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Lawmakers in Democrat-run Maryland are considering a bill to roll back sanctuary policies and increase cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in certain scenarios.
Maryland’s Senate Bill 387, or the Protecting Marylanders From Violent Offenders Act of 2025, would require local law enforcement and correction officers to turn over illegal immigrants to ICE if the individual was convicted of a violent crime, terrorism, participation in a criminal street gang, or an aggravated felony such as trafficking drugs or firearms.
Republican Sen. William Folden, the bill’s author, told FOX45 Baltimore that the bill is “only for the most violent offenders.”
“This isn’t about trying to turn any communities against each other,” Folden said. “This is about keeping our communities safe from these repeat violent offenders that some jurisdictions keep putting back out into the community and that’s not safe for anyone.”
SANCTUARY CITY MAYORS TO TESTIFY AT HOUSE OVERSIGHT AFTER AG BONDI CUTS THEM OFF FROM FEDERAL FUNDS
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Maryland. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Critics of the bill, however, say the legislation threatens constitutional rights.
Sanctuary policies in Howard and Prince George’s County currently prohibit local authorities from cooperating with ICE agents.
Maryland’s attorney general has also issued guidance to local authorities on immigration detainers in a 2025 memorandum, stating detainers “are requests only; local officers are not obligated to honor them, and, in fact, risk violating constitutional rights by doing so.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers wait to detain a person, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Maryland bill, which is currently under committee consideration in the state Senate, would take effect on Oct. 1, 2025, if enacted.
TRUMP DOJ SLAPS ILLINOIS, CHICAGO WITH LAWSUIT OVER SANCTUARY LAWS
Since taking office last month, President Donald Trump has conducted a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration, with ICE officials making several criminal arrests over the last weeks in many left-leaning “sanctuary” cities, including Philadelphia, Boston, Denver, and Washington, D.C.
While leaders in some sanctuary cities have refused to cooperate with ICE as immigration raids continue, Trump border czar Tom Homan delivered a bold message to those cities: “We’re going to keep coming” no matter what.
“They’re not going to stop us,” he said Sunday, stressing that criminal illegal immigrant gang members such as Tren de Aragua have “no safe haven” from the rule of law.
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“We’re going to find them. We’re going to arrest them, and take them off the streets,” Homan said, referring to the criminal gang members.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that she supported getting rid of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “the way it exists today.”
In an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Noem’s stance appeared in line with that of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who have both suggested shutting down FEMA could be an option, as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has reportedly gained access to FEMA’s sensitive disaster relief data to review its programs.
“Can and should Donald Trump shut it down?” CNN’s Dana Bash asked Noem.
“He can. And I believe that he will do that evaluation with his team,” Noem said. “And he’s talking about it, which I’m grateful for. He’ll work with Congress, though, to make sure that it’s done correctly and that we’re still there to help folks who have a terrible disaster or a crisis in their life. He’s been very clear that he still believes there’s a role for the federal government to come in and help people get back up on their feet. But there’s a lot of fraud and waste and abuse out there. And since President Trump has taken over and come back into this administration, we’ve seen incredible change.”
NOEM RESPONDS TO SECRET SERVICE SCRUTINY AS TRUMP TO BECOME 1ST PRESIDENT TO ATTEND SUPER BOWL
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivers remarks to staff at DHS headquarters on Jan. 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Manuel Balce Ceneta-Pool/Getty Images)
Noem, who visited Asheville, North Carolina, on Saturday to meet with Hurricane Helene victims and survey the damage, told CNN that she oversaw 12 different natural disasters that prompted a FEMA response when she was governor of South Dakota.
As Trump considers block grants for state and local officials experiencing natural disasters, Noem said Sunday that she knew from experience that local officials, such as county emergency management directors, mayors, city council and commissioners “made way better decisions than the people in Washington, D.C.”
Asked what she would tell Trump if the president asked her to get rid of FEMA, Noem said, “I would say yes, get rid of FEMA the way it exists today.”
“We still need the resources and the funds and the finances to go to people that have these types of disasters like Hurricane Helene and the fires in California,” Noem told Bash. “But you need to let the local officials make the decisions on how that is deployed so it can be deployed much quicker. And we don’t need this bureaucracy that’s picking and choosing winners.”
White House border czar Tom Homan and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem outside the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Noem said Trump “has been clear, too, that he still wants to help people,” but condemned FEMA for “targeting individuals, helping some people and not others.” The secretary appeared to be referencing how FEMA employees under former President Biden skipped homes in hurricane-ravaged areas that had displayed pro-Trump signs last year.
KRISTI NOEM HEADS TO ASHEVILLE AMID HEAVY CRITICISM OF FEMA RESPONSE UNDER BIDEN
Noem also referenced how Trump managed to close 80% of the open FEMA cases in North Carolina related to Hurricane Helene,” adding, “It’s amazing when you have somebody who cares … how quickly the response can be.”
The DHS secretary also defended Musk, as DOGE conducts an audit of federal agencies.
Trump established the FEMA Review Council last month to improve the agency after Hurricane Helene devastated places like Asheville, North Carolina. (Reuters/Marco Bello; AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“We’re working with them at the president’s direction to find what we can do to make our department much more efficient,” Noem said. “This is essentially an audit of the federal government…. And one of the things I’ve been very clear to the appropriators in the Senate and the House is please give me the authority to reprogram funds.”
Asked if she felt comfortable with Musk’s data access, Noem said, “Elon Musk is part of the administration that is helping us identify where we can find savings and what we can do. And he has gone through the processes to make sure that he has the authority. The president has appointed him. I am today by the work that he is doing, by identifying waste, fraud and abuse. And his information that he has is looking at programs, not focusing on personal data and information.”
After the interview, Musk posted to X on Monday morning that his DOGE team discovered that FEMA last week alone sent $59 million to “luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.” Musk said that “sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President’s executive order,” and, “that money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals!”
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“A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds,” Musk added.
President Donald Trump’s first term revolutionized the online relationship between the president and the public, but self-proclaimed “White House Tech Support” Elon Musk is ushering a chronically online generation into Trump’s second term.
Trump has been using Truth Social in his second term like he used Twitter during his first, blasting off posts at all hours of the day to roll out policy announcements and comment on his favorite – or least favorite – news shows. Truth Social reads like Trump’s own stream of consciousness, and most Truth users are loyal Trump supporters who use the social media platform to rally around his policies.
Musk’s X account reads more like a political debate. Buried in the steady stream of memes and AI edits, “special government employee” Musk uses X as a way to meet Americans where they are – confirming and denying information about his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in real time.
It is easy to get lost in Musk’s 69,000 posts, but the richest man in the world does not miss a beat. This week, as an unrelenting news cycle focused on DOGE’s United States Agency for International Development (USAID) investigation, Musk used X to confirm reporting as misinformation circulated.
HOUSE DEMOCRAT LEAVES CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS, SAYING MUSK IS ‘BLOWING THINGS UP’
Self-proclaimed “White House Tech Support” and X owner Elon Musk has 216 million followers on X. (Getty)
“All @DOGE did was check to see which federal organizations were violating the @POTUS executive orders the most. Turned out to be USAID, so that became our focus,” Musk explained in a post on Monday.
On Wednesday, Musk confirmed reporting by the Wall Street Journal that DOGE is investigating the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, posting: “Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening.”
DEMOCRATS TRY TO ENTER DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AMID OUTRAGE OVER POSSIBLE DOGE CUTS
Musk invites his followers to engage in the Democratic process right through the app, asking,”Bring back @DOGE staffer who made inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym?” Musk asked his X followers in an X poll on Friday morning.
Musk polled his followers on Tuesday as well, asking if DOGE should audit the IRS.
Between the polls and DOGE confirmations, Musk floods his account with political commentary and quick reactions to trending posts. Musk simply responded with a bullseye emoji when an X user posted, “If you’re more angry that a handful of 22 year old software engineers are writing code to uncover fraudulent government spending than at the people who are fraudulently spending your hard earned taxes, it’s time to do some soul searching.”
Musk also embraces his platform as a vehicle to spark political debate with Democratic leaders.
In recent days, Democrats in Congress have unleashed attacks on Musk, including Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., who said, “Elon Musk is a Nazi nepo baby, a godless lawless billionaire, who no one elected” at a rally outside the Treasury Department, where protesters were speaking out against DOGE.
“Elon, this is the American people. This is not your trashy Cybertruck that you can just dismantle, pick apart, and sell the pieces of,” she continued.
“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.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was also in attendance and told the crowd that Musk’s DOGE efforts are “taking away everything we have.”
The official DOGE account has a more formal tone and often doubles down on Musk’s posts to verify new information. DOGE has over 3 million followers on X.
As the owner of X, Musk is the most followed person on the app with a staggering 216.4 million followers. Musk has more followers on X than Trump has on Truth Social (8.83 million) and X (100.4 million) combined.
These days, Trump follows a Truth Social first media strategy. During his presidential transition, Trump announced his cabinet nominations on Truth Social before the transition team hit send on the press release. The press release that arrived several minutes later simply directed reporters back to the Truth Social post.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, right, accompanied by President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Jan. 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Musk’s constant posts landed him at odds with Trump last week when Musk said OpenAI does not have the money for The Stargate Project’s $500 billion investment in AI over the next four years. Musk said he had it on “good authority” that “SoftBank has well under $10B secured” for the investment, soon after Trump finished a press conference announcing the project.
Trump shrugged off Musk’s comments later that week, telling the press Musk “hates one of the people in the deal.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Musk have a long-standing legal feud.
While Trump is using X again, he is more likely to post a screenshot of his Truth Social post than break any news on Musk’s platform. Trump was banned from Twitter after Jan. 6 and launched Truth Social in 2022. His account was reinstated after Musk bought Twitter and renamed it X.
President-elect Donald Trump, right, greets Elon Musk as he arrives to attend a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on Nov. 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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Musk said he bought Twitter to “help humanity” and committed to protecting free speech. While liberal ideology dominated Twitter, X is more likely to lean conservative. A Pew Research Center survey in 2023 found Republicans are more likely to view the site positively since Musk arrived on the scene, while Democrats are more likely to say X has a ne gativeimpact on American democracy.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report
FIRST ON FOX: The Protecting America Initiative (PAI), a Trump-aligned anti-CCP group, has launched a five-figure ad encouraging states to crack down against what they call illicit Chinese vapes in order to counter the communist country’s growing influence in the United States.
“It’s hip, it’s cool, but look closely on the box,” the new ad from PAI, which describes itself as a coalition of concerned public policy experts dedicated to combating China’s influence, starts out.
“It says, right there, made in China. New data shows the market is being flooded with unregulated e-cigarettes. Most vape products are made in China, and they’re not always regulated. They’re getting these products from China, where they can be tainted with God knows what. It’s been a struggle to keep illegal e-cigarettes from reaching young people.”
PAI says the ad is meant to remind viewers that “Trump in 2019 was right about the dangers of illicit Chinese vapes and of Biden’s failure to protect Americans from these unregulated illicit products.”
VAPING ADVOCATE WARNS DEM CRACKDOWN ON ‘COMMON SENSE’ TOBACCO ALTERNATIVES COULD BACKFIRE IN SWING STATES
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left and President Donald Trump. (Pedro Pardo – Pool/Getty Images | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“You watch prohibition, you look at, you know, with the alcohol, if you don’t give it to them, it’s going to come here illegally. But instead of legitimate companies, good companies, making something that’s safe, they’re going to be selling stuff on a street corner that could be horrible,” Trump is quoted as saying in the ad.
The ad will run on digital platforms in targeted markets across the country.
TRUMP ADMIN’S FDA WITHDRAWS PROPOSED FEDERAL RULE TO BAN MENTHOL CIGARETTES
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok on Nov. 19, 2022. (Ju Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“Despite the warnings, Biden failed and China won,” the ad states. “Trump predicted this.”
“States are taking action against illicit Chinese vapes. More state leaders can act now to fight with Trump against illicit Chinese vapes.”
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Then-former President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Although the rate of youth smoking cigarettes is now at an all-time low, according to the CDC, youth usage of Chinese vapes has increased dramatically since 2020.
FIRST ON FOX: Two lawmakers in the House and Senate are introducing separate bills to slap limits on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) they believe are undermining U.S. immigration law – coming amid broader questions about funding of NGOs and a funding crackdown by the Trump administration.
Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas is reintroducing the “Protecting Federal Funds from Human Trafficking and Smuggling Act,” while Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is introducing the Fixing Exemptions for Networks Choosing to Enable Illegal Migration (Fence) Act.
Hagerty’s bill would end tax-exempt status for organizations that help illegal immigrants, requiring that exempt organizations do not engage in a pattern of providing assistance, benefits, services or other support to those who they know “to be unlawfully present in the United States.”
TRUMP’S ICE LIMITS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RELEASES AMID MOVES TO SHAKE OFF BIDEN ‘HANGOVER’
“Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right, and these organizations will be able to preserve their tax-exempt status simply by ceasing these activities,” his office said in a release.
Army soldiers patrol the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2025. President Donald Trump ordered 1,500 more military personnel to the border with Mexico as part of a flurry of steps to tackle immigration, his spokeswoman said on Jan. 22. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)
Gooden’s bill would prevent federal contracts and grants being awarded to NGOs unless they certified to the Office of Management and Budget that they are not involved in human trafficking or smuggling. It also would yank tax-exempt status from organizations who knowingly violate federal law.
The bill also requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a written strategy and best practices guide for non-profits to ensure they are in compliance with the law.
It also requires NGOs to go through a verification process to ensure illegal immigrants are not receiving benefits.
“For years, non-governmental organizations have exploited taxpayer dollars to facilitate illegal immigration under the guise of ‘humanitarian aid,’” Gooden said in a statement. “The exploitation of the American taxpayer will end under the Trump Administration. This bill ensures that not a single cent of hard-earned American tax dollars will fund organizations complicit in human trafficking and illegal border crossings.”
TRUMP DOJ SLAPS ILLINOIS, CHICAGO WITH LAWSUIT OVER SANCTUARY LAWS
Migrants seeking asylum in the United States who previously requested an appointment on the CBP One Mobile application, are silhouetted as they queue at El Chaparral border crossing toward the U.S. to attend their appointment, in Tijuana, Mexico, Jan. 18, 2025. (REUTERS/Jorge Duenes)
It comes amid longstanding concern about the role of NGOs in assisting the government during the 2021-2024 migration crisis at the southern border, where millions of dollars went to NGOs that would receive migrants, assist them and potentially give them shelter and travel to their final destination. The funding is provided via contracts and grants from DHS, Health and Human Services and the State Department.
Gooden has introduced a number of pieces of legislation on the matter, and has been working for years to bring attention to the issue.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced Wednesday that it has stopped funding nonprofits, saying they have been facilitating illegal immigration. It is part of a broad effort by the administration to ramp up border security and crack down on illegal immigration.
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“Many of these NGOs actually have infrastructure and operations set up in Mexico, on that side of the border, and are telling those illegal immigrants to come to them, and they will get them across the border,” Noem said on Fox News Channel’s “Will Cain Show.” “So they’re not just operating in the United States, they’re operating outside the United States to help make it easier for those who want to break our laws.”
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Until an evaluation is completed, Noem said the department is “not spending another dime to help the destruction of this country.”
Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order demanding a review of all federal funding going to NGOs. These two pieces of legislation would enshrine limits beyond this administration. Meanwhile, the administration has also frozen USAID as the agency’s funding is being reviewed over concerns about how the funding is being used.
Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump’s Justice Department pushed to undo an “anti-Constitutional” ruling from a federal judge that blocked Elon Musk and any of his close associates from accessing Treasury Department data on Monday.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer’s Saturday ruling blocked Department of Government Efficiency officials from accessing personal data such as social security numbers and bank account numbers. While the Trump administration says it has “substantially complied” with the order, the DOJ has attacked the order as “anti-constitutional.”
The White House noted that the Senate-confirmed Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, is also prohibited from accessing the data under the order.
Vice President JD Vance argued that ruling was unconstitutional on X, saying it was an example of judicial overreach.
MEET THE YOUNG TEAM OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERS SLASHING GOVERNMENT WASTE AT DOGE: REPORT
President Donald Trump’s DOGE has had access to treasury department data blocked. (AP/Alex Brandon)
“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. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Vance wrote Sunday.
ELON MUSK OUTLINES ‘SUPER OBVIOUS’ CHANGES DOGE AND TREASURY HAVE AGREED TO MAKE
Other White House officials echoed Vance’s statement over the weekend, arguing the judge was blocking DOGE’s legitimate efforts to purge government waste.
“What we continue to see here is the idea that rogue bureaucrats who are elected by no one, who answer to no one, who have lifetime tenure jobs, who we would be told can never be fired, which, of course, is not true, that the power has been cemented and accumulated for years, whether it be with the Treasury bureaucrats or the FBI bureaucrats or the CIA bureaucrats or the USAID bureaucrats, with this unelected shadow force that is running our government and running our country,” Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller said on “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Elon Musk called for a federal juge to be impeached after he blocked DOGE’s access to federal data. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Musk himself condemned Engelmayer as a “corrupt judge protecting corruption” and called for him to be impeached.
Trump weighed in on the issue later Sunday on his way to the Superbowl in New Orleans, telling reporters that he is “very disappointed” in the ruling, but adding that “we have a long way to go.
“No judge should frankly be allowed to make that kind of a decision,” he said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing. (Getty)
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New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit claims Musk’s DOGE is seeking access to the data to “illegally block” payments to “essential programs.”
Wheaton College deleted its message congratulating alumnus Russell Vought on his Senate confirmation to serve as Office of Management and Budget director.
“On Friday, Wheaton College posted a congratulations and a call to prayer for an alumnus who received confirmation to a White House post. The recognition and prayer is something we would typically do for any graduate who reached that level of government,” the school noted in a post on Facebook.
“However, the political situation surrounding the appointment led to a significant concern expressed online. It was not our intention to embroil the College in a political discussion or dispute. Our institutional and theological commitments are clear that the College, as a non-profit institution, does not make political endorsements. Wheaton College’s focus is on Christ and His Kingdom.”
RUSS VOUGHT, TAPPED AS CFPB’S ACTING DIRECTOR, DIRECTS BUREAU TO ISSUE NO NEW RULES, STOP NEW INVESTIGATIONS
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought is sworn in during the Senate Banking Committee nomination hearing in the Dirksen Senate Building on Jan. 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Responding to the school’s move, Vought tweeted, “SAD!”
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., slammed Wheaton’s move.
“This is ridiculous – @WheatonCollege had it right the first time. @russvought is a highly accomplished alumni who should be celebrated. It’s absurd that the smallest minority of detractors come away victorious yet again.”
Hillsdale College, which also shared a message congratulating Vought on being confirmed, tweeted in an apparent response to Wheaton, “Trigger warning: We will not be deleting our earlier post congratulating @RussVought.”
Fox News Digital reached out to request comment from Wheaton College on Monday, and the school indicated that the removal of the message was not an apology for the sentiments it had conveyed.
RUSSELL VOUGHT CONFIRMED TO HEAD GOVERNMENT’S LEADING BUDGET OFFICE AFTER DEMS HOLD 30-HOUR PROTEST
“The social media post led to more than 1,000 hostile comments, primarily incendiary, unchristian comments about Mr. Vought, in just a few hours. It was not our intention to embroil the College or Mr. Vought in a political discussion or dispute. Thus, we removed the post, rather than allow it to become an ongoing online distraction. This was in no way an apology for having expressed congratulations or for suggesting prayers for our alumnus,” the school’s statement noted.
Vought, who previously served as OMB director during a portion of President Donald Trump’s first term in office, was confirmed last week in a party-line vote, with all 53 Senate Republicans voting to confirm, and the the whole Senate Democratic caucus voting against confirmation.
SENATE DEMOCRATS SPEAK ALL NIGHT AGAINST TRUMP OMB NOMINEE, DELAYING CONFIRMATION VOTE
President Donald Trump listens while acting OMB Director Russell Vought speaks during an executive order signing regarding federal regulations in the Roosevelt Room of the White House Oct. 9, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
“God be praised. Grateful to the President and the US Senate. Incredibly thankful for all the many who prayed me through. Now. Let’s. Go,” Vought tweeted after being confirmed.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has revoked the security clearances of people he does not respect, which includes his political enemies.
“There are people that we don’t respect. If there are people that we thought that were breaking the law, that came very close to it in previous years, we do it. And we’ve done it with some people,” Trump told reporters, according to The Hill.
This comes after Trump on Friday pulled former President Joe Biden’s security clearance and stopped his daily intelligence briefings.
‘JOE, YOU’RE FIRED’: PRESIDENT TRUMP REVOKES BIDEN’S SECURITY CLEARANCES, INTEL BRIEFINGS
President Donald Trump speaks about the economy during an event at the Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“We’ve done it with Biden himself. Biden himself. We think our country is not as safe when you gave him clearance,” Trump said on Sunday.
“We don’t think he knows what he’s doing and what he’s done to this country is a disgrace, and what he’s done in terms of allowing criminals, murderers, drug lords into our country, people from mental institutions into our country, he should be ashamed of himself,” he added.
The president argued that there is no need for Biden to receive a security clearance or receive daily intelligence briefings.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
He had cited former special counsel Robert Hur’s report last year into Biden’s handling of classified materials. The report highlighted the former president’s frequent memory lapses and led to increased scrutiny from Republicans about his mental fitness.
“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. “Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings.”
“He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents,” Trump’s post continued. “The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information. I will always protect our National Security — JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
TRUMP REMOVED ANTONY BLINKEN, LETITIA JAMES, ALVIN BRAGG’S SECURITY CLEARANCES, AMONG OTHERS
Former President Joe Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Susan Walsh/AP)
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Trump has also revoked the clearances of former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
He also pulled Secret Service protection for his former national security adviser John Bolton last month and security protection for his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, despite both men facing threats from Iran over their hawkish foreign policy positions towards the country.
FIRST ON FOX: The White House is launching a Rumble account as its presence on social media grows larger, Fox News Digital exclusively learned.
A White House official told Fox Digital that it will launch a Rumble account on Monday morning similar to its YouTube account as part of President Donald Trump’s plan “to reach the American people where they are and provide unparalleled transparency and accountability in government.”
Rumble is a video platform founded in 2013 as an alternative to YouTube, which has a long track record of accusations surrounding censoring and limiting conservative content.
“We thank President Trump and his entire team for their commitment to free speech and transparency, and we are extremely proud that Rumble is now a small part of White House outreach to the people of America and the world. At Rumble, we fight every day for the innate human right of self-expression, and we connect people directly to the marketplace of ideas to avoid the screeners and censors of Big Tech, the corporate media and governments around the globe,” Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski told Fox News Digital.
TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ROLLS OUT SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT TO HOLD ‘FAKE NEWS ACCOUNTABLE’
Donald Trump waves to supporters in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Rumble is a publicly traded company that most recently reported hosting 67 million monthly users in the third quarter of 2024, which is roughly a 26% increase from 53 million users in its previous quarter. On election night alone, the platform saw a peak of 1.8 million concurrent viewers, Fox Digital learned.
The Rumble initiative comes as the White House’s social media engagement has increased under the Trump administration compared to President Biden’s tenure.
TRUMP ADMIN TOUTS PURGING ‘WORST’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINALS FROM US STREETS: ‘WORKING TIRELESSLY’
The Trump administration’s White House accounts on X and Instagram racked up 4,685,265 total engagements in the first two weeks, compared to the Biden administration’s 4,134,845 during its first two weeks, according to data provided to Fox Digital. The figures reflect a 13% increase in social media engagement in Trump’s first two weeks or a difference of 550,420 engagements.
President Donald Trump (Getty Images/File)
A White House official noted that when the Biden administration began in 2021, the White House account on X, which was at the time known as Twitter, began with a running start of 1.6 million followers. Under new X rules, however, the second Trump administration’s X account began with zero followers.
“Despite this 1.6M follower advantage, our engagement still surpassed theirs,” the White House said of the difference.
TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S ‘HANNITY’ INTERVIEW
Long before Trump jumped into politics ahead of the 2016 election, the real estate tycoon’s love of social media, specifically Twitter, had long been on display. Trump would frequently weigh in on pop culture, politics, the media and even Diet Coke on the social media platform ahead of taking office for his first administration. He remarked after his 2016 win that Twitter was crucial to speaking directly to voters.
The White House (AP Photo/Jon Elswick/File)
“Twitter is a wonderful thing for me, because I get the word out. … I might not be here talking to you right now as president if I didn’t have an honest way of getting the word out,” he said in 2017.
TRUMP’S ‘SHOCK AND AWE’: FORGET FIRST 100 DAYS, NEW PRESIDENT SHOWS OFF FRENETIC PACE IN FIRST 100 HOURS
In his second administration, the White House has further leaned into social media to reach voters, including launching a new social media account in January aimed to hold “fake news accountable.”
(Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images/File)
“Welcome to the official Rapid Response account of the Trump 47 White House. We will be supporting President Donald J. Trump’s America First agenda and holding the Fake News accountable for their lies. Let’s Make America Great Again!” the X account, Rapid Response 47, posted in its first message on Jan. 27.
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The account has since posted dozens of interview clips highlighting what the White House describes as false rhetoric about the administration from Democrat lawmakers, “misleading” articles promoted by mainstream outlets, and touting work the administration has accomplished.