Author: NOVA Corp

War Secretary Pete Hegseth is slated to defend the Trump administration’s war in Iran amid intensifying questions from lawmakers as he heads to Capitol Hill for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict.

Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine will testify before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, during which the duo is expected to press for the need to fund the administration’s unprecedented $1.5 trillion defense request for the upcoming fiscal year.

But the hearing comes just two days before a 60-day deadline that some Republicans say will force the administration to draw down its military campaign in the Middle East absent congressional approval.

Several Senate Republicans, including Sens. John Curtis, R-Utah, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., have voiced opposition to extending the war past the two-month mark. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is drafting an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) that would force the upper chamber to weigh in on the war.

HEGSETH WAS ‘INCREDIBLY TALENTED, BATTLE-PROVEN LEADER,’ MILITARY EVALUATIONS SHOW

It remains to be seen whether House Republicans will apply the same pressure on the administration to end the war. 

The War Powers Act permits a 30-day extension for the president to continue hostilities without Congress’ sign-off, but it is not clear whether President Donald Trump plans to adhere to that timeline or whether lawmakers will factor in the ceasefire with the looming deadline. 

Republicans have rejected myriad attempts from Democrats to curb Trump’s war powers in Iran, arguing such measures would unfairly restrain the president.

Democrats are expected to grill Hegseth about what they claim is limited transparency from the administration about its strategy toward Iran. Lawmakers could also press the Pentagon secretary about diminishing weapons stockpiles as a result of the war and the conflict’s long-term costs.

“What’s his plan for the war?” Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the House Armed Services panel, told CBS News on Monday in a preview of his questions for the blockbuster hearing. “Because the other piece of this is the president keeps threatening massive escalation.”

GOLD STAR FAMILIES DEVASTATED BY BIDEN’S BOTCHED AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL ENDORSE HEGSETH FOR SECDEF

Hegseth’s visit to Capitol Hill also comes as some lawmakers have voiced concerns about recent high-profile firings, including former Navy Secretary John Phelan. The Pentagon secretary also ousted Gen. Randy George, who was the Air Force’s top officer.

Hegseth could also face questions about the Pentagon formally requesting Congress to codify its “Department of War” name change that is projected to cost at least $52 million.

“The American people can’t afford groceries, gas or rent — and the Pentagon has ALREADY wasted $50 million on renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War. Now they want more money,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., wrote on social media.

Ahead of the hearing, Hegseth announced a Joint Task Force Audit vowing to deliver a clean financial audit for the Pentagon’s 2028 financial statements after years of failing to pass an audit.

“We need to be brutally honest with ourselves. For far too long, this department’s financial reporting has been nothing short of a disaster,” Hegseth said in a video posted to social media. “Today that changes as it has during this administration, the era of excuses is over.”

Hegseth and Caine will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

Gunfire erupted near a Seattle community center Tuesday evening while Mayor Katie Wilson was attending a community event with families and children present, police said.

Multiple individuals were reported firing shots around 5:30 p.m. in the Yesler Terrace neighborhood near the Yesler Community Center, where Wilson had been speaking, the Seattle Police Department said in a blotter post.

Police said multiple individuals were reported firing shots near the center, damaging the building. No injuries were reported.

“At the time of the shooting, the mayor was attending an event with multiple children and adults,” police said.

MAMDANI’S ‘GUN VIOLENCE’ COMMENTS AFTER KILLING OF 7-MONTH OLD BABY SPARK OUTRAGE: ‘ABSOLUTE DISGRACE’

Wilson was escorted away from the area after the gunfire, FOX 13 Seattle reported. Several bullets struck the building, leaving holes in windows on the opposite side of the center from where the mayor had been speaking, according to the outlet.

Witnesses told investigators the suspects fled the area in an unidentified vehicle. Detectives with the department’s Gun Violence Reduction Unit and Crime Scene Investigation teams are collecting evidence and working to develop suspect descriptions, police said.

In a statement released by her office, Wilson called the incident a “stark reminder” of ongoing gun violence concerns.

ICE DIRECTOR SAYS PORTLAND FACILITY FACES VIOLENCE WITH ‘LITTLE HELP FROM LOCAL POLICE’

“Shortly following my announcement of new investments in Seattle’s children and families today, we heard gunfire. No one was injured, but it was a stark reminder of a reality too many people in this city live with every day,” Wilson said.

“We cannot let this become normal. We must invest in opportunity, and we must continue working to keep people safe.”

Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes also addressed the incident.

“This shooting reminds us that violence has no place in our community,” Barnes said. “Our neighbors have the right to gather, speak, and celebrate without fear of violence.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor’s office and Seattle police for further comment.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Seattle Police Department tip line at 206-233-5000.

A cohort of Senate Republicans wants to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to fund President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom after a third assassination attempt was foiled over the weekend.

Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., plan to introduce legislation that would unlock $400 million for the administration to construct the ballroom.

It would effectively see Congress cover the tab for Trump’s ballroom, which initially was projected to cost around $100 million but has ballooned to $400 million in the months since it was announced. Their bill comes on the heels of a new tidal wave of support from the GOP for the ballroom, which lawmakers previously had kept at arm’s length after Trump announced plans last year to build it where the East Wing once stood.

REPUBLICANS SCRAMBLE TO FUND SECRET SERVICE AFTER TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AMID RECORD-BREAKING SHUTDOWN

But the new push was spurred when a gunman on Saturday attempted to enter the packed Washington Hilton ballroom, where Trump, Vice President JD Vance and his Cabinet, along with hundreds of journalists, were attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

“If this is not a wake-up call, well, it should be,” Graham said.

Their bill would use customs fees on imports to pay for the ballroom, which Trump and the White House previously touted as being entirely funded by outside donations.

REPUBLICANS RUSH TO GREEN-LIGHT WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM FOLLOWING THIRD TRUMP ASSASSINATION SCARE

Whether Senate Democrats support the plan is an open question.

“I don’t understand why it is that every idea, it doesn’t matter if on its face is good or not, Democrats choose to oppose it if it has anything to do with Donald Trump,” Britt said.

Some Democrats are calling for more information on what exactly happened on Saturday.

“The notion of, ‘Oh, this thing happened at Hilton, so let’s just throw millions of dollars at a ballroom,’ I mean, that strikes me as odd,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said. “Let’s get to the bottom of what happened and what the solutions are.”

Others argue that the White House should have come to Congress first before moving ahead with the demolition of the East Wing and construction of the ballroom.

WHITE HOUSE MAKEOVERS HAVE LONG SPARKED CONTROVERSY, WELL BEFORE PRESIDENT TRUMP’S $200M BALLROOM

“Do we need a ballroom? Well, that, we can discuss that, what it looks like and all of that,” Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., told NewsNation. “This isn’t about Donald Trump. It is really about safety. It’s really about safety. I think it should have gone through the right congressional process.”

The legislation would effectively kill two birds with one stone for the administration — provide both congressional approval to blast through an injunction that has stymied construction, and alleviate criticisms of influence peddling for donors to the lavish, 90,000-square-foot gilded ballroom.

Graham wants Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to expedite the bill and swiftly get it onto the Senate floor for a vote but is open to throwing the legislation into the forthcoming budget reconciliation package to fund immigration operations for the remainder of Trump’s presidency.

Thune said that the Senate is currently focused on funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but noted that he agreed with the argument that Trump and future presidents need a secure facility for events readily available at the White House.

“And, obviously, there’s a vested stake, I think, in our government in ensuring that we protect our leaders, like the president, and the vice president, his Cabinet, all of them are targeted the other night,” Thune said.

A federal judge in Arizona blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from gaining access to the state’s voter rolls on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Susan Brnovich, a Trump appointee, dismissed a lawsuit by the Justice Department that sought access to the documents. Brnovich stated that the voter rolls are “not a document subject to request by the Attorney General,” and dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice.

The DOJ’s lawsuit had targeted Arizona Attorney General Adrian Fontes, demanding that he turn over the voter data.

“This moment is a win for voter privacy,” Fontes said in a statement. “I will never comply with illegal requests that put Arizona voters in harms way.”

JUDGE GIVES ‘GREEN LIGHT’ TO CONTROVERSIAL NEW YORK DRIVER’S LICENSE LAW IN BLOW TO TRUMP ADMIN

Arizona is now one of seven states that have rebuffed the Trump administration’s attempts to conduct voter record investigations. The data sought by the administration would include dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.

Those states include Rhode Island, California, Massachusetts, Michigan and Oregon.

Meanwhile, at least 13 states have either complied or promised to comply with the Trump administration’s requests: Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.

BIDEN JUDGE HALTS ‘SURPRISING’ ILLEGAL ALIEN MINOR REPATRIATION PLAN AFTER ADVOCACY GROUPS SUE

The administration says it needs access to the data to ensure states are complying with federal election law, as well as to check the citizenship status of individuals on the voter rolls.

Tuesday’s ruling came the same week that the North Carolina State Board of Elections identified approximately 34,000 dead people on the state’s voter rolls following a comprehensive comparison with federal data.

Earlier this month, the NCSBE submitted over 7.3 million voter records to the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database as part of an initiative to strengthen the accuracy and integrity of the state’s voter registration list. The NCSBE clarified that the identification of deceased individuals on the state’s voter rolls does not necessarily indicate illegal votes were cast.

“While we expected to find some cases, this is higher than we anticipated,” Sam Hayes, the executive director of the State Board of Elections, said in a statement.

Fox News’ Alex Schemmel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Congressional Republicans entered the record-breaking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown united — 75 days later, and they are increasingly at odds over how to end it.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is now floating a change to the Senate’s DHS bill funding most of the department after declining to put the measure on the floor for more than a month.

The new demand comes as the department’s vital security role was spotlighted on Saturday when the Secret Service stopped a gunman from storming the ballroom where he allegedly planned to assassinate President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet. 

The Secret Service is among several agencies under the DHS umbrella that are currently operating without full-year funding. The assassination scare notably spurred Trump to demand that DHS funding, and the forthcoming budget reconciliation process, be wrapped up soon.

DEMOCRAT WHO BROKE WITH PARTY SAYS HIS DHS FUNDING VOTE A ‘MISTAKE’ AFTER 2ND MINNEAPOLIS ICE SHOOTING

Now, Johnson’s new tactic is to modify the Senate bill, which he claims “has some problematic language because it was haphazardly drafted.” 

“We have a modified version that I think is going to be much better for both chambers,” Johnson told reporters on Monday.  

“It makes sure that we’re not going to orphan two of the primary agencies of DHS,” he added. “We have to make sure that immigration law is enforced and that the border is safe and secure. Democrats don’t want to have any part of that, so unfortunately, we have to do that on our own.”

But the White House, in a memo to House Republicans obtained by Fox News Digital, demanded that Johnson pass the Senate’s bill as-is, and warned that unless the House took action, the remaining DHS funding would soon dry up. 

“It is imperative that Congress immediately fund DHS and its critical operations to protect the homeland,” the memo stated. 

The Senate bill and a separate budget reconciliation bill funding immigration enforcement are part of a two-track approach that congressional Republicans are pursuing to end the funding lapse.

Johnson has long reflected the view of many in the GOP by voicing objections to the Senate bill because it zeroes out funding for ICE and CBP. 

But Senate Republicans are frustrated with their House colleagues who continue to sit on the bill that would reopen most of DHS while teasing forthcoming modifications. Any substantial alteration to the bill outside a minor technical correction would kick the bill back to the Senate for reconciliation.

Trump has not weighed in on the Senate’s partial DHS bill, but has urged the House to quickly approve the Senate-passed budget blueprint funding immigration enforcement.

GOP INFIGHTING REPLACES CLASH WITH DEMS, DERAILS PATH TO END HISTORIC DHS SHUTDOWN

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., noted that it had been nearly 30 days since he and the speaker put out a joint statement supporting the Senate’s funding bill. 

“I guess my question is, what was the alternative? And that’s what I said to them at the time, and you tell me, give me a better option, ’cause I’m open to ideas,” Thune said Tuesday. “But I don’t think anybody had one, and we had a bunch of agencies that weren’t being funded.”

Congressional Democrats have ripped Johnson for holding up the Senate bill, though Republicans note that Congress would not be in the funding stalemate if Democrats had agreed to a full-year spending bill for the department.

“Johnson can just take up the bill that was passed unanimously in the Senate and we’d be funding all of DHS except for ICE and CBP, and then we could work on that,” Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., told Fox News on Tuesday.

“The fact that he has failed to do so is outrageous and it’s on him that we are not paying the rest of DHS,” she added.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats, who voted unanimously alongside Republicans twice on the funding deal, are scratching their heads about what exactly Johnson is trying to do.

Democrats have also signaled a possible return of the funding standoff that dominated the upper chamber for over a month. 

“They’re just stuck so they come up with — we need some technical changes,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “Hold up national security for technical changes? It’s absurd.”

Republican Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida announced that he will not run for re-election this year.

“After much prayerful consideration and discussion with my beloved wife Sandy, I have decided not to seek re-election to the United States House of Representatives,” he said, according to a Tuesday press release.

“It has been an honor and privilege to represent my beloved state in the U.S. House of Representatives. I’ve never taken for granted my responsibility to Florida’s hardworking taxpayers and families to advance common-sense reforms and principled policy. The time has come to pass the torch to the next conservative leader and spend more precious time with my wife, children and 24 grandchildren,” he noted.

REP CORY MILLS DRAWS FIRST REPUBLICAN CHALLENGER AS SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS, EXPULSION THREAT MOUNT

Webster has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2011.

“Throughout my time in Congress, I have fought for legislative reforms that would restore a member-driven process and fiscal responsibility. To set an example, I have reduced my congressional salary and office budget every year, returning over $6 million in savings to the Treasury as a small but meaningful step toward restoring fiscal responsibility,” the lawmaker said. “This has been the most member-driven Congress of my time, and we have made great progress in cutting spending year over year.”

His retirement announcement came the day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a proposed new congressional map for the state.

RON DESANTIS UNVEILS NEW FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL MAP THAT WOULD GIVE THE GOP AN EXTRA FOUR SEATS

Should the state legislature, which holds a Republican majority in both the state House and Senate, approve the redrawing, it would then return to DeSantis to be signed into law and would apply to the 2026 midterms.

“Don’t do it. I’ve said it from the beginning,” Punchbowl News reported Webster as saying last month. “I’ve been around enough reapportionments to know it’s a slippery slope.”

FORMER FLORIDA GOV. CHARLIE CRIST IS RUNNING FOR MAYOR OF ST. PETE

In a post on X, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, who is also the Sunshine State’s former governor, responded to the congressman’s retirement announcement by calling Webster “a hard worker and an American patriot” who “dedicated decades of his life to serving the great people of Florida,” adding, “He’s a great friend who served our nation with pride. I’m grateful for all that we have accomplished together for our state and nation.”

Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report

A House judiciary hearing in the House of Representatives grew tense on Tuesday when Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, pressed an American University scholar in graphic detail on which abortion procedure she would list as her favorite.

“What’s your favorite type of abortion?” Gill asked Jessica Waters, a senior scholar at the American University School of Public Affairs.

Waters, whose research focuses on “reproductive rights law,” “abortion regulation,” and “state control of reproductive decision-making,” refused to answer.

“I’m an advocate for patients having access to the full realm of reproductive healthcare,” Waters said.

BONDI HEARING DEVOLVES INTO CHAOS OF SHOUTS AS AG ACCUSES TOP DEMOCRATS OF ‘THEATRICS’

The moment — and the attention it immediately sparked online — highlights the continued priority of the abortion issue among Republican lawmakers and conservatives, and came during a hearing before the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government.

Gill leaned into the gruesome picture often left behind by some of the procedures.

“The first kind is called a ‘suction abortion,’” Gill said.

“This is when the cervix is dilated and a strong suction, 29 times the power of a household vacuum cleaner, tears the baby’s body apart and sucks it through the hose into a container. Do you prefer that method?”

“I stand by my former testimony,” Waters said.

Viewers on social media praised Gill, pointing out his resolve to hold Waters’ feet to the fire despite the terse exchange.

TEXAS LAWMAKERS CONSIDER BIPARTISAN BILL AIMED AT CLARIFYING EXCEPTIONS TO STATE’S ABORTION RESTRICTIONS

“This is the conversation Democrats refuse to have. It’s uncomfortable, it’s ugly, but it has to be said,” Nick Craig, a political commentator from North Carolina, said in a post to X.

Derrick Evans, a former member of the West Virginia House of Representatives, highlighted the moment in a post of his own.

“Watch her squirm as he starts describing some of the abortion methods,” Evans wrote.

“If you think congressional testimony is useless, just watch this masterclass,” TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet said on X.

“Brilliantly done,” conservative podcast host Matt Walsh wrote on X.

Despite Waters’ declining to answer his question, Gill continued to list additional abortion procedures.

“What about this one?” This one is called dilation and curettage. A sharp knife is inserted into the uterus, the baby’s body is cut into pieces and extracted often by suction. Do you prefer that method?” Gill asked.

Waters tried to divert the question.

“What I believe we are here to talk about today is the FACE Act,” Waters said, referring to a piece of legislation making its way through committee.

“No, you’re a pro-abortion advocate — I’m asking you if you prefer the dilation and curettage method,” Gill interjected.

NANCY MACE CHALLENGES DEM REP TO ‘TAKE IT OUTSIDE’ AFTER ‘CHILD, LISTEN’ COMMENT SPARKS CHAOS

“I am an access to reproductive healthcare advocate. I would prefer to talk about the reason the committee called the hearing,” Water said.

“Is it because it’s uncomfortable? To talk about? It should be uncomfortable,” Gill said. “I wouldn’t want to talk about this either if I were you.”

A Pennsylvania hearing on transgender sports legislation erupted in chaos Monday, as Republicans accused Democrats of trying to sidestep votes on two related bills.

Pennsylvania became a focal point of the transgender sports debate in 2022, as UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas competed against female athletes, including the University of Kentucky’s Riley Gaines. Since then, conservatives have sought to codify the separation of biological sexes in scholastic sports and public restrooms nationwide.

The top Republican on the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee told Fox News Digital that the scene captured on official video showed the Democratic chairman trying to “re-refer” two bills to the House Health Committee without fully explaining which bills he was citing.

Ranking member Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Chambersburg, said that Republicans ultimately determined the two bills focused on separating scholastic athletes by biological sex and that Democrats resisted any debate before sending them to another committee to restart the process.

GOP LAWMAKERS, RILEY GAINES SLAM DEMOCRATS FOR VOTING AGAINST PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SPORTS ACT

“It’s fascinating. But the key is, in the legislative process, whether it be on the House floor or in any committee meeting, they’ll say the number of the bill and then they’ll give a title or brief description of the bill before anyone votes on it. You don’t just call up a bill by number,” Kauffman told Fox News Digital in a Tuesday interview.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Timothy Briggs was doing just that in a Monday hearing, Kauffman said.

Briggs, D-King of Prussia, sought to move two bills out of the committee quickly, announcing that all Democrats would vote to re-refer them while identifying the measures only by bill number.

Republicans said they were unaware of the bills’ contents because their titles were not read as Briggs tried to re-refer them to the House Health Committee.

Briggs asked the clerk to call the roll for the “sole purpose of referring [them] to the Health Committee” and added that “all Democrats will be voting ‘Yes.’”

“Could we kinda know what the bills are?” interjected Kauffman, before someone in the gallery called out that they were related to transgender athletes in children’s sports.

HB 158 is the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act from Rep. Barb Gleim, R-Mechanicsburg, and HB 1849 is the related Dads Defending Daughters Act by Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga.

Briggs sighed and began to speak before Kauffman continued.

“We can’t vote on a re-referral when we don’t even know what the title of the bill is. Obviously, you don’t want us to know what the title of the bill is,” he said, chuckling as Briggs cut in that the committee is “running out of time.”

Kauffman quipped that if he ever pulled such a move as chairman, Briggs’ caucus would have “lost your mind.”

DEMOCRATS HAVE LOST THEIR WAY ON WOMEN’S SPORTS – AND HERE’S THE POLITICAL PRICE THEY’LL PAY

After another pointed exchange between Briggs and Kauffman, the Democrat ordered the clerk to call the roll on the bills and then claimed aloud that some Republicans were refusing to vote.

One of those named, Rep. Stephanie Borowicz of Lock Haven, objected after learning the bills’ true identities:

“Now you’re deciding how we’re voting?” said Borowicz, who co-sponsored Gleim’s bill.

“We might as well be better off in the Russian Duma at this point,” Kauffman added as Briggs plowed through their objections and tried to move past the two bills.

The blow-up showed that Democrats are “petrified of this issue [so much] that they broke legislative protocol, parliamentary norms and everything I’ve learned in this legislature in 20 years,” Kauffman told Fox News Digital.

He said that if the bills were moved to another committee without first being voted out of his own, the parliamentary “clock” would restart and Democrats could continue moving the measures through committee without taking a direct vote on the underlying transgender sports issue.

Kauffman said the kerfuffle was indicative of the national debate over transgender sports, calling it an “80-90%” issue in favor of separating youth athletes by sex.

ILLINOIS SCHOOL BOARD MEETING MADNESS CONTINUES AS TENSIONS ESCALATE OVER TRANS ATHLETES IN GIRLS’ SPORTS

Kauffman added that Democrats will eventually have to confront the issue because the state Senate is advancing its own transgender sports bill, which will be taken up by the House.

“It’s a mom and dad issue. It’s a biological fact issue. So we’re going to keep at it,” he said, adding that critics are “cater[ing] to the far-progressive fringe” of their party and “generally don’t care what the people want.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Briggs for a response to the situation.

A representative for the King of Prussia Democrat said he was “regrettably unavailable” for comment.

The clash came just weeks after a Republican lawmaker’s attempt to define “woman” in a Women’s Month resolution led Democrats to pull the commemoration.

Fox News Digital’s Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.

The Senate Banking Committee will vote Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, in a key test of how much influence the White House can exert over the central bank.

If he clears committee, Warsh’s nomination heads to the Senate floor, where Republicans’ narrow majority leaves little room for defections if they want to place Trump’s pick at the helm of the Fed for the next four years.

The Federal Reserve operates largely out of public view, but its influence touches nearly every corner of the U.S. economy — shaping borrowing costs, job growth and inflation, making the outcome of his nomination a key moment for how that power could be steered.

FROM MORTGAGES TO CAR LOANS: HOW AFFORDABILITY RISES AND FALLS WITH THE FED

Warsh’s potential ascent to lead the world’s most powerful central bank comes at a particularly volatile moment. The Federal Reserve is grappling with persisting inflation, economic ripples of the war in Iran and a looming Supreme Court decision over Fed Governor Lisa Cook — all while political pressure builds ahead of the midterm elections in November.

The path to a Senate Banking Committee vote on Warsh’s nomination was finally able to move forward after the Justice Department closed its probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after months of scrutiny.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., withheld support for moving forward with Warsh’s nomination until the DOJ probe was resolved. Trump pushed back on closing the investigation, further raising questions about governance and oversight at the central bank.

The probe was related to potential mismanagement of funds during renovations at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. and it unfolded despite Powell’s term as chair ending next month.

Powell, breaking from his typically measured approach, called the Justice Department investigation “unprecedented” and framed it as part of Trump’s pressure campaign on the Fed to cut interest rates and his fiery rhetoric against the chairman for his refusal to cave to that pressure.

FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR POWELL UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER HQ RENOVATION

In March, Powell told reporters he has “no intention of leaving” the central bank until the DOJ investigation is “fully resolved with transparency and finality.”

His term as Fed chair is set to end May 15, though he is eligible to remain on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for an additional two-year term. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors, known as the Fed board, consists of seven members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, who help set interest rate policy and oversee the central bank’s operations.

THE ONE LINE IN WARSH’S TESTIMONY SIGNALING A BREAK FROM THE FED’S STATUS QUO

Warsh has already signaled a clear break from the central bank’s current approach regardless of whether Powell remains at the Federal Reserve beyond his chairmanship.

In testimony before lawmakers on April 21, Warsh pledged to keep monetary policy “strictly independent” and said he intended to keep the central bank “in its lane,” warning that the Fed has become too involved in social policy.

He has also taken aim at what he sees as a complacent central bank, warning that large institutions are prone to inertia and that clinging to the “status quo” in a fast-moving economy is not just outdated, but dangerous.

At the same time, he has signaled openness to closer coordination with elected leaders and work with the White House and Congress on nonmonetary matters — an approach that could reshape how the Fed operates in Washington.

How that balance is struck could define not only Warsh’s tenure, but the future direction of the institution that plays a major role in the financial lives of millions of Americans.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will weigh the legality of President Donald Trump‘s bid to revoke temporary legal status for hundreds of thousands of migrants living and working temporarily in the U.S. — a closely watched court fight with possible far-reaching ramifications.

At issue in Mullin v. Doe is the Trump administration’s effort to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for some 350,000 migrants from Haiti and roughly 7,000 migrants from Syria. TPS grants individuals from certain countries temporary legal status to live and work in the U.S. if their home countries are deemed by the U.S. to be unsafe to return to, due to a disaster, armed conflict or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions.”

The Supreme Court agreed last month to review the two consolidated cases, and took the somewhat unusual step of granting “certiorari before judgment” — or, reviewing the case on its merits before federal appeals courts reviewed the lower district rulings. A ruling could come as early as this summer.

Trump’s efforts to end TPS are not new. The administration has moved to revoke TPS designations for 13 countries since last January, and the arguments themselves are expected to focus closely not on the merits of individual designations under TPS, but the power of the courts to review the designations.

A ruling from the high court could therefore have much more widespread ramifications, not only for the TPS holders from Haiti and Syria, but for the more than 1.3 million migrants currently living in the U.S. under the temporary legal program.

BIDEN-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE RULES TRUMP’S ‘THIRD COUNTRY’ DEPORTATION POLICY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Trump has sought to unwind TPS designations, arguing they have been extended for far too long under former administrations, including under former President Joe Biden.

Lawyers for the Trump administration urged the Supreme Court in March to consolidate two lower court cases seeking to overturn orders that blocked the administration from immediately revoking the temporary protected status designations for Syrian and Haitian migrants. 

Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the court to review more broadly the question of whether the Trump administration can revoke TPS without interagency review, citing a portion of the provision that states there “is no judicial review of any determination” of the DHS secretary “with respect to the designation, or termination or extension of a designation, of a foreign state.” 

In the administration’s view, he said, that means that these cases, “directed at a specific TPS designation, termination, or extension,” are “unreviewable.”

SUPREME COURT SIGNALS IT MAY LIMIT KEY VOTING RIGHTS ACT RULE

“Unless the court resolves the merits of these challenges — issues that have now been ventilated in courts nationwide — this unsustainable cycle will repeat again and again, spawning more competing rulings and competing views of what to make of this court’s interim orders,” Sauer said. “This court should break that cycle.”

The case sets up a broader legal fight over how much authority district courts have to block immigration decisions made by the executive branch.

Haitians were first granted TPS status in 2010 after the devastating earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left some 1.5 million in the country homeless.

Both U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes and U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla blocked Trump’s bid to end TPS for Haitian and Syrian nationals, respectively, earlier this year.

Reyes ruled that it was “substantially likely” that then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had ended the Haitian TPS designation “because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants,” and said she failed to consult with other agencies as required under the APA.

SCOTUS TO REVIEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

Failla’s ruling said much of the same, noting that the administration’s efforts to end TPS applied not only to Syrian migrants but for individuals from “virtually every country that has come up for consideration.”

Trump officials have taken aim at district courts that have sought to block or pause their efforts to wind down TPS protections, accusing the judges of exceeding their authority and unlawfully intruding on the executive branch’s authority, especially when it comes to immigration policy.

A Supreme Court ruling on the consolidated cases, expected by early summer, could determine how far the current and future administrations can go in scaling back humanitarian immigration programs.