Happy New Year 2025

Tag: blitz

Rubio scores key wins for Trump immigration agenda with blitz through Latin America

Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrapped up his first overseas trip across Latin America with several wins on immigration, a top priority for President Donald Trump.

America’s new top diplomat returns home with a binder full of agreements from foreign governments on day-one priorities to interdict human and drug trafficking – a testament to how the Trump administration wields America’s economic might.

“I think the fact that his first trip was to Latin America, I think was a huge statement in itself,” said Joseph Humire, executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS).

Next, Rubio will head to the Middle East, with plans to visit Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in mid-February after attending the Munich Security Conference. A broad swath of even more challenging circumstances await him there, including concerns from foreign officials over Trump’s newfangled idea to “take over” the Gaza Strip, with neighboring Arab states staunchly opposed to U.S. insistence that they take in Palestinians.

RUBIO TO VISIT MIDDLE EAST FOR SECOND TRIP AS SECRETARY OF STATE AFTER TRUMP SUGGESTS US TAKEOVER OF GAZA

Panama agreed not to renew its Belt and Road Initiative with China after Rubio’s meeting, pictured above with the Panamanian foreign minister. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

Before the secretary took off for Latin America, the Trump administration had already scored several victories. Colombia did a lightning fast about-face on accepting deportation flights carrying illegal immigrants headed home from the United States. President Gustavo Petro had initially denied two flights carrying Colombian nationals, saying he would not accept the return of migrants who were not treated with “dignity and respect” and who had arrived shackled or on military planes.

But Trump immediately threatened 25% tariffs on Colombian goods, and Petro acquiesced to all U.S. conditions, according to the White House, including accepting migrants on military planes.

Rubio then began his regional tour in Panama last Saturday, a nation that nervously awaited to see what his visit would hold after Trump repeatedly called for a U.S. takeover of the Panama Canal.

Trump had claimed the canal was essentially under the control of China – Hong Kong-based firms control the ports of entry – and charging America unfair rates after the U.S. built the canal and gave it back to Panama in a 1977 treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter.

After Rubio’s visit, Panama said it would not be renewing its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with China, an investment project the CCP uses to secure influence in developing nations across the world.

“The BRI thing was huge news,” said Humire.

“There are 22 countries in Latin America that signed a BRI agreement. If we really push hard on this, a lot of countries, especially the ones that are allied with us, are going to rethink” their agreements with China, he added.

RUBIO HEADS TO PANAMA, LATIN AMERICA TO PURSUE TRUMP’S ‘GOLDEN AGE’ AGENDA

Rubio had warned Panama that if its government did not move to reduce or eliminate the CCP’s grip on the canal, the U.S. would move to do so.

Under the canal treaties, the U.S. retains the duty to defend the canal if it comes under threat.

Rubio, pictured above in the Dominican Republic, Rubio had warned Panama that if its government did not move to reduce or eliminate the CCP’s grip on the canal, the U.S. would move to do so. ( Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via Reuters)

But Rubio hit a snag over a claim that the State Department made that Panama had offered free passage through the canal for U.S naval vessels.

Panama President José Raúl Mulino then accused the US of spreading “lies and falsehoods” about his nation offering the U.S. free passage.

The secretary then rowed back the claim, while calling the charges “absurd.”

“It seems absurd that we would have to pay fees to transit a zone that we are obligated to protect in a time of conflict,” Rubio said. “Panama has a process of laws and procedures that they need to follow as it relates to the Panamanian port.”

In Costa Rica, Rubio offered U.S. help to combat a wave of drug trafficking crime and push back on Chinese influence by limiting CCP development of 5G technology in the country.

Then, in El Salvador, Rubio cinched an offer from Trump-friendly President Nayib Bukele to accept deportees of any nationality, including American criminals.

EL SALVADOR AGREES TO ACCEPT US DEPORTEES OF ANY NATIONALITY FOLLOWING MEETING WITH RUBIO

At the same time, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to send 10,000 Mexican forces to the U.S. border after Trump agreed to delay a threatened 25% tariff on her nation’s exports to the U.S.

Meanwhile, in Guatemala, President Bernardo Arévalo pledged to accept 40% more deportation flights and to accept people of other nationalities.

“I think a lot of the wins are because of his prior relationships with the region, his team and, frankly, his experience and his knowledge,” said Humire. “He’s somebody that can engage them in their language and in their kind of mannerisms.”

And, he added, Latin America saw “how serious” Trump was about deportations, watching the threats the president made to Canada, Mexico and Colombia.

Amid a stint in El Salvador, Rubio cinched an offer from Trump-friendly President Nayib Bukele to accept deportees of any nationality, including American criminals. (Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS)

“I think we could have gotten more clarity from Panama on the canal,” said Humire. “But I think we met little resistance [overall].”

Rubio wasn’t the only Trump official to secure Latin America wins. Special envoy Ric Grenell sat down with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this week and returned home with six American hostages. The price paid, according to Grenell, was giving the Venezuelan dictator a photo opportunity with an American diplomat for propaganda purposes.

The Trump administration now expects deportation flights to Venezuela to resume “within 30 days,” border czar Tom Homan told the New York Times, after Maduro previously refused to accept Venezuelan nationals back from the U.S.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“He’s on a good-behavior policy,” said Humire. “[Maduro] thinks – they call it agenda zero – they think that they can renew, kind of restart relations with the U.S. by basically being on good behavior, starting to steer us towards their interests.”

“Grennell has to be able to get the things that we need without giving a whole lot. And I think he accomplished that,” Humire continued. “The photo op, they’re going to spin it, use it for disinformation. But that’s a small concession for bringing hostages home.”

February 8, 2025
First on Fox: Pro-Democrat outside group targets Republican lawmakers with ‘Hands off Medicaid’ blitz

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

Having trouble? Click here.

EXCLUSIVE: A leading nonprofit public advocacy group that focuses on healthcare and aligns with Democrats is launching an ad blitz targeting Republican House lawmakers as part of what it touts as its $10 million “Hands Off Medicaid” campaign.

The group, called Protect Our Care, says their push aims to expose what they say is the choice for members of Congress between protecting Medicaid “or giving away new tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.”

The media launch was shared first with Fox News on Thursday.

Protect Our Care says its ads will run on cable news in Washington, D.C., so they can target Republican congressional offices as the House GOP aims to assemble a sweeping budget resolution to pass parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda.

GOP REBELS PUSH FOR $2.5 TRILLION IN CUTS IN TRUMP BUDGET BILL

A leading nonprofit public advocacy group that focuses on healthcare and aligns with Democrats is launching an ad blitz targeting Republican House lawmakers as part of what it touts as its $10 million “Hands Off Medicaid” campaign. (iStock)

And the spots will also run digitally in the districts of Republican Reps. David Schweikert of Arizona (AZ-01), David Valadao of California (CA-22), Young Kim of California (CA-40), Ken Calvert of California (CA-41), Nick LaLota of New York (NY-01), Andrew Garbarino of New York (NY-02), Mike Lawler of New York (NY-17), Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania (PA-07), Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania (PA-08) and Dan Newhouse of Washington state (WA-04).

The GOP lawmakers – in competitive districts – may face difficult re-elections in the 2026 midterms as Republicans defend their current fragile majority in the chamber.

FIRST ON FOX: GOP SENATORS LEAPFROG HOUSE REPUBLICANS IN TRUMP BUDGET BILL BATTLE

The group says the ads will run through next week as House Republicans work to finish their budget resolution, which the group argues could lead to tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and cuts to Medicaid and other critical programs for working class and low-income people.

“It’s unfathomable why anyone would want to gut Medicaid, but Republicans are openly floating cuts to care for seniors, working people and kids., Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach charged in a statement to Fox News.

Dach claimed that “the American people overwhelmingly support Medicaid and will not stand for these extreme attempts to rip away coverage from those who need it most just to give billionaires another tax cut.”

And the narrator in one of the two commercials the group is launching asks, “Which do you think should happen? A billionaire gets a bigger yacht or this child has Medicaid to get the healthcare they need?”

“Some in Congress want to cut their care to pay for this,” the narrator argues. “Call your member of Congress. Tell them to protect Medicaid.”

As congressional Republicans aim to reduce the nation’s massive budget deficit and enact Trump’s domestic agenda, some conservative members are mulling changes to Medicaid, the nearly 60-year-old federal government program that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited incomes.

HOUSE DELAYS KEY VOTE ON TRUMP BUDGET BILL AFTER CONSERVATIVE FURY OVER SPENDING CUTS

That could potentially put some congressional Republicans at odds with the new president.

Trump, on the presidential campaign trail the past two years and the past couple of weeks since returning to power in the White House, has repeatedly pledged not to cut Medicaid, except for cases of fraud and abuse.

President Donald Trump (Jabin Botsford/Washington Post via Getty Images)

And House Speaker Johnson has made clear he doesn’t seek to reduce any benefits.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“We’re not talking about in any way reducing benefits,” Johnson said recently as he discussed potential changes to Medicaid, along with Medicare and Social Security. “What we’re talking about is efficiencies in the programs to make them work better for the people who receive those benefits and to make them longer lasting to sustain the programs.”

Fox News’ Kelley Phares and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

February 6, 2025
‘Undo the damage’: Texas lawmaker launches strategy to help ICE amid Trump deportation blitz

FIRST ON FOX: A Texas lawmaker is introducing a bill to further bolster cooperation between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and state and local law enforcement agencies — amid a sweeping arrest and deportation blitz by the Trump administration.

Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, is introducing The 287(g) Program Protection Act. It focuses on 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers certain immigration functions, including identifying and detaining suspected illegal immigrants.

The Biden administration had paused new entries into the program in 2021, and Cloud’s office says Biden’s administration had never approved any new agreements since then.

KRISTI NOEM JOINS IMMIGRATION RAID TO CATCH ‘DIRTBAGS’ IN MAJOR SANCTUARY CITY

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump, promising a “historic” deportation program, signed an executive order on day one that told the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to use the program “to the maximum extent permitted by law.”

Cloud’s bill would double down on that stance, requiring that DHS approve any applications by state and local law enforcement within 90 days, and notify Congress if they deny it.

It would also require notification to Congress if DHS intended to terminate the agreement, and allow for an appeal by the local or state law enforcement.

‘SIDE-BY-SIDE’: TEXAS DEPLOYS HUNDREDS OF TROOPS, CHOPPERS TO HELP TRUMP TACKLE BORDER CRISIS

Also required of DHS would be an annual performance report and recruitment strategies.

“The Biden Administration didn’t fail to protect our border—they accomplished exactly what they set out to do: undermine border security and flood our country with millions of illegal immigrants. This dangerous and intentional choice has created chaos in our communities from South Texas to New York City, and American citizens have paid the price,” Cloud said in a statement.

“Now, under the Trump Administration, we are working to undo the damage and restore law and order to our immigration system. My bill will expand and protect the 287(g) program, empowering local law enforcement to partner with ICE and assist the Trump Administration in removing illegal immigrants from our streets,” he said. Together, we will secure our borders, enforce the rule of law, and make South Texas and the rest of the country safe again.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, questions U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle as she testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

The bill, which has the support of restrictionist immigration group NumbersUSA, was praised by Texas’ Goliad County Sheriff Roy Boyd, who said the bill would be a “momentous step in the right direction, as it will provide an unprecedented level of cooperation and coordination between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.”

The bill faces a strong chance of passage given the Republican control of both the House and the Senate. There have been a number of GOP-backed immigration bills hit Congress in recent days, after a year in which illegal immigration was shown to be a top priority for voters.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Congress recently sent the Laken Riley Act to Trump’s desk. The bill passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support and would mandate the detention of illegal immigrants arrested for theft-related crimes.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.

January 28, 2025
Trump admin goes on memo blitz to agency chiefs ordering pause to federal grants, return to office details

The Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) went on a memo blitz Monday, sending at least three letters to federal agency leaders on directives stretching from return to office instructions to pausing federal grants, copies of the memos obtained by Fox News Digital show.

President Donald Trump’s administration already has issued a handful of directives aimed at federal agency heads since he took office Jan. 20, including ordering agency chiefs to shutter diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices, which was followed by another memo to begin terminating DEI chiefs.

On Monday, the OMB, an executive office that evaluates agency programs and handles the president’s budget, and OPM, an independent agency that serves as the federal government’s human resources department, issued memos on Monday to further move federal agencies in line with the president’s vision of government.

TRUMP ADMIN TO PAUSE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: REPORT

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)

Return to office plans

A joint OMB and OPM memo sent Monday regarding return to office plans outlined that agency heads have until Feb. 7 to provide a plan on returning staff schedules to full-time in-person work.

Agencies must “prepare plans to expeditiously implement” the memo and submit their plans “for review and approval by no later than Friday, February 7th at 5:00pm EST,” the memo, obtained by Fox News Digital, states.

TRUMP’S FEDERAL DEI PURGE PUTS HUNDREDS ON LEAVE, NIXES $420M IN CONTRACTS

The directive, addressed to “heads of executive departments and agencies,” detailed that agency chiefs must craft plans that include details such as how they will “revise telework agreements for all eligible employees,” as well as “provide timelines for the return of all eligible employees to in-person work as expeditiously as possible, including the date that the agency will be in full compliance,” and “describe agency’s process for determining exceptions based on disability, qualifying medical condition, and or other compelling reason.”

Both the acting director of OMB, Matthew J. Vaeth, and OPM acting director, Charles Ezell, issued the memo.

The directive comes after Trump railed against federal employees working from home years after the pandemic and social distancing mandates ended. On his first day in office, Trump issued a presidential action calling on federal agencies to terminate remote work.

TRUMP DHS MAKES KEY MOVE AGAINST MIGRANTS ALLOWED IN VIA CONTROVERSIAL BIDEN PAROLE PROGRAMS

Executive branch department and agency heads “shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary,” the Jan. 20 presidential action read.

Pausing federal grants and loans in effort to end ‘wokeness’

The OMB issued another memo on Monday that pauses all federal grants and loans, out of an effort to end “‘wokeness’ and the weaponization of government,” and to promote “efficiency in government.”

“Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” the memo, obtained by Fox Digital reads.

The pause takes effect at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

The memo explained that out of the $10 trillion spent by the federal government in fiscal year 2024, $3 trillion was allocated to “federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans.”

“Career and political appointees in the Executive Branch have a duty to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities,” the memo states. “Financial assistance should be dedicated to advancing Administration priorities, focusing taxpayer dollars to advance a stronger and safer America, eliminating the financial burden of inflation for citizens, unleashing American energy and manufacturing, ending ‘wokeness’ and the weaponization of government, promoting efficiency in government, and Making America Healthy Again.”

The memo was sent to all heads of executive departments and agencies by Vaeth.

“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” it adds.

Agency chiefs are required to submit “detailed information on any programs, projects or activities subject to this pause” to the OMB by Feb. 10 for review.

New federal employee classification

Agency leaders were directed in another memo sent Monday by OPM to review government positions that could be moved to the Trump administration’s new “schedule policy/career” federal employee classification.

Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office focused on federal employees who hold sway over policy decisions, as part of an effort to “maintain professionalism and accountability within the civil service,” which Trump’s order said was “sorely lacking.”

The executive order created a new “schedule policy/career” federal employee classification, which will work to remove civil protections from federal employees in “policy-influencing” positions, making the individuals more vulnerable for termination.

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

Then-former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Uniondale, New York on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

Trump’s executive order creates a new classification “for positions that are of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy- advocating character (policy-influencing positions) and filled by individuals not normally subject to replacement or change as a result of a Presidential transition. Such career positions will be rescheduled into Schedule Policy/Career,” the memo stated.

The memo states that agency leaders have until April 20 to craft a plan on positions that would shift to the new classification. The 90-day period for review began on Jan. 20, when Trump signed the executive order.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Agencies have 90 days to conduct a preliminary review of positions and submit petitions, with an additional 120 days to finalize their review and submit any remaining petitions,” the memo reads. “Agencies may, and are encouraged to, submit such petitions on a rolling basis.”

January 28, 2025
‘Tip of the spear’: Trump ramps up unscripted media blitz after years of reclusive Biden ducking questions

President Donald Trump is quickly showcasing his accessibility to reporters days after returning to the White House, a stark contrast to his Democratic predecessor who frequently ducked questions and took scripted questions from reporters.

“We’ll take a few questions,” the president said on Tuesday, after announcing what’s said to be a half-trillion dollar investment by top tech companies to vastly expand the nation’s artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Trump then took questions for half an hour from reporters gathered at the White House.

It was the second straight day the new president held an informal, off-the-cuff and freewheeling news conference with reporters.

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

President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

On Monday, hours after he was inaugurated at the U.S. Capitol, Trump took questions for 45 minutes as he sat in the Oval Office and simultaneously signed an avalanche of executive orders and actions. The back and forth with reporters was carried live by Fox News and CNN.

Trump on Wednesday is taking questions from Fox News’ Sean Hannity, for his first Oval Office interview since returning to the White House.

The sit-down will run at 9 p.m. ET on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

FOX EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP SHARES LETTER BIDEN LEFT FOR HIM

“The president is the tip of the spear and he’s been active in wanting to go out and communicate both his successes and the challenges that we have, and he’s been active in wanting to solve those,” deputy White House chief of staff for communications Taylor Budowich told Fox News.

President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

The accessibility with reporters showcases Trump’s unscripted nature, and it stands in stark contrast with former President Joe Biden, whose interactions with reporters were more limited and at times tightly stage-managed.

“Did Biden ever do news conferences like this?” Trump asked on Monday, as he appeared to take a jab at the former president.

TRUMP’S AVALANCHE OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS

Julie Mason, the host of a national radio program, veteran White House reporter and former elected board member of the White House Correspondents Association, told Fox News “it is completely refreshing to have a president who is accessible, available.”

“He’ll answer any question you throw at him. He’s not always happy with the questions he gets, but he engages with journalists. That’s the most important thing. Their job is to inform the public about what is going on at the White House and having direct access to the president is essential to that,” Mason emphasized.

She added that “Biden was kept very much under wraps. Reporters rarely got a chance to ask him anything. It was a huge frustration in the press corps. This is completely different.”

President Biden listens to a question during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Trump is known for his extended interactions with reporters. He held two unconstrained news conferences at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, during his transition back to the presidency.

And while for years he has accused reporters of being “fake news” and “the enemy of the people,” and while his answers to their questions keep fact-checkers busy, his exchanges with the media are often free-flowing, without any aides selecting reporters to ask questions.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Budowich says Trump’s accessibility and off-the-cuff style are contributing factors to his political success.

“The reason we won this election is because of Donald Trump. The reason why we are going to succeed in executing his agenda is because of Donald Trump,” he argued.

And he touted that Trump “in the first two and a half days, has accomplished what most presidents fail to accomplish in their first two years.”

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

January 23, 2025