Happy New Year 2025

Tag: Democrats

Democrats say Musk and Trump ‘must be stopped’ after over 800 fired from weather agency

The country’s top weather and climate monitoring agency has become the latest target of layoffs within the federal government, according to Democratic lawmakers speaking out against the Trump administration.

At least 880 workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the country’s national weather service, were fired Thursday, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a press release as the Trump administration works to downsize and cut federal costs.

“The firings jeopardize our ability to forecast and respond to extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires and floods — putting communities in harm’s way,” Cantwell added.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in a post on X Thursday, seconded Cantwell’s claim, writing, “Today, we learned that Trump and Musk are firing HUNDREDS of vital NOAA employees — another blatantly illegal action that must be stopped.”

‘FIRED ME ILLEGALLY’: EMOTIONAL EX-USAID EMPLOYEES LEAVE BUILDING WITH BELONGINGS AFTER MASS LAYOFFS

Democratic lawmakers say Musk is behind the layoffs at NOAA. (Getty Images)

Another Democrat, Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., also reported “unconscionable” mass firings at the weather agency.

‘IF YOU DON’T ANSWER … YOU’RE FIRED’: TRUMP STANDS BEHIND MUSK’S DOGE PRODUCTIVITY EMAIL

“Once again, the reckless Trump Administration is inflicting tremendous harm upon the American people. Today, hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including weather forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS), were given termination notices for no good reason,” Meng wrote in a statement.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (Andrew Harnik)

The reported layoffs come just weeks after Van Hollen said he heard reports that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was “targeting” the weather agency in early February.

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, wrote the cuts were “profoundly alarming” and affected “meteorologists, data and computer scientists responsible for maintaining and upgrading weather predictive models, and technicians responsible for maintaining the nation’s weather instrumentation network.

Over 800 employees were reportedly fired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week. (AP Images)

“This is not, in short, an acceptable setting in which to ‘move fast and break things.’”

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A NOAA spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “Per long-standing practice, we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters,” adding the agency “remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation’s environmental and economic resilience.”

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

March 1, 2025
DOGE committee member cautions Democrats over next ‘reckoning’ for federal agencies

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., discuss the protests erupting nationwide from Democrats regarding Elon Musk’s DOGE budget cuts on ‘The Bottom Line.’

As the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reportedly gets closer to accessing more integrated data from federal agencies, one of the congressional subcommittee members previewed a budget “reckoning” in the works.

“These alphabet agencies are getting ready to see a reckoning. And I’m glad that Donald J. Trump is doing it. All he’s doing is keeping his word,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said on “The Bottom Line,” Monday.

White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields recently told Fox News that DOGE will soon have access to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) system that contains sensitive taxpayer information and account details.

The news comes just after a federal judge in Washington on Friday handed Elon Musk’s government efficiency team a win by declining a request to temporarily block it from accessing sensitive data from at least three federal agencies: the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

ELON MUSK’S D.O.G.E. PREPARES TO AUDIT U.S. GOLD RESERVES AT FORT KNOX AFTER URGING BY SEN. RAND PAUL

The Justice Department has also argued that DOGE personnel are “detailed” U.S. government employees who have access to the requested information under provisions of the Economy Act.

DOGE is ready to unleash a “reckoning” on certain federal agencies, according to congressional subcommittee Rep. Tim Burchett. (Getty Images)

“The IRS is… porous… and the IRS is angry,” Burchett said. “The reason they’re angry is they’re going to have to start showing up for work. You know, I’m a United States congressman, and it can take me up to six months to get a dadgum response from them. That is not acceptable.”

“And then when we find out the IRS employees are getting audited themselves, and they’ve delayed their audits, there’s a lot going on there,” he continued.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin weighs in on the Department of Government Efficiency and their latest move to cancel ‘wasteful’ contracts within the EPA.

The newly minted DOGE agency, a key promise of President Trump’s reelection campaign, is aggressively slashing government waste when it comes to government spending. It was created via executive order and is a temporary organization within the White House that will spend 18 months carrying out its mission.

DOGE has long claimed its ultimate goal of reducing the national debt by at least $2 trillion, and as part of its budget overhaul, recently carried out layoffs, mandatory return-to-office mandates for federal workers and even closed agencies completely, like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

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O’Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O’Leary discusses DOGE’s effort to cut government waste and fraud on ‘The Big Money Show.’

“It shows that every department is corrupt, and you’re going to see the money, where it flows back to, and it goes right out of the American taxpayer’s pocket into the back pocket of politicians in Washington,” Burchett claimed. “And you’re going to see congressmen, I hope it’s not on both sides of the aisle, but I’m afraid it will be because that’s who will start pitching a fit.”

“We’ve found them in the past, they’ve been funneling money into campaigns and things like that. And yet these so-called legacy media, which is in bed with these folks, has decided to turn a blind eye.”

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Fox News’ Hillary Vaughn, Stephen Sorace, Michael Dorgan, Breanne Deppisch and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

February 18, 2025
House Democrat’s smear of Border Patrol bill backfires after dozens of Dems support it: ‘Fearmongering’

A House Democrat’s strategy to demonize legislation aimed at making it a federal crime to try to evade law enforcement within 100 miles of the border backfired last week after dozens of House Democrats voted in favor of the bill.

“I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 35. Let’s call this bill what it is: fearmongering dressed up as officer safety,” Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., said last week about the bill named after late Border Patrol Agent Raul Gonzalez, who died in a pursuit in 2022.

House Resolution 35 would make individuals convicted of “intentionally fleeing” law enforcement in a vehicle subject to up to two years in prison and fines. If the police chase results in a death, the individual could face up to life imprisonment under the legislation, and potentially face deportation if the person involved is in the country illegally.

SAN DIEGO MIGRANT SHELTER CLOSES AFTER NO NEW ARRIVALS SINCE TRUMP TOOK OFFICE; OVER 100 EMPLOYEES LAID OFF

Oregon State Rep Janelle Bynum faced off against Rep. Lori Chavez DeRemer, right, in OR-05. ( )

“This bill echoes one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history, ‘The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.’ Just like that shameful law, H.R. 35 forces local authorities and encourages the deputizing of randos to do the federal government’s work, punishing them if they refuse. Back then, it was hunting people down who dared to seek freedom. Today, it’s forcing local police to become federal enforcers,” she continued in her House floor speech.

Regardless, the bill passed 264-155, with 50 Democrats voting in favor, including a handful in border states. The legislation is now in the hands of the Senate, where Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is leading the charge on the proposal.

FLORIDA SHERIFF SAYS ICE PARTNERSHIP ONLY THE BEGINNING IN ILLEGAL MIGRANT CRACKDOWN

Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., leaves the House Republicans’ caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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“This bill delivers a clear message to anyone who endangers our community that they will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., said about the legislation he is sponsoring.

Police pursuits near the border are a frequent site as smugglers hope to evade law enforcement. Under the Trump administration, there has been an across-the-board crackdown on border and immigration policies, including sending in the military to the border as well as deportation raids throughout the country.

A Border Patrol agent walks between a gap along the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico in Yuma, Arizona, on June 1, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Bynum started in Congress last month, as she narrowly defeated former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer in November. Chavez-DeRemer is now President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as Labor secretary.

The seat will likely be one of the nation’s most competitive in 2026, according to the Cook Political Report, which ranks the seat as “Lean Democrat.”

“Janelle Bynum’s unglued comments reinforced she’s hellbent on pursuing a dangerous anti-police officer crusade in Congress. Bynum’s extremist vote siding with cartel terrorists over Border Patrol puts Oregonians in danger,” National Republican Campaign Committee spokesman Ben Petersen said in a statement.

Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Arcand@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand

February 17, 2025
Democrats loved idea of DOGE before Trump, White House quips

The White House is taking aim at Democratic critics of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), highlighting that the new agency’s work was once championed by prominent Democrats.

“To all of the Democrats who are planning to protest this week, here’s an explanation on DOGE, from your party’s own beloved leaders,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X Sunday while sharing a video of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden calling for reforms similar to those being made by DOGE.

“Budget reform is not an option, it’s a necessity,” Obama says in the video. “We can’t sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness or exist solely because of the power of politicians, lobbyists or interest groups.”

“The American people are entitled to transparency,” Biden says in the video. “They’re entitled to be able to figure out where their dollars are going, and they’re entitled to accountability to make sure that we’re using the dollars for what we said it was for.”

TOP TRUMP AGENCY RECOVERS EYE-POPPING SUM AFTER LAUNCHING DOGE TASK FORCE

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a viewing of the launch of a SpaceX Starship rocket on Nov. 19, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Democrats have ramped up their attacks on DOGE and its leader, billionaire Elon Musk, over the past week, arguing that Trump’s project is a violation of the Constitution and filing several lawsuits in an effort to bring the new department’s momentum to a halt.

But Leavitt pointed out that many of DOGE’s priorities used to be the same across the aisle, especially for the two most well-known Democratic leaders.

“We are going to go through our federal budget… page by page, line by line, eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those that we do need operate in a sensible, cost-effective way,” Obama says during a speech in one portion of the video.

Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Images)

EXPERT REVEALS MASSIVE LEVELS OF WASTE DOGE CAN SLASH FROM ENTITLEMENTS, PET PROJECTS: ‘A LOT OF FAT’

“What should be easy is getting rid of the pointless waste and stupid spending that doesn’t benefit anybody,” Obama says during another point of the video from the Oval Office, where the then-president is seated next to a large stack of papers. “No amount of waste is acceptable, not when it’s your money.”

“We hope to be instilling an entire new culture, that not only our administration, but every succeeding administration will in fact pursue,” Biden says at another point in the video.

Former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden (Getty Images)

Recent polling shows Americans may side with Trump and Musk on DOGE. In one poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group, 49% of respondents said they approve of DOGE’s efforts compared to 44% who indicated they disapprove.

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Similar numbers were seen in a recent Economist/YouGov poll, which shows 42% of respondents view DOGE favorably, while 38% indicated they had an unfavorable opinion of the department.

Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.

February 16, 2025
With Trump in White House, Democrats increasingly say their party must moderate

After the Democratic Party’s well-publicized setbacks in November’s elections, a new national poll indicates Democrats increasingly want their party to moderate by moving toward the center.

And the survey, from Gallup, also suggests an increasing percentage of Republicans support the GOP staying the same ideologically.

A plurality of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents — 45% — who were questioned in the survey said they want their party to become more moderate.

That’s up 11 percentage points since 2021, at the start of former President Biden’s single term in the White House.

DEMOCRATS FORCED TO DEFEND ANOTHER OPEN SENATE SEAT IN 2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Newly elected Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin speaks after winning the vote at the DNC Winter Meeting at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

“At the same time, Democrats’ and leaners’ desire for a more liberal party has declined five points, to 29%, and preferences for no change in party ideology have fallen nine points, to 22%,” the release from Gallup noted.

The poll was conducted Jan. 21-27 in the immediate aftermath of President Donald Trump’s inauguration and at the start of his second tour of duty in the White House.

WHAT AMERICANS THINK ABOUT TRUMP’S FIRST THREE WEEKS IN OFFICE

Trump recaptured the presidency in November, and Republicans won back the Senate majority while the Democrats failed to win back control of the House of Representatives from the GOP. Republicans made significant gains among Black and Hispanic voters, as well as younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party’s base.

President Donald Trump with first lady Melania Trump at an election night victory celebration in West Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 6, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Gallup notes that the Democrats’ “current sentiment may very well be a reaction to their losses in 2024, as they look ahead to 2026.”

The Gallup poll indicates that support among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents for the party to stay ideologically the same jumped nine points, from 34% in 2021 to 43% now.

Meanwhile, those desiring a more conservative party plunged 12 points, to 28%.

“The 27% of Republicans and leaners who now prefer moderation for their party is not significantly different from 2021,” the poll’s release noted.

But the poll indicates that two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters self-identify as conservative, with 31% seeing themselves as moderate and just 2% calling themselves liberal.

Since his first election to the presidency in 2016, Trump has held immense sway over Republicans and has transformed the GOP from a conservative-dominated party to a more populist party of loyalists who strongly support Trump’s “America First” agenda.

The United Center is packed on the first night of the Democratic National Convention as President Biden addresses the crowd Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

The release of the Gallup poll comes a couple of weeks after another national survey spelled trouble for the Democrats.

Only 31% of respondents in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted last month had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, with 57% seeing the party in an unfavorable light.

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“This is the highest percentage of voters having an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question,” the survey’s release noted.

Meanwhile, 43% of those questioned had a favorable view of the GOP, with 45% holding an unfavorable opinion, which was the highest favorable opinion for the Republican Party ever in Quinnipiac polling.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

February 15, 2025
Democrats set to ‘waste millions’ litigating President Donald Trump’s executive orders, University of California, Berkeley, law professor John Yoo says

Democrats will likely “waste millions” of dollars battling President Donald Trump’s executive orders and actions in court with little success to show for it, according to University of California, Berkeley law professor John Yoo.

Trump “will have some of the nation’s finest attorneys defending his executive orders and initiatives, and the Democrats will waste millions of dollars losing in court,” Yoo, the former deputy assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday when asked whether there are efforts of “lawfare” against Trump in his second administration.

“I expect that Trump will ultimately prevail on two-thirds or more of his executive orders, but the Democrats may succeed in delaying them for about a year or so,” Yoo said.

The Trump administration has been hit by at least 54 lawsuits in response to Trump’s executive orders and actions since his inauguration on Jan. 20. Trump has signed at least 63 executive orders just roughly three weeks into his administration, including 26 on his first day alone.

The executive orders and actions are part of Trump’s shift of the federal government to fall in line with his “America First” policies, including snuffing out government overspending and mismanagement through the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), banning biological men from competing in women’s sports and deporting thousands of illegal immigrants who flooded the nation during the Biden administration.

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

President Donald Trump’s administration has been hit by dozens of lawsuits in response to Trump’s executive orders and actions since his inauguration on Jan. 20. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)

The onslaught of lawsuits come as Democratic elected officials fume over the second Trump administration’s policies, most notably the creation of DOGE, which is in the midst of investigating various federal agencies to cut spending fat, corruption and mismanagement of funds.

A handful of Democratic state attorneys general and other local leaders vowed following Trump’s election win to set off a new resistance to his agenda, vowing to battle him in the courts over policies they viewed as harmful to constituents. Upon his inauguration and his policies taking effect, Democrats have amplified their rhetoric to battle Trump in the courts, and also to take the fight to “the streets.”

“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,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in January of battling Trump’s policies.

“Our biggest weapon historically, over three years alongside the Trump administration, has been the bully pulpit and a whole lot of legal action, so my guess is it will continue,” New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said the day after Trump’s inauguration.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said at a protest over DOGE and its chair, Elon Musk, 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.”

‘PLAYING WITH THE COURTS’: TRUMP ADMIN HIT WITH DOZENS OF SUITS AFTER YEARS OF PRESIDENT CONDEMNING ‘LAWFARE’

The dozens of cases come after Trump faced four criminal indictments, on both the state and federal level, in the interim of his first and second administrations. Trump had railed against the cases — including the Manhattan trial and conviction, the Georgia election racketeering case, and former special counsel Jack Smith’s election case and classified documents case — as examples of the Democratic Party waging “lawfare” against him in an effort to hurt his re-election chances in the 2024 cycle.

President Donald Trump has signed at least 63 executive orders just three weeks into his administration, including 26 on his first day alone. (Seth Wenig/The Associated Press)

Yoo, when asked about the state of lawfare against Trump now that he’s back in the Oval Office, said the president’s political foes have shifted from lawfare to launching cases to tie up the administration in court.

“I think that what is going on now is different than lawfare,” he said. “I think of lawfare as the deliberate use by the party in power to prosecute its political opponents to affect election outcomes. The Democrats at the federal and state level brought charges against Trump to drive him out of the 2024 elections.”

“The lawsuits against Trump now are the usual thrust and parry of the separation of powers,” Yoo explained. “The Democrats are not attacking Trump personally and there is no election. Instead, they are suing Trump as President to stop his official policies.

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

Yoo said the Republican Party also relied on the courts in an effort to prevent policies put forth during the Obama era and Biden administration, including when President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, or his 2012 immigration policy, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Republicans also challenged the Biden administration in court after President Biden attempted to forgive student debt through executive action in 2022.

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

“Turnabout is fair play,” Yoo said of groups suing over various administrations’ executive actions or policies.

“What makes this also different than the law is that now Trump controls the Justice Department,” he added, explaining that Democrats will spend millions on the cases, which will likely result in delays for many of the Trump policies but will not completely thwart the majority of them.

“The lawsuits against Trump now are the usual thrust and parry of the separation of powers,” John Yoo explained. (Julia Nikhinson-Pool/Getty Images)

A handful of the more than 50 lawsuits have resulted in judges temporarily blocking the orders, such as at least three federal judges issuing preliminary injunctions against Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship.

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

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked on Wednesday during the press briefing whether the administration believes the courts have the authority to issue such injunctions. Leavitt appeared to echo Yoo that the administration will be “vindicated” in court as the cases make their way through the judicial system.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also appeared to think the administration will be “vindicated” in court as the cases make their way through the judicial system. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press )

“We believe that the injunction actions that have been issued by these judges, have no basis in the law and have no grounds. And we will again, as the president said very clearly yesterday, comply with these orders. But it is the administration’s position that we will ultimately be vindicated, and the president’s executive actions that he took were completely within the law,” Leavitt said, before citing the “weaponization” of the court systems against Trump while he was on the campaign trail.

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“We look forward to the day where he can continue to implement his agenda,” she said. “And I would just add, it’s our view that this is the continuation of the weaponization of justice that we have seen against President Trump. He fought it for two years on the campaign trail — it won’t stop him now.”

February 14, 2025
Former Lia Thomas teammate calls out Democrats still fighting for trans athletes in women’s sports

EXCLUSIVE: Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Grace Estabrook was one of the many young women who shared a pool and locker room with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in the 2021-22 season.

From 2019, when she was first told Thomas would be joining her team, until her senior year in 2022, Estabrook alleged she was repeatedly pressured by the university not to oppose Thomas’ inclusion on the team. Estabrook told Fox News Digital that administrators tried to convince her that she would never get a job or get into grad school if she spoke out against it and that any issue she had with the situation was because she had a “psychological problem.”

And in between the practices and meets that made her feel “uncomfortable” and “powerless,” Estabrook says she also witnessed the mainstream media celebrate Thomas as a civil rights icon and even be nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.

But now, in 2025, Estabrook is one of three former UPenn swimmers who have filed a lawsuit against the university, the Ivy League and the NCAA over its handling of the situation as the tides on the issue turn in the court of public opinion.

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Penn’s Lia Thomas waits to swim in a qualifying heat of the 200-yard freestyle at the Ivy League Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at Harvard University, Feb. 18, 2022, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

Fox News Digital reached out to UPenn for comment.

Recent data suggests the vast majority of Americans now oppose trans athletes in women’s sports. The NCAA recently changed its policy to prevent them from competing in the women’s category after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to address the issue last Wednesday.

Still, many Democrats continue to fight for trans inclusion in women’s and girls’ sports, and multiple states have not complied with Trump’s order.

For Estabrook, who says she lived through the experience of changing her clothes with Thomas in the room and being threatened not to complain about it, the thought of elected officials still fighting for a cause that ensures other women experience what she did is “depressing.”

“That’s just really depressing,” Estabrook said. “I just don’t know why anyone would want to perpetuate abuse to women on large scales like this. I think that’s why we are doing what we’re doing. It’s because we want a clear court decision that will help institutions be able to set clear policies to make sure this never happens again. We want that enduring legal precedent. … It’s depressing, but that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing.”

Estabrook’s journey throughout the situation with UPenn has featured frequent “depressing” moments.

Her locker was only a few feet away from Thomas in the locker room, forcing her to back herself into a corner for the sake of her own comfort.

NEVADA VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS WERE PRESSURED WITH ‘LEGAL ISSUES’ TO PLAY SJSU TRANS PLAYER DURING FEUD WITH SCHOOL

“I would kind of back into a corner that had low visibility and just try to change as quickly as I could, and I had other teammates who would go into the bathroom stalls and change in there,” Estabrook said.

“We were the ones that were forced into hiding, it was very uncomfortable, and there was just this constant fear and disruption of peace of like, ‘OK, I just don’t have a safe environment here anymore,’ not only physically but emotionally and psychologically, and it was just incredibly stressful. I look back on it and I don’t know how I endured that.”

Estabrook added that the situation put “incredible” stress on both her mind and body, and it disrupted her swimming ability.

The positive media coverage of Thomas was the insulting cherry on top of the situation for Estabrook. She said that many times when she and her teammates traveled to a meet, they not only had to deal with the anxiety of Thomas in their space but also a horde of reporters there to cover the trans athlete in a positive light.

“I just remember feeling, ‘This is so alien,’” Estabrook said. “It just felt like it was this whole celebration of Thomas and the whole transgender ideology movement.”

“All of the media I remember seeing or reading at the time was celebrating Thomas as this groundbreaking figurehead of the transgender community … there was just such a celebration of it that it was really pushed in our faces and forcing us to accept it.”

Estabrook said the hardest moment of the experience came at the 2022 Ivy League championships. She hoped that Thomas would be ruled ineligible to participate. However, the Ivy League allowed Thomas to swim. Thomas ultimately set pool records in every individual event the athlete competed in and topped the victor’s podium four times.

Thomas went on to put up a similar performance at the 2022 NCAA championships. There, Thomas ended up in an infamous tie with former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines. That tie ultimately sparked the seeds for change that gave Estabrook and countless other women hope when the experience prompted Gaines to speak up and become a prominent advocate for women’s athletes seeking protection from trans inclusion.

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Former UPenn swimmer Grace Estabrook (Grace Estabrook)

“I was just so grateful for her bravery,” Estabrook said. “I really do feel empowered by the work that Riley Gaines has been doing and seeing women jump on that same train and start to speak out. … It empowered me to be able to do the same.”

More hope came this past year after Trump pledged during a Fox News town hall interview in October that, if elected, he would ban trans athletes in women’s sports. Trump won the election, and exit polls suggested the issue of trans inclusion played a prominent role in the decision of many moderate voters.

Trump quickly made good on his promise, signing the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order last Wednesday. For Estabrook, seeing this come to fruition has gone a long way in affirming her political beliefs.

“I was very excited to hear that and even more excited when that became a reality last week so quickly after he took office,” Estabrook said. “It’s just very encouraging to see that we have a president who is just so supportive of us and is also seeing this in accordance with reality.”

Estabrook’s lawsuit, which has been filed alongside former teammates Ellen Holmquist and Margot Kaczorowski, seeks to have all of Thomas’ records and accolades as a woman swimmer revoked.

In addition to Estabrook’s lawsuit, Trump’s Department of Education has launched an investigation into potential Title IX violations that occurred at UPenn and has also advised the NCAA to discard Thomas’ accolades in the women’s category.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

February 12, 2025
NY Democrats blink as controversial state election bill affecting Rep. Stefanik seat declared dead: reports

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GOP RIPS HOCHUL’S INFLATION REFUNDS

Senate GOP Leader Rob Ortt (Reuters)

“No, they don’t accept that result,” said Barclay.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

February 11, 2025
LARRY KUDLOW: Elon Musk is here to stay — Democrats just have to deal with it

Donald Trump likes Elon Musk, and trusts Elon Musk.

President Trump totally supports the Elon Musk efficiency audit that has already uncovered fraud in numerous areas inside agencies where there’s been spending on items that Congress never mandated.

In fact, Mr. Trump is going to expand Musk’s remit to include auditing the Education Department and the Pentagon. And there may well be more.

Here’s how I put it this morning on Fox News Channel’s Outnumbered.

“The Elon Musk exercise is about systems, and efficiency, and delivery. It is not changing policies on the fly. Hence, there is nothing wrong with an audit… They’re finding judges, okay, who are all slightly to the left of Whoopi Goldberg… There’s nothing constitutional, there’s nothing policy about this.”

– Larry Kudlow, “Outnumbered” on Fox News Channel, February 10

Attorney General Pam Bondi will be moving rapidly to vacate various restraining orders put on many Trump actions, including the Elon Musk payments systems reviews.

Interestingly, none of the left-wing judges opposing Trump have used any case law so far. Department of Justice appeals may have to go all the way up to the Supreme Court. If they do, hopefully the Supremes will act expeditiously.

But the whole point of the Musk operation is transparency and efficiency in spending taxpayer dollars.

Additionally, Elon Musk and DOGE staff are federal government employees. They have been on-boarded, received ethics training and records training, have gotten interim clearances, and, according to Fox News Legal Editor Kerri Urbahn, the idea that career employees can have access to sensitive information — but political appointees should not — is preposterous on its face.

There is nothing unconstitutional about any of this.

Then comes a bunch of former Democratic Treasury Secretaries writing in the New York Times that efficiency audits in the Treasury Department might somehow impede U.S. financial commitments, even reaching into the credit worthiness of Treasury bonds. This is absolute Democratic hogwash.

As current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has found, “controls for spending of the previous [Biden] administration were unacceptable. They were sending money out without knowing where the money was going.”

Last week, Scott Bessent told me on this show in Washington, D.C., “they are moving a lot of people’s cheese here in the Capitol and, when you hear this squawking, then some status quo interest is not happy.”

February 10, 2025
Senate Democrats unveil four-part plan to push back on Trump’s DOGE

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., unveiled on Monday the Democrats’ counter-offensive plan against the broad government audit being conducted by President Donald Trump’s temporary agency, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“Senate Democrats have a responsibility to fight back on behalf of American families as Republicans look the other way in obedience to Donald Trump. And we are,” he wrote to members of the Senate Democratic Caucus in a letter.

Notably, with Democrats out of control in each legislative chamber, as well as the White House, they have very few levers of authority over items of which they disapprove.

TRUMP’S KEY TO CABINET CONFIRMATIONS: SENATOR-TURNED-VP VANCE’S GIFT OF GAB

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, right, detailed the Democrats’ efforts to hinder Elon Musk and DOGE. (Reuters)

The Democratic leader explained that the plan to fight DOGE, headed by Trump-aligned billionaire and special government employee Elon Musk, is four-pronged. Schumer said that Democrats will take on the audit through Oversight, Litigation, Legislation and Communication & Mobilization.

According to Schumer, Democrats have begun conducting oversight by sending “hundreds” of inquiries.

He and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Ranking Member Gary Peters, D-Mich., sent a letter to federal employees announcing a new portal for whistleblowers “to report corruption, abuses of power, and threats to public safety.”

INSIDE SEN. TOM COTTON’S CAMPAIGN TO SAVE TULSI GABBARD’S ENDANGERED DNI NOMINATION

As for litigation, Schumer noted that court challenges “are already bearing fruit.” He cited federal court injunctions against a since-rescinded Office of Management and Budget temporary funding freeze, judges’ actions to prevent buyouts and administrative leave for federal employees as ordered by the administration, and a judge’s ruling to prevent DOGE’s team from accessing certain government systems.

“Our committees and my office are in regular communication with litigants across the country, including plaintiffs, and are actively exploring opportunities for the Democratic Caucus to file amici curiae that support their lawsuits,” Schumer wrote.

LEADER THUNE BACKS SENATE GOP BID TO SPEED PAST HOUSE ON TRUMP BUDGET PLAN

Elon Musk, left, is a special government employee. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

He further pointed to opportunities to take on Trump and Musk through legislation, with the specific example of the upcoming government spending deadline next month. The Democratic leader noted that there will be 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass a deal — meaning Republicans will need some Democratic support.

With this in mind, Democrats will use this leverage to get certain priorities into a spending deal as both parties look to avoid a partial government shutdown.

“It is incumbent on responsible Republicans to get serious and work in a bipartisan fashion to avoid a Trump shutdown,” Schumer said.

SENATORS LEAPFROG HOUSE REPUBLICANS ON ANTICIPATED TRUMP BUDGET BILL

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told Democrats their response was four-pronged. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Lastly, the minority leader said Democrats in the Senate are working to keep the caucus informed and united to amplify their concerns to the public.

“And the public is responding,” he wrote. “Grassroots energy is surging. From town halls to protests, Americans are pushing back. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and Senate Democrats are standing with the people to fight back, expose the truth, and stop the Trump agenda.”

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.

Follow Julia’s reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to Julia.Johnson@fox.com.

February 10, 2025