Author: NOVA Corp

President Donald Trump suggested he may be able to get back the equipment the U.S. military left behind during Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Trump made these comments at the G7 Summit while taking questions from reporters about the forthcoming agreement with Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.

In response to a question about how the deal will address Iran’s nuclear program, Trump repeatedly said he would “bomb them” if they do not comply with proposed restrictions.

He then transitioned into criticizing Biden’s foreign policy record, spotlighting the Democratic former president’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and abandon dozens of military aircraft, thousands of ground vehicles and more than 300,000 weapons, according to the House Budget Committee.

TRUMP PUSHES TO RECOVER ‘BILLIONS OF DOLLARS’ OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND IN AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL

“Our country has become the most respected country in the world,” he said. “Look at what happened in so many different locations. Afghanistan, that horrible retreat that these people made. Leaving equipment behind. They weren’t under any pressure. Take your time.”

“I was going to get out,” he continued. “We were going to get out with dignity and pride. Take 100% of the equipment. I was even taking the tents down. But then [Biden] got in and they just left. They left all the equipment. I may get all that equipment back. Now, here’s the thing. It’s more symbolic because it’s a little old now, but we may get it all back. Afghanistan is kissing our a–.”

In June 2022, the Department of Defense estimated that $7.12 billion worth of military equipment ended up in the hands of the Taliban, which quickly seized control of the country after American troops departed.

TRUMP: ‘WE DON’T RUN FROM ANYBODY’ IN BLASTING BIDEN OVER AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL

Trump and his allies have long been critical of what they view as Biden’s hasty decision to end the war in Afghanistan, which lasted for nearly 20 years.

Biden officials at the time defended the withdrawal by pointing out that the equipment seized by the Taliban was in the hands of the U.S.-aligned government in Afghanistan that ended up surrendering.

Biden himself said he believed that the Afghan fighters supported by the U.S. were going to do a better job at holding the country.

“The assumption was that more than 300,000 Afghan National Security Forces that we had trained over the past two decades and equipped would be a strong adversary in their civil wars with the Taliban,” he said on Aug. 31, 2021. “That assumption — that the Afghan government would be able to hold on for a period of time beyond military drawdown — turned out not to be accurate.”

Under Taliban rule, women and girls remain repressed. More than 1 million girls have been banned from secondary school and university. An April UNICEF report claimed that Afghanistan risks losing more than 25,000 teachers and healthcare workers due to the new government’s restrictions on female employment.

The country is also dealing with a hunger crisis, with roughly 17.4 million Afghans at risk for severe food insecurity this year, according to the World Food Programme.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released $351.6 million to the Secret Service for “White House Security Measures,” all while President Donald Trump continues to advocate for a ballroom to be built where the East Wing used to be.

The funds were approved on Friday, with $340.8 million being put into an account called “Procurement, Construction, and Improvements.” The other $10.75 million will go toward an “Operations and Support” account, according to a database maintained by the OMB.

This money comes from a section of the One Big Beautiful Bill, passed last July through the budget reconciliation process, that gave $1.7 billion to the Secret Service. The law requires these funds to be used for personnel, training facilities, programming, technology, retention and signing bonuses for agents.

REPUBLICANS EYE PICKING UP $400M TAB FOR TRUMP’S BALLROOM AS SOME DEMS OPEN TO ‘DISCUSS’ IDEA

It is unclear if the $351.6 million approved last week for security measures will be spent on the ongoing ballroom project, which has been challenged in court.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the East Wing Modernization Project “is inextricably tied to the security of the President, the White House grounds and the certain security infrastructure assets”

“The press release announcing the construction of the ballroom highlighted coordination with the White House Military Office and the United States Secret Service regarding design features and planning,” he said. “President Trump and generous American patriots are funding the ballroom to the tune of approximately $400 million, which will be a secure and appropriate venue for Presidents for generations to come.”

“The events over the weekend and the foiled attack on the historic UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House proves exactly why the East Wing Modernization Project is severely needed for large scale events, which include drone proof structures and drone ports among other critical security enhancements,” Ingle added.

The Secret Service did not immediately return a request for comment.

Trump has said that there will be a “massive” six-story complex underneath the ballroom that would include a military hospital, research facilities, various meeting rooms and security infrastructure related to drone and missile defense.

In late May, Trump said the construction will cost $400 million. He has also maintained that the ballroom will be funded through private donations and not with taxpayer dollars.

TRUMP CLAIMS DONOR FUNDED WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM INCLUDES HIDDEN BUILD BELOW WITH SECURITY FOCUS

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the contractor on the project estimated the ballroom would cost $600 million, with more than half of that sum coming from taxpayers.

Trump has long said the ballroom is needed to make presidential events more secure. The most recent threat to the White House came on Sunday, when the FBI said it disrupted an alleged plot to use explosives attached to drones to attack buildings near the UFC Freedom 250 event.

To make way for the planned ballroom, the East Wing was demolished in October 2025, which prompted a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The nonprofit argued that the Trump administration had bypassed key review processes and must seek approval from Congress for the project.

In March, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that the administration had likely exceeded its authority and ordered a halt to all above-ground construction.

PRESERVATION GROUP SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT

On April 17, a three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit court stayed Leon’s order and allowed construction to continue pending an appeal from the White House.

Days after the D.C. Circuit’s ruling, a gunman showed up at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, which was being held at the Washington Hilton, and fired at Secret Service agents at a security checkpoint.

After the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, was apprehended, Trump and his allies renewed their calls for a White House ballroom so similar security lapses would not be possible in the future.

A shooting outside the White House on May 23 prompted Trump to once again argue that the ballroom is necessary.

“This event is one month removed from the White House Correspondent’s Dinner shooting, and goes to show how important it is, for all future Presidents, to get, what will be, the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C. The National Security of our Country demands it!” he wrote on Truth Social on May 24.

An ICE officer made a snap decision to leap into a Florida pool when he spotted a child struggling to stay afloat, an act of heroism that comes as the agency faces intense criticism and protests outside immigration detention facilities.

Gregory Simmonds was at a community pool in Pasco County on Florida’s Gulf Coast when he noticed a young child floating unconscious in the water.

Closed-circuit footage from the pool showed Simmonds look over at the child and, without hesitation, jump into the pool fully clothed and quickly reach the child to render aid.

Simmonds carried the child back to the edge of the pool where they were resuscitated on dry land.

HERO OFFICERS AND GOOD SAMARITANS WHO WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND IN 2024

An officer with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Tampa, Simmonds administered CPR to the child until the child regained consciousness.

Law enforcement said the child is now expected to make a full recovery, according to ICE.

“This officer swiftly sprung to action and delivered life-saving medical care to this 6-year-old who drowned,” said Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis.

“Our agents truly are the best of the best. They put their lives on the line to arrest the worst of the worst. Instead of demonizing ICE law enforcement, sanctuary politicians should be thanking them for removing criminals from their communities.”

Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. J. Leathers added in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital that due to Simmonds’ quick thinking and decisive actions – and “willingness to place himself into action during a critical incident, the child survived and is expected to make a full recovery.”

“His actions directly contributed to saving the life of the child and reflect exceptional courage and selflessness.”

NYPD OFFICERS SAVE CHOKING 2-YEAR-OLD BOY, BODYCAM VIDEO SHOWS

Simmonds’ heroism is only the latest example of DHS officers saving lives on the spur of the moment.

In March, an agent who was supporting the Transportation Security Administration at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Howard Beach, New York, helped save the life of a 1-year-old experiencing a medical emergency.

When a father was heard screaming in the terminal, the agent “sprang into action and saved [their] life,” according to Sen. Markwayne Mullin.

NEW JERSEY AGITATORS BITE, KICK AND PUNCH ICE AGENTS AS DELANEY HALL CLASHES CONTINUE; 9 MORE ARRESTED: DHS

“Despite the endless smears and lies told about them by sanctuary politicians and the media, our ICE officers show up every day to protect the Homeland and their fellow Americans.”  

In another case, multiple off-duty ICE agents saved another child from drowning in a hotel pool in February.

While dining in Plymouth, Minnesota, the agents were approached by a woman seeking help.

The agents swiftly went to the pool where they performed CPR for several minutes until police and EMS arrived.

The rescues come as ICE agents face protests outside facilities like New Jersey’s Delaney Hall, where demonstrators have labeled them “fascists” and “mercenaries.”

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: New legislation introduced in the House of Representatives threatens federal funding for colleges and universities working with organizations with alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party. 

The Espionage Protection Act, authored by Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, would amend the National Security Act of 1947 to prohibit federal funding for intelligence programs at universities that maintain contractual or in-kind relationships with organizations tied to the CCP. 

“American citizens and or professors at these institutions would be compromised and would be doing highly sensitive research and the Chinese Communist Party could benefit from that illegally,” Fallon told Fox News Digital.

“There have been instances of this where they’re using their either trained assets for the Chinese Communist Party or they’re sympathetic – stealing highly sensitive research, biotechnology, etc. and bringing it back to Beijing,” he added.

‘SERIOUS CONCERNS’: GOP SOUNDS ALARM ON TAXPAYER FUNDS GOING TO ‘HIGH RISK’ UNIVERSITIES VULNERABLE TO CCP

The legislation would revoke federal funding for grant programs, including: Intelligence Community Centers for Academic Excellence, Intelligence advanced research projects, undergraduate and graduate training, Stokes Scholarship Programs and SMART Scholarship for Service Program.

Fallon singled out the Confucius Institute, a nonprofit educational fund by the CCP, for particular scrutiny. While the number of universities who work with the Confucius Institute has seen a dramatic decline due to funding threats in the past, the organization still works with a number of schools.

The Texas congressman also told Fox News Digital he supports an outright ban on student visas for Chinese nationals.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BEGINS NEW WAVE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISA REVOCATIONS: ‘NO ONE HAS A RIGHT TO A VISA’

“It would wholly take away one of the major concerns, which would be with Chinese students coming over and stealing technologies and other sensitive data… so it definitely needs to be explored and looked into,” he said. 

The debate around whether Chinese students should be allowed in U.S. schools has created some divide within the GOP. In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, President Donald Trump said an outright ban could damage relations between Beijing and D.C., and discussed some of the benefits of allowing Chinese professionals  into the country.

“I frankly think that it’s good that people come from other countries and they learn our culture and many of them want to stay here,” Trump said following his meeting with President Xi Jinping last month.

TRUMP JOLTS IMMIGRATION HAWKS WITH SURPRISING DEFENSE OF CHINESE STUDENTS IN USA

Trump noted that the idea of letting Chinese students in U.S. schools “doesn’t sound like a very conservative position – and I’m a conservative… commonsense guy. I think MAGA is common sense.”

Xi and Trump met in Beijing last month, where Trump described the meeting as “incredible” and “very successful,” despite the traditional rift between the two world powers. 

Trump’s comments about Chinese students in the U.S. sparked some backlash from members of the GOP who take a hard line position on immigration, including former Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

REP. GREENE RAISES RED FLAG AFTER TRUMP INDICATES US WILL ACCEPT 600,000 CHINESE STUDENTS

“Trump says it’s insulting to tell China their students can’t go to our universities, imagine being an American student and receiving a rejection letter while 500,000 Chinese students get in,” Greene said to The New Republic.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was critical of the Trump administration’s stance on Chinese students last year, and signed legislation to block colleges from hiring students from China and other “countries of concern” in academic labs.

The IIE Open Doors Report, which is sponsored by the State Department, estimates that more 260,000 Chinese students are in the U.S. as of the 2024-2025 academic school year. Most students hold F-1 visas, which don’t automatically expire upon graduation from a university. 

In April, Fallon announced that he was running for chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. If he wins, he said he plans to root out CCP influence in the U.S.

We’re deep enough into the season to have a sense of how the year is going for various clubs and players.

We see which players are most expendable by the trade deadline. And we get an early line on what to anticipate this fall.

Could sub-.500 clubs like the Texas Rangers or The Athletics (now playing in Sacramento) make the postseason? Did the Baltimore Orioles get what they paid for when they signed Pete Alonso from the New York Mets? Will the Detroit Tigers deal back-to-back Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal to the Atlanta Braves or Cleveland Guardians?

All becomes clearer as we approach the All-Star Break in less than a month.

The same is true in Congress. But the schedule is a little more advanced on Capitol Hill compared to the baseball calendar. Yes, Major League Baseball would play a potential Game 7 of the World Series on Oct. 31. Election Day for the midterms is Nov. 3.

DEMOCRATS FACE DAUNTING CONGRESSIONAL BASEBALL GAME STREAK AS EX-MLB GREAT EYES GOP ROSTER SPOT

However, the Capitol Hill timeframe is more truncated than the baseball slate.

In some respects, Congress is already past its legislative equivalent of the Dog Days of August. In fact, both the House and Senate will likely be out of session for all but a day – if that – in August. They’ll be back in September and then out again until after the midterm.

That is, unless there’s another lengthy government shutdown. And that’s a distinct possibility.

The government’s fiscal year expires at 11:59:59 p.m. ET on Sept. 30. Yes, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle want to rush home in the fall to campaign before the midterms. But last year’s record 43-day comprehensive government shutdown may just be a legislative amuse bouche of what we’re in for this year.

Plus, if Democrats again go to the mat over healthcare or the lack of guardrails for ICE and Border Patrol – despite Republicans just funding those agencies for the rest of the Trump presidency earlier this month – they may view a government shutdown and bogging down everything in Washington as the equivalent of campaigning.

The Senate is meeting this week. The House is out. Chatter started ricocheting around the Capitol this week that the House might consider sending everyone home until September at the end of the next work period. The official calendar has the House meeting through July 2. After adopting the One Big Beautiful Bill last summer, the House left for its August recess a day early in mid-July. One could see the House conceivably cutting town a bit early this year too.

That said, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., wants to advance a few spending bills across the floor before the recess. The House has already approved two of the 12 bills: one for military construction and veterans programs. The other for agriculture.

The House is poised to approve the Energy and Water spending bill next week as well as one for national security initiatives.

CONGRESS FLEES TOWN AS HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS SET TO EXPLODE FOR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS IN JANUARY

Republicans would like to approve the annual defense funding measure soon. That bill consumes well over half of all discretionary spending (money which Congress allocates each year). The GOP may need to follow suit from last year where the House passed the defense plan with only Republican votes. But if the House greenlights the Pentagon’s bill, it will have approved around 80 percent of all spending for the next fiscal year.

However, the Senate is another question. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, canceled planned sessions to craft multiple spending bills over the past few weeks. She’s blamed Democrats for lack of cooperation.

That said, control of the Senate may hinge on Maine as Collins faces embattled Democratic nominee Graham Platner this fall. Platner lugs around more baggage than a skycap at Dulles International Airport. But Democrats are sticking with Platner. Democrats are in no mood to cede any ground to Collins or present her with any easy “wins” ahead of the fall.

BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSURES DEMS ON SHUTDOWN

While the House appropriations process may limp along, it’s all but paralyzed in the Senate. This is where a congressional contagion could spread from the Senate to the House. Some House lawmakers may question why they should stick around to tackle any bills if they’re on a road to oblivion in the Senate. Pressure will ramp up on both sides of the aisle to let everyone go home early rather than engage in an academic exercise.

And let’s fast-forward to fall and the funding deadline. The sides simply are not getting along at all. There’s no incentive for Democrats to help if both the House and Senate are in play this fall. President Trump demonstrated no incentive to negotiate during last year’s government shutdown. It could be worse this time around. That’s why a shutdown may be in the cards.

The question is whether lawmakers stay in Washington for the month of October and try to figure things out when they’d rather be in their districts and states campaigning. Remember, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., kept the House out for most of the autumn shutdown last year.

MORNING GLORY: WILL THE HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS DESERT PRESIDENT TRUMP AND TRIGGER A MASSIVE TAX HIKE?

And then there is the biggest possible bill of all: “Reconciliation 3.0.”

No one really knows exactly what Republicans would stash in a massive package, ala last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill. President Trump is adamant that they add $350 billion in additional military spending on top of the Pentagon’s annual budget measure – mostly to cover the war in Iran. This would also restock munitions exhausted overseas.

Some Republicans believe they should address health care. Yet there’s still no bona fide health care proposal from the Trump Administration. There will be tax cuts. Maybe lower the cost of living. Of course, President Trump also wants the SAVE America Act tacked on to this bill. It requires proof of citizenship to vote. But the president just insisted that congressional Republicans latch the SAVE America Act to a bill to renew FISA.

Either way, the SAVE America Act wouldn’t pass muster with special Senate budget rules. And Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said repeatedly he would not fire the Senate’s budget umpire, Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough.

IT NEVER ENDS: GOP MOVES TO FUND BORDER, DEMOCRATS BLAST TRUMP SPENDING

Vulnerable Republicans would love to have another policy bill to campaign on this fall. But there’s lots of skepticism. And any decision to dismiss lawmakers from Capitol Hill early would serve as a signal that there’s no way they can pass “Reconciliation 3.0.”

In Major League Baseball, we usually know by late July or early August if even an average team has an outside shot at the playoffs. The trade deadline is Aug. 3 – although some clubs may try to stock up or unload well before then.

Teams and players on the wrong side of the ledger will play out the string through the end of the season. Then pack up for the hot stove league.

Congress is similar. Members elected to the 119th Congress are in office until 11:59:59 p.m. ET on Jan. 3, 2027. Some are just running out the string.

Yogi Berra famously declared that “the future ain’t what it used to be.”

In baseball, there were high expectations this season for the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros. The season isn’t even to its mid-point. But the future isn’t panning out for these clubs.

The same is true on Capitol Hill. We’ll know soon if the future is what “it used to be,” here too.

FIRST ON FOX: Senate candidate James Talarico lavished praise on a left-wing activism group that worked to eliminate Texas’ oil and gas industry, in an unearthed video obtained by Fox News Digital. 

Talarico participated in a June 2024 organizing call celebrating the expansion of Third Act, a climate advocacy and protest group for individuals over 60, into the Lone Star State. At the time, the organization was ramping up efforts to isolate the fossil-fuel industry by pressuring major banks to cut financial ties with the sector and targeting the buildout of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals on the Texas Gulf Coast. 

“This is the frontline in the fight to save democracy and save our planet, and so your arrival couldn’t come at a better time,” Talarico, who was serving in his third term as a state representative, told the group in pre-recorded remarks. “I look forward to working alongside all of you in this important work, and I just want to thank you for coming to Texas.”

Later on the call, Talarico described the climate activists’ efforts as the highest calling, describing it as “as the most important work in the most important time in the most important place.”

DEM SENATE CANDIDATE IN THE HOT SEAT AFTER ANTI-MEAT COMMENT RESURFACES: ‘THIS WILL HAUNT HIM’

Two weeks after that call, Third Act Texas called for a transition to “100% renewable resources as soon as possible.”

Talarico’s comments appear to complicate his recent efforts to position himself as a defender of Texas energy workers while sharply criticizing Democrats who advocate eliminating oil and gas production.

The Democratic Senate nominee and fundraising juggernaut is seeking to flip a Senate seat held by Republicans for nearly four decades by distancing himself from his more radical stances. He will likely need support from independent and moderate voters, including some of the 470,000 people employed in the oil and gas industry, to defeat GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton in November.

“The idea that politicians in Washington think they can just eliminate this industry, eliminate these jobs — it’s something we’re going to have to fight against,” Talarico said on a podcast in January with Democratic House candidate Bobby Pulido. “Too many people in our party talk about eliminating oil and gas. And one, it’s just not practical and two, it would do so much damage to our state and do damage to our entire country, which relies on our industry here in Texas.”

Third Act was heavily involved in the climate movement’s #StopLNG campaign and boasted that it “successfully pressured” the Biden administration to pause new LNG export facilities in early 2024.

The group’s Texas chapter also calls for the eventual elimination of LNG and all fossil fuel production on the Texas Gulf Coast, according to a statement on its website.

Campaign spokesman JT Ennis told Fox News Digital that Talarico “supports LNG production and backed legislation to strengthen it in the Texas legislature.”

The campaign did not clarify if Talarico still supports Third Act Texas. 

MS NOW ANALYST ADMITS TALARICO ‘NOT A MODERATE,’ HAS PROGRESSIVE VIEWS LIKE CROCKETT

In 2021, Talarico authored an aggressive climate bill that would have enacted strict caps on greenhouse gas emissions, including a 90% reduction below 1990 levels by 2050. While the measure left implementation to state regulators, such drastic emissions reductions in the nation’s largest oil- and gas-producing state would have likely required sweeping changes to the fossil-fuel industry. 

The Senate hopeful also introduced legislation that year requiring climate change lessons in K-12 schools to “inspire the next generation of climate activists,” The Washington Free Beacon reported.

By 2025, Talarico took positions on legislation indicating more support for the oil and gas industry. He backed backed legislation aimed at boosting the LNG production through interstate cooperation and supported a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment that would redirect public funds to infrastructure projects in regions home to significant oil and gas production.

Talarico’s praise of Third Act Texas’ launch in June 2024 came as the group gained national attention for helping orchestrate sustained climate protests outside Citigroup’s headquarters in New York City to pressure the bank to halt investments in new fossil-fuel projects.

The group’s founder, environmental activist Bill McKibben, led “Third Actors” in staging a mock funeral procession and “die-ins” during the summer of 2024 that blocked the entrance to the bank’s headquarters. At the end of its Summer of Heat on Wall Street campaign, the group bragged that around 200 of its members were arrested during the disruptive actions.

During the Texas organizing call, McKibben described Texas as a critical front in the climate movement because of its outsize role in fossil-fuel production.

“You’ve got, you know, half the hydrocarbons in the world down there, and too many of the hydrocarbon executives,” he said. “Don’t think of it as a problem, think of it as an opportunity. You can get an awful lot done, even more than we can up in Vermont.”

President Donald Trump’s colossal ballroom could be backed by hundreds of millions in taxpayer money, and after months of the president declaring that it was completely privately funded, lawmakers aren’t happy. 

A report from the Washington Post found that estimates for Trump’s 90,000-square-foot ballroom had skyrocketed to $600 million. Of that, about half would come from taxpayer-funded sources. 

Both Republicans and Democrats had already drawn a sharp line against dipping into taxpayer funds to pay for the project earlier this year when confronted with tacking on roughly $220 million in security enhancement funding for the ballroom through budget reconciliation. 

TRUMP DEMANDS SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN’S OUSTER FOR AXING BALLROOM SECURITY FUNDING

“We have to have a serious conversation about the benefit to the taxpayers, right? If taxpayers aren’t paying for it, it’s a different bar, but if they’re paying for it, we have to have a totally different conversation,” Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said. “Is that how they want their money spent?”

The Post’s report, published Tuesday, reviewed documents between the White House and Clark Construction, a McLean, Va.-based company leading the construction of the ballroom, dating back over the last several months. 

A project summary from March 5 detailed that the ballroom, which Trump initially said would cost $100 million, would clock in at $600 million. 

Of that, $293 million was expected to come from private donors. The remaining $307 million was to come from the Secret Service, White House Military Office and Executive Residence. All three are funded by taxpayers.

SENATE REPUBLICAN THREATENS TO DERAIL ICE, BORDER PATROL PACKAGE OVER TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR REQUEST

When asked the veracity of the reported figures, Clark Construction referred Fox News Digital to the White House and noted that all project information was confidential. 

White House spokesman Davis Ingle did not deny the figures in a statement and said, “The East Wing Modernization Project is inextricably tied to the security of the president, the White House grounds and the certain security infrastructure assets.”

“The press release announcing the construction of the ballroom highlighted coordination with the White House Military Office and the United States Secret Service regarding design features and planning,” Ingle said. “President Trump and generous American patriots are funding the ballroom to the tune of approximately $400 million, which will be a secure and appropriate venue for presidents for generations to come.”

“The events over the weekend and the foiled attempted attack on the historic UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House proves exactly why the East Wing Modernization Project is severely needed for large-scale events, which include drone proof structures and drone ports among other critical security enhancements,” he continued. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he had not yet seen the report but noted that it would be a “different narrative than what we’ve heard.”

SENATE REPUBLICANS BALK AT $1B WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM REQUEST: ‘YOU MADE THAT NUMBER UP’

“I think there’s a rationale, particularly when it comes to the security parts of this to keep that place safe we need to be responsible for,” Thune said. “I just don’t know enough about how it’s being used — what it’s being used for.”

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said he would prefer the ballroom to be paid for with private funding but was open to dipping into taxpayer dollars if the goal was to “make it safer, protect the president.” 

When asked if he or other Republicans were contacted by the White House about the use of taxpayer money for the ballroom, Scott said, “No.” 

“You’d have to, and you know you’d think it’d have to come up over here for funding, and I haven’t seen anything yet,” Scott said.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said lawmakers had seen this situation before with another project: the renovations to the Federal Reserve’s headquarters going over budget that spurred, in part, a public feud with former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. 

“I think when you move quickly, that’s when mistakes are made,” Tillis said. 

“It’s not surprising that the estimates were up.
I have the same view about the Arch,” he continued, referring to Trump’s proposed United States Triumphal Arch. “You know, we think it’s gonna be $25 million. I don’t know what the number is right now, but my guess is it’s gonna be a lot more than that.” 

“And we ought to be very thoughtful, go through the process versus fitting things into arbitrary timeframes,” he added. “Never works out.”

Some Republicans shrugged off the report, largely because it was produced by the Washington Post.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said, “You lost me at Washington Post.” 

“I have no idea,” Moreno said. “Do I trust the Washington Post? No, but it does — when you have a cat litter situation, and you don’t want it to spill, newspapers serve a really good purpose.”

The Trump administration on Tuesday publicly outlined the contents of its newly signed memorandum of understanding with Iran, revealing plans for immediate waivers on Iranian oil exports, a framework for at least $300 billion in reconstruction and economic development, and a 60-day negotiation period aimed at securing a final agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program.

During a call with reporters, senior U.S. officials read portions of the agreement and defended controversial provisions that would allow Iranian crude oil exports to resume immediately while broader negotiations continue.

“The U.S. Department of Treasury will issue waivers for the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives and all associated services including banking transactions, insurances, transportation, etc,” the agreement states, according to officials. They declined to provide the written text of the agreement. 

An official emphasized the oil waivers are the only major benefit Iran will receive before a final agreement is reached, arguing the move would increase transparency into Iranian oil sales while helping reduce global energy prices.

SCOTT BESSENT CALLS OUT ‘TERRIBLE FRAMING’ DURING CLASH WITH NBC NEWS HOST ON IRANIAN OIL

In negotiations aimed at a final agreement, the memorandum also calls for the U.S. and regional partners to develop a plan worth at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran. Officials stressed the provision does not commit the U.S. to providing the funds, arguing instead that it would permit outside investment if a final deal is reached and Iran complies with its obligations.

While the agreement guarantees toll-free commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day negotiating period, it leaves longer-term arrangements to future talks between Iran, Oman and other Gulf states. 

A senior U.S. official maintained that regional partners would not support any framework that allowed Iran to charge tolls for passage along the waterway.

VANCE REVEALS TRUMP LESSON GUIDING IRAN DEAL STRATEGY AS TEHRAN FACES 60-DAY DEADLINE

The agreement stops short of resolving the central dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. Instead, it commits both sides to negotiate the fate of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and future enrichment activities as part of a final agreement. 

The official said negotiations will begin over the weekend after the deal is signed Friday.

Officials said the minimum outcome would involve down-blending enriched material under International Atomic Energy Agency supervision but acknowledged that key details remain unresolved.

They argued that broader sanctions relief remains contingent on Iranian compliance with future nuclear commitments, pushing back on criticism that Tehran would receive major economic benefits without making concessions.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday forcefully rejected comparisons between the announced Iran agreement and former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal, arguing the Obama-era pact could have led to Israel and much of the Middle East being “terminated” if he had not ended it.

“The JCPOA was a short-term lease. It expired long ago,” Trump told reporters during a press conference on the sidelines of the G7 summit. “Had I let it run, it expired. You wouldn’t have been around. A lot of people wouldn’t have been around, but Israel would have been terminated. I think the whole Middle East would have been terminated.”

Trump added that he finished the job of terminating the Obama nuclear deal after failed attempts from Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

“Bibi actually went to Congress and pleaded with them, and he got nowhere. And they had this horrible deal that was horrible for Israel, horrible for Israel. And that’s where it stood. And then I came along and I terminated that deal that had very little time left,” said Trump.

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Trump added that Netanyahu “begged Barack Hussein Obama, the president, not to do the JCPOA. He said it could be the end of Israel, and it would have been if I didn’t come along. And Obama didn’t listen to him.” 

The president said the agreement is fundamentally different from the JCPOA, arguing it is structured to permanently block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon rather than temporarily limit its nuclear activities before key restrictions sunset. Trump’s remarks came prior to the release of the newly announced memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran.

“I made it very tough for [Iran] when I terminated the Barack Hussein Obama catastrophe JCPOA, one of the worst deals,” Trump said. “This deal was really dangerous. What he did, he gave them everything, including a lot of money, which we don’t give them.

TRUMP UNLEASHES ON OBAMA’S ‘DISASTER’ IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL, SAYS HE WAS ‘HONORED’ TO RIP IT APART

The MOU has drawn comparisons to the JCPOA, as both agreements offer Iran the prospect of sanctions relief and increased foreign investment in exchange for complying with their respective commitments.

Obama argued this week that any new agreement with Iran is unlikely to look dramatically different from the 2015 JCPOA.

The benefits will depend on whether Iran can prove it has abandoned its nuclear ambitions and support for terrorist organizations during a 60-day negotiating period.

Former Secretary of State and failed 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Monday night trashed former president Joe Biden for his decision to run for reelection in 2024.

“He made a terrible mistake,” Clinton said in an interview with David Remnick of 92NY. “He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy and for the country.”

It furthers the Democrats’ narrative shift over Biden’s health and his decision to seek a second term after former First Lady Jill Biden last month revealed she worried her husband was having a stroke on stage during his June 2024 debate with President Donald Trump.

Clinton is now bashing her one-time ally by claiming he went back on his word and insisting that former Vice President Kamala Harris would have had a chance to win if she was the candidate from the get-go.

“He had said that he would not run again, and you know, counterfactual narratives are always a bit tricky, but I believe that if he had kept to that plan and said in say, the late summer of ’23, that he wasn’t going to run, that he was going to pass the torch to the next generation we would’ve had a real contest,” Clinton said in her sit-down in Manhattan this week.

Biden exited the presidential race in late July 2024, a few weeks after a disastrous debate display led to left-wing commentators calling for him to step down. The Democratic Party then installed then-VP Harris as its presidential nominee without a primary vote.

“Very sadly, I believe that whoever emerged from the contest, whether it was the vice president or a governor or a senator or anybody else, would have beaten Donald Trump,” Clinton retroactively speculated.

“So I think it was a terrible miscalculation on the part of President Biden, but once he didn’t move and did not admit that he had said he was going to step aside and decided not to, and held on for as long as he did, we were in a terrible dilemma.”

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Clinton never voiced any concerns about Biden’s reelection bid while it was ongoing.

In fact, on June 28, 2024, the day after Biden’s comatose debate performance, she maintained her support for him in a post on X.

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“The choice in this election remains very simple,” she said at the time. “It’s a choice between someone who cares about you—your rights, your prospects, your future—versus someone who’s only in it for himself. I’ll be voting Biden.”

She spent all of 2024 propping Biden up before his abrupt decision to hand the reins over to Harris.

“We don’t have to wonder what this year’s presidential contenders would do in office,” she said in a post on June 19, 2024. “When it comes to immigration, President Biden keeps families together while strengthening our economy. Donald Trump ripped families apart. Vote accordingly.”

In January of that year, she was actively encouraging people to support Biden in the name of democracy.

“After Iowa, we’re one step closer to knowing who the Republicans will nominate for president. But no matter who they choose, we’re in a fight for reproductive freedom and democracy that we can’t afford to lose. Join Team Biden-Harris today,” she said.

Fox News Digital did not hear back from a Biden spokesperson when reached for comment on Clinton’s recent remarks.