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Trump admin goes on memo blitz to agency chiefs ordering pause to federal grants, return to office details

The Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) went on a memo blitz Monday, sending at least three letters to federal agency leaders on directives stretching from return to office instructions to pausing federal grants, copies of the memos obtained by Fox News Digital show.

President Donald Trump’s administration already has issued a handful of directives aimed at federal agency heads since he took office Jan. 20, including ordering agency chiefs to shutter diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices, which was followed by another memo to begin terminating DEI chiefs.

On Monday, the OMB, an executive office that evaluates agency programs and handles the president’s budget, and OPM, an independent agency that serves as the federal government’s human resources department, issued memos on Monday to further move federal agencies in line with the president’s vision of government.

TRUMP ADMIN TO PAUSE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: REPORT

Then-former President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Return to office plans

A joint OMB and OPM memo sent Monday regarding return to office plans outlined that agency heads have until Feb. 7 to provide a plan on returning staff schedules to full-time in-person work.

Agencies must “prepare plans to expeditiously implement” the memo and submit their plans “for review and approval by no later than Friday, February 7th at 5:00pm EST,” the memo, obtained by Fox News Digital, states.

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The directive, addressed to “heads of executive departments and agencies,” detailed that agency chiefs must craft plans that include details such as how they will “revise telework agreements for all eligible employees,” as well as “provide timelines for the return of all eligible employees to in-person work as expeditiously as possible, including the date that the agency will be in full compliance,” and “describe agency’s process for determining exceptions based on disability, qualifying medical condition, and or other compelling reason.”

Both the acting director of OMB, Matthew J. Vaeth, and OPM acting director, Charles Ezell, issued the memo.

The directive comes after Trump railed against federal employees working from home years after the pandemic and social distancing mandates ended. On his first day in office, Trump issued a presidential action calling on federal agencies to terminate remote work.

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Executive branch department and agency heads “shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary,” the Jan. 20 presidential action read.

Pausing federal grants and loans in effort to end ‘wokeness’

The OMB issued another memo on Monday that pauses all federal grants and loans, out of an effort to end “‘wokeness’ and the weaponization of government,” and to promote “efficiency in government.”

“Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal,” the memo, obtained by Fox Digital reads.

The pause takes effect at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

The memo explained that out of the $10 trillion spent by the federal government in fiscal year 2024, $3 trillion was allocated to “federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans.”

“Career and political appointees in the Executive Branch have a duty to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities,” the memo states. “Financial assistance should be dedicated to advancing Administration priorities, focusing taxpayer dollars to advance a stronger and safer America, eliminating the financial burden of inflation for citizens, unleashing American energy and manufacturing, ending ‘wokeness’ and the weaponization of government, promoting efficiency in government, and Making America Healthy Again.”

The memo was sent to all heads of executive departments and agencies by Vaeth.

“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” it adds.

Agency chiefs are required to submit “detailed information on any programs, projects or activities subject to this pause” to the OMB by Feb. 10 for review.

New federal employee classification

Agency leaders were directed in another memo sent Monday by OPM to review government positions that could be moved to the Trump administration’s new “schedule policy/career” federal employee classification.

Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office focused on federal employees who hold sway over policy decisions, as part of an effort to “maintain professionalism and accountability within the civil service,” which Trump’s order said was “sorely lacking.”

The executive order created a new “schedule policy/career” federal employee classification, which will work to remove civil protections from federal employees in “policy-influencing” positions, making the individuals more vulnerable for termination.

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Then-former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Uniondale, New York on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

Trump’s executive order creates a new classification “for positions that are of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy- advocating character (policy-influencing positions) and filled by individuals not normally subject to replacement or change as a result of a Presidential transition. Such career positions will be rescheduled into Schedule Policy/Career,” the memo stated.

The memo states that agency leaders have until April 20 to craft a plan on positions that would shift to the new classification. The 90-day period for review began on Jan. 20, when Trump signed the executive order.

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“Agencies have 90 days to conduct a preliminary review of positions and submit petitions, with an additional 120 days to finalize their review and submit any remaining petitions,” the memo reads. “Agencies may, and are encouraged to, submit such petitions on a rolling basis.”

January 28, 2025
Trans inmate sues Trump admin over ‘two-sexes’ order halting money for gender therapy

A transgender inmate receiving taxpayer-funded medical treatments has launched the first lawsuit against the Trump administration and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order that puts an end to medical transgender treatments for federal prisoners.

Trump’s executive order, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” prohibits federal funds from being “expended for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.” The order also declares there are only “two-sexes.”

The unnamed inmate, who goes by “Maria Moe” in court documents and is represented by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lowenstein Sandler LLP, has been on medical hormones since they were a teenager and has not been housed in a men’s facility since their conviction.

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President Donald Trump’s executive order puts an end to medical transgender treatments for federal prisoners. (Getty Images)

Once Trump signed the executive order, Moe was transferred to a men’s prison facility, and BOP records changed the sex from “female” to “male,” the complaint says.

The lawsuit, first reported by Reuters, claims Trump’s executive order will lead to transgender women “who are incarcerated in federal prisons” being “unlawfully transferred to men’s facilities and denied medically necessary healthcare.”

“If Maria Moe is transferred to a men’s facility, she will not be safe,” the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Sunday, claims. “She will be at an extremely high risk of harassment, abuse, violence, and sexual assault. She may be subject to strip searches by male correctional officers.”

“She may be forced to shower in full view of men who are incarcerated. And she will predictably experience worsening gender dysphoria,” the complaint continued.

Moe is claiming Trump and the BOP are violating the Fifth and Eighth Amendments and claims they are “at imminent risk of losing access to the medical care she needs to treat her gender dysphoria.”

TRUMP LOOKS TO ENFORCE TRANS INMATE CRACKDOWN AS NEW ACTING FEDERAL PRISONS CHIEF TAPPED

President-elect Donald Trump arrives prior to his inauguration at the United States Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Melina Mara – Pool/Getty Images)

Prior to Trump’s reversal of BOP gender dysphoria policies, the BOP began funding transgender surgical procedures for transgender inmates in December 2022, with Donna Langan – formerly known as Peter Kevin Langan – becoming the first federal prisoner to undergo transition on the taxpayer dollar. Langan was convicted in 1997 for involvement in a series of armed bank robberies across the Midwest during the 1990s. Langan was a leader of the Aryan Republican Army, a White supremacist group that carried out these robberies to fund their activities, according to court documents.

Langan’s gender transition followed years of advocacy and legal action, including a landmark settlement in 2021, when the BOP agreed to provide gender transition surgery to Cristina Nichole Iglesias, who was convicted in 1994 for threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction against British officials.

TRUMP’S ‘TWO SEXES’ EXECUTIVE ORDER COMES ON HEELS OF SCOTUS ACCEPTING ANOTHER CHALLENGE TO LGBT AGENDA

A New York Times column featured the perspectives of gender destransitioners and gender-affirming care providers who claim that leftwing activists are pushing sex changes on kids too aggressively. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

In the past year, multiple lawsuits have been filed over the denial of gender transition treatments for incarcerated individuals. Autumn Cordellioné, a transgender woman serving 55 years in Indiana for the murder of their 11-month-old stepdaughter, sued the state for refusing to conduct transgender surgery.

In April 2024, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice sued Utah’s Department of Corrections, alleging it created unnecessary barriers to gender dysphoria treatment for inmates.

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In September 2024, Reiyn Keohane, a transgender woman imprisoned in Florida, filed suit against the state’s Department of Corrections. Keohane alleged officials violated the Eighth Amendment for discontinuing hormone therapy and access to female clothing and grooming products, despite Keohane’s prior diagnosis and treatment for gender dysphoria.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Moe’s attorneys, the White House and BOP.

Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.

January 28, 2025
Vance to address House Republicans at Trump hotel amid division over budget bill

House Republicans are set to hear from Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday, the second day of their annual issues conference, as they work to chart a path forward on plans for a massive conservative policy overhaul.

GOP lawmakers have chosen sunny South Florida for their annual retreat. In a sign of President Donald Trump’s enduring influence on his party, the three-day event is being held at the commander-in-chief’s golf course and resort in Doral.

Trump headlines a Republican National Committee spring donor retreat, in Palm Beach, Florida on May 4, 2024. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

It’s not clear yet what Vance is expected to say, but a copy of the lawmakers’ schedule for the week obtained by Fox News Digital suggests the discussion will primarily focus on the budget reconciliation process.

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Republicans have been negotiating for weeks on how to use their razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate to pass massive conservative policy changes through the reconciliation process.

By reducing the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to a 51-seat simple majority, reconciliation allows a party in control of both congressional chambers to enact sweeping changes, provided they’re relevant to budgetary and fiscal policy.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., left, and Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, walk together after leaving Vance’s office on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

However, there has been some disagreement for weeks over how to package the GOP’s priorities. Senate Republicans have pushed for breaking the package up into two bills in order to score early victories on border security and energy policy, while leaving the more complex issue of tax reform for a second bill.

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House Republican leaders, however, are concerned that the heavy political lift that passing a reconciliation bill entails would mean lawmakers run out of time before they can extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which expire at the end of this year.

Vance has not publicly said which approach he favors.

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Trump, who previously called for one “big, beautiful bill,” was less committed to the strategy during his own remarks to House Republicans in Florida on Monday night.

“Whether it’s one bill, two bills, I don’t care,” he said.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he wants the House to have passed a reconciliation bill by early spring.

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

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

January 28, 2025
‘Just like Trump’: ISIS murder victim Kayla Mueller’s parents endorse Patel for FBI following military op role

FIRST ON FOX: Carl and Marsha Mueller, the parents of ISIS murder victim Kayla Mueller, offered their full endorsement of Kash Patel for FBI director, after years of building a personal relationship with the Trump administration nominee.

“He loves his country. He loves the people of this country,” Marsha Mueller told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview via Zoom on Monday morning. “To us, you know, he is a person that we would go to for help. And he is so action oriented.”

“Just like Trump,” Carl Mueller added to his wife’s comments on Patel’s action-motivated personality.

The Muellers wrote a letter this week to Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., of the Senate Judiciary Committee, offering their full endorsement of Patel to serve as director of the FBI under the second Trump administration.

Their daughter Kayla was abducted by terrorists while leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013, when she was assisting with humanitarian efforts amid the country’s bloody civil war. She was held hostage for 18 months, when she was believed to be repeatedly tortured and raped by ISIS militants, including then-ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

‘WHEN THEY FAIL, AMERICANS DIE’: TRUMP SOURCE BLASTS FBI, URGES SWIFT CONFIRMATION OF KASH PATEL AS DIRECTOR

Carl Mueller, right, and Marsha Mueller show a picture of their daughter Kayla, who was killed by ISIS when she was an aid worker in Syria, as they attend the State of the Union address in 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

She was killed in 2015 — with her parents speaking to Fox Digital just days ahead of the 10-year anniversary of her death, on Feb. 6.

Patel served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration, which put him in the Mueller’s orbit when he assisted in overseeing the military operation to eliminate ISIS chief al-Baghdadi in 2019.

“We would like to add our voices to those in support of Kash Patel’s nomination to be the director of the FBI,” the Mueller’s letter to Senate lawmakers and obtained by Fox News Digital reads. “Any family who has lived through such an experience will know the value of dedicated, compassionate law enforcement officials.”

“Because we have watched him at his work over time, and because we have personal experience of his dedication, we know that Kash Patel is such a person,” the letter continues. “We continue to see in him a genuinely kind, thoughtful, action-oriented man who focuses on what is true and right and just. He loves our country and our citizens and wants the best for us all. He wants our country to be the best it can be.”

Patel personally has been at the Muellers side over the past five years, they told Fox News Digital. He has stood out from the crowd as a federal government employee who sincerely cares for Americans who are suffering and will pick up the phone “night or day” to speak with them following the tragic loss of their daughter.

“I’m confident if I texted him right now, he would get back to me before this interview is over,” Carl Mueller said.

‘BEACON OF SELFLESSNESS’: ISIS VICTIM KAYLA MUELLER HONORED AT CONGRESSMAN’S SWEARING-IN 10 YEARS AFTER DEATH

Kash Patel, left, meets with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in his Washington, D.C., office in 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Patel previously served as a public defender in Florida’s Miami-Dade area, as well as a Department of Justice official during the Obama administration, when he won awards for his prosecution and conviction of 12 terrorists responsible for the World Cup bombings in 2010.

Patel hit the national radar during Trump’s first administration, including when he worked as a national security advisor and senior counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence under the leadership of then-Committee Chair Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

Kayla Mueller, pictured here, was abducted by terrorists while leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013. (The Associated Press)

The Muellers reflected on the first time they met with Patel at the White House nearly five years ago when he served on the National Security Council, and how he told them to contact him at any time with questions about their daughter or to just talk.

President Donald Trump, center, in October 2019, monitors developments as U.S. Special Operations forces close in on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s compound in Syria with a mission to kill or capture the terrorist. (Shealah Craighead/The White House via Getty Images)

“We actually met Kash — we were back in D.C. at the White House, and he actually came to us and found us. That’s the first time we met him and wanted us to go meet with him and National Security Advisor, [Robert O’Brien]. So that’s how we first came to meet him. So it’s been almost five years ago. And they wanted to sit down and talk with us about Kayla. And we told them that we were working, and we’re still working with, [former FBI agent] Ali Soufan. And they told us to continue to work with him and they would help in any way they could. And so that was our first meeting,” Marsha Mueller said.

In their letter endorsing Patel, the Muellers reflected on the nominee’s note to them encouraging them to reach out, which came as a departure from their treatment under the Obama administration, they said.

Carl and Marsha Mueller, pictured here in 2020, wrote a letter offering their full endorsement of Kash Patel to serve as director of the FBI under the second Trump administration. (Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images)

“It was actually after that first meeting when we met him, and he wrote us the note, and he said, ‘Please contact me at any time, day or night, with whatever questions you may have, or simply if you just need someone to speak with. I’ll always answer your call.’ And, you know, he’s kept every promise he’s ever made to us, as we knew we would from meeting him that first time,” Marsha Mueller told Fox News Digital.

PARENTS OF ISIS VICTIM KAYLA MUELLER REFLECT ON THEIR LOSS

The Muellers previously spoke out against the Obama administration’s handling of their daughter’s captivity in Syria, repeatedly saying she would not have been murdered if Trump was in office when she was taken hostage. Carl Mueller underscored the conviction in his interview on Monday, adding that the second Trump administration not only reopens lines of communication for his family, but extends hope to families around the country who have loved ones in the hands of terrorists.

“We didn’t want to forget to mention to the families of current American hostages that their chances of getting their loved ones home have exponentially increased with the Trump administration in there,” Carl Mueller said. “As I said before, if Trump would have been in office, Marsha and I are convinced that Kayla would be home. And we feel that he will do everything to get current American hostages. So just a word of encouragement and hope for them, because we know that sometimes hope is all they have.”

Then-President Barack Obama offered his condolences to the family following Kayla’s death in 2015, vowing that the U.S. would bring the terrorists to justice.

“She has been taken from us, but her legacy endures, inspiring all those who fight, each in their own way, for what is just and what is decent. No matter how long it takes, the United States will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for Kayla’s captivity and death,” Obama said at the time, just roughly four years before the Trump administration wiped out ISIS’s leader.

Kayla Mueller’s remains have not been recovered, but the couple believes the second Trump administration reinvigorates efforts to bring her and other hostages who have been murdered back to the U.S.

I WORKED WITH KASH PATEL TO EXPOSE THE RUSSIA HOAX AND KNOW HE’S THE BEST PICK TO REFORM THE FBI

“We believe [the Trump administration] will work closely with Ali Soufan to help us find Kayla and hopefully other hostages that were killed and bring them home as well,” Marsha Mueller said, referring to a former FBI agent who has worked with the Muellers across the years following Kayla Mueller’s captivity and murder.

President Donald Trump announces from the White House in October 2019 that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in a military operation in northwest Syria. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Patel, if confirmed, will replace former FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom the Muellers also lauded as a compassionate man who has also helped their efforts across the years. Looking ahead to the next four years, they said they are “very fortunate and looking forward to more progress and finding Kayla through the Trump administration.”

Patel is set to join the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday as the final leg of his nomination process kicks off in earnest. Patel has been on Capitol Hill meeting with Senate lawmakers to rally support for his nomination, earning praise from conservative lawmakers such as Tennessee Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, as well as endorsements from key law enforcement groups, such as the National Sheriffs’ Association. Patel is expected to face an uphill battle overall to secure the nomination, as Democrats balk that he lacks the qualifications to lead the law enforcement agency and would politicize the agency.

GOP ATTORNEYS GENERAL OFFER SUPPORT FOR TRUMP FBI PICK KASH PATEL, URGE SENATORS TO DO THE SAME

Kash Patel, a former chief of staff to then-acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, is followed by reporters as he departs from a deposition meeting on Capitol Hill on Dec. 9, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The Muellers explained that even when Patel was no longer serving in the first Trump administration, he met with the couple and other families suffering from losing a loved one to terrorist captivity. The Muellers were among family members who attended the trial of ISIS terrorist El Shafee Elsheikh, a member of the so-called “ISIS Beatles,” who admitted to his involvement in and knowledge of Kayla Mueller’s captivity.

Elsheikh’s trial was held in 2022, when he was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of Virginia and sentenced to eight concurrent terms of life imprisonment for holding four American citizens, as well as British and Japanese nationals, hostage before their deaths.

Patel joined the Muellers and other affected families during the trial, the couple explained, meeting them and “anyone that wanted to talk with him” at their hotel and speaking to them for maybe an hour.

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“It was not just the Americans that came down when we were sitting there with him,” Marsha Mueller said. “Actually, people from other countries did, too, because … he was willing to sit and talk with us. I was really deeply touched by that.”

“But, you know, there was no reason, he was not in government anymore. But yet it was still in his heart and soul for justice,” she said.

The couple reflected on the past decade, when they first learned their daughter was murdered, remarking that Obama administration officials “will have to live with” their failure of not bringing the American citizen home before her death.

Marsha Mueller also read her daughter’s letter to her family while she was held captive, including a portion of the note that was not widely reported.

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“We always like Kayla to speak for herself. And there’s a quote out there that most people know, but they don’t know what she said after that quote, and if I can get through it, she said, ‘I’ve known for some time what my life’s work is, using my hands as tools to relieve suffering.’ But she went on to say, ‘that is my life’s work, but my family is my life.’”

“That’s Kayla,” Marsha Mueller said through tears. “She loved us. We love her. And we encourage her to go out and help all the people she could in this world.”

January 28, 2025
Trump claims military entered California to release water flow, but state says that did not happen

President Donald Trump claimed Monday night that the military entered California and “turned on the water,” but state water officials contend that the president’s claim is false.

“The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!” he added.

But the California Department of Water Resources responded that the military never entered the Golden State and that the state continues to have plenty of water resources.

CALI REP. CHU SAYS ‘WILDFIRES HAVE NO POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS’ AFTER TRUMP FLOATED CONDITIONS FOR FEDERAL AID

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tour a fire-affected area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

“The military did not enter California,” the department said on X. “The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful.”

State Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire, a Democrat, also pushed back against Trump’s post.

“First off, shocker, water from the Pacific Northwest doesn’t flow to the Central Valley,” McGuire said on X. “Second, federal water pumps were down for repair and are now back on. Third, rest assured, the military has not invaded the delta. Facts are hard.”

TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk with California Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

This comes after Trump issued an executive order directing several federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, to determine how to deliver more water to Southern California and the Central Valley, as the state responds to wildfires that swept through the Los Angeles area this month.

Trump had said on Friday that two conditions must be met in California before the federal government offers disaster relief. He said he wants lawmakers to approve voter identification legislation and that water deliveries need to be increased from Northern California to drier areas further south.

“I want to see two things in Los Angeles. Voter ID, so that the people have a chance to vote, and I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina as he was touring hurricane recovery efforts in that state. “Those are the two things. After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen.”

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet residents as they tour a fire-affected area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

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Trump visited Los Angeles later on Friday to view damage from the wildfires and meet with local officials and residents.

Republicans in Congress have suggested tying wildfire aid to a debt ceiling increase or changes to California’s fire-mitigation policies.

January 28, 2025
Trump administration holds first White House press conference with Karoline Leavitt

The Trump administration will hold its first White House press conference with newly minted press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday afternoon, according to the White House schedule.

President Donald Trump has been on a media blitz since his inauguration on Jan. 20, including sitting down for his first White House interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity and speaking with the media as he traveled to states rocked by natural disasters, including North Carolina and California. Trump’s press secretary also has frequently joined media outlets for interviews since Trump was sworn in, but has not yet held a White House press briefing.

Leavitt, 27, is the youngest press secretary in the nation’s history – unseating President Richard Nixon’s press secretary Ron Ziegler, who was 29 when he took the same position in 1969. Leavitt was a fierce defender of Trump throughout his hard-fought campaign against former Vice President Kamala Harris, and also made her own political mark with a congressional run in 2022.

Leavitt served in Trump’s first administration as assistant press secretary before working as New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik’s communications director following the 2020 election. She launched a congressional campaign in her home state of New Hampshire during the 2022 cycle, winning her primary but losing the election to a Democrat.

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Karoline Leavitt, with President Donald Trump, is the youngest press secretary in the nation’s history.

Leavitt picked up the torch of press secretary from the Biden administration’s chief spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre.

TRUMP’S ‘SHOCK AND AWE’: FORGET FIRST 100 DAYS, NEW PRESIDENT SHOWS OFF FRENETIC PACE IN FIRST 100 HOURS

Trump’s first week in office was a whirlwind of executive orders and actions as part of his mission to follow through on campaign promises, such as securing the border and removing diversity, equity and inclusion practices from federal offices.

President Donald Trump’s first few days in office were a whirlwind of executive orders and actions as part of his mission to follow through on campaign promises. (Melina Mara, Pool/Getty Images)

“I return to the presidency confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success,” Trump said during his inaugural speech on Jan. 20. “A tide of change is sweeping the country. Sunlight is pouring over the entire world, and America has the chance to seize this opportunity like never before.”

‘TIP OF THE SPEAR’: TRUMP RAMPS UP UNSCRIPTED MEDIA BLITZ AFTER YEARS OF RECLUSIVE BIDEN DUCKING QUESTIONS

“I think we got there just in the nick of time,” President Donald Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in the Oval Office. (Fox News/Hannity)

Trump repeatedly has made himself available to the media since his inauguration – a departure from former President Joe Biden’s infrequent availability to the media – speaking to reporters for about 45 minutes on the evening of his inauguration and again speaking with reporters on Tuesday for another 30 minutes.

Trump also sat down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday, where the pair discussed issues ranging from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to hurricanes and wildfires under the Biden administration and declaring that his return to the White House serves as evidence that policies from the “radical left” do not work and were rejected by voters.

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“I think it’s bigger. It’s bigger than if it were more traditional,” he said on “Hannity,” referring to serving two nonconsecutive terms. “I think we got there just in the nick of time.”

January 28, 2025
USAID workers put on leave as Trump officials investigate resistance to aid pause

Dozens of senior officials in the U.S. agency that administers foreign aid were reportedly placed on leave Monday amid an investigation into alleged resistance to President Donald Trump’s orders.

At least 56 U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) officials were placed on administrative leave with full pay and benefits, Politico first reported. Several hundred contractors based in Washington and elsewhere were also laid off, a current and a former official told the Associated Press.

These actions come after Secretary of State Marco Rubio, acting on Trump’s executive order, paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and USAID. The 90-day pause has halted thousands of U.S.-funded humanitarian, development and security programs worldwide and forced aid organizations to lay off hundreds of employees because they can’t make payroll.

RUBIO PAUSES FOREIGN AID FROM STATE DEPARTMENT AND USAID TO ENSURE IT PUTS ‘AMERICA FIRST’

USAID humanitarian aid destined for Venezuela is displayed for the media at a warehouse next to the Tienditas International Bridge on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia, Feb. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

According to the Associated Press, an internal USAID notice sent late Monday said new acting administrator Jason Gray had identified “several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President’s Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people.”

“As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions,” Gray wrote.

AFTER RAUCOUS FIRST WEEK IN OFFICE, DONALD TRUMP TO KEEP HIS FOOT ON THE GAS

President Trump signed dozens of executive orders upon taking office, including a 90-day pause on all U.S. foreign aid. Here, he is pictured signing pardons for all Jan. 6 rioters. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

The notice did not say which of the dozens of executive orders Trump has signed since taking office the USAID officials were accused of violating, according to the AP.

The White House and USAID did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION NEEDS MORE PLANES TO CARRY OUT DEPORTATIONS: REPORT

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has paused most foreign aid through the State Department in compliance with Trump’s order. (Oliver Contreras/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Those placed on leave were career officials who had served in multiple administrations, including Trump’s, the former USAID official told the AP.

Before those officials were removed from the job Monday, they were scrambling to help U.S.-funded aid organizations cope with the new funding freeze and seek waivers to continue life-saving activities, from getting clean water to war-displaced people in Sudan to continuing to monitor for bird flu globally, the former official said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has specifically exempted only emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt from the freeze on foreign assistance.

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Trump has criticized foreign aid and called for a review of U.S. aid programs to determine which put American interests first and which should be eliminated.

The U.S. is the largest donor of aid globally. During fiscal year 2023, the U.S. dispersed $72 billion in assistance. It also provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Chris Pandolfo is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.

January 28, 2025
Trump White House memo pauses funding for NGOs, DEI and Green New Deal

The White House has reportedly issued a memo that broadly suspends federal grants, loans and other financial assistance programs for executive departments pending an assessment of the funding.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the memo, saying it was sent out by the Office of Management and Budget around 5 p.m. on Monday.

The memo, which takes effect Tuesday at 5 p.m., said agencies “must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal,” according to the Journal.

The memo reportedly said the federal government spent more than $3 trillion on federal assistance, including grants and loans, in the 2024 fiscal year and that the pause allows “time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities.”

JD VANCE CONDEMNS FEMA’S RESPONSE TO HELENE DEVASTATION IN 1ST TRIP AS VICE PRESIDENT

The White House is seen in Washington D.C., on Jan.22, 2025. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Each agency must “complete a comprehensive analysis of all their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders,” the memo continued, according to the Journal, adding that the pause must be applied “to the extent permissible under applicable law.”

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., holds a news conference to speak out against the nomination of Russell Vought on Jan. 23, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

AFTER RAUCOUS FIRST WEEK IN OFFICE, DONALD TRUMP TO KEEP HIS FOOT ON THE GAS

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned the memo, telling the Journal that pausing the funding puts “billions upon billions of community grants and financial support that help millions of people across the country” at risk.

“It will mean missed payrolls and rent payments and everything in between: chaos for everything from universities to non-profit charities, state disaster assistance, local law enforcement, aid to the elderly, and food for those in need,” Schumer said, adding that Congress approved the funding for the federal assistance programs.

President Donald Trump’s nominee for Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought testifies during the Senate Banking Committee nomination hearing on Jan. 22, 2025. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

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The memo included a footnote that said Medicare, Social Security benefits and assistance provided directly to individuals were exempt from the pause, but its otherwise broad language caused confusion Monday night among some federal employees, as administrators requested advice from their internal counsel regarding which programs the pause applied to and how the departments should respond, one source told the Journal.

The memo included a Feb. 10 deadline for agencies to submit a thorough summary of all paused programs, projects and activities to the Office of Management and Budget.

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

January 28, 2025
Trump transportation secretary pick Sean Duffy to face Senate confirmation vote

The Senate is poised to vote on whether to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Transportation over the next four years.

Trump tapped Sean Duffy, a former congressman, a father of nine and a former Fox News host, to serve as secretary of transportation under his administration, calling him a “tremendous and well-liked public servant.”

Duffy underwent a grilling by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee this month, eventually advancing to a full Senate vote with unanimous, bipartisan support.

A cloture vote for Duffy’s confirmation was held Monday evening, which, upon its passing, meant the chamber would conclude its debate over his nomination and proceed to a final vote.

SPEAKER JOHNSON INVITES TRUMP TO ADDRESS CONGRESS AMID BUSY FIRST 100-DAY SPRINT

Then-Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., leaves a House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol on May 8, 2018. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

The Senate is scheduled to vote on whether to confirm Duffy on Tuesday afternoon.

If confirmed, Duffy will assume the position last held by former President Joe Biden’s transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg.

Buttigieg faced criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for his handling of transportation issues over the years, such as waiting 10 days to address the 2023 Ohio train derailment and widespread calls to hold airlines accountable for flight delays.

As the new administration takes shape, lawmakers are making suggestions about what they would like to see in the new transportation head.

REPUBLICANS REACT TO PETE HEGSETH’S CONFIRMATION AS DEFENSE SECRETARY: ‘HE IS THE CHANGE AGENT’

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah called for the Trump administration to abolish the Transportation Security Administration.

Pete Buttigieg (Tim Rue/File)

Additionally, during Duffy’s confirmation hearing, Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., highlighted the importance of making sure Hurricane Helene victims are “not forgotten” after a stretch of a highway in North Carolina collapsed into the Pigeon River.

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Tuesday’s vote comes as Senate Republicans have been working to confirm Trump’s Cabinet nominees, holding a rare vote on Saturday to push through Kristi Noem as secretary of Homeland Security.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

January 28, 2025
Trump signs orders banning ‘radical gender ideology,’ DEI in the military

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President Donald Trump signed a handful of executive orders on Monday, including two banning “radical gender ideology” and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives from all branches of the U.S. military.

Trump stated that both orders, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” and “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” should be in the process of being implemented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the secretary of homeland security within 30 days.

Under “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” Trump states that DEI programs have undermined “leadership, merit and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness” and have “violated Americans’ consciences by engaging in invidious race and sex discrimination.”

“No individual or group within our Armed Forces should be preferred or disadvantaged on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, color or creed,” the order states, adding that no branch should operate on race or sex preference.

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

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Monday related to the military that will ban “radical gender ideology” and DEI initiatives from all branches and their academies. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

The order includes an internal review conducted by Hegseth within 90 days to document all instances of discrimination or promotion based on race or sex.

It also includes banning all “un-American, divisive, discriminatory, radical, extremist and irrational theories” from being taught in the Armed Forces and educational institutions operated or controlled by the military. Those theories include “gender ideology,” divisive concepts surrounding race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating and the idea that “America’s founding documents are racist or sexist.”

Instructors hired to teach at military academies will also be carefully reviewed to ensure “alignment with this order.”

“In addition, these institutions shall be required to teach that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history,” the order states.

Progress related to this order must be submitted by Hegseth and the homeland security secretary to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy within 180 days to track implementation and to find recommendations, if any, to fulfill the order’s objective.

3 IN 10 VOTERS THINK ENDING DEI PROGRAMS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, POLL SHOWS, AS FEDERAL DEADLINE LOOMS

The order “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” states that the U.S. military has one mission – “to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force.”

Trump stated in his executive order that all service members are required to be at peak mental and physical fitness, which eliminates those struggling with gender identity. (iStock)

Trump states in the order that the mission cannot be met if the military is accommodating “political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.” He also said longstanding DoD policy says service members must be free of medical conditions and physical defects that would require excessive treatment or hospitalization.

The “hormonal and surgical medical interventions” involved when an individual claims to be a gender differing from their sex do not meet the “rigorous standards” required of service members, including the commitment to being honorable, truthful and disciplined, the order states.

Fox News Digital previously reported that while exact figures are not publicly available, there are an estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender people serving in the military.

CRACKING DOWN ON TRANS TROOPS: TRUMP ORDER NIXES PREFERRED PRONOUNS, RESTRICTS FACILITY USE

“For the sake of our Nation and the patriotic Americans who volunteer to serve it, military service must be reserved for those mentally and physically fit for duty,” the order states. “The Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards to ensure our military can deploy, fight, and win, including in austere conditions and without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions.”

The DoD reportedly spent approximately $15 million on surgical and nonsurgical gender-affirming care for 1,892 active duty service members between Jan. 1, 2016, and May 14, 2021, per the Congressional Research Service.

The order also states that males and females are not allowed to use or share sleeping, changing or bathing facilities unless it is absolutely necessary during an operation.

The two executive orders are aimed at returning the focus of all military branches and corresponding academies to “lethality and force readiness.” (iStock)

Hegseth was already ordered to immediately end preferred pronoun usage within the DoD, and within 30 days, he must identify what is needed to implement the above order and submit a report summarizing the steps to the president.

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The orders are two of many things Trump promised to change during his 2024 campaign and fall in line with the hundreds of executive actions issued during his first week in office.

January 28, 2025