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Trump administration fires more than a dozen immigration judges

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More than a dozen immigration judges were fired on Friday, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s promise to trim the federal workforce.

A union official told the Associated Press that 13 judges who were set to be sworn in, and five assistant chief immigration judges, were fired on Friday without warning.

The move comes after two other judges were dismissed this week, the AP reported. No replacements have been announced.

The Trump administration dismissed more than a dozen judges on Friday. (Donald Trump/Truth Social)

US IMMIGRATION BACKLOG REACHES NEW RECORD OF 3 MILLION PENDING CASES: REPORT

Fox News Digital previously reported the U.S. immigration court backlog surpassed three million pending cases.

Immigration judges currently average 4,500 pending cases each, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

The AP reported five top court officials were replaced by the Trump administration, including Mary Cheng, the agency’s acting director.

Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (iStock)

TRUMP BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP EXECUTIVE ORDER BLOCKED BY THIRD FEDERAL JUDGE

In a memo released on Jan. 27, Sirce Owen, acting director of the Department of Justice, noted the Biden administration “severely undermined” core values of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

“An effort to restore those values and to re-establish EOIR as a model administrative adjudicatory body is well underway,” Owen wrote. “If all employees are willing to join that effort, then there will be no limit to what EOIR can achieve.”

FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as “Main Justice,” is seen behind the podium in the Department’s headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)

The Trump administration on Thursday instructed agencies to lay off most probationary workers without civil service protection, the AP reported.

The International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, which represents federal employees, and the U.S. Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Saturday.

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Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

February 15, 2025
Blue state AGs accuse Vance of spreading ‘dangerous lie’ following VP’s online criticism of judges

Blue state attorneys general accused Vice President JD Vance of attempting to spread a “dangerous lie” after he criticized judges blocking President Donald Trump’s agenda.

“The Vice President’s statement is as wrong as it is reckless. As chief law enforcement officers representing the people of 17 states, we unequivocally reject the Vice President’s attempt to spread this dangerous lie,” the statement reads.

Seventeen state attorneys general, including those from California, Connecticut, Arizona, Massachusetts and Washington, signed the statement released Friday after Vance sent the internet into a frenzy, saying, “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”

AG PAM BONDI VOWS TO ‘FIGHT BACK’ AGAINST JUDGES BLOCKING TRUMP’S ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENDA

“Americans understand the principle of checks and balances,” the AGs wrote. “The judiciary is a check on unlawful action by the executive and legislative branches of government. Generals, prosecutors, and all public officials are subject to checks and balances. No one is above the law.”

Blue state attorneys general accused Vice President JD Vance of attempting to spread a “dangerous lie” after he criticized judges blocking President Donald Trump’s agenda. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Vance’s comments were made after a court blocked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing personal data. The Trump administration has become the target of more than 50 lawsuits since Trump began his second term in mid-January. Judges in various states across the country, including Washington, Rhode Island and New York, have continuously blocked the administration’s efforts to implement its agenda.

“If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal,” Vance posted on X. “If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”

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

The statement from the AGs said that they would “carefully scrutinize each and every action taken by this administration.” They also made clear that if the administration violated the Constitution or federal law, they would “not hesitate to act.”

“Judges granted our motions and issued restraining orders to protect the American people, democracy, and the rule of law. That is and has always been their job,” the AGs wrote. “That job is the very core of our legal system. And in this critical moment, we will stand our ground to defend it.”

Seventeen state attorneys general, including California AG Rob Bonta, signed the statement released Friday. (Loren Elliott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently pledged her support for Trump’s efforts, vowing to challenge “unelected” judges obstructing his administration’s agenda.

“We have so many un-elected judges who are trying to control government spending. And there is a clear separation of powers,” Bondi said during an appearance on “America’s Newsroom.” “What they’re doing to [DOGE leader Elon Musk], to our country, is outrageous. You know, people work their whole lives and pay taxes, yet they find out that they’ve been giving $2 million to Guatemala for sex changes. It’s outrageous. And it’s going to stop.”

6 TIMES JUDGES BLOCKED TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS

Since Inauguration Day, dozens of activist and legal groups, elected officials and local jurisdictions, as well as individuals, have launched a myriad of lawsuits in response to the president’s executive orders and directives. Notably, Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, his immigration policies, directives on federal funding, and the implementation of DOGE have all come under fire.

The Trump administration has proceeded to appeal many of these rulings to the appellate courts. In a recent development, the Trump administration appealed an order from a Rhode Island judge to unfreeze federal funds. The order claimed the administration did not adhere to a previous order to do so.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently pledged her support for Trump’s efforts, vowing to challenge “unelected” judges obstructing his administration’s agenda. (AP)

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The Trump administration appealed the order to the First Circuit shortly thereafter, which was ultimately denied.

Upon Trump’s historic win in November, Democratic AGs, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, publicly said they would be ready to engage in any legal battles against the Trump administration for actions they view as illegal or negatively impacting residents.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

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

February 14, 2025
Trump performs jiu-jitsu flip on judge’s order, sends Guantanamo rejects back to Venezuela

The Trump administration sent three illegal immigrants back to their home country of Venezuela in response to a judge’s decision blocking them from being sent to Guantánamo Bay as part of a continued crack-down on illegal immigration.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales of New Mexico issued a memo Friday announcing the court had vacated a March 3 status conference for three Venezuelan migrants just five days after it blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to transfer the migrants to Guantánamo Bay.

Since then, Gonzales said, respondents had filed a Notice of Removal “informing the court that all three petitioners were removed to Venezuela, their home country, on Feb. 10, 2025.”

SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE BUDGET FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAUNTS BLUE STATE TAXPAYERS

The control is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

The Trump administration has vowed to deport millions of the more than 11 million people estimated to be living in the U.S. illegally, including deporting some illegal immigrants to the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay.

Trump has claimed the individuals deported to Guantánamo are “highly dangerous criminal aliens.”

But that notion has been sharply disputed by some immigration advocates.

Lawyers for the Venezuelan immigrants argued in a court filing last week that their clients “fit the profile” of individuals that they allege the Trump administration “has prioritized for detention in Guantánamo,” “i.e. Venezuelan men detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang.”

ICE ARRESTS HOMELESS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WHO ASKED TO BE DETAINED OR ELSE HE WOULD ‘GO OUT AND COMMIT CRIMES’

ICE agents are seen arresting 32 illegal aliens in a Palm Beach County, Fla., enforcement action. (ICE)

Judge Gonzales ultimately granted migrants’ request for a temporary restraining order blocking their transfer to Guantánamo, ordering the parties back to court on March 3 for a status conference.

In response, the administration appears to have taken the matter into its own hands.

The motion to vacate did not expand upon the situation at hand, noting only that, “[b]ecause Petitioners have now been removed to their home country, it is no longer necessary to hold a status conference” on the previously scheduled date.

“Nor is it necessary for parties to update the Court by February 24, 2025,” Judge Gonzales said. “Thus, the status conference is hereby vacated.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

The deportation comes less than a month after President Donald Trump signed into law the Laken Riley Act, a bipartisan law that gives authorities broad power to deport illegal immigrants accused of crimes.

Since Trump’s inauguration, White House officials said that the administration has arrested thousands of people in immigration enforcement actions.

Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.

February 14, 2025
Judges have blocked Trump executive orders on DOGE, immigration at least 6 times

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

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

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

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

President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Federal Funding Pause

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DOGE Treasury Department access

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

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

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

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

Elon Musk, chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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

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

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

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

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

“Fork in the Road Directive”

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

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

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

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

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

TRUMP BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP EXECUTIVE ORDER BLOCKED BY THIRD FEDERAL JUDGE

Birthright Citizenship

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

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

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

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

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

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

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) sign on their headquarters on Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X: @danimwallace.

February 12, 2025
Trump administration appeals federal judge’s order to unfreeze federal funds

The Trump administration is appealing a federal judge’s order to unfreeze federal funding in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

The motion comes hours after a federal judge from Rhode Island ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to unfreeze federal funds once again, claiming the administration did not adhere to his previous order to do so.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell filed a new motion Monday ordering the Trump administration to comply with a restraining order issued Jan. 31, temporarily blocking the administration’s efforts to pause federal grants and loans.

McConnell’s original restraining order came after 22 states and the District of Columbia challenged the Trump administration’s actions to hold up funds for grants such as the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant and other Environmental Protection Agency programs. But the states said Friday that the administration isn’t following through and funds are still tied up.

The Office of Management and Budget released a memo Jan. 27 announcing plans to issue a temporary pause on federal grants and loans. While the White House later rescinded the memo on Jan. 29, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the move didn’t equate a “recission of the federal funding freeze.”

Specifically, McConnell’s motion calls for the Trump administration to restore withheld funds appropriated in the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act that passed during the Biden administration in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The motion also calls on the Trump administration to restore funding for institutes like the National Institutes of Health.

‘CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS’: THE IMPOUNDMENT ACT TAKES CENTER STAGE AFTER RUSSEL VOUGHT’S CONFIRMATION

The Trump administration unveiled an Office of Management and Budget memo on Jan. 27 ordering a pause on federal funds and grants. (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)

The motion filed Monday asserts that states have provided evidence that there are still instances where the federal government has “improperly” frozen funds and failed to distribute appropriated federal funds.

While the motion says the Trump administration claims these actions were done to “root out” fraud, McConnell said that the “freezes in effect now were a result of the broad categorical order, not a specific finding of possible fraud.”

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

LEAVITT PUSHES BACK ON MEDIA’S ‘UNCERTAINTY’ ABOUT FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)

McConnell said in his original order that evidence suggested the White House’s rescission of the OMB memo may have been done in “name-only” in order to “defeat the jurisdiction of the court.”

As a result, McConnell said Monday that the Trump administration must “immediately restore frozen funding” until the court hears and decides the preliminary injunction request.

“Each executive order will hold up in court because every action of the Trump-Vance administration is completely lawful,” Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement to Fox News. “Any legal challenge against it is nothing more than an attempt to undermine the will of the American people.

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Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha praised McConnell’s ruling and said the order “confirmed what we have been saying from the beginning.”

“It is now time for the Administration to come into full compliance,” Neronha said in a statement Monday. “This is a country of laws. We expect the Administration to follow the law. Our Office and attorneys general across the country stand ready to keep careful watch on the actions of this Administration that follow, and we will not hesitate to go back to Court if they don’t comply.”

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.

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

February 10, 2025
Trump DOJ calls judge’s DOGE order ‘anti-constitutional’

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department pushed to undo an “anti-Constitutional” ruling from a federal judge that blocked Elon Musk and any of his close associates from accessing Treasury Department data on Monday.

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer’s Saturday ruling blocked Department of Government Efficiency officials from accessing personal data such as social security numbers and bank account numbers. While the Trump administration says it has “substantially complied” with the order, the DOJ has attacked the order as “anti-constitutional.”

The White House noted that the Senate-confirmed Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, is also prohibited from accessing the data under the order.

Vice President JD Vance argued that ruling was unconstitutional on X, saying it was an example of judicial overreach.

MEET THE YOUNG TEAM OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERS SLASHING GOVERNMENT WASTE AT DOGE: REPORT

President Donald Trump’s DOGE has had access to treasury department data blocked. (AP/Alex Brandon)

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

ELON MUSK OUTLINES ‘SUPER OBVIOUS’ CHANGES DOGE AND TREASURY HAVE AGREED TO MAKE

Other White House officials echoed Vance’s statement over the weekend, arguing the judge was blocking DOGE’s legitimate efforts to purge government waste.

“What we continue to see here is the idea that rogue bureaucrats who are elected by no one, who answer to no one, who have lifetime tenure jobs, who we would be told can never be fired, which, of course, is not true, that the power has been cemented and accumulated for years, whether it be with the Treasury bureaucrats or the FBI bureaucrats or the CIA bureaucrats or the USAID bureaucrats, with this unelected shadow force that is running our government and running our country,” Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller said on “Sunday Morning Futures.”

Elon Musk called for a federal juge to be impeached after he blocked DOGE’s access to federal data. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Musk himself condemned Engelmayer as a “corrupt judge protecting corruption” and called for him to be impeached.

Trump weighed in on the issue later Sunday on his way to the Superbowl in New Orleans, telling reporters that he is “very disappointed” in the ruling, but adding that “we have a long way to go.

“No judge should frankly be allowed to make that kind of a decision,” he said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing. (Getty)

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New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit claims Musk’s DOGE is seeking access to the data to “illegally block” payments to “essential programs.”

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

February 10, 2025
Trump 100% disagrees with federal judge’s ‘crazy’ ruling blocking DOGE from Treasury system

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President Donald Trump “100 percent” disagrees with a federal judge’s ruling on Saturday that bars the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the Treasury Department, he said during an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier.

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

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

U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York Paul Engelmayer, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued a temporary restraining order Saturday that sided with 19 Democratic state attorneys general who claimed that giving DOGE “full access” to the Treasury’s payment systems violates the law. The lawsuit was spearheaded by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

JUDGE’S ‘HOPELESSLY AMBIGUOUS’ ORDER BARRING DOGE FROM TREASURY SPARKS CONCERN BESSENT MAY ALSO BE LOCKED OUT

Fox News host Bret Baier will sit down with President Trump for an interview on Super Bowl Sunday. (Fox New)

The judge’s sweeping order, issued Saturday, bars DOGE from accessing the Treasury system until at least Feb. 14, when Engelmayer scheduled a hearing to revisit the matter.

The language of the order specifically bars “political appointees, special government employees, and any government employee detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department access to Treasury Department payment systems or any other data maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information.” Trump, Secretary Scott Bessent and the U.S. Treasury are named as defendants in the case.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS ELON MUSK’S DOGE FROM ACCESSING TREASURY RECORDS AFTER DEMOCRATIC AGS FILE LAWSUIT

President Trump speaks (Fox News)

Musk, Vice President JD Vance and other conservatives aligned with Trump have slammed the order.

“If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Vance posted to X on Sunday of the order.

Elon Musk is leading the Department of Government Efficiency. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Trump spoke with Baier in an exclusive interview with Fox News ahead of the Super Bowl, which Trump will attend. The pair discussed the president’s long love of sports and football, as well as politics and DOGE.

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

PRESIDENT TRUMP PREDICTS ELON MUSK WILL FIND ‘HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS’ IN WASTE IN NEXT DOGE DIRECTIVES

“Where if I read a list, you’d say, this is ridiculous, and you’ve read the same list and there are many that you haven’t even seen, it’s crazy. It’s a big scam. Now there’s some good money and we can do that through, any one of a number. I think I’d rather give it to Marco Rubio over at the State Department. Let him take care of the few good ones. So, I don’t know if it’s kickbacks or what’s going on, but the people. Look, I ran on this, and the people want me to find it. And I’ve had a great help with Elon Musk, who’s been terrific,” he continued.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Friday Nov. 29, 2024 to discuss topics like the economy, illegal immigration and a proposed 25% tariff. (Justin Trudeau X)

Baier also asked Trump about his recent comments about Canada becoming the U.S.’ 51st state and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeay saying last week that Trump’s desire to acquire the nation is a “a real thing.”

TRUDEAU SAYS TRUMP IS SERIOUS ABOUT CANADA BECOMING 51ST STATE: REPORTS

“Yeah, it is,” Trump said when asked about Trudeau’s remark. “I think Canada would be much better off being a 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada, and I’m not going to let that happen. It’s too much. Why are we paying $200 billion a year essentially in subsidy to Canada? Now, if they’re our 51st state, I don’t mind doing it.”

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Trump will spend his Sunday evening in New Orleans, where the Chiefs and Eagles will face off in the Super Bowl. Trump is expected to return to the White House on Sunday evening following the game.

Baier’s full interview with Trump will air Monday during “Special Report with Bret Baier.”

February 10, 2025
Judge’s ‘hopelessly ambiguous’ order barring DOGE from Treasury sparks concern Bessent may also be locked out

A federal judge’s order barring DOGE from accessing Treasury Department data is vague enough that some legal experts believe it even blocks the agency’s secretary from reviewing records and systems, prompting Republicans to blast what they consider judicial overreach.

U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York Paul Engelmayer, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued a temporary restraining order Saturday that sided with 19 Democratic state attorneys general who claimed that giving DOGE “full access” to the Treasury’s payment systems violates the law. The lawsuit was spearheaded by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime Trump foe who said her office is “prepared to fight back” after President Donald Trump’s November election win.

“The judge’s order is rightly being attacked as, at worse, barring the secretary of the Treasury from accessing the Treasury Department’s databases and at best, at being hopelessly ambiguous and confusing,” the Federalist’s senior legal correspondent Margot Cleveland told Fox News Digital on Sunday of the order.

The judge’s sweeping order, issued Saturday, bars DOGE from accessing the Treasury system until at least Feb. 14, when Engelmayer scheduled a hearing to revisit the matter.

ELON MUSK ALLEGES $50B IN FRAUD AT TREASURY AFTER JUDGE BLOCKS DOGE AUDIT

Scott Bessent testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to be secretary of the Treasury, on Capitol Hill, on Jan. 16, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

The language of the order specifically bars “political appointees, special government employees, and any government employee detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department access to Treasury Department payment systems or any other data maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information.” Trump, Secretary Scott Bessent and the U.S. Treasury are named as defendants in the case.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS ELON MUSK’S DOGE FROM ACCESSING TREASURY RECORDS AFTER DEMOCRATIC AGS FILE LAWSUIT

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

Conservatives and legal experts on social media have slammed the language of the order for reportedly also barring Bessent from Treasury data.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Treasury, White House and the Southern District on Sunday for comment, but did not immediately receive replies.

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“To comprehend how bad Judge Engelmayer’s decision was granting [a temporary restraining order] barring the Secretary of the Treasury Dept as well as DOGE & every other political appointee from accessing data, you need to compare to parallel case where a judge denied injunction,” Cleveland posted to X.

Others on social media argued the order does not bar Bessent from accessing the data, only barring him from granting access to the data to political appointees, special government employees, and government officials outside of the Treasury Department.

Cleveland told Fox News Digital on Sunday that beyond the vague language in the order, the attorneys general lack standing to challenge DOGE and the Treasury.

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“There is a more fatal flaw to the [temporary restraining order]: The Plaintiffs utterly lack standing to challenge DOGE and the Treasury Department’s decision to grant read-only access to select members of that executive agency’s team. With read-only access, DOGE cannot possibly use access to the Treasury Department’s system to freeze grants to the Blue States or their citizens; nor does such read-only access subject Plaintiffs to a higher hack-risk. And without standing, there is no basis to bring a lawsuit, much less to justify the TRO,” she said.

Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (Getty Images)

Bessent sent a letter to Congress early last week detailing that DOGE was given “read only” access to the Treasury data, and that the investigation has “not caused payments for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare to be delayed or re-routed.”

DOGE, led by Musk, has been on an investigation blitz of the federal government to stamp out government overspending and fraud. Musk reported after Engelmayer’s ruling that DOGE had already reportedly uncovered fraud at the national treasury.

“[Friday], I was told that there are currently over $100B/year of entitlements payments to individuals with no SSN or even a temporary ID number. If accurate, this is extremely suspicious,” Musk wrote hours after the ruling.

“When I asked if anyone at Treasury had a rough guess for what percentage of that number is unequivocal and obvious fraud, the consensus in the room was about half, so $50B/year or $1B/week!! This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately.”

Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on the order Sunday, slamming it as a judge trying to control “the executive’s legitimate power.”

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“If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” he posted to X.

Vice President JD Vance claps at campaign event. (Getty Images)

Musk seethed following the order that Engelmayer should be “impeached.”

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“A corrupt judge protecting corruption. He needs to be impeached NOW!” he said in response to another social media post reporting Bessent was reportedly blocked from accessing his own agency’s data.

Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.

February 9, 2025
Olivia Dunne sounds alarm ’empty seats’ in gymnastics, suggests judges’ scoring may be part of issue

Olivia Dunne sounded the alarm about the lack of viewership in women’s gymnastics and suggested that the judges and the scoring system may be to blame.

Dunne fired off an uncharacteristic critical post on X about the state of the sport. It came as LSU was upset in an SEC matchup against Arkansas. The Tigers came into the meeting as the No. 2 squad in the country.

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LSU Tigers gymnast Olivia Dunne practices between events against the Florida Gators during the meet at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida, on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun)

“I am sitting here watching NCAA gymnastics and the empty seats are concerning. I care deeply about the growth in women’s sports especially in the NCAA,” she wrote. “If you want fans to enjoy the sport and increase viewership, you have to look at what makes the crowds go crazy! People understand what a perfect 10 is and want people who do things that look great to be rewarded.

“Too many deductions taken at a judge’s discretion feels the same as watching a basketball game that’s constantly interrupted with penalties or a football game with flags on every play. At some point it feels negative and loses the entertainment factor that draws the crowd in. The number of questions I am currently getting from fans about the scoring is significant enough for me to share this concern. I love the art and intricacy of gymnastics but let’s get more eyes on the sport!”

Dunne added that she may have a “unique” perspective on the matter given the fan base she cultivated outside the sport.

LSU Tigers gymnast Olivia Dunne warms up against the Florida Gators before the meet at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida, on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun)

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“This is not about LSU this is about the sport,” she wrote in a separate post. “I’m in my 5th year and I have an audience of casual fans so maybe I’m in a unique position to see what is happening with fans differently than people just looking at attendance numbers. Fans are confused.

“I also spend time raising money for female athletes and will always advocate for athletes. Making changes that can impact the entertainment value will affect athletes financially as well. Female sports in the NCAA have to focus on building crowd engagement to continue to get revenue support for the athletes.”

Gymnastics is not exactly the steadiest sport when it comes to its judges and points that are scored or deducted. The drama involving American Olympian Jordan Chiles at the Paris Games is a good example of that.

Olivia Dunne of the LSU Tigers looks on before a meet against the Florida Gators at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Feb. 23, 2024 in Gainesville, Florida. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)

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Awful Announcing noted that viewership on TV dropped for the national championships from 2023 to 2024 by more than 100,000.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

January 28, 2025