Happy New Year 2025

Tag: plans

Rand Paul recoils at Trump’s Gaza takeover plans: ‘I thought we voted for America First’

After President Donald Trump announced that America “will take over the Gaza strip,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., pushed back against the idea, suggesting that the move would betray the “America First” principle Trump voters expected.

During his inauguration speech last month, Trump unequivocally declared that throughout his administration he will “put America first,” echoing a longstanding pillar of his political philosophy, which he also expressed during his 2017 inaugural address.

But Paul is throwing a red flag in response to Trump’s newly unveiled Gaza plans.

“The pursuit for peace should be that of the Israelis and the Palestinians. I thought we voted for America First. We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers blood,” Paul declared in a Wednesday post on X.

The senator made the comment in response to a post in which Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared on Tuesday, “Gaza MUST BE FREE from Hamas. As @POTUS shared today, the United States stands ready to lead and Make Gaza Beautiful Again. Our pursuit is one of lasting peace in the region for all people.”

‘LEVEL IT’: TRUMP SAYS US WILL ‘TAKE OVER’ GAZA STRIP, REBUILD IT TO STABILIZE MIDDLE EAST

Trump has indicated that the U.S. will “take over” the embattled region. (Left: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Right: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

While delivering remarks alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhyahu on Tuesday, Trump said that Palestinians should be settled outside the Gaza Strip, and that the U.S. will transform the region, which he described as a “demolition site.”

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip,” Trump declared, saying, “we’ll own it, and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site … level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”

“I do see a long term ownership position,” Trump said of the region.

THE HISTORY OF GAZA AMID TRUMP’S PLAN TO REBUILD ENCLAVE

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., called Trump’s proposal “ethnic cleansing.”

“This president is openly calling for ethnic cleansing while sitting next to a genocidal war criminal. He’s perfectly fine cutting off working Americans from federal funds while the funding to the Israeli government continues flowing,” she declared in a post on X.

In a post on another X account she declared, “Palestinians aren’t going anywhere. This president can only spew this fanatical bulls— because of bipartisan support in Congress for funding genocide and ethnic cleansing. It’s time for my two-state solution colleagues to speak up.”

TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST ENVOY EXPLAINS GAZA TAKEOVER PROPOSAL: ‘MORE HOPE’ FOR PALESTINIANS’ FUTURES

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Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., welcomed the president’s remarks.

“This is what the leader of the free world looks like, folks. President Trump campaigned on securing peace in Gaza, and he’s doing just that. Promises made, promises kept — it’ll never get old,” she said in a tweet.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

February 5, 2025
What we know about the Trump administration’s plans for a sovereign wealth fund

The U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments will establish a sovereign wealth fund in accordance with a new executive order President Donald Trump signed on Monday.

The sovereign wealth fund, a state-owned investment fund with various financial assets like stocks and bonds, could foot the bill for purchasing TikTok, according to Trump.

“We’re going to be doing something perhaps with TikTok, and perhaps not,” Trump told reporters Monday. “If we make the right deal, we’ll do it. Otherwise, we won’t.”

“But we could put that as an example in the fund,” Trump said. “And we have a lot of other things that we could put in the fund. And I think in a short period of time we’d have one of the biggest funds.”

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER DELAYING TIKTOK BAN FOR 75 DAYS AS FUTURE OF APP REMAINS UNCERTAIN

The U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments will establish a sovereign wealth fund in accordance with a new executive order President Donald Trump signed on Monday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Countries like Norway and Saudi Arabia utilize sovereign wealth funds, as do multiple U.S. states.

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the sovereign wealth fund would be created within the next 12 months.

“I think it’s going to create value and be of great strategic importance,” Bessent told reporters Monday.

Bessent and Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick are instructed to devise a plan in the next 90 days for the creation of the fund, according to the White House. The proposal will include recommendations on funding mechanisms, investment strategies, fund structure and a governance model.

More details on the sovereign wealth fund were not immediately available, and it’s unclear whether Congress will sign off on it.

TRUMP NAMES TREASURY SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT AS ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, pictured here in January, said the sovereign wealth fund would be created within the next 12 months, labeling the initiative as one of great strategic importance. (Getty)

However, Trump signaled on the campaign trail in 2024 that he was interested in a sovereign wealth fund, using revenue from tariffs to pour into the wealth fund and then use that money to pay for projects like highways, airports and medical research.

Additionally, Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., introduced legislation in September 2024 called the American Sovereign Wealth Fund Exploration Act to research ways to create a sovereign wealth fund in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Trump has weighed in a few times on the future of TikTok in recent weeks and said that he’s spoken with multiple parties who are interested in purchasing the app.

Although TikTok briefly went offline for U.S. users in January after the Supreme Court upheld a ban on the social media platform, Trump signed an executive order just hours after his inauguration on Jan. 20 delaying a ban on TikTok for 75 days.

POTENTIAL TIKTOK BAN: WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA APPS ARE POPPING UP IN APP STORES

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ban on TikTok in January, citing national security concerns due to the social media platform’s ownership. (The Associated Press)

The Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on the TikTok ban cited national security concerns, specifically due to the “relationship with a foreign adversary” and the app’s data collection practices.

But Trump said in the executive order delaying the ban that he has “the unique constitutional responsibility for the national security of the United States, the conduct of foreign policy, and other vital executive functions.”

“To fulfill those responsibilities, I intend to consult with my advisors, including the heads of relevant departments and agencies on the national security concerns posed by TikTok, and to pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans,” Trump said in the executive order. “My Administration must also review sensitive intelligence related to those concerns and evaluate the sufficiency of mitigation measures TikTok has taken to date.”

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.

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

February 3, 2025
OpenAI announces US National Laboratories partnership, plans to support work on nuclear security and more

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks after President Trump announces Stargate.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has announced an agreement to collaborate with U.S. National Laboratories, indicating that it plans to assist in various fields, including nuclear security.

The company plans to deploy its AI on a supercomputer.

“Under this agreement, OpenAI will work with Microsoft and will deploy o1 or another o-series model on Venado, an NVIDIA supercomputer at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) where it will be a shared resource for researchers from Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and Sandia National Labs,” OpenAI noted.

OPENAI DEBUTS CHATGPT GOV, A NEW VERSION OF THE CHATBOT FOR US GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

The Open AI logo, which represents the American-based artificial intelligence (AI) research organization known for releasing the generative chatbot language model AI ChatGPT and initiating the AI spring, is being displayed at the Mobile World Congres (Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

OpenAI suggested its models will be leveraged in various areas of research.

The company said its models will be used in “Accelerating the basic science that underpins U.S. global technological leadership,” “Identifying new approaches to treating and preventing disease,” “Enhancing cybersecurity and protecting the American power grid,” “Achieving a new era of U.S. energy leadership by unlocking the full potential of natural resources and revolutionizing the nation’s energy infrastructure,” “Improving U.S. security through improved detection of natural and man-made threats, such as biology and cyber, before they emerge,” and “Deepening our understanding of the forces that govern the universe, from fundamental mathematics to high-energy physics.”

TRUMP, OPENAI CEO WEIGH IN ON DEEPSEEK FRENZY

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sits down with Shannon Bream to discuss the positives and potential negatives of artificial intelligence and the importance of maintaining a lead in the A.I. industry over China.

The company also indicated that it plans to supply support in the area of nuclear security.

“The Labs also lead a comprehensive program in nuclear security, focused on reducing the risk of nuclear war and securing nuclear materials and weapons worldwide. This use case is highly consequential, and we believe it is critical for OpenAI to support it as part of our commitment to national security. Our partnership will support this work, with careful and selective review of use cases and consultations on AI safety from OpenAI researchers with security clearances,” the organization noted.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES LARGEST AI INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT ‘IN HISTORY’ INVOLVING SOFTBANK, OPENAI AND ORACLE

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appears during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Jan. 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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OpenAI noted that the partnership “builds on our successful earlier collaboration⁠ with Los Alamos National Laboratory, where we worked closely with wet labs to assess the risks posed by the most advanced models in creating bioweapons (such as human-designed pandemics). We anticipate that this engagement will lead to broader safety collaborations across a variety of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) risks.”

January 30, 2025
Trump Panama Canal plans get boost from Republicans leaders: Internal House memo

EXCLUSIVE: House Republican leadership is encouraging lawmakers to back up President Donald Trump’s desire to return the Panama Canal to U.S. ownership, a new memo suggests.

The House GOP Policy Committee, led by Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., the No. 5 House Republican leader, sent the document to legislative directors across the conference on Wednesday.

The two-page memo, simply titled “Panama Canal,” begins by highlighting Trump’s past comments about China’s influence over the Panama Canal and his goal of “taking it back.”

It also noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be visiting Panama on his first trip as Trump’s top diplomat.

MARCO RUBIO HEADING TO PANAMA ON FIRST TRIP AS SECRETARY OF STATE

Split image of Trump and the Panama Canal (Jim WATSON/AFP, left, ARNULFO FRANCO/AFP, right.)

The next section details the history of the U.S. and the Panama Canal: “The Panama Canal was built by the U.S. between 1904 and 1914. The canal was leased to the U.S. for nearly 75 years under the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903 which established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal.”

It also points out that it was under the late former President Jimmy Carter that Panama was given control of the canal, via treaties later criticized by Trump.

The treaties with Carter “gave the U.S. the permanent explicit right to intervene to keep the canal open in the event of any threat that may interfere with the canal’s continued neutral service to ships from all nations,” the memo said before laying out arguments for why Republicans believe Panama has since violated its end of the deal.

“About 5% of global maritime traffic passes through the Panama Canal, saving 6,835 miles off a journey that would otherwise require a long and dangerous trip skirting the southern tip of South America,” the memo states. “The United States is Panama’s largest provider of foreign direct investment—$3.8 billion annually.”

RUSSIA SOUNDS OFF ON TRUMP’S THREAT TO RETAKE THE PANAMA CANAL

House GOP Policy Chair Kevin Hern is the No. 5 House Republican leader. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, “Chinese companies now operate ports at both ends of the canal. Chinese construction companies in 2018 funded a $1.4 billion bridge project spanning the canal,” it reads.

“The treaties require that transit fees be ‘just, reasonable, equitable, and consistent with international law,”’ and that Panama maintain the canal’s permanent neutrality,” the memo said. “The high fees charged by Panama as well as Panama’s openness to investment by the Chinese Communist Party in the canal zone are likely both in breach of the terms of the treaties.”

Congress has already granted the president wide authority over international commerce in the event of an emergency, but GOP lawmakers have signaled they want to ease those guardrails further.

Main Street Caucus Chairman Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., introduced a bill earlier this month to let Trump re-purchase the Panama Canal for the U.S.

A short while later, freshman Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., unveiled legislation to widen Trump’s non-emergency tariff power.

And Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has a bill to authorize Trump to enter into negotiations to buy Greenland.

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The memo from Hern’s policy committee is notable, however, as an apparent subtle marching order to the House GOP conference to continue down that path.

It could also likely embolden Republican lawmakers to find legislative avenues to further back up Trump’s push to purchase the canal, particularly given the Panamanian government’s opposition to the U.S. president’s plan.

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]

January 30, 2025
Several state officials demand feds protect Americans’ retirement plans by clearly regulating ESG investments

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., shares House Republicans’ plans to tackle ESG on ‘The Bottom Line.’

EXCLUSIVE: Nearly two dozen state financial officers are calling on federal financial regulators to issue clear guidance and establish new rules concerning ESG-centered investing.

ESG stands for “environmental, social and governance,” and can conflict with investments made strictly from a fiduciary standpoint. The officers aim to protect Americans’ passive retirement plans through these measures.

State treasurers and auditors from Alaska to South Carolina wrote to the acting heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Labor (DOL) after a Texas court ruling against American Airlines in a suit brought by a pilot concerned about the investments within his retirement plan.

GREEN GOVERNANCE IS THE NEW GUISE FOR MERCANTILISM: HERITAGE’S KEVIN ROBERTS

“We, therefore, request SEC and DoL take decisive action to uphold fiduciary duty laws and protect retirement plans from activist corrosion,” the state officials wrote.

“Specifically, we call on your agencies to issue comprehensive guidance … initiate rulemaking … [and] increase oversight and enforcement” of fiduciary rules.

A Wall Street sign in front of an American flag (Reuters/Mike Segar / Reuters Photos)

On Jan. 15, Bush-appointed federal Judge Reed O’Connor ruled in favor of the pilot, who alleged his employer did not properly monitor the proxy voting of investment managers they were doing business with, including BlackRock.

The airline’s own ESG goals also conflicted with those of some of the investment firms, according to allegations chronicled by ESG Dive.

The state officials asked the SEC and DOL to reaffirm a Supreme Court ruling that fiduciaries must discharge their duties solely in the financial interests of retirement plan participants and that proxy voting may not be motivated by non-fiduciary concerns such as achieving environmental or progressive social goals like reducing emissions.

DOZENS OF FINANCIAL FIRMS ACCUSED OF PUTTING ENVIRO POLICY OVER SHAREHOLDERS

“There is an indisputable trend, among large asset managers, to prioritize political and social agendas over the financial security of hardworking Americans. Retirement security should not be jeopardized in order to facilitate corporate virtue signaling and activist-driven initiatives,” they wrote.

Such “mixed motives” — if a retirement plan manager considers ESG above or in addition to the highest possible rate of return for the beneficiary — cannot be tolerated legally or ethically, the officials wrote.

Investing in such a way “triggers an irrebuttable presumption of wrongdoing” on the part of the investment manager firm.

In the American Airlines case, the court found that ESG investments often underperform traditional investments by about 10%.

Florida Republican Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson discusses the probe into U.S. banks over ESG initiatives on ‘The Big Money Show.’

It also found BlackRock “publicly vowed to support more shareholder proposals on climate change, even at major energy companies that make money from the production of fossil fuels.”

However, the airline’s retirement plan investments with the mega-firm were reportedly limited to index funds that have no political or social bent but may, by definition, coincidentally contain shares of individual companies that embrace ESG principles in their business model.

An AA spokesperson confirmed to ESG Dive that BlackRock’s role was limited to passive index funds and that the ruling focused on AA’s oversight of the firm’s proxy voting in alignment with industry best practices.

OJ Oleka, leader of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF), members of which signed the letter, said it has been troubling to see asset managers and administrators “pushing political and social agendas at the expense of what’s best for everyday Americans.”

“The recent court ruling against American Airlines is a clear example of the risks of prioritizing ESG and DEI over financial returns,” Oleka told Fox News Digital.

“Fiduciaries have a duty to focus on the financial well-being of those they serve, and when they don’t, it’s a disservice to their beneficiaries and potentially illegal.”

He expressed hope the federal government will step in to reinforce that firms should be prioritizing financial benefit over “distractions” that undermine financial security.

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Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., discusses U.S. investments in artificial intelligence and President Donald Trump’s commitment to reboot American energy on ‘The Bottom Line.’

In response to being mentioned as an example in the letter, a BlackRock representative told Fox News Digital the investment giant always makes decisions with investor gains in mind.

“We always act independently and with a singular focus on what is in the best financial interests of our clients,” the spokesperson said.

“Our only agenda is maximizing returns for our clients, consistent with their choices.”

A source familiar with the issues raised by SFOF claimed they have mostly been resolved.

The state of Tennessee recently settled an ESG case against BlackRock, and the firm has also departed a Wall Street alliance geared toward “net zero” emissions.

Jeff Eller, executive director of the Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement, told Fox News Digital the American Airlines ruling that preceded the letter was the “legal equivalent of junk science.”

“It is full of inaccuracies and contradictory claims. It is only a matter of time before it is most likely reversed on appeal. which will protect the retirement plans for millions of Americans,” Eller said.

January 30, 2025
Top Texas GOP official rallies around Trump’s AI, crypto plans amid state’s crucial investments

One of the top officials in Texas says he is on board with President Donald Trump’s aggressive plan to expand the AI and crypto capabilities of the United States.

“There’s no daylight between President Trump and I on this issue,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Fox News Digital this week. “

“I totally support the president and his Stargate Plan. We are completely aligned in our desire to see Texas and America lead in AI, data centers and crypto. These industries understand they will have to supply their own power needs and are diligently working toward that goal so costs are not disproportionally shifted onto residential and small businesses customers.”

Patrick, long considered a loyal ally of Trump, raised eyebrows last year when he warned of the burden that crypto mining and data centers could put on the state’s electrical grid. However, he repeatedly emphasized that there is “no daylight” between him and Trump on these issues.

TRUMP CRYPTO CZAR DAVID SACKS TOUTS PRESIDENT’S EXECUTIVE ORDER, SAYS BIDEN DROVE INDUSTRY OFFSHORE

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Fox News Digital he backs President Donald Trump’s AI infrastructure plan. (Getty)

“We need to take a close look at those two industries,” Patrick posted on X in June 2024 while expressing concerns that data centers and crypto mining expansion add more to the grid than they pay off in jobs.

“They produce very few jobs compared to the incredible demands they place on our grid. Crypto mining may actually make more money selling electricity back to the grid than from their crypto mining operations… Texans will ultimately pay the price. I’m more interested in building the grid to service customers in their homes, apartments, and normal businesses and keeping costs as low as possible for them instead of for very niche industries that have massive power demands and produce few jobs.”

EXPERTS SAY FIRST WEEK OF ‘TRUMP EFFECT’ IS DERAILING GLOBAL CLIMATE MOVEMENT’S ‘HOUSE OF CARDS’

Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks at a news conference. (Reuters/Jon Herskovitz)

Crypto mining and data center expansion have been dominant themes of the Presidential Transition’s economic messaging, including earlier this month when Trump announced a new $20 billion foreign investment for the expansion of data centers across several U.S. states, including Texas. The announcement drew praise from many conservatives, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

Trump has also garnered significant support from the crypto community and raised large chunks of money from the industry along with his promotion of a message emphasizing energy independence, economic growth and framing the expansion of crypto mining as an essential tool toward ensuring the U.S. leads the industry.

“The need to quickly scale data center capacity to support the 21st-century economy continues to increase, given the growing demand for AI and other digital services by individuals, households, businesses, government, and organizations of all sizes,” Dan Diorio, senior director of state policy at the Data Center Coalition, told Fox News Digital.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wave as they board Air Force One, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, for a trip to North Carolina and California. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“The data center industry appreciates President Trump highlighting the essential role of the data center industry in advancing America’s national security and global economic competitiveness. We also appreciate his commitment to promoting the rapid development of additional data center and energy capacity to support the nation’s leadership in AI,” Diorio continued. “Texas is uniquely poised to benefit from this. With continued support for data centers, Texas can continue to drive innovation and investment while promoting American economic leadership and national security today and into the future.”

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Last week, Trump announced Stargate, a joint venture of OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle that will invest up to $500 billion in AI-related infrastructure.

Texas will serve as ground zero, with 10 data centers by the venture already under construction in the state, 10 more on the way and the first project based in Abilene, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said. Each building will occupy half a million square feet.

Patrick said in a statement last week to The Texas Tribune that he believes Texas should be the “world leader in AI, data center and crypto. The key is to ensure they have the power they need without a major impact to our electrical grid. The industries understand that and they are working on solutions.”

Texas’ main grid operator predicts power demand will nearly double by 2030, in part due to more requests to plug into the grid from large users like data centers, crypto mining facilities, hydrogen production plants, and oil and gas companies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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

January 28, 2025
Senate committee plans hearing on debanking, reveals witnesses

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., addresses claims of conservatives being debanked and weighs in on Joe Bidens last minute pardons

The Senate Banking Committee is planning to hold a hearing on financial institutions’ decisions to debank clients over various regulatory concerns and is urging those who have been affected to contact the committee to report their allegations.

“This hearing will provide an important opportunity to hear directly from Americans who operate federally legal businesses and have been debanked,” Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., said in a statement.

“It will also allow the Banking Committee, and the American public, to learn more about whether there was improper influence by financial regulators. Debanking is unacceptable and un-American – this hearing is the first step in our efforts to hold bad actors accountable,” Scott said.

The committee released an initial list of witnesses which includes Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of Anchorage Digital; Evan Hafer, founder and executive chairman of Black Rifle Coffee Company; and Stephen Gannon, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT CHAIR: BANKS WILL FACE ‘A LOT OF QUESTIONS’ OVER ALLEGED DEBANKING OF CONSERVATIVES

Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., is planning a hearing on debanking. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Scott is encouraging individuals and businesses who have been debanked to report allegations to committee staff ahead of the hearing.

The panel’s hearing titled “Investigating the Real Impacts of Debanking in America” is scheduled for Feb. 5 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

The hearing comes after President Donald Trump raised the issue of debanking during a question-and-answer session following his speech to the World Economic Forum last week.

TRUMP’S DAVOS COMMENTS REIGNITE DEBANKING CONTROVERSY

President Trump asks Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and other financial institutions to not debank conservative clients over politics.

Trump called out Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon during an exchange with Moynihan in which Trump said, “You’ve done a fantastic job, but I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives, because many conservatives complain that the banks are not allowing them to do business within the bank – and that included a place called Bank of America… They don’t take conservative business.”

“And I don’t know if the regulators mandated that because of [President Joe] Biden or what,” Trump continued, “But you and [JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon] and everybody – I hope you’re going to open your banks to conservatives, because what you’re doing is wrong.”

CONSERVATIVE GROUP TAKES AIM AT WALL STREET IN REPORT CLAIMING BIG BANKS HAVE UNDERCUT FIREARMS INDUSTRY

President Donald Trump makes a speech via video-conference during the the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 23, 2025. (Halil Sagirkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Federal laws and financial regulations can prompt banks to close accounts over concerns about things like money laundering or illicit financial activities. Both firms have disputed allegations that politics contributed to decisions to close the bank accounts of some clients.

“We serve more than 70 million clients, and we welcome conservatives,” a Bank of America spokesperson told FOX Business. “We are required to follow extensive government rules and regulations that sometimes result in decisions to exit client relationships. We never close accounts for political reasons, and don’t have a political litmus test.”

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A JPMorgan spokesperson said in a statement that the bank would “never close an account for political reasons, full stop. We follow the law and guidance from our regulators and have long said there are problems with the current framework that Washington must address.”

January 28, 2025
National Plan for Vacation Day encourages Americans to arrange travel plans

Genevieve Shaw Brown met with FOX Business at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT to talk about why Americans should make future travel plans and create memories.

The last Tuesday of January is National Plan for Vacation Day, and one travel expert is urging Americans to use their time off offered by their employers.

Genevieve Shaw Brown met with FOX Business at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT to discuss upcoming Disney events and attractions, both in California and Florida, while emphasizing the importance of making memories rather than banking vacation time.

“A lot of times if you don’t use them, you lose them,” she said of vacation days. “We really want to make sure that people are taking advantage of their well-deserved time off.”

“Right now people are doing more at their jobs than they’ve ever done before, and you don’t want to burn out,” she continued. “To be your best self, you need to have balance and to take vacations and to make those memories.”

DISNEY’S MAGIC KINGDOM HONORS 100-YEAR-OLD WWII VETERAN DURING FLAG RETREAT CEREMONY

Donald Duck poses at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT on National Plan for Vacation Day, Jan. 29, 2025. (Pilar Arias / Fox News)

As far as specific vacation ideas, Shaw Brown noted that Disney’s popularity has grown so much and there is “always something going on” at the parks, meaning low visitation days do not really exist anymore like they used to.

She considers Disney to have great value for those young and old, solo and traveling with loved ones.

DISNEY LOOKING TO ENTICE GUESTS BY OFFERING FREE SUMMER VACATION PACKAGES PERK

China Pavilion at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT. (Pilar Arias / Fox News)

Disney is a big business in Florida, with Walt Disney World Resort generating $40.3 billion in economic impact, according to a study from Oxford Economics.

While Disney does not share specifics on visitation and resort bookings, the most recent Theme Index and Museum Index Global Attractions Attendance report released by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA)/AECOM says 244.6 million people visited the top 25 theme parks worldwide in 2023.

DISNEY NAMES NEXT CHAIRMAN, NEW CEO TO BE ANNOUNCED IN ‘EARLY 2026’

Disney Experiences ranked No. 1 in the top 10 amusement/theme park operators worldwide, according to the report. Of all four Walt Disney World parks, a Disney spokesperson told FOX Business that Magic Kingdom is the most visited.

Vacation travel is expected to continue shattering records this year, and not all of it will be by land. AAA projects 19 million Americans will sail the ocean blue on a cruise in 2025, marking a third straight record year, according to a press release.

DISNEY THEME PARK GUESTS WILL GET TO SKIP MORE LINES THAN EVER WITH HIGH-PRICED OPTION COMING THIS MONTH

Droid inside Oga’s Cantina at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios in September 2024. (Pilar Arias / Fox News)

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Transportation Security Administration numbers from last year show the highest number of passengers screened at airport checkpoints was 3,088,836 on Dec. 1, 2024.

“You’re never going to regret the trip,” Shaw Brown said. “No vacation has to be perfect. It just has to be time away with your friends or your family, people you love or even by yourself, to just recharge and remember who you are outside of your work.”

January 28, 2025
Trump plans to ban transgender troops from serving in the military

President Donald Trump is expected to sign a new executive order restricting transgender troops from serving in the military on Monday.

The new order requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to update medical standards to ensure they “prioritize readiness and lethality” and take action to “end the use of invented and identification-based pronouns” within DOD, per a White House document reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The order also restricts sleeping, changing and bathing facilities by biological sex. It’s not an immediate ban, but a direction for the secretary of Defense to implement such policies.

It revokes former President Joe Biden’s executive order the White House argues “allowed for special circumstances to accommodate ‘gender identity’ in the military – to the detriment of military readiness and unit cohesion.”

The order builds on another directive Trump issued last week that revoked a Biden-era order allowing transgender people to serve in the military.

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH SAYS ‘NO MORE DEI AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE’: ‘NO EXCEPTIONS’

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to reinstate the ban on transgender troops he imposed during his first term. In his inauguration speech, he said he would formally recognize that there are only two genders: male and female.

Trump’s new order requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to update medical standards to ensure they “prioritize readiness and lethality” and take action to “end the use of invented and identification-based pronouns.” (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

There are an estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender service members – exact figures are not publicly available.

Between Jan. 1, 2016, and May 14, 2021, the DOD reportedly spent approximately $15 million on providing gender-affirming care (surgical and nonsurgical care) to 1,892 active duty service members, according to Congressional Research Service.

The move comes as part of a campaign taken up by Trump and Hegseth to weed out any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices across the military. And GOP lawmakers successfully included an amendment in their 2025 defense policy bill that bans irreversible transgender care for minors in the military healthcare system.

Advocates protest Trump’s transgender military ban in his first administration.

Hegseth, pictured embracing his kids after his confirmation, has promised to root out DEI within the military. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP)

WHITE HOUSE OPM ORDERS ALL DEI OFFICES TO BEGIN CLOSING BY END OF DAY WEDNESDAY

A day-one order banning DEI policies across the federal government has already sidelined 395 bureaucrats, Fox News Digital reported.

An order requiring the federal government to only recognize two genders has prohibited the use of taxpayer money for “transgender services” following reports that some inmates were receiving transgender care funded by the government. Medicaid, in some states, currently covers such treatments.

Also, under that order, federal prisons and shelters for migrants and rape victims are to be segregated by biological sex. It would block requirements at government facilities and at workplaces that transgender people be referred to using pronouns that align with their gender. Trump’s team says those requirements violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and religion.

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The order does not issue a nationwide mandate on which bathrooms transgender people can use or which sports competitions they can participate in, though many states have passed laws in those areas.

January 27, 2025
House Republicans clear path for Trump to act on tariff plans

House Republicans are unveiling a new bill to clear a path for President Donald Trump to enact his sweeping tariff plans.

First-term Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., is reintroducing the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act on Friday, which, if passed, would allow Trump to unilaterally make moves on import taxes from both adversaries and allies.

He would be required to notify Congress, however, which could file a joint resolution of disapproval against the moves.

“American manufacturing has endured decades of decline under the globalist system that has hollowed out our industrial base and shipped countless jobs overseas. Leaders in both political parties deserve blame. But those days are over,” Moore said in a statement.

TRUMP CONFRONTS BANK OF AMERICA CEO FOR NOT TAKING ‘CONSERVATIVE BUSINESS’

President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Getty)

Moore said Trump was “the first national politician in my lifetime to recognize this problem, campaign on it, and work to reverse that trend.”

“With the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act, we’ll give the executive the leverage necessary to go to bat for the American people and achieve tariff reductions on U.S. goods,” he said.

Trump released a campaign video in 2023 pledging to work with Congress to pass the Reciprocal Trade Act, declaring, “Under the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act, other countries will have two choices—they’ll get rid of their tariffs on us, or they will pay us hundreds of billions of dollars, and the United States will make an absolute FORTUNE.”

TRUMP’S PROPOSED TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA, CHINA WILL INCREASE INFLATION, GOLDMAN SACHS WARNS

Rep. Riley Moore is leading a bill to authorize President Donald Trump to carry out his tariff plans. (Office of Rep. Riley Moore)

This week, the president announced that he wanted to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports, making good on a campaign promise to use such taxes to lower the U.S. national debt, which is currently over $36 trillion.

“We’re talking about a tariff of 10% on China, based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,” Trump said Tuesday. “Probably February 1st is the date we’re looking at.”

During his campaign, Trump promised to levy a 60% tariff on goods from China and as much as 20% on other countries the U.S. trades with.

He also recently pledged on Truth Social to create an “External Revenue Service” to “collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources.”

Trump has praised the U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act by name multiple times, including during a January 2019 meeting with House Republicans, including the bill’s former lead, ex-Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis. Trump recently nominated Duffy to be secretary of Transportation.

“The United States Reciprocal Trade Act — this legislation will help, finally, to give our workers a fair and level playing field against other countries. Countries are taking advantage of us, whether they think we’re very nice or not so smart. They’ve been doing it for many, many years, and we want to end it,” Trump said at the time.

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However, not everyone is in agreement that tariffs are an effective way to bolster the U.S. economy, with some economists warning it would only raise costs for consumers.

“Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses,” Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said while unveiling a measure to block Trump from using unilateral tariff powers by declaring a trade emergency.

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]

January 24, 2025