Happy New Year 2025

Tag: efforts

Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropy ends DEI programs, social advocacy efforts

FIRST ON FOX: Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropy ended its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs Tuesday, along with its social advocacy efforts including immigration reform and racial equity grantmaking, Fox News Digital has learned.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s chief operating officer Marc Malandro sent an email to staff Tuesday evening with the announcement.

The move comes after Zuckerberg’s Meta ended its DEI programs last month– a move to ensure that the company is “building teams with the most talented people.”

A PoltiFact executive torched Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for announcing the end of fact-checking on his social media platforms. (Kent Nishimura)

Meta also ended its fact-checking program and lifted restrictions on speech to “restore free expression” across Facebook, Instagram and Meta platforms, admitting its content moderation practices had “gone too far.”

META POLICY CHIEF SAYS DECISION TO END DEI ENSURES COMPANY HIRES ‘THE MOST TALENTED PEOPLE’

In the company-wide memo, Malandro said he and the leadership team have been reviewing CZI’s programs and practices “to ensure that they align with our focus as a science philanthropy as well as the current legal and policy landscape.”

“As a result, we want to reiterate that we made the decision a few years ago to wind down our social advocacy work and have since discontinued that funding, as well as share some new changes we’re making to our hiring and HR practices around diversity,” he wrote.

Malandro explained that CZI invests “the vast majority of our resources into building Biohubs and supporting research teams to solve complex questions around biology and health.”

Meta’s logo (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

META ENDS CORPORATE DEI PROGRAMS

Malandro stressed that CZI is “very focused on solving four grand challenges that will give scientists the tools to help cure, prevent, or manage all diseases in the coming decades,” including building an AI-based virtual cell model to predict and understand cellular behavior; developing state-of-the-art imaging systems to observe living cells in action; instrumenting tissues to better understand inflammation, a key driver of many diseases; engineering and harnessing the immune system for early detection, prevention, and treatment of disease.

But Malandro announced that with CZI’s focus on science, they have “wound down our social advocacy funding.”

META ENDS FACT-CHECKING PROGRAM AS ZUCKERBERG VOWS TO RESTORE FREE EXPRESSION ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM

“This includes our previous work on immigration reform, as well as our racial equity grantmaking as we’ve completed the five-year program we announced in 2020,” he wrote. “We haven’t launched new programs in this area for a few years. There are a small number of multi-year grant commitments we made previously that we will still honor, but none of these will support political activism.”

Malandro added: “Looking ahead, we expect CZI’s increasing focus to continue to be pushing the frontiers of biology and AI.”

As for DEI, Malandro cited “the shifting regulatory and legal landscape.”

“In addition, given the shifting regulatory and legal landscape, we will no longer have a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility team at CZI,” he wrote. “The three members of that team have transitioned to new roles and responsibilities.”

As for hiring, CZI has also “discontinued our Diverse Slate Practice.”

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“Going forward, we will continue to cast a wide net to source top candidates while always selecting the best candidate for the role,” he wrote.

“We remain dedicated to ensuring our work serves everyone, that you feel welcome at CZI, and that you can do the best work of your career here,” he continued. “To support this, we are building a workforce that reflects a broad range of experiences, thoughts, and opinions, supporting employees via our employee resource groups which are open to all to join, and driving effectiveness in our work by rewarding individual initiative, excellence, and hard work.”

Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.

February 19, 2025
Rubio greenlights waivers to Mexican border security, anti-fentanyl efforts

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is using waivers to keep programs in Mexico and related to border security and anti-fentanyl efforts going amid a federal funding freeze – as he seeks to put pressure on Mexico to increase its efforts.

A senior State Department official told Fox News Digital on Friday that Rubio has been granting waivers to the administration-wide pause on federal funding for efforts under the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Program.

The INL program provides aid to border security agencies in other countries that could pose a threat to the U.S. if narcotics production, organized crime and terrorist activity are allowed to flourish.

MEXICAN TROOPS BEGIN ARRIVING AT US-MEXICO BORDER FOLLOWING DEAL MADE TO PAUSE TRUMP-APPROVED TARIFFS

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a joint news conference with Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader at the National Palace in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

“INL programs aim to reduce the entry of illegal drugs into the United States and minimize the impact of international crime on the United States and its citizens,” the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website says. That includes programs that target fentanyl smuggling. Illicit fentanyl, which can be fatal in tiny doses, is typically made in Mexico using Chinese precursors and then smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico land border. Fentanyl overdoses kill tens of thousands of Americans each year.

Rubio recently completed a tour of Latin America, where he secured a number of commitments from foreign governments in terms of border security. The official said that INL programming has been coming back online in those countries since that trip.

Reuters reported on Thursday that INL programming in Mexico had been halted, including programs that train Mexican authorities to find and destroy fentanyl labs and to stop precursor chemicals entering Mexico. But the State Department official disputed that, telling Fox News Digital that some Mexican programming has already been granted waivers. Specifically, there has been $5.2M in waivers approved to date for Mexico, with an additional $2.5 million pending resubmission.

They said those waivers included funding for law enforcement in Mexico that has supported the extradition of transnational criminal organization members to the U.S. who have exported fentanyl and smuggled migrants into the U.S. Other programs include a wire intercept program and programs that assist with drug trafficking investigations of cartel members.

MEXICO AGREES TO DEPLOY 10,000 TROOPS TO US BORDER IN EXCHANGE FOR TARIFF PAUSE

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a press conference at the National Palace, in Mexico City, Mexico January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Henry Romero (REUTERS)

The official said that announcements of those waivers have not been forthcoming because Rubio is planning on visiting Mexico and is hoping to secure additional commitments from Mexico on border security.

“A new administration in the US has taken office, and we need increased commitments on the part of Mexico to assure us that they’re serious when it comes to stopping the flow of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs,” the official said.

The official said there have been some waivers so far because the U.S. wants to show it is a reliable partner, but other programs are being reviewed and “we don’t want to turn them on yet until we know that our Mexican counterparts are going to promise various actions in return.”

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One of the areas that the U.S. wishes to see further action on is the rejection of INL assistance by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who the U.S. previously said had refused to participate in a U.S. program to train and equip Mexican police. The new Sheinbaum administration has now approved part of that assistance, officials say, but has not approved the rest, or eliminated an approval system that caused the blockage. Officials believe Rubio’s visit will confirm Mexico’s commitment and that the announcement of resumption of more INL funding will follow.

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The push comes amid a migration-focused start by the Trump administration and the State Department. The administration has secured a number of border-related commitments from Mexico and Canada, as well as promises to accept migrants being returned from Venezuela and Colombia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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.

February 14, 2025
Trump’s ‘two sexes’ order spurs state-level efforts to crack down on trans treatments for minors

Several states emboldened by President Donald Trump’s executive orders are moving to introduce bills banning transgender medical care for minors, and one legal expert believes it’s a “continuation” of the success other states have achieved in the last several years fighting against the Biden administration.

“You go back to 2020, when Idaho became the first state to pass a save women’s sports law, and in 2021, Arkansas was the first state to protect kids from dangerous gender transition, drugs and surgeries,” Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Matt Sharp told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And since that time, we’ve had over 25 states pass both of those laws, plus other measures to protect women’s privacy and safety and schools or women’s shelters or correctional facilities.”

“So, what we are seeing is truly the continuation of incredible work by state legislatures and others to address the concerns of gender ideology and make sure that women and children in their states are not being harmed by it,” he said.

TRUMP’S ‘TWO SEXES’ EXECUTIVE ORDER COMES ON HEELS OF SCOTUS ACCEPTING ANOTHER CHALLENGE TO LGBT AGENDA

US President Donald Trump signs the No Men in Women’s Sports Executive Order into law in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 5, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)

So far this year, several states have introduced or considered legislation to ban transgender medical procedures for minors. More than two dozen states already have laws in place restricting such procedures.

Alabama recently passed a bill in the Senate aiming to legally define gender based on one’s biological sex, in line with Trump’s “two sexes” declaration. Georgia’s state Senate also passed a bill this week that would cut state funding for transgender surgical treatments, extending to both minors and adults. The bill aims to block state funds for state employee and university health insurance plans, Medicaid, and the state’s prison system.

Some states are still rebelling against Trump’s orders. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, vetoed a bill this week that would have prohibited state funds from being used on gender transition treatments and procedures on minors and allow civil actions against healthcare providers conducting such treatments.

Despite Trump’s executive orders, Democratic attorneys general from 15 states – California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin – issued a joint statement this month doubling down on their support for transgender procedures for minors.

LGBT ACTIVISTS MOBILIZE TO CHALLENGE TRUMP’S ‘EXTREME GENDER IDEOLOGY’ EXECUTIVE ORDERS

Activists hold a rally outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., as the court hears oral arguments in the transgender treatments case Skrmetti vs. U.S. on Dec. 4, 2024. (Fox News Digital)

The executive orders, signed in late January, include a reinstatement of the ban on transgender troops in the military, a ban on federal funding for sex changes for minors and a directive requiring federal agencies to recognize only “two sexes,” male and female, in official standard of conduct.

“What these executive orders represent is a 180-degree turn from that, rather than the federal government trying to push this dangerous ideology and being an adversary of states and their efforts to protect women and girls, you know, have an ally at the federal government,” Sharp, who filed one of the first state cases against a Connecticut policy allowing men to compete in women’s sports in 2020, said.

Sharp described Trump’s executive orders as a “return to normalcy.”

“What we saw starting a new Obama administration and continuing in the Biden administration, I think was trying to erase sex and replace it with the concept of gender identity,” he said. “And I think Americans have seen that. They’ve seen the harm that’s caused to countless young women, to young children, pushed to do irreparable damage to their bodies through these gender transition drugs and surgeries to even families who have had their rights violated by policies that were hiding information, lying to parents about a child who was experiencing distress over their sex and gender.”

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS BANNING ‘RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY,’ DEI INITIATIVES IN THE MILITARY

President Joe Biden speaks at the Pride Month celebration on the South Lawn of the White House on June 10, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

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While the Trump White House has made its stance on gender-related issues clear, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine a critical ruling this summer on whether the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, which guarantees equal treatment under the law for individuals in similar circumstances, prevents states from banning medical providers from offering puberty blockers and hormone treatments to children seeking transgender surgical procedures.

Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.

February 14, 2025
‘Make NATO great again’: Hegseth pushes European allies to step up defense efforts

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that as the U.S. aims to “revive the warrior ethos,” European members of NATO also should follow suit and bolster defense efforts.

“NATO should pursue these goals as well,” Hegseth told NATO members in Brussels on Thursday. “NATO is a great alliance, the most successful defense alliance in history, but to endure for the future, our partners must do far more for Europe’s defense.”

“We must make NATO great again,” he said.

As of 2023, the U.S. spent 3.3% of its GDP on defense spending — totaling $880 billion, according to the nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based Peterson Institute for International Economics. More than 50% of NATO funding comes from the U.S., while other allies, like the United Kingdom, France and Germany, have contributed between 4% and 8% to NATO funding in recent years.

Hegseth urged European allies to bolster defense spending from 2% to 5% of gross domestic product, as President Donald Trump has long advocated.

NATO comprises more than 30 countries and was originally formed in 1949 to halt the spread of the Soviet Union.

Hegseth pointed to former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who advocated for a strong relationship with European allies. But he noted that eventually Eisenhower felt that the U.S. was bearing the burden of deploying U.S. troops to Europe in 1959, according to the State Department’s Office of the Historian. Eisenhower reportedly told two of his generals that the Europeans were “making a sucker out of Uncle Sam.”

Hegseth said that he and Trump share sentiments similar to Eisenhower’s.

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

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that as the U.S. aims to “revive the warrior ethos,” European members of NATO should follow suit and bolster defense efforts. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“This administration believes in alliances, deeply believes in alliances, but make no mistake, President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into Uncle Sucker,” Hegseth said.

“We can talk all we want about values,” Hegseth said. “Values are important, but you can’t shoot values, you can’t shoot flags, and you can’t shoot strong speeches. There is no replacement for hard power. As much as we may not want to like the world we live in, in some cases, there’s nothing like hard power.”

Hegseth’s comments come as the Trump administration navigates negotiations with Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict between the two countries. On Wednesday, Trump called both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to Kyiv.

OBAMA OFFICIALS, TRUMP CRITICS TARGET HEGSETH’S ‘CONCESSIONS’ AS ‘BIGGEST GIFT’ TO RUSSIA

On February 12, 2025, President Donald Trump called both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pictured here. (Bonnie Cash/Getty Images)

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are slated to meet with Zelenskyy Friday at the Munich Security Conference.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has come under scrutiny for the negotiations, fielding criticism that Ukraine is being pressured to give in to concessions after Hegseth said on Wednesday that it isn’t realistic for Ukraine to regain its pre-war borders with Russia.

“Putin is gonna pocket this and ask for more,” Brett Bruen, director of global engagement under former President Barack Obama, told Fox News Digital.

Michael McFaul, ambassador to Russia under the Obama administration, also shared concerns in a social media post on X on Wednesday, claiming that Trump was delivering Russia a “gift.”

But Hegseth said he rejected similar accusations.

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“Any suggestion that President Trump is doing anything other than negotiating from a position of strength is, on its face, ahistorical and false,” Hegseth said Thursday.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump vowed on the campaign trail in 2024 that he would work to end the conflict if elected again.

Fox News’ Emma Colton and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.

February 13, 2025
Swami Dayananda Saraswati Jayanti 2025: PM Narendra Modi Pays Tribute to Renowned Social Reformer on His Birth Anniversary, Says ‘His Efforts Will Always Inspire Countrymen’

On the occasion of Swami Dayananda Saraswati Jayanti 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the revered social reformer, highlighting his contributions to education, women empowerment, and the preservation of Indian heritage. Taking to X on Wednesday, February 12, PM Modi wrote, “Tributes to the great thinker, social reformer, and ardent nationalist Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati on his birth anniversary. He remained engaged throughout his life in making society aware against ignorance, superstition, and ostentation. His efforts for education and women empowerment as well as preservation of Indian heritage and culture will always inspire the countrymen.” Guru Ravidas Jayanti 2025 Date in India: What is Purnima Tithi Timings? Know Significance of the Day That Marks the Birth Anniversary of the Famous Saint of Bhakti Movement.

PM Narendra Modi Pays Tribute to Swami Dayananda Saraswati on His Birth Anniversary

महान चिंतक, समाज सुधारक और प्रखर राष्ट्रवादी महर्षि दयानंद सरस्वती जी को उनकी जन्म-जयंती पर कोटि-कोटि नमन। वे जीवनपर्यंत समाज को अज्ञानता, अंधविश्वास और आडंबर के खिलाफ जागरूक करने में जुटे रहे। शिक्षा और महिला सशक्तिकरण के साथ-साथ भारतीय विरासत और संस्कृति के संरक्षण के लिए उनके…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 12, 2025

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter (X), Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user’s social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)

February 12, 2025
‘Spreading Atheism’: Vance warns religious efforts abroad ‘corrupted’ by US bureaucracy amid USAID controversy

Vice President JD Vance slammed U.S. bureaucracy that has “corrupted” aid programs to foreign nations amid the Trump administration’s investigation into USAID waste, directing his ire at a recent revelation that the government had funded a program to promote atheism — or disbelief in God or gods — in Nepal.

“In recent years, too often has our nation’s international engagement on religious liberty issues been corrupted and distorted to the point of absurdity,” Vance, who is Catholic, said at the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. “Think about it: How did America get to a point where we’re sending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars abroad to NGOs that are dedicated to spreading atheism all over the globe? That is not what leadership on protecting the rights of the faithful looks like.”

Vance did not mention the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by name in his speech to the religious crowd and those working to advocate for religious liberty in the U.S. and around the world.

The forum was held as USAID faces an apparent dismantling as Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) pore over the agency’s financial records to suss out government overspending and corruption.

USAID’s website was shut down in early February, replaced with a message on Tuesday evening outlining how “direct-hire personnel” will be placed on leave Friday, except those on “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.”

‘SESAME STREET IN IRAQ’: USAID’S ‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’ SPENDING EXPOSED BY SENATOR

Vice President JD Vance slammed U.S. bureaucracy that has “corrupted” aid programs to foreign nations. (Getty Images)

Vance’s comment focusing on nongovernmental organizations using taxpayer funds to promote atheism around the globe is likely referring to a $500,000 grant solicited by the State Department in 2021, under the Biden administration. The grant hit the nation’s radar in 2024, when Republican House lawmakers sounded the alarm that the State Department was participating in a “pattern of obfuscation and denial” related to efforts to promote atheism on the world stage.

‘VIPER’S NEST’: USAID ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT LONG BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN TOOK AIM

Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Brian Mast, R-Fla., wrote in a letter sent to then-State Department Deputy Secretary Richard Verma in May 2024: “We write to address what the Department has now acknowledged were its misrepresentations made to Congress about the scope and nature of programming that – for the first time in US diplomatic history – has sought to promote atheism overseas under the guise of ‘religious freedom.'”

“In recent years, too often has our nation’s international engagement on religious liberty issues been corrupted and distorted to the point of absurdity,” said Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic. (Getty Images)

The lawmakers were referring to the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor grant for $500,000, titled “Promoting and Defending Religious Freedom Inclusive of Atheist, Humanist, Non-Practicing and Non-Affiliated Individuals.” Fox News Digital reviewed an archived web link for the grant on Thursday, which detailed that the U.S. was working to “support Religious Freedom globally,” including to “combat discrimination, harassment and abuses against atheist, humanist, non-practicing and non-affiliated individuals of all religious communities.”

The State Department’s announcement for the grant reads: “DRL’s goal is to ensure everyone enjoys religious freedom, including the freedom to dissent from religious belief and to not practice or adhere to a religion. By not adhering to a predominant religious tradition, many individuals face discrimination in employment, housing, in civil and criminal proceedings, and other areas especially in the context of intersectional identities.”

The vice president’s comment focusing on nongovernmental organizations using taxpayer funds to promote atheism around the globe is likely referring to a $500,000 grant solicited by the State Department in 2021. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency)

The grant was awarded to Humanists International, a UK-based group that works to promote secularism and humanism, a philosophy that does not include a belief in God.

The State Department’s funding announcement opportunity detailed how the program was expected to increase “capacity among members of atheist and heterodox individuals to form or join networks or organizations.”

FEDS SPENT MILLIONS STUDYING TRANS MENSTRUATION, STRENGTHENING GAY RIGHTS IN THE BALKANS, DATABASE REVEALS

Fox News Digital reached out to Humanists International on Thursday morning regarding the grant and Vance’s comments but did not immediately receive a reply.

Vice President JD Vance said that the Trump administration will not only restore religious liberty but expand it. (Getty Images)

GOP HARDLINERS RALLY AROUND TRUMP, MUSK SCALING BACK USAID

“But this administration is intent on not just restoring, but on expanding the achievements of the first four years, and certainly in the last two weeks,” he continued. “And in this short period, the president has issued orders to end the weaponization of the federal government against religious Americans.”

Elon Musk is heading up the Department of Government Efficiency. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)

“Pardon pro-life protesters who were unjustly imprisoned under the last administration,” he said. “And importantly, stop the federal censorship used to prevent Americans from speaking their conscience and speaking their mind, whether it’s in their communities or online.”

“Now, our administration believes we must stand for religious freedom, not just as a legal principle, as important as that is, but as a lived reality both within our own borders and especially outside,” he continued.

FLASHBACK: BIDEN ADMIN REPEATEDLY USED USAID TO PUSH ABORTION IN AFRICA

Vance’s speech was followed by a virtual address from actor Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight Schrute in “The Office,” to discuss his Baha’i faith and the persecution of fellow adherents in Iran.

Democrats have seethed over the work of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, holding protests outside government offices in Washington, D.C., and across the country. (Getty Images)

Government funding directed to left-wing initiatives through agencies such as USAID or the State Department has come under the microscope recently, as DOGE launched investigations to cut government fat. Secretary of State Marco Rubio took over as acting director of USAID on Monday, telling the media that the agency needs to fall in line with Trump’s “America First” policies, which includes using taxpayer funds to strengthen U.S. communities rather than sending cash overseas.

Democrats have seethed over DOGE’s work, holding protests outside government offices in Washington, D.C., and across the country to declare that they will fight the efforts tooth and nail.

USAID EMPLOYEE SAYS STAFFERS HID PRIDE FLAGS, ‘INCRIMINATING’ BOOKS WHEN DOGE ARRIVED

“What we are witnessing here is the biggest heist in American history,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said on Tuesday during one rally.

People protesting against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. ( Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images )

“This is the most corrupt bargain we’ve ever seen in American history: Elon Musk gives $250 million to elect Donald Trump, and Donald Trump turns over the keys to United States government to Elon Musk and his billionaire friends and his cronies,” Van Hollen continued in his remarks outside the Treasury Department.

“We have to fight this in the courts, we have to fight this in the Congress, we have to fight this in the streets. We need to fight this all over America.”

Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., added, “Shut down the city! We are at war!”

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said during a news interview of DOGE’s work at USAID, “The level of disrespect actually is criminal, because there are crisis-response teams that are around the world that really rely on having access to their emails – having access to apps that they can utilize if there’s danger to them.”

Protesters have slammed Musk as a “fascist” who was not elected to federal office yet holds sway with the White House in his role at DOGE.

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Musk trolled Democrats and government employees amid the protests on Wednesday when he changed his X bio to state that he is working as “White House Tech Support” as his DOGE team reviews the federal government’s various computer systems.

February 6, 2025
‘Integrity of the Court’: Cruz reintroduces amendment to combat court expansion efforts

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, is reintroducing a constitutional amendment to cap the number of Supreme Court Justices at nine, amid calls to expand the court.

Cruz, now joined by 15 cosponsors including Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy (LA), Chuck Grassley (IA), Mike Crapo (ID), Thom Tillis (NC) and John Cornyn (TX), previously introduced the amendment in 2021 and in 2023.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Cruz said Democrats are seeking to “use the Court to advance policy goals they can’t accomplish electorally.”

SUPREME COURT TO CONSIDER AN EFFORT TO ESTABLISH THE NATION’S FIRST PUBLICLY FUNDED RELIGIOUS CHARTER SCHOOL

“Such a move would be a direct assault on the design of our Constitution, which is designed to ensure the Supreme Court remains a non-partisan guardian of the rule of law,” Cruz said. “This amendment is a badly-needed check on their efforts to undermine the integrity of the Court.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, is reintroducing a constitutional amendment to cap the number of Supreme Court Justices at nine, amid calls to expand the court. (Reuters)

Likewise, Grassley said the amendment would ensure the Court’s independence from political pressures.

“Democrats’ radical court packing scheme would erase the legitimacy of the Supreme Court and destroy historic precedent,” Grassley said in a statement. “The Court is a co-equal branch of government, and our Keep Nine Amendment will ensure that it remains independent from political pressure.”

The nine-justice court currently has a conservative supermajority. Following various landmark decisions in recent years, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Democrats have re-upped calls to impose court reforms, including expanding and packing the court as well as imposing term limits.

TRUMP’S ‘TWO SEXES’ EXECUTIVE ORDER COMES ON HEELS OF SCOTUS ACCEPTING ANOTHER CHALLENGE TO LGBT AGENDA

In October, then-Vice President Kamala Harris entertained the notion of imposing court reforms during a CNN town hall. Harris was asked if she would support expanding the number of justices from the current nine to 12.

“There is no question that the American people increasingly are losing confidence in the Supreme Court and, in large part, because of the behavior of certain members of that court and because of certain rulings, including the Dobbs decision and taking away a precedent that had been in place for 50 years, protecting a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body,” Harris said during the event.

In October, then-Vice President Kamala Harris entertained the notion of imposing court reforms during a CNN town hall. (Screenshot/CNN)

“So, I do believe that there should be some kind of reform of the court, and we can study what that actually looks like.”

PORN CASE IN THE SUPREME COURT THIS WEEK IS ABOUT PROTECTING CHILDREN, SAYS REPUBLICAN AG

Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, also called for reforming the Court that same month, saying in social media posts, “We need to radically reform the broken Supreme Court.”

Democrats have consistently proposed legislation to expand the Supreme Court to a 13-justice bench.

Sen. Ted Cruz’s amendment reintroduction comes in light of calls from the left to expand the Supreme Court as well as impose term limits on the justices. (Saul Loeb//Pool via REUTERS)

In May 2023, Georgia Democrat Rep. Hank Johnson joined Democratic Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, as well as Democratic Reps. Jerry Nadler of New York, Cori Bush of Mississippi, and Adam Schiff of California, in reintroducing the Judiciary Act of 2023.

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“We want to prevent this kind of rot and decay from ever overtaking a Supreme Court again,” Johnson told Fox News Digital in October.

Haley Chi-Sing is a Writer for Fox News Digital. You can reach her at @haleychising on X.

February 6, 2025
First images of ICE mass deportation efforts show arrests of MS-13 gang members, murder suspects

Fox News embedded exclusively with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Boston as the agency targeted egregious criminal aliens, including MS-13 gang members and murder suspects, as part of mass deportation efforts under President Donald Trump.

Fox News witnessed ICE Boston make eight arrests, including multiple MS-13, Interpol Red Notices, murder and rape suspects, and a volatile Haitian gang member with 18 convictions in recent years who told our cameras that he “ain’t going back to Haiti” and “f— Trump, Biden forever!”

“Today was a good day. Today we took several significant public safety threats out of our communities,” Patricia Hyde, ERO Boston Acting Field Office Director, told Fox News. “Unfortunately, a lot were released by sanctuary policies. But we’re here to tell the Commonwealth and the rest of the country that we’re going to find them, whether they’re released or not.”

ICE also made what is known as a “collateral” arrest, where ICE arrests an illegal alien who wasn’t their initial target.

TRUMP’S ICE RACKS UP HUNDREDS OF ARRESTS, INCLUDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR HORROR CRIMES

Bill Melugin embedded with ICE Boston and witnessed agents making arrests. (X/ @BillMelugin_)

In that case, the illegal alien was with an MS-13 gang member who had been released by a sanctuary jurisdiction on Tuesday with an ICE detainer that was not honored.

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has previously warned that collateral arrests are something that would happen in sanctuary jurisdictions.

Bill Melugin embedded with ICE Boston and witnessed agents making arrests. (X/ @BillMelugin_)

As ICE Boston was arresting a violent illegal alien in one neighborhood, Fox News heard a woman yell out “thank you” to the agents.

Bill Melugin embedded with ICE Boston and witnessed agents making arrests. (X/ @BillMelugin_)

‘PROMPT REMOVAL’: TRUMP DHS EXPANDS EXPEDITED DEPORTATION POWERS AS OPERATIONS RAMP UP

The arrests come as the Trump administration moves rapidly to fulfill its promise to launch a historic mass deportation operation, which it has said will focus primarily – but not exclusively – on public safety threats.

Bill Melugin embedded with ICE Boston and witnessed agents making arrests. (X/ @BillMelugin_)

In the first days of the Trump administration, ICE has made more than 460 arrests of illegal immigrants, including those with criminal histories that include sexual assault, domestic violence and drugs and weapons crimes. Arrests took place across the U.S. including Illinois, Utah, California, Minnesota, New York, Florida and Maryland.

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Agents arrested nationals from a slew of countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Senegal and Venezuela.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Bill Melugin currently serves as a Los Angeles based correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in May 2021.

January 23, 2025