Social media users are slamming a Democratic senator’s impassioned speech opposing a halt to millions of taxpayer dollars being funneled to controversial, DEI-aligned programs overseas.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., spoke at a rally outside the Capitol building Wednesday in protest of Elon Musk’s sweep of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
“We will fight their violation of civil service laws. We will fight their violation of civil rights laws. We will fight their violations of separation of powers. We will fight their violations of our Constitution of the United States of America,” Booker said. “We will not shut up. We will stick up. We will rise up.”
Trump’s rapid response team called out Booker for opposing cuts to the agency funding controversial programs, which, according to the White House, gave $1.5 million to “advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”
‘SESAME STREET IN IRAQ’: USAID’S ‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’ SPENDING EXPOSED BY SENATOR
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks at a rally in support of USAID on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Chip Somodevilla)
“Why is Cory Booker so angry at the idea of making sure American tax dollars are spent to further the national interest of the United States and not on things like ‘LGBT activism’ in Guatemala?” Team Trump wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Cory Booker is having an absolute meltdown because we don’t want American tax dollars to be wasted on bizarre projects in foreign countries,” LibsofTikTok wrote.
WHITE HOUSE FLAGS TOP USAID BOONDOGGLES UNDER ELON MUSK’S MICROSCOPE
New Jersey state Sen. Mike Testa, a Republican, wrote that Booker is “grandstanding on behalf of foreign pet projects” instead of “standing up for the will of his constituents.”
“New Jerseyans have been kicked in the face and forgotten by their United States Senators for years,” Testa said on X. “We deserve a hell of a lot better.”
“Sen. Cory Booker is BIG MAD that lesbian dance therapy for Ethiopians will no longer be paid for by US tax dollars Why are Democrats like this?” wrote another user, Nick Sorter.
The White House released a detailed report outlining USAID spending over the past few years, including $15 million on contraceptives and condoms that ended up in the hands of the Taliban and another $20 million allocated to fund Sesame Street in Iraq.
The funds were awarded by the Biden administration to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshop to produce a show called “Ahlan Simsim Iraq” in an effort to reportedly “promote inclusion, mutual respect, and understanding across ethnic, religious, and sectarian groups.”
Protesters gathered outside the Capitol Monday rally against Elon Musk’s crackdown on USAID spending.(Fox News Digital)
Musk has been leading the charge to expose and cut funding from USAID as part of his spending crackdown at the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency.
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Hundreds of activists, including several Democratic members of Congress, gathered Wednesday to protest the USAID cuts and criticize Musk’s role in the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports Wednesday and vowed the order will also apply to border security for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
During Trump’s ceremony at the White House to sign the executive order, he announced that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will prohibit any transgender athletes attempting to compete as women from entering the country for the Olympics in 2028.
Trump said he will instruct Noem “to deny any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes try and get into the Games.”
Earlier Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said part of the motivation behind Trump’s executive order would be to create a “pressure campaign” for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and NCAA to follow and prevent transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
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“He does expect the Olympic committee and the NCAA to no longer allow men to compete in women’s sports,” Leavitt said. “I think the president, with the signing of his pen, starts a very public pressure campaign on these organizations to do the right thing for women and for girls.
“Again, this is an incredibly popular position. There have been many notable female athletes who have had the courage to speak out against some very powerful institutions in this country. They deserve to have a voice and a say. The president is bringing their voice to the highest level of the White House. He expects these organizations to comply with this federal executive order he will be signing today.”
HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE
There was controversy surrounding gender eligibility at the Paris Olympics in July and August.
Boxers Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan won gold medals in women’s boxing. Both athletes had previously been disqualified from international competitions for failing gender eligibility tests. However, the IOC and current President Thomas Bach voiced support for both athletes. The IOC also insisted that both athletes were biologically female.
Before that, Laurel Hubbard, a transgender woman, competed in weightlifting for the New Zealand team, and Canadian soccer player Quinn came out as nonbinary and transgender in 2020.
With Bach preparing to leave office later this year, the IOC’s next president could help carry out Trump’s vision on the issue more cooperatively.
Former British Olympic champion Sebastian Coe is a candidate to be the next IOC president and has suggested he will take action to prevent transgender inclusion in women’s events.
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Coe published a manifesto for his vision as IOC president as he campaigns for the position, and it stressed the importance of protecting female athletes.
Unlike Bach, Coe opposes transgender inclusion in the women’s category and said he would explore a complete ban on transgender athletes in an interview with Sky News.
“We will have a very clear policy that will be unambiguous,” Coe said. “We’ve been very clear in World Athletics that transgender athletes will not be competing in the female category at the elite level.”
Lord Sebastian Coe speaks during a memorial service for Kevan Gosper in the Olympic Room at the Melbourne Cricket Ground Sept. 17, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. Gosper was an Olympian, former AOC president and IOC vice president who died July 19, 2024, after a short illness. (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images for the AOC)
Coe is the current head of World Athletics, the governing body for international track and field competition. In 2023, the governing body tightened its regulations on transgender athletes to exclude transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in the female category. That regulation also lowered the maximum testosterone level for eligible female competitors.
Coe said if he becomes IOC president, the new Olympic policy on transgender inclusion will “probably” reflect the one he has established in World Athletics. Coe has also said the controversy surrounding Khelif and Yu-ting made him feel “uncomfortable.”
NCAA PREZ SUGGESTS ONUS ON FEMALE ATHLETES TO USE OTHER FACILITIES IF UNCOMFORTABLE SHARING WITH TRANS PLAYERS
The United Nations released study findings saying that nearly 900 biological females have fallen short of winning medals because they lost to transgender athletes.
The study, “Violence against women and girls in sports,” said more than 600 athletes did not medal in more than 400 competitions in 29 different sports, totaling over 890 medals, according to information obtained up to March 30.
“The replacement of the female sports category with a mixed-sex category has resulted in an increasing number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals, when competing against males,” the report said.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.
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A Michigan Democratic congresswoman who refused to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential run due to the Biden-Harris administration’s stand on Israel is now lashing out against the Republican who defeated her, citing his proposal on ending the Gaza conflict.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib blasted President Donald Trump for his comments on the war in Gaza and urged her allies to ramp up a push for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
“This president can only spew this fanatical bulls— because of bipartisan support in Congress for funding genocide and ethnic cleansing,” Tlaib said on Twitter Tuesday. “It’s time for my two-state solution colleagues to speak.”
Tlaib’s comments came after Trump proposed a U.S. takeover of war-torn Gaza following the war, saying that Palestinians could be resettled to other countries.
SAUDI ARABIA CONTRADICTS TRUMP, VOWS NO TIES WITH ISRAEL WITHOUT CREATION OF PALESTINIAN STATE
President Donald Trump and Rep. Rashida Tlaib(Getty Images)
But Tlaib’s calls for other lawmakers to “speak up” comes after she declined to take a stance on last year’s presidential election.
Tlaib’s decision not to endorse a candidate in the presidential race came during a time of severe backlash against the Biden administration’s policies in Gaza by many constituents in her district, with some Muslim leaders going so far as to endorse Trump despite their traditional support for Democratic candidates.
One such leader, Bishara Bahbah, chaired a group known as Arab Americans for Trump. But Bahbah announced on Wednesday that he was changing the name of the group, according to a report from the Associated Press, citing Trump’s comments on Gaza.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib and union activists discuss free speech on college campuses, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., May 23, 2024.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
THE HISTORY OF GAZA AMID TRUMP’S PLAN TO REBUILD ENCLAVE
“The talk about what the president wants to do with Gaza, obviously we’re completely opposed to the idea of the transfer of Palestinians from anywhere in historic Palestine,” he said in a statement announcing the group’s name would be changed to Arab Americans for Peace. “And so we did not want to be behind the curve in terms of pushing for peace, because that has been our objective from the very beginning.”
But the sudden outcry in reaction to Trump’s comments wasn’t well received by all Democrats, with Democratic strategist Julian Epstein telling Fox News Digital that Trump’s proposal was a lot more positive than anything Tlaib appears to be offering as a solution.
Former President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida.(Evan Vucci/AP)
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“Whether you agree or disagree with Trump’s proposal, at least he is proposing something that could lead to a bright future for Gaza,” Epstein said. “Tlaib, on the other hand, has advocated for policies that would keep the neo-Nazi, terrorist, race-hating Hamas in power while mimicking their rhetoric rom ‘river to sea,’ for which she was sanctioned by the House, including with Democratic support.”
TOPSHOT – US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Welcome to the Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.
PROTECTING WOMEN’S SPORTS – President Donald Trump commemorated National Girls and Women in Sports Day by signing an executive order which includes language on preventing biological men from competing in women’s sports. Continue reading …
TO THE WHITE HOUSE – Riley Gaines and other women’s sports fairness advocates traveled to Washington to join Trump ahead of the signing of an executive order addressing biological men competing against females. Continue reading …
ABIDE BY? – Trump expects the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the NCAA to comply with his executive order barring biological men from women’s sports, the White House press secretary said. Continue reading …
PRESIDENTIAL VISIT – Trump is expected to attend Super Bowl LIX to watch the Chiefs and Eagles compete for a championship. He would be the first sitting president to attend the game. Continue reading …
SECURITY CONCERNS – As NFL players, fans, and others arrive in New Orleans, U.S.Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem provided an update saying “no credible threats” have been made regarding Super Bowl LIX. Continue reading …
The Caesars Superdome is being prepared for Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome on January 16, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
CAUGHT ON CAMERA – Marcus Jordan, the son of Michael Jordan, was seen speeding away from Florida law enforcement officers before his vehicle was found stuck on railroad tracks, dashcam video showed. Continue reading …
WIN BIG – NFL fans who tune into the big game on FOX and Tubi on Sunday will be able to get in on the action with FOX Super 6 Super Bowl LIX. Competitors will have the opportunity to win $1 million. Continue reading …
BIG GAME WATCH PARTY – Super Bowl parties can range from putting out a few bowls of chips and dips for friends to an elaborate setup. Either way, having a TV and party accessories that work best for you is important. Continue reading …
TAILGATING GUIDE – Whether you’re a die-hard football fan or just want to gather with friends, it’s essential to have the right items for a Super Bowl tailgate party.Continue reading …
STREAM ON TUBI – The entire Super Bowl LIX, including pre-game, Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, and post-game shows will be available to stream for free on Tubi. Fans just need to complete a hassle-free, no-cost registration. Continue reading …
Super Bowl LIX will be streamed on Tubi.(Tubi)
SOUNDING OFF – Luka Doncic’s father, Sasa, sounded off over “unfair” treatment his son received from the Mavericks. Continue reading …
‘I’M SICK’ – Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes was among those stunned by the Mavericks’ decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Lakers. Continue reading …
FROM FOX SPORTS – With Super Bowl LIX being the last game on the NFL schedule this season, Super Bowl LIX, it’s time for Tom Brady to hand out his “LFG Players of the Year.” Continue reading …
FROM OUTKICK – During an interview in New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl LIX, Patrick Mahomes said his “Christian faith plays a role in everything” he does. Continue reading …
WATCH NOW – Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said the team is “grateful” for the opportunity to avenge their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs. FOX Sports’ “Breakfast Ball” discusses the differences between Super Bowl LVII and this year’s matchup. Watch here …
House Democrats and the family of a U.S. Capitol Police officer who died a day after confronting rioters during the Jan. 6 insurrection scolded President Donald Trump Wednesday over his actions related to the unrest since taking office.
U.S. Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and the family of Brian Sicknick gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol to push for a resolution condemning Trump over the blanket pardons for the Jan. 6 defendants and the firing of federal prosecutors on those cases.
“They pardon criminals for violently assaulting cops, and they fire FBI agents and prosecutors for doing their jobs,” Raskin said. “That’s where we are in America today.”
FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
He added that Trump initially denounced the actions of the rioters before the “process of trying to redefine the meaning of the events of January 6th, to whitewash the atrocities that took place that day, to cover up and to shroud in doubt the violent assaults that took place on the police officers to make people believe that it wasn’t Donald Trump’s mega mob that attacked us.”
Last month, Trump granted clemency to those charged in the riot, even those accused of violently assaulting police officers. In an interview with Fox News, he said the prison sentences for the defendants were excessive.
“These people have served, horribly, a long time,” he said.
The FBI logo and President Donald Trump(Emma Woodhead; Getty Images )
Thompson said the prosecutors who worked on the Jan. 6 cases were being scapegoated by the Trump administration.
“The people who did the hard work of tracking these 1,500 people down are now being told you didn’t do your job,” he said. “Now these people either pleaded guilty or they were found guilty, and so many of them assaulted law enforcement people and for now they are being rewarded and the people who are being patriots are being punished.”
Ken Sicknick, brother of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, said Trump’s pardons reopened wounds from his brother’s death.
FBI AGENTS DETAIL J6 ROLE IN EXHAUSTIVE QUESTIONNAIRE EMPLOYEES ‘WERE INSTRUCTED TO FILL OUT’
This still is taken from video footage of Julian Khater, 32, of State College, who prosecutors have accused of assaulting Capitol Officer Brian Sicknick during the Jan. 6 riot in Washington. Khater was sentenced Friday to more than six years in prison.(Reuters/Capitol Police/Department of Justice)
“On January 20th, 2025, a convicted felon and twice-impeached politician pardoned approximately 1,600 criminals responsible for the destruction of property and the destruction of the lives of law enforcement and their families, such as mine,” Sicknick said. “They were all convicted through due process. The investigations were thorough. The rule of law that the POTUS and the Republican cronies will tell you they stand for was smashed apart.
“It was smashed apart by the very same person who claimed that he is a friend of the police more than any president who’s ever been in office.”
Brian Sicknick, 42, suffered two strokes and died of natural causes the day after he confronted rioters during the riot. A medical examiner’s report showed that Sicknick was sprayed with a chemical substance around 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 6 and collapsed at the Capitol around 10 p.m. that evening.
He died around 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 7, according to the examiner’s office. Ken Sicknick noted that most of the defendants released have shown no remorse for their actions.
“We do feel powerless in a lot of cases,” he said. “What are we going to do? It’s a tiny blue-collar family going against the president of the United States.”
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Coleman said a purge of Justice Department veteran prosecutors only benefits criminal groups that engage in drug trafficking and terrorism.
“If they were not suddenly the targets of a political takeover of the federal law enforcement, they would be working to stop terrorist attacks, stop drug trafficking and drug dealers, impede human traffickers and prosecute crime across this country if they were not targeted otherwise,” she said.
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy, breaks down President Donald Trump’s tariffs on ‘Kudlow.’
America’s trade deficit with other nations hit a fresh record last year, according to new data released Wednesday, in the midst of President Donald Trump’s aggressive campaign to close the gap while promoting tariffs as a way to achieve that end.
President Donald Trump speaks via video-conference during the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 23, 2025. (Halil Sagirkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Commerce Department reported the U.S. goods deficit soared 14% to $1.2 trillion in 2024, with imports reaching an all-time high of $364.9 billion in December ahead of Trump’s return to office.
The report shows the U.S. has significant deficits with several trade partners, including China, Mexico and Canada, which have been targeted by Trump for broad or additional tariffs.
KEVIN O’LEARY: CHINA NEEDS ‘A LOT MORE SQUEEZING’ THAN CURRENT TARIFF THREAT
The president on Monday suspended a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods until next month.
MonetaryMacro.com CIO Joseph Wang argues President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico are more than just a negotiating tactic on ‘Making Money.’
An additional 10% levy on goods from China went into effect Tuesday.
Though the new administration has mostly explained the tariffs as related to controlling illegal immigration and movement of illicit drugs, the surge in the deficit could strengthen its argument for a protectionist trade policy.
Trump says Xi Jinping, China’s president, knows where he stands on tariffs. (Ton Molina/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Trump has often lamented China’s large trade deficit with the U.S., which reached nearly $1 trillion last year.
FOX Business’ Danielle Wallace and Reuters contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order, fulfilling one of his major campaign promises of keeping biological men out of girls and women’s sports.
Trump signed the executive order on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which celebrates female athletes in women’s sports and those who are committed to providing equal access to sports for all females.
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President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“This doesn’t have to be long. It’s all about common sense,” Trump said before signing the order, adding that “women’s sports will be only for women.”
Trump declared, “the war on women’s sports is over.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing before Trump signed the executive order that it “upholds the promise of Title IX.”
“President Trump pledged to restore common sense to our country and he’s continuing to deliver on that with an executive order that he will sign later today,” she added. “The president will be signing an executive order, keeping men out of women’s sports to defend the safety of athletes, protect competitive integrity and uphold the promise of Title IX.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signs SB2, the Save Women in Sports Act, in the Blue Room at the Capitol Wednesday, March 30, 2022.(IMAGN)
“This common-sense action from President Trump ends the disgusting betrayal of women and girls by the previous administration, who for years catered to radical activists who wanted biological males to be treated as women in workplace, showers, competitive sports, prisons and even rape shelters. Gender ideology insanity is over.”
Leavitt also called on Senate lawmakers to pass the Protection of Women and Girls Sports Act, which the House passed last month. The bill would ban biological males from participating on girls’ school sports teams. The bill would amend federal law to specify that student athletes must participate in school sports teams that coincide with their gender at birth.
Mar 17, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Save Women’s Sports advisor Beth Stelzer holds a press conference outside of the NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship at Georgia Tech.(Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
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“It’s incredibly important Congress immediately acts on this priority,” Leavitt added. “I think the president is really setting the tone making this a very immediate priority for this administration just as he promised to do on the campaign trail.”
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
Democratic Rep. Al Green, the Houston, Texas, congressman who made three attempts to impeach President Donald Trump during his first term, initiated his first impeachment effort in 2025.
Green rose to address the House on Wednesday and said “ethnic cleansing in Gaza is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the President of the United States.”
“And [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] should be ashamed, knowing the history of his people, to stand there and allow such things to be said.”
Green went on to say his formal impeachment articles are for “dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done.”
REP. AL GREEN SAYS PRESIDENT IS ‘NO BETTER THAN’ KKK IN WAKE OF ‘LYNCHING’ TWEET
Democratic Rep. Al Green(Roll Call)
Trump had announced Tuesday the U.S. would “take over” war-torn Gaza and allow Palestinians to relocate while it is being essentially repaired.
“I also rise to say that the impeachment movement is going to be a grass up movement, not a top down… I did it before, I laid the foundation for impeachment, and it was done. Nobody knows more about it than I,” Green went on.
“And I know that it time for us to lay the foundation again. On some issues, it is better to stand alone than not stand at all on this issue. I stand alone. But I stand for justice.”
Other Democrats appeared lukewarm to Green’s current bid.
“It’s not a focus of our caucus,” said House Democratic Caucus Chair Peter Aguilar, D-Calif.
Green’s previous attempts were separate from those successful impeachments forwarded by now-California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff and others – which related to Trump’s 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the 2021 Capitol riot.
One Green resolution centered on 2019 Trump tweets deriding members of the left-wing Squad, wherein the president remarked “they [should] go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”
During a House Judiciary Committee hearing at the time of one of Green’s previous impeachment attempts, Republican staff posted a banner of the Democrat’s own words:
“I’m concerned that if we don’t impeach this president, he will get re-elected,” Green had said.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins – then the panel’s ranking member – listed Green’s comments as one of several in remarks criticizing Democrats for trying to usurp the power of the voting booth through political maneuvering.
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“For Democrats, it has been and will always be, to paraphrase Lewis Carroll: ‘Sentence first, verdict later,’” Collins said at the time.
During the Obama administration, the late Rep. Walter Jones Jr., R-N.C., similarly repeatedly called for President Barack Obama’s impeachment over issues ranging from the use of drones to troop casualties in Syria.
Fox News Digital reached out to Green’s office and was told “it is a matter of time” when the articles would be filed.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
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Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump — who have very visibly traded political fire but who also have worked together — meet at the White House on Wednesday as the California governor fights to secure more money for people and businesses devastated following last month’s deadly wildfires in metropolitan Los Angeles.
The trip is the first by Newsom to Washington, D.C., since Trump took over in the White House and is part of his efforts to obtain additional federal funding to aid in wildfire recovery from the horrific blazes that killed 29 people and destroyed over 12,000 homes and forced tens of thousands to evacuate.
Newsom arrived in the nation’s capital on the eve of his visit to the White House, and hours ahead of the meeting he headed to Capitol Hill to hold separate meetings with members of Congress.
The governor traveled east a day after California lawmakers approved $25 million in legal funding proposed by the Democratic governor to challenge actions by the Trump administration. And the legislature also allocated another $25 million for legal groups to defend undocumented immigrants facing possible deportation by new Trump administration efforts.
TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND
Gov. Gavin Newsom departed California on Tuesday to meet with President Donald Trump and members of Congress to discuss federal disaster aid following the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County.(Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
Newsom came to Washington, D.C., hat in hand.
Late last month, the governor approved $2.5 billion for fire recovery work, which he hopes will be reimbursed by the federal government.
And the state will likely need much more help from the federal government, as the bill to cover rebuilding costs is expected to reach into the tens of billions of dollars.
“The Governor’s trip is focused on securing critical disaster aid for the survivors of the Los Angeles fires and ensuring impacted families who lost their homes and livelihoods have the support they need to rebuild and recover,” spokesperson Izzy Gardon said in a statement.
After the outbreak of the fires early last month, Trump repeatedly criticized Newsom’s handling of the immense crisis. He has accused the governor of mismanaging forestry and water policy and, pointing to intense backlash over a perceived lack of preparation, called on Newsom to step down.
“Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” Trump charged in a social media post on Jan. 8, as he repeated a derogatory name he often labels the governor.
Trump also placed blame for the deadly wildfires on Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, another Democrat, and the policies approved by state lawmakers in heavily blue California. In an executive order issued last month, he described management of the state’s land and water resources as “disastrous.”
Despite remaining friendly in person, Newsom and Trump frequently trade blows on social media.(Pool)
Newsom — the governor of the nation’s most populous state, one of the Democratic Party’s leaders in the resistance against the returning president and a potential White House contender in 2028 — pushed back against Trump, as the two larger-than-life politicians traded fire.
Disputing Trump, the governor noted that reservoirs in the southern part of California were full when the fires first sparked, and has argued that no amount of water could tackle fires fueled by winds of up to 100 miles per hour.
Newsom also charged Trump had spread “hurricane-force winds of mis- and disinformation.”
NEWSOM CALLS TRUMP’S CLAIMS ‘PURE FICTION’ AFTER HE POINTED FINGER OVER CALIFORNIA FIRE TRAGEDY
Trump met with Newsom as he arrived in Los Angeles late last month — just four days after his inauguration as president — to survey the fire damage.
Trump had threatened to withhold wildfire aid until certain stipulations were met in California, including changes to water policy and requiring an ID to vote, but now appears willing to work with Newsom.
“Thank you first for being here. It means a great deal to all of us,” Newsom told Trump as he greeted the president upon his arrival in Los Angeles last month. “We’re going to need your support. We’re going to need your help.”
The president declared that “we’re looking to get something completed. And the way you get it completed is to work together.”
The aftermath of the deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 10, 2025.(David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)
The wildfires are far from the first time Newsom and Trump took aim at each other. Their animosity dated back to before Trump was elected president the first time in 2016, when Newsom was California’s lieutenant governor.
The verbal fireworks continued over the past two years, as Newsom served as a top surrogate on the campaign trail for former President Joe Biden and then former Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democrats’ 2024 standard-bearer last summer.
Following Trump’s convincing election victory over Harris in November, Newsom moved to “Trump-proof” his heavily blue state.
“He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just overwhelmingly won the Election,” Trump responded.
Since their meeting in Los Angeles, Newsom has appeared to be more restrained in his criticism of Trump.
Following Trump’s orders, the US Army Corps of Engineers last week opened two dams in Central California, letting roughly 2.2 billion gallons of water flow out of reservoirs.
Trump celebrated the move in posts to Truth Social post on Friday and Sunday, declaring, “the water is flowing in California,” and adding the water was “heading to farmers throughout the State, and to Los Angeles.”
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But water experts argue that the newly released water won’t flow to Los Angeles, and it is being wasted by being released during California’s normally wet winter season.
Newsom, apparently aiming to rebuild the working relationship he had with Trump during the president’s first term in the White House, didn’t raise any objections to the water release.
Fox News’ Christina Shaw, Elizabeth Pritchett, Pat Ward, and Lee Ross contributed to this story.
Staffers and contractors who work with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were stunned and angered after President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – the government accountability unit headed by billionaire Elon Musk – effectively shut down the $40 billion agency on Monday.
One USAID staffer who wished to remain anonymous told Fox News Digital that 80% of staff across its bureaus learned they lost access to the agency’s systems on Monday morning, including travel, communications, classified information and databases – leading to questions about how to repatriate American citizens in some of the most dangerous places in the world should the need arise.
Staffers also feel they were “left high and dry” and “have no idea what to do or where to turn” after being “abandoned by Congress and the government,” the source said, adding they felt the agency was “hostilely taken over by DOGE.”
“The richest man in the world is taking this away from the poorest people in the world,” the source said of Musk.
WHAT IS USAID AND WHY IS IT IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS?
The flag of the U.S. Agency for International Development in front of its office in Washington, D.C., on Monday.(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
USAID was set up in the early 1960s to act on behalf of the U.S. to deliver aid across the globe, particularly in impoverished and underdeveloped regions. The Trump administration alleges that much of the spending has been wasteful, promoting a liberal agenda around the world.
DOGE has particularly criticized a $1.5 million program slated to “advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities” and a $70,000 program for a “DEI musical” in Ireland.
Democrats counter that the agency plays a vital role in U.S. national security interests and say it should remain independent. They point to the work USAID did to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War – a sphere of influence that could remain a concern amid China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“It’s not a generosity project,” the source said of USAID, “this is a national security agency and effort at its core” that “protects borders and cuts threats off,” such as working to contain Ebola and dispersing COVID vaccines to keep such threats outside the U.S.
Trump and Elon Musk attend the launch of a SpaceX Starship rocket on Nov. 19, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Musk has said that both he and Trump “agreed” that the agency should be “shut down.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been named acting director of the independent agency, on Monday echoed the sentiment, telling reporters, “USAID is not functioning.”
“It needs to be aligned with the national interest of the U.S. They’re not a global charity, these are taxpayer dollars. People are asking simple questions. What are they doing with the money?” Rubio continued. “We are spending taxpayers’ money. We owe the taxpayers assurances that it furthers our national interest.”
MUSK’S DOGE TAKES AIM AT ‘VIPER’S NEST’ FEDERAL AGENCY WITH GLOBAL FOOTPRINT
The scope of work overseen by USAID is vast and ranges from administering foreign aid through humanitarian efforts like famine relief, clean water distribution programs, and medical services, including administering polio vaccines, HIV/AIDS relief and prevention work. It also bolsters democracy, human rights and governance initiatives.
The source said the stop work order has left medications for HIV and even vaccines meant for distribution in overseas regions sitting on shelves, saying, “It has all stopped.”
Steve Schmida, who runs global consulting firm Resonance, which competes for contracts with USAID, told Fox News Digital that the shutdown is impacting contractors in the form of layoffs, furloughs and a reduction in hours. He also said the stop-work order has prevented his employees from getting paid for work they’ve already done.
Schmida said DOGE is “controlling payments” by taking over the payment system. He accused the Musk-led agency of “intentionally defrauding us.”
“If not stopped, it will spread to the rest of the government,” Schmida said, adding that the Trump administration’s DOGE could use its takeover of the payment system as “a weapon against American citizens, denying Social Security and Medicare if they step out of line.”
Schmida said the foreign assistance community recognizes and shares the desire to reform the system, stating it “could work a lot better,” though he urged the government to work toward improvement rather than the destruction of an agency whose work has been built up over seven decades.
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Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
