FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers are mounting a massive effort to repeal the federal inheritance tax, colloquially known as the "death tax."

Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, is leading more than 170 House Republicans on the "Death Tax Repeal Act," which is also backed by the House’s top tax writer, Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

An inheritance or estate tax is levied upon the beneficiary who receives assets upon a person's death. Republicans have long criticized the estate tax as a needless financial burden on grieving families, particularly hitting small family-owned businesses.

It comes as Republicans work on extending President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, whose provisions expire at the end of this year. Among the measures sunsetting in 2026 is a doubling of the estate tax exemption.

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

Supporters of the federal estate tax point out that it affects a relatively small number of estates. Penalties are triggered for estates worth roughly $13.9 million at the time of death, according to the latest IRS data.

A counterpart bill in the Senate is being led by Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and is backed by 44 senators. 

Both Feenstra and Thune argued it was an unnecessary tax that unfairly affected family farms and small businesses in their home states of Iowa, South Dakota and elsewhere.

BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF 'PURGE' OF 'MINORITY' FEDERAL WORKERS

"The death tax is an egregious double tax that unfairly targets American family farms and small businesses and directly threatens long-held farming traditions in rural Iowa and across the country," Feenstra told Fox News Digital. "It is ridiculous that the federal government sends grieving families a massive tax bill when a loved one passes away."

He said it amounted to "double taxation."

"Family farms and ranches play a vital role in our economy and are the lifeblood of rural communities in South Dakota," Thune told Fox News Digital.

"Losing even one of them to the death tax is one too many. It’s time to put an end to this punishing, burdensome tax once and for all so that family farms, ranches and small businesses can grow and thrive without costly estate planning or massive tax burdens that can threaten their viability."

If Republicans fail to extend Trump’s tax cuts before the end of this year, the estate tax would affect any estates worth roughly $7 million or more, according to Modern Wealth Law.

House Ways & Means Committee Republicans shared a memo late last year that said everyday American households could see taxes rise by over 20% if the tax cuts expired.

Feenstra and Thune’s bill would abolish the tax altogether, however.

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is threatening to file articles of impeachment against a federal judge who blocked President Donald Trump's federal funding freeze.

"I’m drafting articles of impeachment for U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr.," Clyde wrote on X.

"He’s a partisan activist weaponizing our judicial system to stop President Trump’s funding freeze on woke and wasteful government spending. We must end this abusive overreach. Stay tuned."

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

U.S. District Judge John McConnell filed a new motion Monday ordering the Trump administration to comply with a restraining order issued Jan. 31, temporarily blocking the administration’s efforts to pause federal grants and loans. 

McConnell’s original restraining order came after 22 states and the District of Columbia challenged the Trump administration’s actions to hold up funds for grants, such as the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant and other Environmental Protection Agency programs. However, the states said Friday that the administration is not following through and funds are still tied up.  

A three-judge panel on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration’s appeal of the order on Tuesday.

McConnell has come under fire by Trump supporters and conservatives who have accused him of being a liberal activist. 

Clyde and others have cited a video of McConnell in 2021 saying courts must "stand and enforce the rule of law, that is, against arbitrary and capricious actions by what could be a tyrant or could be whatnot."

"You have to take a moment and realize that this, you know, middle-class, white, male, privileged person needs to understand the human being that comes before us that may be a woman, may be Black, may be transgender, may be poor, may be rich, may be — whatever," McConnell said in the video, according to WPRI.

Elon Musk wrote on X in response, "Impeach this activist posing as a judge! Such a person does great discredit to the American justice system."

BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF 'PURGE' OF 'MINORITY' FEDERAL WORKERS

Clyde confirmed he was preparing articles of impeachment when asked by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

"For a federal judge to deny the executive their legitimate right to exercise their authority is wrong," Clyde told Fox News Digital. "This type of judge, this political activist – this radical political activist – should be removed from the bench."

When reached for a response to Clyde's threat, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island said McConnell "often sits down with members of the media upon request" but did not comment on pending cases.

Trump’s allies have been hammering the judges who have issued a series of decisions curbing the president’s executive orders.

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., threatened to prepare impeachment articles against another judge earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer of the U.S. Southern District of New York, for blocking Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury records.

FIRST ON FOX: In the heat of the 2024 election cycle, the name Project 2025 was on the lips of Democrats and mainstream media figures everywhere, until it was not.

President Donald Trump’s win ushered in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its de-facto leader, Elon Musk. At the same time, Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, launched DOGE committees in Congress, and Project 2025 appeared to fall to the political wayside.

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, who wrote the foreword to Project 2025 and whose organization published the anthology, said voters’ collective voices ushered in Trump and DOGE’s current work, not necessarily the policy proposals of Washington’s conservative "do-tank" or scholars inside-the-beltway writ-large.

"The American people delivered a clear mandate in November: dismantle the bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy that is the Deep State. And the latest polling – a 53% approval rating - confirms overwhelming support for President Trump’s efforts to do just that," he said.

PROJECT 2025 REMAINS NONPARTISAN, TRUE TO 1980S GOOD-GOVT INCEPTION DESPITE WILD OUTCRY: KEY FIGURES

When asked about liberals’ panic over Project 2025 and how it has been muted with the rise of DOGE, Roberts suggested the left will latch onto anything to make an issue out of it if they believe they can make gains.

"The Left has no new ideas—just unpopular ones. When they fail to win on substance, they simply choose to attack. First, it was Project 2025. Now, it’s DOGE. Different name, same baseless fearmongering," Roberts said in a Monday interview. "But make no mistake: the American people are ready for real change, and we’re not backing down."

Trump, himself, repeatedly dispelled allegations he and Project 2025 – a thousand-page policy proposal product of the conservative Heritage Foundation – were joined at the political hip.

Meanwhile, Heritage leaders past and present, like Reagan Attorney General Edwin Meese and Roberts himself have rejected claims there has been anything radical about Project 2025. 

"In the first one, in 1981, it was much more organizational, with information on structure and organizational norms, where – later on in 1989 – it was much more individual policy issues-based," he said. 

The quadrennial work has been published under various titles and compositions since the 1980 presidential cycle, with some exceptions.

Nonetheless, Project 2025 became styled as a "right-wing boogeyman" talking point on the left.

TRUMP PLANS FIRST PRESIDENTIAL VISIT TO HELENE-RAVAGED NC

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., founded the "Stop Project 2025 Task Force" last year, comparing the project to a "Blitzkrieg" and saying that lawmakers must understand it and "prepare ourselves accordingly."

At the Democratic National Convention, both Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, held up copies of Project 2025 on stage.

"It is a radical plan to drag us backwards, bankrupt the middle class, and raise prices on working class families like yours and mine," said Kenyatta, who has since been elected DNC vice chairman along with gun control activist David Hogg.

The Project’s rumored reputation became fodder for constituents at town halls as well, including in one swing-seat congressional race where a Republican’s incredulous response led to a viral moment, according to Politico.

PROJECT 2025 ISSUES BLISTERING RESPONSE TO HARRIS VIA DOZENS OF INDEPENDENT FACT CHECKS

New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr. was asked about Project 2025 at such an event and responded he had never read the document.

"The first time I’ve ever heard of being supportive of it was when I was accused of supporting it," Kean reportedly replied.

DOGE’s ruminations about reforming or trimming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – which have enraged the likes of its proverbial "founder" Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. – were, however, mirrored in the policy proposal anthology.

"Elon Musk and the guy who wrote Project 2025, Russ Vought, are trying to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," Warren said Monday. "If they succeed, CEOs and Wall Street will once again be free to trick, trap and cheat you."

Vought did not write Project 2025. He was credited as the author for Chapter 2, which analyzes the executive office of the president.

DOGE MEETS CONGRESS: GOP LAWMAKER LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK ‘TAKE ON CRAZYTOWN’

Former Chase-Manhattan Bank Vice President Robert Bowes called CFPB "highly politicized, damaging, and utterly unaccountable" in a section of the project he authored.

"It is unconstitutional. Congress should abolish the CFPB and reverse Dodd–Frank Section 1061, thus returning the consumer protection function of the CFPB to banking regulators," Bowes wrote.

Recent media headlines have tried to tie DOGE to the project, with critical stories headlined "Project 2025 Architect" in reference to people like Vought.

Roberts said Trump’s team should be the beneficiary of such headlines, in that "he and his team deserve the credit" – and that it is a welcome sight that people who embody Heritage’s guiding principles are being tapped for top positions in the new administration.

"Heritage is thrilled to see President Trump appoint so many hardworking patriots who put America First. Russ is one of the great statesmen of our age—a brilliant, principled leader with the vision and intellect to take on ‘The Swamp’ and win."

"Between Russ at the helm of OMB and Elon at the helm of DOGE, they will rein in wasteful spending, restore fiscal discipline, and ensure that our government serves the people—not the other way around."

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One of Trump and Musk’s more recent major endeavors – taking an ax to USAID – is more a project of DOGE, while Project 2025 suggests a more measured approach to rein in the agency’s expenditures and politicization.

That project section, authored by former agency COO Max Primorac, describes USAID as having been "deformed" by the Biden administration to pursue a "divisive political and cultural agenda."

Primorac suggests the next administration "scale back" USAID’s global footprint and return it to pre-COVID budget levels while "deradicalizing" its programs and cutting its international affairs accounts.

Additionally, former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli wrote in Project 2025 that the president should "pursue legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security" and that it has not "gelled into one DHS" as was its goal when founded after 9/11.Cuccinelli had argued that breaking up DHS along "mission[-related] lines" would lead to a more effective government apparatus.

Instead, Trump and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem have expanded DHS’ role versus the Biden administration, including the addition of former ICE acting Director Tom Homan as border czar.

FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is pushing to give President Donald Trump more control over the federal spending process, as his administration continues to crack down on funding that does not align with the GOP agenda.

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is leading legislation to repeal the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 Nixon-era law aimed at stopping the president from having unilateral say over government spending.

It would give Trump greater ability to accomplish his goals for Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Clyde told Fox News Digital in an interview.

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

"I think it goes hand in hand with what DOGE is doing right now and with what the president has in mind to do, and that is to make our government more effective and more efficient," Clyde said.

"They're simply bringing the fraud, waste and abuse to light. And, then the rest of us, you know, the president and the executive need to take action on it. And then Congress needs to look at that and say, hey, we need to codify that into law to make sure that it stays beyond just this presidency."

His legislation has more than 20 House GOP co-sponsors and a companion bill in the Senate led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

Clyde told Fox News Digital that he intends to raise his bill with members of the Trump administration, which has also driven significant pushback against the Impoundment Control Act.

Russell Vought, Trump’s recently confirmed director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has previously called the Impoundment Control Act unconstitutional.

Trump himself has made similar arguments.

"Since the Empowered Control Act of ‘74, we have seen a tremendous increase in spending. And I think that's part of the problem right there. The president is required now by law to spend the exact amount that Congress authorizes or appropriates for a specific program," Clyde said.

'WE'RE THE GOLD STANDARD': GOP LAWMAKER CALLS FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARING OVER DC PLANE CRASH

"Well, as a small business owner, I understand the rules of business. And I think that if you can accomplish the same goal and be more financially efficient, I think you should be allowed to do that. And I think the president has always had the authority to do that under the Constitution."

Trump has already exercised significant control over existing federal spending commitments. He paused most foreign aid funding soon after taking office last month, as well as other funding streams his administration said necessitated review. 

Parts of Trump’s federal funding freezes have been challenged in court, with a federal judge ordering the White House just this week to comply with an earlier legal order directing them to reinstate funding.

FIRST ON FOX: Republicans lawmakers are renewing efforts to gut federal funding to NPR and PBS amid the Trump administration’s upheaval of the federal bureaucracy.

Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., is leading a bill in the House of Representatives that would halt taxpayer dollars from going to either media broadcaster and reroute existing federal funds to reducing the national debt, according to legislative text previewed by Fox News Digital.

"As a former newspaper owner and publisher, I understand the vital role of balanced, non-partisan media. Unfortunately, these taxpayer-funded outlets have chosen advocacy over accuracy, using public dollars to promote a political agenda rather than report the facts," Tenney told Fox News Digital.

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

The legislation’s Senate counterpart is being led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who told Fox News Digital, "Americans have hundreds of sources of news and commentary, and they don’t need politically biased, taxpayer-funded media choosing what they should see and hear. PBS and NPR are free to compete in the marketplace of ideas using donations, but their public subsidy should end."

Republicans have long targeted NPR and PBS, accusing both outlets of sharing a liberal bias while receiving government funding.

Less than 1% of NPR's funding comes directly from the federal government, though other funding comes indirectly from grants and dollars allocated to local member stations who then pay fees back to NPR. More than a third of its funding comes from corporate sponsorships.

PBS also gets a mix of federal funds through other avenues.

However, the GOP's demands to end federal allocations to both outlets now come at a time when the executive branch is fervently searching for places to block government spending that does not align with the Trump administration's agenda.

Elon Musk, who is leading Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, has been critical of NPR in the past.

"Defund NPR. It should survive on its own," Musk wrote on his X platform earlier this month.

'WE'RE THE GOLD STANDARD': GOP LAWMAKER CALLS FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARING OVER DC PLANE CRASH

Soon after he acquired X, Musk briefly hit NPR with a "State-Affiliated" media label, which is normally reserved for the media arm of authoritarian governments.

Tenney's bill is one of multiple efforts targeting NPR and PBS during this Congress. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who chairs the DOGE subcommittee under the House Oversight Committee, said she wants the heads of each organization to come testify before her new panel.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect reporting that New York Democrats have decided not to move ahead with the legislation.

A controversial New York state election bill will no longer come to fruition, as multiple reports said the bill was put on hold at the behest of Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Sources separately told the New York Post and City & State New York that Hochul asked the Democrat-majority legislature not to take any action on the legislation – which would give the governor more power to decide when special elections can be held and potentially delay the filling of U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik's deep-red upstate seat once the Republican is confirmed as U.N. Ambassador.

The Post reported some of the reasoning stemmed from negotiations between Hochul and the Trump administration as to the longevity of the state-operated MTA's "Congestion Pricing" tolling program in New York City – which the president has opposed.

City & State reported state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, declared the bill at least temporarily a non-starter at an afternoon meeting.

Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, R-Oswego, also confirmed the bill is "no longer moving forward."

"It was a terrible piece of legislation in policy & principle. Thanks to strong pushback from Republican legislators & North Country residents, the bill has been halted," Barclay wrote on X.

State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, R-Niagara Falls, added in a statement to Fox News Digital that while the bill "appears to be defeated for now, we will remain vigilant against any effort to bring it back."

The reform bill had been set to come up for a vote Monday.

Critics called it a naked attempt to keep Stefanik’s North Country congressional district without a representative until November, while Democratic sponsors say it will save local and taxpayer resources.

The bill, which would allow Hochul to postpone elections or combine them with upcoming general elections, was marketed by Democrats as a cost-saving measure that helps ensure more voters will cast ballots in specials.

However, Ortt said that for all Democrats’ claims about President Donald Trump being a threat to democracy, the truth is belied in their own legislation.

"It’s all about the outcome, not process, democracy, voter participation – they could give a s---. They could give a s---," Ortt said. 

TOUGH DECISIONS FOR SANCTUARY CITIES AFTER BONDI'S FUND-WITHHOLDING ORDER

"I can’t shame them; they have none… 800,000 folks [in Stefanik’s soon-to-be-former district] will not have a representative in Congress ‘til November. That's a disgrace for a party that says it cares about democracy," he said, predicting Hochul will use the law to its maximum extent when enacted.

Ortt said the bill has two different provisions – one for federal elections and one for state legislative elections and ruminated how they could benefit Democrats.

He pointed out that state Sen. Simcha Felder, D-Brooklyn, is likely to seek an open seat on New York City Council in the politically-moderate, majority-Jewish Borough Park area.

Felder caucused with Senate Republicans from 2013-18, which gave the GOP a slim, technical majority in Albany for part of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s term.

Ortt said Democrats stand to potentially lose Felder’s Senate seat, which explains the reported two-tiered changes in the bill.

Meanwhile, Barclay said 44% of New York state voted for Trump and the legislation shows his opposition is still smarting about it.

GOP RIPS HOCHUL'S INFLATION REFUNDS

"No, they don't accept that result," said Barclay.

"So they're going to do everything they can, including depriving 800,000 people of a say in the budget [or] the SALT (tax deduction for high-taxed states) bill."

Barclay noted that if Stefanik’s seat remains vacant when the Farm Bill is voted on later this year, a significant portion of New York's agricultural lands will lack representation.

But Democrats remained united, with Senate President Andrea Stewart-Cousins saying in a statement that New Yorkers currently face "unprecedented challenges, including the strain on our democracy and our high cost of living."

"[T]his legislation is a common-sense approach that saves taxpayer dollars while maximizing voter turnout," said Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers.

Currently, Hochul has 90 days to call a special election once Stefanik, or Felder, resigns.

The bill’s text suggested the current special elections' framework in Albany is an operational and financial drag on counties and taxpayers – additionally citing "voter confusion and fatigue."

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Therefore, giving the governor the power to potentially consolidate elections is pertinent.

As NY1 reported, the bill also does not mandate Hochul – or any governor – to combine special and general or primary elections, but now gives her the power to do so.

Some in Stefanik’s district, however, believe Ortt’s claims may have substance.

"By holding up a special election, they’re keeping the North Country from having congressional representation at a critical moment," state Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, told Plattsburgh’s NBC affiliate. 

Stec is one of several Republicans vying for the seat, along with Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, Assemblyman Chris Tague of Schoharie, and author Liz Joy, who previously ran against Democratic Rep. Paul Tonko in the neighboring Capital Region district.

Tague told Fox News Digital that Hochul's political career began via a special election using the same laws Democrats are seeking to change.

"She’s tossing them aside to cut backroom deals … leaving the people of Upstate and the North Country without a voice," Tague said.

A spokesman for Stewart-Cousins told NY1 that state Democrats will not "be lectured to by a party that openly celebrated the release of violent felons that attempted to overthrow a presidential election and have opposed every single voting reform that increases voter participation."

House Republicans are racing to get ahead of their Senate counterparts on plans to pass sweeping conservative policy legislation and advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Plans to take the first step in the budget reconciliation process this week were scuttled in the House, with fiscal hawks pushing GOP leaders to raise their proposed floor for spending cuts after balking at an initial rough proposal presented last month at the House Republican issues retreat in Miami.

Meanwhile, the Senate is moving full steam ahead with their own plan to advance a budget resolution on Wednesday and Thursday. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., unveiled the upper chamber’s plan on Friday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters that same day that he was hopeful the House Budget Committee would take up the lower chamber’s resolution on Tuesday.

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

"We’ve got a few more people we’ve got to talk with and a couple of more boxes to check, but we are almost there," Johnson said. "The expectation is that we will be marking up a budget next week, potentially as early as Tuesday, the resolution. That will, of course, begin the process and unlock the whole reconciliation process, which I think we can wrap up in a short amount of time."

Two House GOP lawmakers told Fox News Digital on Friday that the plan would call for a minimum of $2 trillion to $2.5 trillion in spending cuts over a period of 10 years.

Republicans plan to use their majorities in the House and Senate to pass a wide swath of Trump policy initiatives, from extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to funneling more cash to operations at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The budget reconciliation process makes that possible by lowering the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to a simple 51-seat majority. Because the House already operates on a simple majority threshold, it will allow Republicans to skirt Democratic opposition to pass their agenda — provided the measures included involve budgetary or other fiscal matters, as reconciliation rules call for.

A group of House Republicans, including Johnson, were at the White House on Thursday to discuss the process.

Trump told lawmakers he wanted the reconciliation plans to include eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages, no taxes on seniors, and no taxes on Social Security payments.

While they agree on the overall policies that need to pass via the reconciliation process, House and Senate Republicans differ in their preferred approach.

House Republicans are aiming to put all of Trump’s priorities on taxes, border security, energy, and defense into one large bill — complete with deep spending cuts to offset the new funding.

BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF 'PURGE' OF 'MINORITY' FEDERAL WORKERS

The Senate plan, meanwhile, would split the process into two bills. The first, unveiled by Graham on Friday, includes Trump’s border, energy and defense policies. A second bill would deal with taxes.

But House GOP leaders are concerned that the intense political maneuvering the process takes will mean they run out of time before passing a second bill with Trump's tax cuts at the end of this year.

A Ways & Means Committee memo sent earlier this year projected the average American household could see taxes rise by over 20% if those provisions expire at the end of 2025.

Trump himself has repeatedly called for "one big, beautiful bill," but said he ultimately was not concerned about the packaging as long as all of his priorities were passed.

Rep. Jim Jordan, GOP chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., sent employees from the Fulton County District Attorney's office requests Thursday to hand over documents and interviews related to the Jan. 6 Committee as they continue investigating District Attorney Fani Willis. 

"The committee previously wrote to District Attorney Willis requesting documents relating to her coordination with the January 6 Select Committee. Because District Attorney Willis has declined to cooperate, the committee must pursue other avenues to obtain this information," a press release states. 

Jordan and Loudermilk sent letters to Assistant Chief Investigator Michael Hill, Assistant Chief Investigator Trina Swanson-Lucas, Chief Senior District Attorney Donald Wakeford and Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten, requesting "all documents and communications" between the employees and "any member, staff member, agent, or representative of the January 6 Selection Committee." 

THE FANI WILLIS TRUMP FIASCO IS FAR FROM OVER. IN FACT, IT'S JUST GETTING STARTED

The letters also request the employees hand over "all documents and communications referring or relating to records in your possession obtained" from the Jan. 6 Committee. 

All employees were asked to submit the requested documentation no later than Feb. 20. 

The letters sent Thursday say the lawmakers had previously written to Willis "requesting documents relating to her coordination with the January 6 Select Committee."

FANI WILLIS DECLINES TO SHARE JACK SMITH, JAN 6 RECORDS, IN A BLOW TO CONSERVATIVE WATCHDOGS

The lawmakers say they received a letter from Willis in December in which she confirmed the requested documents existed "but declined to produce such materials on the grounds that the materials were 'protected from disclosure by attorney-client privilege, work product privilege, and other common law protections.'"

The DA's office asserted the same claim in a court filing that same month when it declined to turn over any new communications between Willis and special counsel Jack Smith, who had also been investigating alleged efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The filing asserted that the documents either did not exist or were exempt from disclosure under Georgia law.

GEORGIA APPEALS COURT DISQUALIFIES DA FANI WILLIS AND HER TEAM FROM TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had previously ordered Willis to produce any records of communication with either Smith or the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 within five business days. In doing so, the judge sided with Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group that had filed suit against Willis, determining that Willis had violated the state’s open records act by failing to respond to the lawsuit. 

The House Judiciary Committee launched its investigation into whether Willis coordinated with the House Jan. 6 Committee in December 2023. Jordan and Loudermilk took the lead on the probe after learning that Willis’ office "coordinated its investigative actions with the partisan Select Committee."

The lawmakers said at the time that Willis asked the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 to share evidence with her office.

Willis charged Trump with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Fox News Digital reached out to Hill, Swanson-Lucas, Wakeford, Wooten and the DA's Office but did not immediately hear back. 

Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., referred to Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del. — who identifies as a transgender woman — as "Mr. McBride."

"The chair recognizes the gentleman from Delaware, Mr. McBride, for five minutes," Miller said in the House chamber on Thursday.

"Thank you, Madam Speaker," McBride replied, before proceeding to deliver a speech.

While McBride did not respond to Miller's comment, when Miller next recognized Rep. Nanette Barragán, D- Calif., to deliver a speech, Barragán began by saying, "Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

TRANSGENDER CONGRESS MEMBER ‘MYSTIFIED’ THAT GOP ‘PRIORITIZES’ TRANS ATHLETE BANS IN GIRLS SPORTS

Fox News Digital reached out to McBride's office to request a comment from the lawmaker on Friday — a spokesperson pointed to McBride's full floor speech, which is featured in a post on the @Rep_McBride X account. 

"This morning, I delivered my first speech on the floor of the house," the Feb. 6 tweet begins.

During the speech, the Democrat declared, "Piece by piece, department by department, the Trump administration is defunding critical federal services, purging employees, consolidating power, and cutting and gutting programs that Delawareans rely on. They are trying to decimate the federal government and sell it for parts to line the pockets of donors at the expense of working people."

SPEAKER JOHNSON MAKES CLARIFICATION AFTER STATEMENT REGARDING TRANSGENDER HOUSE MEMBER

"They do not want to make government more efficient. They want to prove that government can't work, by making it not work," McBride asserted.

Miller, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, declared in a post on X that she had "refused to deny biological reality" on the chamber floor.

FIRST OPENLY TRANS REP-ELECT CLAIMS GOP SPOTLIGHTING TRANSGENDER ISSUES AN ‘ATTEMPT TO DISTRACT’ VOTERS

"President Trump restored biological truth in the federal government, and I refuse to perpetuate the lie that gender is open to our interpretation. It is not," the Republican added.

FIRST ON FOX: A top House Republican is moving to make it harder for China to procure advanced U.S. technology amid longstanding concerns about intellectual property theft by Beijing.

"My proposed legislation will establish safeguards to prevent future shocks like China's development of DeepSeek using American technology. In addition to the chips China reportedly stockpiled, it appears China used chips under the current export control threshold to achieve this AI breakthrough," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital.

"This scenario should be a wakeup call — if you give the CCP an inch, it will take a mile. The CCP's craftiness is coupled with a total disregard for legal and security considerations. We already know that the CCP uses technology to oppress its own citizens and to commit acts of espionage and sabotage against the United States, including major cyberattacks."

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

DeepSeek is an artificial intelligence (AI) software company based in Hangzhou, China. Its AI chatbot is known to be similar to ChatGPT, which was made by California-based OpenAI.

DeepSeek’s release of the new high-profile AI model that costs less to run than existing models like those of Meta and OpenAI sent a chill through U.S. markets.

BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF 'PURGE' OF 'MINORITY' FEDERAL WORKERS

Its popularity in U.S. app stores has also renewed concerns about Chinese companies collecting American data, as well as the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) censorship practices.

The surprise DeepSeek release also displayed how China's economic competitiveness has far outpaced the ability of U.S. business leaders and lawmakers to agree on what to do about it. 

The U.S. Commerce Department is now looking into whether DeepSeek used chips that were banned from entering China via sanctions, Reuters reported. 

Green's bill would put export controls on certain national interest technology and intellectual property to China.

It would also call for sanctions against foreign actors who sell or purchase such items to and from China, as well as Chinese entities who knowingly use items covered by the export controls.

A House Oversight Committee hearing devolved into a fight over words on Wednesday after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., repeatedly used a "slur" to describe transgender people in a hearing on USAID funding.

"USAID awarded $2 million to strengthen trans-led organizations to deliver gender-affirming health care in Guatemala," Mace said. "So to each of you this morning, does this advance the interests of American citizens paying for trannies in Guatemala to the tune of $2 million, yes or no?"

When Mace's five minutes were up, ranking member Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., made a point of parliamentary inquiry to the committee chairman to chide Mace for using the word "trannies," a term "that is considered a slur in the LGBTQ community, and the transgender community."

"Let me please finish without interruption," Connolly said, before Mace cut him off and repeated the term several more times. 

"Tranny, tranny, tranny, I don't really care, you want penises in women's bathrooms, and I'm not going to have it OK, no, thank you – it's disgusting," Mace barked back.

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Committee chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., interrupted and permitted Connolly to finish his thoughts. 

"To me, a slur is a slur, and here on the committee, a level of decorum requires us to try consciously to avoid slurs. You just heard the gentle lady actually actively, robustly repeated it," Connolly said. "And I would just ask the chairman that she be counseled that we ought not to be engaged. We can have debate and policy discussion without offending human beings who are our fellow citizens. And so I would ask as a parliamentary inquiry whether the use of that phrase is not, in fact, a violation of the decorum rules."

Mace snapped back that she wasn't going to be "counseled by a man over men in women's spaces or men who have mental health issues dressing as women." 

The South Carolina Republican also made headlines last November with her bill to ban biological males from women's bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol, inspired by the election of Sarah McBride, D-Del., as the first openly transgender woman elected to the House.

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With a slight smirk, Comer said, "I'll be honest with the ranking member – I’m not up-to-date on my politically correct LGBTQ terminology."

"We'll look into that and get back with you on that. I don't know what's offensive and what's not. I don't know much about pronouns," he said. 

The hearing, which was about government efficiency and called "Rightsizing Government," began Wednesday morning and included witnesses Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Citizens Against Government Waste president Thomas A. Schatz. 

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The hearing also fell into some confusion when Connolly demanded the committee subpoena the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tech billionaire Elon Musk.

A review of USAID’s recent history shows that it was repeatedly accused of financial mismanagement and corruption long before Trump's second administration, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

Musk has led the charge against USAID – an independent U.S. agency established during the Kennedy administration to administer economic aid to foreign nations – as he leads DOGE’s mission of cutting government fat and overspending at the federal level. 

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

Republican spending hawks in the House of Representatives are pushing their leaders to include at least $2.5 trillion in spending cuts in a massive piece of legislation intended to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Republicans held their weekly closed-door agenda meeting on Wednesday where they discussed a path forward via the budget reconciliation process. 

By lowering the threshold in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority – which the House already operates under – reconciliation allows the party in power to pass sweeping fiscal policy changes while skirting the opposition.

Several sources told Fox News Digital there was significant "frustration" within the House GOP conference on Wednesday over a lack of a concrete final plan from Republican leadership. 

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One GOP lawmaker said that tension bubbled up with several "heated exchanges," with conservatives demanding a concrete plan and minimum spending cuts at significantly higher levels than what was initially proposed.

"I think there’s a lot of frustration right now," the lawmaker told Fox News Digital. "They’ve been trying to be inclusive, but not every open forum they’ve offered is giving members the ability to say, ‘I feel like people are listening to me,’ because I don’t know that’s the case right now."

There’s also concern that the Senate, which is growing impatient with the House, could move forward with its own plan if the House doesn't release one first – which House Republicans worry will include much shallower spending cuts than what could pass in the lower chamber.

"What we’re worried about is losing the opportunity. I think we’re more likely to cut than they are," a second GOP lawmaker said.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham R-S.C., announced plans to move forward with the upper chamber's own bill on Wednesday afternoon. He now plans to advance a measure through his committee next week.

A third House Republican said GOP lawmakers were fed up waiting for a "play call."

But senior House GOP aides pushed back on the notion there was no play call, pointing out that Republican leaders held countless listening sessions culminating at the recent three-day House GOP retreat in Miami to consult members and emerge with a blueprint for a one-bill strategy that maintains scoring flexibility. The aides said the reconciliation process has had a 95% participation rate among House Republicans.

House GOP leaders were forced to delay a key vote on advancing a reconciliation bill through the House Budget Committee, the first step in the process, after spending hawks pushed back on initial proposals for spending cuts between $300 billion and $600 billion.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said on Tuesday night that it would likely be planned for next week, but that leaders’ final goal of having a bill on Trump’s desk in May remained unimpeded. 

Three sources told Fox News Digital that leaders are floating a plan that would include roughly $1.65 trillion as a baseline for spending cuts, though two people stressed they saw the figure as one of several tentative ideas rather than a final plan.

Two other sources said it would also include measures that lead to an additional $1.65 trillion in economic growth.

Republicans are trying to pass a broad swath of Trump policies via reconciliation, from more funding for border security to eliminating taxes on tips and overtime wages. Trump has also made clear that he views extending his Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 as vital to the process.

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The tax cuts have proved a sticking point with some spending hawks, however, because several estimates show they could add upwards of $1 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years if extended. Those spending hawks have said they support extending the tax cuts but are seeking deep funding rollbacks elsewhere to offset them.

Three people involved in the discussions also told Fox News Digital that House GOP leaders are considering extending the TCJA tax cuts by five years instead of 10 to mitigate those concerns.

Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., two conservative members of the House Budget Committee, both told reporters they wanted to see the baseline for spending cuts set at roughly $2.5 trillion.

Roy told reporters that $2.5 trillion would amount to roughly $250 billion per year in federal savings over 10 years – while pointing out the U.S. was currently running a $36 trillion national debt.

House GOP leaders vowed to seek $2.5 trillion in spending cuts back in December, to get conservatives on board with a bill averting a partial government shutdown.

"They said $2.5 trillion of cuts. So, deliver. That will unlock the door," Roy said.

Norman told reporters multiple times this week that he wants between $2 trillion and $3 trillion in cuts.

DORAL, Fla. — The lawmaker in charge of House Republicans’ elections arm is feeling confident that the GOP can buck historical precedent and hold onto their majority for the entirety of President Donald Trump’s term.

The 2024 elections saw Republicans make significant inroads with Hispanic and Black voters.

National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said progress would continue heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

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"We’ve done well with African Americans, comparatively," Hudson told Fox News Digital, referring to years prior. "We've put a lot more effort in reaching out to that community as well and letting them know that we want your votes, and we want to represent you, and we care about the issues that matter to you and your family."

"I think we can do better, and we'll continue to attempt to do better. But, look, our message, our values, our principles are all universal."

He said Republicans’ values also lined up with Hispanic and Latino voters, 42% of whom supported Trump, according to the Associated Press.

"We are focused on the issues you care about," Hudson said the pitch was. "It's crime in your neighborhoods. It's education for your children. It's securing the borders. It's the price of things for your family. I mean, these are all things we campaigned on. But we deliberately went out into the Hispanic community and said, ‘We want your vote.’ And they responded."

Earlier in the interview, he credited Trump with delivering on those values in 2024, and argued that Trump’s policies would get Republicans over the line again next year.

Historically, the first midterm after a new presidential term serves as a rebuke of the party in power.

Democrats won the House of Representatives in a "blue wave" in 2018 during Trump’s first term. Four years later, Republicans wrestled it back under former President Joe Biden.

But the circumstances are somewhat different this time, something Hudson noted.

"We’re in a unique time in history, where you had a president serve four years with all his policies, and then he was replaced by another president who had completely different policies. . . . And then the two ran against each other," Hudson said. "So the American people sort of had a referendum on which president they wanted, which policies they chose, and they overwhelmingly selected Donald Trump."

NONCITIZEN VOTER CRACKDOWN LED BY HOUSE GOP AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

Trump is in his second term, and Hudson argued that the 2024 presidential race was a referendum between two clear White House records.

"He has a mandate that I think is unique in history. And so this isn't a first-term president going into his first midterm. I mean, this is someone the American people know, and they've chosen," Hudson said.

Hudson also pointed out that Democrats will be defending 13 lawmakers whose districts Trump won, while Republicans only had to hold onto three seats that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

"The battlefield out there for us going into 2026 favors Republicans," Hudson said. 

He spoke with Fox News Digital at Trump National Doral golf course and resort in South Florida, where Republicans held their three-day retreat to strategize their agenda.

Hudson was one of the senior Republicans who gave a presentation to fellow lawmakers during the event, where his message was: "We’re on offense this cycle."

"We're going to lean in. We have a lot of opportunity in those Donald Trump seats," Hudson said he told colleagues. "We're going to hold Democrats accountable for their voting against the policies the American people want."

The Congress needs new revenue in order to pass a budget and unlock the reconciliation process—whether in "one big beautiful bill" or two—if it is going to accomplish President Trump’s agenda without bleeding massive and ongoing amounts of deficit spending.

The national debt is currently more than $36 trillion. We pay interest on that debt, an expenditure which is growing rapidly. And we need to pay that debt down not raise it with higher debt service. We also need new expenditures—a massive increase in procurement in the Department of Defense for example—expenditures that, if not at least partially offset by cuts to ongoing spending or new revenue, will see the debt cross $40 trillion in the president’s second term. Here are four suggestions for the GOP budgeteers:

1. Americans are thrifty. They have socked away more than $37 trillion in retirement savings in 401(k) plans and traditional IRAs. Those savings have never been taxed. They will be taxed upon withdrawal. Most savers don’t want to withdraw that money until they retire and their tax bracket drops. In fact, a lot of that will be never be withdrawn by the folks who saved it but will be passed on to heirs. So, Congress, open a one time window that allows those savers to convert those funds to Roth IRAs for a one-time flat tax of say 10% or 15% or whatever yields the present value of the deferred taxation. Get the money now for use in the budget/reconciliation process.

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2. Sell federal land and federal spectrum rights. Credit to AEI’s Matt Continetti for this suggestion. The U.S. has a lot of land and a lot of spectrum. Auction some of it. Maybe a lot of it. That will increase productivity in the country and bring in revenue.

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3. Make so-called "sin taxes" great again. In recent years, many states have legalized both marijuana and online gambling. Those are facts. They are stubborn. They were both bad policy choices, but states have the police power unless preempted by federal legislation. The Congress has no stomach for outlawing either industry, so impose a federal tax on every sale of a marijuana-related product and on every single gambling transaction over the internet. Preempt the states’ revenue streams and put the first dollars of the taxes on those activities into the federal treasury and perhaps the states will rethink these bad ideas. If not, at least the malign developments of dope and betting will help the country as a whole pay for the negative externalities of both and with the debt and deficit.

4. Enact in the new budget a 10 percent "reduction-in-force" of the federal civilian workforce and make that authorization "notwithstanding any other law or regulation." Congress built the beast of the federal administrative state. It can authorize the president to take an ax to it—no questions asked. Every business in America knows that when the books don’t balance, the workforce gets trimmed. Time for the federal government to do the same thing, difficult as it is for the employees affected.

There are four sources of new revenue to use in the first new budget. They alone will yield trillions in one-time revenue and billions in ongoing revenue without raising income taxes. C’mon Congress. Get creative.

Hugh Hewitt is host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show," heard weekday mornings 6am to 9am ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh wakes up America 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 broadcast, and this column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.

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EXCLUSIVE: DORAL, Fla. — Leaders within the House GOP's largest caucus are drawing a red line in congressional Republicans' budget talks.

The Republican Study Committee's (RSC) steering group is calling for any budget reconciliation plan to ultimately lead to reductions in the U.S. deficit, which occurs when the federal government's spending outpaces its revenues in a given fiscal year.

"Reconciliation legislation must reduce the federal budget deficit. Our national security depends on our ability to bring about meaningful fiscal reform," the official position, first obtained by Fox News Digital, said. 

RSC leaders met behind closed doors at House Republicans' annual retreat to hash out their stance. GOP lawmakers were at Trump National Doral golf course in Florida for three days of discussions on reconciliation and other fiscal deadlines looming on the horizon.

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They have been negotiating for weeks on how to use their razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate to pass massive conservative policy changes through the budget reconciliation process.

By reducing the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to a 51-seat simple majority, reconciliation allows a party in control of both congressional chambers to enact sweeping changes, provided they are relevant to budgetary and fiscal policy.

At 178 members, RSC is House Republicans' largest inter-conference group. It often acts as the House GOP's de facto "think tank" on policy matters.

The group is being led this year by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas. Its previous chairman is Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who was recently elected House Republican Policy Committee chair – an example of RSC's close ties to GOP leadership.

Republican lawmakers have their work cut out for them this year as they work to unify for congressional leaders' preferred timeline for the reconciliation process.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday that he intends to have a House-wide vote on an initial budget resolution in late February.

But once Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., departs for the Trump administration as expected, House Republicans will not be able to afford any defections to pass legislation along party lines. In the Senate, the GOP can lose two lawmakers to still meet the 51-vote threshold.

And President Donald Trump outlined several specific policies he wants Republicans to include in their reconciliation legislation – including no taxes on tips or overtime pay and more funding for the U.S.-Mexico border – which could add to the federal deficit if not paired with significant spending cuts.

Republicans have floated various ways to achieve those cuts, including adding work requirements to federal benefits and rolling back progressive regulations enacted during the Biden administration.

Johnson said he wanted Republicans' final product to be deficit-neutral or better.

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"Anything we do, is going to be deficit-neutral at least, and hopefully deficit-reducing, because we think we've got to change that trajectory," he said on Wednesday. "So that is part of the healthy discussion we've been having. And everyone has lots of opinions about that, of course. And, the opinions are welcomed."

The U.S. is running a cumulative deficit of $710 billion in fiscal year 2025 so far, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. It's $200 billion more than the same period in FY 2024.

Meanwhile federal revenues were $1.1 trillion through December, a decrease of 2% from the same period prior, the group said.

DORAL, Fla. — The House GOP’s three-day annual retreat has ended without public progress on Republicans’ budget reconciliation plans, and some lawmakers are getting nervous about falling behind schedule.

"After two days at our House Republican winter retreat, we still do not have a plan on budget reconciliation and our Speaker and his team have not offered one," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X Wednesday morning.

"Basically, just get started doing something. We have only been presented with the same policy and budget cut proposals that we have been presented with for a month now at all our meetings and at a full Saturday conference meeting earlier this month."

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday an initial "blueprint" would be "prepared by tomorrow, by the time we leave." 

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The budget reconciliation process allows the majority party in the House and Senate, in this case Republicans, to pass a broad-ranging conservative policy overhaul, provided the contents are relevant to the budget and other fiscal matters. It does so by lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to 51.

It starts with a budget resolution that includes instructions for specific committees to work toward changes to fiscal policy law under their respective jurisdictions, including topline numbers.

When asked by reporters about whether he expects those broad toplines to emerge on Wednesday morning, Johnson said, "We'll be getting to that final number. What we've emphasized with our group is that we want to have some flexibility in the how the instructions are given to the committees.

"Stay tuned for the number. It will be substantial, because it has to be. I mean, we have a $36 trillion federal debt, and we're committing that in this process. Anything we do is going to be deficit neutral, at least, or deficit-reducing," he said.

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Johnson said later in the press conference, "The objective is to, by the time we leave here today, to have a blueprint that will inform the budget committee for when they work on that budget resolution."

The details and parameters of that blueprint are not immediately clear.

By Wednesday afternoon, however, a majority of lawmakers who were staying at President Donald Trump’s golf resort in Doral, Florida, left without a sense of their next steps.

"I think the general feeling is leadership needs to make a play call and start executing on it," one House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital. 

Asked about being optimistic about leaders making that call soon, the lawmaker said, "They better if they want to get this done."

Another House Republican said the meetings were "productive" but with a caveat — "as long as leadership takes our input, ideas and concerns seriously."

Other GOP lawmakers signaled they were exasperated by weeks of "listening sessions" among Republicans that have not led to specific directives from House leaders.

Some were more optimistic, however. A third House Republican told Fox News Digital, "I think Speaker Johnson has us pointed the right way and the eight committees that will make up reconciliation have a plan."

"I think it will come together," they said. 

Johnson said he was confident that the House Budget Committee would have its "blueprint" to work from when Congress is back "to the hill," which is next week.

"That's going to happen, and we'll get it through the whole chamber. And we'll be voting on that by late February," he said.

DORAL, Fla. — House Republicans have their work cut out for them in the coming weeks, with three fiscal deadlines looming and President Donald Trump pushing for a very active first 100 days of his administration.

Congressional GOP leaders are working on a massive conservative policy overhaul via the reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to a simple 51-seat majority, it allows the party in power to advance their policy goals into law, provided those policies deal with budgetary and other fiscal matters.

"We want to deliver on all the things that President Trump talked about during the campaign… including no tax on tips, which was one of those early items that the president talked about, but also ensuring no tax increases happen. We can fully fund our border security needs, making sure we build the wall out, that we give more technology and tools to our Border Patrol agents," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Digital.

"We can produce more energy in America… try to get rid of some of these crazy rules and regulations that add so much cost for no good reason to families."

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Scalise said it would be "much more robust" than Republicans’ last reconciliation bill passed in 2017 – the last time the GOP controlled Congress and the White House.

His optimism comes as congressional Republicans still appear divided over how best to enact their plans. Senate Republicans and some GOP hardliners in the House have argued that trying to pass a bill with border and energy policies first would give Trump a quick win, while allowing more time for more complex issues like taxes.

But House leaders are concerned that, given Republicans last passed two reconciliation bills in one year in the 1990s with much larger majorities, the two-track strategy could allow Trump’s 2017 provisions to expire and raise taxes on millions of families.

"You have to start somewhere. We're starting with one package," Scalise said. "No disagreement on the details of what we're going to include."

Meanwhile, lawmakers are also contending with the debt ceiling being reinstated this month after it was temporarily suspended in a bipartisan deal during the Biden administration. At least one projection suggests Congress will have until mid-June or earlier to deal with it or risk financial turmoil that comes with a downgrade in the U.S.’s national credit rating.

And coming on March 14 is the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, which Congress has extended twice since the end of the previous fiscal year on Oct. 1.

The No. 2 House Republican floated the possibility of combining those latter two deadlines.

"The Appropriations Committee, which is not directly involved in budget reconciliation, is simultaneously having a negotiation with the Senate on government funding, you know, working with the White House to make sure it meets President Trump's priorities," Scalise said. 

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"I would imagine the debt ceiling could very well be a part of that conversation in that negotiation."

Scalise spoke with Fox News Digital at the House GOP’s annual retreat, held this year at Trump’s golf club in Doral, Florida.

Lawmakers huddled behind closed doors for three days to hash out a roadmap for grappling with their multiple deadlines and enacting Trump’s agenda.

They also heard from the president himself, as well as Vice President JD Vance.

Trump has on multiple occasions called on Republicans to act on the debt limit to avoid a U.S. credit default. Vance told Republicans on Tuesday that Trump wanted them to do so without giving leverage to Democrats – a weighty task given some GOP hardliners’ opposition to raising or suspending the limit over the U.S.’s $36 trillion national debt.  

House GOP leaders can currently only afford one defection to still pass a bill along party lines.

They’ve been forced to seek Democratic support on government funding multiple times, including most recently in December. 

With no topline agreement reached and roughly 19 days in session before the March 14 deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, it’s becoming increasingly likely that congressional leaders will have to combine all 12 annual appropriations bills into one massive "omnibus," a move also generally opposed by GOP hardliners.

"I think we're getting closer," Scalise said of a topline number for fiscal year 2025 spending. "The House and Senate were apart by a pretty sizable amount of money. They’re trying to negotiate that down to get a resolution."

President Donald Trump is expected to address House Republicans at their annual retreat on Monday as lawmakers work to enact his goal for a busy first 100 days of the new administration.

It’s another sign of the House GOP conference’s push for unity with Trump that the conference is being held at Trump National Doral, his golf course and resort near Miami.

"He’s going to come and address the Republicans there, and we’re looking forward to that," Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., confirmed to reporters last week.

Trump has made no secret of his intent to keep a close eye on the Republican majorities in the House and Senate this year, particularly as they discuss how to use their numbers to pass a massive conservative policy overhaul via the budget reconciliation process.

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By reducing the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to a 51-seat simple majority, reconciliation allows a party in control of both congressional chambers to enact sweeping changes, provided they’re relevant to budgetary and fiscal policy.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are also contending with the debt ceiling being reinstated this month after it was temporarily suspended in a bipartisan deal during the Trump administration.

And coming on March 14 is the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, which Congress has extended twice since the end of the previous fiscal year on Oct. 1.

"I think obviously everyone is ready to get to work," Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital. "With President Trump’s inauguration behind us, now we’re focused on the task at hand – everything from the border to the tax package, energy and defense and national security, and our debt. What we need to do over the next two years to really fulfill the agenda that we laid out for the American people."

Lawler said he anticipated reconciliation would be a key focus of Trump’s remarks.

With razor-thin margins in the House and Senate, Republicans can afford few dissenters if they are going to get to the finish line. 

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Lawler is one of several Republicans who have drawn red lines in the discussions, vowing not to vote for a reconciliation bill that does not lift state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps – limits that have put a strain on suburban districts outside major cities.

He was realistic about setting expectations for their short Florida trip but was optimistic Republicans would eventually come together.

"I think we’re in the middle of the process and, you know, this is obviously not going to be resolved over these three days," Lawler said. "But this is, I think, an important opportunity for everyone to really sit down and spend their time going through a lot of these issues."

EXCLUSIVE: Female Republicans in Congress are fighting to change the decadeslong narrative that paints Democrats as the party of women, hoping it transcends to significant gains in future elections.

"We’ve got to get back to our roots of being the party of women," Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital. "I don’t know why we ever allowed the Democrats to hijack the narrative and claim to be the party of women. That’s bull."

Other GOP lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital about this story noted that cost of living, a cornerstone issue for Republicans in the last election, was as much a women's issue as anyone else's.

Republicans have also passed several bills since winning that election that have put women at the focus of conservative policy changes on transgender youth and border security.

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"You should not let the Democrat Party tell you they’re the party of women if they can’t even define what a woman is. So we are going to continue to be strong advocates for young women and girls, whether that’s in professional spaces, in bathrooms or in sports," said Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, referencing a recently passed bill keeping biological male student athletes out of girls' sports teams and locker rooms.

Hinson said she is "a working mom fighting for other working moms."

"Women are oftentimes the most important decision makers in a household, for example. So, when I'm thinking about economic indicators, how are we going to get more women in the workforce? How can we empower more women and families? How can we support more women in sports?" Hinson posed.

Historically, Malliotakis pointed out, it was Republicans who led passage of the 19th Amendment that secured women the right to vote. She also pointed out that it was under President Donald Trump that a museum dedicated to women's history was authorized.

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"President Trump authorized in 2020 the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum. And Joe Biden did nothing with it for four years," Malliotakis said. " "I’ve been pushing a land transfer for the Smithsonian women’s museum to be built, and I think it makes total sense that we would be the party that would do this, considering our history."

As a voting bloc, women have favored Democrats and the left in recent history.

Democrats have also blamed Republicans for the conservative-leaning Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a move that did appear to translate to electoral success in the 2022 midterms.

Progressives were also historically the biggest supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment, legislation that was pushed primarily during the second-wave feminist movement.

However, Republican women like Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., are now arguing that bills like hers, which would deport illegal immigrants who commit sex crimes against women and other Americans, are what it takes to protect women.

"MAGA is the new feminist," Mace wrote on X this month.

Additionally, Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., one of the few Republican women in the 119th Congress' freshmen class, pointed out that her own story was a testament to GOP meritocracy.

"I was the largest vote-getter in my whole state out of anybody, as a woman, as the first congresswoman in our state. So I think more than anything else, people want folks who are primed for the job, who are competent and ready," Fedorchak said.

"The cost of everything, making ends meet, helping women manage their multiple roles, getting government out of their lives, helping reinforce the role of parents…these are things that are women’s issues."

More than 200,000 children have been abducted by Russia since the start of its invasion of Ukraine, Chairman Emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said, citing U.S. estimates.

"If a foreign adversary took 260,000 of our kids, and they were in indoctrination camps, I mean, how would we feel about that?" McCaul asked Fox News Digital.

The Texas Republican was recently term-limited in his time as chairman of the foreign affairs panel, but he is continuing to work on the world stage, in part by raising awareness about Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine. Among the most egregious is the relocation of thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia, the vast majority of whom have not been returned.

Some parents would be coerced into giving up their children because Russian forces were threatening to bomb their city, McCaul said, while other times "they just invade and capture the children."

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The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in February 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, "for the war crime of unlawful deportation of [children] and that of unlawful transfer of [children] from occupied areas of Ukraine."

Lvova-Belova was sanctioned last year by the U.S. over her part in the scheme, which has been widely condemned by western governments.

However, the Kremlin has denied war crime allegations and maintained it is doing humanitarian work facilitating homes for Ukrainian children, NPR reported.

Existing accounts from returned children and elsewhere paint a picture of forced indoctrination within Russia’s borders, however. Some of those children are given military training, according to the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, likely in preparation to fight on Russia’s front lines.

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Estimates on how many children have been taken to Russia vary between 20,000 to upwards of 250,000.

Part of McCaul’s work raising awareness about Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian children will include a screening of a documentary titled, "Children in the Fire: Ukraine’s War Through the Children’s Eyes" by filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky, at the Munich Security Conference next month.

He has also worked with the nonprofit Save Ukraine, which is working to return children.

"In the documentary, the child's brought into this prison where it looks like adults are being— basically they're using electrodes to shock them, you know, under their fingernails and their genitals, and it's just very, very barbaric," McCaul said.

He also held a hearing last year on the issue while leading the foreign affairs committee.

McCaul said Russia’s abduction of children is among the most vile of its alleged violations of the Geneva Conventions. He compared it to infamous Nazi physician Josef Mengele’s experiments on Jewish children and adults.

"It's just evil. I mean, any civilization that would capture— I mean, it's one thing if you're on the battlefield killing the enemy, from their point of view," McCaul said. "But to capture the children to re-indoctrinate them is sort of reminiscent of, you know, Mengele’s experiments on kids…And I don't think we've seen anything like this in recent society."

The House passed a resolution last year condemning Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children in a bipartisan 390 to 9 vote.

"It's just horrific. I can't imagine, as a father, my children being, you know, taken away by the Russian Federation and then not knowing where they are or what's happening to them," McCaul said. "But this is all part of Putin's game, is to try to indoctrinate the children in Ukraine to go against their own country and belief system."