iran had bypassed a U.S. naval blockade.

On Monday, Murphy responded to an X post featuring a news article from Lloyd’s List. The report stated that at least 26 Iran-linked vessels had transited past the U.S. blockade, despite claims from Washington that it had successfully forced ships bound for the country to turn around.

Murphy replied to the report with a single word: "Awesome."

The report, which cited data tracking tanker movements tied to Iranian trade, quickly became a flashpoint. Critics immediately accused Murphy of undermining the American war effort and cheering for a breach of U.S. lines.

TRUMP THREATENS ‘NEW CARDS’ ON BATTLEFIELD AS CEASEFIRE WANES

"OK Twitter, I can’t believe I need to clarify this, but obviously Trump’s bungled mismanagement of this war is not ‘awesome’," Murphy responded in a follow-up post. "As I have said a million times here, it’s a disaster and he should end the war immediately. My tweet was something called ‘sarcasm.’"

On Tuesday, Murphy further clarified his position to Fox News.

"Twitter has become kind of a cesspool," he said, referring to the platform X. "I probably should give up on sarcasm on Twitter. But sarcasm is not something I guess that's allowed on Twitter any longer."

IRAN'S MILITARY COUNCIL REPORTEDLY CUTS OFF KHAMENEI FROM HIS OWN GOVERNMENT

He reiterated that President Donald Trump's handling of the war has been "bungled" and "mismanaged," and urged that the conflict be ended as quickly as possible.

The White House was quick to strike back. In a statement, the White House Rapid Response account on X accused Murphy of rooting for the opposition.

"You're a loser, Chris. You were literally cheering for the enemy—gleefully regurgitating Iranian propaganda to undermine your own country's interests," the statement read. "It's an insult to the American heroes very effectively enforcing the blockade. Moron."

The naval blockade is primarily enforced by U.S. naval and air power in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Its strategic goal is to intercept vessels after they clear the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical shipping points.

Fox News Chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst said the U.S. is allowing any vessel passing through the area to make their way to its final destination, as long as it isn't coming from Iranian port.

"There were some reports overnight indicating that 26 vessels from Iran's shadow fleet were able to make it past the U.S. Blockade. There is no evidence of that, and despite what one Democratic senator talked about, there is a concerted effort by the United State to ensure that any vessels that coming from Iranian ports are turned around," Yingst told "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday, while referring to Murphy.

He said reports about the ships bypassing the U.S. blockade were Iranian "propaganda."

"And the shadow fleet that the senator is talking about is used to directly fund Iranian proxies across the Middle East, including Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah, who are directly responsible for killing US citizens," he said. "And so the shadow of fleet is a very serious problem. It is not getting past the US blockade, according to all reports and information that we have from the region."

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Murphy has repeatedly argued that President Trump bypassed Congress when the initial strikes against Iran began in February.

In March 2026, he introduced a War Powers Resolution to force the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran that had not been authorized by Congress. The measure ultimately failed in a near party-line vote.

'Traitor' Dem senator ripped after one-word reaction appears to cheer on Iran

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:42:10 -0400

Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy is under fire after a one-word social media post fueled accusations he was a "traitor" cheering against the United States amid the war in Iran.

"Awesome," Murphy wrote on X in response to a post reporting that 26 ships in Iran's shadow fleet have made it past the US blockade in the Gulf of Oman.

Murphy’s post adds to his long-running criticism of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy and revived scrutiny over his past posture toward Iran, giving critics fresh ammunition to cast the Connecticut Democrat as hostile to U.S. interests.

Social media commenters unleashed on Murphy for the message, with some asking if his account was "hacked" and others accusing him of cheering on Iran.

SCHUMER BLASTED TRUMP FOR FAILING TO OUST MADURO — NOW WARNS ARREST COULD LEAD TO ‘ENDLESS WAR’

"It takes an insane level of Trump Derangement Syndrome to cheer for a terrorist regime that chants ‘Death to America,'" White House Spokesperson Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital.

"Chris Murphy is an America-last, radical left lunatic who stands for illegal aliens and Iranian terrorists over the American people. The only thing ‘awesome’ will be when he is out of office," Wales added.

DOUG SCHOEN: AS A DEMOCRAT, I BACK TRUMP'S IRAN STRIKE — MY PARTY IS WRONG

Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst notably told "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday morning that there is "no evidence" that Iranian shadow fleet vessels, ships used to evade international sanctions, have made it through the U.S. blockade.

"The tweet was sarcasm," a spokesperson for Murphy's office told Fox News Digital in a statement later on Tuesday morning. "Chris obviously thinks it’s terrible that Donald Trump continues to mishandle every aspect of a war he started but clearly has no strategy to end."

Commenters continued criticizing Murphy on X on Tuesday morning.

"First of all this is false," Sean Parnell, assistant to the secretary of war for public affairs, posted, denying the report Murphy responded to. "Second, a Dem senator cheering on the number one state sponsor of terror is shameful."

"This is what late stage TDS looks like: Cheering on Iran to defeat the U.S. Navy," the Trump War room account wrote.

"This U.S. senator is publicly cheering for America’s enemy during war. The Senate should vote to censure him," Mike Davis, Article III Project founder and president, commented.

SCHUMER CALLS TRUMP 'A MILITARY MORON' AND SAYS US 'WORSE OFF' NOW THAN WHEN IRAN WAR STARTED

"Was Sen. Murphy's account hacked?" Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York wrote.

"Chris Murphy roots against America," conservative commentator Steve Guest posted.

"'I love when Iran wins, it’s awesome…' - a UNITED STATES SENATOR???????????!!!!!!!!!," added Matt Van Swol, a former employee of the Department of Energy, according to his X bio.

CRUZ SAYS TRUMP'S MOVE TO STRIKE IRAN 'MOST CONSEQUENTIAL DECISION' OF HIS PRESIDENCY

Fox News caught up with Murphy Tuesday morning to ask whether he regretted the post or planned to take it down.

"I guess I just have to be more careful about sarcasm on Twitter," he said.

Murphy continued that X is "kind of a cesspool" and suggested "sarcasm is not something … allowed … any longer." He added that he believes Trump’s handling of the war is "bungled" and "mismanaged" and should be ended "as quickly as possible."

Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28, 2026, when U.S. forces, alongside partner forces, launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran.

As the Trump administration pressures Iran to curb its nuclear program, the U.S. is using its naval and air power to choke off Iranian shipping around the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.

Murphy recently called out Trump for his posts related to the war with Iran, saying it is a "a clear war crime."

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Fox News’ Greg Norman-Diamond contributed to this report.

Democrats taking the Senate? Seriously? Despite Trump’s sinking polls, it’s probably a media fantasy

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 03:00:43 -0400

Let’s not get carried away here.

The Democrats’ chances of winning the Senate are somewhere between nearly impossible and nonexistent.

And yet it’s suddenly the subject of considerable media chatter.

It’s like a Rube Goldberg contraption: If this happens and that happens and this other long-shot thing somehow falls into place, the ball ends up in the cup.

TRUMP COMMANDEERS CABINET MEMBERS TO CAMPAIGN IN MIDTERMS, ORDERING THEM TO DROP OR MUTE CONTROVERSIAL STANCES

Virtually everyone, including many Republicans I’ve spoken to privately, agrees that the Democrats will take the House in November. The margin may not be huge, given that most incumbents win re-election, but having the opposition party control the floor, the committees and a blizzard of investigations would utterly change the last two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.

The latest NBC poll has 63% of those surveyed strongly or somewhat disapproving of Trump’s job performance, and 67% strongly or somewhat disapproving of his handling of the Iran war. Ouch.

But now mainstream pundits are so absorbed by such sinking poll numbers, and the war’s unpopularity, that they believe Democrats can walk on water and quite possibly ride that flood into Senate control.

They’re even talking about Texas.

TEXAS AG PAXTON SUES DEM FUNDRAISING PLATFORM ACTBLUE, ALLEGING 'FRAUDULENT AND FOREIGN DONATIONS'

I mean, come on. Remember the endless puffery around Beto O’Rourke, who lost for Senate and governor? Texas hasn’t elected a Democrat statewide since the 1990s. And yet every couple of years we get "This is it! Texas is ready to turn blue!"

I know, Democratic contender James Talarico has raised truckloads of money since CBS refused to air his Stephen Colbert interview.

And in politics you can never say never.

Much will depend on whether Sen. John Cornyn or Attorney General Ken Paxton wins the GOP runoff. Cornyn is viewed by many Republicans as too moderate. But Paxton was impeached (then acquitted) of charges including bribery in 2023, settled criminal fraud charges by paying restitution, and divorced by his wife who said he’d had an affair.

So yeah, it’s a crazy year.

And yeah, if the war is over, much will depend on the economy bouncing back – a tired cliché that happens to be true.

The New York Times examines the question in a piece so loaded down with caveats that its corporate butt is fully covered:

"A blue wave is not guaranteed, of course, and Democrats would not be assured to flip two reliably Republican states even if it were. But a feasible path for the party to win the Senate is coming into focus."

That’s called tiptoeing into the water. The carefully crafted Nate Cohn piece admits that Democratic candidates would have to win seven out of seven competitive races. Seven out of seven!

GOP STRATEGISTS CALLED TO DC AS TRUMP TEAM CONFRONTS RISING MIDTERM HEADWINDS

I mean, that’s as likely as the world getting to see the dark side of the moon.

Uh, let’s try another analogy.

Seven out of seven is less likely than winning the lottery.

It’s less likely than gas prices suddenly sinking. Which is why Trump contradicted Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who told CNN that gas prices below $3 a gallon "might not happen till next year."

"Totally wrong," says the president.

So here’s the rundown.

Every Dem in the Senate today represents a state that Joe Biden carried in 2020, because the party has fared so poorly in red states. (One example: When West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, who drove Biden crazy, retired, he was replaced by Republican Jim Justice.)

And – here’s another Times caveat! – no party has managed to flip even two states that leaned the other way politically since 2008.

GOP SENATE HOPEFUL MICHELE TAFOYA ACCUSES WALZ, ELLISON OF IGNORING MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME

The assessment basically rests on the quality of the Democratic candidates heading into the midterms.

In North Carolina, that’s former Gov. Roy Cooper.

In Ohio, it’s former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his seat in 2024 during the Trump victory.

In Alaska, former Rep. Mary Peltola is already ahead in the polls.

But Maine is weird. The strong contender was supposed to be Gov. Janet Mills. But she’s trailing in the primary, by 2 to 1, behind progressive first-time contender and military veteran Graham Platner.

Platner has acknowledged wearing a Nazi tattoo. In 2021, CNN reported on a series of posts in which Platner also called himself a communist, said rural Americans are "racist" and "stupid," described all police officers as "bastards," and used the word "retard" several times. He says these were stupid jokes. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., campaigned with him over the weekend.

What’s more, would either candidate be able to oust independent Republican fixture Susan Collins?

At the same time, the Democrats have to defend seats in Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire.

Even the fiercely nonpartisan Cook Political report shifted four Senate races to the Democrats, but that’s from Solid Republican to Likely Republican, or Lean Republican to Tossup. Not exactly a slam dunk.

But the Times story has started to echo on television.

"Republicans Are Starting to Worry About Losing the Senate," an MS NOW banner blared.

The ultimate Times hedge: "If a blue wave materializes, Democrats have a chance to ride it to Senate control."

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE'S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY'S HOTTEST STORIES

But here’s the thing. It’s an off-year election. Let’s not forget: everything depends on turnout.

If Trump voters are demoralized, many may stay home. If Democratic voters are ticked off but not to the point of driving themselves to the polls, that will muffle the impact.

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If politics were predictable, the pontificators and the junkies would have far less material for their never-ending arguments.

Footnote: I’m prepared to eat crow on Nov. 3.

Reporter's Notebook: House chaos sparks emergency FISA extension

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:07:37 -0400

"Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today," said Ben Franklin.

If sloganeering was left to Congress, the motto might read, "Never do today what you can leave till tomorrow."

That is emblematic of the recent scramble on Capitol Hill to renew the key terrorism prevention program known as FISA Section 702. Congress faced a deadline to re-up the program before 11:59:59 p.m. ET on April 20. Lawmakers fretted that it was risky to let the program expire. They worried that the U.S. may be vulnerable to a terrorist attack because of the war with Iran.

President Donald Trump insisted that Republicans "UNIFY, and vote together" to pass an 18-month extension of FISA without any add-ons. The president argued that the FISA program was among "the reasons we have had such tremendous SUCCESS on the battlefield."

So the House GOP brass planned to pass the 18-month FISA reauthorization last Wednesday. But it’s about the math. An eclectic alliance of Democrats and Republicans both supported and opposed the bill. Either way, the measure lacked the votes to pass.

"The coalitions around FISA have traditionally been kind of scrambled," said Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif.

So despite the promise of a late-night vote Wednesday, the House GOP brain trust punted until Thursday as they scrambled to find the votes and prevent FISA from going offline.

"FISA will not go dark. We have a little slight delay. We're working through and building consensus as we do on all difficult issues, and we'll get there. We'll get it done," promised House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

CONSERVATIVE FISA REVOLT POSES FRESH TEST FOR SPEAKER JOHNSON

Some Republicans balked at the 18-month extension.

"I want warrants to surveil American citizens. And the Fourth Amendment is not for sale. I don't want our federal government buying data from private companies on American citizens," said Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.

FISA is designed to reap foreign intelligence data, but it sometimes vacuums up the telephone communications of Americans — and even documents their locations. Tapping so much metadata is what led to the government trying to tie Trump to Russian interference during the 2016 election cycle. But despite his past opposition, the president did an about-face and demanded passage of this FISA measure.

"The President of the United States has said, ‘This is what I want, this is what I need.’ And there are rank-and-file Republicans bucking him," I pointed out to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford, R-Ark.

"Well, it's a little bit surprising," replied Crawford, since most congressional Republicans routinely line up behind Trump. "I think I think maybe the president's a little bit surprised by that, too."

One Trump ally says if the bill is good enough for the president, it should be good enough for House Republicans.

"This program is critical. It helped us with the operation in Venezuela. It's certainly helping us with the operation going on in Iran as we speak," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

SENATE COMMITTEE HOLDS HEARING ON CONTROVERSIAL SURVEILLANCE TOOL SET TO EXPIRE UNLESS CONGRESS REAUTHORIZES

But to some Republicans, entreaties by the president don’t matter on this bill.

"Look, he's [President Trump], the executive [branch]. We're the legislative [branch], and we're going to see a little bit of conflict between those two today," said Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.

But as we said, support or opposition for FISA doesn’t break along party lines. Dozens of Democrats are leery about letting the program go dark.

"This is our single most important collection authority," said Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. "If we just go dark on that stuff, a lot of people are going to get hurt. And that's why we just can't let it expire."

But even if the House passed the bill, it still needed to align with the Senate. Alarms were sounding around the Capitol as the Monday night deadline loomed.

So the daylight came and went last Thursday without action on the FISA bill as the deadline approached this week.

Yours truly chased down Johnson in Statuary Hall of the Capitol.

"You’re going to try to move this on the floor tonight?" I asked the speaker about FISA.

"I am. It will be late tonight, but we’ll get it done," replied Johnson.

Fox was told that House Republicans would have an attendance problem on Friday. Some members of the Arizona delegation wanted to head to the Grand Canyon State for Trump’s speech there. Plus, waiting until this week wouldn’t give the Senate much turning radius to align with the House.

JOHNSON FACES GOP REVOLT OVER WARRANTLESS SURVEILLANCE POWERS AHEAD OF KEY VOTE

"And the concern is that you have to get it done today because you might lose some people tomorrow, and the Senate doesn’t come back until Monday and that’s right up against the deadline?" I continued.

"A bird in hand is worth several in the bush. I’ve got them all here and I need to get it done," answered Johnson.

A group of bipartisan lawmakers say an extension is essential to guard against terrorism. Especially as the U.S. fights with Iran.

"My concerns are significant because FISA is the single most important national security asset we have in the intelligence field," said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, a member of the Intelligence Committee.

"If you want to blind the United States intelligence community and the military, this is a perfect way to do it," added Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

But regardless of risks, FISA skeptics demand reforms like warrants and criminal prosecutions for alleged abuses.

"We’re always threatened that there's something very bad is going to happen and people will die if we don't reauthorize (FISA Section) 702," said Boebert.

CONSERVATIVE FISA REVOLT POSES FRESH TEST FOR SPEAKER JOHNSON

But there was concern that even if the House passed something, the Senate wouldn’t have the availability to sync up until Monday. Most senators left Washington for the week on Thursday afternoon. Such a scenario would potentially give the Senate a few hours to align with the House when senators returned to Washington Monday, just hours before the deadline.

"Is that responsible by the Senate to leave?" I asked Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.

"Well, there's no reason to stay if we're not going to have votes," replied Kennedy.

By nightfall, everyone watched to see if Johnson could make good on his promise of passing the 18-month extension. But not long before 11 p.m. ET, the House lurched from that plan to a five-year reauthorization.

The House blocked that plan. Then backpedaled and adopted an emergency bill to salvage FISA for a scant 13 days.

"What was Churchill's line? ‘Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others?’ So sometimes it gets kind of messy when you're trying to craft together an agreement," said Jordan.

Democrats were appalled at the nocturnal whiplash.

"Are you kidding me? Who the hell is running this place?," asked an incensed Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, on the floor. "Republicans threw it together on the back of a napkin in a back room in the middle of the night."

SENATE TEMPORARILY EXTENDS NATION’S CONTROVERSIAL SPYING POWERS AFTER HOUSE FUMBLES

Staunch conservatives argued for muscular spy powers.

"Failing to reauthorize this statutory authority would be a massive setback, and one that our adversaries would exploit immediately," said Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga.

And liberals worried about government overreach.

"There have been so many abuses lately. And this is only going to grow with artificial intelligence," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a member of the Intelligence panel.

So congressional leaders are trying to strike a balance.

"What we're trying to do is thread the needle of ensuring that we have this essential tool to keep Americans safe but also safeguard constitutional rights," said Johnson.

FISA skeptics insist on warrants.

"We just want to make sure that the guardrails are there," said Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., who voted to block the five-year extension early Friday.

So the House passed the Band-Aid bill by unanimous consent around early Friday morning. The Senate cleared the same package by unanimous consent later the same morning.

Wyden came to the floor Friday morning but didn’t object. The Oregon Democrat believes it would be harder to impose reforms had FISA lapsed. So he’s willing to keep it going, for now. However, Wyden made clear that he expected to see reforms between now and the new deadline. Otherwise, he might stand in the way next time.

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Another punt. Another new deadline. More parliamentary procrastination.

And at the rate Congress is going these days, if they didn’t delay issues, they might not have anything to show for their efforts at all.

GOP strategists called to DC as Trump team confronts rising midterm headwinds

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 13:35:00 -0400

With the six-month mark until Election Day 2026 closing fast, President Donald Trump’s top political advisers are meeting behind closed doors Monday with dozens of leading Republican political consultants from across the country for a strategy session as the party defends its razor-thin House and slim Senate majorities in the midterms.

The meeting, organized by White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who was co-chair of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, and Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, comes as the party in power in the nation’s capital faces traditional political headwinds and is expected to lose congressional seats. Republicans are also battling a challenging political climate fueled by persistent inflation, rising gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran, and the president’s underwater approval ratings.

The gathering, which was first reported by Politico, is aimed at establishing better coordination and sharing of data and strategy between the White House political team and consultants advising candidates in midterm showdowns.

STRATEGY SESSION: TRUMP'S TEAM HUDDLES ON MIDTERM MESSAGING

The meeting also comes two weeks after Trump announced that Blair would temporarily step down from his White House role to steer midterm strategy from the outside. The president said in a social media post that Blair would take "a short leave of absence to lead the charge from the outside" against Democrats, and after the midterms would "return again to the White House, so we can finish the job."

This is the second major gathering ahead of the midterms. Wiles, Blair and other top Trump political advisers met in February at the party’s Capitol Hill Club with Cabinet officials and their top aides to discuss promoting the Trump agenda and other midterm messaging.

Trump made a two-day swing last week to Nevada and Arizona, two crucial swing states in this year's elections, to highlight the tax cuts that congressional Republicans passed, and which he signed into law last summer.

BACK ON THE TRAIL: TRUMP HITS BATTLEGROUND STATES TO TOUT TAX CUTS

The president's stops were part of a full-court press last week by Republicans, around last Wednesday's tax filing deadline, to spotlight the tax cuts, which they insist will give them a political boost with voters in the midterms.

The tax cuts were a key component of Republicans’ massive domestic policy measure, which passed almost entirely along party lines in the GOP-controlled House and Senate.

The law, originally titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act but rebranded as the Working Families Tax Cuts, is stuffed full of Trump's 2024 campaign trail promises and second-term priorities, including extending the president's signature 2017 tax cuts and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay.

FIRST ON FOX: GOP TAKES AIM AT DEMOCRATS FOR OPPOSING TRUMP TAX CUTS

But much of the GOP messaging last week was overshadowed by coverage of the war with Iran and Trump's very public spat with the pope.

Republicans in Congress are increasingly concerned about the political climate ahead of the midterms.

"If we lose the midterms, it'll be because we didn't talk about what moms and dads are worried about when they lie down to sleep at night...and that's primarily the cost of living, GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said Saturday in an appearance on Fox News' "The Big Weekend Show."

And pointing to the tax cuts, Kennedy said the "One Big Beautiful Bill is going to help a lot of people in terms of their taxes and a lot of small businesses. And that's what I wish the president would talk more about. If we talk about it, we'll win the midterms."

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Despite the Democratic Party's poll numbers hitting all-time lows over the past year, Democrats are energized heading into the midterms thanks to a slew of off-year-election and special election victories and over performances, thanks in part to their laser focus on affordability since Trump returned to the White House.

The Democratic National Committee, in an email release Monday to supporters, claimed that "Republicans are in trouble ahead of the midterms — and they know it."

Dems block bid to defund Cesar Chavez monument despite child sexual abuse allegations

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:30:02 -0400

Senate Democrats blocked an attempt to defund and abolish a monument to a prominent labor union activist who was recently hit with bombshell allegations of being a serial predator.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, tried to pass legislation that would have defunded the monument to Cesar Chavez, who co-founded the United Farm Workers. The monument sits in California on property that was once his home and where his labor movement was born.

Chavez was once a revered figure, particularly among Democrats, until a bombshell New York Times report in March detailed allegations of a pattern of sexual misconduct, including abusing and grooming minors. The alleged victims had stayed silent even after his death.

SENATOR GALLEGO SAYS LONGTIME FRIENDSHIP WITH SWALWELL 'CLOUDED MY JUDGMENT' AS RUMORS SWIRLED IN DC

"Due to Senator Heinrich’s shameful actions, the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument — a known crime scene where much of Chavez’s abhorrent abuse of women and girls occurred — will continue to operate on the American people’s dime, and it is sickening," Cornyn told Fox News Digital.

But the effort was blocked by Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., who acknowledged the alleged abuse on the Senate floor Tuesday and said it "necessarily and profoundly changes Cesar Chavez’s legacy and how he should be remembered."

While he agreed there should not be a monument named after Chavez, Heinrich warned that removing it would erase the stories of farm laborers and sweep his "violence under the rug."

"When we learn shocking or terrible things about our history, the right answer is to tell the truth — never to hide it," Heinrich said. "I’m concerned that what my colleague from Texas is proposing could do just that: Hide the truth about Cesar Chavez and, unfortunately, the incredible farmworker movement with it."

SWALWELL OUT AMID SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS AFTER 13 YEARS IN CONGRESS

Heinrich’s move to block the legislation came the same day two members of the House — former Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas — resigned from Congress over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Cornyn’s No Funding to Honor Crime Scenes Act, which made its way through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee — where Heinrich is the top Democrat — is part of a broader push to erase Chavez’s name from several physical manifestations of his legacy.

"It is mind-boggling that anyone would want to keep Cesar Chavez’s name on a national monument honoring the very spot where he is accused of assaulting women and children," Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee, R-Utah, told Fox News Digital. "Democrats should be ashamed."

GONZALES RESIGNS IN WAKE OF RENEWED EXPULSION THREAT AFTER SCANDAL

The bill would have abolished the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, which was created by former President Barack Obama in 2012 to honor the late labor activist, by requiring Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to sell off the federal land on which it sits.

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That would include selling Chavez’s home and the contents of his personal office, where some of the alleged abuse occurred.

The legislation would also require that any federal funds allocated to the monument be redirected to provide law enforcement resources for forensic analysis of crime scenes and untested rape kits — a measure Cornyn worked on with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., to reauthorize in 2024.

GOP holds with Trump on Iran war, but cracks emerge as deadline nears

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:54:03 -0400

Republicans aren’t ready to jump ship against President Donald Trump's Iran war, as evidenced by another failed attempt to handcuff his war powers in the Middle East, but they also aren’t lining up to support a prolonged conflict.

Senate Republicans blocked another war powers resolution from Senate Democrats for a fourth time on Tuesday as Operation Epic Fury entered its 46th day. It comes as a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. is nearing its end, and talks toward a broader peace agreement remain tenuous.

Democrats initially started their war powers strategy to compel Secretary of State Marco Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth to testify publicly on the administration’s rationale behind the conflict. They argued that Iran posed no imminent threat, making the war unconstitutional without congressional approval under the War Powers Resolution.

ROGUE DEM BUCKS PARTY ON TRUMP WAR POWERS, CALLS IRAN ‘47-YEAR-OLD WAR CRIME’

Now, they’ve loaded up six new resolutions to continue that push.

"We're going to have a debate and a vote every week in the United States Senate until either this war comes to an end or our Republican colleagues decide to do their constitutional duty," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said.

Most Republicans, for now, aren’t breaking with the president. But a 60-day deadline that will require either Congress to weigh in or Trump to cease hostilities is fast approaching, and it’s raising questions among some in the GOP.

Under the War Powers Resolution, Trump has 60 days until Congress is required to weigh in and either authorize or disapprove of the war. If the latter, the administration has 30 days to draw down forces in Iran.

SCHUMER BLASTS TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS FAILURE, MOVES TO REIN IN HIS WAR POWERS AMID CEASEFIRE

"The president needs to come to Congress in the absence of some imminent threat to the country or an attack on the country, to seek an authorization," Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said. "Otherwise, it's illegal to make war as he's doing."

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who has bucked Trump before on Venezuela but toed the party line on Iran, is drafting an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) on the war in Iran, describing the effort in an interview with The New York Times as a way to put parameters around Operation Epic Fury.

When asked by Fox News Digital if she was still working on the AUMF, she said, "Uh huh, I’m working on so much."

Whether Republicans will support the administration and authorize the war remains an open question. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has sided with Senate Democrats on each effort to handcuff Trump's war powers, wouldn’t say how he’d vote on a potential AUMF.

TOP GOP HAWK GRAHAM WARNS IRAN DEAL HAS ‘TROUBLING ASPECTS’ AS CEASEFIRE BEGINS

"I'm not for the war in Iran, I think it’s a war of choice but not my choice," he said.

Others see an AUMF as a potentially useful tool, if successful, for Trump and his efforts in the Middle East.

"I think maybe an AUMF could be an advantage for the president, to say, even Congress is here for the long time, removing the political calculation that maybe the president doesn't have Congress’ support," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said.

Still, the economic toll at the pump and on goods is making Republicans’ constituents feel the immediate pain of the conflict.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged the crunch that the war was having on the cost of fertilizer in his agriculture-heavy state, but he questioned the authority of the War Powers Resolution.

"If you accept the war powers as being constitutional, it would be the threshold under which that law would apply," Thune said. "But I think, you know, at least right now, the steps that have been taken so far I think have been very effective and successful. But we do, they need a plan out, how to wind this down, how to get an outcome."

Democrats still argue that the war was illegal to begin with and have no plans of letting up on their war powers push, even as the deadline nears.

"If the president has a plan, he can come to Congress and ask for authorization, and we can have the debate we should have had beforehand," Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said.

Trump-Tillis tiff deepens as president says he ‘quit,’ concedes Fed fight could doom new chair confirmation

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:19:34 -0400

President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve is headed to the Senate next week, but Trump is worried that one Senate Republican could doom the confirmation process.

Kevin Warsh is scheduled for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee after his initial hearing set for this week was canceled. But his odds of moving to the next — and final — step of the process are low, given that Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., plans to block him.

And Trump isn’t happy about it.

LEAVITT ACCUSES SEN TILLIS OF HOLDING US ECONOMY 'HOSTAGE’ OVER FED NOMINATION DISPUTE

When asked by Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo about Warsh’s chances in the Senate, Trump said, "We’re going to have to find out."

"He might not, but that’s why Thom Tillis is no longer a senator," Trump said. "He quit."

Tillis, despite announcing plans to retire from Congress at the end of his term this year, is still an active U.S. Senator and would have full voting rights if Warsh's confirmation comes up for a vote before January 2027.

Fox News Digital reached out to Tillis' office for comment on the president's latest comments.

The North Carolina senator has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration ever since Tillis bucked his fellow Republicans in their pursuit of steep Medicaid cuts last year during the creation of the "One Big Beautiful Bill."

That rebellious streak has continued as the Department of Justice probe into current Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has progressed.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ASKS JUDGE BOASBERG TO RECONSIDER ORDER QUASHING POWELL SUBPOENAS

Tillis’ beef isn’t with Warsh specifically — a point he has reiterated on several occasions — but with the DOJ’s investigation into Powell’s testimony last year about the Fed's renovation of its two historic main buildings on the National Mall.

"I love the candidate. I won’t spend my five minutes [in committee] asking him about his credentials, because he has them," Tillis said. "I’ll spend five minutes talking about a bogus investigation that’s going to cause me to vote no, unless they end the investigation."

"There’s no way to sugarcoat this," he continued. "There’s one way out of the box, canyon, and they’ve got to decide whether or not they’re going to do it."

Prosecutors from U.S. District Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office reportedly visited the Federal Reserve’s headquarters unannounced on Tuesday.

POWELL REVEALS WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO STEP DOWN FROM THE FED AS PRESSURE MOUNTS

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has spoken with the White House about halting the investigation.

"I think, at some point, they're gonna have to deal with the committee, they're gonna have to deal with Tillis," Thune said. "And I think it's in everybody's best interest to wrap up the investigation."

Meanwhile, given the uncertainty surrounding his predecessor, Powell said he would stay on temporarily until a replacement is confirmed. But Trump said he would fire Powell if he wasn't out by next month.

Trump charged that Tillis wouldn’t "want the legacy of stopping a great person who could be great."

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"I think Kevin Warsh is going to be great. He doesn’t want the legacy of having an incompetent guy stay there for longer than is necessary," Trump said. "I know Thom Tillis. He’s a good man. I don’t think he’s going to hurt — I know he said what he said, and maybe it’s true, in which case I’ll have to live with it."

Tillis is working to make sure that, until the investigation is dropped, there’s no way Warsh makes it out of committee.

"I don’t think there’s any mechanism where he gets reported out of committee, but I’m already working to make sure votes will be held on the floor until we have a definitive answer," he said.

Far-left Senate hopeful's radical ties to 'Maduro cronies' could torpedo campaign: 'Tired of the chaos'

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 07:00:50 -0400

Abdul El-Sayed’s refusal to distance himself from controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker has intensified claims that the Michigan Senate candidate is an extremist.

As El-Sayed's campaign continues, Fox News Digital uncovered even more ties to radical socialist activists, such as a pro-Maduro organizer and other far-left figures, whose support is now becoming a political liability.

For example, El-Sayed recently touted an endorsement from Tom Burke, the longtime executive leader of a group that hopes to build a new Communist Party in America and a publicly pro-Nicolas Maduro activist who regularly travels to Venezuela. He was just in New York protesting Maduro's imprisonment on narcoterroism charges, visited Caracas in 2022 to attend the party convention of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, the ruling party of Venezuela at the time led by Maduro, and, in 2020, he met with top officials from the country's elections agency that has been accused of rigging elections under Maduro.

Meanwhile, El-Sayed just held a fundraiser with Anas "Andy" Shallal as well. Shallal has publicly praised Cuba's Fidel Castro and Assata Shakur, of the Black Liberation Movement, who was convicted of killing a New Jersey State Trooper during a shootout with fellow activists. El-Sayed has also received donations from Marxism expert Robert Meister and Brooklyn professor Nancy Romer, who has lambasted the United States' "savage capitalism."

MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE ABDUL EL-SAYED TAKES HEAT FOR KHAMENEI COMMENTS, HASAN PIKER EVENT

Fox News Digital reported last month that El-Sayed was among a slew of Michigan candidates and politicians who had received donations and were pictured with a radical Michigan-based Imam on his social media pages who eulogized and held formal events honoring the death of Ayatollah Khamenei after he was taken out by U.S. forces in February.

"Abdul El-Sayed cannot win a general election in Michigan, full stop," a longtime Democratic strategist told Fox News Digital in response to this reporting. "This is a candidate who spent years calling police 'standing armies we deploy against our own people,' posted more than a dozen times in support of defunding the police, and then deleted his entire social media history the moment he decided to run statewide, hoping Michigan voters wouldn't notice. They will notice. And so will Mike Rogers."

As a gubernatorial candidate in Michigan in 2018, El-Sayed said that he "share[s] a lot of ideals" with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and, since 2019, El-Sayed has spoken at, or attended, at least five DSA-organized or sponsored events, according to public reporting and social media posts.

El-Sayed's remarks came after he was asked whether he had sought out any endorsements from the country's national socialist movement – DSA – while running for governor. El-Sayed responded that he doesn't like labels but shares a lot of "ideals" with the group.

"We’ve had great conversations, and we share a lot of ideals, [but] I don’t like labels," El-Sayed responded to the question. "I come from that world, where we pick our words very carefully and very thoughtfully. And I think that the term ‘socialism’ is too slippery of a word right now, and it evokes too many different things to too many different people."

"I think for a millennial the word ‘socialism’ is spelled with a lower-case ‘s,’ and it implies an engagement of government in some of the most important aspects of our lives to ensure and address a level of equity that we have not had," he continued. "And then, I think for people who are over the age of sixty, it implies a history that was some of the most fearful in their lives. And I think because it evokes different meanings politically, it’s just not a useful term."

Last month, El-Sayed touted an endorsement from IATSE Local 26, with Burke quoted as the union president. Burke, a decades-long socialist leader, is the organizational secretary at the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which describes itself as aiming to start a new Communist Party in the United States. Burke has also proven himself to be a loyal supporter of Venezuela's Maduro and his political party. Maduro was recently captured by the Trump administration and sent to court on narcoterrorism charges, which Burke has described as "disgraceful" acts by the military at Trump's direction.

Burke has slammed the U.S. efforts in Venezuela as amounting to the same sort of regime change efforts seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Meanwhile, Burke travels to Venezuela frequently, according to publicly posted summaries and photos of his trips, including in 2022 when he attended the political convention for Maduro's ruling party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, and in 2020, when he met with the president of Venezuela's elections agency, which has been accused of interfering in the country's elections.

Burke can be seen in photos alongside other individuals who met with the Maduro-backing Bolivarian Militia, and photos Fox News could not independently verify showed Burke at a 2020 protest in Caracas next to Bolivarian militiamen that involved both pro-government and anti-government forces and ultimately became violent.

Despite Maduro's fall from grace and praise following his departure, Burke said during a radio interview in 2023 that Maduro was "very popular with people."

"We want social change that builds upon the civil rights movement and the women's liberation movement, the LGBTQ movements of the 70s and 80s, and especially the labor movement," Burke recently said in an interview with Fight Back! Radio several weeks ago. "We want to build up those movements to create a new society from the ashes of the one that the billionaires are destroying."

El-Sayed also campaigned just recently alongside Shallal, a wealthy Iraqi-American business owner and entrepreneur, according to a web page advertising the event that included a domain belonging to the Democratic Party's ActBlue fundraising arm. Shallal has praised and commemorated radical far-left individuals, like communist Cuban leader Fidel Castro and radical American activist Assata Shakur, known for killing a state trooper in a gunfight with other activists, being sentenced to life, and then fleeing to Cuba.

"Fidel Castro was a bigger than life figure whose impact reached far beyond his beloved country, Cuba," he wrote on Instagram in November. In February, Shallal also posted a letter from American activist Alice Walker praising Castro. Shallal visited the Cuban Embassy as recently as last year, posting about it on social media in front of a statue at the Embassy of Cuban political figure Jose Marti.

In addition to Burke and Shallal, El-Sayed accepted support from radical socialist professor Nancy Romer and Marxism philosopher Robert Meister, who both have donated to his campaign.

Romer has lambasted America's "savage capitalism," and claims she helped bring about a statewide Michigan chapter of the Human Rights Party decades ago, which historical reports show was often far-left of traditional Democrats and circumvented orthodox Democratic Party priorities.

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Meister, who has donated thousands to El-Sayed, is a Marxism expert who has posited that the Soviet Empire helped prevent anti-Imperialist movements from being squelched during the Cold War era and has written books on how to apply Marxism in the current political environment. Meister previously served as director of The Bruce Initiative on Rethinking Capitalism, and his published works include "Political Identity: Thinking Through Marx" and "Critique Of The Global Discourse Of Humanitarian That Followed The Fall Of Communism."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Michigan Senate candidate about his comments and his ties to publicly avowed socialists, other radicals and their ideals, but did not receive a response.

However, according to Republican strategists who spoke with Fox News Digital, whether El-Sayed calls himself a socialist or not, Democrats running against him should be aware of the company he keeps and use it to their advantage. Fox News Digital reported last month that El-Sayed accepted money as a political candidate and has been seen as recently as 2023 rubbing elbows with Michigan-based Muslim Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, who complained in a eulogy following Khamanei's death that the Iranian supreme leader was killed by "the most wretched hands on Earth."

Ali Elahi, whose social media pages were a who's who of Michigan and national level Democratic politicians until the photos were deleted after Fox News Digital inquired about the connections, showed him regularly meeting with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and the Imam also showed himself taking trips to Iran as well.

At the latest gathering on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September, pictures from the meeting showed it was also attended by the co-founder of the left-wing activist group CODEPINK, which has been accused of having close ties to China, and former U.S. intelligence official and U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter, whose house was raided by the FBI for what Ritter himself described as violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

"Abdul El-Sayed is campaigning with, and for, extremists. If his recent comments weren’t bad enough, El-Sayed’s ties to the DSA, Maduro cronies, and Iranian regime sympathizers check all the boxes of radical leftism that has become all too commonplace in the Democrat Party," said Jessica Anderson, president of the conservative Sentinel Action Fund. "Michiganders are tired of the chaos and extremism. That’s why we see support growing for commonsense leaders like Mike Rogers."

While El-Sayed did not respond to Fox News Digital's inquiries, he did go on Fox News channel's "America's Newsroom," during which anchor Bill Hemmer pressed him on his plans to hold a campaign event with controversial, communist-sympathizing podcaster Hasan Piker. Hemmer also gave El-Sayed a chance to respond to criticism about his comments, suggesting he was worried about upsetting people "sad" about the Iranian supreme leader's death at the hands of U.S. military forces with any statement about the matter. El-Sayed said in the recording he preferred to stay silent about it.

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"I just want to remind you that most people in the city of Dearborn and Dearborn Heights are not Arab-American. They are White. And they’re worried, just like I am, they’re saddened by the fact that their tax prices go up and they are watching their gas prices go up with it all to fight a war that we shouldn’t really be a part of," El-Sayed said, trashing the war as "illegal," "immoral" and described what was going on in Iran as a "regime change war."

Hemmer also gave El-Sayed a chance to respond to his decision to campaign with Piker, which has earned him immense criticism. Piker has been slammed for justifying Hamas' attacks and slaughter, including rapes, on innocent Israelis, was forced to walk back comments about how Americans deserved 9/11, and recently told his followers that "you really don't need suicide bombing anymore," because cheap Chinese-made drones can be bought online for anyone who is interested in performing a terror strike.

Piker sympathizes with communist ideals, but has labeled himself a socialist and Marxist while rejecting communist labels. However, Piker has also described communism as the "honorable end goal" of socialism.

"It's an active decision to reach out to people who feel locked out of their politics to have a conversation, just like I'm making an active decision as somebody who is running in the Democratic primary to have a conversation on Fox News," El-Sayed said of his decision to campaign with Piker. "Just because you invite somebody to campaign with you, or you’re engaging with them, does not mean that you agree with them."

Long-time GOP strategist Collin Reed agreed with other sources Fox News spoke to who said that, even though El-Sayed may be brushing off his ties to radical folks, if other Democrats in the upcoming primary want to win they should be zeroing in on his affiliations.

"Welcoming the support from open and avowed socialist sympathizers will no doubt make Mr. El-Sayed the belle of the ball at No Kings rallies and other left-wing resistance movements, but it’s a tough sell in a battleground state like Michigan," Reed said. "You are the company you keep, and the other Democrats competing in this primary would be wise to use these revelations to disqualify Mr. El-Sayed in the eyes of their voters. If they don’t, it will be another sign that the tail is wagging the dog and the far left driving the debate in these primary contests, which is poised to shape the overall contours of the midterm elections."

Sen Tim Sheehy makes emergency landing after in-flight engine failure

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 20:53:15 -0400

Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., was forced to make an emergency landing Friday after experiencing in-flight engine failure while piloting a plane.

According to Sheehy’s chief of staff, Mike Berg, the senator was conducting a routine flight training exercise that he completes twice a year.

"This afternoon, Sen. Sheehy was engaged in a routine flight training exercise which he completes twice a year," Berg said in a statement. "The aircraft experienced a mechanical engine failure."

Berg said Sheehy and his co-pilot made an emergency landing in a field.

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"Neither pilot was injured," he added.

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The plane landed in a field in Ennis, Montana, according to KBZK.

The outlet reported that Sheehy is an FAA-certified commercial pilot and certified flight instructor.

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Reached for comment, Sheehy’s office referred Fox News Digital to Berg’s statement.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Former lawmaker dying of cancer says Senate full of 'blowhards' when it should be greatest deliberative body

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:34:27 -0400

Former Sen. Ben Sasse said in an interview Thursday that America's political and media ecosystem has become a distraction from deeper cultural decay.

"We’re not going to talk about politics at all," Sasse told Ross Douthat of The New York Times during the "Interesting Times" podcast as he undergoes treatment for stage 4 pancreatic cancer. "What we’re going to talk about is the fact that we were living through a technological revolution… and we were living through institutional collapse."

Sasse, who left the Senate in 2023 after eight years, described his diagnosis as a "death sentence" but used the conversation to frame a broader critique of American public life, arguing that politics and media have shrunk into reactive, tribal spaces.

He said the rise of digital technology has reshaped how Americans think, interact and form community, pulling attention away from real-world relationships and toward fragmented online engagement. According to Sasse, this shift has hollowed out institutions while amplifying extreme voices.

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"The weirdos are crowding everybody else out," Sasse said. "All of our outlets have an incentive to go narrow and deep, there isn’t any 60 percent audience that’s ever going to exist again."

He argued that both political parties and media ecosystems increasingly rely on amplifying fringe behavior from the opposing side, rather than solving substantive problems.

"There’s a ton of incentive to find some nut job on the left or some nut job on the right," Sasse said. "The problem with that kind of nut picking is it doesn’t ever solve a problem."

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He reflected on his own time in the Senate, acknowledging that his approach, focusing on civic norms and institutional reform, often clashed with the incentives of modern politics.

"I wasn’t a very good politician," he said. "I am way too idealistic about what I believe in America to be a very good dealmaker."

Sasse reiterated that view, arguing that political institutions have failed to keep pace with broader societal changes driven by technology and cultural fragmentation.

"Politics barely matters for what we’re going through right now," he said. "This institution is filled with blowhards."

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He warned that the digital age has replaced shared national experiences with individualized content streams, weakening social cohesion and making constructive dialogue more difficult.

"We don’t have any shared cultural data anymore," he said, contrasting today’s media environment with earlier eras when Americans consumed common programming and could engage more easily with one another.

Sasse expressed cautious optimism that Americans may eventually adapt to the current information environment, learning to filter out misinformation and extreme rhetoric.

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"If we survive, one thing that I’m nearly certain of is we will figure out how to have discussions in spite of all of the noise," he said.

"There’s going to be a lot more normies who show up and roll their eyes," he added.