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Maryland lawmakers consider bill to roll back sanctuary policies in blue state

Lawmakers in Democrat-run Maryland are considering a bill to roll back sanctuary policies and increase cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in certain scenarios.

Maryland’s Senate Bill 387, or the Protecting Marylanders From Violent Offenders Act of 2025, would require local law enforcement and correction officers to turn over illegal immigrants to ICE if the individual was convicted of a violent crime, terrorism, participation in a criminal street gang, or an aggravated felony such as trafficking drugs or firearms.

Republican Sen. William Folden, the bill’s author, told FOX45 Baltimore that the bill is “only for the most violent offenders.”

“This isn’t about trying to turn any communities against each other,” Folden said. “This is about keeping our communities safe from these repeat violent offenders that some jurisdictions keep putting back out into the community and that’s not safe for anyone.”

SANCTUARY CITY MAYORS TO TESTIFY AT HOUSE OVERSIGHT AFTER AG BONDI CUTS THEM OFF FROM FEDERAL FUNDS

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Maryland. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Critics of the bill, however, say the legislation threatens constitutional rights.

Sanctuary policies in Howard and Prince George’s County currently prohibit local authorities from cooperating with ICE agents.

Maryland’s attorney general has also issued guidance to local authorities on immigration detainers in a 2025 memorandum, stating detainers “are requests only; local officers are not obligated to honor them, and, in fact, risk violating constitutional rights by doing so.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers wait to detain a person, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Maryland bill, which is currently under committee consideration in the state Senate, would take effect on Oct. 1, 2025, if enacted.

TRUMP DOJ SLAPS ILLINOIS, CHICAGO WITH LAWSUIT OVER SANCTUARY LAWS

Since taking office last month, President Donald Trump has conducted a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration, with ICE officials making several criminal arrests over the last weeks in many left-leaning “sanctuary” cities, including Philadelphia, Boston, Denver, and Washington, D.C.

While leaders in some sanctuary cities have refused to cooperate with ICE as immigration raids continue, Trump border czar Tom Homan delivered a bold message to those cities: “We’re going to keep coming” no matter what.

“They’re not going to stop us,” he said Sunday, stressing that criminal illegal immigrant gang members such as Tren de Aragua have “no safe haven” from the rule of law.

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“We’re going to find them. We’re going to arrest them, and take them off the streets,” Homan said, referring to the criminal gang members.

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.

February 10, 2025
House, Senate lawmakers move to slap limits on NGOs aiding illegal immigrants amid Trump funding crackdown

FIRST ON FOX: Two lawmakers in the House and Senate are introducing separate bills to slap limits on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) they believe are undermining U.S. immigration law – coming amid broader questions about funding of NGOs and a funding crackdown by the Trump administration.

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas is reintroducing the “Protecting Federal Funds from Human Trafficking and Smuggling Act,” while Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is introducing the Fixing Exemptions for Networks Choosing to Enable Illegal Migration (Fence) Act.

Hagerty’s bill would end tax-exempt status for organizations that help illegal immigrants, requiring that exempt organizations do not engage in a pattern of providing assistance, benefits, services or other support to those who they know “to be unlawfully present in the United States.”

TRUMP’S ICE LIMITS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RELEASES AMID MOVES TO SHAKE OFF BIDEN ‘HANGOVER’

“Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right, and these organizations will be able to preserve their tax-exempt status simply by ceasing these activities,” his office said in a release.

Army soldiers patrol the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2025. President Donald Trump ordered 1,500 more military personnel to the border with Mexico as part of a flurry of steps to tackle immigration, his spokeswoman said on Jan. 22. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

Gooden’s bill would prevent federal contracts and grants being awarded to NGOs unless they certified to the Office of Management and Budget that they are not involved in human trafficking or smuggling. It also would yank tax-exempt status from organizations who knowingly violate federal law.

The bill also requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a written strategy and best practices guide for non-profits to ensure they are in compliance with the law.

It also requires NGOs to go through a verification process to ensure illegal immigrants are not receiving benefits.

“For years, non-governmental organizations have exploited taxpayer dollars to facilitate illegal immigration under the guise of ‘humanitarian aid,’” Gooden said in a statement. “The exploitation of the American taxpayer will end under the Trump Administration. This bill ensures that not a single cent of hard-earned American tax dollars will fund organizations complicit in human trafficking and illegal border crossings.”

TRUMP DOJ SLAPS ILLINOIS, CHICAGO WITH LAWSUIT OVER SANCTUARY LAWS

Migrants seeking asylum in the United States who previously requested an appointment on the CBP One Mobile application, are silhouetted as they queue at El Chaparral border crossing toward the U.S. to attend their appointment, in Tijuana, Mexico, Jan. 18, 2025. (REUTERS/Jorge Duenes)

It comes amid longstanding concern about the role of NGOs in assisting the government during the 2021-2024 migration crisis at the southern border, where millions of dollars went to NGOs that would receive migrants, assist them and potentially give them shelter and travel to their final destination. The funding is provided via contracts and grants from DHS, Health and Human Services and the State Department.

Gooden has introduced a number of pieces of legislation on the matter, and has been working for years to bring attention to the issue.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced Wednesday that it has stopped funding nonprofits, saying they have been facilitating illegal immigration. It is part of a broad effort by the administration to ramp up border security and crack down on illegal immigration.

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“Many of these NGOs actually have infrastructure and operations set up in Mexico, on that side of the border, and are telling those illegal immigrants to come to them, and they will get them across the border,” Noem said on Fox News Channel’s “Will Cain Show.” “So they’re not just operating in the United States, they’re operating outside the United States to help make it easier for those who want to break our laws.”

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Until an evaluation is completed, Noem said the department is “not spending another dime to help the destruction of this country.”

Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order demanding a review of all federal funding going to NGOs. These two pieces of legislation would enshrine limits beyond this administration. Meanwhile, the administration has also frozen USAID as the agency’s funding is being reviewed over concerns about how the funding is being used.

Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

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 10, 2025
Lawmakers demand Bondi’s DOJ investigate Biden’s post-Election Day dismissal of green energy fraud lawsuit

EXCLUSIVE: Republican lawmakers are calling on the Trump administration to investigate President Biden’s dismissal of a lawsuit claiming millions in fraud from a green energy project the day after the 2024 election.

In 2011, President Barack Obama’s Treasury Department granted Tonopah Solar Energy, LLC hundreds of millions of dollars for the construction of a green energy solar plant, the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, in Nevada.

However, the energy group was eventually sued by CMB Export, LLC for alleged fraud involving approximately $275 million of taxpayer dollars in a qui tam lawsuit, which is a case on behalf of the government claiming fraud against federal programs. The case was being investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ), until the Biden administration filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Nov. 6, 2024 – the day after the presidential election.

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, obtained first by Fox News Digital, Republican Reps. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, and Carol Miller, R-W.Va., are sounding the alarm over the previous administration’s decision to halt the potential recovery of taxpayer funds.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FIRES MORE THAN A DOZEN KEY OFFICIALS ON FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S TEAM

Rep. Lance Gooden participates in the House Judiciary Committee organizing meeting in the Rayburn House Office Building. (Bill Clark)

“Despite investing three and a half years in investigating this case, it is deeply troubling that the DOJ reversed its position shortly after the presidential election, claiming the dismissal was in public interest and citing undue burdens on federal agencies,” the letter reads. “This decision is perplexing, given that the government stands to lose nothing by allowing CMB Export, LLC, to proceed with the case.”

The letter asks that Bondi investigate the Biden administration’s rationale for dismissal, potential conflicts of interest, timeline of events, and accountability regarding the possible misuse of taxpayer funds.

AG NOMINEE PAM BONDI SEEN AS STEADYING FORCE TO STEER DOJ IN TRUMP’S SECOND TERM

“The American people soundly rejected the Biden administration’s radical Green New Deal agenda and fraudulent coverups when they voted for President Trump,” Miller told Fox News Digital. “Our understanding is the Crescent Dunes project was an energy proposal that cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, produced less energy than promised, and posed safety concerns for individuals working on the project. With President Trump back in the White House, transparency is now the standard for the federal government.”

Pam Bondi, is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing at the Capitol, Jan. 15, 2025. (Ben Curtis/AP Photo)

Biden’s DOJ claimed the dismissal was “commensurate with the public interest,” and that litigation obligations would impose “an undue burden” on the government, two claims that are being called into question in the new letter.

The letter asks if there is any evidence that the timing of the motion was politically influenced, coming right after the election loss, and if the DOJ’s decision to dismiss a case that seeks to recover taxpayer dollars conflicts with its responsibility to uphold accountability in cases of alleged fraud against the government.

“The allegations in this case represent not just potential financial fraud but a breach of public trust,” the Republican lawmakers wrote. “The Crescent Dunes project, like other failed ‘green energy’ initiatives, has already cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, and the dismissal of this case raised serious concerns about the previous administration’s commitment to protecting public funds and prosecuting fraud.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland at the Department of Justice on May 2, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The lawmakers asked that the DOJ conduct an internal investigation into the case, and upon reevaluation, consider allowing CMB Export, LLC, to continue its charge against the solar company.

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“The American people deserve accountability and transparency in how their tax dollars are used, especially in cases involving allegations of fraud on such a significant scale,” the letter reads.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

February 7, 2025
DeepSeek concerns prompt GOP lawmaker’s moves to crack down on China exports

FIRST ON FOX: A top House Republican is moving to make it harder for China to procure advanced U.S. technology amid longstanding concerns about intellectual property theft by Beijing.

“My proposed legislation will establish safeguards to prevent future shocks like China’s development of DeepSeek using American technology. In addition to the chips China reportedly stockpiled, it appears China used chips under the current export control threshold to achieve this AI breakthrough,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital.

“This scenario should be a wakeup call — if you give the CCP an inch, it will take a mile. The CCP’s craftiness is coupled with a total disregard for legal and security considerations. We already know that the CCP uses technology to oppress its own citizens and to commit acts of espionage and sabotage against the United States, including major cyberattacks.”

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

U.S. officials are concerned about DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, led by Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Getty Images | iStock)

DeepSeek is an artificial intelligence (AI) software company based in Hangzhou, China. Its AI chatbot is known to be similar to ChatGPT, which was made by California-based OpenAI.

DeepSeek’s release of the new high-profile AI model that costs less to run than existing models like those of Meta and OpenAI sent a chill through U.S. markets.

BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., unveiled a bill to crack down on China’s ability to get U.S. tech. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Its popularity in U.S. app stores has also renewed concerns about Chinese companies collecting American data, as well as the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) censorship practices.

The surprise DeepSeek release also displayed how China’s economic competitiveness has far outpaced the ability of U.S. business leaders and lawmakers to agree on what to do about it.

The U.S. Commerce Department is now looking into whether DeepSeek used chips that were banned from entering China via sanctions, Reuters reported.

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Green’s bill would put export controls on certain national interest technology and intellectual property to China.

It would also call for sanctions against foreign actors who sell or purchase such items to and from China, as well as Chinese entities who knowingly use items covered by the export controls.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]

February 7, 2025
Heartland lawmakers seek to fix ‘fundamental’ roadblock for farm kids seeking student aid

Two bipartisan lawmakers from America’s agricultural heartland are putting forth legislation that would amend the federal student aid provisions to help students in farming families receive the help they need to go to school.

Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., along with Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kan., in the House, are forwarding the Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act.

As of late, the household contribution formula for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) “fundamentally misunderstands” how farming families operate and how agricultural assets differ from the more liquid assets of other U.S. families.

FAFSA is a form typically accessible to students on Oct. 1 of each year to allow for ample time to submit financial information in advance of both state and school-specific deadlines for aid eligibility.

DOGE LAWMAKER SAYS TRUMP ALREADY RACKING UP WINS

“No one should have to sell off the farm — or their small business — to afford college,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. (Getty Images)

The bipartisan bill would exempt farms and small family businesses from considerations in the Higher Education Act of 1965 and therefore offer a more realistic calculus for students in rural areas seeking federal aid.

The new act would amend the FAFSA Simplification Act to restore the original exemption of all farmland, machinery, other operational materials and small businesses with fewer than 100 employees from being declared on the application.

“No one should have to sell off the farm — or their small business — to afford college. As a farm kid myself, I know the enormous impacts grants and financial aid have on rural students’ decision to go to college,” Ernst told Fox News Digital.

“I’m fighting for Iowa families, so unfair policies don’t hold them back from investing in their child’s education.”

In February 2024, Ernst, her Iowa counterpart Sen. Charles Grassley, and other Heartland and Deep South lawmakers like Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker of Mississippi wrote to Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona about their concerns, which appeared to go largely unanswered.

DOGE SENATOR SEEKS TO ENSURE FEDS CAN CONTINUE PURSUING COVID FRAUDSTERS, DEBTORS AS IG SOUNDS ALARM

Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kan. (Reuters)

They alleged Question 22 of the FAFSA application asks for the net worth of a family’s business operations, which the letter said wrongly analyzes how revenue streams for crops and livestock work — and how they can vary depending on the year.

“[A]ssets cannot be cashed out to support a loan in the same capacity as traditional investments,” the letter read.

Therefore, Ernst on Thursday signaled she wants to adjust the qualification formula for FAFSA, so that America’s agricultural families are able to have an equal shot at aid based on their conditions.

Mann, who represents the seventh-largest congressional district in the nation that isn’t an at-large seat, said he has innumerable farm families who are in need of clear, fair FAFSA policy.

“Across Kansas’ Big First and the country, net farm income has decreased by nearly 25% since 2022,” Mann told Fox News Digital.

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“Between navigating record-levels of inflation and skyrocketing input costs, our family farmers, ranchers, agricultural producers and small business owners are doing their best to make an honest living.

“When young people from these families are applying for higher education financial aid, the assets tied up in the family farm or the small business should not count against them. Congress should work to make life easier, not harder, for these dedicated families and students.”

Mann said he hopes the bill will even the playing field for students while “protecting the American dream for every student regardless of their parents’ career ventures.”

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 [email protected].

February 7, 2025
House lawmakers push to ban DeepSeek from US government devices

Strategic Wealth Partners CEO Mark Tepper and Infrastructure Capital Advisors CEO Jay Hatfield analyze DeepSeek’s implications on U.S. markets and alleged debanking practices.

House lawmakers are introducing legislation Thursday to ban the Chinese AI DeepSeek from U.S. government devices, arguing that the software is “directly linked to the Chinese Communist Party” and poses a “five-alarm national security fire.”

The bipartisan legislation, titled “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act,” is being led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., who are both members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. It comes after Congress banned TikTok on government devices during the Biden administration over similar data-sharing concerns.

The proposed ban is based on new research highlighting how “DeepSeek’s code is directly linked to the Chinese Communist Party, with the capability to share user data with China Mobile,” a company “owned by the Chinese government and with close ties to the Chinese military [that] has been banned by the Federal Communications Commission for use in the United States,” according to a statement from Gottheimer’s office.

“The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans. Now, we have deeply disturbing evidence that they are using DeepSeek to steal the sensitive data of U.S. citizens,” Gottheimer said. “This is a five-alarm national security fire.”

US REPORTEDLY INVESTIGATING WHETHER CHINA’S DEEPSEEK USED RESTRICTED AI CHIPS

House lawmakers are introducing legislation Thursday to ban DeepSeek from U.S. government devices, citing data-sharing concerns. (Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“The national security threat that DeepSeek — a CCP-affiliated company — poses to the United States is alarming. DeepSeek’s generative AI program acquires the data of U.S. users and stores the information for unidentified use by the CCP,” added LaHood. “Under no circumstances can we allow a CCP company to obtain sensitive government or personal data.”

DeepSeek did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment from FOX Business.

The research both lawmakers cited as allegedly exposing DeepSeek’s ties to the Chinese government was carried out by Feroot Security, a Canadian cybersecurity company, according to The Wall Street Journal.

TRUMP’S AI CZAR FLAGS REPORT QUESTIONING DEEPSEEK’S COST OF DEVELOPING AI MODELS

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., is calling DeepSeek’s alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party a “five-alarm national security fire.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)

On the web version of DeepSeek, researchers found hidden code on the login page that has connections to computer infrastructure owned by China Mobile, the Associated Press reported.

“It’s hard to believe that something like this was accidental. There are so many unusual things to this. You know that saying ‘Where there’s smoke, there’s fire’? In this instance, there’s a lot of smoke,” Ivan Tsarynny, the CEO of Feroot Security, told the AP.

“The implications of this are significantly larger because personal and proprietary information could be exposed,” he added. “It’s like TikTok but at a much grander scale and with more precision. It’s not just sharing entertainment videos. It’s sharing queries and information that could include highly personal and sensitive business information.”

The DeepSeek app is displayed on an iPhone screen on Jan. 27 in San Anselmo, Calif. The newly-launched Chinese AI app has surged to the top in Apple’s App Store. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Gottheimer’s office said “Americans are sharing highly sensitive, proprietary information with DeepSeek — contracts, documents, and financial records,” and “In the wrong hands, this data is an enormous asset to the CCP, a known foreign adversary.”

February 6, 2025
First on Fox: Pro-Democrat outside group targets Republican lawmakers with ‘Hands off Medicaid’ blitz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

February 6, 2025
‘Losing their minds’: Dem lawmakers face backlash for invoking ‘unhinged’ violent rhetoric against Musk

Several Democratic lawmakers drew the ire of conservatives on social media after showing up at a rally against Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts and riling up the crowd with disparaging comments about the Tesla CEO, including calling him a Nazi.

“Elon Musk is a Nazi nepo baby, a godless lawless billionaire, who no one elected,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said at a rally outside the Treasury Department where protesters were speaking out against DOGE.

“Elon, this is the American people. This is not your trashy Cybertruck that you can just dismantle, pick apart, and sell the pieces of.”

At one point during her remarks, Pressley said, “We will see you in the court, in Congress, in the streets.”

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

Democrats rallied against DOGE and Elon Musk on Tuesday. (Getty/AP)

“Elon Musk is seizing the power that belongs to the American people,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said while shaking her fist alongside Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. “We are here to fight back.”

“We are gonna be in your face, we are gonna be on your a–es, and we are going to make sure you understand what democracy looks like, and this ain’t it,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said at the rally.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was also in attendance and told the crowd that Musk’s DOGE efforts are “taking away everything we have.”

“God d—it shut down the Senate!” Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., said. “WE ARE AT WAR!”

Conservatives on social media quickly pushed back on the comments, with some accusing Pressley of inciting violence.

“These people are totally sane…,” Greg Price, Trump ’24 deputy rapid response director, sarcastically posted on X along with a supercut of clips from the rally.

FEDERAL PROSECUTOR VOWS TO PROTECT DOGE STAFFERS FROM ANY ‘THREATS, CONFRONTATIONS’ TARGETING MUSK TEAM

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, with Rep. Maxine Waters, speaks during a rally at the Treasury Department on Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn)

“THIS IS A CALL FOR VIOLENCE!” video journalist Nick Sortor posted on X in response to Pressley. “The DOJ MUST investigate this!”

“Rep Ayanna Pressley just called on her followers to agitate in the streets,” LibsofTikTok posted on X. “Typical Democrat doing what they do best: Calling for violence and chaos.”

“Democrat lawmakers are losing their minds now that their USAID scam is exposed,” conservative influencer Paul Szypula posted on X. “Pressley needs to be censured for inciting violence.”

“Making Jasmine Crockett the face of your party is certainly a choice and one I highly encourage,” Red State writer Bonchie posted on X.

“Rep. Jasmine Crockett is totally unhinged,” conservative commentator Ben Kew posted on X.

“A screeching Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren says Elon Musk is ‘seizing power from the American people’ by not allowing congress members to waste taxpayer money,” Collin Rugg, co-owner of Trending Politics, posted on X. “I knew Trump’s 2nd presidency would be good but didn’t realize it would be this good.”

“This sounds like a call for insurrection to me,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X in response to McIver. “CC: @TheJusticeDept @FBI.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the office of Reps. Pressley, Crockett and McIver.

The Democrat lawmakers have come out against Musk after he was granted access to a Treasury department called the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which disburses trillions in payments each year, including Social Security checks and federal salaries, through DOGE, which is tasked with reducing federal spending.

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

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“The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups,” Musk wrote on X in defense of his actions. “They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once.”

In a letter Tuesday to federal lawmakers, a Treasury Department official said a tech executive working with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will have “read-only access” to the government’s payment system.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].

February 5, 2025
Trump’s crypto czar, Congressional lawmakers ‘golden age’ digital assets

DMA United CEO Marc Beckman reacts to President Donald Trump’s decision to weigh tighter curbs on Nvidia’s China sales.

Trump administration crypto czar David Sacks and chairs from multiple House and Senate committees held a press conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday to lay out how the White House and Congress plan to carry out President Donald Trump’s plans for America leading the world in the digital asset ecosystem.

Sacks said he looks forward to working with Congress in “creating a golden age in digital assets.”

Representative Glenn Thompson, a Republican from Pennsylvania, from left, Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, David Sacks, White House Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Crypto czar, Representative French Hill, a Republican from Arkans (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Sacks was joined by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R,S.C.), Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R,Ark.), House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R,Ark.), and House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson (R, Pa.), who laid out moves being made to carry out Trump’s executive order last week that seeks to clarify regulations in the crypto industry.

MOONPAY CEO: ‘CRYPTO IS THE FUTURE’

The four committees are forming a bicameral committee to lead on crypto regulation where they will prioritize stablecoin and market structure legislation.

Metaplanet director of Bitcoin strategy Dylan LeClair explains President Donald Trump’s executive orders boosting the viability of cryptocurrency in the United States on ‘Making Money.’

Committees plan to build from the “FIT21” bill for market structure legislation that was passed in the House Financial Services Committee last year, and will use Sen. Bill Hagerty’s (R, Tenn.) new stablecoin bill that dropped Thursday as a starting point for new legislation this Congress.

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Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott said he plans to be “as aggressive as possible” to get the bills through the Senate in the first 100 days.

Stablecoin legislation is moving forward quickly, according Scott, who said Republicans have been working with Democratic sponsors on the bill and they plan to move on that first. Hill said the group plans to work on both market structure and stablecoin bills simultaneously on a bipartisan basis in the House.

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Sacks, who is also the White House’s artificial intelligence (AI) czar, confirmed that one of the first things the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets formed by Trump’s EO is going to look at is the feasibility of a Bitcoin reserve, but noted the initiative is still in the early stages as some members of the working group have not yet been confirmed.

February 4, 2025
Lawmakers from state with most federal workers per capita warn against Trump buyout bid

Maryland lawmakers largely criticized or warned against their constituents accepting President Donald Trump’s offer to buy-out their positions or risk being part of the administration’s plans to slash the bureaucracy.

Last week, the administration offered “deferred resignation” until September with full pay and benefits, while the Washington Post reported Tuesday that layoffs will be “likely” if not enough bureaucrats take the offer.

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a freshman Democrat representing the Old Line State — which has the largest number of federal workers per capita — told the Baltimore Sun she is advising Marylanders against accepting the buyout deal.

In a statement to AFRO News, Alsobrooks described the Trump administration’s targeting of federal workers as a “witch hunt.”

“This buyout won’t just impact hardworking federal employees, it will hurt tens of millions of Americans who rely on Social Security,” said Alsobrooks, who was previously the head of government in Prince Georges County — abutting Washington, D.C. and home to much of the affected workforce.

TRUMP ADMIN OFFERS BUYOUTS TO REMOTE EMPLOYEES WHO DON’T RETURN TO OFFICE

DC-bound commuters sit in traffic on I-270 near the Capitol Beltway in Bethesda, MD. (Getty)

Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Md. — who represents a line of bedroom communities including Columbia, Elkridge and Glen Burnie — said her constituents have been coming to her expressing worry about the situation.

Elfreth told Fox News Digital the buyout appears legally ambiguous and could have “dangerous implications… especially since Congress has not yet appropriated the funding necessary to carry out the president’s unsanctioned offer.”

“Pushing out career federal employees will only cripple agencies and undermine essential government services — it does nothing to make government more efficient,” she said.

Elfreth — who notably took over the newly un-gerrymandered Third District a judge described as a “broken-winged pterodactyl” — said she will meet with civil service groups and the government employees’ union (AFGE) in coming days.

She also urged concerned federal employees to consult AFGE’s “FAQ” report on the matter.

Meanwhile, Alsobrooks’ counterpart, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, urged federal workers to proceed cautiously, in remarks to the Sun.

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Travelers cross out of West Virginia near Red House, MD; in the corner of the state’s western panhandle. (Charlie Creitz)

Van Hollen, D-Md., said affected Marylanders have to quickly make a decision but also understand questions about whether the Trump administration has the authority to do so, or “whether they have any real plans to make good on this bargain.”

Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore could not immediately be reached, and was hosting a major update on the FSK Bridge reconstruction Tuesday afternoon.

But, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown slammed the buyouts in a statement, saying the terms of the “vague, so-called ‘deferred resignation’ puts federal employees in an ambiguous position and risks straining essential government resources that people across the state and country rely on to live full, healthy lives.”

He called the situation the “latest attack on the government’s ability to provide vital support for Americans.”

“Federal employees are hardworking and dedicated civil servants who provide critical services to the people of the United States and Maryland,” Brown said.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Maryland Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin and Glenn Ivey for their takes, as well.

Ivey represents Prince Georges County in what is the most heavily-Democratic seat in the Maryland delegation, while Raskin — a frequent Trump foil — represents Takoma Park, Silver Spring and many of Washington, D.C.’s immediate northern suburbs.

Both areas have a high concentration of federal workers. Raskin’s district is notably the one D.C. collar district to most recently host a Republican lawmaker, Rep. Connie Morella, until 2002.

Ivey could not be reached while at a retreat, while Raskin’s office did not respond.

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Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (Getty)

On the other side of the Potomac, House Oversight Committee ranking member Gerald Connolly, D-Va., demanded documents relating to Trump’s “deferred resignation” offer.

Connolly, who, along with Rep. Donald Beyer, D-Va., represents the lion’s share of Virginia’s federal employees in Fairfax and Arlington respectively, said the buyout would “precipitate a mass exodus of the most experienced and capable federal employees, leaving our agencies severely understaffed and incapable of fulfilling their responsibilities.”

Connolly warned of a “brain drain” to be felt by every American if the plan proceeds.

Beyer did not respond to a request for comment.

Requests for comment to Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones, D-Catonsville, and Senate President Bill Ferguson IV, D-Baltimore, also went unanswered.

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 [email protected].

February 4, 2025