President Donald Trump said the U.S. will be "flooded with jobs" as foreign trading partners move industries to American soil to avoid 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."

Trump said U.S. consumers could see prices rise in the "short term" due to the tariffs, but that prices will lower and that industries across the board would benefit. 

"And I think the farmers are going to be helped by this very much because product is being dumped into our country and our farmers are getting hurt very badly by the last administration," Trump said. "The last administration hated our farmers, like, at a level that I've never seen before. I think our farmers are going to be helped. Jobs are going to be helped. But our farmers are going to be helped, our manufacturers are going to be helped." 

TRUMP SIGNS 'RECIPROCAL' TARIFF PLAN FOR COUNTRIES THAT TAX US GOODS

"And again, if somebody wants to come in, including the car companies, if they want to come in and build car plants, they'll do it without tariffs. And therefore, prices won't go up. There could be some short-term disturbance, but long term, it's going to it's going to make our country a fortune," he added. 

FENTANYL'S FINANCIAL GRIP ON US SKYROCKETED TO $2.7T AT HEIGHT OF BIDEN ADMIN: STUDY

Trump announced on Thursday that he will impose "fair and reciprocal" tariffs on all major U.S. trading partners. 

The plan includes tapping Howard Lutnick, Trump's 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," Trump said at the White House of the tariff plan. 

Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement follows him leveraging tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China earlier in February. The tariffs were created in light of "extraordinary" threats stemming from "illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl," according to Trump's executive order authorizing the tariffs. 

Trump's order authorized tariffs through the new International Emergency Economic Powers Act. It included 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada would have a lower 10% tariff.

TRUMP IMPOSES TARIFFS ON IMPORTS FROM CANADA, MEXICO AND CHINA: 'NATIONAL EMERGENCY'

Both Canada and Mexico agreed to concessions with Trump the day before the tariffs were set to take effect, pledging to send additional security personnel to their respective borders with the U.S. Trump agreed to pause the tariffs on the two nations for one month in light of the border security concessions. 

China, on the other hand, imposed tariffs on some U.S. imports in response to Trump's tariffs. 

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this report. 

A D.C. federal judge sided with USAID workers Thursday, granting their request to extend a restraining order that prevents the Trump administration from effectively shutting down the foreign aid agency. 

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, said he would extend by one week the temporary restraining order, with plans to issue a final decision on a request to block President Donald Trump's action on Feb. 21. 

His new order instructs the government to reinstate any USAID employees put on administrative leave and forbids the Trump administration from implementing any new administrative leave on USAID employees.

The hearing Thursday centered on the level of "irreparable harm" alleged against Trump's executive action in court. Nichols asked plaintiff's attorneys detailed questions about the impact of a stop work order that placed virtually every USAID employee on leave. 

LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP'S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS

Karla Gilbride, representing the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees, told the judge that USAID employees had suffered harm both due to their own safety concerns and concerns for their well-being.

"These are not a few isolated incidents, this is an unprecedented dismantling of a congressionally created agency," she said. Plaintiffs "are being harmed by actions that are unconstitutional… This is a coordinated and unconstitutional effort to dismantle the agency."

Meanwhile, the Justice Department attorney, Eric Hamilton told Nichols that the USAID grievances are a matter of "personnel nature," arguing that they should be handled via the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeals process, rather than the federal court system.

HOUSE COMMITTEE HOLDS HEARING ON ‘THE USAID BETRAYAL’

Hamilton also pushed back on the claims of "irreparable harm," telling Nichols that the government is "committed to their safety."

"98% of those placed on administrative leave were in the US and the remaining were in developed nations like the UK," Hamilton said. 

He pointed to a Wednesday night ruling from U.S. District Judge George O'Toole in Massachusetts allowing the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program – colloquially known as the "fork in the road" resignation offer – to stand, arguing that this action is similar.

Last week, Nichols granted a request from U.S. Agency for International Development employees to temporarily block the Trump administration's order, which would have placed some 2,200 USAID employees on leave as of last Friday, and given all employees living abroad just 30 days to return to U.S. soil at government expense. 

The order also temporarily reinstated some 500 employees that had been placed on administrative leave by Trump. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Nichols said in his decision last week that, barring court intervention, the abrupt order would cause "irreparable harm" to employees affected by the withdrawal orders. 

He had paused the Trump administration's plans through Friday, Feb. 14, which Nichols said would allow for "expedited" arguments to help the court determine the legality of the actions. 

President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, passed a key procedural vote in the Senate on Thursday, clearing the path for his final confirmation vote. 

The Senate’s vote this afternoon to invoke cloture ended the debate on Lutnick’s nomination and paved the way for his confirmation as Commerce secretary. Senators advanced his nomination by a 52-45 vote. Republicans control the Senate by a 53-47 majority. 

Lutnick, Chairman and CEO of the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald and a co-chair of Trump’s 2024 presidential transition team, needed a majority vote to bring his final confirmation vote to the Senate floor. 

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee voted 16-12 on February 5 to advance Lutnick to the procedural vote. Lutnick testified for over three hours before the Senate Commerce Committee on January 29. 

TRUMP LANDS KEY TULSI GABBARD CONFIRMATION FOLLOWING UPHILL SENATE BATTLE

If confirmed, Lutnick will become one of the wealthiest people to serve in a presidential administration, along with Elon Musk and Trump himself. During Lutnick’s confirmation hearing, he committed to selling all of his interests and assets if confirmed. 

TULSI GABBARD SWORN IN AT WHITE HOUSE HOURS AFTER SENATE CONFIRMATION

"My plan is to only serve the American people. So I will divest — meaning I will sell all of my interests, all of my business interests, all of my assets, everything," Lutnick said. "I've worked together with the Office of Government Ethics, and we've reached agreement on how to do that, and I will be divesting within 90 days upon my confirmation."

Lutnick said selling his businesses would prevent a conflict of interest. 

"Upon confirmation, my businesses will be for sale and someone else will lead them going forward," Lutnick added. 

Trump announced Lutnick’s nomination two weeks after he was elected president. 

"I am thrilled to announce that Howard Lutnick, Chairman & CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, will join my Administration as the United States Secretary of Commerce. He will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative," Trump said. 

Trump applauded Lutnick’s leadership during the presidential transition, saying he "created the most sophisticated process and system to assist us in creating the greatest Administration America has ever seen."

With Lutnick teed up to lead Trump’s "Tariff and Trade agenda," he faced questions during his confirmation hearing about tariff policy. Lutnick said the argument that tariffs create inflation is "nonsense." 

"We are treated horribly by the global trading environment. They all have higher tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and subsidies. They treat us poorly. We need to be treated better. We can use tariffs to create reciprocity," Lutnick said.

Lutnick testified that he shares Trump’s stance on tariffs, adding he prefers an "across-the-board" strategy to "country-by-country" tariffs. 

Trump on Monday announced a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports from all countries, adding up to a 35% tariff for Chinese steel and aluminum imports. The tariffs are set to go into effect on March 12. 

Roughly 75,000 federal employees have accepted President Donald Trump’s deferred resignation program, after the U.S. Office of Personnel Management offered more than two million federal civilian employees buyouts in January to leave their jobs or be forced to return to work in person.

Employees who accepted the so-called "fork in the road" offer will retain all pay and benefits and be exempt from in-person work until Sept. 30, a move that's part of a broader attempt by the Trump administration to downsize the federal government. 

"We have too many people," Trump told reporters Tuesday in a press briefing. "We have office spaces occupied by 4% — nobody showing up to work because they were told not to." 

The White House confirmed to Fox News Digital that numbers had climbed to 75,000 as of Thursday morning. 

It previously said it expected 200,000 people to accept the offer.

JUDGE RESTORES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S BUYOUT OFFER TO FEDERAL WORKERS

The Trump administration’s offer faced scrutiny, and a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration's plan from advancing amid challenges from labor union groups who voiced concerns that the law didn’t require the Trump administration to hold up its end of the deal.

However, U.S. District Judge George O’Toole of Massachusetts ruled in favor of the White House Wednesday evening, asserting the plaintiffs in the case aren’t directly impacted by the Trump administration’s offer. 

They "allege that the directive subjects them to upstream effects including a diversion of resources to answer members’ questions about the directive, a potential loss of membership, and possible reputational harm," O'Toole wrote.

"The unions do not have the required direct stake in the Fork Directive, but are challenging a policy that affects others, specifically executive branch employees," O’Toole wrote. "This is not sufficient."

The Trump administration praised the court’s decision, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described it as "the first of many legal wins for the president." 

'GET BACK TO WORK': HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK IN 1ST HEARING OF NEW CONGRESS

"The court dissolved the injunction due to a lack of standing," Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "This goes to show that lawfare will not ultimately prevail over the will of 77 million Americans who supported President Trump and his priorities."

The buyout program is one of several initiatives the Trump administration has unveiled to cut down the federal workforce. On Tuesday, Trump also signed an executive order instructing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to coordinate with federal agencies and execute massive cuts in federal workforce staffing numbers. 

The order instructs DOGE and federal agencies to work together to "significantly" shrink the size of the federal government and limit hiring new employees, according to a White House fact sheet on the order. Specifically, agencies must not hire more than one employee for every four that leave their federal post. 

Agencies also are instructed to "undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force" and evaluate ways to eliminate or combine agency functions that aren't legally required, the fact sheet said. 

Fox News' Andrea Margolis, Jake Gibson, Jacqui Heinrich and Patrick Ward contributed to this report. 

Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee sparred with President Donald Trump's Department of Education nominee Linda McMahon on Thursday over cost-cutting efforts underway by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an agency led by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

"I believe the American people spoke loudly in the election last November to say that they want to look at waste, fraud and abuse in our government," said McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Pressed by Democrats, including Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, if she would follow through with cuts suggested by the "DOGE brothers," McMahon said she can be counted on to follow congressional statute "because that's the law."

TRUMP EDUCATION NOMINEE LINDA MCMAHON SAYS SHUTTING DOWN DOE WOULD 'REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION'

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., also asked if McMahon believes DOGE should have access to "private student data," suggesting that their probes "should frighten everyone."

"It is my understanding that those employees have been onboarded as employees of the Department of Education, and therefore, they operate under the restraints of utilizing access of information," McMahon said.

"That's not my understanding," Murray shot back.

"That's my understanding," McMahon responded.

Murray said it was "deeply disturbing" that DOGE staffers aren't "held accountable" and that it should "frighten everyone" if they have access to students' private information.

INTO THE RING: TRUMP EDUCATION CHIEF PICK MCMAHON TO TESTIFY ON CUTTING 'RED TAPE' AMID DOGE SWEEPS

The Department of Education canceled over $100 million in grants for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training as part of a broader cost-cutting effort led by DOGE, Fox News Digital previously reported. DOGE announced the termination of 89 DOE contracts, totaling $881 million, including $101 million allocated for DEI programs focused on educating educators about oppression, privilege and power, in a post Monday on X.

"Your tax dollars were spent on this," Musk wrote of the DOE spending.

DOGE reported that the Department of Education spent an additional $1.5 million on a contractor to "observe mailing and clerical operations" at a mail center, a contract that was also terminated in the dramatic spending audit. 

At one point, moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine raised the terminated contracts as she asked about fears from some educators that grants for tutoring might be on the chopping block. 

"There are many worthwhile programs that we should keep," McMahon said in response to Collins. "But I'm not yet apprised of them. I want to study them. I'd like to get back and talk to you more and to work with you."

DOGE has been on a tirade to cut spending within the DOE, including terminating three grants in early February, one of which funded an institution that had hosted faculty workshops on "Decolonizing the Curriculum." Trump's early executive orders launched a federal review of DEI practices in federally funded educational institutions.

McMahon testified during Thursday's hearing that she has "not" had any conversation with Musk about the Department of Education. 

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission, which will be led by newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Fox News Digital exclusively learned. 

The commission will be chaired by Kennedy and will be "tasked with investigating and addressing the root causes of America’s escalating health crisis, with an initial focus on childhood chronic diseases," the White House explained to Fox News Digital.

Kennedy was confirmed as the nation's leader of the U.S. Health and Human Services on Thursday and was expected to be sworn in later in the afternoon. His commission will work to "restore trust in medical and scientific institutions and hold public hearings, meetings, roundtables" to receive input from health leaders. 

The commission, Fox Digital learned, will focus on four policy directives to reverse chronic disease, including providing Americans transparency on health data to "avoid conflicts of interest in all federally funded health research;" prioritizing "gold-standard research on why Americans are getting sick" in all federally-funded health research; working with farmers to ensure food is healthy, as well as affordable; and expanding health coverage and treatment options "for beneficial lifestyle changes and disease prevention."

The commission initially will focus on childhood chronic diseases, such as autism and fatty liver disease, and also investigate adult chronic diseases, such as asthma and the U.S. average life expectancy compared to other nations. 

RFK JR. VOWS HE WON'T TAKE CHEESEBURGERS AWAY, JUST HIGHLIGHT HEALTH ISSUES: 'MY BOSS LOVES' THEM

Within 100 days of the commission's founding, it is expected to publish "an assessment that summarizes what is known and what questions remain regarding the childhood chronic disease crisis, and include international comparisons." Within 180 days, it is expected to "produce a strategy, based on the findings of the assessment, to improve the health of America’s children," Fox Digital learned. 

SENATE CONFIRMS ROBERT F KENNEDY JR. TO SERVE AS TRUMP'S HEALTH SECRETARY

Kennedy and Trump vowed on the campaign trail to "Make America Healthy Again," including directing their focus on autism among youths in recent years. The commission will investigate chronic conditions for both adults and children, including those related to autism, which the White House said affects one in 36 children.

TRUMP HEALTH SECRETARY NOMINEE RFK JR. SURVIVES HEATED HEARINGS

Trump, in recent months, has cited autism stats while previewing his second administration, balking at the number of children currently diagnosed compared to just 25 years ago. 

"When you look at, like, autism from 25 years ago, and you look at it now, something's going on," Trump said in December ahead of his inauguration. "Think of this: 25 years ago, autism, 1 in 10,000 children. Today it's 1 in 36 children. Is something wrong? I think so, and Robert and I, we're going to figure it out." 

Trump also vowed while on the campaign trail in June that he would "establish a special Presidential Commission of independent minds who are not bought and paid for by Big Pharma, and I will charge them with investigating what is causing the decades-long increase in chronic illnesses." 

TRUMP INNER CIRCLE SHARES MCDONALD’S MEAL AS DONALD JR. JOKES 'MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN STARTS TOMORROW’

The Republican-controlled Senate voted 52–48 on Thursday to confirm Kennedy. His confirmation hearings before the Senate in late January included a few outbursts from protesters, as well as Democrats grilling him over his vaccine stances. 

Kennedy, who ran for president as a Democrat in the 2024 cycle before ultimately dropping out and endorsing Trump, clarified to the Senate that he is not "anti-vaccine." 

"I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish. And nobody called me anti-fish. And I believe that… that vaccines play a critical role in healthcare. All of my kids are vaccinated. I've read many books on vaccines. My first book in 2014, a first line of it is ‘I am not anti-vaccine’ and last line is ‘I am not anti-vaccine.’ Nor am I the enemy of food producers. American farms are the bedrock of our culture, of our politics, of our national security," Kennedy said during his hearing before the Senate Finance Committee in January. 

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro sued President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday to unfreeze federal funds. Pennsylvania is now one of at least 24 states and the District of Columbia with lawsuits challenging Trump's allegedly "unconstitutional" federal funding freeze. 

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed agencies to halt federal funding on January 27. Pennsylvania state agencies have been unable to access $1.2 billion in federal funds with an additional $900 million requiring federal review, according to the lawsuit. Shapiro is seeking to unfreeze those funds. 

The lawsuit names Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and OMB Director Russell Vought in their respective capacities. 

"The federal government has entered into a contract with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, promising to provide billions of dollars in Congressionally approved funding that we have committed to serious needs – like protecting public health, cutting energy costs, providing safe, clean drinking water, and creating jobs in rural communities. With this funding freeze, the Trump Administration is breaking that contract – and it’s my job as Governor to protect Pennsylvania’s interests," Shapiro said.  

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION APPEALS FEDERAL JUDGE'S ORDER TO UNFREEZE FEDERAL FUNDS

The Trump administration has called the legal challenges to Trump’s executive orders "an attempt to undermine the will of the American people." The White House on Thursday dismissed Shapiro’s lawsuit as an extension of the "Left’s resistance." 

"Radical Leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda. These lawsuits are nothing more than an extension of the Left’s resistance — and the Trump Administration is ready to face them in court," White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields said. 

WHITE HOUSE STILL COMMITTED TO FREEZING ‘WOKE’ FUNDS DESPITE RESCINDING OMB MEMO

Shapiro said federal funding could jeopardize Pennsylvania projects, including "reclaiming abandoned mine land, capping and plugging orphan wells, and lowering consumer costs." Meanwhile, the Commonwealth is incurring debt on federally approved projects. 

Pennsylvania has joined at least 23 states and Washington, D.C., who have sued the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funds. Federal judges have issued a temporary restraining order to block the funding freeze in states with litigation against the Trump administration. Because Pennsylvania did not sue the Trump administration to unfreeze funds, they were not impacted by the order releasing funds. 

"While multiple federal judges have ordered the Trump Administration to unfreeze this funding, access has not been restored, leaving my Administration with no choice but to pursue legal action to protect the interests of the Commonwealth and its residents," Shapiro said. 

Shapiro is suing the Trump administration to reap the benefit of the federal judge’s order. 

Democratic groups quickly came out in support of Shapiro's lawsuit. 

"We strongly support Governor Shapiro’s action to protect Pennsylvanians, support communities and cut costs by challenging this funding freeze. Blocking these critical funds is an unacceptable attack on Pennsylvania families, communities and economic stability. These funds were legally approved by Congress and are crucial to supporting working families, rural communities and public safety initiatives across the commonwealth," the Pennsylvania House Democrats said in a statement. 

Evergreen Action, a progressive climate action organization, applauded Shapiro for standing up for Pennsylvanians. 

"Pennsylvania and its communities, businesses, and local governments must regain access to their funds immediately and be freed from this chaos and uncertainty. We are grateful for the governor’s leadership and hope these critical funds are soon able to reach the people who need them most," Evergreen Action Deputy State Policy Director, Julia Kortrey, said. 

President Donald Trump floated a joint meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, claiming he wants all countries to move toward denuclearization. 

Trump on Thursday told reporters he plans to advance these denuclearization talks once "we straighten it all out" in the Middle East and Ukraine, comments that come as the U.S., Russia and Ukraine are actively pursuing negotiations to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

"There’s no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons, we already have so many," Trump said Thursday at the White House. "You could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over. And here we are building new nuclear weapons, and they’re building nuclear weapons."

"We’re all spending a lot of money that we could be spending on other things that are actually, hopefully, much more productive," he said.

The U.S. is projected to spend approximately $756 billion on nuclear weapons between 2023 and 2032, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released in 2023. 

PUTIN VIEWED AS ‘GREAT COMPETITOR’ BUT STILL A US ‘ADVERSARY’ AS UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS LOOM, LEAVITT SAYS

Additionally, Trump said that he was aiming to schedule meetings with Xi and Putin early on in his second term and request that the countries cut their military budgets in half. The president said he believes "we can do that," and remained indifferent about whether he traveled to Xi or Putin, or if they visited the White House. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. has dramatically reduced its nuclear arsenal since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. 

The U.S. maintains 3,748 nuclear warheads as of September 2023, a drop from the stockpile of 22,217 nuclear warheads in 1989, according to the Department of Energy. The agency reported the U.S. owned a maximum of 31,255 nuclear warheads in 1966. 

In comparison, Russia has an estimated stockpile of roughly 4,380 nuclear warheads, while China boasts an arsenal of roughly 600, according to the Federation of American Scientists. 

Trump’s remarks build on previous statements he made in January at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland, where he signaled interest in talks on denuclearization with both Russia and China. 

"Tremendous amounts of money are being spent on nuclear, and the destructive capability is something that we don’t even want to talk about today, because you don’t want to hear it," Trump said on Jan. 23. 

Previous talks between the U.S., Russia and China fell through in 2020 during Trump’s first administration after he refused to sign an extension of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia to impose limits on each country’s nuclear arsenals. The treaty ultimately was renewed under the Biden administration and now expires in 2026, but Russia suspended its participation. 

On Thursday, Trump accused these negotiations of falling apart due what he called the "rigged election" in 2020. 

NO LONGER TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF: TRUMP SIGNS ORDER PRIORITIZING ‘UNIFIED’ US FOREIGN POLICY FRONT 

Trump also said on Thursday that Putin wants peace after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, comments that followed back-to-back calls with the Russian leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also traveled to Kyiv on Wednesday. 

Trump, who met with Zelenskyy in New York in September 2024, urged Putin to cease the war — or face sanctions — in a post on Truth Social on Jan. 22. 

"Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE," Trump wrote. If we don't make a 'deal', and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries."

USAID's green energy programs may have done more "harm" to developing nations than anything else, according to a former official at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

"I can’t think of anything that’s harmed the developing world more than the climate agenda," said Max Primorac, a top USAID official under President Donald Trump’s first administration, when asked about programs that had run afoul of American interests throughout the world.   

"The strong counter-China infrastructure that we developed over at USAID was simply dismantled by the next administration," he told lawmakers at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing entitled, "USAID Betrayal."

"[USAID] has pushed all of these countries, especially in Africa, to go green. Solar, wind, EV: who produces all of those materials? It's China. Then, on top of it, we tell them, 'No, you can't develop your own fossil fuel industry because it's, it's anti-green.' So, what happens? They can't generate the revenues to create good jobs at home. They can't generate the revenues in order to finance their own health, education and other needs."

​​USAID MISSIONS OVERSEAS ORDERED TO SHUT DOWN, STAFF BEING RECALLED: REPORT

Primorac claimed that green energy infrastructure in developing countries "increases the price of energy." 

According to Primorac, 19 of the top 20 countries receiving USAID are part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, securing aid from the CCP in exchange for influence. 

Primorac said that developing nations "want more trade, they want more investment," but "resentment" is building in conservative countries who don’t want "woke things."

The Trump administration, upon assuming office, instituted a 90-day pause on all foreign aid. Trump fired USAID's inspector general Paul Martin this week after he wrote a report claiming Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)'s efforts to dismantle USAID had prevented him from conducting oversight on unspent aid of up to $8.5 billion. Martin's report claimed that about $500 million worth of food aid is at risk of spoiling as it sits in ports while USAID staff in other nations have been called back and placed on leave. 

USAID has now been placed under the purview of the State Department and is in the process of whittling down its staff from 10,000 to fewer than 300. 

USAID INSPECTOR GENERAL FIRED DAYS AFTER PUBLISHING REPORT CRITICAL OF AID PAUSE

Republican witnesses at the hearing largely agreed that foreign aid was important to fighting global disease outbreaks and securing U.S. interests throughout the world, but USAID’s reputation had been "tarnished" by "mission creep," as former GOP Rep. Ted Yoho, Fla., said. 

But Yoho, who said he came to Congress to slash foreign aid before realizing its importance throughout the world, and Andrew Natsios, USAID administrator under President George W. Bush, warned that a blanket freeze on aid throughout the world would be detrimental. 

"By pausing U.S. international assistance, a vacuum is created. China, Russia, or others are already moving in to fill those voids," said Yoho. 

"Not being effectively present can be arguably worse than pausing a program. And all you have to do is look at South and Central America and look at how much we've ceded to China and their influence from Russia, China and Iran. That has to be dealt with immediately. That's a national security threat." 

Natsios said he was "appalled" by how the Biden administration had roped USAID into "culture wars." 

"It's a failure," he said. "All of the things I did at AID, I tried to do it in a way that would not alienate the Democratic Party when I left." 

GOP CHAIRMAN RESPONDS AFTER PROTESTERS ARE TOSSED FROM USAID SPENDING HEARING

But he noted that "woke" programs were a "small percentage" of the USAID budget, and the agency gives $1 billion per year to Christian NGOs. 

Republicans claim there is a waiver process, but aid advocates have said NGOs and charities do not know how to apply for the waiver, and if they receive one, no one at USAID is operating the payment systems that dole out funds. 

"I’ve met with these Christian groups, even though they have the waivers, the Phoenix system is not operating," said Natsios, referring to the agency’s financial program. "Please do something about it." 

During the hearing, Republicans also pointed to USAID-funded NGOs that were conducting abortions, a program that sent millions of taxpayer dollars to dole out condoms in Afghanistan and Mozambique, $20 million for drag shows in Ecuador and $500,000 to promote atheism in Nepal. 

"All of these programs gave USAID a black eye and that’s unfortunate," said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, a former chairman of the committee who claimed USAID "blew through" his holds on their controversial programs.

Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast agreed. "When done right, foreign aid can be one of the best tools. It can help strengthen our relationships with our allies and help countries realize America is the best for them," he said. 

He promised that more aid oversight was to come. 

"We are going to bring in individuals who were responsible for putting these horrible policies in place and reveal all the receipts, videos – all of it – for the American people to see."

The United States is releasing Russian prisoner Alexander Vinnik as part of the deal to secure Marc Fogel's freedom, a Trump administration official told Fox News on Wednesday.

Fogel, an American teacher who had been detained in Russia since 2021, was freed on Tuesday. A plane carrying him landed in the U.S. late last night. 

Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on cryptocurrency fraud charges. He was later extradited to the United States where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier said the Russian prisoner’s name would be revealed when he returns home. 

FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY 

"Recently, work has been intensified through the relevant agencies, there have been contacts," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters, according to the Associated Press. "And these contacts have led to the release of Fogel, as well as one of the citizens of the Russian Federation, who is currently being held in custody in the United States. This citizen of the Russian Federation will also be returned to Russia in the coming days." 

The State Department did not immediately respond Wednesday morning to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, was serving a 14-year prison sentence after his arrest in August 2021 at a Russian airport for being in possession of drugs, which his family and supporters said were medically prescribed marijuana. 

Anne Fogel, his sister, told "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday that she is "so happy to have this massive boulder" lifted off her shoulders with her brother’s release. 

"I am so incredibly grateful to the president," she added. "Just amazing." 

Fogel said her brother's situation has "taken a toll" on her family but they "can’t even believe that he is safe and at home and can get medical attention." 

AMERICAN MARC FOGEL RELEASED FROM RUSSIAN CUSTODY 

After his arrival in the U.S., Fogel met with President Donald Trump at the White House and called him a hero for securing his release. 

"I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. And President Trump is a hero," Fogel said after meeting Trump. 

"These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes," Fogel continued. "The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor – they got me home – they are heroes." 

When asked by reporters on Tuesday whether the U.S. had given up anything in return for Fogel, Trump replied "not much" without offering additional details. 

Fox News’ Pat Ward, Landon Mion and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Federal judges have blocked President Donald Trump's executive orders related to stemming the flow of illegal immigration, as well as slimming the federal bureaucracy and slashing government waste. 

"Billions of Dollars of FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE, has already been found in the investigation of our incompetently run Government," Trump wrote on TRUTH Social on Tuesday. "Now certain activists and highly political judges want us to slow down, or stop. Losing this momentum will be very detrimental to finding the TRUTH, which is turning out to be a disaster for those involved in running our Government. Much left to find. No Excuses!!!" 

Judges in U.S. district courts – the lowest level in the three-tier federal court system – have mostly pushed back on Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. Here are the six times judges have blocked Trump's executive orders so far:

AS DEMOCRATS REGROUP OUTSIDE DC, GOP ATTORNEYS GENERAL ADOPT NEW PLAYBOOK TO DEFEND TRUMP AGENDA

The Trump administration quickly pushed to withhold Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money sent to New York City to house migrants, saying it had "significant concerns" about the spending under a program appropriated by Congress. The Justice Department had previously asked the appeals court to let it implement sweeping pauses on federal grants and loans, calling the lower court order to keep promised money flowing "intolerable judicial overreach."

McConnell, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, is presiding over a lawsuit from nearly two dozen Democratic states filed after the administration issued a memo purporting to halt all federals grants and loans, worth trillions of dollars. 

"The broad categorical and sweeping freeze of federal funds is, as the Court found, likely unconstitutional," McConnell wrote, "and has caused and continues to cause irreparable harm to a vast portion of this country."

The administration has since rescinded that memo, but McConnell found Monday that not all federal grants and loans had been restored. He was the first judge to find that the administration had disobeyed a court order.

The Democratic attorneys general allege money for things like early childhood education, pollution reduction and HIV prevention research remained tied up even after McConnell ordered the administration on Jan. 31 to "immediately take every step necessary" to unfreeze federal grants and loans. The judge also said his order blocked the administration from cutting billions of dollars in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

The Boston-based First Circuit Court of Appeal on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration's effort to reinstate a sweeping pause on federal funding. 

The federal appeals court said it expected U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island to clarify his initial order.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, on Monday ordered lawyers to meet and confer over any changes needed to an order issued early Saturday by another Manhattan judge, Obama-appointee Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, that banned Elon Musk’s DOGE team from accessing Treasury Department records. Vargas instructed both sides to file written arguments if an agreement was not reached. 

The order was amended on Tuesday to allow Senate-confirmed political appointees access to the information, while special government employees, including Musk, are still prohibited from accessing the Treasury Department's payment system.

On Friday, 19 Democrat attorneys general, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, sued Trump on the grounds that Musk's DOGE team was composed of "political appointees" who should not have access to Treasury records handled by "civil servants" specially trained to protect sensitive information like Social Security and bank account numbers. 

Justice Department attorneys from Washington and New York told Vargas in a filing on Sunday that the ban was unconstitutional and a "remarkable intrusion on the Executive Branch" that must be immediately reversed. They said there was no basis for distinguishing between "civil servants" and "political appointees."

They said they were complying with the Saturday order by Engelmayer, but they asserted that the order was "overbroad" so that some might think even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was banned by it. 

"Basic democratic accountability requires that every executive agency's work be supervised by politically accountable leadership, who ultimately answer to the President," DOJ attorneys wrote, adding that the ban on accessing the records by Musk's team "directly severs the clear line of supervision" required by the Constitution.

Over the weekend, Musk and Vice President JD Vance reacted to the escalating conflict between the Trump administration and the lower courts. 

 "If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that's also illegal," Vance wrote broadly. "Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power." 

Musk said Engelmayer is "a corrupt judge protecting corruption," who "needs to be impeached NOW!"

Boston-based U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr., who was nominated by former President Bill Clinton, kept on hold Trump's deferred resignation program after a courtroom hearing on Monday. 

O'Toole on Thursday had already pushed back the initial Feb. 6 deadline when federal workers had to decide whether they would accept eight months of paid leave in exchange for their resignation. 

A "Fork In the Road" email was sent earlier last week telling two million federal workers they could stop working and continue to get paid until Sept. 30. The White House said 65,000 workers had already accepted the buyout offer by Friday. 

The country's largest federal labor unions, concerned about losing membership, sued the Office of Personnel Management, asking the court to delay the deadline and arguing the deferred resignation program spearheaded by Musk is illegal.

Eric Hamilton, a Justice Department lawyer, called the plan a "humane off ramp" for federal employees who may have structured their lives around working remotely and have been ordered to return to government buildings.

TRUMP BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP EXECUTIVE ORDER BLOCKED BY THIRD FEDERAL JUDGE

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it is appealing a Maryland federal judge's ruling blocking the president's executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for people whose parents are not legally in the country.

In a filing, the administration's attorneys said they were appealing to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. It's the second such appeal the administration has sought since Trump's executive order was blocked in court.

The government's appeal stems from Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman's grant of a preliminary injunction last week in a case brought by immigrant rights groups and expectant mothers in Maryland. Boardman said at the time her court would not become the first in the country to endorse the president's order, calling citizenship a "precious right" granted by the Constitution's 14th Amendment.

The president's birthright citizenship order has generated at least nine lawsuits nationwide, including suits brought by 22 states.

On Monday, New Hampshire-based U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, said in relation to a similar lawsuit that he wasn't convinced by the administration's arguments and issued a preliminary injunction. It applies to the plaintiffs, immigrant rights groups with members who are pregnant, and others within the court's jurisdiction.

Last week, Seattle-based U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour, who was nominated by former President Ronald Reagan, ordered a block of Trump's order, which the administration also appealed.

The Trump administration is expected to argue before a federal judge Wednesday that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is rife with "insubordination" and must be shut down for the administration to decide what pieces of it to salvage.

The argument, made in an affidavit by political appointee and deputy USAID administrator Pete Marocco, comes as the administration confronts a lawsuit by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees – two groups representing federal workers.

Washington-based U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, on Friday ordered a temporary block on plans by the Trump administration to put 2,200 USAID employees on leave. He also agreed to block an order that would have given just 30 days for the thousands of overseas USAID workers the administration wanted to place on abrupt administrative leave to move their families back to the U.S. at the government's expense. 

Both actions by the administration would have exposed the workers and their families to unnecessary risk and expense, according to the judge.

The judge reinstated USAID staffers already placed on leave but declined to suspend the administration's freeze on foreign assistance.

Nichols is due to hear arguments Wednesday on a request from the employee groups to keep blocking the move to put thousands of staffers on leave as well as broaden his order. They contend the government has already violated the judge's order. 

In the court case, a government motion shows the administration pressing arguments by Vance and others questioning if courts have the authority to check Trump's power.

"The President's powers in the realm of foreign affairs are generally vast and unreviewable," government lawyers argued.

Fox News' Landon Mion and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Americans are giving a big thumbs up to some of the early actions taken by President Donald Trump during the opening weeks of his second administration.

However, a new national poll also indicates that the public also gives a thumbs down to other moves made by Trump during his avalanche of action since returning to the White House on Jan. 20.

Trump has signed 63 executive orders since his inauguration, according to a count from Fox News, which far surpasses the rate of any presidential predecessors during their first weeks in office.

According to a Marquette Law School Poll national survey released on Wednesday, the most popular action sampled is Trump's executive order mandating the federal government recognize only two sexes - male and female.

TRUMP HITS WARP SPEED HIS FIRST WEEK BACK IN OFFICE

Sixty-three percent of adults nationwide supported the move, with just 37% opposed, the survey indicates.

The gender order, signed by Trump hours after his inauguration, states that it will "defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male."

The order required that the federal government, going forward, use the term "sex" rather than "gender" and mandated that "government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex."

TRUMP UNPLUGGED: WHAT THE NEW PRESIDENT IS DOING THAT BIDEN RARELY DID

It reversed a 2022 move by former President Joe Biden's administration to allow U.S. citizens to be able to select the gender-neutral "X" on their passports.

During his successful 2024 campaign to win back the White House, Trump repeatedly pledged to roll back protections for transgender and nonbinary people. His campaign spotlighted an ad which ran in key battleground states that claimed former Vice President Kamala Harris "is for they/them. President Trump is for you."

The poll indicates a large partisan divide, with 94% of Republicans and two-thirds of independents but just 27% of Democrats supporting the executive order.

Another popular move, according to the poll: 6 in 10 said they favor expanding oil and gas production.

Some of Trump's numerous actions on immigration and border security also grabbed a thumbs up.

Sixty percent said they support deporting immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally, and 59% favored declaring a national emergency at the nation's southern border with Mexico due to migrant crossings.

However, the survey also found that 57% opposed deporting immigrants who have resided in the United States illegally for a number of years, but who have jobs and no criminal record.

HEAD HERE FOR FOX NEWS UPDATES ON PRESIDENT TRUMP'S FIRST 100 DAYS IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Also getting a big thumbs down - Trump's Day One pardon or commuting the sentences of nearly all the Trump supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to upend congressional certification of Biden's 2020 Electoral College victory over Trump. Sixty-five percent opposed the move by the president.

An equal number of respondents also do not support Trump's repeated declarations that the U.S. will take back the Panama Canal.

Additionally, Trump's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America is opposed by 71% of adults nationwide, according to the poll.

Fifty-seven percent of Republicans support the renaming, but backing drops to just 16% among independents and 4% among Democrats.

The Marquette Law School Poll, which was conducted Jan. 27-Feb. 5, indicates Trump starts his second term with a 48% approval rating and a 52% disapproval rating.

"In the new poll, as in the past, approval is closely related to partisanship, with 89% of Republicans approving of Trump, a view shared by 37% of independents and 9% of Democrats," the poll's release noted, as it spotlighted the massive partisan divide.

Fox News' Mary Schlageter contributed to this report

Former aides to President Barack Obama admitted on an episode of "Pod Save America" they should have done "some of the stuff" President Donald Trump is doing with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

When discussing DOGE’s initiatives to cut federal spending, the "Obama bros" admitted to "lamenting" their situation. Jon Lovett, a former Obama speechwriter, implied he "didn’t know" the executive branch could radically cut federal spending as the Trump administration has done. 

"Honestly, some of this is pretty annoying because it’s some of the stuff we should’ve done. We didn’t know you could do some of this," Lovett said. 

Jon Favreau, also a former Obama speechwriter, shared Lovett’s frustration, admitting the Obama administration tried to cut through bureaucracy and create government efficiency, but "it’s hard to do."

DOGE SLASHES OVER $100M IN DEI FUNDING AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: 'WIN FOR EVERY STUDENT'

"We all know that government is slow. We all know government can be inefficient. We all know that the bureaucracy can be bloated. We all worked in f---ing the White House. We tried to reorganize the government. We tried to find efficiency. It's hard to do," Favreau said. 

$1,300 COFFEE CUPS, 8,000% OVERPAY FOR SOAP DISPENSERS SHOW WASTE AS DOGE LOCKS IN ON PENTAGON

The liberal podcasters also complained about the federal government’s technology during the Obama era. 

"The technology in the federal government, at least when we were there, sucked. There was no service in the basement of the West Wing. You couldn't use your phone because there was no service." Favreau added. 

"Pod Save America" did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on which DOGE initiatives the Obama administration should have done. 

The podcast episode was released ahead of Trump signing an executive order on Tuesday directing agencies to coordinate with DOGE to reduce the size of the federal government. The executive order is the latest in a slew of government slashes these past few weeks, which have targeted everything from DEI funding to migrant hotel bills. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The "Obama Bros" have been on a media circuit in recent weeks, directing Democrats on how to politically engage during Trump’s second term. Former Obama spokesman and "Pod Save America" co-host, Tommy Vietor, joined "Jesse Watters Primetime" last month to discuss the future of the Democratic Party. 

Senate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus Chairwoman Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said she talks to Trump-aligned billionaire Elon Musk every couple of days as he spearheads the administration's effort to slash wasteful spending. 

"We communicate back and forth every few days or so," she told Fox News Digital in an interview. "I'll send additional ideas that we come up with."

According to Ernst, during a meeting at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in November, she gave Musk "an eight-page memorandum blueprint with a number of cost-saving ideas."

SCOOP: TRUMP BUDGET CHIEF VOUGHT TELLS GOP SENATORS $175B NEEDED 'IMMEDIATELY' FOR BORDER SECURITY

"He literally is taking that and running with it," the Iowa Republican remarked. 

She said she simply sends new ideas directly to Musk, and "pretty soon you'll see a tweet out on X."

When asked whether she thought she would ever be working to audit the government with the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as the owner of X, Ernst laughed, "Never in a million years."

TRUMP ON VERGE OF NEXT CABINET VICTORY WITH LATE-NIGHT TULSI GABBARD SENATE VOTE

Since Trump took office last month, DOGE has taken swift action to audit agencies and departments within the executive branch, rooting out contracts, programs and spending that Trump and Musk consider unnecessary or wasteful. 

The effort has been met by Democrats with protests, as lawmakers have shown up outside the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Treasury and the Department of Education to demonstrate. Some Democrats have even attempted to enter the buildings, but were prevented. 

NOEM, HEGSETH, BONDI PLEAD WITH CONGRESS FOR MORE BORDER FUNDING AMID LARGE-SCALE DEPORTATIONS

On the other hand, Republicans have cheered the initiative. For example, Ernst told Fox News Digital that DOGE's actions so far have been "tremendous." 

As for criticisms of how DOGE's staffers are conducting their audit and what information they are gaining access to, the Iowa Republican maintained that it is completely legal in her opinion. "This is the executive branch and they are scrutinizing the executive branch. So, of course, it's legal," she said. 

LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER: THE LITTLE-KNOWN TRUMP NOMINEE WHO MAY NEED TO RELY ON DEMS

"There is nothing in the Constitution that says the president cannot scrutinize the expenditures, especially when those dollars are going to programs that members here in Congress did not anticipate," she noted, referencing jaw-dropping programs being uncovered by DOGE, showing significant money going towards Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), among other initiatives. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Musk's DOGE for comment.

EXCLUSIVE: Retired New York Giants safety Jack Brewer and his global ministry are on the ground in Guatemala City this week, helping officials receive migrant families deported from the U.S., providing food, support and prayer as they essentially start life anew.

Brewer and his Jack Brewer Foundation have years of experience working in impoverished areas of the world like Haiti, Malawi and Central America, which Brewer said has allowed him to work closer than most and interact with the returning families.

While it is President Donald Trump and border czar Tom Homan enforcing U.S. law and deporting illegal immigrants, Brewer said it is clear former President Joe Biden’s "broken" policies are truly to blame for the heartache and hardship. 

"Three years ago, I started to follow the fatherlessness crisis that is happening right here in Guatemala, where a lot of men were leaving their households and coming to Joe Biden’s open borders – and just seeing it literally devastate families."

CHARITY LEADERS SLAM BIDEN ADMIN RESPONSE TO US PLANES SHOT IN HAITI AMID CHAOS

Brewer said Guatemala was losing much of its workforce and that a lot of those poor families trying to get to the U.S. actually did not know a "legal" immigration route existed, and they instead took the cartels and others at their word and paid thousands of dollars to be trafficked north.

"They’ve been told by coyotes and different people that you can just come [to the U.S.], and if you come here, if you bring your child, they'll just let you in," Brewer said.

"And so, you know, there's a huge education gap there on the ground."

Brewer also met with Raul Berrios from CONAMIGUA – the National Council for Attention to Migrants of Guatemala – as well as Sergio Samuel Vela-Lopez, head of the Guatemala Penitentiary Department.

Berrios, Lopez and others are trying to create an effective system for welcoming the migrants and processing those who are innocent families versus those who may have criminal records or other issues requiring government attention, according to Brewer.

FORMER NFL SAFETY JACK BREWER TORCHES CA'S COSTLY REPARATIONS PUSH

Many families returning to the capital city live hundreds of miles into the countryside and have no established way of getting there. Some buses, however, have been hired to take migrants closer to home, and Brewer visited one of them and spoke to its driver.

"It’s really a unique perspective, I think, and just some of the things that we've witnessed since we've been here," he said, adding stories ranged from familial hardships to reports that more than a dozen people have been burnt alive by Mexican cartels for failing to pay for passage.

"It’s just pretty tough to see and witness and watch."

When a U.S. military plane arrived carrying migrants, Brewer was on the tarmac.

HEGSETH, HOMAN TOUR BORDER

"We were able to provide them with food and, most importantly, with Bibles, and we preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Brewer said the Guatemalan Migration Authority is focusing its efforts on children ages 8 and under. Many of these children have been "lied to," Brewer said.

"They’re told it’s their life’s mission to migrate to the U.S. illegally," he said, recounting stories told by some returning migrants of children on the backs of cartel coyotes and others drowning in rivers.

Then-Vice President Kamala Harris made her own trip to Guatemala City in March 2024, seeking to understand the "root causes" of illegal migration.

"When you look at the root causes, we're also looking at issues of corruption. Again, we're looking at the issue of climate resiliency and then the concern about a lack of economic opportunity," Harris said in 2021.

Brewer rejected that Harris’ work made any difference, saying she and her then-boss’s policies "empowered human traffickers" and that half of Guatemala still lives in extreme poverty with little education.

He said the former leadership at the State Department "misguided resources" through USAID, a practice that Trump is now aggressively cutting back on.

"We need to first put our resources into addressing the issues that are fueling a multibillion-dollar human trafficking industry. Walls, deportations and enforcement are a must, but educating indigenous populations on the truths of coyotes will deliver a devastating blow to the modern human slave trade," Brewer said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"Guatemala is not enforcing their migration issue in the country. Haitians and Venezuelans are warned of the dangers of migrating, but there is no enforcement at the time."

"There needs to be arrest and enforcement, but they require resources. Guatemala prisons are already overcrowded, and they don’t have immigration beds available for enforcement," added Brewer, who said he also visited those prisons and saw conditions for himself.

Dozens of activist and legal groups, elected officials, local jurisdictions and individuals have launched more than 50 lawsuits against the Trump administration since Jan. 20 in response to his more than 60 executive orders, as well as executive proclamations and memos, Fox News Digital found. 

Trump long has been a legal target, which hit a fever pitch during the 2024 election cycle when Trump faced four criminal indictments, including a criminal trial in Manhattan in the spring of 2024 when he was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records. 

Trump has maintained his innocence in the four cases, pointing to them as evidence of lawfare at the hands of Democrats working against his political efforts. 

Upon Trump's election win in November 2024, state attorneys general, such as New York Attorney General Letitia James, publicly said they would ready legal battles against the Trump administration for actions they view as illegal or negatively impact residents. 

TRUMP HATING NY ATTORNEY GENERAL LETITIA JAMES VOWS WAR WITH PRESIDENT-ELECT IN DIVISIVE NEWS CONFERENCE

"We faced this challenge before, and we used the rule of law to fight back," James, who repeatedly has leveled suits against Trump, said following his win. "And we are prepared to fight back once again because, as the attorney general of this great state, it is my job to protect and defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law. And I will not shrink from that responsibility."

Just roughly three weeks back in the Oval Office, Trump's administration has been hit with at least 54 lawsuits working to resist his policies. 

Fox News Digital compiled a list of the groups, state attorneys general, cities or states, and individuals who have launched lawsuits against the Trump administration's executive actions. The list includes the various groups and individuals challenging the Trump administration in court, as well as the executive order or proclamation that sparked the suit. 

Amid the flurry of lawsuits against Trump and his administration, Democratic elected officials and government employees have spoken out against the orders and the Trump agenda overall. 

Democrats and government employees also have staged protests as the Department of Government Efficiency investigates various federal agencies as part of its mission to cut government overspending and weed out corruption and mismanagement of taxpayer funds. 

"That's not acceptable," House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., declared in January. "We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We're going to fight it in the streets." 

'LOSING THEIR MINDS': DEM LAWMAKERS FACE BACKLASH FOR INVOKING 'UNHINGED' VIOLENT RHETORIC AGAINST MUSK

"We will see you in the court, in Congress, in the streets," Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said at a rally outside the Treasury Department earlier in February. 

"We are gonna be in your face, we are gonna be on your a--es, and we are going to make sure you understand what democracy looks like, and this ain’t it," Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said at the same rally. 

TRUMP 100% DISAGREES WITH FEDERAL JUDGE'S 'CRAZY' RULING BLOCKING DOGE FROM TREASURY SYSTEM

Trump joined Fox News' Bret Baier for an exclusive interview ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday, where he was asked about a lawsuit filed by attorneys general to restrict DOGE and its chair, Elon Musk, from accessing the Treasury Department's systems and a judge temporarily blocking the DOGE team from the data. 

"Nineteen states attorneys general filed a lawsuit, and early Saturday a judge agreed with them to restrict Elon Musk and his government efficiency team, DOGE, from accessing Treasury Department payment and data systems. They said there was a risk of ‘irreparable harm.’ What do you make of that?" Baier asked Trump in the interview clip. "And does that slow you down and what you want to do?" 

"No, I disagree with it 100%," Trump said. "I think it's crazy. And we have to solve the efficiency problem. We have to solve the fraud, waste, abuse, all the things that have gone into the government. You take a look at the USAID, the kind of fraud in there."  

"We're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars of money that's going to places where it shouldn't be going," Trump said when asked about what DOGE has found while auditing federal agencies in search of government overspending, fraud and corruption.

This tracker will be updated with additional lawsuits as they are confirmed.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Tuesday that some Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) employees who worked on "mis-, dis-, and malinformation" were put on administrative leave.

In a statement to Scripps News, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote CISA needs to "refocus on its mission," starting with election security.

"The agency is undertaking an evaluation of how it has executed its election security mission with a particular focus on any work related to mis-, dis-, and malinformation," according to the statement.

SPEAKER JOHNSON RIPS ‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ IN BIDEN ADMIN'S HELENE RESPONSE: ‘ALARMED AND DISAPPOINTED’ 

As first reported by Fox News Digital, then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified in April 2022 that the Department of Homeland Security was creating a "Disinformation Governance Board" to combat misinformation ahead of the 2022 midterm election.

During an appearance before the House Appropriations Subcommittee, Mayorkas said a "Disinformation Governance Board" was created to address misinformation campaigns targeting minority communities.

MAYORKAS RIPS ‘POLITICIZED’ ATMOSPHERE OVER FEMA DISASTER RESPONSE AMID GOP CRITICISM'

While the agency conducts the assessment, personnel who worked on the alleged "mis-, dis-, and malinformation," as well as foreign influence operations and disinformation, will remain on administrative leave, according to the statement.

The board was allegedly led by Undersecretary for Policy Rob Silvers, co-chair with principal deputy general counsel Jennifer Gaskill. 

Nina Jankowicz, who previously served as a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, reportedly served as executive director, Politico reported.

Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Three leaders at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were placed on administrative leave Tuesday, Fox News Digital confirmed. 

CFPB's Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta placed Lorelei Salas, the CFPB’s supervision director, and Eric Halperin, the agency’s enforcement chief, and Zixta Martinez, the agency's deputy director, on administrative leave, an agency spokesperson told Fox News Digital Tuesday. 

The departures come after acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, told employees of CFPB on Monday to not report to work and to "get approval in writing before performing any work tasks." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent briefly served as acting CFPB director before Vought earlier in February, and had also told staffers to halt their work "unless expressly approved by the Acting Director or required by law."

The agency spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Halperin defied Bessent's order and resigned in response to being placed on leave Tuesday. Halperin was made aware of his leave via an email and responded six minutes later that he was resigning, the New York Post reported earlier Tuesday. 

RUSS VOUGHT, TAPPED AS CFPB'S ACTING DIRECTOR, DIRECTS BUREAU TO ISSUE NO NEW RULES, STOP NEW INVESTIGATIONS

"I write to provide notice of my resignation… Since the building is closed, please provide instructions on how to return my equipment," Halperin reportedly responded to the email. "Thank you for the opportunity to serve. It was an honor."

Salas also "sent out an email blast" in response to the notification she also was placed on leave, but did not officially file her resignation, the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

RUSSELL VOUGHT CONFIRMED TO HEAD GOVERNMENT'S LEADING BUDGET OFFICE AFTER DEMS HOLD 30-HOUR PROTEST

The pair is claiming to reporters that they resigned, as opposed to being placed on leave, to "try and save face," the agency spox added. 

When approached for comment, a spokesperson for Salas and Halperin told Fox Digital that the Trump administration was working to "sideline" government employees. 

"As we’ve seen many times already, Trump and Musk are trying to sideline dedicated public servants who won’t go along with their plans to break the law," the spokesperson said. "CFPB staff have a responsibility to protect consumers, and that includes upholding longstanding laws on the books." 

Both Halperin and Salas have ties to left-wing billionaire George Soros' nonprofit, the Open Society Foundation, a CFPB press release from 2021 shows. Halperin served as a senior advisor to Open Society Foundations’ U.S. Program, his biography in a CFPB press release states, while Salas received a government fellowship from the Open Society Foundations. 

FEDERAL WORKERS' UNION FILES LAWSUITS TO STOP VOUGHT, DOGE ACTIVITY AT CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

The CFPB is an independent government agency charged with protecting consumers from unfair financial practices in the private sector. It was created in 2010 under the Obama administration following the financial crash in 2008. 

The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, has been investigating various federal agencies in February in search of finding and eliminating government overspending, fraud and corruption.

On Friday, Musk posted a message on X, reading, "CFPB RIP," building anticipation that the agency was the next to face investigation. 

Protests have since been staged outside of the of CFPB headquarters in Washington, including Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who originally proposed the agency, declaring on the streets, "We are here to fight back."

"This is like a bank robber trying to fire the cops and turn off the alarm just before he strolls into the lobby," Warren told the crowd on Monday. 

"The financial cops, the CFPB, are there to make sure that Elon’s new project can’t scam you or steal your sensitive personal data," Warren said. "So Elon’s solution, get rid of the cops, kill the CFPB."

President Donald Trump has found an ally in the Senate, at least on his plan to stop creating new pennies.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., came out in support of Trump's latest proposal on Tuesday, calling it a "common sense move." 

The Democrat represents a battleground state that both she and Trump won in 2024. 

SCOOP: TRUMP BUDGET CHIEF VOUGHT TELLS GOP SENATORS $175B NEEDED 'IMMEDIATELY' FOR BORDER SECURITY

Over the weekend, Trump announced that he "instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies."

"For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents," the president wrote on Truth Social. 

"Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time."

NOEM, HEGSETH, BONDI PLEAD WITH CONGRESS FOR MORE BORDER FUNDING AMID LARGE-SCALE DEPORTATIONS

Rosen took to X on Tuesday, writing, "I’m not afraid to embrace a good idea when it comes from the other side of the aisle, and I agree with President Trump on this."

"Eliminating the penny is a common sense move that’ll save taxpayer dollars," she said. 

She isn't the only Democrat who has come out in support of Trump's idea. 

LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER: THE LITTLE-KNOWN TRUMP NOMINEE WHO MAY NEED TO RELY ON DEMS

"As well as saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, there are major environmental benefits to eliminating the penny. This is a great move," Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., said of the president's plan. 

Trump's unlikely Democratic backers come as much of the party has revolted amid his Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to aggressively audit and slash spending at executive branch agencies and departments. 

President Donald Trump's court battles have not ended now that he’s back in the Oval Office — instead, dozens have piled up against his administration as Democrats and activists vow to fight Trump and his policies in the judicial system.

Trump faced four criminal indictments during the interim of his first and second administrations, which landed accusations of "lawfare" on the national stage as Trump maintained his innocence and slammed the cases as efforts by the Democratic Party to hurt his political chances for re-election during the 2024 cycle. Despite the left-wing efforts to ensnare Trump in a web of legal cases, Trump was re-elected president — with a resume that now includes "convicted felon" and a famous mugshot frequently displayed on pro-Trump apparel.

Upon Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20, he has issued near-daily executive orders and actions to shift the federal government to fall in line with his "America First" policies, including snuffing out government overspending and mismanagement, banning biological men from competing in women’s sports, and deporting thousands of illegal immigrants who flooded the nation under the Biden administration. 

Trump has signed more than 60 executive orders, in addition to other executive actions, as of Tuesday, which has resulted in at least 49 lawsuits against Trump and his administration, Fox News Digital has found. 

'ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY': LEGAL EXPERTS SHRED NY V. TRUMP AS 'ONE OF THE WORST' CASES IN HISTORY

The lawsuits come as Democratic elected officials fume over the second Trump administration’s policies, most notably the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is investigating various federal agencies in the search of cutting government spending fat, corruption and mismanagement of funds.

"Right now, we're going to keep focus on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working-class Americans across the country with the bill," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in January. 

CLIMATE LAWFARE IS RUNNING INTO A POWERFUL FORCE LIBERALS DIDN’T EXPECT

"That's not acceptable," he said. "We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We're going to fight it in the streets."  

"We are gonna be in your face, we are gonna be on your a--es, and we are going to make sure you understand what democracy looks like, and this ain’t it," Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said at a protest over DOGE and its chair, Elon Musk, earlier in February.

With just over three weeks back in the Oval Office, at least 49 lawsuits have been filed against Trump or the federal government over Trump’s policies and executive actions. Among the list of plaintiffs are a handful of groups that brought forth suits against Trump in previous years, most notably New York Attorney General Leitita James, as well as labor unions and left-wing advocacy groups. 

James, a former city council member in New York and public defender, launched her run for New York attorney general during the 2018 cycle, while emphasizing that if she were elected she would aggressively pursue legal charges against Trump.

HOW TRUMP, AG BONDI CAN PERSUADE DEMOCRATS TO ABANDON LAWFARE

"I’m running for attorney general because I will never be afraid to challenge this illegitimate president when our fundamental rights are at stake," James declared in September 2018. "From the Muslim ban, to efforts to deport immigrants, to denying transgender students the ability to choose whatever bathroom they want, rolling back regulations to protect our planet, colluding with foreign powers, putting profits over people, dividing us in ways we haven’t seen in generations." 

"And what is fueling this campaign, what is fueling my soul right now, is Trump and his abuses, abuses against immigrants, against women, against our environment. We need an attorney general who will stand up to Donald Trump," she said during a debate in August 2018. 

James won her election that year, about two years into Trump’s first administration, and took a victory lap while vowing to expose the "con man." 

James brought forth a civil fraud suit against Trump, the Trump Organization and its senior leadership in 2022, frequently sitting in the courtroom throughout the proceedings, and celebrated the prosecution of Trump in the Manhattan criminal trial over the 34 counts of falsifying business records. Trump was ordered to pay a $454 million civil fraud judgment in James’ lawsuit against him, which is currently on appeal. 

All in, James said back in November 2024 that her office took nearly 100 legal actions against Trump’s first administration — vowing to restart the efforts during the second administration. 

AS DEMOCRATS REGROUP OUTSIDE DC, GOP ATTORNEYS GENERAL ADOPT NEW PLAYBOOK TO DEFEND TRUMP AGENDA

"We did not expect this result, but we are prepared to respond to this result. And my office has been preparing for several months because we've been here before," James said following Trump’s election win in November 2024. "We faced this challenge before, and we used the rule of law to fight back. And we are prepared to fight back once again because, as the attorney general of this great state, it is my job to protect and defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law. And I will not shrink from that responsibility."

So far in 2025, James has spearheaded at least five legal actions against the Trump administration, including leading a coalition of state attorneys general to sue the federal government to halt DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s internal systems, as well as another lawsuit related to the Trump admin slashing grant funding to research institutions and universities. 

"As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told ‘no,’ but in our country, no one is above the law," James said of the DOGE suit. "President Trump does not have the power to give away Americans’ private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress. Musk and DOGE have no authority to access Americans’ private information and some of our country’s most sensitive data. I am taking action to keep our information secure, and to prevent any unconstitutional freeze on essential funding that Americans rely on every day."

Trump slammed New York as the "most corrupt State in the Union" in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, calling on even-handed judges and elected officials to crush the "lawfare" in the Empire State. 

"​​We need great Judges and Politicians to help fix New York, and to stop the kind of Lawfare that was launched against me, from falsely valuing Mar-a-Lago at $18 Million Dollars, when it is worth, perhaps, 100 times that amount (The corrupt judge was replaced by another judge, only to be immediately put back on the case when the Democrat political leaders found out that a change of judges was made. It has become a great embarrassment for the New York Judicial System!)," he posted to Truth Social, referring to James’ civil fraud case against Trump.  

"To a woman that I had no idea who she was, making a FAKE and ridiculous accusation, to a ‘case’ that was made up by a corrupt and highly conflicted Judge in order to criminally attack me for political purposes," he continued, referring to two-year E. Jean Carroll court cases. 

Labor unions that previously sued the first Trump administration are also back in court, including the American Federation of Teachers suing over DOGE’s access to private information at the Education and Treasury departments, and the American Federation of Government Employees suing the administration in at least two cases related to DOGE and federal employment policies under the 47th president. 

"We wouldn't bring so many lawsuits if they wouldn't break the law so often," Andrew Huddleston, American Federation of Government Employees' director of communications, told Fox News Digital when asked about the lawsuits. 

TRUMP HAS HIGHER APPROVAL RATING THAN AT ANY POINT DURING FIRST TERM: POLL

While the American Civil Liberties Union — which took at least 400 legal actions against the first Trump administration — filed a lawsuit against the second Trump administration earlier in February regarding an executive order that prevents transgender and nonbinary individuals from changing their passports to reflect their gender identity and not their biological sex.  

REPUBLICAN AGS BACK TRUMP FEDERAL EMPLOYEE BUYOUT AS JUDGE DECIDES 'FORK IN THE ROAD' DIRECTIVE'S FATE 

Another nonprofit, the State Democracy Defenders Fund, recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of FBI agents who investigated Trump-related cases in an effort to block the DOJ from releasing their names. The State Democracy Defenders Fund previously was involved in other Trump-related cases, including filing an amicus brief in January advocating that Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan sentence Trump in the Manhattan case just days ahead of his inauguration.

Ahead of taking office, Trump repeatedly seethed that "lawfare" was running amok of American politics, frequently targeting James, Merchan, as well as former special counsel Jack Smith, Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and others. 

"They're playing with the courts, as you know, they've been playing with the courts for four years," Trump said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago after Congress had certified his election win in January. "Probably got me more votes because I got the highest number of votes ever gotten by a Republican by far, actually, by a lot. And, you know, we had a great election, so I guess it didn't work. But even to this day, they're playing with the courts and their friendly judges that like to try and make everybody happy... It's called lawfare. It's called weaponization of justice."