The Trump administration has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, hoping to get permission to fire the head of the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers.
The emergency appeal, obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday, could likely be the start of a steady stream of court filings by lawyers of President Donald Trump and his administration aimed at reversing lower court rulings that have delayed his priorities for his second term in office.
The appeal seeks to prevent Hampton Dellinger from resuming his role as the head of the Office of Special Counsel.
A lower court judge previously temporarily reinstated Dellinger to his position, which he was appointed to by former President Joe Biden. Now, the Department of Justice is calling on the high court to lift the judge’s order.
Dellinger has argued that by law, he can only be dismissed from his position for job performance problems, which were not cited in an email dismissing him from his post.
The Trump administration’s petition came hours after an appeals court refused to lift the order on procedural grounds, which was filed last Wednesday and is expected to expire on Feb. 26.
The case is not expected to be placed on the docket until the Supreme Court returns after the Presidents' Day holiday weekend. Once filed, the earliest the justices will be able to act will be Tuesday.
Dellinger sued the Trump administration in D.C. federal court last Monday following his firing on Feb. 7.
The Trump administration has been met with a wave of lawsuits since Inauguration Day, and legal experts say many of them will likely end up in the Supreme Court's hands.
"President Trump is certainly being aggressive in terms of flexing executive power and not at all surprised that these are being challenged," John Malcolm, vice president of the Institute for Constitutional Government at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital last week.
Trump kicked off his second term with a flurry of executive orders and directives that have since been targeted by a flood of legal challenges.
Since Trump's first day back in the Oval Office, more than 40 lawsuits have been filed over the administration's actions, including the president's birthright citizenship order, immigration policies, federal funding freezes, federal employee buyouts, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and legal action against FBI and DOJ employees.
In one of the most recent developments, a Rhode Island federal judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funds, claiming the administration did not adhere to a previous order to do so. The Trump administration appealed the order to the First Circuit shortly thereafter, which was ultimately denied.
Many of these lawsuits have been filed in historically left-leaning federal court jurisdictions, including D.C. federal court. Various challenges have already been appealed to the appellate courts, including the Ninth and First Circuits, which notably hand down more progressive rulings. The Ninth Circuit, in particular, has a higher reversal rate than other circuit courts.
Fox News Digital’s Haley Chi-Sing and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr slammed former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for claiming Trump administration "incompetence" is putting Americans "at risk," pointing to a multi-billion dollar project under the Biden administration that he said yielded no results.
"You worked for an Administration that got $42 billion to connect millions of Americans to the Internet," Carr said in an X post on Saturday responding to Buttigieg. "1,163 days later, that Admin exited without connecting even 1 person & without turning even 1 shovel worth of dirt."
"If we need expertise in incompetence, will reach out," he added, accompanied by the peace sign emoji.
Carr was responding to a message Buttigieg posted on Friday that took issue with the Department of Government Efficiency, which has become a common target of Democrats as Elon Musk and the DOGE team work through federal government agencies in its quest of extinguishing government fraud and overspending.
"Incompetence in Washington puts every American at risk, no matter how you voted. No one should be happy that the DOGE team - the same folks who randomly published classified U.S. security information online today - wants access to your bank account & Social Security numbers," Buttigieg posted to X on Friday, referring to accusations DOGE posted classified information to its website, which the White House has refuted.
The Biden administration in 2021 approved a $42.5 billion provision in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was directed to a program intended to deliver internet to underserved and rural areas of the nation. Four years later, however, the program has not connected users to the internet, the Washington Policy Center found in a report last year.
States were required to submit plans to the federal government by 2023 related to the investment and deployment of the internet services. Former President Joe Biden, upon the states submitting their plans, celebrated the internet initiative as similar to former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1936 Rural Electrification Act, which brought electricity to homes nationwide.
"What we’re doing is, as I said, not unlike what Franklin Delano Roosevelt did when he brought electricity to nearly every American home and farm in our nation. Today, Kamala and I are making an equally historic investment to connect everyone in America — everyone in America to high-speed Internet by — and affordable high-speed Internet — by 2030," Biden said at the White House in June of 2023.
Carr has frequently taken issue with the $42.5 billion program, including citing it in X posts before President Donald Trump's election win in November, and the president subsequently appointing the Republican FCC commissioner as chair of the government agency.
"In 2021, the Biden Administration got $42.45 billion from Congress to deploy high-speed Internet to millions of Americans," wrote on X back in June "Years later, it has not connected even 1 person with those funds. In fact, it now says that no construction projects will even start until 2025 at earliest."
Carr explained to Fox Business back in June that while the funds were allocated to states to deliver internet services through the program, the Biden administration was at fault for the lack of progress.
"There's no question that the 2021 law put some process in place, but the Biden administration decided to layer on top of that a Byzantine additional set of hoops that states have to go through before the administration will approve them to actually get these funds and start completing the builds," Carr told FOX Business in an interview in June.
He added that while some high-speed internet projects had connected people during the Biden administration, none were funded through the $42.5 billion allocation from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.
Fox News Digital's Breck Dumas contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump announced three new members of his administration on Sunday, including Judge Jason Reding Quiñones, who the president has nominated as the next U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
"A former Federal prosecutor and Justice Department National Security Official, Judge Reding Quiñones currently serves as a highly respected State Trial Judge in Miami, and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "As the next U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Judge Reding Quiñones will restore Law and Order, prosecute violent crimes and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN."
Along with Quiñones, the president announced that Jim Byron will serve as the senior advisor to the acting national archivist, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Having already worked with the NARA, Trump said Byron understands the responsibility that goes into preserving the country’s history.
"John will utilize his extensive experience in finance, investments, and business building across the Energy, Commodities, and Critical Infrastructure sectors to Make America Energy and Manufacturing DOMINANT Again," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Jovanovic is a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his master’s in business administration in finance and management.
He also attended Princeton University, where he earned his undergraduate degree in politics.
"He will work tirelessly to protect all of the gains from our strong Tariff Policies, guarantee that our Exports receive fair treatment, and always put American companies, and our Energy exports, FIRST," Trump said. "Congratulations John!"
President Donald Trump and his administration are set to have another busy week as negotiations over ending the Russia-Ukraine war get underway.
Trump is sending a handful of U.S. officials to Saudi Arabia this week to begin negotiating a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told Fox News on Sunday morning that he and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz will travel to Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also set to travel to Saudi Arabia after his attendance of the international Munich Security Conference last week and meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday.
The meeting in Saudi Arabia comes after Trump announced last Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to "immediately" begin peace talks.
"Next week, there's a meeting in Saudi Arabia," Trump told the media during a press conference on Thursday. "Not with myself nor President Putin, but with top officials. And Ukraine will be a part of it, too. And we're going to see if we can end that war. That was a horrible war. It's a vicious, bloody war. We want to end it."
Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022, when Russia first invaded its neighboring nation. Trump had said while on the 2024 campaign trail that he would end the war if re-elected, while claiming it would never have begun if he had been in the Oval Office at the time.
Trump charged his team of U.S. officials to hold the peace meetings at his direction in Saudi Arabia, Witkoff said on Sunday to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo.
"I am going tonight. I'll be traveling there with the national security advisor, and we'll be having meetings at the direction of the president. And hopefully we'll make some really good progress with regard to Russia, Ukraine," Witkoff said.
Stateside, Trump spent his weekend in Mar-a-Lago in Florida before heading to the Daytona 500, where fans erupted into cheers when Air Force One flew over Daytona International Speedway. Trump is the first sitting president to attend two Daytona 500 races at Daytona International Speedway, previously attending the 2020 race.
Trump’s schedule this week could also include meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who requested a visit with the president at the White House.
Trump told the media on Friday that he did speak with the U.K. prime minister and that he accepted a request to meet at the White House.
"We're going to have a friendly meeting, very good. We have a lot of good things going on. But he asked to come and see me, and I just accepted his asking," Trump said.
Trump said the meeting would be held "very soon," suggesting it would happen either this coming week or the following week. No details have been revealed as to what the upcoming meeting will focus on, though it comes on the heels of Trump announcing a "reciprocal tariff" plan on Thursday that will impose "fair and reciprocal" tariffs on all major U.S. trading partners.
"On trade, I have decided for purposes of fairness that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them, no more, no less. In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff, and we charge them the exact same tax or tariff, very simple," Trump said at the White House of the tariff plan.
On the energy policy front, Trump created the National Energy Dominance Council on Friday, which is expected to "unleash" energy independence.
"We have more energy than any other country, and now we are unleashing it," Trump said Friday from the Oval Office when he signed an executive order establishing the energy council. "I call it liquid gold under our feet, and we’re going to utilize it."
Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council under the second Trump administration, previewed that the council will quickly work to make the U.S. energy dominant, even with actions as early as this coming week.
"What I expect you to see, sir, is action as early as next week that is going to shock people about how good it is for Americans," Hassett told Trump from the Oval Office on Friday.
Trump’s fourth week in office follows him already signing 65 executive orders, including 26 on his first day in office alone.
The Trump administration dismissed fewer than 50 workers from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) over the weekend after fears of wider layoffs that caused chaos among staff were quickly rescinded.
Reuters learned from sources on Friday that 325 NNSA workers were sent notices that they had been laid off from the agency, which is responsible for maintaining the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal.
The NNSA reportedly employs about 2,000 people and works around the world to secure nuclear materials, including in Ukraine, despite its ongoing war with Russia.
Hours after receiving the notices on Friday, some of the layoffs were rescinded, creating a chaotic situation at NNSA offices in Washington, D.C., and other places around the country as many employees were worried about their employment status, sources told the wire service.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Department of Energy confirmed with Fox News Digital that fewer than 50 employees were actually dismissed from their positions.
"Less than 50 NNSA employees were dismissed. These staff members were probationary employees and held primarily administrative and clerical roles," the DOE spokesperson said. "The Energy Department will continue its critical mission of protecting our national security and nuclear deterrence in the development, modernization, and stewardship of America's atomic weapons enterprise, including the peaceful use of nuclear technology and nonproliferation."
The cuts are the result of the Trump administration’s push to cut wasteful spending across the federal government.
President Donald Trump has tasked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with seeking out and producing a solution to cut wasteful spending, and part of that has included the reduction of workforce in places like the Departments of Interior, Energy, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services.
An NNSA source told Reuters that managers were called on Thursday evening to inform employees they had been let go, though on Friday they received emails saying things had suddenly changed.
Democratic lawmakers have blasted the NNSA layoffs, calling them "shocking."
"Until such time as we are briefed on these developments, we will not know the damage to our country and the world as a result of these haphazard and thoughtless firings," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, said in a release.
President Donald Trump spoke about his plans to end the Russo-Ukrainian War during a press gaggle on Sunday, stating that he believes the leaders of both countries "want to stop fighting."
Speaking on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, Trump said that he's currently in the process of "trying to get peace with Russia, Ukraine."
"And we're working very hard on it," he said. "It's a war that should have never started."
When asked if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to be involved in the conversations, Trump replied in the affirmative.
"He will be involved, yes," Trump said. When asked by a reporter, Trump also said he would allow Europeans to purchase American-made weapons sold to Ukraine.
The Republican president went on say that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin, who began the war in February 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and escalated it in February 2022 by invading Ukraine, wants to bring the war to an end.
"I think he wants to stop fighting," Trump said. "They have a big, powerful machine, you understand that? And they defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon. You know, he's been fighting a long time…I think he would like to stop fighting."
Talks between the U.S. and Russia are expected to begin in Saudi Arabia this week, though it was previously reported that Ukraine was not expected to be directly involved. Trump's national security advisor Michael Waltz said on "Fox News Sunday" that negotiations will involve "key tenants," in order to guarantee a "permanent end to the war."
"The United States and Europe have supported [the Ukrainian] effort, but the United States unquestionably has borne the brunt of that support over the years, but now President Trump is clear it needs to come to an end," Waltz said Sunday.
Trump's comments came shortly after a "Meet the Press" interview with Zelenskyy aired on NBC, in which the Ukrainian leader discussed Putin and claimed that he "fears" Trump.
"I said that [Putin] is a liar," Zelenskyy said of a recent phone call to Trump. "And he said, 'I think my feeling is that he's ready for these negotiations.' And I said to him, 'No, he's a liar. He doesn't want any peace.'"
"But I think he's really a little bit scared about the President Trump," Zelenskyy added. "And I think the president has this chance, and he's strong. And I think that really, he can push Putin to peace negotiations. Yes, I think so. I think he can, but don't trust him. Don't trust Putin. Don't trust just words about ceasefire."
Fox News Digital's Emma Colton, Danielle Wallace and Brooke Curto contributed to this report.
Some Democratic insiders are already expressing concerns over newly elected Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg just two weeks into his tenure in leadership.
Hogg has already ruffled some feathers within the DNC for using the committee’s contact list to solicit donations for his own political action committee (PAC), Leaders We Deserve, according to a report from the New York Post.
"David Hogg here: I was just elected DNC Vice Chair! This is a huge win for our movement to make the Democratic Party more reflective of our base: youthful, energetic, and ready to win," reads one of eight texts, which include solicitation links to "Leaders We Deserve," sent out to a DNC database of phone numbers, according to the report.
The texts aren’t sitting well with some DNC insiders, who believe the committee’s vast database of numbers and donors should be used to help the future of the party, not a member’s individual PAC.
"David Hogg – talk about living up to your name. A trough of DNC dollars all for him and he doesn’t seem to give an oink," one top Democrat told the Post.
Hogg, who first came to prominence as a survivor of the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting, founded the PAC in August 2023, which he said aims to help young progressives get elected to Congress and state legislatures across the country.
The now 24-year-old DNC vice chair also pockets a salary of over $100,000, the report notes, having last taken a $20,000 salary payment in December, according to the most recent public data.
While Hogg’s personal fundraising for his PAC does not break any rules, some within the party have taken exception to the young activist's use of DNC resources.
"It’s especially important for all Democratic national officials to focus on raising support for the party and not using their position to raise money for themselves or their personal political PACS," a second Democratic Party official told the Post. "It’s a stunning lack of judgment that is concerning to many people."
The DNC did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
The White House is taking aim at Democratic critics of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), highlighting that the new agency’s work was once championed by prominent Democrats.
"To all of the Democrats who are planning to protest this week, here’s an explanation on DOGE, from your party’s own beloved leaders," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X Sunday while sharing a video of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden calling for reforms similar to those being made by DOGE.
"Budget reform is not an option, it’s a necessity," Obama says in the video. "We can’t sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness or exist solely because of the power of politicians, lobbyists or interest groups."
"The American people are entitled to transparency," Biden says in the video. "They’re entitled to be able to figure out where their dollars are going, and they’re entitled to accountability to make sure that we’re using the dollars for what we said it was for."
Democrats have ramped up their attacks on DOGE and its leader, billionaire Elon Musk, over the past week, arguing that Trump’s project is a violation of the Constitution and filing several lawsuits in an effort to bring the new department’s momentum to a halt.
But Leavitt pointed out that many of DOGE’s priorities used to be the same across the aisle, especially for the two most well-known Democratic leaders.
"We are going to go through our federal budget… page by page, line by line, eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those that we do need operate in a sensible, cost-effective way," Obama says during a speech in one portion of the video.
"What should be easy is getting rid of the pointless waste and stupid spending that doesn’t benefit anybody," Obama says during another point of the video from the Oval Office, where the then-president is seated next to a large stack of papers. "No amount of waste is acceptable, not when it’s your money."
"We hope to be instilling an entire new culture, that not only our administration, but every succeeding administration will in fact pursue," Biden says at another point in the video.
Recent polling shows Americans may side with Trump and Musk on DOGE. In one poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group, 49% of respondents said they approve of DOGE's efforts compared to 44% who indicated they disapprove.
Similar numbers were seen in a recent Economist/YouGov poll, which shows 42% of respondents view DOGE favorably, while 38% indicated they had an unfavorable opinion of the department.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia hinted that there might not be a place at the table for Europe during peace negotiations with Russia.
Asked if Europeans had a role in talks between Russia and Ukraine, Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, said at a security conference in Germany over the weekend that he was "from the school of realism, and that is not going to happen."
The comments come as Trump presses ahead with plans to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia, which includes planned meetings between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia this week.
But European allies might not be included in future talks, Kellogg made clear during his remarks in Munich, arguing that too many voices adds to the risk of derailing negotiations for peace.
"What we don't want to do is get into a large group discussion," Kellogg said, noting that Trump is pressing to have a deal done within "days and weeks" and not on a longer timetable.
"You got to give us a bit of breathing space and time, but when I say that, I’m not talking six months," he said.
The comments come just a day after Vice President JD Vance ripped into European leaders during a speech at the same conference, arguing that European domestic policies limiting free speech were a bigger threat to the continent than Russia.
"The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China. It's not any other external actor," he said. "What I worry about is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America."
The remarks by U.S. leaders at the conference have left their European counterparts in shock, according to a report from Reuters, which noted that many European delegates were left worrying about continued U.S. military protection of the continent and the details of a deal brokered in Ukraine with little European involvement.
Speaking to Newsweek, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said she was still "trying to decipher" the meaning of Kellogg’s remarks over the weekend, though admitted that she found them a "concern."
"This is about Russia, but this is also about Europe," she said. "It's also difficult for foreign leaders to be reacting constantly to unsure comments."
"We feel like Ukraine has to be at the table, and Europe does, too," she added.
That sentiment was echoed by Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, who argued that Europe will have to "act more strongly" in response to the U.S. push.
"If Trump is negotiating with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin about Europe, then it is impossible to talk about Europe without us," he told NewsWeek.
French President Emmanuel Macron responded to the developments by calling on European leaders to convene an emergency meeting in Paris, which is expected to center on U.S. efforts to exclude European countries from peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Those expected to be in attendance at the Paris meeting include NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and the leaders of Germany, Italy, the U.K. and Poland, according to a report from the Guardian.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to attend the meetings, though he stressed the importance of keeping the European and U.S. alliance together.
"The U.K. will work to ensure we keep the U.S. and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face," Starmer said, according to the Guardian report.
Prospects for a peace deal to end Russia’s nearly three-year-old invasion in Ukraine have seemingly intensified in recent weeks, most notably after Trump held separate phone calls with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
At a later event at the conference, Kellogg made clear that European interests would still be considered at the bargaining table, noting that the U.S. would simply hope to serve as an intermediary in talks between Russia and Ukraine, the two main protagonists in the conflict.
Meanwhile, Rutte urged European leaders to get serious if they hope to be involved in the peace process.
"And to my European friends, I would say, get into the debate, not by complaining that you might, yes or no, be at the table, but by coming up with concrete proposals, ideas, ramp up (defense) spending," the NATO secretary-general said at the conference.
The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
As the Trump administration moves to negotiate the end of the Ukraine-Russia war, national security advisor Michael Waltz rejected the notion that European allies are not being consulted on the matter.
Talks between the U.S. and Russia are reportedly to begin in Saudi Arabia this week, while French President Emmanuel Macron is reportedly to host what is being billed as an emergency summit on Ukraine between European leaders in Paris starting Monday. Trump said he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, reportedly doing so without consulting NATO members.
In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Waltz said that in back-to-back calls, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin separately agreed that "only President Trump could get them to the table, only President Trump could drive peace."
Waltz noted that Trump spoke to Macron last week and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has an upcoming trip to the United States.
"We had no less than our vice president, our secretary of state, our secretary of defense, our secretary of treasury, who was in Kyiv personally, and our special envoy {Keith} Kellogg all in Europe this week, all engaging our allies," Waltz said. "Now, they may not like some of the sequencing that is going on in these negotiations, but I have to push back on any notion that they aren't being consulted. They absolutely are."
"At the end of the day though, this is going to be under President Trump's leadership that we get this war to an end," he added.
Among the critics of the Trump administration's handling of the negotiations was Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the president's inability to "even identify Ukraine as an equal bargaining power, after the blood Ukraine has shed, [is] just a shocking surrender of American values and interests." Noting how Zelenskyy said he would not be bound by any deal negotiated between Russia and the U.S., "Fox News Sunday" host Shannon Bream asked Waltz if Kyiv would have a seat at the table.
In response, Waltz said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice President JD Vance stressed in talks with Zelenskyy "entering into a partnership with the United States," and being "co-invested with President Trump, with the American people going forward."
"The American people deserve to be recouped, deserve to have some type of payback for the billions they have invested in this war," Waltz said. "I can't think of anything that would make the American people more comfortable with future investments than if we were able to be in a partnership and have the American people made whole. And I'll point out that much of the European aid is actually in the form of a loan. That is repaid. It's repaid with interest on Russian assets. So President Trump is rethinking the entire dynamic here. That has some people uncomfortable, but I think Zelenskyy would be very wise to enter into this agreement with the United States. There's no better way to secure them going forward, and further, there was a question of whether Putin would come to the table. He has now done so under President Trump's leadership, and we're going to continue those talks in the coming weeks at President Trump's direction."
Asked why Ukraine won't be directly part of the Saudi Arabia talks, Waltz said, "The Ukrainian people have fought valiantly. They have seen entire cities destroyed. The United States and Europe have supported this effort, but the United States unquestionably has borne the brunt of that support over the years, but now President Trump is clear it needs to come to an end."
Waltz added that the negotiations will be driven by "key tenants," including ensuring that there's a "permanent end to the war" and that the conflict "can't be ended on the battlefield."
"This has turned into a World War I-style meat grinder of human beings," he said, adding that economic integration going forward would be the "best arbiter of peace" and long-term military security guarantees have to be European-led.
"When a third of NATO members still are not contributing – a third – are still not contributing the minimum they all committed to a decade ago, I think that leaves a lot of Americans questioning the level of their commitment to back the rhetoric we're seeing," Waltz said.
President Donald Trump’s prowess as a negotiator will help determine if Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday.
Rubio appeared on CBS’ "Face the Nation," where host Margaret Brennan asked if he could trust that potential negotiations with Russia would be forthright considering how Putin "likes to use diplomacy as a cover to distract while he continues to wage war."
"I don't think in geopolitics anyone should trust anyone," Rubio responded. "I think these things have to be verified through actions. I said yesterday that peace is not a noun, it's a verb. It's an action. You have to take concrete steps towards it."
Rubio added that there is "no better negotiator in American politics" than Trump, saying that the president "will know very quickly whether this is a real thing or whether this is an effort to buy time."
"But I don't want to prejudge that," Rubio said. "I don't want to foreclose the opportunity to end the conflict that's already cost the lives of hundreds of thousands and continues every single day to be increasingly a war of attrition on both sides."
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. The fighting has produced heavy casualties on both sides, becoming Europe’s largest military conflict since World War II.
Trump had repeatedly said while on the campaign trail that if he was president in 2022, the war would not have broken out — vowing to end it if re-elected.
Trump spoke to Putin in a phone call on Wednesday, telling reporters that he and Putin would likely meet soon to negotiate a peace deal over Ukraine. Trump later assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he also would have a seat at the table.
While some officials have indicated that European nations wouldn't be involved in talks, Rubio on Sunday said that should the leaders reach the point of "real negotiations," both Ukraine and Europe would be involved.
"Ultimately, it will reach a point when you are – if it's real negotiations, and we're not there yet – but if that were to happen, Ukraine will have to be involved, because they're the one that were invaded, and the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on Putin and Russia as well, and they've contributed to this effort."
Rubio emphasized that the phone call between Trump and Putin was only a small step in the process towards opening a negotiation to end the war, and that "we have a long way to go."
"We're just not there yet," he said. "We really aren't, but hopefully we will be, because we'd all like to see this war end."
Russian President Vladimir Putin is a "little bit scared" of President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview that aired Sunday.
Zelenskyy joined NBC's "Meet the Press," recounting that when he spoke to Trump by phone about a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, he told the president that he believes Putin fears the American leader.
"I said that [Putin] is a liar," Zelenskyy recounted of his phone call to Trump. "And he said, 'I think my feeling is that he's ready for these negotiations.' And I said to him, 'No, he's a liar. He doesn't want any peace.'
"But I think he's really a little bit scared about the President Trump. And I think the president has this chance, and he's strong. And I think that really he can push Putin to peace negotiations. Yes, I think so. I think he can, but don't trust him. Don't trust Putin. Don't trust just words about ceasefire," Zelenskyy told NBC's Kristen Welker on "Meet the Press."
Zelenskyy's interview follows Trump announcing last Wednesday that Putin had agreed to "immediately" begin peace negotiations to end the war. Trump tapped Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff to lead negotiations with Russia and Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said during his interview that he trusts Trump's leadership amid negotiations to end the war that has raged between Russia and Ukraine since 2022, but that he won't accept a deal that did not include talks with Ukraine.
"I believe and trust only in real steps. And I trust President Trump because he's the president of the United States, because your people, your people voted for him, and I respect their choice, and I will work with President Trump with trust, which I have to the United States," Zelenskyy told Welker when asked if he feels Trump values Ukraine at the same level as Russia.
"But of course, I want to have [a] real meeting, productive, without just words, with concrete steps, and to hear us, to hear President Trump, to make a common plan, and to share it with allies, then with Russians, and stop this war. I think we need it urgently. We have to do it without basic things, where there are concrete steps."
Zelenskyy added in his interview that he will not accept any negotiation hashed out by just the U.S. and Russia.
"I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never.… The war in Ukraine is against us, and it is our human losses. And we are thankful for all the support, unity between USA – in USA around Ukraine support, bipartisan unity, bipartisan support, we're thankful for all of this. But there is no… leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us about us," he said.
Witkoff joined Fox News earlier on Sunday and reported that he and Waltz are heading to Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening to begin negotiations on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Vice President JD Vance's speech in Germany slamming Europe's penchant for censorship on Sunday.
Rubio clashed with CBS host Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation" after she suggested that free speech had been "weaponized" to bring about the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.
Brennan highlighted Vance's speech to the Munich Security Conference in Germany last week, which criticized European allies for adopting a "soviet"-style approach to censorship.
"What did all of this accomplish, other than irritating our allies?" Brennan asked.
"Why would our allies or anybody be irritated by free speech and by someone giving their opinion? We are, after all, democracies," Rubio said. "The Munich Security Conference is largely a conference of democracies in which one of the things that we cherish and value is the ability to speak freely and provide your opinions. And so, I think if anyone's angry about his words, they don't have to agree with him, but to be angry about it, I think actually makes his point."
"Well, he was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide," Brennan replied. "He met with the head of a political party that has far-right views and some historic ties to extreme groups. The context of that was changing the tone of it. And you know that."
"Well, I have to disagree with you. No - I have, I have to disagree with you," Rubio said as the pair talked over one another. "Free speech was not used to conduct a genocide. The genocide was conducted by an authoritarian Nazi regime that happened to also be genocidal because they hated Jews and they hated minorities and they had a list of people they hated, but primarily the Jews."
He added, "There was no free speech in Nazi Germany. There was none. There was also no opposition in Nazi Germany. They were the sole and only party that governed that country. So that's not an accurate reflection of history."
Rubio went on to reiterate Vance's point that European leaders should be able to continue working with the U.S. and other like-minded nations despite facing criticism, at which point Brennan ended the segment.
Agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will no longer wear body cameras during field operations after a social media post publicized how to identify individual agents.
"All U.S. Border Patrol Agents will cease the use of body-worn cameras (BWC) in all operational environments," CBP said in a statement to NewsNation, which originally reported the news.
The directive comes after a post on Reddit claimed that the mobile application BLE Radar, which uses Bluetooth to scan for low-energy devices such as phones, smartwatches and speakers, can also track CBP body cameras from a distance of 100 yards and can also trigger improvised explosive devices.
CBP officials sent out a directive following the post informing agents of a "potential security risk" while immediately pulling body cameras from use in the field.
"Pending completion of investigation and risk mitigation, all Agents will stand down the use of their BWCs [body worn cameras] until further notice. Additional guidance and information will be disseminated as it is received," the directive said.
Sources told NewsNation that the cameras used by CBP agents are Avon body cams, which the social media post claims are devices BLE Radar, which was developed by F-Droid, can detect.
The directive comes as both CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have ramped up enforcement efforts in the weeks since President Donald Trump took office, an effort that was a cornerstone of the president's campaign to return to the White House.
Since the beginning of February, the daily average of gotaways, or illegal immigrants who successfully enter the U.S. without being apprehended, at the southern border has fallen to just 132 per day, a 93% drop from highs seen under former President Joe Biden, a senior Department of Homeland Security source told Fox News.
Data obtained by Fox News showed that during FY 2023, 670,674 known gotaways were recorded by the agency, or more than 1,800 per day.
The White House slammed Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy as a "moron" on social media after the Connecticut lawmaker posted an expletive-riddled admonishment against a Lara Trump parody account he seemingly believed belonged to the president's daughter-in-law.
"You are a moron, Chris. It is obvious this page is not affiliated with President Trump, his family, or the administration. We do, however, support your right to make such a statement, no matter how imbecilic it makes you look," the White House's X account, Rapid Response 47, said in a message posted on Friday.
The rapid response account is a new White House account that was launched in January to hold "fake news accountable."
The White House was responding to Murphy singling out a social media post he ostensibly believed Lara Trump posted regarding border czar Tom Homan potentially arresting Rep. Alexandira Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Murphy included a screenshot of the alleged Lara Trump tweet, showing the handle for the account belongs to an X page called the "Lara Trump Page," a parody fan account – not her official X account.
"If you support Border Czar Tom Homan arresting AOC for giving illegal aliens instructions on how to avoid deportation, post a [thumbs up emoji] in the comments," the fan page account posted on Thursday. "Make your voice heard."
Murphy responded to the social media post by arguing the Trump administration has "some f---ing gall" discussing free speech when advocating for the arrest of a Democrat.
"It takes some f---ng gall to have Vance lecturing Europe on ‘free speech’ when at the exact same time the Trump regime is threatening Democrats back home with arrest if they even explain people’s rights to them," Murphy posted to X on Friday.
Fox News Digital reached out to Murphy's office for comment Sunday morning, but did not immediately reply.
The parody account's message was likely referring to Ocasio-Cortez's office posting a webinar "Know Your Rights" guide about how illegal immigrants can avoid deportation amid the Trump administration's border crackdown following the immigration crisis that rocked the U.S. under the Biden administration.
Homan, former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and current border czar under the second Trump administration, told Fox News' Laura Ingraham last week that he asked the Justice Department if Ocasio-Cortez's guide crossed a legal line.
"Is that impeding our law enforcement efforts?" Homan said on the "Ingraham Angle." "If so, what are we going to do about it? Is she crossing the line? So I'm working with the Department of Justice and finding out. Where is that line that they cross? So maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now."
Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s tariffs will be a boon for an Ohio-based steel mill and its employees, the CEO of JSW Steel USA, a subsidiary of a massive India-based steel manufacturer, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
"It's a good piece of the formula that results in our company increasing utilization in the next 12 months, from 68% to probably 84%, and beyond that in years to come. So it's a very exciting time for us," JSW Steel USA CEO Robert Simon told Fox News Digital of Trump’s tariff plan in a phone interview on Thursday evening.
Simon has served as the CEO of JSW Steel USA since March of last year, bringing with him more than 30 years of experience in the steel industry. He spoke to Fox News Digital following Trump announcing his administration’s "fair and reciprocal plan on trade," which he celebrated during a press conference as a project that will flood the U.S. with jobs as trading partners move their industries to U.S. soil to avoid tariffs.
JSW USA is a subsidiary of Mumbai-headquartered JSW Group, which owns India’s second-largest private steel company, JSW Steel. JSW USA has two steel locations in the U.S., one at Mingo Junction, Ohio, and another operation in Baytown, Texas.
Simon told Fox News Digital that across his more than 30 years in the industry, U.S. steel manufacturers have complied with strict environmental and safety practices, and paid their employees fairly, while foreign steel manufacturers could skirt U.S. regulations while exporting their goods to the U.S.
"We, as steel producers, we paid our employees fair wages, treated them fairly, met some of the most – if not the most strict – environmental requirements in the world, and those practices in our markets, with the simple supply-demand equation establishes market pricing."
"The frustration is, how is it fair that others that don't treat their employees the same way, don't follow the same rules, don't follow environmental practices… they get government subsidies. How is it fair that they can come into our markets and take market share when it's not an equal playing field?" he said.
Simon said the Ohio plant alone will likely see a minimum increase of 100 jobs in the next year under Trump’s tariff plan.
"As you look at that increase in utilization coupled with the overall increase in production that we foresee in the next three to five years, we estimate, at a minimum, a 100 jobs increase in the next 12 plus months associated with that utilization rate increase," he said.
Trump's administration issued a fact sheet last week restoring a 25% tariff on steel, which detailed "domestic steel and aluminum industries and achieving sustainable capacity utilization of at least 80%." JSW Steel USA told Fox News Digital that they are already on track to increase their utilization rate from 68% to 84% – higher than Trump’s target number of 80%.
Under the first Trump administration, JSW Steel USA notably sued the federal government in 2019 over tariffs regarding imported steel-slab materials. The company now makes all domestic steel-slab materials as part of the JSW Group’s belief that its facilities both make products and supply the product in the communities they serve.
Simon celebrated in his comments to Fox Digital that Ohio families that had long worked in the steel industry are making a return to the factory as the industry reinvigorates under the first and second Trump administrations. JSW USA purchased the Ohio factory in 2018, after it had operated as a Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel plant, but sat dormant for years.
"This is a company that had been shut down for over seven years, when we acquired it. We hired a workforce, trained a workforce, all from the local area. What's really cool to see is we've got employees whose grandparents and great-grandparents worked in this same company, which ended up being shut down, and they're part now of reviving that company and bringing it to an offering of products that's extremely competitive and extremely impressive in terms of its value added products," Simon said.
Trump announced a reciprocal tariff plan on Thursday, tapping Howard Lutnick, his nominee for commerce secretary, to produce a report on reciprocal trade relations within 180 days. Lutnik said Thursday that he will have the report ready for Trump by April 1.
"On trade, I have decided for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff – meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them no more, no less. In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff and we charge them the exact same tax or tariff. Very simple," he said at the White House on Thursday.
Trump touted that the plan will lead to a job boon in the U.S. as foreign trading partners move operations stateside to avoid the reciprocal tariffs.
"They can build a factory here, a plant or whatever it may be, here," Trump said Thursday afternoon from the Oval Office. "And that includes the medical, that includes cars, that includes chips and semiconductors. That includes everything. If you build here, you have no tariffs whatsoever. And I think that's what's going to happen. I think our country is going to be flooded with jobs."
Simon told Fox News Digital that Trump's business and deal-making abilities are "obvious to everybody" as he whips through dozens of executive actions and orders in just a few weeks back in the Oval Office, remarking that it's "pretty amazing."
"It's become obvious to everybody that Mr. Trump is not a politician, right, but, more of a business person stepping in and leading our country, from much more of a business perspective than as a career politician. Like it or not, for those folks that have different opinions, this results in very quick negotiations. I don't think I've ever in my time here seen so much movement, so much decision-making, so many decisions being made in this shorter period of time since he's been in office. It's pretty, pretty amazing," he said.
Trump also met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, and the two discussed trade, the economic relationship between India and the United States and military sales. The pair also "committed to drive opportunities for U.S. and Indian companies to make greenfield investments in high-value industries in each other’s countries," including naming JSW’s operations at Texas and Ohio as a prime ongoing investment in the U.S., according to a joint statement from the two nations.
"The steel tariffs enacted by President Trump are a necessary step in leveling the playing field for American steelworkers and manufacturers. Foreign competitors fail to protect their workforce at the same safety standards, do not compensate them fairly, and produce steel that contributes to environmental degradation, all the while, seeking to flood the U.S. market, taking advantage of our strong economy, driving a collapse of our markets in the process," Simon added in comment provided to Fox Digital.
Nicol Suarez, a 30-year-old trans migrant from Colombia, was arrested Wednesday after allegedly following the child into the bathroom of a bodega across the street from Thomas Jefferson Park and attacking him, according to a report in the New York Post.
The boy was able to leave the bathroom and flag down witnesses after the attack, resulting in Suarez’s arrest the next day.
Suarez was already wanted in both New Jersey and Massachusetts at the time of the crime, the report notes, while ICE had a detainer on the Colombian migrant, the agency’s way of requesting that any law enforcement agencies that arrest the suspect hold him to be turned over to federal authorities.
That detainer means ICE could quickly deport the individual if local authorities cooperate, a source told the New York Post.
"It just goes to show that Donald Trump and [border czar] Tom Homan are correct that you need to get the violent people out of New York City and Eric Adams, Letitia James and Kathy Hochul should all cooperate because this person has an ICE detainer," the source said.
"ICE could just pick this person up and deport them back," the source continued, adding that New York City’s "sanctuary laws" will mean local police "can’t do anything."
Prosecutors asked for $500,000 bail and $1.5 million bond for Suarez, according to the report, a number that was shot down by Judge Elizabeth Shamahs, who settled on a $100,000 bail or $250,000 bond.
But the source believes the amount shows that the city is still not concerned with the true victims of migrant crimes.
"I feel really bad for the kid that has to go through this because his life will never be the same," the source said. "We worry about the migrants but what about the victim? This is a true victim."
EXCLUSIVE: A prominent former fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) revealed that donors are fed up with the Democratic Party, claiming that it is in "shambles" following the presidential election.
Lindy Li, a well-known fundraiser who raised money for the Democrats' 2024 presidential campaign, announced her exit from the party in December after being ostracized for criticizing then-Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
Speaking to Fox News Digital after President Donald Trump assumed office, Li, who has raised tens of millions of dollars for Democrats over the years, said the party she once stumped for is now "completely rudderless."
"Democratic donors absolutely, without a single exception, they are so angry and upset with the state of the party. They think the party is in complete shambles," Li told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
"It's their religion, it's their god, woke is their god. This trans, woke insanity – they are enthralled by it," Li said.
"Companies are running as fast as they can from this toxic agenda, yet the Democratic Party is doubling down time and time again on this," the former Democratic fundraiser added. "Honestly, it's gender hysteria. It's almost like a social contagion."
Celebrities, such as Beyoncé and Cardi B, were criticized for reportedly accepting payments from the Harris campaign to appear and speak at events.
The artists have denied accepting payments from the campaign, but Li said that they "lied about not getting paid."
"All their production companies were getting compensated," Li told Fox.
After Beyoncé did not perform during her appearance at a Harris campaign event in October, critics claimed attendees had been intentionally misled.
"I honestly believe that the campaign used that to generate attention and publicity for their event," Li said in an interview.
After suffering defeat in the 2024 presidential election, Li said there is "no one on the horizon" to lead the Democratic Party into the next election cycle.
The former DNC official said the "humanity and kindness" she has received from Republicans has been "unbelievable" and that she is "optimistic" that she will retain her donors after leaving the Democratic Party, as she will now raise money for Republican candidates.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has responded after a prominent ex-official endorsed him to run for mayor of New York City against incumbent first-termer Eric Adams.
Former state comptroller Carl McCall, 89, released an open letter backing Cuomo on Saturday. Cuomo has not formally declared his candidacy in the race, though he is polling as the top potential challenger to Adams in June's primary.
In response to the letter, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid scandals connected to COVID-19 nursing home deaths and sexual harassment claims, acknowledged the history that he and his family share with McCall. Cuomo has always denied the allegations against him.
"Carl and I have a special bond that starts before me. I first had the pleasure of meeting Carl when I was in my early 20s when he worked with my father, the late Mario Cuomo, as the state's human rights commissioner and together the two fought to make New York a fairer, more just place for all who live here."
"In these divisive and troubling times, his voice is needed more than ever – for his is one of moral clarity, experience and guided by what is right for the people above all else," Cuomo wrote Saturday.
"Today, in these uncertain times, and after more than four decades of friendship and counsel, I thank him for his faith in me and for his advice, trust and confidence," Cuomo said. "His sentiments are both humbling and deeply meaningful."
In his letter, McCall did not cite Adams by name, but he appeared to indirectly slam how the Justice Department on Friday asked a court to dismiss corruption charges against Adams that were filed during the Biden administration. Adams met with President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, last week, agreeing to work together as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cracks down on criminal illegal immigrants.
"Donald Trump wants us to fail as a community. For that reason, the leadership of New York City has rarely, if ever, been as vital as it is today," McCall wrote. "The Mayor of New York must not only have the competence and capacity to manage the City’s real challenges, but the mayor must have the ability to defend our city and demonstrate a powerful counterbalance to President Trump. The people of New York cannot be represented by someone whose loyalty to the city is compromised — we deserve a Mayor of New York to be for New York."
McCall, a Black elder statesman who once ran in a contentious gubernational primary against Cuomo in 2002, turned on Adams, who is New York City’s second Black mayor. McCall endorsed Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign.
"I have never publicly urged a candidate to run for office. But I have never before felt it so necessary to use my voice," McCall wrote Saturday. "For these reasons, I urge Governor Andrew Cuomo to run for Mayor of the City of New York and I offer my full support."
"I’ve known Andrew for over 40 years. Some might be surprised that I am supporting Andrew so strongly and so early," the letter continued. "But despite how it is sometimes framed in the press, we were never political adversaries: twenty years ago, we were competing candidates who shared then and share now the same core values of what is right and wrong and sought to make New York a better place."
"More than anyone else, Andrew is the leader we need and the leader we deserve," McCall wrote.
Despite still not having declared a mayoral bid, Cuomo released a campaign-style video on Valentine's Day, in which he told senior citizens, "I missed you," and declaring that "the strongest four-letter word is not hate, it’s love."
Albany politicians have questioned Adams’ independence from Trump after the DOJ asked that the corruption charges be dropped, and some prosecutors resigned amid allegations of a quid pro quo agreement.
In response, Adams said Friday on X, "I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never."
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner announced a new Department of Government Efficiency task force on Thursday to "eliminate waste, fraud and abuse" at his federal agency.
DOGE revealed that $1.9 billion in HUD money had been recovered as of Friday, saying the funds were misplaced during the Biden administration and were "earmarked for the administration of financial services, but were no longer needed."
DOGE said it worked with Turner to release the funds, and they are now available for use by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
Turner said HUD launched its own DOGE Task Force to review how the agency is spending taxpayer money. HUD employees will lead the task force with a mission to maximize their budget and efficiency, reporting their findings directly to Turner.
"HUD will be detailed and deliberate about every dollar spent to serve rural, tribal and urban communities. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are no longer in a business-as-usual posture, and the DOGE task force will play a critical role in helping to identify and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and ultimately better serve the American people," Turner said.
Turner said he established the task force to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order to "maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."
The HUD DOGE Task Force will work to "ensure all programs, processes and personnel are working together to advance the purpose of the department."
HUD is responsible for national housing policy and urban development, and its programs include affordable housing programs, community development, homeowner support, fair housing and anti-discrimination enforcement, homelessness services, and affordable housing programs.
Turner said during his announcement Thursday that the DOGE Task Force had already identified over $260 million in savings.
"We have already identified over $260 million in savings, and we have more to accomplish," Turner said.
As Elon Musk and DOGE comb their way through the federal bureaucracy, some agencies are conducting their own investigations to meet DOGE halfway.
Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency Lee Zeldin announced on Thursday he had canceled a $50 million environmental justice grant.
"I canceled a $50 million grant to an organization called the Climate Justice Alliance. They say that climate justice runs through a free Palestine. I think that the American taxpayer wouldn't want $50 million going to this left-wing advocacy group. It’s canceled," Zeldin said.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has also committed to cooperating with DOGE to cut wasteful spending at the Department of Defense.
"We will partner with them. It's long overdue. The Defense Department's got a huge budget, but it needs to be responsible," Hegseth told Fox News.
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