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Pope blasts Trump admin over mass deportation plan, directs ire at Vance’s religious defense for policies

Pope Francis on Tuesday issued a major rebuke of the Trump administration’s plans for the mass deportations of migrants, stressing that the forceful removal of people simply for their immigration status deprives them of their inherent dignity and “will end badly.”

Francis wrote a letter to U.S. bishops in which he appeared to criticize Vice President JD Vance’s religious argument in defense of the deportation policies.

U.S. border czar Tom Homan responded to the pope, saying that the Vatican is a city-state surrounded by walls and that Francis should leave immigration enforcement to him. Homan, a Catholic, also said Francis should focus on fixing the Catholic Church rather than U.S. immigration policies.

“He wants to attack us for securing our border. He’s got a wall around the Vatican, does he not?” Homan told reporters. “So he’s got a wall around that protects his people and himself, but we can’t have a wall around the United States.”

DOZENS OF RELIGIOUS GROUPS SUE TO STOP TRUMP ADMIN FROM ARRESTING MIGRANTS IN PLACES OF WORSHIP

Pope Francis presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, Sunday Feb. 9, 2025. (AP)

As the first Latin American pope, Francis has long held the position of caring for migrants, pointing to the biblical command to “welcome the stranger” in calling on countries to welcome, protect, promote and integrate people fleeing conflicts, poverty and climate disasters.

Francis and President Donald Trump have long butted heads over the issue of immigration, including prior to Trump’s first term, when Francis said in 2016 that anyone who builds a wall to keep migrants out was “not a Christian.”

In his letter, Francis acknowledged that governments have the right to defend their countries and keep their communities safe from criminals, but said the deportation of people who fled their countries due to various difficult circumstances damages their dignity.

“That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness,” he wrote.

Pointing to the Book of Exodus in the Bible and Jesus Christ’s experience, Francis emphasized the right of people to seek shelter and safety in other lands and said the Trump administration’s deportation plan was a “major crisis.”

Anyone educated in Christianity, he said, “cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.”

“What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly,” he continued.

POPE FRANCIS CALLS TRUMP’S DEPORTATION PLAN A ‘DISGRACE’

Pope Francis at his weekly audience in the Vatican on Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, thanked the pope for his letter.

“With you, we pray that the U.S. government keep its prior commitments to help those in desperate need,” Broglio wrote. “Boldly I ask for your continued prayers so that we may find the courage as a nation to build a more humane system of immigration, one that protects our communities while safeguarding the dignity of all.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that more than 8,000 people had been arrested since Trump took office Jan. 20 as part of the president’s plan to detain and deport immigrants in the country illegally, although hundreds of those arrested have since been released back into the U.S. Others have been deported, are being held in federal prisons or are being held at the Guantánamo Bay Cuba, detention camp.

Vance, a Catholic convert, has defended the administration’s deportation plans by citing a concept from medieval Catholic theology known in Latin as “ordo amoris,” which he has said describes a hierarchy of care: prioritizing the family first, then the neighbor, community, fellow citizens and lastly those from other regions.

But Francis sought to fact-check Vance’s understanding of the concept.

“Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups,” Francis wrote in his letter. “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan,’ that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”

J.D. Vance walks into the Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill on April 23, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

As Homan referenced, the Vatican is a walled-in, 108-acre city-state inside Rome, and it recently increased sanctions for anyone who enters illegally. The law, approved in December, calls for people to face up to four years in prison and a fine of up to 25,000 euros, or $25,873, if they enter with “violence, threat or deception,” including by evading security checkpoints.

The U.S. bishops conference had already released a statement condemning Trump’s immigration policies after his first executive orders.

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Anyone “focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us,” the statement said.

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago praised Francis’ letter, telling Vatican Media that it showed the pope viewed “the protection and advocacy for the dignity of migrants as the preeminent urgency at this moment.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

February 12, 2025
Trump is playing a dangerous tariff game despite his ‘really strong’ agenda: US economist

American Enterprise Institute senior fellow and economist Michael Strain explains how President Donald Trump’s tariffs would immediately impact U.S. consumers, businesses and the global market.

A whirlwind two weeks for the Trump administration’s negotiations on tariffs has left economists forecasting the good and the bad that lies ahead for America’s financial health.

One such economist and senior fellow from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) – where National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett previously worked – expressed concerns that President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy could work against what fortitude he brings to the economy.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt, at least in my mind, that a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada would have severe negative economic consequences,” AEI’s Michael Strain told Fox News Digital.

“The economic effects of these tariffs are pretty clear that they would hurt workers, that they would hurt households, that they would hurt businesses and that they would hurt the economy overall,” he added, before acknowledging some optimism ahead with “a number of aspects of President Trump’s agenda.”

E.U. SAYS TRUMP’S ‘UNJUSTIFIED’ TARIFFS ‘WILL NOT GO UNANSWERED’

“Including his plans to increase domestic energy production, including his goals to make the United States solidify its position as a global leader in artificial intelligence technologies. So these are all things to be excited about. If President Trump launches a trade war with Canada and Mexico, if he launches a trade war with the European Union, then that will work against his goals. That will weaken the American economy, that will increase the cost of living facing Americans, and that will make American businesses less competitive.”

President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Monday imposing 25-percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, the latest salvo in his ongoing effort to overhaul the U.S. trading relationship with the rest of the world. (Getty Images)

Hours before a midnight deadline, both Canada and Mexico barely escaped their 25% tariffs by agreeing to certain border security stipulations with Trump for a 30-day pause. However, a 10% tariff on China that turned into a retaliatory levy did go into effect, and an anticipatory negotiation call has yet to happen between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Monday evening, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum set to take effect on March 12. The move hopes to allow local U.S. producers to work without intense global competition, likely impacting European Union nations most.

“The goals that he’s hoping to achieve with the threat of tariffs on Mexico and Canada are different than the goals he’s attempting to achieve with tariffs on China,” Strain said while pointing out this is the first time in U.S. history that a president has threatened allies with “enormous” tariffs to make political concessions or change behavior.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unpacks the power tariffs have in world negotiations on ‘Kudlow.’

But the economist argues that, traditionally, tariffs raise prices consumers pay for imported goods and parts, contribute to inflation and make domestic manufacturers less competitive on a global scale.

“If they’re scheduled to go into effect and if businesses believe that they will go into effect on the day that they’re scheduled, then American consumers would see price increases very, very soon, in a matter of days,” Strain said.

“I think many Americans are quite concerned about the effect that these tariffs would have on their household finances. And they should be,” he continued. “Their groceries will be more expensive, many products that are made in America that they would buy will be more expensive, their automobiles would be more expensive, and this would reduce the purchasing power of their wages and incomes. And it would hit their pocketbooks.”

TRUMP PROPOSES ABOLISHMENT OF FEDERAL INCOME TAX, BRINGING U.S. BACK TO ‘RICHEST PERIOD’ IN HISTORY

A recent analysis from researchers at Yale found that, if enacted, Trump tariffs would create a $1,170 income loss. Additionally, a Fox News poll conducted from Jan. 10 to 13 found that a majority of Americans expect tariffs will hurt the U.S. economy.

Some trade groups and Democrats have sounded the alarm over Trump waging a worldwide trade war, and to some extent, the AEI economist agrees.

White House counselor for trade and manufacturing Peter Navarro detailed the “most potent weapons” Trump has against inflation, on “Mornings with Maria.” | Getty Images

“I think clearly our trade war with China, which President Trump started, has escalated a bit. When President Trump threatened Canada and Mexico with big tariff increases, Canada responded by saying that they were going to put tariffs of their own on certain critical U.S. exports, and that, I think, meets the definition of a trade war,” Strain said.

“In President Trump’s first term… he significantly increased tariffs on Chinese imports. China retaliated by increasing their tariff rates on U.S. exports of agricultural products to China. And that hurt the U.S. agriculture sector so severely that President Trump had to offer subsidies to farmers in order to make up for the effects of Chinese retaliation. If President Trump and Canada had continued on the path they were going,” he expanded, “something similar might have happened as well.”

MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian says Donald Trump is a ‘great’ president while expressing some concerns over tariffs on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

On a larger scale, Trump has stated that the tariffs provide a way to bring America back to an economic “golden age” before the federal income tax was invented. But funding the government entirely on tariffs could be a challenge, according to Strain.

“It is completely unrealistic to argue that the U.S. could replace the income tax with an increase in tariffs. There’s just not enough money in taxing imports. In order to make up for the money, we would lose by eliminating the income tax,” the economist said.

A better solution, he noted, could be taxing income less and consumption more: “But a consumption tax would have to be structured so that it didn’t only target imports. Again, there’s just not enough money there. And if you only target imports, that’s quite distortionary, you’d want to have a more broad-based consumption tax.”

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Coalition for a Prosperous America’s Jeff Ferry reveals what is essential to grow the U.S. economy on ‘Making Money.’

Overall, America’s economy “is in really strong shape” and the Federal Reserve still has work to do to reach its inflation goals, Strain noted while emphasizing the “things to be excited about” in Trump’s agenda could outplay a tariff game.

“My hope is that four years from now, tariff rates are lower than where they are today. My concern is that the Trump administration might have to put its hand on the hot stove of high tariffs in order to learn firsthand the economic damage that tariffs, that are as high as the president is discussing, can do to American consumers and households and businesses.”

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FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.

February 12, 2025
Religious groups sue to stop Trump admin from arresting migrants in places of worship

A coalition of 27 Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a Trump administration action allowing federal immigration enforcement to make arrests in places of worship.

The federal lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, was brought on behalf of a range of religious groups, including the Episcopal Church, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Mennonites and Unitarian Universalists.

The lawsuit challenges an order by President Donald Trump that reversed a Biden administration policy barring agents from arresting illegal migrants in sensitive places like churches, schools and hospitals.

According to the lawsuit, Trump’s new policy has sparked fear of raids, which has led to lower attendance at worship services and other church programs. Because of this impact on attendance, the lawsuit argues the policy infringes on the groups’ religious freedom, particularly their ability to minister to migrants, including those in the U.S. illegally.

‘SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES’: TED CRUZ DELIVERS STRONG WARNING TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FLEEING BORDER PATROL

Fatima Guzman prays during a church service at the Centro Cristiano El Pan de Vida, a mid-size Church of God of Prophecy congregation in Kissimmee, Florida, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP)

“We have immigrants, refugees, people who are documented and undocumented,” the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, told The Associated Press.

“We cannot worship freely if some of us are living in fear,” he added. “By joining this lawsuit, we’re seeking the ability to gather and fully practice our faith, to follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves.”

A similar lawsuit was filed Jan. 27 by five Quaker congregations that was later joined by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and a Sikh temple. That case is currently pending in U.S. District Court in Maryland.

The new lawsuit names the Department of Homeland Security and its immigration enforcement agencies as defendants.

“We are protecting our schools, places of worship, and Americans who attend, by preventing criminal aliens and gang members from exploiting these locations and take safe haven there because these criminals knew that under the previous Administration that law enforcement couldn’t go inside,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement.

“DHS’s directive gives our law enforcement the ability to do their jobs,” she said.

A memorandum filed Friday by the Department of Justice, opposing the argument in the Quaker lawsuit, could also apply to the new lawsuit.

The DOJ claims that the plaintiffs’ request to block the new immigration enforcement policy is based on speculation of hypothetical future harm, which the department says makes for insufficient grounds for the courts to side with the Quakers and issue an injunction.

In the memo, the DOJ said that immigration enforcement affecting places of worship had been allowed for decades and that the new policy announced last month stated that field agents should use “common sense” and “discretion” but could now carry out immigration enforcement operations in houses of worship without pre-approval from a supervisor.

One part of that memo may not apply to the new lawsuit, as it argued the Quakers and their fellow plaintiffs have no basis for seeking a nationwide injunction to protect all religious groups against the new policy.

NOEM, HEGSETH, BONDI PLEAD WITH CONGRESS FOR MORE BORDER FUNDING AMID LARGE-SCALE DEPORTATIONS

A congregant kneels in prayer at the Centro Cristiano El Pan de Vida, a mid-size Church of God of Prophecy congregation, in Kissimmee, Florida, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP)

“Any relief in this case should be tailored solely to the named plaintiffs,” the DOJ memo said, arguing that any injunction should not apply to other religious organizations.

The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit represent a significantly larger number of American worshipers, including more than 1 million followers of Reform Judaism, around 1.5 million Episcopalians, more than 1 million members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the estimated 1.5 million active members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, among others.

“The massive scale of the suit will be hard for them to ignore,” lead counsel Kelsi Corkran, who is a lawyer with the Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, told The Associated Press.

Corkran said the plaintiffs joined the lawsuit “because their scripture, teaching, and traditions offer irrefutable unanimity on their religious obligation to embrace and serve the refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants in their midst without regard to documentation or legal status.”

Before Trump’s change to federal policy, Corkran said immigration agents generally needed a judicial warrant or other special authorization to conduct operations in locations like places of worship, schools and hospitals.

“Now it’s go anywhere, any time,” she said. “Now they have broad authority to swoop in — they’ve made it very clear they’ll get every undocumented person.”

The lawsuit outlined how some of the plaintiffs’ operations may be affected. Some, including the Union for Reform Judaism and the Mennonites, said many of their synagogues and churches host on-site foodbanks, meal programs, homeless shelters and other support services for illegal migrants who may now be fearful of participating.

One plaintiff, the Latino Christian National Network, described the fear among migrants in the wake of the new Trump administration policy.

“There is deep-seated fear and distrust of our government,” the network’s president, Rev. Carlos Malavé, a pastor of two churches in Virginia, told The Associated Press. “People fear going to the store, they are avoiding going to church. … The churches are increasingly doing online services because people fear for the well-being of their families.”

Jean-Michel Gisnel cries out while praying with other congregants at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP)

One religious group that did not join the new lawsuit is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which leads the nation’s largest denomination, although it has criticized Trump’s mass deportation plan.

On Tuesday, Pope Francis criticized the administration’s immigration policies, saying that the forceful removal of people because of their immigration status deprives them of their inherent dignity and that doing so, he argued, “will end badly.”

Many conservative faith leaders and legal experts across the country, however, share no concerns about immigration enforcement targeting places of worship to arrest migrants.

“Places of worship are for worship and are not sanctuaries for illegal activity or for harboring people engaged in illegal activity,” Mat Staver, founder of the conservative Christian legal organization Liberty Counsel, told The Associated Press.

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“Fugitives or criminals are not immune from the law merely because they enter a place of worship,” he said. “This is not a matter of religious freedom. There is no right to openly violate the law and disobey law enforcement.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

February 12, 2025
Rubio says American Marc Fogel freed from Russia due to ‘strength’ of Trump

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Marc Fogel, an American who had been detained in Russia since 2021, was released because the U.S. has a “strong president” in President Donald Trump.

Rubio made the comments during an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

“We have a great team here … but none of this is possible without President Trump,” Rubio said. “This is the 10th American that has come home after being detained somewhere overseas in just three weeks. And for the White House, it’s an extraordinary achievement. This is what happens when you have a strong president.”

“Look, anytime an American comes home, we should be excited about it. This is a case that languished under the Biden administration, they really didn’t give it priority. And so tonight is really a happy occasion. It should be for all Americans, but certainly for Mr. Fogel and his family,” he continued.

FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Marc Fogel back to the United States after being released from Russian custody, at the White House on February 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Fogel, a history teacher who was working at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, returned to the U.S. after his release from Russia following talks with the Trump administration.

He was serving a 14-year sentence after his arrest in August 2021 at a Russian airport for possession of drugs, which his family said was medically prescribed marijuana.

After his arrival in the U.S., Fogel, from Pennsylvania, met with Trump at the White House and called him a “hero” for securing his release. His family, in a statement, also thanked Trump for his “unwavering leadership” that helped free Fogel.

When asked by reporters on Tuesday whether the U.S. had given up anything in return for Fogel, Trump replied “not much” without offering additional details.

MOTHER OF FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL THANKS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: ‘HE KEPT HIS PROMISE’

Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher detained in Russia since August 2021, gestures on an airplane flying him back to the United States after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff secured his release on February 11, 2025. (Adam Boehler/Handout via REUTERS )

Rubio stressed the importance of having a strong leader as president when handling sensitive matters with other leaders around the world.

“We have a strong president, I think people forget how important that is,” Rubio told host Sean Hannity. “At the end of the day, we are dealing all over the world with strong leaders. We may not like them or what they do, but these are strong leaders that respect strength. And that’s what we have with Donald Trump in the White House. And, he also made this a campaign priority. So, I think you’re beginning to see the fruits of what happened. We were led by a strong president who does what he says he’s going to do and doesn’t just give it lip service.”

He also suggested that with Trump in office, the U.S. government could achieve other foreign policy goals, including ending the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war, which is now under a ceasefire.

U.S. President Donald Trump greets released American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who had been held in Russia since 2021, at the White House in Washington, D.C., February 11, 2025. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)

“I think that the reason why this might be linked to so many other things over time is because of that strength,” the secretary said. “When you have a president that’s strong, like Donald Trump, you’re going to have a chance to achieve things, whether it’s in Ukraine and ending that war, whether it’s some of the conflicts that we’re now seeing in the Middle East or anywhere in the world, because they know he’s not playing around.”

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“He says he’s going to do it, and then he does it,” Rubio added. “And this is not some president that wastes a lot of time talking about things that he’s never going to do or doesn’t mean to do. If he says he’s going to do something, he’ll do it. And these leaders know it. And so, and hopefully, they’ll bear fruit in a bunch of places beyond just what we’re seeing tonight.”

February 12, 2025
Trump gets Democrat backing on penny plan: ‘Common sense move’

President Donald Trump has found an ally in the Senate — at least on his plan to stop creating new pennies.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., came out in support of Trump’s latest proposal on Tuesday, calling it a “common sense move.”

The Democrat represents a battleground state that both she and Trump won in 2024.

SCOOP: TRUMP BUDGET CHIEF VOUGHT TELLS GOP SENATORS $175B NEEDED ‘IMMEDIATELY’ FOR BORDER SECURITY

Trump received some unlikely support for his new penny plan. (Reuters/ Getty Images)

Over the weekend, Trump announced that he “instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”

“For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”

NOEM, HEGSETH, BONDI PLEAD WITH CONGRESS FOR MORE BORDER FUNDING AMID LARGE-SCALE DEPORTATIONS

Rosen took to X on Tuesday, writing, “I’m not afraid to embrace a good idea when it comes from the other side of the aisle, and I agree with President Trump on this.”

“Eliminating the penny is a common sense move that’ll save taxpayer dollars,” she said.

She isn’t the only Democrat who has come out in support of Trump’s idea, however.

LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER: THE LITTLE-KNOWN TRUMP NOMINEE WHO MAY NEED TO RELY ON DEMS

Polis also backed the idea. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“As well as saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, there are major environmental benefits to eliminating the penny. This is a great move,” Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., said of the president’s plan.

Trump’s unlikely Democratic backers come as much of the party has revolted amid his Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to aggressively audit and slash spending at executive branch agencies and departments.

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

Follow Julia’s reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to [email protected].

February 12, 2025
Trump wants to end penny production. Will it affect consumers?

O’Leary Ventures Chairman Kevin O’Leary shares whether he’s concerned about President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, the fate of the U.S. penny and the handling of the TikTok sale.

President Donald Trump is seeking to end production of new pennies and recently told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to make that happen.

Trump revealed late Sunday night he had “instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies,” arguing that “for far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents” and that “this is so wasteful!”

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. ( Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The move has raised the question of how American consumers could be affected and, according to one expert, the impact will be negligible.

“I don’t think it’s gonna have any impact on consumers. I think it’s just a very sensible thing to do, because nobody uses pennies anymore. Nobody needs pennies,” David Bahnsen, founder of the Bahnsen Group, told FOX Business. “Just as a matter of basic practicality and cost benefits, the studies I’ve seen are that it costs three cents to make a penny, so there’s something rather backwards about that math.”

TRUMP IS ‘RIGHT’ TO ORDER THE US TO DITCH THE ‘STUPID’ PENNY, KEVIN O’LEARY SAYS

The cost of making and distributing a penny stood at 3.69 cents in 2024, the U.S. Mint’s most recent annual report indicated.

The U.S. Mint shipped 3.17 billion new pennies last year. The gross cost of those pennies, $117 million, was significantly higher than their $31.7 million combined value, according to the report.

“In terms of affecting consumers, does it make a difference to their spending habits to not have exact change to the extent that that exists at all? It’s so marginal it would be a rounding error,” Bahnsen said.

Pennies are displayed at Glenview Coin & Collectibles July 6, 2006, in Glenview, Ill. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Canada moved away from its version of the penny over a decade ago, and other countries like Australia, New Zealand and Sweden took similar action well before that. In Canada, after the government started phasing out pennies, rounding up or down to the nearest five cents became common for cash transactions.

TRUMP SAYS HE HAS INSTRUCTED US TREASURY TO STOP MINTING NEW PENNIES: ‘THIS IS SO WASTEFUL!’

Bahnsen said rounding cash transactions “is just less likely to happen in a more digital payment environment,” noting not many people “are paying with cash” these days.

A report released last summer by Federal Reserve Financial Services found 32% of payments in October 2023 used credit cards and a similar but slightly smaller share — 30% — used debit cards. Payments with cash, meanwhile, represented 16% of transactions, according to the report.

The Canadian government said in its 2012 economic action plan that getting rid of pennies in New Zealand, Australia and other countries “did not cause an increase in price inflation.”

The U.S. stopping production of new pennies would have little bearing on tips, Bahnsen also said.

He also noted existing pennies will still be in circulation “but you’re really talking about more of a collectible item, not a consumer item, not a transactional currency that people are paying.”

“Ultimately, President Trump’s motive here was to just be more efficient, and I think that the Treasury Department’s wasting a lot of money making pennies that have no real commercial use,” Bahnsen told FOX Business. “This isn’t an earth-shattering event, but it’s something that marginally is more efficient, and that’s what the Treasury Department’s job is.”

Americans for Common Cents, which has been critical of Trump’s effort, argued in a late January press release that ditching the penny “won’t save the government money.”

A pile of U.S. pennies in a photo illustration in Washington, D.C., Feb. 10, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“Many Mint overhead costs would remain and have to be absorbed by other coins without the penny,” Executive Director Mark Weller said. “Also, there would be greater demand for expensive nickels, which means even more costs.”

HOW TRUMP MIGHT GET RID OF THE PENNY – AND WHAT COULD COME NEXT FOR YOUR POCKETBOOK CHANGE

The group receives significant funding from Artazn, according to CNN. That firm reportedly supplies blanks that are used in Mint coin production.

Americans for Common Cents has proposed the government “reexamine how the Mint allocates its overhead costs and focus on reducing the cost of producing nickels” instead of moving away from pennies.

It cost the Mint nearly 13.8 cents to produce a nickel last year, according to the agency.

The group has also pushed back against arguments that the penny doesn’t have value and has argued a “rounding tax” resulting from getting rid of the one-cent denomination would “disproportionately affect” people without access to banking or methods of non-cash payment.

February 12, 2025
‘Playing with the courts’: Trump admin hit with dozens of suits after years of president condemning ‘lawfare’

President Donald Trump’s court battles have not ended now that he’s back in the Oval Office — instead, dozens have piled up against his administration as Democrats and activists vow to fight Trump and his policies in the judicial system.

Trump faced four criminal indictments during the interim of his first and second administrations, which landed accusations of “lawfare” on the national stage as Trump maintained his innocence and slammed the cases as efforts by the Democratic Party to hurt his political chances for re-election during the 2024 cycle. Despite the left-wing efforts to ensnare Trump in a web of legal cases, Trump was re-elected president — with a resume that now includes “convicted felon” and a famous mugshot frequently displayed on pro-Trump apparel.

Upon Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20, he has issued near-daily executive orders and actions to shift the federal government to fall in line with his “America First” policies, including snuffing out government overspending and mismanagement, banning biological men from competing in women’s sports, and deporting thousands of illegal immigrants who flooded the nation under the Biden administration.

Trump has signed more than 60 executive orders, in addition to other executive actions, as of Tuesday, which has resulted in at least 49 lawsuits against Trump and his administration, Fox News Digital has found.

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

New York Attorney General said she is “prepared” to ask the judge to seize former President Donald Trump’s assets if he cannot pay the $354 million judgment handed down in his civil fraud case. (ABC News/Screenshot | Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images)

The lawsuits come as Democratic elected officials fume over the second Trump administration’s policies, most notably the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is investigating various federal agencies in the search of cutting government spending fat, corruption and mismanagement of funds.

“Right now, we’re going to keep focus on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working-class Americans across the country with the bill,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in January.

CLIMATE LAWFARE IS RUNNING INTO A POWERFUL FORCE LIBERALS DIDN’T EXPECT

“That’s not acceptable,” he said. “We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We’re going to fight it in the streets.”

President Donald Trump has signed more than 60 executive orders, in addition to other executive actions, as of Tuesday, which has resulted in at least 49 lawsuits against Trump and his administration. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

“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 a protest over DOGE and its chair, Elon Musk, earlier in February.

With just over three weeks back in the Oval Office, at least 49 lawsuits have been filed against Trump or the federal government over Trump’s policies and executive actions. Among the list of plaintiffs are a handful of groups that brought forth suits against Trump in previous years, most notably New York Attorney General Leitita James, as well as labor unions and left-wing advocacy groups.

James, a former city council member in New York and public defender, launched her run for New York attorney general during the 2018 cycle, while emphasizing that if she were elected she would aggressively pursue legal charges against Trump.

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“I’m running for attorney general because I will never be afraid to challenge this illegitimate president when our fundamental rights are at stake,” James declared in September 2018. “From the Muslim ban, to efforts to deport immigrants, to denying transgender students the ability to choose whatever bathroom they want, rolling back regulations to protect our planet, colluding with foreign powers, putting profits over people, dividing us in ways we haven’t seen in generations.”

“And what is fueling this campaign, what is fueling my soul right now, is Trump and his abuses, abuses against immigrants, against women, against our environment. We need an attorney general who will stand up to Donald Trump,” she said during a debate in August 2018.

James won her election that year, about two years into Trump’s first administration, and took a victory lap while vowing to expose the “con man.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James launched her run for New York attorney general during the 2018 cycle, while emphasizing that if she were elected she would aggressively pursue legal charges against President Donald Trump. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Congressional Black Caucus Foundation)

James brought forth a civil fraud suit against Trump, the Trump Organization and its senior leadership in 2022, frequently sitting in the courtroom throughout the proceedings, and celebrated the prosecution of Trump in the Manhattan criminal trial over the 34 counts of falsifying business records. Trump was ordered to pay a $454 million civil fraud judgment in James’ lawsuit against him, which is currently on appeal.

All in, James said back in November 2024 that her office took nearly 100 legal actions against Trump’s first administration — vowing to restart the efforts during the second administration.

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“We did not expect this result, but we are prepared to respond to this result. And my office has been preparing for several months because we’ve been here before,” James said following Trump’s election win in November 2024. “We faced this challenge before, and we used the rule of law to fight back. And we are prepared to fight back once again because, as the attorney general of this great state, it is my job to protect and defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law. And I will not shrink from that responsibility.”

So far in 2025, James has spearheaded at least five legal actions against the Trump administration, including leading a coalition of state attorneys general to sue the federal government to halt DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s internal systems, as well as another lawsuit related to the Trump admin slashing grant funding to research institutions and universities.

“As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told ‘no,’ but in our country, no one is above the law,” James said of the DOGE suit. “President Trump does not have the power to give away Americans’ private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress. Musk and DOGE have no authority to access Americans’ private information and some of our country’s most sensitive data. I am taking action to keep our information secure, and to prevent any unconstitutional freeze on essential funding that Americans rely on every day.”

Trump slammed New York as the “most corrupt State in the Union” in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, calling on even-handed judges and elected officials to crush the “lawfare” in the Empire State.

“We need great Judges and Politicians to help fix New York, and to stop the kind of Lawfare that was launched against me, from falsely valuing Mar-a-Lago at $18 Million Dollars, when it is worth, perhaps, 100 times that amount (The corrupt judge was replaced by another judge, only to be immediately put back on the case when the Democrat political leaders found out that a change of judges was made. It has become a great embarrassment for the New York Judicial System!),” he posted to Truth Social, referring to James’ civil fraud case against Trump.

Labor unions that previously sued the first Trump administration are also back in court. (Jabin Botsford/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK)

“To a woman that I had no idea who she was, making a FAKE and ridiculous accusation, to a ‘case’ that was made up by a corrupt and highly conflicted Judge in order to criminally attack me for political purposes,” he continued, referring to two-year E. Jean Carroll court cases.

Labor unions that previously sued the first Trump administration are also back in court, including the American Federation of Teachers suing over DOGE’s access to private information at the Education and Treasury departments, and the American Federation of Government Employees suing the administration in at least two cases related to DOGE and federal employment policies under the 47th president.

“We wouldn’t bring so many lawsuits if they wouldn’t break the law so often,” Andrew Huddleston, American Federation of Government Employees’ director of communications, told Fox News Digital when asked about the lawsuits.

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While the American Civil Liberties Union — which took at least 400 legal actions against the first Trump administration — filed a lawsuit against the second Trump administration earlier in February regarding an executive order that prevents transgender and nonbinary individuals from changing their passports to reflect their gender identity and not their biological sex.

REPUBLICAN AGS BACK TRUMP FEDERAL EMPLOYEE BUYOUT AS JUDGE DECIDES ‘FORK IN THE ROAD’ DIRECTIVE’S FATE

Another nonprofit, the State Democracy Defenders Fund, recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of FBI agents who investigated Trump-related cases in an effort to block the DOJ from releasing their names. The State Democracy Defenders Fund previously was involved in other Trump-related cases, including filing an amicus brief in January advocating that Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan sentence Trump in the Manhattan case just days ahead of his inauguration.

President Donald Trump repeatedly seethed that “lawfare” was running amok of American politics, including, left to right, former Special Counsel Jack Smith, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis. (Getty Images)

Ahead of taking office, Trump repeatedly seethed that “lawfare” was running amok of American politics, frequently targeting James, Merchan, as well as former special counsel Jack Smith, Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and others.

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“They’re playing with the courts, as you know, they’ve been playing with the courts for four years,” Trump said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago after Congress had certified his election win in January. “Probably got me more votes because I got the highest number of votes ever gotten by a Republican by far, actually, by a lot. And, you know, we had a great election, so I guess it didn’t work. But even to this day, they’re playing with the courts and their friendly judges that like to try and make everybody happy… It’s called lawfare. It’s called weaponization of justice.”

February 12, 2025
Congressman moves to help Trump acquire Greenland and give it catchy new name

Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., has thrown his support behind President Donald Trump’s quest to acquire Greenland — and has taken a step in Americanizing the country’s name.

Carter introduced a bill on Tuesday proposing that Greenland’s name be changed to Red, White and Blueland. In a press release, the Georgia congressman wrote that “America is back and will soon be bigger than ever” with the addition of the Nordic country.

“President Trump has correctly identified the purchase of what is now Greenland as a national security priority, and we will proudly welcome its people to join the freest nation to ever exist when our Negotiator-in-Chief inks this monumental deal,” Carter added.

Carter also published the text of the bill, which is named the “Red, White, and Blueland Act of 2025.”

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Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., has thrown his support behind President Donald Trump’s plans to acquire Greenland. (Getty Images)

“Greenland shall be known as ‘Red, White, and Blueland,’” the text states. “Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to Greenland shall be deemed to be a reference to ‘Red, White, and Blueland.’”

Carter has not spoken to Trump about the bill, which had no cosponsors as of Tuesday evening, Carter’s office told Fox News Digital.

Trump has signaled interest in acquiring Greenland since 2019, calling it a potentially “large real estate deal,” toward the end of his first term. In December, he ramped up calls for the U.S. to acquire the Danish territory and called it a national security issue.

“[F]or purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” the then-president-elect wrote in a Truth Social post at the time.

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Buddy Carter attends a House Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee hearing in 2018. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)

At the beginning of February, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen affirmed that Greenland is “not for sale,” but said she was open to the U.S. increasing its footprint in the Arctic region.

“I totally agree with the Americans that the High North, that the Arctic region is becoming more and more important when we are talking about defense and security and deterrence,” Frederiksen said, referencing Chinese and Russian activity in the region. “And it is possible to find a way to ensure stronger footprints in Greenland. They [the U.S.] are already there, and they can have more possibilities.”

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President-elect Trump first proposed purchasing Greenland in 2019 during his first term. (Getty Images)

“And at the same time, we are willing to scale up from the Kingdom of Denmark. And I think NATO is the same. So if this is about securing our part of the world, we can find a way forward.”

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can send story tips to [email protected].

February 11, 2025
Trump to sign order instructing DOGE to massively cut federal workforce

Democrats take aim at DOGE and Elon Musk

Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on Democratic pushback on the Department of Government Efficiency and its proposed cuts to government spending.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday instructing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to coordinate with federal agencies and execute massive cuts in federal government staffing numbers.

The order will instruct DOGE and federal agencies to work together to “significantly” shrink the size of the federal government and limit hiring new employees, according to a White House fact sheet on the order. Specifically, agencies must not hire more than one employee for every four that leave their federal post.

Agencies will also be instructed to “undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force” and evaluate ways to eliminate or combine agency functions that aren’t legally required.

DOGE Chair Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, told reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office that the American people voted for “major” government reform and that the Trump administration would deliver.

Trump voiced similar sentiments about providing voters what they wanted – to tackle “all of this “horrible stuff going on” – and told reporters that he hoped the court system would cooperate.

“I hope that the court system is going to allow us to do what we have to do,” Trump said, who also said he would always abide by a court’s ruling but will be prepared to appeal.

The order builds on another directive Trump signed after his inauguration implementing a federal hiring freeze, as well as an initiative from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) offering more than 2 million federal civilian employees buyouts if they leave their jobs or return to work in-person. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the administration’s plan from advancing amid challenges from union groups.

Trump’s executive order aligns with DOGE’s “workforce optimization initiative” and would impose restrictions to hire only for “essential positions” as agencies brace for significant cuts to their workforce, according to the White House fact sheet.

DC FEDERAL WORKERS IN A ‘PANIC’ OVER NOVEL EXPERIENCE OF JOB INSECURITY WITH JOB CUTS

Elon Musk, the chair of DOGE, has been leading an investigation into USAID’s spending practices as the agency comes to a standstill. (Getty Images)

The executive order will leave just a few areas of the federal government unscathed, including positions affiliated with law enforcement, national security and immigration enforcement.

DOGE is focused on eliminating wasteful government spending and streamlining efficiency and operations, and it is expected to influence White House policy on budget matters. The group has been tasked with cutting $2 trillion from the federal government budget through efforts to slash spending, government programs and the federal workforce.

The White House said on Feb. 4 that it predicted a “spike” in resignations close to the original Feb. 6 deadline for the buyout offer, which would allow employees to retain all pay and benefits and be exempt from in-person work until Sep. 30.

“The number of deferred resignations is rapidly growing, and we’re expecting the largest spike 24 to 48 hours before the deadline,” a White House official told Fox News Digital on Feb. 4.

JUDGE EXTENDS INJUCTION ORDER TO BAN TRUMP ADMIN BUYOUT OFFER TO FEDERAL WORKERS

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order instructing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to coordinate with federal agencies to execute massive cuts in federal government staffing numbers. (Reuters)

So far, approximately 65,000 federal employees have accepted the buyout offer, but a federal judge has issued a pause on the deadline for when employees must submit their resignations.

U.S. District Judge George O’Toole indefinitely extended a temporary restraining order Monday, pausing the deadline as he evaluates a preliminary injunction request stemming from cases against the buyout program filed by union groups including the American Federation of Government Employees.

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When asked about the buyout, Trump said that there are empty office spaces and that his administration is attempting to reduce the size of government.

“We have too many people. We have office spaces occupied by 4% — nobody showing up to work because they were told not to,” Trump said.

DOGE has moved to slash other areas of the federal government as well.

Other recent initiatives by DOGE have included launching an effort to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development, a group that works to deliver aid to impoverished countries and development assistance.

The group has come under scrutiny from DOGE amid concerns about wasteful government spending and poor leadership, as well as questionable funding, including an Iraqi version of “Sesame Street” and reportedly providing millions of dollars in funding to extremist groups tied to designated terrorist organizations and their allies.

“It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out,” Trump told reporters on Feb. 2.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Emma Colton and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

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

February 11, 2025
LARRY KUDLOW: Trump is making showers great again

I can’t thank President Donald Trump enough. He’s going to make showers great again.

For the first time in four years, I can take a real shower, with the water pounding down on me. Not a puny Biden drizzle.

It will be a wonderful feeling. I’ve missed it. And I believe millions of other people feel the same way.

Why do I say this?

Because this morning, at 6:57am, President Trump instructed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to go back to Mr. Trump’s old environmental orders that were terminated by Biden — on water standards and flow.

I am hereby instructing Secretary Lee Zeldin to immediately go back to my Environmental Orders, which were terminated by Crooked Joe Biden, on Water Standards and Flow pertaining to SINKS, SHOWERS, TOILETS, WASHING MACHINES, DISHWASHERS, etc., and to likewise go back to the common sense standards on LIGHTBULBS, that were put in place by the Trump Administration, but terminated by Crooked Joe. I look forward to signing these Orders. THANK YOU!!!

– President Donald Trump, Truth Social, February 11

In other words, folks, you can let the water rip. Finally. After four years of missing it.

And not just a decent shower — but in the sink, too! You can really wash your face, get a better shave. Wash your hands as often as you want, with real, strong, live water flow.

Not like some third-world countries I know. Or even Europe, where nobody washes.

And toilets can flush the way they’re supposed to, with just a flick of the handle, everything is solved.

And your dishwasher will actually clean the dishes, because it will have a strong water flow and get the job done.

Fox News contributors Douglas Murray and Deroy Murdock react to President Biden’s climate agenda targeting home appliances and compare it to China’s efforts to tackle climate change on ‘Kudlow.’

And ditto for your clothes, where Trump washing machines will get all those stains out that you could never do with Biden’s puny water trickle.

And, you can read again! Because President Trump is going back to common-sense standards on incandescent light bulbs — instead of Biden’s phony fluorescent hospital-type lighting that ruined your eyes and gave you a headache every night while you tried to read yourself to sleep.

Now I look forward to a return to reading great books like “The Art of the Deal,” “Think Like a Billionaire,” “Time to Get Tough,” and “Why We Want You to be Rich.” So inspiring.

And, for me, that includes James Lee Burke and Detective Robicheaux. And John Sandford and his Detective Davenport.

What a wonderful prospect each evening.

Take a good shower, read a good book, sleep soundly, and wake up fresh the next morning — to a golden era of peace through strength.

February 11, 2025